Hay Fork, Pitch Fork .....know the difference?

 
 Hay fork, pitch fork, do you know the difference? I didn't. This could be a good question for trivial pursuit, but I found that around the garden one was far better than the other.

A hay fork has four prongs and a pitch fork three. Traditionally they both had different uses hence their names apart from just a fork. What I tell you could win you a prize at an agricultural show.

Pasture

We were a bit different from most farmers in that we were not growing grass for meat or milk production primarily because we needed to stand quite a few horses because that is Sally's business, buying, schooling, selling and teaching people the finer points of dressage.

Cuttings save you heaps of $'s !

One good way to save money, and if you if you like to make money, is by using existing plants in the garden by layering or taking cuttings. We have done this with a variety of plants and it is especially worthwhile for expensive plants like Rhododendrons. Sally wanted box (Buxus Sempervirens) hedging as a border around various plots in the garden but to buy the smallest plants from the nursery was going to cost too much so she set about taking cuttings with great success as you can see from the photograph in the foreground and background. All you need is a little patience and nature will do the rest.

Watering or Irrigatng its the same thing!

Believe it or not when watering through a hose or a pipe there is some quite complex physics going on inside the hose or pipe. If you know about this you can very simply increase the efficiency of your watering operation. The faster the water moves through a pipe, the greater the friction between the pipe and the water. This produces a layer of drag,  which has the effect of reducing the inside diameter of the pipe and this in turn restricts the amount of water that can flow down the pipe. OK the physics lesson has finished.

Planting shrubs to give them a good start

Well I have told you of my ideas on shelter, what trees I planted, how I planted the trees and how I fenced out the critters. So lets go from the extensive to the intensive and talk about my ideas for plantng shrubs.

OK this naturally refers to the garden area which will be surrounding the house so eventually it will be the most protected area of your place but because we live in low rainfall area, even though the garden will be irrigated (that is another story) we still need to ensure we give the plant a good start.

Keeping the bigger critters out!

Once you have taken all the effort to plant, and then manage or nurture the new trees they need to be protected from our larger four footed friends such as horses, cattle, llamas and sheep etc. Fencing is the next important thing to do - although I may have got this out of order a bit because I actually had the fences up before I planted.

Tree care after planting (TLC)

You have so far invested time and money to get the trees in the ground so itis logical to look after them as best you can.

Weed growth is bad news for the young tree as the weeds compete for water and their fine roots can, in light rain fall, stop any moisture getting to the tree roots. There are two ways to deal with this - you can very carefully spray or you can cultivate the 1 meter diameter circle. Well it is not really cultivation I suppose but it involves using a hoe.

Giving the trees a good start

Having talked about the nature of the shelter - species, spacings and aspect I have a few tips on planting etc., that may be of help. I guess the proof is in the pudding in that we can now sit on our veranda in a strong Northwesterly and enjoy a quiet drink without getting blown away.

Where we live, and the need for good wind shelter belts!

Our bit of dirt is in an area called West Melton in the Cantebury plains of the South Island of New Zealand. The soil is fertile but shallow laid atop alluvial flood plain ie. stones so is free draining. In summer the Northwest wind is a problem - strong and gusty and warm. It is a product of the Fohn effect where the wind passes over a mountain range dumping rain on one side and on the other blowing onto the plains as a warm (sometimes hot) dry wind.