i did a worm count this morning – 23 per forkfull – probably 230 per square metre

the winter garden is now about 5 months old – it’s been very slow and only now are broad beans, carrots, parsnip, spinach, brussel sprouts and peas looking like being harvested. must plant in late february next year.
broad beans, silver beet and onions (leeks & garlic)

pepe said:

i did a worm count this morning – 23 per forkfull – probably 230 per square metre

Beautiful:D

Looks lovely Pepe……:D

Lucky1 said:

Looks lovely Pepe……:D

thanks lucky
fabtab day here as well
i’m planting a golden delicious apple tree i was given – quite an old specimen in a pot – only 600mm high tho’.
be back when my back starts to ache.

I forgot to say I have flowers on the broad beans:)

Couldn’t see any beans when I looked today. How are yours going?? Any bean pods yet?

Lucky1 said:

I forgot to say I have flowers on the broad beans:) Couldn’t see any beans when I looked today. How are yours going?? Any bean pods yet?

flowers no beans same as yours. its a long wait and then suddenly you have too many. we should start harvesting this month.

apple tree in and a ring of manure around 8 trees (2 quince, 2 apple, fig, bay laurel, mulberry and prunus nigra) – now for mineral mix, mulch and seaweed around each tree.

Looking really lush Pepe :)
You do have your fair share of weeds though don’t you.

Happy Potter said:

Looking really lush Pepe :)
You do have your fair share of weeds though don’t you.

moan – too many weeds – still on we go – they will stop come summer – moan.

in the early morning sun you can see the broccoli, rocket and lettuce going to seed. letting things self seed has given me parsley, coriander and the rocket this year

And up here the poppy/peony seeds I got from pepe have sprouted and the mango is in full bloom :)

drylander1 said:

And up here the poppy/peony seeds I got from pepe have sprouted and the mango is in full bloom :)

g’day ‘lander.
poppies are a good weed – you’ve got them for life now LOL.
mango – wow – have you had enough rain up there?

pepe said:

i did a worm count this morning – 23 per forkfull – probably 230 per square metre

too much time on one’s hands….

pain master said:

pepe said:

i did a worm count this morning – 23 per forkfull – probably 230 per square metre

too much time on one’s hands….

Scrumptious pictures but…

Doesn’t take long to count 23 worms LOL!!

Dinetta said:

pain master said:

pepe said:

i did a worm count this morning – 23 per forkfull – probably 230 per square metre

too much time on one’s hands….

Scrumptious pictures but…Doesn’t take long to count 23 worms LOL!!

last time i did it was the floods of march 2005 from memory. there were more worms after the floods. the maximum number possible is 300 per sq.m. according to yates garden guide.
…it took about 10-15 mins – takes me that long to empty the rubbish bin.
i dug the fork into several other spots – which took longer – but now i know the relative number of worms in different beds and that tells me – fertility, drainage, compaction of the various beds.

g’day ‘lander.
poppies are a good weed – you’ve got them for life now LOL.
mango – wow – have you had enough rain up there?

no not really but its hand watered …tho this year its been good & wet again ..well for here it has :)

drylander1 said:

g’day ‘lander.
poppies are a good weed – you’ve got them for life now LOL.
mango – wow – have you had enough rain up there?

no not really but its hand watered …tho this year its been good & wet again ..well for here it has :)

my bannana looks pitiful – far too cold for the hand that developed. one or two fingers have formed but the cold has not been good even tho’ the rain is returning to normal.

Morning Pepe, and any lurkers.
More wild weather forcast here. Winds and hail ect. It’s a stay indoors day , theres cleaning to be done..
Hubby tried to open a small spray bottle of betadine antiseptic..and didn’t realise it was pressurised and yanked the top off it with a pair of pliers.
I heard a small explosion and a big “Oh NO!”
My spotless black and white kitchen is yellow. Ceiling, windoes, curtain , appliances , small potplants..

Oh bugga. Wrong thread. Sorry Peps.

pepe said:

drylander1 said:

g’day ‘lander.
poppies are a good weed – you’ve got them for life now LOL.
mango – wow – have you had enough rain up there?

no not really but its hand watered …tho this year its been good & wet again ..well for here it has :)

my bannana looks pitiful – far too cold for the hand that developed. one or two fingers have formed but the cold has not been good even tho’ the rain is returning to normal.

