The Grower Tree Scheme Summer 2013 Number 8 Growing 2013 By JENNIE HOWE Tree Scheme Grower Coordinator W elcome all Trees For Life Growers. Thank you for embarking, either for the first time or yet again on another year of Trees For Life growing. Goodness knows our barren state needs your help! With over 95% of our state’s natural vegetation having been cleared since 1856, we need your assistance to put trees back in the ground and help undo the damage and every bit of help counts. One volunteer grower said to me recently, “I’m contributing barely a drop in the ocean compared to what is required.” But without everyone’s voluntary efforts we wouldn’t be able to produce the tremendous team results we achieve every year. This year your combined personal efforts are producing well over 600,000 seedlings (equivalent to revegetating the size of 300 x M.C.G. stadiums)! Although your growing may seem an individualistic activity in your backyard, you are actually part of a large team comprised of well over 1200 people state wide - and together, we achieve great results for the environment. Keep up the great work! We hope to see you back again next year and remember, if you enjoyed the experience please encourage your friends to register this coming July too! TIPS ON TEDIOUS TUBE FILLING T he biggest feedback we receive every year is how long and arduous the task of tube filling is (yes we know). Unfortunately, without tubes we can’t do any growing so please don’t let this be the reason you don’t grow again! The best way to tackle this task is to organise a TUBE FILLING DAY and get it all done at once by enlisting the help of your like-minded friends and family. Organise an afternoon tea or a barbeque, put on some music, organise some cold drinks, have all your equipment ready and arranged such that you can sit around comfortably for a good old chin wag. Turn this dreary job into a fun, social event with positive environmental outcomes. You will find ten boxes will be knocked off in no time and your guests will feel inspired about how easy it is to help the environment and will probably be eager to help out again next year. If tube-filling solo is more your style, then you may be interested in purchasing one of Trevor’s Tubefillers (pic. bottom left) to help you out. They are efficient, accurate and excellent for arthritic hands or fingers and even young children. Used by our own nursery staff, it will result in firmly filled tubes in half the estimated time. Pick one up from our nursery, 8406 0500 or contact Trevor on tbright05@ bigpond.com. The unit comes with funnel, stand, measuring cup and plunger for $25 (cash only). Remember, without tubes we can’t do any growing, so don’t give up! Contact us Trees For Life 5 May Tce Brooklyn Park 5032 Ph: 8406 0500 Fax: 8406 0599 [email protected]www.treesforlife.org.au If you would like to help us save paper by receiving this via email, please let us know. please phone us for Replacement Seed on 8406 0500 before February 8, 2013 Seed Replacement If your seed has not germinated in the time specified in the appendix of your Growers’ Handbook (pages 40 - 47), please phone us before February 8 and we will replace it. Ph 8406 0500
Transcript
The GrowerTree Scheme Summer 2013Number 8
Growing 2013By JENNIE HOWE
Tree Scheme Grower Coordinator
Welcome all Trees For Life Growers. Thank you for
embarking, either for the first time or yet again on another year of Trees For Life growing. Goodness knows our barren state needs your help! With over 95% of our state’s natural vegetation having been cleared since 1856, we need your assistance to put trees back in the ground and help undo the damage and every bit of help counts. One volunteer grower said to me recently, “I’m contributing barely a drop in the ocean compared to what is required.” But without everyone’s voluntary efforts we wouldn’t be able to produce the tremendous team results we achieve every year. This year your combined personal efforts are producing well over 600,000 seedlings (equivalent to revegetating the size of 300 x M.C.G. stadiums)! Although your growing may seem an individualistic activity in your backyard, you are actually part of a large team comprised of well over 1200 people state wide - and together, we achieve great results for the environment. Keep up the great work! We hope to see you back again next year and remember, if you enjoyed the experience please encourage your friends to register this coming July too!
TIPS ON TEDIOUS TUBE FILLING
The biggest feedback we receive every year is how long and
arduous the task of tube filling is (yes we know). Unfortunately, without tubes we can’t do any growing so please don’t let this be the reason you don’t grow again! The best way to tackle this task is to organise a TUBE FILLING DAY and get it all done at once by enlisting the help of your like-minded friends and family. Organise an afternoon tea or a barbeque, put on some music, organise some cold drinks, have all your equipment ready and arranged such that you can sit around comfortably for a good old chin wag. Turn this dreary job into a fun, social event with positive environmental outcomes. You will find ten boxes will be knocked off in no time and your guests will feel inspired about how easy it is to help the environment and will probably be eager to help out again next year.
