# Food Gardening



## surly (25/9/14)

Hey all, 

I am very new to growing some food plants. Had chillies for a few years, some berries and herbs.
Last year I planted my first hops and had a decent crop. Can't wait until this years harvest.

In the meantime, I have a nice little spot in the garden where I WAS going to plant more hops. This is a sunny spot with about 2metres of climbing trellis. Anyone have thoughts of what food plant would grow there? Have been thinking of some sort of bean, but open to any suggestions.

Feel free to post your own food crops to inspire


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/9/14)

Scarlet runners, supposed to go for 7 years but take them out after 4.


----------



## surly (25/9/14)

Thanks Mr Legless.
Looks to be a decent option. Will stick something in the ground on the weekend hopefully.


----------



## BrosysBrews (25/9/14)

If you are looking at seasonal veggies there is an app called gardenate that tells you what to plant each month depending on your location 

If you wanted something more permanant maybe some espalier citrus or fruit trees?


----------



## Beersuit (26/9/14)

That app sounds cool brosysbrews do you use it? 

I would be recommending fruit over citrus as you can brew with fruit not so much citrus.


----------



## Dave70 (26/9/14)

Cab Sauv grapes?..


Actually, I'm literally ripping up my old beds this weekend with a Bobcat and making the switch to giant black pots (courtesy of a mate down the road who had his factory unit used as a hydro dope setup by the tenants) that will sit upon some kind of low profile frame work. I'm over the constant bending over and weeding. I tend toward more constant cropping plants like spinach, herbs, kale, stuff like that. Its nice to grow a wide variety, but for all the time and watering, it hardly seems worth it to grow sweet potato for example when you can get it in on sale for $2 a kilo. 

I'm going to look at some heirloom seed this season to see if you really can taste the difference.


----------



## Lincoln2 (26/9/14)

Choko


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/9/14)

Sweet corn and sweet potato for me are a crop of little return for effort put in, good thing about kale is it will sprout again from the root the following year as does broccolini, spuds are a crop I grow every year even though cheap enough to buy it is the small new potato like, the skin rubs off and served with bacon and the bacon fat drizzled over the spuds is magnificent.
The super food crops spinach,kale, broccoli, horse radish, (10 times better than kale ) and if anyone has a hydro set up watercress is so easy to grow packed with iron vitamin C and calcium.
Then the usual tomatoes, beans dwarf and runner, zucchini, always produces far more than needed, cucumbers, having experienced a few bitter cucumbers I always grow the hybrid variety which doesn't need pollinating heirloom varieties of tomatoes does seem to have a better, sweeter flavour and to get the best out of your vegetables cook and eat within an hour of harvesting.


----------



## surly (28/9/14)

Thanks for all the thoughts guys, I ended up wandering around the local nursery and grabbed an heirloom tomato - Russian Black.
Grows about 1.8m, so should fill the space nicely. The idea of black tomatoes amuses me too.


----------



## shaunous (30/9/14)

Your planting the wrong Sweet potato then. Grow the pink skinned/white centered version, better then the standard sweet potato. I had only 4 runners last year and only just ate the last of mine last night, and I gave a heap away including smoking some for a local brewers meet-up. I got a couple the size of a rugby ball. Filled 1.5 screen doors in the shed drying them, so a good return for minimal effort really. This year i've planted around 15 runners in a row(thanks to a mate lending me his small rotary hoe making life easier)

I tend to grow things that last a while once picked, or if they dont you can turn them into chutneys and what not. Maybe grow some tomatoes, they'll go well for sauces and chutneys paired with your chilli's.


----------



## malt and barley blues (30/9/14)

Do you eat the leaves of the sweet potato, I told a Chinese guy


----------



## malt and barley blues (30/9/14)

Posted before I had finished, I ate the leaves he said in China they give them to the pigs.


----------



## shaunous (30/9/14)

No I don't and never have, but funnily enough someone at work today told me they eat the sweet potato leaves.

I'm not much of a salad man anyway.


----------



## Lincoln2 (1/10/14)

malt & barley blues said:


> Posted before I had finished, I ate the leaves he said in China they give them to the pigs.


I live next door to an 70-80 year old mainland Chinese peasant woman who has only been in Aus for 2 years and doesn't speak a word of English. However we communicate via the garden as we are both keen vege growers and she is an absolute master of the garden. I do most of her hard manual labour and she rewards me with exotic veges, seeds and cuttings. There is no fence between our backyards so we are always working together. I could talk for hours about what a champion she is.

Anyways, she regularly eats the younger tender leaves of her sweet potato, from what I can gather, she uses them in soups, stews, stir fries etc


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/10/14)

My Dads birthday last Sunday, went into the garden and thrust my hands under the potato haulms and came up with a load of new potato's, roast lamb greens, new potato's and an afternoon listening to his rhythm and blues music, only wished I could have had a beer to complete the bliss.


----------



## zooesk (15/10/14)

My garden this morning


----------



## Forever Wort (15/10/14)

Insane mate, this time last year there were bushfires in your woods. Nuts.


----------



## zooesk (15/10/14)

Sure was


----------



## Dave70 (15/10/14)

zooesk said:


> My garden this morning
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dam those Prius drivers with their carbon neutral lifestyles freezing the planet.
I'm going home to burn some tractor tyres.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/10/14)

I thought I was doing well growing a banana plant in Melbourne but I subscribe to a UK magazine called Kitchen Garden (excellent source of information) and a lot of people in the UK are growing them, one woman had a plant fruit twice, also one of the biggest growing industries is wineries. But how do the scientists explain while the Arctic ice is receding the Antarctic ice is expanding ?

On a Michael Caine moment, A banana is the worlds largest herb, not many people know that. Learn a lot of useless stuff watching QI.


----------



## Airgead (16/10/14)

wide eyed and legless said:


> . But how do the scientists explain while the Arctic ice is receding the Antarctic ice is expanding ?


 :icon_offtopic: Actually they explain it pretty well...http://www.skepticalscience.com/increasing-Antarctic-Southern-sea-ice.htm
Pretty basic article but it has links to the actual papers.

Essentially its changes to wind patterns (moving the cold winds further out from the pole) which are driven by warming surface waters.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/10/14)

Checked my first cauliflower sowing's yesterday, heads are starting to form so tied the leaves up to keep them blanched but had an idea to tie some sisalation around them which I had left over from my cool room build, has anyone tried tying anything around their Caulis before apart from their leaves?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/10/14)

Interesting BBC documentary on vegetable growing and showing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wzoLhBtqi0


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/11/14)

Some photos of the vegie garden, Scarlet Runners climbing and rhubarb starting to hit the straps, the cauliflower seems to be alright with the sisalation to blanch the curds, all spuds now lifted and now in the cool room, lettuce and onions now in where the spuds were with leeks going in in the next week or so.
Carrots Early Nantes and St Valery along with parsnips and beetroot seeds now sown.


----------



## mr_wibble (6/11/14)

I'm sick and tired of the wallabies/kangaroos & rabbits helping themselves.

I put a fence around, but the shites worked out exactly the right place to put their head under it and lift the wire (mesh) up.

Still, I do have a good crop of rhubarb.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/11/14)

I doubt whether they would touch your rhubarb because of the toxicity of the leaves, rhubarb is one of my favourites as it is so versatile.
My greenhouse tomatoes are going well despite a rat eating the young plants earlier in the year and I had to start from scratch putting in new plants, one tip with tomatoes when you have a good strong plant let a couple of the side shoots grow instead of pinching them out,when they get to about 125 mm cut them at the base dip in rooting powder or clonex and put them in a pot of propagating mix this will give you extra plants to follow the first crop.


----------



## Dave70 (7/11/14)

I learnt the hard way never to turn tomatoes into your compost pile. I must have done this at some stage via the kitchen scraps and now the bastards are growing everywhere.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/11/14)

They do grow easily from dropped tomatoes, or tomatoes the birds have been pecking at and seeds drop, I to have heaps growing in the winter months nether the less, they seem to pop up even where they were never planted.


----------



## shaunous (10/11/14)

hahaha, yeh farkin annoying, i've pulled 500+ tomatoes from the ground already this season. another fukup with pumpkins in the compost, now i have little pumpkins (which are not pumpkins, they look to be gone back to their parent paddy melon) popping up everywhere.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (10/11/14)

Have had the same thing with pumpkin, seeds from the compost sprouting up but strangely always in a cluster.
My cauliflower has been harvested bar 2 a couple had just been about to start to bolt so I have now learned that it is heat which makes them bolt the sisalation did keep them blanched however, its a pity that they are almost always ready at the same time, I generally like to pick and eat but at least cauli is fine in the fridge. Made a really nice Cauliflower and leek soup, tonight its Indian cauliflower and chick pea curry, others on the list is Thai cauliflower, Potato and Cauliflower Gratin and my favourite Cauliflower fritters with a fruit chutney or sweet chilli sauce to serve.

As you can see it was just starting to bolt.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/12/14)

All caulis harvested bar 2, new seedlings of caulis to go in before Christmas along with red cabbage, sugarloaf and savoys for winter. Spring onions, lettuce, leeks and red onions (for red onion marmalade, delicious) 3 staggered lots of dwarf beans going nicely but the scarlet runners though flowering profusely have the usual problem of not setting, usually set a bit later.
Shade cloth up, and bird netting around strawberries,tomatoes in the greenhouse ripening nicely and first lot of comfrey for compost tea ready for cutting.


----------



## Curly79 (3/12/14)

Hey legless, what's the go with the cauli growing in the circle cut outs ?


----------



## altone (13/12/14)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Scarlet runners, supposed to go for 7 years but take them out after 4.


What? Why didn't anybody tell me this before? I've always ripped them out and planted new ones each year.

I'm planting them alongside the shed and going to let them do their thing.

thanks legless


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/12/14)

You will be surprised at the size of the roots when you eventually pull them out, I've had them 75mm dia.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/12/14)

At last first crop of Scarlet Runners.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/1/15)

Here you go mate.


----------



## manticle (17/1/15)

Thanks weal.

I'm a total noob to anything but basic herb growing and even then mostly those that look after themselves and were already growing on the premises. Tried growing veges with varying levels of success (read: mostly very little) but having moved into a place with great soil and some very healthy viet mint and parsley, I'm getting back into it.
Finally got oregano to sprout after 5 packs planted, redid the cos after the cats dug it up to poo and just ate some lovely dwarf green beans with barramundi last night.
Amazed that years old coriander seed from the cupboard has sprouted, tomato and cucumber from both planting and compost and garlic, chill, baby carrots and some other bits and bobs on the way. Potatoes are always a piece of piss (the gift that keeps giving) thyme and sage looking healthy, mint is a weed and trying my hand with beetroot, broccoli, parsley and basil out the front.

Drying a fresh corn cob in a paper bag to see how I go and inspired by the coriander, I've tried some cumin, fenugreek, cardamom and caraway in pots today.

No idea about much of it but hoping to learn more as I go. Found a $100 gift voucher for bunnings my folks gave me for christmas 2013 so I'm hoping to get a few bits and bobs to help it all along the way. Mostly organic/permaculture type methods where I can swing it.


----------



## Bomber Watson (17/1/15)

Sounds like were in about the same boat Manticle. 

Only started growing things about 12 months ago, its a bit addictive really. 

Never grown anything other than grass or weeds previously in my life, but having some reasonable success cultivating seeds and growing random things. 

Chillies/capsicums are dead easy to grow from seeds of stoor brought items, as are ginger, and just got some pineapple heads to sprout roots in some jars of water on the kitchen bench so going to plant them out after afternoon tea...

Cheers.


----------



## Camo6 (17/1/15)

Thanks for the bump Manticle. Was looking for this thread the other day with no success.

Pumpkin growers: have you had to hand pollinate this year? I've got some good plants that have gone gangbusters but very hard to get amongst them and I haven't seen many bees this summer. It's really got me thinking about a bee hive and be keen to hear from AHB apiarists. According to the code I have the space for 1 or 2 hives. Is it worth it? Is there a separate thread for beekeepers? I'd bee really grateful for some advice.


----------



## manticle (18/1/15)

I'm not an apiarist but my dad has had a hive or two for many years - currently in a suburban backyard. I'm currently looking at plans so I can build one for him.

No pumpkins for him and none for me again - huge plant, bugger all fruit last time I tried.


----------



## Camo6 (18/1/15)

Same here. Most of mine have rotted so far. However I think I've got a couple of fruit started by hand this season, just surprised at the lack of bees in the garden. I'd love one or two hives to kick things along and honeys about the only thing my youngest eats atm. Spewing because a neighbour had a swarm in their cedar last year and the council had them remove it. They thought we'd dobbed them in until I told them we wanted bees in the vegie patch. Maybe it was the pricks on the other side with the swimming pool and a shit attitude?
Anyway, found a thread on bee hives and will try and convince swmbo this is a good thing.

Also, could anyway recommend a good plum combo? Got space for a decent fruit tree and thought a double grafted plum might be the go. Mainly for eating but it would be nice to try some in a brew or see what a Serb mate can do with them.


----------



## Mardoo (18/1/15)

Bees are awesome! I kept bees when I was a kid and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Kind of magical, really.

I'm not sure what "worth it" looks like for you Cam. I'd say its worth it in the way growing hops is worth it. Not a huge return, but hugely satisfying.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/1/15)

You would have to research the sort of plums your family like, some plums are self pollinating and others need a companion plum to pollinate. Another thing about plums is DO NOT let anyone tell you to prune them in the winter months, prune them as soon as they have finished fruiting.
I have thought about the beehives but my wife says "No" She is worried about the kids getting stung, their is someone in the SE suburbs sells bees and hives, also you can contact a beekeeping club and you can get someone to put hives on your property, a good way to learn before getting your own and they will reward you with honey.
My Zucchini at the start of the season were getting pollinated by bees without a miss, now I have to pollinate them myself same with the pumpkins, gave my brothers some zucchini plants my youngest brother told me he hadn't had one zucchini, he had only been taking the flowers off stuffing, and frying them :lol:


----------



## Camo6 (18/1/15)

Haha! Maybe he needs to dig a bit deeper to find them.

I've got a vacancy along my fence line where I removed a dead hakea so only enough space for one tree or two small ones. I'll probably go one plant with two types grafted to take care of the pollinating side of things.
Either that or some other fruiting tree. Open to suggestions?
Or maybe a couple of olive trees.
What I really need is for my neighbour to remove the huge cyprus that is overhanging the perfect spot for a big veggie patch. Hmmm, where'd I put the glyphosate?


----------



## manticle (18/1/15)

@ WEAL: SE suburbs as in Dingley maybe? Old Russian professor called Nikolai, runs Hampton hives or somesuch. If so, both my Dad and an old work colleague dealt with him a bit. Mad as a cut snake but equally passionate, knowledgeable and great guy to boot. Would love to get a hive happening but the yard is pretty small and I'm already pushing it as much as I can. Haven't discounted the possibility yet though.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/1/15)

Got a feeling it was Mentone or Cheltenham, you can check this out.

http://www.aussieapiaristsonline.net/bees-for-sale.html


----------



## Curly79 (18/1/15)

Bit off topic here boys and girls but thought id throw it in.... What the hell is this little fella?


----------



## manticle (18/1/15)

Looks like emperor gum moth larva.


----------



## Curly79 (18/1/15)

Just googled it manticle. I think your right. Beautiful looking thing. Pretty big too. Never seen one before.


----------



## manticle (18/1/15)

Beautiful indeed. Native to australia and while the adult is nowhere near as colourful, it is also beautifully patterned.

Going mostly from memory but not really a threatening pest unless you have peppercorn trees (the adult eats nothing) and non stinging so no need to take action more drastic than photography.


----------



## Curly79 (18/1/15)

Sweet. Put him back in a pile of leaves. Cheers manticle.


----------



## Camo6 (23/1/15)

Pumpkin patch just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Starting to get some stable fruit and with a bit of manual pollenating I have a half dozen set so far. All self sown butternuts by the look of it. Next season I'll plant some varieties now I know they like that spot.


----------



## manticle (24/1/15)

Nice beer squash


----------



## Camo6 (24/1/15)

Thanks zucchini. Twas one of the last pours of my "Del the Funky Simcoe Saisien." I really should stop naming my beers.


----------



## manticle (24/1/15)

I meant the variety of squash/pumpkin rather than an affectionate name for your esteemed self.
However I shall, from this moment, refer to you as 'ma petite aubergine'


----------



## jyo (24/1/15)




----------



## jyo (24/1/15)

I've had the best season so far for tomatoes. All up, I've probably picked around 25 kilos from 14 plants, and there are still more to come. Probably lost 5 kilos to bugs and burning from the sun. Most have been given away, but made a heap of relish the other other night to try and use them. Planning on making some passata, too.


They're called 'joy', and are a bit watery for my liking, but still a really nice fruit.


----------



## Bribie G (24/1/15)

Holy tomayto, batman. I can't grown tomatoes to save my life.

Here in the Subtropics it's perfect for eggplant and okra, the hotter the better ... I'll need a stepladder shortly to pick the okra.

It's a super tender variety and the pods grow to around 12 cm without becoming woody.


----------



## Camo6 (24/1/15)

jyo said:


>


Ha! That Cam almost makes me look petite. Kinda. Sorta.


----------



## jyo (24/1/15)

Cam, it's ok buddy, I like a full-figured gardener. 

Bribie- I always imagined okra to grow as a vine along the ground. Very cool. 

We're hoping to move this year to somewhere with a bigger yard and a big vegie garden is on the cards. I had a good go with herbs this year too and I'm sold on cooking with super fresh herbs. Especially fresh basil. Amazing.


----------



## Camo6 (24/1/15)

Fresh basil reigns supreme. Last year I grew it around my herb patch and nearly cried when it was all gone. This year I tried perennial basil. Too perfumey for my liking and as rough as dried nettle, but if it hangs around awhile I won't complain. Still, no comparison to the real thing on a pizza with tomato and bocconcini or with good pasta and extra virgins. Now I'm hungry again.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/1/15)

Fresh basil, coriander, parsley and dill and curry plant, I do grow other herbs but those five are the mainstay as for perennial basil it is good to have through the winter months, better than nothing.
Another thing about veggie gardening which is a lesson to be learned in serving beer, pick a strawberry or a tomato which has been warmed by the sun and the taste is one big flavour burst, but take them out of a fridge entirely different, same with beer to get the full flavour it has to be warmer than fridge temperature.


----------



## Dave70 (27/1/15)

Camo6 said:


> Fresh basil reigns supreme. Last year I grew it around my herb patch and nearly cried when it was all gone. This year I tried perennial basil. Too perfumey for my liking and as rough as dried nettle, but if it hangs around awhile I won't complain. Still, no comparison to the real thing on a pizza with tomato and bocconcini or with good pasta and extra virgins. Now I'm hungry again.


I think an indoor hydro setup may be the only answer here. Coriander and basil, at least in my case are such fickle bastards, running to seed the nanosecond they get stressed out. CFL's cost peanuts to run and a mix of cool daylight and warm white pretty much have the spectrum covered. Small price to pay if you can enjoy fresh basil pesto year round anyway.


----------



## fraser_john (27/1/15)

Two harvests of sweet corn, bottled into 23 bottles, should be a year long supply. Bottled hot yellow peppers and two jars of gherkins over the w/e as well.

Waiting for my tomatoes to kick in to start on the tomato puree


----------



## Camo6 (27/1/15)

That reminds me. My folks have a couple of stovetop vacola sterilisers sitting in a shed and probably a few hundred jars and lids. If I can evict all the tiger snakes I might bring them back down and put them to use.
Or put them on evilbay...


----------



## fraser_john (27/1/15)

Camo6 said:


> That reminds me. My folks have a couple of stovetop vacola sterilisers sitting in a shed and probably a few hundred jars and lids. If I can evict all the tiger snakes I might bring them back down and put them to use.
> Or put them on evilbay...


Fowlers jars can attract an excellent premium, so might be worth selling. But rings etc are expensive for them. I just use plain Bertolli used pasta sauce jars, they are branded Mason (from the USA) and pop top new lids can be bought for around 10c each and are reusable a few times if washed properly after use.


----------



## shaunous (27/1/15)

fraser_john said:


> Two harvests of sweet corn, bottled into 23 bottles, should be a year long supply. Bottled hot yellow peppers and two jars of gherkins over the w/e as well.
> 
> Waiting for my tomatoes to kick in to start on the tomato puree
> 
> ...



Bottled sweet corn :huh: ?


----------



## Camo6 (27/1/15)

Hmmm. I use dolmio jars for yeast management and starter wort but getting the smell of tomato and garlic out of the lids can take awhile! Where do you source the lids Fraser_john?


----------



## shaunous (27/1/15)

Food wholesalers Camo, my local one has the jars for $1.12 and the lids less then 10c, i get given everyones jars now they know i make chutneys and sauces but u do need to replace the lids occasionaly as they rust after a few boiling sterilisations.


----------



## fraser_john (27/1/15)

Camo6 said:


> Hmmm. I use dolmio jars for yeast management and starter wort but getting the smell of tomato and garlic out of the lids can take awhile! Where do you source the lids Fraser_john?


Green Living Australia linky

Make sure to follow the directions on measuring lids!


----------



## Camo6 (27/1/15)

Cheers to you both. That'll save me scolding swmbo every time she throws them out!


----------



## manticle (5/2/15)

Got no more room left in the soil to plant much more so keen to use the backyard fence and get some planter boxes installed.
Hoping to grow a few berry varieties.
Made the boxes last weekend out of non structural pine ply. Drilled a few drainage holes at the bottom. Finding conflicting advice on whether or not I need to treat the wood and if so - what with?
Also should I line them and if so - what with? Not landscape fabric but maybe hessian?


----------



## Curly79 (5/2/15)

Black plastic? Cheap and easy. We've got Logan berries fruiting at the mo. Beautiful. Raspberries grow like weeds too mate. Yum.


----------



## AndrewQLD (5/2/15)

Just made up 2 raised garden beds last weekend from a couple of old pallets, will be filling this weekend with garden soil, mushroom compost, chook poo and cow manure, hope to plant some winter beans, tomatoes and cucumbers in a couple of weeks


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/2/15)

manticle said:


> Got no more room left in the soil to plant much more so keen to use the backyard fence and get some planter boxes installed.
> Hoping to grow a few berry varieties.
> Made the boxes last weekend out of non structural pine ply. Drilled a few drainage holes at the bottom. Finding conflicting advice on whether or not I need to treat the wood and if so - what with?
> Also should I line them and if so - what with? Not landscape fabric but maybe hessian?


The boxes will be o/k for 2 or 3 years without doing anything to them but you could have used the treated pine, the one about 35 mm thick, it is not treated with arsenic and is safe for garden beds. Log onto-reminders @gardenate.com it will give you advice on what you should be planting.


----------



## manticle (6/2/15)

Yeah it was just scraps from work that would have ended up in the bin. It's a rental so a few years is good 
I check gardenate regularly. Want to get some good soil going first and plant berries in cooler months.


----------



## Dave70 (6/2/15)

manticle said:


> Hoping to grow a few berry varieties.


And if you go with blueberries, few will be the operative word. 
I think mine have been in large pot on three years now. Lovingly prepared and PH checked Azalea mix, still only yielded a extremely modest return - though there seems to have been a burst of foliage lately so perhaps a bumper crop in in the post..
Anyway, the young bloke enjoys eating them direct of the plant, so its worth it.
I'm still making smoothies with Nanna's frozen berries however..


----------



## Curly79 (6/2/15)

I'm hearing ya there dave. We have three blueberry bushes. Maybe had three punnets worth this summer


----------



## manticle (6/2/15)

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and maybe loganberries is the very rough plan.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/2/15)

I have got raspberries and josta berries (a cross between blackcurrant and gooseberries) get two yields from raspberries only problem is they pop up all over the place like a mad woman's shit.
Harvested some cucumber today they are not the lebanese pickling variety but I shall have a go at pickling them, at least with them being a F1 variety I don't have to worry about any bitter ones amongst them.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/2/15)

Posted before my pic was added.


----------



## manticle (7/2/15)

Got a couple of strawberry plants and a raspberry. Prepared the planter boxes (going with untreated, unlined) with rocks, compost, cardboard, soil and mulch, well watered. Hopefully transplant berries from pots at the beginning of autumn.

Yet to decide on other berry varieties but I got plenty of time.


----------



## Lincoln2 (11/2/15)

Finally! After 10 years I am now officially an olive farmer. I was beginning to despair. This tree is called Demis Roussous (all of my trees have their own personal name, the olive tree next door to Demis is called Nana Mouskouri). I'm always reluctant to prune my trees as I'm a big softy. But I did last year and here's the harvest.


----------



## Lincoln2 (11/2/15)

Demis has between 1 & 2 dozen olives. Enough for a pizza, a small anti-pasto platter or a tablespoon of oil. Now I have to make an olive oil press. You've never seen a happier man. I was dancing around the farm with a beer in one hand and a pair of secateurs in the other. Oh frabjous day. (My wife and kids don't quite understand and think I'm a touch loopy.)


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/2/15)

I don't know anything about olive trees, but most other fruiting shrubs and trees they need pruning and the new wood bears the fruit.


----------



## hawkgirl (14/2/15)

manticle said:


> Made the boxes last weekend out of non structural pine ply. Drilled a few drainage holes at the bottom. Finding conflicting advice on whether or not I need to treat the wood and if so - what with?
> Also should I line them and if so - what with? Not landscape fabric but maybe hessian?


you should paint the wood with Durabit - its a rubber paint /sealant & will help stop the timber rotting.


----------



## manticle (14/2/15)

Thanks hawkgirl. These ones are untreated and filled with soil and mulch but I may be making more so I'll take a look at durabit for those. All surfaces? No leaching? Cheers.


----------



## hawkgirl (14/2/15)

AFAIK no leaching, recommended to me by a horticulturist. Other stuff like the no-creosote creosote paint will leach & Pot Seal wont stick properly to wood. The durabit is basically paint on rubber, plumbers use it in bathrooms. Water washup too.

Currently in the middle of transferring all my fruit trees from plastic pots to wooden barrel type planters  but so far happy with the results


----------



## spog (14/2/15)

44 degrees here today, the veggies took a bit of of knock a good watering early tomorrow should help.


----------



## Dave70 (16/2/15)

Dave70 said:


> And if you go with blueberries, few will be the operative word.
> I think mine have been in large pot on three years now. Lovingly prepared and PH checked Azalea mix, still only yielded a extremely modest return - though there seems to have been a burst of foliage lately so perhaps a bumper crop in in the post..
> Anyway, the young bloke enjoys eating them direct of the plant, so its worth it.
> I'm still making smoothies with *Nanna's frozen berries however.*.


Oh no...not my precious liver..

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-15/second-brand-of-frozen-mixed-berries-recalled/6106490


----------



## Camo6 (27/2/15)

A question for the green thumbs onboard. Neglected my pumpkin patch over the last week and while I kept the water up to it I ignored the patchy white leaves forming. Found tonight it'd spread all over the patch. Bit of research suggests powdery mildew so I sprayed a few litres of a milk/water mix over the plant. 5 mins later I had every wasp in the neighbourhood swarming my backyard!
Any other remedies if this doesn't work? Should I bother? FWIW there's more than fifteen good sized fruit formed and a few new ones set over the last few days. Will it affect the fruit and for that matter when should I pick them? Was always told to wait till the stem browns and give them a half twist every day but I don't want to lose so many pumpkins to this mildew. 
Cheers


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/3/15)

Lime sulphur spray from bunnings,if its not to late, when the pumpkins sound hollow when you knock on them they are ready, and make sure you leave about 20-25 mm of stem on them so they will keep. 
I am thinking of putting some salsify in this month, the last lot my wife pulled out and binned them thinking they were deformed parsnips, I still don't know what they taste like :unsure:


----------



## Bribie G (3/3/15)

Excellent spray to prevent, but not cure, powdery mildew on all curcurbits:

Equal quantities washing up liquid and cooking oil.
Shake in a container till it emulsifies.

Put about a cm into hand spray bottle with half a tsp bicarbonate of soda.

Fill with water and shake well. Spray, in evening, till leaves are dripping.

Not recommended for very young plants but excellent once growth reaches the stage where some powdery mildew spots are forming.


----------



## Camo6 (3/3/15)

Cheers both for the replies. The old man popped in on the weekend and had coincidentally heard on 3AW on the way over that late set powdery mildew is symptomatic of the plant nearing full maturity (or something along those lines) and not worth worrying about. Funny thing is, it's started throwing new fruit and spreading further around the backyard even though the rest of the plant is withering.
Anyway, picked the mature fruit tonight JIC. Not a bad haul for two seeds that sprouted from the compost feeding the silverbeet!


----------



## manticle (3/3/15)

Won't be planting anything for a while.
Have to move out again due to landlord selling. Second time within 12 months.


----------



## tavas (3/3/15)

manticle said:


> Won't be planting anything for a while.
> Have to move out again due to landlord selling. Second time within 12 months.


Well look on the bright side, you had a crappy neighbor anyway


----------



## Bribie G (3/3/15)

In the current market, hopefully the new owner will be an investor looking for a steady tenant.


----------



## manticle (3/3/15)

tavas said:


> Well look on the bright side, you had a crappy neighbor anyway


Have a house that is better than the neighbour.

Bribieg: went through that hope last time. We have a lease till december so if we want to stay till then, and wait for a possible investor, we can.
Landlord made a very generous offer but if we accept, we are out by april. We have a lot of stuff.
Anyway, cuttings/seedlings of all plants, planter boxes and compost to the new place, start again. Thought we were going to be here for a while. Landlord asked us to sign on for 18 months when we first moved in. Been here about 1/3 of that.

Others got it worse, just a pain in the bung.


----------



## tavas (3/3/15)

Just making a smart ass comment. Pretty shit that they made you sign 18 months then cut it short.


----------



## manticle (3/3/15)

I know you were mate. Took it in the spirit it was meant. Just gutted cos the meeting was a few hours ago. 
Landlord's situation may have changed drastically since then - might be illness, something up with kids/relatives, whatever.
Just happy here and settling in. Also moving here set me financially backwards by a long shot - recently got back to point zero so we can start again. Didn't realise we'd actually have to start again. 
Anyway that's all ot. Topically - finally got little cucumbers making an appearance.


----------



## Camo6 (3/3/15)

manticle said:


> Won't be planting anything for a while.
> Have to move out again due to landlord selling. Second time within 12 months.


That sucks balls mate. Moving is one of the things I loathe the most.

Cucumbers I like though. Especially layered between thickly buttered bread with a bit of cheddar and half a grinder of pepper.


----------



## pat_00 (4/3/15)

Anybody had luck with geting rid of whitefly? My hops and a few other plants were decimated this season.

I tried Neeming them every week or so, to little effect. I'm thinking of getting some Green Lacewing larvae, anyone tried that?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/3/15)

Dust buster them early in the morning, put the bag in the freezer to kill them and put them under the tomato plants, you shouldn't have them now though.


----------



## Camo6 (4/3/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Dust buster them early in the morning, put the bag in the freezer to kill them and put them under the tomato plants, you shouldn't have them now though.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGAu_DeKckI

Is this some kind of warning for other whiteflies? I dread to think what's buried in your backyard WEAL.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/3/15)

I will bury everything that is good for the garden, vacuum cleaner dust is also good for the tomato's all the dead skin dog hairs etc, I was reading about the rock dust a few years ago supposed to be good for the garden, I see Bunnings has got onto it now, thought it was a bit pricey, but just recently read that it only has to be put into the soil every 20 years or so.


----------



## Camo6 (4/3/15)

As long as you weren't a standover man, I'm not complaining. Not that I'm complaining...on the off chance you were.


----------



## HBHB (4/3/15)

Got sick of feral dogs killing off our chooks. While we loved the eggs and it was a great way to get rid of spent grain, so is a big compost heap. So the last remaining chooks went to a neighbours farm and we scored about 250sq M of garden space.

Egg plants have yielded 1 whole fruit...... Bugs eat the flowers off, so I've resorted to a spray made on garlic and Chocolate Scorpions. No bugs, but you can hear them speaking Spanish from deep within and no fruit still.

Butternut pumpkins. good thing we like pumpkin soup.

Tomatoes have been a complete loss this year. More soil prep needed and will rest that patch for another year. 

Sweet potato has gone feral and they're bulging out of the soil

Watermelons have done well, but late. These were planted in late September

No shortage of chilli varieties or beetroot and the spring onions have done well as have the carrots.
Just need to sort out winter varieties now.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/3/15)

Pity about the chooks, can't you get one of those cages that move around and shoot the dogs?
Noticed this evening, the one that got away, I grow my cucumbers in the roof of the greenhouse, length 430mm girth 225mm pity its an F1 so I can't keep the seeds.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/3/15)

Ripped out all my tomato plants yesterday, green tomato chutney underway at the moment, getting beds ready for peas, swede, carrots, parsnip, silverbeet, kale, spinach and cabbages. Giving the tomato plants to sister in laws goat, I feel sorry for it, it has cleared her block and a neighbours of all the blackberry bushes, hard to imagine anything could eat blackberry bushes.

A shame about having to move Manticle, with a bit of luck an investor will buy the property,seems to be more investors in the housing market than people wanting to buy the property for their own use.


----------



## manticle (7/3/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I will bury everything that is good for the garden, vacuum cleaner dust is also good for the tomato's all the dead skin dog hairs etc, I was reading about the rock dust a few years ago supposed to be good for the garden, I see Bunnings has got onto it now, thought it was a bit pricey, but just recently read that it only has to be put into the soil every 20 years or so.


Really? Good to know. I try to put most biodegradeable things in compost but never thought of vac dust.

As for investor - landlord wants to sell a vacant property to increase appeal so we have come to an arrangement as it's well before the end date of the arrangement.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/3/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> . Giving the tomato plants to sister in laws goat, I feel sorry for it, it has cleared her block and a neighbours of all the blackberry bushes, hard to imagine anything could eat blackberry bushes.


Goats LOVE anything hard and spikey. In fact they will eat trees,sticks, thorny bushes etc over grass. They actually have a hardened mouth roof so hey dont get punctured.

Putting a goat onto blackberry is like putting them in heaven.


----------



## spog (7/3/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Pity about the chooks, can't you get one of those cages that move around and shoot the dogs?
> Noticed this evening, the one that got away, I grow my cucumbers in the roof of the greenhouse, length 430mm girth 225mm pity its an F1 so I can't keep the seeds.


Don't walk underneath that,if it falls it'll skewer you if not break a bone or two ! 
"Man killed by plumeting cucumber "


----------



## manticle (7/3/15)

Just pulled up half the garden into pots. Leaving half of all plants I'm taking, leaving anything that's seasonal. Just so I have a head start in the new place. Might sound naff but never realised how much emotional connection you can have with plants you grew to eat. Actually felt emotional digging up oregano.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/3/15)

Hate to see you trying to kill your favourite steer then. You would be an emotional wreck for months B)


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/3/15)

Goats LOVE anything hard and spikey. In fact they will eat trees,sticks, thorny bushes etc over grass. They actually have a hardened mouth roof so hey dont get punctured.

Putting a goat onto blackberry is like putting them in heaven. 

Guess the goat isn't going to thank me for puff house tomato and bean plants I have pulled out then plus a load of grape vine leaves, hard to get my mind around eating blackberry bushes, then again I'm not a goat though the wife says I act like one when lubricated.


----------



## manticle (7/3/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Hate to see you trying to kill your favourite steer then. You would be an emotional wreck for months B)


Would be much easier mate.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/4/15)

Winter garden looking good, peas just starting to break through, my favourite cabbage wombok is off to a flying start, also got brussel sprouts, sugarloaf cabbage, cauliflower and bok choy, just trying to encourage leeks to grow a bit longer in the pot before planting them in the bed.


----------



## sponge (9/4/15)

So bok choy is a nice winter grower? I've just been getting a few planter boxes ready for planting next weekend and was looking at planting some bok choy since we go through so much of it throughout the week. One of my favourite parts of moving out of our apartment is that we've got some garden space now. Preeeetty over paying so much for wild rocket at the grocers.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/4/15)

The Bok choy grows very quick so make sure you keep planting the seeds regularly, I have 4 lots on the go at the moment, 3 at various stages and the 4th is seeds I planted yesterday.


----------



## sponge (9/4/15)

So you use seeds again after each harvest? You don't plant any cuttings?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/4/15)

Yes I keep sowing seed, though I have cut kale off and let it grow again but it doesn't seem to grow as vigorously as a new plant.
There is a trick you can do with leeks, when a leek has gone to flower (I have 2 in my garden now) cut off the flower head and it will throw a load of tiny leeks up, this is what a lot of the show gardeners do. 
Reproducing leeks by bulbils, “pips or grass”. This is the method by which super specimens such as “show leeks” are usually grown. These show leeks are specially selected strains to produce giant leeks. You can see the principal of this method if you allow one of your leek plants to form a flower head in the second year( they are bi-annuals). Give them the following treatment, and instead of forming leek seed pods, they will form green shoots which can be planted up. It is not what you would expect to happen, but nature is very complex and surprising! Leeks produced by this method will be genetically the same as the original plant.
Allow the flower buds to form and then using small scissors, cut off all the individual buds. The leek plant then compensates for this treatment, by trying to reproduce itself by forming bulbils, pips or grass.


----------



## Bribie G (12/4/15)

The following works quite well:

Chokos used as a substitute for Zucchini in just about everything such as ratatouille.

A bed of sliced chokos under a pork roast, become infused with flavour.

Fish soup with Basa and julienned chokos

Choko chutney

Julienned chokos in stir fries

But at the end of the day, in the words of Jeff Wayne, 1978:

_The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, they said........ but still they come. _

Help, chokos are definitely from Mars. And no, don't even mention the Lebanese Eggplants. :unsure: :unsure: :unsure:


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/4/15)

Anyone know what these fruit are.


----------



## Lincoln2 (15/4/15)

They're Congolese Death Berries - just looking at them is fatal.

I'm not 100% sure from the pic but they look like lilly pilly - a native Australian bush tucker berry. Are they about marble size with a large-ish seed in the middle and a bitter but nice flavour? Great for jams and pies plus I like to eat them straight off the tree. Nice hedging tree and pretty hardy. They grow like weeds up here.


----------



## Mardoo (15/4/15)

Also looks quite similar to some of the bush crab apples. Doesn't seem like we've established edibility yet though...


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/4/15)

Inside it is soft and sweet but lots of seeds a bit like a tiny passion fruit.


----------



## Scottsrx (15/4/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Anyone know what these fruit are.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My guess is a Jujube. Our local Fruit and nut guy loves them... http://www.perrysfruitnursery.com.au/over-the-fence


----------



## Lincoln2 (15/4/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Inside it is soft and sweet but lots of seeds a bit like a tiny passion fruit.


Not lilly pilly then.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/4/15)

No not lilly pilly or Jujube, leaves are waxy and the fruit is 16 to 20 mm dia.


----------



## Lincoln2 (6/6/15)

Wheelbarrow sitting is one of my favourite things. After a hard day's work on the hoe, and planting cabbage, carrot, garlic, onion and snow peas, it's important to take a moment to reflect. Think over the day's work you've done. Plan tomorrow's chores and congratulate yourself on productivity. Note the champagne bucket to the left, it has a big chunk of ice in the bottom.


----------



## Dave70 (9/6/15)

You should include a cautionary note about a the barrows inherent instability. They're comfy, but kind of like a Reliant Robin if you get the entry / exit strategy wrong.
Nothing beats working your hoe hard all day but. 

I spent a day putting the new Husky through its paces. 
Kind of like gardening. In reverse.


----------



## Kingy (9/6/15)

Been building an over engineered egg laying machine facilty/composter. To supplement the vedgy garden and work in a symbiotic relationship with the vedgie garden, spent grains and beers with chicks. 
Still got a bit of work to do but its coming together.


----------



## Kingy (9/6/15)

Dave70 said:


> You should include a cautionary note about a the barrows inherent instability. They're comfy, but kind of like a Reliant Robin if you get the entry / exit strategy wrong.
> Nothing beats working your hoe hard all day but.
> 
> I spent a day putting the new Husky through its paces.
> Kind of like gardening. In reverse.


The only thing ruining that picture is its not a stihl.


----------



## Dave70 (9/6/15)

I'm only semi -pro..


Could have used a 24" bar though, hate sawing from one side to the other. 
Always find felling large dead trees somewhat nerve racking.


----------



## LiquidGold (9/6/15)

That fruit looks a bit like a cherry guava to me. How big is the shrub?


----------



## LiquidGold (9/6/15)

Here's what my "veggie bed" looks like at the moment


----------



## Dave70 (9/6/15)

Hydro?
Please explain.


----------



## LiquidGold (9/6/15)

It's part of an aquaponics setup which is similar to hydro except the fish (and bacteria) provide the nutrients. This design is known as a floating raft and uses pots with a growing medium (we're using hydroton clay balls) placed in holes drilled out of styrofoam sheets floating on the water.

At the moment it's only really suitable to vegetative crops rather than fruiting crops because of a slightly high ph and nutrient issues associated. (floating rafts are predominantly used for vegetative crops anyhow)

Here's the fish side of it. Edibles include 40 Jade Perch and ~65 Murray Cod.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (9/6/15)

Dave70 said:


> I'm only semi -pro..
> 
> 
> Could have used a 24" bar though, hate sawing from one side to the other.
> Always find felling large dead trees somewhat nerve racking.


Problem with that is it wont cut as well with the bigger bar. My old Farmboss MS310cut better with a shorter bar,

But I also had a 1973 Super250 McCulloch with .404" chain and 36" bar that my dad gave me. We cut hundredds of tons with it over the years when I was a kid


I miss that saw  . It was heavy, LOUD, had to thumb pump the oil, cranky and dangerous....But I loved it. It ate hardwood like nothing else.

Bit like the YZ490's of the chainsaw world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiTdXfVJvjI&feature=youtu.be


----------



## spog (9/6/15)

Lincoln2 said:


> Wheelbarrow sitting is one of my favourite things. After a hard day's work on the hoe, and planting cabbage, carrot, garlic, onion and snow peas, it's important to take a moment to reflect. Think over the day's work you've done. Plan tomorrow's chores and congratulate yourself on productivity. Note the champagne bucket to the left, it has a big chunk of ice in the bottom.


No mud on your shoes ! Photoshopped.


----------



## spog (9/6/15)

Dave70 said:


> You should include a cautionary note about a the barrows inherent instability. They're comfy, but kind of like a Reliant Robin if you get the entry / exit strategy wrong.
> Nothing beats working your hoe hard all day but.
> 
> I spent a day putting the new Husky through its paces.
> Kind of like gardening. In reverse.


Similar as Lincoln2, photoshopped.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/6/15)

LiquidGold said:


> It's part of an aquaponics setup which is similar to hydro except the fish (and bacteria) provide the nutrients. This design is known as a floating raft and uses pots with a growing medium (we're using hydroton clay balls) placed in holes drilled out of styrofoam sheets floating on the water.
> 
> At the moment it's only really suitable to vegetative crops rather than fruiting crops because of a slightly high ph and nutrient issues associated. (floating rafts are predominantly used for vegetative crops anyhow)
> 
> ...


Is the nutrient and Ph at a constant level so you could incorporate some system to correct them, I accidently did an experiment where my nutrient levels were way too high in my hydroponics, it totally rendered the plants useless.


----------



## Red Baron (22/6/15)

Ate the first potato of the season yesterday. Cabbage and brocc are looking good too.

Cheers,
RB


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/6/15)

Only just started chitting my spuds, loads of cabbage, kale,Chinese greens, leeks and broccoli ready.


----------



## LiquidGold (23/6/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Is the nutrient and Ph at a constant level so you could incorporate some system to correct them, I accidently did an experiment where my nutrient levels were way too high in my hydroponics, it totally rendered the plants useless.


