Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: Jude59 on August 04, 2012, 01:18:01 am
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We are being very serious about our veggie patch and getting it ready for spring. we have a cage over the whole thing to keep out the pesky possums.
A few weeks ago we visited the Dromana diggers club and there was so much winter veg doing brilliantly - very inspiring. What are your veggie patches doing at the moment and what do you usually pant out? We have some old apple crates full of soil and plants at the back of our office property and have to say there are some really good carrots happening there!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/724c30a0-6a22-c329.jpg)
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Wish mine looked like yours. Mine is full of weeds. We do have
Spring onions
Iceberg lettuce (4)
Parsley
Thyme
Chillis
Capsicum
Rosemary & thats about it :)
Maybe next weekend we can have a clean up.
:)
H & a great kaffir lime tree & a row of bay trees :)
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Jude59 - your blog is lovely! Quite an inspiration - thank you! Yes, we're just gearing up for spring - and we are the palace for pesky possums!! Have been trying to think of a effective cage system with what we already have in the way of materials. The local permaculture people are very helpful. Our yards are undergoing a bit of a rebirth - it was very overgrown when we moved here - ticks galore - my DS and some of his mates have done a fantastic job in clearing both front and back.
Is that photo at home or at the cafe? It looks fabulous!! :D
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My DH is the gardener in this house, he has 3 large beds (the back yard is slowly being overtaken),
wehe has at the moment:
cabbage
cauliflower
kale
spinach
silver beet
lettuce
spring onions
onions
parsley, mint, thyme, rosemary, curry, oregano
I'm sure there is more, but one bed is being prepped for the summer veg, tomatoes my fave!
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We're about to make some major changes to our vege garden in the next season or so, so only a few broad beans, parsley, oregano and rosemary on the go at the moment.
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Thanks Goldfish :) this is our backyard garden. The apple crates and carrots are at the back of the office, for some reason root veg have never grown well here so we are very excited about the carrots at the office. I'll try and find a photo. The possums are sooooo annoying! There is possum poop everywhere....grrrrrrr. We are asking council if we can cut down our silky oak out the back - that's where they live and prosper.
Knittercook your garden sounds just like the Diggers Club! Veg envy from me! I have tried to talk DH into planting out the front yard but he thinks thats going too far!
I have started some tomato seeds inside in a sunny room out the back and they have come up. Am hoping to get a little jump on the season and just put them out on the decking when is sunny until its right to plant them outside.... Experiment! Have got seedlings up of broccoli and red cabbage, lettuces and some Asian greens. Other than that it's just a little bit of silverbeet and spring onions and carrots. DH has planted some beetroot in the crates last week too.
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My Veggie garden is full of chooks :D
But one day when we decide to have a veggie garden again (when the chooks are gone) the soil will be well fertilized with chook poo. No weeds at the moment as I pulled them all up a few weeks ago, and the chooks keep it pretty weed free.
I do have an area with raspberries that is covered with bird netting to keep the chooks and birds out.
I have had a veggie garden but not for the last 2 or 3 years.
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I am just getting the garden beds ready for the summer garden now - DH is going to grab a load of chook poo from his parents to dig into the soil today. :)
Not 100% sure what I will grow this year - last year was my very first vege garden, and I loved it!! I do have a rosemary bush full time. Last year I did zucchini, butternut pumpkin, tomatoes x2 varietys, capsicum, leek, spring onion, brocolli, carrots and corn. And it all grew well in my very small veg patch! I do know I want to do zucchini, tomamtoes and broc again, also would like to do watermelon, have not fully decided yet. Also I am going to do a herb garden in a barrel or pot of some sort. :)
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Jude59 we have beetroot as well ( forgot that) DH has never had success with carrots.
I am really lucky to be able to have freshly picked veggies on the table most nights.
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We are moving our herbs to barrels this year to try and contain them a bit better. The mint has got away from us in the veg patch.
Last year we put in three blueberry bushes and this year have red currants andsome other berries. Am thinking they can just fit in around the place here and there. Apparently potatoes are going in later today. Love love love home grown potatoes.
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Knittercook you are lucky! Just had a look at your blog and wow such great things there and your knitting tension looks very professional. My knitting is all over the place. See you have an etsy shop too. You haven't got a red beret have you? Have to dress up French for a dinner party next weekend. Have my long elegant cigarette holder (sans cigarette of course) and was thinking about a beret.
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sorry jude59 i didnt like your blog, it sent shivers down my spine, # 1 fear mice
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Haha! Most people are like that. My pet rats were the sweetest things imagine able. I loved them both so much. I want more but I don't know if I can go through the pain of losing them again. They live such short lives :(. My cats are my only pets at the moment.
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we are planting our vege garden again today...
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I used to have a large veggie patch at our old house, but I went without one in our current house until this summer when I took over DS's sandpit that he has grown out of. It isn't overly big, But I have Curley leaf parsley, Chives, rainbow chard, broccoli, cauliflower, one lettuce, one bean ( DD's school project) and last weekend I planted some garlic which has started to shoot already. Also, along the fence I have snow peas, more garlic, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and in pots I have flat leaf parsley and lemongrass. Last weekend I planted two bags with potatoes, so I will be interested to see how these turn out.
I also have a compost bin, which provided me with butternut pumpkins and tomatoes last summer. When I started the patch, I used soil mixed with my own compost, and the pumpkins and tomatoes came up by themselves. I still have 5 pumpkins waiting for me to cook them :)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/0e022973-9c44-110d.jpg)
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We are cold climate gardeners. live in Macedon Ranges. also members of Diggers. Their seeds are so fresh that they grow like mad. Plants, not so good. We can't plant out until after Cup Day. At the moment we have piles of Silver Beet, parsley, mint, Cabbages , lettuce and broccoli. We try to eat something from the garden every day. Also have mustard greens which are great in salads and soups.
the garden is a bit of a mess at the moment because it is too cold and wet to do much. oodles of lemons. We have been trying to grow lemons for about 20 year. We had a large stone wall built and planted several citrus trees near it. They love it and the chook poo and coffee grounds.
I have posted a photo of last years veggie garden on my blog.
Will plant up with Asian veggies and lots of lettuce, potatoes and garlic, peas and beans.
We also have berries under netting. Can't grow corn or big tomatoes,
Love the garden , but don't spend enough time in it.
for people with a small space, I would recommend, ONE MAGIC SQUARE by Lolo Houbein.
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I'd love to grow more veggies but time, space & possums seem to defeat me! I've got kale, thyme, parsley, oregano, mint, sage & vietnamese mint growing ATM. I've got a bay tree & 3 huge rosemary bushes so I'm right for herbs. Have planted peas & snow peas but the aphids have almost eaten the lot! I noticed a few carrots are coming up - planted the seeds 2 years ago 😉. Would love to grow cucumbers in summer - anyone tried this?
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I have grown cucumbers, just a warning don't plant to many plants as the produce so many cucumbers you will be giving them away to everyone who will take them. I would recommend probably only 2 plants :D
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I have grown cucumbers, just a warning don't plant to many plants as the produce so many cucumbers you will be giving them away to everyone who will take them. I would recommend probably only 2 plants :D
Yeah, my SIL grew cucumbers last summer and she got enough for her, me, mil, and oodles more - I think she pickled something like 27 big jars! :)
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Just regular cucumbers? I've only grown apple cucumbers and had an average crop.
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We don't really have a veggie garden. When we built this house it was built with minimum gardening planned. We have roses and lawn out the front with a few roses out the side and lots of paving. We travel so much that it is ideal. I have a few herbs under the roses but they will have to be removed as next door has scale and it has got to the mint, parsley, sage and oregano.
I will replant new herbs out the side in a raised garden.
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I have grown cucumbers, just a warning don't plant to many plants as the produce so many cucumbers you will be giving them away to everyone who will take them. I would recommend probably only 2 plants :D
Yeah, my SIL grew cucumbers last summer and she got enough for her, me, mil, and oodles more - I think she pickled something like 27 big jars! :)
Hmmm might have to rethink the cucumber idea then lol.
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We had two cucumber plants last summer climbing at the end of the patch and they had stacks of fruit on them. Found some really nice cucumber salsa recipes, which also used our mint and chilli.
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I try and have a veggie garden but I am not dedicated enough and it usually gets away from me. I currently have some rainbo chard left over from summer still growing, I planted brussel sprouts but the chooks keep eating the leaves. I also have some rhubarb growing but the chooks are eating it at the moment too.
I like the idea of growing my own veggies, herbs etc but the reality of it is never as good as the plans.
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We r in process of digging up some lawn and today got leek plugs and winter brassica plugs. Also got some seed for late sowing carrots.
It's a start.
Funny that we're the opposite of you all.
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We are using carrots, parsnips, cauliflower and broccoli and silver beet from the garden at the moment. Have planted out broad beans, peas, onions and garlic. We are also using limes, oranges, and the seville oranges are almost ready for marmalade.
We used to have trouble growing carrots, but was told to use a little derris dust over the seed when planting. Apparently there are insects in the soil that eat the carrot seed before it can germinate.
Marie :)
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Knittercook you are lucky! Just had a look at your blog and wow such great things there and your knitting tension looks very professional. My knitting is all over the place. See you have an etsy shop too. You haven't got a red beret have you? Have to dress up French for a dinner party next weekend. Have my long elegant cigarette holder (sans cigarette of course) and was thinking about a beret.
Jude59, most of my items are made to order and the only berets that I have ready to go are these:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/68987403/crocheted-beret-hat-ginger-ready-to-ship
and one in brown.
Sharon
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Your garden sounds wonderful Emme! Great hint about the carrots too. We have nothing but trouble with root crops in the home veggie patch.
Thanks Knittercook - I think I have got a red one on ebay :) hope it arrives in time.
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My goal this week is to clear our veggie patch. Just spent 30mins outside & covered about 1 metre.
We have a large eggplant bush. We planted it 2 1/2 years ago, we have had 2 eggplants from it. It takes up a lot of room, I am thinking of pulling it out. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a good crop?
I have given up with carrots, mine always grow curly ???
Our andscaper planted a large lavender bsh in the patch. I am also thinking of pulling this out unless it is there for a good reason. It too takes up a lot of space.
:)
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Yes our carrots are always either curly or too spindly :'(
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We have also been out in the veggie garden this weekend. I also live in a cold climate so can't really plant much until the frosts are over. I'm also a member of diggers and love growing some unusual veg. This year it will be spaghetti squash.
I'm still eating berries, beans, zucchini, garlic and pumpkins stored from last season. Have rocket, silverbeet, herbs and rhubarb in the garden.
Dashingden, don't let the chooks eat the rhubarb leaves as they are poisonous and if they eat too many will die.
Will be growing lots this year. I'm trying to grow enough veg for the year. For a recent birthday we were given a heated seed raising tray so will be trying it out soon.
Hopefully will be searching the forum for recipes to preserve the excess for later use.
Happy gardening everyone :)
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We have 5 vegie bins filled with horse poop and un-eaten hay, rotting/mulching away on their own. Having 30 bags of sheep poo delivered this week (some for veges and some for rose garden) so once that is done we'll start getting serious about planting.
Am thinking tomatoes, beetroot and no idea what the kids keep writing on the list of things they want to plant!
Oh, Miss 10 planted some spuds in some old tyres about 3 weeks ago, nothing showing yet.
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Just checked my broccoli seedlings, which I have on a barrel on the decking... they have all been up for a few days but today their little heads have been nibbled off. Just knew we should have covered them. They weren't quite big enough to transplant to the cage... grrrrr can't really blame anyone but ourselves... must have looked like come get me to the critters!
Keirmax - how long does it take for berry bushes to really get going? I planted blue berries last year as small plants, hoping they will be prolific before long. Good on you still having so much produce to get you through. I have quite a bit of rhubarb in the freezer from last season and made a stack of crumble in the TMX, which I bagged and froze too. Great to have instant deserts. This weekend I used some of my frozen lemon curd in sweet pastry cases and it defrosted really well. I'm going to crank some more out this week while there are plenty of lemons around. The TMX sure makes this sort of thing a breeze :)
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Jude59 not sure about blueberries, I have raspberries and last season I harvested about 10 kg, I have about 3 square metres on canes. It was the first year I had netted them so I got more than the birds. They have taken about 2 years to establish. We also have an area of blackberries which I picked about 20kg from last season. We are trying to get rid of these but it's a big job but at least we have them contained.
Limes seem to be plentiful this year so have been making lemon and lime cordial.
My rhubarb is out of control, it never dies down, it gets a little less over winter but doesn't completing die down. I would have thought with our frosts it would go dormant but it doesn't. I don't know the variety as I got the plants from a school fete. I now have a bed 1.5 x 3 metres and I need to divide the crowns again.
I'm trying to rescue my orchard which we planted in the wrong area as it is too far away from the house and the kangaroos/deer/cockies attack it. So trying to shift the remaining trees closer to the house. Big job as some of the trees are well established. I rescued the citrus 2 years ago and this year they have really taken off.
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I have been thinking of planting some sort of fruit tree in memory of our son in heaven, but not sure what to plant... we have a lemon tree, apple tree, plum tree and 2 cherry trees already. Also we have a blueberry bush. Any ideas?
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What a lovely idea. :)
Kaffir Lime, you can use the fruit & the leaves
:)
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Astarra, a Crab Apple tree would be nice. Beautiful blossoms and fruit for jelly. Great idea. DH planted a tree for each of our GC.
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... then when the crabapples are ripe you can make crabapple and raspberry jelly - Chookie suggested this to me earlier this year and it makes a lovely red jelly (by the way, Chookie, I've still got a jar here for you next time you are down our way!).
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I have been thinking of planting some sort of fruit tree in memory of our son in heaven, but not sure what to plant... we have a lemon tree, apple tree, plum tree and 2 cherry trees already. Also we have a blueberry bush. Any ideas?
A lovely idea.
What about a nut tree, there are Walnuts, Almond, Hazlenuts. If you ask at your local nursery they might be able to suggest something suitable for your area and also something that has a long life span. We have a Walnut (small variety) and planted out Hazlenuts last year which are more of a shrub than tree. We did have Almonds but they started to grow too big for the area and sadly we had to pull them out.
Our Blueberries took about 3 years before they really got going. I think I read somewhere that you are supposed to not let them fruit the first year. Ours did fruit, but we had our best crop last year and the blueberries were lovely. I think they like an acid soil.
Marie :)
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Whereabouts do you live, Emme? I would love to grow hazlenuts but not sure if our climate is appropriate. Would also love blueberries, but you are right about the acid soil - I will have to check ours to see whether it is acidic enough.
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I love my lemonade tree, and my macadamia tree.
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Whereabouts do you live, Emme?
North East Tas.
We feed our blueberries Azalea food. You may need two hazlenuts to cross pollinate, we are thinking of getting another one to replace the Almond trees.
Obbie, I wish we could grow macadamia here.
Marie
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Its easy Emme, they just keep going good, kids pick them and I crack them open.
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Whereabouts do you live, Emme?
North East Tas.
We feed our blueberries Azalea food. You may need two hazlenuts to cross pollinate, we are thinking of getting another one to replace the Almond trees.
Obbie, I wish we could grow macadamia here.
Marie
North east tas???? wonder if your soil is like ours here in Deloraine??! ;)
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Hally, does your kaffir lime lose all it's leaves over winter? I don't remember mine being as bare last winter but I am hoping it hasn't died (although that is how it looks right now). I had it at my parents whilst we moved house (it's in a pot) and when I got it back every leaf had gone. I am hoping it is a winter thing??
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astarra, I think the soil at Deloraine would be red soil. We have a sandy soil here. Blueberries should do okay though, as they used to grow them on the way up to the Central Highlands. Some of the trees we have are suitable for colder climate and we have put wind breaks around some that are not in a sheltered area.
Marie
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Was sent this by the local permaculture group . . . it's a calendar of reminders to keep the kitchen garden growing - and can be adjusted to your own climate zone and country . . wow!! :D
http://www.gardenate.com/
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Thanks Goldfish for the link, I always struggle with winter plantings to keep things ticking over in the kitchen. Your link will remind me of what will survive the frosts I get at home.
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That is just so handy goldfish! Thankyou :)
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Thanks for the link goldfish! I have a small terrace so not much room for a vegie garden. Planted in pots i have a Bay Tree, Rosemary, mint, strawberries and a blueberry tree. Inside on t he kitchen window sill i have basil and curly leaf parsley.
I'm trying my hand at roses for the first time this year!!!
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keiramax, Jude59 & snappy - you're most welcome! I was unaware of it but I'm certainly going to use it now!
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My kaffir lime keeps its leaves in winter (in Perth) but it's been so dry that I've still had to hand water it's pot.
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I think my parent may of killed it then lol. I will have to be careful when they babysit my kids (joking)
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I can't keep them alive either. Ive killed 3 so far :(
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Snappy, our rose garden is huge. We buy about 20 more roses to plant a year.
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Obbie, how on earth do you get them all pruned - we've got about 50 roses and it is a major job pruning them every year.
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Holy cow obbie, that's a lot roses! You must have an amazing rose garden. I've only bought two this year to see how they go - would appreciate any tips you have on getting beautiful flowers.
I got the thornless variety.
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Thornless is good Snappy!
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Got to love roses, I have several that I have cut down quiet severely with a hand saw. They always come back. You can't kill them :)
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Last year a friend had the best tomatoes. Apparently they just grew in his compost. He gave me a tomato and I saved the seeds, which are now planted indoors and onto their second leaves. I started thinking that maybe I should start trying seeds from the food we are eating so now have capsicum plants growing from a red capsicum from the supermarket. They have come up but I haven't a clue what to expect. Has anyone here had success groing pants from food you have saved seeds from? Are there any nasty consequences do you think?
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Jude, alot of my garden last year was seeds from supermarket veg, and they worked well. Hope there are no nasty consenquenses... :)
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Pumpkins are easy to grow, just throw the seeds in, and water them.
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Wonder I just asked my DH, we have about 90-100 roses. 20 more arrived today to plant this week. :)
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Astarra, glad to hear of your success. It's kind of exciting seeing what happens. The capsicum plants look really good so far. I am going to try pumpkin this way too Obbie.
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Jude i hear that red chillis from the supermarket produce trees that will deliver more chillis than you can use. I am going to try this this year.
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Yes Snappy, you will have chillies coming out of your ears. I have frozen chillies and have given away bag upon bag of them.
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My Mum has bell chillies. I pick heaps and freeze. Fantastic :)
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My DH loves a good bitey chilli but also likes them to have a nice taste. Our problem is finding a chilli that has a good taste as well as a good bit of heat. Any ideas or suggestions anyone?
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Wombat made a hole it the wire fence around the veggie garden. He doesn't eat the veggies, but the hole will allow rabbits and wallabies to get in. DH has put a sheet of tin over the hole as Wombats don't like metal. They are stupid animals and difficult to stop once they have a mind to do something. We will see what happens.
About collecting seeds. I have read that the seeds you collect from your own plants, do better than other seeds as they are well suited to your climate. I love the little plants that grow from seeds dropped in the garden.
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I generally collect seed from my best performing plants/veggies and save. The plants are generally better suited to my climate, more disease resistant, better fruit etc.
You can have mixed results from saving seed from supermarket veg as it depends on the type of plant/variety, where it was originally grown (ie grown in Qld and trying to plant in Melb), whether it needs certain cross pollinators, or is a F1hybrid, etc. But it's fun experiment, just don't get disappointed if it doesn't fruit or you don't get what you are expecting.
I've had interesting results saving my own seed from pumpkins which I've grown. I accidentally grew two types of pumpkins from the same family in the same patch, the seeds I collected that year when planted out gave me a strange hybrid of the two. Still tasted good, but wasn't what I expected.
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I'm thinking I'll also sow seeds from reputable places. But it will be interesting to see. The tomato plants our friend had were just brilliant and so strong. So pleased to get my hands on one of his tomatoes for seeds. It's interesting to see what happens, but yes in future I will save my best performing plants as seeds.
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Medussa, my kaffir lime is fine, looks the same all year round :)
We dug & weeded the patch at the weekend, so all ready to plant :)
H :)
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I love this forum, now i can't wait to get home to turn the veggie patch over and start my spring planting. Thanks Girls (and fella's.)
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This family business in Tasmania have a great selection of seeds, I saw them on a cooking show recently.
http://www.southernharvest.com.au/
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Well next year hopefully I'll have lovely fresh blueberries. I purchased 10 plants today and will plant out on the weekend once I've decided where. They are a mixture of varieties but all are deciduous. Will deflower them for this season to give them a chance to get established.
Slowly establishing lots of different berries, I currently have raspberries, blackberries, jostaberries and a silvan berry and now blueberries.
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Yum ... berries! Your berry garden sounds great, keiramax! :)
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Yesterday we planted fennel, spring onions,, zuchini, capsicum, chilli, dutch carrots, corriander.
My corriander always dies, this time I have planted in the shade, see how it goes.
:)
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Would love to know from the experts here if there is a way to grow coriander without it going straggly and dying?
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So would I. See how it goes in the shade :)
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We grow our herbs on the deck near the kitchen.
vege garden got replanted yesterday, yeah.
DH just went to get sprinkler hose for veges now, and more sprinklers for my lemon tree.
Just picked another big bunch of bananas from our trees.
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We grow our herbs on the deck near the kitchen.
vege garden got replanted yesterday, yeah.
DH just went to get sprinkler hose for veges now, and more sprinklers for my lemon tree.
Just picked another big bunch of bananas from our trees.
It sounds as though you live in paradise Obbie...picking bananas..... I'm green with envy!!!
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We grow our herbs on the deck near the kitchen.
vege garden got replanted yesterday, yeah.
DH just went to get sprinkler hose for veges now, and more sprinklers for my lemon tree.
Just picked another big bunch of bananas from our trees.
It sounds as though you live in paradise Obbie...picking bananas..... I'm green with envy!!!
I was thinking exactly the same!
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Yeah its Paradise to me.
No noise, pollution, not many neighbors, no street lights, amazing views across the paddock, and lake.
We got given small banana sucklers and planted them.
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We went to Tonga once (DH had work to do there) and our accommodation had a lovely little yard area with its on banana and pawpaw tree. In the mornings when we sat out there for breakfast some staff would come and pick the fruit for us right there..... Was wonderful. Should go back again. Beautiful place.
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How are all the vege gardens going..
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Got home from a month's holiday to find the veggie garden covered in chick weed and looks like the rabbits were having a nice time eating the broccoli, will get it sorted to start planting my spring veggies. The citrus trees have a bumper crop, Will have to put some grapefruit out the front for the neighbours.
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Its always feast or famon here with veges and fruit, too much or not enough.
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Obbie would love to be able to grow bananas.
Well DD was lucky enough to win the father's day raffle at playgroup and got a new spade and a blueberry plant. Will have to plant it with the rest we planted last week. She didn't quiet understand what was happening but was very exciting to give it to DH last night, couldn't wait until Sunday.
Last week planted seeds in punnets and I'm using our new heater punnet tray thingy. Have to report, some seeds germinated in 3 days. Even the tomatoes are germinating quickly, last year I think I waited about 3-4 weeks before they came up. So will be planting out soon (fingers crossed), I always get fooled in the Melbourne weather I think the worst of the frost is over, plant out and then bam a big frost.
I hope to pot up the tomatoes and keep them under cover until about the middle of Oct. They should be a good size by then.
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I am so keen for my seeds to come up, hopefully in a couple of weeks. :)
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I have been watching my seeds come up over the past four weeks or so too. Mostly inside at the moment. Just transferred my tomatoes to bigger pots and am going to keep them in sheltered spots for as long as possible. Capsicums and chillis look like repotting soon too. Yesterday popped some seeds for zuchinni and pumpkin and salad plants into old egg cartons. I have read that you can just pop them straight into the ground when they are ready and the carton just breaks down naturally. Have a stack of egg cartons so hoping that works. Off th Diggers at Dromana Saturday for lunch and inspiration. Love that place.
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Everything in my veg patch is popping up, looking great.
My corriander which is in the shade is doing well, growing & still alive. Hope it stays that way. Hate paying $3 for a tiny bunch.
H :)
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Agree about the coriander. Was reading somewhere recently that you can freeze fresh chopped herbs in ice cube trays , pop the herbs in and then top with either olive oil or melted butter and freeze. Great idea.
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Yesterday I purchased some seeds from Lambly Nursery in Victoria. It's the first time he has vegie seeds for sale but after reading and also seeing his success on his blog and also DVD's decided to try his. He imports the seeds from growers who guarantee it's germination rate. I also brought lots of tomato seeds in Italy so can't wait to try them out.
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sounds good Jude.
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Just got the diggers spring catalogue in the mail today. Love getting them to see what they have new. Love the egg carton idea Jude, can you let us know how they go. I've got heaps of cartons because none of the chooks are laying. 13 hens and not one egg. Not sure what is happening there.
Haven't been down to diggers for a long time, will have to make a trip for some inspiration.
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we have 9 chickens, 1 rooster and get about 8 eggs a day.... :)
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That's good going Obbie with the eggs. Sat down and had a good talk to the girls this morning and if they don't start laying they may become chicken soup. :o
They should be laying. The only think I can think of is something is eating the eggs, but I haven't seen any evidence of this, broken shell etc.
I hate buying eggs at the supermarket, they just don't compare to a truly fresh egg, laid by happy hens.
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I wish the weather would warm up down here then I might feel like getting stuck into the Veggie patch.
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Not as exotic as your patch Obbie, but my little patch is doing OK despite some neglect. Loads of kale, spinach, rocket and some lettuce and peas in today's bucket.
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Looking good DJinni
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Chookie has a persuasive way with unco-operative hens, Keiramax - as I recall, it has something to do with leaving an axe in full view of the hens by the gate of their coop!
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Jude, otherwise just chop up the herbs and fill the ice trays with water and freeze.
Works well.
My sister just popped in, So great.. I gave her heaps of avocados and bananas to take home. :)
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Marina is right about the axe. Ha. Keiramax if you have been getting eggs and then suddenly none, something odd there. Sometimes they stop laying if very cold. Usually if old, it happens gradually.
Love Lambly, beautiful garden to visit.
the egg carton idea does work, have used it many times to start seeds offinside. the Center out of toilet rolls even better. Bind 5 together with a rubber band, fill with seed raising mix, pop seed in and water. Stand up on plastic butter container. You get nice long roots.
OH to have avos and bananas. This is the stuff of dreams.
I took home made berry jam to WA for CP 63. There is nothing quite like it. I think she was going to hide it at the back of the fridge !!!!! Still not warm enough to plant out here. After Cup day is traditionally the time. Could hear the cockiest making one heck of a noise yesterday, They were pulling out the Daffs and eating the bulbs. Hate these birds. A few years ago they attacked the window frames.
Still getting silverbeet , parsley and Lemons. Lots of ground cress.
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Djini, do you spray your greens with anything? I have green smoothies everyday so go through the greens quickly but each time I've tried to grow them they get eaten so much indeed to spray all the time. Yours look wonderful.
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Wonder, the only thing that has not been mauled by possums or various aphids/other living creatures is kale!! Growing beautifully intact.
Btw, my mint leaves have a bit of white in them. What does this mean? Cannot spot the culprits.
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I took home made berry jam to WA for CP 63. There is nothing quite like it. I think she was going to hide it at the back of the fridge !!!!!
I tried some of the jam you gave Cookie on sourdough loaf. It was lovely. Nothing like homemade jam on freshly baked bread.
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Djini, do you spray your greens with anything?
Hi Wonder. No I don't use any sprays and I don't use any commercial fertilizers. (I make fertilizer teas and use those) I put broken egg shells between plants to deter hungry crawlies.
The garden is in the wide open spaces so lots of birds hang around. Maybe they are doing pest control for me :) The only pests causing trouble are the possums. There are a couple of resident possums who regard my garden as their private pantry. They seem to love the parsley and the geraniums ???
Kale is wonderful. I grow a couple of different types and use heaps of it :) :)
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My little chat with the girls has encouraged them to start laying. So far 3 eggs over the last 3 days. They are not old but the cold does stop them laying. So hopefully it's a sign of things to come.
Plenty of silverbeet/rocket in the garden, asparagus starting to pop up as well now. My seedlings are going great guns at the moment, so will be planting out the more cold hardy soon.
I'm experimenting with an avocado tree, it is one for cold climate and I've put it in amongst other trees for protection. See how it goes. We can get down to -8 where I am.
Loving the sunshine over the last couple of days, only problem is I can see the grass growing.
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Keiramax glad they are laying.
we still get 8-9 eggs per day. I used a fair few yesterday, and made 3 cakes, and lemon butter.
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thanks djinni, I'm going to go at lunchtime and buy some more seedlings and put them in pots again rather than directly in the garden bed. We have a possumm that ate our lime and lemon trees but with two dogs he stays away from anything that means he needs to actually get on the ground in the backyard. The last spinach seedlings I planted the new puppy ate!
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It's a constant battle against possums, dogs, kangaroos, wombats, deer, bugs etc. My theory is just plant more than you need.
Loving the sunshine. Have mowed one section of grass and planted a blueberry plant. Out now to tie up raspberry canes.
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Hi Keiramax where do you live. My Raspberry canes are just starting to shoot, I've been out in the garden too, weeding and planted some more Kale. Keiramax my raspberry canes are just coming on the three years old, I have put up a sort of trellis work in the middle to tie them too do you cover yours or do anything special to them, I haven't had enough to bring inside yet, just stood and ate them at the bush.
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My raspberries have been in for 8 years, last year was the first time I netted them and picked about 8kgs in total. I really want to put them on a trellis and in rows but at the moment I just bang in a garden stake and tie them up to it. My Mum gave me about 20 canes to start with and I just stuck them in the corner of the veggie garden.
I live near Gembrook in Vic. So get alot of frosts and low temp during winter which raspberries love.
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Thanks Kieramax, I went on line to have a look at what to do and I think I have done the wrong thing the last two years I have cut them all off and think I should have left some of the new canes for this year, oh well i know now and hopefully next year I can make some jam..
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Raspberries fruit on two year old canes. In autumn, prune out the canes that have fruited and leave all the new canes which will fruit in the next season. mulch well and ensure they get plenty of water during the fruits to get nice big berries.
Last season my daughter lived on raspberries (she was 18 months at the time) as well as the dogs who helped themselves.
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we picked more bananas, and mulberries on the weekend. :)
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Miss 11 and I planted tomatoes, carrots, beetroot, cucumbers, radishes, capis and eggplants over the weekend. Potatoes are growing like mad. Also planted some corn and peas seeds, I found them in the shed, so they are probably 10 years old. Don't really expect too much from them - but thought we'd give it a whirl!
So far the chooks, horses, dogs and anything else that likes to eat greenery or dig have not found the garden.
Yet...
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Good job Nikkit. I've just been planting seeds in my little hot house. Can't really plant out until the end of Oct because of frost. But hopefully will have large established seedlings to plant. Have planted out all the garlic that spouted in the shed so that's about 160 cloves. Might have to have a stall out the front of the house selling Aussie grown garlic.
Also planted some snow peas today
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keiramax - where are you - I'll buy your garlic! Gee it is hard to get good Aussie garlic these days. I refuse to buy the Chinese stuff, never know what we are eating.
I never have any luck with garlic :( my chooks loved the last lot I planted.
It has rained a bit here this morning, so the veges are watered for the day. We still have to get the retic set up in the vege garden, although with weekends booked out I'm not sure when we'll get it done.
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Keiramax, would love to buy your garlic too :)
Veggie patch growing well. Very happy to see corriander still alive & growing. Zuchini plants have sprouted lots of leaves so all looking good :)
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Good job Nikkit. I've just been planting seeds in my little hot house. Can't really plant out until the end of Oct because of frost. But hopefully will have large established seedlings to plant. Have planted out all the garlic that spouted in the shed so that's about 160 cloves. Might have to have a stall out the front of the house selling Aussie grown garlic.
Also planted some snow peas today
Excellent idea keiramax. Nik is right, can't get Aussie garlic. It should be back in the super markets soon though.
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I'm out near Gembrook in Victoria. I hadn't grown garlic until last year and that was a bit of an experiment. Now I'll have heaps, fingers crossed, as long and the wombat doesn't take a liking to it. He was out there last night having a dig around.
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I got quite a few bulbs of garlic on the weekend at the nursery, they were selling all their old planting stock as cooking garlic because they said it's now to late plant them. I've already used a few of the bulbs and think I'll go back and get more. It's Tasmanian garlic and has a lovely mellow flavour. They were $1 a bulb which didn't seem to be a price.
We planted rainbow chard, rocket, parsley, spinach, oregano, thyme, beetroot and lots of Kale late last week. All the seedlings look really good and strong. We don't have a vegetable patch as such but have planted out some pots around the pool and put others in the garden beds.
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Darn keiramax - you are on the wrong side of the country (or is it me??!), bit of a drive to get your garlic!
A wombat in your garden...I do hope he doesn't think it is a good spot to be.
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Nikkit (and anyone else that is interested). These people (http://angelicaorganicfarm.com.au/) grow good, organic, Australian garlic. They are based in Daylesford here in Victoria and you can catch them at various farmers markets around Melbourne.
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Garlic takes 6 months, sadly takes too long for me as it would take up too much space.
Any ideas where to grow it? Maybe pots? Does it need shade or sun?
I am thinking in a pot round the side of the house.
H :)
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Hally a bit pot on your patio or deck would be ok.
I have herbs growing in a terracotta herb pot on my front deck.. :)
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Next time at Bunnings will look around.
Need to buy basil.
H :)
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I am feeling quite proud of myself .. I emptied the bottom of my compost container, through the doors on the sides and was able to fill up to 2 largish containers! However the mix had a lot of slaters/woodlice so I googled and found that they were a good sign that all was well with the mixture.
Planted 6 patio tomatoes, and picked spinach (which we have in every meal) , coriander and parsley for tea.
Today have to trim the rosemary bush which has grown about 15cm the last few days. Need to mulch in the next week before it gets tooo hot here in Perth
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Hally, we grow most things in pots on the deck as we have very little garden beds and they all seem to grow well, just don't over crowd. I looked everywhere for garlic plants and the few I found were $5.99 for one plant, the nursery man said to forget about growing garlic until next March in Melbourne.
I've had the Daylesford garlic and it's wonderful.
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Potting on my tomato seedlings today. Hoping to grow them to a decent size ready to plant out at the start of Nov. This variety is called Wilde Sweetie, little red tomatoes about the size of a marble. Hoping they will ripen quickly and the kids will think they are lollies.
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I noticed today my carrot seeds are up, they were home collected a few years ago I wasn't sure if they would still be ok. happy about that, no sign of the radish's I will have to put in more they usually are very easy to grow.
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we have strawberries up at the moment..
Got heaps more seeds in yesterday at our shop..
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Very pleased with our carrots. These are reclining on a dinner plate so you can get an idea on size. The longest one is 25cm! The silver beet is still doing well too. Lots of silver beet and feta quiches/pies. Tonight silver beet and cauliflower quiche. I think of you Hally, when I cook up silver beet - LOL
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/19/avabumub.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/19/sy2yjape.jpg)
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looks good Jude.
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Carrots look fantastic. My carrots always grow curly >:(
Jude that silverbeet looks really scary!!!
H :)
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Nice work Jude, carrots are my nemesis. One day I'll master them. Last season wasn't too bad. My silverbeet is still going strong from last year, have some new seedlings growing to replace the old
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Ours are usually terrible too. We grew these in big old apple crates. I have a lot of little seedlings in the family room where it is very sunny. They are doing well. Had some in the veg patch but there are slugs there so are putting out something to get rid of them. They ate my lettuce seedlings :(. Love hearing about everyone's gardens!
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Scrumptious looking veg Jude :)
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The house we're in was left to us by my aunt who was a very keen gardener. She must have had at some stage some pawpaw trees. After the drought broke up came these seedlings.. which just grew and grew. Last year this was our one treasured pawpaw..(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/22/zuze2ava.jpg)
This year....those two "stalks" of trees have done a little better!!!(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/22/u3uma9e9.jpg)
Also behind them are two more...(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/22/4e8aqevu.jpg)
I love "feral" gardens!!
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Wow GF
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looks good Goldfish..
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Those Paw Paw look great Goldfish. I'm hoping this year I will get to try Mulberries, will keep my fingers crossed.
Marie
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Would love to be able to grow tropical fruit but unless we build a big green house it's not going to happen. Let us know when they ripen and what you do with them - so lucky GF
Planted baby cos seedlings and the slugs have eaten all but about 4 plants over night. Not happy >:(
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Got my mini corn and zucchini seeds in today. This year decided to start them off in jiffy pots which will them be planted into the garden.
