|
|
Post by SA Hunter on Aug 5, 2019 19:45:48 GMT 10
Been away for 5 weeks - garden not doing too bad - one patch of broad beans is grown to it's full height, now starting to flower.
Potatoes in the garden are raging, and those in pots, about half are raging, the others are just shooting through.
Time to start getting my summer seedlings in soon - the usual - black russian tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, beans, lettuce. Going to try pumpkin this year - I've tried before without success - guess I'm stubborn, and want to grow some that work.
|
|
tomatoes
Senior Member
Posts: 1,065 
Likes: 1,089
|
Post by tomatoes on Aug 5, 2019 20:25:04 GMT 10
Hmm ... just remembered I need to sow some chickpeas somewhere too. If I’m storing organic beans in many varieties, including chick peas, for eating, can I grow from these beans or do I need to buy some from a seed supplier? |
|
blueshoes
Senior Member
Posts: 609
Likes: 700
Location: Regional Dan-istan
|
Post by blueshoes on Aug 6, 2019 9:48:35 GMT 10
Hmm ... just remembered I need to sow some chickpeas somewhere too. If I’m storing organic beans in many varieties, including chick peas, for eating, can I grow from these beans or do I need to buy some from a seed supplier? try sprouting some and see? I don't think beans have the same hybridization issues tomatoes and other fruit have with child plants not being true to type. Could be wrong. From memory the greatest risk is that they've been overheated or radiated in the import process and may not germinate or may have a low germination rate? My excitement for the week was managing to shoot some seeds from a local feijoa someone gave me!! So exciting but now to try and coddle them into trees... |
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Aug 6, 2019 17:19:11 GMT 10
Hmm ... just remembered I need to sow some chickpeas somewhere too. If I’m storing organic beans in many varieties, including chick peas, for eating, can I grow from these beans or do I need to buy some from a seed supplier? Australian grown beans, chickpeas and lentils can definitely be grown from supermarket packets intended for eating. Being seeds they are low risk for carrying diseases. Imported seed probably irradiated or treated with methyl bromide for biosecurity reasons and should not grow. |
|
Tim Horton
Senior Member
Posts: 1,947 
Likes: 1,996
|
Post by Tim Horton on Aug 14, 2019 2:07:28 GMT 10
Here in the far north, everything seems to be coming due at once. Kind of the way it is here.
We got about 10 L or a bit more black currents. Sweetie distilled them and made jelly. Saskatoon berry, honey berry, thimble berry, all wild fruits were small lots that went to bumble berry curd. Tame Saskatoon yet to be ready. Tame raspberry produced about 4 l that went to the freezer for later.
Our apple season started with a rush it seems. Several places called for us to come pick all at once. One client with wonderful trees, but a disgusting yard, said they were going to remove there trees. We picked the apples, trimmed limbs off the trees as our rabbits will eat the leaves and bark. We took the trees down for a complete but last picking. Too bad as they were nice trees, but the people were too lazy to maintain them. So we made the best use we could of them.
Sweetie picked a first picking, a 20 L bucket of peas from the garden. Shelled and froze 4 big bags of peas. Rabbits enjoyed the pods.
Our exposition (fair) starts Thursday with senior day. My once a year dose of sugar, cinnamon mini donuts, and maple syrup coffee. Fall black bear season opens Thursday also. Knock on wood... Only had one minor bear "issue" this summer... So far....
Busy time.
|
|
|
|
Post by SA Hunter on Aug 23, 2019 16:54:56 GMT 10
Potatoes raging-though a few going yellow - can't see any evidence of bugs etc, so added fertilizer to see if this helps improve them.
My earlier experiments with fruit seeds is coming along - today i planted Peach & Nectarine seeds I had sprouting in the fridge. They have a healthy root system. Be interesting to see if they bear fruit.
|
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Aug 23, 2019 17:05:27 GMT 10
Just the older leaves yellowing? That may be the plant putting its reserves into making tubers. Are they flowering at all?
|
|
Tim Horton
Senior Member
Posts: 1,947
Likes: 1,996
|
Post by Tim Horton on Aug 26, 2019 4:33:16 GMT 10
Exposition was small this year. Cool overcast day, all went well. Got to talk to the guy in the black smith shop I needed to see. A years worth of free pens, note pads from the commercial exibit building.
MIL popped in for an short visit as she was doing other errands. We picked peas to shell and freeze about another 12 L. Picked beans to can 10 L. We have a couple garden bins of potato plants that the plants are down. Will get them dug, but don't know which variety they are yet.. Will be a surprise.
Apple season is in full swing. Slicing and drying apples for bunny food. Sweetie is grinding and canning apples for chicken food. Between this, critter bread from the bakery outlet it replaces bagged grain about 2 to 1 for the price.
Moose season opens next week. Like said, bear season is open, our crab apple tree fruit all turned pink and red virtually overnight... What could possibly happen ?? Put 2 and 2 together....
