Farm Garden News

Our garden seems to have survived quite well during our long summer of extreme heat. As always, the flowers, tomatoes and eggplants are in their mid-summer hibernation awaiting the inevitable temperature drop (it will happen… down to 39’s this week!). It's not a jungle like it was last year so it's not taking too long to get back in order and hopefully it won’t be too long before we’re planting again. Thanks to Col and Peter for taking care of essential things while I was on my break.

Class 6 Produce Stall: Please remember to support the sale of our WEEKLY biodynamic produce stall. During the first few weeks we’ll have rocket, carrot, beetroot and some garlic leek and herbs. We planted loads of sweet corn at the end of the year hoping to have it available now but unfortunately, they didn’t make it.

Garden & Soil Health, Compost: The worms are happy to be getting some regular food again and will continue to supply us with magnificent castings and leachate and we’ve saved some compost from last year to help get planting started again soon. Compost Crew: I’d really like some help with managing the turning of our hot compost this year, so if you’re interested in learning more, please send me your contact details and I can add you to our Garden WhatsApp group. I’ll send out a message when a new pile gets to the right temperature and it’s usually 3 days later that it needs to be turned. Our process is reasonably labour intensive, but it ensures that we always have lots of this essential ingredient.

Key Biodynamics Spray Dates for February: https://biodynamics.net.au/e-newsletter/Soil Sprays (Horn Manure 500, Soil Activator, Manure concentrate): 

• Descending moon 1 - 9 & 24 - 28 February. Atmospheric Sprays (Horn Silica 501, Equisetum 508 (or Casuarina)
• Ascending moon 10 - 23 February

Chickens 

I'm sure by now you've all heard about our free ranging hen that built a nest and hatched a number of chicks over summer. We're not sure if it's one of ours or one of Rodney's but it definitely wanted to be here and to be free. She kept flying the coop, so we’ve put her and her remaining 2 chicks in the grain field for now till we work out where they should go. The chicks were a joyful start to the year for our children.

2025 Projects

Chicken Coop Rebuild: let me know your ideas about best designs. Here’s a taste to whet your whistle: https://youtu.be/KL2BQoBHGi8?si=-dO-13vjlpORzoYxhttps://youtu.be/G5QjAcTDkBw?si=ETxKwSYbBWyVp8hL2

Garden Arches for additional shade: I’m hoping to have large sheets of rio and star pickets ready for our first working bee. These will provide additional structure for either shade cloth or as growing frames: vines and maybe even an espaliered fig tree?

Please pop these dates in your diary (feel free to come for as little or as long as you can).

School Gardeners WhatsApp Group: If you’d like to be added, please send contact details.Kaz contact details:0427 461 047gardener2@alicesteiner.nt.edu.au