Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

If you are on a very limited budget, then you can simply buy a pre-wired kit which plugs into an outside socket. These are a dead simple, but not particularly effective, alternative to fixed wiring. They will give you temporary power over a short distance.

Like this: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p27175

Here’s a more permanent kit you wire yourself using armoured cable: http://www.water-garden.co.uk/Power_Management_Blagdon_SWA.php

Here’s a B&Q version: http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9290684&fh_view_size=10&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=outdoor+power&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=search&ts=1279056664079&isSearch=true

The professional way to do it (and it depends on the location etc) is to run Steel Armoured Cable from the supply (fusebox) to the shed. This can be clipped to a fence line (using cable cleats) or buried underground with warning tape buried above it.

In the shed, the best thing would be to fit a Garage Consumer Unit. This is a mini fusebox with a breaker for sockets and a breaker for lights. You will then need whatever you want to connect to it (cable, sockets, lightswitch, light fitting).

At the supply end, you can fit a switchfuse unit (if you anticipate heavy use or need to use high current equipment), a 13A switched fused connection unit (for small loads), or wire directly into the fusebox using an available breaker.

The armoured cable uses special glands to connect at each end. At least one end of the armour must be earthed. The switchfuse can be wired directly into the supply using a service connector, or into an available breaker.

There are calculations to be made, such as design current, voltage drop and supply type, which determines the wiring system and cable sizes you will have to use.

As this work requires LABC notification (in England & Wales) as well as an installation certificate, it will be cheaper and safer to employ an electrician to do the design work, final connections and testing and notification for you. Many electricians will be happy for you to run your own cable and even do most of the installation work, as long as the methods can be verified and they are done correctly. But definitely employ an electrician BEFORE starting work – even if it is to just have a look at the site and advise on what to do next.

Generally, you are better off just biting the bullet and have an electrician do the whole job, or go for one of the pre-wired DIY kits above.

Good luck.

GardenersCardiff answers:

PERMACULTURE ANSWERS ON ANIMALS WITH IN AND AROUND THE GARDEN

Try to think of the animals as components in controlled eco systems ,instead of being the king (like a pig in a pen)with you working as a slave to clean its place and supply food all the time.

PIGS
We have used pigs as labor,corralled in a place too difficult to clean .such as grass over rocky ground ,or forest or places full of bugs snakes etc.
They will clean it better than any machine or man going half a meter into the ground eating up the roots ,

When they are done ,move them to another place ,and after you have taken out the rocks the site is ready to plant.

You may have to moisten the ground and supply water and a bit of food like corn.

DUCKS & CHICKENS and other FOWLS
Normal chickens and normal ducks will destroy your garden
the chickens scratch and all the upcoming little plant literally
hit the dust

Duck work like miniature plows doing maximum damage ,especially if the ground is moist ,they work with their beaks like hoes

However Ducks contained in a pond provide a lot of fish food

Normal Chickens that are contained can be used to clear land in a chicken tractor (a movable corral )

There are many animals that can be used walking about free amongst you garden with out damage and a lot of benefit such as pest control and fertilization

The best are ,Chooks (chickens with feathers on their feet,Partridge ,Guiny fowl ,My Favorite Silkeys and Bantam chickens ,these are small chickens that run about and chase anything that moves ,they go all over the garden fertilize and catch 70 % of all garden pests that walk, jump or land .

There is also a miniature white duck which does not do a lot of damage and they are the top expert in getting rid of snails their favorite food .

Breed these little ducks and chickens and sell them to other gardeners everybody that has them is delighted with the results

The danger to them is cats and other predators and they need a dormitory to sleep in a closed chicken house with staggered pols to roost on (staggered like a staircase so thy don`t poop on each others head )
,everyday they will return in the late afternoon ,
some body must close the door after them ,

And in the morning they will rouse you to open the door so that they can go to work .