Late summer in the bush...
|
|
|
|
Post by SA Hunter on Aug 26, 2019 17:02:25 GMT 10
Just the older leaves yellowing? That may be the plant putting its reserves into making tubers. Are they flowering at all? One pot, the whole lot going yellow-no flowers. |
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Aug 26, 2019 18:18:58 GMT 10
Hopefully the general yellowing is just the plant finishing off making its spuds.
I have collected 1.1kg of spuds from 2 plants (also starting to get a yellowish tint all over) of an unmentionable variety planted in a 30cm X 60cm planter box. 2 spuds were the size of a coke can and weighed 350g each. The plants are really healthy so I've saved 3 smaller spuds (so far) to plant next autumn. They are unbeleivably sweet and tasty when sliced and shallow fried. Like nothing I've tried before.
This weekend I might tip the tub upside down to see what the total production is.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peter on Aug 27, 2019 22:54:49 GMT 10
Still mostly weeds in the garden...
Although we have picked a heap of cumquats (my little bloke and I love to eat them straight from the tree - skin and all), and nasturtiums are spontaniously growing all around in the most random of places. Some herbs are doing really well, while others (especially basil & tarragon) are really struggling.
But we seriously have a lot of weeds. I'm thinking of getting them pulled out once more and planting edible ground covers as much as possible; more nasturtiums and whatever anyone else here wouls like to recomend. I once learned the hard way that an invasive plant like mint is NOT a good option...
|
|
Tim Horton
Senior Member
Posts: 1,947
Likes: 1,996
|
Post by Tim Horton on Aug 29, 2019 8:35:25 GMT 10
On our third picking of peas, second of beans, and I dug several red potatoes from one of the wilted yellow vines. They were good.
Some what to the end of our usual list of places to pick apples. Seems they all needed picked at once, and we have a mountain of tubs of apples to process.
|
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Sept 1, 2019 16:56:51 GMT 10
 Got some good spuds out of the planter box. Not a very high yield (just 1.7kg total) but the quality of this particular variety was outstanding. weeded and fertilised the raspberry patch with manure from the chook pen. Mowed down the weed growth in the orchard. Pulled a lot of weeds out of the vegetable plots. My Jujube seedling is in bud-burst. Really looking forward to getting this tree up to production level ASAP. |
|
|
|
Post by SA Hunter on Sept 1, 2019 18:30:17 GMT 10
Planted some Black Russian tomato seeds, as well as a few seedlings. Also some Basil seeds.
Preparing beds for summer veggies. Weeding, mowing, fertilizing, anticipating!
|
|
|
|
Post by SA Hunter on Sept 3, 2019 12:30:57 GMT 10
Planted out my pumpkin seeds ( Queensland Blue ), a tad early, but can't do any worse than previous years.
Also lots more basil seeds.
Found some red apple seeds I had germinating in the fridge, they are all sprouted, so planted them as well in pots.
Also some native peach seeds have sprouted, and are ready to plant-next week at my bol they'll go in.
|
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Sept 4, 2019 18:56:05 GMT 10
harvested a Potato bed today. got 3kg out of 3 metres of row from plants badly affected by red legged earth mite. I'll put green beans in that row tomorrow.
Trying a spring planting of peas and a new type of horizontal cylindrical trellis made of chicken wire for them to grow on. Winter peas fared poorly also due to major RLEM damage which left them vulnerable to powdery mildew.
Pruned up the thai eggplants that over-wintered in the greenhouse. Will be planting cherry tomatoes and herbs in there ASAP.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peter on Sept 4, 2019 22:30:55 GMT 10
... we have a mountain of tubs of apples to process. I see cider in your semi-immediate future... |
|
|
|
Post by SA Hunter on Sept 5, 2019 17:43:08 GMT 10
harvested a Potato bed today. got 3kg out of 3 metres of row from plants badly affected by red legged earth mite. I'll put green beans in that row tomorrow. Trying a spring planting of peas and a new type of horizontal cylindrical trellis made of chicken wire for them to grow on. Winter peas fared poorly also due to major RLEM damage which left them vulnerable to powdery mildew. Pruned up the thai eggplants that over-wintered in the greenhouse. Will be planting cherry tomatoes and herbs in there ASAP. How much do you prune back your Thai eggplant. I've got one, never seem to set any fruit. Might need a prune. |
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Sept 5, 2019 18:55:25 GMT 10
I end up with plants about 40-50cm high with 3-6 branches after pruning. By end of summer they get up to 1m and are basically small shrubs. I battled with fruit set last summer although in previous years had heaps set so long as I tickled the flowers in morning and evening to help them pollinate. They do need a lot of heat to set fruit so I only start to get fruit setting from mid-october in the greenhouse.
Maybe try knocking up a cylinder of lazerlite to put over one of the plants and see how that goes. Or some pallet wrap over a wire frame.
|
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Sept 5, 2019 19:00:49 GMT 10
Also ... Have you planted any peanuts yet? I'm going to put some in this weekend. Hope they do better this year!
|
|