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I love my veggie garden although I call it a kitchen garden because its as much about herbs and fruit as veggies. It feeds my husband and I for most of our veggies, and I'm really looking forward to berries this summer. I have loganberry, boysenberry, raspberry, blueberries, gooseberry and of course strawberries. Six months ago it was all lawn- just a suburban backyard.
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I've just started a veggie patch so will be reading this thread for advice. We have toms, lettuce and strawberries as seedlings and then I planted seeds of carrot, radish, beans, cucumbers, capsicum, beets, spinache, basil, rosemary, chives and oregano. Hope those toms start growing soon. At almost $9 a kilo in woollies yesterday we'll be broke in no time!
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Took a photo of kale for another thread, so took a few more
Kale
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/24/edu5u4yq.jpg)
Leeks and some rainbow chard
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/24/3a8uhe9u.jpg)
Garlic
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/24/3edupyby.jpg)
Jen trying to get sprinkler back on hose
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/24/na6yhuta.jpg)
Had to leave then or I would have been soaked
[
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/24/avuny5uj.jpg)
This is my DH little plot of paradise
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What lovely gardens you all have. I have the space to plant but unless I cover it all over the possums and wombats attack it.
I have several pots close to the house which Harry the Hound keeps univited guests at bay.
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Now that's neat CP
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Our patch sprawls outside back door and then right down the back with the chooks. The rainbow chard has been chomped by the chooks.
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Looks good CP,.
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He want to put another planter box in cos he always buys too many pun nets and it gets abit overcrowded at times. Need to put more mulch down to stop the weeds - boy that's a big job
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I got asked for Kale seeds today, I have 90 variates of seeds, but no kale.
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Some white insect is eating my basil, rosemary and mint. It leaves white patches on the leaves and when I give the leaves a good shake they fly off. What is it and what can I do to eradicate these villains?
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some sort of moth Courton..
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How do I get rid of these scoundrels?
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I bet you can make up a garlic spray or something
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CP and SuJen I am jealous of your gardens. The photos of your gardens make me want to get out and expand mine.
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Derris dust for moths.
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We have a gate connecting our backyard with the neighbor behind. We can help ourselves to their lap pool, and they can help themselves to our Vegie garden :D
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That sounds like a good arrangement.
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We have a gate connecting our backyard with the neighbor behind. We can help ourselves to their lap pool, and they can help themselves to our Vegie garden :D
Wow, that's good bartering :)
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CP, so neat. I have 12 plots to get ready for planting. It has taken me 2 days to weed 1, so might be ready by Xmas. Beautiful weather to be outside. torn between making Sour Dough, new recipe, and outside. Better get outside while I can.
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Thanks obbie. Have Derris dust. Will try it.
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seriously, plant some kale the moths will only attack that and leave others alone. May have to replant kale a couple of times but its really cheap at Bunnings. :) :) :)
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I thought kale only thrives in the colder months. Can I plant some seeds now?
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SJ lives near Antartica so she would be able to grow it year round :D
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not quite that cold CP, not much snow this winter. It does get quite hot in summer though. Often hotter than Perth. Always need to replace kale as soon as moths eat it so usually buy seedlings. Sure you can courton, anytime.
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I think you'd even find polar bears love the off odd kale leaf when they're not drinking bundy
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Kale, polar bears and bundy excellent combination
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polar bears love bundy...
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polar bears love bundy...
;D ;D ;D
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Found a stupid wild rabbit in my garden today... >:( :-\
Hope my poor tomato and zucchini seedlings didn't mind getting nibbled. ??? :-\ >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
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You need my Harry astarra. He doesn't mind ducks but has absolutely no time for rabbits or possums.
How's Leo going?
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My FIL is Croatian and he has plastic snakes in his veggie garden to scare the birds off his grapevines. They might also work for rabbits?
Another thing he has is empty foil cask wine bags blown up and blowing in the breeze.
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Leo has gone back to the farm now... was sad but he was getting too strong for the girls. :(
We still go and see him each day tho. :)
Still >:( about the rabbit.....!
Might try those ideas thanx CP. :)
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we found little bunnies under our pool deck on saturday... kids were excited..
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My FIL is Croatian and he has plastic snakes in his veggie garden to scare the birds off his grapevines. They might also work for rabbits?
Another thing he has is empty foil cask wine bags blown up and blowing in the breeze.
I had plastic snakes everywhere when I lived on the Central Coast, didn't scare the birds but the neighbours got quite a fright.
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We wouldn't have the veges we do if it wasn't for our dog, she loves rabbits
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I think Harry should have been a greyhound - loves chasing rabbits.
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Rabbits here too
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two egg boxes with seeds planted ready to replenish my basil crop. had them over a week should have been due to sprout soon but
but ...... TOM my greyhound ate both boxes potting mix and all. He doesn't do bad weather too well so think i was being punished for the stormy weather inPerth over the past few days
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Oh bother GHM - :-\
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Just wondering how the gardens were going elsewhere....I am more than slightly cross with myself as I sunburnt all my tomato plants yesterday. >:( I have them covered with plastic soft drink bottles overnight so they don't gert frost on them, only yesterday we were out most of the day and they were left covered up.....poor things. :(
On the up side tho, the capsicum plants seem lots happier for their scorching.
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Gee Astarra where do you live?, Down here in Victoria I think I need to put a heater out for the plants it is so cold. I have just picked the big heads of broccoli today, I planted out some Kale seedlings at the weekend.
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Our winter veg didn't do very well. The brussels sprouts have fully flowered with nary a sign of a little edible sprout. Swedes don't seem to have produced the usual bulbous root either. On the upside, kale and rocket have done well. Our fingers are crossed or the garlic and it looks like all the herbs are re-generating.
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Brenda, did you have seeds, or seedlings for kale. I have a customer who wants seeds....
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I planted out some Kale seedlings at the weekend.
Kale is wonderful. I have black kale and curly kale growing. Love it :) :) :) The garden has been neglected for a couple of weeks but the kale still looks good. The parsley has gone to seed :( and the tomatoes are just starting to flower. I have a few small heads of cauliflower but they are cream coloured instead of white ???
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How many seeds obbie? Packets or just some??? Any particular variety?
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No, no particular variety, I can;t get the seeds up here :) Not many
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obbie will pm you with some details
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I had seeds Robyn, the plants from last season are flowering so I will save the seeds from them. I can also post you up a pkt or two if you wish.
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Gee Astarra where do you live?, Down here in Victoria I think I need to put a heater out for the plants it is so cold. I have just picked the big heads of broccoli today, I planted out some Kale seedlings at the weekend.
Laughing so much...we live in Tassie!!!!!! :D
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Gosh. we live so far apart. I am 1 hour from Cairns. wonder if kale would grow here.
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Astarra, just caught up on this thread,,, :D :D :D :D :D WHERE DID YOU GET THAT SUNSHINE FROM.... I know you got Robyn to send you some from her place...
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It just came... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D....for better or worse!!!!
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Its about 33-34 here today..
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Robyn, not sure how you would go growing the kale up there, it is a winter vegie and from what I have experienced the insects really love it in the warm weather, if you want to give it a try, I will post you some seeds tomorrow, pm me your address if you want the challenge.
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I hung out a load of washing, pulled out a weed, and another, and before I knew it an hour had passed. At that point, I got changed and decided to keep going. It is a lovely sunny day after heavy rain, so the weeds were easy to pull out.
My winter veggies were a mixed success. I have to say that I haven't spent as much time as I should have. My cauliflower never set any heads, and the broccoli went to seed very early. I think I can see some seed pods on it know, and wonder if I should let them mature and keep them for next year.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/13/enaqa4e4.jpg)
Does anyone have any tips?
My potatoes in a garbage bag are doing well, and I've added more compost.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/13/tytu6yja.jpg)
I have half a dozen garlic plants still alive, but I think my cats sat on the snow peas and the caterpillars feasted on them too. We only got about half a dozen peas from 3 plants.
I did have some tomato seedlings growing before we went on holidays, but I think a lack of water killed them off.
My rainbow chard, on the other hand has bolted and is going to seed. It's at least 1 m tall in places. Any tips on what to do? Should I cut it back and hope it regrows, or should I just write it off and pull it out. I planted it in Sept last year.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/13/6a4yqena.jpg)
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I would cut it back ES. we planted heaps more veges and herbs yesterday. I remembered to bring homes seeds..
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Yes , cut them off ES. They will come again.
Had a terrific day in the garden. First nice day for weeks. I am tempting fate and have planted out lettuce and some herbs. The giant pea seeds that GD helped me plant in toilet roll centers have put up little green shoots. I have them under plastic domes but gave them a bit of fresh air. Weeded another patch in veggie garden, 10 to go.!!!! The chooks get all the green weeds. Will do another one tomorrow.
Took the worm farm to pieces and put the worm compost around lots of pots.
The Wombat has been into the Veggie patch again. Stupid animal, makes one hole to get in and another to get out. Think I will try and stop it tomorrow.
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Haven't got to read all this thread but it is very motivational! Here is a new patch we hoed up and planting some tomatoes. ;D
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Looking good so far nay-nay... :)
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Thanks Brenda for the Kale seeds.
Robyn
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That soil looks lovely and rich
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Lovely photo Nay Nay.
That veggie patch puts mine to shame!
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we have red dirt here ;D
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Picture perfect Nay Nay. Almost makes me homesick for country Qld. (Spent some time round Nnnnnnanango many years ago when it only had one taxi ;D)
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Glad they arrived safe Robyn, I hope they grow for you .
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Yes red dirt! Stains everything! So funny about nanango - pretty sure they still only have one taxi! :D :D
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Brenda, we will plant them this weekend, thankyou :D
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Today, planted seeds in toilet rolls , for small bush tomatoes. The only sort we can grow here. Also seed for Chinese Veggies, in tray.
The Giant Peas are looking good. Will try and post a photo of my little hot houses.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/18/azudeba3.jpg)
Giant peas and bush beans in toilet rolls, in mini hot houses.
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Do you push the seedlings out when ready to transplant, or just plant straight into the ground roll and all?
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Just plant the lot, CP. The toilet roll has pretty well broken down by then. It does prevent the roots from being disturbed and they grow better.I buy a bag of very good potting mix, to fill the toilet rolls. It also gives us a good start as we can't plant out for another month.
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I used the toilet roll trick too. :)
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Just went to check on my plants and found.... 1 cherry tomato plant has a cluster of buds on it :D, one Beefsteak tomato plant also has a flower bud cluster on it :D, and my strawberry plants have a couple of flowers :D !!!! So so happy about that!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D ;D
Also my zucchini plants are growing fast! :D :D :D :D :D
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That's great Astarra hope they keep growing well :) :)
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Yesterday, poisoned the blackberries and picked a bunch of flowers. Astarra how exciting.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/29/u6a5unyv.jpg)
Spring has finally arrived at Cherokee.
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What a wonderful array of colours Chookie :)
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Chookie beautiful :D
Now my parsley & corriander has gone to seed. Shall I leave them to self seed or dig up & plant again? If they self seed how long does it take?
Spinach & brocolini both gone too >:( all happened when away.
H :)
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Chookie those flowers look lovely, such beautiful colours.
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It's a great time of year for getting excited about gardening. Have even inspired two out of three of our kids to grow their own veg :) our garden at home is going well and the garden at the back of the office is going very well. Have got pots of plants all over the place too. Really want to grow as much as possible. In the courtyard I have a zuchinni plant and I think it makes a very attractive pot plant haha! And not just pretty but food providing. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/29/erany7ap.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/29/hy3a3uha.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/29/3eqe3uty.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/29/sana5a4y.jpg)
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Astarra, very jealous and admiring of your tomato success!!!
Chookie, those flowers are so vibrantly beautiful!
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Jude photos look great. Our veges are coming up, we are picking radishes at the moment, herbs, also our nectarines and plums are on now. :)
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Our first zuchinni, we have about 20 tiny ones atm
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/29/yjydysav.jpg)
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Obbie, i just came in from the office garden with a handful of beautiful radishes and then read your post. Gosh they look and smell divine! Tonight I am going to make a lovely radish and lettuce salad starter for us. I'm thinking a bit of mint and olive oil and white balsamic mixed through - making myself hungry! And as to the nectarines and plums - sounds wonderful!!! We only have young berry bushes no fruit trees.
Hally your zuchinni are lovely - so looking forward to those flowers of mine turning into fruit!
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I now have 7/10 tomato plants with these on them... :D
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Love the look of all the veggies. very exciting.
Hally, all was not lost.
Jude59, I have posted a TMX recipe for a salad with radishes, but yours would be too nice to mix up. i think you have the right idea.
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Yes chookie zuchini good.
Oh have chook poo on my citrus trees, put it on whn you said, loads of flowes, now nothing & but leaves are yellow again.
Any ideas?
H :)
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Love those flowers chookie. All these veggies are making me hungry. So glad my mint and thyme have come back from the dead and there is new growth coming out from the dead twigs
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Picked the first of my broad beans last weekend - still very small and tender, we were eating them straight from the pod. There's a good crop on them and loads of flowers as well so should keep us going for a while.
Refilled / prepared my raised garden bed a couple of weeks ago and have started planting in it. My neighbour passed on a couple of extra zucchini and I transplanted a couple of mustard plants and chives - they all seem to be doing well (so far!)
I also planted coloured swiss chard / silver beet two weeks ago and will plant beetroot this weekend. I have decided to try planting by the moon this year to see how it goes - I figure I've got nothing to lose and it will be an interesting experiment.
Got some more seedlings (tomatoes and chillies) to go in in the next week or two - hopefully we have seen the end of our frosts and they should be safe to go out into the big world of vege growing.
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Hally, give the lemon plenty of water. Can't think of anything else. We also empty the coffee grounds out on to ours.
marina , you are a wonder. As weekend farmers, you are doing very well.
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Thanks, Chookie, that's very kind of you. The main problem is keeping water up to our veges during the hot weather - but then, as our very lovely elderly Welsh neighbour said to us when we lived in Wales "... they've got two chances ..." and that's the way we view it. They will either live or die.
We try to keep our orchard watered as much as we can, but the cockies usually get to our harvest well before we do, the only thing that survives their onslaught are our crabapples and, to a lesser extent, our plums. For some reason our local cockies don't like plums and we have so many crabapples they simply cannot eat them all before we can get to pick them!
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Beautiful. Flowers chookie.
Lovely veggies everyone. I can't even grow parsley.
Gert
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All the food looks amazing. I've only got some herbs, kale, rainbow chard, spinach and rocket. The spinach and rocket have pretty much finished now and the herbs are just taking off.
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You probably could grow bananas but Gert :D
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Except for the rats and snakes which love banana trees.!!
I c an grow mould though really well.
Gert
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I have bananas Gert, and veges, and herbs..
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Note to self.. No banana trees.. Never heard of that before although never lived anywhere banana trees could grow !!
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First batch of spring onions, we have about 16
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/31/yte3y4u8.jpg)
H
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Looks very good Hally
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Nice H :)
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Looks really good Hally.
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Thanks guys, used 1/2 a bunch already.
When we are down to about 8-10, will,then plant more. I hate running out of spring onions.
H :)
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That looks great H, I wish I didn't have a brown thumb, I even killed my parsley that mum gave me and she said nobody kills parsley :-))
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Oops Suzanne .. Oh we'll we can't be good at everything!
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Mum's right suzanne, perhaps you forgot to water it ;)
Hally your spring onions look great. Reminds me that I must get some more to plant out, I hate buying them.
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Thank you.
I hate to buy them, when you can buy a punnet of 6 or 8 for $2.
Organic & taste so good.
H :)
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Mum's right suzanne, perhaps you forgot to water it ;)
Hally your spring onions look great. Reminds me that I must get some more to plant out, I hate buying them.
Maybe too much love;D
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Hally, if you cut off spring onions about a centimetre from the base, they will regrow. Even if we have to buy some always cut off roots and plant, always work.
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Hally those spring onions look great. I might have to plant a few.
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Thanks for that information SueJen, I have to buy a bunch today as my crop is not big enough. Will plant the roots, yay free spring onions down the track.
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Just trim about 1cm and plant JD, always works for us. A gardener friend told us about it. We just snip the spring onions off with scissors, the ones in the garden and when we need to buy cut the ends off and then plant. Although doing this haven't had to buy spring onions for about 2 years.
During winter when we dont use as many just let them grow and they are just like onions. Big bulbs.
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That's a great tip SueJen
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That's what my mum does SueJen, I suppose I could get mum to grow my vegies/herbs I even killed my tomatoes once :-)).
I wonder if you could grow them in a pot?
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don't see why not suzanne they grow like weeds
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Great tip SJ, most recipes call for less than what you have to buy as a whole bunch. They take up so much room in the fridge vegie tray too., and are much better off staying in the garden until needed.
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don't see why not suzanne they grow like weeds
well those I can grow ;D
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My zucchinis are coming up, tomatoes, Chinese veg mix, radishes, leeks. looking good.
what about your vege garden..
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My zucchinis are coming up, tomatoes, Chinese veg mix, radishes, leeks. looking good.
what about your vege garden..
They sound great Robyn. I love zucchini and leeks.
I have been waiting for some rain before I planted in the dirt garden. I have my aquaponics garden all cleaned out and ready to go as well. Taro is looking wonderful. And I have tiny eggfruit on my eggplants. But the rest is still to be done in there.
Self seeded tomatoes are also just starting to have fruit. We just leave them where they germinate which can be anywhere as the bush turkeys steal some of the fruit and distribute the seeds pretty widely.
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we have bush turkeys here too...
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Hally, if you cut off spring onions about a centimetre from the base, they will regrow. Even if we have to buy some always cut off roots and plant, always work.
Thank you Sue Jen, will do so. Fantastic tip.
How long do they take to grow back?
I have just started oing that with my chives :)
:)
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Snails or slugs are eating my newly planted zucchini plants and I'm not happy ;(
With a cat and dog, I can't put snail pallets down ( I don't trust the pet friendly ones) so I'm gonna try the beer in a saucer trick. Hope it works
Tomatoes are going well as is the silver beet and my basil is looking great.
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Snails or slugs are eating my newly planted zucchini plants and I'm not happy ;(
With a cat and dog, I can't put snail pallets down ( I don't trust the pet friendly ones) so I'm gonna try the beer in a saucer trick. Hope it works
Tomatoes are going well as is the silver beet and my basil is looking great.
Chrissa. Do you have a coffee machine or access to coffee grounds from a coffee shop? Sprinkle the ground coffee around your seedlings.
The slugs/snails eat the gounds (they love it almost as much as I do)
Then the caffeine causes them to have a heart attack and die.
It really does work. And most coffee shops are happy to give away the used grounds.
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Snails or slugs are eating my newly planted zucchini plants and I'm not happy ;(
With a cat and dog, I can't put snail pallets down ( I don't trust the pet friendly ones) so I'm gonna try the beer in a saucer trick. Hope it works
Don't know if this is helpful or not as I haven't tried it yet. Saw this on a UK gardening program today: Take one bulb of garlic, put it in a plastic bag and crush it. Place the crushed garlic into 1 litre of water and boil for 5 minutes. When it is cool, strain it and keep the liquid in the fridge. When needed, add 1 tablespoon/litre of water and spray the leaves and even the surrounding soil.
A good tip about the coffee grounds, too!
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Thanks Rosie & Goldfish for the tips. I'm trying both. My garlic spray is in the fridge cooling now and my coffee machine has been emptied. Didn't have enough grounds to sprinkle around every plant, so looks like ill be making coffees for everyone today :)
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Oh, yeah, while I was out sprinkling the coffee grounds, I found a pot I had planted some potatoes in so I emptied it to find a few little gems in there (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/11/8yzy9ytu.jpg)
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Hi,
I'm a bit of a novice gardener, and we have peas & strawberries (can't get enough of them - kids eat them off the plants as they ripen), plus motly herbs (parsley, coriander, mint).
We renovated out house last year, and only just recently got the garden set up after that, so waiting for a couple of things to come away again. The mint and a little lemon tree are from pre-building work, so hoping they make it (pretty sure the mint will! It's spreading already).
I also have planted some rhubarb, but it does not seem to be going well. I keep hearing that it's really hardy and it's more difficult to keep it under control, but I've not managed to grow any yet! Maybe next time I go up to mum's I can grab a bigger chunk of hers...
Think I might have to try the spring onion tip! Thanks.
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Jo_nz I think rhubarb is quite a heavy feeder. Do you have access to cow manure? We buy bags of the dried cow manure, (don't use fresh as it will burn) and use that and usally have a plentiful supply of rhubarb. Compost, would also work okay. I think they also recommend that about every 2nd year you lift it and shift it to another position and fertilise is again. Hope this helps.
Marie
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Will post a photo of what we 'grew' in our garden today. We opened the door and he came in side.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/11/amutypyr.jpg)
Echidna, we think it is a baby.
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Wow how cute that's amazing and very brave to walk inside
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Thanks Emme - I have a worm farm, so will try to focus on feeding the rhubarb with it, and grab some manure next time I'm at the garden centre!
All we get coming in from the garden are occasional birds attracted by cat biscuits! Not quite so cute!
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we have about 10 rabbits now,
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we have about 10 rabbits now,
Obbie, pets??
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I didn't think you could have rabbits for pets in qld?
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Uh oh Obbie....how is your garden coping with them?
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No, No pets. we have chickens, hence always about 12 dozen eggs here.
Just wild, some out the back in the shed, 2 on the side, 2 out the front under the pool deck, but we see them everyday... :) :) :)
Vege Garden is going well, enclosed in Mesh.
One trys to eat the roses...
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Weeded the veggie garden / chicken yard on the weekend. It hasn't actually been a veggie garden for a couple of years because of the chooks.
We do have an area netted with raspberries that the chooks can't get too.
I'm thinking I might get some water tanks and make a few raised garden beds to grow some veggies and cover them with bird netting to keep the chooks out
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Dede, we have to net all our berry bushes, if we want any fruit. The white netting is better than the black as the wild birds can see it and don't get caught up in it. I have planted out the Giant peas, that I started off in the toilet roll centers. They are going great.
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we have nets over our plum tree, and nectarine tree.
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We have to net our fruit trees also, the blueberries are looking wonderful this year, looks like it will be a good crop. Our strawberries have just started fruiting. We have those in raised beds to stop dog from eating them, we would not get any if they were at ground level. ;D
Marie
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We should have raspberries soon. Just starting to fill out now.
I'm trying to get DH to find me some old water tanks to make my raised garden beds, they are pretty expensive to buy already made up and not quiet high enough. Will make it much easier on the back :)
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The tanks are great Dede, and they are certainly much easier on the back. The strawberries are doing well in them and we just put the netting over the top. Yes, they are expensive and they take quite a bit of soil to fill them. :)
Marie
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We are digging out soil soon to make way for a foot path and a slab for my bird aviary so we should have quiet a bit of dirt to help fill the tanks :)
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Would anyone be able to help identify this herb? It's been growing a while and I can't remember what it is.
It doesn't particularly smell or taste of anything - maybe it's a weed ???
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No idea, especially if it doesn't smell or taste like anything particular. Maybe it's a weed?
Looks like a plant I have but that has a strong lemony smell.
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I'm no expert mcmich - but could it be a chilli plant? I'd be inclined to just let it keep going and see what happens. Wouldn't try eating it though without knowing exactly what it was . . . ???
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Chilli plant rings a bell. Thanks GF. You can tell I'm not a backyard vegie gardener :-[
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I does look similar to my chilli plants in my garden.
H :)
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I was going to say chilli/capsicum plant too....looks like my 5!!! :)
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Thanks everyone. Good to know I haven't been nurturing a weed.
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:D :D :D :D
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I now have 10 tomato plants, 4 zucchini plants, 5 capsicum/chilli plants (in a mix of sizes, colors and varieties),& 8 strawberry plants in the ground, also seeds of watermelon and cucumber. Have been offered pumpkin seedlings from a farmer friend, so have left room in the garden for them and the spring onions which I have not got yet. I have chives and parsley growing in pots too. :D
I am happy it is all getting sorted now.
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I think a few people would of been caught out this morning in Tassie with the frost. Hope not too many people lost some plants.
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Was thinking the same thing dede ... thankfully I still have mine protected by tree guards, which although uncovered seem to keep the temp high enough so the frost doesn't get them, it is like each plant is in it's own little greenhouse!
Just so glad I didn't take the guards off on Sunday like I was going to!! :-)) ;D
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My dad luckily woke up in the middle of the night and realized that the temp was low and went out side to cover his tomatoes and potatoes so all were saved.
I don't have anything that a frost would worry at the moment.
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That is good, would be so devestating to lose a garden this far into the season. Lucky we know Tassie ah?! :)
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Zuchins growing madly, some look like marrows. Have traded some, bext week will get baby eggplants for my zuchinis.
Have cut off approx 6 spring onions about a week ago, eager to see if they grow back up :)
Planted cucumber, lettuce, basil, parsley & dill last weeend, well dh did as I couldnt >:(
Des anyone know when you can tell if fennel is ready?
H :)
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No idea about fennel Hally.
Did you get the Chinese book yet
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I harvested my first beetroot today and roasted them with some garlic ready to make the roasted beetroot dip. This is a major achievement for me considering I seem to kill everything in sight! My tomatoes are growing madly and smothering everything else nearby! However, none of them seem to be turning red :-\. I think my row of radishes should be ready next week. I'm so chuffed with being able to pick things from the back garden.
The one thing I am having major problems with is coriander. Any tips? I live in SEQld so it is pretty hot here. It just seems to burn before its grown despite being under the eaves of the house.
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I have coriander growing in my herb pot on the deck, I water it every day too. :)
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Where do you live obbie? Did you start yours from seed or a seedling? The trouble with mine is that I'm growing from seed and then young shoots seem to burn before they even get going. I might have to buy an established plant I think and move it further into the shade.
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No idea about fennel Hally.
Did you get the Chinese book yet
Not yet Obbes, would have told you :)
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1 Hour from Cairns, FNQ Brumington. I planted mine from seeds..
Hally, it would take a week to get to you, posted last Thursday..
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Brumington - I could never get coriander not to bolt when I lived in qld. Buy slow bolt if possible but coriander is v tricky in warmer climates.
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Brumington - I could never get coriander not to bolt when I lived in qld. Buy slow bolt if possible but coriander is v tricky in warmer climates.
Thanks for the advice. I'll look for some slow bolt seeds next time I'm in bunnings.
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Without going back and reading all these pages, just for whoever wanted to know about white cabbage moths - apparently plant some mint near the plants they are attackingand the smell will deter the moths. :)
Thanks for the spring onion tip, I had t buy some yesterday and have been going to get seedlings too, but not I will just plant the bulb end! Thanx again. :D
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My vege garden is looking great..
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My miss3 was out helping me weed my garden just before and said "when we eat all dese vegetables so we don't hafta buy some, we will be able to use the money for a jump-o-line." :D
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My vege garden is looking great..
Mine too Obbie. We've had big downpours of rain which have really helped. My tomatoes are growing out of control but still none are red! There are hundreds though.
I picked a load of radishes today with no idea what I was going to do with them. I decided to make radish butter which is now my new favourite thing! My hips are not so pleased!
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is it 2 late 2 plant some radishes
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is it 2 late 2 plant some radishes
No, I don't think so. It sounds to me like they're kind of indestructible! I'm going to plant some more. They grow so quickly.
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radishes...yum!!!!!!!!!! I love their crunch and peppery tang. :D
............but................
sadly.....................
I am the only one here who likes them. :(
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I think they would be fine. They come up so nice and quickly. Love them too.
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No plant them, our are looking good.
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Hally, if you cut off spring onions about a centimetre from the base, they will regrow. Even if we have to buy some always cut off roots and plant, always work.
After reading this, I planted the bases from some store bought spring onions in some pots and I'm now growing spring onions. Very excited ;D
Thanks for the tip SueJen.
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This is my veggie garden.(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/25/sebaqetu.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/25/2esa5asu.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/25/sahyvy8y.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/25/asy2yvam.jpg)
The chook tractor on the bed that is finished ready fort little helpers to get it ready for a new crop
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Fantastic looking veggie garden! Are you guys self sufficient? We are trying to plant something whenever we pull something out to keep up. Our patch is smaller than yours but there are only two of us.
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So jealous of your garden Berringamababe. I have a few pots on my balcony :D
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The size of the garden is a bit ridiculous as it is just two of us but I love making relishes and sauce and just enjoy gardening. My dad is retired and he helps me(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/25/3ypytede.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/25/ra2yjetu.jpg)
I have 32 tomato plants in.
When I lived in QLD I had a similar garden and was self sufficient Jude59 when every thing is producing I will be again. I am currently harvesting squash zucchini and let thus we have lived on this property for 5 months. We are the caretakers of a 400 acre Angus stud in south west WA. 3 chooks 3 horses and 3 dogs. Don't know how it is all threes but it is. One grown up daughter living in Melbourne and a cat to keep the mice away
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This is what I stated with 6 weeks ago. I hired a rotatory hoe and planted the next day.
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Berringamababe 6weeks!!!!! You have done an amazing job , well done .
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Morning harvest (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/26/azesu2a8.jpg)
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Now thats a beautiful sight!
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What an inspiring garden berringamababe.
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Morning harvest (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/26/azesu2a8.jpg)
:)
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What an inspiring garden berringamababe.
Thanks I think these squash thought they might try to be pumpkins! I spend about an hour a day on it - half an hour in the morning then again in the evening. So rewarding!!!!!
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all my chine veges, bok choy, cabbage, pak choy are up now too.
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B, love the photos. Thanks. What a great job you have done!!! We are still battling the Wombat, so are planting in containers . We have just picked our first Peony.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/26/qagumysu.jpg)
Beautiful.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/26/qagumysu.jpg)
Beautiful.
Yes very beautiful :)
Great squash.
Our zuchinis might be on their way out now, i have some very huge ones like marrows!
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Halex I peel my over grown zucchini deseed them and cut them into thin slice like you would cut apple to stew. I then add some sugar a little water and make 'mock apple pie'. No one believe's that it is zucchini, I freeze the leftovers for future apple pie or anything else I would use apple for.
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Today's harvest(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/27/nytu5egy.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/27/u3ymedyz.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/27/ujy9ypyq.jpg)
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The South West is copping a beating from a savage storm. I have so far lost 3 of my tomato plants my corn is laying flat to the ground and everything else is totally waterlogged. Very sad :(
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Oh that is such a shame, hope there is no damage to your house or anything..
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Thought I would give it a go at posting some photos of what I have grown so far.
Well the photos didn't work, so will have to try another time.
I have also had some success with celery but forgot to take a picture
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My zucchini, silver beet and tomatoes are looking very sad in this heat :(
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No we are lucky no damage not like last storm when a tree fell on the carport and did 8k worth of damage to Dh's 4x4 :/
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Hope you were insured B? :-\
How terrible for you. :-* Hope you are OK.
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I have lots of Roma tomatoes on at the moment that we are picking.
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I just picked my first zucchini of the season! ;D
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whhoo hoo, great Astarra
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Yay DH found me some old galvanized tanks to make my raised garden beds :)
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Yay dede! ;D
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Can't wait to get them all set up, will have netting over the top to keep chooks, birds and dogs out :)
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Do you think all danger of frost has past for us Tassies yet Dede?
(PS: that is a genuine question) :-))
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Do you think all danger of frost has past for us Tassies yet Dede?
(PS: that is a genuine question) :-))
Lol, anything is possible in Tassie ;D.
Yesterday I was in a T-shirt, and today I'm in a jacket.
Not likely to be anymore frosts but like I said it is possible.
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We had one in December last year, but I can't remember the date. :-\
Same here - singlet top yesterday, jacket and wheat pack today. ;D
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Oh my goodness...we are having a hail storm ATM!!! :o
Summer in Tassie!! :D
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I'm just across the water from you two, it is freezing here today.
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Its about 36 today and I am in air conditioned comfort
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Its about 36 today and I am in air conditioned comfort
Same here Obbie. I think our veggie patches will need a good drink tonight.
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my DH does all that, the rest of the gardens are all on automatic irrigation.
Hot up here today.
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Don't rub it in Obbie ;D
It is freezing here, the wind has blown off a lot of the apples and pears. We are starting to get some zuchinni, have peas, broad beans and carrots. I noticed there is a good crop of walnuts and there is actually some mulberris on the tree. I just might get to try a mulberry before I die. DH informs me there was a lot on last year and they all fell off, oh well, keeping my fingers crossed.
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Pick the mulberry's Marie, before the birds eat them
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They all fell off before they developed properly Obbie. The tree is in a netted area so the birds can't get them. Just hoping just one mulberry will make it this year. Here's hoping :D :D
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have to keep a eye on them next year Marie
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we have yellow zucchinis, roma tomatoes, radishes, capsicums, asian greens ready at the moment.
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It's fantastic isn't it! We have loads of silverbeet, beetroot, carrots, snow peas, French beans, lettuces, potatoes and herbs. Radishes are finished. I love it. Have been googling how to freeze snow peas. Anyone here tried freezing snow peas?
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Have broad beans coming out my ears at the moment. Any ideas for using them up? ;D
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July placed a road bean bruschetta recipe which was sooooo yummy. Can't remember what is was called.
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Is this the one courton?. . .
http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=11286.0
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Thank you for that ladies, that will help. DH planted some last year and we got only a few. This year of course he had to plant more, it is either a feast of famine :D :D
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Just been informed I have a lot of green tomatoes out the back. :D
DH also brought in another zucchini from the garden. :D
Love growing food!!! ;D ;D ;D
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This was all picked yesterday by my DH :) :)
yellow zucchinis
plums from our tree
Roma Tomatoes
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Yay Robyn! :D
I have picked over 1kg of zucchinis today...not alot compared but made me happy all the same!! Now to feel well enough to use them. :-\
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I'm glad I found this thread! We moved to a half acre place late September and our goal over summer is to create a veggie patch. We have the chooks up and running as the chook house was already there but no veggie patch. I visited the local community gardens the other day and it was so inspiring to see all the fresh.produce ready!
Jodie :)
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I am still getting about 8-9 eggs a day too.
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I now have 10 tomato plants, 4 zucchini plants, 5 capsicum/chilli plants (in a mix of sizes, colors and varieties),& 8 strawberry plants in the ground, also seeds of watermelon and cucumber. Have been offered pumpkin seedlings from a farmer friend, so have left room in the garden for them and the spring onions which I have not got yet. I have chives and parsley growing in pots too. :D
I am happy it is all getting sorted now.
It is so nice to see all that variety. I am now inundated with squash zucchini and my pumpkins are fruiting. Loving it. Can't wait for the warermelon
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Have broad beans coming out my ears at the moment. Any ideas for using them up? ;D
Marie do you have FFS? Broad bean & pea salad with bocconcini (http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=9116.0) - delicious
Asparagus & broad bean bruschetta with poached egg & parmesan (http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=11286.0) - recipe on the forum
farfallina's Pea & broad bean sauce (http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=6690.0)
Broad bean & feta dip (http://www.thekitchenplayground.com/2008/committee-meetings-broad-bean-dip-and-sardinian-parchment-bread/)
Broad bean, bacon & mint risotto (http://catecancook.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/broad-bean-bacon-and-mint-risotto-using.html)
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Thanks for those Judy, Yes do have FFS and have enough beans to try all those. ;D
Marie
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Haven't been on lately, but have loved reading through everyone's success in the garden.
We have raspberries, snow peas, silverbeet, asian greens, broccoli, garlic, potatoes all ready at the moment. Enjoying being out in the sunshine with the kids in the garden. My daughter won't eat her veggies at the dinner table but is happy eating straight from the garden. Can't get any fresher than that.
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Finally DH cut the old water tanks up for me yesterday to make 4 raised garden beds. Now I just need to fill them.
I'm using cardboard( boxes from my sisters recent house move), newspaper, pea straw (DH is about to bale some up) blood and bone (DH works at a Abbotoir) sheep poo (DH works on a sheep farm) and compost ( I have plenty of that) so almost will cost nothing to fill them ready to plant ;D
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Apart from tomatoes and cucumber, we have actually been self sufficient in veg for the two of us for the past four weeks! So pleased. We have carrots, beetroot, silverbeet, snowpeas, lettuces, spring onions, potatoes, beans, herbs. There are a lot of tomatoes, eggplant coming along nicely. Now just have to send DH out fishing a couple of times a week and we would be set LOL!
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I will be very sad to see mine when we get home, with this eat in perth I am thinking most things will be dead >:(
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We had a good crop of pawpaws this season and have eaten/ given away quite a few. Just in the last couple if days some nocturnal predator has taken large chunks out of a couple still on the trees.. Possums I think!! The local nursery suggested this handsome fellow!! Don't know if it will work... We'll see... :)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/12/31/y8epysy4.jpg)
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Goldfish is it one with flashing eyes? My best friend has a terrible (but lovely) problem with possums LOL. She has now given up and decided to just enjoy their visits.
