DIY Mantlepiece #1

This post has very little (if anything) to do with the garden. Except for the fact that I often use my garden as my workshop — mainly because my wife doesn’t appreciate me mixing concrete inside the house — but that’s another story...

Let me start by explaining my problem. We finally decided to upgrade our TV from an old fashioned montrosity that was taking up a whole corner of our living room to a wall mounted 42 inch flat screen. The only suitable wall space available was directly above our fireplace.

I realised when we bought it at the end of last winter that this was going to be a problem next winter when we’d be wanting to use the fire again. I was worried that heat rising from the fire would damage the TV, so I started investigating ways of adding a mantlepiece to our existing hearth — something that would deflect the heat away from the TV.

To begin with, I looked into getting one made out of marble or something similar but the cost of doing so was going to be more than the TV itself (over $1000), which to me didn’t really make much sense. So I decided to build one myself out of concrete and then use tiles to match in with the existing hearth.

Our house was built in the 1950’s so the chance of matching the tiles perfectly was out of the question — I knew that. But it wasn’t just the colour and pattern at issue here but the size of the tiles which are an imperial size of 6 inches. Despite the challenge, I was amazed that I was actually able to find something pretty close at 150mm square which is about 3.5 mm smaller. The colour and pattern matched pretty closely too. To top it off I was able to get the 40 or so tiles I needed from a Tile Clearance Warehouse who stock all sorts of end-of-lines so they only cost me $10.

So I first set about finding some suitable timber planks which I had stored away under the house and which I used for building the boxing for the mantlepiece. I was careful to ensure the timber was straight with no bows or buckles in it and would be strong enough to remain straight under the weight of concrete which I estimated would be over 80 kilos.

I cut a piece of MDF to the shape and size of the end profile that I wanted and used that as the pattern around which I built the boxing.

Once the boxing was built I lined it with a bit of plastic, then tied together some reinforcing steel and set it in place ready for the concrete. You might also notice I added a couple of bits of timber moulding to create a channel where I planned to run the cabling for the TV.

 

Next, after making sure the boxing was level, I mixed up three 25kg bags of concrete and filled up the trough then smoothed the concrete over by eye getting it as flat and as even as I could, and working the slurry to the surface.

After the concrete had set, I removed the boxing and gave it a blast with the hose to remove any loose agregate. Then I got my mate Damian to give me a hand to carry it round to the front of the house where I would work on it further and get it ready for tiling.

See what I did next and the end result here.

Red Capsicums

I’ve grown Capsicums before but this year is the first time I got so many to turn red.

They’re not as big as I’ve grown in the past, probably because they haven’t had as much water. This is due to the drought we had this year. These were mostly hand watered and didn’t get watered every day consistently — sometimes I missed a day or 2, which probably explains why some of them got a big black spot on the bottom of them, a bit like under-watered tomatoes.

But I think having the drought helps to also explain why so many have turned red this year. I’m sure it’s part of the ripening process. These have received more daylight hours of sunshine than previous years (see my other post about Capsicums here). Plus the spot where I grew them (the one I call my Winter Garden) is still getting quite a lot of sunshine even into late April (which is mid Autumn in NZ).

Capsicums are fine to eat whether they’re green or red and are great in stir-fries or even raw in salads. I haven’t had any of mine turn yellow yet. Perhaps that’s a different variety.

Upgrading the Myoga Plot

Recently I noticed how the roots of my Myoga plants were beginning to take over in the bottom garden. I knew the roots were invasive and that this could happen over time. The fence palings I originally used to control their spread had finally rotted through.

I wasn’t terribly worried about this in the short term, because I had been planning to increase the size of the plot anyway and to get serious about cultivating them properly. So after the season had finished and the plant had entered it’s dormant phase I took the opportunity to extend the plot and to put a more robust frame around it.

So, using an old tanalised plank (300mm wide) which I pinned together with a few nails, I dug a trench and set it at the height I wanted it then backfilled it to hold it in place. When digging the trench I discovered quite a bit of the myoga roots which had spread beyond the original plot.

You can see why it could be a bit of a problem having this plant take over in the garden. Anyway, I pulled all the roots apart and simply spread it around inside the new enclosure and covered it up with soil. I’ll eventually get around to putting more pavers down to finish off the path, but knowing me, it could be a while before that happens.

Anyway, when it starts taking off again later in the year I’m going to try feeding it with some sulphate of potash to encourage more flowers to grow — and bigger ones too if possible – more like the ones they’re selling in Japan. That should be interesting as I’ve never done anything to encourage this plant except to water it in dry periods. 

