govt. house rotation - wk 3

My third week in the Government House gardens sees us completing the irrigation system in the Japanese Pond garden bed. There is already a water source in the bed so that is great. We just have to excavate it a little to create enough room to connect the pipe and install a filter. We have decided on a total of four above ground sprinkler heads on uprights, that will sit approx 80cm off the ground, attached to a stake for support. 

The pipes are connected. The filter will follow later.....

Before we choose the sprinkler heads, we check the pressure of the water with a pressure tester. The water here at Government House is known for having excellent pressure and the tester shows up 65 kPa (kilopascals) or 95 psi (pounds per square inch) which is more than enough to do the job and the sprinkler heads we have will be fine. For my benefit, as an exercise, Mick also suggests we also do the old fashioned bucket method and we find we can fill a 9L bucket in 9 secs. Very good pressure indeed. 

Adjustable directional spray heads.

After all the connectors and joins are fastened together and the stakes driven in and secured to the stands, it's time to finally turn it on. We start by flushing the line to rid it of dirt and any blockages then fix the heads on to check the radius of the sprays. We end up swapping one sprinkler head to a smaller radius as there is too much water ending up on the path. All in all though the water coverage is quite good and we are very pleased, as I'm sure the plants will be now too. It's been great to see this project through from concept to completion.

Good regular water = Happy plants!

After lunch I head to the chook pen with Steve to plant four new Citrus trees that will add to his impressive collection already.

The lucky new trees to have found a new home.

Steve takes me on a tour around the two pens to show me all the different varieties here including lemons, limes, oranges, cumquats and mandarins as well as a few exotics that Steve is very happy to have thriving here and fruiting well for the first time. Citrus seems to be the only trees that survive the rigors of living with chooks, as they are just not interested them.  Steve treats me to a taste of a few of them and I am impressed at the different flavours and how well they are thriving in our cool conditions here. For someone like myself who also has plans for a rotational chook pen at home and is interested in planting citrus, Steve recommends planting lemons such as the Meyer (Citrus x meyeri) and Eureka (Citrus limon 'Eureka') and Limes. I also fancy the "Lemonade" hybrid which is a lovely sweet lemon crossed with a mandarin.



Nice healthy fruit!

It's time to start planting and Steve runs me through his preferred method. We select a site (in a straight line with the existing trees to allow for easy mowing) and scalp the turf off. Then we dig a hole that

is approx double the root ball circumference and mix this soil in the wheelbarrow with some compost and fertiliser (SeeMunGus).



Steve running me through good planting technique.

After teasing out the main roots to help them grow outwards and not continuing in the circular pattern from the pot, we place it in the hole aligning the main shaft straight (instead of the rootstock) and back fill. Steve points out that one of the most important things when planting out is to make sure that the planting level is the same or just slightly below the soil level in the pot and definitely not above. All the small top roots must be below the soil line otherwise the plant could get stressed and not grow as well. Good to check the rootstock for any shoots as well and rub them off so they don't draw energy away from the grafted tree.

Freeing the main roots.

Place the tree in the hole to check the level before back filling.

The final task we have here is unique to chickens pens, and that involves the placement of 4 concrete blocks around the base of the tree to prevent the happy scratchers from undoing our good work thus far!

All finished. Sorry chooks - no more scratching for worms now!

A deep watering in completes our task and Steve explains that he will give the newly planted trees a good soak every day for about a week before easing them off to a normal watering regime.

An obvious deficiency so......some investigation needed.

On a final note one of the trees we notice on our tour around the orchard is suffering from a clear deficiency. I can't remember what Steve said it might have been on the day so have decided to take the opportunity to research this for myself. After reading up, all the signs for me point towards a Zinc deficiency as described below: 

• Zinc deficiency produces a bright creamy-yellow mottle. Symptoms are usually worse on the northern (sunny) side of the tree. The deficiency is most acute in alkaline soils. It also affects citrus growing on acid coastal soils. 

• Even in its earliest stages, zinc deficiency lowers yield, reduces tree vigour and makes fruit small and poor in quality. Leaf symptoms include small, narrow leaves (little leaf) and whitish-yellow areas between the veins (mottle leaf). Leaves also crowd along short stems (rosetting), and smaller twigs die back.

