Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted January 29, 2012 Hi Kurt, I'm cutrious to see how quick Normanbya grows for you, could we see an update of the one in post #88 please ? Hey Wal - here is this update... this particular one isn't the best example, as it gets a fair bit of shade. The one's growing in the sun are way bigger, which have also featured in previous posts... I know there's literature out there saying they grow faster in shade (PACSOA website), but that simply isn't true here, in habitat. And my coconut, collected from the beach 2 kms down the road. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted January 29, 2012 A couple more... Bowenia spectabilis flush close up. Ferny photo from the first garden I built (this was all cleared land when purchased). A 12 month year old Cassowary Plum (Cerbera floribunda) which I grew from seed collected off the property. 5 year old seed grown Licuala ramsayi. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted January 29, 2012 One more... Pink euodia (Melicope elleryana) up the front as previously featured... Moss! Bush Lollies! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NApalm 28 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 Great photos. one of my favourate threads on here for sure! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 Glad you enjoyed it so much Russel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ariscott 48 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 Beautiful Kurt... jealous... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Thanks Ari. Good place for plants, not so good (at least currently) for Europeans. Personally, I don't mind this time of year (most folks will say otherwise), but the rest of the year makes up for it. Edited January 30, 2012 by Mr Cycad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ariscott 48 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 I love this time of the year.... It is cool because of the rain. In Darwin, the build up is the killer, which is usually from Sept to Dec. Once monsoon starts... it is heaven!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Update of post #85 - Norm & Alex And lastly, down at out local swimming hole... where we cool off during midday. Upstream & Downstream Well, that's all until next time. Happy growing! Edited January 30, 2012 by Mr Cycad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted January 30, 2012 I love this time of the year.... It is cool because of the rain. In Darwin, the build up is the killer, which is usually from Sept to Dec. Once monsoon starts... it is heaven!! I agree Ari. This time of year is amazing! I love watching all the explosions in growth, and all the waterfalls and creeks are running bring new life. The humidity can get to you at times, by that nature of the place (you just have to take it easy). When the sun comes out, that's another story. We've been having hot sunny days, with rain or storms each night - absolutely perfect growing weather! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted February 1, 2012 Got a few more photo's to add... 2 year old Ptychosperma elegans - this thing is fast! A native climbing bamboo (no idea what species?) Licuala ramsayi stilt roots Jungle floor patterns (old Licuala ramsayi leaf) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted February 1, 2012 Some sort of native beetle larva feeding in a recent flush of Bowenia spectabilis. A fig strangling a Licuala ramsayi. Durian - one of the many tropical fruits trees planted out. And lastly, another canopy shot with another small Lepidozamia hopei. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for looking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newcal 7 Report post Posted February 1, 2012 No crocs in the creek there Kurt? I hope your not too close to Barrets Creek where Beryl Wruck was taken!Love the Daintree,one of my favorite places in FNQ ...cheers Mike Green(Newcal) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted February 1, 2012 No crocs in the creek there Kurt? I hope your not too close to Barrets Creek where Beryl Wruck was taken!Love the Daintree,one of my favorite places in FNQ ...cheers Mike Green(Newcal) G'day Mike. No crocs, because there is no food (well, not enough anyway), plus it's too shady - they don't live in the rainforest itself! I'm north of the river also (in Cow Bay), not the Daintree township itself where Barrett's Creek is (south side of the river). My favorite place too. Cheers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 G'day folks. Was up at the farm over the long weekend and ended up having the camera handy! A few photo's of some of the progress. Enjoy. I think we might be finally at the start of the dry... almost 10 days now without rain! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 Really moving.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 Lemurophoenix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 Whitelockii with Dioon's behind.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 Cycas angulata & Galangal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 And the coconut... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cindy Adair 2,766 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 Cycas angulata & Galangal Your plants all look happy and healthy. Watch that galangal as ours started out in a 1 gallon pot from a friend in a retirement condo in Virginia, far from the tropics. Once set loose in Puerto Rico it quickly grew 6-8 feet tall. We've shared it, chopped it to contain it and moved some to help support a bit of a landslide after our last rainy season. Eventually we'll need to remove it from the space we originally innocently planted it to give it more room... Obviously we're still learning! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff Searle 1,060 Report post Posted June 11, 2012 I am so jealous of the natural surroundings that you enjoy. What a beautiful setting and how your able to grow almost anything there. Thanks for all of your great pictures. Jeff Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 12, 2012 Wow, I never knew that about the galangal... It's been in the ground almost a year now, and was almost thinking it wasn't going to grow any taller... There's probably deferent varieties out there too right? Good stuff for fresh curry action! Glad you enjoyed it Jeff. I love this time of year (can get more things done) and I love this place. My roots are down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aussiearoids 334 Report post Posted June 12, 2012 Kurt , yes Galangal can get to a large size and 'quickly overtake allotted garden space' as the saying goes . BUT the solution is easy , just search out lots of recipes and use it in cooking . xclnt Thai comfort food , an amazing delicous soup with lots in it . I have also made a refreshing drink using it , just simmer up a heap of the hard old tuber [ fresh new growth is best for curries ] sweeten with honey or sugar .. you could prob even ferment it and make galangal beer ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 12, 2012 Well there you go. Thanks for that Michael. It's funny actually, noting the growth differences... I planted three different edible ginger types all at the same time (from bulbs that I grew at home in a pot). A tall half ornamental pink flowering type (hasn't flowered yet though), whose leaves are two metres plus already - the fastest of the lot. Then second is the normal ginger variety, which has flowered (as per the attached), and lastly the galangal. That drink sounds good too. Would be great to fight off a common cold (and maybe a dash of whisky)! Galangal beers sound amazing too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ariscott 48 Report post Posted June 12, 2012 Hi Kurt, You have built your house then? Have you moved there permanently, or are you still doing the commuting every weekend thing? Anyway, everything grows crazy there.. I am rather jealous.... Regards, Ari Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NCpalmqueen 84 Report post Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) Holy Cow, those plants and photos are incredible! What a treat! What types of critters also reside there? Any slithery things? Edited June 12, 2012 by NCpalmqueen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 12, 2012 Hey, G’day Ari. Yep, house is built (well the first part of it anyway). All certified as of last week too actually. Pouring more footings this Friday for another little structure also. Still doing the commuting, but I get to spend three days a week up there now. Will be a few more years really until we can live up there full time with our currently work/study commitments, plus also how the overall building project is scheduled going forward with what we want to achieve, plus the financial commitments we have etc. (I save up, then build a bit more (things really slowed up a few months back as I was working in Brisbane during the week days on the Legacy Way tunnel for 6 months (was only supposed to work on it for 2 months!), plus it’s been slow going with the weather). A few photos attached out of interest sake – my experimental solar passive tropical house (post and beam construction). Indeed, everything grows like crazy! Still getting good growth now with a few flushes here and there, but that will all slow up a bit now with the cool temps and lack of rain. It’s still a lot of work to keep it all happening… have only been on the gardens monthly as of late (due to the building and weather). Hi Cindy. All sorts up here. Cassowaries, tree kangaroos, cuscus, melomys, bandicoots, musky rat kangaroos, goannas, heaps of different birds (kingfishers, parrots, doves, cockatoos etc.), fish, all sorts of crazy beetles and bugs and yes, a few slithery things… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 12, 2012 Better post a photo with some palminess in it!! How many species can you see in this photo? See the big female Cassowary checking us out on Sunday afternoon (its mating season). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pedro 65 1,004 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 Kurt,congratulations for being one of very few that are very privileged to be private land owners at Cow Bay. The stunning massive and very ancient Licuala Ramsayi in your garden is neverending beauty and harmony. Kurt, last year i took my two young sons very near by to have fun on on a flying fox which was high up from rosewood tree to rosewood tree in the rainforest, we all had fun..The drive back to Cairns was slow as my boys wanted to continually stop and stand under the licualas and climb to the top of the tower in the delightful Daintree nat Pk.. Kurt, you are doing a fantastic job at gardening and building well done, apart from all the amazing wildlife you have, do the destructive feral pigs visit and try to dig up everything? All the best with all your future building and plantings Kurt, do you have any socratea, wettinia or iriartea inground? Keep up your great work. Pete Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redant 1,128 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 "do the destructive feral pigs visit and try to dig up everything?" Do I smell BBQ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 G'day Pete. Hope you are feeling ok and are well and truly on the mend now. Thanks for the kind words too. Indeed, we have a big feral pig problem here. Some folks have said there are five of them to every person that lives in the area! A couple of us have compound bows and we've joked at the pub about setting up the Cow Bay Bow Shooters Club to try and get the population under control. I had pig problems at our place initially, but they have been leaving us alone lately (touch wood - it's been pretty wet the last couple of years, so they have stayed down in the swamps). Some of the older folks here have told me stories about what the place looked like 20-30 years ago when the population was under control (everyone was hunting them freely back then). Amazing coloured fungi in pinks, yellows and blues, lots of different ferns you don't see now... kind of reminiscent of that Avatar movie. Unfortunately, in came the bureaucracy and the red tape, and the banning (more so restriction) of hunting as they opened up the Daintree to tourism. Initially the guys did a deal with the ex-ranger and went on hunts with him. That ended up getting found out, and he was moved on, and some genius from Sydney was relocated up here to implement a policy going forward for the management of the feral pig population... and here we are today. Fail. Story of the world, isn't it? Anyways, yes, I do have 1 each of those species, still only small, except the Iriartea... got one off Arden once, but it died in the dry season of 2009 (worst in recorded white man history). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aussiearoids 334 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 Very decent size eaves you have there Kurt , really needed in high rainfall areas We have a Bow Hunters Club here in Tully , as well as a big pig problem . One mate kills any that come on his place , and he then feeds them to local crocs . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ariscott 48 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) The little cabin looks nice... Did you buy it as kit or build it from scratch? I take it you would just build more of those pods in the future as money and time permits?? Sorry... too many questions about the building... but I love architecture and structural design, and since working for utility company... I missed designing aspects quite a bit... It is ok though, I have the teenager's retreat to design and draw up soon enough.... Would love to drop in on you in hopefully 2 years when we make our way there to the Daintree, if you don't mind... I will bring cakes . BTW, consulting companies always do that with working away... A friend (structural engineer) was offered a secondment to Perth office for 2 months, and ended up to be a year... Sheesh.... as if he has nothing better to do than to live away. After that, he refused any assignment away from home.... Regards, Ari Edited June 13, 2012 by ariscott Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 Very decent size eaves you have there Kurt , really needed in high rainfall areas We have a Bow Hunters Club here in Tully , as well as a big pig problem . One mate kills any that come on his place , and he then feeds them to local crocs . Thanks Michael. Indeed. Plus the cross ventilation! Doesn't your mate eat them? Steve, the new owner of crocodylus, shot one down the back a few weeks ago, and they cooked it up in a hangi. Was tasty as! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Cycad 11 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 The little cabin looks nice... Did you buy it as kit or build it from scratch? I take it you would just build more of those pods in the future as money and time permits?? Sorry... too many questions about the building... but I love architecture and structural design, and since working for utility company... I missed designing aspects quite a bit... It is ok though, I have the teenager's retreat to design and draw up soon enough.... Would love to drop in on you in hopefully 2 years when we make our way there to the Daintree, if you don't mind... I will bring cakes . BTW, consulting companies always do that with working away... A friend (structural engineer) was offered a secondment to Perth office for 2 months, and ended up to be a year... Sheesh.... as if he has nothing better to do than to live away. After that, he refused any assignment away from home.... Regards, Ari Hi Ari. Designed and built from scratch. Yep, that's exactly it. Same style of construction, but a few more 'pods'. This new project I'm starting on Friday should take 4 weeks, doing 2 days each weekend. I'll post some more photos when it's done if intetested. Sounds like you've been keeping busy too?! 2 years hey. No dramas at all. Things will be looking really good then, and it's always a pleasure hanging with some palm peeps. Indeed.. I've done my share for awhile! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ariscott 48 Report post Posted June 13, 2012 Yes please post some photos... Love pods construction... Unfortunately we have to have more traditional houses, as our kids are a lot smaller when we built ours... but the other day, when we were walking to the back of the block, I wouldn't mind putting pods at the back... so nice down there. Regards, Ari Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tropicbreeze 703 Report post Posted June 14, 2012 Great photos as usual. Ironically, years back I was planning on settling over your way but work availability ended up bringing me here. I'm certainly not unhappy about that, but life does have a habit of modifying plans. I noticed you mentioned having goannas. Which species? The cane toads wiped them out here almost immediately, although V. mertensi seems to be making a slow come back now. Panoptes, which was the most common here was hardest hit. On the feral pigs, they're all over the place here and have ripped my place apart a number of times. I've shot some but will never eat them. There's too much road kill around and people dump dead animals out bush which the pigs get right into. They just become compost below new trees I plant. But I've so far (touch wood) over come the feral pig problem for about 4 years now by installing an electric fence. Pigs have an ultra sensitive snout to electrical zaps. The fence is low enough the wallabies go over in a normal bound. Not only pigs can't fly, but they can't jump either. It's good to be able to plant things which will have a very good chance of survival, apart from wallabies jumping on them, jungle fowl scratching them up or bandicoots digging them out. (who said life was meant to be easy?) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NCpalmqueen 84 Report post Posted June 14, 2012 That is some list of critters...I have no clue what most are! I will be looking them up in wiki. Would love to see photos of any of the critters! Love the cabin! Hey, G’day Ari. Yep, house is built (well the first part of it anyway). All certified as of last week too actually. Pouring more footings this Friday for another little structure also. Still doing the commuting, but I get to spend three days a week up there now. Will be a few more years really until we can live up there full time with our currently work/study commitments, plus also how the overall building project is scheduled going forward with what we want to achieve, plus the financial commitments we have etc. (I save up, then build a bit more (things really slowed up a few months back as I was working in Brisbane during the week days on the Legacy Way tunnel for 6 months (was only supposed to work on it for 2 months!), plus it’s been slow going with the weather). A few photos attached out of interest sake – my experimental solar passive tropical house (post and beam construction). Indeed, everything grows like crazy! Still getting good growth now with a few flushes here and there, but that will all slow up a bit now with the cool temps and lack of rain. It’s still a lot of work to keep it all happening… have only been on the gardens monthly as of late (due to the building and weather). Hi Cindy. All sorts up here. Cassowaries, tree kangaroos, cuscus, melomys, bandicoots, musky rat kangaroos, goannas, heaps of different birds (kingfishers, parrots, doves, cockatoos etc.), fish, all sorts of crazy beetles and bugs and yes, a few slithery things… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
