View Full Version : Dicky Beach banana grower
paradisi
07-19-2008, 08:01 PM
That's really how my suburb is spelt.
We live in the Australian version of paradise - a small suburb on a beach. We live about 200m from two beaches and 500m from a third.
We have a small property - about 280 square metres of garden. On this patch of earth we grow about 50 fruit trees and vines, vegetables, chooks and guinea pigs.
There are details of our bananas on the main banana page and on the tissue culture page.
We are both retired and have 5 adult children, four of which have moved more than a 1000km away and we are busily trying to convice number 5 she should do the same :02: Hope she never reads this LOL. Though she has given us our latest grandson so is special to us at the moment.
If you want to hear more or want me to bore you more, just let me know.
MediaHound
07-19-2008, 08:04 PM
Welcome!!!! Hope she never finds this thread, haha!
Certainly does sounds like you have a little slice of paradise!
Graciously looking forward to your pics!
Richard
07-19-2008, 08:14 PM
Welcome!
Do you happen to know Sheryl Backhouse? She is very active in fruit grower groups on the east coast of Australia.
island cassie
07-19-2008, 08:16 PM
Welcome paradisi - years ago we flew into Hobart, and when the rellies got tired of us, we bought a holden and took the ferry to Melbourne and drove in a leisurely manner up to Cairns and back. So we must have passed you somewhere along the way!! Couldn't find you on the map though! Welcome to a great site and look forward to hearing about upside-down nanas.
Cassie
paradisi
07-19-2008, 08:16 PM
Just found some pics in my photobucket of why Dicky Beach is called Dicky Beach.
In the late 1800's a steamer called the SS Dicky ran aground and they named a beach and then a suburb after her.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/th_101_8330.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/101_8330.jpg)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/th_101_8333.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/101_8333.jpg)
click to biggerify
The pictures show some council workers trying to add preservative of some sort to what's left of the ship so that the touist attraction stays a little longer.
MediaHound
07-19-2008, 08:46 PM
You sure thats not Noah's Ark? lol
paradisi
07-19-2008, 08:49 PM
No - don't know Sheryl Backhouse, the east coast is abig place LOL - 3000km long
We live in a small suburb of Caloundra city a town of about 90,000, a part of the Sunshine Coast and approx 100km north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. The suburb is named for a ship called the SS Dicky that ran aground here in the 19th century. Bits of it can still be seen on the main beach.
We live on a small block of land - about 600 square metres with a duplex built on it. The old mum lives in the one out the front, Sandie and I live in the back one.
We've got about 280 square metres of garden which is fairly productive and heavily planted with mainly fruit trees and vines.
We have a dog - Nuggett, guinea pigs, finches, cockatiels, peach faces and four chooks. There's currently a nesting pair of little wattle birds in one of the hanging baskets under our pergola.
Our vegies are mostly grown in pots - to simplify their sunlight requirements and to help keep the chooks out of them. The chooks free range the entire garden which helps in weeding, pest control and fertilising.
The fruit trees and vines number about 50. Crazy I've been told, but you can think what you like while I pick what I grow.
What we've got:
bananas - lady fingers - 8, three with bunches, one bunch just picked and hanging under the pergola to finish ripening
blue java - 2 young plants - got them as in vitro cultures from the banana research station at Nambour
pasion fruit
granadilla
choko
lychee
longan
loquat
custard apple
sweetsop
soursop
snake skin fruit
chocolate pudding fruit
jabacotiba
grumichama
citrus- red grapefruit, orange, lemon, rough lemon, mandarin, lemonade fruit, cumqaut, buddhas hand citrus, kafir lime
calamondin
paw paw
feijoa
coffee
peanut butter fruit
olives
jak fruit
goji
noni
ice cream bean
mango
pineapple - shop bought and red pineapple
grapes - red globe, pinot noir, white grape (can't remember)
nectarine
casava
taro
strawberry
that's more than 50 and I'm sure I've left some out
Life is simple - feed the animals in the morning, walk the dog, enjoy the climate, occasional fishing in the tidal lake about 50-100m away, beach combing (two beaches within 200m a third 500m away).....
To help feed the soul as well as the belly we've also got mock orange, port wine magnolia, himalayan magnolia, half a dozen roses and flowers wherever we can plant them.
This is the house at the end of our street, worth about $8million more than ours.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20beach/th_0801140014.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20beach/0801140014.jpg)
Some photos of what we have growing here - click the pics to biggerify
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/th_0807110004.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/0807110004.jpg)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/th_0807110009.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/0807110009.jpg)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/th_0805260005.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/0805260005.jpg)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/th_0805150008.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/0805150008.jpg)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/th_0805150015.jpg (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/paradisi/the%20garden/0805150015.jpg)
Richard
07-19-2008, 10:03 PM
Wow, that's an awesome garden! You'd better watch out, during harvest time you might have an unexpected visit from our "garden raiders" Mskitty, Cookie Cows, Kylie2x, Island Cassie ...
No - don't know Sheryl Backhouse, the east coast is abig place LOL - 3000km long
Sheryl leads one or more rare fruit growers organizations in QLD.
Dean W.
07-19-2008, 11:12 PM
Welcome to the forum. Great photos.:waving:
island cassie
07-19-2008, 11:33 PM
Yep - paradisi is on the raiders list - kinda like an accolade really!! lol! Sam - back me up here!
Cassie
mskitty38583
07-19-2008, 11:40 PM
ive never been to australia.....might have to get my passport and papers to bring plants and fruit back to the states. i wonder if a joey would fit in my suitcase?..... well start in cali and work our way back to the east coast then cross the big pond....btw welcome to the nana org.:ha::bananajoy::bananajoy:
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2020, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.