So we can clearly see bright yellow mottle colouring. The affected leaves appear a little narrower than the unaffected green leaf at the top of the picture. And from memory the shrub was more affected on one side than the other.

The treatment suggested:

• Use an annual foliar spray (zinc sulphate) on the spring flush leaves when they are about two-thirds their full size. Severely deficient trees need two or more sprays during the season. Use a combination spray of zinc sulphate and manganese sulphate if the tree is also manganese-deficient.

I'm keen to ask Steve what he thinks about this theory next time. To be continued.......

govt. house rotation - wk 2

It's my second week here at the Government House gardens and on the job's list today with Mick is designing an irrigation system for a bed near the Japanese Pond.

The fused multiple trunk of the Cotoneaster Tree (Cotoneaster frigidus).

We head down to the bed which is triangular in shape and start to measure it and sketch it out. I ask Mick if it is alright for me to do a plan of the plants in the bed to help design where the irrigation should go and what the particular plants water needs might be. It also becomes an excellent exercise for my memory.

Mick finalising the measurements of the bed.

The plants in this bed are a mixed collection with lots of popular plants from the bygone era and newer additions to spark things up.It includes Rhododendrons and Azaleas, a large Camellia japonica, a selection of small trees including Maple, Cotoneaster, Pyracantha, Photinia and Magnolia, a other shrubs like Pieris, Acanthus, Japanese Laurel, Erigeron and Daphne and a varied selection of ferns from Dicksonia antarctica to Asplenium bulbiferum - the Hen and Chicken Fern.

Acanthus mollis

Another plant growing here is Choisya ternata.

Not all the plants are particularly thriving here which may be indicative of not having a regular watering system installed. We decide to complete a soil test (see 'understanding soils' post here for the full report) and determine that the soil here is quite old and tired with not very good texture to it. It has also become quite hydrophobic and needs much more organic matter applied to help improve the structure and water retention. We decide a top dressing of compost for the bed is definitely in order and head out to the steaming compost pile. Mick teaches me how to drive the tractor (fun!) and I make sure to ask him to run through all the safety features such as having the roll bar up (sometimes this is used in the down position to get underneath low trees without damaging them) and using the seat belt. The controls are easy and before we know it I have a bucket full of lovely compost heading back to the bed.

First load on it's way - the FE loader is so handy for a garden this size.

Nice view of Govt. House from the tractor.

As we are unloading I notice how hot the compost mix is straight from the heap and Mick assures me as soon as it spreads it will cool very quickly and not burn the foliage. We are also very careful not to inhale the steam as it is being shoveled into the wheelbarrow because we both decide Legionnaires' disease would be a bad way to go! After much raking, shoveling and spreading we can almost hear the plants sighing in appreciation and the effort of this task feels highly satisfying. We do two more loads covering most of the bed before it's time to pack up for the day. Next week it's time for the irrigation to be installed!

A lovely top dressing of compost means for a very happy bed. 

govt. house rotation - wk 1

I was thrilled to hear that I am the lucky first student to get a placement into Government House gardens which is next door, just 'over the wall', to the Botanic Gardens. Today my first day here and this beautiful historic garden is run by 5 dedicated gardeners headed up by Steve who has worked here for for many years. Today I have been teamed with Tara who manages the Pottager Garden, Nursery, and Orchard areas. After a fantastic tour of the whole garden we get to work in the flower beds. The flowers Tara grows here are mostly specifically requested by Government House's florist and all have excellent cut flower properties -decorative with good vase life etc...  As I have a huge interest in growing flowers for cutting on my own property, to see it in action here and how it is managed is fantastic opportunity for me!


The large and beautiful pottager garden flower beds at Government House.



First task is a simple one of labeling the two adjoining Chrysanthemum beds. Tara plans to cut these back and consolidate them later so will need a flower description to remind her which is which, after all the flower heads have been removed. I learn about the different flower shapes planted here of 'double' (seen below) and 'spider'.

These chrysanthemums are used for flower arrangements inside Government house.

