Division

29-7-09
Activities: During the year we have done a few occasions we have done a propagation process called division. This is where a plant is split into 2 or more pieces all of which the roots are still attatched. This method is quite easy and simply involves getting a spade or trowel or even secatears and driving it through the clump until it is divided. You can do this several times depending on how many clumps you want. For example I used the divison propagation method on a large clump of Poa Labillardieri. This was divided into at least a dozen smaller clumps and planted straight into the ground at home. With division you can plant the new plants straght into the ground or pot them up.
Tools: Secateurs, trowel, spade.
OH&S: Secateurs.
PPE: Gloves.

Rose pruning Botanical Gardens and Uni roundabout

23.7.09

Activities: Today we spent almost the entire day pruning roses. In the morning we were at the Botanical Gardens with Anne. In the afternoon we were at the Univeristy Rose garden next the Aquatic centre with Roy.

Both Anne and Roy showed us much the same way how to prune back rose bushes.

The first step was to remove any dead, dying, defective or diseased material. Next was to thin out any branches that might be either crossing over or coming out over the path (so the branches wouldnt get in the way of people walking past). Once this had been done we needed to keep only the main branches that would be around the outside of the plant. Also some of the tips were pruned back to a triple bud so one bud could be the new lateral and the others would fruit. You could pick which bud so the lateral would grow where you wanted it to.

PPE: Gloves, safety glasses

Tools: secuateers

OH&S: Secuateers, prickles

Pruning fruit trees at Government House

16-7-09

Activities: Todays task was to meet at government house for some serious fruit tree pruning.

The trees I pruned were apples and apricots.

It is a good idea to remove any branches that cross over onto other branches and one that might hinder fruit growth from another branch.

The first thing to do was look at the tree (in this case apple) and do the 3 Ds (dead, damaged, dying and diseased). Also it is good to stand back and look at the trees and visualise what it might look like after it has been pruned.

Once the 3Ds had been removed the next step was to prune back the larger branches to lateral branches. New seasons growth was pruned back and this would also help lateral growth. This would also help the growth of the new spurs the following year.

They were pruned back to just above a bud. Please note that these trees were quite old and were in desperate need of pruning.

The other trees I pruned were peaches and nectarines. After doing the first basic steps like the apple trees it was time to prune last seasons laterals. Any laterals that were crowding the tree were cut back to 2 buds at the beginning of the branch. Also some of the branches had triple buds some these were pruned back to these buds. You get 2 buds for flowering and 1 bud would form the new lateral. Make sure that the bud that is going to be the new lateral is going to grow out in the right direction (eg you dont want it growing in towards the centre of the plant ).

PPE. Saftey glasses, gloves

Tools: ladder, secauteers.

OH&S: Falling off ladder, secuateers.

Propagation Hardwood cuttings.

13-7-09

Activities: For one of our final propagation tasks for cert 2 was do hardwood cuttings. We selected several braches from various plants. The plant I choose was Juniperus conferta.

The best time of the year to perform these cutting is winter time when the plants are in their dormant period. I picked approximately 8 pencil sized cuttings approx 25cm long. Some leaves were removed and the base was cut straight just below a node. The top section was cut just above the node (on an angle to identify that was the top section). The base was then dipped in red hormone gel, which is the colour used for hardwood cuttings. These cuttings were then placed into a pot containing a general potting mix which also had rock dust added.

Tools: Secuateers, dibble stick.

OH&S: secauteers

PPE:

Aerial Layering

2-7-09

Activities: Today we did a proceedure called aerial layering. This proccess involved finding a suitable branch on a plant (ideally 1-2 years). Any leaves and side shoots were trimmed off up to about 20cm. A 2-3cm band of bark was removed using a budding knife. The next step is to apply a hardwood hormone gel to the wound to encourage rooting. A plastic freezer bag was then placed over the branch and a twist tie was tied ariund the bottom of the bag. Moist coir was placed and compacted into the bag (about 2 cupped handfuls). Another twist tie was then used around the top. Silver foil was then wrapped around the freezer bag, this would insulate and stop light getting in. In about 2-3 months time the roots should be established and the new plant can be ready for potting.