Usually the pH in an aquaponics setup gradually decreases due to the nitrification process (bacteria converting ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate) so instead of correcting it we've been hoping to have it eventually drop by itself but the level of carbonates in the water can slow this down. There are natural ways to lower the pH of the top up water which I might look at doing because until it's lower I can't supplement potassium since it will raise the pH further. In an established system people tend to use a mix of hydrated lime and potassium hydroxide when the pH gets low and this supplements calcium, magnesium and potassium at the same time.

I still have a lot to learn and the whole nutrient/water chemistry side of things is pretty complicated.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (23/6/15)

A few years ago I was reading a lot about aquaponics and water recycling, would really love to have gotten in to aquaponics, I do remember reading that the quality of the fish food has to be really good, and having red worms and bacteria to raise the level of the nutrients but I believe it took a number of months to become an efficient biofilter.
I did make a filtering system for all the washing machine water, it was that good that I could drink it at the other end, I just diverted it into my tanks.

Where do you live Red Baron, do you get 2 crops of spuds?


----------



## HBHB (30/7/15)

Nearly time to rest most of the gardens here once these all come off the beds.

Assortment of brown and red onions plus garlic


Black Russian tomatoes


Second rotation of cabbages and Cauliflower. First lot of cauli were a yellow variety.


Beans leaks and some Beetroot


Put in a Tropical Nectarine and Tropical Pear


Pineapples provided nicely but some failed to produce


----------



## spog (30/7/15)

Bastard blackbirds wiped my seedlings out about 4 weeks ago, got a heap of new ones coming through in cut down milk cartons but I'm going to have to put netting over the patch to keep the mongrels out.
I put up some old DVDs on string but the mongrels got used to them so I'm going to change the type of scarrer as well..


----------



## manticle (30/7/15)

They need to be the right dvds. Lady in the water works.
No-one ever wants to look at that.


----------



## Dave70 (31/7/15)

spog said:


> Bastard blackbirds wiped my seedlings out about 4 weeks ago, got a heap of new ones coming through in cut down milk cartons but I'm going to have to put netting over the patch to keep the mongrels out.
> I put up some old DVDs on string but the mongrels got used to them so I'm going to change the type of scarrer as well..


A mate swears by his Bunnings deterrent owl for keeping nuisance birds at bay.
Just check your neighbor hasn't got a deterrent cat and you'll be good to go.


----------



## tugger (31/7/15)

These work well


----------



## spog (31/7/15)

Dave70 said:


> A mate swears by his Bunnings deterrent owl for keeping nuisance birds at bay.
> Just check your neighbor hasn't got a deterrent cat and you'll be good to go.


A lot of people use the plastic Owls on their boats in the Marina here but some still have Shags ( Cormarants) shitting on their boats .
It's interesting how birds etc recognise a scare crow for what it is.


----------



## spog (31/7/15)

tugger said:


> These work well
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1438308862.029883.jpg


I will not,repeat not put a Dildoe in my veggie patch ! .


----------



## manticle (31/7/15)

I've had success with rubber snakes as a bird deterrent


----------



## spog (31/7/15)

A few years back I had major problems with starlings getting into my roof space and nesting,I glued some rubber snakes in the valley gutters which scarred the crap out of them but within a couple of days they were ignoring them.
Solved the problem by using mouse traps,that sorted them in no time at all but I'm not about to use mouse traps on the veggie patch,though I have been tempted.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (1/8/15)

These are reasonably effective on birds


----------



## manticle (1/8/15)

Rubber snakes need to be moved regularly.


----------



## Dave70 (24/8/15)

Anybody looking some herbs etc outside whats available at the local nursery may want to give this mob a look. I've used them a few times and so far so good. 
If you jump on the mailing list they send you updates on whats currently firing. Right now I'm interested in the wassabi. 
POR also currently available. if anyones interested in making a VB clone..

http://www.allrareherbs.com.au/



This gave me a slight chuckle.

Tasmanian Mountain Pepper, 600ml pot

 Mountain Pepper is native to sub-alpine regions of NSW. Tasmania and Victoria

Shipping:NOT Western Australia or Tasmania, NOT internationally


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/8/15)

Diggers here in Victoria sell Wassabi, I was interested in it at one stage but I read where it likes to grow, it actually grows in clear mountain streams seems its like a large version of watercress, I do grow watercress using my hydroponic set up I suppose I could try that for wassabi though the one Diggers sell grows in the ground.
Got a feeling of Deja vu writing this.


----------



## Dave70 (24/8/15)

If you grow your watercress in a irrigated gravel kind of set up cant see why it wouldnt work. That would be my plan. 
Except that wassabi seems to like the shade and cress the sun. And two years is a long time to wait to zest up your sushi..


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/8/15)

Horseradish = Poor mans Wassabi, easy to grow, too easy it will spread all over the place if you don't keep it contained.


----------



## Spohaw (24/8/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Horseradish = Poor mans Wassabi, easy to grow, too easy it will spread all over the place if you don't keep it contained.


Would have to agree with wide there 

I planted some in the veg patch and have dug it put twice ,pretty decent size holes as well , but it keeps coming back 

Would never plant it in the ground again


----------



## HBHB (24/8/15)

spog said:


> I will not,repeat not put a Dildoe in my veggie patch ! .


More bang for your buck


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/8/15)

Inspired me to go out and dig mine up and replant in a bigger pot. Got enough for a nice bit of sauce, and replanted some rhizomes in a corner of the garden where hopefully it will not spread to far.


----------



## Spohaw (24/8/15)

Yeah just dug a bit of mine up for a look , didn't dig deep though 


It's going to be there for a long time haha


----------



## shaunous (24/8/15)

I dont understand why people grow shit like that, unless of coarse you have plenty of time for gardening.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (24/8/15)

I have 6" high tomato seedlings growing in random places in the back yard from god knows what seed

Going to let them go and see what I get


----------



## Spohaw (24/8/15)

More then enough time for growing food here shaunous


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/8/15)

Spohawk do you eat the leaves, from the horseradish, I have eaten them in salads to give the salad a bit of heat.

Stu I planted tomato seeds yesterday and wondered why I was doing it because there are more than enough plants already growing in the garden, I only grew 2 types in the garden last year a cherry tomato and money maker and I remember the beds where I put them, so I have a good idea what they are. 

Spuds are now in it is the latest I have planted them, got some leeks growing in the nursery pots which are about 600 mm high have managed to put one lot in a bed just waiting for a bed to clear to put the remainder in.

Planted the spuds in mushroom compost as the video. From the dyslexic Yorkshire man Allotment Dairy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNml1YeDS5M


----------



## HBHB (25/8/15)

Those cherry tomatoes just keep on giving. 7 seasons now and not a seed deliberately planted.


----------



## Danwood (25/8/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> I have 6" high tomato seedlings growing in random places in the back yard from god knows what seed
> 
> Going to let them go and see what I get


Last season I transplanted rogue seedlings from the compost/worm farm. I ended up with Roma and Cherry mostly, and got a pretty good crop.
I'm sowing Moneymaker seeds today, along with Lemon and Sweet Basil.
Also a few Alyssum and Marigold, to hopefully piss off the pests.


----------



## Lincoln2 (25/8/15)

My tomatoes have been fruiting like crazy all winter. 2 varieties, Roma and Tommy Toe from Diggers. It's been pretty mild up here and for the few cold spells I just made sure they were well mulched and I covered them with my cabbage moth netting to prevent frost damage. I'll be picking another 2 dozen or so this afternoon.

WEAL, great vid. I'm going to use that next week when I plant my spring potatoes. (I plant 2 crops a year of taters, Feb & August). I've tried a cylinder made of star pickets and chook-wire before with mixed results but this method looks better. Cheers.


----------



## Spohaw (25/8/15)

Never eaten the leaves , they have always looked tough to me ...... Maybe younger ones might be ok


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/8/15)

Spowaw, I don't know what the gardening is like in W.A but here in Vic I only have one crack at the leaves and that is when they have just emerged late spring early summer next to it I have a Sea Kale which is also a one chance, forced in early spring, one meal and that is it I wonder why I keep it.

Lincoln, I wish I could get 2 crops of spuds, did you see the other video of his crop from seven pots, unbelievable, I used to fret about what the Brits missed out on not having spuds until Raleigh brought them back from the colonies but having discovered swede I figure they were doing alright without the spud.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (25/8/15)

Wild tomatoes always taste heaps better.

Got no idea what they are going to be until they fruit

:super:


----------



## Red Baron (25/8/15)

Deep fried is my new favourite way to eat Brussel sprouts! My Cabbage and broccoli harvests are starting to die off, but the sprouts are starting to come into their own. My Pontiac spuds are still giving too- I reckon i'll get 30-35kg from the kilo of seed potatoes.

Chips, deep fried sprouts and beers down the shed sound like a good arvo!

Cheers,
RB


----------



## manticle (25/8/15)

I like the idea of brussel sprouts being eaten in that fashion (ie: by someone other than me).

Been too cold and frosty here to get much in but broccoli and carrots have shown their heads. Got various potatoes chitting and a few vege scraps with seeds (pumpkins, tomatoes, bullet chilli, etc) in the ground to see what happens.
Got a million things to plant at the beginning of Spring to see what this Tasmanian environment can provide.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/8/15)

Red Baron said:


> Deep fried is my new favourite way to eat Brussel sprouts! My Cabbage and broccoli harvests are starting to die off, but the sprouts are starting to come into their own. My Pontiac spuds are still giving too- I reckon i'll get 30-35kg from the kilo of seed potatoes.
> 
> Chips, deep fried sprouts and beers down the shed sound like a good arvo!
> 
> ...


Lightly steamed Brussel sprouts then fried with, black sesame seed and garlic, cauliflower dipped in egg and deep fried. made cabbage rolls last night, recipe courtesy of a Russian girlfriend I had, tomorrow creamy cabbage, a simple recipe of cabbage cooked with onions, garlic and a tin of condensed mushroom soup and milk. Breakfast, Irish, fried cabbage and bacon, to die for.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (25/8/15)

Brussel sprouts lightly steamed and covered in butter and cracked pepper

Also very nice pan fried or roasted


----------



## manticle (25/8/15)

I had them once with bacon & garlic (Polish recipe) and they were palatable. Never been repeated.


----------



## shaunous (26/8/15)

My Vege rows this year are being turned from various breeds of pumpkin, watermelon and sweet potato's into Red and White wine grapes. Have grown green manure in them all winter (Oats, Vetch, Lupins) and grape cuttings will go in after the last of the cold. Woohooooo!!!!

I still have 4 big green manured vege patches for vege's, but im wanting to plant things you don't have to tend to daily or every second day, I don't have time for that much attention to a vege patch.


----------



## Dave70 (26/8/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Wild tomatoes always taste heaps better.
> 
> Got no idea what they are going to be until they fruit
> 
> :super:


Well don't go counting your bruschettas just yet wild boy Stu. I had these things spring up like weeds everywhere after mistakenly turning old plants and tomatoes into the compost.
Even after picking out the most robust specimens and planting them, they only ever seemed to grow abundant leaf material but never fruit for some reason.
Your mileage may vary however.







(serving suggestion)..


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (26/8/15)

Dave70 said:


> Well don't go counting your bruschettas just yet wild boy Stu. I had these things spring up like weeds everywhere after mistakenly turning old plants and tomatoes into the compost.
> Even after picking out the most robust specimens and planting them, they only ever seemed to grow abundant leaf material but never fruit for some reason.
> Your mileage may vary however.
> 
> ...


Non fruiting tomatoes .. B)


----------



## Red Baron (26/8/15)

I hear you can use the leaves from ornamental tomatoes in brownies.....


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/8/15)

You may have planted hybrid tomato's Dave, the resulting seedlings that were coming up was the tomato's attempt to revert back to its original type.(types)


----------



## Dave70 (26/8/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> You may have planted hybrid tomato's Dave, the resulting seedlings that were coming up was the tomato's attempt to revert back to its original type.(types)


At the time I accused Bunnings of selling me GMO tomato plants originally..


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (26/8/15)

Dave70 said:


> At the time I accused Bunnings of selling me GMO tomato plants originally..


Hope you kept the receipt


----------



## Dave70 (27/8/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Hope you kept the receipt


My receipt normally goes something like 'yeah, I dunno, it just started to smell funny and stopped working'. Looks down at cordless drill - looks at lady - shrugs shoulders.


----------



## Lincoln2 (27/8/15)

> My Vege rows this year are being turned from various breeds of pumpkin, watermelon and sweet potato's into Red and White wine grapes. Have grown green manure in them all winter (Oats, Vetch, Lupins) and grape cuttings will go in after the last of the cold. Woohooooo!!!!
> 
> I still have 4 big green manured vege patches for vege's, but im wanting to plant things you don't have to tend to daily or every second day, I don't have time for that much attention to a vege patch.


Jeez mate, I hope you're not going to turn into a wine wanker.


----------



## Lincoln2 (16/9/15)

****, ****, ****, ****, ****, fuckity ****.

I just lost 6 jalapeño seedlings and 6 loofah seedlings to a stupid accident. Long story.

I'm going large with jalapeños as they are my favourite and, in my opinion, best all-round chilli out there. Loofahs seeds were a gift from the old Chinese lady next door. Good potting mix, nurtured, watered by hand every day, just coming up after 10 days etc etc.

Put the big tray with the 12 small pots on top of a big pot (with my 3rd attempt at choko - whole other story) next to my taters to water with a sprinkler. Half an hour later, weight of water overbalances tray and dumps them all into a garlic patch full of mulch, making recovery all but impossible. So I jump in under the sprinkler, trying to salvage, get soaked, dog thinks it's a great game and jumps in also, making life a bit difficult. May have saved one of each.

I spend more of my mental energy worrying about my seedlings than I do worrying about who exactly is PM.

But a biplane tiger moth flew over my house so the afternoon wasn't a complete write-off.

Oh well, as they say; it's easy to be a farmer on a good day. But there aren't too many of those.

****-oh.


----------



## shaunous (17/9/15)

Tuff times.

How can u **** up choko? I left 2 choko's out untill they started to pop, then jammed them in 2 pots. Grew like mad. But then got told yet can't handle frosts so had to give them away. 

I'm only growing the 2 chilli plants Stu have me, everyone grows Chilli's around here and can't keep up to volume so I get given them by the shopping bag full. 

I kind of lie, I'm growing a chocolate ghost as work, with a couple of them lime Chilli's.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (17/9/15)

Mmm...Lime Chiilies...didnt know about them


----------



## shaunous (17/9/15)

Yeh, their awesome. Great for cooking with fish.


----------



## Mardoo (17/9/15)

Lincoln2 said:


> Jeez mate, I hope you're not going to turn into a wine wanker.


The appropriate terminology is "Wineker"


----------



## shaunous (17/9/15)

Grape cuttings will be going into the soil this weekend. 
Mmmmmmmmm.


----------



## sponge (17/9/15)

My seedlings are loving the warmer weather we've had this last week. Rocket is shooting up quickly, chillis are showing themselves, broccolini is producing plenty.. Still no sign of my strawberries or tomatoes though.


----------



## Lincoln2 (17/9/15)

Yeah, it's a bit embarrassing when a Master Farmer such as myself kills two chokos in a row. I planted them in beautiful potting mix, had them in a perfect possie and watered regularly. It turns out I may have killed them with kindness. My 3rd attempt I just chucked it on top of dirt, kicked a bit of dirt over it and then ignored it. Now it's powering.

Enjoy your chardonnay and shiraz and you'll obviously have to buy a BMW.


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/15)

I'm bringing Jalapeno plants with me when I move, like you they are my go to chilli an **** paying $30 a kilo at colesworths.

I'm maturing them on in pots, you are welcome to a couple.

edit:

that's plants not pods


----------



## Lincoln2 (17/9/15)

You're coming to Kyogle mate. No need to bring pot.


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/15)

I am encouraged.


----------



## Bribie G (26/9/15)

I want to take my precioussss Kaffir Lime to my new residence upstate but it's a bit too leggy to survive the trip undamaged in furniture van and just too spread out to fit into car.

Given that it's spring and it's just starting to go berserk for new season would it f*ck the tree to prune it back to more compact right now?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (26/9/15)

Prune it and wrap it in a plastic bag with a bit of soil and keep it moist

Give the root ball a light trim

Dig a hole, fish emulsion, planty of organic matter, let it rip

The soil you plant it in will be the key

Did a big hole when you get there and fill it full of organic matter. Find a few dead fish and bury in the bottom. Citurs like acid soil so piss in it as often as possisible


----------



## Bribie G (26/9/15)

Obviously a case of what doesn't kill it makes it stronger.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (27/9/15)

My wife just about annihilated our Kaffir lime with pruning but it bounced back, I have had to do the same with our Grapefruit tree but doesn't seem to worry the citrus family.
On another note it is not politically correct to use the word Kaffir any more, Australia has adopted the Thai word Makrut, Kaffir is insulting to Muslims, but I am sure no one will be losing any sleep because they have used the word Kaffir lime. h34r:


----------



## manticle (27/9/15)

Actually the word kafir is more likely derogatory to non muslims as it differentiates muslims from others (kafir meaning non muslim). It is just as likely though the the term for the fruit refers to the derogatory british term for Africans or from the Sri Lankan Kaffirs.

Regardless, it's still in common use and I don't see too many people caring.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (27/9/15)

So is a Kafir lime Halal...?


----------



## malt and barley blues (27/9/15)

Under any other name I would imagine, might be a turn off eating a fruit which is a non believer.


----------



## goomboogo (27/9/15)

manticle said:


> Actually the word kafir is more likely derogatory to non muslims as it differentiates muslims from others (kafir meaning non muslim). It is just as likely though the the term for the fruit refers to the derogatory british term for Africans or from the Sri Lankan Kaffirs.
> 
> Regardless, it's still in common use and I don't see too many people caring.


Facts are irrelevant and have no place in countering snide religious jibes.


----------



## Camo6 (27/9/15)

You are all a pek of Kaffir lovers.


----------



## goomboogo (27/9/15)

Camo6 said:


> You are all a pek of Kaffir lovers.


Of course we are. They are great in so many sorts of curry.


----------



## spog (27/9/15)

manticle said:


> Actually the word kafir is more likely derogatory to non muslims as it differentiates muslims from others (kafir meaning non muslim). It is just as likely though the the term for the fruit refers to the derogatory british term for Africans or from the Sri Lankan Kaffirs.
> Regardless, it's still in common use and I don't see too many people caring.


I thought it was an African word basically meaning nigger ?
I heard that kafir limes now have a new PC name but can't recall it now.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (27/9/15)

its a ******* Kaffir lime tree. Who gives a shit if its politically correct or not


----------



## manticle (27/9/15)

Makrut lime. Yes kaffir is a derogatory term for dark skinned people in south africa but it has other contexts as well. I believe there is a common etymology between the boer use and the islamic one but the sri lankan one is separate and has no offensive/derogatory context.

I'm not one hundred percent certain of the above but I'm currently fine using either kaffir or makrut in terms of that delicious knobbly fruit and its zesty, tangy leaves.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (27/9/15)

A link to native Australian citrus

http://citruspages.free.fr/australian.html#australis


----------



## Brew Forky (27/9/15)

spog said:


> I thought it was an African word basically meaning nigger ?
> I heard that kafir limes now have a new PC name but can't recall it now.


I always thought that too. 

I was told at a cooking school in Thailand that some people find the term offensive, but it doesn't matter because that's what the tree is called in English, and bad luck if you don't like it. Gotta love Thais. 

And as stated, Piss on your Citrus.


----------



## manticle (27/9/15)

I have so many seeds in the ground at the moment that I'm scared to weed in case I pull up new seedlings. Various varieties of beans and potatoes are showing their faces so I might start with them next weekend.


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Jack is also a South African derogatory term 

Maybe we should stop letting people name their kids that too 

Just Another Confused Kaffir 

PC is starting to get silly IMO

Why are you guys pissing on your citrus ? 

Got a few potted citrus and I get fruit every year without pissing on them , but what ever works for you


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Jack Kaffir


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Had a South African mate and when he needed a new hand saw his work mates would always buy one for him ....
Always the same brand/type from bunnings ...... One of those JACK Saws haha he didn't appreciate the joke haha


----------



## Dave70 (29/9/15)

spog said:


> I thought it was an African word basically meaning nigger ?
> I heard that kafir limes now have a new PC name but can't recall it now.


You are correct. Those boers could be such unpleasant chaps at times.

From Bryce Courtenays 'Power Of One' (the bit where the commandant ordered Morgan Freeman to teach the pommie kid how to box)

* SMIT*

You teach this boy basics, and
you teach him good or I knock
your black head flat, you hear?

46.

GEEL PIET
I teach him best I know, baas.

SMIT
We train every day. First thing
in the morning. Miss two
trainings, you're gone.

PK
Yes, meneer.

SMIT
Come tomorrow. See this old
kaffir.

PK
Yes, meneer. Thank you, meneer.
VON ZYL
Lieutenant, a word?
On another note. 
Had to dust my kale over the weekend. Started looking like Swiss cheese and I discovered clusters of tiny white eggs on the underside of the leaves. Bastards.
The silver beet and baby spinach have so far remained untouched. 
The spanish garlic is powering. Time for some stink breath inducing bagna cauda soon.


----------



## goomboogo (29/9/15)

Spohaw said:


> Why are you guys pissing on your citrus ?


It is possible the nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in urine is beneficial to citrus plants. Another reason is pissing outside feels good.


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Ill stick to normal ferts I think


----------



## goomboogo (29/9/15)

At least with commercial fertilisers you can make sure the plants receive the correct ratio of N, P and K. This doesn't mean you need to eschew the liberation offered by urinating outside in the fresh air.


----------



## manticle (29/9/15)

Urinating in fresh air is wonderful and the only reason you ever need.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Power Feed and fish emulsion are the go

If you can get a big drum, fill it with water and add fish frames, vegetable scraps, manure, blood n bone, dead possums...whatever you can get your hands on thats organic

Let it brew up ( it will stink to high heaven ) and use it diluted in a watering can.

Just keep topping it up and you will have perpetual liquid fertilizer 

Also Epsom Salts is a great fertilizer

The trick is to use a liquid fertilizer often


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Spohaw said:


> Ill stick to normal ferts I think


define normal


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Shit from bunnings mate 

Not anything that comes out the end of my dick 

Haha


----------



## manticle (29/9/15)

But a lot of it is actually shit.


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

I use Epsom salts , iron chelate , blue stone and dynamic lifter normally


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Spohaw said:


> Shit from bunnings mate
> 
> Not anything that comes out the end of my dick
> 
> Haha


shows how much you know

Urine is one of the best fertilizers you can get for citrus

And anything from bunning is usually shit...of the worst kind


----------



## manticle (29/9/15)

Dynamic lifter is great. Comes out the chook's cloaca rather than your nob.


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Hey piss on what ever you want 

I've pissed on a dead crow one time so I can't judge haha 

I'll stick to what I know produces the fruit but


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Spohaw said:


> Hey piss on what ever you want
> 
> I've pissed on a dead crow one time so I can't judge haha
> 
> I'll stick to what I know produces the fruit but


You stick to that commercial rubbish and pay the $$$ for it

I can make a much better fertilizer for nothing


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Sounds like a deal


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

You have much to learn


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Yeah , heaps mate


----------



## manticle (29/9/15)

We keep this thread friendly, yes?

We are talking about wee wee and tomatoes and it's all jolly so far, yes?

Do I make myself clear?

Perfectly sir. As clear as an azure sky on a summer's day. You can rely on me sir.


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Haha clear as my beer manticle haha 

It's not very clear ......

I have much to learn but


----------



## manticle (29/9/15)

As do we all my friend.
As do we all.


----------



## Camo6 (29/9/15)

Once a year, whack a rusty nail in the trunk of your lemon tree. So my old mate always told me. I was happy enough just to scatter some of the metal from the brake lathe under mine. Much nicer than the stink of piss in Winter when the grounds constantly wet. But, I imagine there are some among us whose piss don't stank.

Sorry Manticle. I need lernin to.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Another trick is to nail in a zinc plated nail as well

You dont need to piss on it every day in winter....


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Iron chelate ....... Don't hammer shit into your plants


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Spohaw said:


> Iron chelate ....... Don't hammer shit into your plants


Why not ?


----------



## Camo6 (29/9/15)

Nails Spohaw. Not shit!


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Sorry misunderstood haha


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Do what you want I suppose .. They are your plants

Just wanted to let you know there are different ways to grow citrus other than stabbing them and pissing on them 

Alternatives haha


----------



## LiquidGold (29/9/15)

I've heard of nails in mango trees to force them to flower, never tried it but I do piss under my citrus trees. Plants take up the nutrients they need, not the stank that comes with.


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

If you attempt to kill a plant it will rush to reproduce before it dies


----------



## LiquidGold (29/9/15)

The torture we put them through... Think of all the female hops that will never be pollinated by males for our own benefit.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Spohaw said:


> If you attempt to kill a plant it will rush to reproduce before it dies


The odd nail and bit of urine wont kill a plant

Like anything, over do it and it will die

Zinc nails certainly do help in some cases


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

They are living things people forget and need proper care to thrive 

I should just leave it haha


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Lucky your an expert then


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Too many experts in here mate

Post up a picture of your citrus tomorrow and I'll post mine Ducati 

I'll show you mine if you show me yours haha


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Thankfully, I am not one.


I will leave the expert bit up to you mate, oh learned one


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Mine are all in pots but


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Spohaw said:


> Mine are all in pots but


You loose


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Pics

I want to see what stabbing plants and pissing on them look like , I like to learn ... 

Maybe I'm wrong

*lose


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Start by planting them in the gorund


----------



## Spohaw (29/9/15)

Ok mate


----------



## Camo6 (29/9/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> You loose


MANTICLE! MODS! Stu's launching personal attacks again!

Oh. You meant lose. Carry on.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Bloody tyhpo's


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

Camo6 said:


> MANTICLE! MODS! Stu's launching personal attacks again!


..so...


----------



## manticle (29/9/15)

Here I am, pointing fingers.
Stu -start spelling better.
Everyone else- plant good, piss on your trees if you feel like it, shit on them if you don't.
Grow food. Make beer. Drink and eat and laugh at the plebs who pay top dollar get someone else to do it half as well.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/15)

manticle said:


> Everyone else- plant good, piss on your tress if you feel like it, shit on them if you don't.


Spelink


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/9/15)

Best place for piss is on the compost.


----------



## manticle (30/9/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Spelink


Damn


----------



## Spohaw (30/9/15)

Here's a couple of my citrus , they need a feed but they aren't to bad


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/9/15)

Here is my grapefruit tree, had to cut it back because I have tatties coming up underneath it and I didn't want the grapefruit dropping on to the young plants.
Just behind the fence is my compost, I haven't added any piss to the compost for a while now because of the chemo drugs in my system, and I cant get my wife to hoist herself up and squat over it, but then again female piss isn't any good anyway.


----------



## Spohaw (30/9/15)

Ruby red ? 

Nice shape

How long ago did you plant that ?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/9/15)

No not ruby red, probably grew well because of the compost directly behind it, iron filings under the tree only.


----------



## Spohaw (30/9/15)

Big fan of citrus but not too keen on the white grape fruits only like the sweet ruby red 

Have you got any oranges ? They are my favourite citrus ...... cara cara and pineapple orange are my favourite out of what I have 

Washington navel is the best producer but


----------



## goomboogo (30/9/15)

WEAL, do you use all the grapefruit or give some away? It looks like it produces plenty of fruit.
Spohaw, is there a reason you've chosen pots instead of planting in the ground? I'm probably moving house and pots may be a better option at the new house.


----------



## Spohaw (30/9/15)

I rent and want to keep my plants 

Could put them in the ground and dig them up but prefer just to have them in pots


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/9/15)

Goomboogo, yes we give away plenty of grapefruit, I take it to the Coles supermarket the same day that some charity comes around to Coles to pick up food. I cant eat it, grapefruit is the only citrus that can cancel out medication that anyone is on.
I have Honey Murcott mandarin, a Valencia orange tree, normal lime and a lemon the lemon and orange both have leaf miner I sprayed them last weekend


----------



## seamad (30/9/15)

The honey murcott's are great, super sweet when ripe but heaps of seeds and hard to peel, I make the kids eat em on the grass. Mine gets a massive crop every second season, the cockatoo's love them too, and my previous bully used to roll them out with her nose and eat all the flesh leaving just the skin. Lime tree fruits most of the year, and the grapefruit (was supposed to be a ruby but it's not ) gets fruit fly sometimes but heaps of fruit. Love marmalade so use some for that.
With respect to the drug interactions, grapefruit suppresses the absorption of some drugs, but also effects an enzyme in the SI that breaks some other drugs down, thereby causing a higher/longer concentration in the blood stream of some drugs too. @ 100 drugs are effected by grapefruit.
My son and I piss on the citrus when the missus aint around.


----------



## Spohaw (30/9/15)

Did you get your grapefruit from bunnings Seamad ? 

I got two from bunnings that were ment to be ruby but turned out white ..... Wasn't impressed


----------



## seamad (30/9/15)

no mate, got them from a local nursery, including a blood orange which isn't very bloody. I recall reading somewhere that some nutrients ?? can help with the red colour. I get the same with the red pawpaws grown from seed, they are long like the red ones but that's about it, although I think you have to live up north in the tropics to get the redness.


----------



## Spohaw (30/9/15)

Warm days and cold night to develop the red , if your in a tropical area the red colour won't develop very well

That's what I've read but could be wrong

My cara cara goes nice a dark pink down on the south coast of WA


----------



## wide eyed and legless (1/10/15)

Anyone got any advice for snake beans, my wife has bought a packet and wants me to grow some, tried once before without success.


----------



## seamad (1/10/15)

+35C iirc for snake beans


----------



## seamad (1/10/15)

Spohaw said:


> Warm days and cold night to develop the red , if your in a tropical area the red colour won't develop very well
> 
> That's what I've read but could be wrong
> 
> My cara cara goes nice a dark pink down on the south coast of WA


Are you sure, just that the best red papaya I've had have been from places like Vanuatu, SE Asia ?


----------



## Spohaw (1/10/15)

Blood oranges I was talking about


----------



## wide eyed and legless (1/10/15)

I will give it a go for one row, not high hopes for Victoria.


----------



## seamad (1/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I will give it a go for one row, not high hopes for Victoria.


It gets hot down there doesn't it ? One row is plenty ( about 2m high), they are prolific and grow whilst you look at them, 4-6 plenty for 4.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/10/15)

Been having a good read about snake beans, full of confidence now, soaked some beans for a couple of days put them into pods this morning.

Took up the masters offer of 5 bags of cow manure for $20 would not recommend. Bunnings cow manure is far better.


----------



## Bridges (4/10/15)

A standard marsh grapefruit is absolutely fantastic and yours look great Weal, shame you can't enjoy them. I eat them like an orange just peel them and straight in. One of my favourite ways to start the day.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/10/15)

I must admit I juiced a load the other day day for my wife, got 21/2 liters, couldn't resist 1 small glass and it was delicious.


----------



## Bribie G (4/10/15)

When I lived in SEQ I could get dwarf snake beans, they were brilliant. They formed low bushes that would send up a "mast' which ended in a series of flowers that shot out two bean pods
As you carefully picked each brace of beans without damaging the tip of the mast, pairs of beans would keep coming from each set of buds down the mast - massive yields and no need for trellises.

However I haven't been able to get them for years.





Mate of mine from Zimbabwe, when I asked him what the population was:

"Population of *Rhodesia*? About a hundred and fifty thousand. Oh, and about twelve million kaffirs. "


----------



## Brew Forky (4/10/15)

Any one know the secret to Holy Basil? I grow every other Basil without issues, but have only managed a crop of Holy basil once in the last 5 years. What a beautiful tasting herb.

I plant them in trays, they sprout, they look good, I get excited and then they all Cark it. Tried in the ground too on a couple occasions and same story.

Edit: In South Australia


----------



## Airgead (6/10/15)

Bribie G said:


> "Population of *Rhodesia*? About a hundred and fifty thousand. Oh, and about twelve million kaffirs. "


Mate of mine is from Sth Africa... they used to call Zimbabweans "wenwes". Every time you spoke to them you would hear "wenwe lived in Rhodesia..."

Back on topic... seeds leaping out of the ground. Pak choi is looking awesome. Beans are leaping along. Melon seeds have sprouted. The rhubarb is going crazy (not seeds obviously)


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/10/15)

Harvested a pot full of beetroot this morning, boiled prior to pickling, when cutting them up found a lot of them to be woody, believe it to be because of our dry winter we had in Vic.
Checked on the last row of Cauliflower wondered why the had extraordinarily large leaves parted the leaves to check for the flower center had been cut out with a knife, must have been cut out before a flower had formed by SWMBO probably thinking they were cabbage, almost as good as when she pulled out all the salsify and binned them after thinking they were parsnips gone wrong. :unsure:


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/10/15)

Getting the ground ready for the next lot of crops, ready for a couple of rows of tomatoes.
Peas delicious to eat, pain in the arse to pod.
Seven 30 liter pots of spuds, applied first side dressing today.
Kale (dwarf) soon be ready.
Snake beans sprouting.
Made good use of a roller shutter rescued from the tip, Purple King climbing beans support.


----------



## Spohaw (11/10/15)

What's growing next to cabbage wide ? 
Looks familiar .... Not some sort of spice ? Ginger or something ?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (11/10/15)

Mmm....Purple King beans...small ones are awsome in salad


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/10/15)

Spohaw said:


> What's growing next to cabbage wide ?
> Looks familiar .... Not some sort of spice ? Ginger or something ?


You got that right it is something, and very close to ginger, I have had that Galangal in a pot and it was as pot bound as it could ever get, split it into two clumps and planted, so hopefully will be able to make use of it now.
Love cabbage only, only the two left now though I have planted more seeds, I get a lot of seeds off eBay UK generally the hybrid tomatoes for the green house, but I got some hybrid beetroot which resists going woody, even though the woodiness has only happened once I don't want to go through it again.
Also sent for some King Cobra climbing beans which has been bred from Blue lake, but is more prolific and disease resistant.


----------



## Airgead (12/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I get a lot of seeds off eBay UK


You might want to be a bit careful importing seeds. If quarantine (now part of Border Force) get wind of it you may be in some deep fertilizer...All sorts of agricultural pests and diseases can come in on seeds. Most stuff you can get from local suppliers anyway and save the hassle.

I tend to go heirloom rather than hybrid as I can save the seeds year to year.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/10/15)

I only get the hybrid toms and cucumber for the green house, I save my Moneymaker and Rouge De Marmande seeds, they are usually D T Brown or Mr Fothergills seeds I get from the UK (same company) and same as we get here but more variety.
What Border Security do is destroy anything they aren't sure of a few of my fishing mates have attempted to bring in European fishing bates and they haven't made it past them unless they have an accompanying letter from the manufacturer stating what they consist of.
Here is a link to D.T Brown seeds highly recommend the St Valery carrots, they only ship to Europe but you can get them from a supplier to ship to Australia.
http://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/Vegetable-Seeds-1/Exhibition/#.Vhrrzuyqqkp


----------



## Curly79 (13/10/15)

Noticed this on our pear trees last night. It's never had this pest before?
Any help would be appreciated? What is it and what should I treat it with? Cheers


----------



## LiquidGold (13/10/15)

Can the lumps be scraped off? Kinda looks like scale but I'm not too sure because of the way its deformed the leaves so much. Most of the time I've seen scale it hangs around the central leaf vein and along the stems. Hope someone else can identify it for you.


----------



## Curly79 (13/10/15)

No they can't. It's pretty much over ever leaf and all the fruit. Shattered! We did a good job with our pruning last winter too. Was looking forward to a decent crop of fruit this season [emoji20]


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/10/15)

Looks a bit like black spot but its not black, it will be some kind of fungus, maybe take a leaf to a garden center and get a spray.
I usually spray my fruit trees with lime sulphur spray before they bud and I only did it to the nectarine tree this year as that is the one which suffers the most, and guess what, the only tree to get leaf curl was the nectarine my apple, pear, plum and peach trees are all fine so far.


----------



## Camo6 (13/10/15)

To all you citrus lovers on board, I have a small Imperial mandarin planted last year that is getting a lot of new growth but the existing leaves are curling. There's no obvious signs of pests. Should I worry? Any remedies?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (13/10/15)

Leaf curl is caused by trace element deficiency or a leafminer.

Best thing to do is cut off the affected foliage


----------



## Spohaw (13/10/15)

Leaf curl with some yellowing ?

I get that and a dose of copper sulphate clears it up in a couple weeks .. It's not an instant fix and the leaves that are too far gone won't come back green but the new growth will be fine 

Pics ?


----------



## LiquidGold (13/10/15)

Did a quick search and it looks a bit like pear leaf blister mite damage.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=661


----------



## Curly79 (14/10/15)

Thanks LG. Only other thing I came up with was Red blister mite. Looks pretty similar. Hope it won't affect the fruit too much. Cheers lads
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=red+blister+mite&client=safari&hl=en&prmd=isvn&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&fir=zDP1tJA6aK3AEM%253A%252CM2HIUU8XG_qu3M%252C_%253B518D8_JC7i_5wM%253A%252CieKBWAdnOoY0WM%252C_%253BPon248R0AP4N4M%253A%252CsQrCNtYVbdvJ8M%252C_%253BBuVO8ulr0xtzZM%253A%252CMMgXuWwdd9Q9uM%252C_%253BLMge0Q3481zNvM%253A%252CCSLrLRZt7rwb3M%252C_%253BM3oscs5bK6j7-M%253A%252CcbKb-JeS_SmB8M%252C_%253B29sGT5DRqpzm2M%253A%252CPv3Qr_ps5RbwKM%252C_%253BuFxuUkT6x5lUbM%253A%252CVIgFgPhZii8ifM%252C_%253Bhyq8yBw2cHBWpM%253A%252CcmeuqTW8TTulSM%252C_%253ByEJbbJw4Pd8zyM%253A%252COll5EpFNUdGC1M%252C_&sa=X&ved=0CD8Q421qFQoTCOCwnJOOwMgCFUM4lAodnK4Aig&biw=375&bih=559&usg=__up4MZINNzk9NjhvpuJ0ZZ3X3nVY%3D#imgrc=6YHHIehb940wdM%3A&usg=__up4MZINNzk9NjhvpuJ0ZZ3X3nVY%3D


----------



## Camo6 (14/10/15)

I'll try giving my mandarin a bit of fertiliser this weekend. Cheers


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (14/10/15)

Citrus also like a foliar application of epsom salts solution


----------



## Camo6 (14/10/15)

Maybe some whale song and a couple of scented candles too Stu?


----------



## sponge (14/10/15)

A little OT, but I've got little flying insects living on all of our indoor plants. They mainly seem to hang around the soil which all have pebbles over the top. I've tried some pesticide but just seems to annoy them temporarily then come back a day or so later.

There seems to be a fair few folks with green thumbs on here so hoping there may be another solution or pesticide to try? I can get a couple of photos of the insects this evening if need be.


----------



## Danwood (14/10/15)

Here's a few pics of my little crop. 

Seed spring onions, snow peas and broad bean jungle.




Strawberry patch



Two 2yr old limes which will be espaliered when they get a bit taller.



A few Burnley Surecrop toms in the big pot, two Jalepenos in the smaller ones.



And the rest of the toms. Rouge de Marmande, Grosse Lisse, Moneymaker and more Burnleys.



Capsicums and maybe more toms will go in when the broadbeans are done. They went in a bit late this year. Should be harvesting beans in a week or two.

Also have seedlings of Marigold, Pyrethrum, Allysum and Bergamot in pots to dot around to try and dissuade pests. Everything is looking fine so far though.
I love Spring !


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/10/15)

sponge said:


> A little OT, but I've got little flying insects living on all of our indoor plants. They mainly seem to hang around the soil which all have pebbles over the top. I've tried some pesticide but just seems to annoy them temporarily then come back a day or so later.
> 
> There seems to be a fair few folks with green thumbs on here so hoping there may be another solution or pesticide to try? I can get a couple of photos of the insects this evening if need be.


Would re potting be feasible, seems as though whatever they are, they are coming out of the growing medium.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/10/15)

Danwood said:


> Capsicums and maybe more toms will go in when the broadbeans are done. They went in a bit late this year. Should be harvesting beans in a week or two.


I noticed in the Italian neighbours garden his broad beans were over 180 cm tall and solid with beans, I can't stand them personally, about the only vegetable I don't like, its just the mouth feel of them. Do love the Rouge De Marmande though.


----------



## Dave70 (14/10/15)

At Danwood - How effective do you find the Marigolds etc at keeping the pests at bay? 
I don't particularly like dusting or spraying my leafy greens to keep the bastard green caterpillars off but that seems to be the only current option.


----------



## sponge (14/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Would re potting be feasible, seems as though whatever they are, they are coming out of the growing medium.


I was afraid that might have been the answer.. I didn't really want to but if that's what's required then I'll definitely be doing it.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/10/15)

Before you do re pot, try a mixture of 50-50 white vinegar and water near the plants as that can attract the flies into the mixture but you would probably have to keep that going for a while as there will be more eggs and larvae in the medium.

Keep spraying Dave, Pyrethrum spray or the Chili garlic & Pyrethrum spray and a dust buster for the white fly.


----------



## Dave70 (14/10/15)

Ive got a batch of home made Tabasco I used w-a-y to much bhut in that would be just the ticket I reckon.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (14/10/15)

Camo6 said:


> Maybe some whale song and a couple of scented candles too Stu?


Oh dear



Epsom salts cure magnesium deficiencies


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/10/15)

FOLIAR FEED FOR CITRUS AND OTHER FRUIT TREES AND LEAF VEGETABLES

To 10 litres of water – an almost brimming bucket - add the following:

½ a cup of fish emulsion – mainly as a rich source of nitrogen.
1 cup of seaweed concentrate – contains a wide spectrum of trace micro-elements.
3 teaspoons of zinc sulphate.
3 teaspoons of epsom salts (magnesium sulphate)

Mix well. This is a very strong mixture – far too strong to apply directly to the foliage of plants. In fact it could damage or even kill young plants if applied at this strength. 

To use as a foliar feed, dilute one part of the mix by adding ten parts of water. (For example - add 1/2 litre of mix to roughly 5 litres water),

Spray this weakened mixture over and under the foliage of citrus trees, most other fruit trees and leafy vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and silverbeet. Also over only well developed sweetcorn, pumpkin, zucchini and tomato plants. 

Never use at a greater strength than suggested. If in doubt apply an even weaker mixture. Always thoroughly water trees and other plants both before and after a foliar feed. The best time to apply is during the cool of the day, preferably late afternoon and always during the main growing season. Apply every 3 weeks where soils are impoverished or sandy.

Valuable mineral elements are absorbed through the leaves while any mixture that drips on to the soil will increase fertility.

Any unused concentrate can be stored in child-proof containers and kept in a secure place, out of reach of children. It should be marked as a concentrate to be used only after being heavily diluted with water.

Peter Cundall's Recipe, Gardening Australia.


----------



## Danwood (14/10/15)

Dave70 said:


> At Danwood - How effective do you find the Marigolds etc at keeping the pests at bay?
> I don't particularly like dusting or spraying my leafy greens to keep the bastard green caterpillars off but that seems to be the only current option.


Short answer...dunno !
This is my first season trying it, with flowers anyway. Hence I've gone for the American tactic of 'shock and awe' and planted various repelling species. There's no harm if they're not too effective, the extra colour will look good. Plus basil is going in very shortly, mainly around the toms.
The Pyrethrum is a bit tricky to find (found my seeds on Ebay from WA). It's in the Chrysanthemum family and will repel and eventually kill all insects and is obviously used in the commercial sprays. I'm going to trap a few flies in a plastic bag with one when they flower to see how effective they really are.
I also made up a super-strong garlic water spray last season, which smashed the greenfly. That's in reserve.
I'll report back in a few weeks.



wide eyed and legless said:


> I noticed in the Italian neighbours garden his broad beans were over 180 cm tall and solid with beans, I can't stand them personally, about the only vegetable I don't like, its just the mouth feel of them. Do love the Rouge De Marmande though.


