What's In Your Herb / Vege Garden?

[RobH]

Few weeks ago sowed some beetroot seeds & broadbeans... supposed to be good winter crops, so we'll see.
A few beetroot shoots showed their heads today, but still waiting on the beans...

As a planter/flowerpot I also have a plastic green round garbage bin with potatoes coming up after I left a few in from my summer harvest ... I think they are doing well in the bin as I rekon the sun can warm the soil more through the green plastic.

Was given a bunch of tomato seedlings about 3 months ago ... four are planted against the western facing brick wall & are surviving ... dunno if they will produce in this winter climate ... along with them are two potatoes that I salvaged from the worm farm as they where sprouting in there from offcuts ... the potato shoots have just shown themselves in the past week, with a few leaves forming.

 

[brettprevans]

from seeds - heriloom purple and green broccoli went in as well as bok choy, parsnip, chives and something else. garlic is already in. corriander is just starting to shoot in seed trays so will go in soon.
potatoes are on order and will go in soon.
asparagus is in but not looking healthy
we are resting half our large bed and have 'green manure' (Pea, Oat and Vetch) going nuts.

 

[thelastspud]

The tomatoes were looking great a week or so ago then some sort of bug started eating them
and heaps of leaves started going yellow and curling and the cucumber is showing signs as well,
it strange because on either side of the tomatoes there are peppers growing and they're fine.
anyway I gave them a bath in a strong garlic and chilli infusion.
Anybody have any other solutions for keeping bugs of the tomatoes?
All my house mates are hippys so really only looking for organic solutions if possible.
(At home the old man sprinkles some sort of white powder on the leaves and it never hurt me. )

 

[punkin]

All my beds are full of onions at the moment.

Purple and brown onions mixed, leeks and a full bed of garlic.

Citrus trees are loaded to the gills but all the fruit are smaller this year. I was thinking it was to do with the wet summer and spring we've had (the first in 10 years really) but all the citrus in the supermarkets are the same too.

We have hundreds of lemonades, mandarins as small as snooker balls by the barrow load and a good crop of smaller than usual oranges.

i've been making marmalade and using the lemonade as preserved lemons, next to try some candied peels and do some canned mandarine segments.

We've picked all our pecans and the leaves have fallen now.

I'm waiting for the rootstock brambles to come into the nursery as i've been reccomended to grow a thornless balckberry. Also need a cheapie apple tree to replace one of my cider apples that died out on the footpath.

 

[Newbee(r)]

Just finished our garden planting plan for 2011. Roll on Spring!

View attachment Garden_Planting_Plan_2011.doc

 

[Deebo]

I stuck a potato in the garden bed a while ago, started turning a bit yellow so I dug it up and found 6 big potatos in there. Just saved myself like 50 cents!
I also chucked a bunch of them in the back garden and a bunch in a pot so hopefully I get a whole bunch from them also.

Anyone have a really good recipe for potato wedges/chips? I normally just coat them in oil and a bunch of spices and they seem to turn out ok but would like them a bit crispier.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Anyone have a really good recipe for potato wedges/chips? I normally just coat them in oil and a bunch of spices and they seem to turn out ok but would like them a bit crispier.

Par boil them first

 

[Newbee(r)]

Par boil them first

Then duck fat to go completely OTT..... :icon_drool2:

 

[seamad]

Can't beat duck fat and that murray river pink salt,parboiled then spread out to dry.

 

[seamad]

Should also use certified seed pots as if you have a potato with a virus thats it for that bed

 

[seamad]

Brekky this morning was scrambled eggs from our chooks, mushrooms that have grown in the mush compost/mulch fried up in butter with silverbeet and spinach from the veggie patch.
have various herbs plus broccolini, snow peas, pots, cherry toms, lettuces, beans, beetroot, jap radish, asparagus...

 

[manticle]

Anyone have a really good recipe for potato wedges/chips? I normally just coat them in oil and a bunch of spices and they seem to turn out ok but would like them a bit crispier.

Done in the oven or deep fried? Deep frying in clean oil will give you a better result.

Par boil as suggested, allow to dry properly (single layer, pat dry with paper towel if need be) coat in whatever spice mix you use, then drop into hot, clean vege oil. Careful not to splash.

Drain wedges well, allowing air to get to each bit of potato, then toss in salt for flavour and to absorb the remnants of the oil.

When you par boil you want slightly underdone rather than overdone (or perfectly done). Sorry if you already know this but start with cold water, salted. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer until around where you want it then drain immediately. Potatoes will keep absorbing heat and keep cooking even if the stove is off (as will all veges and meats) and hot water will only accelerate that. Alternatively you can bring to boil, take off heat and allow to sit in the hot water until they gradually get to where you want.

Potatoes will just keep sprouting if you leave one in the ground each time you dig them up. Very satisfying being able to go out and dig some up every time I feel like one. If I buy a new variety, I always chuck one in the potato patch.

