Lucky Fig Farm

Homesteading at the Lucky Fig Farm in Western Australia for a sustainable, self-sufficient, simple life.

This channel provides 'how to' episodes and video logs covering all aspects of my homesteading journey.

#homesteading #hobbyfarm #sustainability #selfsufficient #simplelife #permaculture #gardening

Жыл бұрын

No Dig Gardening - How to Start

Жыл бұрын

Planting Native Australian Tubestock Seedlings

Жыл бұрын

Forest Revegetation at my Homestead

Жыл бұрын

How to Prune Olive Trees

2 жыл бұрын

Permaculture Chickens - Incorporating Chickens into Your Permaculture Garden

2 жыл бұрын

Pruning Fruit Trees

2 жыл бұрын

Lucky Fig Farm Homestead Tour - Winter 2022

2 жыл бұрын

Permaculture Swales - Survey After First Rain

2 жыл бұрын

Permaculture Swales - How to Build

2 жыл бұрын

Burying Sticks When Planting

2 жыл бұрын

How to Plant a Tree

Пікірлер

@user-lm2pk8uq9f13 күн бұрын

Does olive trees need to seal the branches after cutting to avoid getting disease

@LuckyFigFarm12 күн бұрын

@mw7145Ай бұрын

Great job mentioning your annual precipitation and general conditions. So many videos leave that out and make the information much less useful.

@LuckyFigFarmАй бұрын

Cheers

@Rymorin42 ай бұрын

Gonna put some swales in but definitely hiring excavator even for small job.

@LuckyFigFarmАй бұрын

Yeah, I don’t recommend the shovel technique!

@Rymorin4Ай бұрын

@@LuckyFigFarm I have a sandy fast draining mountain soil. Do you know if swales would still be useful without adding clay or geotextile? I was thinking of putting a bunch of rotting wood and brush in them to break down.

@LuckyFigFarmАй бұрын

@@Rymorin4 Sorry for the delay. My notifications didn't pick this up. ... It depends on the purpose of the swale. However, it sounds like you have the perfect soil (sand) for what swales are generally for - for catching water and draining it away fast into your ground. This is for people with the issue of having too much rain and not wanting to use the captured water. Adding organic matter onto the swales - like wood, branches, sticks, leaves and mulch to break down over the long term - is always the best additive for the health of soil. It will improve moisture retention and the important life systems in the top soil. So if you want to catch the water and redirect it into vegetation growing on top of the swale, making the soil organic is the way to go. I believe people generally have to improve the soil in order to increase the drainage because of clay soils.

@spiderlady562 ай бұрын

Very clear and concise! Thanks for such an informative video!! I put one olive tree in the ground several years ago and it needs pruning. Oregon zone 8b, USA.

@LuckyFigFarm2 ай бұрын

Thank you! That’s how these ended up. I planted them as sticks and then one day “oh, heck … yeah, they need shaping”!

@JuanFranciscoDutra2 ай бұрын

Great work man! And beautiful place

@LuckyFigFarm2 ай бұрын

Thank you, Juan. Appreciate that.

@tristansavery50232 ай бұрын

Hey mate! Looks fantastic, How many acres in total are you working with? Not sure where you are. I just purchased 3 Acres at Stratham beach, old vineyard land and very similar grade slope as you have. Putting in swales and green manure crop next month when we finally get some bloody rain. Are you planning to go full mass planted food forest? Anything that you have found that has struggled or thrived in our Mediterranean climate? Did you tap a bore and if so how are you utilising it? Thanks for the videos, good to see like minded people in WA!

@LuckyFigFarm2 ай бұрын

Wow, very nice place. I’m in Chittering. Same sort of country. Classic vineyard land here. Gently sloping land with gravelly soils. 5 acres. We had our first rain last week! Yes, it will be a food forest. I have over 30 fruit trees in main section with the swales. This area will be developed into its own ecosystem with other plants along the swales to support the soil and garden health. Ie. flowering plants, deep rooted plants … . I have bees now too. This video is 2 years old and I plan to make another of the same type this winter. What grows well will probably have a little to do with the local area too. Nectarines were the best, apples are the slowest. Maples and figs grow fastest. I have all fruit trees growing except tropical. Yes, there’s a bore. Near the bottom of the property. Luckily fantastic water and heaps of it. Solar panel pumps it up to top of my property to a header tank, and gravity brings it back down again to the garden. About a 20m rise over 150-200m. Free water. We have been smashing it, hand watering all the new trees and shrubs over summer and had great success. For screening plants the best are cottonwood and lilly pilly. Such low water requirements.

