Comments for Australian Bush Life

Comment on Indigenous Grasses – Velvet Wallaby-grass by admin

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:26:54 +0000

Hi Russell,
The Bush Dudes are more than happy to provide photos upon request for educational purposes. Our belief is in providing people with resources so that they can better look after their natural environment and hence protect biodiversity – so this is right up our alley.
Will get in touch with you on your e-mail to sort out further.
Good luck with your project.
Bush Dudes.

Comment on Fungi – Earth Stars – Geastrum triplex by admin

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:23:38 +0000

Have never heard of anyone trying this. We have never seen our Wallabies eat Earth Stars and they are a good indicator to me of what might be good to consume (or other), so I would say not good for consumption.
Will leave you to experiment at your own risk to your health.
Bush Dudes.

Comment on Indigenous Grasses – Velvet Wallaby-grass by Russell Dahms

Russell Dahms — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:36:16 +0000

We are in the process of completing a DVD based on the interactive search program APSquery. The program is being developed by the Australian Plant Society – SA Region – a non for profit organisation.

Would we be able to use some of your images in the program.

The max resolution used in 800 x 800 pixels and all photographers are acknowledged as well as receiving a copy of the DVD product.

Awaiting your replies…

kind regards

Russell Dahms

Comment on Fungi – Earth Stars – Geastrum triplex by brandon

brandon — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:07:45 +0000

can these mushrooms make you high?
like an intense high??? (:<

Comment on Easter Chocolates And Biodegradable Packaging by admin

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:24:49 +0000

We emptied our worm farm recently and this biodegradable packaging has completely disappeared. I only remembered that we had put this corn starch tray in there when I re-read this article so all good and 100% composted within about 1 year. 1 year is about how long it takes us to rotate the trays and move the compost into the garden, so good time frame for the whole composting cycle in a worm farm.

Comment on Vietnamese Mint – Propagate, Grow and Harvest. by admin

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:05:40 +0000

Hi Lydia,
Sorry for the delay in getting back after my blog melt down. Doesn’t seem right that you need to re-purchase a new Vietnamese Mint each year. We have had ours for about 5 years. It does die down a bit in winter but just re-grows in spring again. We also have cold winters being in the mountains just east of Melbourne so I doubt that it is too cold where you live. I would just double check that you have the correct species and not another type of mint – or even something completely different. If definitely the right plant then ensure that you give it a good chance to re-grow back in the spring. Once you start to see some new shoots after winter make sure it never dries out. Vietnamese mint can sit in water and be happy we actually use it as a guide to water our herb garden when we see the Vietnamese Mint looking a bit dry we water everything. If this doesn’t work I would grow it in a reasonable sized pot so that you can move it around i.e. move from frosts or out of direct heat if getting too dry, maybe even sit the pot in some water during mid-summer.
I really hope something works for you – i don’t want you to have a black thumb!
Bush Dudes.

Comment on Fungi – Earth Stars – Geastrum triplex by admin

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:29:13 +0000

Hi Elaine. Great that you have these interesting little fungi in your garden. It would be interesting to see if they have a relationship with any of the plants in your garden but I think mostly they just like the dead leaf litter on the ground and not sure if they are species specific on this as they are found in quite a range of habitat (vegetation) types. We found that once they spore they tend to form groups around the sporning sites and just keep re-appearing every time the conditions were right (moisture, dead leaf litter etc). We are still waiting for them to re-appear, hopefully they will return one day but our bush still looks so different from what it did before the bushfire – there is just so much re-growth!
Enjoy.
Bush Dudes.

Comment on Fungi – Earth Stars – Geastrum triplex by Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:42:44 +0000

Hi. Thanks for the low down on this fungi. I also used your blog to identify these amazing little fungi that I found growing under my Eremophila decipiens in Glen Iris today. There is plenty of leaf litter and old pine bark mulch around but the fungi have onlyappeared in this spot. There is also an Agonis flexuosa nearby. They haven’t been in my garden before and, I think are a result of the hot and wet weather we’ve been having lately. I also think they must have a symbiotic relationship with the E decipiens as I have other A. flexuosa in my garden and have not noticed the fungi around those. However I’ll keep looking over the next few days as they may be spawning now. Hope you get to see yours again very soon.

Comment on Indigenous Grass: Themeda triandra – Kangaroo Grass by admin

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:28:05 +0000

Hi Justin,
Sorry it has taken so long to respond… we have had serious web issues but are back on track now.
In regards to the straw from native grasses yes you can definitely get straw from many types of native grasses, Kangaroo Grass, Wallaby Grass, Spear Grass and Weeping Grass provide us with lots of straw. And yes growing these instead of non-native pasture grasses is great for survival of indigenous grasses and also good for all the other local biodiversity that use the grasses – many wildlife species would prefer the native grasses to pasture grasses.
To answer your final question we only use the straw from native grasses to put around our fruit trees – also when travelling in northern australia many of the large stations graze their cattle on native Spear Grass meadows and they say they are very nutrient rich and good for cattle. So I suppose it depends what you want to farm the straw for? In general native grasses do not provide the density (mass of blades of grass per area) as the non-native pasture. I.e. they are approximately about 1/3rd the density so straw production of native grasses would need more land to produce the same amount of straw over non-native pasture – hence the reason for all the introduction of non-native pasture. But there are benefits too, obviously local biodiversity is greatly improved with native grass for pastures and also they are a reduced grass fire risk as they do not have the density and would not burn as hot as non-native pasture grass.
I think just give it a go by encouraging local grass species and reducing or removing non-native pasture grasses and see if you like it. I think that you will find you can still graze farm animals and have the benefits of local wildlife too with a native pasture and native grasslands look so beautiful through the spring and summer when flowering and seeding so are well worth it for their overall beauty. If you are thinking of using them for straw bales to build with I don’t see why you couldn’t use native straw – it is all about the processing of the straw into bales that is the issue not which straw type. I.e needs to be dry and packed really tight so that they don’t fall apart or rot, so as long as the bales are prepared well I think they would hold up – but I haven’t tested it and it would be interesting to know.
All the best with your endeavours and would love to hear how it goes.
Regards,
Bush Chick.

Comment on Fungi – Earth Stars – Geastrum triplex by admin

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:41:08 +0000

Enjoy your Yuckles – very cute name!
Glad you could identify them from our website.
Sorry for my delay in responding (been having blog issues)…