Food Gardening

[Airgead]

. 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]

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]

Interesting BBC documentary on vegetable growing and showing.

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

 

[wide eyed and legless]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[altone]

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]

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]

At last first crop of Scarlet Runners.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Here you go mate.

 

[manticle]

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]

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]

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]

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.