Isn’t there a banana being gown in Pete’s Patch in Tassie ? I’m sure I saw that, and thats it’s a cold toerant variety..You might need to create a big vivarium for it inside lol :D

Happy Potter said:

Morning Pepe, and any lurkers.
More wild weather forcast here. Winds and hail ect. It’s a stay indoors day , theres cleaning to be done..
Hubby tried to open a small spray bottle of betadine antiseptic..and didn’t realise it was pressurised and yanked the top off it with a pair of pliers.
I heard a small explosion and a big “Oh NO!”
My spotless black and white kitchen is yellow. Ceiling, windoes, curtain , appliances , small potplants..

is he alright?

bloody housework – never ceases.

Isn’t there a banana being gown in Pete’s Patch in Tassie ? I’m sure I saw that, and thats it’s a cold toerant variety..You might need to create a big vivarium for it inside lol :D
————-
yeah you saw correctly – pete’s as mad as the rest of us. he did say that avocadoes don’t fruit down there.

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

Morning Pepe, and any lurkers.
More wild weather forcast here. Winds and hail ect. It’s a stay indoors day , theres cleaning to be done..
Hubby tried to open a small spray bottle of betadine antiseptic..and didn’t realise it was pressurised and yanked the top off it with a pair of pliers.
I heard a small explosion and a big “Oh NO!”
My spotless black and white kitchen is yellow. Ceiling, windoes, curtain , appliances , small potplants..

is he alright?

bloody housework – never ceases.

I dunno, he looks jaundiced LOL. Yellow hair face ect, he will have a shower in a min.

Happy Potter said:

Morning Pepe, and any lurkers.
More wild weather forcast here. Winds and hail ect. It’s a stay indoors day , theres cleaning to be done..
Hubby tried to open a small spray bottle of betadine antiseptic..and didn’t realise it was pressurised and yanked the top off it with a pair of pliers.
I heard a small explosion and a big “Oh NO!”
My spotless black and white kitchen is yellow. Ceiling, windoes, curtain , appliances , small potplants..

ooops.

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

Hubby tried to open a small spray bottle of betadine antiseptic..and didn’t realise it was pressurised and yanked the top off it with a pair of pliers.
I heard a small explosion and a big “Oh NO!”
My spotless black and white kitchen is yellow. Ceiling, windoes, curtain , appliances , small potplants..

is he alright?

bloody housework – never ceases.

I dunno, he looks jaundiced LOL.
Yellow hair face ect, he will have a shower in a min.

chuckle – i knew you would be married to a colourful man LOL.
just beginning the climb – catch up in an hour.

Pepe, I’m almost ready to plant out the corn seeds for the 3 sisters garden…

how far between seeds, and how far between rows, please?

Dinetta said:

Pepe, I’m almost ready to plant out the corn seeds for the 3 sisters garden… how far between seeds, and how far between rows, please?

300mm (one foot) both ways. you need to plant at least nine plant (and preferably more) in a block to maximise pollination. if planting a rectangle it needs to be at least three rows wide (600 – 900mm).

got some carrots planted today – and three rows at my daughter’s place to boot.
also i found tons of coir seed raising bricks near her place for $4 per block.

if you do want carrots home grown this year, and you live south of sydney, from now to october is a good time. carrots are hard to germinate in the hot weather, so plant them while there’s moisture in the air and in the soil, and while evaporation rates are low.

pepe said:

Dinetta said:

Pepe, I’m almost ready to plant out the corn seeds for the 3 sisters garden… how far between seeds, and how far between rows, please?

300mm (one foot) both ways. you need to plant at least nine plant (and preferably more) in a block to maximise pollination. if planting a rectangle it needs to be at least three rows wide (600 – 900mm).

A triangle with one curved edge…

pepe said:

got some carrots planted today – and three rows at my daughter’s place to boot.
also i found tons of coir seed raising bricks near her place for $4 per block.

if you do want carrots home grown this year, and you live south of sydney, from now to october is a good time. carrots are hard to germinate in the hot weather, so plant them while there’s moisture in the air and in the soil, and while evaporation rates are low.

