This is the manderine tree on the way up to the shed. It received a major prune as it was growing very tall and now we hope it will maintain a good height for harvesting.
Finally got around to planting our finger lime. I chose the spot up from where our first rock steps were made by the whole family. It appears to be a good location as there will be ample sunlight in this position and good drainage. My research suggest the finger lime is native to southern queensland and northern NSW rainforest, A hardy plant that will grow in shade or full sun.
My lovely wife and I planted our first seedlings in our tilled patch. As the garden experiences partial sun, full sun and shade areas, we decided to experiment with our seedlings, (avoiding rows) and plant them randomly in different areas to study which will thrive better. We also planted Italian flat leaf parsley and comfrey amongst our seedlings of cucumber and zucchinis to study the effects between these companion planting. We attended a weekend festival in Mullumbimby last week and listened to Jerry Cole discuss the benefits of flat leaf parsley in his vegie garden as it is the highest attractor of positive insect life to his patch when in flower.
The main objective of our food forest vegie garden is to provide an array of constant fresh food for the family and to create minimum effort from ourselves, relying mainly on nature to raise and sustain our garden.
This is the lovely shaded location under our longan tree where we chose to try some nasturtiums and maku lotus. We chose this location for several reasons: first being to create a living mulch, second being for ease of mowing around base of tree. Also we chose maku lotus as it is a nitrogen fixer and animal fodder which we hope to benefit from.
Late this afternoon we walked to the back (almost dry) lake in the creek and discovered the most amazing soil which we are keen to shovel and use in our garden asap.