@Music_Musica-Sounds_Sonidos3 ай бұрын

Thank You. Much Appreciated 👍👍🌱🌱🌱🌿🌿🌿🍃🍃🍃☘️☘️☘️🌳🌳🌳🫒🫒🫒🫒🫒🫒:) Thank You

@LuckyFigFarm3 ай бұрын

You’re very welcome 8-)

@MelanieAnsteyChater3 ай бұрын

Hello, I enjoyed your video, but I notice we don't get a close up when you are pruning some of the tricky branches, like the crossover branches. I wonder which one you cut and why. Also what are the climate conditions there and what is the best season for pruning?

@LuckyFigFarm3 ай бұрын

Hi. When I’m thinning out the branches I’m just looking to let more light and air in, choosing to leave the best looking branches - healthy, 45 degree angle approx. So I’m just quickly cutting and thinning it out, looking for the worst branches and starting from there until the tree is opened up more. The widest window for pruning is any time between when fruiting it finishing in autumn and before flowering starts in Spring. That’s the easiest guide. But I do after fruiting is finished. Some believe pruning just before spring encourages a burst of unwanted growth. My location is Mediterranean climate. Long hot and dry summers and wet winters. Zone 11. South West, Western Australia.

@robintait16883 ай бұрын

Thanks, Jamie. I am assuming then that other than the watering in initial period you don’t do a preparation water collecting hole for the tube stock prior to planting? Thanks

@LuckyFigFarm3 ай бұрын

Nothing more than ensuring I soak the hole before planting. Ideally with seasol. This helps give an indication of the drainage too, if there’s clay around. Talking about watering, I’ve learned over the last couple of years that during the dry summer (we go nearly half a year without proper rain in Perth, but then get wet winters) a regular minimal amount of water keeps the plant alive and growing, but this last summer, I gave a lot more, and everything grew faster. So, more deeper watering was ok for my native plants, ensuring it thoroughly drained and probably dried out before next watering.

@robintait16883 ай бұрын

Many thanks Jamie for a most informative video. Do you use this planting of tube stock for planting in your berms? Many thanks, Robin

@LuckyFigFarm3 ай бұрын

I would if I was putting natives along the swales, but I’m not. Along the swales I eventually intent to have plants to complement the fruit trees. ie. flowers for the bees, plants with deep roots to help the soil, nitrogen fixers. We just had the driest 6 months in Perth’s (post-colonial) history, and are waiting patiently for the rain as we have big plans for native tube stock plantings this winter.

@realstatistician4 ай бұрын

Looks like you’ve got some really cool projects going on here. I have a much smaller property, but I still want to slow the water as much as possible for conservation. My area averages only 6 inches of precipitation per year, but there are still many trees that can survive with only some supplemental water in the driest months: July and august (northern hemisphere). Thanks for all the info!

@LuckyFigFarm4 ай бұрын

Thanks! We want to retain all the rain we can in these areas. We’re about a month away from the start of the winter rain here. Last winter was terribly dry. The swales never filled once.

@slamshed4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the advice Jamie, I'm planting 50 new Koala friendly native tubes tomorrow 🙂

@LuckyFigFarm4 ай бұрын

The cooler weather and rain will start in about a month here in Perth, and I’m looking forward to another planting season.

@lcglazer5 ай бұрын

I'm new to gardening. I have about 8 different kinds of fruiting trees in my backyard and after watching many pruning videos, your summary seems to cover what I should do for all of them!

@LuckyFigFarm5 ай бұрын

Thanks. I have a different video on pruning fruit trees. Somewhat similar to olive trees.

@user-re3td7fu1d5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. And don't forget support plants/trees for the fruit trees.

@LuckyFigFarm5 ай бұрын

I plan to. Thanks.

@martinlee93915 ай бұрын

Thanks for the before and after. To see them working.Brilliant

@LuckyFigFarm5 ай бұрын

Cheers, Martin

@epiphyte86465 ай бұрын

love your lucky fig story. you should try grafting onto it a ficus opposita.

