Sunday, October 31, 2010

Barrels of fun !!!!

WOO HOO !!!!!
Finally got to put the new barrels in....



4 were set up; 2 x Black Jack Zucchini, 1 for some bee attracting flowers & 1 for the Native Raspberry... Another 6 random flowering plants, including Marigolds, were among the beds....

Some of the seedlings are going great.... The Red Dutch Cabbage, Kohl Rabi & Tomatoes have all shot... 2 of the Eggplant are up.... No sign of the Passion fruit or Cape Gooseberries as of yet...
The Pumpkin in the background is being trained to go over the top of Bed #1 & out onto the lawn just in front of the bed if it survives...  The Tomatoes are going into this bed with a mix of basil & other plants in front of them...
The little cucumber at the front of the pic was self sown & doesn't look like it will be worthwhile saving so out it comes tomorrow... : ( »     .

We removed 1 Zucchini from Bed #1 then topped it & Bed # 4 up ready to plant out the new seedlings... Might need to hang some shade to shield the babies when they go into Bed #1 though... 
Left : We have another large Zucchini ready to be picked & stuffed.... Was going to do one this week but ended up making a huge batch of Tomato & Veggie sauce...
Right : We also found our first Eggplant, WOOO HOOO !!!!   

The Mutant Zuccumpkin hasn't  grown much this week....The vine has been attacked severely by powdery mildew but has been treated, so I am just hoping it can hang on until it is ready to be picked...
The Sugarloaf experiment ended this week.... 2 heads were harvested yesterday & are in the fridge ready for dinner tomorrow night....




I can now see the virtue of thinning out the Carrots while they are small.... They are starting to get powdery mildew in the centre, which I sprayed as soon as finding out... These little Dragon Carrots got steamed & went very well with the Roast Oink last night....




This weeks harvest....
Beetroot leaves,  Lettuce,  Zucchini, Shallots, Lemongrass, Baby Dragon Carrots, Kaffir Lime leaves, Strawberries, Beans, 3 eggs a day & Our 1 & only Wombok !!!
Rain....
18 mm this week.... Only had to fill up Bed # 5 this week... I think that is due to the vast amount of Carrots, Lettuce & Beetroot.... Bed # 1 also got a top up but it didn't take as much as it normally would...


That's about it for now....
Have a great one all !!!!!

: )»

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Hail....

Just had a bit of a hail storm with heavy rain as well... The rain was falling from all directions & we had to close all the windows.... Not something that we normally have to do even in the middle of the huge Summer storms we get... I think it lasted for about 15-20 Minutes....
Blue skies except for out the NE / Brisbane way...
The barrels I cut up this morning were empty before the downpour & are sitting under the eaves... They now have about 5cm of water in them.....








The poor pumpkins are the only veg not under the shade cloth  at copped it a bit.... The poor Kent seedling got hit a few times.... The leafy veg, like the Carrots & Beetroot, are laying down from the sheer volume of water that fell in such a small amount of time....
The cooks were safe in their pen & are dry yet slightly flighty.....



The Sun & Rainbow Lorikeets are out now!!!








Have a great one all....
: )»

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Thinning The Dragons....

Decided to to thin the Dragon carrots this morning as it is starting to look like a bamboo forest from a Jet Lee film in there.








There are enough to garnish tonight's salad but that's about it me thinks.



I am NOT a WABBIT !!! 

(Koo liked this shot)

 Got some great shots of a Sacred Kingfisher as well this morning.... I am really loving the new Camera....



That's about it Me thinks... Last nights was long enough....
Have a Great one all....
: )»

Monday, October 25, 2010

Another Garden !!!

Expanding the Farm....
On Saturday, Koo & I picked up an old bathtub from a Life Line "Mega" store to convert into a large Worm Farm.... It will live under the house where it will get full shade during Summer & some sun every day over Winter...  I am now keeping an eye out for 2 more, 1 for some Yabbies & 1 for Pacific Blue Eyes... We had a bathtub of  Blue Eyes at our last house but gave them to the neighbour as a parting gift...


New Seeds...
 On Thursday we got our seed delivery from Eden Seeds so have been out the back planing & planting....
We got
Chia
Cumin
Beetroot- Early Wonder
Eggplant- Udumalapet
Cabbage- Red Dutch
Cape Gooseberry- Golden Nugget
Carrot- Dragon
Kohl Rabi- White Vienna
Radish- French Breakfast


The Radish went straight in to some beds during the week, then on Sunday we sowed the Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Cape Gooseberry & Eggplant seeds in some seeding mix... The mix was made with 2 parts potting mix & 1 part Worm Castings.... Separating the Worms from the Castings was fiddly... Some little fingers came & gave me a hand which sped the process up...  : )»


Coffee at the Markets Dear ???

On Sunday we visited the the Ipswich Markets at the local show grounds....
We picked up,
a mix of Green & Purple Basil seedlings
5 bulbs of locally grown Purple Garlic (that shall be kept in a cool wardrobe until sowing time)
Rosemary, which we think is a  Tuscan Blue

 Native Raspberries.....
So happy about the Finding the Raspberries... I used to pick them wild on my Nans farm at Byabarra in NSW when I was but a Wee Tike.....  
**Does small Happy Dance**   
Also at the Markets I found a cheap supplier for the large blue Barrels.... At $15 cheaper Per Barrel, I think I shall be getting a few next weekend... 