Another Attempt at Spuds

I’ve had mixed results with growing potatoes so far. Last years result was very disappointing. So this year I was determined to succeed. By that I mean I wanted to grow bigger tubers and at least enough to feed us for a few weeks if possible.

So I put a lot of effort into preparing the soil well, using compost from my own bin that was ready to use plus a bit of the bagged stuff from Bunnings. I made sure to add a few handfuls of potato fertiliser to each row which I mixed into the soil. This time I decided not to bother buying certified seed potatoes as I normally do. I just used the remains of a bag of spuds we had which had started sprouting shoots.(This was the way my father showed me when I was a youngster and it always worked well for him.)

So as usual I planted around labour weekend (25 October). I put in 3 rows of about 6 or 7 plants. The above picture shows them just before Christmas. By then they looked to be doing pretty well.

I planted the sprouting tubers deep in the soil, with a light layer of soil barely covering them. Then as the plants emerged from the soil I mounded up the soil around them. I kept piling up the soil around each plant until the soil level rose well above the original level of the garden. I made sure I watered them regularly to get them established properly.

As anyone in NZ will tell you, the whole country this year has experienced drought conditions. Even now in March, it has barely rained since December so I had to do a lot of hand watering. This I especially concentrated on after flowering as this is when the tubers would begin to form having been pollenated by bees. Each time I watered them I made sure they got a good soaking, plus every three weeks or so I gave them a side dressing of potato fertiliser.

I think understanding this aspect of the potato's growth cycle helped me to appreciate what I was actually doing.

So after all that effort you can imagine my satisfaction when finally I saw the results...

I am very pleased with the results. Izumi made a nice curry using all the small ones first – she kept them whole with their skins on and added them to the stew.

Recycling Old Decking

A few months ago a good friend of mine who shares my interest in DIY gave me a hand to finish off some decking down by the Sleepout. He has been doing a few odd jobs like that for various people I know and recently he came to me with an idea: How about we turn some of that left over timber from these jobs that’s just lying around people’s houses into something useful.

He suggested building some planter boxes. I immediately agreed, as I have built a few of my own in the past and have always found them handy to have. Because he’s a poor struggling pioneer with very little space at his place I agreed to using a handy space I had at my place. His aim was to turn this old waste into some cash.

So after determining the best style and construction to use based on the materials we had, he immediately set to work cutting all the pieces. He used 40mm decking for the legs and top frame, and shadow clad plywood for the sides and base. In some cases he used a bit of rough sawn fencing timber for the legs instead which produced a lighter result. My drop-saw came in handy for getting the 45° mitre joins on the tops just right. He ripped down some of the decking into smaller battens and used them as rails on which to sit the bases.

Before long they started taking shape and he had the first one finished. We decided to make sure the lines in the shadow clad board went horizontal instead of vertical as we agreed it looked better. Once he got a few to that stage it was time to get a few choice snaps ready for selling them on TradeMe (that’s the NZ version of Ebay). Apparently planter boxes like this are selling in outdoor Garden Centres for around $150 each. If he can sell a few he’ll be able to pay a few of his bills.

So using the sleepout as a backdrop I shot a few pictures of them. All the bare timber colours of the sleepout and decking tied in nicely showing them at their best. I put a couple of pot plants in them to show how they might look.

I really like them. They’re almost like a piece of outdoor furniture – very nice.

Getting Expert Help

There are some jobs in the garden that I hesitate to tackle on my own. In this case there were 2 trees and a stump in the gully that had died and needed removing. One of them (a really tall one) was leaning over against another tree and was threatening to push it over. The other one was just plain ugly and had died as a result of a severe pruning I gave it a year or two ago.

I've used chainsaws before to trim trees around my property. These I've hired or borrowed because I don't own one myself. But this particular task was not one I wanted to tackle on my own because the tall one was so high and I didn't want to just fell it and risk damaging all the ferns and other plants below. This job needed to be done with a bit more finesse. 

So I called Stu who runs a small Handyman business. He's a real clever guy and he's got ' tools for Africa'. He rigged up some climbing gear using a couple of neighbouring trees to hang from. 

Then, once all the safety issues were sorted he pull himself up... while I worked as his ground support.

Once he was at the top, I attached his chainsaw to a rope he had hanging off his harness. Then he pulled it up and started cutting.

With my help he was able to move left and right, and back and forth, to get himself into the right position for each cut as he worked his way down the tree.