@LuckyFigFarm5 ай бұрын

Thank you

@gillparsons12615 ай бұрын

I'm in France , 6 kilometres from the sea and have inherited an overgrown olive tree in the house I have just purchased. Thank you for your video - very helpful as I've only grown fruit and nut trees before.

@LuckyFigFarm5 ай бұрын

You’re very welcome. Sounds like a nice place!

@alishaberrey44796 ай бұрын

Would you put a swale next to your raised bed? Would it be a passive watering system?

@LuckyFigFarm6 ай бұрын

That would be a great idea if you could design it to catch water and also not restrict access to the bed too much. The idea is it would soak water directly into the ground below the garden bed. I have 2 x swales now at my large veggie garden, one at the top and one at the bottom, both against the hedges at the borders, and the rest of my swales capture water for the rows of fruit trees.

@alishaberrey44796 ай бұрын

You have yours next to a hedge, but in theory, coudl a gardener build a network of swales around their raised beds to manage/catch water that runs of a slope adjacent?

@LuckyFigFarm6 ай бұрын

I’m picturing you could have 1 x swale on the high side of a veggie/garden bed. The swales need to be able to catch water running into it and also be level so the water spreads evenly over the swale and stays in the swale.

@danielleryan61167 ай бұрын

Any fruit tree mesh that you can fit your fingers through the holes is a potential bird/ reptile/ bat/ wildlife entrapment hazard. Bay trees can be very slow growing. Love the story of the origin of your property name :)

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

We netted properly for the first time this summer with a few trees. Used the larger netting. Worked great. Aware birds get caught and it won’t stop fruit fly, but this is likely the preferred option for strength and price. We can free any trapped birds as we watch it a lot of the day. The bay tree has grown, yes, slowly. But how many bay leaves do we need lol

@danielleryan61167 ай бұрын

Good explanation on why its good to use tubestock, thanks. Do you have a failure rate with them? I planted hundreds years ago because I was given them free but had about a 75% loss. Mind you, It was bare, sloping land they were planted on. The ones that survived are big now.

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

I guess it depends on how much time you have to care for them and if kangaroos or rabbits can access them. I’ve been planting about a dozen or two each year now, and I rarely lose any anymore. It took practice. My first year I lost most because the kangaroos were getting in and also the water was pooling around the plant. They just need a little bit of water that drains away and no animals. After the first summer they are fine on their own.

@danielleryan61167 ай бұрын

I think there is no better thing than seeing the trees you planted flourish :) Nice job!

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

Cheers. I agree

@danielleryan61167 ай бұрын

very informative, thank you

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

Last winter was the first one the swales never filled up at all. Such little rain. But the benefit is if we have a massive summer storm they will fill and keep a lot of the rain on the property.

@fkofoed7 ай бұрын

what about a video during rain so we can see the system in work???

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

Following video. Cheers

@2468bidw7 ай бұрын

You’re actually remedying the damage Aboriginal fire practices did to the biome. They absolutely interrupted nature, almost killing soil in Australia

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

Cheers for watching

@kym70984 ай бұрын

You think the colonizers came to Australia and saved the biome? 😂😂😂.

@2468bidw4 ай бұрын

We’re all colonisers at some point. Who is Mungo Man related to btw? Not aboriginal Australians. Mankind in all cases screw things up in many ways. Indigenous Australians are part of mankind.

@liwabenhamida73737 ай бұрын

Ty really helpful

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

You’re welcome

@sophiareygrace66567 ай бұрын

Loveee this type of videos!! Please make more videos about swaless!!

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

Thanks, Sophia

@calidude51167 ай бұрын

You do good videos. Straight to the point. Make more please. Very informative also thanks bro. New subscriber.

@LuckyFigFarm7 ай бұрын

Appreciate that. Thanks.

@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo79208 ай бұрын

They ARE lucky ducks...and beautiful, too❤

@OurNewLand9 ай бұрын

Great video, Jamie! Aside from the helpful info, your calming delivery really relaxes me.

@LuckyFigFarm9 ай бұрын

Thanks for taking the time. Cheers. So excited about these bees!

@OurNewLand9 ай бұрын

I like the F1G registration ID! Great idea. I am really looking forward to following your newest adventure! As always, great video!

@LuckyFigFarm9 ай бұрын

Cheers

@Sarrett.Studios9 ай бұрын

If you put mulch on your berm your trees will explode

@LuckyFigFarm9 ай бұрын

I’ll get there

@LuckyFigFarm9 ай бұрын