Ian's microfarm.

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
14 May UPDATE

Irrigation and timers ordered for my entire front and back raised beds , and are being collected.
Eucy Mulch ( 2 scoops for front bed = 0.5 cum ) ordered and collected.
6m x 3m bed deweeded and soil in it has been prepped this afternoon.
Nasturtium jungle has been removed , 4 cuttings in a 40cm selfwatering pot, rootball in a 40cm selfwatering pot to save for transplantation later.
My tube stock native plants will be going into the 6m x 3m bed & small brick garden bed this afternoon.
Drip Irrigation system will be installed this afternoon according to this layout < NOT TO SCALE >
screenshot-209.png


Wife is very excited about her Mothers' Day sent ( belated by about a week ) , even more since she wont need to do much weeding ( 3cm deep eucy mulch will deter weeds ) and watering will be taken care off automatically.

6m x 3m bed , pot plant patio garden , small bricked flower bed & seed trays and micro pots will all be on the front system's timer and so watered automatically.

Front will be all done in one afternoon , my garden contractor will be all done by 7pm , so 7 hrs work all up.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
Southernly buster arrived at 7pm , and that together with loss of daylight brought work to a stop.
Back tomorrow at 7am to finish off.

Gardening contractor is very impressed with my garden design, my selection of plants, my irrigation design and how I've organised the logistics , told me he couldn't do a better job himself and it would have cost me thousands if he'd done all the "brainwork/designwork" for me…. wants me to do garden bed and garden design work for him ( literally offered me a job this afternoon ) told him I'm retired but will sleep on it .

Have ordered my 2nd batch of natives for the big raised beds in the backyard
Getting back in berrys and bush tukka plants , added
>> some strawberry plants ( 2 varieties = Joy and Temptation ) , will be converting 2 galv roof gutters supported on the sqr section steel Sth bdry fence to grow the strawberries far enough off the ground to avoid being raided by snails and slugs - learnt that lesson already from last time I tried growing strawberries on a 75cm planter trough on bricks ).
>> 3 varieties of blueberry plants ( Misty, Powderblue and Brightwell ) *
>> 2 varieties of raspberry plants ( Heritage & Talameen ) *
>> 2 varieties of finger lime plants ( Torakina & Champagne ) *

* will grow all these in 40cm pots in my mobile 1m square x 20cm mobile planter bed. Will hold 8 of my Décor 40cm selfwatering pots , add the mulberry or the pomegranate , add the 20cm height extension and toss some sugarcane mulch over the top and no one will be any the wiser that it has actually got nice "LIGHT" / easy removed 40cm pots in it.


The nasturtium plants had formed a big combined rootball about the size of a sockerball.
For the green thumbs a question , can I split this big rootball with a knife into 3 or 4 smaller rootstocks and transplant them in their own pots to propogate them ?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
Update 15May

Big 6m x 3m two level display native flowering plants bed is now complete ( less the Grass Tree ).
IMG-1374.jpg

IMG-1375.jpg


Used 4mm PP riser tubes from the 19mm PP tubes so got away with 3 // x not 4 // x 19mm PP branch lines in the top bed, added 1 // x 19mm PP in the sunnier lower bed.

The brick patio flower bed has been revitalised, has some native flowering grown covers in it now.
IMG-1376.jpg

plants in this are all groundcovers
> Correa alba prostrate creeper
> Waxflower Crowea saligna ‘Large PINK Flower’
> Hibbertia vestita Little Rocker ( yellow flowers )
> Clustered Everlasting Chrysocephalum apiculatum ‘Silver & Gold’
> Fan Flower Scaevola ‘Pink Perfection’

Rain chased gardener away before he could install my 13mm PP secondary dip irrigation sys for the patio bed, my pot plants & my seed trays .
Thinks there's maybe 2 hours work in the Patio 13mm PP irrigation system install.

Back on Monday to finish front & start working on prepping the 5 beds in my backyard in readiness for my new orders of natives & to install the 20mm PVC manifold from my NW tap to the four 3m x 1.5m & the 6m x 1.5m beds.
Already ordered and paid for another 2 scoops of eucy mulch to be collected on Monday.
Will mulch the pots and the 3m x 1.5m beds with sugarcane mulch.

