Getting Down With The Citrus

 Like most trees on the property, the Orange & Lemon have been somewhat neglected & in need of TLC.

The Orange in particular has been dropping an excessive amount of fruit and showing signs of mineral deficiencies (yellowing of leaves). However, coming into warmer weather, the Orange is covered in blossom buds and should produce a good crop next season with some attention. It was pruned only recently to clear up some congestion of the inner branches (may have been a contributing factor to the large quantity of flowers).

Orange tree

Yellowing on leaves

The Lemon isn't faring so badly by comparison, he had a good pruning last year courtesy of the local possum population and this year was absolutely smothered in lemons, some the size of grapefruit & all fantastically juicy. I've no idea of the variety, but the fruit are almost seedless & quite thick-skinned, therefore good for storage. Unfortunately, he's also got some yellowing of leaves & is showing evidence of Gall Wasp infestation. Because most of the fruit have been left on the tree for a few months, bud production has been minimal.

Lemon tree - halfway harvested

Multiple yellowing patterns = multiple problems

Since both trees have been pruned, my next step was to harvest all of the existing fruit. This should focus energy on repair and the production of next season's crop.

Obtaining a  yield!

 Next, I pruned away all growth on the lemon that showed signs of swelling with Citrus Gall Wasp infestation. These cuttings were sealed in a plastic shopping bag and disposed of the the bin (regular waste, not green.)

Gall swelling at the base of stem

The differing patterns of yellowing on the leaves indicate multiple mineral or trace element deficiencies. In the near future I'll be giving both trees an application of Seasol and a boost of Nitrogen, but I wanted to begin the fertilizing process with a foliar application of Magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salts).

EPSOM SALTS:

Magnesium and sulfur are the two major components of Epsom Salt.

Magnesium is:

* A critical mineral for seed germination.
* Vital to the production of chlorophyll, which plants use to transform sunlight into food.
* An aid in the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen, two of the most important fertilizer components.

Sulfur, the other major component of Epsom Salt, is also an important plant nutrient. Sulfur may:

* Contribute to chlorophyll production.
* Make the primary nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) found in most fertilizers more effective.

Although magnesium and sulfur occur naturally in soil, they can be depleted by various conditions, including heavy agricultural use over time.

I measured out just under 100grams of Epsom Salts for dilution in 5L of water. This mixture I initially applied to the leaves of each tree using a pressure pump sprayer - unfortunately a few teething problems with the equipment meant that the novelty of feeling like a ghostbuster wore off sooner than expected & I ended up applying the last Litre or so with a handheld spray bottle. Given the fact that there were only 2 trees to be treated, a spray bottle was more than adequate. Probably didn't look as cool though.

Who you gonna call?

 

Permawhatnow? Principles & Zones explained

So I've come this far and realised I haven't actually given an overview of what permaculture is. Personally, I find it a little challenging to condense the many elements and priciples of permaculture into an easily digestible paragraph... fortunately I have wikipedia to do that for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture

Holmgren's 12 design principles

The core of permaculture has always been in supplying a design toolkit for human habitation. This toolkit helps the designer to model a final design based on an observation of how ecosystems interact.

1. Observe and interact: By taking time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
2. Catch and store energy: By developing systems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need.
3. Obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing.
4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
5. Use and value renewable resources and services: Make the best use of nature's abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
6. Produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.
7. Design from patterns to details: By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
8. Integrate rather than segregate: By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
9. Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and producing more sustainable outcomes.
10. Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
11. Use edges and value the marginal: The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.
12. Creatively use and respond to change: We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right time.

Zones

 Zones are a way of organizing design elements in a human environment on the basis of the frequency of human use and plant or animal needs. Frequently manipulated or harvested elements of the design are located close to the house in zones 1 and 2. Less frequently used or manipulated elements, and elements that benefit from isolation (such as wild species) are farther away. Zones is about positioning things appropriately. Zones are numbered from 0 to 5.

Zone 0

 

The house, or home center. Here permaculture principles would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water needs, harnessing natural resources such as sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to live and work.

 

Zone 1

 

The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm compost bin for kitchen waste, and so on. Raised beds are often used in zone 1 in urban areas.

 

Zone 2

 

This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control or pruning, including currant bushes and orchards. This would also be a good place for beehives, larger scale composting bins, and so on.