Before they get that tough skin is when I like to harvest. Super quick blanche, then blitzed up with softened onion and garlic, olive oil and a touch of creme fraiche or sour cream makes the BEST dip. Or on toast, fried up with smoked bacon lardons, onion and thyme.
But each to their own, WEAL. I personally wouldn't give a shit if every last filthy mushroom were to be fired into the centre of the sun !

But yeah, really looking forward to the toms this season. I'm trying a black plastic cover for the in-ground ones as they're in a part-shade spot. They love warm soil.


----------



## Camo6 (14/10/15)

Freshly razed field mushrooms sautéed in butter and garlic then lazily draped over a plateau of brazenly toasted sour dough smothered in slabs of butter and topped with a bombardment of freshly cracked pepper. Not quite Posh Nosh but oh so good. Danwood, you disappoint me.


----------



## Spohaw (14/10/15)

Love broad beans .... I chuck a heap in the offset BBQ and smoked them in the pods then put them through a salad was pretty top shelf 

Like them just shelled ,sautéd then mashed slightly with butter and cracked pepper on toast 

I'm hungry as now


----------



## Dave70 (14/10/15)

Danwood said:


> Short answer...dunno !
> This is my first season trying it, with flowers anyway. Hence I've gone for the American tactic of 'shock and awe'


I thought it was 'hearts and minds'. 
Man. I really need to brush up on my US foreign policy.


----------



## seamad (14/10/15)

Can pick broadbeans when very young and eat them like sugarsnaps, a bit older and you don't need to peel the seeds, older again they need peeling. Prefer them at stage 1 and 2


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (14/10/15)

Roasted broadbeans are AWSOME

You can find these in most supermarkets, but home made ones are just as good


----------



## WarmerBeer (14/10/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Roasted broadbeans are AWSOME
> 
> You can find these in most supermarkets, but home made ones are just as good


I prefer my fava beans with liver and a nice chianti...


----------



## Camo6 (14/10/15)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzC1Dn0gqgE


----------



## spog (19/10/15)

Need advice, on the weekend I pulled 2 Cauliflowers and chucked them in the compost because the same thing has happened as last year.
They stared getting a yellow tinge to them and didn't stay in one concentrated clump,they basically went in all directions .
The Broccoli is about 250 mm high and flowering,just leaves and flowers.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong ?
I've used an off the shelf veggie fertiliser as per directions with regular watering and the seedlings have been grown from seed in cleaned containers such as Yoghurt / cut down PET bottles/ milk cartons.

Help !


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (19/10/15)

Mine do the same F&^%$g thing...over it


----------



## spog (19/10/15)

Yeah 2 years in a row and no success is getting bloody annoying .
I might have ring the gardening show on ABC radio over the weekend and see what one of the gurus has to offer.


----------



## Lincoln2 (20/10/15)

> I don't know anything about olive trees, but most other fruiting shrubs and trees they need pruning and the new wood bears the fruit.


Yep, I think you're right. I bit the bullet and gave the biggest olive tree a bloody good haircut over winter and now it's flowering like crazy. My maccas are also flowering well although they're a couple of years overdue for a trim.

Now I just have to survive any droughts, hailstorms or other disasters and I should have some good harvests this year.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/10/15)

spog said:


> Need advice, on the weekend I pulled 2 Cauliflowers and chucked them in the compost because the same thing has happened as last year.
> They stared getting a yellow tinge to them and didn't stay in one concentrated clump,they basically went in all directions .
> The Broccoli is about 250 mm high and flowering,just leaves and flowers.
> Any idea what I'm doing wrong ?
> ...


Spog they are going to seed when they do that, I got mine late winter this year no bugs and no bolting, just big white heads, what you have to do is when you see the curd forming bring up the leaves and tie them around the curd, keeping it in the darkness of the leaves. There is an earlier post on this thread where I tried sisalation tied around the curd but the leaves work the best.
Get some of the 'all year round cauliflower' seeds and have another go.
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/cauliflower/blanching-cauliflower.htm


----------



## Airgead (20/10/15)

I seem to recall from something Peter Cundall once said that too much nitrogen feeding will make them all leaf and no head. Apparently you want a diferent N:K ratio with less of the N and more of the K I think.


----------



## Danwood (20/10/15)

They'd be similar to beans/peas then ? Nitrogen fixers, not users.


----------



## malt and barley blues (20/10/15)

NO! Peas and beans draw in nitrogen from the air giving an excess dose of nitrogen to the soil, always plant brassicas after legumes, brassicas are heavy nitrogen feeders,


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/10/15)

Correctomondo muchacho, which reminds me there were some cabbages missing from my garden when I came back from holiday. h34r:


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/10/15)

Lincoln2 said:


> Now I just have to survive any droughts, hailstorms or other disasters and I should have some good harvests this year.


Yep, I am not looking forward to the super El Nino we are allegedly going to have.


----------



## Danwood (20/10/15)

malt & barley blues said:


> NO! Peas and beans draw in nitrogen from the air giving an excess dose of nitrogen to the soil, always plant brassicas after legumes, brassicas are heavy nitrogen feeders,


I may have got that confused, thanks.

I'm correct in thinking Toms should follow beans though, right? Toms are heavy feeders too.

That was the plan for the rest of my Toms and a few Capsicum, anyway.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/10/15)

Actually tomatoes should follow brassica but in a small garden it is no big deal, I try to do the right thing but it doesn't always work out that way, potatoes, tomatoes,peppers and I believe egg plant are the same family so trying to juggle what to grow where in a small garden is pretty difficult. I have often grown spuds and tomatoes in the same spot the following year as long as there wasn't any major diseases, just get the pH right and everything should be OK.
Use sulphate of potash for your tomatoes when they are in the ground and don't over water, tough love is the way to treat them, get them sending their roots down.


----------



## Danwood (20/10/15)

Good advice there, thanks.

Yeah, I don't have mushroom either (stop it!).

I've buried most of my Tom seedlings almost up to the first leaves as I read this is good practice for extra root formation. That and simple pruning of suckers and nipping off early flowers. I'm really hoping for a good harvest.
I mixed in blood and bone to the horse manure etc, but no potash. Can this be added via watering can ?
I remember seeing it was present in Dynamic Lifter, but I didn't bother with it...seemed like a very over-priced product, given the ingredients.


----------



## spog (20/10/15)

Airgead said:


> I seem to recall from something Peter Cundall once said that too much nitrogen feeding will make them all leaf and no head. Apparently you want a diferent N:K ratio with less of the N and more of the K I think.


Yep I remembered I had an old gardening magazine so I hunted for it and found out that I have OD the poor buggers .
I've got a couple of each still coming on as seedlings so I'll bung them in a different patch and sharpen up on the fertilizer regime.
Getting a bit late for planting such vegies ( as I understand) by I'm not going to let them go to waste or give up....I will grow a cauli and broccoli successfully this year !


----------



## Airgead (21/10/15)

Yeah... they still need lots of N but not as much as something that is all leaf like silverbeet or lettuce. I think the P or K is important in forming the heads somehow (hey... I did engineering not biology OK).


----------



## malt and barley blues (21/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Correctomondo muchacho, which reminds me there were some cabbages missing from my garden when I came back from holiday. h34r:


I knew you would have counted your beers, but not your cabbages for ****'s sake!


----------



## spog (21/10/15)

Airgead said:


> Yeah... they still need lots of N but not as much as something that is all leaf like silverbeet or lettuce. I think the P or K is important in forming the heads somehow (hey... I did engineering not biology OK).


I did carpentry,if the feckers need iron I've got a nail gun .


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/10/15)

Danwood said:


> Good advice there, thanks.
> 
> Yeah, I don't have mushroom either (stop it!).
> 
> ...


Horse manure can be a bit strong, cow or sheep manure is the go (unless the horse manure was very old) the potash you can buy on its own and just sprinkle around the plant and water in, that should be the only feed you need from here on in.
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1769474.htm


----------



## shaunous (22/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Yep, I am not looking forward to the super El Nino we are allegedly going to have.


Try being a cattle farmer :unsure:


----------



## Danwood (22/10/15)

Thanks again, WEAL.

The equine faeces is well rotted down and it wasn't in a huge proportion in relation to soil, so hopefully it'll be ok.

I think I read that ABC article too. That's where I read about putting plastic around 'in ground' toms...I must have missed the potash bit, though.
It's another box ticked. I'll write up a check sheet for next season, I think.

Cheers, Dan

PS- Look ...beans ! These went into Pumkin/Parmesan rissoto.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/10/15)

I don't know what it is about broad beans, any other beans I like, maybe they have a higher level of lectin, I don't know,I may give them another go and eat them young as suggested by seamad.


----------



## manticle (22/10/15)

Texture is quite different. I like dwarf beans, string, etc but not huge on broad.
I can cope with them in some instances better than I used to but not high on my wanted list.
Neither is cauliflower. Won't be growing in my garden.


----------



## Camo6 (22/10/15)

Maybe you're eating it wrong. Use it to season melted cheese and pepper.


----------



## manticle (22/10/15)

Melted cheese and pepper work better with worcestershire.
Or bacon.
Or toast.
Or toast with bacon and worcestershire.

Yes.

Need to grow some worcestershire.


----------



## osprey brewday (22/10/15)

Any one catch river cottage aus today 
Did a biab and growing hopshttp://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/24225/river-cottage-pale-ale


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (22/10/15)

Roasted Broad beans....FTW


----------



## sponge (24/10/15)

Does anyone else struggle to grow Thai basil? I've planted seeds a couple of times now and only had about 2 shoots show in total. Everything else is going gangbusters. I love cooking with it and hate having to buy herbs..


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (24/10/15)

I have never been able to grow purple basil..... normal basil grows like weeds here....but not the pruple one


----------



## sponge (24/10/15)

At least I'm not the only one.. green basil is growing well but sweet FA from the purple/Thai variety which is annoying because I use a lot more of the Thai type.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/10/15)

What are you using as your seed growing medium sponge?
I use the coir seed raising blocks and when I soak it I put half a cup full of Seasol in with the water, gives me that bit of extra confidence.
I put some good quality potting mix in a container, sieve some coir seed raising mix over the top, mist over some water, sprinkle the seeds then sieve some more coir over the top. (I use a fine sieve)


----------



## sponge (24/10/15)

It's mostly a mix of seedling mix, compost and potting mix. I've hit it a few times with a liquid fertiliser as well.

I don't normally grow seedling separate and then pot them as I have decent results just sowing straight into the timber planters I use.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/10/15)

I use the coir because it allows the seeds to breath, and putting fertiliser on the seeds is a no no, if you want to put something on them use Eco-Seaweed, Bunnings sell it as a powder just mix with water.
I made a big mistake a couple of weeks ago I had some little tomato plants I wasn't going to use them just give them away, but I put them in some of my compost instead of potting mix, they all died and when I checked why the water wasn't draining away and the compost had compacted. 
The coir I find really good and it never fails to get the seeds going.


----------



## sponge (24/10/15)

Interesting.. I may have to give that a go. I often mix a bit of sand in with my compost to let it drain a bit better but a bit of coir might be a better solution.


----------



## manticle (24/10/15)

Finally got some good patches going after 4 months and a bit of work.

I was in a hurry to get stuff in the ground so my soil preparation was a bit naff.
Paying for it now with a constant battle against weeds and the soil is a bit dry and grey but most seeds I've planted seem to be coming up after a week or so.

Anyone got any tips on non herbicide methods of blackberry control? Got a bit growing here - I know I won't get rid of it and eating the occasional berry won't be too bad but that fucker needs to be restrained.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/10/15)

I emptied the last of my aged compost onto the garden beds and turned over the newer compost, a couple of cubic meters in a confined space, when I come to use it in autumn it will be half the amount.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/10/15)

manticle said:


> Anyone got any tips on non herbicide methods of blackberry control? Got a bit growing here - I know I won't get rid of it and eating the occasional berry won't be too bad but that fucker needs to be restrained.


The only thing I know of is a goat, but it will eat everything else it comes across,I think most weed killers nowadays are neutralised when they hit the soil, not sure about Blackberry killer though.


----------



## manticle (24/10/15)

I'd love to get a goat but the yard might not be big enough to be able to keep it away from everything else.
Maybe I can rent one?

Will have a look at some chemical options -the brambles are far away enough from everything else that I wouldn't be super concerned - it's more that I wouldn't mind eating some fresh blackberries.


----------



## Danwood (24/10/15)

I was reading about a goat for sale in Richmond recently... think it's gone now, though.


----------



## manticle (24/10/15)

Richmond, TAS?

Or VIC?


----------



## Camo6 (24/10/15)

A good 'low' toxin herbicide for blackberry is Brush Off or its equivalent. Not super effective on very young blackberry but great for bigger plants. Slow acting but gets right into the roots. Supposedly less harmful than fly spray but wouldn't rely on that. Otherwise, gloves, a fern hook and a whole lotta physical labour. Or a goat. But that might cause a bit of gossip with your neighbours. Better to be Manticle: the Great Blackberry Poisoner.


----------



## Danwood (24/10/15)

manticle said:


> Richmond, TAS?
> 
> Or VIC?


Nah, Victoria. It went to a Japanese buyer, I think.


----------



## manticle (24/10/15)

I want a cordless goat I can pack away when it's not in use.


----------



## Danwood (24/10/15)

Here's me, trying to be subtly topical, and you're just being silly.

And anyway, there's no reason why you couldn't pack away a corded goat just as easily as a cordless one.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (24/10/15)

http://goat-simulator.com/


----------



## spog (24/10/15)

manticle said:


> I'd love to get a goat but the yard might not be big enough to be able to keep it away from everything else.
> Maybe I can rent one?
> Will have a look at some chemical options -the brambles are far away enough from everything else that I wouldn't be super concerned - it's more that I wouldn't mind eating some fresh blackberries.


Sodium perc ? Biodegradable and gets rid of nasties in the brewery so it might sort a nasty in the yard.


----------



## Airgead (26/10/15)

My FIL used to have a flamethrower type arrangement that he used to burn blackberries out of gullies. That would be effective. And fun. Almost as much fun as a goat.


----------



## manticle (26/10/15)

You could roast the goat at the same time.


----------



## Dave70 (26/10/15)

manticle said:


> Finally got some good patches going after 4 months and a bit of work.
> 
> I was in a hurry to get stuff in the ground so my soil preparation was a bit naff.
> Paying for it now with a constant battle against weeds and the soil is a bit dry and grey but most seeds I've planted seem to be coming up after a week or so.
> ...


I've had good results destroying bastard lantana creeping into my yard by taking a 25mm spade bit drill to the thickest part of the trunk I could find, boring in about 50mm and filling the hole with one of the top selling glyphosate herbicides. Neat. Shes on the way out after three weeks.
Had to do this covertly as technically the trunk is still on my neighbors land. But he's not interested in keeping it tidy so bugger him. The whispering pines will be the next to go.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/10/15)

You can drill little holes into a tree and squirt some Roundup into the hole that will kill it.


----------



## Dave70 (26/10/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> You can drill little holes into a tree and squirt some Roundup into the hole that will kill it.


Thats the plan for the pines as the trunk is to far to reach with the Makita..


----------



## Camo6 (26/10/15)

My neighbours gigantic cypress that overhangs 4 metres over my backyard will be getting a bit of glyphopuncture to help it cope with the upcoming El Niño.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (26/10/15)

Dave70 said:


> Thats the plan for the pines as the trunk is to far to reach with the Makita..


You need a cordless DeWalt


----------



## Dave70 (26/10/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> You need a cordless DeWalt


The drill isn't the problem. By 'to far' I mean I cant stretch my arm far enough through the pig wire fence. Id hate to be labeled as some kind of neighborhood tree killer if sprung.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (26/10/15)




----------



## Ducatiboy stu (26/10/15)

Dave70 said:


> Thats the plan for the pines as the trunk is to far to reach with the Makita..


Cable tie the Makita to the front of this

Note: Also a very effective machine for removing lantana


----------



## Lincoln2 (27/10/15)

As per a cracker tip from WEAL earlier (with youtube vid and everyfing) I decided to plant my August taters in pots. I was a bit late but - maybe early Sept. 

Seed taters at our local produce cost $3.60/kg which gets you a good number of chitting sebagos.

They ******* went OFF! I filled the pot to 1/3 with potting mix and planted. I've already added a mix of compost and sugar cane mulch to 2/3rds and then to full, about 10 days apart for each hilling, that's how fast they took off.

Re the bottom left: I cut the bottom out of a pot and placed it on top of the full pot to get a double pots worth of crop. I thought I'd invented a genius idea but apparently it's been done before.

I may have accidentally over crowded a few pots but as this is an experiment I was willing to take a few chances.

These were the biggest pots I could find in town and I'm already planning a trip to the big smoke (Lismore) to source bigger pots for the Feb planting.

I'll post more pics at harvest.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (27/10/15)

I planted mine about the same time but in the mushroom compost in 30 litre pots with 3 spuds in each as per video, final topping was some of the compost from my own heap, not got flowers yet but have just started to bud, been feeding them with tomato plant fertilizer as I suspect the guy in the video was doing to get such a big crop.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (27/10/15)

Old tyres are really good to

Just keep putting another on and filling with compost and straw, water with powerfeed/fish emulsion once a week


----------



## spog (27/10/15)

I once put seaweed on my vegies and wow did they take off,If you want to do it don't get caught.Apparently taking it from the beach is very naughty.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (27/10/15)

Its the bomb that seaweed. Friends on the coast swear by it

Best liquid fertilizer is a big cherry barrel filled with everything from horse shit to fish frames, seaweed, dead cats, anything, than let it ferment up.

I cup in a watering can every week


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/10/15)

That Powerfeed is good stuff but I wouldn't be recommending for tubers or root crops, to much nitrogen,makes lots of foliage at the expense of what is growing underground.
As there doesn't seem to be any specific fertilizers for the eggplant, chili, bell peppers and potatoes I just go with the tomato feed lower nitrogen and phosphorous higher potassium 3-3-4.5.


----------



## spog (28/10/15)

I believe seaweed extract is more of a soil conditioner than a fertilizer.


----------



## Mardoo (28/10/15)

spog said:


> I believe seaweed extract is more of a soil conditioner than a fertilizer.


Yep, discovered that after "fertilising" my hops for two years with seaweed extracts. Boy did they take off after I actually started fertilising them!


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/10/15)

If you want an all rounder spog try the Maxicrop liquid fertilizer it has the seaweed plus fertilizer at about half the nitrogen as Powerfeed and save the Powerfeed for green leaf vegies.
Seasol at the start to establish a healthy plant and root system, then one of the above for whichever vegies you are growing.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (1/11/15)

Found these little jiggers on eBay cheap and handy for anyone growing cucumbers or tomatoes up string.


----------



## Danwood (1/11/15)

http://m.ebay.com/itm/131629504675

Great find there,WEAL....cheap as chips.


----------



## Bribie G (3/11/15)

My new place has pretty clapped out soil. It's old volcanic red stuff but pretty well compacted and leached (sloping block) but with plenty of compost / spent grain / trub dug into the veg garden it should form beautiful soil. Big compost bin is already happening.

One treatment I'm planning is to spray the whole block (half acre mostly lawns) with Magnesium Sulphate, Epsom Salts. Also foliar feed the couple of citrus. I did that in a smaller yard and the grass turned out so green it was almost blue. I'm mowing on mulch setting but when the lawn really thickens up I'll do the odd bag-catch to get fodder for the compost.

Any hints on bulk Epsom Salts? Faulding blue boxes from the chemist are about $4 or $12 a kilo, Bunnings do an ag version for about $6 a kilo.

I reckon I'd need about 10 kilos.


----------



## sponge (3/11/15)

Alright, I'm really getting the shits with some of these insects that keep eating my greens - mainly pak choy, basil and chili leaves (along with hops). Some are taking big chunks out of leaves, and the hops seem to get a mix of holes/chunks and transparent patches.

I've used pesticide (suitable for edibles) along with tomato/vegetable powder but neither seem to have worked.

What do you greenies suggest to protect your precious edibles?


----------



## Spohaw (3/11/15)

I some times grow plants as sacrificial offerings to the bugs to try keep them away from plants I like 

It's usually bok choy or cabbage .... Stuff the bugs seem to love then I hammer those plants with as much dirty pesticides I can get my hands on haha 

I don't eat them so it's ok in my head


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/11/15)

When I see big chunks coming off leaves if they are low usually snails higher it will be caterpillars, I do the rounds in the morning and look for the snails and caterpillars and pick them off, red cabbage attracts less caterpillars in the summer, they must know they stick out like dogs balls.
I get the odd caterpillar in the greenhouse on my tomato plants, but just one can take out quite a few leaves, you can try this stuff sponge.
https://www.myhealthbox.eu/en/medicine/neemtechinsecticidalpotassiumsoa/2201932

Bribie I would have a look around for magnesium sulphate, sure I saw some for about $30 for 10kg, maybe eBay?

Yep eBay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10Kg-Bucket-EPSOM-Bath-SALT-Magnesium-Sulphate-Pharmaceutical-Grade-/131642822042?hash=item1ea6860d9a:g:Yu4AAOSwFL9TulQP


----------



## Dave70 (3/11/15)

sponge said:


> Alright, I'm really getting the shits with some of these insects that keep eating my greens - mainly pak choy, basil and chili leaves (along with hops). Some are taking big chunks out of leaves, and the hops seem to get a mix of holes/chunks and transparent patches.
> 
> I've used pesticide (suitable for edibles) along with tomato/vegetable powder but neither seem to have worked.
> 
> What do you greenies suggest to protect your precious edibles?


I've done alright using a homemade chilli (searing hot bhut, if that makes a difference) garlic and soap flake spray dispensed from a cheap spray bottle. The key is to coat the leaves top and bottom. The bastards like to tuck themselves in between some of the new growth on my kale particularly. And re apply often. One shower and its gone. Remember its only a deterrent, not a killer. 
Combined with those biodegradable safe for everything snail pellets I'm managing to keep the snails and arsehole cabbage moths under some kind of control.

Heres a basic recipe for the spray. There plenty of variations and some use garlic exclusively. 
All I can suggest is filter it good. Those micron sized atomizers on the spray bottles clog up super easy. 

*8-10 chillies finely sliced
4 cloves garlic crushed and cut roughly
1 Tablespoon soap flakes
1 Litre boiling water
Combine in a glass jar and set aside for 24 hours. Strain and pour into a spray bottle.
Use within 2 weeks*


----------



## sponge (3/11/15)

I've made a similar garlic/chilli/vinegar spray but didn't seem to work all that well, but didn't have any soap flakes so will try those next time.

Looks like I've got a few options to try though. Thanks again fellas!


----------



## Lincoln2 (3/11/15)

I'm not sure if you've heard of Pigeon Peas. They're a bush that produce pods of lentils. They've been a food source in India for at least 3,500 years. Very hardy; drought and frost tolerant, fast growing and prolific croppers. My some-time co-brewer Bill gave me some seeds and I planted them on the avenue entrance to my brewery, you may notice it in the background.


----------



## Lincoln2 (3/11/15)

I harvested 6 bushes on the weekend and this is the yield. (They grow for approx. 7 years with maximum yields between years 2 & 5.) This is the first harvest and the plants are about 9 months old. That's a Cricketers Arms beer in the 'barrow. It was hot and thirsty work.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (3/11/15)

Have you tried chick peas


----------



## LiquidGold (3/11/15)

Nice harvest Lincoln! I've got a few pigeon peas growing around the place, although I still haven't eaten any the chooks seem to like them and they are nitrogen fixing and love a good prune being legumes so a good plant to have near the compost pile.


----------



## niftinev (4/11/15)

Bribie G said:


> My new place has pretty clapped out soil. It's old volcanic red stuff but pretty well compacted and leached (sloping block) but with plenty of compost / spent grain / trub dug into the veg garden it should form beautiful soil. Big compost bin is already happening.
> 
> One treatment I'm planning is to spray the whole block (half acre mostly lawns) with Magnesium Sulphate, Epsom Salts. Also foliar feed the couple of citrus. I did that in a smaller yard and the grass turned out so green it was almost blue. I'm mowing on mulch setting but when the lawn really thickens up I'll do the odd bag-catch to get fodder for the compost.
> 
> ...


Try Blants in sydney, deliver aus wide - about $50 for 25kg and $20 for delivery from memory

most equistrian places will have it as will produce stores


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/11/15)

Always thought Pigeon peas were the same as vetch peas or tares but they aren't, what are you going to do with them Lincoln?

I swapped a sack of low hemp seed once for a sack of pigeon shit, had to wait for ages for it to break down.


----------



## Lincoln2 (4/11/15)

Well, after a good hour of shelling, I have enough for morning tea.

*WEAL*. I'm going to shell enough for my wife to make a batch of her killer dahl and for me to make a big pot of lentil, chorizo, garlic, wine and potato stew and the rest will be chook food.

I planted them as an experiment to test their viability as a source of protein. When the revolution comes, I want to be able to feed my family. But at this stage they are too labour intensive to be practical as a regular food source. My kids did about 10 minutes before they went on strike. I can get a pack from the supermarket for $0.89 and store long term. I'll keep a few going as seed stock and chook food but I won't be going through this again.

The shelling is actually pretty easy, especially when you have a cold beer on hand and are listening to some sweet Dwight Yoakam tunes. It's just that I have more urgent jobs that need my attention.

Thanks for the tip *LiquidGold*; I hadn't thought of pruning them. I might do it now before they flower again. Apparently you get multiple crops per year. I know some chooks who are going to be happy.

*Disco Stu:* I have tried chick peas with pretty good results. I love the old hummus and use them in stews etc. But they have nothing on these bastards for sheer productivity and ease of maintenance.


----------



## shaunous (4/11/15)

Do u guys plant Green Manure Crops? I plant Vetch, Oats and Lupins and its made my shithouse soil into a nice garden. Maybe an option for you Bribie, I just mow it with the push mower height right up and no catcher so its mulching itself in. Never let it flower to seed or it'll stay their forever. Then when its planting season I turn the soil.

I highly recommend.


----------



## Lincoln2 (4/11/15)

My wife was relaxing with a Pimms on the back deck and said; "Don't speak to him like that!"

Because I was speaking to my stupid dog, Brewtus.

I said: "Will you **** off you stupid ******* arsehole or I will shoot you right through the ******* brain you retarded ******* fuckwit".

Because he keeps getting into my vege beds and sitting down on mature garlic, corn seedlings, spinach etc etc.

Free to a good home: 1 brainless ****.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (4/11/15)

shaunous said:


> Do u guys plant Green Manure Crops? I plant Vetch, Oats and Lupins and its made my shithouse soil into a nice garden. Maybe an option for you Bribie, I just mow it with the push mower height right up and no catcher so its mulching itself in. Never let it flower to seed or it'll stay their forever. Then when its planting season I turn the soil.
> 
> I highly recommend.


Any legumes like peas, lupins, chick peas, soy beans, Lucerne along with wheat/oats/barley/rice is an old trick. After a few years you get really nice soil

Had the same shit soil Shaun but was also acid sulphate, The legumes pump nitrogen back into the soil and the plants add organic matter. A win-win..

Another good trick is if you can get lots stable rakings full off urine and poo and lay it down at least 30cm thick in Autumn at let it break down. Stinks like all hell but in late spring you will have really good rich soil. A box standard box trailer cover will cover just under 10ft x 10ft ( 3m x 3m ) so you need a good solid supply of it


----------



## Camo6 (4/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Another good trick is if you can get lots stable rakings full off urine and poo and lay it down at least 30cm thick in Autumn at let it break down. Stinks like all hell but in late spring you will have really good rich soil. A box standard box trailer cover will cover just under 10ft x 10ft ( 3m x 3m ) so you need a good solid supply of it


Geez, you talk about a lot of shit sometimes Stu...


----------



## spog (4/11/15)

Lincoln2 said:


> My wife was relaxing with a Pimms on the back deck and said; "Don't speak to him like that!"
> 
> Because I was speaking to my stupid dog, Brewtus.
> 
> ...


I feel for you.
We looked after a family members Beagle while they were O/S,when I say Beagle it was more like a Beagle/ Bulldozer.
The bastard was for ever plowing through fences,fly screens,and the vegie patch,if I he'd a gun I would have shot the useless #%*^ within 3 months.
We had the bastard for almost 4 years.
'twas a happy day I waved the #%^* bye bye.
No more dog shit in the garden,no more trampled plants....no more bastard Beagle.




So how's your mutt going.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/11/15)

I fenced my vegie patch off, I too have a Staffy, loves to lie in a sheltered position in the sun, the one before was an American Staffy he used to lie on his back in the sun, problem was he had a pink underbelly and got cancer, cost us a fortune trying to keep him alive, it got him in the end though.


----------



## shaunous (5/11/15)

My dogs are chained up, like all good dogs should be. How people live with 'yap yap' dogs allowed to roam free and wreck everything is beyond me..


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/11/15)

A favourite documentary of mine about the intelligence of plants was brought to mind when I notices a young sweet pepper catch the bite of the late afternoon sun, it was hot and the pepper had lifted its uppermost leaves to shade the first flower which was just starting to form, I have never seen anything like that before, probably because I have more time on my hands I will notice more of this sort of thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzrPGxVUn7U


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/11/15)

In the vegie plot the potato haulms are the tallest I have ever grown, the leeks have bolted due to the unseasonable hot weather, the Purple King beans are winning the climbing bean race to get to the top of the trellis and I have plumbed in more hydro pots.
Made one hydro set up using a smart valve to experiment with the lettuce, seems to be working better than the commercial set up.
Twenty two more pots to set up, wanted to put the along the front veranda but the wife said no.
Greenhouse tomatoes almost ready for tipping and more tomatoes hardening off, what I don't use I give away.


----------



## Bribie G (13/11/15)

I name thee green fingers. I just love food production.

Hey, can anyone I.D. my mystery tree?
I've recently moved into a place in Kyogle (Sub Tropical Northern NSW) and there are two absolutely jaw dropping massive trees, the same size, with huge canopies, that I assumed were both mangoes. One of them certainly is, and is now sporting quite a few tiny mangoes. The other has heaps of what look like mangoes from a distance, but up close they are obviously not mangoes.

The mango has the typical rough brown bark, the other massive tree has a smooth silvery bark and the fruits look like this: they are currently the size of a very small olive.
Obviously my main concern is whether they are edible or not. Not to mention what da fukathey.




Mango tree




Not Mango tree


----------



## sponge (13/11/15)

I forget what those first things are called but my parents had a few trees of them in their old mountain property. Dad used to collect them, put them somewhere dark for a few days, then peel and eat them (assuming they're the same fruit, but I can't imagine there being too many fruits that look like that). Bloody delicious. 

Supposedly poisonous when unripe though??

Happy to be corrected on that, but he always advised against it.

EDIT: You said they're the size of olives at the moment, the ones we had were more banana/cucumber sized.


----------



## Bribie G (13/11/15)

Early days, I expect they might be ready after Xmas.... any idea what they were called?


----------



## LiquidGold (13/11/15)

The texture reminds me a little bit of the jackfruit but I'm in no way certain. Great looking undergrowth beneath the mango tree by the way.


----------



## sponge (14/11/15)

Just asked the old man about the fruit and the ones we had were monstera deliciosa. Those actually look like jackfruit that you have bribie. Similar texture though..


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (14/11/15)

Take it to Daleys nursery, they can tell you.

http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/map.htm


----------



## Bribie G (14/11/15)

Aha, no that's the plant also known as the "Swiss Cheese Plant" and they grow like a palm.
I await impatiently.


----------



## Bribie G (14/11/15)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Take it to Daleys nursery, they can tell you.
> 
> http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/map.htm


Good idea, they'll know if it's going to be edible or not.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/11/15)

Read of a good tip yesterday, in another thread we were discussing snails and copper tape, well apparently they will not go over Velcro tape either.


----------



## Camo6 (17/11/15)

Hooks or loops?


----------



## Airgead (17/11/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Read of a good tip yesterday, in another thread we were discussing snails and copper tape, well apparently they will not go over Velcro tape either.


That copper tape is useless. Either that or I have really tough snails. The sort that enjoy testing 9v batteries on their tongues.

Velcro sounds interesting though....


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/11/15)

Camo6 said:


> Hooks or loops?


That wasn't elaborated, it was black so presume it was the hook.


----------



## niftinev (18/11/15)

Bribie G said:


> I name thee green fingers. I just love food production.
> 
> Hey, can anyone I.D. my mystery tree?
> I've recently moved into a place in Kyogle (Sub Tropical Northern NSW) and there are two absolutely jaw dropping massive trees, the same size, with huge canopies, that I assumed were both mangoes. One of them certainly is, and is now sporting quite a few tiny mangoes. The other has heaps of what look like mangoes from a distance, but up close they are obviously not mangoes.
> ...


Look like lychees, gold mine if they are, absolutely ******* delicious

just let me know when they turn red and will come and pick (err eat) for you


----------



## spog (18/11/15)

Gave my veggie patches a good watering yesterday arvo as its going to hit 39 degrees ,I'm expecting to lose a few seedlings.


----------



## Kingy (18/11/15)

My little garden is crankin. Fresh beans and spinach with and egg on toast for breaky bloody beautiful.


----------



## shaunous (19/11/15)

That looks terrible Kingy.

Meat person right here.

If someone served me that I'd back hand them.



Well done with the garden though.


----------



## Spohaw (19/11/15)

^^^ Kind of funny 

I'd eat it ... Without any back handing or whinging


----------



## LiquidGold (19/11/15)

Egg is lacking Tabasco


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (19/11/15)

and bacon


----------



## shaunous (19/11/15)

^^^ Correct


----------



## spog (19/11/15)

shaunous said:


> That looks terrible Kingy.
> 
> Meat person right here.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the chuckle.


----------



## WarmerBeer (21/11/15)

My (dwarf) apricot has started developing a brown marking on the skins.






It's a second year plant, but we didn't get any fruit on it last year, as it was still a baby.

Any ideas what it is, and what I should treat it with?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (21/11/15)

You can't treat it, its scab a fungal disease, usually have to pull them out, Google it and see if there is a prevention or pull it out if you have other trees it could spread to.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/11/15)

It can be treated with a copper fungicide spray (not now when leaves have fallen) here is a link to Peter Cundall's Bordeaux mixture.
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1631445.htm


----------



## WarmerBeer (22/11/15)

Awesome, thanks for that. Read the previous post, was definitely not looking forward to having to pull it out.

Will see how it goes this season, and treat with the spray once winter hits.


----------



## Bribie G (1/12/15)

niftinev said:


> Look like lychees, gold mine if they are, absolutely ******* delicious
> 
> just let me know when they turn red and will come and pick (err eat) for you


Yes, Lychees.. :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: they are fattening up really quickly now and on dissecting a couple they are indeed, just starting to form the "rubbery" fruit layer.

I never realised they grew that big, every Lychee tree I have ever seen was a tame looking little thing in rows in a plantation.
I'll need to bird net the bottom branches .

What part of Northern Rivers? There must be a tonne of fruit if it all matures.
The photo shows about a quarter of the tree. Before fruit. Now they are hanging in little bunches.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (1/12/15)

You will have to put a sign up Bribie, "No Scrumping"


----------



## niftinev (2/12/15)

Bribie G said:


> Yes, Lychees.. :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: they are fattening up really quickly now and on dissecting a couple they are indeed, just starting to form the "rubbery" fruit layer.
> 
> I never realised they grew that big, every Lychee tree I have ever seen was a tame looking little thing in rows in a plantation.
> I'll need to bird net the bottom branches .
> ...


that tree is huge never seen a lychee tree that big, you will get shitloads

Potty mate by the sea ( hop, skip and a jump), tough life but someones gotta do it


----------



## niftinev (2/12/15)

wide eyed and legless said:


> You will have to put a sign up Bribie, "No Scrumping"


won't be scrumping just gunna remove so they don't make a mess as Bribie won't like them  

nothing better than fresh picked off the tree


----------



## Bribie G (3/12/15)

Right, I went through Pottsville a few weeks ago by mistake. Well manicured looking place.


----------



## niftinev (6/12/15)

nice quiet place to live, short stroll to the beach and far enough away from all the bullshit

effin glad i got to retire early even though it was forced


----------



## Bribie G (10/12/15)

Wow these bastards don't muck about do they


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (10/12/15)

I will come for a drive for a bucket of lychee's


----------



## Lincoln2 (11/12/15)

I'll be over before long with some agile little 11 year old lads who like to climb trees.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (11/12/15)

I to have 10 & 9 yr old lads that like climbing trees


----------



## Bribie G (11/12/15)

They are still sour as buggery but when they are edible I'll put out a general alert, rather the tree climbing lads get them than the lorikeets (I've been throwing boomerangs at the lorries and they have got the message that I'm not a nice human - at first I squirted them with the hose but then they started lining up for the cool refreshing spray. Cnuts. Boomerang is something in their racial memory I guess)


----------



## manticle (13/12/15)

Just about everything I've planted in my garden is coming up beautifully, almost all from seed.

Two seed types that have so far given me nothing are strawberries and eggplant. Strawberries is no biggie as I can buy a variety of types as seedlings pretty cheaply (have done and continuing to do so).

Any tips on eggplant though? If I can get 6+ year old fenugreek from the spice cupboard to sprout, surely I can grow some eggplant. 

Cheers in advance.


----------



## Bribie G (13/12/15)

Eggys can be a bugger to grow from seed, I've been trying to get some fresh and excellent quality seeds (as they always are, top of the range) from Eden Seeds to germinate for weeks now, no luck.

I've only ever planted seedlings. Eggplants need to get off to a robust start and bush up quickly because they are mostly perennial, I keep mine going for three years usually.

I believe that they prefer to germinate above 20 degrees, with nighttime temps in Melbourne being a bit patchy at this time of year, maybe consider sowing them in a warm indoor area. I actually have an old fashioned airing cupboard with the HWS in it, I'm going to try that myself as I have Lebanese (bunching) eggplant seeds and the Lebanese are hard to find in nurseries.

ed: hey I'd forgotten you'd moved to Tas, maybe that's the problem at the moment. Wasn't it snowing on Mt Welly recently?


----------



## manticle (13/12/15)

Yeah snow last week. Generally pretty warm at the moment but the nights are cool.

I might try some pots indoors with a new batch of seeds.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/12/15)

Did you freeze your strawberry seeds manticle? They generally need to be frozen for a few weeks before you plant them.


----------



## manticle (13/12/15)

No. Just in the ground. I'll buy another pack and try freezing.

Do I just freeze the whole pack they are in for a fortnight or so?

Out of interest, what does freezing do?

Grabbed another pack of eggplant seeds and potted them to germinate indoors with a few remaining seeds into one of the garden beds.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/12/15)

My mother in law is Japanese she grows the best strawberries, when I was in Japan recently she asked me to get her some seed and that is what she did put them straight into the freezer, simulates winter, when I grew my rhubarb from seed she told me to do the same thing with those, as I had trouble growing the rhubarb from seed, every seed germinated.
The eggplant is a member of the solanaceae family so you should grow them as you would tomatoes, the only ones of that family I would grow differently are peppers and chili, I start them off on a heat mat seems to take forever for them to germinate otherwise.


----------



## manticle (14/12/15)

My capsicums and chillis have all been ok. Didn't want to rouse early spring but once the weather bumped up a little, all was good. When in Melbourne, they'd just develop from compost like tomatoes or pumpkin if I let it.

I'll try the freezing thing. No real drama - as I said I can buy seedlings easy but get so much pleasure watching the new shoots emerge.
Cheers


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/12/15)

Was in Bunnings earlier they are selling strawberry plants 50 cents each, if you do try the seeds again manticle wait until autumn or winter, and let them thaw out for a couple of days when you take them out of the freezer.


----------



## Bribie G (31/12/15)

*EDIBLE HEDGE*

I'm growing an edible hedge to provide masses of leafy greens. Note keg to scale. Sown five weeks ago, half sunlight half dappled shade. Eden Seeds (No affil.)











One section is Green Amaranth, an improved cultivar of "pig weed" - pick the tips, leaves and flowers, chop and briefly steam then serve with lemon juice and olive oil as the Greeks do. It's absolutely delicious and meltingly tender. The more you pick, the more it bushes. Will grow shoulder height. Most of the mature leaves you see in the photo would be tender on cooking.

Danger: if you grow this then forever afterwards Silverbeet tastes like a cruel hoax.

Not to be confused with Red Amaranth that gives spectacular red bunches of scarlet blossoms, called "Love Lies Bleeding". That's edible (grew it at Old Bar) but the green is more suited to the kitchen.

Other section is Malabar Spinach that climbs and sprawls. Overcooked it's a bit slimy but wilted at the end of a stir fry it's Allah's answer to bok choy, or shredded (I'm assured) into a salad it's a good addition to rocket or lettuce.

Two plants will keep a family going.

I have a roll of chicken wire to attach to fence for the Malabar Spinach to sprawl over. Fence is pretty well fecked, hence the hedge to hide it.

Next stage is to do an Amaranth #2 section down to the bottom of the fence at the footpath. 

edit: added refs


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/1/16)

Have got some red amaranth seeds but it is for edible sprouts, got back to my garden from holidays netted the espaliered apples an pears which the birds had just started on and my silver peach, outside hydroponic cherry tomatoes doing well up to the 3 Meter mark, will take the tips off as they all reach the top. The black cherry seems to produce more than the red, and the green house is one of the more shady spots in the garden thanks to the cucumber and the F100 sweet bite tomatoes growing in the apex.

Planted more green cabbage as my brother hadn't put a cloche over the cabbages that were doing well but are now devastated by
caterpillars, cauliflower seed also in along with Bok Choi and one more crack at some late money maker tomatoes if I can clear the green house and get some light in there.


----------



## spog (19/1/16)

Throwing the question out, what seedlings are recommened for raising for the next season of vegies ?
Bog standard suits me but I'm willing to have a go at darnn near anything !


----------



## manticle (19/1/16)

It depends on your region.
Gardenate is not a bad website for suggestions based on region/climate and season.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/1/16)

spog said:


> Throwing the question out, what seedlings are recommened for raising for the next season of vegies ?
> Bog standard suits me but I'm willing to have a go at darnn near anything !


Grow what you like to eat spog, coming up is cabbage cauli, in fact all the cruciferous family, peas, beetroot, leeks, not forgetting carrots, an easy grown vegetable and if you like neeps stick them in as well.
I have a second bigger green house which catches full sun and I will be growing early spuds in that, plus keeping my chili's and sweet peppers in over winter.


----------



## Dave70 (20/1/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Have got some red amaranth seeds but it is for edible sprouts, got back to my garden from holidays netted the espaliered apples an pears which the birds had just started on and my silver peach, outside hydroponic cherry tomatoes doing well up to the 3 Meter mark, will take the tips off as they all reach the top. The black cherry seems to produce more than the red, and the green house is one of the more shady spots in the garden thanks to the cucumber and the F100 sweet bite tomatoes growing in the apex.
> 
> Planted more green cabbage as my brother hadn't put a cloche over the cabbages that were doing well but are now devastated by
> caterpillars, cauliflower seed also in along with Bok Choi and one more crack at some late money maker tomatoes if I can clear the green house and get some light in there.
> ...


Impressive production. Whats the set up with your pots? I'm ready to give up on mine and switch to a raised bed as many of my plants seem to either dwarf or stagnate. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the heatsoak of the sun hitting the black pots perhaps cooking the roots a little.

Have you ever been approached by an after shave or cigarette company to do a little modeling work?
Just saying..