Tools: Secueteers, budding knife

OH&S: As above.

PPE:

Planting along creekline.

24-6-09

ACTIVITIES: Glnn wanted a few more plants put up along the creekline of the Clarence campus.

This was a CLM project where the CLM students had already placed quite a large number of native plants along the creek line. The plants that we were to be placed up there were Eucalytus and a wattles. The type of soil was clay based and in some areas was fairly damp. The holes were dug out using a mattock and in most cases the soil was very easy to dig out.

Along the line of the creek bed a large number of rocks had been put into place. This would help with any future erosion from the creek and also rain water.

The new plants put along the creek line would also help any future erosion, once their roots were established.

It was interesting to compare the planting we had done the day before at the Mt Neslon Campus. The 2 sites were vastly different and it was good to work in that enviroment.

Once the plants were in the ground we placed 3 stakes round them, then plastic went over. This was used to stop animals from eating the plants. The bagging would also give the plants some shelter from the cold. The last step was to give all the plants a really good water.

TOOLS: Mattocks, spades, hammer.

PPE: Safety boots, eye protection, gloves.

OH&S: Splinters, eyes, mattock, muscular.

Mt Neson Campus Planting

23-6-09:

ACTIVITIES: Today the entire cert 2 crew visited the Mt Nelson College. Our tasks were to plant natives and to do some pruning. Upon arrival we were given a quick tour by the college groundsman. Terry from our the Clarence Campus then showed us what he wanted planted and where to plant them, we were split up into 3 groups. Our group was to tackle the front entrance area. Cameron showed us the correct proceedure in preparing the hole for planting. The hole was to be approx 4 times the size of the pot. The ground we were planting in was covered in fine finely crushed rock approx 5cm in diametre. The rock was carefully pushed aside so the soil was then exposed. The hole was dug out and the soil placed on black plastic or in a bucket. The plant was then placed in the hole and the soil carefully placed around the plant. Finally the rock was then placed back over where it was originally. The idea was to make it look as though we had never been there. We did not want the soil to end up mixed into the rock. The plants were later watered.

We also did a small amount of pruning. I worked on pruning back a Banksia marginata. This plant was around on the Eastern side of the buiding. It was thought to be too close to the building and was considered a fire hazzard.

TOOLS: Mattock, spades, wheelbarrow, bucket, rakes, secauteers.

PPE: Safety boots, eye protection, gloves.

OH&S: Muscular, mattock, eyes.

Birch Bed

20-05-09

ACTIVITIES: Remulch birch bed. Over the next 3 days it was decided that we should remulch the birch bed in front of the carpark. The first task was to pull out most of the existing weeds.

Any of the weeds containing seed heads were bagged so the seeds would not spread.

The weeds then taken up to the top area to be mulched. They were placed on the ground and run over with the lawn mower and then placed on the mulch pile.

Any weeds that were left were flattened down. The existing border around the bed was also redifined to give it a new shape and look. The bed was the raked and smoothed out as much as possible. The next step was to add gypsom over the entire bed to increase the pH. Approx 195 grams per square metre of soil was sprinkled over the bed. We then placed flattened out cardboard over the whole bed, this would stop most new and existing weeds from coming up through the garden bed.

The final step was to place down mulch over the bed aprrox 100mm thick.

The final result looked fantastic and gave the birch bed a new lease of life.

TOOLS: Spades, wheelbarrows, hoes, rakes, buckets, mattocks.

PPE: Safety boots, gloves, long pants and sleeves.

OH&S: Muscular, mattocks, eyes

Secateure sharpening

21-5-09

ACTIVITIES: Roy showed us the how to sharpen our secateurs. We took apart our secateurs so we could sharpen the main cutting blade. This was done using a sharpening stone. Once the blade was sharpened the secateurs were put back together.

