Utchee Creek Farm

Utchee Creek Farm We came to retire to a 10 acre papaya farm in the Wet Tropics Dec 2021. Join our journey of sweat, learning and friendships.

Weeds quickly became our biggest challenge, so we embarked on converting the farm to food production and rainforest regeneration.

30/05/2026

Collecting pit pit (duruka heads) for local friends. The stalk forms mulch for the recently w**ded row.

For a first attempt, the duruka or pit pit cooked with onion and coconut cream was quite tasty, so I'm going use it more...
28/05/2026

For a first attempt, the duruka or pit pit cooked with onion and coconut cream was quite tasty, so I'm going use it more and explore other recipes. Here I also added some chilli and tumeric. Low in calories, very high in fibre, with vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and iron - will make a great nutritional seasonal addition.

28/05/2026

I originally planted duruka, a relative of sugarcane, as a chop-and-drop mulch. Other names it goes by are pit pit and Fijian asparagus, with the immature flower heads being a high quality food source, prized in Fiji. So I thought I'd give it a try.

28/05/2026

A few weeks ago I posted a video after hand pulling w**ds from around recent plantings. The following day I sprayed the w**ds in between. 3 weeks on, this is the result - plantings with no competition, at least not for 2-3 months until more w**ds grow back from the substantial seedbank.

Well I'll be buggered. Nature never ceases to amaze me ! I saw this bizarre looking moth on one of my potted plants as I...
23/05/2026

Well I'll be buggered. Nature never ceases to amaze me !

I saw this bizarre looking moth on one of my potted plants as I was watering it today. I used the app Lens to research it and find out what species it is. Turns out it's a moth (possibly a hawk moth) that is infected by a parasitic 'zombie' fungus called Cordyceps or Akanthomyces.

Apparently these fungi are known to alter the behavior of their host, compelling them to climb to high locations or adhere to leaves before dying, which aids in the dispersal of fungal spores.

09/05/2026

I mentioned the other day that I maintain (i.e. keep slashed) the inter-rows of the far paddock for access. The rows themselves I leave fallow until I'm ready to plant them out. The w**ds there compete between themselves for ascendency, the large majority being sensitive w**d, Cinderella w**d, Billy goat w**d and a few grasses.

These seem to have reached an equilibrium with each other and they serve multiple benefits until it's time to reveg:
- they provide soil cover, preventing erosion
- they suppress the growth of other w**ds
- they provide habitat, shelter and food for some insects, birds and animals
- sensitive w**d is a legume so adds nitrogen to the soil
- by not needing to control them (yet), they're saving me time and herbicide costs, while contributing to soil health

All this raises the question why not just leave them there permanently ? The answer is, the rainforest that is going to replace them eventually will provide all of the above, plus so much more.

In the meantime though, the odd more serious w**d does pop up occasionally. These I hand pull where possible or treat on the spot.

By more serious w**ds I mean they're harder to kill and/or have a greater propensity for spread. These are typically sickle pod, Sida spp, wild guava, a fleabane, possibly Canadian fleabane, Giant sensitive plant and the occasional Siam w**d.

When it comes to w**ds, there's no more apt adage than the stitch in time, saving nine. Except it's probably more like ninety nine !

04/05/2026

I spent around 3 hours today hand pulling w**ds out from around 130+ recent plantings. Main w**ds are Cinderella w**d (Synedrella nodiflora), Billygoat w**d (Ageratum spp), sensitive w**d (Mimosa pudica), plus a few grasses.

It's a tedious job but necessary. Next step is to spray the remaining w**ds. In order to kill both grasses and broadleaf w**ds, and in particular the sensitive w**d, I'll combine glyphosate with a triclopyr and picloram mix. Might even add some metsulphuron methyl for a pre emergent effect on the seed bank. Will need to be careful to keep distance from the plantings though as the latter two can move through the soil and impact the roots.

Mucked out the chook pen today and replaced with fresh straw. Some goes into the compost bin, the rest into a raised gar...
04/05/2026

Mucked out the chook pen today and replaced with fresh straw. Some goes into the compost bin, the rest into a raised garden bed that's currently fallow. A square shovel is essential to get in to the corners easily and scrape backwards.

04/05/2026

When we got the new shed a couple of years ago I had an outside wash-down bay included. I do still occasionally use it but I find a hand blower quicker and easier. The worst of the w**ds are in the far paddock so when I've finished slashing I park the tractor up alongside a w**dy patch there and blow all the w**d seed off. One area in particular is the radiator grill which can get blocked by w**d seed and cause the engine to overheat.

I then return to the shed, passing through the neater lawns and garden areas around the house, effectively quarantining the worse of the w**ds to the far paddock.

04/05/2026

With a break in the weather yesterday I was out slashing the inter-rows. I've maintained all these rows since buying the property as a papaya plantation 4.5 years ago, as the access they provide makes it much easier to dig, plant and do follow up w**ding as part of the land regeneration. Apart from being one of the more enjoyable tasks to undertake on the property, it's also a good way to keep on top of any of the more serious w**ds that pop up from time to time. Those w**ds are mostly giant sensitive plant, Sida sp., sickle pod and wild guava, but Siam w**d was also spotted the other day, and promptly removed, by Kevin, one of 4 young Council gun w**d busters I was showing around the property at the time.

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Utchee Creek Road
Utchee Creek, QLD
4871

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