KathK's Edible Backyard

Joined:19/04/09 Updated:03/09/24 Frost:
Location: SAFETY BAY

About My Edible Backyard

Why KathK Love's Edible Plants

I live on a 5 acre block of grey sand south of Perth.  I put horse manure and spoilt hay in old baths & cut down water tanks, chuck a handful of composting worms in, then leave them to do their thing. In a few months  I use the castings to make potting mix, and plant in the holes with new plants etc. Also grow veggies in raised baths, the tanks, & in the garden filled with the same mix. Also, I mulch everything I can find time to with tree mulch -the worms turn this into beautful castings. In the citrus orchard I grow comfrey as a ground cover to keep the soil cool & add nutrients when I mow it.

I grow lots of  hollyhocks, nasturtiums, dahlias, poppies (all self-sow for next year) & sunflowers to bring the bees in as I grow pumpkins each summer. 

I have 5 chooks at the moment-Hylines. I keep them till they finish laying-about 3-4 years- then kill & bury them under fruit trees for some slow release blood & bone, leave the ground for a few weeks over winter to rest, then buy more point of lay pullets.Have been doing this for years but had a bit of an 'incident' with the last despatching session-see photo below ! I empty the sawdust & shredded paper out of their shed every few months into the worm system & the girls do a great job cleaning up bugs & weeds. Also rotate them through the vegie/fruit yards so they get lots of greens plus grow lots of spinach for them to keep their eggs nice and yellow.

I have a 44 gallon drum of liquid fertilizer-horse poo, seaweed and comfrey leaves-makes a good brew. Have dozens of comfrey plants & constantly harvesting them to mulch around my plants.

 A lot of fruit trees, mainly citrus, are very slow to get going in this sand but once established do really well.

I had lots of espaliered stone fruit growing  but after initially good results they just struggled, got raided by parrots or got fruit fly so have decided to stick with what does well here with a lot less work.

Besides growing stuff to eat, I have planted many many trees & shrubs on our block & now have lots of birds, including blue wrens around. I love recycling &  growing plants in unusual containers.

I had four Khaki Campbell cross Appleyard ducks but a fox took a liking to them which was a real bummer as they cleaned up all the snails, made great fertilizer under my citrus trees, & greeted you like their best friend every morning plus three big eggs a day if I beat the crows. 

Have got lots of herbs on the go plus love trying to grow things from cuttings & seeds with mixed success. Love sharing my garden, plants and produce with friends & encouraging them to grow a few things to eat in their own space, & am always reading to learn more.

I find gardening is a hobby where you can connect  and share with people from all ages & backgrounds & learn from each other, & when you need 'time out'  you can disappear for an hour or two & just enjoy all the growth .

Am very fortunate to live in the country surrounded by trees, where I can grow tropical fruits like bananas as well as colder loving apples & quince, ten minutes from a great surf beach, & less than an hour by train to Kings Park in Perth city.

Comments

Charlesstillcantspell1 says... [5958 days 16hrs ago]

Great effort already. The joys and problems with more space. Might have to organise a trip down one day and bring my seed bank for some swapping :P.

KathK says... [5955 days 22hrs ago]

No worries Charles,you're more than welcome to come down .

John says... [5907 days 3hrs ago]

HI you have a really nice garden. My wife and I are starting from scratch on a 2.5 acrea block and hope it will look even half as nice as yours oneday. We have so many ideas but no clue on how to do things.

MaryT says... [5627 days 18hrs ago]

Your garden is an inspiration, Kath; thank you for sharing. Mine is a container garden in a car space; small but productive.

Fruit Tree Forum Contributions

KathK Forum Contributions
Gardening in perth sands - I’ve spent the last 17 years transforming a 5 acre bush block in Karnup into a fruit producing spot but it's now time to downsize & I was dreading missing all my fruit trees I’ve been nurturing. But after reading this http://www.abc.net.au/news..3017 days 6hrs
Fruit trees in perth wa - Anyone in the Rockingham/Mandurah area have a kaffir lime I could have a cutting from to try grafting onto one of my citrus trees please? Can swap for eggs...3200 days 23hrs
Kiwiberrys in perth - Just wondering if anyone has had much success with kiwiberrys in Perth? thanks..3200 days 23hrs
Apricots in perth - Hi there, I have Trevatt/Newcastle & Glengarry apricot trees & they've never really done well-think I've had one apricot! Has anyone in Perth had success with apricots & if so, what variety is it please? Am wondering if it's just not cold enough? Tha..4469 days 6hrs
Radium weed aka milkweed - Hi Julie, yep I have plenty thanks. A couple of months ago I was pulling it out! Did your neighbour's plum tree transplanted from here ever fruit?..4551 days 2hrs

Fruit Tree Forum Likes

KathK} has LIKED the following:
Apricots in perth - Newcastle early usually does well in Perth, as it requires less chill. I have one, but Roleystone is a lot cooler than where you are. It is next to another variety, but no idea what that one is. I believe someone has N.early in Kelmscott, which is war..Liked Answer 4467 days 6hrs
Apricots in perth - Hi Kath We have an old apricot tree, not sure of variety as it came with the house, but its very prolific - only time it doesn't fruit is when we prune too heavily and at the wrong time. ..Liked Answer 4467 days 6hrs

Mulberry - White Shahtoot

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 2993 days 21hrs

Comments: - from Daleys-doing well, give it a radical chainsaw haircut each winter

Planted: 2009

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

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2 of 3 people found this review useful

Comments

Brad1 says... [5721 days 22hrs ago]

tasted fruit from this? I'm wondering about this tree - sweet I believe

KathK says... [5721 days 5hrs ago]

I only got a couple last season as it was it's first year and they were really sweet-is just starting to fruit now.