Seemed a bit confused about the 13mm PP irrigation syst addition, so I've endeavoured to clarify what I require installed
Schematic
15may2021-schematic-for-front-irrigation-system.jpg


Plan view
15may2021-layout-plan-view-for-front-irrigation-system.jpg


Front view
15may2021-layout-front-view-for-front-irrigation-system.jpg
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
Update 17 May

Branch to small brick bed sorted on the same line as the 6m x 3m bed.
Ran out of 13m PP so used 19mm PP so it's solidly connected to the bricks. Used up the 13mm PP for the branch lines throughout the 6m x 3m bed in leu of 19mm PP as specified.

screenshot-212.png


The three 3m x 1.5m beds have been deweeded and prepped and have sugarcane mulch on them now.
The 6m x 1.5m bed has been deweeded and prepped and has eucy mulch on it now.
The Hockey stick bed has been deweeded and prepped and has eucy mulch on it now.

Ended up pulling the geo fabric out of the back beds as it was riddled with grass that was growing up through the vertical geo fabric bed wall lining . NOTE to all, don't use geo fabric to line a raised bed , it's OK behind a retaining wall but will be a bugger and more problems than it's worth as vertical bed wall liner .

Two green waste wizbins full of weeds on the greenstrip + vacant house nextdoors green waste wizbin as well ( now on their green strip ) , bin day tomorrow.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
18 May , working out my mains pressure 20mm x 4 outlet PVC manifold design and my irrigation feeds to my
6m x 1.5m bed'
the three 3m x 1.5m beds
the hockey stick shaped bed and the little bed on it's east end
the strawberry GUTTER trough planters on my Sth Bdry fence above the retaining wall
the mobile 1m x 1m x 0.4m (H) planter box where my berry plants will go in 40cm selfwatering pots (8x)

This time not leaving anything to chance as my wife discovered the gardener left some disconnected 19mm PP attached to the brass 2W manifold at the front ( grrr !!! ) so was unable to connect to a usual snap fitting despite my telling the gardener we require the hose left connect as well as the timer .

Here's the layout for my 4 outlet 20mm PVC manifold
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d74j19odkjdvbth/18may2021%2019mm%204%20way%20manifold.docx?dl=0

Here's the layout for my L shaped bed
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ed659e7mq4vzhdp/18may2021%20L%20shaped%20bed%20mains%20pressure%20plumbing.docx?dl=0
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
19 May UPDATE
Front == timer and hose are NOW both connected .

Back == Get a gander at my herb , veg , and back yard native flowing plant garden , and berry plants driving irrigation set up , finally come up with a design that I think will work a treat for my 6 beds in the backyard , off two new taps & two individual digital timers which sense if it's been raining.

The Hockey Stick , fed by the new tap attached to the NW corner of the bed , which feeds the big level bed & the two 3.6m long gutter troughs mounted on the Sth Bdry Fence faces North ( gets FULL SUN ( highly recommended by an expert gardener ) , 11 berry plants in 40cm selfwatering pots
18may2021-SOUTH-TAP-TO-L-SHAPED-BED-AND-1-X1m-MOBILE-PLANTER-AND-2-X-3.png


The three 3m x 1.5m and the 6m x 1.5m beds fed by a mains pressure 20mm PVC manifold from the other new tap near my Nth Bdry fence
screenshot-215.png


The main 19mm PP lines will be fixed to the inside of the timber sleepers in all 5 big beds.

Plants == first consignment of plants for the back yard have arrived. 3 more pending.

Hardware == 3.6m Galv guttering , 3m x 20mm PVC cl12 pipe , mulch and some other bnps tomorrow.

Just need to do an easy to follow plant map for the L shaped and 6m x 1.5m beds ( tonight ).
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
21 May planning the 2 strawberry ON FENCE GUTTER PLANTERS

screenshot-230.png


screenshot-231.png


Using either DIPPER TUBE in each Strawberry bed OR WEEPER PIPE in each Strawberry bed . ( Will take advice of the expert gardener on this – either will be quicker to set up than dripper or dribbler or spray nozzles .)
Will Mulch Strawberry beds with LUCERNE MULCH , use a mulch wad to filter water draining from these beds.


Using PREMIUM FRUIT & CITRUS POTTING MIX .
I have 6 x Scotts Osmocote 25L Citrus & Fruit Premium Potting Mix for the strawberries & finger limes & blueberries .