After this I join Tara lifting Ixia (Corn Lily) corms out of a bed that is riddled with Oxalis. Tara explains how there has been a real problem with the weed in this bed (as well as others surrounding) and the plan to deal with it is to actually remove a quantity of the soil and start again. The Ixia's are to be repotted and planted back out at a later date. Whilst we are digging Tara shows me the main bulb of the Oxalis weed and the smaller bulbils that detach to create new plants. We are extremely careful not to include any small Oxalis bulbils in amongst the Ixia that might potentially be potted up and planted out again! This is the main reason these will not go straight into another bed until Tara has a chance to remove all the Oxalis from the pots first. Very smart.

Oxalis - showing the main bulb at the bottom and the off shoot bulbils on each side.

It then becomes my job to pot them up and a short demo from Tara outlines her preferred method. She doesn't like the soil to be compressed down around the plant and lose the aeration so a decent tap down on the bench is all the settling the potting mix needs with the Ixia in place. I get into a nice rhythm and give myself a test to see how quickly I can get them done as I am aware that to do this kind of repetitive nursery job out in the industry, one of the most important aspects to the job is speed and efficiency.



Potting up Ixia



All done!

After lunch I am teamed up with Mick who manages the front entrance and areas between the large quarry pond and Japanese Pond. The task for this afternoon is some Agapanthus deadheading and weed eradication in the corner by the front entrance. The area is a narrow triangular shape boarded by two hedges and quite tricky to maneuver around in without squashing anything.

The far corner near the road behind the entrance hedge where the many weeds are hiding.

The main weeds hiding here on the list for destruction include Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera), Tree Lucerne (Chamaecytisus palmensis) and African Boxthorn (Lycium ferocissmum). We systematically work well as a team, I cut and Mick paints roundup on the freshly cut wound. Later I read up about Boneseed (also known as Bitou Bush) and see it is registered as a National Weed of Interest. In Tasmania it's most heavy concentration is a small area on the east coast and the greater Hobart area although it is found in other places along the north, east and south of the state.

Boneseed Chrysanthemoides monilifera

I break in my fab new Felco's on the African Boxthorn (which I thought was a pretty harsh first job for them actually!) and it is a very careful, completely gloved, somewhat a little bit daunting job for a novice like myself but I manage to get through with only one small stabbing so I am chuffed with that. Mick confirms it's demise with some more pink paint. I make sure to ask Mick all about the safe and correct use of poisons and he happily shows me Government House's chemical storage area and sign out system as well as making sure we don disposable gloves at all times.

African Box Thorn (Lycium ferocissmum) before......



........and after.

  All in all it's been a fantastic day and a very productive one so I can't wait for next week.......

understanding soils - wk 7

Today's follow up to the understanding soils unit is hugely interesting to me. Up to this point in my life, the truth of what's underneath the ground I'm standing on and indeed the exact type of soil in my own garden has been a complete mystery to me! But as Marcus points out this is the most important aspect to understand in Horticulture. It makes sense that you have to completely understand the soil you are working with to correctly design a new garden, recommend plants or solving deficiencies in existing plants. Everything comes back to the soil.

Today's focus is to touch base again with the different types of rocks (Igneous and Sedimentary) and their corresponding soils and then take a look at the range of tests one can do to ascertain the characteristics of a soil.

Marcus with our different soil types and tests (Jarrod looks really impressed here!)

The first test is a Texture test (or ribbon test). This is a test to establish the 'Texture Class' of a soil and the proportions of sand, silt and clay. This ranges from pure sand down to heavy clay and all the combinations in between.

I found this Triangle description in an old CSIRO booklet in the Govt. House crib room.

Adding a little water to a handful of the soil you want to test - firstly notice if the water soaks in readily or just sits on the top. This can tell you right here if the soil is hydrophobic or not. Then work the water in until you can firmly compress the soil into a roll.

Working the test soil into a a roll for the ribbon test.

Observe it's feel (this is a feel test after all). The grittiness (sand), silkiness (clay) or sponginess (silt) will all correspond to a place on the texture scale. Finally to the ribbon part. Press the roll flat into a ribbon shape squeezing it out the front of your hand. How long the soil stays together before it breaks off and falls will be able to be measured and also correspond to a place on the Texture Class list.

The roughly 25mm peds from the classroom test soil.

