Starting a garden

[Queenie O.]

4 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Hello Queenie.

We have heard from neighbours that rats are common in this area - and I am sure we had one in the house for a few days! Yuck!!

Are you having any issues with rats, mice, cockroaches, cats or dogs feeding on your compost pile?

It's been a long time since I ever had a compost pile. Can I also dump things like pulled-up weeds into it?

Hi Tommy,

Surprisingly, we haven't seen any pests attracted to the compost. From what we've seen, mostly different varieties of birds love the leftover papayas. Occasionally a monitor lizard visits that lives in a small cave in our yard.:)  Out here a rat might be seen in the yard at night. We've had sometimes a rat that runs around up in the eaves of the roof. We found that keeping the nearby tree branches trimmed away from the roof helps a lot.  They'll always be local wildlife I guess-- some welcome, some not.

[Queenie O.]

On 1/14/2021 at 10:17 AM, Snowy79 said:

If I had a garden anti mosquito plants would be my priority.  Things like citronella grass. rosemary, mint, basil etc.

In the long term Snowy,  We have some neem trees planted here in our yard that you might like.  Also referred to here as mosquito tree, the Indian neem tree has many uses. We think that it does a good job of helping to repel mosquitoes. Low maintenance trees that give good shade, and adapt well to the shoreline.

[graham59]

5 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

I need to buy some simple boots to walk around, otherwise I pick up an inch or more of sticky mud on my flip-flops always.

Always wear my specially imported, tall green size 12  rubber 'wellies' .  

[Tommy T.]

19 minutes ago, graham59 said:

Always wear my specially imported, tall green size 12  rubber 'wellies' .  

My feet aren't so big as that, Graham...maybe closer to 10 so I am not swimming inside them!!!

[Tommy T.]

57 minutes ago, Queenie O. said:

In the long term Snowy,  We have some neem trees planted here in our yard that you might like.  Also referred to here as mosquito tree, the Indian neem tree has many uses. We think that it does a good job of helping to repel mosquitoes. Low maintenance trees that give good shade, and adapt well to the shoreline.

I will try to find these neem trees also. We don't have a huge mosquito problem, but they do come out for snacks after about 4 pm daily - maybe only a dozen or so. But you well know that  a dozen mozzies can set your legs and/or arms on fire!!!

Thanks, Queenie for another good tip!!!

 

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by Tommy T.

[Jake]

Oh my god, Queenie is back!  How are you doing Gurl?  We really miss you!  Respectfully Jake 

[Jake]

Is this appropriate to support fruits that are getting too heavy? 

[Mike J]

20 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

It's been a long time since I ever had a compost pile. Can I also dump things like pulled-up weeds into it?

Sometimes.  You do not want to put weeds in a compost pile if they have gone to seed.  The seeds will often survive the heat of the pile and then you end up spreading them to other areas.  

[Tommy T.]

20 hours ago, Queenie O. said:

In the long term Snowy,  We have some neem trees planted here in our yard that you might like.  Also referred to here as mosquito tree, the Indian neem tree has many uses. We think that it does a good job of helping to repel mosquitoes. Low maintenance trees that give good shade, and adapt well to the shoreline.

I just ordered some neem tree starts from Lazada. We will plant just one since they, apparently can grow quite large. I also ordered a dwarf coconut tree start. We love fresh coconuts, but don't have the space to plant full size ones here. How is the milk and meat from yours? Is it as good as that from a regular, full-sized tree?

I had a friend in Fiji who planted an entire orchard with some sort of hybrid dwarf coconut trees for copra production. I don't remember the reasons why, but he was not happy with them...

Oh... and we will give a compost pile a try also. Worst case, if pests arrive, then we can just stop it.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Tommy T.

[graham59]

Weeds I just let dry in the sun, then burn. 

Keep plucking them out of grassy areas, cut the grass regularly, and in time, you will have a lawn...which will then keep the weeds down all by itself.