LUXTONBLACK

We have a small grant to monitor pasture growth comparing the original farm(Luxton) to the new property. Luxton has a seven year history of organic fertilisation using Petrik products and fish oil. There has been no inorganic fertiliser applied to either property for at least 15 years. The new property has had nothing applied for at least 20 years. It supported a few sheep and had hay cut more many years .When we took over, four years ago, it has been aerated and mulched, whilst supporting about 70 sheep.

The project is to see whether we can improve the soil fertility and pastures with an “organic” approach which should involve minimal costs. The base line is at an all time low, with most of the pasture being bent grass.

The inputs will be continued aeration, twice a year in Spring and Autumn.Also we have applied lime and composted pig manure at 0.5 t per acre. The swamp paddock has been resown without using spray out. The remaining paddocks are currently not being resown but they will slowly be redone.

The infrastructure has been improved. A raised central lane way has been created running into a repaired yards.  The fencing has been moved and replaced, creating a safe lambing system with shelter belts. Most of the fencing is now away from the tree belts. A large shaded ram paddock has been formed around the house.

The above photos show the beginning of the trial. There is no difference in growth between the two plots. This summer, despite being cool, has shown little growth. I have destocked by more than half, believing drought is on the way. The lime and manure have only been on for two weeks and we have only just started getting rain. We now have had 47 mm in the last two weeks, which is a great start.

The trial is being run by Peter Ronalds and David Stewart.

Why pig manure? Two reasons in memory of my father who was a believer in it’s qualities and in that it is available in Victoria.

It has a different chemical analysis to chook manure. The latter can vary depending on type of chicken sheds (broiler or layer) and on the flooring material used.

17.5.15

Petrik liquids sprayed on 4l/ha evergreen and 2l/ha green manure. The new pastures had 10 litres of fish oil and 1 litre of molasses as well. The same mixture was also put on lambings 1&2, little lambing, coolart and wetl

ands. Blue gums 2/3 sprayed. Lambing 3 no fish oil but molasses added and extra green manure. Two back paddocks not done (control).

Lasar came round and gave us a lesson on fruit tree pruning. The second orchard done. Pigeon manure put around lemon and chook manure pellets around the olives and cumquat.

17.5.16.The Cato, Home and Gibbs paddocks have been resown. No spray has been used. The Cato was the longest in preparation. Several aerations, three power harrows and a discing. The Gibbs paddock was the last to be prepared so I expect the most bent grass to return. The Cato put down to forage oats for silage. The others have the Pedersen pasture mix.

This was the roughest and swampiest area on the new farm. Part has been divided off for Catriona to revegetate. Billabongs have been scraped out and Catriona’s replanting will hopefully improve the drainage of the remaining paddock. The area that contained the pine trees will be replanted as a shelter block. Part of the scrapings were used to make the central lane way and to fill in the water logged areas. The paddock has now been deep ripped and then cultivated prior to reseeding. The pasture mixture will be “a la carte”, consisting of red clover, plantain, chicory and perennial rye grass to make the most of the deep summer moisture preserved in the clay subsoil.

 

5.5.15 Now have seed in, rolled and 8 mm of rain! What a start. It has cost $3,300 for cultivating (twice) and the sowing, and includes spreading the lime and manure over the property. The seed mixture for 8 ha was $2296 and the DAP[600 kg] $732. Now if that takes, I will be very happy. I rolled the paddock after sewing and there is a significant difference.

10.5.15 So far 18mm and still raining.

Also bought 100 small squares of Eddie’s lucerne hay to use over winter. The girls and boys need to learn how lovely it is and I will start feeding it out smothered in molasses.

The 47 mm of rain has allowed germination to start.

The perfect soil composition is air 25%, mineral 45%, organic matter 5%( humus 85%, roots 10%, organisms 5%) and water 25%. Based on British studies. Hence the concept of putting on brown coal dust as a humate source. Sward height should be less than 12 cm and above 4 cm ( British studies). A great web site is agricology.

