Spring time fun & Jobbies.....

Had a great weekend in the yard doing some jobbies, socialising with ADULTS & playing with a family heirloom that has been "lent" to me...

BBQ, Good Friends & Spuds...
   My farther has passed on custodianship of the family BBQ to us...  He built this BBQ for APEX outings before I was born (40 or a few less years ago) & it is still going strong with a few minor alterations like the tin side panels being replaced with Stainless steel & some Aluminium covers to keep the plate clean when stored & not in use... It had been out of service for the past 10 or so years as family gatherings had migrated to other relatives places so it needed a bit of TLC... The plate needed a bit of a touch to remove a bit of rust build up as well as replacing the regulator & lines just to be on the safe side... Not as flash as a newer model but we know it will last another 40 or so years if looked after.. I like that we can remove the burners & use them to boil the presure cooker (when we get one) for canning our produce in the near future...

    We got to use it for the first time on Saturday when we had friends visit for a bit of socialising...
   Was a great day & got a bit of help in the yard... We needed to harvest the 4 potato bags from around the side of the house as the stalks were all dying back so the young kids all got a go at digging through the soil to see what they could find... Wasn't the best yield but we are still learning with spuds... I think the mix we used was to free draining & it was a struggle to keep the water up to them...
    Also got a bit of a hand with the framework to finish off the AP site... Can set the fish tank & other grow beds up now... Thanks Guys & Girl's...
 

Fertilisers...
   We bought a couple of bags of fertiliser last week from Safe Fertilisers as we are starting to run low on the rock dust & have a few beds/barrels that need to be revitalised before they are plated out.. The last batch we got was an all rock dust blend but decided to try a "BFA Certified"  "Enviro Blend" this time..
CBM
Chicken manure, blood & bone, and minerals. This 100% organic blend provides the full
spectrum of macro and micro elements.
N 2%,  P 2%, K 0.4%, S 2000ppm, Ca 8%, Mg 2%,  Fe 1.4ppm, Mn 370ppm,  B250ppm,  
Cu 55ppm, Zn 120ppm, Co 10ppm, Mo 40ppm, Se 3ppm, C 20%, Si 5%
Not the most pleasant smelling blend but should help kick things on a bit... Will still be using the horse manure & worm castings as added organic matter to the beds/barrels, this is just to help add a few nutrients that were used up in the last crop or just not there...
The main crop of Beetroot is not preforming as well as the others planted out at the same time & it was suggested to us that it could be a boron deficiency so they will get a nice top dress of fertiliser too...

Harvesting & Planting out...
Have been picking a fair of  Kohlrabi, Carrots, Spring Onion & Mangle to turn into coleslaw lately & it has become a bit of a favourite... 4 bas of potatoes were also harvested (see picture above) as well as the garlic that is in the clip below... The stems went a bit soft on some & others had already dried out but were missed amongst the Onions so we though it best to harvest the lot..
The Silverbeet/Chard & other leafy greens are still being used to supplement the chooks diet.. They now look forward to their morning/evening treats & come running as soon as they see us in the patch...
    Below is a list of what was planted out last night to take advantage of the full moon...
Carrots, a  mix of Nantes (Johnsons seeds- organic) & Dragon (Eden seeds) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Mini Round (Diggers seed) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Heirloom mixed (Diggers seed ??) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Tomato, Broad Ripple Yellow currant (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
Tomato, Wapsipinicon Peach (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
All but the Nantes & Dragon Carrots were from the gift we received from from our You Tube gardener friend Watsamadoing last week... Thanks again :D»

Garden walk through Clip...
Bit of what was said above & other natterings...

Weather...
It will start to heat up here a bit by the weekend we are told, hitting about 29°C by Friday, so we are thinking about putting up some of the shade structure to try & stop some of the Broccoli from premature bolting... Will be trying to incorporate the mesh we got to try & keep the White Cabbage Moth/Butterflies from getting to the Brassicas & depositing their eggs...