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My sister has a beautiful avocado tree with heaps of fruit. She says the rats get into them. Plenty for everyone still.
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My garden is marvellous.... MIL came this morning to drop off a parcel, said she was going down to the shops to buy zucchini....I was so happy to just be able to go and pick her some straight from the garden...and she was so happy too as it saved her a trip to the shops as that is all she was going to get!! ;D Tomato plants are loaded with green toms - can't wait for them to start ripening up too!! Summer... :D :D :D
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Goldfish is it one with flashing eyes? My best friend has a terrible (but lovely) problem with possums LOL. She has now given up and decided to just enjoy their visits.
No flashing eyes lol... But eye catching! DD lives in an apartment 3 floors up and a family of possums visit most nights for some fruit offerings.. They are so sweet! (But for me..I would really like to be able to finish off the few pawpaws that are left. :) .found one of them on the ground the other day.... Chooks had had a go at one side.... Little doggy teeth marks on the other side!!!)
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We have plenty of zuchinnis, carrots, spring onions, tomatoes not ripe yet.
Have spent the morning processing cherries from our trees, blueberries, raspberries and Strawberries.
The wind has blown off some of the apples and pears. Also lost a few walnuts, but found we have 3 hazlenuts on the tree :)
GF, Love those paw paws ;D
Marie
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I have lychees, and avocados, mangoes on at the moment.
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My garden is standing up surprisingly well in this WA heat wave. I am busy making relishes and suppling a few friends with regular produce in exchange for punnets of seedlings to replenish
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Sounds like heaven.... !!! :)
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BB your garden is fantastic, puts my little plot to shame, still there is just me I'm picking Zucchini, carrots, silver beet, kale and rhubarb, tomatoes are still green.
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BB your garden looks great
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It all sounds great! Now if only we could all get together and swap excesses....
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Great idea Jude
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Yes what a wonderful concept to share produce and food. I get so much pleasure when people come and I leave with home grown veggies, it has been so hot I really need to replant corn tomato beet root and spinach.
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We are finding its the keeping up so there is always something coming on. Pull something out - plant something new is the way to go.
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Our very small patch has suffered badly from the heat.
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28's here >:( Not happy as they just love trimming the tops off all the tomato bushes. And they pick the green ones and toss them on the ground for a laugh. Wish I could shoot them! The dogs do catch them and eat them, but not enough!
Sheep poo cookie1 - I've put heaps of it in my vege garden and it has gone nuts. The veges seem to be coping with the heat - and we've had over a week of 40-43's up here. It is a great mulch and a slow release fertiliser and no weeds.
I'm picking tomatoes, capi's and eggplants.
I should look like a tomato - I eat about 5 a day on my toast for breakky and then for lunch. ;D
Picked about 8 eggplants today so going to make my yummy eggplant pickle tomorrow.
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I'll have to get some Nikkit. I haven't used any since my family left the farm.
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got to plant more in my vege garden too.
still heaps of tomatoes, and beans
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Lol. Possums 1 - owl 0. Back to ye olde drawing board....
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/02/se4eja9e.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/02/gy6upy5a.jpg)
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Little buggars GF, what's plan B?
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Darned if I know Judy!! :)) only a few very small ones left now so will try to pick them ASAP as soon as they ripen. I'm thinking I was lucky to get as far as we did. Maybe nets next time......I'm thinking maybe I should show the photos to the nursery that persuaded me this would do the trick :))
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Oh dear GF!!!!
Obviously pretty smart possums.
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GF that is exactly what we found! A toppled owl. After that we got our boys to build a big (but attractive) cage around the veg patch. Haha tough luck possums!
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cookie1 - me either. Not too sure why it has taken me so long to get sheep poo on my garden! My roses have gone crazy too - they're loving it and are having a second flush now - so pretty :)
There's a guy NOR who delivers. He's great, unloads it where I want it, and reasonably priced. Buy 10 bags and he gives you one free.
Not sure if I am allowed to put his name here - but can PM you if you want it.
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28's here >:( Not happy as they just love trimming the tops off all the tomato bushes. And they pick the green ones and toss them on the ground for a laugh. Wish I could shoot them! The dogs do catch them and eat them, but not enough!
Sheep poo cookie1 - I've put heaps of it in my vege garden and it has gone nuts. The veges seem to be coping with the heat - and we've had over a week of 40-43's up here. It is a great mulch and a slow release fertiliser and no weeds.
I'm picking tomatoes, capi's and eggplants.
I should look like a tomato - I eat about 5 a day on my toast for breakky and then for lunch. ;D
Picked about 8 eggplants today so going to make my yummy eggplant pickle tomorrow.
Nikkit the 28's just destroyed my roses and could shot them too. I used sheep poo in my garden also and I think that is the secret. Even this hot wether every thing is holding up well but the heritage tomatoes are really struggling but the gross lizzies are seemingly loving it.
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Love those photos GF, makes me laugh. I can just see the eyeballing up in the tree, and then the possums yelling "fake!" Before pushing him out of the tree. Try a rubber snake
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Goldfish, we live in possum owned Sydney too! I read somewhere that possums don't like the smell of camphor, so we place the camphor cylinders in metal or cardboard tubes (from cling wrap etc) and leave it near the plants. It seems to work quite well.
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Thanks Courton.... Will give that a go!! :)
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Lol. Possums 1 - owl 0. Back to ye olde drawing board....
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/02/se4eja9e.jpg)
LOL Goldfish That is a sight that we see every morning as well. :D :D :D There must be a possum plague in Sydney. We have 4 of the little blighters in our backyard at the moment who are part of the possum version of Cirque del Soleil. Their antics are not only destroying the garden but also the pool solar heating on the roof. >:(
Thanks for the tip about the camphor Courton. I'm going to give that a go as well.
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Lol. Possums 1 - owl 0. Back to ye olde drawing board....
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/02/se4eja9e.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/02/gy6upy5a.jpg)
You need a dog GF. I have rabbits but thanks to my dog they stay away.
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I have to recommend the gardenate app. It is fantastic for the backyard gardener I have been getting email planting reminders for over a year and just started using the app I LOVE IT!!!!
I have spent the morning planting sunflowers, tomatoes, more squash and zucchini, radish, corn, lettuce, spinach and cucumber. Hilled my 2 Nd patch of potatoes.
Think I might have a nap ;)
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Just downloaded it and it is great! I'm forever checking what we can and can't plant and this is just so handy. Thanks.
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Hi Berringamababe - We do have two aging terriers who live inside. On occasion they have chased the odd possum and bandicoot. We live in a suburb that just seems to crawl with ticks, especially during the summer. We almost lost both of them to paralysis ticks and one of them is blind in one eye and his hearing is on the way out. He loves to sit on the deck and bark (at length) at any passing imaginary whatever. That sets his sister off and we're off and running. So, in no order of priority, it's to lessen their exposure to the ticks and out of respect for our close neighbours that they're definitely indoor dogs. I do understand what you're saying though. Other considerations notwithstanding, I think that would be the almost perfect solution! :D
I've been receiving the gardenate emails also . . didn't know they had an app!! Will check it out - thank you! :D
Jude - LOL - I'd LOVE a cage . . . but the pawpaw trees just keep growing upward - might resort to some sort of netting next season . .along with the camphor (sigh) . . ;D
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GF living in burbs would be hard having a barking dog. I have a border collie she lives chasing everything unfortunately I have to tie her up at night because she runs up and down the creek all night chasing the rabbits barking keeping me up.
My other two are indoor dogs and a blind one also, he got lost last night and I found him over a km away at 1am. Naughty puppy wondering down the highway.
GF I think netting is the ideal answer the 28's where getting my rises and I put polly pipe and bird netting and now I have beautiful roses have a look at this site http://urbanfoodgarden.org/main/vegetable-patch-management/pest-control/pest-control-deter-birds.htm
Good luck
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Wow.. That's one adventurous little hound!! You must have been so relieved to find him.. And in one piece!
Your border collie sounds a wonderful dog!
Thanks very much for that link!! I think netting will be on for the next season..
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I've just harvested the potatoes that I planted in a garbage bag way back when. Not a huge crop, but not bad:)
My zucchini 's are now cropping, but my tomatoes aren't ripe yet. Not sure how they will survive the next week of hot weather. :(
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/06/epa3y8y9.jpg)
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We were given a Moon Calendar (http://www.moongardeningcalendar.com/) not this Christmas just gone but the one before. Followed it for the planting season and don't know whether it was just luck or not but we have had great success with our crops of fruit and veg.
Marie
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I had an Uncle who always planted by the moon. He had the most wonderful Vegie garden.
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How did you do that ES? Sounds easy whatever it is.
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Cp, it was Michele who originally posted about growing potatoes In a bag. It is dead simple. I put a garbage bag inside another, filled it with compost and some slow release fertiliser. I then added some sprouting potatoes and left them for several months, although I did add more compost as the potatoes grew so that they didn't turn green. I harvested them once they had died back.
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My garden has made me so happy today - I had one friend call in with a 3.6kg piece of freshly killed lamb to trade for a bag of lemons and a bag of zucchini, then another friend turned up with 10kg bag of freshly dug potatoes to swap for lemons!! :D :D :D :D
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great swap Astarra :D
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My garden has made me so happy today - I had one friend call in with a 3.6kg piece of freshly killed lamb to trade for a bag of lemons and a bag of zucchini, then another friend turned up with 10kg bag of freshly dug potatoes to swap for lemons!! :D :D :D :D
What a fabulous swap wouldn't the wield be a better place if we all did that!!
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/13/dy4ypu2u.jpg)
Finally my raised garden beds are taking shape :)
Today I made poly pipe arches over the tanks so I can put bird netting over them.
Then I added cardboard, newspaper, pea straw, sheep poo (stinky), compost, blood and bone.
Still need some more pea straw, sheep poo and compost to fill them right to the top.
My arms and shoulders are pretty sore today. Hopefully DH might be able to help me a little today :D
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Wow that's a mammoth job you have achieved Dede,no wonder your arm and shoulders are aching.Well done you.Did you crave a cigarette at all.
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Lol CC, actually I did want one when I had finished and was sitting back relaxing. But I have still been good and no ciggies for me :)
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Good girl,so proud of you :-* :-*
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Thank you, I'm proud of me too, and so is our bank account ;D
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Great job dede - with the garden beds and the cigarettes. :D
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Wonderful efforts all round Dede!!! (http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/happy/cheering-clapping-smiley-emoticon.gif) (http://www.sherv.net/cheering.clapping-emoticon-3289.html)
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That looks great Dede and well done also on the ciggie front. A wonderful effort, stay strong :)
Marie
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Wow, dede!!!! That's an amazing effort!! No wonder your arms/shoulders are aching!!!! How many gardens do you have altogether
And congratulations on the cigarette front.. It's not easy and you've done so well with that!!!
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Love thse raised beds Dede and congratulations on succeeding in giving up the ciggies!
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Wow, dede!!!! That's an amazing effort!! No wonder your arms/shoulders are aching!!!! How many gardens do you have altogether
And congratulations on the cigarette front.. It's not easy and you've done so well with that!!!
Just the 4 GF :), hopefully I will finish them off today. They should grow some good veggies with all the goodies mixed in ;D
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They'll be amazing, dede! A good job with the piping, too. Possums are our most pesky perpetrators - cute but create a lot of carnage . .!! ;D
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Mandi you have been working hard - good workout but of course you would be aching using muscles you haven't been using lately. I can understand your thinking about a cigarette after all the work was done but think of it this way, you probably couldn't have done all that work if you had still been smoking ;) Well done, the pests attempts to do damage to your new beds will be thwarted by that great structure you have assembled. Would love to see a photo down the track when the beds are in full growth.
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The main reason I'm using bird netting is to keep the chooks out. Oh and cats as well. We don't have problems with possums here thank goodness :)
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/13/ydamezud.jpg)
Done. ;D, added another bale of pea straw per tank, half a bag of sheep poo per tank, blood and bone, 1/2 meter of compost that I had delivered. 6 bags of organic compost and 2 bags of sugar cane mulch. They finally all full. ;D
Have planted a zucchini, cucumber, spring onions, leek, silver beet, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce.
Kids enjoyed helping me, DH came home and was shocked that I finished them. :)
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An absolutely awesome effort, dede! With that mixture the plants will be leaping up and out in no time at all!! ;D ;D
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I told the kids that we will have the best veggies in the world with everything in the tanks :)
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Fantastic job Mandi, when you start a job you really do get on with it don't you?
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when you start a job you really do get on with it don't you?
. . . . you can always come and live with me, dede!!! ;D ;D ;D
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I try to Judy. I don't like stretching it out over weeks. And I'm a real impatient person :D
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I have learnt a lot of skills from being impatient over the years. I don't like waiting for someone to do it for me, so I just do it myself. :)
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Wow Mandi, great job!
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They look great Dede, a great job
Marie
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I thought my zuchini plants were dead, look what I picked today, & theres more
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/13/2avy7aja.jpg)
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we have bird netting over our veges too, like a shed, but with netting.
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Nice looking Zucchinis Halex. Hope mine grow that well. Between my family and all my birds we go through a lot of veggies all year round :)
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Thanks Dede, i thought the crop was dead, we have had over 30 & now another batch :)
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Love your veggie garden tanks Dede.
They are big zucchini s H. Mine are ripening at the moment, and they should do well now as we had good soaking rains this morning and have had plenty of sunshine too. I was going to make zucchini pasta for dinner tonight, but we went out instead.
I'm hoping that some of my tomatoes will finally be ripe enough to pick this week, and I have been given peaches and apricots from my parent's garden.
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FantIc dede can't wait to see the photos with loaded veggies. So rewarding
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Dede, your veggie tanks look great!
Here's my latest harvest (I harvest from my Dad's garden, he does all the work & we all get to share the great veg! (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/13/erutebus.jpg)
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Now that's the sort of vegie garden I like. Miss my Dad's great crops.
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Yes, we are lucky. He takes great pride in it and loves sharing the crop with everyone. He especially loves seeing his GD eat beans, strawberries etc straight from the source.
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Now that's the sort do vegie garden I like. Miss my Dad's great crops.
JD you just reminded me of my childhood and all of my late dad's array of vegetables that've grew profusely at the back of our very long yard, or in Scotland our back garden. Also strawberries and tomatoes. How I miss him :(
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not from my garden :(
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Is it a cucumber Uni ???
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No CC its some sort of zucchini
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Oooh! I have not seen one that long and thin.Have you decided how you are going to cook it ;D
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looks huge Uni
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I love looking at the veg pics. They look so pretty:) DH and I were discussing yesterday how most edible plants are also ornamental. Thinking about putting in more edible plants around the garden. We have chilli plants in pots in our front courtyard and they are so pretty. Bought artichokes too and are going to put them in there too. Getting some more half barrels for down the paving next to decking out back and will plant some more veg in them. Sp pleased that the cage over the veg patch has kept those pesky possums out this year. They haven't noticed the unprotected blueberry plants .... Yet!
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I love my veg & herb patch, just wish it was bigger, sigh, we do well with the space we have :)
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Great gerden dede. You have done so well.
I picked 5 zucchinis today totalling 1.496kg in weight ;D And I also found a ripe cherry tomato that somehow just jumped into my mouth... ??? ;D and more tomatoes ripening! Yay! :D
Plums are starting to ripen too - shhh don't tell the girls! ;)
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Great gerden dede. You have done so well.
I picked 5 zucchinis today totalling 1.496kg in weight ;D And I also found a ripe cherry tomato that somehow just jumped into my mouth... ??? ;D and more tomatoes ripening! Yay! :D
Plums are starting to ripen too - shhh don't tell the girls! ;)
My biggest zuchinni weighed over 1.25kgs :). No zuchinnis now >:( had iver 40 from my crop :)
DH & I Just dug up most of the patch, mint took over & strangled other herbs. A lot had died. Will buy more today & do some planting in the evening :)
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It's tomato season but this one is a bit on the nosey side! Boys say it looks like an angry bird ;D
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/02/03/enu2upa5.jpg)
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must go check the vege garden
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It's tomato season but this one is a bit on the nosey side! Boys say it looks like an angry bird ;D
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/02/03/enu2upa5.jpg)
ha ha. Love it
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I've been picking my zucchini and they are really good. I cant lay claim to the amazing ox heart tomatoes, they are from my FIL
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/02/03/7uhyve5u.jpg)
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Inspired by this thread, I spent 2 hours in the veggie garden. It is very dry , but made cleaning up easy. Have been picking beans from large pots. Tomatoes not doing much. Love DD's raised beds.
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Our tomatoes are not ripening at the moment, hope they won't be long. Have just started on the corn, zucchini are finishing up (thank goodness) prune plums are ripening and made a little blackcurrant jam yesterday.
Marie
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My partner is the gardener. I just do the harvesting! My kale plants all recently got obliterated by caterpillars a couple of weeks ago. How do you guys deal with caterpillars and still stay "organic"? I miss my green smoothies! :(
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Beetroot and carrots and silverbeet slowing down, beans finished (froze a lot too). Been freezing rhubarb and making chutney with it. Tomatoes are more than we are eating at the moment so shall start freezing those as well. Pulled up the last 6 potato plants - 10.2 kilos of potatoes :) tons of spring onions. we were late putting in cucumber but they are all fruiting now just need to get bigger. Capsicums and eggplant and chili starting to fruit and have planted some more snow peas, beans, broccoli and brocoletti. Parsnips starting to get bigger. Love our veg patch and its such a good hobby. Late with zuchinni too. Don't know if it will amount to anything. Saw a very attractive pumpkin plot yesterday. We have a couple of plants but not doing anything exciting.
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Planted cucumbers, basil, thai basil, parsley, capsicums & that was it.
Very hot here, the next planting will be around Anzac day when its cooler & I will be able to plant a lot more.
Still picking chillis, capsicums, rosemary, basil, oregano, sage in abundance this year, thyme, spring onions, chives & garlic chives. Normally have a lot more but been away a lot & things died or went to seed.
:)
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We lost almost everything that was in my veggie patch with the big storm we had.
spending time just cleaning up and hope to get some things replanted next week :(
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Oh dear - what a shame Rosie.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/02/05/uvu2anu9.jpg)My morning harvest any one in Bunbury what to swap for some replacement punnet of seedlings
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BB, what a great crop. We are only getting enough for 1 meal a day. Our Mantra is to eat something from the garden every day. Sometimes this is is a sprig of parsley or herbs.
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great crops.
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Nice pickings BB - is that a watermelon on the right?
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Oh wow! Jealous of your wonderfully full wheelbarrow!
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I wish I lived a bit closer, I would happily swap.
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Busy making relish and fruit salad. I ate the mulberries as figs as I harvested. My partner works always do just me at home, had 5 families 'shop' over the weekend and this is just todays
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Nice pickings BB - is that a watermelon on the right?
Sure is and 7 rock melons on the bottom I through 4 that had gone rotten out. Chooks are fat healthy little thing. So there are Rockies watermelon lemon tomato pumpkin zucchini beetroot beans potato corn and I ate the mulberries and figs as I went, didn't pick egg plant or lettuce
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BB, wow, fantastic produce. Wish you lived nearer :)
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bump . . . http://www.gardenate.com/
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My raised garden beds are going great. We are eating cucumbers and silver beet. Zucchinis will be ready in a few days too. :)
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I really think I need to get a garden started - just have no idea where to put it right now. I'd love to rip out the flower bed down the side of the house (useless! No one goes there) But I think the MIL might have something to say about that since it's her garden. In the meantime I've decided I need a couple of basics like a rosemary bush and a Lemon tree.
Has anyone got a fruit salad tree? Did you make it or buy it? Got any tales to tell?
Thanks
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Jayde, love my herb bushes. They grow well in large pots. I like to have them near the kitchen door so I can pop out and get them. Lemon tree is great. We live in a cold climate and struggled for years to get one to grow. Now we have a large stone wall that hold the heat and the lemons love it. I use a lot of lemons. better not touch MIL's garden. !!!!!
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Jadey maybe get herbs in pots
I wouldnt be without mine, use hers every day from the garden. :) They are so expensive in the shops >:(
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I have a big terracotta herb garden pot
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I think that may be the way to go girls. Will a lemon tree grow well in a pot too?
No one has a fruit salad tree? I was thinking of getting a citrus one and doing Eureka Lemons, Limes and Oranges - If I do a couple of different types of oranges I should have fruit all year. Apparently you can have up to 6 citrus growing on them but I don't eat grapefruit or anything.
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Yes a lemon tree will grow in a pot.. In cooler climates its the only way you can have one as the cold weather if left outside will kill them .!
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I love pots Jadey - but if you have the room your citrus trees would really do better in the ground. Having said that, in large pots and fed well and often, they'd do very well. Haven't had any experience with the grafted fruit salad trees but would be interested to hear if anyone has had success with them.
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Yes jadey if you have the space definately put the lemon tree in the ground... It will do better ie be bigger so more fruit.. A pot will limit its growth but ive seen them in large pots on trellis' and they look great.. There are also dwarf or mini varieties if you dont have alot of space
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My lemon tree is going great, even after we transplanted it.
we used to have a fruit salad tree, along time ago.
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How did you go with your fruit salad tree obbie?
I'm glad that if I can't get MIL to give me a spot for a tree I can have one in a pot. Thank goodness.
I really need one! Lemons get so damn expensive.
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No worries with it Jadey, they are very common up here.
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my lemon tree was so beautiful and perfect and abundant with lemons until I moved in::) I don't know what I've done but haven't had lemons for 2 years any suggestions from you green thumbs to help my brown thumb :-[
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I have a Meyer Lemon tree I love it it is a small tree and has fruit all year round, it is sweeter than the Lisbon or Eureka , my tree is about 20 years old and I,have never bought a lemon, but am using them sparingly at the moment Because the possums have eaten Most of them so,it will be another month before the next ones are ready.
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I have a Meyer lemon tree that has oodles of lemons all year round too - I wouldn't be without it!
Love lemon stuff! :)
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I have a Meyer Lemon tree I love it it is a small tree and has fruit all year round, it is sweeter than the Lisbon or Eureka , my tree is about 20 years old and I,have never bought a lemon, but am using them sparingly at the moment Because the possums have eaten Most of them so,it will be another month before the next ones are ready.
Jolly possums!!!
Our Lake Macquarie possums love basil, frangapanni flowers, chocolate mint - haven't touched the bay tree or the dwarf lemon tree.
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my lemon tree was so beautiful and perfect and abundant with lemons until I moved in::) I don't know what I've done but haven't had lemons for 2 years any suggestions from you green thumbs to help my brown thumb :-[
Have you been feeding it... There are special citrus type fertilisers that should be used regularly ???? There is a home remedy but i cant remember what it was.. I know coffee grounds etc are a good fertiliser but for citrus not sure?? Maybe someone else can enlighten you ...
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we have a possum in our trees..
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yep Kim I use the citrus fertilizer I'm just not a gardener and can pretty much kill anything green ::)
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I'll investigate the Meyer Lemons as well then, thanks girls.
Suzanne - I am a little worried I'll be doing the same thing, I'm def no green thumb. I'm just trying to cut down on the spending and have more accessible natural foods.
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I try jadey but to no avail I even kill parsley ::) my mum and dad are wonderful gardener's nothing was passed down to me unfortunately luckily I have an elderly couple down the road who leave lemons out the front of their house so I grab some on the school run ;D
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Lucky I have a DH who irrigates everything for me, It works..
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We have been in our home for 3yrs and are slowly finishing off our landscaping. This week the builder built four large veggie gardens near our chook house.
So far we have planted kale, silverbeet, beetroot, carrots, celery, peas, strawberries, blueberries, chillis, spring onions, red onions, thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley. Still have half of one bed as well as the smallest bed to plant out.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/16/uvesavu8.jpg)
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Wow Kyton. That is some garden you have. Love the raised garden beds.
DH bought home our newest garden edition today..... a dwarf banana tree. Interesting to see how it goes in Victoria!
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Kimmy that sounds interesting - will be watching to see if it is fruitful.
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Mmmm. Takes 2 to 3 years for fruit. Will have printed off a lot of banana recipes by then ;) ;D
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Darn I have no patience LOL.
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You must have needed a lot of soil to fill those garden beds Kylie - plenty of room there for a great garden. Would love to see another photo down the track when all the vegies have grown. Who has the green thumb in your house?
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Judy - yep lots of dirt, lucky we own a tip truck LOL. My husband has a wonderful green thumb so he is the designated gardener.
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Tell me Kylie, how does he plan to keep the soil full of goodness. I have found my raised garden bed lacks something and nothing is growing at the moment. Today I dug in some compost and Rapid Riser plus watered with some special water saving liquid to see if I can inject some life into it. I can't even seem to grow a decent batch of parsley these days.
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We have a large chook run right next to the beds Judy with 16 hens so their decomposed straw, hay and droppings get mixed into every garden bed we have. Each bed is also having its own tap down one end so we can have drip irrigation on timers. Between the husband and the builders they are trying to cover all bases.
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It sounds as if you are all set up ready to have success then Kylie.
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sounds good Kyton
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Wow Kylie! I'm jealous they are some huge planters you have there and I can see lots of yummy goodness coming from that in a few months time. Well done.
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Thanks everyone. Went and bought ginger this morning.
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those garden beds look great Kyton
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This weekend I am weeding the vege gardens, and replanting on Friday.
Just got a whole lot of new seeds in to plant.
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Just discovered the new ABC Gardening Australia i-phone app "Vegie Guide" - interesting stuff!
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/resources/vegie_app.htm
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Went to pick some spring onions & found these. A lovely surprise.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/04/veja3azu.jpg)
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I've got some beans growing too. This is the first time I have grown them and I am amazed at how fast the beans grow once you get to that stage. I have some peas too but only a couple of them are doing well out of the punnet, so I think there will be only a couple of peas on our plate with this lot.
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They look lovely Hally.
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Hally those beans wouldn't of made it into the kitchen if they were mine I would have eaten them straight from the bush.
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No we have to share :)
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Hally those beans wouldn't of made it into the kitchen if they were mine I would have eaten them straight from the bush.
I'm with AB ion this one . . .!! ;D ;D
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Kylie, love the beds. The DD , DIL and DS helped me at the weekend get the veggie garden back in order. Yesterday I laid down newspaper and covered it with chook poop. ( between making SD bread). Today will do a bit more.
Re lemon trees. Lemon trees will do a lot better in the ground but well fed in a large pot ok. We are in a cold climate but have a large stone wall and have planted all our citrus along it. 3 lemons, 1 cumquats, 2 limes and I have just bought 2 finger limes from Diggers. All the coffee grounds, citrus peel and chook poop go on to the citrus. It has taken 30 years to get to this stage. I use a lot of lemons and haven't had to buy any for a couple of years . The lemons are Meyer, Lemonade and I forget what the other one is.
We are picking apples now, and I am drying them , using the potato chip maker. I use the wind falls to make Apple Jelly and as a base for plum and berry jam.
Sorry to be so long winded, ;D
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We have been in our home for 3yrs and are slowly finishing off our landscaping. This week the builder built four large veggie gardens near our chook house.
So far we have planted kale, silverbeet, beetroot, carrots, celery, peas, strawberries, blueberries, chillis, spring onions, red onions, thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley. Still have half of one bed as well as the smallest bed to plant out.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/16/uvesavu8.jpg)
Oh kyton!! Am I green with envy!!! They look fantastic!!!! :)
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me 2 very green
don't laugh ladies
my one and only radish :-[
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Oohh, a baby radish, everyone loves a baby. :)
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Sorry Uni, I couldn't help but laugh ;D
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Uni... Ones better than none!!! It'll all come good !! ;)
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i didnt show frank or the kids ;D
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Baby radish, looks good Uni.
Must plant more seeds this weekend.
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Uni, you are getting there. I didn't get any. One better than none. ;D
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Sorry Uni, I couldn't help but laugh ;D
I'm sorry too Uni but I had a little giggle (or two) too! ;D
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Sorry Uni, I couldn't help but laugh ;D
I'm sorry too Uni but I had a little giggle (or two) too! ;D
:P ;D
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Don't worry, Uni... They're just jealous because they don't have a cute little radish!! LOL
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Uni, you are very on trend as aren't those salads with micro herbs all the trend at the moment?!? ;) :-* :-*
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Uni, you are very on trend as aren't those salads with micro herbs all the trend at the moment?!? ;) :-* :-*
good try kt2
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Who needs basil or chillies? What am I going to do with all of this?! I already have loads of pesto in the freezer. Thinking of a basil dip, basil and chilli chicken, basil and chilli butter,....what else?
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/07/uqusupe4.jpg)
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Basil pesto
sweet chilli sauce ;D
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Sweet Chilli sauce keeps for ages. Love the recipe on here.
DS gave me a hand , have now prepared 1/2 the beds. Bought some seedlings, lettuce, broccoli and sugar snap peas to plant. We dug. The beds over, removed most of the weeds , covered with newspaper and the a rough layer of chook poop. Might get a load of cow manure from garden Center and spread over chook poop. Icut a hole through the manure and paper to plant.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/08/yvarara6.jpg)
Still a lot of work to be done!!!!
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Wow, you've been very busy Chookie.
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That's quite some vegetable patch you have there, Chookie! It must be very satisfying when you harvest those crops ! :)
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That's a huge veggie garden Chookie, certainly would keep you busy attending those beds but the reward of home grown vegies would make up for it.
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Michele, GF and Judy, love my veggie patch but without help it is slowly becoming a bit much. A bit(lot) of help a couple of times a year and it is fine, but I would like to spend all this week there but baby sitting 3 GC for 4 days so this means no go this week. we help DD and DS out with minding the GC a little during the school hols and they help us. Fair swap.
I refuse to use any poison in the veggie garden so this means a lot more work.
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What an amazing veggie patch. I can imagine it is hard work but the reward must be well worth it.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/08/yvarara6.jpg)
Still a lot of work to be done!!!!
I'm going to be able to walk around this remarkable garden in August ;D ;D
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CC, hope we can eat something from it. :o
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chookie that garden is just about bigger than Jamie Olivers. Love it - but yes, can see its a lot of work.
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CP, probably have more room than Jamie, unless he lives in the country. We have 25 acres, 2/3 is gum tree forest.
We spend a lot of time clearing up after the Summer storms. Watering also takes up time in the Summer. we like to do as much as we can, ourselves.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/08/yvarara6.jpg)
Still a lot of work to be done!!!!
I'm going to be able to walk around this remarkable garden in August ;D ;D
Me too ;D great garden beds chookie.
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Kimmyh, looking forward to it. Bring some walking shoes and rain coat, will be end of Winter here. Nice and warm inside but chilly outside.
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Chookie WOW!!!! :o
The are some impressive gardens! It's like having your own market garden in there.
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Jadey, if you were my DIL you could have 1/2 and grow what you liked. However when you have a small space every inch id precious.
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Where in Vic are you Chookie? Mum and Dad are on the Mornington Peninsula.
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Where in Vic are you Chookie? Mum and Dad are on the Mornington Peninsula.
We are in the Macedon Ranges, on the side of Mt Macedon, looking towards Mt Bulla.
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Chookie, have you ever thought of maybe having some WWOOFers in to help - short term? (For those of you who haven't heard of this - stands for Will Workers on Organic Farms . . . .http://www.wwoof.com.au/ -) I don't know all the ins and outs of the actual wwoof program but if you had a couple of the right students/backpackers for a week or two could be helpful. The work would be in return for board and keep while they were there. Just a fleeting idea . . . :D
DS did some WWOOFing in Queensland a while back. His wasn't the rosy experience we had expected as many of the farmers he approached had dropped out of the program because of bad experiences with a few backpackers, etc. taking advantage of what they perceived to be a free ride. . . .very sad outcome for everyone- it only takes one or two bad apples in the basket so to speak.
I guess it's just like everything else in life . . can be brilliant - disastrous - and everything else in between . . . ;D
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GF, yes had thought of this, but our life style doesn't itself to this as we come and go a lot. Also are apt to spoil any guests who stay. Also a local man uses WOOFERRs and we feel he exploits them. Thanks for the thought though.
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Yes, Chookie - kind of got the feeling that anyone staying with you would have to be forgiven for believing they'd landed in heaven . . ;D ;D Sad to hear about your local farmer though . . . >:(
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Chookie what a gorgeous spot.
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First apples we have harvested in years. Usually the birds eat them. We covered three trees this year. These are the windfalls. I will make apple jelly and make a base for berry jams. Some I will bake. Lots given away.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/12/revequde.jpg)
Windfalls.
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Well worth covering the trees Chookie. Great harvest and yummy things planned to cook with them.
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Yes, Michele. Tomorrow is the Farmers market swap. I would like a couple of cucumbers, maybe someone would like some apples. Last night on SBS, on the Danish segment, they made a quick cucumber salad by pickling them. I did this today and they were delicious. think you would like this. Simple and fresh tasting. Make a mixture of equal parts of raw sugar and apple vinegar. Slice the cucumber VERY. Thin, soak in solution for 20 mins. I used that potato thingy to slice the cucumbers.
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Chookie, what a wonderful garden you have. We have a apple and a nashi pear both with grafts of other varieties on but the coddling moth attacked the apples. Will be doing something about that next year.
Marie
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Yes, Michele. Tomorrow is the Farmers market swap. I would like a couple of cucumbers, maybe someone would like some apples. Last night on SBS, on the Danish segment, they made a quick cucumber salad by pickling them. I did this today and they were delicious. think you would like this. Simple and fresh tasting. Make a mixture of equal parts of raw sugar and apple vinegar. Slice the cucumber VERY. Thin, soak in solution for 20 mins. I used that potato thingy to slice the cucumbers.
Thank you so much Chookie. That cucumber salad would be right up my alley. DH and I love pickled anything. What would happen if you soaked it overnight? Just would like to prepare ahead.
I'm doing this tomorrow. Yummo :D
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I have one cucumber in the fridge and I'm off to make this now. Will see how it is in the fridge overnight. :D
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Will try it in 20 minutes and then see how it tastes tomorrow.
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Michele i think it will be fine, just a little softer. let us know.
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Very yummy after 20 minutes even better overnight. It didn't soften much, still had a nice crunch to it.
Thanks for the recipe Chookie. :D
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Michele, thanks for doing the experimenting and reporting back.
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Have had some pickled cucumber tonight and the flavour is better than ever - it has lost the vinegar taste (which was OK) and just has a marvellous sweet/sour fragrant loveliness. I'm going to try and re use the marinade like I did the cabbage. I would definitely leave in the fridge overnight - for my palate it was much better. :)
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Great sounding cucumber pickle. Will try it also. We are still doing well with veg. Tomatoes all out now but have been eating our own sprouting broccoli, which we have not grown before. It's lovely. Other broccoli is starting to head now too. Love love love having our own veg. Still have a lot of beetroot too.parsnips growing well and cabbage seedlings. Want to put in loads of other stuff :)
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Jude, sounds great. Love picking from garden. More apples and horseradish. . Yesterday planted lettuce, sweet peas, sugar snap peas, pansey, all in large pots. Not ready to plant up veggie garden, need a load of cow manure to cover. Newspaper and chook poop.
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Just got given lots of chokos
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I don't often buy spring onions, instead I use little chappies. I think they are called tree onions, they grow from the small bulbs, in the photo. I use the bulbs which grow on top of the stalks to pop into a roast chook. The green top are available all yeat and I use as garnish for soups.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/14/zejuhypa.jpg)
Onions
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Lovely gArden chookie.
Hope we have one, one day.
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Not a lot coming out of my veggie patches now. But in the short time I have had my raised veggie gardens we produced Zucchinis , cucumbers, lettuce, silver beet, spring onions and leek. :)
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Well Dh planted out some cauliflower, broccoli, silverbeet and Kale plants on Sunday morning, this morning he went out to water the plants and there was not one left. They had all been eaten off to ground level and you could only just see where they had been planted. Looks like we have a bunny in the vegie garden, I guess soon to be a dead bunny ???
Marie
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Oops Emme :o
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Naughty bunny. this is why we missed out on the Spring planting this last season. Wombat made several holes in fence and rabbits and wallaby could get in. Filled holes with tin. Now we can plant up. Wombat has baby, very cute. I have sme good recipes for bunny, if you are interested. ;D
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I will let you know Chookie, DH not impressed, still grumbling :D ;D ;D
Marie
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we had lots of bunnys last year..
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I will let you know Chookie, DH not impressed, still grumbling :D ;D ;D
Marie
know how he feels. waste of effort and money.
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great weather here today, hopefully be able to plant more in my vege garden Saturday.