Will need about 12 bags all up , as finger limes and blueberries will be goings into 40cm pots , the extra bags of Scotts Osmocote 25L Citrus & Fruit Premium Potting Mix are ordered and likely to be delivered Monday (?).

My strawberries plants arrived Thursday , some bare rooted and dormant , others green and in tubes . I've put the bare rooted plants in a potting mix filled seed raising tray covering the roots and giving them ( both varieties ) a drink.

Will use 100mm cable ties to secure the 13mm POLYPIPE FEEDER to the central SQR section steel fence post and to secure the DRIPPER or WEEP tube to back of each Strawberry gutter bed, will drill suitable holes to pass 100mm cable tie through metal.
DIPPER or WEEPER to be on the surface of the mulch at the FRONT the gutter beds.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
21 May Update

Plant maps done

Plants to go into pots and the gutter conversions ( berry plants )
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c0e83b02i6lbnb0/21MAY2021%20BERRY%20PLANTS%20FOR%20POTS%20AND%20THE%20STRAWBERRY%20ON%20FENCE%20GUTTER%20TROUGH.docx?dl=0

Plants to go into the L shaped bed
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m6h6q0ocqx8jkqo/21MAY2021%20L%20SHAPED%20BED%20PLANT%20LIST.docx?dl=0

Plant Map for Hockeystick shaped bed
21may2021-plant-map-for-Hockey-stick-shaped-bed.jpg


Plants to go into the 6m x 1.5m bed
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tk10vp15gghssqn/21MAY%206m%20x%201.5m%20bed%20plant%20list%20%2C%20plant%2010%20in%20correct%20position.docx?dl=0

Plant map for the 6m x 1.5m bed
21may2021-plant-map-for-6m-x-1.jpg


Gardener here tomorrow to install
> the 20mm PVC 4 outlet mains pressure manifold
> the 19mm PP irrigation systems in the 3m x 1.5m and 6m x 1.5m beds
> plant the 6m x 1.5m bed per my plant map

Front branches off the small brick bed's irrigation sys ( 13mm PP )
> the extra two 13mm PP branches on the front patio

> the 19mm PP irrigation systems in the L shaped bed
> plant the L shaped bed per my plant map
branching off this bed's irrigation system
Branch 1
> the two 3.6m gutter beds on the Sth boundary fence
> the irrigation system in the 2 gutter beds ( branched form the L shape bed system )
> plant the strawberries
Branch 2
> plant the other berries in 40cm pots
> the irrigation system to water the 14 berry plants ( 4mm PP branch from the L shaped bed system )
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
22 May Update --- bucketing down today so gardener was a no show , coming tomorrow morning .

Next two projects

Herbs Project .
Sick of chase my tail with germinating seeds ( when we keep on forgetting to water & the transplant to the ground before the snails and slugs chew them to pieces or they become root bounds and essentially buggered .

So have decided to get a range of biannual & perennial herbs as tubestock to get the BOTTOM 3m x 1.5m bed going and productive ASAP .

Will still germinate some herb seeds ( for Spring / Summer , but at least I can set up misting nozzles on 4mm PP riser tubes to water each seed raising tray full of seeding micropots now and will be sure they will at least get a drink each day !! ).

Looks like most the herbs we like are ones that need FULL SUN ,some will tolerate part shade ( these will go where nextdoor's carport throws it's shadow in summer /winter , taller herbs at south end of the bed ( some grow to 2m ) .

Garden Shed Project -
Was considering getting a concreter in lay a level / flat slab under the STUDY, we can walk around there without banging our heads secured volume under the study whilst NOT ENCOURAGING white ants ( they are in the neighbourhood ) into our timber wall, floor and roof structures …. likely expensive to do right.

Since my wife wants a garden shed , might as well get a good sized one , and will be handy to put bails of mulch , bags of potting mix , garden tools etc into and to tinker on telescopes and fishing gear and make small DIYS projects in ) .

Thinking a 3m x 2.2m gable roofed flat packed colorbond kit on either the old concrete slab at the back ( NE corner ) of the house
or
on a prefab 3m x 3m steel framed deck on stumpy legs , capped with 24mm floor ply coated with decking "varnish ?" located far enough from NE corner to not be in the way when I get the big fear standing deck built along the back of the house .
THIS IS SEPARATE to the ROLL OFF ROOF observatory.