Have a great one all...
: )»

Wednesday walk through & future plans...

Walkthrough...
Just a quick one as not a lot has happened this week due to the holidays which meant Visitors & Visiting...

On a sad note...
I think we may be pulling out Bed #5...
On a happier note, Wit is going to be replaced with an Aquaponics set up...

**Does happy dance**

Have been reading up on a lot of information on fish farming & Aquaponics as well as watching the multitude of videos available on the net... It will be good to grow some of our own protein... Due to local regulations meat Chickens are out of the questions... We are hoping to include the worms in the system as food as well as active participants within the grow beds... We purchased 3 IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) tanks to turn into Fish tanks & Grow beds... I wont be rushing the project due to upcoming nuptials but will be spending most of the honeymoon building the system... Maybe... If I'm allowed... 
I could Rabbit on about it for ages but shan't due to the fear of loosing my hairy noggin...

Have a great one all...
: )»

Wander through the patch...

Update Video...
 The Monday morning update video might become a regular occurrence to help us keep track on the gardens progress as a whole me thinks... If I'm too boring let me know & I shall try to incorporate a jig or square dance in the middle to liven it up...

Have a great week all....

: )»

The Secret Pumpkin... Shhh.....

Pumpkins...
Since last spring we have planted 2 x Butternut, 2 x Golden Nugget, 4 x Kent/Jap & had one HUGE Kent self sown pumpkin in the Patch in the backyard... All but the Self sown Kent were dismal failures... Will not even be bothering with the Butternuts again as this is about the 3rd time we have had no luck with them... The Golden Nuggets will have 1 more chance next season as we now understand a bit more about soil make up & Composting... We have 1 Kent growing in the front yard in a pile of Grass clippings that looks like it will be a success though...

Hand pollination...

Pumpkins are in the Cucurbit family which also includes Zucchini, Squash, Melons, Gourds, Luffas & Cucumbers.. They bear Imperfect flowers which means that they have male flowers (left) that produce pollen & female flowers (right) that are connected to the fruit...
Hand pollinating is as easy as pulling off the male flower, removing the petals to form a cup around the Stamen then upending it over the female flower allowing the pollen to fall onto the Stigma...We also like to lightly brush the Stamen on the Stigma just to make certain... The pollen then fertilises an ovule in the ovary of the flower which becomes a seed & starts the process of forming the tasty fruit surrounding it which completes the pollination process...  Other family members use a paint brush that is set aside for this purpose... We have found pollinating this way has a near 100% success rate...

We like to do the pollinating before 9am as that's when the heat starts to cause the flowers to close... The Shot on the left shows a flower we pollinated this morning & one that was done in the past few days...The Fruit on the right was missed so it has turned yellow & should drop off in the next day or so...
There are about 6 fruit that we a certain will mature & about another 5 or so that we will wait until they grow to the size of a softball before we will count them in the tally for the plant...

I haven't mentioned this vine in fear of Jinxing it to tell you the truth...
**Crosses fingers & Knocks on all available Wood**
We will be feeding it some fresh compost tea & removing a few bits of the die back around the main stem this weekend just to pamper it a bit...

Have a great one all....
: )»

Decision Day...

Decision Day...
Trying to work out today what plants are worth saving, pulling or just harvesting early... Due to the soil in some beds being so degraded we will be rehabilitating them by removing some soil then replacing it with the composted horse manure/worm casting blend from Wormtec... We are expecting delivery  in the next few weeks along with a Brix meter to monitor plant health...
 
Bed #1... The Purple cabbages will all be coming out this week to be turned into Coleslaw, rice paper wraps or stir fry... We did loose 3 during the week due to each of them being attacked by dozens of "silk" producing grubs... Such is... This bed will be totally stripped except for the Leeks, Shallots, Sage & a Kent Pumpkin at the far end... The bed will then be turned trough with fertiliser, cracker dust & compost blend then left until we organise some plants for it...