TOOLS: Secateurs, sharpening stone, screw driver.

PPE:

OH&S: Sharp blade from secateurs.

Pruning

21-5-09

ACTIVITIES: Roy went through some interesting pruning and cutting techniques. Firstly he showed us how to do a 3 way cut on some pine tree branches (see photo). Next we did some corrective prunning on eucylptus trees. The idea was to take the weight off some of the branches so the canopy would rise up a little. This would then make it easier of people to walk under the trees without walking into over hanging leaves and branches (see photo).

TOOLS: secateurs

PPE: Long sleeves, long pants, gloves.

OH&S: Branches poking eyes, secateurs.

Root Cuttings

19-5-09

ACTIVITIES: Today we did root cuttings. It is great to see how all the different types of cuttings are used in propagation. I took the roots from a well established Westeria plant. The idea was to dig down and find the roots of the plant and cut several pencil size roots. These roots were then taken back to the prop room and washed. A prop mix made up of 15L pasturised sand, 15L cocopeat, 15L perlite, 45g trichodry and 100g of mini osmocote was placed into small punnets (see photo). The roots were then cut into approx 5cm lengths. The top cut was on a 45 degree angle and the bottom cut was straight. The base of the root was dipped into a semi hardwood gel and placed into the punnet.

TOOLS USED: Secuteres, spade.

PPE: Long sleeves, long pants, gloves.

OH&S:

IRRIGATION Part 2 pipes and solonoid

12-05-09

ACTIVITIES: Today we continued on with the irrigation up in the vegie garden. Irrigation pipe and the solonoid cable had already been placed into the trench a couple of days earlier. One of our jobs was to place sand under the pipe and cable. We also taped the cable to the underside of the pipe. Along the western side trench we set up 3 solonoid outlets. This involved seperating 3 different coloured wires from the main cable and attaching them to the solonoids. Each solonoid had a different coloured wire. Also attatched to each solonoid was a common wire. After this was done the pipe and cable had about 20cm of sand placed on top. The sand was tampered down with a rake. The next step was to back fill the trench with soil. This also had be tampered down with a rake or your boot. So far the job has not been finished.

PPE: Long sleeves, long pants, saftey boots, gloves.

TOOLS: Crow bar, rakes, spades, wheel barrows.

OH&S: Muscular.

Leaf bud cuttings PROPAGATION

11-05-09

ACTIVITIES: Today we did leaf bud cuttings for the first time. I am finding propagation really enjoyable and interesting. I took 3 cuttings off a Camellia Japonica plant. The cuttings were approx 15cm long (see attatched photo). The next step was to cut these into small stem and 1 leaf cuttings (see attatched photo). A lateral cut was made right above the bud. The angle of the cut should be the same as the width of the stem. 12 cuttings were prepared and the ends of the stems dipped into a semi hardwood purple gel. The cuttings were then placed into a punnet full of prop mix. Prop mix was made up of 15L pasturised sand, 15l coco peat, 15L perlite, 45g trichodry and 100g of mini osmocote. 12 cutting were then placed in the punett with all leaves facing out in the same direction.

PPE:

TOOLS: Secueteres.

OH&S:

IRRIGATION part 1 Ditch Witch

29-4-09

ACTIVITIES: In the afternoon I finally managed to get to use the Ditch Witch. This was a machine we hired so we could dig a trench around the vegie garden area. There was irrigation pipe that was going to be laid in the trench. Also a wire for the solonoid was going into the trench. The machine was fairly easy to use. The main thing was to keep it going straight and to make the sure the depth of the trench was the same. With the Ditch Witch it would have taken a few days for all of us to dig it out by hand. Instead we had the entire site dug out in 1 full day.

TOOLS: Ditch Witch, wheel barrows, rakes, spades, crow bar, mattocks.

PPE: Long sleeves, long pants, gloves.

OH&S: Ditch Witch.