Lots of new seeds in now, and a huge organic range. :D
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Now we have a great big pumpkin vine growing, in the vege garden
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Happened to look up at one the trees out back and there are 3 big cocoons on the branches.
I don't know whether to get DH to chop them down or see what emerges from them?
Anyone know what might be inside?
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Looks like a Casemoth. Has a grub inside. Not nasty.
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Thanks Chookie - I knew someone on here would know what it was. :D
I will leave it be then.
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Omg mich, looks like something from a spooky movie, I would start running now ;D
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;D ;D That's what I thought Hally when I first saw it. Thought maybe a Yeti would spring forth. ;D ;D
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I was thinking more of a fire breathing dragon :D
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I have just picked our first Quinces, Ever. The jar in the photo was made from the peel and cores of quinces and apples, that a friend gave us. It is delicious.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/01/yvuquqed.jpg)
First ever Quinces.
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Chookie- those quinces look wonderful!! There's a type of bread and butter pudding recipe I posted quite a while ago! I'll see if I can bump it for you if you'd like to try it.. It's just exquisite ! (not Tmx though)
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You are very clever Chookie. GF, would love the quince B&B pudding recipe bumped. :)
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Just bumped it Mich = it's here . . http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=9463.0
'
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Bumping for this years gardens.... please show me what you have.
I have in tomatoes, zucchini, broccolini, watermelon ATM, still have room to add something else tho not sure what just yet.
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we have heaps of stuff coming up now, lots of asian greens too.
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Cold climate planting here, ( very cold today, has just started to snow). We don't plant out until after cup day as we can still get frosts.
Will plant lots of lettuce, Asian greens, broccoli, cabbages. Some small tomatoes up near house in tubs. Last year, planted zuchini near house , in tubs. These were delicious and nothing like bought ones. Looking forward to summer salads with fresh greens from garden and sour dough croutons .
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Sounds great Chookie
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( very cold today, has just started to snow).
Good day to cuddle up inside in front of the fire.
Not sure about my garden this year. I've got a fair few green tomato seedlings coming on, none of my chillis sprouted and will probably only put beans in my second garden - because I'm not around my garden during the week most things seem to burn and dehydrate ... don't understand why that is ???
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Quite cold today as well. We have broad beans growing nicely and the peas are starting to pod. Have potatoes and zuchinni, cucumber and tomatoes(under cover). DH has been fixing up my herb garden and put them up on a stand so I can easily weed them. It backs onto the pizza oven. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/24/a2ydaryd.jpg)
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Chookie I had to glance at the date on your post several times. Snow!
We don't grow that much as I don't have the space and we travel. I have to replant most of my herbs as they all went to heaven last year. I have mint, rosemary and parsley left. I'll plant oregano, sage, and thyme. I have chilli plants from last year and baby plants coming up everywhere. The basil is also coming up everywhere.
I still have a few Beetroot to pick and quite a few strawberries.
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Snow :o
My summer planting is a bit hit and miss, but we've got pumpkins, capi's, eggplant, tomatoes and beetroot in. Still picking leeks. Picked the last of the winter beetroot and made beetroot relish yesterday - yum!
Strawbs are fruiting now, also have garlic, chillis, radish growing madly.
In my herb garden I have thyme, parsley, lemon grass, rosemary, coriander, oregano and marjoram. I need to move the chives as the chooks keep eating them!
Going to plant more capi's and toms and eggplant. Oh and some corn and cucumbers too.
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To all you expert gardners out there, it's brown thumb here! My basil and other herbs are being eaten by something. There are white bits and eaten leaves. What is safe to spray on herbs?
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Courton, do you know what is attacking your plants?
You could try a garlic spray (steep garlic in water for a few days) then spray on the leaves with the strongest nozzle setting - not the softer spray setting. You could also look at diggers.com they have some safe sprays. Chilli spray is another, made in the same way as the garlic.
Are the plants in a raised bed or at ground level? If it's a raised bed you can get copper tape to stick to the outside, this deters slugs and snails from crossing - I believe the wee darlings get electric shocks from this (this may be an urban myth, though). Another good barrier is coffee grounds (your local coffee shop will have an endless supply). This either gives slugs and snails 'heart attacks' or dries their slime up and they die.
Coffee grounds are also good to add to compost.
Good luck.
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Thank you for your detailed reply. I do not know what is eating my basil and mint. It has white bits in the leaves (not normal!). The plants are in raised pots and I do use coffee grounds on top. I don't think it is snails or slugs - or rather have seen no evidence of it.
The garlic spray is a great idea. Someone suggested Pyrthium spray but I was a bit concernd using this on herbs.
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I am not sure what area you are in but found this site (http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/basilmint-bug-pest/) which has some information that might help.
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I tried to respond re. pyrethrum earlier, but the post got lost somewhere. It should be safe enough to use a pyrethrum spray, but might be wise to wait 24 hours before picking and to wash well before eating. You could always grown your own pyrethrum and make your own spray as well. I use a pyrethrum spray for cherry / pear slug.
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The pyrethrum is also good for the black aphids which we get on our cherry trees but you have to keep spraying it at intervals to kill them off
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Thanks for all your replies. I will have to look at the beasts with a magnifying glass tomorrow and then follow your advice. Options are pyrthium spray and garlic spray. Emme, that site was good in forcing me to find out about the enemy I am dealing with!
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So, do you know what it is now? You could always take a cutting (in a plastic bag, of course) or photos to your local nursery and see if they can help as well.
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I couldn't investigate last night since it was too dark and off to the south Coast for the whole day so I will do it tomorrow.,Good idea about the bag but won't take it to Bunnings like like I did last 2 times since they gave wrong advice!!!
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Hope you can find out what the pesky things are and eradicate them.
I have been picking broad beans for the last couple of weeks, and my tomato bushes have little green tomatoes already. I spread some compost onto the kids old sandpit that I commandeered for my veggie patch at the end of last summer, and all winter I've had tomato plants popping up. I thinned them out a little,but they are growing really well.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/26/9e2upe5e.jpg)
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/26/su4utyda.jpg)
This is How I have started off my greens for planting out later. They are in the top and bottom parts of plastic drink bottles. I poked a hole in each with a hot skewer.
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Looks good Chookie.
I took my herb cutting to the nursery on the way to the South coast and the nurseryman immediately identified caterpillars as the problem. Have come home with organic Diapel to try on the pesky creatures.
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Your garden looks great, ES, I am jealous. I like oyur seedling raising system, Chookie and very happy that you have resolved your problem, Courton. I was going to say not to bother taking the samples to Bunnings, unless you strike it lucky, those who work in the garden area probably wouldn't know a great deal.
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ES, great use for sand pit.
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To all you expert gardners out there, it's brown thumb here! My basil and other herbs are being eaten by something. There are white bits and eaten leaves. What is safe to spray on herbs?
I save my eggshells after cooking some cakes etc, then blitz them a few times with some hot water in thermie. Strain then let them dry. Then I sprinkle around my vegies and herbs. It keeps the slugs and snails at bay. A nighttime trip into the garden ,especially after rain, with a torch can also help find out who the culprits are.
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i just picked yellow zucchini, pak choy, bok choy.
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The gardens are looking great everyone. I'm loving my gardening this year. Like Obbie I've just picked some bok choy. I have loads! Stir fry for the next few days I think!
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I have been officially banned for any gardening this year not even allowed to look at it
the kids are love it " mum is hopeless at something " ;D
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photo
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Oh Obbie - yum! :)
I have just been offered this: I can plant out a friends vege patch and greenhouse at their old house (they have moved out and the house is on the market) if I want to - the risk being if the house sells I lose the plants and the work, the benefits being if the house doesn't sell I have over 4 times the size vege patch I have here at home. :) I am pretty sure I will take them up on the kind offer, I don't think a vege garden with plants growing in it will lower their selling potential! ???
Have yet to give them my decision, thinking I'll accept and plant it out tomorrow! (after weeding etc) :D
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Bit risky astarra, by the time you have prepared the patch, planted the seedlings and waited for them to mature enough to start picking, the house's new owners could have moved in :-)) Herbs would be alright as you could start picking almost immediately if you bought mature plants. It will be interesting to see how this one pans out - for your sake I do hope you reap the benefits for the outlay and effort.
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It is risky tho the house has already been on the market for 7 months and no-one interested as yet. (Not sure whether to put a :) or a :( about that!! :-)) )
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The minute you plant your garden it will sell astarra, so do it for your neighbours ;D - they will be glad of a sale.
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I think if you plant it, the house will sell, and the new owners will get the vege garden...
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Astarra, there was an item on Gardening Australia about planting in poly bases. You could plant up and if the house sells, shift the boxes to your house. I have used this method, but without the watering method he used, and it is very successful.
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Great idea Chookie. I found this for you astarra http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3250785.htm
Your local fruit and veg shop should be able to supply some containers to you.
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. . . and this was on last night's Gardening Australia
Making your own self watering pot using the styrofoam broccoli boxes . . . enough for a week or so's worth so no running back and forth to water . . :D
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3885151.htm
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Wow thanx everyone, will have a better look at the links later!
went to weed the patch and found a heap of potato plants have come up amongst the weeds so trying to work around them too! Taking longer than I thought! :-\
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Our veggies and fruits are going great guns at the moment. We had our first corn last night. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/13/4ezy7eja.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/13/zuraza4y.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/13/vy3y8uty.jpg)
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Wow Kylie, I love your garden. :D
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Kylie love the vege garden.
whats in the little building
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Great garden beds, love them.
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Great garden, must have been a lot of work setting it up, but it looks fabulous and well worth all the work.
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Our veggies and fruits are going great guns at the moment. We had our first corn last night. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/13/4ezy7eja.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/13/zuraza4y.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/13/vy3y8uty.jpg)
Great set up, I love it. :D
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What a beautiful garden Kylie :o And look at that sunshine!!! :'(
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What a spectacular garden!! A fabulous set up!! :D :D
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Wow kyton, your garden has really come along. Still love those raised beds.
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Thanks everyone. The little house is the chook coop and the run is alongside. We have 22 chooks at the moment.
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Wow Kyton, your chooks must be very happy, ours don't have that fancy a home..
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Wow Kyton, that set up looks amazing.
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Love the raised beds Kyton. We have only 3 chooks now. Just starting to lay. Hoping to get into garden too plant up today.
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Planted up my wimpy looking tomatoes yesterday - spent more time hen and rabbit proofing the plot than anything else - I really don't hold out much hope that the seedlings will survive, but my fingers are crossed. Found an old net curtain (well it was new, actually, but the wrong length so couldn't use it for its original purpose) and, using clothes pegs, pegged it up around the bed in the hope that it will give some frost / sun protection in these early days. It looks VERY strange!
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Started our kitchen verandah veggie garden. Mainly herbs but will also put in some capsicums and anything else that comes to mind. The birds stole my whole parsley bunch :(
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we made a cover for our vege gardens, with star pickets and then poly pipe over that, and then black bird mesh.
so it is totally enclosed. :)
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I saw that idea online somewhere Obbie, and though it a good one! :)
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Obbie, this is what we do with our Blueberries. otherwise , birds would eat the lot.
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That's a really good system - straightforward and simple - I just didn't have the appropriate bits and pieces to do it yesterday but will definitely do it when I get a chance.
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Hmm ours are just in pots so think star pickets will be too big. I'm giving the birds the benefit of the doubt and hoping it was Miss 2!
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we have a little mesh gate, so we can walk in and out too.
Nothing fancy, but keeps the birds and bandicoots out :)
Picked heaps more yesterday from the garden too
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Spent all day in garden and now totally B.....ed. Feels good though.
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One of our neighbours gave us a couple of tomato plants last weekene so it has prompted us to start our veggie garden... we've only been in the house for three months..... but that's long enough for me start designing! I've needed to prune (aka hack) at a number of over grown shrubs in order to let light into the space... I think tonight's effort is at least two trailer loads :D:D:D
This weekend we will start the 'wicking' system :)
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I've just spent over an hour in the garden too for the second time in a few days, I wonder what's motivating us at the moment. Green bin is full and it's not due to be emptied until Thursday week.
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I am loving these longer days Judy! Trying to cram as much into my day as is possible is my motivator :) I even ironed this evening!
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I even ironed this evening!
Are you feeling OK?
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Hahaha! I know! Craziness :)
I think my new iron is still a bit of a novelty :D
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I am aching all over today as I dug out a garden bed yesterday morning before breakfast. I have discovered a whole set of muscles I didn't know we're mine.. I didn't really mean to, I just went outside, and before I knew it I had a fork in my hand and I had dug in 20 L of cow manure, dynamic lifter and compost. I was still in my pyjamas too!
I'm just waiting for the weather to cool down before I plant my seedlings
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LOL, funny how that happens ES. Well we have some rain forecast soon so it won't be long and the time will be just right. Look out for the snails though.
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Purple asparagus, chives and sweet chillis went in the pots tonight.
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I am aching all over today as I dug out a garden bed yesterday morning before breakfast. I have discovered a whole set of muscles I didn't know we're mine.. I didn't really mean to, I just went outside, and before I knew it I had a fork in my hand and I had dug in 20 L of cow manure, dynamic lifter and compost. I was still in my pyjamas too!
I'm just waiting for the weather to cool down before I plant my seedlings
I know that feeling ES, dh and i mulched 3 trailor loads on Saturday. Hottest day we have had for a while, creased us both.
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DH planted more corn, beans, snow peas, lettuces, pumpkins yesterday too :)
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I think a mouse has got onto our verandah and been eating our parsley and sweet chillies :( DH was going to set a trap but forgot and is now asleep. So probably more damage tonight. I'm not even sure where to look for a trap.
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I have never heard of a mouse eating such things. Maybe our country mice like other stuff like wheat and chook food.
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Never heard of mice eating those things either, could it be a possum?
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I've never seen a possum here in ten years :/ hmm
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We have most of our veg in a caged veg patch because of possums. Grrr. But planted a rhubarb plant in one of the half barrels we have and they ate all the leaves!!!!! I thought the leaves would make them sick. The rhubarb stalks were left standing bare and of course withered up.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/24/u8amapuj.jpg)
Chewed the stalks on the sweet chilli. Left the basil and rosemary.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/24/pyhypu6a.jpg)
Had a go at the parsley.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/24/u3y3eqet.jpg)
Ate the sweet chilli and celery.
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A grub?
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Sounds like slugs or snails to me. Try sprinkling eggs shells around that have been crushed up in the TM. Works a treat not on caterpillars though. Three or four eggs shells and one cup of water blitzed for about 5 seceonds on speed 5. Not too fine just in little bits.
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Will have to try the egg mix lucyluu. Was also considering making up a garlic and chilli water spray.
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I will have to try the egg mix too :)
Well instead of our wicking beds taking one weekend, I think they will take two :/
It is a very long process as you must level the ground underneath so the water doesn't pool in one spot. We also have to carefully waterproof where the pipes go through the plastic lining. Two trips to the landscape supplies shop plus two trips to Bunnings. Can't wait to plant them out :)
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I have this amazing tomato plant. It was really tiny when I planted it and left to fend for itself because I haven't had time to tend to it and it has probably 60 tomatoes on it. I had to cover it up to protect it from the birds. It's the best plant I've ever had. :D
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Good one Michele, that's the sort of garden I'd like :D Nice to see you popping in to post :-* :-*
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Our kitchen verandah garden is coming along nicely. DH set some mouse traps tonight. Whatever is eating our celery also got away with the mouse trap loot last night. So we try again. Beautiful tomatoes mcmich. We need to get up to our community garden to pick our capsicums!
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That's sneaky INAID!
Our first two wicking beds are well under way with all the tricky parts done :)
I was super happy last night when we checked that it was all water tight and the water level stayed the same over night :)
All that's left to do now is lay the geotextile on top of the rocks, then the soil and compost and mulch and then PLANTS!!! Yay!
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still picking cucumbers, zucchini, and bok choy daily from our garden..
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The fruit of my neglected plant. ;D
I'm getting about this amount of tomatoes every other day. Will take them into work.
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How good is that Michele! There's nothing like a home grown tomato.
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Great tomatoes Michele, wish we had some here. Been too cold for them, they are growing very slowly. Have been harvesting peas, broad beans, onions, garlic, raspberries, strawberries and mushrooms from one of those kits.
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Ohhhh Michele - can't wait til I can start picking my toms. :)
Picked the first of my broccolini tonight, and have been eating lettuce leaves from the garden for a few weeks now. Also picked 1kg+ raspberries from a friend's place on Saturday (the ones that have moved) ;D
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Oh wow Michele, how many plants do you have?
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Great tomatoes Michele.
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Our wicking beds are finally finished. And so far so good. After watering almost daily for the first week, we are now watering once a week and the growth is amazing. Thanks to the water soaking up from below and the heavy layer of mulch, the soil is constantly moist (but not soggy) and the plants are thriving. Some of the plants were self-sewn tomatoes that were a bit sad after their transplanting, but even they are going well now. Looks like the effort is worth it and at this rate we will be putting more wicking beds in....depending on our first yield.
The picture below shows the external parts of the piping. The tall pipe is were we fill it from our water tank and the pipes at the bottom are the adjustable water level pipe and overflow pipe.
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They're huge beds Jamberie, it sounds like you are on a winner there.
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Jamberie, I think I must have missed the lead up to your fantastic looking beds, the system is obviously successful and, once settled, looks very easy to maintain and keep watered. Is there a good web site you can recommend that we can check out for more informaton?
Thanks.
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Great looking vegie beds Jamberie 8)
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looks great Jamberie
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Picked our first capsicum. The others are too small. Fresh & delicious.
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Jamberie, I think I must have missed the lead up to your fantastic looking beds, the system is obviously successful and, once settled, looks very easy to maintain and keep watered. Is there a good web site you can recommend that we can check out for more informaton?
Thanks.
Just reading as many as possible. Each circumstance is slightly different so researching widely is really important so we could adapt to suit our specific requirements. DH also designed an adjustable water level pipe that I'd not seen anywhere. Ill post a few links next time I'm at my pc. Ive got a fee 'progress' photos of ours I can share too :)
Great capsicum Hally!
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http://www.veryediblegardens.com/about-us/recent-projects/25-design-and-implementation/348-custom-wicking-beds
This is one of the sites that I found to be very helpful. Also doing a 'google image' search was more useful to us than the regular way to search.
The photo above was taken on 1 Dec...I took a photo today -not even three weeks after and this is the result...it isvery early days but the results are very promising.
If you look at the plumbing, you can see how DH has used a moveable joint in the overflow pipe so that we can adjust the water level and even empty the reservoir every now and again so that it is not too smelly and gross underneath!
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Very complex and a lot of work to get it to where it is today Jamberie, I'm sure your garden bed is going to produce huge supplies for you.
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Very complex and a lot of work to get it to where it is today Jamberie, I'm sure your garden bed is going to produce huge supplies for you.
Let's hope so Judy!!! I'm hoping to plant some pumpkin seedlings in them this week...hopefully it works :)
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tomatoes this morning
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Hi all.
These are the first veggies picked out of my vegie garden at our country property this morning - radishes
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/12/sata9a4y.jpg)
I also got these from our dam today. My first feed of yabbies for Dinner tonight. The photo doesn't pick up their beautiful colour, they are bright blue and red.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/12/paju6e5u.jpg)
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Lucky you chrissa, you need an awful lot of yabbies for a feed though don't you?
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Hope you like the yabbies Chrissa. You need a lot to make a meal....maybe entree. Lovely looking radishes.
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Thanks for the photo of the yabbies Chrissa as I have never seen them before.The radishes look good too ;D
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Our friends have a really good system for tying up tomatoes, but I don't have access to a link so will try to explain our version to you.
Drill a couple of holes in the tomato stakes, spaced c. 10 cm apart. Get some fencing wire, or even wire clothes hangers and cut one length for each hole on the stake then form it into a square approx. 10 cm per side (or bigger if your tomatoes are of a larger variety, e.g. grosse lisse). Thread one end of the wire through the hole and secure it by bending or twisting the ends firmly together so that the growing tomato bush will grow through the squares of wire which will support it as it gets taller.
Hope you can follow that, basically:
Get your stake
Drill hole/s
Cut and shape wire
Secure into stake
Let the tomatoes grow up using the shaped wire as the tie / support
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Perfect explanation Marina ;D
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/13/uhysuta3.jpg)
Talking of tomatoes, went to a friend's place yesterday and she asked us to relieve her of tomatoes which were taking over her garden. Three of us picked this in about 45 minutes!
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Hot diggity dog, Courton!!!!! What a treasure trove!! What will you do with them all ?? ;D
A very generous friend!! :)
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A bumper crop for your friend, I can see why she wanted to get rid of some. Right place at the right time courton ;D
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That's alot of tomatoes :o :o
I tie my tomatoes to the stake with strips cut off my old stockings, apparently the nylon doesn't damage the plant. :)
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Wow, Courton, what a crop! I bet they taste fabulous.
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That's alot of tomatoes :o :o
I tie my tomatoes to the stake with strips cut off my old stockings, apparently the nylon doesn't damage the plant. :)
That's what I do too astarra :D a trick learnt from Nan and Pop.
That was a great pick-up Courton from a very generous friend. :D
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A lot of salsa coming up! I also plan to freeze them since my friend has been doing it and says it is fine.
It is beautifully sweet and delicious. I have a big bowl of these sitting on the kitchen countertop and it is fast disappearing!
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Wow, what a crop.
I am just happy my patch survived the 43degrees :)
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What beautiful tomatoes Courton. :)
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Love the tomatoes. Our mini yellow tomato is going mad at the moment.
We have snake beans growing and they love the heat. They have really gone mad after Friday and Saturday.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/13/ura7ajes.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/13/be7upuva.jpg)
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Lovely tomatoes.
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Walked outside very early this morning to feed the chooks and discovered our banana tree had given birth to around 30 babies!! (Almost ready to hand out the cigars ;D ;D) Two or three years ago I bought the plant and popped the pot down while I decided where to put it. Time galloped on - as it does - and plant said, " to heck with that.. " and roots went through the drainage holes and stuck fast. Been there ever since! ;D
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/15/synapupe.jpg)
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Amazing GF ;D I have only ever seen them growing in the hot houses of Kew Gardens.
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It will be very special picking you own bunch of bananas GF.
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amazing gf, I wish I had a green thumb ::)
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A lovely bunch you've got there GF :D
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Lovely bunch of bananas GF. Will they ripen without any help?
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Cookie, I'm not too sure. I've never had this happen before ;D We were only planning to use the large leaves to wrap fish etc for the barbecue. I'll have to ask at the nursery if there 's any special care they need. The main problem we have with any fruit - or anything edible for that matter - is the marauding possum population!! Very cheeky and very hungry! ;D
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Wow GF, that's pretty cool.
I hope you manage to save them from the possums.
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Why not try to protect your bananas this way GF.
Tip: commercial banana growers use bunch covers (plastic bags open at both ends that they slip over the bunch and tie at the top) to protect bananas from diseases, insects, sunburn and marauders. You can try to buy those bags at a rural supplies store, or beg some off a grower.
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Lovely bananas GF. Know you can make the banana candle from the other thread 😉
We have lost one banana plant to frost and one to the puppy. Fingers crossed the third lasts long enough to grow, let alone bear fruit.
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Thanks very much Judy... I'll look into that first thing in the morning. :)
Kimmyh... Ahh yes, banana candles !!! ;D ;D. Hope your banana plant survives and gives you loads of fruit eventually. Aren't pups just great little gardeners!! ;D
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They do that in Carnarvon where they grow bananas over here.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/15/e5uhevys.jpg)
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Thanks Cookie, a picture tells a thousand words ;)
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Thanks Cookie! I've found Greenharvest in Qld sells them online.... I will see if I can find others. Thanks to both of you for that!! :)
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Went out to water the patch & to my surprise this was just there in front of me, i am sure it wasnt there yesterday.
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Looks good Hally. I envy you all with home produced goods.
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we use the plastic bags here too.
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Went out to water the patch & to my surprise this was just there in front of me, i am sure it wasnt there yesterday.
They do that, Hally! Grow overnight and pop up in front of you in the morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed!! ;D ;D
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Its going to be 46 here today :P My poor veggie patch is really suffering. Love the look of all those tomatoes - cant wait until ours start to ripen. We have loads of green tomatoes on the bushes, and if they survive the heat, they should be a bumper crop.
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I normally get around 40 cucumbers & zuchinis, so heres hoping its the start.
Karen, I was worried about mine when we were away, but lots of watering when we got back & all good.
H :)
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Love the bananas GF, so lucky ;D
Hally, I am sure there will be more for you soon, they grow so fast ;D
We had our first tomato today, a tiny little cherry tomato, I did however, share it with DH ;) :D ;D
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Thanks Marie... An absolute surprise-that's for sure!! ;D
The first veg/fruit etc is always exciting I think!! Very special to share such a little treasure!! ;)
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Yes cucumber gone, but I spotted 2 more to pick & a zuchini nearly ready :)
Love it :)
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Judy and Cookie- I've ordered a couple of banana bags from Greenharvest... Thank you both again!! :)
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Good to hear GF, next picture will be of some nice yellow bananas.
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When I left for work this morning, DH was picking half-cooked raspberries from our back garden (cooked from being over 40 here yesterday :P). They really aren't nice enough to eat fresh, so I left him with some empty jars and a TMX recipe for raspberry and nectarine jam, and he was going to make jam while I was out. I just LOVE the TMX ;D ;D ;D
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Decided to have a go at the easy Plum Liquor , like you Karen my produce is half cooked also, but they are in the TMX being steamed so see how it tastes when finished.
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Not to mention loving your DH Karen. LOL
My tomatoes were early this year, and are all finished, but I have planted some more. I'm trying to keep up the water to them and have covered them with shadecloth to get through this heat wave. I have started picking zucchini's though
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/17/ydu8a6aj.jpg)
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Love the Zuchinins ES.
Love home grown veg & herbs :)
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Nice zucchinis ES.
Karen your DH is great using the TMX, maybe you could send him over here to give my DH a few lessons. :D
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My DH does the gardening at our house.
We have lots of chilli plants, spinach, rosemary, lemon thyme, garlic chives, mint, coriander, Vietnamese mint.
Just took out the onions and shallots. He has put in different beans and bitter melon.
My brother-in-law has his veggie garden in the front and its amazing.
Anna
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Not to mention loving your DH Karen. LOL
Of course ES!! :D :D
mcmich I am indeed very lucky that DH is so good at using thermie - but that is one of the great things about the machine, it is so easy to use. I can just leave out a recipe, or even leave a recipe half-done, and he can just pick it up and run with it. Wont be long and I can start training the kids to use it too, and then my cooking days are over ;) ;) ;D
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Not to mention loving your DH Karen. LOL
Of course ES!! :D :D
mcmich I am indeed very lucky that DH is so good at using thermie - but that is one of the great things about the machine, it is so easy to use. I can just leave out a recipe, or even leave a recipe half-done, and he can just pick it up and run with it. Wont be long and I can start training the kids to use it too, and then my cooking days are over ;) ;) ;D
You're not just a pretty face Karen, very wise too. 8) ;D
While my DH loves to cook, he won't try out the TMX, he has been to several classes too and loves them. More of your traditional cook.
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Sounds delicious girls.
Hi AB. How are you?
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While my DH loves to cook, he won't try out the TMX, he has been to several classes too and loves them. More of your traditional cook.
Nothing wrong with being a traditional cook!
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Yep, exactly Karen, either way we get out of cooking. ;D
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Kim I,m really well have had a busy and wonderful year looking forward to this one.
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Nice to see you posting AB :D
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Hi Michele, have been popping on briefly now and then, it's nice to catch up with everyone, must spend a little bit more time here so much happens .
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I'm afraid that the only tool my DH uses in the kitchen is the telephone
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Hi AB, nice to see you on, it sounds like you've been having fun ;D
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We went away for the long weekend, and my zucchini's exploded whilst we were away. The button squash is as big as my fist!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/28/ereru5u6.jpg)
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Happy zucchini cooking ES ;D
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I look forward to hearing what you cook with those ES. We've also been inundated with squash & zucchini so I put a call out to my Facebook friends asking for ideas... they had some great ideas including char grilling them and covering them in oil to use later in burgers etc, tempura battered pices, crumbed pieces and muffins etc :)
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A nice haul ES. :)
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It was 43 C here today, 33 tomorrow and then hotter again, so no baking planned. I have managed to give away half of them so far, but there are more coming... The light green ones are nice sliced in rounds and then bbq'd. I will make some pizza scrolls and put some zuchhini in the dough for lunch boxes when the weather cools, and stuff the bigger ones and oven bake them.
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Great produce from your garden ES 8) I see Button Squash occasionally here but they are expensive. :-\
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Yep, zucchini overload here atm too - and the season has only just begun. :)
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I am interested to see what my veggie patch is like when we get home :)
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No joy for me with Zucchinis this year so far, mine keep getting powdery mildew and blossom rot but I did pick two overgrown lebanese cucumbers this morning. We have actually had quite a few showera in the last few days and the carrots, beetroot and radish seeds that I had given up on are finally sprouting. My tennis court garden is beginning to actually look like a garden...up until now the only things that were growing well were my corn, pumpkins and some sweet potato vines that are staging a world take over and have to keep being severely disciplined.
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Bought some zucchini plants from Bunnings after seeing all the success everyone is having on here. Planted them on Monday, went to water them yesterday afternoon after work and they had been eaten. :-\
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Oh no Mich. devastating
ES the zucchini sauce for pasta on here (http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=3706.0) is really lovely..
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Great harvest ES.
Thats not good Michele. What ate them?
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Don't you hate that Michele!
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Not sure if it was birds or possums? Will have to get some wire to put over the next lot.
They are fairly particular as they haven't touched any of the herbs, celery or capsicum.
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Just catching up. Wonderful growing everyone. Some success with growing things in large pots. As we are on tank water , we have to be careful how we use it. I save rinse water from the kitchen and water these pots. Have picked baby zucchini which we eat raw in salads. I have posted recipe idea for a salad using Zucchini and carrot served with yoghurt. Was served this in Turkey and asked how it was made. Also a healthy zucchini cake. Snap peas starting to flower and bush beans on the way. Our large veggie patch is weeded and ready to go but we have either been away or it has been too hot. We can only grow cherry tom as it is usually too cold here for large ones.
Love the look of all those cherry tomatoes and Banana flowers. I think they sell the flowers in Asian fruit ships.
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Theres a zucchini pickle recipe on here from sarsyran that I made last year. We have only just finished the last jar. It was realy nice, might be worth a try if you have a glut. Can't find the original post so here goes.
Roughly cut 500g zucchini
1 red onion
1 capsicum.
Place in a large dish and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of salt.
Cover with water and leave to soak for 2 hours. Drain.
Add to Tmix with 4 chopped tomatoes and pulse until desired consistency is reached.
Add 1 cup raw sugar
1 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons tumeric
Cook on veroma speed 2 for 20 minutes.
Pour into hot sterelized jars and seal
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Thanks Lucy, that sounds lovely. I do love pickles. :)
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Our tomatoes are not taking the heat very well. We haven't had many tomatoes and now they are keeling over with the constant heat. They get plenty of water but it isn't helping. Even our heat proof snake beans aren't very happy. :-\
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Pop an umbrella or tarp over them Cookie. Worked wonders here. :D
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Here's (http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=4257.0;prev_next=prev) the link lucyluu.
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Our tomatoes are not taking the heat very well. We haven't had many tomatoes and now they are keeling over with the constant heat. They get plenty of water but it isn't helping. Even our heat proof snake beans aren't very happy. :-\
I posted earlier that we started "wick" beds this season. I've been comparing them to my dad's (non wick) beds. Dad's tomatoes haven't gone too well but ours seem to be coping well, so much so that Dad is going to convert his beds to a wicking system. A bit of work, but well worth it -particularly for people who travel and can't water each day :)
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Thanks Judy, I thought maybe I didn't find it here after all.
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Good idea Mich. we have plenty of shade cloth round.
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After 10 days of neglect i found these.
Do you think the huge zucchini will be OK to use?
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Home grown produce is generally much better than the supermarket varieties Hally (because it is fresher mainly) so cut into it and see if it's all seeds. Recently Karen gave me some of her beetroots and one was huge. We both expected it to be woody but it was no different to the normal sized beetroots in the pack. I used to make soup with Dad's oversized zucchinis and freeze it but you can also make ratatouille or fritters and freeze the excess cooking.
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Thanks JD, on further investigations there are more zuchinis, big but not as big & cucumbers. Watering now :)
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I have been picking zucchinis for a couple of weeks now - they seem to go from small to huge overnight! :o
My tomatoes are starting to blush now so won't be long til we are picking them. :)
Cucumbers still tiny tho - hope I didn't leave them too late ???
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We weighed the zucchini 1.724kgs :o the next size was .693.
Hope they are useable :)
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I'm sure it would be Hally.
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Absolutely they are still OK to use Hally - I just made a batch of your zucchini pizza scrolls using an oversized zucchini. Used the rest of the zucchini to make the zucchini cupcakes in QFEO.
I also have a wonderful recipe for zucchini and leek soup (not converted for TMX yet) - but I made a batch of that and froze it for winter.
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Thanks cookie & Karen, onto it this week. Pizza scrolls will be good & soup for winter a brilliant idea.
Made soup today for dinner, using zucchini :)
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Look what I just uncovered in the middle of the vine......
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/22/ejyvudu9.jpg)
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What as lovely surprise. They will be delicious. Do you grow the eggplant too?
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Cookie, it's not an eggplant, it's an ordinary zucchini.
The large ones weighed about 2.25kg each
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I'm sorry. I didn't look properly. It still looks yum.
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How could something so big hide like that ES :D Are they zucchinis too?
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Wow that's huge ES. What will you make with it?
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Loos great ES
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ES, what a surprise. Don't know how they manage to hide, but they do. Last weekend , had the GC to stay so saved collecting the eggs and picking the Zucchini for them.
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Bucket loads of millipedes in our community garden plot today. Are they bad?
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Nice surprise ES :)
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I don't think they are good INAID.
Are millipedes considered good or bad for plants?
From wikipedia:
Millipedes are detritivores and slow moving. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturising the food with secretions and then scraping it in with its jaws. However, they can also be a minor garden pest, especially in greenhouses where they can cause severe damage to emergent seedlings. Signs of millipede damage include the stripping of the outer layers of a young plant stem and irregular damage to leaves and plant apices, the very top of a plant.
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We will have to figure out how to remove them.
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We have them in parts of Perth. They are horrible little buggers. The light attracts them and at night they do their very best to get inside.
This may help a little. http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1884872
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carrots, corn, spring onions yesterday
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Great harvest Robyn :)
Zucchini are still going here (approx 1 per day) and since severly trimming a nearby tree, our tomatoes have really started to take off too :)
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Lovely Robyn.
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When I get those millipedes in the house, I sprinkle tomato dust at the doors. They don't like it and won't come into the house. They do however crawl up the walls outside if the lights are left on, and turn cream to black overnight. I just leave them as the smell if I try to get them off or sweep them up.
I Don't worry about them in the garden.
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The smell is horrible. Ghastly little, black squirmy monsters.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/25/gedube4a.jpg)
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I read some where that talcum powder also works. I hope they go away. But think they are attracted to the compost.
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Millipedes do stink. :P
And not only that - they make your hands stink too. Ugh!
Garden - picking zucchinis and tomatoes daily, lemons and spring onions as needed. Apples nearly ready to start picking, yay! A few cucumbers which will be ready to pick by the end of the week. Have no idea when to harvest the sweet potato - anyone grown it?
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My veg patch is now dry crispy leaves. Most of my herbs are OK but the veg I have given up on.
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Mine too Halex. This weather we've been having and us not having a lot of water (we have tanks, so catch ours) our vege patch is crispy too. Another day of 41 yesterday didn't help :(
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We are on tap, but theres really no point as the leaves are just crisp.
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Our tomatoes gave up. I noticed today that the parsley has been burnt. The other herbs are going well.
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Astarra, sweet potatoes are ready when the leaves start to turn yellow.
If anyone is still having trouble with snails and slugs you can make a vegemite trap. Much like a beer trap only you use vegemite mixed with water place in an old jar and bury it so the top is level with the dirt. No need to waste good beer .Just empty it everyday. I dig a hole in an unused part of the garden an tip it in there.