With this new found knowledge - I decide to apply it in action on my Rotation Day at Government House the following Thursday. The task of the day was to measure and design an irrigation plan for a bed near the Japanese Pond. I suggest that before we decide on it's watering requirements we should map and document the existing plants (mostly to be able to position the watering system on the design but also to determine the plants water needs) and perform a texture test to find out what soil we are working with. After a short pause and a raised eyebrow - Mick (who is looking after me that day) humors me and and with a grin becomes entirely enthusiastic about the idea. 

Performing a texture test on the Japanese Pond bed soil at Government House.

From first look the soil seems to quite a bit of organic matter (probably due to the bed's mature trees regularly supplying a thick carpet of leaf litter) but is not very well aggregated and appears to have a very fine texture. It is very dry and when we add the water it beads on top and just rolls off the surface without soaking in. Mick is really surprised and a bit shocked to see that this means the soil has become hydrophobic. I ask if we should add some organic matter to it and Mick agrees a few trips to the compost heap will be in order now before we lay any irrigation system down. So already the soil test has become useful!

Next I work the water into the soil to form a roll. I can feel some very fine sand particles and it also feels quite silky and workable. I'm surprised how long the ribbons get before they break, as I was certain it would be more crumbly from looking at the dry soil. I estimate the majority of ribbons measure around 25 mm with some longer pieces. I add a bit more water and it gets silkier and the ribbons longer. I feel the organic matter is responsible for the smaller breaks.

The average ribbon length is approx 25 - 30mm  (sink hole is a reference)

We decide to drop a ped into a glass of rain water and see what happens. Initially the glass clouds orange a little and the ped softens at the edges but doesn't break apart. We decide to come back at the end of the day to check it out.

Just after dropping the soil ped into water.

So - not being entirely sure of the myself yet of course (but if I had to guess though) I would classify the soil as either a Silty Loam (Ribbons to 25mm. Coherent but will crumble. Smooth and silky feel.) or a Sandy Clay Loam (Ribbon 25-38mm long. A strongly coherent cast. Sand grains can be felt.) I'm leaning toward the Sandy Clay Loam but not sure as the bed sits at the bottom of a sandstone quarry basin.

A few hours later.... mostly broken down and still a touch cloudy.

After a couple of hours in the water the ped has dispersed more and spread out on the bottom of the glass and the cloudiness is still there although I can't see evidence of a halo around the soil yet) I'm even more confident of the Sandy Clay Loam diagnosis now as I'm pretty sure (if I was paying attention in class!) that the dispersing of the soil and cloudiness means more of a clay content.  However I've forced Mick to raise his other eyebrow now, so will have to check with Marcus.....stay tuned :)

fabulous fungi

Toadstools.....a fruit! 

After doing a bit of homework this week reading Kevin Handreck's book 'Gardening Down Under' I come across a chapter about Mycorrhizal Fungi. I read about how mushrooms and toadstools are the fruit of Mycorrhizal Fungi. So instead of toadstools being a garden nuisance that worry me because the kids might pick them up, eat them and get poisoned........much to my surprise I read how the fungi actually develops a favourable liaison with the surrounding trees and plants when it invades it's root system. Instead of killing or harming the host, they live in harmony together supporting each other. The tree roots provide the fungi with sugars and the fungi feeds nutrients back to the tree, essentially expanding the trees root system. They also increase the hosts tolerance to drought, high temperatures, some pathogens and some herbicides!

Now I'm sure the eating and poisoning thing still applies but I have totally changed my attitude about seeing them dotted everywhere underneath my trees. Fantastic.

The beautiful toadstools under my Birches at home.

support nursery work - wk 7

This morning we were in the glasshouse making mud pies! Well not really - rather we were making seedling cubes from a mixture of 2 parts sieved compost, 1 part worm castings and 1/2 part dolomite lime. Whenever you are working with any type of rock dust it is a good idea to use a mask to protect your airways and add it to the top of the mix as it is the heaviest substance and will mix much easier than if it is at the bottom.

Squeezing out my first lot of cubes!