It is thought that this massive eucalypt (viminalis/manna gum), is one of the original trees on the Peninsula.  It sits in the original outflow tract of a small creek that winds its way down the Peninsula through Bittern and Balnarring. In its little gully, protected from wind and supplied by water, it has sat perfectly happily and grown massive lateral branches (see above).  It has also escaped the original clearing of the land and chain saws.  Perhaps the outflow of the creek and the gully in which it grows made it hard to get to? Near this tree we found an Aboriginal midden full of sea shells presumably taken from the extensive rock shelves in nearby Western port bay.  How old is this midden? Was this eucalypt alive then?  Did it shelter the original people who lived on the land that we now call our farm. This tree and midden provide a glimpse in to the past.  A past where the indigenous vegetation grew to its natural size perfectly in balance with the local soils and the weather.  This tree inspired me to take a section of our nearby cleared land and start a long, slow process of returning the indigenous trees to this site.  I’ve been revegetating for 14 years in one site and I have just begun another larger area.  I don’t intend on stopping the process of revegetation whilst I can still plant.  As I see it, we are custodians of our land and we must look after it, for the future health of our flora and fauna.

This is the first planting we did in 2001.  Actually John did most of this one. It was planted to protect a broader area from the strong south westerlies so that the next planting could be more sheltered.  We did the planting by-the-book, with each plant given its own surrounding mulch and then a protective shelter.   This area is now home to koalas and many birds.

At the back of the area there is a sand belt. With the help of Dad, we planted a strand of Banksia.   Dad collected the seed from a local banksia and he grew them with a friend of his.  Within Coolart, there are still original banksia strands. Once our banksias started to grow, the spear grass came in and the local salt bush grew as did the local cynoglossus.  With time the Banksias have started to self seed and now there are many tiny banksias.  The bush is now re-creating itself.  Each new self seeded plant is like finding gold (for me at least).

 

In the original flat paddock, which is now the revegetated area, there was a small dam.  This dam was an extension of a natural lagoon area just upstream from the big gum in the first picture. We, or at least Keith, the best dam digger in the Western Port area, widened this dam 8 years ago along with digging some other ephemeral dams and one deeper one in this area. Our second planting was around this dam on its northeast side.  A pair of black swans is on the dam in this photo.  There are many other waterbirds that also frequent the dam, including my favourite, the little Australian grebe.

We left this path through the plantings on advice of Rowan Cummings, who is also the main provider of our indigenous plants.  Rowan and his co-workers find local seed and grow the plants in tubes.

Came down for the night. Helped sort out the commercial flock and isolated the last wether. Soon to initiate  John’s cool room.

Patrick has arrived to prepare the “swamp” paddock.

Cold winter winds and rain have arrived.

 

 

Kim and I have reconfigured and built the sheep yards at 44. This completes the story of refencing the property. Peter Hibberd finished off the central laneway today and this project is now complete. Sometime the actual run will have to be replaced but the area is now secure and functional. The feeding troughs are now attached to the wooden rails so there should be no damage to the ring lock.

Crushed rock has now been added along the end of the central lane way and around into the main yard run to create “emory paper” which should trim the girls feet as they rush round for a feed.

The above shows the supplement added to their oats, a mixture of fish oil, cider vinegar and kelp extract absorbed into diamotaceous earth. this is given fortnightly. It is not loved due to the fish oil smell.

 

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We bought Luxton Park in 2001 and the next door property in 2013 and now have 100 acres in Somers. The farm runs two flocks, a Long horn Wiltshire stud of 40 ewes, running with two rams and a commercial flock of Luxton Blacks consisting of 45 ewes and two rams. The latter have come from three black ewes that came out of deep Gippsland 5 years ago.

Why breed black sheep? Partly for the fun. Also there is some anecdotal evidence that black animals are more resistant to internal parasites and are certainly less prone to UV damage.

The Wiltshire horn breed has many advantages. No shearing, crutching or fly strike. They have minimal hoof problems and are considered a hardy sheep, which were bred on the harsh plains of Wiltshire. The ewes are great mothers and have a high twin rate.These animals are ideal for small acre properties.

Their behaviour is different from many breeds. They don’t mob, seem more intelligent and are often mistaken for goats. The horns are useful handles in the stock yards. Being gentle means the horns are not a problem in crowded mobs but can become caught up in ring lock fences.

 

Our biggest problem are foxes during the lambing season. We border 200 acres of “bush” which is fox heaven. The peripheral fence is chain mesh and has chicken wire pinned to the ground and two hot wires.This was initially fox proof but last season we lost ten lambs to a climbing fox and so I have increased to hot wires and will do a fox baiting programme this year.