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Thanks, Lucy. :)
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Finding lots of awesome curly Zucchinis not sure what they are actually called but sowed from Diggers seeds last year and seed saved for this year. Cherry Tomatoes doing really well, but our corn got decimated by the cockatoos. figs are almost ready to harvested so fig jam coming up. Apples just about ready to be harvested. Jerusalem Artichokes (fartichokes) are plentiful, just not quite sure what to do with them- any suggestions.......as the 16th century gardener put it "Which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men" :-[ :-[ :-[
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Artichokes, best used as a wind break in veggie garden. Causes wind everywhere else. LOL
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Astarra, sweet potatoes are ready when the leaves start to turn yellow.
If anyone is still having trouble with snails and slugs you can make a vegemite trap. Much like a beer trap only you use vegemite mixed with water place in an old jar and bury it so the top is level with the dirt. No need to waste good beer .
Great tip Lucyluu. Thanks :D
Artichokes, best used as a wind break in veggie garden. Causes wind everywhere else. LOL
ROFL
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/09/temabe2e.jpg)
This is the cleaned up veggie garden. The Woofers worked with me to get it ready for planting. I have starters to plant up. Went to a talk about wicking on Saturday. The next raised bed will be a wicking one.
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Artichokes, best used as a wind break in veggie garden. Causes wind everywhere else. LOL
Definitely ROFL.
The garden look all ready to go Chookie.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/09/temabe2e.jpg)
Went to a talk about wicking on Saturday. The next raised bed will be a wicking one.
Just love your garden Chookie!
So glad to hear someone else is starting a wicking system!
FYI ...Wicking gardners are as passionate about their wick beds as tmx owners are about their tms!!! I could talk about ours all day!
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Jamberie, I dont know what wicking is, any chance of a photo?
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I posted some much earlier in this thread...but cant link cuz im on my phone :(
Ill try later :)
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You started on page 47 of this thread Jamberie - http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=10868.690
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Gosh Judy, you are amazing! Thank you!
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Jam you inspired me. Thanks. I read all you posted and followed your links. The only q I had was about the water going stale. The lady I spoke to on Saturday said that can happen, but the solution is to have an outlet at the bottom on the side. This can be opened at will. I am looking for large Apple crates to set up. Altogether not cheap and fairly heavy work. Might have to invest in a couple more Wwoofers. !!
For those interested, we bought an Above ground coated tank like thing, .9 x 2.2 meter, $300 on special. $200 for top grade compost and scoria delivered. An Apple crate will cost about $50, soil and plumbing about $300.
The advantages, fresh veggies, which can be planted closer together. no spray and water saving. Not having to bend over to garden.
Hally, I think this would suit you very well.
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Chookie, the outlet in the bottom of our tanks also adjusts the water level (it's an adjustable elbow joint) and we can tip it all the way so that the reservoir can be almost completely emptied. They are also (by chance) facing a nearby drain :)
I have many more photos of the set up if you are interested.
Yes very expensive set up ($800 so far but with lots of left over materials for future beds)...but we have had over 6kg tomatoes this year which is amazing for Canberra, particularly as we had extreme heat this summer.
From 4 zucchini plants we are picking at least 2 zucchini each day for the last month.
Notwithstanding the minimal upkeep (great for those who go away frequently) and less water consumption.
These beds will pay for themselves in 3 years at the most.
Sorry for the large post, but I did say earlier that 'wick' gardners are passionate like tmx owners!!!
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Thanks Jam. Must get the Apple crate first. Will keep in touch.
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I'm looking forward to seeing how you go Chookie :)
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Hi guys. Why do zucchinis do that stupid mutant shape?
I've got a fair bit going on in my garden right now.
I'm picking zucchinis, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a random potato yesterday. My herbs are in overload (Yay for Tabbouli!)
I have planted capsicum and broccoli a few weeks ago, and yesterday I put in cauliflower and (Prob to late but who cares) pumpkin seeds.
Figured I have a gap so lets fill it... It rained all afternoon today woo hoo!
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Mrs G, all sounds good. I planted Diggers seeds that were well out of date and within 4 days they were starting to come up. 10 drops of rain here. Warm and humid. We aim to eat something from the garden every day.
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I think my figure of 6kg of tomatoes this year is a bit off the mark. I decided to weigh just today's pickings and got over 5kg! I now estimate we've had over 20kg of tomatoes this season! Amazing and wholly due to the wicking system!
If you are thinking of starting/refreshing a veggie garden I highly recommend wicking beds!!!!
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I've been getting 2 zucchini a day too, and I only put in 2 plants this year :)
lots of veg, all growing well. Love my veg garden.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/15/useqydum.jpg)
From the Autumn garden. Very simple.
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Lovely display chookie :)
Thanks chookie & jamberie re wicking. We dug up lots of dead veg last weekend & today planting more. It looks like a great udea, something to consider, but a lot of work.
Hoping ts going to be cooler now so the veg patch survives :)
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Lovely Chookie.
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Chookie, beautiful flowers but i love the drawn threadwork clothe, i have one similar done by a great aunt.
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A beautiful display Chookie. Bedlam I am fascinated by drawn thread work. I tried to do it when I was younger without much success.
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I wish cookie, i am not patient enough. I certainly appreciate the effort, very pretty.
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Beautiful flowers Chookie 8)
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Thanks for the kind remarks. I also love old linen. Still have most of both my grandparent linen. Did a lot of all sorts of embroidery when I was young. Quite a lot of drawn thread work. .
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After the zucchini and bean harvest started to slow down, I pulled them all out yesterday and today started planting kale, silverbeet, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts and radishes...Does anyone have any tips on keeping the moths away???
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Jam, shouldn't be too many moths around, now that it is cooler.
Planted 2 blueberry bushes and a Josterberry. Have lettuce, kale and small cabbages. Onions and Cauliflower. Silver beet still growing and have planted more. Parsley and Tumeric.
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just picked heaps of carrots, tomatoes, and spring onions.
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Jam, shouldn't be too many moths around, now that it is cooler.
Good thinking, thanks Chookie :)
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carrotts ;)
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I didn't get out to pick over the weekend, so today.....
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This isn't edible but I thought I would share as it is so pretty. It smells, actually stinks, and attracts blow flies and ants.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/24/8egubage.jpg)
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I hope it then eats them Cookie otherwise it really has no purpose in the garden.
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M
I hope it then eats them Cookie otherwise it really has no purpose in the garden.
Maybe keeps them away from back door.
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MI hope it then eats them Cookie otherwise it really has no purpose in the garden.
Maybe keeps them away from back door.
Not really sure of its purpose other than making that flower. I won it in a raffle at Car Club. It was in flower and I loved it. We planted it under the roses and it is expanding rapidly. It is a soft cactus. I may have to cull it as it is almost crazy in its growth.
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Going to Melbourne Garden show tomorrow. Haven't been for a couple of years.
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Have a wonderful time Chookie. ;) ;D
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Enjoy your day chookie.
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Sounds great Chookie, I look forward to hearing all about it :)
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When we had the Woofers staying, they helped set up this garden. Sent them this photo so they could see how it was going. Thought I would share it here also. I now have 2 potato grates to set up as wick gardens.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/27/hata8yru.jpg)
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That garden looks so healthy - the plants are certainly thriving and you are in for a good harvest in the future.
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They'll be very pleased to see how the garden has grown Chookie. Where are the woofers now?
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I had to google woofers to see what they were.
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That garden looks great , Chookie. I was thinking about your woofers just this morning. I hope they're doing well but somehow doubt they'll now find any experience that comes even close to the one they had during their time with you!! ;D
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Your Garden looks great Chookie! All so healthy!
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Think the Woofers may be somewhere near Cairns, hope they are safe.
Thinking I might have to cover the raised garden when the very cold weather comes.
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Your garden is looking very lush Chookie 8)
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We planted climbing beans, tomatos, egg plants and passionfruits in our community garden. Currently researching if we can keep chooks there!
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Sounds wonderful, INAID .
If anyone is interested, there are some really fascinating permaculture videos produced by Geoff Lawton who's a protege of Bill Mollison.
Go to www.geofflawton.com .... You will need to enter your email address to gain full but totally free access to a whole range of videos. I found the ones entitled "Urban Permaculture " and "Feeding Chickens without grain" very interesting....but they're all very good! :)
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I'll be sure to check those out. Thanks GF :)
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We have chooks at our community garden at Woodend. No houses close by so they also have a beautiful rooster.
GF, thanks for the link. Will check it out.
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I thought I would pop in another photo of the pineapple so that you can see how it looks at the moment. I think it will stay like this during most of winter and then ripen in summer.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/02/pe7y2uty.jpg)
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How good does that look in your garden Cookie.
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amazing cookie, I hope this cold weather doesn't upset it
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Wow cookie, how long did it take to get to that stage?
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Just a lovely photo Cookie. 8)
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It's probably been sitting there for at least two years. They don't grow very fast here. I don't know how long they take in Queensland.
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Lovely pic. Interesting to see how it is going.
Gert
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Lovely Cookie.
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looks good cookie
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Looking good cookie.
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That plant looks so exotic and tropical, Cookie! It's great that you could get it to fruit like that! :D Is it in a fairly sheltered position?
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Pulled out the tomato plants, picked silver beet for dinner. Cold and raining now.
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Wow that's cool Cookie.
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Great photo Cookie ;D
We are using carrots, spinach & silverbeet. Turning cold here also Chookie ;D
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It is in a fairly sheltered spot, right near a fence. During the summer it gets the reflected heat from the fence. We give it plenty of water.
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Wow Cookie that's amazing, I have never seen a pineapple growing before. Thanks.
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The yard of our old chook shed, which we no longer use, has grown the best lot of silver beet. I used to give the chooks the waste from the veggie garden and the silver beet has self seeded.
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Lucky you Chookie. :D I would love to have something like that happen in my backyard.
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You should all try to see if you can grow a pineapple. All you have to do is cut the top off and stick it into the ground, well that is what I used to do. Might not grow in some places but worth a try. Maybe could be done in a sunny spot in a pot inside. Fun to watch anyway.
I had quite a few growing but eventually got rid of them as they take up a lot of room and are very sharp and bite you.
Gert
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Looks wonderful Chookie. I have planted some garlic that sprouted, its doing well.
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My Mum has pineapples growing next door
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You should all try to see if you can grow a pineapple. All you have to do is cut the top off and stick it into the ground, well that is what I used to do. Might not grow in some places but worth a try. Maybe could be done in a sunny spot in a pot inside. Fun to watch anyway.
I had quite a few growing but eventually got rid of them as they take up a lot of room and are very sharp and bite you.
Gert
That's all we have done Gert. It is getting hard to buy pineapples with tops over here. We've found it good to have it where it gets reflected heat. At the other house they were just in the garden and never fruited.
You are certainly right about them biting, especially the ones with the serrated leaves.
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You should all try to see if you can grow a pineapple. All you have to do is cut the top off and stick it into the ground, well that is what I used to do. Might not grow in some places but worth a try. Maybe could be done in a sunny spot in a pot inside. Fun to watch anyway.
I had quite a few growing but eventually got rid of them as they take up a lot of room and are very sharp and bite you.
Gert
Sprung, Gert! Here you've been trying to convince us for ages that gardening was not your thing - couldn't grow anything! And here you are growing pineapples!! If you can grow pineapples, I daresay you can grow anything!! Methinks you have just been hiding your talents under the proverbial bush!! ;D ;D
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You should all try to see if you can grow a pineapple. All you have to do is cut the top off and stick it into the ground, well that is what I used to do. Might not grow in some places but worth a try. Maybe could be done in a sunny spot in a pot inside. Fun to watch anyway.
I had quite a few growing but eventually got rid of them as they take up a lot of room and are very sharp and bite you.
Gert
Sprung, Gert! Here you've been trying to convince us for ages that gardening was not your thing - couldn't grow anything! And here you are growing pineapples!! If you can grow pineapples, I daresay you can grow anything!! Methinks you have just been hiding your talents under the proverbial bush!! ;D ;D
Ok goldfish I confess. I used to lop off the top of the pineapples toss them Into the jungle and they grew like anything. A no brainer.
Now I was told it was impossible to grow garlic in Cairns. Some try by planting it in a pot them putting the pot in the fridge at night. Seems crazy to me but........
You have seen pics of my garden and believe me plants will grow. I just cannot grow food except for pineapples which I have stopped planting. If the humidity doesn't kill it then the grasshoppers will eat it. Anyway I really hate putting my hands in the dirt. Occasionally. I will really try but it is a thankless task as I do not have an affinity with the earth.
Gert
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We have two in our yard. They take about 18 months to fruit. We took another three up to the community garden recently.
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DH got a load of dirt in the weekend for our garden bed. The kids chose flowers for it. Echinaceas, marigolds and gerberas etc. I planted out the veggie garden with lettuces, parsley and lime basil. Smells delicious.
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It sounds lovely INAID.
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INAID, sounds lovely with kids involved.
I picked a bucket of lemons yesterday as they were pulling the tree over. Have had to prop the tree up as the soil is very wet with all the rain we have had. Water cart now off the Polaris so can now fill the back with garden rubbish and branches from the Gum trees.
Cool but not raining today.
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Too many lemons, a nice problem to have chookie. I would like to try making some lemon powder with the dehydator. There is a huge lemon tree in a paddock close by laden, i keep thinking i will ask if i could purchase a bag full. It looks neglected. But i am not brave enough.
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I'm sure they won't mind you having some lemons Denise, those with trees are usually happy to share them around. Unfortunately my neighbour's overhanging lemon tree hasn't produced any decent lemons for a while now and at the moment there is not 1 lemon to be seen on it.
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You are going to have to do something about that situation, Judy. Perhaps you could sleep walk and accidentally arrange for a judicial scattering of fertiliser in the middle of the night one night?
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I think it's roots used to be watered from this side when I had lawn out the back Marina, now with fake lawn it's missing out. That's when it started to go downhill but I would have thought the roots by now would well and truly have reached the water table as that's not far down where we are. It took the chap not long at all to reach it when sinking a bore when we first moved in here.
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Judy, citrus trees are shallow rooted . . . the poor old tree needs its nutrients and water from the surface so it probably is sulking, or it could be any one of a dozen other causes. Have you thought about maybe a dwarf lemon in a pot? :D
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I have a dwarf orange/mandarine tree GF (still very much a dwarf though) but until this year I had a ready supply of lemons so I haven't given it much thought. It will probably be easier for me to just buy some from time to time as I'm not doing much cooking these days and I could pick up a bag at the local veg market, squeeze and freeze the juice and freeze some zest as well I guess. I'd then have it on hand if I needed it.
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Probably a good idea, Judy :D Sometimes, just shopping for what we need like that is much more practical. . . :D
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This site was passed on by someone on my FB page - a brilliant idea IMO, not to mention a wonderful commentary on community spirit!! an 8 unit vegetable garden based on the mandala or keyhole method of gardening. Chris also uses his set up as a chicken tractor. A fantastic idea for any backyard or, on a larger scale, for a community garden. Fox proof, possum proof, bandicoot proof . . . !! :D
http://www.strongbuild.com.au/indexe17.php?x=DIY~|^`14
This is presented in 4 parts by Chris Francis from Strongbuild, a building company in Berry, NSW
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the blog section on the Strongbuild website, Chris has some videos that take you through making the sections for a unit he's preparing for A Taste of Paradise Organic Farm, a non profit organisation set up by Tim Francis (no relation) to help underprivileged young people develop solid life skills, in particular how to grow nutritional organic food. Go to this link below, but then click on the video and it will take you to the YouTube video which is larger and a little easier to see
http://www.strongbuild.com.au/blog1.php?x=BLOG~|^`24
Chris assures that the plans will eventually become available on the website for these, and any money raised from the sale of these plans will go directly to A Taste of Paradise Organic Farm.
(When you've had a good look at these links, make sure you take a look at the home page of Strongbuild at some of the homes these people are building!! :D )
I've just tried them and the links don't work directly. When the page comes up, just go to the DIY button :(toward the right hand side) for the first section, and to the BLOG (far right) for videos on construction . . . .
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Have spent the afternoon in the garden, weeding and cleaning up. The 2 chooks keeping me company. Cold but sunny.
GF , need to spend some time on that link, thanks.
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After over 50mm last night and 30 - odd mm in the week prior, ;D ;D I think I can now start deciding on what to plant for winter veges. Miss 12 said "spuds first".
So happy it has rained and my paddocks are looking green. Feeling like getting into the garden now ;D
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Another day in garden , yesterday and today. Cutting out Blackberries. Planting Garlic today. Going to rain again tonight.
Wallaby visited last night and ate the onion top just outside kitchen door. Very selective. Hope they give it belly ache. He has 25 acres of grass to eat.
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But he WANTED the onion top!
Gert
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But he WANTED the onion top!
Gert
So do I. ,!
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He won though Chookie, :D
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Just picked 3 large handfuls of radish tops and land cress for soup. Can't grow radishes but the tops look good. Going to make some pesto also, from them. Will post recipe for soup as it can be made with any greens. Full of iron, also.
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Is it too cold for radishes there Chookie, normally anyone can grow them - even me :D I've always thrown my radish tops away.
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Don't throw them away. They are full of goodies.
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Naughty Judy. They are delish.
Gert
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What can be done with radish tops, please?
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I am sure chookie can tell you more but I use them in salads as well as steaming if I have enough. Hard to come by in the stores as they usually cut them off.
Gert
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Thanks Gert. I just got 3 huge bunches of radishes for $2 with tops. I used some of the radishes in Chookies 2 second salad.
I'm making chicken and corn soup for tomorrow nights dinner so will put the radish tops in. :)
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Yummy in soup.
Had a discussion the other day in Woolies with a woman buying broccolini which was $5.98 a kilo and me buying broccoli for $1.98 a kilo. I asked her why she wanted the more expensive and she asked me why I was looking for the heads with the longest stalk.
She said her kids would not eat the stalks of broccoli but would the stalks of the broccolini. I nearly burst out laughing. I said. I was buying the broccoli with long stalks not only because I prefer the stalks to the head but if you carefully slice the broccoli from the top to bottom lengthwise you would get broccolini and the kids would not know the difference. Sometimes you just have to think outside the square. I do the same with cauliflower for a different look sometimes.
I really try to look at veggies in other ways as I do get bored with the same old. Also. I am lucky to have a dog that will eat tired veggies.
Gert
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That was a bargain mcmich. They are so expensive here and don't travel well. I love radish but rarely buy any.
Gert
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That's the only reason I purchased it. At WW of all places - I rarely shop there. I prefer to buy locally produced meat, eggs, fruit and veg at the farmer's market.
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Michel, a potato based soup with greens added at end,( so they keep their color). Pesto and there are several Indian dishes online.
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Google 'ideas for using radish tops' and you will find some nice recipes and ideas girls. You learn something everyday ;D Thanks Chookie for sparking my interest, I must plant some more radishes now.
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I am pleased to say with the rain my herbs & veg patch has sprung back to like. I have 5 beautiful cos lettuce, some cucumbers, chillis & peppers & a loadoif herbs plus a lemongrass plant that has tripled in size. Need to cut that one back.
:)
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Our gardens love the rain Hally, it also makes life easier for us not having to do it ;D Problem is that the weeds also love the rain >:(
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Chookie you are a wonder 8)
When I planted out the vegie patch recently some of the seeds were old (radish, kale, silver beet) so I put double the amount in and they all germinated (of course). Would never thought to eat the radish leaves after I thin them. Nothing will go to waste now 8)
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Djinni, I hate waste. I even save the egg wash from the bread and it makes a nice small omelet with a bit of parsley and cheese.
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Djinni, I hate waste. I even save the egg wash from the bread and it makes a nice small omelet with a bit of parsley and cheese.
I would never throw egg wash out. Goes I to scrambled eggs or dog food or fried rice or anything really.
Surely no one would toss a good egg out chookie. ;D
Gert
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I try not to waste anything either. That's why I love recipes that are flexible? (Can't think of a better word ATM) Never waste egg wash either. Always into scrambled egg or fried rice. Can't waste an egg after the girls have gone to all the trouble of laying it ;D.
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Thanks Chookie, I put the radish tops in chicken and vegie soup - not exactly potato based but did have potato in it. :D
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I hate wasting food too. I've planted out my sprouting garlic and bought some carrot seeds today. Am thinking about planting sugar snap peas next
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Interesting about the radish tops. We planted some radish today.
I have been reading about micro greens and radish tops are part of them. I hope to find out more and grow some. The thought of other bits and pieces in my lunchtime sale is very appealing.
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Yes Cookie, I was reading about them also. Love to try them too, sounds like that pack a taste and nutrient punch.
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We have high winds forecast for tonight so I picked my apple harvest. It's lovely considering we only have 600 square metre of land.(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/22/ygehaqys.jpg)
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Gee that is rather good Denise. Do you have trouble with fruit fly?
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Lovely Bedlam.
Yesterday we had surprise visitors for lunch. Went down to my raised bed and picked several hand fulls of greens. Radish tops, land cress, parsley, baby spinach , lettuce and parsley. Also bandicooted some new potatoes. It is so nice to be able to pick greens that have not been sprayed. We had these with MF Scottish Meat patties.
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Gorgeous Bedlam. Are the apples easy to grow?
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Mich, mine are pinkabelle ( a dwarf pink lady) i have 2 trees in pots. And yes they must be easy. I have only had fruit fly in my peaches.
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Perfect looking apples Denise.
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Judy, i put some of the best ones on top. I allow all to grow so some are small. Best thing is no pestices etc.
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Great apples Denise 8)
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I have big bowls of lemonades and passionfruit at the moment.
Love the apples Denise
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Robyn what are lemonades please?
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A cross between a lemon and a orange, great for juicing, or just cut and eat.
I juiced about 20 this morning ;D
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Thanks, I had never heard of them before.
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Robyn, you are so blessed with all your fruit trees and eggs. With all the slices, cakes and biscuits you make, the eggs would be put to good use. I have a couple of cakes I would like to try but they take from 6-10 eggs. It has to be a special occasion for me to use that many eggs in one recipe.
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Michelle, you can really taste the difference with our free range eggs, compared to the shops..
we are getting more chickens again soon too.
here amI up again, about to cook biscuits
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Michele, it is lovely to have fresh eggs. We have only 2 chooks and get 2 eggs most days. Just enough. I knocked the temperature control in the fridge and froze all the eggs this week. ,! Not sure if I can still use them.
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Oh what a bummer Chookie. I found this comment for you here
(http://eggs.ab.ca/about-eggs/faq)
Accidental freezing of eggs, especially in the winter is a common problem. If the eggs have broken through their shells they should be discarded. If the shells are still intact, the eggs can be thawed in the refrigerator and used in a thoroughly cooked dish such as scrambled eggs or hard-cooked eggs. Other uses are limited because once frozen the consistency of the egg yolk changes from a liquid to a solid (much like a hard rubber ball), and becomes lumpy.
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Thanks Judy.
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Chookie - what a pity about the eggs. I spent yesterday removing some dead trees from the back yard. I've got more work today to do once I get home from DD's rehearsal. Once the trees are gone, I will have more room for veggies. I have already planted beans, peas, carrots, lettuce, coriander and garlic. Not sure what to plant next.
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None of the eggs were cracked so used some in baking today.
ES, sounds good. Nothing like your home grown veggies. Yesterday, it was great to be able to go into the veggie patch and pick a large handful of herbs for my new pasta recipe.
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Glad you were able to use the eggs Chookie.
ES, it will be good when all your hard work has paid off and you are eating fresh vegies from the garden.
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Anyone plant garlic? We have two that have sprouted and growing well in a pot on the verandah. I have no idea on when to pick it. We also have carrots, leek, capsicum, tomato, rosemary, mint, chives, pumpkin, strawberries and chillis on the verandah. In the veggie bed downstairs we have lettuces, lime basil, parsley, broccoli and cauliflower. Not sure that the last two will grow here :/ our community garden bed has egg plants, cucumbers and choc mint.
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Your verandah and garden sound absolutely wonderful, INAID. ..from what I understand with garlic you need to wait until the "leaves" die right down . . .
Have a quick look here and see if there's anything helpful there for you . . .
http://www.patricenewell.com.au/131.html
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Garlic. Plant on shortest day, harvest on longest day. General rule.
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That is such an easy rule Chookie. I will plant some when the shortest day gets here. I love fresh garlic. The stuff from the shops can go yuk if not used quickly. At least I can confit it now.
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That's a good rule of thumb Chookie. INAID has inspired me to plant some in a pot. :)
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I've just been watching this for the second time . . . it's a TED talk by a teacher, Stephen Ritz, working in the South Bronx, NY. Every teacher - every adult, especially those working with children, should see this and see what this man has inspired in the lives of some of his students.
Having lived in New York City during the 70s and 80s it brought quite a smile to hear these students were invited from the Sth Bronx (poverty stricken and disadvantaged) to take part in a project in the Hamptons on Long Island (summer playground of the rich and sometimes famous)
If you have a spare 13.5 minutes, do watch it. I really wanted to share it with you all but couldn't think of an appropriate thread to pop it into, but since it's all about plants, vegetables, etc. this seemed like a good spot . . . :-)) ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF6qTlgtHU0&feature=youtu.be
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Thanks GF, will watch when I have a few quiet minutes.
The snow burnt off the leaves of all our potatoes. I am hoping that there will be some 'new' potatoes under ground.
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replanted our vege garden yesterday.
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Creating another and ordered more soil.
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DH fixed a few boards surrounding my veg patch yesterday - and also added and mixed fertilizer into the soil for me too :-*
Too early to plant outdoors here yet, but I have seedlings sprouted in toilet roll tubes ATM :D
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My DH and I have a vegie patch which currently has different varieties of lettuce, kale and for the first time, artichoke. I won't know what to do with the artichoke! It also has our herbs - lemon thyme, thyme, sage, parsley. We are experimental vegie gardeners - haven't got a clue what we are doing, but learning along the way! We always plant a lot of lettuce because we eat salads even in Winter.
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It sounds wonderful Kezza. I think that is how most of us learn. Maddy has a lovely recipe for an artichoke quiche on here, but I don't know how you would prepare them as I always use bottled ones. http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=5313.0
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Go for it Kezza. I have an artichoke plant. Never eat the artichokes from it. Just like the look of it.
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Thanks for that cookie. I also eat them from a jar! The plant does look very impressive in the patch.
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2 hours in the Veggie garden yesterday. Mostly weeding. Covered the potato patch with leaf mulch , the snow had killed all the leaves. The 2 little chooks kept me company. Dug some new potatoes , a mini cauli and mustard cress for stir fry. 2 more hours today, I hope. Ral has been sawing up tree branches that have fallen in the windy weather.
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You have both been very busy Chookie.
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You have both been very busy Chookie.
Yes Cookie, but only managed 1/2 hour today.
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Thank you for the inspiration to get back into the garden everyone!
I think I have come to the realisation that our veggie patch will be best suited to summer crops (combination of laziness and planing that will grow in our climate)!
Today I spent 30 minutes weeding in preparation for the tomatoes that my dad put in his greenhouse yesterday. Our last frost won't be for at least another month, but that gives us time to prepare the soil :)
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Jam, like you , our garden is best suited to Summer. We always say latest frosts are on Melb cup day.
Spent another day weeding. Tomorrow should see most of it done.
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We are building another garden. Need to get more soil in. Went to a seed savers meeting on the weekend which was interesting. So much to learn with gardening and I am a novice! These are our kids up at our community garden plot on the weekend.
I would also love to get some chooks. So need to fix up the fence and enquire on where to buy then from. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/25/9u5age5a.jpg)
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Your have certainly filled every inch of your garden INAID.Great photo of the kids,they are growing very fast. ;D
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Yes a bit in there. Eggplants, rocket, tomatoes, lettuce, curry plant and choc mint
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Yes a bit in there. Eggplants, rocket, tomatoes, lettuce, curry plant and choc mint
That looks good. The kids will love the chooks.
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chooks are great INAID, e get our from Herberton..
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/26/tahutyve.jpg)
This is a mini cauliflower. 1 meal for the 2 of us. We had 6 growing, 2 left.
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Great looking cauliflower Chookie. 8)
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What type have you got Robyn? Yum Chookie.
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Dad used to grow those Chookie. He used to give them to DD telling her he grew mini cauliflowers just for her. ;) I'd love to buy them but you don't see them in the shops.
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Dad used to grow those Chookie. He used to give them to DD telling her he grew mini cauliflowers just for her. ;) I'd love to buy them but you don't see them in the shops.
Cookie, how sweet. Think you have to grow your own. These have been growing all winter. Not looking the best as they have had snow and frosts. I should have clipped the leaves together over the flower.
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3m3 of soil just got delivered here :) Yay for new garden bed.
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INAID, commercial browns, point of lay from Westwoods, Herberton.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/29/zy9ujy3y.jpg)
Made Tabouli from mint, parsley and onions from veggie garden. To have with fish cakes for Dinner.
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I love tabouli Chookie and whilst watering my herb tub yesterday, it went through my mind that I must make a batch myself soon.
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Super looking Tabbouleh Chookie. 8)
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So nice when everything is fresh.
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Great looking cauliflowers and tabbouleh Chookie.
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The horseradish has grown up around the rosemary bush. Will have to dig both out and replant both in separate places. Big job.
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Lovely fresh looking tabouli Chookie.
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The horseradish has grown up around the rosemary bush. Will have to dig both out and replant both in separate places. Big job.
Those tap roots for the horseradish go deep Chookie,I hope you didn't have too much trouble digging it out :)
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Two more garden beds today filled with new soil. :)
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We are all getting ready for spring planting, went to Bunnings yesterday and bought a heap of seeds to get us started, the soil is still a little cold yet for actual planting. Had a bit if a giggle yesterday at Aldi they had individual plants in about 5cm tubes , cauliflower, cabbage and such $2 each and you have to grow them. WW had cauliflower ready to eat on special $1.
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Oh that tabouli has my mouth watering!
Although it is not past the first frost, we are trialling planting seeds in the greenhouse to see how tgey go. So far the pumpkins are doing well and a few other things too :)
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Very excited. Have been waiting 18 months for Wasabi plants from Diggers. Their first lot failed. I hope these are good as they were $17 each. They like the same conditions as Horseradish, which grows well here.
CC, Ral will have to help tip up the container that the horseradish and Rosemary are growing in. Will pot lots up to give away and the rest I will process in the TMX and freeze in vinegar.
Bought a pun net of Broccoli seedlings , 10 for $3.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/09/01/ba2aha2a.jpg)
:D
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:D :D :D
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;D ;D ;D ;D
Love it
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Love it 😀😀😀😀😀
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That is great goldfish :D :D
Chookie, hope the Wasabi does well. We did have some horseradish planted here in the herb garden and it took over, we could not get all the roots out so DH concreted over the area and we put the herbs in large pots. Much easier for us to manage. :D :D ;D
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LOL GF :D
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Lok
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Just got back from the local Chook farm, went down to get a trailer load of manure,$10 . There was a special on, you buy a $8 tray of eggs and you can have the manure for free ;D. We did get eggs on Saturday but another 30 won't go astray and saved $2 as well LOL
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Great buy AB, mmm I need eggs but don't need the manure :D :D
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AB,$8.00 a tray of 30 is so cheap. We have 11 beautiful chooks and as well as poop and lots of eggs they look after the weeding and keep a large area well maintained. Love them
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Bedlam the eggs are great 70gms sometimes double yokes as well,
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thats cheap Brenda :)
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Great deal Brenda.
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I love the idea of having crooks but we want to do a lot of traveling so not yet.
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I'd give the crooks a miss altogether AB ;) ;D
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LOL, noticed that too Judy! :D
Crooks probably would appreciate the fact you want to do traveling AB :)
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:o ;D :D. Yeh I'll give them a miss...
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My cauliflower did not form proper heads. It kind of exploded out with long stalks ans litle tiny florets in the ends. I think this might have been caused the dry warm spell we had in August. I am a little disappinted but my Kale is doing well now that I have the snails under control.
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Did anyone see the fantastic strawberry vertical planers on Facebook , it's on urban green space . Sorry can't link.
They look great.
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Thanks, Bedlam... Will go and check them out... :)
Wow! Love that idea!!
http://urbangreenspace.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/how-to-make-a-vertical-strawberry-tube-planter/
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Between showers, finally planted broccoli .
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I recently had 10 days off and spent most of it around the yard cleaning up and weeding, mulching, preparing my raised garden beds. My garden is looking good with just a few veggie plants in (bit cold here still)
I also brought myself a worm garden which is brilliant for fertiliser for my garden, will be interesting to see if I notice a difference adding worm fertiliser after a few weeks. I have around 2000 worms and finding it hard to come up with names for them all :D
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We love our wormies dede for all the free plants :)
Good haul on tomatoes yesterday and these are the ones the kids didn't eat. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/09/13/vu8egyte.jpg)
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/09/18/eramavur.jpg)
Silver beet, parsley, kale and a mixture of Meyer lemons, Lemonade lemons and Chinotto.
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Checked on my veggie garden today and all my carrots seed that started to sprout have vanished :( some pesky pest has stole them. Not happy, I will have to plant some more seeds now
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I think Peter did it
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I think Peter did it
Anyone got a good TM rabbit recipe :D
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Lovely looking fruit and veg Chookie 8)
I think Peter did it
LOL CP.
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I think Peter did it
Anyone got a good TM rabbit recipe :D
lol, there is one in full steam ahead! ;D
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Thanks Astarra :)
Although I don't think I would have rabbits in my garden as my dog wouldn't allow it. I'm guessing some kind of bug or something. I will have to try again.
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We started our veggie garden last year & have lots growing. We just starting our spring planting more than doubled the size by adding 3 more raised beds/ At the moment it provides us with food 2 days a week & we have 1 chicken so far she gives us an egg every second day. I have 3 fruit tress, 2 grape vines & a few berry bushes but it will be some time before they give us fruit
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Sounds a great garden NM.
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Once your TM5 is delivered NM, just think of all the things you'll have on hand just out your back door.
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At last our pineapple is ready to pick. We have had a couple of very warm days and it is now lovely and golden. The weight of the pineapple has caused it to bend right over into the rest of the garden. Chilled, fresh pineapple tonight or tomorrow night.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/10/16/gupydeva.jpg)
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Wow she's a beauty cookie.
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Cookie, that is just gorgeous.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/10/16/ana7yqe8.jpg)
Know this isn't veggies, but wanted to share.
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Green with envy that you grew the pineapple Cookie :D :D What a beauty ;D
Gorgeous flowers Chookie.I love lilies but my Mum was so superstitious and wouldn't have them in the house :D
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Great growing girls.
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Green with envy that you grew the pineapple Cookie :D :D What a beauty ;D
Gorgeous flowers Chookie.I love lilies but my Mum was so superstitious and wouldn't have them in the house :D
CC, my mum was the same about lilies. Said they were funeral flowers. These ones are fake. The rest are real and from our garden. The fine white ones are called Bridal veil and the red ones Waratah.
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I'm amazed by your pineapple cookie, and your flowers are beautiful Chookie.
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My Mum called the lilies funeral flowers too. MIL adores them though.
Chookie I love waratahs. I have only ever seen them at Floriade. Are they hard to grow? I wonder if they could stand our heat?
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Cookie the Waratahs are grown commercially in our area so I think they may be suited to the cold.
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I've never heard of lilys being funeral flowers before!! :o
I had them for my bridal bouquet.....
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Wow cookie that pineapple is huge,hope it taste as good as it looks. My mum says the same about lilies.the flowers look lovely chookie.
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That's probably why I love Waratahs Chookie. No chance of growing them here. They are are regal looking flower to me, so rich and royal.
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I have heard that saying about Lily's being funeral flowers , I love the and have them growing in the garden I have them inside that look great.
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Fantastic pineapple Cookie - how long did it take to grow? I remember the photo of it when it was a little thing.
Lovely flowers Chookie.
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Wow Cookie love your pineapple.
Flowers look beautiful Chookie . I have a photo of a beautiful Waratah hedge I took just out of Devonport, I will show you Cookie it was beautiful.
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It sounds beautiful Bedlam, I would love to see it.
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I had them for my bridal bouquet.....
Me too ... 37 years later we are both still alive and kicking!!
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(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/21/a7a0f784b5ed5678942f7ec1e26fdf05.jpg)
Here is the hedge, I haven't posted any more photos from my holiday as they were upside down. Hope this one is ok.
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It looks beautiful Denise. 8)
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It was Denise. So much so as we drove past the proud owner had a tripod set up taking a photo. We snapped one on the way back.
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Denise that hedge is gorgeous
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It is so very beautiful. Thanks for the photo.
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Right way up and absolutely gorgeous Denise.
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That hedge is stunning.
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Thanks Bedlam, beautiful.
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love the hedge.
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Last night I set up a motion sensor light in the front garden. Hope it will deter the wallaby. Quite pleased with myself. Maybe he will just see better what he is eating!