Brush cutting

29-04-09

ACTIVITIES: This morning we did some brush cutting along the fence line of the vegie garden. The idea was to remove any build up of weeds and grasses. This was so we could bring a Ditch Witch (small trench digger) along that path. Irrigation was going in along that area so it needed to be cleared.

TOOLS: Brush cutter, petrol.

PPE: Full face saftey helmet with earmuffs, chasps, gloves, long sleeves, long pants.

OH&S: Flying debris, brush cutter, petrol.

Planting garlic

23-04-09.

Activities: Today we planted cloves of garlic in the new garden bed we prepared yesterday. We gave the bed a light rake to remove any loose rocks and weeds. Once the bed was even we set up 4 string lines which went from one end to the other. The string lines were attatched to stakes in the ground.
There were 2 different size cloves we planted, large and small. They were spaced around 20cm apart dirrectly under the lines. Once they were planted the soil was gently hoed over the top.

Tools: Rakes, hoes, wheel barrow, string lines, stakes.

OH&S:

PPE: Longsleeves, gloves, hat.

Preparing new garden bed.

22-04-09.

Activities: Today we prepared a new garden bed. This invloved removing as many weeds as we could. This was done by hand and with rakes. The next step was to use 2 petrol driven rotary hoes to dig up the soil. The smaller machine was used to lightly dig up the soil, while the second machine went down a bit deeper.

Tools: Petrol machine rotary hoe x 2, rakes, wheel barrow.

PPE: Hat, longsleeves, gloves.

OH&S: Petrol driven rotary hoe.

Seed scarfication and stratification

22-04-09.

Activities: Today we did some really cool stuff with seeds. We used scarification and statification techniques to break the internal dormancy of the seeds. A propagation mix was prepared (15L, pasturised sand, 15L coco peat, 15L perlite and 45G of trichodry) Please note mini osmocote was not used in this mix. Seeds that we used as follows, planted in retangular punnets.

Acacia verticillata- 10 dry seeds placed into punnet, 10 scarified seeds placed in another punnet.

Dianella tasmanica- (same process as Acacia verticillata).

Zelekova serrata, Acer griseum, Acer buergeranum, Betula pendula seeds were placed in 4 seperate punnets. The punnets were then placed in the fridge for stratification.

Please note that the scarified seeds were placed in boiling water for up to 2 hours before being used.

Tools: dibbler, cement mixer, spade

OH&S: Cement mixer

PPE: Long sleeves, mask.

Propagation Semi Hardwood Cuttings

9-04-09.

Activities: We took semi hardwood cuttings off several different plants. The cuttings were then taken back into the prop room. They were placed in a bleached base solution to soke for about 30 seconds. This was basically to sanitize the cuttings. The next step was to make a final cut so we would end up with the final cuttings of around 8-12cm. The ends of the cuttings were then placed into purple hormone gel (purple was for semi hardwood cuttings). Prop mix (made up of 15L pasteurised sand, 15L coco peat, 15L perlite, 45G trichodry and 100G mini osmocote) was then placed into small rectangular shaped punnets. The cutting were then paced in the punnets (approx 9-12 per unit) and spaced evenly apart.

PPE: Long sleeves, hat, mask (for mixing propmix), disposable gloves for bleach solution.

Tools: Seceuteres, cement mixer, spade.

OH&S: Cement mixer.

Drainage Pit

8-04-09
Activities: Today we went up to the common area to do some work. This involved extending a brick path, pathing and installing a drainage pit. Russell an myself were to install the new drainage pit. The idea for this was to connect the pit to two existing drainage pipes, so any water over flow would be caught in the pit.
After the hole was dug the pit was placed in and measured up with the pipes. Blue metal was placed at the bottom before the pit went in. Once in more blue metal was placed around the pit.
PPE: Long sleeve clothes, hat, gloves.
Tools: Hacksaw, drill, tape, spade, wheelbarrow.
OH&S: Redback spiders were found in the pit.