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/1/16)

The pots are run on a smart valves and a small 12 vol diaphragm pump, powerful little thing running 87 pots at the moment, trouble is the back pressure can be quite strong an it has blown the hoses a couple of times before settling down. I have an ebb and flow system which will take 26 large pots but that I don't use, (mother in law is interested in that for growing water chestnuts and wasabi)

Raised beds are the go for drainage but I have to shade the whole of the vegie patch even then I get burnt leaves, just have to watch your pH and give the plants the right feed at the right time.
You being a plumber Dave you could knock up an ebb and flow system or even something to take the smart valves, I got my wide channel from W.A, about 300 mm wide, for the ebb and flow system and made a fly cutter to cut out the holes for the pots, but if I were you go for the raised beds, get a couple of smart valves and play around with them with a gravity feed. 

Never done any modeling work, made a skin flick in China which is buried in this computer somewhere, about the only thing that gives me an adrenaline hit is when I see my wife using my computer and me thinking its going to pop up.( the movie that is)


----------



## malt and barley blues (31/1/16)

That storm last night put my beetroot seedlings to the test, had left them out to harden off and had to go out in that downpour to bring them in again, I think I have got away with it.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/2/16)

Young plants almost ready to go in :- Tomatoes, Cabbages, Cauli, Bok Choi, (I have to make sure we have a constant supply of that on the go)







Made a stuff up with my Pennsylvania Crook Neck pumpkins, positioned them to climb but now jockeying for position with my Kiwi Fruit not to much light getting through to the detriment of the tomato plants which are below, red cabbage doesn't seem to mind though.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (5/2/16)

Going to have a few pumpkins this year


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/2/16)

Are you pollinating them yourself stu or have you got plenty of bees around your way?
I have Butternut around the front garden and the Crooknecks in the back I am having to go out each morning and pollinate them myself, and if I have had no male Butternut flowers I have used the Crookneck flowers to pollinate the female Butternut, but it doesn't seem to work in reverse.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (6/2/16)

Must have bees around cause there are already little pumpkins growing


----------



## Camo6 (6/2/16)

I pollinated all my Queensland Blues this year. Harvested two good sized fruit and there's a couple more growing.
Had a stray plant pop up from the compost and figured it would be a butternut but not sure what it is now and there's only one that's maturing. Very yellow, bland looking thing that's only just starting to get some colour. Will post a pic for the brains trust if I remember.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/2/16)

Could be a seed from all those Butternut you got last year, I found some Jap pumpkins growing in my compost this year and planted them out, (my wife calls them by their proper name Kaboocha pumpkins) 
A good pumpkin variety to grow is Musque de Provence a sweet large French heirloom, missed out this year but have got the seeds for next year.


----------



## Airgead (6/2/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> A good pumpkin variety to grow is Musque de Provence a sweet large French heirloom, missed out this year but have got the seeds for next year.


Love those ones. I grow them most years but didn't have the bed ready in time this year. Great variety. Keeps forever.


----------



## manticle (6/2/16)

Hand pollination is so much fun. Been doing it with zucchinis and the golden nuggets. Jap pumpkins so far only showing male flowers.
Any idea if squash plants like honeydew, cantelope or watermelon also require it?


----------



## Camo6 (6/2/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Could be a seed from all those Butternut you got last year, I found some Jap pumpkins growing in my compost this year and planted them out, (my wife calls them by their proper name Kaboocha pumpkins)
> A good pumpkin variety to grow is Musque de Provence a sweet large French heirloom, missed out this year but have got the seeds for next year.


That was my first though WEAL but it started throwing small round fruit. I hand pollinated these but very few fruit set. Eventually I got a few going but due to neglect and the weather only one has matured. It is only starting to take on colour and has little in the way of surface texture. Recognise it? Could be a grey that the wife bought from the supermarket.



Keen to try the Queensland Blues soon. The cores split on the underside (inconsistent watering I eggspect) so need to use them quick before they rot.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/2/16)

Could be a hybrid reverting back to a parent if it was shop bought pumpkin Camo, chance we take when something springs up in the compost.
I set some beef steak tomato seeds in spring and I got a ringer in with those seeds, weirdest looking tomato plant I've ever seen.
Pity those QB's split, and you will have to use them fairly quickly though they will keep for a little while sliced up and wrapped in cling wrap and stored in the fridge.
Manticle you do have to hand pollinate watermelon if you haven't got many bee's around, but don't you have plenty of those Bumble Bee's in Tassie?
I have bought a packet of English Lavender seeds to plant out in autumn and I am thinking of getting some local apiarist to put a hive in the garden.


----------



## manticle (7/2/16)

We've got plenty of both bumbles and honey bees around but since my success rate with pumpkins and zucchinis is so evident, I figure I'll help the bees out.
Had honey dews once spring up from compost and fruit but I had to move house before the fruit matured.

No flowers on any of my melon plants yet anyway so I'll have to wait and see.


----------



## wynnum1 (7/2/16)

manticle said:


> We've got plenty of both bumbles and honey bees around but since my success rate with pumpkins and zucchinis is so evident, I figure I'll help the bees out.
> Had honey dews once spring up from compost and fruit but I had to move house before the fruit matured.
> 
> No flowers on any of my melon plants yet anyway so I'll have to wait and see.





manticle said:


> We've got plenty of both bumbles and honey bees around but since my success rate with pumpkins and zucchinis is so evident, I figure I'll help the bees out.
> Had honey dews once spring up from compost and fruit but I had to move house before the fruit matured.
> 
> No flowers on any of my melon plants yet anyway so I'll have to wait and see.


Do you have gorse weed growing in your area with yellow flower had yellow bells weed in garden and it was attracting bees so let stay.


----------



## Danwood (7/2/16)

Lavender is good for all types of bees (as mentioned), I just hate the smell of the stuff, personally.

And native species of bee have a special liking for blue flowers, apparently.


----------



## manticle (7/2/16)

Got plenty of yellow, blue and purple flowers.
Lavender is for grandma's undies though.


----------



## Bribie G (7/2/16)

I love it when you talk dirty.


----------



## sponge (7/2/16)

I prefer to think they'd be clean..


----------



## Bribie G (7/2/16)

sponge said:


> I prefer to think they'd be clean..


You are thinking of great grandmothers. Grannies start in their 40s nowadays and from personal experience I can tell you that.....

Anyway back on topic. You can't buy a decent rockmelon anywhere so I've got my own patch coming on.
How do you tell when they are ripe? They are currently about the size of grapefruit.
I've got bees but will do some hand pollinating as posted above.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/2/16)

Bribie G said:


> How do you tell when they are ripe?


When they look like ripe rockmelons.

Have you planted Rockmelon or Honeydew ? one is Light yellow skin, the other is green ish skin


----------



## Bribie G (7/2/16)

Rockmelon or Canteloupe as the foreigners call them.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/2/16)

Danwood said:


> Lavender is good for all types of bees (as mentioned), I just hate the smell of the stuff, personally.
> 
> And native species of bee have a special liking for blue flowers, apparently.


Didn't you start a thread on bees, I would like to read it again,what was the title? Hardly seen a bee around my garden saw them late winter though but none this summer, and have even been leaving water to get them interested.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/2/16)

Bribie G said:


> How do you tell when they are ripe? They are currently about the size of grapefruit.
> I've got bees but will do some hand pollinating as posted above.


Last time I grew them about 4 years ago, I used the knock and listen if it sounds hollow method, but must have been sounding hollow for some time, when I cut it open it was full of water.


----------



## niftinev (8/2/16)

Bribie G said:


> You are thinking of great grandmothers. Grannies start in their 40s nowadays and from personal experience I can tell you that.....
> 
> Anyway back on topic. You can't buy a decent rockmelon anywhere so I've got my own patch coming on.
> How do you tell when they are ripe? They are currently about the size of grapefruit.
> I've got bees but will do some hand pollinating as posted above.


they will change colour from green to lightish brown as they ripen and when you give them a light tug ( no pulling) will just fall away from vine.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (8/2/16)

niftinev said:


> they will change colour from green to lightish brown as they ripen and when you give them a light tug ( no pulling) will just fall away from vine.


There is a joke in there...but it may require keg lube for it to work


----------



## manticle (8/2/16)

So along the same note - I have golden nugget pumpkins looking round, big and orange. Reading a few sites suggests waiting till the plant dies off before harvesting.

Is this true? Means I'll have a shit ton all at once rather than being able to keep up my consumption with the growth rate.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (8/2/16)

It wont hurt, but just remember to keep the water up as fruiting plants use the fruit as water storage, so if you let them dry out the fruit can get dry as well


----------



## manticle (8/2/16)

They get a good dose daily.


----------



## Dave70 (9/2/16)

manticle said:


> So along the same note - I have golden nugget pumpkins looking round, big and orange. Reading a few sites suggests waiting till the plant dies off before harvesting.
> 
> Is this true? Means I'll have a shit ton all at once rather than being able to keep up my consumption with the growth rate.


Boil up (or bake for more flavor) the surplus, puree and freeze it in portions. Use it for soup for those chilly Tassie summer nights. Cream, perhaps some beef of chicken stock and chilli flakes served with croutons lightly fried in home made roasted garlic butter. Fab..

Or make 500 liters of pumpkin ale.

Or sit in your front yard carve Jack O' lanterns.


----------



## manticle (9/2/16)

No shortage of recipes for pumpkins in my head or experience but my freezer isn't large enough to contain 3 months worth of soup. As well as the nuggets, I've got Japs starting to flower and butternuts making their presence known. Figure I've got enough nuggets of a decent size to do a test on one or two - oven roasted with some chicken or spit roasted lamb.

On the good side, I've bought bugger all veges over the last 2 months or so and the corn, tomatoes and cucumbers have yet to mature, not to mention the 3 types of melon. Picking stuff straight out of the garden for the plate is marvellous. I look forward to getting back into some smallgoods this autumn. Wild fennel is flowering at the moment (wouldn't plant it in my garden - thankfully no need) and the dried flowers are a great addition to pork sausage.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (9/2/16)

Chicken & Roast pumpkin fettuccine with cream and mushrooms....very nice :icon_drool2:


----------



## shaunous (9/2/16)

You need sweet potatoes to make the good pumpkin soup. So much better. Twice the amount of pumpkin to sweet potato and spice to likeing.


----------



## Danwood (9/2/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Didn't you start a thread on bees, I would like to read it again,what was the title? Hardly seen a bee around my garden saw them late winter though but none this summer, and have even been leaving water to get them interested.


http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/88480-beekeeping-discussion-pics-tips-and-tricks/

I've been meaning to post a few bits and pieces from recent trips, involving a monster move of bees from Mildura to Warranambool chasing Mesmate flower (including, amongst other things, 4 round trips over 4 days, a sting on the right hemisphere of the ballbag and a very foolish owl which decided to attack the centre of the Volvo 500C truck windscreen at 3am whilst we cruised at 100ks).

Anyway... how 'bout them pumpkins, eh ?? Roast them every time, personally... much better flavour. Those crispy, caramelised bits are the best.


----------



## manticle (13/2/16)

Well despite being told golden nuggets have no flavour and despite being told to wait till the plant dies, I harvested and roasted one last night in a pan under a roasting chicken with home grown garlic and rosemary.
Yes.
Will do again. 
Also tried a small corn cob whose silks have dropped off. Unbelievably sweet.

Such a great hobby.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/2/16)

Getting close to a kilo of toms a day, green house toms almost finished, definitely only going to grow hydro toms next year, hybrid cherry red and black the black are so sweet, and I am impressed with Mr Fothergills Tiny Toms, only supposed to be grape size but most are pigeon egg size.

I am starting to get a few egg plants showing even though I haven't seen any bees something must be pollinating them. 

Never grown the Nugget purely on reviews made about the taste are you getting plenty manticle?
I am getting loads of Butternut but the Crook Necks are a failure loads of male flower no females, the Butternuts that I pollinated from the Crooknecks are heaps bigger than those pollinated with Butternut male flowers.


----------



## manticle (13/2/16)

So far only male flowers on my jap but it's only just started blossoming.
Got 2 nugget plants and both are flowering and fruiting very well.
Butternut went in late, just cos I ate one and the seeds were germinating so I thought I'd have a crack.
Got 2 fruits on a nugget plant that look like japs. Appeared well before the japs flowered.


----------



## Camo6 (13/2/16)

Roasted some Queensland Blue the other night with skin on. Love the taste and texture of the skin as much as the flesh.


----------



## manticle (13/2/16)

Roasted skin on is the best.


----------



## Bribie G (14/2/16)

I just ordered a kilo of Giant Russian Garlic bulbs from Eden Seeds, March approaches which I understand is garlic planting time here in the Northern Rivers.

How long does garlic generally take from planting to harvesting? I'm preparing a bed with well-rotted compost.

ed: yes I do realise that GRG is related more to the leek.


----------



## manticle (14/2/16)

About 6 months for normal. I put russian in a month or so ago (just cos it was available) and it came up promptly.
As far as I understand, it should flower and be ready for harvesting once those flowers die off. That may take more than a year.

Based on reading only though.


----------



## shaunous (15/2/16)

I thought Garlic took 2 years, that's why ive never planted it, that and because everyone grows it around here and gives it for free..


----------



## manticle (15/2/16)

I plucked mine after about 7 months but that may have been too early as they were large individual bulbs rather than heads. Delicious though.

Total novice when it comes to gardening really.


----------



## Dave70 (15/2/16)

.


----------



## Dave70 (15/2/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Getting close to a kilo of toms a day, green house toms almost finished, definitely only going to grow hydro toms next year, hybrid cherry red and black the black are so sweet, and I am impressed with Mr Fothergills Tiny Toms, only supposed to be grape size but most are pigeon egg size.
> 
> I am starting to get a few egg plants showing even though I haven't seen any bees something must be pollinating them.
> 
> ...


Are you fertilizing those toms with anabolic steroids?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/2/16)

No just getting the pH and nutrients right, less chance of disease, and no Blossom End Rot, got some carrots going in one pot to see what they come out like while I am waiting for my garden set carrots to be ready, will be interesting to see if they split.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (15/2/16)

Looks like I got QLD Blue, Counted about 7 so far, one is about 20cm across. Spotted a new baby punk today

Most of the flowers are male and there are heaps of bees and insects getting in out of the flowers, so pollination isnt a prob.

There are 2 separate plants growing together

Gave it a deep water yesterday as I have free draining soil ( a liitle but to free draining at times ) and the tendrals grew up to 1m when I got home

Shall get some more pics latter


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/2/16)

I put my garlic in in April, generally takes about 8 months so in manticles case he was slightly early at 7 months.
I have a chili plant which I want to overwinter undercover it is in a pot but is becoming quite tall I was considering cutting the growing tip as I have read this encourages Sweet Peppers to become stronger and be more productive, so I had a read about chili's and was surprised to discover the hottest chili was grown in Australia and the guy who grew it fed it with the run off from a worm farm, his theory is that because a lot of bugs live and die daily in a worm farm that the plant believed it was under attack from bugs, therefore became more potent.
Also read that a chili is only hot to mammals and bugs but not birds which the plant uses to spread its seed, the seed can pass through a bird and come out none the worse, but in a mammals digestive system the seed is destroyed and it is also a defence against fungal mould.
Anyhow if a chili plant is tipped, it does bush out, becomes stronger and is more productive.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (19/2/16)

Punks are coming along nicely


----------



## shaunous (20/2/16)

I'll trade you one pumpkin for a Moon & Stars Watermelon


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (20/2/16)

shaunous said:


> I'll trade you one pumpkin for a Moon & Stars Watermelon


SOLD


I have seven confirmed Punks that I can see and prob a few next door that grew thru the fence


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (20/2/16)

https://www.diggers.com.au/shop/certified-organic-seeds-and-more/watermelon-moon-and-stars-red/s2511/


----------



## Mardoo (20/2/16)

And that thick skin would make damn fine watermelon pickle, one of my favourite food memories from my grandmother. Damn that was good!


----------



## Danwood (21/2/16)

How good is it walking outside with a coffee on a cool, sunny morning and picking a few things for lunch ?
Very good, that's how good !
The R de Ms are just starting to turn red. I'm looking forward to those, some are monsters (in size and sheer damn ugliness).
Panzanella with chicken thighs on the charcoal BBQ for lunch. Good times, cheers all.


----------



## manticle (21/2/16)

Magic


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (21/2/16)

Found a few more babies this morning


----------



## shaunous (21/2/16)

Sweeeeeeeeeeet!!!!


----------



## wide eyed and legless (29/2/16)

One of the Crook Neck Pumpkins decided it had hung around long enough, accidentally hit it with my shoulder and down it came.Just have to leave it in the sun now to harden off.


----------



## Danwood (4/3/16)

Two birds with one stone here. *Tch*...stoopid wimens saying men can't multi-task !

Nice half bucket of R de Ms and Burnley Surecrops and a tasty SN hoppy number too (I didn't pick that last one...but, faark, can you imagine the dimension that is surely occurring in !)
Sauce day tomorrow (and 'sauce' night tonight). A happy coincidence, we'll call it.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/3/16)

I had a load of tomatoes so asked my daughters what shall we do with them decided on ketchup, boiled the tomatoes in their own juices, put them straight into the blender big mistake what I didn't wear went up the wall, over the blinds and all the other implements we have in the vicinity.
With a burned arm asked my daughters to help me clean up, response,'Every man for himself'.


----------



## Danwood (4/3/16)

I agree, save yourself in that kind of situation.

She'll do just fine when the zombie apocalypse comes.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/3/16)

Wish now I had never told them 'Every man for himself' when my wife was on the warpath, everything seems to come back and bite with a vengeance, at the end of it all the blinds cleaned up with a hose down, wiped down the appliances and wall, and forgot to add the vinegar to the sauce.


----------



## spog (4/3/16)

Advice needed.
We have some garlic cloves that are starting to sprout,they are shop bought not home grown.
Can I separate them and then plant ?


----------



## manticle (4/3/16)

Yes.
I have done and will again. It will grow.


----------



## wynnum1 (5/3/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I had a load of tomatoes so asked my daughters what shall we do with them decided on ketchup, boiled the tomatoes in their own juices, put them straight into the blender big mistake what I didn't wear went up the wall, over the blinds and all the other implements we have in the vicinity.
> With a burned arm asked my daughters to help me clean up, response,'Every man for himself'.


You need a thermo mix.


----------



## manticle (5/3/16)

Spog - sprouts face up.
Usually plant in winter, harvest in summer I believe but I've had success doing things topsy turvy and those cloves probably won't wait till winter.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/3/16)

Good deal at Masters, any 3 bags for $30.00 I got 2 / 50 litre bags of Debco Premium potting mix and a 20 kg bag of Dinofert organic fertiliser pellets. Good value.


----------



## Dave70 (4/4/16)

Tired of fighting weeds, pests and climate change I splashed out the princely some of $123 on a 2 x 3.5 e bay greenhouse. Plus it will hopefully let me grow through winter. 
The plants seem to love it, particular the leafy greens. The herbs on the left were hacked back to nothing a few weeks ago and have come back firing. Basil pesto anybody?
Once the novelty has worn off the kids sunflowers, I'll be pissing those off and transplanting some yellow peppers and spinach, kale and Roma toms. All heirloom stuff. 
You can see a piece of flypaper dangling from the roof thats already caught its share of bastard insects and moths. I also installed one of those misting kits hooked up to a timer set to fire every few hours to stop everything baking on those hot still days. 
Out of shot is a garden chair I sometimes like to drag in there on those hot days, recline with a tallie and relax in a pair of footy shorts under the mister. Doubles a fantastic ghetto sauna. 
Probably ferment a mean Sasion in there in a pinch..


----------



## fraser_john (4/4/16)

My jalepenos are particularly hot this year..... but man are they good cut in half, stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in streaky bacon and baked for half an hour.......

Pain is good....


----------



## Dave70 (4/4/16)

They _do_ look delicious. But oh, I would pay such a price..


----------



## fraser_john (4/4/16)

Dave70 said:


> They _do_ look delicious. But oh, I would pay such a price..


I have actually found a solution to this that works for me at least. After a meal of extra spicey food, a big dose of metamucil. For some odd reason it seems to reduce the after burn ---- flame on.


----------



## shaunous (5/4/16)

Dave70 said:


> Tired of fighting weeds, pests and climate change I splashed out the princely some of $123 on a 2 x 3.5 e bay greenhouse. Plus it will hopefully let me grow through winter.
> The plants seem to love it, particular the leafy greens. The herbs on the left were hacked back to nothing a few weeks ago and have come back firing. Basil pesto anybody?
> Once the novelty has worn off the kids sunflowers, I'll be pissing those off and transplanting some yellow peppers and spinach, kale and Roma toms. All heirloom stuff.
> You can see a piece of flypaper dangling from the roof thats already caught its share of bastard insects and moths. I also installed one of those misting kits hooked up to a timer set to fire every few hours to stop everything baking on those hot still days.
> ...


How would it fare in wind you think?

I really need to build one, but I have +1,000,000 other projects happening.

Also for the 2nd year running I didn't get a single sweet potato from my mass of runners, 3 years ago they were the size of Rugby balls.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/4/16)

I am facing the same situation I need a shade / greenhouse 3.5 meters long 2 meters wide, I too have been searching eBay but I think I will be building my own tried making small hoop cloches out of irrigation tube and covered with fleece, aphids found a way in to my cabbage but not my cauliflower. Found on eBay insect exclusion material (20% shade) which they assure me is aphid proof, my other dilemma is I am bringing 3 x 8 pot hydroponic set up out of retirement, they are 3 meters long, I can cut them in half but then I have to purchase the end caps which are $52 including shipping and 3 more auto pot valves and boxes which will be about $61 each so what I save by making a shorter shade / greenhouse I will spend on the pot system plus the headache of the extra pipe work which can be liable to blow and empty a 2000 litre tank. Also I would have to make 3 extra stands.


----------



## wynnum1 (5/4/16)

With those Polly tunnels PVC can react with the polyethylene greenhouse covering probably depend on the type used.
,


----------



## Dave70 (5/4/16)

shaunous said:


> *How would it fare in wind you think?*
> 
> I really need to build one, but I have +1,000,000 other projects happening.
> 
> Also for the 2nd year running I didn't get a single sweet potato from my mass of runners, 3 years ago they were the size of Rugby balls.



There are flaps running the length of three bottom sides that I've got about 60kg of 8 x 2 inch boards sitting on, seen one storm out so far. But its not exactly a bomb shelter.




wide eyed and legless said:


> I am facing the same situation I need a shade / greenhouse 3.5 meters long 2 meters wide, I too have been searching eBay but I think I will be building my own tried making small hoop cloches out of irrigation tube and covered with fleece, aphids found a way in to my cabbage but not my cauliflower. Found on eBay insect exclusion material (20% shade) which they assure me is aphid proof, my other dilemma is I am bringing 3 x 8 pot hydroponic set up out of retirement, they are 3 meters long, I can cut them in half but then I have to purchase the end caps which are $52 including shipping and 3 more auto pot valves and boxes which will be about $61 each so what I save by making a shorter shade / greenhouse I will spend on the pot system plus the headache of the extra pipe work which can be liable to blow and empty a 2000 litre tank. Also I would have to make 3 extra stands.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Be sure to read the fine print. Some are 'not designed as permanent', or words to that effect. I went with the PE mesh cover over the plain clear PVC because its more durable and less of an eyesore.


----------



## spog (5/4/16)

I'm going to convert a failed vegie patch into a shade house . 3.0 x2.0 . The patch turned out to be unproductive due to elevated position on reclaimed soil so the drainage was maximised and the plants suffered from a lack of water .
I rang the ABC radio gardening show and asked about the best way to do it and was told to go for a light shade cloth to allow for maximum UV but leave one end open to allow bees etc in to pollinate ,otherwise the vegies won't grow.
Ahh shit I thought to my self ,I have some sheets of polycarbonate and wanted to use them in the build but was told not to as they have a UV barrier in them and so using them would render the shade house as useless as the existing patch.
Hmm I might put a few sheets on the north facing walls to protect from the summer northerly's ,and a couple on the west/ south side to protect from the harsh winter winds seeing as the majority of the sunshine comes from above I reckon I'll be good to go.
It's a lot like home brewing really,experiment on a budget and go with works for you.
FFS I've just answered my own question


----------



## wynnum1 (6/4/16)

spog said:


> I'm going to convert a failed vegie patch into a shade house . 3.0 x2.0 . The patch turned out to be unproductive due to elevated position on reclaimed soil so the drainage was maximised and the plants suffered from a lack of water .
> I rang the ABC radio gardening show and asked about the best way to do it and was told to go for a light shade cloth to allow for maximum UV but leave one end open to allow bees etc in to pollinate ,otherwise the vegies won't grow.
> Ahh shit I thought to my self ,I have some sheets of polycarbonate and wanted to use them in the build but was told not to as they have a UV barrier in them and so using them would render the shade house as useless as the existing patch.
> Hmm I might put a few sheets on the north facing walls to protect from the summer northerly's ,and a couple on the west/ south side to protect from the harsh winter winds seeing as the majority of the sunshine comes from above I reckon I'll be good to go.
> ...


What temperatures do you get in summer and winter the shade cloth would be good in summer but _poly_-_tunnel_ plastic _film_ probably better in winter automatic watering system may be worth building.


----------



## spog (6/4/16)

wynnum1 said:


> What temperatures do you get in summer and winter the shade cloth would be good in summer but _poly_-_tunnel_ plastic _film_ probably better in winter automatic watering system may be worth building.


Summer temps here can get very high and the shade house will be in full sun from 9:00am until sunset.
But if I build using poly tunnel I could use shade cloth as screening for the hot days so that would fix that problem.
And the poly would be better for winter protection as we can get some rough south/ south westerlies blowing in during winter,a cold day here would be 12 degrees ,hmm must look into it in more detail.
Auto watering is in the patch now so that would only need to be raised to be used.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/4/16)

spog said:


> I'm going to convert a failed vegie patch into a shade house . 3.0 x2.0 . The patch turned out to be unproductive due to elevated position on reclaimed soil so the drainage was maximised and the plants suffered from a lack of water .
> I rang the ABC radio gardening show and asked about the best way to do it and was told to go for a light shade cloth to allow for maximum UV but leave one end open to allow bees etc in to pollinate ,otherwise the vegies won't grow.
> Ahh shit I thought to my self ,I have some sheets of polycarbonate and wanted to use them in the build but was told not to as they have a UV barrier in them and so using them would render the shade house as useless as the existing patch.
> Hmm I might put a few sheets on the north facing walls to protect from the summer northerly's ,and a couple on the west/ south side to protect from the harsh winter winds seeing as the majority of the sunshine comes from above I reckon I'll be good to go.
> ...


There is no problem with poly-carbonate roofing spog I have two green houses which are made of poly-carbonate as for letting the insects in,if you are going to grow cucumber get an F1 variety which doesn't need pollinating, with tomatoes you just go around with an old electric toothbrush when the flowers are out give them a bit of vibration and they will think they have been pollinated.
I personally now will be going all F1 in the tomato range they produce more and are more resistant to disease, make it so you can throw a shade cloth over the top for the hot summer days,(I have one on the inside which rolls down like a blind)
The one I have eventually settled on 3,400 mm x 2,000mm approx 2,500 mm high woven film roof insect exclusion net all around.


----------



## Dave70 (6/4/16)

spog said:


> I'm going to convert a failed vegie patch into a shade house . 3.0 x2.0 . The patch turned out to be unproductive due to elevated position on reclaimed soil so the drainage was maximised and the plants suffered from a lack of water .
> I rang the ABC radio gardening show and asked about the best way to do it and was told to go for a light shade cloth to allow for maximum UV but leave one end open to allow bees etc in to pollinate ,otherwise the vegies won't grow.
> Ahh shit I thought to my self ,I have some sheets of polycarbonate and wanted to use them in the build but was told not to as they have a UV barrier in them and so using them would render the shade house as useless as the existing patch.
> Hmm I might put a few sheets on the north facing walls to protect from the summer northerly's ,and a couple on the west/ south side to protect from the harsh winter winds seeing as the majority of the sunshine comes from above I reckon I'll be good to go.
> ...


Plants utilize bugger all UV light for photosynthesis. Use up your polly.


----------



## wynnum1 (7/4/16)

Old electric toothbrush to pollinate can you put that sound on a mobile phone .


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/4/16)

Well actually the tooth brush I use is a wind up, I doubt they would have that noise in the mobile phone sound library.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (8/4/16)

A good buy for anyone wanting to get into Hydro, like finding a 20 litre Braumeister at the same price.
Excellent value.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/Autopot-Hydroponics-Ket/301915614355?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&_trksid=p5197.c100068.m2280&_trkparms=ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140211130857%26meid%3Dc69b960a38584fc5a0efdea6cf5f75ca%26pid%3D100068%26clkid%3D4552462167281314752&_qi=RTM2003803


----------



## Dave70 (8/4/16)

I half expected to to find a bunch of hps lamps and Mylar reflectors under the 'see other items' tab..


----------



## wide eyed and legless (8/4/16)

When I was selling the float valves some years ago, eBay used to declare on the sales the buyers recent purchases, one could easily build up a profile of what they were growing when on their lists it was, nutrients, bloom, grow lights and miniature pocket scales.


----------



## spog (8/4/16)

wynnum1 said:


> Old electric toothbrush to pollinate can you put that sound on a mobile phone .


I was thinking about this today,now I'm keen on building a shade/ greenhouse but I'm worried my missus might hear me saying yeah baby which is accompanied with a buzzing sound.



Yeah it's Friday and I've had a few.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/4/16)

This is what my wife spotted in the green house, got dragged over the coals because the widow over the road often comes in and helps herself to vegies.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (9/4/16)

Are you lubing your vegies first now ?


----------



## spog (9/4/16)

Found this one online . 2.0 x3.0 x1.8 high for this price I couldn't build one.




Hydroponics sounds interesting too,I've got some lengths of 100mm sewer pipe and a little brown pump I no longer use for brewing and a spare electronic garden timer....shit I'm half way there already .


A better picture.


----------



## Dave70 (9/4/16)

Get the one with the flaps in the side sprog. When I said I they make a fine ghetto sauna I wasn't joking. Came home from work one arvo after a 30 deg day and it was ******* wilt city in there.


----------



## spog (9/4/16)

Hmm,the flaps on the side doesn't suit the planned position ( erection) the frontal entry would suit me best as it is a well beaten path to the planned greenhouse and easy entry with no obstacles.
Ideally I would prefer a sliding door of sorts so I could simply flick the door aside and get busy with my windup toothbrush and commence to pollinate.
.


----------



## Dave70 (9/4/16)

Just so long as you can get some ventilation happening.

How are you positioned for rear access in regard to your erection?


----------



## spog (9/4/16)

Dave70 said:


> Just so long as you can get some ventilation happening.
> 
> How are you positioned for rear access in regard to your erection?


I reckon WEAL might be able to help if his better half hasn't ditched the item pictured in post # 551


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (9/4/16)

Just wondering if the rear of the green house backs onto a sewer vent...


----------



## spog (9/4/16)

The mains actually,and I'm not joking.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (10/4/16)

I was trawling through the green/shade houses spog, my door had to be built on the side, the other reason is though those are cheap enough to buy if it is something which is going to be long term (hopefully in my case) I would like to be sure that the metal frame was galvanised before being powder coated.
My costs including the metal delivery exclusion netting and roof film is $357, the four corner posts of 50 x 50mm x 1.6g I already had the steel I ordered for the rest is 25 x 25mm x 1.6g apart from the roofing tubing which is 1.2g and round so I can make a long radius bend.
You and Dave may find you will need a fan inside in the height of summer working off a thermostat, just to keep the temp down.

The personal lubricant worked out ok with my wife I had actually bought it for fishing, I explained that I was smearing it on my grommets in the hydro set up.


----------



## spog (10/4/16)

Hmm decisions decisions.
If I built it I could then fix shelving too to supports no worries and I could add a sliding or hinged door, but if I buy one similar to the pics above I would have to use free standing shelves and go with a roll up door or flaps.
A couple of pics of where it will go.



Ideally entry would be from the 2.0 metre wide end which is the southern face which would give more room for a door to latched in the open position on hot days ?


I'm thinking a salvaged ally screen door would do the trick and have some plastic panels to clip on the inside of the door during winter to stop the cold wind blowing in.

The gum tree branches hanging over are going,the whole tree is going to cut right back as its riddled with borers and most of it is over my shed.
We had a bigger one in the front yard but it went because of borers and it dropped two bloody big branches that narrowly missed the house.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/4/16)

You should do alright there spog you do get some shade,I cobbled up an adjustable stand for my pots to go into the right hand side of the green/shade house, temporary hold on the build though, no, not Orange Bellied Parrots, Raspberries, so the wife said no until she has had her fill of them, I actually may move them into pots, their root system are like hops, all over the place like a mad woman's shit.


----------



## spog (11/4/16)

I'm going to miss the tree when I drop it,while gardening etc I've been watched by Kookaburras and when it was in flower Honeyeaters and Rainbow Lorikeets ? And of course Bees.
I'm thinking now of lopping the threatening limbs and hope it re grows....
In pic # 1 are the pots mounted in cable ducting ? I've had a look online for basic hydroponics and this interests me.
I can get quite a lot of 75 mm storm water pipe off cuts from work and flare and join them as needed to go with the sewer pipe I now have,the 3 level staggered set up you posted would fit very neatly into the 3.0 x2.0 sized greenhouse that I'm going to now build.
I did some research over the weekend and have decided to build one as the cheapy offerings have a limited life span for the covering and it'd be a pita to worry about.
Got 6 iron roofs happening at work ATM so plenty of materials to be had, using the pics I posted I'm going to clad the side closest to the rainwater tank with iron as it gets SFA light etc, the end from where the 2 Nd pic was taken being the southern end will be done the same but also have the door in it.
I haven't yet figure the 2 other walls but I have enough? Polycarbonate sheets for the roof , 2 each side of a pitched roof with one sheet of iron on each side at the southern end to make up the roof area...etc,etc.
Being in the building industry is a huge benefit and the Boss loves it when people raid the junk heap as it saves him money on dump fees,win,win.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/4/16)

The pots I have in the pic spog are in NFT Channel/gully/trough it is about 450 mm wide, I made a fly cutter ( the cover has not got any holes when purchased) to cut the holes for 200 mm pots big enough for tomatoes. If you want to play around with hydroponics the cheapest way is some 4" plastic down pipe drill out at 90 mm and use 4" pots you can grow peas, Boc Choy, lettuce strawberries and any other smaller plants.
Set up a gravity feed (if you have any old 30 litre containers,ideal) I have some 6mm float valves you can have if you want, go on line and look up systems for gravity feed, the ideal way is a smart valve, but have a play around first.
I am trying coir blocks with some peas at the moment, and rice hulls with some tomatoes though I do keep getting rice popping up, so much for the parboiled rice hulls we are supposed to have over here.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/4/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> A good buy for anyone wanting to get into Hydro, like finding a 20 litre Braumeister at the same price.
> Excellent value.
> http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/Autopot-Hydroponics-Ket/301915614355?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&_trksid=p5197.c100068.m2280&_trkparms=ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140211130857%26meid%3Dc69b960a38584fc5a0efdea6cf5f75ca%26pid%3D100068%26clkid%3D4552462167281314752&_qi=RTM2003803


This guy has dropped the price by a Spot! One good plant and it will pay for itself plus a few years worth of nutrients,medium and a couple of dozen slabs.


----------



## Camo6 (13/4/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> This guy has dropped the price by a Spot! One good plant and it will pay for itself plus a few years worth of nutrients,medium and a couple of dozen slabs.


Preposterous. I'd have to sell my tomatoes at hundreds of dollars a pound to see that sort of return.


----------



## spog (13/4/16)

Camo6 said:


> Preposterous. I'd have to sell my tomatoes at hundreds of dollars a pound to see that sort of return.





wide eyed and legless said:


> This guy has dropped the price by a Spot! One good plant and it will pay for itself plus a few years worth of nutrients,medium and a couple of dozen slabs.


I'm silly enough as it is without having to grow " one good plant ", and SHWBO would rip my Knackers off with pliers.


----------



## Camo6 (13/4/16)

spog said:


> I'm silly enough as it is without having to grow " one good plant ", and SHWBO would rip my Knackers off with pliers.


I had a mate who was sponsored to grow several good plants but, due to a lacksical approach to light cycles, nearly had his ripped off by his bearded, hairy, tattooed sponsor. Not for Profit organisations were more my thing back in the day.


----------



## spog (13/4/16)

I think there's a message for is all, stay away from bearded,hairy,tattooed individuals and their husbands...simply not worth the grief.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/4/16)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSOcG-iWi4w


----------



## Curly79 (15/4/16)

I like the solar drop feeders. Great idea.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/4/16)

It would have been even better if he had installed a storm water pit and gully's either side of his hoop house to catch the water to fill those tubs.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/4/16)

Started my build yesterday, completely forgot what manual labour is all about, removed all the raspberry canes installed foundations and concreted in, today installed corner posts and some frame work, hands blistered and rough ( well rough according to the wife) high temps for autumn, not liking this welding gal up a ladder burns all over me.


----------



## spog (19/4/16)

If only Ikea sold greenhouses.


----------



## manticle (19/4/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> ... not liking this welding gal up a ladder burns all over me.


A chick who welds or you welding galvanised?


----------



## malt and barley blues (20/4/16)

As a youngster one of my errands was to go and buy the paraffin for our little Vulcan stove, I used to get threepence to spend and I always bought a packet of Tiger Nuts. I was thinking of these recently and decided to see if they were available here, they are but now they have been upgraded to the latest super food the cheapest I could find in Australia are $67 a packet.
Can we grow them is my question.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3178049/Tiger-nuts-grr-eat-Popular-1950s-treat-make-comeback-superfood-high-iron-vitamin-content.html


----------



## Dave70 (20/4/16)

malt & barley blues said:


> As a youngster one of my errands was to go and buy the paraffin for our little Vulcan stove, I used to get threepence to spend and I always bought a packet of Tiger Nuts. I was thinking of these recently and decided to see if they were available here, they are but now they have been upgraded to the latest super food the cheapest I could find in Australia are $67 a packet.
> Can we grow them is my question.
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3178049/Tiger-nuts-grr-eat-Popular-1950s-treat-make-comeback-superfood-high-iron-vitamin-content.html


Here you go. I hope you make a killing. And I'm sure you will. $67 a packet? People are morons. Truly.

https://fairdinkumseeds.com/products-page/edible-roots-and-tuberous-vegies/chufa-tiger-nut-earth-almonds-cyperus-esculentus-roots-tubers-seeds/

Gogi.
Wheatgrass juice.
Acai berries.
Quinoa
Organic..


----------



## Mardoo (20/4/16)

Wow, those sound awesome! 

My SIL jumps on every food trend. I'll drop this one in front of her for my own amusement.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/4/16)

Most of my construction work is done made up the LRB's for the roof they will go up tomorrow, they will be in line, then the next hardest part will be putting up the film cover. Changed my door from the side to the front and it will be a sliding door the rollers are a bit of overkill considering they will be holding the weight of a door no heavier than a wrung out sock. (I was going to use these rollers for a flying fox for my daughters but my wife said it would be to dangerous)
Made the jig for the bends by bending some 25mm x 6mm flat around a water tank then fixing it to the frame of the greenhouse/ shade house. Starting Monday morning until today.


----------



## Bribie G (20/4/16)

Tiger nuts... the last ones I had were in about 1965 in high school and I'd completely forgotten about them.

Then as soon as I read the post, suddenly I could taste them exactly and I started drooling. Sweet, nutty, milky... but I doubt if my teeth could handle them nowadays.

While we are on the subject ... liquorice root. Now we're talking.


----------



## malt and barley blues (20/4/16)

They were extremely delicious and very milky, why did they disappear? They are used for carp bait now in the UK.
The chewing wood we used to know the liquorice root as either 2 or 4 for a penny, that was back in the 50's and I have just remembered the paraffin heater we had was a Valour. Cause of many a fire when they got knocked over.


----------



## spog (20/4/16)

Dave70 said:


> Here you go. I hope you make a killing. And I'm sure you will. $67 a packet? People are morons. Truly.
> 
> https://fairdinkumseeds.com/products-page/edible-roots-and-tuberous-vegies/chufa-tiger-nut-earth-almonds-cyperus-esculentus-roots-tubers-seeds/
> 
> ...


Not to mention the nut less Tiger,jeez it'd sound like a week old kitten...before it ripped you to pieces.


----------



## Dave70 (21/4/16)

Bribie G said:


> Tiger nuts... the last ones I had were in about 1965 in high school and I'd completely forgotten about them.
> 
> Then as soon as I read the post, suddenly I could taste them exactly and I started drooling. Sweet, nutty, milky... but I doubt if my teeth could handle them nowadays.
> 
> While we are on the subject ... liquorice root. Now we're talking.


You sure are, as it to is a superfood capable of curing what ails you. 
Its anti depressant properties may prove helpful in combating the buyers remorse induced depression brought on by paying $65 for a bag of tiger nuts.

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-licorice-root.html


----------



## manticle (21/4/16)

Useful for baldness?

In what way exactly? Can I shave with it?


----------



## spog (21/4/16)

manticle said:


> Useful for baldness?
> 
> In what way exactly? Can I shave with it?


Could make a few bob curing baldness by selling it to council/ highway staff ( i almost typed workers) who stand around all day scratching their knackers while wondering what to do.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/4/16)

I don't know how the purveyors of some goods claim that their product will boost the immune system, I recently read a report from a Harvard Research paper into what foods can boost ones immune system, the answer in short was they had NFI.
As for iron in foods I think we are probably getting to much, researchers have found that processed foods have been over fortified with iron far more than what may be claimed on the packet.


----------



## Dave70 (22/4/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> *I don't know how the purveyors of some goods claim that their product will boost the immune system,* I recently read a report from a Harvard Research paper into what foods can boost ones immune system, the answer in short was they had NFI.
> As for iron in foods I think we are probably getting to much, researchers have found that processed foods have been over fortified with iron far more than what may be claimed on the packet.


Which is why they dont. In the vein of 'Support a healthy immune system' is what they claim (after numerous companys got smacked around in the courts. About as revolutionary as claiming that breathing 'supports healthy lung function' or 'shitting 'supports healthy bowel function'. An over active immune system basically equals autoimmune disease. 
If you happen to be a pregnant vegan who hates greens, then yes, you may need to supplement iron.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (22/4/16)

Dave70 said:


> You sure are, as it to is a superfood capable of curing what ails you.
> Its anti depressant properties may prove helpful in combating the buyers remorse induced depression


Yes, that is Stout for you....


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/4/16)

Well greens do supply some of the daily iron intake, non-haem iron is harder to absorb by the body, spinach for instance if eaten raw you would be lucky to get any iron out of it, drinking tea or coffee within an hour of eating decreases iron absorption, oranges kiwi fruit, tomatoes, carrots even alcohol increases iron absorption.
Another interesting fact 18 pints of Guinness has the same amount of iron as 1 pint of orange juice.
Best way to get your iron is with red meat, poultry and fish.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (22/4/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Another interesting fact 18 pints of Guinness has the same amount of iron as 1 pint of orange juice.
> .


Some would say that 18 pints of Guinness is better than 1 pint of Orange juice


----------



## Dave70 (22/4/16)

Probably safer to skip the OJ and just wash a roast dinner down with a few pints of Guinness then. For the health benefits.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (22/4/16)

You dont even need the roast dinner part


----------



## shaunous (22/4/16)

spog said:


> Could make a few bob curing baldness by selling it to council/ highway staff ( i almost typed workers) who stand around all day scratching their knackers while wondering what to do.



Settle down Spog, don't taint all us Council Workers with the same brush. Some of us have a go, mainly at spending the week organising your weekend and RDO's, but its something.


----------



## Dave70 (22/4/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> You dont even need the roast dinner part


Good point. All that saturated fat such.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (22/4/16)




----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/4/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Some would say that 18 pints of Guinness is better than 1 pint of Orange juice


Hear Hear. (proper Guinness of course)


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/5/16)

Having finished my build just a bit of tidying up to do, I am a bit concerned about the plastic film roofing, in hind sight wish I had gone with poly-carbonate, I too have a couple of sheets lying around but went with the film, my confidence is being tested today with the gale force winds we have but with the poly I would not be going outside every hour to see if the roof is still there.