By the time he got the first tree down one of Stu's mates (Mike) turned up to help finish off.

In the mean time I got Stu to trim a couple of other trees. Then he brought his chipper in and turned all the green stuff into mulch.

Stu did a fantastic job. I've got enough firewood to last me all winter. If you need a handyman on the north shore, Stu’s your man. He does practically everything — inside and outside.

If you live on the north shore, you might see him driving around in his little truck. 

Give him a call — and tell him I sent you.

The bank is looking a bit bare now, so I'm thinking of putting in more palms.

Caring for Frangipanis

My frangipani (otherwise known as Plumeria) is one of my favourite plants. I got it from the nursery about 8 or 9 years ago when it was only about half its current height. Back then it was only a trunk with 2 branches. We put it in a dark coloured pot right outside our front door which is north facing, which in our case is very sunny and sheltered from the wind, so it’s in a very warm position.

Vistors to our place at this time of the year always marvel at how well it’s doing and how much they love it. This is probably because so many have tried growing them but have been unsuccessful. The flowers give off a lovely sweet fragrance at night in the summer producing a real tropical atmosphere on those warm summer nights.

A couple of years ago we noticed it had stopped flowering and didn’t seem to be doing so well so I concluded it must be root-bound and needed re-potting. The leaves also seemed to be under attack by some kind of parasite. So after hunting everywhere for a bigger version of the same style of pot I undertook the difficult task of getting it out of it’s existing pot and into the new one without damaging it.

It’s deciduous, so I waited until it lost all it’s leaves and then at the first sign of new growth I repotted it making sure I used a good quality potting mix. It didn't flower much the first year after doing this but this year it’s getting ready to bloom all over.

One thing we’ve learned is that the plant will not branch off and produce new limbs unless it flowers first. And it won’t flower unless it’s happy in it’s position and getting enough nutrition. So we feed it with slow release 'plant food spikes' which we just poke into the soil. Each new limb has the potential for growing a flower head. The picture at the top shows one flower head which can produce as many as 40 individual flowers. They only produce a maximum of one flower head per limb, per year.

So my objective has been to encourage as much flowering as possible. My frangipani is now a 12 pointer and 8 of those 12 limb ends have produced flower heads this year, which I think is the best it’s ever done, so re-potting it has certainly helped.

What this means is that next year it will grow 8 new limbs meaning that next year it will be a 20 pointer, each with the potential to produce a flower head.

This photo (left) shows how after the flower head has formed, the limb that has flowered then branches off in 2 directions. You can see 2 new limbs beginning to form at the base of the flower head. Next year each of these limbs which might grow several inches long, in turn has the potential to flower.


Some of our female friends, particularly the pacific islanders like to pluck off one or two flowers and wear them in their hair.

It really is a beautiful plant — if you can get it to grow right.

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Update Dec 2018

My frangipani plant was originally in the perfect place, but because a nearby tree kept growing bigger, the shadow it cast eventually started impacting the amount of light and heat the frangipani was getting. As a result it stopped flowering for 2 seasons in a row, despite my feeding it as usual.

I realised I needed to either find a new position for the frangipani or remove the tree that was casting the shadow. I decided to move it. So the main criteria for the new location were: 1. North facing in full sun (Southern Hemisphere), 2. Against a wall – creating a sun trap. It's pretty simple — it just likes it HOT!

Interestingly, by the time I first realised it wasn't going to flower last year (the second year in a row), that was when I decided to move it, which was still early summer when it was just putting forth new leaves. However, it was too late to have any effect that season as it would not immediately start flowering. This year, however, having sat in it’s new position since last summer, it has sprung into life with 9 flower heads forming, which is almost 50% of its 20 tips. You can see 2 of the flower heads forming in the pic below.

I believe the black ceramic pot it’s in helps to draw in and retain the heat which also  leads me to draw the following conclusion: That the plant decides, even before it starts shooting leaves (during spring) whether or not there is sufficient light and heat to flower. It’s usually evident quite early on in summer when the new leaves have just sprouted whether or not it’s going to flower that year.

Due to there being 9 flower heads this year, each limb with flowers will branch off turning it from a 20 pointer to a 29 pointer for next season.

Pic taken: 13th Feb 2019...

Within a month or so of the flower heads beginning to form the Frangipani is in full bloom and absolutely loving the heatwave gripping NZ this year with temperatures between 27-33°C in Auckland over the last few weeks (early Feb). These are ideal conditions for growing frangipanis.