Protecting the Edibles

Over the last month or so, there has been a lot of work going on around the orchard and vegie garden.

First a lot of poles were erected, but I don't seem to have any photos of that stage.

Then chicken wire began to cover the whole thing:

So how do you cover a construction like this with chicken wire?

Cut a length of wire, and attach it at one end:

Then with the help of a ladder and a rake, spread the wire across the supports,

and when you get to the other side,

use the tractor to pull it taut!

Then there's lots of clipping it all into place.

Once the roof was finished, the sides were wrapped in chicken wire too:

The chooks had been confined to a small area while this was all happening, but on the first of January they were finally allowed the run of a section of the orchard:

Which they enjoyed immensely! It was also good when we had the hot day on Saturday that the chooks could find themselves spots in the damp soil under the fruit trees to keep themselves cooler.

On Friday the very last bits of wire were secured:

And the orchard and vegie garden are now almost bird and possum proof. Almost, because there is one last job to do:

The area above that gate is still open, so a larger gate is required. The gate was going to be enlarged today, but we had a few other things to take care of instead. Maybe tomorrow. And once the gate is enlarged, it will also need chicken wire, because those openings are large enough for a rosella to get through

I haven't shown much of the vegie garden before, so here's a few shots of it:

 Lots of lovely edibles growing!