tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.comments2023-03-15T18:55:11.718+11:00AbundenseThe Joneseshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-10847212537293233882014-08-06T13:20:37.579+10:002014-08-06T13:20:37.579+10:00A quick update, we've moved a few times inters...A quick update, we've moved a few times interstate so haven't been able to take the worms with us. They're now happily with some friends.<br /><br />A few things we did learn:<br /><br />1. The worm buckets seem to fill up pretty quickly, so to use this system you probably need a lot of them scattered around the yard / in different veggie beds, or to have bigger ones.<br />2. They do need harvesting and doing so in the ground is a less elegant way of doing so than the commercial systems on the market.<br /><br />All up, we're weighing up whether to put them into the new place or not.<br /><br />Conversely, we got excited briefly about building worm farms out of broccoli boxes. We did this in our first 12 months in Adelaide and were VERY happy with the results. The worm farm got to a level of maturity in 6 months that our previous one in Sydney took 5 years to get to, so that was great. The problem for us is that in extreme heat the boxes while the boxes were better insulated than the commercial ones made out of plastic, the heat did kill them all, which was tragic. <br /><br />We're still casting around for solutions (no pun intended).<br /><br />So our latest tips:<br /><br />1. In moderate climates (Sydney), conventional systems are probably the go, or build your own out of broccoli boxes for no cost. Put them on the south (shady) side of your house and/or under a tree.<br />2. In climates with more than a 2-3 days of high heat, indoors or in the ground is still the go. This can pose a problem for small spaces or when you don't want them inside. Looking for solutions. Will post when we find one.The Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-46402137663336238732013-08-21T12:05:31.157+10:002013-08-21T12:05:31.157+10:00I built one of these a while back and then gave up...I built one of these a while back and then gave up because I didn't add worms - I thought the earthworms would do the job. Now I have just got a tumbling composter which requires you don't add to it along the way so I thought I would start my system up again to use up the kitchen scraps until I need to fill the tumbling composter again. Glad to find your blog, it looks good.africanaussiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16660727599623626163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-70458516147587230792013-02-15T16:43:20.996+11:002013-02-15T16:43:20.996+11:00Really like you worm tower hack! How is it going ...Really like you worm tower hack! How is it going two years on? Is it still successful? Have you got any in hindsight tips? I am eyeing a leaky bucket and some tree size black plastic pots thinking they could be worm farms.ipoppotamohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05813467641972932131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-28238266364270201522012-02-27T04:13:51.686+11:002012-02-27T04:13:51.686+11:00I have a question for you as I live in northern U....I have a question for you as I live in northern U.S. where we have long cold winters. Do find with any cold weather loss of worms? Maybe I could bring them inside for the winter here? Or use local worms that hibernate?? Thanks for any information and what a great way to add nutrients to the garden. <br /><br />LydiaLydiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046345746694142554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-91292879736297157862011-09-02T09:12:12.433+10:002011-09-02T09:12:12.433+10:00We can't begin to explain how helpful writing ...We can't begin to explain how helpful writing this article proved to be for us. <br /><br />You see it got us thinking. <br /><br />We'd spent a lot of time and money on things which were supposed to save us time and money, but our electricity bills weren't going down. <br /><br />On further investigation - our hot water system hadn't been installed properly, and the laws of physics were working against us. In short, our system was themo-siphoning which basically meant that all the free heat gained during the day was being lost at night. Even worse, we think it had been set up so that off peak power was being used to effectively heat the sky!<br /><br />The moral of the story - check your power bills regularly, and if they don't make sense, investigate and do so early. Don't assume that just because your hot water gauges say all the right things that you're saving electricity. The electricity meter is the one to watch.<br /><br />The good news is its now all fixed. Our electricity consumption and C02 profile have dropped significantly since writing this article, which is great.<br /><br />The JonesesThe Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-54036973813581993832011-02-06T22:41:37.532+11:002011-02-06T22:41:37.532+11:00Just as well we built the new worm tower, our prem...Just as well we built the new worm tower, our premonition proved right. We checked yesterday morning during the heatwave and about 50 worms had tried to escape the old worm farm and had ended up in the bucket underneath. We thought the worst and that we'd baked our little guys but fortunately we got there just in time. We were able to move the escapees to the new system and cool the existing system down. All is happy again, and hopefully without any loss of our wriggly friends, but my niggling doubts about the old system proved right. <br /><br />So a couple of truisms there to build more resilience:<br /><br />1. Integrate rather than segregate your systems<br />2. Back up your key systemsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-38897400614248003012011-02-02T19:55:57.790+11:002011-02-02T19:55:57.790+11:00this is awesome - multi-function with the birdbath...this is awesome - multi-function with the birdbath top! Great addition. Go wormies, go!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02309563795755787172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-53821037646871441162011-02-02T13:29:47.706+11:002011-02-02T13:29:47.706+11:00Oh, in fairness to the old worm farm, when looking...Oh, in fairness to the old worm farm, when looking for some worms to put in the new system we found some avocado seeds and mango seeds which had germinated and starting to put on some healthy growth. We haven't had much luck germinating these before, so maybe this is the go. The seeds were probably in there for 3-4 months.The Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-46903122985220293302011-01-24T21:07:05.100+11:002011-01-24T21:07:05.100+11:00Hi Joneses
