Friday 30 September 2011

Preparing the Orchard for Summer

Well Chooks are digging, scratching destructive machines!!!!
I had given up mulching the orchard as the chooks simply scratched and destroyed my good work every time. Also when I fertilised with blood and bone or dynamic lifter the chooks would eat it and scratch holes risking exposing the trees roots. Something I can't risk during summer. SOOOOOOOOO I needed to fence off the 3 rows of trees so I can mulch the trees to help reduce water usage during summer.  Now instead of fencing off the whole orchard area i decided to fence off each row to contain the mulch and keep the chooks out once and for all. This means I can still walk up and down each row easily, fertilise, water, and mulch the trees easily with out the chooks undoing my good work.

The three rows now fenced off, mulched & fertilised.


Look the orchard is growing, look at those
nice green shoots.

See the photo's it's pretty self explanatory.  The chicken wire is 62cm high (this is keeping the chooks out well). Wooden posts hit into the ground support the wire, I used tie wire to fix the wire to the posts. Its a great result and has fixed all my chicken/orchard frustrations.

The reason for all this work is to ensure I get as much growth this growing season. Mulch, good fertiliser, and good irrigation will ensure the best growth possible. And this will mean I get fruit from the trees as soon as possible.