Big Deck Project
Back the design phase as the builder I was planning to commission is overloaded with Federal Govt HOMEBUILDER GRANT projects and can't even look at starting the build til late 2022.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
29 May Progress

After having lots of no-shows 4 days running , gardening "expert" finally showed up yesterday for a full day .

Not quite finished yet , my berry plants yet to be planted , and some of the natives yet to go into their forever homes in the 2 big back beds.
Bit 2 more eucy mulch required - 2 more scoops ( 0.5 cu-m +/- ) Eucy mulch needed to finish off properly the L shaped and 6m x 1.5m bed and needed more premium citrus potting mix ( 6 more bags ).
Only space for 6 x 40cm pots at front (east lower step) of the L shaded bed ( 3m - 2x ( 0.075 + 0.1 ) = 2.65m of bed space..
Not exactly followed my instructions of placement of the 20mm at pressure PVC 4 outlet manifold , >> decided to pit one of the pressure reducers at the timer instead of having a pressure reducer after each manifold outlet globe valve ( as far as I can see purely labor saving on his behalf ) his explanation is going from 20mm PVC to 19mm Polypipe is too confusing / difficult = ie too much work )
==>
at each 3m x 1.5m bed & 6m x 1.5m bed plumbing is now
the 20mm PVC globe valve is replaced with a 19mm in-line PP tap
no individual bed pressure reducer
each still has a 19mm filter.

>> PVC manifold is 1m from fence , explanation is when the new neighbours want the new bdry fence it will be better if there is 1m distance --- OK fair enough.
>> noticed the plumber put the Nth tap's post right against the bdry fence ( they aren't great at following instructions either told him 30cm from fence too , looks more like 3cm !! ).
IMG-1456.jpg


Discovered a lot of mud and weeds & grass under the gutter grill in the driveway ( suspect lot of this was washed in when there was no grass on the north half of the yard ).

Progress as off this morning
PVC manifold long run to beds
IMG-1457.jpg


Herb & veg beds prepped and covered with liberal layer of sugarcane mulch.
IMG-1459.jpg

IMG-1462.jpg


Most the natives planted

IMG-1467.jpg

IMG-1468.jpg


Staggered gutter beds on fence waiting to be endcapped & planted & irrigated
IMG-1466.jpg


noticed in this arrangement in mornings the Eastern ( highest ) gutter is
1) too close to top of fence
2) wont get enough hours of sun for strawberries
so a mod is called for
29may2021-gutter-mod.png
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
29 May progression

Ready for blueberry plants x3 in 3 big pots + raspberry plants x2 in 1 big pot , in the mobile 1x1m planter ( can probably do with a paver under each pot and Lucerne mulch spread over to "hide the pots" ).
screenshot-236.png


On fence strawberry garden coming in nicely now , parallel gutters one above other works better and looks better too.
screenshot-237.png

On discussion with gardener-guy ( a Nigerian refugee ) , it was decided that Drip-Eze ( preholed dripper pipe and Weeper pipe were not a good solution to irrigate strawberries , and 13mm PP was too small to get enough water up the fence ( a head of about 4 ft to top bed )) , so it was decided
to run a 19mm PP branch from the L bed through the driveway gutter to the fence)
, and use individual Variflow Spray nozzles for each strawberry mounted above.

More satisfactory arrangement
> we can see if strawberries are being watered
> wont ramble over top of fence
> protected from prevailing storms and breezes
> full sun longer each day.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
31 May update.

My natives are all in.
My berries are all in.
The irrigation systems are all done and now automated .
The mulberry plant is spouting shoots ( 31 May !!! ).
The pomegranate is sprouting shoots too.
Kept the nasturtium rootball ( is in a 40cm selfwatering pot ) , sent the offcuts to the green waste bin. Spotting nasturtium seedling popping up though the eucy mulch in the top half of the 6m x 3m bed - must have dropped a few seeds which are now sprouting, will remove them when are little bigger to go into a big pot.

