Brightly at Miepoll 2009

14/8/2009

Is it possible to over prepare a site ?

Probably not if you are a seed but as a direct seeding machine operator I would have to say YES.

Tony had prepared well . Strong fences surrounded the site , the whole site had been blitzed twice with herbicide , ripped lines had been added to break up the soil and capture
maximum moist .

Yet we found it a difficult site !

The ripped lines had captured too much moisture. A heavy duty tractor had done the ripping .The ripped lines were so deep that when we straddled them we were sowing the seed into mid air. We ended up sowing between the rip lines but they were spaced so that each wheel of the toyota was travelling along a ripped furrow.

The photos tell the story .

7 rows of 700 metres = 2ha

Another of Helens Blokes

22nd October

Anthony Bailey of Tatong .

This site did not qualify for a DPI grant , so Anthony ordered his own seed and contracted us to sow it. Unfortunately Anthony was working at his Berrigan property on the day we visted but we spoke many times on the phone .

Helen was very organised with a timetable and map drawn up for day , (to make best use of our time) , and her picnic basket packed.

Small site along a roadside .

Fully herbcided and grazed .

Fence not completed but marked.

The landholder wanted 'swirly' lines to create a more natural effect.

Soil a little dry and even dusty in a few spots. This site was too wet to get onto athe week before !

Dry at Last

After long break due to wet weather , major floods and boggy paddocks we resume seeding .
4th October 2010

• Trish Lele , Locksley . Remnant Box hillock . Beautifully prepared site (10/10 SCORE ) . Strip sprayed twice . Landholders home to show us about . Managed to sow a few lines in an extra remnant tree site with left over seed . Susan Sleigh DPI Grant .




• Warren Ellis , Violet Town . Site 1. along Turnip Creek had been sprayed a fair while ago but was still OK , evidence of recent flooding across site . Site 2. along drainage line / wetland at the back of property still pretty wet , had to hand sow the wettest area near dam . Creek crossing was a bit tricky but we did the job without getting stuck . Grass growth in paddock amazingly good , crop growth amazingly poor - too wet. Helen Repacholi DPI Grant .





• Greg Ellis , Violet Town . Roadside plantation , very narrow , private contract . No gate into plantation so we had to cut the fence !