Bed #2...  Above are some shots of the "Rainbow" Chard we harvested the seed from this afternoon... The seed in the bucket will be sown into a fenced off section of the Chooks yard as fodder & the seed in the paper bag is for sharing & our ownn use...
    The Monster Pumpkin had one last big prune of the long leaders today to see if the smaller new ones will produce some female flowers that will hold onto the fertilised fruits... The Celery is getting the benefit of the doubt at the moment as is the Banana Chilli in this bed... We have/will be feeding them with Worm wee/Seasol along with some 5 in 1 fertiliser blended with Cracker dust & worm castings dug in to the soil in the gaps between plants... This bed will be reconditioned after the Celery has been harvested & a decision made on the Pumpkins...
    The 2 Square beds at the end of Bed #2 will have some Compost blend dug through it but am unsure of what will be going in there as of yet...Have been thinking about adding the Cape Gooseberries but shall just wait & see...
Bed #3...  The beans are still producing a few here & there but have lost their dark green colouring so I fear it is time to dig them through the bed...The Beetroot shall be removed & turned into a salad during the week... This bed will then have some soil removed & have some of the purchased compost blend as well as other fertilises added... The Eggplants at the end of the bed shall be left as they are producing more than we need in the soil as it is now...  
Bed #4... One of the the Eggplants from this bed has been removed due to the others that are producing elsewhere... The Cape Gooseberries are starting to pick up but are still being munched on buy the bugs so they got a Neeming this afternoon...... The soil around the plants in this bed will have some fertiliser & compost added... Asian greens & other quick leafy crops will be planted in here where space permits...
Bed #5...  This bed had Dragon carrots including one that was going to seed... Unfortunately it got pulled accidentally  as we were harvesting the other carrots & preparing the soil... We added 2/3 of a bag of 5 in 1, 1L of Cracker dust & 2cups of blood 'n' bone then dug it through the bed... 8 Bush Beans & a Thai Basil were planted on top of about 1½ cup of Worm castings... They are sharing the bed with 2 or 3 different types of feral chillies, a Purple Basil, & some Sweet potato's that have decided to re-establish themselves in the bed...


 Bed #6...  This bed we are still quite happy with... The carrots are forming nicely but wont be ready for a few more weeks & the Spring Onion thinnings are being used on a weekly basis... This bed is getting a regular feeding with Worm wee/Seasol ... 
 Bed #7... The Cucumber bed is going to be striped of plants & some of the soil removed so some compost, chook straw & 5 in 1 fertiliser can be added over the following weeks... I think it will be turned into the Snow pea bed with some Broccoli planted at the front...

 Bed #8... (formally the Tomato bed)  This bed is being left as is for the time being... Some Burpless Cucumber seedlings were planted along the trellis last weekend... They were planted into soil that had a good amount of 5 in1 dug through it.. A large handful of fresh Worm castings was placed at the base of the plants to help them settle in... This bed also contains some feral Ginger, 6 Capsicums, Sage, feral Sweet basil's & a few Orange Chillies... All but the Cucumbers & feral Ginger may get pulled yet so we can dig through a good amount of the Compost blend then plant out...


Bed #9...   (The small Pumpkin bed behind Lemon Tree) This garden has soil like Concrete !!! I only mixed 5 in 1 with the "premium" soil blend we bought when this bed was first filled... It does have a feral Eggplant growing but I am willing to sacrifice that & re do the soil in the bed so we can plant some Lemon Grass... I am also thinking about a Zucchinis in here as well but not certain about that yet...

The Spice barrels appear to be going alright even though the soil is rather compacted... New "sets" are popping up... I have been breaking  up the surface soil every few weeks & adding  liquid fertilisers...

The original Strawberry barrel that Koo planted has been mined out by ants... It needs to be dug up, plants relocated & the barrel recycled... I am considering resurrecting some old hydroponic grow tubes then  planting out the berries around the back stairs so they can be watered & tended daily... The new Strawberry barrel is doing ok...  The Pink  Strawberry is throwing heaps of runners so we will be sharing some with other family members once they have their gardens up & running...