Automation via 3 digital programmable timers , a RAINBIRD single electronic at front , ( had to return the original RAINBIRD as it was malfunctioning , would not come on via timer but counted down to 10mins OK when I pressed the WATER NOW button and I could hear and feel the valve open and shut ) and two HOLMAN Irrigation digital timers w/ built-in rain detection ,
> one for the north tap and the three 3m x 1.5m & the 6m x 1.5m beds ,
> one for the south tap and the Hockey Stick shaped bed, my berry plants in pots & my strawberries in the 2 modified roof gutters on the fence.

The HOLMAN timers have been working flawlessly.
North on 16:20 for 15 mins DAILY
South on 16:45 for 15 mins DAILY
Set the front (replacement) RAINBIRD for 15:00 and 10 mins DAILY. Gardener forgot to turn the tap back on when replacing the RAINBIRD so will have wait for tomorrow for all 3 timers to do their thing w/out human intervention. Front bed only get direct sun after about 1pm.
Next time we return to Lev2 water restrictions, we can't water plants til 4pm ( daylight saving time ) and all these timers are on the right period of the day.

Onto selecting herbs and some veg as tubestock to get things started for Spring , and time to sow some other herb and veg seeds ( into seed trays this time ) , and then transplant into the 3m beds when ready , so we'll have some homegrown for harvest later in spring / early summer .

Gardener says out mains tap water quality is so good here in Lake Macquarie , there is no need to install the inline filters I'd bought and planned to have installed. We'll see for a few months if this is so , I can always return the filters as all paid for using PayPal from Bunnings , all I need do is present the invoice.
So I have 5 of these in my box of tricks
screenshot-242.png

and 3 of these
screenshot-243.png

the unused Drip-EZE
screenshot-244.png

and unused Weeper pipe as well
screenshot-245.png

which I'll try out in the veg beds .
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
2 June Update ---- the "professional gardener / irrigation system installer" has cocked up big time , told us he was finished Monday evening , was too dark and cold to go outside and check.

BUT when the tap timers came on at 4:20pm ( 4 parallel beds in NE corner ) we discovered no water going to the natives in the 6m x 1.5m and only water going to the UNPLANTED 3m x 1.5m beds.

What I told him to install
screenshot-261.png

He told me he had completed the 4 outlet manifold and everything running off the North tap and timer was working properly .

This is not what he installed
Discovered my 4 parallel beds are set up not on a 20mm PVC manifold , in parallel with isolation globe valves at each , but instead he run 19mm poly pipe from the first 3m x 1.5m to the 6m x 1.5m with all in series instead of being in parallel. NOT IMPRESSED , NOT HAPPY.
screenshot-262.png

Only 20mm PVC pipe from tap & timer to the FIRST bed ,from there the wheels fell off and totally ignored my design and detailed instructions.

Not 30cm from fence , but 1m from fence , again ignored my instructions entirely
screenshot-269.png

So no space to install a 20mm PVC Tee , the 20mm globe (isolation) valve , the pressure regulator and 20mm Poly filter between manifold and end of beds , as per my specifications and design .

screenshot-263.png

screenshot-249.png

Bottom small bed
screenshot-266.png


Only one 19mm PP branch not fixed to long inside walls of EACH bed , NOT as specified (they are all 4 like this)
screenshot-268.png


At 6m bed
screenshot-270.png

screenshot-267.png


Inbetween PARALLEL beds , he's installed a SERIES set of inline taps
screenshot-272.png

==> impossible to run these beds all in PARALLEL or for me to isolate one of more them when not needing watering .
BLIND FREDDY surely knows the difference and you'd expect an "expert" gardener to know this stuff .

When the L shaped bed's timer came on at 4:40pm we discovered half the berries in pots were going no or very little water and shock horror ?!?! the strawberries were being flooded with huge volumes of water from the emitters which were blasting the plants and soil , water overflowing everywhere ( drainage hole in lower end plates WAY TOO SMALL and WAY TOO HIGH ).
And noticed he left the driveway looking like a pig sty as well , and we discovered one of the blueberry plants laying on the ground still in its tube . Not impressed , again totally ignored my design and specifications and job rough as guts.

And before the timer came on , discovered no where near the amount of citrus potting and no sign of the Lucerne mulch at all in the strawberry gutter beds
screenshot-278.png

when I spoke to him last night he swore he had fulled them with citrus mix and added Lucerne mulch - he's a liar as shown in the photo.

