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Things to do in April – May

There’s always our humble everyday jobs, but aside from that, here’s a bunch of stuff we can you can get busy with, if you need ideas:

April Seedlings

These are the seedlings to lookout for and plant in April: Amaranth, dwarf beans, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, chives, collards, coriander, dill, endive, Florence fennel, horseradish, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, onion, oregano, pak choy, parsley, peas, rutabaga, snow peas, spring onions, strawberries, and sunflower.

April Seeds

beetroot, broad beans, burdock, carrot, chives, coriander, daikon, dill, endive, Florence fennel, kale, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, pak choy, parsley, peas, radish, rocket, shallots, silverbeet, snow peas, spinach, spring onions, and turnip.

May Seedlings

Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, garlic, oregano, potato, rutabaga, spring onions, strawberries, beetroot, broad beans, chives, collards, coriander, dill, endive, Florence fennel, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, onion, pak choy, parsley, peas, silverbeet, snow peas, and spinach.

May Seeds

Burdock, carrot, radish, rocket, shallots, turnip, beetroot, broad beans, chives, collards, coriander, dill, endive, Florence fennel, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, onion, pak choy, parsley, peas, silverbeet, snow peas, and spinach.

Dragon fruit trellis

We have a mature dragon fruit plant (donated by Joe Lin) which we need to make a trellis for. This can be done with hardwood, with a cemented footing. And should look something like this:

Tools:

  1. Measuring tape
  2. Pencil or marker
  3. Carpenter’s square
  4. Circular saw or handsaw
  5. Power drill with drill bits
  6. Wood chisel (optional)
  7. Hammer or mallet
  8. Level
  9. Wood clamps (optional)
  10. Work gloves
  11. Safety goggles
  12. Ladder (if needed)

Hardware:

  1. Hardwood lumber (e.g., cedar, redwood, or pressure-treated pine) in appropriate lengths and dimensions for posts, crossbeams, and slats
  2. Galvanized or stainless steel screws or nails (to prevent rust and corrosion)
  3. Wood glue (optional, for added strength)
  4. Metal brackets or corner braces (optional, for additional support)
  5. Concrete mix (for setting posts in the ground, if needed)
  6. Plastic or rubber-coated wire mesh or trellis netting (to support the dragonfruit plants as they grow)

Extend the sheet mulching

To further the progress on our food forest, we need to continue the sheet mulching and couch grass removal. This means checking the annual cropping area for any re-growth and pushing the boundaries of the sheet mulch, starting at the point where there is no grass (this means there is no grass inside the areas that are already mulched.

More on sheet mulching.

Make a shade structure

Like this, also with steel concreted footings.

This is to go in the south of the chicken area for seedling tables. Most of the timber is in the chicken area. Shade sail to go on top.

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