If tube-filling solo is more your style, then you may be interested in purchasing one of Trevor’s Tubefillers (pic. bottom left) to help you out. They are efficient, accurate and excellent for arthritic hands or fingers and even young children. Used by our own nursery staff, it will result in firmly filled tubes in half the estimated time. Pick one up from our nursery, 8406 0500 or contact Trevor on [email protected]. The unit comes with funnel, stand, measuring cup and plunger for $25 (cash only).
Remember, without tubes we can’t do any growing, so don’t give up!
If you would like to help us save paper by receiving this via
email, please let us know.
please phone us for Replacement Seed on 8406 0500
before February 8, 2013
Seed ReplacementIf your seed has not germinated in the time specified in the appendix of your Growers’ Handbook (pages 40 - 47), please phone us before February 8 and we will replace it.
Ph 8406 0500
GOING FROM 6 TO 10
Most new volunteers request to start out with 6 boxes,
however each year our greatest need is for volunteers to grow 10 boxes as this is what most landholders order (95% of orders in 2012 were for 10 boxes). So when you offer to grow less than 10, we will most often match you to a project rather than a landholder. Growing for a Landholder can often be more rewarding than growing for a project, as you can find out exactly where your plants are going, what their purpose is, watch their growth over years to come, perhaps form a relationship with their owner, and maybe even have the chance to help plant them out in the ground.
So if you have the right conditions for growing in your yard, please consider increasing your offer to 10 next year. The biggest difference with growing 10 boxes is just filling the tubes, so as long as you have some help (as outlined overleaf ) this shouldn’t be too hard. Once your tubes are filled the workload is relatively the same as growing 6 boxes.
Front images: (Top) Geoff Russell & Suzanne Pope; (middle) Taylor-Davis Family: Ben, Miles, Phoebe & Natasha; (bottom) “Trevor’s Tubefiller” demonstrated by grandson, Kieran.
The Tree Scheme TeamFrom left: Manager Maureen Redfern, Tree Scheme Officer Graham Greaves, Nursery Assistant Katherine Hill & Grower Coordinator Jennifer Howe (Absent - Seedbank Manager Bruce Smith )
Back-up stock will be available
April 19, 20 & 21, 2013TFL Nursery, corner of Sir Donald Bradman Drive & May Terrace, Brooklyn Park
(details printed in March ReLeaf )
- January & February -Important Growing Tips
• Call TFL for replacement seed if you have had poor germination rates.
• Move seedlings into full sun at the first true leaf stage.
• Establish contact with your landholder if you have not already heard from them.
• Continue to keep your seedlings moist using a soft spray and ensure the soil at the bottom of the tubes does not dry out.
• Carry out thinning & transplanting as required. See pages 20 - 23 of the Growers’ Handbook.
Acacia pycnantha - Golden WattleA Species in Focus
Are you growing Acacia pycnantha, commonly referred to as the Golden Wattle? The pictures displayed in the right column are what you can expect your little seedlings to look like after their first few weeks of germination.
Acacias characteristically take 4 – 6 weeks to germinate (start to grow), but depending on the weather can sometimes germinate sooner. The Acacia pycnantha seedling will grow into a medium sized shrub to small tree up to 3 - 8m tall. It is recognised by its large, dark green, leathery phyllodes (modified leaves) and abundance of yellow ‘fluffy ball’ shaped flowers, appearing August - October.The Golden Wattle is a common understorey plant found in open Eucalypt woodlands and is widespread through South Australia.Being a legume, it is able to “fix” its own nitrogen requirements directly from the atmosphere with the aid of soil bacteria. This means they are able to quickly recolonise degraded areas.
Interesting facts about Acacia pycnantha:
• It is commonly selected for revegetation projects due to its natural ability as a “colonising plant.” While it is short lived, its fast growth habit helps to restabilise soils and re-create a microclimate in open, degraded or fire affected areas, allowing other species to then re-establish themselves naturally over time.
• It is Australia’s floral emblem and is where our national colours Green and Gold are derived from.
•The botanical name pycnantha is derived from the Greek, pyknos and anthos, meaning dense-flowered.
•They have nectar secreting glands on the phyllodes which attract ants and birds.
Acacia pycnantha photos from left to right: Mature shrub; flowers; seedling leaf; germinating seedlings.