What we saw happening to the strawberries when watering was ON.

screenshot-257.png


No sign of the specified WEEPER tube or DRIP-EZE tube , he installed emitters instead --- grrrr !!!
screenshot-259.png

screenshot-260.png


Told him clean up before leaving , left a pigsty , never even bothered putting OUR rake back under cover.
screenshot-273.png

screenshot-274.png

and is all over the driveway
screenshot-279.png

dirt came out of the driveway grill covered gutter. Ignored my instructions AGAIN.

One word describes the irrigation systems he's installed , its an ABORTION , not even attempted to follow my layouts, designs, or my explicit in detail instructions on what I required set up . Not even close.

Hopeless job installing pots' irrigation - YES that is one of BLUEBERRY plants , was not planted .
screenshot-275.png

screenshot-276.png


And where the hell is the mulch I told him put on the berry plants to protect the soil from drying out ?
screenshot-277.png


I saw red and rang him to complain after dinner last night , and demanded he come here today fix 14 issues we discovered and do what I have paid him do PROPERLY.

List I SMSed and emailed to him LAST NIGHT
1) TWO raspberry plants SHOULD BE IN ONE 40cm pot WITH sugercane mulch on that pot ( not done )
2) STRAWBERRY PROBLEM NOT FILLED gutter beds with citrus potting mix (told you to fill the gutters with citrus potting mix , not half fill it or less , WITH lucerne mulch around the strawberries COVERING SOIL ( not done )
3) one blueberry per 40cm pot in citrus potting mix , lucerne mulch on the THREE separate blueberry pots ( never even planted the MISTY Blueberry ).
4) wheels of square box out of gutter. ( not done)
5) finger limes & natal berrys both should have lucerne mulch on their pots ( not done )
6) the two native voilet plants in separate 40cm pots brought up to front patio ( so Sue can enjoy them ) asked , not done yet.
7) In the 3 small beds , told you 2 parallel 19mm polypipes 3m long fixed to inside of sleepers NOT one just pipe dropped in the middle .
8 ) clean up around L shaped bed not done satisfactorily (left like a pig stye) NOT SATISFACTORY)
9) left over bails of mulch should be under car port out of sun
10) asked you put the monster tub behind back steps ( behind the other tub ) to keep it out of sight and out of direct sun
11) STILL no ISOLATION tap on each 3m bed AS SPECIFIED . (NOT HARD TO SET UP - you need to add a 19mm inline tap ABOUT WHERE the 19mm pipe goes inside followed INSIDE EACH OF THE FOUR BEDS WITH A 19mm TEE connected to 2 x 3m 19mm polypipes FIXED to long sides of these beds
AS I CLEARLY TOLD YOU TO DO.)
12) 6m x 1.5m bed IS NOT GETTING ANY WATER AT ALL.
13) STRAWBERRIES AGAIN = THEY ARE BEING DROWNED == drain holes are WAY TOO HIGH in END PLATES & WAY TOO SMALL ( need to be at least 1" in diameter to allow proper fast draining ) &
NOZZLES FOR EACH STRAWBERRY NEED TO BE JUST DRIPPING OR DRIBBLING SLOWLY
14) some berry plants not getting water and nozzles not directed into the pots properly
You also left tools here.

My wife and I are angry and not happy campers .

So since the two irrigation systems are not doing what I need , we've turned off the south and north taps , just wasting water , and strawberries have been drowned , but fortunately are still alive and now need the soil to dry out, the nursery where I bought the strawberries says no more water till the soil and the strawberrys have dried else they will be killed by drowning.

Gave him a deadline of by sunset today to come back and sort this to OUR satisfaction.

In the meantime I've had another local gardening company (who I know are more than just a one man band and have been around for years) come out and assess the work he's done , they told me nothing in the backyard's irrigation has been installed correctly or competently , all got be replaced and redone .
And nothing wrong at all with my designs for the manifold , the irrigation in the 4 parallel north beds, the L shaped bed , the pots on a branch from L bed and the gutter strawberry garden. They can fix the lot in under a day and even put the manifold in a shallow trench in under 30mins.
So I've told then I want a quote and they will get the job.