Nice one. Just picking up from this an...Hi Joneses<br /><br />Nice one. Just picking up from this and an earlier post re soil building, what you say is similar to my own experience, although I am a bit more tropical than you. We went from clay and rock and iron bars to dig to sinking spades in 4 years - all by the power of what you have described. Keeping the earth alive with anything that makes or contains carbon is all that was needed; oh, and pigeon pea was fantastic for breaking through the hard pan. Chop and drop, chop and drop - still we chop and drop, and still we marvel. I might be raving. Thanks for the read. BryanBryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18253161811098783651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-92024966265210052682010-08-09T10:36:45.186+10:002010-08-09T10:36:45.186+10:00Update. I just found the girls hanging around amo...Update. I just found the girls hanging around amongst some longer plants, and sure enough they'd made a new nest to hide some more eggs. I just collected another 6, which begged the question - are these the missing eggs from last time? Or new eggs? And how long had they been there? They've been laying one egg for each chook every day since the last update... does this mean they're laying more than one per day?<br /><br />Time flies at the Jones Estate, and it's hard to keep track, but luckily this blog and additional comments above helped us work backwards to deduce these 6 must be the missing 6 from about a month ago.<br /><br />So the next question - they're probably not fresh, but are they off? How long do eggs last?<br /><br />Well a quick search on the internet tells us that eggs are past their prime after around 2 weeks in the fridge, but will last around a month. And if they're off they'll float in water.<br /><br />Well these ones don't float, and a quick shake test sounds okay, so they should be okay, but to be safe I'm going to cook them very well to kill off any bad bacteria and Mavis the Blue Collie can have them as a special treat.<br /><br />Needless to say, we still haven't put those fences up yet.The Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-55409340839128914942010-08-04T12:23:51.221+10:002010-08-04T12:23:51.221+10:00Just came across this short video which is just go...Just came across this short video which is just gold. The whole notion of the Jonses of course is that it's not about 1 person, it's actually about a small group of people who set new norms. Definitely worth the 3 minutes.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ<br /><br />Are you dancing?<br /><br />The JonsesThe Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-63818439832694261982010-07-30T15:03:59.427+10:002010-07-30T15:03:59.427+10:00Too much rain, tyres not draining properly, potato...Too much rain, tyres not draining properly, potatoes probably rotting. :(The Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-22905075296946394032010-07-18T11:12:09.458+10:002010-07-18T11:12:09.458+10:00So I just got back from having a look at my potato...So I just got back from having a look at my potato tyres, and something caught my eye where the chickens like to play. 16 eggs!<br /><br />I had been warned that free range chickens will try and hide their eggs from you, but hadn't really paid that much attention. So, if my calculations are correct, if both chickens are laying 1 per day, then for the last 8 days the've been using this new spot, which leaves around half a dozen eggs unaccounted for. So either, one of the girls is not laying every day, or they've hidden some more, or they had a really really short break. Our easter egg hunt has come early it seems. Last one found is a rotten egg!<br /><br />I had also been told that chickens need boundaries. We really like the idea of our chickens having a lot of room to run around (and these girls can and do run - sprinting across the yard if they realise you've snuck in), but there have been consequences - lost eggs, trashed seedlings, trashed garden beds, chicken poo on the verandah etc, but interestingly enough the girls like to spend most of their time in the most depleted part of our site - they're healing that patch of land for us, so perhaps nature knows best.<br /><br />But sorry girls, this is the final straw. You're getting fences... when we get around to it.The Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-57711835032740403332010-07-08T12:58:22.488+10:002010-07-08T12:58:22.488+10:00The girls clearly didn't like us talking about...The girls clearly didn't like us talking about them on the blog - they stopped laying within 2 days of this post. <br /><br />Apparently this is normal in winter - as it gets colder, and there's less daylight they stop laying for a while and conserve their energy. Probably a good thing for us to have a break from our egg-heavy diet anyway. We'll post another report when they start laying again.The Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2093833844431872421.post-47280424667366916522010-07-05T22:13:38.960+10:002010-07-05T22:13:38.960+10:00This just in from the ACF & The Digger's C...This just in from the ACF & The Digger's Club. Why seed potatoes are important, and why you don't need tyres.<br /><br />http://www.acfonline.org.au/articles/news.asp?news_id=2926&eid=21347The Joneseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100467999662448957noreply@blogger.com