Plants on steroids?

Tags

animals, compost, coriander, earthworms, food, garden, green tips, herbs, Home and Garden, home grown, key hole, organic, Vermicompost, winter savory, worm, worm castings, worm farm, worm garden

The lush Coriander in the container with a Mini worm farm installation.

The  mint after being fed with worm castings

The Winter Savory fed with worm castings.

 

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Coriander Key hole worm garden

Keyhole Gardens

A new twist to a key hole/circle garden – mini worm farm

Winter Savory- the forgotten Herb

 

A Jacuzzi full of worms

Tags

Agriculture, animals, Cape Porcupine, compost, gardening, green tips, Jacuzzi, Red Wrigglers, Vermi-T, Vermicompost, worm

Two years ago my neighbour gave me her Jacuzzi.  Which  was placed in a nice shaded area to one side of my garden and turned into a worm farm.

The worm farm is covered over with black builder’s plastic. The plank is placed across it to deter the Cape Porcupine from raiding the farm.

A very tasty meal for the worms. People in the neighborhood bring their kitchen waste to re-cycle in the worm farm.

The worms are thriving and multiplying rapidly.

Bucket full of Vermi-T waiting to be harvested.

Related articles :

Worm farms/bins,earthworms

Order Worm compost and Vermi- T

 

Dassies and Elephants

Tags

animals, Cape Town, Dassie, Elephants, environment, nature, Rock Hyrax

Dassie’s Relation to Elephant Finally Makes Sense

One of the most unbelievable facts about Table Mountain’s Dassies is that they are the closest related relatives to Elephants. Despite the enormous difference in size between the two, research has claimed the dassie is the African elephant’s closest living relative.

Dassies have evolved into somewhat lazy creatures. With a favourite pastime like basking in the sun on large rocks, particularly during mornings and late afternoons, the rock dassie seems to be the small and lazy brother in this family tree.

Photo credit : J le Serve

 

Cape Porcupine

Tags

Africa, animals, environment, garden, nature, porcupine, rodents

This porcupine visits my garden every night foraging for food.  Always nose to the ground smelling out anything that might be tasty. One of her favorite foods are avocado pips.She has recently taken to breaking into my seed store by gnawing the wooden door and trying to chew through thick plastic in order to get to my seeds. She must be able to smell through plastic. Needless to say, I garden in raised beds so that she cannot forage my tasty vegetables. Only 2 nights ago, she managed to climb up and bite off a large piece of my butternut plant.

When confronted she runs a small distance and stands still pretending to be a bush.

When attacked, the porcupine freezes. If cornered, it turns vicious and charges to stab its attacker with its quills. Otherwise, the porcupine may retreat into its burrow, exposing only its quills and making it hard to dislodge.

Cape porcupines are the largest rodents in southern Africa and also the world’s largest porcupines.

Cape porcupines measure 63 to 81 centimeters (25 to 32 inches) long from the head to the base of the tail, with the tail adding a further 11–20 centimeters (4.3–7.9 inches) They weigh from 10 to 24 kilograms (22 to 53 pounds), with exceptionally large specimens weighing up to 30 kg (66 lb); males and females are not significantly different in size.

 

Maya Angelou

Tags

animals, inspiration, nature, spirituality

Maya Angelou

I am grateful that love exists: familial love, (love between relatives), romantic love (a passion between lovers), agape love (divine love between God and friends), love of nature (the majesty of mountains, the lasting love of oceans) and the joy of laughter. We are stronger, kinder and more generous because we live in an atmosphere where love exists. I am grateful for that.

 

A view of a farm garden called Devoor in the Karoo

Tags

animals, arid landscape, charming view, environment, Flowers, gardening, Iris, Livestock, Melons, nature, photography, plants, Poppies, puff adders, Sheep, snakes, water storage, Watermelon, white rabbit

The White Rabbit at the front door

The Poppies making a statement.

The Irises not to be out done.

The charming view to the Koppie beyond.

Can you see the Skaapsteker among the Pansies ?

The name “skaapsteker” (which, translated literally, means “sheep stabber”) stems from the belief that it is responsible for the killing of sheep, but this notion can be discounted because the snake is not aggressive and, even supposing its fangs could penetrate the skin of a sheep, it is unlikely that it could inject sufficient poison to cause death. Such deaths are much more likely to be caused by puff adders and cobras.

There is a storm brewing for the much needed parched arid landscape.

The Tsamma melon are a water storage for the wild animals in time of drought.  They are watermelon’s wild cousin.

http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/tsamma-melons-watermelon%E2%80%99s-wild-cousins/

The picture perfect start to the new day, I will not go to sleep for the day has secrets to tell me.

can you see the beastie in there?