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Chookie too late now for you and me ( as I pulled all my roses out because the Kangaroos wouldn't allow them to grow) I saw on gardening Australia a lady switched on a cheap battery operated radio, she said it kept them away. Be worth a try I reckon.
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Bedlam , had thought of this, worth a try. We have covered a lot of roses with cages. Will remove them when the grow bigger.
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Last year was the year of tomatoes, this year might be the year of the strawberry.... now to get to them before the pests do!(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/23/b197283d9acf236eac1dab83ef506eaf.jpg)
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Beautiful strawberries Jamberie 8)
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Thanks CC :)
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yum Jamberie :)
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Just looked out my lounge window and was delighted with my Pierre de Ronsard Rose. There was no blossom out when I left.
(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/28/40327012547d916f47a230ff177f394c.jpg)
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Beautiful Denise, that would have been lovely to return home to.
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The photo is a collage, I have 2 either side of my front door.
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They look wonderful
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I love it Denise. There was so much colour down in Hobart so to come home to that beautiful show of roses would have been wonderful.
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Your roses are stunning Denise.So lovely to see them as it's all brown and golds here with the leaves falling off the tress.
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They look gorgeous Denise!
DH spent all day yesterday mowing and tidying up our yards since they were neglected whilst we were overseas. For a man who never touched a lawn 7yrs ago, he has come a long way and does a gorgeous job. (http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/29/d344cf3fc2760c2f929879e7c27a93fd.jpg)(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/29/ca6429c911497ecd04bc71f2a7a070cc.jpg)(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/29/0c502661478700c5de9c9577fe3e7ed7.jpg)(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/29/c75b60d2f23cd8f6202ac3eec7bc9b58.jpg)(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/29/3d6488a1d4471e5bf30e1b31eb1e258a.jpg)(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/29/6ff0e46e46749fc9deb77f1df4782858.jpg)(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/29/c2ab428a3a868f9677d57950703b53a4.jpg)
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What a lovely house and garden you have there kyton, a huge area to keep tidy. Your garden beds look great and the kids have a lovely area in which to play as well. Perfect for a young family, thanks for sharing and well done to your DH for his efforts yesterday.
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Thanks Judy, we are very fortunate. Our home is built on what was his paternal Grandfather's horse paddock. When he passed away the property sat unsold for close to a year before we talked my I laws into keeping their 1/3 and we bought the other 2/3. His parents are now in their 70's and they built a home last year on their third right next door to us.
We are right in the middle of suburbia but are very well hidden from the road and have almost an acre to play with. The kids love being able to ride bikes, electric cars and play in their own park LOL.
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What a great arrangement kyton, you can be there for the in-laws but it doesn't feel as if they are right on your doorstep. With our 1/4 acre blocks or even less these days with the way they build, your place is so spacious. I can't see you going anywhere soon ;D
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Wow Kyton, looks fantastic. Even the cubby looks good enough to rent out for accomodation.
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You have a fantastic house and garden Kyton. 8)
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Love the photos kyton. Looks like a resort. Dh is a great gardener.
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Thanks ladies, DH was definitely a late bloomer when it came to his green thumb (boom tish LOL)
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Once a year our Dove tree is in flower. Thought I would like to share a photo.(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/06/62e79d62f49224bb2211e4988acb0a50.jpg)
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Lovely tree Chookie, I don't think I've ever seen one before.
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AB, it is rather special. It has taken 20 years to flower fully.
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That is beautiful Chookie, never seen one before. Thank you
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That's a beautiful tree Chookie. The rest of your garden also looks lovely.
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That's a long time to wait for a tree to flower Chookie, how lovely that it finally has. What a lovely colour combination you have there.
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A beautiful tree Chookie.I have actually seen one at Kew Gardens.They are very special.
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Beautiful Chookie.
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Wow, I didn't even know there was such a thing. It is beautiful.
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Have started picking the snow peas.
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The tree looks lovely Chookie. Enjoy the snow peas!!
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My veggie garden has gone crazy. Love all the fresh veggies and fruit this time of the year :)
(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/12/21/50c93e5d8a905218db513b62669d3a47.jpg)
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Those raspberries look fantastic Dede.
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Dede, lovely, love home grown produce. . Terrific range.
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I pulled up another potato plant today and got 20 beautiful potatoes to take camping, plus more raspberries, strawberries a lettuce and some spring onions.
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Super fruit and veg Mandi. 8)
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I have got some lovely strawberries in pots growing out the back .... and they are ALL going to ripen whilst we are away, I do so hope the birds enjoy them >:(
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Marina, can you cover them with net?
We are still picking Lemons. Have given lots away and used so many in cooking.
We have netted the Apples and they are growing beautifully. Berries and Gooseberries also netted.
Wasabi not doing all that well. Needs lots of water and very shady spot.
Cherry toms have flowers and Zuchinni growing well.
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My veggie garden is great this year picking butter beans , zucchini , cucumbers , beetroot, silver beet ,basil , lettuce radish and spring onions , tomatoes still coming, broccoli just finishing. It was a slow start but in abundance now. We have just covered the peach and Nashi trees,
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I have heaps of plums, lychees, mangoes, macadamias on our trees. :)
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We no longer grow much in the summer. It just seems to roast. Chillies do well though. We had a large vegie garden before we shifted but not here. With DH's big she'd and the house there isn't much left.
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With all the rain we have had and the warm weather, every thing is growing great. Will try and post photo of garlic just harvested.
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(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/16/f982ff40925bba8f8f36b3c3c44c1871.jpg)
Think I will vac seal some and put in veggie draw to see how it lasts.
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Worth a try Chookie, have you ever made the confit of garlic of Tenina's?. That lasts for ages.
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Great harvest chookie.
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Worth a try Chookie, have you ever made the confit of garlic of Tenina's?. That lasts for ages.
No, but might rry it. Where do I find the recipe?
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Page 13 Keeping It Simple Chookie.
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Doing some confit garlic as we speak. Love it.
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Ha ha, it's the best thing to have on hand - I love it to Denise.
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Thanks girls. Think I gave my KIS to DIL.
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Your garlic looks lovely Chookie. I try to always have confit garlic on hand. I must make some more while the good garlic is available.
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Super garlic bulbs Chookie. :)
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Thanks CC and Cookie. Will make some confit today.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon in the garden with the chooks helping. Today very cold at the moment but as soon as it warms up a bit will do some more cleaning up and planting.
I collected the green seeds from the coriander bushes and made an infusion of oil with coriander , garlic and a little Chilli. Will drizzle a little on soup and steamed veggies. This took 5 minutes of grinding in the TMX. The nice thing about this is that it tastes of the green leaves and not the dried coriander. Today I am going to try the same with the green fennel seeds. Could be nice with steamed fish.
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Chookie,my garlic crop was nowhere as good as yours.
We went away for a week, and look what happened to my zucchini!
(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/26/2a7c9e6ba4c9e13bcacb957b56ded9bf.jpg)
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Wow, what a crop Sue.
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That's a lot of zucchini Sue :D
Would you like the Zucchini Soup recipe from the TM5 Basic Cookbook ;D It uses 500g ;) :D
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Wow ES, that is a terrific crop. Our Zuchinni are just flowering.
I spent yesterday afternoon in the garden. Sure it is good for the soul ;D. Have had to relocate the Wasabi plants. They don't like the sun and need lots of water.
Found some windfall Apples so blitzed them in the TMX , and add added a mix of berries that were hiding in the fridge and , cooked the lot in TMX, pushed through mouli and back into TMX and made 2 nice jars of jam.
Looking forward to another day in the garden.
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What a lovely crop. We love zucchini noodles Sue, eat instead of pasta.
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I can guess what is on your menu this week ES. :D :D
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Great zucchinis.
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Thanks.
Denise, I would love the recioe for zucchini soup
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I've PM'ed you the recipe Sue ;D
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Thanks
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ES have you seen this recipe for Zucchini Pickles. (http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=5346.0) ;D
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ES, our favourite way with Zuchinni is to make fine threads, same with a carrot , mix together, little salt and served with Greek yogurt that has a little Chili oil over the yogurt. Had this in Turkey .
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Ooh, how lovely and cool sounding. Do you use a gadget to make the zucchini threads Chookie?
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Yes Cookie. The black one in the photo, OXO brand. The other is wonderful , I use it every day . It has 3 sixes of thickness and a lock so you don't cut yourself when in the drawer.
I forgot to add that the yogurt has a little dill stired through. (http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/27/90cba4b64ceb51160bebc4d180cd54e0.jpg)
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Yes Cookie. The black one in the photo, OXO brand. The other is wonderful , I use it every day . It has 3 sixes of thickness and a lock so you don't cut yourself when in the drawer.
I forgot to add that the yogurt has a little dill stired through. (http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/27/90cba4b64ceb51160bebc4d180cd54e0.jpg)
Yes Chookie I have one of those, fantastic.
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I have a mandolin. It's an old Bamix one from many years ago. I will look for the other. Thanks.
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We have been getting lots of cucumbers lately from the vege garden.. :)
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Apples just coming in.
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Ballerina Apples(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/09/9bc485586077107f8341ff85318df3b4.jpg)
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Your apples look great, it is tempting to try growing those ones you have got there. Do you get coddlin moth, Chookie? If you do, how do you prevent it?
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Very nice apples Chookie, do you have to net them to protect them from birds?
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I haven't heard of Ballerina apples. They look lovely.
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Looks like a nice crop of apples Chookie I'm just about to harvest my Nashi's , clingstone peaches are nearly ready
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Ballerina apples are from Flemings. The apples grow close to the trunk. This makes them easy to cover with nets. If we didn't cover them we wouldn't get any apples. They are a small apples and are of different. The Charlottes are bigger and round.
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Picking lots of tomatoes and 8 fresh corn today :)
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Marina, no coddling moth here. Think it is too cold.
Yesterday made once dessert for visitors using these small apples.
Picked some yellow Zuchinni and made an interesting salad with black beans.
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(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/18/67ea6f9db61b374707088aac78b21cac.jpg)
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Lovely looking salad Chookie. :D
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Chookie, that salad looks lovely, I haven't seen yellow zucchini before.
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That salad looks good - the colours contrast so well.
Coddling moth is the bane of my life. Hopefully it won't be so bad next year as our neighbour has put some more hens into our hen run and they will be out in our orchard most days soon soI hope they will gobble the little blighters up ... then all we will need to do is keep the birds away - from approx. 10 apple trees, we have only one left - they have completely stripped everything. Ah well, I guess they need to eat too (that's me being very philosophical).
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Marina, we have about 20 various fruit trees in our orchard and we get practically no fruit from these as they are not covered.
This year we are going to prune them to a height that I can reach and cover them. Well that is the plan!
The yellow Zuchinni, I grew in a large pot. The salad in the photo has a most unusual dressing. Throw a 1/2 a cucumber into TMX bowl with a splash of Apple Cider vin, salt and pepper and about 1/4 cup of good olive oil. Zap on speed 7 until well blended. Pour over black beans and chopped,( by hand) Zuchinni , add chopped parsley.
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You are right about the dressing, I have never heard of that before. How dd it go with the rest of the ingredients?
Have a look at this site (http://www.fruittreenets.info/) for tree nets that keep EVERYTHING out! NB The big size is really big!
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Thanks Marina, interesting but OMG they are expensive. What we have is a massive roll of white bird netting. The birds can see the White and don't get caught in it. We measure out what we need and cut to size. Although the roll cost $200 , we save the nets for the next year. We roll them up and tag them.
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Gosh Chookie at that price you would want to save it from year to year.
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We don't have coddling moth over here. Do you people have trouble with fruit fly? It is really bad over here and deadly if you don't spray.
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Have a look at this site (http://www.fruittreenets.info/) for tree nets that keep EVERYTHING out! NB The big size is really big!
Thanks for this link Marina. DH has been looking for a circular tree net for our apple trees for ages. We have the usual rectangular netting, but the sneaky little birds are clever enough to get in and around the netting somehow. I have ordered one of these and look forward to trying it next year.
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We are harvesting and eating lots from our veggie garden. Zuchinni, silver beet, spinach, cherry tomatoes, Apples, lemons, limes, Cumquats, pears, fennel, mint, parsley, garlic, Rosemary, bay leaves, horseradish , Asian veggies, lettuce., potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes. . I have made oodles of jam and bottled lots of Apples in medium sized jars.
The chooks are enjoying lots of greens and the yolks of their eggs are bright orange.
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Wow chookie - your garden sounds amazing! We are at the end of our summer crops, and are just picking tomatoes, capsicums, carrots and herbs now. I have planted purple sprouting broccoli, but it has not grown enough yet.
How do you bottle apples? we have been given a large bag from our neighbours, but I haven't heard of bottling apples before?
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Karen I bottle Apples in Dolmio type jars. That is the ones with the white seal in the lid. I process them in the Microwave. I put the instructions on here sometime ago. I will see if I can find them for you. It is well worth doing. I think it is also on my Blog. Will look.
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Karen, 2010 October on my Blog.
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Thanks Bess! Will give it a go.
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We too are enjoying the produce growing in our own back yard.....and I am making the most of it all before Mr Jack Frost appears. ;)
Tomatoes, zucchinis, spring onions, habenero chillies, chives, rosemary, apples & lemons all in abundance ATM. ;D
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Planted my garlic yesterday. May be a bit early, but I don't know when I will get a chance later in the season.
All of your gardens sound so productive, I am, as usual, very jealous of you all.
Have you got any photos of your wicking beds yet, Chookie? Still very interested in the concept, just trying to persuade DH that they really are worth following up.
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Astarra, glad you are enjoying all the goodies from your garden.
Marina, raised bed seem to be very good here. The rabbits and wombats can't get at them. We will be interested to see if our wicking beds are as good or better. They are a lot of work setting up but should provide most of our greens for the year. Will take some photos.
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Astarra, glad you are enjoying all the goodies from your garden.
Marina, raised bed seem to be very good here. The rabbits and wombats can't get at them. We will be interested to see if our wicking beds are as good or better. They are a lot of work setting up but should provide most of our greens for the year. Will take some photos.
Can't wait to see the photos Chookie!
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picked lots of mandarins and lemons from the fruit trees.
planted more vege seeds.
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Everything we grow is precious and we try and use or preserve every small thing. Today I am roasting cherry toms, leek and garlic. I will freeze the result to use in soup .
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(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/11/2fcd28c97662dfcf3f30d7db4a1af5a9.jpg)
Roasting in AF
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Beautiful produce Chookie 8)
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Finally got around to taking photo.
In the foreground is the raised bed that was set up with help from the WOOFERS. We have been eating from this bed continually for 2 years.
I have planted one wicking bed with Asian Veggies, coriander, broccoli, chives , lettuce and Kale.
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(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/11/dec41b2b1283302d8f5327d6b884e8c8.jpg)
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I wish I'd gone for a walk with you and DD Chookie, I'd love to have seen your garden. How good does that look.
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It looks fantastic Chookie. Congratulations to you and Ral.
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It looks amazing Chookie. I think you've chosen some great plants for wicking beds, I can't wait to hear what you think of it as time goes on :)
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Wonderful garden chookie.
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Beautiful garden Chookie.It all looks so lush. :)
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Your garden looks great. You are certainly getting a bountiful harvest of goodness.
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Thanks for the nice comments girls. Love the garden but is a lot of work. The veggie patch is a bit of a mess at the moment as we are waiting for a landscaper to replace the fence around it. Now we have the wicking beds which are much more efficient than the plots, we are reducing the size of the beds. Will still grow potatoes, garlic and silver beet in the ground, as well as the berries.
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picked 3 huge bags of mandarins and lemonades this morning. Off to make marmalade.
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Obbie, will you make separate lots of lemon and mandarins marmalade?
Have a look at the lemon and carrot marmalade. It is very nice.
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ACW I will thanks, have made 3 lots of lemonade and mandarin marmalade so far. but have heaps more fruit..
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Cookie your garden looks amazing. I have a VERY small raised garden and I only have zucchini and english spinach going at the moment, herbs and I am currently establishing swan plants for the monarch butterflies which are breeding here. We have three compost bins on the go all the time. We didn't bother with much this year because there are only the two of us and by the time stuff ripens it is very cheap in the market. I love having the fresh herbs for cooking. I almost forgot to mention the Blackboy peach trees (3) and one Queen peach.
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Liz, all sounds lovely. Love the raised gardens and always grow too much. We try to eat something from the garden every day. Today only parsley and garlic in the garlic bread and Apples in the Apple Cake Tart.
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I've only got garlic and broad beans in my garden at the moment ... hopefully they will survive the hens, rabbits and kangaroos.
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We have a very minimum maintenance garden so that we are free to go away when we wish. I have lots of roses and some herbs. I have recently planted a couple more climbing geraniums on fences.
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(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/25/a313642c94e4add9278e3f048ffeb890.jpg)
After I injured my back six months ago DH promised to build me some raised garden beds for my veggies. This is the current state of affairs. He has now gone away for three weeks. Sigh. Maybe next year haha
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LOL Kristy, his intentions were good. Wouldn't it be great if you could get someone to finish it whilst he was away.
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lots of passion fruit on our vines here.
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The gardeners have set up the watering system while we have been away.
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LOL Kristy, his intentions were good. Wouldn't it be great if you could get someone to finish it whilst he was away.
I'm incredibly tempted to just do it myself seeing as I am having a good week movement wise. He must have predicted this before he left though because my tech bit for my drill is mysteriously gone.
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KS , you have been sprung, I think. ,!
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He knows me so well. I relocated my herb pots and made little terrarium s for them instead, the poor things were decimated in the frost the other day.
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Progress report. Still not finished but nearly there.
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(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/29/c734e2cc2fb63255ac5891af7ff0d57f.jpg)
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What a great garden that is going to be Chookie, in time it will keep you both very busy and completely self-sufficient I would think.
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The raised beds are looking wonderful Chookie.You must be so pleased with the result.
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Thanks Judy and CC. I have already planted 7 of the beds and have mini cabbages and Asparagus crowns ready to go.
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What an awesome looking garden. It will be a pleasure to work in it.
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Wow Chookie great garden and such a lovely spot.
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Beautiful garden beds in a beautiful setting. Enjoy every minute spent in it Chookie.
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Thanks girls. Really looking forward to working in it.
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What a beautiful spot and lovely looking beds Chookie. Wishing you many happy and productive hours there
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Wow acw amazing! You will certainly be self sufficient
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Thanks again girls. My gardening skills are pretty awful. But I have lots of friends who give great advice . It truly amazes me that things grow here as we are cold climate and the soil is fine mountain soil with not much nutrient . We have to add lots of chook litter and compost.
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I have veggie garden envy Chookie! They look fabulous! Thank you for posting the picture :)
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they look amazing Chookie. I can see you spending many hours out there.
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I have veggie garden envy Chookie! They look fabulous!
The garden looks wonderful, Chookie. I had been wondering how it was all going. You and Ral (and the helpful chooks!) must be so very pleased.
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That garden looks beautifullll Chookie!! Another garden envy here ;)
We have few plants in our backyard, basil, tomato, lemon, strawberries but due to the cold weather, I have totally ignored that and every morning
I look at them, I feel so guilty :(
Hubby has placed an automatic watering system but its been long since I have properly pruned any, need to push myself...
With an active toddler, it is even more difficult, but I will get there..
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Thermalover, active toddlers always come first.
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Absolutely Chookie, my little darling always comes first!
Motherhood has surely changed me as a person, every day when ever I look at her, I realize how much I am in love with her :)
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Thermilover, motherhood changes many things about us. I could list several. Possibly the most pronounced is I am much more compassionate. (and I drink coffee now, couldn't stand it before I became pregnant)
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We have had an early and very cold winter. 3 lots of snow , so far. The the gardeners who have been building our veggie garden have had to stop as the ground is too wet to bring in a big truck with a load of gravel.
However I am amazed at how things are growing. 14 of the 44 garlic bulbs are showing green shoots, Rhubarb plants are shooting and the Wasabi plants are looking good with lots of leaves. yesterday I picked a bowl of greens for a salad.
We have pruned the 5 apple trees that are around the house and made chips of the prunings.
The Curry bush looks very sad but the Vietnamise mint bush looks good.
We are continuing to eat something from the garden each day.
Roll on Spring!!
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(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/10/0216683075e2a828dcce7131a3a50e08.jpg)
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Those salad greens look so lush and vibrant. Your garden is sounding great, I would love to be able to put something like that down in our place ... perhaps one day! We'll be needing updated photos soon now that things are starting to grow.
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The garden sounds so lush Chookie. When the cold finishes it will be really rushing ahead.
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Chookie, well done on the greens! So rewarding to pick your home grown produce I'm sure.
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What a great variety of salad greens Chookie.
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(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/11/ae728b649662d71fe2bf6d4da1a30f77.jpg)
Wasabi, bit denuded as I picked some leaves. Mostly you use the tuba but I am waiting for it to multiply.(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/11/9461683844b5ce601469b8c4b37327b4.jpg)
Horseradish is the yellowish bits. The long scrappy leaves die down in Autumn. They shoot again in spring.
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Nice pics Chookie, I have never thought about how Wasabi grows, interesting.
I can tell you love your new garden, spring time can't come fast enough for you I'm sure.
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Kat, yes I do love the garden. The Wasabi that you buy in Tubes or powder is mostly Horseradish dyed green.
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Wasabi has an attractive leaf, will do some research and see if we can grow it.
Thanks for posting the photos Chookie.
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After a couple of weeks of preparing the soil, we finally planted our wicking beds for this season:
Tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cos lettuce, kale, cucumber, capsicum, basil...(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/02/83ca6f4d7a6210a999ff6f76e0c4832f.jpg)
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Nice sized beds Jamberie.
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They look great.
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The beds look good Jamberie :)
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Thanks Cookie, Judy and CC :) hopefully the yield will be good too!
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Your beds look great, I am sure they will reward you well with a great crop. I really like the idea of wicking beds and would be interested in hearing how you go over time with harvest, maintenance, etc.
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This will be our third crop in the wicking beds. The first year was amazing, so much so that many of our neighbours are now installing wicking beds and my dad who has kept veggies for many years is converting all his beds. Last year I was pregnant so didn't spend much time in the garden and the crop was only ok. This year I've topped up the beds, and am hoping for a good result. There are some crops (eg potatoes) that aren't really suited to wicking.
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Jam, those beds look fab. I have found that they suit some veggies better than others. I have been amazed at how well they work. Not surprised that you haven't had a lot of extra time to spend in the garden . Have fun planting up.
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Very nice jamberie - hope you get lots of vegies.
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Jam, those beds look fab. I have found that they suit some veggies better than others. I have been amazed at how well they work. Not surprised that you haven't had a lot of extra time to spend in the garden . Have fun planting up.
What have you tried Chookie?
Lettuces, tomatoes, basil and zucchini/squash, eggplants have been particularly good here. I suspect Asian greens will be good too.
Strawberries and carrots not so much.
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Hi Jam. These are all from the wicking beds. We are cold climate so just planting Zuchini and beans and toms. Only Cherry toms, no pumpkin.
Land cress, ( much like water cress) , sugar snap and onions good.
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Yes, cold climate here too so it sounds like we have similar conditions. Good to know onions are good, I might give them a go. I've found spring onions to be very good too.
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I am thrilled with my blueberry again this year, yesterday I picked 450gm of delicious organically grown blueberries.
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Bedlam, nothing like fresh Blueberries. Congratulations.
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You'll miss that when you move Denise, will you plant another one in the new house?
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Delicious, Denise. What sort of blueberries are they?
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I'm not sure what sort they are, I can post a photo of the plant tomorrow if that helps
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I'm not sure what sort they are, I can post a photo of the plant tomorrow if that helps
Sadly, I wouldn't recognise one from any other, but thanks for the suggestion. I was just curious. Did you find it hard to pluck out the nice ripe ones from in amongst the ones that look ripe but are not quite ripe enough?
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Not a bad sized butter lettuce grown by one of the male residents in his veggie garden at the nursing home and given to me today. He took Mum and me on a tour of his garden beds and is rightfully very proud of his efforts.
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Fantastic!
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A great lettuce Judy.Tell the resident that I think he grows fantastic produce 8)
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Thanks courton and Denise. I've been googling recipes to use it up and there'll be lots of smoothies and soups being made from this one lettuce.
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Judy, what a fab lettuce. Would make nice soup with potato or salad with roast pumpkin and pine nuts.
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That's so lovely that he can have a little garden. MIL would love that but she isn't allowed.
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He has tomatoes, beans, beetroot, radishes, sweetcorn and these lettuces growing - a great hobby for him. He's a real character.
I must hop to and do something with the lettuce over the next few days Chookie, I've printed out a few recipes.
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Judy, best to use it when very fresh although the home grown ones do keep better than the bought ones. I often pick one just before a meal and we eat it immediately. I keep a small bottle of salad dressing in the fridge, made from Walnut and grape seed oil with a little apple cider vinegar. I add a different taste to it each time, sometimes mustard or garlic.
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Lovely lettuce Judy. Good to see that he can continue gardening and grow his vegies.
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I sometimes use lettuce in my chow mein if I have not got cabbage. They're somewhat interchangeable in some recipes.
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He has tomatoes, beans, beetroot, radishes, sweetcorn and these lettuces growing - a great hobby for him. He's a real character.
I must hop to and do something with the lettuce over the next few days Chookie, I've printed out a few recipes.
Judy, that is just so good that this man is able to garden.
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This is our veggie garden at the moment.
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Looking good Chookie.
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Wow Chookie, that's very impressive.
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It looks like a jungle of goodness Chookie, you must be so pleased with yourselves.
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Wow That's a very impressive vegetables garden Chookie.
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So beautifully lush and green.
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Wow Chookie your garden looks amazing.It must be a pleasure eating from such beautiful produce.
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Thanks girls. There is a bumper crop of Raspberries coming. Don't like the Kale much. Garlic looking good. Oodles of spinach and lettuce. Board been for the first time.
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Oh no, how did your broad beans get bored with so much company Chookie LOL.
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Lol Judy. Great garden chookie.
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Wow! Great gardening Chookie!
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Oh no, how did your broad beans get bored with so much company Chookie LOL.
Ral doesn't like Broard Beans so I picK then when tiny and slice them like French beans. They are so easy to grow.
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What a selling feature Chookie, having a garden so bountiful.
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I'm not fond of broad beans either. DH likes them big and tough and I like them small and double peeled. Hence we don't have them very often.
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Cookie, I have a friend that uses them in a dip.
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Will try and post some carrots from my veggie garden.
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I have tried for years to grow carrots without much luck. I read recently that if you plant the seedlings close together they will grow straight. This is what happened. !!
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LOL Chookie!
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I know they are very difficult to peel but they certainly have character.
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LOL, it looks as if they've been having fun Chookie!
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8)
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It looks great! Think of all the people who design food, no need with your carrot :P
Will have my first own carrots too next year in our garden, but winter has only started over here.. I'm not very patient, so I'm in here now to enjoy your harvest until I can start too :D
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OzFranny, good luck with the carrots.
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who says you need to have straight carrots.. ;D ;D ;D
looks great, ACW nice and fresh
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They look like dancers to me.
Are they tasty? That's all that matters.
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They look like dancers to me.
Are they tasty? That's all that matters.
Yes, crunchy and tasty.
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I have started to harvest the 44 garlic plants. The cloves are easy to peel when fresh. I put the peel around the tomato plants to discourage bugs. I am freezing most of the crop.
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I took my garlic in about a month ago, Chookie and was thinking of confitting them (excuse the word I just made it up on the spot!). I am thinking the confit should last for quite a while longer than the raw garlic ... does anyone have any thoughts on just how long it would last using this method?
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I make the confit of garlic all the time Marina, usually do 3 or 4 jars at a time and with the small amount of cooking I do these days, they are fine kept in the fridge for as long as it takes me to get through them which is many months. Perhaps you could do half confit and half of Chookie's method.
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A great haul Chookie. I have friends who just hang their garlic and it lasts for ever. Whenever I've tried it they seem to go yuck.
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Marina, garlic and olive oil are not a good combination unless cooked. Then I think it will only last about 4 months in the Fridge. I am going to freeze some as whole cloves. I believe that it will go soft but hold its flavour.
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Love the carrots Chookie, they look like they are fighting, maybe for more space in the garden.
Some years back when I worked in 'In home care', I used to regularly visit an elderly couple who had 2 lungs between them (1 each). Always looking for natural remedies to ward off colds and flus, they would cram garlic cloves into jars and fill with honey, they would let them sit for a month, then eat them straight from the jar, 1 or 2 every day.
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Love the carrots Chookie, they look like they are fighting, maybe for more space in the garden.
Some years back when I worked in 'In home care', I used to regularly visit an elderly couple who had 2 lungs between them (1 each). Always looking for natural remedies to ward off colds and flus, they would cram garlic cloves into jars and fill with honey, they would let them sit for a month, then eat them straight from the jar, 1 or 2 every day.
How interesting. Did it work for them and did you ever try one?
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Katj, interesting. Ral has honey on his cereal every morning. Hardly ever gets a cold.
I was talking to a 'honey' lady at the Market . She said that the unfiltered honey has all sorts of goodies in it and can help people who have allergies. One of the things she mentioned was a substance that the bees have to cross to enter the hive. It cleans their feet so the don't take germs into the hive. There are small bits of this in the unfiltered honey.
Not sure that I could cope with garlic in honey.
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Interesting Chookie, keeping bees has become more popular in recent time. They are very clever little creatures.
When Cookie, myself and others go to the Cooking on Coventry classes run by Nikki & Nerissa, we have the opportunity to buy honey fresh from the hive from one of Nikki's neighbours. It is so nice.
I love the Manuka honey skin care products from NZ. They are available online from a QLD co. Manuka honey is sold for it's medicinal properties also. Used as an antiseptic.
Michelle, I love garlic, so eating them whole did'nt bother me, A little sweeter having been in the honey. I remember being conscious of having garlic breath around clients so ended up using most of it in cooking stir fries etc.
The elderly couple were always cold free.
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I love manuka skin products too. DH usually picks me some up when he goes home.
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Weed to have bee hives years ago, but gave them away.
Often we get fresh honey from people we know, it just tastes so much better than shop bought. :)
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I'd love to have a hive in the yard but it isn't a good idea as DH and bees don't like each other at all.
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I love garlic, I buy three or four bulbs at a time at the fruit shop. I'm very stressed when I occasionally run out!
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Sarah, you might like to try buying it when cheap and freeze it. Seems to work well.
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we are getting buckets of plums at the moment from our tree. :)
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Obbie, lucky you. Plum jam, plum sauce, plum paste, stewed plums.
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Aaarrrgggghhhh! Ran out of garlic today! It wasn't required, but I wanted it. MUST get more tomorrow. I really have to organise my garden, but I'm working in sorting out the inside first.
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Sarah, good time to buy Australian garlic. Most has been harvested by now.
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I bought about 20 bulbs of Australian garlic the other day. I think I will confit it.
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We are picking plums, tomatoes and zucchini daily ATM - kids are inhaling the plums and toms, only leaving me the zucchinis to cook with!! ;D
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How gorgeous! They must taste so good Astarra.
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We planted 6 plants of lettuce and it is flourishing but what is also flourishing with it is the amount of slugs :o
Any advice on how to keep slugs away (organic, don't want to use chemicals) ?
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sand or crushed egg shells (TM is good for that!!) around the perimeter of your garden, they won't cross it :)
And to get rid of the ones that are already there, a spray of water and crushed garlic (another job for TM!!)
Hope that helps
Pickings from my garden over the weekend include plums, apples, blueberries, zucchinis, spring onion and tomatoes!
pic attached of some of the fruit - have frozen most of the blueberries :)
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Thanks Astarra, will try that, does the crushed garlic have any effect on the plants?
I was planning to make a mixture for the caterpillars which has garlic in it but wasn't sure, have never tried it before...
BTW, Love your garden produce!!!! :)
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Your garden is going really well astarra.
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Another good slug / snail repellent is used coffee grounds (if you don't have your own, your local cafe will be happy to give you plenty). Apparently the coffee has the effect of a heart attack on the pests - I don't know if that's true or not, but it does seem to be an effective protection for your plants.
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Fantastic looking produce astarra 8)
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Beer in a plastic dish set into the soil also works. They die happy. Coffee grounds are also a good soil conditioner.
Astarra, lovely harvest.
I spent an hour in the veggie garden, weeding and watering. Lovely stress free activists. Picked Kohlrabi, carrots, tomatoes, small purple cabbage, kale and parsley. Tomorrow will pick a very large bunch of lettuce.
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Great bounty from the garden Astarra.
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Thank you so much Chookie and Cuilidh, will be trying these, I remember my mom putting tea powder after making tea and crushed egg shells into flower pots, probably it had the same effect of conditioning and pest control... Strange how we forget things :D
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Yes, often the old ways are the good ways - especially now when we are all so aware of the destruction all the chemicals are causing to our environment, natural remedies are always worth trying.
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Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but wanted to share (proud :o ) .... My pullets started laying on Friday!! ;D ;D
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Wonderful news Astarra.I bet the girls are happy too :)
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Astarra, perfect timing as my chooks have just gone off the lay for Easter.
Today picked silver beet, beans, carrots, tomatoes, parsley, Zuchinni, and kale. Still lots of onions, basil, rhubarb, lemons, limes.
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What is the size of your new garden, Chookie?
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That's exciting Astarra.
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What is the size of your new garden, Chookie?
Massive. I will try and post a photo. Ral and I have been discussing raised beds as the ones at Cherokee are so successful.
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I will try and post a photo.
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Sorry, can't do.
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Sorry, can't do.
Thanks for trying.
I had imagined that your new garden would be considerably smaller than Cherokee, but it doesn't sound like it.
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Thanks anyway Chookie. We can use our imaginations.
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Massive. I will try and post a photo. Ral and I have been discussing raised beds as the ones at Cherokee are so successful.
It sounds as though you have a plan already Chookie.Will you be able to grow the same fruits and vegetables that you grow at Cherokee? or is the climate different?
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The climate is much the same.
The 5 acres at Invermay was originally a commercial Rose nursery. I really enjoy growing veggies without sprays.
We are discussing how to go about making raised beds.
We are considering
Wicking beds, probably about $500/800 all up. Each bed the size of a potato crate.
Colour bond tank like beds. $300 plus $200 for compost type soil. Slightly larger area than above.
Sleeper type sides, like Cherokee beds, but have to use timber that has not been treated with chemicals. About same price as above.
Then I am tempted to try building some beds from Straw bales, $ 5 each by 6. As there is plenty of space , this is possible but each bed would only last 1 year. Probably, $150 per bed. 1/2 size of above.
We will see.
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You have lots of choice Chookie. The straw bales seems a lot of work to replace each year but worth a try ;)
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All the options sound good. I wonder if straw bale may be the best way to go for the first year or so whilst you settle down and take the time to make a final decision about where you want to put the more permanent beds. Also, the straw will rot down and can be re-used as mulch or tossed into your compost bin.
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DS1 did straw bales for his veggies this year and it was very successful.
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So many options Chookie but I'm sure they will be a success whatever method you go with.
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One of our visitors for lunch today is a great gardener. I talked to her about the options and she started her veggie garden with hay bales. She said these are better than straw.
We had beautiful rain nearly all day today.
Has been too hot until today to have a good look around.
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GC picked these today.
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How wonderful it is to be able to pick your own fruit and vegetavpbles from your garden.
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Nice haul Chookie.
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Looks mouth-watering and delicious, Chookie. Nothing like fresh from your own garden.
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The GC just love picking the veggies. Unfortunately not much fruit this year.
We have been without power for 3 hours now. Missing TMX and all electric devices. Thank goodness we have gas.
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We don't realise how much we use the power until it is off. I hate having to go round and reset all the clocks, microwave etc. Chookie those vegetables look magnificent.
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Great fresh produce Chookie.A testament to your green fingers ;)
I hate it when we have power cuts.We seem to get a fair few where we live.DH bought a potable generator to get over the problem.
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We have a generator but use it mainly for camping. Even then I won't let DH put it on as it is so beautiful and quiet. We have used it at home once when we had no power for about 15 hours. So that the neighbours wouldn't mind the noise we plugged their fridges in as well.
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May I ask advice please. My "flowering carpet" roses have white powdery coating - especially near the base of the plants. Some plants are worse than others. What is eating my plants and what can I do about it? I have tried white oil without much success.
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Does this help Courton. http://m.yates.com.au/problem-solver/problems/powdery-mildew-on-rose/
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Judy to the rescue.
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Sorry not much help here. Sounds like wooly aphids.
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Thanks Judy. It does sound like it. But the only difference is that mine appears near the bottom of the plants and not near the buds. Oh dear.
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Have you spoken to your local nursery about the problem Courton?