----------



## Camo6 (3/5/16)

Nice job WEAL. If it survives today it'll outlive cockroaches. Is that split poly pipe holding the ends?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (3/5/16)

Is that a kit thing that you buy or did you design it


----------



## spog (3/5/16)

Weal, I decided to go with polycarbonate roofing for the planned build of mine as I Googled the plastic film for the roof and walls and wasn't satisfied with the strength/ longevity of what was on offer.
Hope all goes well with the weather against your build,I drove back from Adelaide today with a fully loaded ute and a big furniture trailer hanging of its arse, fck me what a trip,horizontal rain ,howling wind,caravans,B double grain trucks and my BT 50's fuel guage dropping quicker than a brides knickers....


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/5/16)

Roof stayed on, never doubted it B) , spot on Camo a piece of poly-pipe 25mm but covering some saddles made from gas tight gas pipe from Bunnings the split 25mm pipe would not hold the ends of the roof.
Stu I did design the shade/green house but as with most designs there are things I would have done differently after the finished build is scrutinised. Position of door, the overlap at the end of the roof,and if I built it again I would use wiggle wire to tension the roof.
On the English web sites I have seen 3 men sitting on the finished roof, I wouldn't be confident to do that even on my own, I wouldn't be surprised if the quality of the plastic was different over there after following Paul Hollywood's advice and using cling film for blind baking, doesn't melt, yeah right.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/5/16)

Build finished and stocking the green/shade house, surprising how hot it gets in there considering the top half of the sides is mesh, found the build challenging and very therapeutic, amazing the accuracy achieved without a dumpy level and just using a tape and a couple of spirit levels, only 3mm out across the diagonals. 
Before and after pics.
attachment=88649:IMG_0421.jpg]


----------



## shaunous (17/5/16)

Looks good WEAL


----------



## Dave70 (18/5/16)

My green house is almost redundant where I am, but it _does_ save the the plants from the scorching HEAT of May.. So far not a day under 20 deg this month and **** all rain to boot.
Its bullshit. 

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/IDCJDW2119.latest.shtml


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/5/16)

Our weather in Victoria has been pretty similar dry and warm I held back planting the garlic until we had a good dump of rain a week or so ago, I thought we would be getting more, but we haven't been out watering every couple of days, can't believe it is less than 2 weeks before winter.


----------



## manticle (19/5/16)

We've taken all the rain down here.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (19/5/16)

manticle said:


> We've taken all the tain down here.


You making mirrors down there...?

*tain*. (teɪn) n. (Metallurgy) tinfoil used in backing mirrors. [from French, from étain tin, from Old French estain, from Latin stagnum alloy of silver and lead; see stannum]


----------



## manticle (19/5/16)

Evidently I've taken my fat fingers.


----------



## Bribie G (20/5/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Our weather in Victoria has been pretty similar dry and warm I held back planting the garlic until we had a good dump of rain a week or so ago, I thought we would be getting more, but we haven't been out watering every couple of days, can't believe it is less than 2 weeks before winter.


I planted a kilo (30 pieces) of giant Russian Garlic at the end of March, it's only just started to pop up since the nights have dropped to below 15. Bloody weird.

Hey with sweet potatoes / kumara, do you only get one group of tubers with each plant?
I planted just one - a pot from Bunnings, not a slip from a bought tuber, and it's spread right over an 8 x 3 metre patch. I've had some nice tubers out of the central "crown". Do the vines put down roots to develop new crowns at various points with new collections of tubers, or does the sap just go back to feed the central plant?
Are they perennial or do they die back like Chokos over the winter?

I'm in the subtropical area of Northern NSW.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/5/16)

shaunous is the man to answer that one Bribie, my success with Sweet Potato is limited, you will get tubers forming under the spreading foliage, and eat the leaves also.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2664/2


----------



## wynnum1 (21/5/16)

Sweet potatoes best to plant out in raised mounds with many plants when the one plant covers the 8 x 3 metre patch you end up with a lot of small Sweet potatoes as the new roots take energy from the original plant .Plant out in rows over the 8 x 3 metre patch and will get Sweet potatoes from each slip planted.
Look up _Mittleider_ gardening method where planted in sand and sawdust raised beds and apply weekly fertiliser and water daily.


----------



## Bribie G (16/6/16)

Giant Russian Garlic, planted last week of March then nothing. Since the cold weather coming in a few weeks ago and five inches of rain in the old money: popping up like triffids.

Hello, welcome little plants, so nice to see you, and where the **** have you been? B) bloody millennials, think the world owes them a living.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/6/16)

Got back from holiday to find my garlic doing well as is the leeks and the first lot of beetroot, ready for pickling, trying the broad beans again this year they are showing, they are a Pommie hybrid to be eaten as runner beans (if picked young).


----------



## Bribie G (16/6/16)

Immature broad beans in cheese sauce was a favourite when I lived in the Old Dart.

Might give them a go as well, would they grow in half sun?


----------



## manticle (16/6/16)

My garlic and russian both happy.
Planted the russian in spring from memory (just cos), normal garlic in sensibly cooler weather.


----------



## wynnum1 (17/6/16)

Bribie G said:


> Immature broad beans in cheese sauce was a favourite when I lived in the Old Dart.
> 
> Might give them a go as well, would they grow in half sun?


Grew in half sun and they did produce some beans but had problems with disease .Where are you going to get seed from as i got small packet and contained very few seeds and looking on internet they are selling kilogram for $10 kilogram but i think when grown succesfully could save seed .Do you think organic seeds could be planted.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/7/16)

Bribie G said:


> Immature broad beans in cheese sauce was a favourite when I lived in the Old Dart.
> 
> Might give them a go as well, would they grow in half sun?


My Broad beans are not in full sun Bribie almost all shade, growing, but albeit rather slowly.


----------



## manticle (3/7/16)

Been neglecting my patch a bit due to weather and other factors.

Got in today, planted more carrots and beetroot, pulled out a shit ton of weeds, gave it all some water.

Feels good.


----------



## shaunous (3/7/16)

Harvested about 5kg or raw peanuts. Now roasted and taste amazing. Amungst all my other plantings these were my highlight.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (3/7/16)

shaunous said:


> Harvested about 5kg or raw peanuts. Now roasted and taste amazing. Amungst all my other plantings these were my highlight.


I am guessing your still at the same address


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/7/16)

Also had heavy weed infestation, removed and applied mulch to keep weeds down, planted today, Violent Sicilian Cauliflower, January King Savoy cabbage, next crop of Woden beetroot seedlings, Dwarf Curly Kale, Red Choi and lettuce.
Beetroot in foreground of the garlic ready to harvest when I get some malt vinegar.
Not happy with the seeds ordered off eBay UK, come nicely packaged but due to the lack of success of the germination rate of those which I have planted I believe they are a mix of old and new seeds.

Strawberry plants (from seed frozen in freezer for three weeks) now showing, looking like a 100% success rate, the strawberry is called Temptaion believe it is from Fothergills range.

My shade/ greenhouse 6 weeks after the first photo, Chinese, red and savoy cabbages coming along nicely, also the cauliflower, Bok Choi and Shiraz Mangetout peas on the left now flowering.


----------



## spog (3/7/16)

Weal are you all hydro in the greenhouse ?
I did some research on bulk buying ingredients to save money on the various stages of growth but it wasn't viable in Lincoln.
I was told that Mitre 10 is going through the steps to be a hydro supplier so it may work if they can do bulk.
Do you make your own or buy ready made fertilerzer.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/7/16)

Everything in the greenhouses is Hydroponic, it isn't a fertilizer as such spog it is nutrients, no chemicals, just nutrients. I buy mine in bulk, when I say bulk 5 kg of part A and 5 kg of part B 200 gram of each mixed with one litre of water each and then 500 ml of each mixed with 9 litres of water so ending up with a 10 litre batch of nutrient which is then fed into the water supply via a venturi system if using a pump. Depending on how many pots in a system say a dozen the nutrient will last for a couple of years and it is around the $100 mark, as for the growing medium almost anything will do, as long as it will not upset the pH as wood chips would, I tried the rice hulls and they worked fine but I tried the coir blocks from Bunnings and the plants died. I have read of growers using sand,coarse grit even textile waste in places where the clothing sweat shops are. 
If using a gravity feed then using the smart valves is the way to go, the plant will only drink when it needs too.


----------



## shaunous (3/7/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> I am guessing your still at the same address


You know it 

Want any pink sweet potato???


----------



## shaunous (3/7/16)

Your hydro-hothouse looks the goods WEAL, I wish i had the time now to do that set-up.

My mate who does hydro everything  , won best tomatoes in the Sydney Royal Easter Show 2 years ago, maybe 3. Anyway he uses sawdust as a medium.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/7/16)

Not surprised he won a prize for his toms, you get really good tomatoes from hydro, you can from soil grown but it takes a lot more care and work, looking forward to this coming years tomato growing, next month I will be sowing sweet pepper seeds probably some more chili, I am not brave enough to carry on growing the Carolina reaper plants I have will give them away when they are bigger.
Growing Hydro everything  is not worth the risk, ok for a single bloke but its a prison term if your caught, police think there is some sort of magic ingredient giving the plants more potency but it is only a healthy plant being fed the right nutrient.


----------



## wynnum1 (4/7/16)

If you are going to grow probably best not to diy electricity system there was a news report from US marijuana grow blows transformer, causes grass fire.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/7/16)

Just been reading a review of Rocket Wasabi, (Thompson & Morgan seeds) apparently tastes very much like Wasabi but without the 2 year wait to harvest the root, google search found a supplier in Tasmania, Green Seeds Tasmania for anyone who is interested.


----------



## manticle (11/7/16)

Will check out green seeds. Always looking for new seed suppliers.

Cheers.


----------



## manticle (11/7/16)

Just had a look at greenseedtas.com.au. Spring planting, here I come. Delicious.


----------



## Dave70 (11/7/16)

I'm spewing. Not one of my heirloom toms has borne fruit. I suspect the heat may have been to much of a good thing and made the pollen a bit sticky. I've read heirloom varieties can be fickle. I even tried the old electric toothbrush thing on the flowers. 
My dreams of passata self sufficiency are being crushed..


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/7/16)

Your suspicions are well founded Dave, heat is the most likely culprit, plays havoc with bean flowers as well, start the tomatoes off early then another crop for later in the season doesn't make any difference whether heirloom or F1's.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (11/7/16)

Dave70 said:


> My dreams of passata self sufficiency are being crushed..


I see what you did there.....


----------



## wynnum1 (11/7/16)

How deep do you plant the tomatoes i see that they can be planted deep but have never tried.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/7/16)

Plant above the first 2 stems from the bottom, they will then turn into extra roots, plant in the ground when the first flowers appear and until that time give them tough love to force them to flower, after that TLC.


----------



## shaunous (11/7/16)

F#@k tomatoes. So much effort goes into them. I gave up after the 3rd year of little to no produce.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/7/16)

shaunous said:


> F#@k tomatoes. So much effort goes into them. I gave up after the 3rd year of little to no produce.


Go hydro, tomatoes take so much time and effort otherwise.


----------



## shaunous (11/7/16)

I do have plans to do as u have WEAL. Im just in the middle of being busy as fock. Ill get there.


----------



## Dave70 (12/7/16)

shaunous said:


> F#@k tomatoes.


Thats the spirit! 

Ironically though, the very reason I went to the trouble in the first place was I had the pricks springing up everywhere a year or so back. In the compost, between rows of other vegetables etc. So I thought this tomato thing is as easy as pissing on your hand, but as soon as I did it 'right' - nada - its like they're mocking me. I'm moving them out of their comfortable greenhouse digs this weekend into the open. We'll see whose boss.


----------



## spog (12/7/16)

Wild windy weather can piss off ! My caulis and broccoli seedlings got a flogging with the wind, bits broken off ....not happy.
So many jobs to sort before I can build the greenhouse .


----------



## citizensnips (12/7/16)

Tomatoes are hard you say? They're sold at supermarkets with lettuce because anyone in the right climate can throw them in the ground and as long as you water them, you'll have a decent harvest.
Snapping of stems is common from fruit but I recommend pinning them behind wire up against a wall/shed, works a treat for me, Last season ours got about 8 ft tall. BTW these were not supermarket suped up varities, these were all grown from seed from diggers. 

Cheers


----------



## shaunous (12/7/16)

Mine were diggers seeds. Ill stick with the simple and easy cherry tomato that pops up anywhere. After i build a shelter ill try again with the fancy big red ones.


----------



## manticle (12/7/16)

Might depend on what you're after. I had a blend of commercial and supermarket seeds pretty much thrown in the ground and regularly watered.
Got plenty of toms. Not enough for litres of passata but never expected it. Plenty for general eating along with zucchini, carrot, corn, pumpkin, beans, spinach, silverbeet, bok choi, beetroot, rocket, lettuce, radish, broccoli, potato and a whole bunch of other fruit, veg and herbs.

Diversity puts food on the plate.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (12/7/16)

I had a prick of a year for toms

Planted 5 Black Bussians and 6 Roma

Got fruit but it was all over the place. I blame the season. We had a very dry summer and everything went to ground

Got some nice Romas, but never enough at the same time to do anything with and had to wait to long for the next ripening

******* tomatoes...you either get shit loads....or **** all or never enough


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/7/16)

Stagger the growing for all season picking, or the difference in maturing, nothing worse than having them all producing fruit at the same time.


----------



## Dave70 (13/7/16)

manticle said:


> Diversity puts food on the plate.


----------



## manticle (13/7/16)

No dimmies on that plate


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (13/7/16)

or kebabs


----------



## Airgead (13/7/16)

Talking about tomatoes... Do you guys net to protect against fruit fly? Those of you who aren't growing n greenhouses anyway. And if so, how does that impact pollination? I'm sick of the fruit fly but don't fancy hand pollination either. 

Cheers
Dave


----------



## sp0rk (13/7/16)

Stu, did you manage to get any chilli seeds harvested and dried this year?
Not sure if the ones you gave me a few years ago are still viable, I'm keen to grow up another big chilli garden down here


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/7/16)

Airgead said:


> Talking about tomatoes... Do you guys net to protect against fruit fly? Those of you who aren't growing n greenhouses anyway. And if so, how does that impact pollination? I'm sick of the fruit fly but don't fancy hand pollination either.
> 
> Cheers
> Dave


You just have to give them a shake when they are in flower so the pollen drops off, tooth brush is OK if they are not under a net.
Though I do think plants do have some degree of being conscious of their environment I doubt whether when being touched up by an electric toothbrush makes them think it is a bee.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (13/7/16)

sp0rk said:


> Stu, did you manage to get any chilli seeds harvested and dried this year?
> Not sure if the ones you gave me a few years ago are still viable, I'm keen to grow up another big chilli garden down here


Nah...been a bit slack...

But at the back of the pub there will be 5 gazzillion Tabasco and Lemon Aji pods/plant/seeds from when i planted a single one of each there about 3 years ago ( seeds from The Hippy Seed Co )

I have them growing in the back yard wild so will see what pops up. Still got a 4 yr old Orange Scorpian still going 

I can always get seeds back from mates I have given seed to if I need some to share around B)


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (13/7/16)

Actually..

Does anyone want some Mexican D'bol Blood chilli. They dry really well. The dried pods go like red cellophane and you can shake the seeds inside them

I have about 12 dried pods with heaps of seeds.

Free to good home..etc..etc...


----------



## Airgead (13/7/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Actually..
> 
> Does anyone want some Mexican D'bol Blood chilli. They dry really well. The dried pods go like red cellophane and you can shake the seeds inside them
> 
> ...


Ooohh ohhhh... Pick me! Pick me! 

Pm sent


----------



## manticle (13/7/16)

Yes please.
Got a few good plants started last summer. Most surviving tas winter so I know stuff grows in my soil. Very little fruit first season but I'm expecting big hot things this summer.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (14/7/16)

Send me your address and I will post them


----------



## Dave70 (14/7/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Actually..
> 
> Does anyone want some *Mexican D'bol *Blood chilli. They dry really well. The dried pods go like red cellophane and you can shake the seeds inside them
> 
> ...



You had me going there for second..


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (14/7/16)

Dave70 said:


> You had me going there for second..


I will see what deal I can get


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/7/16)

Loperamide?


----------



## sp0rk (14/7/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> I will see what deal I can get


Old mate ex-copper in Coffs who got done a few years ago for tipping off roid dealers to raids and selling a little on the side himself around Coffs and Grafton could probably get you some...
Funnily enough he now owns a gym...


----------



## spog (14/7/16)

Weal, how have you setup your hydro reservoir to keep it from go off.
If been reading that it needs to be kept cool and away from light to stop algae growth,an esky perhaps ?
I did back away from a hydro but am now thinking of a small experimental setup to see if it's a goer.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/7/16)

My hydro has a 2000 litre tank it is under a tree so the water is always cool, but spog if I was you just start with a 30 litre and a few pots, the smart valve is expensive for what it is, a small float valve will do to get started, the smart valve lets the roots take in oxygen by letting the water run low then the roots can breath. Don't worry about pH that can come later, if you want to run a few pots for instance 5 or 6 then get them with a deep tray, so if its 5 pots get something to set up the float valve up on the same level then connect all the pot trays with some 4mm hose from Bunnings and some grommets.
All you need to do then is get your part A and Part B and mix with water in your reservoir.
When I get time I will make a diagram, a picture is worth a 1000 words.


----------



## spog (14/7/16)

2000 L ?.
Surely not a totally dedicated volume?
I'm thinking of an ebb and flow setup using,as you suggested some time ago 90 mm upvc pipe . I've got the general set out sorted by using the stormwater pipe mounted with a slight incline to help with drainage.
The idea is to go very basic then see if it suits etc, knowing SFA ATM ( auto correct has given the capitals) I'm planning on using a simple Kambrook dial timer as a controller for switching the old pond pump ,it works a treat in tests I've done .
The reservoir ..hmm undecided as yet but I'm not sold on a float valve ...yet.
So basically a small setup using a 20/30 litre reservoir in a fishbin with a lid.
But,yes always a but I've yet to build the greenhouse let alone set the hydro system up...while surfing the net for ideas/ info I found a site that I jumped into but when the talk became a bit " too green " I realised I hadn't looked at the site heading and was a whoopee weed growing site...whoa dude I hope my better half doesn't check the history .
Thanks for the reply and looking forward to the diagrams.
Cheers....Spog...


----------



## louistoo (14/7/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Everything in the greenhouses is Hydroponic, it isn't a fertilizer as such spog it is nutrients, no chemicals, just nutrients. I buy mine in bulk, when I say bulk 5 kg of part A and 5 kg of part B 200 gram of each mixed with one litre of water each and then 500 ml of each mixed with 9 litres of water so ending up with a 10 litre batch of nutrient which is then fed into the water supply via a venturi system if using a pump. Depending on how many pots in a system say a dozen the nutrient will last for a couple of years and it is around the $100 mark, as for the growing medium almost anything will do, as long as it will not upset the pH as wood chips would, I tried the rice hulls and they worked fine but I tried the coir blocks from Bunnings and the plants died. I have read of growers using sand,coarse grit even textile waste in places where the clothing sweat shops are.
> If using a gravity feed then using the smart valves is the way to go, the plant will only drink when it needs too.


Gday weal coir (bunnings blocks) is a great medium with excellent water retention, however it does require washing with fresh water until free of salt. Something to do with the production method in India or wherever it's produced. Anyway use your EC meter and rinse till levels are low enough to use and you're all good.
Set up looks great btw
Oh and regarding pH; different plant species have different pH requirements, in a medium with no organic pH buffering such as perlite, coir, vermiculite in a hydro environment, getting your pH right is necessary for plants to actually access the elements they require to grow or produce fruit.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (14/7/16)

Am going to go raid the Pub garden and grab whatever pods are left from the Tabasco, Peru Lemon Aji and orange scorp


Should get a bit of seed, but they will be third gen from the original seeds I plamted.

The Tabasco;s have been a monster every season self sown. Grow about 1.5, tall and just as round. You can pick 1kg off it and it doesnt look like you touched it

One thing I have learnt is that chilli seeds generally need to breakdown in the pod and rot, just like tomatoes


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/7/16)

I didn't realise you was so far ahead spog, if you use the black plastic tanks with a lid keep it in the shade it should be OK, I use a 2000 L tank as I run a lot of pots. What louistoo says is correct, when using rain water your pH is lower around 5.6 and the nutrient does take it down a tab further, if you have a pH meter which you use in your brewing you can add 'pH Up' to your water, but as you are just starting you will get a feel for what you are doing with a lot of reading, some plants do require different nutrient levels but that is something to work out down the track. You will need to get yourself a Nutrient meter truncheon I have a Bluelab but there are cheaper ones on eBay, but if you are going to stick with it get a Bluelab.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/8/16)

Best time of the year apart from harvest time, in and up Crystal apple cucumber, F1 Cucumber, Golden Bell, California Wonder, and Giant Bell Peppers, various tomatoes, more Caulies, Cabbages and Bok Choy .



Tomatoes etc hardening off.


Progress of Caulies and Cabbages.


Curds starting to form on Caulies.


Carolina Reapers potted up and forming more leaves.
Tip if you hadn't noticed labels on plants are the plastic knives bought from Salvos, not $2.00 shops money goes to good cause


----------



## Camo6 (4/9/16)

Spent the last few weekends making a raised garden bed for growing veggies and hops. Probably went a little bit overboard with height but my back will thank me later. Which is good because shovelling eight cubic metres of soil from the driveway didn't do it any favours. Will be nice to think of all the money I spent on homegrown vegetables only to watch the girls grimace and push it off their plates.


----------



## shaunous (5/9/16)

Always love your setup WEAD. Plans to build something similar soon.


----------



## Dave70 (5/9/16)

Camo6 said:


> Spent the last few weekends making a raised garden bed for growing veggies and hops. Probably went a little bit overboard with height but my back will thank me later. Which is good because shovelling eight cubic metres of soil from the driveway didn't do it any favours. Will be nice to think of all the money I spent on homegrown vegetables only to watch the girls grimace and push it off their plates.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dude..


----------



## Camo6 (5/9/16)

Dave70 said:


> Dude..



I'm a tight arse with a beer gut. It did me good both mentally and physically.

TBH, I'd tee'd up the boys to help but needed to get some hops back in the ground and wouldn't ask them on Father's day weekend.


----------



## Airgead (5/9/16)

Camo6 said:


> Which is good because shovelling eight cubic metres of soil from the driveway didn't do it any favours.


Worst thing is, you will need another couple of cubic meters in a month or so to fill them back up after the initial soil settles.

My raised beds settled by about a third.


----------



## sp0rk (5/9/16)

Going to do some raised beds this weekend to get some chillies in the ground
Looking at cutting up a few 220L HDPE drums into 3 rings (with the top & bottom removed), then fencing them off so the greyhound that loves to dig doesn't get into them.
The ground temp here is stupid hot all summer, so hopefully that'll get me some super hot fruit


----------



## Camo6 (5/9/16)

sp0rk said:


> Going to do some raised beds this weekend to get some chillies in the ground
> Looking at cutting up a few 220L HDPE drums into 3 rings (with the top & bottom removed), then fencing them off so the greyhound that loves to dig doesn't get into them.
> The ground temp here is stupid hot all summer, so hopefully that'll get me some super hot fruit


My old hop pots were halves of a 220l barrel so I cut the bottoms out and have placed them at either end of the trellis in an effort to contain the cascade and chinook I'll replant.


----------



## sp0rk (5/9/16)

Camo6 said:


> My old hop pots were halves of a 220l barrel so I cut the bottoms out and have placed them at either end of the trellis in an effort to contain the cascade and chinook I'll replant.


I used a 220L cut in half for my hop pots while we were still in Coffs Harbour, worked very well, probably could have done with a little more drainage though (I didn't cut the top/bottom off, just drilled holes)
But we get like 1/10th of the rain here that Coffs had, so it probably wouldn't be a problem


----------



## Curly79 (5/9/16)

Was just filling 2 cubes with Perc/Met and hot water for cleaning and wondering if I could be using this to water the veggies once it's done its job? 50 Ltrs is a lot of waste especially since we are in tank water. Thoughts? Cheers.


----------



## manticle (5/9/16)

Fully biodegradeable if it's pure.
May affect pH but I throw mine on the garden all the time and it's thriving.


----------



## Curly79 (5/9/16)

Excellent. Thanks


----------



## Mardoo (5/9/16)

Awesome. I've been wondering that myself.


----------



## spog (5/9/16)

Airgead said:


> Worst thing is, you will need another couple of cubic meters in a month or so to fill them back up after the initial soil settles.
> My raised beds settled by about a third.


When I filled my raised bed the first thing that went in was broken pavers/rocks etc. Then a layer of pea straw with dynamic lifter then shitty soil lawn clippings,leaves and so,the last 400 mm was a mix of good soil and compost.
As the pea straw and compost broke down the level dropped a good 150 mm which I've topped up and the bed is chockas with worms. = win.


----------



## wynnum1 (6/9/16)

With the vegetables do you cover with insect netting .


----------



## manticle (6/9/16)

No idea if that question is for a specific poster but the only thing I've found really needs covering in my garden is strawberries.


----------



## wynnum1 (6/9/16)

manticle said:


> No idea if that question is for a specific poster but the only thing I've found really needs covering in my garden is strawberries.


The bugs here like the greens eat half the leaves then theres the cabbage moths grow it and the bugs will come .


----------



## Dave70 (6/9/16)

spog said:


> When I filled my raised bed the first thing that went in was broken pavers/rocks etc. Then a layer of pea straw with dynamic lifter then shitty soil lawn clippings,leaves and so,the last 400 mm was a mix of good soil and compost.
> As the pea straw and compost broke down the level dropped a good 150 mm which I've topped up and the bed is chockas with worms. = win.


We got a bunch of pea straw on sale from the usual outlet one time and used it to mulch the front gardens. Fast forward a week later after some rain, some more rain, then some sun and there were shoots busting out everywhere!
Would only ever use it again as a compost.


----------



## Dave70 (6/9/16)

wynnum1 said:


> With the vegetables do you cover with insect netting .


If you are going full 'organic', probably. Once bastard cabbage moth gets into your cruciferous vegetables and greens, its all over. 
Personally I rather just sprinkle a little veggie dust about than waste time building miniature mesh housing.


----------



## Airgead (6/9/16)

I net the brassicas against cabbage moth and this year I'm going to try netting the tomatoes against fruit fly. 

Too much of a hippy to use the vege dust and building the frame out of bamboo stakes and these clever little joiner things I bought from the garden shop takes about 5 mins. https://www.diggers.com.au/shop/garden-supplies/vegetable-garden-essentials/connectors-for-8-16mm-bamboo-canes/hfigo/


----------



## Dave70 (6/9/16)

To be honest I'm not actually big on applying anything to my veg that I couldn't more or less eat otherwise. I have had good results with a DIY spray of garlic, chili, vegetable oil and a few drops of dish washing liquid.
The shitty el -cheap-o garlic in plain jars seems to work better than fresh as its especially pungent. But it takes plenty of it applied frequently as its more of a deterrent than pesticide.


----------



## wynnum1 (6/9/16)

They say to use neem oil but if its not good for the bugs then not a good idea to eat and there have been reports about weed growers using and smokers getting effected.


----------



## LiquidGold (6/9/16)

Dipel works pretty well for caterpillars. It's actually a bacteria that the caterpillars eat which then kills them. I've used it a few times but am never good at keeping a spraying regime, even organic ones.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/16)

Dieldrin... Cause it works


----------



## spog (7/9/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Dieldrin... Cause it works


Farrrrk. That shit would drop an elephant.


----------



## spog (7/9/16)

Dave70 said:


> We got a bunch of pea straw on sale from the usual outlet one time and used it to mulch the front gardens. Fast forward a week later after some rain, some more rain, then some sun and there were shoots busting out everywhere!
> Would only ever use it again as a compost.


Yep had heaps of growth from the peas in the pea straw I let them get about 300 mm high then pulled them and stuffed them under the mulch for more compost.


----------



## drsmurto (7/9/16)

Used a whole round bale of pea straw to mulch the vegie garden. Does a great job of suppressing weeds and for $55, a cheap solution. 

Raised garden beds are all wicking beds.


----------



## LiquidGold (7/9/16)

That's awesome, I was about to ask on here if anyone was doing wicking beds. Nice looking crops


----------



## Dave70 (8/9/16)

Its a great concept and works on any scale. A little effort initially that saves a shit load of bending, weeding and water to boot in the long run.

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s4010599.htm


----------



## wide eyed and legless (8/9/16)

Pea straw is great as a mulch, don't worry about the peas sprouting they will be putting nitrogen back into the soil plus you can eat the peas, maybe wouldn't be a good look in the front garden. Personally I use the sugar cane mulch as it seems to get the worms moving probably because there a traces of sugar still in there. The absolute best mulch I have used, and the cheapest was dag ends off the sheep, benefit of the shit still on the wool and the wool breaking down itself releases amino acids into the soil another plus is the worms and microbes love it I paid $20 for a bale weight around 200 + kilo.

Dusting the veg with Derris dust a natural insecticide from some sort of bean, got taken off the market once before but now it is back so I am not sure whether it is safe, they advertise it as 'natures way' does kill most bugs and caterpillars.

If your starting with a blank canvas shaunous I would be looking at Aquaculture especially if you have the space, I was thinking of starting from scratch next year but I have to many established fruit trees I would have to take out, plus I have started working again so I will be time poor :unsure:
Will PM you when I find my invoices of where I bought the mesh and poly, the floor I rolled out with shade cloth from eBay heavy duty and cheaper than Bunnings.


----------



## LiquidGold (8/9/16)

Couple of shots of my deep water culture lettuce comparing growth over 19 days.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/9/16)

What lettuce are you growing there LG? I have tried iceberg, could have been a bit to warm and didn't form a tight ball, going to give them another go and some Little Gem (hydro)
Well my Wasabi Rocket has appeared and it really does taste like Wasabi.
View attachment 91390


The warm spell we had the other week spelled the end of my Cauli, will have to give them an earlier start next year, didn't expect the temp to rise so much in a green house built with 1/2 insect exclusion net.
View attachment 91391


The care we take to grow tomatoes and these have come up over winter off the roots of last years plants, got a feeling I have tried second year tomatoes and the y didn't produce so well, must keep a diary.
View attachment 91392


Came out of the pub on Fathers Day and noticed this poly tunnel, thought there must be a community garden over the fence, no, eat your heart out WEAL, was just in someones backyard.
View attachment 91393


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/9/16)

Double posted


----------



## LiquidGold (16/9/16)

Most were Cos, the darker oak sorta shaped leaves is Mizuna and the more yellowy ones were self sown All Year I think. we tried tying the Cos with string for the first time and it worked pretty well to form a big head but the recent hot spell sent a fair few of them bolting in a very short period of time. Needless to say we've been giving some away and eating plenty of salads over the last week.


----------



## spog (17/9/16)

^ dunno about that,I'm not opening any of those links ^.
The last one asking for an essay on wanking is a bit much !....ohh hang on, puts glasses on,ohh walking.
Silly me.


----------



## shaunous (18/9/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Pea straw is great as a mulch, don't worry about the peas sprouting they will be putting nitrogen back into the soil plus you can eat the peas, maybe wouldn't be a good look in the front garden. Personally I use the sugar cane mulch as it seems to get the worms moving probably because there a traces of sugar still in there. The absolute best mulch I have used, and the cheapest was dag ends off the sheep, benefit of the shit still on the wool and the wool breaking down itself releases amino acids into the soil another plus is the worms and microbes love it I paid $20 for a bale weight around 200 + kilo.
> 
> Dusting the veg with Derris dust a natural insecticide from some sort of bean, got taken off the market once before but now it is back so I am not sure whether it is safe, they advertise it as 'natures way' does kill most bugs and caterpillars.
> 
> ...


Maybe I will look into aquaculture, i do have several of them 1000l bulkies or pallet tanks, whatever you want to call them and people seem to be using them. 
I don't want a massive greenhouse, only enough to keep a family going really. My spot I like is about 2x5m. I could put it somewhere else on the 330acres but I'd like it with my developing garden now if possible. 

The vineyard is kicking into life, and I didn't touch it all winter, so now I'll have to try train one shoot and leave the others to hang. My plan was to prune back and use the cuttings to fill in spots where I lost plants last year (because I planted cuttings then went on a 2 week boys trip to the Cape and let the cuttings fend for themselves). I failed


----------



## wynnum1 (18/9/16)

shaunous said:


> Maybe I will look into aquaculture, i do have several of them 1000l bulkies or pallet tanks, whatever you want to call them and people seem to be using them.
> I don't want a massive greenhouse, only enough to keep a family going really. My spot I like is about 2x5m. I could put it somewhere else on the 330acres but I'd like it with my developing garden now if possible.
> 
> The vineyard is kicking into life, and I didn't touch it all winter, so now I'll have to try train one shoot and leave the others to hang. My plan was to prune back and use the cuttings to fill in spots where I lost plants last year (because I planted cuttings then went on a 2 week boys trip to the Cape and let the cuttings fend for themselves). I failed


_Have you looked at Geothermal greenhouse_ to heat or cool and grow plants out of season.


----------



## shaunous (18/9/16)

No, but that sounds damn fancy. I'll have a Google


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/9/16)

Shaunous, as promised help with a hydro system, I am putting in a 10 pot gravity fed hydro system cost around $100, pots $2.50, pot saucers $3.00 valve is the dearest item $27, a reservoir, I used a 60 litre dustbin from Bunnings length of 4mm hose, a 4mm filter and a hand full of grommets.
Will get another dustbin just for plain water for the hot days. 



Valve



Pot and saucer with grommet.




Pots, obviously must be level for the water feed from the valve to all the pots, 5x4mm cross barb fittings and it would be an advantage to have a 4mm stop valve for each pot.
Hope this helps and you don't have the headache of using a pump.
The black shade cloth you have could be a bit of a problem for veggies.

Lot of good 'how to tips' videos on this site for all gardening info.
https://www.growveg.com.au/gardening-videos.aspx


----------



## wide eyed and legless (29/9/16)

Finally, back in my own garden this arvo, harvested the remaining beetroot from this bed, will be pickled tomorrow, strangely my wife simply adores pickled beetroot, I doubt she hasn't got a top without beetroot stains down the front.


Something has been nibbling my neeps strung some netting around to stop the birds getting in and laid a few traps around the base, doubt whether I will catch anything, not as I want to, (live and let live), they are probably indigenous rats.


After the beetroot harvested laid black plastic over bed to heat the soil up for the dwarf beans, don't do as I did once put the beans in under the plastic, cooked the beans.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/16)

Did my beds this week

Going 

Corn, cucumber, watermellon in same bed

Climbing beans and carrots in another bed

Black Russian & Tom Toms in another

Plus the usual herbs and chillies ( Going to just go only Tabasco this year and make a shit load of sauce )


----------



## Camo6 (29/9/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Finally, back in my own garden this arvo, harvested the remaining beetroot from this bed, will be pickled tomorrow, strangely my wife simply adores pickled beetroot, I doubt she hasn't got a top without beetroot stains down the front.



As I tell my wife; you can beat an egg but you can't beat a root.



Can't wait to get home and see the progress of my hops and seedlings. 

@Melbournites: how was the weather in Melbourne the last couple of days?


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (29/9/16)

Camo6 said:


> @Melbournites: how was the weather in Melbourne the last couple of days?


Better than Adelaide's


----------



## Camo6 (29/9/16)




----------



## LiquidGold (17/10/16)

I've finally had some good success with tomatoes this year. Here's what was picked just today from a no dig dirt patch I set up earlier in the year. I think I could have got the Money Makers a bit bigger with more frequent watering but I'm pretty stoked, not much fruit fly damage either. I think I got the timing pretty good for doing most of the harvest before it gets too hot.


----------



## Airgead (18/10/16)

My tom's haven't even started flowering yet. Where are you? FNQ?


----------



## LiquidGold (18/10/16)

Brisbane. I planted them at least 3 months ago and thought they wouldn't do well with the cold but it gave them a good headstart for when the weather warmed up.


----------



## Bribie G (19/10/16)

I think Bris has had a warm winter this year? I've been growing tomatoes and chillies in Kyogle all winter, which is great considering that even on Bribie Island they would die back over winter.

All my food waste - including meat, bones etc goes into the compost and I get a heap of volunteer seedlings pop up.
A bunch of tomato plants came up, obviously just from one fruit, so I split them up and planted to see what variety.

They turned out to be Roma style - probably Aldi, and clearly they are bred for yield, yield, yield. Will be interesting to see how the flavour goes.


----------



## Dave70 (19/10/16)

Bribie G said:


> including meat, bones


Stop it. The maggots don't deserve to eat that well. 
Blanch em, roast em and make some hearty beef stock instead. Then maby some _pho. _


----------



## manticle (19/10/16)

After stock is made, bones make good fertiliser. I do the same.


----------



## spog (19/10/16)

Cauliflower was a success this year after 2 years of failures,I've still got some small ones coming on but the weather is starting to warm up they might fail.
But here's 2 of a crop of 5 that will be blanched and frozen, chuffed that I finally succeeded in growing them.
.

This getting as addictive as homebrewing!


----------



## Dave70 (20/10/16)

manticle said:


> After stock is made, bones make good fertiliser. I do the same.


I grind them bones to make my bread.


----------



## shaunous (20/10/16)

Dave70 said:


> I grind them bones to make my bread.


Dave Loves the Bone... [emoji6][emoji6][emoji6]


----------



## Dave70 (21/10/16)

shaunous said:


> Dave Loves the Bone... [emoji6][emoji6][emoji6]


Come on big boy, you know the old saying. 'The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat'.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/11/16)

Finally got back in my own garden, had to lift all my leeks they were starting to go to seed, bought a few kilo of chicken and made a load of chicken and leek pies, lifted all my garlic and dried it out, lost my Sicilian Cauliflower on those hot days we had, went to seed.
The broad beans, which I have never been keen on turned out better than I expected, will definitely grow them again though I can't save these seeds as they are F1 called Stereo. 50 tomato plants, different types all in hydro, one of the best things about hydro they can look after themselves as long as the nutrient is kept up to them.
Spuds and rhubarb have really come on well with all the rain, and just starting to harvest cucumber and zucchini.









Hydro tomatoes


Drying the garlic


Spuds and rhubarb doing really well, Musque de Provence stating to climb in the foreground.


----------



## Camo6 (28/11/16)

My little veggie patch is loving all this Melbourne rain. Tomatoes are starting to crowd the hops and the Brussel sprouts are growing quicker than the corn. Also started to enclose the area behind the shed to get a few chooks for some fresh eggs.


----------



## Dave70 (29/11/16)

You in the farmers market game WEAL? What do you do with all that veg?

Anybody know if you can use tarps instead of builders plastic for wicking beds? I'm uncertain how they would stand up to being constantly submerged. 
I thinking the silver ultra HD might be the go.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (29/11/16)

Method in my madness Dave, we could never eat all the tomatoes we will be getting, since I started the vegie gardening project (for the overpaid and lazy bastards) I have been putting in raised vegie beds, sorry as yet no one has asked for a wicker bed. But I have been pushing the clients I have been doing work for to try hydroponics, so I can sell and install a 10 pot gravity fed system which even the laziest gardener can look after. So all the interested parties will be getting a free bag of tomatoes, if that doesn't sell them on the idea of hydroponics nothing will.

The wicker beds I have read about uses builders plastic or pool liner, I would have thought the builders plastic should work fine.


----------



## shaunous (3/12/16)

Get you person down here and set one up for me WEAL!

High 30's here today, be pushing to 40*C after lunch id be guessing. How goods working in the sun :unsure: :unsure: :unsure:


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (3/12/16)

Poor old garden is battling with this heat, was 38* yesterday and going to be the same today


And its only the start of summer h34r:


----------



## manticle (3/12/16)

Such a shame. Around 20 here at the moment.


----------



## shaunous (3/12/16)

The hail last Sunday smashed my plants to bits. I've had a good cucumber and corn harvest already. Shit grows quick in this heat. But a lot of the other plants copped a hammering in the storms we've been having every Arvo. Another reason in need a green house.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/12/16)

shaunous said:


> Get you person down here and set one up for me WEAL!


Shaunous, your a tradie you would be able to knock one up in no time. 

I have always given a bad rap for Broad beans but they have come from nowhere into my top 5 vegies.

Read about, and cooked beans as instructed, shelled from pods and boiled for 3 minutes and plunged into ice cold water didn't work (to remove skin) so I blended them adding salt, pepper, olive oil and Worcester sauce. Ended up with a large bowl full, had some for supper on toast, and again for breakfast this morning, on homemade rye with packed with Chia and Caraway seeds poached egg on top with Wasabi rocket side dressing. Protein packed with plenty of fibre. 


Definitely be on the planting list every year from now on.


----------



## manticle (5/12/16)

I planted them for the first time this year as well. Beautiful flowers, heaps of beans. Tasty just picked raw straight off the plant or as part as a pile of steamed greens with seasoning.

Might need to do up a puree to get rid of the last of them with a duck breast, roo fillet or some good italian sausages.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (5/12/16)

shaunous said:


> The hail last Sunday smashed my plants to bits. I've had a good cucumber and corn harvest already. Shit grows quick in this heat. But a lot of the other plants copped a hammering in the storms we've been having every Arvo. Another reason in need a green house.


You got Hail as well.... Was told today there was also hail at Ramornie

Got nuthin in town...bit of rain but that was it...but it looked very green down your way.


----------



## shaunous (5/12/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> You got Hail as well.... Was told today there was also hail at Ramornie
> 
> Got nuthin in town...bit of rain but that was it...but it looked very green down your way.


Yeh we got golf ball hail. Old land cruiser and Vt Commodore copped it like champions out in the open, not even a sign of a dent. The Ranger was all tucked in and looked after in the shed [emoji12].


----------



## shaunous (5/12/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Shaunous, your a tradie you would be able to knock one up in no time.
> 
> I have always given a bad rap for Broad beans but they have come from nowhere into my top 5 vegies.
> 
> ...


Yeh I know mate, and I have most of the materials here to do it. It's just not on my priority list. Just come inside from welding cattle rail fencing, welding in this heat in a shed is just awesome [emoji36]. 

The wife don't eat anything green so I don't bother growing beans and the like but they're easy to grow so I probably should. 

Corn is tasting great, once I cut the grubs out of each cob. cucumbers still producing like champs, peanuts, raspberries coming along nicely, pumpkins, potkins and watermelons coming back slowly after hail damage, capsicums were attacked by grubs to, and the vineyard was hammered by caterpillars within 48hrs, every leaf and grape bunch GONE!!! [emoji24][emoji24][emoji24][emoji24]


----------



## Dave70 (6/12/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Shaunous, your a tradie you would be able to knock one up in no time.
> 
> I have always given a bad rap for Broad beans but they have come from nowhere into my top 5 vegies.
> 
> ...


Thats so up my alley. 

'Mushy peas' for example are are a far less painful nutritional delivery system where kids are concerned, gets em involved in the cooking process to. What kid doesn't enjoy wielding a potato masher or pulsing a food processor?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/12/16)

I actually forgot to mention I put mint in with that broad bean recipe, I did what manticle did initially steamed them but they just kept on coming, really preferred them blended.
The love hate relationship started again today, I have been breakfasting on small zucchini's fried with garlic an scrambled eggs but there are always those which fly under the radar, today I picked three oversize one so it was the first Zucchini slice frittata of the season, something to be so looked forward to at the beginning of the season,and then glad to see the back of them at the end of the season.


Dessert 



A tip for growing tomatoes in the ground, vaccum cleaner dust, don't laugh,tomatoes are carnivorous and the dead skin and dust mites are a good source of nutrient.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/12/16)

wide eyed and legless said:


> don't laugh,tomatoes are carnivorous and the dead skin and dust mites are a good source of nutrient.


