Composting

NOW spring is here I'm ready to get my new compost heaps humming.

So far I have simply been layering green waste such as lawn clippings with food left-overs I can't feed the hens and torn newspapers, etc. Two bins are full and quietly simmering away in it's full position, while the third is about 1/6th complete.

The old garden was much bigger and its unrelenting clay soil meant seven bins were constantly on the go, but now I figure three will do for this smaller plot.

There's also a heap of sawdust left-over form the removal of two old, rotted gum trees which were removed before they fell on the hen-house. As eucalyptus oil is a growth inhibitor, I'm going to run the sawdust through the compost bins to leach it and convert it into something useful.

So this weekend I'll commence turning over the mixture and ensuring the balance is correct - hopefully encountering some worms along the way!

As usual, Gardening Australia have some useful tips - you can never know it all with composting!

Cock-a-hoop

CHOOKS are one of nature's vacuum cleaners for the garden.

After running the hand mower over the back lawn last weekend, the feather riot ran round eating many of the insects and grubs thrown up by the cut grass.

This weekend I'll be finally digging in the new vegetable bed which as an extra door from the chook run opening directly into one of the beds.

This means the gals will be able to spend a few days turning over the soil for me and adding their own extra fertiliser.

Not only do the girls wolf down creepy-crawlies, they also love eating all the fresh scraps which would otherwise go in the compost bins.

They beat the hell out of a Dyson with their gorgeous cackleberries too.

Lettuce get growing...

THIS burst of warm spring-line weather will see many of us getting down and dirty on the weekend.

Me, I'll be preparing my garden beds for spring planting and one of the first crops I'll be planting will be a variety of lettuce.

Peter Cundall has the good stuff on this delicious vegetable in the latest Weekly Times.

This year I'll be planting mine from seed and will be trying some heirloom varieties from Diggers.

Now all I have to do is make the beds chook-proof so when the feather riot are free-ranging the seeds and plants will be safe.

Dirty Deeds

SUNDAY afternoons at 1pm, the wireless is hanging from a nail under the deck and I'm listening to 3RRR's stalwart and always fascinating gardening show, Dirty Deeds.

Gidget and the father riot gals are passionate 3RRR subscribers

From the mundane plant to the exotic, with the advice always practical, this wonderful gardening show is delivered with a healthy dose of humour by the knowledgeable, interesting and passionate presenters.

The moment you hear the ACDC opening chords, you know you are in for 60 minutes of quality green thumb radio.

Even the father riot love the show, so much u=in fact they are passionate subscribers and have their own membership card and a 3RRR sticker on their chook shack.

So do yourself a favour, and got to 102.7 FM every Sunday 1pm AEST.

Your ears,chooks and garden will thank you.