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I'd do that. I've found the rose nursery here ( or any that sells roses) are very helpful.
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I plan to do this. I just panicked when I noticed it a few days ago. The weather in Sydney has been very humid and hot... breeding ground according to the link provided by Judy.
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I have been keenly interested in wicking beds since I first read about them here but today came across this article (http://www.baag.com.au/wicking-beds/?utm_source=phplist248&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=BAAG+Garden+Club+Newsletter+April+2016)from Bulleen Art and Garden, a big nursery in Melbourne, now I am not too sure. For those who have wicking beds, what do you think?
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Marina, my computer is play up so I can't open the link.
But a general comment about our experience with wicking beds.
We are developing a new veggie garden at Invermay and I am not making wicking beds.
We have a variety of raised garden beds at Cherokee and the one most successful is a Colour Bond raised bed ,( corrugated iron), from Bunnings.
We built 2 wicking beds in old large potato boxes. The veggies grown in them didn't do any better than those grown in the various other raised gardens. In fact, didn't do as well.
The wicking beds are aimed at saving water and time watering. This proved not to be an issue for us as the new raised beds all had drip lines attached. I drip for 2 hours every 2 or 3 days , if there has been no rain. An occasional hosing with bore water was also applied when it was very hot, to all beds.
I filled the well at the bottom of the wicking beds twice during Summer.
Because of the expense and labour involved it is important to get it right to suit your needs.
I may put a timer on the new beds at Invermay as we have both town and tank water
Ral is having 3 corrugated iron beds made to suit our special requirements of space and height for Invermay.
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I have been keenly interested in wicking beds since I first read about them here but today came across this article (http://www.baag.com.au/wicking-beds/?utm_source=phplist248&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=BAAG+Garden+Club+Newsletter+April+2016)from Bulleen Art and Garden, a big nursery in Melbourne, now I am not too sure. For those who have wicking beds, what do you think?
I just read the article you posted and agree with everything it and Chookie said, however for what and when we grow we still love our wicking beds.
We have had excellent success with tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, squash, lettuces, eggplant, basil. We have not done very well with carrots, pumpkin, brassicas or corn. We are still learning. We did a direct comparison with neighbours and we yielded at least double the amount of tomatoes and our water consumption was considerably lower.
We have designed our wicking beds in such a way to allow full drainage and an adjustable water level so that the roots are not always soaked and the stagnant waiter can be drained. Not using them over Winter also helps dry them out. We replenish manure/mushroom compost before planting each year.
We are in Canberra so very cool over winter and very hot in summer. We only grow from Spring to Autumn. We are lazy gardeners and forget to water often ☺ However, just like the article states wicking beds are not for all crops- when we finally complete our third bed it won't be wicking so that we can grow other crops.
Sent from my GT-N7105T using Tapatalk
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I tried to post a picture but our beds are made from the Birdies corrugated iron beds available from Bunnings ☺
Sent from my GT-N7105T using Tapatalk
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My brother at Bungendore ( 45 km East of Canberra) grows heaps of stuff but hasn't wicking beds.
Jamberie I can't help my curiosity. When it says sent from my GT-N7105T, what is that please?
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My brother at Bungendore ( 45 km East of Canberra) grows heaps of stuff but hasn't wicking beds.
Jamberie I can't help my curiosity. When it says sent from my GT-N7105T, what is that please?
I didn't realise my posts did that Cookie, I'll have to try to change my settings. I'm using my phone, it's a Samsung Note ☺
Sent from my GT-N7105T using Tapatalk
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No worries about it Jamberie. I was curious as to what it was.
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Thanks for that Jam. You are obviously managing your gardens well. We are establishing 3 new raised beds. Today will do the drip plumbing and planting. Am having problems posting photo.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Thanks for that Jam. You are obviously managing your gardens well. We are establishing 3 new raised beds. Today will do the drip plumbing and planting. Am having problems posting photo.
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Finally got it. ,!
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Thanks for that Jam. You are obviously managing your gardens well. We are establishing 3 new raised beds. Today will do the drip plumbing and planting. Am having problems posting photo.
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Thanks Chookie, I'm not sure that we manage them too well, but it works for us. Your new garden beds are looking amazing! What a fantastic area!
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A great start to your new vegie patch Chookie, a good height for your backs too. What a lovely area you have to set up the way you want.
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Chookie your new garden beds are certainly ready and waiting.
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Judy the area was already set up. We have just added the raised garden beds. The property was originally a commercial Rose Nursery.
Jam, if you are getting fresh veggies, you are doing a great job.
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Chookie, your garden beds look good. I like that you don't have to bend down to them.
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The garden beds look good Chookie. 8) Lots of fun ahead deciding what to grow in each one. ;)
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CC, one will be just for garlic.
Ral spent the day putting it all together while I rushed around like a mother hen making sure all was ok.
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CC, one will be just for garlic.
Ral spent the day putting it all together while I rushed around like a mother hen making sure all was ok.
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CC, one will be just for garlic.
That's going to be wonderful Chookie. :)
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I showed DH the photo of Ral and his commented was......."can I have a fancy shed like that?"
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I showed DH the photo of Ral and his commented was......."can I have a fancy shed like that?"
LOL.
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It looks as if he is going to be kept out of mischief for some time Chookie.
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Cookie, just let him move into kitchen. ,!
Today I planted Broad Beans and Snow Peas.
Will bring lettuce seedlings back from Cherokee. One bed planted.
We are still eating beans, silver beet, artichokes, parsley, basil and kale from Cherokee.
Today swapped lemons, seeds and sweet chilli sauce for Raspberry jam and green tomato sauce.
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Tip, I let one lettuce go to seed and the bend the top over so it is touching the ground. This produces hundreds of seedlings. Most are given away.
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Tip, I let one lettuce go to seed and the bend the top over so it is touching the ground. This produces hundreds of seedlings. Most are given away.
I love that tip!! Thanks Chookie
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What a great idea Chookie. I've never seen a lettuce going to seed!
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Tip, I let one lettuce go to seed and the bend the top over so it is touching the ground. This produces hundreds of seedlings. Most are given away.
Awesome tip chookie, thanks :D
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Looks like Ral is playing with black fittings, just like I do every day..
Hope the drip system works. :)
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It is a month since I posted a photo of my raised beds.
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It is a month since I posted a photo of my raised beds.
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Looks amazing acw
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I hope your veggie garden rewards you for all the work you've put into it Chookie.
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Great looking gardens Chookie.
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Your raised beds are looking fabulous Chookie. 8)
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They look great, Chookie.
Now we just need to see the hen run with the lovely fresh concrete!!
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Ok to chook run.
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Chook run in the making.
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Chook run in the making.
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We have to wait a week for it to set up. Will paint the wood at back and the shed wall on left.
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It looks HUGE - luxury accommodation for your girls!
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Another great project in progress Chookie.
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The concreter was a very nice person. Said he would happily come back to do any work we required for another roast lunch. He did a terrific job.
We have bought a Chicken house from Bunnings and Ral will assemble it next week. We will have to get some new girls as the old ones are over 2 years old.
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5 star accommodation Chookie :)
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Great tip with the lettuce seedlings, thanks. That is going to be a luxe mansion for your girls Chookie.
I have just splashed out on a new home for my three girls. They will soon be in a large moveable pen that is fully enclosed and fox proof. Had enough of the wild birds (especially the "flying cane toad") Indian Mynas and as well as pigeons eating all the chook food. The food I buy is now $50 bag, up from $35 bag a year or two ago :o Some birds were even laying in the chookhouse >:( Hope the girls like their new home!
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A movable pen is a great idea. I would love one.
I will probably lose my three girls soon as my neighbour only leaves them with me for a couple of months, until they are big / old enough to go in with his older chooks. I am starting to train one to help me with my weeding - she is very good - I start pulling the running roots up and she gets in there and scratches around to find more - I am sure she has no idea she is doing exactly what I want her to do!
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Djinni, your girls will soon settle into their lovely new home. Fox proof is so important and also to keep the wild birds out with their worms and lice.
Marina, the Chookies are very social. Nice to get one to help you.
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We don't have to worry about foxes here thankfully, and do love having chooks 8)
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I have been trying to unsuccessfully trying to dry some beans for seeds for next season. You are supposed to leave on bush to dry but the season is too short here.
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I have been trying to unsuccessfully trying to dry some beans for seeds for next season. You are supposed to leave on bush to dry but the season is too short here.
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Sorry about poor photo.
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Are they flat beans Chookie?
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I don't know Judy. People give mw seeds and I plant them. These were pretty spectacular on the bush.
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Judy, I have taken a photo for you of a lettuce plant that has gone to seed. I wasn't aware of the tip to bend the top over.
Should I do that now, or leave it a little longer?
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LOL Sue, it looks like a weed. :D
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ES, bend it over now. Or you can pull it out and lay it on the soil.
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Thanks
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I bought some radish tape to plant. This is a paper strip with seeds inside it. You lay it on the earth and cover with a thin layer of earth. It is double the price of a packet of seeds at $4. Don't think I would bother again.
We have some very attractive gum trees at Invermay and Ral has collected some seeds and is going to see if he can grow some.
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DH went off with 2 buckets yesterday, and picked..
Avocados, lemons, lemonades, mandarins. Now we have 4 big bowls of fruit to eat.
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That is terrific Obbie
Our Cumquat tree is so loaded we need to prop up the branches.
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It must be wonderful picking produce from your own trees girls.
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It must be wonderful picking produce from your own trees girls.
Yes it is Judy.
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DS bought a Kumquat bush and us trying to germinate seeds from the fruit.He also had sown different tomato seeds and herbs.He now us talking of getting a greenhouse ??? He bid for one on EBay because it was local and a cheap starting bid.He lost out on it by £1 ;D
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CC, we have only been successful with citrus trees since we planted them near the stone wall.
That is a shame that DS missed the hot house.
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Fingers crossed another one will come up.
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Has DS always been interested in the garden Denise or is this a new interest he's developed? So close to the winning bid, I bet he was disappointed.
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Has DS always been interested in the garden Denise or is this a new interest he's developed? So close to the winning bid, I bet he was disappointed.
It's a new interest Judy.He can't buy certain veg here in the UK to use in his cooking so he decided to get the seed and grow them. :)
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I'm just waiting for some comfrey plants to arrive for one of my "gardens" (I use the word gardens very loosely here). Also just got some mushroom compost so will put that into our raised bed and try to get something tasty growing over winter, but I don't always have a lot of luck because we are not always able to care for the plants, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.
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Marina, you could plant peas and broad beans now. Tough and like the cold. Comfrey good on compost.
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Yes, broad beans are one of my favourites. We only need 3 - 4 plants to keep us going through the late winter / early spring. Funnily enough, I have never grown peas ... but perhaps I might have a go with sweet peas this year because it is almost time to plant them (they are a 'plant on the shortest day' plant, aren't they?)
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from our fruit trees yesterday
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What do you do with all your limes Robyn? That would be the hardest fruit to use up for me. I sometimes buy a couple just in case I need them but I rarely do.
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Obbie, what a lovely collection. When you live in a cold climate like we do, it is great to see what people in warm and tropical climates can grow.
Marina, love Sweet peas.
Will start picking the Cumquats next week to make jam and jelly.
I will be out raking up the last of Autumn leaves today. Will add to compost.
Yesterday ate home grown Silverbeet and potatoes with our lunch. Added some of last years garlic to the turkey broth.
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Juice the lemons and limes Judy.
:) good for cocktails ;D ;D
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Robyn, you are so lucky to have your own fruit growing.
I buy limes when they are cheap and freeze the juice in little containers to use in curry pastes, curries etc.
We have a lovely big lemon tree outside our bedroom window.
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Obbie, that's a lovely selection of fruit. We have never had a lemon tree in any of the houses we have lived in. I did try growing one once but it died so now I get them from friends.
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I have another big bush lemon tree, that I grew by mistake from the one I had at work. We transplanted that one to home, and it died. :(
But I had juiced lots of lemons from it, and threw the seeds in the garden near our deck, and it grew. :)
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Lucky you Robyn, has it fruited yet or is it still too small?
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not yet Judy, but its quite tall.
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Fantastic selection of fruits Robyn. I'm very jealous.
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We have been having frosts at Invermay but the veggies keep growing, slowly.
Mushrooms are growing everywhere but we will not eat them although I am sure they are the real thing.
It is nice to be able to work outside as it isn't too wet or too hot.
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It seems to be a particularly good wild mushroom season this year, Chookie. We have masses growing around our place at the moment as well but, like you, I'm not willing to try them! It would be interesting to go on one of the courses that are available so that you an identify what is safe and what is not, I am sure the wild ones would be much tastier than the commercially grown ones.
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We have been growing quite a few veggies in our veggie patch, but struggling with maintaining them.
Firstly, due to my health reasons and secondly because we want to go completely organic. Initially we had a lot of slugs which I got rid of with all of your lovely suggestions, but now we have a lot of caterpillars and white flies...
Hubby got a yates organic mix to get rid of them, but not sure how effective it will be, what do you all do to get rid of the white flies and caterpillars? They are eating away all the spinach and okra plants :(
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Thermilover, a garlic spray is organic and might work.
With the white butterflies , I throw a bird net over the cabbages and Kale. Nothing much eats silver beet.
Nice to be organic.
Here we have a lot of frosts. A local commercial plant grower told me to cover the peas when in flower, with a light grade shade cloth.
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Thanks Chookie, will try spraying garlic again if it gets worse.. and also the bird net for kale and veggies :)
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Bought the shade cloth today. Light grade, $10 a meter. I think that is expensive but as we have had 4 heavy frosts in 4 days, think it might be essential.
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we picked another bucket of passion fruit off the vine.
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What are you going to do with all those passionfruit, Robyn?
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maybe passionfruit and lemon curd Marina.
Kids love passionfruit too.
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It seems to be a particularly good wild mushroom season this year, Chookie. We have masses growing around our place at the moment as well but, like you, I'm not willing to try them! It would be interesting to go on one of the courses that are available so that you an identify what is safe and what is not, I am sure the wild ones would be much tastier than the commercially grown ones.
We've had heaps of mushrooms growing under the trampoline this year - & we do eat them -yummy!!! (I did ask an old farmer if they were edible first tho, and his answer was "if you are not going to eat them, I will") :D :D
Can't beat free food!!! ;)
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It seems to be a particularly good wild mushroom season this year, Chookie. We have masses growing around our place at the moment as well but, like you, I'm not willing to try them! It would be interesting to go on one of the courses that are available so that you an identify what is safe and what is not, I am sure the wild ones would be much tastier than the commercially grown ones.
We've had heaps of mushrooms growing under the trampoline this year - & we do eat them -yummy!!! (I did ask an old farmer if they were edible first tho, and his answer was "if you are not going to eat them, I will") :D :D
Can't beat free food!!! ;)
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Small pick from new garden at Invermay.
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Lovely looking fresh veg Chookie 8)
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4 days away at Cherokee and this is what our new garden at Invermay provided. Mushrooms still coming.
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4 days away at Cherokee and this is what our new garden at Invermay provided. Mushrooms still coming.
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Looking good, Chookie. Hope the open day went well.
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Wonderful produce Chookie 8)
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Our radishes have just poked their leaves through.
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Marina, we have had 2 people who have been interested but we are not holding our breath.
It was lovely and sunny while we had people through.
Cookie, the radishes are one of the few things that we can grow in our cool climate, during Winter.
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Lovely home grown produce Chookie.
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Chookie, your produce looks wonderful!!!
Hubby has sowed so many new seeds, he has planted kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, radish and tomatoes.
I am not sure if anyone had this issue before but we always end up with split radishes :(
I have read online that it could be a result of difference in soil conditions, i.e. too dry to wet, but any advice would help..
The radishes are sooo easy to grow but hate it when I pick them and they are split :(
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I picked the last of my bok choi last week and am now getting enough salad leaves to see us through a couple of meals. One of my cauliflowers looks enthusiastic, not so sure about the others, though ... perhaps they are waiting to see how the enthusiastic one gets on before they decide whether they will take off or not!!
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Don't know about the split radishes. Sorry.
I can hardly believe this but I picked some asparagus yesterday.
Still picking about a cup of button mushrooms a day. Having a kale and mushroom omelet for dinner.
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Took some photos of veggie garden at Invermay. I am going to put a photo journal together so I can remember what I planted and when.
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Took some photos of veggie garden at Invermay. I am going to put a photo journal together so I can remember what I planted and when.
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We had stir fried veggies today. All from veggie garden.
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This is half the garden. The covers are because the birds have been pulling some of the seedlings out.
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It's looking really good Chookie. You and Ral have certainly been busy.
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Wonderful photos Chookie.It all looks so lush. :)
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A typical Ral & Chookie veggie garden - no matter where you go Chookie you sure do make a magnificent produce market for yourselves.
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Thanks Judy. We try to eat something from the veggie garden every day.
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Spent a lovely 2 hours in the garden today.
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Spent a lovely 2 hours in the garden today.
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This is what I gathered.
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What type of beans are the flat ones please Chookie? They look interesting.
The few tomatoes we had growing aren't enjoying the heat much. Even my parsley is turning up its toes. My basil is happy as it is between and under the front roses. We do have another pineapple coming.
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Spent a lovely 2 hours in the garden today.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170305/fd0a272d357d0ed68d0615558fa8d782.jpg)
This is what I gathered.
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And more!
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Great picking Chookie. Today at the nursing home I was given Gala apples by one relative visiting and some tomatoes by someone else. I always appreciate home grown fruit and veg.
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Fabulous fresh produce Chookie 8)
It must be interesting watching a pineapple grow Cookie. :)
I appreciate fresh garden produce from friends too Judy. :)
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This weekend I got the last of my greengage plums, nashi pears, packham pears and some golden delicious applies. Not all exactly ripe, but I wanted to pick them before the birds got them.
My neighbours gave me tomatoes, basil, capsicums, green beans, zucchini and cucumber so I gave them fruit in return.
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A nice swap for you both Marina.
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Wow Marina. That is great. We have fruit trees at Invermay but they have not been looked after. Hope next year after pruning and feeding we may get some apricots.
No spray or snail killer on the veggies.
About to pick some rhubarb.
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we picked 2 huge bunches of bananas on Sunday, handing them out to friends and customers.
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My garden is not going so well now :(
Still getting lots of capsicums, jalapenos, habaneros etc and tomatoes tho :)
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Astarra, that all sounds very good to me. Do you like chillies?
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Astarra, may I ask a question. My DH loves chillies, whilst he likes the heat he really loves the taste of fresh chilli as well but no one seems able to suggest a chilli that is both tasty and has some heat - every chilli we check out refers to the heat, but none seem to refer to taste. As you sound like you may be a knowledgeable chilli lover, do you have any suggestions or ideas on what we should look for to keep my man happy?
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Astarra, may I ask a question. My DH loves chillies, whilst he likes the heat he really loves the taste of fresh chilli as well but no one seems able to suggest a chilli that is both tasty and has some heat - every chilli we check out refers to the heat, but none seem to refer to taste. As you sound like you may be a knowledgeable chilli lover, do you have any suggestions or ideas on what we should look for to keep my man happy?
We use heaps of different chillis here..... I'll go and do a taste test in the garden and come back to you!!!! ......
(must say the home grown ones are always much tastier than supermarket ones)
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I'm growing radish for the first time and the seedlings need thinning out.I was wandering whether I could eat the leaves rather than throw them away?
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Yes you can eat the leaves. CC , they are very peppery. I would spread them and add to a green salad.
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Thanks Chookie. :-* :-*
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Yes, you can eat the leaves, we do in salads. I have heaps in my vege garden at the moment.
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It is so cold here that I am starting the lettuce seedlings inside. We have a heated box and I may have to use this. Last spring I had great success with Little Gem lettuce. They are small and make 2 meals or if left to grow become tall and leaves can be removed as needed.
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Will have to look into gem lettuce.
Is it time to plant them now Chookie? Our weather has been beautiful the last few days but still chilly early morning.
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Michele they are a cold weather veggie. Probably great for now in your climate.
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Yesterday spent most of the day in the veggie garden. First day for ages that it hasn't rained.
I Now have growing broad beans, snow peas, silverbeet, kale, 2 cabbages, celery, Celeriac, green onions, chives and garlic chives, mint, French tarragon
I also have 4 sad looking citrus trees. 1 each of blue berry and black currant and raspberry canes.
I have a very healthy Fennel bush, ( don't like the bulb very much). 4 artichoke bushes, which I grow for green feed for the chooks.
Had to take the hedge clippers to the parsley.
Too cold to plant beans and tomatoes, these will have to wait another 2 months as we are still getting frosts and will be until mid November.
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It sounds as if you will become totally self-sufficient in your veggie garden Chookie, you're going great guns there.
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That sounds wonderful Chookie.
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You are growing wonderful produce Chookie.
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Although it. was windy today, I was able to spend time in the garden.
We brought over from Cherokee all the garden furniture. Mostly pots. We have been taking our time in deciding where to place them. Ral spent the day building the base for the big antique fountain that will go in from of the house. I planted 9 cabbage seedlings that I bought for a dollar at the Creswick Farmers Market.
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Started my seeds indoors 11 days ago..... now looking like this:
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My goodness your seeds germinated quickly Astarra.
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Looking good Astarra. What are they?
I couldn't resist buying a tomato plant, knew I shouldn't. Poor thing looks sick even though I have it inside.
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Lots of planting out to do soon astarra.
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They look great Astarra. Our garden stays pretty much the same. I bought a Margarite(?) Daisy at Aldi on Wednesday and planted it by the roses. It has copped wind galore so I hope it survives.
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We have two raised vegetable garden beds , which I weeded the other weekend . So today we shovelled sheep manure from under the shed , bagged it up and ready to go in the vegetable bed . Really would love to make a huge vegetable garden .
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I remember getting manure from under the shearing shed K Atie. We used to use a small shovel, crawl under and fill a bag, then drag it out.
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I would love to get my hands on some good, clean, sheep or horse manure, but these days you just can't be sure when the animals were last wormed or, worse, given antibiotics "as a matter of course" the effects of both would ruin the garden.
Speaking of which, Chookie, do you know if the mushroom compost people are likely to be at Woodend market this weekend?
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Marina, don't know about the mushroom girls and Woodend. They no longer go to the Creswick market. I can send you their phone number if you are interested.
Can't wait for the Asparagus to pop it heads through.
Sheep manure is just great for the veggies. The horse manure I only put on the flowers as I'm not sure if the horses have been medicated. Mostly I use chook litter mixed with compost and worm juice on the seedlings.
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It is hard work but large shovel and DS under shed with a cut down large flat plastic tray helps , recycled seed bags ! Too windy yesterday to do much outside .
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Looking good Astarra. What are they?.
There are:
beans (3 color mix + stringless pioneer)
zucchini (blackjack and a striped variety which I can't remember the name of)
cucumber (sweet and striped)
snow peas
oregano + chives
lettuce
pansy, marigold and nasturtiums
tomatoes (salad mix, valentino, tigerella, cheery ripe)
capsicum (7 color mix and mini sweet mix)
jalapenos
watermelon (sugarbaby)
pumpkin (Kent [which apparently don't grow in Tas so we'll see]and buttercup)
and lady in the snow apple seeds .... which have yet to come up
My goodness your seeds germinated quickly Astarra.
I'll say they did - by day 5 they were already up :) I couldn't believe it!!!
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Thanks Astarra. Very good mix there.
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Marina, don't know about the mushroom girls and Woodend. They no longer go to the Creswick market. I can send you their phone number if you are interested.
Thanks, Chookie, but I think I'll let it go for now. It's not that important really, as I probably wouldn't have time to do anything about it anyway ... it was just a thought!
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plenty of horse manure here.
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Topped up my raised bed with mushroom compost, sheep manure, bio char and lucerne. Will try to plant something out in a week or so and hope that I don' t kill it. I found one self sown lettuce seedling which I have rescued and re-planted.
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Marina that sounds like a good mix. Don’t you just love those self sown seedlings.
We apparently get quite a lot of late frosts in Ballarat so looks like the end of November for the tomatoes.
Our lovely gardener is coming once a week at the moment. She is doing the heavy weeding. She says she loves it, amazing.
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There has been an odd seedling growing in the potting mix in with my potatoes, so yesterday I put in it's own pot to see what grows. I hope it isn't a cucumber, I don't like them and they don't like me.
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Mab, sounds interesting. May be a pumpkin.
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There has been an odd seedling growing in the potting mix in with my potatoes, so yesterday I put in it's own pot to see what grows. I hope it isn't a cucumber, I don't like them and they don't like me.
LOL You will have to let us all know what it turns into Margaret.
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I'm hoping it will be a pumpkin or maybe a zucchini. :)
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Interesting mab :)
I have a something plant growing in with my garlic .... in a container ??? Have no idea how it got there
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Love there little free plants. Found some self seeded parsley today.
Baby artichokes picked today. Have only ever had those in the jar. Reading up how to prepare them.
Bought 4 tomato plants today. Won’t be planting them out until mid November.
Have started picking snow peas and the broad beans are covered in flowers.
Planted out a dwarfed Bay tree today and looking for a good hot spot for a fig tree.
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Just a small harvest today.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171025/dde58b76caf7087a50a5c5eb1a94556e.jpg)
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impressive Chookie.
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Wonderful produce Chookie 8)
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Gave a neighbour some eggs and she gave me some seedlings.
Gave a SD loaf to our gardener and she brought Ral some honey from a neighbour.
Love this cashless economy.
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Gave a neighbour some eggs and she gave me some seedlings.
Gave a SD loaf to our gardener and she brought Ral some honey from a neighbour.
Love this cashless economy.
It's a lovely way to live, isn't it, sharing between friends and neighbours. I think it brings communities closer together.
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It sounds like a good deal to me Chookie. The City of Ballarat certainly suits your lifestyle.
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We have a friend with a big garden so I swap sewing and mending for vegetables. Also fresh fish if DS has been out fishing.
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It all sounds perfect.
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Nice to see swapping is alive and well.
No tax, no GST and builds friends and communities.
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Our two small vegetable patches had another work over today . DS and I added some soil to top them up , we forked them over so many times to mix it all together and we added sheep manure . Finally we are getting closer to planting out the vegetable seedlings. The soil was a little to sandy thus the amount of fork work needed. A bee decided my hair was a plant , it got into my hair and buzzed like crazy , DS & DD came running to see a mad woman screaming . DD managed to pull it out with a clump of my hair ! All good .
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I had a giggle at the vision that created for me K Atie. I'm glad it all turned out well.
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Scary stuff Katie, thank goodness the children were there to come to your rescue.
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The kids thought the best way to help was scruff my hair ... It was funny afterwards . We found a few frogs in the veggie patch soil . Now it's Sunday waiting to here DS tell DD what project is for today .
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Katie, not nice.
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My veggie garden is now producing enough daily for us to eat with dinner each night.... and looks to be ramping up its production ;D
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That's wonderful Astarra. We had some beans producing well but the few very hot days have stopped that. We do have some snake beans coming on that love the heat though.
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Insane, a lot of green thumbs here. I'm planning to have a vertical herb garden.
Vertical gardens are a great idea. We are hoping to start renovations next year and are planning on building some as well
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Vertical gardens look great.
Lots of selfseed toms everywhere.
I saved bean seeds for the first time last year. Planted some this year and thought they might not be successful so put in double, they all came up. !
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I love them too but have enough to look after already. If I lived in a small unit with little outdoor area I would definitely use vertical gardens.
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Katie, I have just read about your adventure with the bee.
The people who delivered our hive told us to wear no perfume and no dark coloured clothes when we are near the hive.
I got up early and weeded 3 raised beds. Harvested potatoes, spinach, garlic and lettuce. Will go out again when it cools off.
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Thank you Chookie I will keep that in mind . Just went out to water the lettuce , growing quickly rocket has already flowering oh well suppose if I nib off the flowers it will still be good . DH will have salad for his harvest sandwiches .
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Chookie, I know this is a silly question but is it the right time to harvest garlic? DS & I planted a couple of plants in June, his have died right down and mine have fallen over but are still a bit green. Neither of us have ever planted garlic before.
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Mab, I usually plant garlic on shortest day and harvest on longest day.
A local commercial grower said I should be planting at Easter and harvesting now.
If the tops have dried off I would dig it up.
If the tops are green I would leave for another week.
You know those seed heads on the garlic? I save them and stuff inside a chicken when roasting.
Hope this helps.
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I harvested my garlic a couple of weeks back, seemed too early but tops were all died back etc.....glad I did it as they were perfect :) May have been because they were in pots and we've had a hotter than usual spring and summer so far ???
I then planted eggplant into two of the pots and a capsicum plant into each of the others :)
Still harvesting zucchini, snow peas and beans daily, everything seems to be growing faster than we can keep up with....for lunch today we had spinach, snow peas, purple beans, nasturtium flowers and tomatoes all from the garden with our chicken keivs :)
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Astarra, you are certainly doing well out of your garden. Congratulations.
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Great harvest Astarra.
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My first pick of veggies from my little garden
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Nice Mab. The ones you grow yourself are the very best.
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Astarra that sounds delicious and Margaret yours looks delicious. We have a few snake beans in at the moment as they love the heat. My peanuts are looking good too, I expect them to flower soon.
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Good looking produce Margaret 8)
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A nice variety there Mab. Nothing like home grown vegies.
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Well done Mab. They look lovely.
Yesterday Ral and I picked a bucket of Cherry Plums, 1/2 bucket of white peaches and a punnet of Mulberries. I have cooked the plumbs and will put them through the Mouli to make pulp and then add berrries to make jam.
Probably make peach and pineapple jam from some of the peaches and also dry some.
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Chookie do you have fruit fly there?
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Chookie do you have fruit fly there?
Cookie, no fruit fly. Lots of white butterflies. Lots of parrots who love the peaches.
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I'm not having much luck with cherry tomatoes this year - I got an idea from Better Homes and Garden where you plant 2 different coloured tomatoes in a hanging basket and it serves as a Christmas decoration for the patio. Maybe the pot is too small.
The pumpkin vine has a few small pumpkins on it.
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It looks healthy enough though Michele.
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Michele, yes the pot maybe too small. Once a week I give my pots a drink of liquid manure. On the whole I do better with plants in the ground.
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Thanks Chookie. Do you make your own liquid manure from the chooks? Would there be something I can buy from a nursery? What brand would you recommend?
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This is a photo of my peanuts growing. A couple have had flowers but they only last a couple of days and I missed them.
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Is this your first try with peanuts Cookie? How long do they take until it is time to harvest them?
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Love the idea of growing peanuts. More info please!
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That’s different cookie. I’ve never seen a peanut plant before.
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We have grown peanuts before but it was many years ago. Last year I bought some raw peanuts but we ate them before I planted them! They need heat and humidity to grow and I planted them in December. You just plant raw peanuts about 2cm deep. We had almost 100% germination. Apparently they form the roots within a day or two. About 4 weeks later they have yellow flowers which only last a couple of days, then where the flower was they send a peg down into the soil and this is where the peanuts form.
They have to be dried out completely. This can be done naturally or by roasting. If any get mouldy they have to be thrown away as it is bad for you.
I will try to get a photo of a flower ( when the rain stops!) and then the peg that goes into the ground. It's great fun
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Very interesting Cookie. The only things I know about Peanuts is Jimmy Carter made his fortune growing them and peanut butter tastes delicious. ;D
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Agree with CC, Cookie that is very interesting. Thanks.
I am worried that my tomatoes will not survive the heat next Thursday and Friday.
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I was intrigued by your peanuts picture Cookie. The family farm where I grew up in central Queensland was in a peanut growing area. Your bush sounds different though. I remember lots of little yellow flowers on the bushes at our farm and the peanuts grew in a bunch under a bush. That variety was called Virginia Bunch for that reason I guess. Sadly we didn't get rich because all the peanuts grown had to be sold to the then Peanut Marketing Board who set the price they would pay, and then paid the grower in instalments, if my long term memory is correct :-)) Not sure if such practices would be allowed today.
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Until very recently WA had a Potato Marketing board that did that Gayle! It was disbanded less than 12 months ago.
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Came home to find our best red apple tree with cores only left !! The birds are devouring all the fruit trees . Sad , the trees are so big you could not get a net over them . Have to work on getting netting for next year . The kids think I have lost it when I squirted them , the birds , with the hose . Never have they done this before , will be sad that we have no pears but no way am I travelling hours in this heat to try and get netting . Seen it on the internet but knowing my luck I would get the wrong one . They are green rosellas , lorikeets !
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We hardly get any fruit off our trees - the birds generally get to them before they are ripe
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K Atie how disappointing for you.
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Katie, the parrots are very destructive.
We covered just one branch of the Peach tree and did get some peaches. We picked the Apricots before they were ripe. There were so many Cherry Plums it didn’t matter. The parrots are pecking little holes in the green apples.
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Reading this makes me extra thankful to live down here in Tassie - our fruit trees get mainly left alone - the odd piece of fruit may get a bird peck it or a grub invade it, but in general, we get to eat the fruit our trees produce. :)
I can't begin to understand the devastation you ladies get :'( Your fruit :'(
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We don't grow any fruit trees here as you have to constantly spray for fruit fly or your fruit is destroyed completely.
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Our olive tree is laden this year. I'm not sure if there will be many left after the Corellas have finished. They are fascinating to watch, I don't know how they can eat them as they are so very bitter. We usually pick up 1/2-3/4 bucket each day that they drop or knock off. Lucky we hadn't planned to process any this year.
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The parrots eat the green apples. I pick up the ones that they knock off. Don’t use any that have been pecked.
The veggie garden is in full production. Will take a photo tomorrow.
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We just had a man from down the street and round the corner ask if he could buy our olives. Of course we said no, he could have them. They are just turning so now is the time to process them. It would be a pity if they went to waste.
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We just had a man from down the street and round the corner ask if he could buy our olives. Of course we said no, he could have them. They are just turning so now is the time to process them. It would be a pity if they went to waste.
That is very generous of you Cookie. Hope he give you some preserved ones back.
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I agree wholeheartedly cookie, you don’t want them so why waste them. I’m sure he will give you a jar back. Very neighbourly of you.
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We just had a man from down the street and round the corner ask if he could buy our olives. Of course we said no, he could have them. They are just turning so now is the time to process them. It would be a pity if they went to waste.
Very kind of you Cookie.
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Took some early morning photos of veggie garden.
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That's a very productive looking garden Chookie.
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Fantastic Chookie. I wonder how the new owners at Cherokee are enjoying the garden beds there.
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Looks great Chookie
I've just been out in mine - we had 2inches of rain in 24hrs last week - and all my tomatoes have split :'(
Well the cheery tomatoes and the solantato ones haven't, but all my bigger variety ones have. :'( :'(
Guess I'll be making tomato paste or something this afternoon ;)
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What a fabulous garden Chookie.
That's sad Astarra, but yummy homemade tomato paste or sauce is always good.
We have to do major renovations to the Googgenheim (chookhouse) today. Something (hate to think what) had managed to eat/break through heavy plastic mesh, dig under the wall of the Goog, then past some more mesh and I think get in. All the chooks are fine though. The mesh was all pinned down. You can see it in the bottom left of the before photo. Since it definitely wasn't me or a chook, it has no business in the Googgenheim. So today we put in a new metal mesh floor that extends beyond the walls. It means the chookies can't scratch in the Goog, but they don't spend much time in there anyway during the day. Also means they should be safe and sound at night. Before and after shots. PS the auto solar door is awesome!
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Lovely Chook house, Djinni. We can’t let our Chooks out unless we are with them. Too many foxes.
Astarra, there is always come things to contend with in the garden. Tomato sauce sounds good.
Judy, I try not to think about the garden at Cherokee and put all my energy into my new one.
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This is the veggie garden we inherited at Invermay. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180303/7302f8ad88328d63d70f2e28261d9dc5.jpg)
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This is what it looks like now. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180303/59daef23432684f14d65bfc54ac2b22a.jpg)
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You’ve put a lot of work into your new garden beds Chookie, well done to both of you.
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A great deal of work has gone into your lovely veggie garden Chookie. It looks brilliant and I love the big pumpkin.
Astarra that is horrid with the split tomatoes but on the other hand you will score some tomato products.
Gayle your poor chooks. I don't like to think what tried to get to them.
The people who took some of our olives dropped some in they had done previously from someone else's olives. They are Italian and seem lovely. The method they use seems quick so I may give it a try.
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Terrific photos of your garden Chookie.
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We don't have a full veggie garden, but always have fresh lettuce, beans, spring onions, and capsicums growing! You can really taste the difference!
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Alisonjones, that is great. Even if you can grow a little parsley on your window sill it is really nice to add to a meal.
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Alisonjones, that is great. Even if you can grow a little parsley on your window sill it is really nice to add to a meal.
