Food Gardening

[Lincoln2]

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]

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 !

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]

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]

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

 

[malt and barley blues]

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]

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

 

[wide eyed and legless]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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

Try being a cattle farmer :unsure:

 

[Danwood]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[manticle]

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

Yes.

Need to grow some worcestershire.

 

[user 36151]

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]

Roasted Broad beans....FTW

 

[sponge]

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]

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

 

[sponge]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.