Guava - Strawberry ^3/10

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 2993 days 21hrs

Planted: 2010

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

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2 of 7 people found this review useful

Comments

Brad1 says... [5721 days 22hrs ago]

Go chook!

Passionfruit (Grafted)

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 3180 days 20hrs

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

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0 of 2 people found this review useful

Comments

Brad2 says... [5497 days 18hrs ago]

did you try a sunshine special? they seem to do well in WA. my theory is these are a bit finicky. when one goes, it will go nuts. I just planted 2 (panama red and gold) up the same fence a sunshine special is on. will be interesting to see what happens

KathK says... [5413 days 0hrs ago]

Have put in three mor-two from seeds & one grafted-fingers crossed.

arcobelina says... [4563 days 6hrs ago]

you need two lambs fry. bury one under your passionfruit as you plant it. lambs fry water is brilliant for the passionfruit = lambs fry water is what you soak the lambs fry in before you peel it. dont waste the second lambs fry - re-learn the great taste of lambs fry and onions. feed the plant with liver water onece or twice a year and things will improve.

Sugarcane

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 3250 days 4hrs

Planted: 2009

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

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Comments

Brad1 says... [5408 days 22hrs ago]

looks like lemon grass. not like any sugarcane I've seen?

KathK says... [5407 days 22hrs ago]

KathK says... [5407 days 22hrs ago]

Since this was taken it's grown to about 1.5m-I keep cutting the top off to get it to thicken up. This is when it was a baby.

Pawpaw ^2/10

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 3250 days 17hrs

Comments: -

grown from seed 2009-slow growing

think we don't get enough warmth here-grew them in Darwin & they grew really fast

Planted: 2009

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

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4 of 10 people found this review useful

Comments

Adrian1 says... [5939 days 1hrs ago]

What kind of paw paw are these?

KathK says... [5937 days 7hrs ago]

I don't know-I just bought half a pawpaw from the fruit shop, dried the seeds out & planted them. It was a orange oval shaped one.

Apple-Pink Lady/Gala ^5/10

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 3250 days 18hrs

Comments: - double grafted-think the apples would like somewhere colder to live but still get small amount of fruit

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pollination: Cross Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

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0 of 1 people found this review useful

Comments

Brad1 says... [5721 days 22hrs ago]

do they grow at similar rates?

KathK says... [5721 days 20hrs ago]

Pretty much but I cut them back so they're roughly the same so one doesn't take over the other.

Tamarillos-red

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 3250 days 18hrs

Comments: -

Have red & yellow-they grow like crazy, produce lots of fruit for a couple of years then drop dead so try & have a new one on the go all the time. Lucky the fruit are delicious as the leaves smell disgusting!

Delicious on cereal, pavlovas and makes great jam with rhubarb

Pollination: Self Pollination

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12 of 13 people found this review useful

Comments

KathK says... [5932 days 19hrs ago]

Quince - Smyrna ^9/10

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 3250 days 18hrs

Comments: - Cut right back 2009, lost most of leaves winter 2010, then shot again-produced beautiful flowers & in 2017 enough quince to make quince paste

Planted: 2009

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

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10 of 20 people found this review useful

Comments

BJ11_old_address says... [5756 days 4hrs ago]

Kath, does your quince loose all its leaves in the warm Perth winter? I'm looking for something tough that will screen a window in summer but let light through in winter.

KathK says... [5755 days 7hrs ago]

Hi BJ-yes, it's pretty bare at the moment-I keep mine quite short so not sure how tall it would grow if left unchecked. I got mine from Tass 1 up the Swan Valley. Or what about a fig/mulberry? You can prune those really hard & they give great summer shade? Good luck with whatever you choose, Kath

Feijoa

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 3250 days 18hrs

Comments: - pineapple quava/feioja -would like to try it but got to beat the birds

Planted: 2008

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

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3 of 8 people found this review useful

Comments

Ellen says... [5937 days 6hrs ago]

why do you trimmed it off ?

KathK says... [5936 days 17hrs ago]

KathK says... [5936 days 17hrs ago]

I cut it back so it would get nice & bushy -haven't grown it before so just experimenting.

Comfrey

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 5727 days 3hrs

Comments: - Great for mulching, compost & liquid fertilizer. Dies down in winter then reshoots twice as thickly each spring. Pull up a root, chop it up & plant-heaps more plants.

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4 of 5 people found this review useful

Comments

Jaahda says... [5434 days 4hrs ago]

unfortunately just lost the last of my confrey :-(

Elderberry

KathK's Edible Fruits
Update: 5949 days 18hrs

Growing: In the Ground

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Comments

Jaahda says... [5434 days 4hrs ago]

I found that elders get serious die off when the temp hits >43C. Never got any berries either. Wouldn't mind a cutting ;-)