Mulching garden bed 2

23-3-09

Activities: Today a few of us worked on garden bed 2. Our main objective was to put a layer of mulch over the entire bed. The bed was gently raked before the mulch was applied. Also prior to this a final going over to remove any remaining twitch rope was done.

Mike brought the truck down to the bed with approx 3 cubic metres of mulch. We sifted out any of the big particles and rubish that may have been in the mulch. It was then applied to the top of the bed, approx 3cm deep. It was applied by gently raking it on, after it was dumped into piles with a wheel barrow.

OH&S:

Tools: Wheel barrow, spade, sifter, rake

PPE. Long sleeve clothes, steel caps, hat, gloves

Garden revamp.

18-03-09

Activities: Today our group removed some grass to extend garden bed 3. Cameron showed us a good technique for removing small sections of grass with a pick and shovel. Then we tried to remove as much soil off the grass as we could before putting it on the mulch heap.

PPE: Long sleeve clothes, hat, saftey glasses, steel caps, gloves.

OH&S: Pick, muscular, RSI.

Tools: Wheel barrow, pick, shovel, rake, broom.

Soil testing

17-03-09
Activities: In the afternoon we did some soil testing with digital pH meters. The soil tested was from the 3 garden beds we had been working on.

This involved mixing 100ml 0f distilled water with 20 grams of soil. Then placing a calibrated PH meter into the solution to get a soil reading.

Results for the 1:5 method/meter were as follows.

Bed 1. 15cm depth 6.5pH, 5cm depth 6.9pH (same location)

Bed 2. 6.7 pH depth 15cm, 6.3pH depth 15cm, 5.9pH, depth 15cm. (taken from 3 locations)

Bed 3. 6.4 pH depth 15cm, 7.3pH depth 15cm. (taken from 2 locations)

PPE:

Tools: Hanna pH meter, beaker, distilled water, calibrating solution, scales.

OH&S:

Garden bed 1 revamp

17-03-09


Activities: Today we continued on in the garden beds. Our group was still in charge of bed 1 and it was decided that we would remove any existing roots and a small amount of Rope Twitch.

The best technique for this as Cameron pointed out was to gently loosen the top soil with a spade. Next we went over the same area with a pitch fork, sifting out the roots.

PPE: Long sleeve clothes, steel caps, hat, gloves, saftey glasses.

OH&S: Muscular, insects, pitch fork.

Tools: Pitch fork, spade.

Replanting in nursery.

11-03-09
Activities: We took 3 different plants out of the garden beds and decided to repot them. (will get their names). We mixed up a new batch of potting mix. Pots of around size 6-7 were used. They were filled about half way and the plants were put in. Then the rest if the mix was placed in but not pressed down. A gap of about 2 cm was left on top. We did about 25 new pots all up. They were then watered and placed in the nursery outside.
PPE: Face mask, gloves.
Tools: Cement mixer, ext lead, bucket, watering can.
OH&S: Cement mixer, fine dust.

Garden bed revamp

11-3-09/12-03-09
Activities: To change the 3 garden beds outside the office buiding. After much careful planning by Russell and staff it was time to change the 3 main garden beds. We split into 3 groups and each group was assigned a garden bed. Our group (Rob, Luke, Caroline, Jonno, Liam).
I was involved with garden bed 1 which is the one closest to the front office. Our job was to remove all shrubs and plants from the bed. There was also a rather large Hakia which wasnt going to be easy. In less than 2 hours everything was removed except the Hakia. Rob decided to go against what everyone else had been told and pruned (if you can call it that) the Hakia.
The next task was to remove all the roots and mulch up the branches.
Cameron had shown us the best way to prepare the branches fo the mulcher.
Jonno, Liam and I spent about 2 hours mulching.
Next day was spent doing more mulching (by others), removing the Hakia and its roots, removing the top layer of mulch from the garden bed, and generally tiding up.
Both days we put up witches hats and a saftey barrier.
Est 10 hrs. Act 10hrs.
PPE: Longsleeves, glasses, steel caps, earmuffs, gloves, saftey vests.
Tools: Wheel barrows, spades, rakes, saws, broom, secuaters, crowbar, shears, witches hats.
OH&S: Insects, picks, electricity, saws, eyes, mulcher, muscular, 3rd party, rsi.