  

  Most of this property I've designated as Zone 2, and I'm aspiring to manage it as a forest garden.

Forest gardening is a food production and land management system based on woodland ecosystems, but substituting trees (such as fruit or nut trees), bushes, shrubs, herbs and vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans. Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow on multiple levels in the same area, as do the plants in a forest.

 

 

 

 

Zone 3

 

The area where maincrops are grown, both for domestic use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control maybe once a week.

 

Zone 4

 

A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and collecting wild food as well as timber production.

 

Zone 5

 

A wild area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural ecosystems and cycles

 

As with most suburban properties, I'll be dealing with Zones 0 - 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plotting Bedfellows

Being in the dormant moon phase (not to mention what is hopefully the last of some fairly soggy weather) I've been doing some planning on the Zone 2 vegie beds. Working towards a 6 bed rotational system with an emphasis on companion planting. There are actually 7 beds available at the moment, so if all goes according to plan, Spring/Summer plantings will be as follows -

• Bed 1 - is number 1 as he's the most northerly in aspect, but does have some shade issues. I'm predicting these will lessen as the season progresses - hopefully enough to support onion, tomato, capsicum, basil, parsley & chives.
• Bed 2 - very shaded, but should be suited to lettuce, dill, brahmi, beetroot (grown mainly as a leaf crop) & celery.
• Bed 3 - zucchini & nasturtium. This bed and bed 4 get the lion's share of sun at this time of the year, so should do well.
• Bed 4 - beans, eggplant, coriander & sage. I actually loathe coriander (it's affectionately known in my house as "vile devil weed") but apparently so do a host of bugs.
• Bed 5 - broad beans, cauliflower, broccoli & thyme. This is also my experimental hodgepodge bed.
• Bed 6 - Raised stone bed at waist height. Strawberries, spinach and rocket will live here.
• Bed 7 - is currently a compost pit & will eventually be repurposed as a pond, but this season it's pumpkins. A last minute addition, since I didn't think the seeds would ever germinate, but I've now got 2 seedlings in need of accommodation so lucky number 7 it is.

These beds are situated in what will eventually become the Zone 2 orchard/food forest, so I've been looking into the companion effects on fruiting trees as well. Currently we have an Orange and Lemon which I'll underplant with comfrey and lavender respectively. I recently planted an Adriatic Fig, but being shallow-rooted and not yet established I'll be keeping that clear for now. Same with the Plums but more for access as they're overgrown and in need of renovation. If we can save them I'll be looking to underplant them with yarrow, southernwood, tansy & chives.

Out, damned slug! Agrohomeopathy Trials

As part of the Mountain Districts Permaculture Group (http://www.mdpg.org.au/About_MDPG.php), I'll be trialling some homeopathic snail & slug repelling preparations; provided by my good friend & fellow permie, Sinead Fine of the Fine Health Clinic (her website - http://removingthemasks.com/about)

The Zone 1 seedling greenhouse has suffered some losses of late due to slugs and snails - bean and zuch seedlings are especially munchworthy apparently.

Slug and Snail scribble on the inside of the greenhouse

 Having hand-picked half a dozen slugs off beans by torchlight last night, I treated the whole lot this afternoon with a preparation of Helix tosta 30c. 5 pillules succussed in 1 litre of water, then added to 9 litres and hand-stirred in a vortex. The original suggested dose was 10 pillules in 20 litres of solution, but I didn't have that much to treat & wasn't sure of how long the mixture would be viable.

Helix tosta solution

 I decanted the solution into 2 spray bottles and applied to the greenhouse with the help of my Junior Research Assistant. Thanks to his co-operation, not only my seedlings, but also the garden furniture, my left gumboot and at least one of our two cats should be spared from marauding molluscs.

Junior Research Assistant at large

 All up, probably around 2 litres (if that) was applied to the seedlings and greenhouse framework. The remaining mixture I used to water 2 of the 7 x Zone 2 vegetable beds (bed 5: currently a hodgepodge of brassicas & legumes; and bed 6: strawberries interplanted with spinach, rocket & forget-me-not as bee forage). The other 5 beds are still waiting for me to be bothered to dig in the green manure, so they don't really have a lot to attract snails & slugs at the moment, but it will be interesting to see if the slimy population explodes there.

I made another torchlight visit to the greenhouse tonight and couldn't find any unwelcome guests :)