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The Paddock

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Commenced:	01/08/2011
Submitted:	03/01/2012
Last updated:	04/12/2019
Location:	Burt Road, Woodanilling, Western Australia, AU
Climate zone:	Warm Temperate

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The Paddock

Woodanilling, AU

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Swale number 3

Project: The Paddock

Posted by Amanda McLennan over 12 years ago

Foundation Day long weekend allowed us to visit La Bella Vita for two nights and to dig another swale

With winter coming on our main focus has been to arrange for a water tank to be installed so we have measured the shed guttering and decided where the tank is to be located, now we just need to to order the tank and to arrange for sand to be delivered for the base.

During the Foundation Day long weekend we took the opportunity to dig what will probably be the last swale of the year. Last year we dug our first swale in around August and this did not give one of the trees enough time to establish before summer set in. So this year we are attempting to give the trees enough water over winter and spring so that they are better established before facing summer.

We decided to plant out the two healthiest looking fruit trees still in pots in our yard; a grapefruit and a mandarin tree. The grape fruit already had a large grapefruit growing on it so I'm not sure how that will handle the transition, I made sure that the fruit hung southward so it will be away from the prevailing winds, so will hopefully not break the branch in a strong wind.

I had bought some mulch from Bunnings to use instead of the dry grass we have on the block, which is quite hard to work with. What a mistake that was! The bought mulch is so fine it is pointless and would have blown off in the first stiff breeze, we decided to add the grass we had as mulch on top of the bought mulch anyway. I should have just gone with the permaculture principle of use what you have available - it would have saved me time, money and waste.

We had several millimetres of rain a few days ago and the grass was still wet and the soil damp so that was encouraging to see. We'll be back in a couple of weeks to check on all the trees. Both the lemon and grapefruit planted last time weren't looking great; they both had new growth but the new growth had shrivelled. We have been using the ecobags in between visits so they should have had enough water to sustain them, however the strong winds may be a problem.

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