----------



## manticle (9/12/16)

Grabbed a bunch of the bigger broad beans, shelled, blanched and popped off skins. 
Cold pan, olive oil, chopped garlic, lemon zest, fresh thyme and oregano, salt and pepper. Slow heat for 15 mins, add beans and a small amount of water, another 10-15.
Blitz while hot with lemon juice and flat parsley.
Medium rare duck breast, poultry jus, roast tomato.


----------



## Bribie G (10/12/16)

Summer crop seedlings going in this weekend, okra, amaranth, eggplant and a mystery cucurbit that's volunteered to pop up out of the compost (could be anything, let's see).

QUESTION: Now, in NSW Northern Rivers / SEQ is it possible to grow beetroot during the summer or is it more a winter thing?

Young broad beans can be just sliced in pod, before they get too stringy, and steamed, we used to do that in the UK where every kid is inflicted with broad beans and spring cabbage. I've got a kilo of Heinz BB in the freezer, too hot to grow them up here.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (10/12/16)

I have grown them during the summer here in Melbourne,get the Boltardy variety and keep the water up to them (they tend to go woody if they don't get enough water)
http://www.gardenate.com/plant/Beetroot?zone=3


----------



## Bribie G (10/12/16)

Thanks, will give them a go.

I just lifted the Elephant Garlic to dry out on racks.

This stuff seems complicated, being the first year I just got "rounds", not "cloves" but also a heap of little corms that attach to the bottoms of the rounds. Apparently you can plant these and get cloves next year.

Or I can replant some of the rounds in the Autumn and get cloves next year.

But the year after I'll get rounds, or so it seems to go.

In any case I can feel some curries coming on


----------



## manticle (10/12/16)

The rounds are delicious though Bribie. Sweeter than usual garlic. Mine have closed flowers - waiting for them to open before harvesting.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/12/16)

One row of spuds down four to go, just wish we could grow them all year round.



Dwarf beans almost ready, not sure how the runner beans will go after the hot windy day I noticed all the flowers had dropped off them, just hope they were all pollinated.


The tomatoes are all going well started harvesting them, beef steak and cherry




Got lots of these little beauties


All the fruit going well this year, peaches, plums, nectarines, apples, pears, kiwi fruit and the lemon tree has been responding to some TLC one lemon last year and quite a few this year.


----------



## Bribie G (4/1/17)

New crop of Amaranth coming on nicely. I bought seedlings from a seedling stall at a market as it's so bloody slow to grow from seed. I think they may be more the decorative variety or even "love lies bleeding" but that's ok, all edible including the flower sprays.

Ten plants should do me, they grow chest high and very bushy if pinched out regularly for the steamer.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/1/17)

Do you not let it go to seed Bribie? Supposed to be very nutritious as a seed, looks a bit like Trill.


----------



## Bribie G (8/1/17)

I'm more into Amaranth as a leafy green, not so interested in the seeds. The couple of times that plants have fully seeded they go woody and the leaf production slows right down, a bit like Basil and other seed producers seem to do.
Also I'm feeding them more nitrogen to keep the leaves coming on, as opposed to limiting nitrogen to force fruiting (as per tomatoes, cucumbers etc).

I don't really like Silverbeet as it gives a nasty furry coating to the teeth - surprisingly I don't get that with beetroot tops.

The flower sprays can be picked off and cooked in with the leaves, yum. With the red varieties, you get a beetroot coloured "gravy" oozing out of the cooked spinach that looks quite alarming - if I had chooks I'd feed them the red varieties and see how the eggs turned out.

The problem with Amaranth is that, initially, it's quite slow-developing crop compared to spinaches, silverbeet and other chards so I only get to pick once a week at the moment to keep it coming on, but it is a very long lasting crop.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/1/17)

Well I read up on the Amaranth leaf and it has got a lot going for it, as for spinach I am not keen on it but my wife prefers spinach to lettuce I have got some summer spinach on the go but was wondering about the climbing spinach which is popular in east Asia has anyone grown it? I believe it is perennial.


----------



## LiquidGold (9/1/17)

As in water spinach or Kang Kong? I've grown it but didn't find it very tasty, never tried cooking the leaves though.


----------



## Bribie G (9/1/17)

When I lived on Bribie Island there used to be a fair few Vietnamese ladies running stalls at the Caboolture Sunday Markets (probably the biggest markets of their type in Australia) selling all sorts of home grown stuff like duck eggs, galangal etc and they all had massive bunches of all sorts of Asian Greens including the Kangkong that cooks up nicely. I found it to be a bit stringy, and preferred Malabar Spinach. 

I tried to grow the Malabar Spinach last year but probably didn't keep enough water up to it as it failed miserably. It's good cooked very quickly in stir fries, but is mucilaginous a bit like Okra and not really a silverbeet sub.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/1/17)

Kang Kong is the one I have seen, must admit it didn't look very appetizing. I remember your post on that spinach Bribie, pity about the outcome, duck eggs, when I went to UK a couple of years ago I had them every morning for breakfast, they were blue with a very rich orange yolk the ones I have bought here from the Vietnamese are pallid, or the other options are the ones with chicks inside them or salted.
I don't mind the silver-beet so I think I will stick with that.


----------



## Mardoo (9/1/17)

Definitely agree on the stringyness of kangkong. A bit too much intestinal fortitude for my taste, but ferociously green in flavour. Sweet potato leaves are quite nice. I used to eat those in Bali all the time at the rural retreat centre I frequented. Not sure which species are edible, but damn they were good.


----------



## Camo6 (11/1/17)

Picked a nice little haul from the garden today. The pumpkin is from last year and is just starting to go mouldy on the base.
Might commit a bit more space to corn next year and have a go at getting more than one or two ears per plant.




Got the chook pen sorted too and picked up a few ex cage hens for a few bucks each. Averaging a couple of eggs a day even in that hot spell so can't complain considering they're second year birds. Will be nice when they get all their feathers back. The kids and I named one each : Goldie, Hotdog and Colonel Sanders who we call KFC for short.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/1/17)

And how did the Brussel sprouts go Camo?


----------



## Camo6 (11/1/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> And how did the Brussel sprouts go Camo?


They're coming along Weal. Starting to drop their leaves and sprouts are about marble size atm. Been a battle keeping the cabbage moth away but should be able to get a fair few off them.


----------



## Curly79 (11/1/17)

Logan berries. I think? Absolutely delicious. Especially with ice cream. Havnt bothered netting them this year and the birds have left them alone luckily. 



If you can wait until they are black they are sensational. Little bit red is ok though.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/1/17)

I have got a full hedge of Jostaberry was confident of a return this year they are big and bushy, one flower last year and that has been it, not even a flower this year so they will be coming out over winter.

I thought those sprouts were going to cause a few tears Camo, as far as I have got them is the marble size then they just flower up, especially in the hot weather.


----------



## wynnum1 (12/1/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I have got a full hedge of Jostaberry was confident of a return this year they are big and bushy, one flower last year and that has been it, not even a flower this year so they will be coming out over winter.
> 
> I thought those sprouts were going to cause a few tears Camo, as far as I have got them is the marble size then they just flower up, especially in the hot weather.


What climate do you need Jostaberry could it be too hot.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/1/17)

No not to hot ,I went to a berry farm close by and they had jostaberries, I initially thought it may be the heat but theirs get as much sun as mine.


----------



## Camo6 (12/1/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I thought those sprouts were going to cause a few tears Camo, as far as I have got them is the marble size then they just flower up, especially in the hot weather.


Haha, no tears here. I haven't cried over Brussel sprouts for at least thirty years.


----------



## drsmurto (12/1/17)

Curly79 said:


> Logan berries. I think? Absolutely delicious. Especially with ice cream. Havnt bothered netting them this year and the birds have left them alone luckily.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Both the plant and the fruit look like boysenberries. So much nicer than raspberries as they have a little bit of tartness to them.

No need to net as the plants are thorny like blackberries so the birds can't land on them. Bugs are a completely different story.

Edit - picked a bowl full for my breakfast this morning. Covered in yoghurt. Yum!


----------



## wynnum1 (12/1/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> No not to hot ,I went to a berry farm close by and they had jostaberries, I initially thought it may be the heat but theirs get as much sun as mine.


How long have they been growing going by what others say air layering produces fruit quicker then cuttings producing some new plants and _Guerrilla gardening may be worth trying._


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/1/17)

I have had them in for about 6 years, when pruning them you have to make sure to pick up all the bits cos they will grow.


----------



## wynnum1 (13/1/17)

Have you looked at adding trace elements very important and if going to dig out could trim back and dig up and trim roots and replant some plants flower when they think they are going die.


----------



## fungrel (13/1/17)

surly said:


> Thanks for all the thoughts guys, I ended up wandering around the local nursery and grabbed an heirloom tomato - Russian Black.
> Grows about 1.8m, so should fill the space nicely. The idea of black tomatoes amuses me too.


These are the same variety, you need to stake AND support the branches as the fruit will grow so large they literally break off. They are such a fantastic variety though, well with the extra effort.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/1/17)

The bushes are so healthy, a lot healthier than the ones at the berry farm, they are well cared for it could be that they are so dense and the air isn't getting through them. Another thing is they taste bloody awful, I had to spit the one out which I tried at the berry farm.



The rest of the outdoor plot is doing fine, the last 3 kilo of spuds were taken up yesterday, Musque de Provence pumpkins doing well, giving the outdoor tomatoes a bit of shade, and loads of beans.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (23/2/17)

Autumn just around the corner, plums finished, nectarines finished, peaches last of them picked, only fruit left to harvest apples pears kiwi fruit and feijoas
(later in the season) first pumpkins harvested , getting dangerous in the sling they were in, more to go, far to many tomatoes and still going strong, plenty of capsicum and egg plant, won't bother with Italian tomatoes again, can highly recommend King's Cobra climbing beans an improvement bred from Blue Lake. 






The pumpkins are Musque De Provence.
Any gardeners interested in brewing the glass contains Garret Olivers Summer Ale, highly recomended.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/4/17)

Garden is starting to wind back, picked a load of capsicum still plenty more coming through and the last crop of dwarf beans still producing well, will get these again, called Simba, stringless and tasty. Tomatoes just about finished. 
Planted early potatoes yesterday along with garlic, peas and broad beans.


----------



## manticle (14/4/17)

Any tips on what to do with starchy corn?

Planted loads of corn and got some delicious cobs but should have harvested the remainder much earlier and either frozen or given to friends.

Lesson learned for next season but in the meantime I've got quite a few cobs that won't be great as cob corn.

Corn chowder?
Adjunct in beer?


----------



## Mardoo (14/4/17)

If you have the freezer space and not the time you can freeze them on the cob and cut them off later.


----------



## manticle (14/4/17)

Yeah but what to do after? They're starchy and bitter now - freezing won't reverse that.


----------



## wynnum1 (15/4/17)

Mexican tacos or corn bread tacos the corn needs processing.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (21/4/17)

manticle said:


> Any tips on what to do with starchy corn?
> 
> Planted loads of corn and got some delicious cobs but should have harvested the remainder much earlier and either frozen or given to friends.
> 
> ...


Don't know what you could do with it apart from saving it and replanting for next season. Came back today from Easter Hols garlic is about eight inches high, early spuds just poking through and peas and broad beans up and going well.
Pumpkins and capsicums still going, beans finished, the only thing I will plant now is some more greenfeast peas, will be making major changes to the garden for next year.
My 2 exotics which I am allowed,(or is that an urban myth) came in at a good weight so that's the winter gas bill taken care of, totally energy independent now.


----------



## manticle (21/4/17)

Just chewed a bit of each cob and anything that wasn't utterly dry starch was cut from the cob and turned to chowder with chook stock, potatoes, chilli and fresh herbs. Delicious and a good solution.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (21/4/17)

I don't know how quick Monty Don thinks the sugars turn to starch, but I watched his TV show where he dug up some spuds, ran to the kitchen, washed them and put them straight into the pot.


----------



## manticle (21/4/17)

Probably needed a wee


----------



## knot_gillty (27/4/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I don't know how quick Monty Don thinks the sugars turn to starch, but I watched his TV show where he dug up some spuds, ran to the kitchen, washed them and put them straight into the pot.


If only he knew how long spuds are out of the ground before they hit the supermarket shelves...


----------



## Dave70 (10/5/17)

Wicking beds finally motoring along with various kales, carrots, beetroot, mesclun and spinach. Bastard cabbage moths found the kale early and are being dealt with via a DIY veg oil / garlic / chili spray. 
I think the baby spinach looks a little light on green, though the plants are healthy. Might just be use to the heavily fertilized shop bought stuff. The basil is clearly in strife, I'm tipping they dont like wet feet.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/5/17)

Looking good.


----------



## earle (11/5/17)

What did you line your wicking beds with? I've been talking with my neighbour who lined his with builders plastic (PE) but cautioned me that it seems to be easily perforated by the bottom section of fill - he thinks one of his beds has a leak. I think builders plastic is about 200 micron. I was having a look at the big green shed and they have PVC pond liner which is 500 or 600 micron. Thinking it could be a better option as its thicker and seems to have a little give/stretch to it - unless there's a good reason not to use PVC liner.


----------



## Dave70 (11/5/17)

earle said:


> What did you line your wicking beds with? I've been talking with my neighbour who lined his with* builders plastic* (PE) but cautioned me that it seems to be easily perforated by the bottom section of fill - he thinks one of his beds has a leak. I think builders plastic is about 200 micron. I was having a look at the big green shed and they have PVC pond liner which is 500 or 600 micron. Thinking it could be a better option as its thicker and seems to have a little give/stretch to it - unless there's a good reason not to use PVC liner.


Yeah..dont, at least not on a larger scale. These things are 1200 x 3200 x 600 and hold well over over a tonne of - hand shoveled - material in each, so a lot of weight bearing down on the aggregate, and thus, the liner. I ended up getting paranoid and putting down two layers of plastic then a HD polly tarp. A pond liner would have been a far better option, but you still have to be careful. 

To be honest, would have been easier to split up two IBC containers and knock up an attractive surround than try to line the tubs I had rolled. Those things are made just for the job with none of the fretting over leaks.


----------



## LiquidGold (11/5/17)

Dave70 said:


> The basil is clearly in strife, I'm tipping they dont like wet feet.


I've grown basil in a deep water culture aquaponics setup with great results through summer so as long as there is enough oxygen and warmth they don't seem to mind wet feet. Not sure what is causing yours to be growing so poorly though.
Nice setup by the way.


----------



## Dave70 (11/5/17)

We're getting into mid single digits in the mornings. Probably not helping.


----------



## Airgead (12/5/17)

Nope. Not helping at all. Basil likes it warm. Mine dies off around now but sheds plenty of seed so I get a good crop the next year.

Edit:bloody autocorrect


----------



## wynnum1 (13/5/17)

Dirty jobs on ABC Hop Picking and processing 2008 episode http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/dirty-jobs/ZW1026A020S00


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/5/17)

earle said:


> What did you line your wicking beds with? I've been talking with my neighbour who lined his with builders plastic (PE) but cautioned me that it seems to be easily perforated by the bottom section of fill - he thinks one of his beds has a leak. I think builders plastic is about 200 micron. I was having a look at the big green shed and they have PVC pond liner which is 500 or 600 micron. Thinking it could be a better option as its thicker and seems to have a little give/stretch to it - unless there's a good reason not to use PVC liner.


Pretty sure I did read, or saw on youtube the wicker bed being lined with old carpet before the liner went in to save any perforations in the liner.


----------



## earle (14/5/17)

Yeah, i was thinking about a sand bed in first then the liner and then perhaps some cheap yoga mats. My neighbour seems to think that it was the woodchip fill that caused the perforation.


----------



## wynnum1 (14/5/17)

Do you think cardboard would work when its wet is soft.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/5/17)

wynnum1 said:


> Do you think cardboard would work when its wet is soft.


I don't think so, when it's wet it tears easily, any sharpish protrusions underneath can push through.As Dave said there is a lot of weight above the liner.


----------



## wynnum1 (14/5/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I don't think so, when it's wet it tears easily, any sharpish protrusions underneath can push through.As Dave said there is a lot of weight above the liner.


The big boxes have many layers and would compact down into a thick layer could wet and layer and top with sand.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/5/17)

That should work, stomp the cardboard down and really compact it.


----------



## LiquidGold (14/5/17)

Old carpet or geofabric work well


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/5/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Anyone know what these fruit are.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Found out what they are, Strawberry Guava, planted some seeds today see how they go in the hothouse along with some Pineapple Guava I found in another neighbor's garden.
Phoned around to find some Vetch peas, found some at Dandenong Stock feed wanted 4 or 5 kg got over there only sold by the 20 kg bag for $25 a bag.
Drove back home intending to buy online, Green Harvest 2 kg $19.95! Drove all the way back to Dandenong and bought the 20 kg, some will go for fishing bait and some for green manure, for the next 3 or 4 years.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (17/5/17)

You would have more in fuel than what the seeds are worth


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/5/17)

Fuel isn't the issue, its the time, I recently bought 60 kg of hemp seed @ $8 per kg and I am sure the poor old farmer doesn't even come anywhere near that, much sooner the farmer got a better deal than the seed merchants.


----------



## Bribie G (26/5/17)

It's Russian Garlic time again. I'm a bit late planting this year as we thought we might be moving house, but that's off for another year and a half, so I'm back into long term garden stuff.




I bought some local cloves - heaps of people grow them around here as it's absolutely ideal soil and climate. I kept 32 corms from last year. When you pull up the heads these little suckers are hanging from the roots, you can keep them dried out over the Summer then plant them out. I think they grow into the single clove style of garlic then if you plant them out, you end up with the clove ones.
Personally that's doing my head in so I'll just plant the whole lot anyway in separate beds and see what happens. haha.

I planted out 28 cloves last April and haven't had to buy garlic from the shops since October.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/5/17)

Someone mentioned tiger nuts recently, while reading a gardening magazine found an article on growing tiger nuts. Went on eBay and found a guy in Hungary selling them, I think it came to less than $5.00 so if they do get stopped at customs not much to lose. Good chance they may get pulled up if they are shipped under there other name Chufa nut. 
https://hartley-botanic.co.uk/magazine/can-i-grow-tiger-nuts-uk/


----------



## Dave70 (29/5/17)

They're pretty sharp. I had a tiny pack of purple bamboo seed seized. But only because they were un labeled. Or to be more accurate, labeled in Chinese..

Not sure if this suppler of tiger nut seed is urging us to read between the lines a little with the disclaimer. (bottom of page). 

https://fairdinkumseeds.com/products-page/aquatic-swamp-and-moisture-lovers/tiger-nut-earth-almonds-chufa-cyperus-esculentus-tubers/


----------



## Bribie G (29/5/17)

I remember Tiger Nuts from school in the 1960s, used to walk home with a small bag of them. I can still remember the creamy taste and the aching jaws masticating the bloody things. Nowadays I'd be up for another 6K dental work


----------



## wide eyed and legless (29/5/17)

Reading about the foods, that in Britain were used during, and just after war years, it makes one wonder why they were neglected only to be revived as superfoods now.
After reading about Burpee seeds in the US having contanimated seeds amongst the seeds that were supposedly in the packet, and that Burpee seeds are now packed in China (probably due to the tiny deft fingers Chinese women have for counting and packing seeds) would that explain this plant which cropped up amongst some of Mr Fothergills Wong Bok I planted on my garden.


----------



## Camo6 (29/5/17)

No.


----------



## manticle (29/5/17)

I'd say they dropped off the radar because they reminded people of poverty and hard tomes. Same reason offal or even meats like rabbit are loss common (but revived/popular in more gourmet circles).

My guess only.


----------



## malt and barley blues (1/6/17)

I loved Tiger Nuts, wasn't so keen on the Cod Liver oil, followed by a dose of Rose Hip Syrup, though that was nice, there was also Spanish Root, Chewing Wood, or Liquorice Root was another name for it.


----------



## wynnum1 (4/6/17)

manticle said:


> I'd say they dropped off the radar because they reminded people of poverty and hard tomes. Same reason offal or even meats like rabbit are loss common (but revived/popular in more gourmet circles).
> 
> My guess only.


Rabbit would have been not eaten because of the virus that they introduced to kill off and with infested rabbits not a good selling point and the price of production went up so not so cheap.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/6/17)

Read a book about the history of myxomatosis, in the U.K it was put down illegally by farmers and wiped out 98% of the rabbit population. Was first trialled off Scotland but the resident rabbits had no fleas and there were no mosquitos, so the only dead rabbits found on the island were the infected ones put on there. In the U.K now most rabbits are immune to it so they have made a big comeback.
The carp herpesvirus which is due to be released this year will probably be an abject failure, scientists here say the carp will never become immune to it but in the U.K (where there is an outbreak at the present) the understanding is 30 to 50% of the carp will be immune to it, and it is a million pound industry in the U.K.


----------



## Camo6 (4/6/17)

Carp herpesvirus? But if they don't use toilet seats, how they gonna explain it to the missus?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/6/17)

As a fish's memory span is about 5 seconds he would have forgot he had a missus. 

Got Tiger Nuts delivered to day, released from Biosecurity Control,document inside saying the 'tomato seeds' will be destroyed within 20 days, the nuts were still in the bag, would it be possible they have microwaved them or some other dastardly act? Will plant them and see if they germinate.
Hopefully it was a new starter and didn't realise he had sent the nuts with the document.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/6/17)

False alarm my nuts are intact the supplier slipped a complimentary packet of tomato seeds which were not correctly labeled, so it is those that are being destroyed.


----------



## Grott (6/6/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> False alarm my nuts are intact.


Thank heavens for that, have you told Mrs WEAL.

Ps with regards to SA, only "farmed" rabbits can be sold. They are fairly bland and don't have that rich flavour that come from the wild ones, or do we call them "free range"?


----------



## wynnum1 (6/6/17)

$3500 to test the tomato seeds that is on the Italian gardeners seeds web site.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (27/6/17)

With the extraction of the Josta Berry pending, I bought a packet of Johnston's Goji Berry seed out of ten seeds four has germinated, the Strawberry and Pineapple Guava seeds have all germinated so now it is going to be a decision which takes the place of the Josta Berry.
Also in the seedling nursery are, Chinese, Savoy, and Sugarloaf cabbage, Broccoli, Violent Sicilian and Quick heart Cauliflower, Leeks, 3 punnets of pickling onions, Beefsteak tomatoes, strawberries, various chillies.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (10/7/17)

Two out of the six Tigernuts are up, looking forward to trying these.


----------



## captain crumpet (10/7/17)

What chillies have you got going?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (10/7/17)

Carolina reaper still producing undercover, looking "grim" for the ones I left out side, orange wonder,cayenne, white habanero still producing under cover and whatever is in the chilli shake seeds and Birds Eye.


----------



## malt and barley blues (11/7/17)

If you have any surplus nuts WEAL.......


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/8/17)

I will have surplus nuts, at the moment I am looking forward to the Broad beans which are in flower, a couple of years ago I would never have thought I would look forward to eating broad beans.
Have just about everything coming through now early spuds ready to harvest, next load of spuds Kestrel and Sapphire just starting to show. Cabbages Cauli and broccoli in the ground, tomatoes chilli eggplant and capsicums coming along nicely, outside Carolina reapers look dead inside one not happy but will survive.


----------



## good4whatAlesU (6/8/17)

Beetroot and shallots in for us. Love our roasted beets a real favourite.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (6/8/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> at the moment I am looking forward to the Broad beans which are in flower, a couple of years ago I would never have thought I would look forward to eating broad beans.



Roasted Broad beans ( fava beans ) are awesome


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/8/17)

That's something I am going to have to try the only way I have liked the broad beans so far is through the blender


good4whatAlesU said:


> Beetroot and shallots in for us. Love our roasted beets a real favourite.


Got shallots to put in and 68 little beetroot plants coming up, my wife can't do without pickled beetroot.


----------



## wynnum1 (7/8/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I will have surplus nuts, at the moment I am looking forward to the Broad beans which are in flower, a couple of years ago I would never have thought I would look forward to eating broad beans.
> Have just about everything coming through now early spuds ready to harvest, next load of spuds Kestrel and Sapphire just starting to show. Cabbages Cauli and broccoli in the ground, tomatoes chilli eggplant and capsicums coming along nicely, outside Carolina reapers look dead inside one not happy but will survive.


Did you plant Kestrel potatoes from seed potato or eating potatoes they seem to keep well after harvest planted some 7 months after harvest last year kept too long but they seem to be going OK.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/8/17)

Could not find any Kestrel seed spuds had to use the ones from Coles, my favourites are King Edwards but the yield isn't so good.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/8/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Two out of the six Tigernuts are up, looking forward to trying these.



Hope they are not _Cyperus rotundus_


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/8/17)

Same family, different species.


----------



## wynnum1 (8/8/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Could not find any Kestrel seed spuds had to use the ones from Coles, my favourites are King Edwards but the yield isn't so good.


Kestrel have PBR plant breeder rights so probably not commonly sold for home gardens i get the Aldi Baby Kestrel potatoes washed about 20 potatoes to the kilo a good size to plant .Planted another 20 last Thursday so hopefully hot wet weather does not come early this year and stop from producing .


----------



## wide eyed and legless (8/8/17)

I heard about them 3 or 4 years ago from Kitchen Garden Magazine where the show growers use them, I thought that Diggers or Green Harvest would have had them by now, first time I have grown a non certified spud but a mate of mine grows any spud he has got from the supermarket that has started to chit.


----------



## wynnum1 (9/8/17)

Had no problem with the supermarket kestrel potatoes they seem to sprout quicker then the ones i grow found a single kestrel potato when i dug up to plant and this potato after 10 weeks shows no sign of sprouting so if buying kestrel potatoes that are not starting to sprout buy early enough and washed potatoes work just as good as unwashed.Kestrel potatoes seem to produce very quickly here in Brisbane but people from Victoria say down there you get more potatoes from each plant


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/8/17)

Got home tonight went into the garden and dug up some earlies for dinner, can't beat a spud straight out the ground.



Greenfeast peas almost ready will be getting stuck into them next week.


Cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, silverbeet, Chinese cabbage and Chinese broccoli coming on but even though they are in mesh I think it is going to get a bit warm in there.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/9/17)

Nearly eaten all my early spuds, Beef steak tomatoes ready to go into hydro pots, Kestrel spuds going well and Blue sapphire coming along nicely, all the seedlings looking forward to the end of the month and the extra hour of daylight.


----------



## Dave70 (7/9/17)

Hey WEAL. Do you bother much about your PH levels? If you do, whats your method? I've heard the testers available from the usual outlets aren't much chop.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Nearly eaten all my early spuds, Beef steak tomatoes ready to go into hydro pots, Kestrel spuds going well and Blue sapphire coming along nicely, all the seedlings looking forward to the end of the month and the extra hour of daylight.



Yep, that daylight saving sure makes them grow better


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/9/17)

Dave70 said:


> Hey WEAL. Do you bother much about your PH levels? If you do, whats your method? I've heard the testers available from the usual outlets aren't much chop.


No those prong pH meters aren't any good I have measured the pH in the past using my pH meter that I use for brewing and it was always pretty consistent, but I don't know how much of the reading is the water.
Just make sure you put down plenty of compost to feed the soil, the plants are like us and can adjust the pH in their environment to a certain degree.
Considering that plants are like small chemical factories and produce gases to communicate along with toxins to try and prevent mammals and insects from eating them, it's not surprising they can slightly alter the pH.
Plants are certainly smarter than we give them credit for as scientists are just beginning to find out.


----------



## Bribie G (7/9/17)

Plants are smart.
Up here the giant Russian Garlic arent too giant because the plants use the increasing daylight time as a switch to begin bulbing up.
They get that switch sooner in the South so can grow bigger bulbs.

DST should give mine a nudge.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/17)

Be good to grow some garlic over the border Bribie and see just how much difference DST makes to the plant


----------



## Dave70 (7/9/17)

Business as usual then. I'm trying to keep it as 'organic' as possible as the wicking beds are obviously a closed system. But I'm having a shot at growing Maca this year and apparently it loves an acid soil of <5. Easier to get a few bags of Rose / Azalea mix and plant out separately then.

You'd be surprised, or not, how many folks believe you can alter the bodys PH to a meaningful degree by consuming an alkaline diet, the idea being it promotes health, when the reality is, you would die. How odd.


----------



## Dave70 (7/9/17)

Bribie G said:


> Plants are smart.
> Up here the giant Russian Garlic arent too giant because the plants use the increasing daylight time as a switch to begin bulbing up.
> They get that switch sooner in the South so can grow bigger bulbs.
> 
> DST should give mine a nudge.



How pungent is the Russian stuff? I want to get into dishes like Spanish garlic soup with being ostracized.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/9/17)

Dave70 said:


> Business as usual then. I'm trying to keep it as 'organic' as possible as the wicking beds are obviously a closed system. But I'm having a shot at growing Maca this year and apparently it loves an acid soil of <5. Easier to get a few bags of Rose / Azalea mix and plant out separately then.
> 
> You'd be surprised, or not, how many folks believe you can alter the bodys PH to a meaningful degree by consuming an alkaline diet, the idea being it promotes health, when the reality is, you would die. How odd.


Been there a few years ago with a client of mine had me half believing him until I did some reading on it, I don't get indigestion anymore but when I did I only had to smell tomatoes in a curry or stew and I would get indigestion.

Russian garlic is mild it is a leek really.


----------



## Grott (7/9/17)

I believe the Russian is milder than normal so apparently ideal for the soup as you use a lot.
(Can someone please explain why some places emphasise "organic garlic bulbs" and charge the rediculous organic prices on those products that are really organically grown anyway? As you can use garlic as a garden spray for pest, does something actually attack it? Mine are always ok)


----------



## wide eyed and legless (7/9/17)

Grott said:


> I believe the Russian is milder than normal so apparently ideal for the soup as you use a lot.
> (Can someone please explain why some places emphasise "organic garlic bulbs" and charge the rediculous organic prices on those products that are really organically grown anyway? As you can use garlic as a garden spray for pest, does something actually attack it? Mine are always ok)


Only rust fungus seems to attack garlic.


----------



## Grott (7/9/17)

Question, how did WEAL post of "18 minutes ago" get before my post of "16 minutes ago"? Naturally the time keeps changing but post are wrong way around.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/17)

Dave70 said:


> You'd be surprised, or not, how many folks believe you can alter the bodys PH to a meaningful degree by consuming an alkaline diet, the idea being it promotes health, when the reality is, you would die. How odd.




David Avacado Wolfe can answer that for you


----------



## bradsbrew (7/9/17)

Grott said:


> Question, how did WEAL post of "18 minutes ago" get before my post of "16 minutes ago"? Naturally the time keeps changing but post are wrong way around.


Not sure of your question. A post made 18 minutes ago will always show before a post of 16 minutes ago. He posted it 2 minutes earlier?


----------



## Dave70 (7/9/17)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> David Avacado Wolfe can answer that for you



In David Wolf world, where facts and evidence are irrelevant, I hold advanced degrees in Biological engineering, molecular physics and Corporate law.


----------



## Grott (7/9/17)

bradsbrew said:


> Not sure of your question. A post made 18 minutes ago will always show before a post of 16 minutes ago. He posted it 2 minutes earlier?


No I'm not going mad ( perhaps I am), the time difference have reversed so now correct. I'd better have a beer.


----------



## good4whatAlesU (7/9/17)

Yep plants are very clever. Some native grasses (e.g. Microleana) exude citrates out of the roots which bind up toxic metals (e.g aluminum) at acidic pH. This prevents the toxins reaching and killing the plant. Hence they can do very well on naturally acidic soil where other plants would die.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/17)

Dave70 said:


> In David Wolf world, where facts and evidence are irrelevant, I hold advanced degrees in Biological engineering, molecular physics and Corporate law.



Obviously plumbing pays better


----------



## Dave70 (7/9/17)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Obviously plumbing pays better



Actually, In David world, I get paid not in money, but in un vaccinated women who strongly resemble Salma Hayek. Sprinkled with deer antler. 

On a more realistic note, I'm please to report my Victoria hops (they must have shot up an inch just yesterday), Marconi Red capsicum, heirloom Romas and spacemaster cucumbers in my Jerry rigged, Tek screwed together, meter square green house have all emerged. The cold just seemed to have everything fooled.


Jesus... that guy is just total ******* fuckwit. Wolf, not Jesus.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/9/17)

Dave70 said:


> Actually, In David world, I get paid not in money, but in un vaccinated women who strongly resemble Salma Hayek. Sprinkled with deer antler.
> 
> On a more realistic note, I'm please to report my Victoria hops (they must have shot up an inch just yesterday), Marconi Red capsicum, heirloom Romas and spacemaster cucumbers in my Jerry rigged, Tek screwed together, meter square green house have all emerged. The cold just seemed to have everything fooled.
> 
> ...



What your basically saying is

A). Pay your invoice on time

B) Cash...nah...we dont take cash


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/17)

I like the good old button squash but object to paying up to $20 a kilo at the supermarket. That's right, $20 at IGA but I can get a bargain and pay $12 at Coles. Awesome.






So I planted a mere 4 plants of the green variety, but didn't take into account that each plant acts more like a cucumber and less like a zucchini.. it forks and forks. 

Well so much for button squash. The crop has really got away on me. 





I've dug the centre out a couple and stuffed with leek, bacon, egg, herbs and breadcrumb mix, then drizzled with heaps of Australian EVOO and pop in oven with the current shoulder of lamb. 
I'll finish under grill with a cheese topping.

Will report.


----------



## Dr_Rocks (17/9/17)

Bribie G said:


> I like the good old button squash but object to paying up to $20 a kilo at the supermarket. That's right, $20 at IGA but I can get a bargain and pay $12 at Coles. Awesome.
> 
> View attachment 108406
> 
> ...


And i thought i was kicking goals with my slow roasted lamb shoulder!


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/17)

More on topic for "brew food" here but the current Coles "Spring Lamb" shoulders are only $9 a kilo until Tues. and bloody delicious.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/9/17)

Are you harvesting those now Bribie? I was reading about a squash called Honey boat in the UK garden magazine so looked it up here but could not find them, went on Etsy and got some seeds from USA where they call it sweet potato squash or Honey boat Delicata.


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/17)

Mine are normally called "patty pan squash" AFAIK so are probably American in origin as a variety. I just got the seeds out of the Yates or whatever rack at the hardware store. I get 10 to 20 little button ones per week as well, the ones in the photo are the ones that got away, hiding under the foliage!!


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/9/17)

I have only just put the seeds in for my Marrow which Bunnings have started selling again I will have to try putting some of those squash in early now I can protect them from any frost we might get.


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/17)

In Europe and USA they are "the taste of summer".. of course here I've been growing them over the winter and it's probably too late to plant any more


----------



## koshari (17/9/17)

Bribie G said:


> More on topic for "brew food" here but the current Coles "Spring Lamb" shoulders are only $9 a kilo until Tues. and bloody delicious.


shouldes are tough, gimme a leg anytime


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/9/17)

Shoulder, 4 hour slow roast, devine.


----------



## Grott (17/9/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Shoulder, 4 hour slow roast, devine.


Love the shoulder, garlic, rosemary and thyme the most accompanying herbs on the outer and inner.

Now, can anybody recommend a variety(s) of tomatoes that can be grown as a bush rather than staked?


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/17)

SWMBO always complains about the shoulder being too soft, as it is after four hours.

The stuffed squash worked in perfectly.


----------



## Bribie G (17/9/17)

Grott, I've got a massive set of bushes of big sweet cherry tomatoes that have been yielding for about two months now off only three bushes, and showing no signs of slowing down. Haven't bought a tomato since July. 
I'll take a photo of the bushes tomorrow and go through my seeds box to see what variety. I got them from Eden Seeds.


----------



## manticle (18/9/17)

Christ. Tomatoes won't even sprout here till Dec if I'm lucky. They fruit ok but more like feb/march


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/9/17)

Bribie G said:


> SWMBO always complains about the shoulder being too soft, as it is after four hours.
> 
> The stuffed squash worked in perfectly.
> 
> View attachment 108415


Is that a la carte Bribie or are you just on a diet?


----------



## Digga (18/9/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Is that a la carte Bribie or are you just on a diet?


Entree? Starter? Taste plate? Got to ensure that only the best goes out.


----------



## Grott (18/9/17)

manticle said:


> Christ. Tomatoes won't even sprout here till Dec if I'm lucky. They fruit ok but more like feb/march


Bit earlier here in SA, tomatoes just before Xmas day but July? You got a greenhouse Bribie with central heating? 
(Ps will await your photos and seed recommendations, thanks)


----------



## good4whatAlesU (18/9/17)

Beetroot are nearly ready


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/9/17)

good4whatAlesU said:


> Beetroot are nearly ready
> 
> View attachment 108420
> View attachment 108419


What are you going to do with them, pickle?


----------



## good4whatAlesU (18/9/17)

Would like to give pickling a go. 

Normally we just roast them - but the crop is fairly big this year, so pickling might be a good option.


----------



## Bribie G (18/9/17)

Grott

That's Eden Seeds Cocktail Cherry.


I staked the three plants up initially to get the runners off the ground but since then they just grow and spread and climb over each other. I'd get probably half a bucket a week at the moment. 
Also they seem to be very disease free, not many people growing gardens around here.






The lamb plate was SWMBO's. Looked more elegant.


----------



## Dave70 (18/9/17)

good4whatAlesU said:


> Would like to give pickling a go.
> 
> Normally we just roast them - but the crop is fairly big this year, so pickling might be a good option.



I'm in the same boat, though couldn't be arsed with pickling, so looks like plenty of Borscht will be on the menu shortly.. 
The leaves also go well tossed in a pan with some olive oil, garlic and pepper, or baked like kale chips.


----------



## Bribie G (18/9/17)

For "pickling" all you really need to do is to boil a few whole, cool them down then slip the skins off with your fingers, slice and put in a big container (tupperware will do) and cover with a heap of malt vinegar and sugar - they'll keep for a couple of months in the fridge. I've got some from the end of May that are still perfect.


----------



## Dave70 (18/9/17)

Bribie G said:


> For "pickling" all you really need to do is to boil a few whole, cool them down then slip the skins off with your fingers, slice and put in a big container (tupperware will do) and cover with a heap of malt vinegar and sugar - they'll keep for a couple of months in the fridge. I've got some from the end of May that are still perfect.



In that case I'll give it a go. I thought it involved buying a heap of pickling jars, special pickling jar tongs, a bunch of boiling and wearing an apron.


----------



## good4whatAlesU (18/9/17)

I better give that a go too!


----------



## Grott (18/9/17)

Dave70 said:


> In that case I'll give it a go. I thought it involved buying a heap of pickling jars, special pickling jar tongs, a bunch of boiling and wearing an apron.


Yes, Bribie G is correct but I don't add the sugar as I enjoy the tartness. Try both ways, if you don't like the ones without sugar you can just add it.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/9/17)

Not a big job to pickle, as Bribie says boil with skins on wipe off with fingers slice and put into sterilised jars boil vinegar, sugar and add pickling spice with loads of mustard seeds. Pour into jars while hot and they will vacuum seal. No apron required.
I prefer them this way to any other they taste a bit to earthy for my liking when roasted though I do like them cold in a beetroot salad.
Five out of my six Tiger nuts sprouted put them into large pots today, Kestrel spuds doing really well after all this rain also transferred my pickling onions into the ground. Beef steak tomatoes going to be the first ones in they are 200 to 250mm high,
my insect screen house holds the heat and my Won Bok has started flowering, hope my caulies don't go the same way.


----------



## Bribie G (18/9/17)

Today's harvest, normally pick two or three times a week.
These are the tomatoes that Jesus ate when he was touring America at the invitation of the Mormons.


----------



## Danscraftbeer (18/9/17)

good4whatAlesU said:


> Would like to give pickling a go.
> 
> Normally we just roast them - but the crop is fairly big this year, so pickling might be a good option.


Best I have ever done with me Beets is peel, slice and fermented them. Just saline to ferment them with nothing else added, but then you could always jazz it up. Love to have Tarragon ready to pick for pickling too.


----------



## wynnum1 (20/9/17)

Planted Kestrel potatoes 3½ months ago and when i dug up found a single potato that i think grew from a small potato left in the ground that potato is only starting to sprout now how old are the potatoes that you buy in the shops if it can take 4 months before ready to replant .The potatoes i planted where from last year left too long and did not get a good crop no rain did not help but do have a good supply of small potatoes and going to plant next year.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/9/17)

I bought the large kestrel and let them chit for a couple of months, cut them in half and planted only 2 didn't come up and they do like a lot of water otherwise when they are pulled there will be nothing on the end of them. Not sure how this helps the survival of the spud unless it relies on the seeds from the flowering.


----------



## wynnum1 (20/9/17)

I planted baby kestrel potatoes from aldi half kilo bags washed potatoes last year $3 kilo this year went up to $3.6 kilo this year you get about 20 potatoes in a kilo planted about 6 weeks ago one went rotten in the ground and all the others sprouted but not all at the same time .The kestrel seems to produce potatoes very quickly they say when they start to flower that the potatoes are forming but potatoes may not flower and produce potatoes.Heat wave this week end in Brisbane so not sure how that is going to affect the potatoes.If you can get seed from the potato and plant and get potatoes one utube talk claimed that potatoes grown from seed are disease free


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/9/17)

I knew that certified potatoes had been grown from seed, but I don't know much about it, may well be a challenge to try and achieve this I will have a look more into it. Question would be if the potatoes grown were not certified, would the seed from those potatoes be disease free?


----------



## wynnum1 (20/9/17)

I think what they where saying is even if the potatoes are affected that the seed will grow disease free potatoes.If you grow from the seed the potatoes grown can be different to there parent where grown from the tuber is a clone.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/9/17)

Same with any hybrid try and grow the seed and it will be reverting back to its original parentage. I have never thought about it with spuds though.


----------



## wynnum1 (21/9/17)

*This was on the Queensland government web site .*
*What has happened to Sebago?*
Some industry people believe that Sebago is not performing as well as it has in the past. This variety may have deteriorated genetically due to continual selection from a limited amount of genetic stock. Sebago is also one of the most susceptible varieties to blackleg, leaf roll virus and seedpiece breakdown. As well as searching for alternative varieties, plant breeders are trying to improve the strain of Sebago as it is the preferred variety by merchants for the general table trade. The decline in vigour of Sebago may also relate to a decline in soil productivity under more intense cropping.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (21/9/17)

Might explain why the price of spuds have gone up considerably.


----------



## Bribie G (30/9/17)

koshari said:


> shouldes are tough, gimme a leg anytime



Lamb shoulders are tender because all the muscles have to do is to hold the sheep up while it munches. The legs are tougher because those muscles are the ones they use when they are running frantically and jumping around, as sheep tend to do when they get disturbed by people going, ooh hello little lamby poos. Or dingoes. Or farmers. Or just about anything else.



After a slow roast the meat is so tender you should be able to just pull the bones straight out of the shoulder, perfectly clean.

On topic for food gardening, this will be served with squash and silverbeet from the garden, plus the usuals like potatoes.
Oh and that's me own rosemary.







I'll let this sit for an hour or so to "solidify" so it can be cut into proper slices which will be re-warmed in rich gravy made from the drippings.

Anyone a bit peckish yet?


----------



## indica86 (30/9/17)

Bribie G said:


> Anyone a bit peckish yet?



Smoked lamb shoulder is great.

Had a salad today from the garden.
Wombok, snowpeas, chillies, spring onion, tomato, thai basil, eggplant, fennel and eggs - from the neighbour, in exchange for bananas.


----------



## indica86 (30/9/17)

Grott said:


> tomatoes that can be grown as a bush rather than staked?



Cherries.


