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....

: )»

Compost Teas & Seeds....

 Compost Tea...
Finely started up a batch of Compost tea on Friday using a small aquarium pump with an air stone, stockings, compost, worm castings, molasses & some cracker dust...

It was left overnight to brew after a few adjustments but hasn't turned out like other batches I have seen on You Tube so left it brew until early Sunday evening... I have been "massaging" the bags 2 or 3 times a day to help release the goodies further into the brew...

I did a few batches of soak & pour method of compost tea, where compost was mixed in a container & left for 24 hours then applied to plants, but really didn't notice a difference between the control plants & the ones that were fed with the tea after a week... I am still going to leave some as a control & see what they look like after a week... Have also thought about adding some seaweed solution to the brew but as it is an after though I may leave it to the next batch... Don't want to over do it too much...

Seedlings & other Plantings...
The seedlings in the trays have been a bit of a mixed bag as far as germination goes... The Udumalapet Eggplants we really wanted haven't germinated so have planted another batch of 16 seedlings in 2 trays... The Perennial Capsicum seed hasn't shot at all either so we might try some seed that Koo has been saving... The Purple Basil B☼ planted has germinated & we have Onions, Beans, Silverbeet & Kohl Rabi popping up everywhere....
** Does big HAPPY DANCE **
Seed Tape...
Moo & I have made up some seed tape with some Carrot, Onion & Lettuce seeds just to make the spacing of the seeds in the beds a lot easier...

Sunday Morning saw Koo & myself go to the Ipswich markets where we picked up another bulb of Elephant Garlic, Purple skinned Sweet Potato & a Pineapple... The Garlic will be planted this week with the other purple Seed Garlic we bought... Not to certain where the Sweet Potato is going yet but shall find somewhere & the Pineapple will go into another pot for now...





Sunday Walk...

 We went for a walk at a local "recreation Reserve" where we came across debris left over from the January floods that took so many lives & destroyed many others homes & livelihoods... The photos show some of the larger pieces we found... There was an astounding amount of plastic bottles, bits of foam, plant pots, water & fuel drums...We did come across a large blue drum cut in half length ways so collected that to use as a planter as well as some rubbish just to help clean up the place a bit... Will be a long time before places like this recover...

 Shall post a walk through update Video tomorrow... Ran out of light tonight...

Have a great one all....

: )»

Worm casting harvest...

Was a bit of a wet weekend with over 40mm of rain since Saturday morning according to Weather zone... Didn't feel like 40 mm but I shall take their word for it...
 New Toy...

Saturday was spent cleaning up my hidey hole under the house so I could find the work bench & make some garden toys... I made up a sifting box/cradle, that sits on top of the wheelbarrow, for separating out the worms from their castings... The tumbler I made needs a redesign & I am waiting some cheap parts to turn up in the local op shops... I am also planing to use it to break up the horse manure "clumps" before I add it to the composting barrels so it will break down better... The bags it is sitting on are full of Horse Manure... I fear I have a new addiction & B☼ will host an intervention for me soon... I went to return some bags on Saturday & just couldn't leave without purchasing 2 more... We now have 8 bags + 5 composting barrels full of the stuff...

Harvesting the castings...

We got stuck into the worm farm on Sunday as B☼ had promised some to a work mate  so he could start up his farm again... The shot to the left shows 4 eggs & what we think is a pregnant female... You can tell by the size of the "bulge" in the in the banded section about 1½cm below their heads... Worms are hermaphrodites that can fertilise their own or other worms eggs... From what I have read can carry up to about 10 eggs at a time with around 4-5 being the average amount...


We also found lots of Black solider fly larvae & a couple of the just hatched adults... The one in the photo to the right was hatching as we discovered it in the castings...
    The castings got put to use straight away with a few scoops being mixed with some compost as fertiliser for some seeds that got planted in the afternoon... Left is the food we have been processing & freezing as we have been withholding food for the last week getting ready for the casting harvest... A nice treat for them after the trauma of yesterday me thinks...


Plantings...
Wednesday 16th,
10 x  White Vienna Kohl Rabi, seedlings (Eden seeds)
1 x 2 meter row of Mangold-wurzel, seed (Boondie Seeds)
1 x 2 meter row of Nates Carrots, seed (Johnsons Organic) Just to use them up...
1 x 2 meter row of purple Dragon Carrots, seed (Boondie Seeds)
2 x meter row of climbing Sugarsnap peas, seed (Eden seeds)
Thursday 17th,
9 x Sugarloaf Cabbage, seedlings  (Eden seeds)
3 x 1 meter row of  Lockyer Gold Onion, seed (Green Harvest)
2 x cuttings of Yellow pear Tomato (Chook yard)
2 x cuttings Cherry Tomato (Chook yard)
2 x cuttings Asian long Eggplant (from Bed #4)
Friday 18th,
4 x 75cm rows of Lockyer early White Onion, seed (Eden seeds)
4 x 75cm rows of Mini Purplette Onion, seed (Green Harvest)
Sunday 20th,
8 x Bush Beans, seed (Aldi)
4 x Brown Beauty Bush Bean, seed (Eden seeds)
2 x  Marketmore Cucumber, seed (Eden seeds)
7 x Purple Vienna Kohl Rabi, seed  (Eden seed)
1 x meter row + random sowing of Bright lights Silverbeet, seed (Boondie seeds)
2 x Brussels Sprouts, seedlings (Johnsons seeds)
25-28 cloves Glen Large Garlic (??)  (Purchased it from a local market gardener last Nov)
 Below is a walk through showing where seeds/plants have been planted out & a some other bits...

Have a great one 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....
: )»

Vids are Go...

You Tube...
If interested, we are going to start posting some updates onto a You Tube Channel...
2 have been posted today that show a general "where we are" update with the beds... It will be used mainly to show the growth rates of the plants, any little side projects & how to videos that can help explain what the blog cant...

Hope you enjoy them...
Feel free to post any questions/comments & I will try to answer within a day or 4... ; )»

Have a great one...


: )»