You’re getting handy to have around here Pepe.

A triangle with one curved edge…
—
chuckle – that’s outside my experience. trust you LOL.

You’re getting handy to have around here Pepe.
——-
you’re pretty handy yourself Pomolo
speaking of which – my daughters asks – ‘when do you divide gerberas?’
they flower non stop.

pepe said:

You’re getting handy to have around here Pepe.
——-
you’re pretty handy yourself Pomolo
speaking of which – my daughters asks – ‘when do you divide gerberas?’
they flower non stop.

I’d do it now, but my frosts are gone…in your daughter’s case, say early to mid September, give them a chance to settle down before your ferocious summer hits…just cut off the flowers until she’s certain the plants are established…no hard and fast rule really…Mum grew these, they were common as muck in our home town, about the only flower that could provide “cut flowers” through the summer…I’ve tried growing them in pots with very limited success…

pepe said:

A triangle with one curved edge…
—
chuckle – that’s outside my experience. trust you LOL.

No worries Pepe, thanks for the info…I can use that to plan the space…

Dinetta said:

pepe said:

You’re getting handy to have around here Pepe.
——-
you’re pretty handy yourself Pomolo
speaking of which – my daughters asks – ‘when do you divide gerberas?’
they flower non stop.

I’d do it now, but my frosts are gone…in your daughter’s case, say early to mid September, give them a chance to settle down before your ferocious summer hits…just cut off the flowers until she’s certain the plants are established…no hard and fast rule really…Mum grew these, they were common as muck in our home town, about the only flower that could provide “cut flowers” through the summer…I’ve tried growing them in pots with very limited success…

End of Autumn to winter. Dinetta is about right. I don’t have any gerbras though.

all seasons and nante carrots – just planted in modified clay soil with coir seed raising mix on top. both the rows and the mounds between have been whacked down hard using the back of the fork. this is compulsory for good soil/seed contact.

homegrown carrots are better than the bought ones and save you $3-$4 per week because both european and asian food use them a lot.
these beds have to be kept moist continuously for two weeks. some people put timber planks over the rows to retain the moisture which works, and proves that the tiny seeds don’t need sunlight to germinate.
there are a thousand seed in these rows – enough for 6-7 months of delicious eating. i just sprinkle the seed along the rows because i find that mixing the seed with sand does not give even distribution of seed. I will be thinning the small carrots after germination.

pomolo said:

Dinetta said:

pepe said:

You’re getting handy to have around here Pepe.
——-
you’re pretty handy yourself Pomolo
speaking of which – my daughters asks – ‘when do you divide gerberas?’
they flower non stop.

I’d do it now, but my frosts are gone…in your daughter’s case, say early to mid September, give them a chance to settle down before your ferocious summer hits…just cut off the flowers until she’s certain the plants are established…no hard and fast rule really…Mum grew these, they were common as muck in our home town, about the only flower that could provide “cut flowers” through the summer…I’ve tried growing them in pots with very limited success…

End of Autumn to winter. Dinetta is about right. I don’t have any gerbras though.

ok thanks – i’ve transferred that info to her. she likes the pastel shades and altho’ they are common they still provide good colour.
thanks again.

viburnums in flower – lisbon lemonsagogo – pecan budding and fig tree pruned

compost has been turned .
the large ‘meditation garden is planted to spuds, peas, chickpeas and some land prepared to take sunflowers and corn (to left).
peas
the old lawn where the spinach has been picked and fed with liquid manure and is looking good

winter toms – large plants but no fruit
winter celery
raspberries, strawberries and some spinach to the west side of the shed
bannanas don’t like this cold weather

brussel sprouts now being picked
some seedlings
fennel forming bulbs
a light and dark savoy cabbage growing alongside each other
that’s all folks

Oh that poor banana tree. You’re not going to let minor details like wrong climate wrong area beat you, are you?
Build it a glasshouse lol..

Happy Potter said:

Oh that poor banana tree. You’re not going to let minor details like wrong climate wrong area beat you, are you?
Build it a glasshouse lol..

yeah sure LOL – might be easier to plant summin else – summin sensible like pistacchio i think.