The 2 Cape Gooseberry barrels were not doing well at all until Worm wee/Seasol was added on a regular basis... They are filled with the "dodgy" Nursery mix so they may end up planted in the 2 Square beds at the end of Bed #2 yet...


Horse Manure Compost...

This morning I made up a Compost blend using some pony poo, blood 'n' bone & Cracker dust... 2 drums were made up... 1 has roughly 40L of pony poo, 2 cups each of blood 'n' bone & Cracker dust with the other drum having 4 cups of blood 'n' bone & cracker dust... The ingredients were mixed well in the drums with some water then rolled around the back yard... They have been left in an up right position in an area of the yard that gets sun until 2pm... They shall get a mix with the garden fork & a roll around the yard every few days to help aerate the blend...
 Compost tea...
 I shall be looking into making some Compost tea but will get into that in another post once I have worked out how to rig up a system as I'm am going a "little bit fancy" with its construction... The aim is to brew a tea that will be teaming with bacterial life so it can be added to the garden to help unlock nutrients in the soil for the plants... I am wanting to do a bit more research before I start & am hoping to incorporate it with Moo's science unit...

Crocuses...

 

  Here are the Crocuses from the Front yard... They have all bloomed now & shall probably die back by tomorrow night but we shall enjoy them while they are here...
The Pumpkin growing from the lawn clippings in the front yard is a mystery yet we are hopeful they will do better than the plants out the back...

Have a great one all...

: )»

A few issues...

Pests !!!! 
We have been inundated by pests as I may have mentioned in the last post...

These bugs have been feasting on the Cape Gooseberries & require daily removal.. The little fellas on the right are rather squishy & when in a pack can devour a large leaf in under a day.. I have a feeling one is the offspring of the other.. One for the books me thinks...



The lady bugs (not the good kind) on left have been feasting on the cucumber & Eggplants.. They don't appear to be doing much damage but still get a spraying when we do.. The damage to the Sweet potato leaves is caused by mini Grasshoppers that are just everywhere after the rain.. They are a hardy plant & will bounce back.

Here are a few shots of leaves infested with the citrus leaf miner.. We gave the 2 limes a good pruning to rid them of the blighter's but have left the lemon for the time being... They only affect the new growth so we shall be spraying all new growth as it appears from now on...

Failed Crop...

We haven't been successful with any hand pollinated pumpkins as of yet...
I fertilise the females before 9:30 most days & have been supplementing the plant with sea weed & worm wee fertilisers on a weekly basis but the little fruit just wont "stick".. After doing so well with them last year it is a bit disappointing...

On a final brighter note, we have a bunch of Crocuses about to bloom  under Koo's window... Will be keeping an eye on the so as to get a good pic...

Have a great one all...
: )»

♫ It's Raining again.....♫

Mmmmm..... Very wet here....

That was from the large Thunder storm that came through Ipswich on Thursday the 16th of December... It freaked the Dog & Koo out a bit... The only damage to speak of was a branch from the neighbours tree damaging out TV antenna.... The same tree was kind enough to donate a branch to make garden stakes out of... Looks like the rain will be here until early to mid January so I don't think many major work will be occurring out the back for a while, only daily maintenance with a few seeds going in here & there...
: (»

 GRUBS !!!

The rain & the heat have been ideal conditions for the Cabbage Butterflies & their offspring... I have been out daily collecting the grubs for the Chooks & chasing the Butterflies around the patch with the lid from a bucket... At least neighbours are getting to have a laugh... : )»  
 The Radishes appear to be the favourite food with the Kohlrabi coming in second.. We also have Ants helping the Aphids get established onto a few Eggplants at the moment... It has been hard to keep up with the Neem spraying as the rain would just wash it off within 12hours & it needs a bit longer on the pest/plant to work it's magic...


 Gifts From the garden...