WOO HOO !!!!  
 Looks like I will be setting up a Wetpot garden up the side of the house for the Cape Gooseberries, Native Raspberry & a couple of Eggplants... The reservoir shall be kept under the house where it will be close to the tap.....  I am also planing at least 2 more (Yep, I'm addicted) wicking barrels for the Veggie Plot... I will be planting out a Zucchini plant in each as they do take up a bit of space in the beds... Some Bee attracting flowers will go in with them as well.... I think there will be at least 1 more barrel dedicated just to flowering plants to help bring in some more bees to the plot as well as some randomly planted around the place...
Thanks for the help   :) (3O>< .......

 Update Shots....

Left : The Wombok have been replaced with some Silverbeet & the existing has rad a radical pruning but is bouncing back nicely..
Bed 3, Right : Beans, Beetroot & Sliverbeet are going great... The Eggplants have shot & Radishes have been planted.. 


Bed 7, Left : Turnips are going great guns & the last of the Climbing beans have shot after being sown again....
Bed 5, Right : Carrots are thriving, some of Lettuce has started to seed & the beetroot will be pulled over the next few weeks.. The sweet potato is trying its hardest to survive so we are going to train it to grow around the front of the bed........
Bed 4, Left :  The Eggplants are growing crazy her & look very Impressive... Only problem is, No Fruit.... We are trying to fertilise them ourselves so will just have to wait & see...
Bed 1, Right & Below :   The Kent pumpkins are looking healthy as is the Chilli.... The fruit appears to be double the size of last years which we can only put down to them being in the wicking beds....  I am saving this Marrow/Zucchini for dinner some time this week.... The last Stuffed Zucchini was so nice & I can't wait to do another...
Left : The Mutant Zuccumpkin has grown a little this week.... (right is from last week) I do fear for its health as the rest of the Butternut has been covered with Powdery mildew & I don't really want to risk infecting the new Kents popping up in the Pumpkin Bed...

 This weeks harvest....
Beetroot leaves, 3 Beetroot, lettuce,  Zucchini, Beans, last of the Kale, Silverbeet, 6 lemons,  A Strawberry, Kaffir Lime leaves, Mint & Shallots....
We also got  18/21 possible eggs due to Crows & 1 of the ladies going off the lay mid week........



 Have a Great one All......
: )»

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Sowing the Seeds....

The amount of feral Tomatoes that pop up everywhere (due to the worm castings that we use to fertilise new plants & seeds)  has forced me to sow out a few small trays just to make certain that what pops up are plants we want... 2 indeterminate varieties, "Amish Paste" & "Mortgage Lifter", will be going in Bed #2 once they shoot they will trained on a single wire that is connected to the brace on the shade frame... The other tray is "Panama Red" Passion Fruit... The vine on the back stairs needs to come down so we can paint it so these shall be planted on a frame next to the new shed when it goes in & next to the chook shed....


I also re-sowed the Carrot bed (Bed #6)  after a very poor showing from the last lot of "All Season" Carrots.... We only had 4 shoot from the lot planted about a month ago.... I went with a different variety this time, "Nantes 2"....
Yesterday I ordered 2 more lots of Carrots along with heaps of others from Eden Seeds.... Would post what I bought but have lost my list amongst the Girls school work.....


When mowing beside the garden on Sunday I came across these 2 self sown Pumpkins.... No idea how they got there ??!??!?!?!?
All the Kent seeds I planted last week have sprouted so hopefully we will get some this year.. They were planted at the sides of the beds so they can grow over the edge & not take up to much room in the beds themselves....

This Sugarloaf is a bit of an experiment.... We were leaving the stalks of harvested plants in the beds & picking the leaves for the Chooks.... It has now got about 6 little heads on it with 2 being big enough for a meal.... Took about as long as the main Cabbage for them to come on so not to certain if it is worth doing with every crop...





Last night the Chooks decided that they would throw a tanty over a mouse that had been caught in a "Humane" trap in their Pen... Its little feet on the tin was disturbing their slumber apparently.... When Moo went down to remove the cage she stumbled upon this little fella..... He was promptly removed away from the ever ravenous  Cooks & moved to B☼'s  Comfrey.... Its next to one of the filling pipes where a lot of frogs like to hang out....   

Have a Great one All !!!!

: )»

Monday, October 18, 2010

Spring Cleaning...

Not a lot of time spent in the garden this weekend other than Mowing the lawn... I spent Saturday cleaning out under the house so I can organise my tools/work area properly & doing a trip to the dump...
Sunday we collected a small garden shed that was given to us by B☼'s parents that they no longer need... It was an easy job to break it down but the fun will be deciphering my runes to reassemble it..... We will be using a borrowed cement mixer to lay a small slab for it to sit on & will be giving it a paint job so it can blend into the garden a bit better...
It will be big enough for the lawn mower & the hand tools as well as the Chook food...


A little door for feeding scraps directly into the Chook pen was installed... This will please our youngest as she found it rather frustrating to force food through the fence & wants to be able to put the scraps in all by herself...

Had a nice little smile moment today...
I was pruning the lateral shots from the Tomatoes & noticed that the little Mutant Zuccumpkin looks to have taken !!!!! **Does happy Dance **
Shall be interesting to see how big it gets as the Butternut is covered with Powdery Mildew despite the watered down Milk treatment it has been getting...

This weeks harvest....
Beetroot leaves,  lettuce,  Zucchini, Beans, Kale, Silverbeet,  & Last of the Honey Snap Peas/Cabbage...
We also got  3 eggs a day.....
Rain....
We have had a very wet week, 105mm,  & all the dams are overflowing... This is a good thing, For now.... I have heard that we can expect a fairly wet summer which could lead to the possibility of major flooding.... Hope it doesn't happen but will be prepared anyway...

Have a Great One all....
: )»