SOME MORE ANIMAL USES
Just a few more examples of organic pest control and there are thousands

In Mexico we got a sort of small lizard that lives on the wall ,and sit near the lamps ,and eat mosquito’s all night,

In the mango orchards we release laboratory bred wasps to attack and kill the caterpillars that go for the mango’s

Birds we also don’t kill
when the passion fruit is ripe ,a little black Caterpillar comes and wants to destroy them,luckily a little finch type bird turns up and eats the black caterpillars.

Place poles with bird feeders on some compost
and visiting birds will drop some interesting seeds ,that can germinate below,

Have bird houses in the trees to encourage caterpillar feeders to move in.

In Mexico we have let mazacoas,which are, python type snakes in to the garden to take care of the rats.

In Africa we released mole snakes into the garden and field to combat the plagues of Norwegian rats that were destroying the fields

Ant eaters take care of leaf cutting ants that can destroy a large tree in a week.

Armadillos eat Beatles and such,but they will eat all the worms in your worm culture and dig up the garden like pigs, so you have to fence them out

Potbelly pigs and deer and normal pigs are good in an orchard because they eat fallen rotting fruit which breeds a lot of small flies.You have to corral these in

In our water reservoirs we put fish to eat the mosquito larva’s.

I have bred tree frogs from eggs and released them in the garden to eat mosquito’s and horse flies.

Apart from the fact that many animals serve as food for people Animals In Nature have jobs ,each full fills a function in their respective eco -systems

some examples that can be around a garden are
squirrels who plant trees ,so do many birds

bees and other insects pollinate so have some bee hives

fish keep the waters clean from contamination

Any other animals you may have place them in the most useful place,so that an energy flow can be created

For example the chicken house above the vegetable patch and below the house in elevation so that you can lead the rain water from the roof of the house with a channel (from the house roof gutter) ,through the chicken house ,washing it clean and leading the fertilized water ,on into the vegetable patch ,every time it rains.

You can also have pigpens with a sloping floor or chicken houses with the roosting poles .on the edge of a fish pond to supplement the fish food.
Have gutters sloping floors in the stables to collect urine and make for easy cleaning of the manure ,to be used as fertilizer.

Make a worm culture to produce the best compost in the world with the house hold organic wastes.

NOTE

So the main job is housing and management

Peacocks are very destructive and the noise will drive you crazy after a while

GardenersCardiff answers:

Gardening is hard work, but it is satisfying. You need to chose a sunny part of your yard, some shade during the day is fine. You need to figure out what size you want. Then you need to till the spot up that you want to garden, you will need to go over this spot a few times to make sure the garden isn’t lumpy and no weeds. And once this is done you need to stake off each row. You can go to the toy department and get kite string. This works great for staking off the rows and you will need a measuing tape , to measure from row to row and you will need to do this to make sure you can get in between the rows will a tiller to till up the weeds when your garden planted . Then you need to go to the flowers nursey’s to buy the plants you want to grow..or the seeds..fallow the directions on the seeds packets closely. Then you will need to decide on where you want to plant your veggies (which rows). I always do tallest to smallest. Dont start out with a large garden, it can be over whelming at times..Once everything is planted, if you grow tomatoes or a certain kind of bean they need to be staked so they dont lay on the grownd and rot, you will need to water the garden everyday or every other day, dont let it go much more then that. You can also plant some flowers in your veggie garden. But once the weeds start to grow you will need to get a garden ho and chop up all the weeds probably at least twice a week. You can also lay wood mulch down under all the veggies to keep the weeds out, the water can get in but weeds wont grow. Then just sit back and watch it grow..i use mircale grow spikes and then i use mircale grow liquid feeder also, i also have to use 7 dust to keep the bugs off of the veggies cause they will eat them and destroy them.

Supply list..
Shovel,,, mircale grow
hoe… 7 dust for bugs
rake …. Water hose
tiller … Mulch..but not nesessary
kite string … Measuring tape
plants … A little hand shovel to help plant the veggies