Food Gardening

[Grott]

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]

Beetroot are nearly ready

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Beetroot are nearly ready

View attachment 108420 View attachment 108419

What are you going to do with them, pickle?

 

[good4whatAlesU]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I better give that a go too!

 

[Grott]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.