----------



## Bribie G (30/9/17)

Today's pick. I gave the other quarter bucket to the guy over the road in exchange for limes.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (8/10/17)

As expected the extra hour of sunlight from daylight saving has brought on the plants, going to have to start the cauli,cabbage broccoli etc a bit earlier,even though they are housed in a mesh house the heat still gets trapped in there. A couple of the Savoy cabbages have bolted, going to have to keep an eye on the cauli, Chinese broccoli is flowering but still good I like to chop up the stem and fry with garlic. Broad bean flowers have given way to beans and I have 12 Beef Steak tomatoes in now, runner and dwarf beans are up, the exotics are also up though to be expected only take 3 to 4 days for them to show.
Shallots and pickling onions coming on fine, forcing sea kale but only get one feed from that.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (8/10/17)

Yeah, my lawn has gone nuts since daylight savings, it sure does love that extra hour of sunlight

Unfortunately it has been way too dry to start planting...3 mnths without rain is a bit much, and the recent amount we had has all but dissapaeared


----------



## Bribie G (8/10/17)

Stu would it be possible to grow beetroot hereabouts over summer or is it more of a winter plant?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (8/10/17)

Try this site Bribie tells you what to sow and when.
http://www.gardenate.com/


----------



## good4whatAlesU (15/10/17)

This mornings harvest - will pickle the beets this afternoon.


----------



## Grott (15/10/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Try this site Bribie tells you what to sow and when.
> http://www.gardenate.com/


Am I doing something wrong? For temperate climate in October, November and December everything is “seed”. Don’t seem right


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/10/17)

Yes it is right Grott, its all about the time to sow seeds, whether indoor or outdoor.


----------



## Grott (15/10/17)

Got you, about seeds not seeds and seedlings.
Thanks


----------



## manticle (15/10/17)

Been digging up lawn (hate lawn - if I owned the place, I'd hire an excavator and get rid of the lot in one go).

Got various tomatoes, zucchini, dwarf beans, climbing snow peas, basil, pumpkin, coriander, sweet corn and harlequin carrot seeds in over last 3 weeks. Lots of warm days, lots of rain, lots of new seedlings sprouting.

Also a few new strawberry varieties and another raspberry plant. If it's anything like my first spring/summer harvest come nov/dec, I should be close to dispensing with shop bought veg for a bit.


----------



## Bribie G (15/10/17)

Le Corbusier : _Grass is the enemy of the city
_
Actually, being on half an acre I quite like my lawn activities, keeps me fit mowing and yields masses of clippings for compost, mixed in with kitchen waste and cow poo, I reckon I've produced tonnes of the stuff over the last two years. 
I'm a tenant as well, and sneakily expanded an existing bed into a veg garden. Then expanded it, then expanded it. Recently the owner came round to do some work on guttering, cast a quick eye over the veg garden and commented "oh I see you have green fingers" 

Hmm... excavator, now you've got me thinking. 

_
_


----------



## wynnum1 (15/10/17)

Bobcat with a road profiler if it can grind bitumen should have no problem with grass roots.


----------



## Grott (15/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> Le Corbusier : _Grass is the enemy of the city
> _
> 
> Hmm... excavator, now you've got me thinking.



Swimming pool? Sneak that one in.


----------



## wynnum1 (15/10/17)

Grott said:


> Swimming pool? Sneak that one in.


LOGAN CITY Council This year, council officers launched a plan to write to owners of about 1400 properties where there was a discrepancy over pool registration. Officers said there were 1421 pools in the city not on council’s data base.


----------



## indica86 (15/10/17)

manticle said:


> Been digging up lawn



When we moved in here there was (and still is) a solo avocado tree in the backyard on a 1/4 acre block and grass. Grass is stoopid.
Now: veggie patch, apples, bananas, three guavas, pineapple, passionfruit, acerola, pomegranate, pepper, vanilla, ginger, turmeric, galangal, figs, lemon, limes, finger limes, oranges, mandarins, passionfruit, davidson plum, paw paw, mango, chillies and stuff....


----------



## manticle (15/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> Le Corbusier : _Grass is the enemy of the city
> _
> Actually, being on half an acre I quite like my lawn activities, keeps me fit mowing and yields masses of clippings for compost, mixed in with kitchen waste and cow poo, I reckon I've produced tonnes of the stuff over the last two years.
> I'm a tenant as well, and sneakily expanded an existing bed into a veg garden. Then expanded it, then expanded it. Recently the owner came round to do some work on guttering, cast a quick eye over the veg garden and commented "oh I see you have green fingers"
> ...


The only thing I don't put in my compost besides cat litter, is grass clippings. Our lawn is full of weeds, although maybe now that stuff breaks down in our compost so quickly (chockers full of worms, presumably good bacteria, etc) it might be time to try.

Any tips on pre-treating or just chuck straight in?


----------



## Bribie G (15/10/17)

Serious composting is a simple process but you need to have bulk.
Many people confuse compost heaps with worm farming. They are two different beasts.

For a proper compost heap you need to gather together a heap of organic green material and some animal poop etc to provide the microorganisms. The purpose of composting is to actually make manure without it passing through the colons of beasts.

Really you need to get the heap at least a metre high, then layer the weeds, clippings, leaves etc with cow manure from the paddock or from a bag from Bunnings, or even a bag of dog chow. Then moisten and turn weekly. You then get an exothermic fermentation, not unlike brewing, and the heat will kill weeds and seeds - mostly. 

Big compost heaps like you used to get behind racing stables before the modern era when they just cart the soiled straw and shit away, will actually steam with the generated heat and in the old days haystacks would sometimes get wet and compost and get so hot they would burst into flames.

With my grass fed heaps I just check what's happening by spearing a thin bamboo stake into the middle and periodially [_porn alert_] pulling it out, feel it, and stick it back in - it gets quite hot.


----------



## manticle (15/10/17)

Yeah that's pretty much how mine started. Green waste, chook bones, spent grain, everything bar the things previously mentioned. So steaming hot, the entire bin once blew itself off the pile.

Worms were not introduced, they just have congregated and now anything I put in breaks down to chunky wet soil in a matter of days.

Might experiment with a few clippings and see what happens


----------



## Dave70 (16/10/17)

........


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (16/10/17)

I had a place previously and for the garden bed I just placed stable rakings on the ground about 60cm deep at the start of autumn. I was getting the stable rakings for free in a trailer once a week for months

It stunk a bit, but come spring it had basically broken down into the soil and was only about 100mm thick, but holy ****...anything planted in it went ballistic and there where no weeds

Its the best stuff if you have stables near by


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/10/17)

Best way to remove unwanted lawn is to cut it like turf and put in a pile out of the way green side down and leave for 6 months or so and it will make a great top soil.
Its funny how worms get everywhere, when making compost tea in a sealed drum when I opened the drum months later the top floating layer on the tea is full of worms, I presume worm eggs go in with the weeds and as they can lie dormant until conditions are right that is how they get in there.
I did read somewhere recently about the depths worms go to being influenced by cosmic rhythms and that they can live up to 10 years old, when they mate they inseminate each other, a sort of worms version of a sixtyniner.


----------



## Garagebrew (16/10/17)

I don't have the space for a compost heap (I probably do but still) but the worm farm is by far the best thing I've bought for my garden, nothing better than having a use for food scraps you'd otherwise throw away.
I bought another one second hand to add an extra layer to the original and I'm thinking of using the remaining trays and base of the second unit as a little hydroponic set up for my chilli seedlings.

Excellent thread by the way, always a good read and great info


----------



## Danscraftbeer (16/10/17)

Sugar Snaps. Love to have these fresh snacks while gardening and in salads.


----------



## manticle (16/10/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Best way to remove unwanted lawn is to cut it like turf and put in a pile out of the way green side down and leave for 6 months or so and it will make a great top soil.
> Its funny how worms get everywhere, when making compost tea in a sealed drum when I opened the drum months later the top floating layer on the tea is full of worms, I presume worm eggs go in with the weeds and as they can lie dormant until conditions are right that is how they get in there.
> I did read somewhere recently about the depths worms go to being influenced by cosmic rhythms and that they can live up to 10 years old, when they mate they inseminate each other, a sort of worms version of a sixtyniner.



Good to know - exactly how I've gone with this lot of turf - upside down so the roots are exposed and die.


----------



## SnailAle (16/10/17)

Home killed lamb shanks, can't beat em! The broccoli is mine. Pretty happy with it, generally the florets don't hang as tight in my homegrown ones.


----------



## manticle (16/10/17)

You got sheep?
Nice way to eat, being part of every step, from animal to plate.

Only four legged animals we got here, besides the rat in the shed, are the two cats that have so far failed to catch it. Cat shanks might reduce my vet bills but would make me and my lady sad (and a bit weird).


----------



## GregMeady (16/10/17)

SnailAle said:


> Home killed lamb shanks, can't beat em! The broccoli is mine. Pretty happy with it, generally the florets don't hang as tight in my homegrown ones. View attachment 108970
> View attachment 108971


----------



## wynnum1 (17/10/17)

SnailAle said:


> Home killed lamb shanks, can't beat em! The broccoli is mine. Pretty happy with it, generally the florets don't hang as tight in my homegrown ones. View attachment 108970
> View attachment 108971


Friend lived next to a abattoir holding yard tells me that his father found the occasional sheep in there yard.


----------



## SnailAle (17/10/17)

manticle said:


> You got sheep?
> Nice way to eat, being part of every step, from animal to plate.
> 
> Only four legged animals we got here, besides the rat in the shed, are the two cats that have so far failed to catch it. Cat shanks might reduce my vet bills but would make me and my lady sad (and a bit weird).


Grew up on a farm, between that and a bit of hunting we try to source most of our meat ourselves. As you mentioned I really enjoy being a part of the whole process and knowing where my food comes from. 

Cut up some pigs on the weekend so tomorrow night is a pork belly and homemade apple cider night, should be good! 

Haha well you never know slow cooked cat might surprise you. I've got a few of the buggers always in my yard trying to get the budgie. Might be a good solution!


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/10/17)

what a difference 4 weeks make, lesson one for these new beds is to plant dwarf vegetables.

Almost to the day one month later.

Only thing added to the soil was compost and Dynamic lifter, I presume that because damaging insects can't get to them they grow more vigorously.
Destined for tonight's dinner complimenting a lamb shoulder Broccoli, Rainbow Chard, Broad beans and peas will put the beans and peas through a blender using manticles recipe. And I am in 2 minds whether to go and lift some baby potatoes.
Rhubarb for desert.


Manticles recipe.
Grabbed a bunch of the bigger broad beans, shelled, blanched and popped off skins. 
Cold pan, olive oil, chopped garlic, lemon zest, fresh thyme and oregano, salt and pepper. Slow heat for 15 mins, add beans and a small amount of water, another 10-15.
Blitz while hot with lemon juice and flat parsley.


----------



## manticle (17/10/17)

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Our broad beans are starting to sprout so I can get some of that going again soon.
Thanks for the reminder.


----------



## goomboogo (18/10/17)

manticle said:


> You got sheep?
> Nice way to eat, being part of every step, from animal to plate.
> 
> Only four legged animals we got here, besides the rat in the shed, are the two cats that have so far failed to catch it. Cat shanks might reduce my vet bills but would make me and my lady sad (and a bit weird).



Cats can't be eaten for many reasons, not least, because they are likely to taste of smugness.


----------



## wynnum1 (22/10/17)

goomboogo said:


> Cats can't be eaten for many reasons, not least, because they are likely to taste of smugness.


When are Channel Nine's A Current Affair's _Tracy Grimshaw going to do a story on how a Victorian man lost 20 kg in a month _eating only cat and then a follow up story Victorian man charged with animal cruelty.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (22/10/17)

I too grew up on a farm.

Every year ( in winter ) we would do a big steer in the paddock, just lift it up with the forklift, slaughter, gut and skin, hangover night and take it to the butchers and hang it for a week or so then he would cut it up

We used to split it with the Italian neighbors who would do a big baconer pig and another bloke who did a a few lambs

The salami and ham the Italians did was out of this world. Proper old school salami and ham. Used to come home from school and there the salami's and hams would be, hanging under the verandah. Usually took about 6 weeks till we go them. They didnt tell us when they where ready, they just brought them around when they where.

I miss those neighbours


----------



## Bribie G (22/10/17)

Note to self:
Go easy on the silverbeet next season. Off to cook some now for the second time today.


----------



## Grott (22/10/17)

Try silver beet - steam to well wilted, heat frypan with good virgin olive oil, crushed garlic and chilli flakes. Add silver beet and stir through. Really delicious. (Do same with cooked Brussel sprouts, cut in half or quarters)


----------



## wynnum1 (22/10/17)

Silver beet with bacon.


----------



## Bribie G (22/10/17)

and mushrooms.


----------



## good4whatAlesU (22/10/17)

fried in butter.


----------



## Bribie G (22/10/17)

pork fat


----------



## manticle (22/10/17)

Good thing to do with Brussel sprouts is get someone else to eat them while you steal their bacon.


----------



## wynnum1 (26/10/17)

Harvesting kestrel potatoes planted August 1 took 3 weeks to start growing above ground potatoes where from ALDI may have planted a bit early as the could have chited more but wanted to plant before the weather heated up but heat came early in Brisbane .How do they workout days to harvest is that from when you see the potatoes if that is how its worked out then looks like it only took 2 months for the potatoes to grow which is very fast the kestrel potatoes produced very poorly only 2 or 3 good size potatoes on each plant the warm weather may have limited potato formation the kestrel potato may not like warm weather .


----------



## Midnight Brew (26/10/17)

Grott said:


> Try silver beet - steam to well wilted, heat frypan with good virgin olive oil, crushed garlic and chilli flakes. Add silver beet and stir through. Really delicious. (Do same with cooked Brussel sprouts, cut in half or quarters)



I do the exact same thing with broccoli. Divine with some freshly cooked rice.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/10/17)

wynnum1 said:


> Harvesting kestrel potatoes planted August 1 took 3 weeks to start growing above ground potatoes where from ALDI may have planted a bit early as the could have chited more but wanted to plant before the weather heated up but heat came early in Brisbane .How do they workout days to harvest is that from when you see the potatoes if that is how its worked out then looks like it only took 2 months for the potatoes to grow which is very fast the kestrel potatoes produced very poorly only 2 or 3 good size potatoes on each plant the warm weather may have limited potato formation the kestrel potato may not like warm weather .


You have to keep the water up to spuds and they are a cooler climate veg, I dug up one of my kestrel potatoes the other day, they definitely are a quick potato and I would be happy to see the tubers available to home gardeners. Good amount from one plant and very tasty.


----------



## wynnum1 (26/10/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> You have to keep the water up to spuds and they are a cooler climate veg, I dug up one of my kestrel potatoes the other day, they definitely are a quick potato and I would be happy to see the tubers available to home gardeners. Good amount from one plant and very tasty.
> View attachment 109196


Your in Victoria have seen quoted before how well they produce in Victoria compared to Brisbane but think its a bad year for potatoes in Brisbane.


----------



## Dave70 (26/10/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> You have to keep the water up to spuds and they are a cooler climate veg, I dug up one of my kestrel potatoes the other day, they definitely are a quick potato and I would be happy to see the tubers available to home gardeners. Good amount from one plant and very tasty.
> View attachment 109196



Do you grow your spuds in one of those grow bag thingies? The look like a good idea for saving space and your back.


----------



## Grott (26/10/17)

Midnight Brew said:


> I do the exact same thing with broccoli. Divine with some freshly cooked rice.


Mmmm, I’ll certainly give that a try


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/10/17)

Dave70 said:


> Do you grow your spuds in one of those grow bag thingies? The look like a good idea for saving space and your back.


No, grew them in the raised bed, tried the 30 litre pot method before but I didn't drill any extra holes for the drainage so half the pots got waterlogged.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/10/17)

Sent off an email to the seed potato suppliers in SA about the Kestrel spuds and availability for home gardeners, got no reply, will try Diggers and Green Harvest see if they can get them. There is another pommie one called Swift planting to lifting is approximately 7 weeks.
Did a post somewhere about the world shortage of phosphate, we are on the brink of phosphate being mined out and Monash Uni has been doing experiments with thousands of species of plants and the effect of the lack of phosphate, results are dwarfed plants which are packed with cyanide (survival mode) and the sorghum produced enough cyanide to kill a cow.
Amazing how plants can produce cyanide so easily, and how so many plants are toxic, even fungi producing poisons and their roots hardly penetrate the soil. I have a plant in my back yard that if you laid underneath it for 5 to 10 minutes you would die.
Beware the plants.


----------



## wynnum1 (29/10/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Sent off an email to the seed potato suppliers in SA about the Kestrel spuds and availability for home gardeners, got no reply, will try Diggers and Green Harvest see if they can get them. There is another pommie one called Swift planting to lifting is approximately 7 weeks.
> Did a post somewhere about the world shortage of phosphate, we are on the brink of phosphate being mined out and Monash Uni has been doing experiments with thousands of species of plants and the effect of the lack of phosphate, results are dwarfed plants which are packed with cyanide (survival mode) and the sorghum produced enough cyanide to kill a cow.
> Amazing how plants can produce cyanide so easily, and how so many plants are toxic, even fungi producing poisons and their roots hardly penetrate the soil. I have a plant in my back yard that if you laid underneath it for 5 to 10 minutes you would die.
> Beware the plants.


Kestrel, another Scottish variety Elders bought the rights to and sublicensed to a couple of growers


----------



## Dave70 (30/10/17)

Just a slight note of caution to any budding wicking bedders. I noticed since planting out a few summer veg, they seemed to be doing it tough. Took a PH sample test yesterday and came back with a reading of around 8, so basically depriving the more neutral / acid fancying veg of nutrients. My best guess if that I used recycled concrete for the aggregate, neglected to wash it, and now the residual lime in the cement dust is doing what lime does to soil. Got busy with the Yates liquid sulfur, so we'll see how it goes. 
I might ad, all the cruciferous stuff and leafy greens had no issues. But who wants to eat kale year round..


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/10/17)

Sulfur will fix it as will diluted vinegar, had a similar problem with Lilydale toppings and an acid loving Rhododendron.
How old are your wicker beds now Dave?


----------



## Dave70 (31/10/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Sulfur will fix it as will diluted vinegar, had a similar problem with Lilydale toppings and an acid loving Rhododendron.
> How old are your wicker beds now Dave?



round nine months old. About a 50/50 mix of decomposed stable manure and premium garden mix for the soil. The fact that its been the driest winter since 2009, actually, stuff all rain whatsoever round my way, and the fact that wicking beds 'wick' I'm tipping would have aggravated it due to the soil not getting the occasional rinsing. 
I've hooked up a rainwater tank (we're on town water) for my garden irrigation - and beer - and giving the beds a spray every other day. As far as I know the sulfur need to be broken down by the bacteria in the soil and can be a bit of a lengthy process.


----------



## wynnum1 (31/10/17)

I think you have to use acid to get a quick change sulfur, phosphoric or nitric but would have to be dilute .With that PH clubroots not going to be a problem .


----------



## Dave70 (31/10/17)

One bed has pretty much run its course and needs to be replanted anyway so I'll be yanking everything this weekend and going with the dilute vinegar fix also. About a cup per 3.7L seems to be the rate.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (31/10/17)

wynnum1 said:


> I think you have to use acid to get a quick change sulfur, *phosphoric* or nitric but would have to be dilute .With that PH clubroots not going to be a problem .



Another use for Star-San


----------



## Mardoo (31/10/17)

Bribie G said:


> Note to self:
> Go easy on the silverbeet next season. Off to cook some now for the second time today.


I wonder how a silverbeet kimchi would go?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (31/10/17)

Dave70 said:


> One bed has pretty much run its course and needs to be replanted anyway so I'll be yanking everything this weekend and going with the dilute vinegar fix also. About a cup per 3.7L seems to be the rate.


You could always plant some veg that will put up with a higher pH (I think beans is one) while the soil neutralizes.


----------



## Grott (31/10/17)

Mardoo said:


> I wonder how a silverbeet kimchi would go?


That’s worth a Mardoo, good thinking.


----------



## Danscraftbeer (31/10/17)

Mardoo said:


> I wonder how a silverbeet kimchi would go?


Its claimed (by more experienced food fermenters than me) that Chlorophyll (green leaf vegetables)
is undesirable in fermented foods. One thing I was disappointed to learn because I've had wheel barrows full of Kale and Silver Beet in my Aquaponics and wanted to make use of excess like Kale Sauerkraut etc. It doesn't make nice ferments like Cabbage or other colour vegetables. YMMV.
Never know unless you try...
I vacuum seel and freeze it for later uses like Spinach and Fetta recipes. No worries substituting with Silver Beet IMO.


----------



## Grott (31/10/17)

What if you blanched the silverbeet, dried and then proceeded with the process of kimchi? Does blanching get rid of the chlorophyll?


----------



## Danscraftbeer (31/10/17)

Grott said:


> What if you blanched the silverbeet, dried and then proceeded with the process of kimchi? Does blanching get rid of the chlorophyll?


Not sure but cooking will kill the natural bacteria that makes it ferment.
I did make a few Kale Sauerkraut up to 5l. Shredded with just enough water and salt to ~2% Salinity.
The ferment was totally successful. It was OK but not as nice as Cabbage.
You could always add it to Kimchi but not as the base malt etc


----------



## Danscraftbeer (31/10/17)

Silverbeet stems however...? Diced, good juicy chunky fill option for ferments? I think I have four different coloured Silverbeet atm. All green leaves just awesome coloured stems that you throw into the compost. Seems a shame.


----------



## manticle (31/10/17)

Compost goes back into the cycle so never a waste, never a shame


----------



## Danscraftbeer (31/10/17)

True that. 
I have added cross cut Silverbeet stems into fridged pickles and its nice but the worst part is the stringyness you get in Silverbeet stems especially when it gets large. Even when cross cut short those strings dont breakdown in a ferment. Good fibre value and flavor but not the greatest on the easy chewability scores etc.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/11/17)

Broccoli and silver beet stems finely sliced and fried with garlic add omelette mix and eat.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (8/11/17)

Still harvesting the broad beans this will be the last of them though, Violet Sicilian, purported to be a Cauli cross Broccoli, goes green when cooked, Savoy cabbages still going almost ready to harvest only the one went to seed.


----------



## Bribie G (13/11/17)

I put my silverbeet stems back into compost. 

Hey, my okra and leaf amaranth seeds have failed to germinate after a couple of weeks. They were over 3 years old, so I ordered fresh stock from Eden Seeds - should arrive before the weekend. 

Of course it goes without saying what is going to happen in the meantime...


----------



## wynnum1 (14/11/17)

That is the problem with buying seeds buy a packet of eggplant seeds and plant a few and the rest of the seeds go off before can use .


----------



## Grott (14/11/17)

Wrap remaining seeds in alfoil and all should be ok for ages


----------



## LiquidGold (14/11/17)

Store your airtight seed box in a pantry or somewhere dark and cool with minimum temp and humidity fluctuations. 

The hardest thing I've found with growing food from seed is keeping up with the succession planting/sowing needed to achieve a continuous harvest.

We tend to put stems into soups or stocks, usually bundled up together to make it easy to remove after cooking.


----------



## mofox1 (23/11/17)

Love this time of year... Scotch steak with home grown veg: spuds, asparagus, and garlic. And the rhubarb in my Saison, 'cept that was last year's crop.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/11/17)

Reminds me of when we had some relatives come over from Scotland one of them ordered a scotch fillet and when they put the steak down in front of him he said, 'No, I ordered the fish' !


----------



## Grott (24/11/17)

I’ll bet they deep fry their steaks as well WEAL.


----------



## Bribie G (24/11/17)

Bribie G said:


> In Europe and USA they are "the taste of summer".. of course here I've been growing them over the winter and it's probably too late to plant any more



Re the "patty pan" squash. 
Well that was a stuff up, I assumed they would die off when the summer arrived. Instead they have gone ballistic and sending runners all over the place, loaded with squash. So it looks like they are actually a summer variety, not that there's a serious difference in daytime maxima around here. 
I've prepared a bed for the next lot.


----------



## Bribie G (24/11/17)

Grott said:


> I’ll bet they deep fry their steaks as well WEAL.


Battered first of course.


----------



## Dave70 (24/11/17)

Grott said:


> I’ll bet they deep fry their steaks as well WEAL.



Number three, with a stent.

*GLASGOW is no longer the heart-disease capital of the UK, dropping to third in the league table of deaths, figures show. *

http://www.scotsman.com/news/glasgow-shakes-off-uk-heart-disease-capital-title-1-2901928


----------



## BrockHops (24/11/17)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Sent off an email to the seed potato suppliers in SA about the Kestrel spuds and availability for home gardeners, got no reply, will try Diggers and Green Harvest see if they can get them. There is another pommie one called Swift planting to lifting is approximately 7 weeks.
> Did a post somewhere about the world shortage of phosphate, we are on the brink of phosphate being mined out and Monash Uni has been doing experiments with thousands of species of plants and the effect of the lack of phosphate, results are dwarfed plants which are packed with cyanide (survival mode) and the sorghum produced enough cyanide to kill a cow.
> Amazing how plants can produce cyanide so easily, and how so many plants are toxic, even fungi producing poisons and their roots hardly penetrate the soil. I have a plant in my back yard that if you laid underneath it for 5 to 10 minutes you would die.
> Beware the plants.


Woah, woah, woah!
You have a plant that, just by resting under it you can die?!
What kind of Death Tree is this!?


----------



## wynnum1 (25/11/17)

Dave70 said:


> Number three, with a stent.
> 
> *GLASGOW is no longer the heart-disease capital of the UK, dropping to third in the league table of deaths, figures show. *
> 
> http://www.scotsman.com/news/glasgow-shakes-off-uk-heart-disease-capital-title-1-2901928


They are about to become *heart-disease capital they are going to increase the price of alcohol to $1 *a standard drink at the super market thats $43 for a 4L cask of goon that has 43 standard drinks the government thinks they have a drinking problem would think alcohol would thin the blood and help the heart and probably kill your liver and you die from that and not *heart-disease .*


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/11/17)

Grott said:


> I’ll bet they deep fry their steaks as well WEAL.


We had a fish and chip shop here near the Dairy Bell ice cream factory which sold battered black puddings, and the best chips I have had are beer battered chips


BrockHops said:


> Woah, woah, woah!
> You have a plant that, just by resting under it you can die?!
> What kind of plant is this!?


Water lilly.


----------



## Bribie G (25/11/17)

Last time in Edinburgh we went to their equivalent of a Westfield Food Court and there were stalls selling all sorts of goodies like haggis etc. Boys and I had haggis (deep fried battered of course). SWMBO liked the sound of the black pudding (nice neat little rounds fried with your breakfast). When it arrived it was at least a foot long, battered, resting on a huge mound of chips and hanging over both sides of the plate. 

Once, going through Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders I stopped for a meat pie. Suddenly, into the batter with it and into the deep fryer - stirred around for about three minutes and popped into a greaseproof paper bag. Tasted heavenly. 

Back on topic my Eden Seeds Okra (Clempson's Spineless) are popping up after only 4 days. Love that mob.


----------



## BrockHops (25/11/17)

Water lilly.

Hahaha!
Not thinking laterally last night after a big brew day ..


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/11/17)

Took out a couple of my mini cauliflower and some Blue Saphire spuds, not my choice of potato but my wife's, going to be interesting to see if they change colour when cooked.


----------



## wynnum1 (2/12/17)

Anyone grow onions was given some sweet Spanish seed and planted about 5 months ago in Brisbane did not know about short and long day length onions and sweet Spanish are heading to being long day and Brisbane only gets 13 hours and 50 odd minutes .
One onion seems to be bulbing up so may not be hopeless.


----------



## SnailAle (2/12/17)

Thinning out the onions, these littlw fellas will be used in a roast of some description I reckon.


----------



## Danscraftbeer (3/12/17)

Hack down! Broad Beans, gotta be done.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/12/17)

I presume you left the roots in Dan, we were away when my Dad pulled out the beans but I am now into the proper bean stage with the Kings Cobra climbing beans and Simba dwarf. The Tiger nuts are coming along nicely but my hydro tomato are dismal don't know why. Did a 50/ 50 mix with Perlite and rice hulls every thing is fine with that but the tomatoes are struggling.
The best tomatoes are the ones in the ground, Money Maker going really well, as is the white onions and shallots


----------



## earle (14/12/17)

Should you leave the roots in? I had broad beans growing in my hop areas with some vague idea of soil improvement in mind, also thinking they would be a winter/early spring crop but got pissed off that they were then holding up the growth of my hops so just ended up yanking them out so that the hops could get some sun and get growing.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/12/17)

Beans put nitrogen into the soil, always just cut them down when finished and leave the roots in. The hops will get up to the sun, I do believe hops was one of Charles Darwin's favorite plants, in fact it was Darwin who proved plants could see. (light at any rate)


----------



## manticle (14/12/17)

Just removed the last of our broad beans last night - some for puree, some too far gone so will dry and store for seeds next year. Didn't know about leaving the roots in but plants are still in and now I do. Good tip.


----------



## bradsbrew (14/12/17)

******* ants nesting under my cucumber leaves. Read something about a borax and honey mix to kill them, will it also kill bees?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/12/17)

I just use ant kill if I think they are protecting the aphids, but I did read somewhere about using white vinegar to kill ants.


----------



## Danscraftbeer (14/12/17)

Ant rid can do a nest but not 100%. They have come back for me. They're nesting inside the roller of my new outdoor blinds!. WTF!. It must be an ideal temp control area they found. Very busy loading, running around with eggs etc. Those frgn tricky ants. I lost patients and blasted parts of their main roads with aerosol insect killer.
Pests out of control, premature flowering outa control! Whats with this season?


----------



## manticle (15/12/17)

Just ‘cos we’re on pests - I’ve had rats recently and tried so many things but finally the cat got a couple and finally the traps I laid months ago started catching too. Most effective has been tomcat snap trap with fresh malt barley as a bait. So good, I even caught my own finger in it yesterday.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/12/17)

The cage traps work better for rats, they aren't as silly as mice are when it comes to snap traps.
My dog killed 2 possums this year, one had been around for ages great big thing, through either laziness or age it decided not to climb the tree but have a kip under the water tank below the tree.
Needless to say within 4 weeks replacements have moved in.


----------



## S.E (15/12/17)

manticle said:


> Just ‘cos we’re on pests - I’ve had rats recently and tried so many things but finally the cat got a couple and finally the traps I laid months ago started catching too. Most effective has been tomcat snap trap with fresh malt barley as a bait. So good, I even caught my own finger in it yesterday.



I suspect it may be a lazy rat that has been eating my tomatoes. Only the ones low down on the plant at about rat hight have been half eaten.

I have found the Nooski ring traps from Bunnings pretty good but only in warm weather though as the rings don’t close fast enough when they are cold. They are a safer option to snap traps if you have cats or other pets.

Rats are very wary of baited traps. Loughran Family Stout malt or Gladfield Ale works best as bait I have found. I have had very limited success with Joe White Trad. 

The best way to catch rats is use unbaited traps like this http://www.fenntraps.com/mk4-fenn-spring-trap.html in a tunnel. Rats don’t like being out in the open and love the cover a tunnel provides if you place it on their runs next to a wall or fence. Only thing is when I tried to buy one in NSW a few years ago I couldn’t find one and think they are illegal to use here so check the regulations in your state.

When I was a kid I had 100% success rate setting spring snares on rat runs but again I think they are illegal to use in NSW.

A good book on rat catching is Tales of a Rat Hunting Man by D. Brian Plummer one of his methods is using a garden sprayer to vaporise and spray petrol into a rat warren and blow it up by throwing a match from a safe distance.

As a kid me and my mates had a similar method using rocket fireworks. Just break the stick off a good sized rocket, place it at the entrance of a burrow and light the fuse. It would go deep down the burrow and any rats not killed when it exploded came out disorientated and could be easily shot with an air rifle or hit with a stick.

Again, act responsibly though and check regs in your state before trying that. And obviously not if there is a fire ban in place.


----------



## manticle (15/12/17)

Totally ot but for anyone into old docos -


----------



## manticle (15/12/17)

Agreed rats are way smarter than mice but talking to the pest guy at work - they get slower and less cautious as they get older. We had traps and cats for months - suddenly in two weeks, we got close to one a day.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/12/17)

Netted all my apple and pear trees today, lovingly nurtured an old plum tree and this year it produced some amazing looking plums. Didn't get one plum from it, possums and birds saw them off. Good harvest to be had on my peach tree that will be covered tomorrow and my female Kiwi fruit tree is absolutely loaded, for some reason possums leave them alone.
Hydro tomatoes all rooted, according to my readings (one in line and one with wand) nutrients seemed good, everything else grew well. Big difference between brewing and gardening is if something fucks up in gardening its a year wait till the next go.


----------



## indica86 (28/12/17)

Lost all my apples to birds in two days.
Oh well.
More bananas coming, massive amount of avocados as usual. Decent bowl of Davidson Plums so will be making some jam. Perhaps a Davidson Plum wheat beer next year?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/1/18)

My hydro tomatoes are picking up, to late to get the usual harvest, absolute glut of beans, Kings Cobra climbing beans and Simba dwarf beans. Good old reliable Money Maker (talking tomatoes here) doing well in the garden, along with chilies, capsicum, corn, eggplants and more beetroot. Got Butter beans growing between the corn.



Money Maker


----------



## wynnum1 (4/1/18)

What eats corn off the cobs when there on the plant is it rats or birds or possums probably rats.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (4/1/18)

wynnum1 said:


> What eats corn off the cobs when there on the plant is it rats or birds or possums probably rats.



All 3..plus more


----------



## wide eyed and legless (4/1/18)

wynnum1 said:


> What eats corn off the cobs when there on the plant is it rats or birds or possums probably rats.


Usually me, I don't generally grow corn though I do love it, takes up a lot of space, and never makes it indoors, but my wife bought the seeds this year.
I would guess rats the small native ones, anything sweet they will eat, always have a few beetroot and swede gets nibbled around the edges.


----------



## manticle (4/1/18)

Bastards have all but destroyed my pumpkin plant which was flourishing and flowering beautifully a week ago


----------



## wynnum1 (4/1/18)

_Was thinking about building a trap with a wifi security camera and when there in the trap close the doors remotely could then sell as snake food after giving time for any rat poison to be rendered harmless._


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/1/18)

Dog got his first possum for the year, big'un too. They have to try to get water in this heat, makes them vulnerable.
Shallots drying out, white salad onions already dried out beetroot pickled more beetroot to be harvested next week going to make pickled roasted beetroot. Tomatoes (in ground doing well) as is the sweet corn. Going to start chitting some early spuds towards the end of next month.


----------



## spog (20/1/18)

Weal, when you chit spuds do you plant “ the” spud with whatever growth/ sprouts on it as a whole, or do you slice the sprouts off separately and plant as individuals.
The reason I’m asking is ,I have in the past gone the later and this year the yield has been very disappointing to say the least.
I have been dividing the spuds, as above for yonks but last yr wasn’t so good and this yr is....pffft.


----------



## spog (20/1/18)

And before I piss off to bed, best advice on the peas/ plants that sprout from pea straw that has/ is used as a mulch.
Could differ from where you are and I am. 
I’m of the understanding that they are high? In nitrogen, good for some veggies/ plants but not for others.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (21/1/18)

spog said:


> Weal, when you chit spuds do you plant “ the” spud with whatever growth/ sprouts on it as a whole, or do you slice the sprouts off separately and plant as individuals.
> The reason I’m asking is ,I have in the past gone the later and this year the yield has been very disappointing to say the least.
> I have been dividing the spuds, as above for yonks but last yr wasn’t so good and this yr is....pffft.


Last year I managed to get some early spuds from a seed and corn merchant, I plant the whole spud if they are a regular size. I then wanted some Kestrel potatoes which we cannot buy as certified so I got some from Woollies, they were all closed fist size, those I cut in half making sure there were chits on both halves, only 2 failed to crop just rotted in the ground.
As for you peas from the pea straw they do put nitrogen back into the soil which is good, they are not overloading the earth with nitrogen, I doubt whether you will get any peas off them being a cool temperature veg, but in the winter let them grow and eat the peas.


----------



## wynnum1 (21/1/18)

spog said:


> Weal, when you chit spuds do you plant “ the” spud with whatever growth/ sprouts on it as a whole, or do you slice the sprouts off separately and plant as individuals.
> The reason I’m asking is ,I have in the past gone the later and this year the yield has been very disappointing to say the least.
> I have been dividing the spuds, as above for yonks but last yr wasn’t so good and this yr is....pffft.


What was the weather like last year do not like hot weather if you plant larger seed potato can plant deeper as they can sprout from deep in the soil and that could protect roots from heat have seen on youtube where they did this where there could be very cold and the extra time under ground allowed for weather to change .


----------



## wide eyed and legless (21/1/18)

I have tried growing spuds late in the season, not by design but Bunnings were almost giving them away, got some Fir Apple, thought they would be OK if I kept the water up to them, never got a one. Though they were in big pots so the temperature would have got pretty high.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/1/18)

Tonight's and tomorrow night's dinner, Mr Fothergills striped marrow. Will be stuffing it with pork mince, garlic,onions mushrooms capsicum, peas and rice topped of with some mozzarella cheese.


----------



## Dave70 (22/1/18)

You have impressive marrow WEAL.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (23/1/18)

Dave70 said:


> You have impressive marrow WEAL.


It was very tasty too, though SWMBO got me to cut about 4 inches off the end (ouch) to slice and fry Russian style.


----------



## koshari (23/1/18)

constant theme in the last few pages of posts, birds raiding fruit, about to net the fig tree as the harvest is coming to the pointy end.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (23/1/18)

Thrips have been the brunt of my angst so far, I have red cabbage growing and I have to check them everyday. Even though they are growing under an insect exclusion netting they seem to get in, believe I read somewhere they can live in the soil so maybe they were already in there.
I have summer cauliflower ready to go in along with cabbage, if I put them outside the cabbage whites will get them if I put them under the cover of the netting I am encouraging the thrips.
I have been using potassium soap on them if that doesn't kill them my thumb an forefinger sliding over the slippery surface will.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/2/18)

Anyone grow grapes? I have some table grapes and each year I get a black spot on the grapes and the new branches. I imagine it is some sort of mould any hints on what to spray the vines with.


----------



## 5teve (15/2/18)

Not sure if the black spot in grapes is the same type of fungus as in apples and roses etc, so maybe check if a fungicide like mancozeb is registered for use with them. Lime sulphur might be good too, but might be a bit late in the game now in summer for that. Safest bet might be try make your own baking soda based organic fungicide maybe.

With black spot fungi, the goal is more prevention than cure as it's harder to kill the active spores.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/2/18)

Yes realised it is to late now, but want to get prepared for next year, cut them right back today.


----------



## wynnum1 (15/2/18)

eco-_fungicide_ is a registered organic _fungicide_ for the control of powdery mildew, black spot and rust. Safe for veggies ...
_Potassium bicarbonate i think is one of the ingredients ._


----------



## fungrel (16/2/18)

wynnum1 said:


> eco-_fungicide_ is a registered organic _fungicide_ for the control of powdery mildew, black spot and rust. Safe for veggies ...
> _Potassium bicarbonate i think is one of the ingredients ._


One of the most recent books I've been reading on hops has recommended tablespoon bicarbonate soda to 4L water to control as a natural fungicide on hops.
Been using this for the last 4 weeks on all plants, works well.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/2/18)

Well another valuable lesson learned, while insect exclusion net is good for keeping out insects for rats it is totally useless. Going to have to get some roofing iron to go around the bottom half of the 'house'. Rats are wily and can climb like a monkey, even clambered up a 15 mm plastic hydro tube to chew a hole through the mesh. A rats taste for corn is like a heroin addict after smack.
I thought I would be able to fool the leader into trying to get purchase from the rat trap on the side of the house, went out at 2.00 am nothing in the trap but another hole on the opposite side.


----------



## Dave70 (19/2/18)

Yeah I know, chemicals and all that. **** it. I have no plans to eat the rats, nor do I have dogs that may see a slow one as a quick snack.
I nailed a few of these to a piece of timber and wiped out a whole clan in a week. Works like a charm. Now the chooks get to eat all the feed.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/2/18)

I must admit I don't like killing them that way, a painful death, but I bought a load of similar (red ones)
I will get some of the blue ones to try. I want to keep throwing my used grain in the compost I don't mind them tucking into that but first it was the tomatoes and as soon as the corn starts to ripen they have left the tomato's alone. Sat out till dark with an air rifle, I was doing more harm than good shooting up the apples cos I was bored.
$200 + for the iron, to late for this year but the rats will be fucked for next year.


----------



## Haciluku (19/2/18)

Guys,
I am thinking of putting some veggie planters and a greenhouse in my backyard.
Need a hand here.
Veggie planters - plan to use sleepers. Getting the ecowood one or the normal one with plastic sheet lining? 
Greenhouse - Plan to use some of my left over woods to build one. Where do you buy the plastic sheet?

Anyone got photos please post for me. Thanks.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/2/18)

You can use poly carbonate, I have this on two of mine and another I was given a load of the plastic cafe blind I used that around the bottom insect exclusion mesh for remainder of the sides and poly film for the top because its all hydroponic.
This mob is good to deal with and you can get everything from there.
https://jag.net.au/product-category/green-house-products/commercial-green-house-film/


----------



## Haciluku (19/2/18)

Thanks WEAL.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/2/18)

When you choose the timber for the beds I think I read somewhere that the thicker treated pine is treated with arsenic, also the plastic is not ideal, but I doubt much chemical wise will leach into the soil.


----------



## Airgead (21/2/18)

I built mine out of the non CCA treated pine. It's a non arsenic thing that's designed for vege beds and the like. It's a reddish colour instead of the green CCA. Can be hard to find but I picked up mine at Bunnings. I think it was about 10 bucks per sleeper.


----------



## wynnum1 (21/2/18)

What about concrete sleepers.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (21/2/18)

wynnum1 said:


> What about concrete sleepers.


To expensive, depending on how big Haciluku wants his beds I would be going for the 25 mm treated pine or as Airgead suggests something that doesn't contain the arsenic personally I use the cover sheets for roofing or fencing iron free and no worries about contaminants, although most vegetables make toxins to prevent us mammals eating them, I doubt whether they realise we do cook them.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/2/18)

The rat population is down by 1 in my backyard this morning, could have been their leader as no other traps touched, or damage was perceived. 5 more traps are now baited with corn and covered with corn leaves, if they chose a new leader will be interesting if he/she wants to come in and negotiate.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/2/18)

The bait is taking its toll on the rats I have found 2 dead and one dying, my steel fencing material arrives Tuesday, so will be right for next year, just have to keep the Grapefruit tree from getting to close to the roof otherwise they will be getting in there. They seem smart enough to check if they can manage to get out the same way and with the tomato plants hitting the roof they would take advantage of that.
Preparing the soil today ready to plant broad beans and peas, also have to get some winter cabbage and cauliflower into seed trays.


----------



## ibegood (25/2/18)

Stick with your bait, they will climb roofing like no tomorrow, the will climb glass if need be so just poison the fuckers too stop feeding and breeding them.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/2/18)

I know that is the path to take, but it is a horrible death, my brother used a trap which was effective and caught them alive but being to soft took the to the park and released them, I could shoot them.I think.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/2/18)

Two More rats have taken the bait, I may have to keep putting it down I have noticed that the blocks of bait has been completely consumed, I wonder how many more are dead which I will never find.


----------



## wynnum1 (1/3/18)

Rodent Bait Station see those in the gardens in the shopping center they must have cameras on them to stop people stealing .


----------



## ibegood (1/3/18)

They have to use them from a litigation and best practices point.
Have half a dozen round my place and put a couple of baits on nails on the rear fence for easy monitoring and this tends to be there runway and are usually fully eaten every couple of months.
Some of the bait stations around the outside of the house have bait still there 3-4 years later


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/3/18)

I put more bait out last night and they must drag it off and eat it elsewhere because they're gone today.

Last of the tomatoes for the year still got plenty of beans carrots and cucumber, capsicum will be good for at least another 3 weeks or so.


----------



## Haciluku (12/3/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> To expensive, depending on how big Haciluku wants his beds I would be going for the 25 mm treated pine or as Airgead suggests something that doesn't contain the arsenic personally I use the cover sheets for roofing or fencing iron free and no worries about contaminants, although most vegetables make toxins to prevent us mammals eating them, I doubt whether they realise we do cook them.



I would like the bed to be 1.2m x 0.6m x 0.4m high. Four beds total for crop rotation. Most like to be timber like Airgead suggested. Prefer the prefab metal box but it is expensive for the similar size.


----------



## Haciluku (12/3/18)

I suspect my grape leaves are eaten by mouses. Can see some holes in the ground, near the base of plant.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/3/18)

Haciluku said:


> I would like the bed to be 1.2m x 0.6m x 0.4m high. Four beds total for crop rotation. Most like to be timber like Airgead suggested. Prefer the prefab metal box but it is expensive for the similar size.


Ask around for some cover sheets, if you see some metal fencing or roofing going on, cost nothing make up some metal or wooden posts a few tech screws and your in business. Mind you you will need a grinder or a nibbler.


----------



## Haciluku (13/3/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Ask around for some cover sheets, if you see some metal fencing or roofing going on, cost nothing make up some metal or wooden posts a few tech screws and your in business. Mind you you will need a grinder or a nibbler.



Thanks for the advice. Will keep an eye on these. I have some left over wooden pallets for roof tiles but need to check the chemical treatment they used on these pallets.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/3/18)

Had a good week last week for scoring some gear for free, several sheets of colorbond and 1.5 sheets of reinforcing mesh from across the road where they are building a new house, didn't know this but I was asking about the use of polystyrene under the cement, (just getting friendly so I could score the mesh) insurance companies will only insure a house built over the polystyrene for 7 years. I didn't know that.


----------



## solidute (19/3/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Had a good week last week for scoring some gear for free, several sheets of colorbond and 1.5 sheets of reinforcing mesh from across the road where they are building a new house, didn't know this but I was asking about the use of polystyrene under the cement, (just getting friendly so I could score the mesh) insurance companies will only insure a house built over the polystyrene for 7 years. I didn't know that.


We looked at building a new house, but life changed and it didnt end up happening, i digress... anyway when we were going through the processes every builder we talked to said that while its a cheaper way to do it and it also meets minimum regulations most engineers wont certify it as suitable as it will eventually fail causing cracks in the foundation and walls due to movement.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/3/18)

Thats exactly what the concreting guys told me, yet I have seen it on so many sites, I really had my eye on the leftover polystyrene, though I didn't need it, and the suppliers came and picked the leftover blocks the next day. I asked the concreters if the builder was obliged to tell the purchaser of the house the pit falls of the poly blocks they told me they were, I also asked them if they would have a house built using the poly blocks they all answered in the negative.


----------



## solidute (19/3/18)

Its basically the cheap n nasty option. Yep meets regulations so not doing anything wrong but not best practices either


----------



## wynnum1 (19/3/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Had a good week last week for scoring some gear for free, several sheets of colorbond and 1.5 sheets of reinforcing mesh from across the road where they are building a new house, didn't know this but I was asking about the use of polystyrene under the cement, (just getting friendly so I could score the mesh) insurance companies will only insure a house built over the polystyrene for 7 years. I didn't know that.


Polystyrene would depend how well the concrete is engineered but looking at the house next door and the house next to that not all concrete is equal would prefer the one that did not use Polystyrene they spent time putting on good foundations with good steel.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/3/18)

Time to chit them spuds for an early crop, going to try another shop bought spud, from Aldi can't remember the name, began with a K something Farm a really good all rounder especially for roasting.
Still waiting to get my broad beans in this weather is shite to hot and no rain, also holding up my main harvest I need a bit of moisture in the air when drying out.


----------



## awfulknauful (22/3/18)

Got to say I love my tatties, nothing better than home grown.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/4/18)

Cleaning up this long weekend, getting the hydro prepared for summer, trialing some cool weather tomatoes for the green house 'Iceberg' with a bit of luck will hopefully get some winter tomatoes.
Planted Broad Beans, peas,swede, beetroot and leeks. Carrots under cover, silver beet seeds and cabbage seeds.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/4/18)

Seedlings I planted coming through nicely, tomatoes all up, carrots coming up as well as peas and beans.
Seedlings 


A bit of a phenomenon a 3 leaved shoot, (beetroot) never seen one before.


----------



## inkbird (16/4/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Seedlings I planted coming through nicely, tomatoes all up, carrots coming up as well as peas and beans.
> Seedlings
> View attachment 112266
> 
> ...


So cute~


----------



## user 74499 (18/4/18)

Just found this thread and I'm not surprised to find the cross-over. I'm going to be getting on the bandwagon as soon as the reno is finished; I'm keen to have good home-grown food to go with the good home-made beer. Seeing seedlings come to life is the same kind of exciting as seeing a brew start bubbling in earnest I think.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/4/18)

Collutio said:


> Just found this thread and I'm not surprised to find the cross-over. I'm going to be getting on the bandwagon as soon as the reno is finished; I'm keen to have good home-grown food to go with the good home-made beer. Seeing seedlings come to life is the same kind of exciting as seeing a brew start bubbling in earnest I think.


Just as rewarding as home brewing, be prepared to read heaps, biggest difference is if you stuff up the first time it is another year before you can have another crack.


----------



## wynnum1 (23/5/18)

Planted the potatoes i kept from last year last week kestrel should have planted earlier but the ground had clay and was too wet and sticky not the best seed potato kept too long but the problem with kestrel can take a long time to sprout and in the hot weather a waste of time so when these are harvested will be too late .Have purchase 10 small kestrel potatoes and waiting to sprout plus another 4 off cuts from a white potato that can plant when they dry.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (24/5/18)

My kestrel were just starting to chit when I left Australia,they should be just right by the time I get back, I hope we have been getting plenty of rain in the SE suburbs of Melbourne.


----------



## theQuinny (24/5/18)

With all this fermenting going on, I thought I'd try making kimchi ... here's my cabbages on the go (photo about 2 weeks ago):


----------



## theQuinny (24/5/18)

Something you backyard vege growers may be interested in - native Australian bees:







Little critters are great for assisting pollination. That little box there would have 6 - 8 thousand bees ... not really suited to southern states though.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (29/5/18)

Back from the hols, got some seeds in Czech Republic looking forward to trying these.


Winter veg cropping up, peas in flower, beetroot, swede,lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, silver beet, pak choy, broad beans, and leeks with more leeks in the nursery.



Iceberg winter tomatoes going well, strange looking leaves, no serrations.


Tomorrow will cut my chitted spuds here is a blog by the Welsh Wizard Medwyn Williams.
http://www.medwynsofanglesey.co.uk/blog/2014/03/cutting-up-seed-potatoes/


----------



## wynnum1 (29/5/18)

Did you bring any true potato seed back sarpo mira looks like an interesting potato.
*https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct.../sarpo-mira/&usg=AOvVaw1aIcDD6HxVmRndL2iQuxcO*


----------



## wide eyed and legless (29/5/18)

No I didn't get any potato seed, hired a car and toured some of the Balkan states, saw plenty of spuds growing in Bosnia, just about all of the gardens there were full of veg front and back, they then sell them by the side of the road. Gardening isn't a hobby there but part of survival, anyone who thinks socialism works should visit Bosnia.


----------



## theQuinny (4/6/18)

Spent the last few days reading through this entire thread (and the bee keeping thread as well, which sadly, seems to have died... I've got Aust. native stingless bees).

What a great read and some great ideas.

I've got cabbage, carrots, leeks, onions & silver beet in raised beds you can see up there ^^^ somewhere. Mandarins are just about ready and had some nice lemonades ... My first bunch of bananas should be ready in a few weeks. Some of my other plants are a nectarine, which turned out to be a peach ... some tropical plums, 4 or 5 south american cherries. Who remembers loquats? Have a young one of those. Tropical apples, an olive from St. Helena Island. Choko vine is going good, getting plenty of those lately. I had a spare garden bed looking for something to do. Last weekend I put in a few Otway Red spuds to see how they'd fend ... I love beetroot & was interested in reading various preparation methods. I boil them up like a potato, skin them like everyone does, slice them thin, put them in a Tupperware container in layers with red onion - then fill the container with balsamic vinegar, which is a bit sweeter than malt or cider ... after a week or so, nice in a salad or a sandwich.

Anyways - keep up the good gardening everyone ...

[Edit] forgot to mention the dragon fruit ...

... and one of the plum trees, I took from a root cutting from my Dad's place. The original tree is probably 100 years old. It was well established in the '50's when they moved there. It's a deep red flesh plum and sweet. I used to gutz myself on them when I was a kid. 

My motivation? My father in law is Hungarian, when he was younger they used to make a local drink called palinka, originally based on plums but often apricots were used as they moved over here to Melbourne. 

I love the Hungarian culture, Sunday morning we go over there and have wonderful coffee with a shot glass of vodka as an accompaniment ... and a spread of hams, sausage, pickled veg - fresh home made bread.

I'd love to make some palinka before it's too late ...



Q


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/6/18)

I lived with a Russian girl early in my life, loved the Sundays, the spread her mother would put on, usually roast pork, but I loved the cauliflower dipped in egg and fried, sweet I couldn't get to grips with boiled wheat with more sugar than wheat I reckon. Out came the chess set and the beer and vodka after lunch.
Anyway planted my spuds this afternoon, I did cut them and let them dry on paper toweling dug 7 trenches sprinkled in general purpose fertiliser, had already primed the soil with manure and mushroom compost then a load of blood and bone and pellets on the top, will put a heap of compost over the top of that tomorrow.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/7/18)

Spuds just starting to poke through now, roughly 4 weeks from planting, rain has been a bit scarce so have watered a couple of times.
Harvested the Tiger nuts from just 5 nuts I have hundreds, not really nuts, they look like tiny yams and they are tubers. 


Growth of the greens in the tunnel going along nicely.



Winter tomatoes starting to flower, be interesting to see if they vine ripen, though I have had one cherry tomato plant I left in the ground outside which is still producing fruit.


Next summers tomato and capsicum seeds planted and on the green house window sill.


----------



## malt and barley blues (6/7/18)

I wouldn't mind taking some of those Tiger nuts off you hands, bloody love em.


----------



## theQuinny (6/7/18)

Got a few goodies out of my garden the other day ...


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/7/18)

Are they Butter beans in that bowl?


----------



## theQuinny (6/7/18)

Yes they are ! First pick of the crop. Very tasty too.

On another note, you were saying you're finding threads locked for whatever reason ... I'm getting that a lot too (this one for example). I found if I change to firefox as opposed to chrome, seems to fix the problem.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/7/18)

theQuinny said:


> Yes they are ! First pick of the crop. Very tasty too.
> 
> On another note, you were saying you're finding threads locked for whatever reason ... I'm getting that a lot too (this one for example). I found if I change to firefox as opposed to chrome, seems to fix the problem.


No mate, the reason that the GUTEN thread was locked and removed from new posts is it was getting moderated, there are some dark forces afoot, and one doesn't need exert much mental power to work out who was behind it.


----------



## theQuinny (6/7/18)

Ahh, I see ... Just now in chrome, I couldn't post a reply in this thread, but in firefox, I can. I must have a different issue...

Anyhoos - back on topic, I planted my potatoes around the same time you did - all 12 are now up and doing well:


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/7/18)

Mine have only just poked their heads up about 10 mm, I earth mine up, then put the much over, are they tomatoes in that bed at the back?
The winter tomatoes I have called Iceberg or Glacier have an entirely different leaf, no serrations just a plain leaf.


----------



## theQuinny (6/7/18)

I planted these before we went away on holidays mid June ... as a "lets see what these will do" sort of thing ... I was saying to the missus this afternoon, I have to go and give them some attention tomorrow ... I'll build up a trellis of some sort. The cherry tomato at the back was delivered by the chooks quite by accident - excellent tomotoes! About the size of golf balls and forming in really nice trusses. Will keep some seed for next year.


----------



## theQuinny (6/7/18)

While I've got your attention, you don't have any good jam / marmalade reciepies by any chance?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (6/7/18)

I was trying to get some Rosada plum cherry (brix rating of 10.5) found some after I have just planted out all my seeds but have ordered some from the UK for next year. They are F1's so seed can't be saved.


----------



## theQuinny (6/7/18)

F1 is a hybrid ?

Edit: Just had a Google - they look great ...

Anyhoos ... It must be beer o'clock on a Friday. I'm running low on my fav American Pale. Need to brew tonight !


----------



## theQuinny (29/7/18)

Nice to see my native bees getting to work on my peach tree:


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/7/18)

theQuinny said:


> F1 is a hybrid ?
> 
> Edit: Just had a Google - they look great ...
> 
> Anyhoos ... It must be beer o'clock on a Friday. I'm running low on my fav American Pale. Need to brew tonight !


Yes F1 is hybrid means First born, was in Bunnings earlier came across Sweet Aperitif from Johnsons,
13 on the brix scale.


----------



## TONY VAN DER ZANDEN (31/7/18)

surly said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I am very new to growing some food plants. Had chillies for a few years, some berries and herbs.
> Last year I planted my first hops and had a decent crop. Can't wait until this years harvest.
> ...


Grapes


----------



## drsmurto (31/7/18)

300 tomato seeds planted and into the germination chamber at 24C with a 12/12h on/off cycle for the LED grow lights. I'll be selling them as advanced seedlings in spring as part of my business with part proceeds going to my local CFS crew. Getting up to 100% germination rates using this system, the second photo shows snowpea seedlings 11 days after planting seeds.


----------



## theQuinny (31/7/18)

Wow !


drsmurto said:


> snowpea seedlings 11 days after planting seeds.



Mazing ...


----------



## theQuinny (1/8/18)

Looks like I'm going to have a big crop of mulberries this year !


----------



## theQuinny (9/8/18)

Hows that for some magnificent looking spinach 






Just picked ...


Q


----------



## wide eyed and legless (11/8/18)

I like spinach Quinny, but I hope you aren't a vegan, I was reading in The New Scientist that the iron locked in spinach and other greens are really hard to extract by the digestive system, lots of factors come into play whether you have a cup of tea will reduce the iron intake from meals. Would be great with liver win win.


----------



## theQuinny (11/8/18)

Hi Weal,

I like vegans, but I couldn't eat a whole one !


Q


----------



## theQuinny (11/8/18)

Just to add, we bought 10 bags of sheep poop this afternoon to put on all the fruit trees... Need to go back and get another 10 bags tomorrow ...


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/8/18)

I have Mandarin going berserk, Grapefruit absolutely stacked and not allowed to eat because of medication, Goji Berries, though one of the plants may have fallen off its perch, limes which I will be making lemon curd with, will be spraying my stone fruit apples and pears within the next couple of weeks. Looking forward to the coming seasons.


----------



## theQuinny (13/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I have Mandarin going berserk,



Our mandarin finished fruiting a few weeks back & we cut it back a fair bit ... damn thing is coming out in flower again !



wide eyed and legless said:


> limes which I will be making lemon curd



Recipe ? ... Our lime - same as the mandarin - flowering like crazy, still with a heap of fruit on.



wide eyed and legless said:


> will be spraying my stone fruit apples and pears



My peach has just finished flowering with new fruit forming ... do you think it's too late to spray? What do you use - some copper based solution?


You should see my tomatoes !  I'll post up some photos when I get a chance.

Wonder if the bees have something to do with it ...


----------



## wide eyed and legless (13/8/18)

I think your locality has something to do with it, I have always been wanting to get into bees, wife isn't keen, there are still bees hanging around our garden at this time of year in Victoria. I could put hives on the roof not so much bothered about a return from honey, just like the idea they are there.
My work these days are setting up vegetable gardens and the area I work in has a large bee population nothing better that working in a garden which is full of bees.


----------



## theQuinny (13/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> nothing better that working in a garden which is full of bees.




Have to agree with that ...


----------



## theQuinny (16/8/18)

Update on my tomatoes as promised:


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/8/18)

In our climes here in Victoria my garden is now like this.

Honey Murcott mandarines

Too many grapefruit

More broccoli than I can poke a stick at

Swede coming along nicely 




Two beds of early spuds and I have another bed yet to show. Leeks peas and broad beans also going well.


----------



## theQuinny (17/8/18)

Looking good weal ... you should get Vasili to come round for a look ...

My spuds are starting to wilt so they'll be coming out in the next few weeks.

Here's a cabbage I picked yesterday ... 1.5 kg


----------



## altone (17/8/18)

Lol your gardens make my poor neglected veg patch look sad.

I did have a nice surprise while cleaning up one of my raised beds for spring planting.

Thought the waste potato trimming hadn't done anything as the above ground part
never really took off.













IMG_1398



__ altone
__ 17/8/18


----------



## theQuinny (17/8/18)

Nice little find !

Do any of you Vic boys grow stone fruits (plums, apricots etc.) for spirits ?


[Edit] errr ... That's illegal isn't it ... please disregard.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/8/18)

I have peaches and plums, never thought about spirits from any of them. I do have some other seeds to sell, not illegal to sell them, just to plant them, $5 each.


----------



## theQuinny (17/8/18)

$2 ...


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/8/18)

$2 each! one seed will give you a return to buy a 50 litre Guten, a couple of sacks of grain, 2 new suits, 3 pair of shoes and a stone of monkey nuts.


----------



## theQuinny (18/8/18)

Group buy ! 

Oh ... and I'm all out of monkey nuts ... !


----------



## Candice Marsden (19/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Sweet corn and sweet potato for me are a crop of little return for effort put in, good thing about kale is it will sprout again from the root the following year as does broccolini, spuds are a crop I grow every year even though cheap enough to buy it is the small new potato like, the skin rubs off and served with bacon and the bacon fat drizzled over the spuds is magnificent.
> The super food crops spinach,kale, broccoli, horse radish, (10 times better than kale ) and if anyone has a hydro set up watercress is so easy to grow packed with iron vitamin C and calcium.
> Then the usual tomatoes, beans dwarf and runner, zucchini, always produces far more than needed, cucumbers, having experienced a few bitter cucumbers I always grow the hybrid variety which doesn't need pollinating heirloom varieties of tomatoes does seem to have a better, sweeter flavour and to get the best out of your vegetables cook and eat within an hour of harvesting.


Where do you buy horseradish to grow? The fresh stuff is amazing!


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/8/18)

Candice Marsden said:


> Where do you buy horseradish to grow? The fresh stuff is amazing!


I think I got mine from Diggers if I remember right, don't know how you would go living in Perth and the quarantine laws. Ask around some of the garden centers or on eBay leaves are good to eat too.


----------



## altone (19/8/18)

Candice Marsden said:


> Where do you buy horseradish to grow? The fresh stuff is amazing!


You can try Guildford garden centre over there
https://guildfordgardencentre.com.au/product/horseradish/

edit: karnt spel


----------



## Slurp (20/8/18)

Candice Marsden said:


> Where do you buy horseradish to grow? The fresh stuff is amazing!


We picked one up from Bunnings a couple of years ago. If you water them heavily to size and then dial the water back the heat intensifies.


----------



## Slurp (20/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> I think your locality has something to do with it, I have always been wanting to get into bees, wife isn't keen, there are still bees hanging around our garden at this time of year in Victoria. I could put hives on the roof not so much bothered about a return from honey, just like the idea they are there.
> My work these days are setting up vegetable gardens and the area I work in has a large bee population nothing better that working in a garden which is full of bees.



Our neighbours behind us keep 2 hives. We have awesome pollination rates on all the fruit trees, chillies and tomatoes. Only downside is cider season. I made 100 litres across 2 batches from our trees, the bees cottoned onto it for the second batch and they were swarming around my crusher and press. Reckon I fished close to 50 out of the juice from the press. Didn't get stung once though, they are a pretty happy lot. We planted a bunch of rosemary, roses and other flowering plants to keep them coming over a few years back. He usually misses a few queens in Spring and we get 2-3 swarms landing in the garden each spring.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (22/8/18)

They are pretty docile, where I work around Warrandyte south there are plenty of hives and all I can hear is the drone of the bees, along with working the gardens.Really has a most therapeutic effect.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/8/18)

How is this weather, nothing better than tending the seedlings, listening to the Bulldogs v Richmond game. Love this time of year all capsicums are growing strongly along with the tommies, have got a dozen cauliflower I have to try and find some room for, rhubarb and sea kale coming on, what can be better. I wonder what the poor people are doing.


----------



## altone (25/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> How is this weather, nothing better than tending the seedlings, listening to the Bulldogs v Richmond game. Love this time of year all capsicums are growing strongly along with the tommies, have got a dozen cauliflower I have to try and find some room for, rhubarb and sea kale coming on, what can be better. I wonder what the poor people are doing.



Bloody hell I'm only just planting my tomato and capsicum/chilli into seed punnets - hope I'm not too late.

As for space - it's my biggest bugbear - big house on a standard block means not much room.

I'm currently digging out a 2 sqm patch out front - getting rid of compacted clay putting in a drain then I'll refill with organics plus a bit of sifted original soil.
probably 80% compost and manure 20% sifted clay soil.
Just want to grow the chard out front to make a bit more room for veg out back.

edit: I'll be planting daikon as well just to try and get those deep roots breaking up that underlying clay

Did the same out back with a fence bed - got a green manure in there atm to try and get it nice and fertile.


----------



## Slurp (25/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> How is this weather, nothing better than tending the seedlings, listening to the Bulldogs v Richmond game. Love this time of year all capsicums are growing strongly along with the tommies, have got a dozen cauliflower I have to try and find some room for, rhubarb and sea kale coming on, what can be better. I wonder what the poor people are doing.


I envy you, while the thermostat is in the positive for the next few days, we have big frosts and negatives here for at least another 6-7 weeks. Lucky I have seed raising and small plant set up inside to get them going and can harden the tomatoes off in anticipation of planting. Not planting too much this year other than enough for fresh fare, we have too much in bottles to eat up from last couple of years. All good, three full kegs and a batch of mead underway... no complaints!


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/8/18)

At least with the frosts you would be better able to grow decent Brussel sprouts, I have tried a couple of times here and they just go flower.


----------



## Slurp (30/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> At least with the frosts you would be better able to grow decent Brussel sprouts, I have tried a couple of times here and they just go flower.


Lol one of the very few veggies I don't really like, whitlof being the other. But they do grow well here for sure. I checked the buerre bosch pear tree, it is loaded with fruit spurs as are the apple trees, so assuming the frosts play nice we will be in business with them this year . The garlic planted in late autumn is starting to kick on with the warmer days now too. Garlic is one of the best crops we grow actually, big juicy purple garlic bulbs. Out of interest, do you know of any decent organic sprays for red spider mite? Our bok choy got hit pretty hard by them this winter. We had 2 beds with them so pulled them before they spread too far but lost half a dozen to them. Will neem be sufficient?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/8/18)

Parsnips is a veggie I am not keen on, still grow them though, I grew some Salsify they were going along nicely until my wife pulled them all out and put them in the compost she said she thought they were parsnips gone wrong. This is what they look like and taste like oysters apparently





The spider mite, there was a discussion on the Hop Growing thread, I think Dans Craft Brewer used some organic insecticide.


----------



## Slurp (30/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Parsnips is a veggie I am not keen on, still grow them though, I grew some Salsify they were going along nicely until my wife pulled them all out and put them in the compost she said she thought they were parsnips gone wrong. This is what they look like and taste like oysters apparently
> The spider mite, there was a discussion on the Hop Growing thread, I think Dans Craft Brewer used some organic insecticide.



Thanks. first time I have seen them outside actually. Only seen them otherwise indoors in growing conditions without sufficient air flow in my experience. That will teach me to get lazy and buy plants rather than grow from seed. I'm looking at you Bunnings! 

Oooh salsify.... Salsify with a nice piece of cod or snapper, a creamy white wine sauce and some steamed green beans for the win. Pair with a saison and your night is made... Or boiled until just soft, cooled and then finished off frying in a pan with some bacon lardons, put them in once the fat is rendering out from the bacon... Or added half way through the cook to a beef casserole.. Fk, I have had dinner and now I am hungry again. Can't believe you lost them all. Out of interest, where did you buy them from? I'd be keen to pick some up.

Parsnips are best young and roasted I think. When they get older they go really woody and its hard to make anything decent out of them. Also they need a decent regular watering schedule so they fatten up on top and don't go running to China. Try roasting them with carrots and honey, maybe with some caraway seeds or a good bunch of thyme.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (31/8/18)

Are you a chef, had me drooling over the salsify definitely will be getting more to grow again as I said never got a look in last time.
A couple of swede to go in with lamb shank stew, used to feel sorry for the Europeans who never got to have spuds prior to Walter Raleigh, but they had the swede and turnip, a load of pearl barley will be in attendance as well.


----------



## Slurp (31/8/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Are you a chef, had me drooling over the salsify definitely will be getting more to grow again as I said never got a look in last time.
> A couple of swede to go in with lamb shank stew, used to feel sorry for the Europeans who never got to have spuds prior to Walter Raleigh, but they had the swede and turnip, a load of pearl barley will be in attendance as well.
> View attachment 113383


 Turnips look awesome! Not a chef just a big time foodie.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (31/8/18)

Hey Slurp you should apply some of your cooking knowledge to the Brussel sprouts, lightly steamed and then fried with sesame seed making sure you have some left over to fry with bacon for breakfast.
Did I say I am also making dumplings to go with the stew?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/9/18)

First lot of spuds coming on well, where is the rain?


----------



## theQuinny (28/9/18)

Excellent mate. I picked about 10 kg a few weeks back.


----------



## altone (28/9/18)

Dammit am I getting this all wrong? I normally get spuds late Autumn and winter when I plant them.
I'm growing mainly salad and other leafy greens, carrots, radish and beans. 
Plus the baby tomatoes and chillies for later on.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (29/9/18)

I have been picking the cold weather tomatoes, 'Iceberg' for about a week now those warm days we have had coloured them up, the spuds I have tried earlier for the last 2 years, bear in mind though a frost will kill them. I have most things out of the seed tray into 100 mm pots now, capsicum, tomatoes, cucmber, zuchini, and marrow. Simba dwarf beans are up and a dozen black cherry tomatoes are in situ as are 16 honey bee tomatoes.


----------



## theQuinny (2/10/18)

Getting a good crop of tomatoes this year


----------



## Redreuben (14/10/18)

I’m in Fremantle just grey water repellant sand ! I use clay cat litter to put some water retention in the soil but keeping gardens fed is a constant battle, returning to brewing will help that, spent grain is great soil builder !


----------



## Peterbrew (14/10/18)

Redreuben said:


> I’m in Fremantle just grey water repellant sand ! I use clay cat litter to put some water retention in the soil but keeping gardens fed is a constant battle, returning to brewing will help that, spent grain is great soil builder !


Bensonite clay, compost and mulch will fix you up. We used to live in freo and can still grow in that sand


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/10/18)

Been doing commando raids on the spuds, pulling a few out for dinner each night, how I wish I could grow them all year round.
Opened a packet of saved Cobra Climbing beans riddled with holes and a load of dust and full of small flying insects a bit like tics with a hardish shell, sent off to the UK for more beans. Got my first crop of Broad Beans off will put them in the bender with garlic, mint and olive oil.
Looking forward to the next few months.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/10/18)

Can't help myself with the spuds, plundered the Kestrel this time. a few peas and carrots to go with a nice Rib Eye. I always cook more spuds than is needed, fry up for breakfast the following morning.


----------



## altone (19/10/18)

I never seem to factor in spuds as I'm always short of room.

I do plant kipfler if I have a bit of space and put desiree offcuts wherever I can - just dug up the last of them until I get settled in the new place.

I mainly aim for herbs leafy greens tomatoes capsicum and chilli plus whatever brassicas I can fit.
Oh plus beans and radish,

Fruits mainly citrus and berries with a nice little apple tree that I hope survives the move.

I'm pulling up my first crop of heirloom carrots atm very colourful and tasty but not something I always plant.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (19/10/18)

altone said:


> I never seem to factor in spuds as I'm always short of room.
> 
> I do plant kipfler if I have a bit of space and put desiree offcuts wherever I can - just dug up the last of them until I get settled in the new place.
> 
> ...


If you need any more tomato plants and capsicum Cloughy let me know, I bought some seeds back from Prague Long Red and White Capsicum, also have some Giant Bell to spare.


----------



## altone (20/10/18)

Tomatoes I think I've got enough (probably too many) but the capsicums if they're in punnets/pots 
I might take you up on if I can get the last 2 raised beds moved to the new place in time.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (20/10/18)

They are in pots, got some Butternut pumpkin and Marrow too.


----------



## altone (20/10/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> They are in pots, got some Butternut pumpkin and Marrow too.


Awesome! I'd better get the beds moved asap. 
As for the butternut squash etc. The non raised beds where I can let stuff wander will take time
so it would be a waste.
Last resident seems to have filled them with scoria then topped it off with that brightly coloured red recycled timber mulch 
that stains your fingers and could contain who knows what.

I'll slowly rip it out and refill with compost and manure, Then plant in a few months.

Will pm once I've got the 3rd raised bed up and grab whatever capsicum you still have.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/11/18)

War against the aphids, they seem to love capsicum plants, against my better judgement I have put up some of the yellow sticky insect traps, unfortunately they take out the good guys too.
Planted the last load of spuds, border line on the time of year, watered in well expected to get another 8mm of rain, never happened, will just have to keep them well watered, they are Kestrel so should be ready to dig up by Christmas (hopefully).
Anyone who is not fond of broad beans like myself, boil put into a food blender, add garlic, chilli, olive oil, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, delicious, nutritious and high in fiber.


----------



## altone (3/11/18)

Thank's for the plant donations WEAL 
I've got them in the raised beds already, just got to keep the water up to them now.
Most of the plants I've moved to the new place seem to be surviving so far which is good, although I've definitely stuffed one of my pomegranate bushes.
Thought I'd killed my beloved red veined sorrel too but it's starting to come back 
Still heaps of trees berries and herbs to get back in the ground though and I'd better plant up some seeds for later too.

I've got roses in the front so the aphids seem happy to stay on those - I occasionally just spray with soapy water if the numbers get high otherwise I just squish them.


----------



## Redreuben (10/11/18)

Spent the day in the garden today mulching the mango, citrus, and asparagus with some sweet homemade compost ready for the summer heat. The best part though ? Hot bath with a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. 
Cheers


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/12/18)

Finally a day in the garden, wife has been picking the Simba dwarf beans, 3 lots in now, the Enorma beans I planted are off and climbing as are the Kings Cobra climbing beans. Thankfully we have been having good rain so my late spuds should be OK for Christmas day ( more rain to come Thursday through to Saturday. Pulled some carrots and spuds for tonight's dinner, tomatoes starting to ripen, Sweet Aperitif good trusses but small supposedly the sweetest tomato in the world. Going to pull out a second year tomato a Beef Steak, (has performed really well for a second year plant) along with my winter tomatoes to make room for a dozen Money Makers.
Passion Fruit still going strong not even a year in the garden, loads of fruit and still flowering.


----------



## altone (9/12/18)

Well in contrast to WEAL's lovely food garden, here's what's left of my Rowville veg areas.

I moved 2 raised beds made of hardwood sleepers like the big green shed sells and built a new one at the new place.
The railway sleeper beds I just couldn't be bothered moving again as they are so damned heavy.

I managed to gather all my garlic up and have moved as much of the other perennials as I need like fruit trees and herbs
even dug up half the asparagus which seems to be growing again.

So the new tenant will inherit warragul greens and parsley that grow wild, asparagus, chinese chives, oregano. rhubarb, comfrey,
a few crappy lettuce and chard plants, some horseradish, vietnamese mint and whatever else pops up.

The new garden is still in progress with lots of things surviving in pots until I can dig out and build up the pebble filled
edge beds so I can plant them.

I do have 3 raised beds full but they don't look very exciting yet 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 



edit: If I get a chance tomorrow I'll post pics of some of the plants waiting for a permanent home at the
new place.
And some ideas on bringing food into the front garden.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (14/12/18)

Good to see some rhubarb altone, probably my favourite produce with spuds, tomatoes,beans and marrow close behind. Corn I love but not a great return for the effort.

Reckon the corn put on about 100 mm with the rain from yesterday.

Rhubarb, looking forward to a good season.


----------



## drsmurto (15/12/18)

My first crack at a 3 sisters planting. Corn, climbing beans and pumpkin. 1 week between the pictures. Not too shabby.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (15/12/18)

drsmurto said:


> My first crack at a 3 sisters planting. Corn, climbing beans and pumpkin. 1 week between the pictures. Not too shabby. View attachment 114489
> View attachment 114490


Are those black discs upturned flower pot dishes and what are hey for?


----------



## drsmurto (15/12/18)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Are those black discs upturned flower pot dishes and what are hey for?


Worm farms. Basically a flower pot with the saucer used as a lid to keep birds out.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (3/1/19)

One week away from the garden seems to be a long time for plants, guy over the road kept an eye on the watering etc in exchange for helping himself to crops.

corn starting to flower. 
plenty of tomatoes

reckon I would be able to make a canopy over the whole garden with this passion fruit vine. 


French runners climbing well.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/2/19)

Learned the same lesson as I have learned before, hot weather does not suit runner beans, they flower but the flower doesn't set. I have said to myself before I shall never grow them again, the french runners are so much more productive. Pulled out one lot of tomatoes and put a dozen late variety in, planted more dwarf beans and got all my beetroot seedlings in.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/2/19)

Another thing I noticed, I have three capsicum plants in the screen house, to let more cooler air in I opened the door, all three capsicums have aphids, a wasp came in and started devouring the aphids. I knew that wasps were carnivores, never thought about letting them loose on the aphids.


----------



## fungrel (16/2/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Another thing I noticed, I have three capsicum plants in the screen house, to let more cooler air in I opened the door, all three capsicums have aphids, a wasp came in and started devouring the aphids. I knew that wasps were carnivores, never thought about letting them loose on the aphids.


Wasps have almost single handedly saved me from using insecticide on my entire garden this season, including the hops. It's been great.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (16/2/19)

I have noticed when I have been fishing and using maggots as bait they have flown into the bait box picked up a maggot and flown off with it. Never crossed my mind about their use on insect pests in the garden.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/5/19)

Winter tomatoes in an unheated green house, first attempt at this, I have seen it done in Victoria but could have been a cooler weather variety.

Yellow cherry about finished. 
Last of the cucumbers. 

Winter veges planted, cauliflower, beetroot, peas, boc choy, garlic and silver beet. 


Swede, Cabbage, Romanesco and Broccoli going in this weekend.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/8/19)

One of the best times of the year, full of anticipation of the crops to come. Seedlings of the solanaceae family in the seed trays and in the incubator along with a couple of packets of Temptation strawberry's.
The cruciferous veges will soon be getting harvested, short on space for my spuds so they will be going into 30 litre pots. Still got plenty of pickled beetroot so looks like a fair bit of borscht will be on the table for the coming months.


----------



## krz (2/8/19)

Ive been growing these mild chillies from South Africa called Peppadew.
They are actually trademarked, somehow I got myself seeds, and I grew them.
Several plants were one metre high before the missus pruned them for winter, thats why I have no photos.

I have some seeds if anyone is interested.
They are a lovely unique chilly, very nice on pizzas.


----------



## jimreevescairns (3/8/19)

krz said:


> Ive been growing these mild chillies from South Africa called Peppadew.
> They are actually trademarked, somehow I got myself seeds, and I grew them.
> Several plants were one metre high before the missus pruned them for winter, thats why I have no photos.
> 
> ...


----------



## jimreevescairns (3/8/19)

Hi mate I would definitely be keen. I’m in Cairns.
Tried looking for private message function but couldn’t see. Jim. [email protected]


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/8/19)

krz said:


> Ive been growing these mild chillies from South Africa called Peppadew.
> They are actually trademarked, somehow I got myself seeds, and I grew them.
> Several plants were one metre high before the missus pruned them for winter, thats why I have no photos.
> 
> ...


Does it have much heat? I have dropped off the manufactured hot chillies plus one crop of chillies lasts for 2 or 3 years, I dry them my wife freezes them. I would be interested just for curiosity's sake.


----------



## krz (5/8/19)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Does it have much heat? I have dropped off the manufactured hot chillies plus one crop of chillies lasts for 2 or 3 years, I dry them my wife freezes them. I would be interested just for curiosity's sake.



Not much heat at all, probably almost the lowest.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/11/19)

Got some Seville oranges which are unusually sweet I am thinking of a rhubarb and Seville orange marmalade just to give it some bite.


----------



## Madscientist86 (29/12/19)

Cucumbers! 

Alright I must confess I did not grow these in my garden, but if i did have cucumbers in my garden....

I stumbled across these today in coles and had to get them.

Ingredients are: vinegar, water, salt, sugar, enigma hops and Young Henrys natural lager.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (31/12/19)

Just started getting tomatoes off the vines, cucumbers, beans, water cress, lettuce, and basil also producing well.
Cherokee Purple tomato got the seeds from USA this year.


----------



## WEF (2/1/20)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Just started getting tomatoes off the vines, cucumbers, beans, water cress, lettuce, and basil also producing well.
> Cherokee Purple tomato got the seeds from USA this year.
> View attachment 117151
> 
> ...


They don't look quite like Tomatoes on the left...


----------



## wide eyed and legless (2/1/20)

WEF said:


> They don't look quite like Tomatoes on the left...


Hibiscus Cannabinus, Kenaf, Indian Hemp. Leaves are full of protein and iron related to the Ocra plant.
One acre of Kenaf can sequester 8 times more carbon than one acre of evergreen trees, can also be used for removing heavy metals, and spent oil from contaminated soils.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (9/8/20)

All my spuds are in, hectic couple of days getting the beds ready, all the Brassicaceae are doing great chili seeds starting to poke through as is the tomatoes well on their way. 
Finally Mr Fothergil has got Sun Gold tomatoes into Australia, only 5 seeds to a packet but looking forward to trying them.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (12/9/20)

Tonight a couple of Pork shoulder chops with apple sauce, a few neeps, well swede really, some snowball cauliflower which is starting to go to seed, broccolini, (under the swede) and some fresh garden peas. I will mash the swede with some spuds. 




I used to feel sorry for those in Europe who didn't get to taste spuds, (prior to Sir Walter Raleigh) inventing them but swede is something else.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (18/9/20)

Went to the Garden Centre in Braeside, they had a wall of chilli took some home and planted the seed, have got a ship load. knew they weren't Birds Eye. Planted some in planter boxes got heaps growing on in pots, rang up the Garden Centre to ask them the name of the chilli. Medusa they tell me, look up Medusa, no heat and about the same as a capsicum. Deflated, will just have to add them to salads.
Got plenty of Birds Eye, Cayenne and Habanero though.




Medusa, it was a lot quicker germinating than the other chillies though.


----------



## kadmium (18/9/20)

Shattering. A name like Medusa you would think they have some bite!

I have some Archos, Poblanos, Anaheims, Serranos and Chocolate Morugas at the moment.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (25/9/20)

Earthed up my spuds yesterday, turned over two tonne of compost, mulched my rhubarb and 4 beds of spuds. Put all my seedlings undercover (which were hardening off) owing to the bad weather on its way, (happening as I type)


----------



## beergee (25/9/20)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Earthed up my spuds yesterday, turned over two tonne of compost, mulched my rhubarb and 4 beds of spuds. Put all my seedlings undercover (which were hardening off) owing to the bad weather on its way, (happening as I type)
> View attachment 119177
> View attachment 119178
> View attachment 119179
> View attachment 119180


Amazing garden WEAL. Most impressive.


----------



## kadmium (25/9/20)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Earthed up my spuds yesterday, turned over two tonne of compost, mulched my rhubarb and 4 beds of spuds. Put all my seedlings undercover (which were hardening off) owing to the bad weather on its way, (happening as I type)
> View attachment 119177
> View attachment 119178
> View attachment 119179
> View attachment 119180


Any tips for keeping slugs and snails off my chilli plants? I have a little kiddo so trying to avoid blitzem but am considering it.


----------



## S.E (25/9/20)

kadmium said:


> Any tips for keeping slugs and snails off my chilli plants? I have a little kiddo so trying to avoid blitzem but am considering it.


Put small bowls of beer (can be dregs from bottles, kegs fermenter etc) near or around your plants. They love beer (I think is actually the yeast they like) and will crawl in and drown. Steep slippery sided bowls or containers will catch the most.


----------



## kadmium (25/9/20)

Awesome, thanks for the tip. I will put some out. Tired of seeing munched on plants!


----------



## razz (25/9/20)

An old mate of my dad's ( who was an avid gardener) used to put saw dust around the edge of the garden bed, as long as it was dry the snails wouldn't crawl over it.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (26/9/20)

Wherever the chilli plants are you can buy copper tape, apparently the snails and slugs will not cross copper. Haymes Paints and I think Porters have copper paint, a bit pricey mind, I have often wondered if that will work. Although after a while in the weather it oxidises and goes that verdigris colour, not sure if they will cross it then.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (28/9/20)

Fish curry, so pulled a couple of leeks and some garlic which I plant the smaller cloves separately from the main crop. 




Tomatoes laid out in regimental order, got to decide now which ones get a gig and where they will go, and which ones go to neighbours. 


The beer is an ESB of 68 IBU.
Silver beet, my wife will not eat the stalk. Chop it up fine and fry it with garlic. Then she loves it


----------



## kadmium (28/9/20)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Fish curry, so pulled a couple of leeks and some garlic which I plant the smaller cloves separately from the main crop.
> View attachment 119189
> View attachment 119190
> View attachment 119191
> ...


I put copper tape around my pots as per suggestion. Hopefully the little slugs keep off. Destroyed half my plants.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (30/9/20)

kadmium said:


> I put copper tape around my pots as per suggestion. Hopefully the little slugs keep off. Destroyed half my plants.


I find thrip a nuisance on my chilli and capsicum plants.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/10/20)

First lot of tomatoes in, splashed out on some weld mesh for supports. First covered the bed with 150 ml of compost and cow manure.








Some of those on Hydro are in, bought some soluble silica to add to the water this time around see how that goes. 




After giving my rhubarb a good dose of Rooster Booster and mulching a few weeks ago the rhubarb has bulked up from scrawny to quite acceptable. Will be having some for desert tonight.


----------



## wide eyed and legless (5/3/21)

Sad times autumn, end of the summer veg got some cherry tomatoes will keep them as long as possible a few more Cherokee Purple to ripen. Picked 4.5 kg of beef steak and some Tommy Toe made some Passata, 2,5 litres



Picked 8 kg of Cherokee Purple made 4.5 litres of passata.



Moving forward getting the beds ready for the winter crops, seeds planted and starting to show.


----------



## starcmr (6/7/21)

tomato gardening?


----------



## wide eyed and legless (17/7/21)

starcmr said:


> tomato gardening?


I have just planted my seeds for the coming season.


----------



## ProtonNewton (23/3/22)

Have here someone made homemade snack "Onion rings"? I have made with this recpe, you can look and feed me back what you think!
Thank you very much guys!!








Recipe: Onion rings step by step recipe with photos on TopFood.Club


Step by step recipe with photos Onion rings composition: Eggs, Milk, Onion, Wheat flour, Baking powder, Breadcrumbs, Vegetable oil, Salt




topfood.club


----------



## Barleycorn Brewer (14/5/22)

wide eyed and legless said:


> Hibiscus Cannabinus, Kenaf, Indian Hemp. Leaves are full of protein and iron related to the Ocra plant.
> One acre of Kenaf can sequester 8 times more carbon than one acre of evergreen trees, can also be used for removing heavy metals, and spent oil from contaminated soils.


Just read this thread from start to finish. What a great thread! I have just returned from 5 years Singapore and looking forward to getting into gardening and brewing. 
As for the cannabis I have a friend who has invested quite heavily in Cannabis crops in Zimbabwe all low THC, it is being grown for food. 
Your garden looks great by the way.


----------

