Food Gardening

[Dave70]

We're getting into mid single digits in the mornings. Probably not helping.

 

[Airgead]

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]

Dirty jobs on ABC Hop Picking and processing 2008 episode http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/dirty-jobs/ZW1026A020S00

 

[wide eyed and legless]

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]

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]

Do you think cardboard would work when its wet is soft.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

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]

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]

That should work, stomp the cardboard down and really compact it.

 

[LiquidGold]

Old carpet or geofabric work well

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Anyone know what these fruit are.

IMG_0172.jpg

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]

You would have more in fuel than what the seeds are worth

 

[wide eyed and legless]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

No.

 

[manticle]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Carp herpesvirus? But if they don't use toilet seats, how they gonna explain it to the missus?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

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]

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]

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]

$3500 to test the tomato seeds that is on the Italian gardeners seeds web site.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

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]

Two out of the six Tigernuts are up, looking forward to trying these.