Seeds/Propagation

10-3-09

Activities: Today we did some propagation in the nursery. This involved Russell and I making up a prop mix. Once the prop mix had been made we then used it to put our seeds in. The seeds were delivered from the Wild Seed Co in 25g packets. Weighed the seeds on scales so we knew how many to use. The prop mix went into punnets which was genlty tamped down around 3-4cm from the top. A small pinch of seeds was then placed onto each Punnet. Then a small layer of medium (forgot what we used) was placed on top and then that was gently tamped down. All the tubs were then placed on a trolly, gently watered and put in the prop room.

PPE. Face mask (making the prop mix),

Est 2hr, Act 2hr.

OH&S: Electricity, fine dust, cement mixer, muscular.

Tools: Cement mixer,ext lead, face mask, tamper, bucket, watering can.

Excursion on bus.

3-3-09
Activities: Went on bus trip to different sites to look at plants, rocks and soil types.
Went to Fern Tree, down Summer Leas rd, Houn hwy and finally Kingston Bch.
We collected 4 types of soils to test the pH.
Dolerite : 6-6.5 pH
Mudstone : 4.5-5 pH
Basalt: 6 pH
Limestone: 5 pH
Testing kit used was Colourimetric.
Tools: Colourmetric test kit, trowel, bucket
OH&S: Highway, snakes, insects.
PPE: Longsleeves, hat.

Hedge trimming outside office buiding

18-2-09
Activitities: Pruned back Juniperus conforta with new pair of secateurs and hedge shears. First attempt I was a little quick and left some noticable cuts which wasnt pleasing to the eye. Cameron showed me the right way to prune it and on the second attempt it looked much better.
Also removed a weed called Twitch Rope from in front of the hedge.
Est 1hr. Act 1hr
Tools: Wheel barrow, buckets, secateurs and hedge shears.
OH&S: Eyes, insects, muscular.
PPE: Protective glasses, gloves, long clothes, steel caps, hats, sunscreen, steel caps.

Machinery/Tractors (David Eyles)

17-2-09
Activities: We were shown the features on 2 different types of tractors. The first one we looked at was a smaller tractor (Kabota). We did a small tast drive towing and reversing a trailer around witches hats. The second Tractor (Daedong) was much larger and fairly new. We drove this as well, scooping up mulch and putting it back. Also driving it up a 15 degree slope and back down. Both tractors had front loaders.
OH&S: Tractor saftey.
Tools: Tractor trailer, witches hats.
PPE: Hat, long clothes (shirt tucked in), steel caps.

Cleaning up outside front office building

12-2-09

Activities: Cleaned up garden outside front of building. Including raking leaves, sweeping paths, pruning, lawn edging and hedge trimming.

-Est 1hr. Act 1 hr

OH&S: Tools, musucular, eyes, insects.

PPE: Hat, gloves, long clothes, sunscreen, steel caps, saftey glasses.

Tools: Secateurs, lawn trimmer, rake, broom, leaf hands, buckets, wheel barrows, hedge shears.

Nursery weeding

11-2-09.
Activities: Today was our first trip to the Campus nursery. We successfully removed weeds from potted plants. Such as Epolodien, Willow Herb, Mouse Ear and Cats Ear. We discovered 2 types of snails including English and Australian varieties. Also 2 different coloured Aphids, brown adults and green juveniles.
Tools: Wheel barrows and buckets to put the weeds into which would then be mulched.
We also removed and cleaned underneath where the potted plants were.

Est 3 hrs, Act 6 hrs.

PPE:Hat, gloves and full length clothes, steel caps, saftey glasses.

OH&S: Insect bites, muscular