 

[King Brown]

Right now...

Cayenne Chillies
Jalapeno Chillies
Capsicum
Corn
Butternut Pumpkin
Rockmelon
Snow Peas
Bok Choy
Pak Choy
Lettuce
Cabbage
Italian Parsley
Basil
Dill
Rhubarb
Passion Fruit Vine x 2
Peach Tree

Only half my corn has germinated, so I've planted more seeds, clumping in hopes of a full block so they can pollinate. I had little grubs going through the bok choy like mad and ignoring everything else... Till last weekend they got started on the Pak Choy :angry: Been hitting everything with both garlic and molasses spray, but thinking maybe I need a bug zapper to help even the score...

 

[Fodder]

Any green thumbs out there that may be able to help with my tomato problems...

I've got hold of seeds for whats called a Tree Tomato (from a Burkes Backyard mag). They grow up to about 3m in height and produce huge 0.5kg fruit (in good conditions, or so im informed by the good Burke himself).

However, mine are now about 1.5m-2m high (wrapped around some fabric and trained up to some overhead trellis) and dieing from the ground up. Leaves are turning yellow, then brown and drying up and dieing. They have flowered and some fruit is forming towards the top and looking ok for the time being (the ground up brown-death is yet to get to the height of the toms...)

I also thinned out a lot of the under growth a couple of weeks ago and it seems that this is when the whole thing started. I figure that perhaps I've taken off to many leaves and the poor things are now exposed and dieing from the heat/sun exposure because I can find no evidence of bugs that are attacking it.

However, that being said, Perths spring hasnt been exactly hot so far (mid-20's with exception of one 36 degree day last weekend). So, maybe a disease of some sort, do tomatos get fungal diseases?

Sorry I dont have any pics, I'll get some tonight and post later...but for the time being, any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[brettprevans]

Any green thumbs out there that may be able to help with my tomato problems...

I've got hold of seeds for whats called a Tree Tomato (from a Burkes Backyard mag). They grow up to about 3m in height and produce huge 0.5kg fruit (in good conditions, or so im informed by the good Burke himself).

However, mine are now about 1.5m-2m high (wrapped around some fabric and trained up to some overhead trellis) and dieing from the ground up. Leaves are turning yellow, then brown and drying up and dieing. They have flowered and some fruit is forming towards the top and looking ok for the time being (the ground up brown-death is yet to get to the height of the toms...)

I also thinned out a lot of the under growth a couple of weeks ago and it seems that this is when the whole thing started. I figure that perhaps I've taken off to many leaves and the poor things are now exposed and dieing from the heat/sun exposure because I can find no evidence of bugs that are attacking it.

However, that being said, Perths spring hasnt been exactly hot so far (mid-20's with exception of one 36 degree day last weekend). So, maybe a disease of some sort, do tomatos get fungal diseases?

Sorry I dont have any pics, I'll get some tonight and post later...but for the time being, any ideas?

Thanks!

From the trusty yates garden guide (theres an iphone aop also) sounds like fungus or mites. Google mites tomatoes. Treat with lanosan or folimat.
Or knot nematodes treat with nemacur granules applied to soil preplanting.

 

[brettprevans]

Heirloom broccli going nuts. Tastes awsome

 

[brettprevans]

Great gardening books
Yates garden guide - great all round book. Tried and tested. Ur grandparwnts woukd have had this!
Harvest, meredith kirton. Aussie eddible garden book. truely fantadtic book. Theres a couple in the series.
Gowing ur own heirloom veg, diggers gardening. Prety bloody good also. Aimed at old school gardening.
Comanion gardening, judith collins. Tells u what to gow with what to help pest probkems, increase yeilds etc with lesticides etc

 

[warra48]

I use the Yates Guide, and also use the Diggers Heirloom book. Each is good.

I don't have a huge amount in my patch at present, but I have this morning pulled out the last of the Broad Beans, and sown more Carrots, Lettuce, Green Beans, and Sweet Corn.

Green beans - just coming into flower, so should have a crop before long
Cauliflower - heads growing nicely, and very close to harvest
Silverbeet - the midget variety, not the Fordhook Giant
Italian Parsley
Chives
Carrots

 

[Margrethe]

Just inherited a garden, and it has a few lettuces, some carrots, fennel, artichoke (the spiky one), lemon balm, pepinos, some nigerian potatoes...probably a few things I'm missing there.

I'm excited to get a pile of stuff growing- there's nothing like eating produce you've grown organically yourself!

 

[brettprevans]

some nigerian potatoes

Be careful with those tgey will try and tell u youve won lotto and ti give them bank account.details, lol

My post above re compabion gardening should say 'without pesticices', not with pesticides. Stuff like basil next to tomatoes prevent certain bugs and increases yeild.