Gardener guy has not even remotely done the job I paid for , and again he's a no show ( 3.15pm and only 2 hours of light left , his promise to come back and fix things hasn't eventuated , true to form , unreliable , unprofessional ) , but this time I'm not chasing him with sms and emails and phone calls .
I'm done dealing with him and have no more patience and his lame excuses wont wash anymore.
I'll be putting the 2 days work I paid for as services via PayPal in dispute tonight at 6pm and asking PayPal to recover the money in my last two service transactions in full.
This way he'll eventually be paying for redoing of my back yard's two irrigation systems by way PayPal transaction reversals back into my account.

UPDATE , disputes started on PAYPAL on the last 2 payments for services to him. I have til 9 June to Escalate both claims.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Original Poster
Developments since I escalated the claims for my the last two payment to Mr."Kooky".

He has til 13 June to respond to PayPal .

PayPal have copies of my designs , my SMSs to and from Kooky since 17 May ( nominal start of his irrigation sys work ) and similar for my emails , and PDFs showing what I ended up with and the other issues .
uuu
Low and behold , Kooky showed up here after failing to call or email or sms me at since Monday and tried to talk me out of the PayPal disputes, he soon discovered that I wasn't a pushover and I informed him PayPal have copies of all my comms and documentation ( retired research princ engineer here who knows in projects to DOCUMENT EVERYTHING and keep everything in "writing") , so tried a different tact when I told him I was getting another "real" expert out to redo the entire backyard's irrigation = 20mm Mains Pressure PVC 4 out manifold ( parallel beds need parallel inlets and pressure reduction at each bed) , the strawberry "gutter beds" drainage and irrigation abortion , irrigation of natives in my 2 big beds , and the berry plants in pots and I had lost all faith in his capabilities , plus I was not impressed with his unreliability and how hard he was to contact by phone.
Yep I read the riot act to him and told him if I have pay someone to redo the work , then the money will come from him via PayPal . At this point he stopped trying to argue that I had not told him what he was installing wasn't right ( as he knows full well I've been unwavering in trying to get him to follow my designs , face to face , by email, by SMS on multiple occasions.

Tried telling me some components were not in my mega tub, I've checked and some were missing , I'm guessing he's removed them to try make out I never supplied them - my detailed inventory of components bought proves otherwise - however I have no proof he's removed them ( so didn't make any accusations , maybe his lads took them out and they "accidentially" ended up inside his Ute Tool cabinet my mistake ( about $40 of 20mm PVC male pushon thread adapters & 2 x 20mm PVC globe valves , not worth the hassle , so I simply ordered replacements as a Pick&Collect Bunnings order since some C clamps, 19mm Tees, 19mm elbows , 19mm terminating plugs , and 19mm poly pipe is not needed since he's used 21m polypipe to make the SERIES pipe run to the 4 parallel beds ) .'
I'll salvage the used 19mm poly fittings and pipe when he's finished , a job for my boxcutter blade.

I explained to him components in hands the requirements at each parallelising 20mm PVC Tee to make sure he CLEARLY knew what when where .Showed him how it all joins up for one bed , a hands on assembly demonstration. ( Hardest part will be getting 19mm barbed tails into the 19mm polypipe ( getting an Antarctic Blast for the next few days - forecasters say high likelihood of snow as far north as Toowoomba Mountains , so snow in the Barrington Tops and maybe around blue Mountains for my area ). His problem.

So he's promised to return on Monday to sort out the "mistakes" , I HAVE MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR he will not receive payment the time he puts in on Monday and he had better not let me down.

I didn't tell him I have another local irrigator booked to inspect and quote on Thursday , I'll keep this visit and get him to check everything before I decide the course of action wrt the claims at PayPal.

If Kooky is a no show on Monday , I'll give him 24 hrs to make good . If he fails , I'll tell him not to come back , I'm done being stuffed about by this man.

Soil the strawberries are in is still damp despite them only some rain on Thursday. We are back to watering by hose in the backyard til everything is fixed.

Minor mod to strawberry gutter beds : I've added an inline flow meter . I want to aim for a flow rate of 4 litres per 15mins ==> 2 L / 3.6m gutter per day ==> 300ml per plant per day mix .

screenshot-285.png


Each plant is in about 4.2 L of soil so I'm hoping 300ml will adequate and will keep their feet dry , strawberrys don't like contantly wet feet , water excludes oxygen from the soil and this stresses the plants and makes them sick and unproductive.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,903
Messages
1,255,709
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom