Riding Lady Carrington Drive

This is an easy ride, about 21km return, through the Royal National Park. I felt a bit guilty by driving there. I usually catch the train and run in from Loftus train station but cannot do that anymore as my ankle cannot take it.

The day was perfect, there was a slight winter chill but the sun was out.

Newtown to Olympic Park

What a fabulous ride, 34 km from Newtown along the cycleway. A perfect day.

I coudn't make up my mind what I wanted to do last Sunday, I miss the Royal National Park and Lady Carrington Drive. I used to run along this track when I was training for the Gold Coast marathon about six years ago. So hopefully next Sunday.

This weekend I hope to get to Clovelly Saturday morning, its great place to swim especially in the middle to winter, lots of fish with a water temperature of around 19C.

Things to do over the next three weeks:

• Kayaking at Spit Bridge
  
• Bush walking in the Blue Mountains
• Trail riding in the Blue Montains/Royal National Park
  

Lawns: environmental necessity

I am an environmentalist but love my garden and our natural bushland however what I do for my garden does have an effect on the environment. I am reacting to another blog and some misguided opinions on the value of lawns and whether there is a negative impact on the environment. A grassed area can play an important role in reducing/slowing run off, absorbing pet wee and poo and reducing general pollution.

Faster moving water flowing over paved and hard surfaces picks up larger amounts of silt, dissolved nutrients, pesticides and other pollutants including pet wastes which enter storm water drains and waterways. The movement of water is also faster and more destructive. A small patch of grass will also cool a hot area especially a small courtyard.

In terms of maintenance, cracks between pavers tend to open up over time, pots spill their potting mix and encourage weeds. One of my clients has an enormous paved area which extends from the driveway to the entire backyard. Every three weeks I use my petrol two stroke brush cutter to knock down the weeds then follow up with a herbicide (another source of run-off).  Her lawn is a lot easier to look after.

Old mowers are terrible polluters but I use a push mower when possible (no emissions) and there are many new rechargeable electric mowers on the market. Some homeowners have been using these mowers for the last five years! Victa mowers produced an electric mower about 10 years ago but stopped production for some reason. Now they produce a machine for around $500-600 which is well out of range of the average lawn mower budget of $400.  If I had a small patch of lawn, I’d use a little rotary push mower with the brush cutter if needed.

Couch lawns are terrible, needing constant care and are still brown in December in  Sydney. Buffalo lawns grow faster but can be kept longer, are green all year round and need nothing special to keep them green.

Lawns and pastures could have a big impact on carbon reduction in the future. There is some research that indicates that lawns and grasses can take on more carbon dioxide then trees. That might have some impact on land management programs and global warming in the future as the research becomes more established.

Basically to avoid the known issues associated with lawns which have lead to the bad name:

• Avoid fertilisers with high phosphorus content and super phosphate 
• Clean up spilled potting mix/soil
• Install silt traps between your property and storm water drains
• Keep lawn aerated, increase water absorption rate.
• Don't use fertilisers on lawns, use a mulcher mower instead which drops clippings back onto the lawn
• Avoid fertilising or using chemicals if rain is expected
• Use natural remedies to control pests and diseases, biologicals, Natrasoap. If you need a help, go to a nursery, find an expert who can recommend safe products. Only use chemicals as a last resort. Dipel (biological control) is safer than Confidor (chemical control) but if you ask at Bunnings or Mitre 10 for something to control caterpillars they are most likely to recommend Confidor.
• Grasses have a dormancy period, either late summer (cool season grasses) or winter (warm season grasses) and are not meant to look good all year
• Know which grass you are growing, its cut height changes with the seasons
• Don't dump grass clippings/garden prunings in bushland, its too valuable in your own garden. Start a compost bin
• Be wary of 'green washing' do your own research, top versus side loading washing machines is a great example along with 'green' laundry detergents.
• Plan your house/garden from the beginning to have a minimal impact on the environment.

My shed

I've now finished my shed, just a small zincalum 'lean-to' from Bunnings which will hold my gardening tools. I did think it would look awful in my small yard but it fills a void and all my tools are out of sight. It sits on a timber base, not ideal, but I couldn't put down a concrete base as we rent.

I took some photos when I was building the base but there was a bit too much swearing going on in the in between stages and I was occupied with getting it all straight and stable. But here is a picture!

Building the base:Finally complete:

My planting calender

As I don't have a lot of space this is all I can realistically grow this year. I'll keep planting salad greens till the end of the year and try a few pots of potatoes and tomatoes when the weather starts to warm up in September.

All year

• lettuce
• rocket
• salad greens
  

September

• Chilli
  
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes

October

• Basil
  
• Parsley
• Other herbs
  

No more competition

I love cycling, running and swimming and to get better one of the best motivators is to race. So every ride, run and swim I did became a training session with a race objective. Getting out of bed on Sundays at 4 am to go to a beach, park or track for a 7.30 am race start, in the dark was not that much fun.

I need challenges but the need to train was taking the fun out of riding and ocean swimming. The recent shark scares around Sydney set off a lot of paranoia with poor sharks being caught and killed. That was enough for me to quit, not my fear of sharks but rather the reaction from the media and pressure the NSW Government into doing something stupid.

Hopefully soon I will do a nice long, slow solo ride, South Coast or Southern Highlands.

My lillypilly

What a sad case, I found this Lillypilly (Syzygium) dumped in a lane way and left for dead. What a horrible waste!

After two years it now looks great. Originally it would have cost someone a fortune it had simply run out of root space and seemed to be suffering from fertilizer burn.

It's now growing in the ground and doing well after two years, still a long way from full recovery but in a few years will look wonderful. Someday when we leave our rented house someone else will hopefully appreciate it.

Chickens

There is nothing better than watching Mum's chickens run around her backyard, scratching the soil for grubs and having dust baths. Even these very small chickens produce enough eggs for a small family if properly cared for. They are so cute to watch and kids love them.

It is possible to have chickens in Sydney however roosters are banned although Mum has Henry (below). The only other requirement relates to keeping the chicken house clean and not positioning it under the neighbours kitchen/dining room window.

My Garden: Summer 2009 Backyard

Poor Buddha is even beginning to sag. I've made a few changes in the garden over the last week, my lillypilly is now in the ground surrounded with Japanese buxus.

I don't have digging space so I'm trying to fill the space along the fence with pots. Will try some Bird of Paradise, gardenias and a climber of some kind to cover the fence.

This mini rose is a gift from a friend, such a great feeling to see it doing well despite the heat.



Herbs such as sage and parsely are doing well. They love hot and dry.

My water source in the background (left), I just need to add a tap and put a mozzie proof cover on top. I'm not rushing we've not had any rain to save over the last two weeks and none predicted for the remainder of February.

Cute little Euphorbia, Brett's choice.

Geraniums/Pelargoniums

I have about four plants in a window box at the moment and although pretty they've been attacked by caterpillars, bud worms and now they have rust which I discovered yesterday. So I started treatment for the rust by removing and bagging badly affected leaves and sprayed with my baking soda solution to prevent any further outbreaks. Caterpillars are now under control but as you can see bud worm is still active.

Rust, a fungal disease, is difficult to control because of the millions of spores produced are carried by wind onto other parts of the plant. These copper/red coloured spores are found on the underside of the leaves. Unfortunately Zonal Geraniums/Pelargoniums are very susceptible so I might replace them with either regal or ivy leaf types in the next few weeks, I will at least wait to see if my attempt to control this outbreak is successful.

Roses

I actually thought they were doing OK but after a move (they are in pots) to increase sunlight and air circulation there has not been a lot of improvement. I have two hybrid Ts, Peace and Double Delight and a floribunda, Bonica.

This year they've had rose canker, mildew, caterpillars, bud worm and mealybug. The roses are in a good potting mix, well drained but probably do not have the level of organic material they prefer.

What can I do now

• Rose canker is easily prevented by ensuring secateurs are sharp and cleaned with methylated spirits.
• Control mildew/mould outbreaks with a baking soda solution every 7 days
• Control aphids with Natrasoap, they will definitely appear when roses have young shoots
• Remove damaged stems and spent flowers as they appear
• Add some blood and bone

Try again next year.