At last, the rains and cooler weather have arrived and with that, suitable weather for more planting. Graham and I have a lot of time to make up – it’s been almost 5 months since we last planted in earnest. Over the past two weekends I’ve been planting salvias in one section but this past weekend we’ve gone back to planting more Australian natives. In this case grevilleas and callistemons. And their new home is along the back fence-line of our property. Intention is to get them to grow thickly together to around 2.5-3 metres in height and width. Ideal for the bird life. Makes for a good screen to block out the view beyond and also, hopefully, block the wallabies from entering our property over time, as they like to eat young plants when coming in search of water in the drier period. Not a good thing when you’re trying to plant up a new garden. We’ve gone for some prickly bushes as we’re told they don’t like those. And we’ve got quite a selection, pinks, reds, whites and yellows.
One of the best things we’ve ever invested in is the Power Planter. I’ve mentioned it before when planting over 300 bulbs (done in super quick time in soft soil) but just have to show you how easy it is to use. I was using it last weekend in soft soil to plant salvias, but the ground down by the fence line is harder, drier and filled with tree roots, and the occasional rock. As you’ll see in the images and videos below, while the ground was tougher, the Power Planter still made the job of digging holes for bushes so much easier. The tool makes the soil friable and so easy to work with. In the first video it was all done in less than an hour, and I just followed along behind my husband, placing a bush into each hole, covering it over and watering, leaving a small well around each for watering and then off to the next one. Along the way we did unearth some tree roots and my husband had to get the mattock out to dislodge a large root, which also turned out to be covering over a rock.
In the second video I planted 5 bushes in another part of the paddock in less than 20 mins. Again, hard soil and roots, but so much easier than trying to dig with a fork and a spade. Easier on the back and less time consuming.
The paddock project is on sloped ground, hence the need for leaving wells around each plant. We need to ensure that the water doesn’t race down the hill, instead of allowing each plant to be suitably watered. We found with earlier plants we put in the ground last year before summer, really suffered because any water they did get, ran off down the hill without soaking in around the roots. We’re learning as we go along.
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