If only I could grow parsley I would be happy. No matter what I do it simply does not grow for me :( . However, I have a plan ..... (this may, or may not, be commented on again in the future!)
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Many, many and even more years ago I was told that if you plant parsley you will become pregnant!
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Many, many and even more years ago I was told that if you plant parsley you will become pregnant!
OMG, I am going to pull out all the parsley. It is even growing in the pebbles.
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LOL Chookie.
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LOL Chookie.
Many, many and even more years ago I was told that if you plant parsley you will become pregnant!
OMG, I am going to pull out all the parsley. It is even growing in the pebbles.
Maybe it's as well my parsley has died ... I think I will cancel my plan!!
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Mine seems to seed and then the new ones come up, so hope I’m safe. 😀😀
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I just picked heaps of passionfruit :D
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Yum ... passionfruit. Many years ago I used to make passionfruit butter for scones, it was lovely. Last weekend I prepared my smallest bed for winter and mulched it over, hopefully by spring I will find something, other than parsley, to plant in there!
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Many, many and even more years ago I was told that if you plant parsley you will become pregnant!
Eeeeekkk..... I've planned two while packets of parsley seeds :o
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:) :) :)
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Astarra, dig it over immediately. :D
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LOL Chookie
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Many, many and even more years ago I was told that if you plant parsley you will become pregnant!
Eeeeekkk..... I've planned two while packets of parsley seeds :o
LOL 😂😂
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Just don't buy parsley seedlings and plant them or then you will have twins ;)
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Just don't buy parsley seedlings and plant them or then you will have twins ;)
ROFL Everyone has been warned!!!
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Just don't buy parsley seedlings and plant them or then you will have twins ;)
Well I did that today. I would make history if I had twins at my age LOL
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LOL
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made a fruit salad to eat for breakie, and realized all was from our own trees. passion-fruit, lemons, mandarins, bananas. :)
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That's great Robyn.
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Wow Obbie, that’s terrific. I paid $6 for 1/2 a small Paw Paw
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We've started growing fresh basil, perfect for pesto and so much cheaper and easier than buying it in bunches!!
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I love having basil growing. It seems to run up to seed quickly, but I let it go and then the seeds come up for the next year.
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When gardening today I found a Tarragon plant alive that I planted up in a pot last year. Usually it’s too cold for the herb but unbelievably it survived outside through our ghastly winter.
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DH planted basil for me yesterday, we have paw paw trees too.
DD was cracking macadamia nuts last night too. :D
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Do you have a lot of macadamia trees Robyn?
DH trimmed our basil this morning and some of the olive tree as the bin goes tomorrow.
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I bought a special madacamia nut cracker on a trip to FNQ years ago along with a bag of nuts. Haven’t used it since as down here I only buy the nut already shelled. Here’s a picture of it, they’re a very hard nut to crack but this does the job beautifully. It’s name is B.O.N.K. - Bart’s original nut kracker LOL.
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Love it Judy, especially the name. Years ago you couldn’t buy nuts already shelled. We used to use a hammer, but often all we got was nut fragments mixed with shell!
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I have one huge macadamia tree Cookie.
Its huge. I have about 1 1/2 10 litre buckets ready to crack. :)
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Delicious Robyn. Do you make anything special or just eat them?
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Obbie, you lucky ducky.
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we just eat them, sometime roast them in the oven with salt.
Or make a macadamia brittle with toffee.
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Weeded my two sad looking vegetable garden beds . Found some silver beet .
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K Atie, tough stuff that silver beet. Kale is also a survivor.I’ve got Little Gem lettuce under plastic domes. Radishes growing slowly. Lots of Spinach. All in raised beds.
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I've just got a few broad beans in my vege garden. Waiting for a chance to establish a herb garden - at the moment I've only got thyme, oregano (or marjoram - I am not sure of the difference!) and parsley for it but there will be space for more so I will have to give it some thought.
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Marina, I love my herbs. As well as in the garden I have a pot just outside the door. Very handy.
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Marina, I have a herb big pot, on my front deck, near the kitchen, so handy.
Plenty of bananas on our trees at the moment.
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Bananas wow that would be great . Do they tast different to commercial ones ?
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When we (eventually) get this renovation done here in Melbourne we will be incorporating a green wall and I will be pushing for herbs in that as well.
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Great idea to have a green wall.
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I guess that isn’t a wall painted green! A herb wall possibly? It sounds wonderful. My parsley and basil grow under the roses and rosemary, oregano and thyme try to take over a garden bed out the side of the house.
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Yes the bananas taste so good, we have a few varieties, and sugar bananas, and plantains that you use for cooking.
Lots of herbs, dill, Chinese five herb, mint growing wild.
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For those of us in Australia, Four Corners tomorrow night on ABC is featuring Monsanto telling us all how good glyphosate is and undoubtedly trying to tell us that it does no harm to the earth at all.
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Monsanto are wicked Marina. They retain the right to all their GM modified seed. So if a farmer is growing a GM modified crop (not sure why they would) they must buy their seed fresh from Monsanto each year. I have heard a few nasty stories about them. I'm not sure if they are true or not, but you never know.
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I agree with you, Cookie, I could go on at length about what I think about this company but I won't .. I'll only get angry!
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We have stopped using Roundup as it does nasty things to the bees. We have never used it in the veggie garden. No sure how you stop these very big companies.
This morning we did a tour of the kitchen garden at the Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld. Will post some photos. Amazing. Totally organic.
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We picked another pineapple last week. It was beautiful and sweet. We have pulled out nearly all the plants we had as they take up to 2 years to fruit and ripen.
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We have stopped using Roundup as it does nasty things to the bees. We have never used it in the veggie garden. No sure how you stop these very big companies.
This morning we did a tour of the kitchen garden at the Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld. Will post some photos. Amazing. Totally organic.
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We have stopped using Roundup as it does nasty things to the bees. We have never used it in the veggie garden. No sure how you stop these very big companies.
This morning we did a tour of the kitchen garden at the Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld. Will post some photos. Amazing. Totally organic.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181008/f53846369dc5daa5f0a0489fc75d84c4.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181009/2f5e06ee663e2cd8ff4f533e130ce0b5.jpg)
They grow some of their Strawberries in these wooden pallets. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181009/d58ced89dc4d823447aafb2d7f139329.jpg)
Quince tree in blossom.
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What a lovely garden. I love the pallets used for strawberries, I think I may have to show DH.
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Exactly what I was going to say cookie, about the pallets that is.
I’ve never seen a quince tree, what a lovely dense tree it is Chookie.
Did they give you anything out of the kitchen garden?
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Judy, they had several of these Quince trees around the garden. Lovely.
My photos don’t do justice to what was there.
During our stay we ate several things from the garden with our meals and could taste herbs as we went. They couldn’t afford to offer cuttings or plants as the size of the groups is so large at the weekends they have to be limited. There were only 6 in our group but 30 at the weekends.
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It sounds really lovely. My brother had a quince tree at his tree change house but he pulled it out. [emoji2(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181010/b79f4e8417b990627a59db27a3cc3966.jpg)2]
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Cookie, that is lovely.
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A nice specimen cookie, was it worth the 2 year wait?
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Yes Judy. Just like the pineapples in Qld, really sweet. If we buy them over here they aren't so nice.
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Your garden is beautiful Cookie. 8)
The pineapple is magnificent Cookie. I’ve never seen one growing.Only bought them from the supermarket.
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I hadn't seen them growing either until I went to Queensland.
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The first time I saw pineapples growing was at the Big Pineapple during the little train trip around their fruit plantation in the early 90’s. Until then I didn’t know they grew on low bushes!
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The first time I saw pineapples growing was at the Big Pineapple during the little train trip around their fruit plantation in the early 90’s. Until then I didn’t know they grew on low bushes!
I was the same, Judy, before I saw my first pineapple growing (although I don't think I gave it much thought) I am sure I always imagined they grew in a tree of some sort, sort of like a coconut palm.
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The Bee man is coming today to check on the honey. Hope there is enough to extract. Even if there is not enough to extract he is bringing a jar of honey and I am giving him a SD loaf.
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Wow amazing growing your own Pinapple . Chookie the photos are great , like others the strawberry growing idea would be great , the Quince tree looks big must be old . We have bees in our old chimney top the bees are well settled in unfortunately as not able to get the honey up there and the bee men are not around they generally say send the council, so the bees remain my worry is on a very hot day they swam .
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I'd love a hive in the back yard. Unfortunately DH has had a few bad reactions to bees and other stinging creatures. It is improving but I wouldn't want to get rid of him!!!
K Atie how is the knee?
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When we read that you’ve had some hives delivered cookie, we will be very suspicious LOL
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Knee is getting better hoping to do more physo this weekend , DD has managed this week at school .
6 Rhode red hens arrived, 14 weeks old they are very easly scared. DD and DS spent some time with then after school .
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Our bee man rescues hives, KAtie. If you want his name let me know. He said ours are lovely bees, very passive. They are carefully placed so they have good access to their hive and not where we go. He and his wife recently held a seminar in Ballarat and 270 attended.
I am collecting banana skins and egg shells to plant beneath my tomato plants. Can’t plant them before Cup Day.
Should have Broad Beans soon. Peas are a bit slow. Need to plant climbing beans soon.
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When we read that you’ve had some hives delivered cookie, we will be very suspicious LOL
Love it Judy.
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Thank you Chookie . DS spent hours cleaning out the chook shead and clearing branches of dead trees around the garden while DH pushes them over with the tractor .
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K Atie, nice to have that help.
Did plant tomato seedlings. Taking a risk with the weather. Also some strange seedless Zuchinni seedlings.
One bed weeded, planted up and mulched. 2 more to go.
Beautiful rain overnight but still lots of wind.
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DH has been picking the first of our tomatoes. These are little cherry tomatoes and taste so sweet.
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Lovely.
The brown capsicum I bought had a capsicum on it, but before it turned brown a jolly crow pecked it off. It has more flowers on it now and DH is going to put some netting round it.
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The birds have started picking our fruit for us too!
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Such helpful creatures. 😄😄😄😄😄😄
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We have so many plums that the birds can eat as many as they want.
However we covered our White Peach tree with netting. We also have a lot of small Apples. I think the bess were very busy.
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we have been picking lots of mangos, passionfruit, and lychess.
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DH brought me a Dragon Fruit plant yesterday. I am thrilled. I just have to learn how to plant it and look after it. Robyn do you have any growing at your place?
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We have so many plums that the birds can eat as many as they want.
However we covered our White Peach tree with netting. We also have a lot of small Apples. I think the bees were very busy.
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It will intersting to watch your Dragon Fruit grow Cookie. 8)
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Wow Cookie. That is most unusual.
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Cookie I recently joined 2 gardening groups, they’re both great at answering these types of questions. 1) Australian Gardening Group. 2) The Succulent Library
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Are they online Judy? I will check them out.
How is your Mum?
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Yes go into Facebook and put the name into the search bar, you then ask to join the group.
Mum is great thanks cookie, she has now forgotten the recent loss.
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Picked a few of the only remaining fruit (plums) in our garden yesterday (the birds got everything else). They were lovely and sweet. I left most on the tree for our neighbour's Aunty Bev to make jam with. The only reason these plums survived was because we had netted them! The birds LOVE our garden.
I feel very sorry for the wildlife just now - we don't have a single bit of edible grass for them in our garden - even the weeds are dessicated and brown.
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The tomatoes are coming with a rush.
The birds are enjoying the Apples.
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I have been having a raw tomato on toast for breakfast.
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A lovely selection of tomatoes Chookie.
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Lovely tomato's Chookie. I to have been having toast goats cheese and home grown tomatoes , we have a few small ones and DM gave a few to us to other day , DH gobbles them as a snack .
DH planted small pumpkins and watermelon plants . We have a few pumpkins coming along. There is a watermelon the size of a large grapefruit cannot believe it .
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K Atie the pumpkins are great fun to watch. We have never grown Watermelon here.
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Golden nugget pumpkins the small ones . How can we grow watermelon is beyond me but lots of water and just brought a huge smile to DD .
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The tomatoes look good, Chookie.
I love seeing and hearing about what everyone has got growing in their gardens.
I recently prepared a herb bed, so far only one chilli plant in it, but it looks very healthy. Trying to decide what else to put in it. I use the term "pot" very loosley, it is actually one of those old concrete (or stone) twin trough washing tubs that used to be in every wash house until washing machines arrived on the scene.
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A nice selection of tomatoes Chookie. Our tomatoes are just about finished now.
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A perfect 'pot' Marina. It has a drainage hole and will be cooler being concrete.
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They make a great garden bed Marina,
Chookie my eldest DD and I love tomato on toast for breakfast.
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Lovely array of tomatoes Chookie.
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I’m very excited. My Dragon fruit has grown a branch and there are more coming. We also have another pineapple growing. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190306/acae771c26b69d333808b96c50b5a502.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190306/35a170c325a5562a2099ea7b5a3f18a8.jpg)
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Cookie, how exciting.
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Very exciting. Is that a baby pineapple developing near the base of the pineapple? The dragonfruit plant does not look at all like I had envisaged a dragonfruit plant to look like. I wonder how long it will be before it bares fruit.
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Interesting photos cookie, are you guaranteed to get fruit from the dragonfruit plant and how long will it take?
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I don't know if the Dragon fruit will have fruit. I hope it does.
The thing that looks like another pineapple is a new plant. Each plant only has one fruit and then it shoots out another plant and you chop the bit off that fruits.(after the fruit has ripened)
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Great to see the Dragon Fruit and Pineapple plants Cookie.
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We are about to decide what we might plant for Autumn.
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We are about to decide what we might plant for Autumn.
I'm off to the nursery tomorrow morning for that very same thing, Chookie.
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Marina, let us know what you decide.
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As well as our large veggie garden, this year we set up what we have called our Mediterranean Garden. In it we have grown tomatoes, ( Apollo), Zuchinni and Zinnias. It is easy to look after as everything is in pots. However they need watering every day and when it is very hot, twice a day.
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That looks very pretty Chookie.
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When I got to the nursery they were aerial watering the plants so I didn't linger very long because I couldnt get to the herbs, but at least I have made a start. Got some sweet basil, 2 x chives, thyme, lobelia, alyssium and violas. I had meant to get some marigolds as well, but forgot.
Love your Mediterranean garden, Chookie, it looks so inviting to just go and sit out there with a good book and relax.
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Looks lovely Chookie.
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What a lovely area for your potplants Chookie.
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I bought 3 different colours of Kale. Parsley, that I planted 2 different punnets of lettuce. And got a bit extravagant and bought this pot of lettuce. I have already picked some leaves to have with the flathead for dinner.
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190309/07442002858feb2ce9e9dedb85ce0d31.jpg)
I put it outside the front door.
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It looks very healthy Chookie, better than any I’ve tried to grow. I’ve given up trying to grow veggies, for me it’s easier to buy them.
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We do t grow a lot Judy. We don't really have the room. The dragon fruit had to go near the Beetroot and I had to pull some of the mad oregano out.
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Great looking Mediterranean garden Chookie.
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Picked some bursting open figs before the birds get them . A few pear shap tomartoes , a pear or two .
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I have a Fig tree that needs planting. It has a small fig on it.
K Atie, there is a recipe for a fig cake in the Age Good Food section. Looks lovely.
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Thank you Chookie I will look tomorrow, best idea as I may have eaten a few to many today.
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Vegetable garden needed to turn over a section and plant some spinach,done .
Have an old cement trough so topped it up with some Tomarto compost and planted Italian flat parsley seedlings in one section and basil seedlings in the other . They are near the two strawberry pots that seem to have one or two strawberries at a time . Never do they make it to the house . Watered them in and hope for the best .
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Picked these golden nugget pumpkins today , any idea how to cook them ?
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Found this online Katie, it might be useful for you.
Kept in a cool dry place this variety will keep for a couple of months, storage will also improve its flavour. Because they're small, Golden Nugget pumpkins can be roasted whole or halved. This variety is good pureed for soups, or diced, cooked and added to risottos or salads. Seeds of this variety can be collected during preparation and roasted in the oven, they have a delicious nutty flavor when just eaten plain or with a little salt. An old fashioned treatment for tapeworms involved fasting for a couple of day then eating a meal solely of pumpkin seeds, the roughage of which cleared the tapeworm out of the hosts system. The young shoots of the pumpkin vine itself can also be cooked and eaten.
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Not too sure about the tapeworm cure Judy. Does it clear out the tapeworm bits too?😄😄😄😄😄😄
K Atie how about stuffing them?
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LOL, it was just a bit of added info I thought Katie might get a laugh from cookie.
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Oh my gosh Judy could not stop laughing . Thank you .
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Long ago when I was at Uni we learned about tapeworms and their biology etc. it always fascinated me. Dad and I would discuss it at meal times and the rest of the family couldn’t eat their meal, we loved it and carried on even more. Poor Mum, I sometimes wonder how she coped with us all. 😀😀
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K Atie, well done. I have had lots of flowers but no pumpkins. I bought one at the Farmers Market. I am going to cut it in half and stuff it.
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We also have just eaten our first watermelon, I am amazed it’s small but delicious. There is another one growing . Photo later DD has the photo when cut in half so I’ll try to get it from her later .
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Thought I would say what I picked from the garden today . Fresh huge figs ,so sweet . Pear shaped cherry tomatoes, basil , parsley . 5 Golden nugget pumpkins . Eggs from the chooks . Very therapeutic.
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Sounds great Katie, well done on the harvest.
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Great harvest K Atie.
We are eating Silver beet, tomatoes red and green, parsley, chives, Zuchinni , lettuce and Apples. A friend brought us a bucket of Apples. I made RTE Apple muffins.
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I would scoop out the flesh, and stuff with a risotto. :)
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I’m not overly fond of eggplant but DD planted some and they are fruiting nicely. I did need to pollinate them. Does anyone have ideas for using them as they become ready please?
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There are lots of lovely recipes with eggplant, Cookie, the main thing is to make sure they are properly cooked otherwise they taste awful.
Some people like to pour salt onto them and leave them to drain for 30 minutes or so before rinsing and cooking, but I never do this and it doesn't seem to have any unpalatable effects. Also, I find they turn out better if they are chopped a little on the smaller side than large chunks, which take longer to cook.
The plant looks really healthy so the fruit should be good.
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Thanks Marina.
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Love eggplant here. Make a lovely smokey dip ( posted) and always use them in veggie lasagna. ( grilled or baked in slices first)
Cookie, you are so lucky to be able to grow them.
Went veggie shopping and couldn’t get over the price of everything. Will be eating out of the garden as much as possible. Have been given tomatoes, apples, a pumpkin, potatoes, and 2 bottles of tomato sauce.
We have Kale, silver beet, green toms, Rhubarb , lettuce, Zuchinni, and lots of herbs, lemons and limes.
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Thanks Chookie. We have very little room for growing things, but DD wanted to try these. Thanks for the ideas. Most of our block is house, with most of the outside paving with old cars on or car parts. We planned little garden as we hoped to spend most of our time travelling. This has been curtailed for the moment, due to MIL.
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Autumn is so dry this year . Collected eggs , picked a few tear drop tomatoes apples and parsley. They autumn leaves are on the ground the sun is still warming those lone tomatoes . My DH said would you plant vegetables at the moment and not water them , no . So his paddocks may not flower with crop if the rain does not come , rain Dance will be needed very soon for all .
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Keep smiling, katie - some rain is on its way ... according to the BOM!
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Here too Marina but I’ll believe it when I see it.
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Keep smiling, katie - some rain is on its way ... according to the BOM!
I'm sort of addicted to BOM. I'm always checking it.
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The veggies are loving the rain. Over an inch and a half in 2 days. Even the dam has increased.
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That's good news, Chookie.
How is your rainfall K Atie?
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gee that's' good Chookie. I still think of the rainfall in inches. It is going to be 27 here today but the nights are cold. I think rain is coming for the weekend.
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We got 12mls only , some got over 60 mls nearby ! At least it’s a start .
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K Atie, we often miss out.
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In Guildford, just out of Castlemaine, we are also in a rain shadow ... but we did manage 35 ml last week, fingers crossed for more.
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As an experiment, I have recently started trenching my compost directly into our vege garden instead of into the compost heap ... much to my surprise I now have several self seeding, thriving butternut plants growing in the garden .. one of them is even flowering. Sadly, I don't think they will come to anything as the winter frosts will kill them off, but they are fun while they last I think I might just cover them with bubble wrap to see if that protects them. ;)
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That sounds like fun Marina. We used to do it at our other house, but we got a bug in the ground from our potato peelings and had to sterilise it.
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So are you saying not to bury your potato peelings cookie?
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My Dad always did something similar, except he didn’t plant over the hole he buried the veggie waste in. He waited until the next year.
I am having more luck this year with my seedlings. Some Asian veggies are nearly ready to pick. Good friend told me today to let the healthiest one go to seed. There are no seedlings available in the shops.
I dug a small plot up today, with the help of the Chooks. Quite pleased with myself. I will transplant some seedlings that I have grown from seed.
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Bet they were in their element Chookie, how lovely that you can share a chore with the chooks.
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Judy, I hope all the insects that they ate add flavour to their eggs.
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Hopefully you will find out Chookie, I hope they do a better job tomorrow than they did today for you.
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Chookie maybe mine have stopped laying for awhile too , as only getting 3-4 . The chooks May know what is going also it is getting colder too . Siverbeet growing . Even some tomatoes from my late planting. Hope to get out today and water the herbs
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Chooks usually go off the lay about Easter.
Nice and mild in the garden today.
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Hope they lay more this year , rather depending on them .
Ok so what’s in our vegetable garden beds ? We have late tomarto s , they are just starting now .. may not ripen . Carrots a few , one smal kale plant , self seeded rocket that seems to flower before I pick it , silver beet seedlings that are growing slowly which is great , Brussel sprouts seedlings. A eggplant seedling, parsley in an old cement feeding trough and in a few pots one basil plant that looks like I better deal with it good if you could freeze it ! , two strawberry plants that have white new strawberries on it ! So small amount of veg .
If I could get seeds what do you think I should get ? Seedlings would be good if they posted, do not think that happens .
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K Atie with the basil you could make pesto and freeze it in ice-cube blocks. You can freeze basil, Google will tell you how.
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K Atie, buy pea seeds and Broad bean seeds. I have posted a recipe for a green tomato salad.
The broad beans are handy as you can eat the new green shoots, use the whole small beans like French beans and use the mature beans for falafel.
Peas, again use the tips in stir fry and the pods in soup.
Don’t know of anyone who will post seedlings.
You have a good mix of lots of veggies. For a family you need to sow more. You are lucky to have sheep as their manure makes excellent fertiliser. I throw all the veggie peelings into the chook shed. It mixes with their poo and when well rotted down makes good growing soil.
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Seedlings planted about a month ago. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200403/c0030decd185b6a4fecd9769187919be.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200403/e06ee16be8391b220339694c490d1c84.jpg)
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The garden is looking good, Chookie.
I think it is pretty hard to get vege seeds at the moment, sounds like there has been a run on them, like there was on toilet paper (sorry, that is almost a pun!) but Diggers or Eden Seeds may have some I don't know if you would have much luck at a nursery just now.
My self sown butternuts are still hanging in there (got several flowers on them) ... I don't know how much longer they will last - they are in a raised bed so I plan to peg some bubble wrap over them this weekend to see what happens next. I should also plant some seeds, but I don't think the compost I have been trenching into the bed has rotted down enough for that yet so I think I will just leave things as they are for now.
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We really don’t have a veggie garden. I have lots of baby basil plants come up, a brown capsicum growing, lots of peanuts growing and a couple of herbs.
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Cookie, I am surprised that there is room for what you have growing. I would love to grow peanuts. Bit cold here.
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Thank you Chookie , Lambery nursery was sendening them to a friend so I’ll get on to it today . Will check out green tomatoe salad too . Your veggie patch looks great . Basil is tiny so will enjoy it now .
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K Atie, I had forgotten about Lambley Nursery. What a terrific place. Not far from here. Their seeds are very good. Love to go and just walk around their lovely garden.
Also must make pesto with the Basil. As Judy says it does freeze very well. Can also dry it to use in pasta sauce.
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Go to few more seedlings, coloured silver beet and beetroot , will nurture these as quite cold mornings now .
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KAtie, my gardening neighbour said it is now too cold to plant seeds. Seedlings ok.
It is lovely in the garden these cool days. I am still picking Zuchinnis. The cherry tomatoes have ripened indoors.
Yesterday I picked the whole plant of sprouting broccoli . I chopped up the leaves and cooked them in a hot pan with mushrooms. No water. It will make a good pizza topping for vegetarian GD. The leaves were a bit spicy , like water cress.
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DH stole a bean from our Chinese neighbours (they are lovely) and decided to grow these. I don’t like them as a bean. Does anyone know what they are please and different ways we could eat them. They are frolific.
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Cookie, I think they are Snake beans. In Chinese cooking they are often cut into small pieces about the size of a pea.
GD is coming again today to help in the garden.
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Thanks Chookie. We also grow green snake beans which I enjoy.
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I would say they are snake beans as well, Cookie. Do they change colour when you cook them? I quite like them on the odd occasion when I buy them
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No, they stay purple. They have a very different taste to our green snake beans. DH really enjoys them and makes himself a salad from them.
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I love growing indoor sweet potatoes from a bit that is cut off the potato. Every time I do DH steals it and plants it in the garden. It has become a bit of a joke between us,. We have plants everywhere. Yesterday I decided to dig part of one plant up. We now have sweet potatoes everywhere, We still have lots of area to dig up.
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Great crop cookie.
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Yum, Cookie, they look great.
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Cookie Do you grow sweet potato like a carrot top inside ?
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Yes. Cut a pice off the bottom of the sweet potato and put it on top of a small jar or vase using toothpicks to stop it sinking in. It will shoot and then you break the shoots off and pop them in water as though they are flowers. They will grow roots over the next couple of weeks and you can plant them.
Next time you want to grow them just take bits from the plant and root them.
Sweet potatoes will only grow from a rooted cutting.
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Great harvest Cookie.
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Thank you Cookie that’s something new that I should have known .
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Made sweet potato crisps yesterday.
Planting climbing bean seeds today .
Been harvesting Snow peas.
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Picking purple sprouting broccoli, it’s thin and small heads but quiet nice .
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Garden finally taking off. Seedlings looking good even though we have had a couple of light frosts. The gardener helped me weed a massive garden bed. I have covered it with the cardboard from the oven boxes to discourage weeds until I’m ready to plant up.
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Picked the first green runner beans at the beach . Mum grew these every year with my DB . Cleaning out the kitchen cupboards here we found three new packets of bean shredders ! Each year DM would replace her bean shredder and when giving away masses of surplus beans give them a bean shredder ! Figs just ripening here too so we netted them . I have a few fig trees at home but no one will have watered them or the birds will have got them ! Also we witnessed a crow eating the cherry tomatoes and the just ripe Roma tomatoes. DB tried to chase it away with water! But I watched as it devoured six in a row ! Tied tin foil on to the tomatoes to see if that will stop it ! A little eggplant is growing too and some green peppers!
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K ATIE, that sounds very productive. Birds ate all our plums. Friends gave us plenty. First time I haven’t grown plenty of Zucchini. Again friends gave us several very large ones. We are picking French beans but the tomatoes are very slow to ripen.
Picked enough Mulberries to make jam and waiting for the Medlars to fully ripen. 4 pumpkins growing nicely and potatoes growing in compost bin.
Anything we can grow or swap is great as fresh fruit and veggies are very expensive.
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It all sounds lovely. We have parsley and sweet potatoes growing. We have some roses out the front and grass but most of the rest is paved, with cars or parts on it. All behind locked gates.
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Cookie, I can’t live without Parsley. Would love to grow Sweet Potatoes but not the right climate.
No homegrown Apples this year. Hope someone brings some so I can bottle them.
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What happened to the Apples Chookie . All the vegetables are in the beach garden , home is another story neglected oh well hopefully DS will help revamp it and we will benefit later. Looks like the tomatoes were been eaten by mouse or rat !! Honestly I saw my DB dog staring into the tomatoes, now I know why ,
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Birds ate the Apples. Tree too big to cover. We only managed to cover the Peach tree and Mulberry bushes. The birds don’t touch the Medlars.
The pumpkins are looking good. 4 nice ones. They take a lot of water.
Picked the last of the beans. Parsley growing well , as are all the herbs.
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ENORMOUS EXCITEMENT. I hadn't been out to this part of the garden for a couple of days and this morning DH called me and I have 3 flowers on my Dragon Fruit. I'm very excited about it. We were told that they only liked one upright and I was going to prune them back for next year. I'm amazed as with the dreadful heat they have produced flowers. Now I hope they produce fruit. Perhaps the heat etc stressed them and they thought they needed to reproduce.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220303/db840948ce500e5a6870428e45d9d2ac.jpg)
Another ready to come out.
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It’s obviously got something to do with the heat cookie, it’s beautiful and I can understand your excitement.
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That flower is amazing and just lifted my spirits. The colour too .
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Hope you get some fruit of it. The flower is quite spectacular.
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Wow Cookie. That is amazing.
Yesterday we covered most of our front flower bed with cardboard boxes. Will finish today and cover with sugarcane mulch. Hope we will get to Spring without too much weeding. We had saved the large box that the freezer came in as well as the fruit and veggie boxes.
Today I’m sowing seeds in trays. Lettuce, spinach , Chinese veggies.
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Cleaning out one raised garden bed. Digging in mulch and covering bed with brown paper. Poking holes in paper and in holes planting a spinach seedlings.
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Chookie we can probably drop a good load of large cardboard boxes off to you over Easter if you are still looking for some (we will come up to the house to off-load it, but, ever wary of the on-going COVID situation, it would be best if you two stayed indoors and we won't come in).
I have a devious reason for this as well because taking the run over to your place will give DH something to keep him occupied because he has to have an operation on his hand a couple of days before Easter and he will get severe cabin fever because he cannot get back to his tools and workbench for a week or two so I am looking for things to combat his frustration and keep him occupied.
However, if you have plenty of cardboard, please let me know as we can easily drop it all off at the recycling depot.
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Ooh that is not nice Marina. I had carpal tunnel on both my wrists at different times and hated being out of action for a while.
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Apparently DH's problem is common amongst the Scandinavian / Scottish / Irish nations ... I blame the Vikings, all that raping and pillaging is still showing up in our genes.
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Marina your DH might have to work in front of shop (receptionist perhaps?) so as not to be surrounded by all the work he could be doing out the back. Your customers will soon keep him busy talking.
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Marina, that is very good thinking for both us and DH. However , I would say we need boxes just to see you both, ( We don’t need anymore as Bunnings we’re more than generous.)
Then I thought, Picnic by dam !!! Very COVID safe. Then this won’t work as DS and family are coming to stay over Easter and School Holidays as they are again out of house due to Insurance renovations. 2 teenagers. Not good for other visitors.
I can understand your predicament with trying to keep a very active DH entertained/ distracted. Between now and Easter I will see if I can work out the logistics.
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Apparently DH's problem is common amongst the Scandinavian / Scottish / Irish nations ... I blame the Vikings, all that raping and pillaging is still showing up in our genes.
ROFL
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Chookie, sorry to be so late getting back to you. The cardboard is not important and it was just a thought, so not to worry. We will get together another time.
We netted three of our fruit trees earlier in the year so yesterday I removed the nets and stripped the pear tree - don't know what sort it is, but the pears are lovely; I should have done the plum tree last week, but didn't and there were heaps on that tree, but over ripe and only good for jam, so gave them to one of our customers who has a good friend who is a jam maker, so that took care of them and the third tree was a nashi pear, loads of fruit on that so desperately trying to find homes for them!. For the first time ever we had no coddling moth in any of the stone fruit - I am guessing a combination of having the hens out in the orchard and early netting.
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Well done on the netting and no coddling moth Marina.
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picked the last of cherry tomatoes, pulled the vines out . Amazingly eggplants are growing more each day but we haven’t yet picked them . 3 large Red peppers they look to good to pick. Have a bunch of baby green cherry tomatoes hopefully they will ripen .
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Marina and K ATIE, well done.
People keep dropping off fruit. Lemons, apples ( 4 different lots ) , kiwi fruit, raspberries. Between hospital visits and some very late nights, I’ve been making jam and jelly. Good therapy.
I’ve weeded the 3 raised garden beds and planted Chinese veggie seedlings. Covered with netting. Cherry Tom still ripening. Lots of parsley and onions. Carrots were sown too close together and are pushing out. Rhubarb has gone wild. Silver beet and Kale self sown.
I’m raging a war against the Supermarket prices and encouraging everyone to grow and swap excess fruit and veggies.
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Wow, you’re certainly keeping yourself busy Chookie. I would be overwhelmed with so much food being dropped into me let alone do all that cooking and gardening. I take my hat off to you.
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You are a star Chookie.
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well done Chookie . Home to my non existent vegetable garden , looks like I will have to start again . Tied up the pots and cleaned up the parsley looks so much better , watered the fruit trees . DH didn’t touch anything but never mind .
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The gardener coming for a full day to start on trimming the hedges. Window cleaner coming to quote .
I’m covering garden beds with cardboard and mulch as I clear each section of veggie garden. The raised beds need very little attention. Love them.
If time, will plant peas in veggie garden.
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I have been gifted a finger lime. I saw it on our local facebook gifting page this morning. I'm quite thrilled about it. Does anyone know anything about them please?
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Cookie, we have a finger lime bush. I think your climate would be better suited than ours. We keep a shade cloth over ours as protection from frost. It is growing quite well but no fruit. Very expensive to buy.
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Pulled out the tomato bushes yesterday. Will plant Chinese veggies.
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Stripped the last of our nashi pears a week ago and gave most of them away. Last weekend we stripped the olives and DH is putting them in brine and the quinces were the last to go - they are huge!
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Marina, a great harvest.
This is the first year that I’ve attempted to grow pumpkins. I think these are Queensland Blues.
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Chookie they look great . One year DH and DS planted a area out side garden of pumpkins we got lots and ate them for ages . Also they planted baby watermelons they too were delicious.
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The pumpkins look good. Seeing them reminded me of when we were young our neighbour's compost bin was right next to our fence and several times the seeds of pumpkins they tossed into the compost sprouted and "somehow" managed to make their way across the fence and into our garden ... how sad ... we felt 'obliged' to eat them and didn't regret a mouthful! I often think of planting a seed or two into our compost bin, perhaps one year I will.
Not sure about the watermelon, K Atie, we manage to eat our way through the odd wedge or two over summer, but perhaps we could manage baby ones.
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The pumpkins look good Chookie.
We are still getting a few tomatoes so will leave the bushes in for a little bit longer.
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Lovely pumpkins Chookie. I love watermelon and ate a great deal of it growing up. Dad grew them everywhere.
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They were amazingly juicy and I was very surprised . Parsley is doing well at the moment .
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Our climate isn’t the best for pumpkins or watermelons, so quite pleased with our little harvest. I grew these from Diggers seeds. I think they are Queensland Blues.
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We pulled out the last tomato bush yesterday.
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I am thinking it must be about time to put my garlic in and I am thinking about planting some broad beans as well. My neighbour has an abundance of silver beet seeds so he said he will sprinkle some over my vege patch for me.
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That sounds great Marina.
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The green tomatoes on the bench are ripening. The odd job man’s son, ( a lovely 14 year old) has been helping me in the veggie garden. He reminds me of an enthusiastic puppy.
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Wow, he sounds like fun then LOL.
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The green tomatoes on the bench are ripening. The odd job man’s son, ( a lovely 14 year old) has been helping me in the veggie garden. He reminds me of an enthusiastic puppy.
He is probably learning lots and having great fun Chookie.
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Chookie Great to have company in the vegetable garden , the mussel power is always appreciated.
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Have some vegetable seedlings waiting to be planted . But have an issue with the cats as they think it’s their larger kitty litter haven ! So not sure what to do . I had removed all evidence and put bay leaves everywhere .. that helps a little . I’ll have to start again . But realise that the task at hand is bigger . Maybe I’ll have to cover it up with something ( large netting and tubing to do a square frame !) from Bunnings . Any ideas .
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Is this helpful K Atie?
‘As a general rule, cats are sensitive when it comes to smells, but there are a few scents they hate that might just surprise you. They can't stand citrus and as much as you might love the smell of fresh herbs, cats hate rosemary and thyme. Banana and mustard are a big no-no too, as well as lavender and eucalyptus.’
Otherwise your idea of covering the area might be the only way around it. Good luck.
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Thank you Judy , I had done banana and bay leaves but will put some of those suggestions to use . Discovered a cover netting but have to order it , or make my own .