 The Panama Red Passion fruit have finally made an appearance... Looks like we will have more than enough for our needs as well as a few gifts for family & friends...
 The other surprise for us has been the Cucumbers... We have gotten about 10 off over the last few weeks & it looks like we will be getting at least 6 a week for the next few... Best result we have had from Cue's at this house... We have lost nearly all the other Cucurbits we have planted to powdery mildew except for the Cue's & a few Pumpkins that were all sown as seed... Don't think we will be buying seedlings from this family again...
Summer Beauties...

This is the Dragon fruit Cactus that lives on our fence line with the neighbours... Every Summer we get a few flushes of flowers but only 1 fruit has set in 7 or so years we have been here... Very spectacular...



Weekly Harvest...
Mini Roma Tomato's, Cucumbers, Chillies, Shallots, Radishes, Baby Carrots, Eggplants, Strawberries, Parsley, Basil, Sage, Thyme, Beans, Beetroot leaves, Silverbeet, & 3 eggs a day except for 1 when there were only 2...

Since I last posted on Friday the of December we have had 87mm of rain... Great for the gardens & water table but I think we may be in for another 1974 level flood event if it keeps up all through January as predicted by some...

Have a great one all !!!
: )»

Worms are GO !!!

 Worm "Kingdom"...

The Worms are in their new home...Had to remove a wardrobe to make some room first... It was dismantled & the backing ply was nailed to the batons behind the farm to make a sun block with the rest being saved to be used as shelving... The wire frame at the base of the farm was covered with some weed mat fabric..
  3 Coir blocks were hydrated in water & were added to the Farm as bedding... This we also be food for them as well... 1 brick swells out to about 7-8L of bedding...





The top 2 trays of the old Farm were tipped on top of the Coir, food was added down one end & some newspaper & shade cloth was laid on top... We are very happy with the result.. The only change that may be made is a more sturdier base... Will just see how this one holds up...

The castings harvester was a bit of a let down... The castings were still too damp & just formed balls... We ended up going back to the proven method of just fishing them out with our hands...
We didn't get as much Castings as we thought but should be enough for the seedlings we need to plant out..

  Pests in the Patch...

Got some good shots of the White Cabbage Butterfly eggs yesterday...
I squished 9 on 1 leaf alone on a Red Cabbage... Don't think the bread clips are working so plan "B" is going into effect tomorrow... The Girls & I will be cutting out little imitation Butterflies tomorrow to hang around the Patch... The butterflies are supposed to be territorial so when they see our mock ups bouncing around, they should nick off to another garden..
The Shallots & spring Onions are being attacked by these little fellas on the Left... 7 were pulled from a square foot of onions... The little bugs on the Right are having a field day on the eggplant's, pumpkins  & a few other plants...  

Got a bit of a surprise when checking Koo's Strawberry Barrel...  A Chinese Elm had decided to take up residence... I thought our days of them being a problem were over, but alas there have been a few pop up over the last few weeks in the beds...                               

Strawberry Barrel # 2...

Planted out the Red Strawberry & the pot of others we saved from Bed #1 a few months back... They are situated at the end of Bed #4 under the slightly over pruned Lemon tree... The Lemon tree is packed with fruit which is great, & has more flowers appearing on it all the time... There is also a feral Tomato growing through it which is doing quite nicely...
Flowers...

Some of the Rainbow Silverbeet has produced a rather stunning Flower spike... Hopefully we will get heaps of seed as we are looking at planting out the back of the Chook pen with Silverbeet for the Lady's... The Galangal is rather surprising... It has a very delicate sent that is very nice...

Weekly Harvest...
Orange Chillies, Baby & Mature Carrots, a few KG's of Mini Roma Tomato's, Mini Golden Nugget pumpkin,  Strawberries, assorted Herbs, Beans, Eggplant,  3 eggs a day & the Mutant Zuccumpkin... Shall be interesting to see what it looks like once it is opened this week...


That about it for now...
Have a great one all...
: )»