Josie was fantastic at demonstrating how to mix this to the right consistency with water until it is basically a lovely claggy stodgy mix that will stick together nicely in the cube makers. My cooking skills  come in handy here to make sure it is thoroughly mixed through by hand (gloved of course!) A fair amount of force is then needed to pack the cube maker firm, about three passes sufficed. After a gentle touch easing them out into the trays it produced the most fantastic little grow cubes chock full of nutrients for a happy seed to make home in. I was initially concerned about the amount of compression needed to form the blocks, versus the amount of aeration needed for good plant growth, but Josie informs us that the airflow around the freestanding block is more than sufficient.

The finished cubes with the seed hole indent.

After this I head up to the nursery to check out some previously sewn broccoli seedlings into the blocks and the difference in the growth of these, versus ones sewn at the same time in a standard punnet mix, is amazing!! Obviously worth the extra effort of making up the mix.

The healthy growth of these Broccoli seedlings is impressive.

Later we prick out some Leek seedlings from a standard punnet and transplant them into the cubes. Josie  makes the point that this was probably not the ideal situation as the action of transplanting can break apart the cubes. Perhaps far better to start the leek seeds in the blocks first. However we are all very careful and do a great job in the end. Only thing left to do was a thorough cleanup to get everything tip top in the glasshouse again ready for next time.

plant naming - wk 6

One of my favourite units popped up again today and it was out into the garden to view/discuss more specimens on our Plant Naming Cert 2 list, this time thinking about the full details that will be need to be compiled for the first 10 plants of our Herbarium assignment, due at the the end of this month! (get moving Emma!)

Acer palmatum detail sheet

The autumn trees are in colour, with some almost about to finish, so that's our main focus today as Marcus leads us around the gardens gazing upwards.

Admiring the beautiful Ulmus glabra 'Lutescens'

One of my favourites - the Taxodium distichum is really starting to come in to colour and much discussion is had on the subtle differences between this tree and the similar Metasequoia glyptostroboides.  

Taxodium distichum Swamp Cypress



Not as much colour on the Metasequoia glyptostroboides Dawn Redwood  - but still a beautiful tree.

The noticeable difference is the leaf type, mostly Paripinnate (even number of leaflets in a parallel pattern) with the Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Metasequoia glyptostroboides Compound Paripinnate Leaf

and mostly Imparipinnate (odd number of leaflets in a mostly alternating pattern, although some can be found in pairs!)

Taxodium distichum's Compound (mostly) Imparipinnate Leaf - although you can see some parallel pairs here.

Other trees of note are the Betulas and the collection of different Birches here at the gardens is quite diverse. The highlight for me (and a favourite of Marcus's) is the beautiful Betula jacquemontii with it's exquisite white papery decorative trunk.

As Marcus points out, this trees reasonably smallish growing habit and obvious beauty makes it ideal for the smaller home garden. I'm having visions of where I can plant it in my largish garden though, as all we stand around admiring it and stroking the trunk like a friendly cat!

 

The silky white papery bark feels so soft.

More plant naming coming up next week. Time to go and study! 

follow OHS procedures- wk 6

Today we are working on the Follow OHS Procedures unit with David Reid again and in particular how to do a risk analysis.
After determining the differences between a Hazard (things that can cause injury) and a Risk (the likelihood of the hazard causing the injury) and an overview of a Risk assessment, we wandered down the way to the Pottager Garden to do a real life analysis of the Pottager's new shed and it's rooftop herb garden.



The group assessing the Pottager Garden shed.



The most obvious risk to anyone working on the rooftop garden is that of falling, but after a lot of group discussion quite a few other concerns come to light.

Others hazards we identified included: working at heights and the management of scaffolding (securing it safely, being correctly constructed, adequate training/confidence to work at heights), injury from objects falling off the roof onto someone (tools etc..), lifting of heavy materials up and down off the roof (mulch, compost, harvested material etc), twisting and being in an awkward positions maintaining the plants on the roof, the effect of wind in the elevated position (loss of balance, inhalation of spreading mulch, fertiliser etc)

Side view of the Pottager shed.

I thought about also enclosing off the bottom of one side as it had a gap a small child/animal could fit under. Also to note is that the door can be secured shut so visitors don't enter and find themselves amongst tools or the current building scraps (it usually would but has swelled due to the recent rain since construction.)

We will be following up with our risk assessment of the Pottager shed next time and look at how to rate the hazards and risks we have identified.