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

Oh that poor banana tree. You’re not going to let minor details like wrong climate wrong area beat you, are you?
Build it a glasshouse lol..

yeah sure LOL – might be easier to plant summin else – summin sensible like pistacchio i think.

Now ya thinking :)

Do they grow tall ?

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

Oh that poor banana tree. You’re not going to let minor details like wrong climate wrong area beat you, are you?
Build it a glasshouse lol..

yeah sure LOL – might be easier to plant summin else – summin sensible like pistacchio i think.

Now ya thinking :) Do they grow tall ?

probably? but it might take ten years – i’ll have to check.
its a warm north facing spot – avocadoes grow too big – i’m thinking…..

pepe said:

compost has been turned .
the large ‘meditation garden is planted to spuds, peas, chickpeas and some land prepared to take sunflowers and corn (to left).
peas
the old lawn where the spinach has been picked and fed with liquid manure and is looking good

Looking great as always, Pepe. Have you had any pecans off your tree yet?

pepe said:

viburnums in flower – lisbon lemonsagogo – pecan budding and fig tree pruned

Pretty flowers Pepe. One or two lemons there as well.

pepe said:

brussel sprouts now being picked
some seedlings
fennel forming bulbs
a light and dark savoy cabbage growing alongside each other
that’s all folks

Interesting for me to see the fennel. I have one growing (given to me)and I’m interested to see how it grows.

Looking great as always, Pepe. Have you had any pecans off your tree yet?
———
the tree has been in this spot for about 4 years and in a pot 2 years previously.
no fruit but last year was the first time i fertilised and watered it to any degree.
they take about 7 years to fruit i think.

Interesting for me to see the fennel. I have one growing (given to me)and I’m interested to see how it grows.
———————————-
they can be a weed but maggie beer uses them in her cooking a lot – so if i get decent bulbs and the cook finds good recipes for them i will grow a dozen or so. they are very drought tolerant.

pepe said:

Interesting for me to see the fennel. I have one growing (given to me)and I’m interested to see how it grows.
———————————-
they can be a weed but maggie beer uses them in her cooking a lot – so if i get decent bulbs and the cook finds good recipes for them i will grow a dozen or so. they are very drought tolerant.

I had a sprig of fennel on my lunch on Sunday (Out for lunch) It was very tasty as well as decorative. I like the bulbs too.

I had a sprig of fennel on my lunch on Sunday (Out for lunch) It was very tasty as well as decorative. I like the bulbs too.
————————————
it has the aniseed taste of course – so it might make ouzo LOL.
with all my lemons i could probably make some sort of lemon based alcohol drink – there was a very nice one in greece.

pepe said:

I had a sprig of fennel on my lunch on Sunday (Out for lunch) It was very tasty as well as decorative. I like the bulbs too.
————————————
it has the aniseed taste of course – so it might make ouzo LOL.
with all my lemons i could probably make some sort of lemon based alcohol drink – there was a very nice one in greece.

oh oh – its italian limoncello and easy to produce – sounds good - ‘xuse me whilst i research.
cyas.

pepe said:

pepe said:

I had a sprig of fennel on my lunch on Sunday (Out for lunch) It was very tasty as well as decorative. I like the bulbs too.
————————————
it has the aniseed taste of course – so it might make ouzo LOL.
with all my lemons i could probably make some sort of lemon based alcohol drink – there was a very nice one in greece.

oh oh – its italian limoncello and easy to produce – sounds good - ‘xuse me whilst i research.
cyas.

Oooh, yummo – I’ve got stacks of lemons at the moment – haven’t yet checked them to see if the tree has recovered from the boron deficiency it had earlier. The fruits definitely look a lot better on the outside, so here’s hoping.

from wiki -

How to make the Italian liqueur limoncello, at home.
INGREDIENTS:
Peel the zest from 9 lemons, preferably organic. Scrub the outside of the lemons if in doubt. Avoid the white as much as feasible, it is bitter.
30 ounces of 190 proof alcohol such as “Everclear” etc. (900 mL or half of a 1.75 liter bottle). (May not be available in some State or in the UK? *See footnote below.)
25 ounces table sugar (sucrose)
22 ounces boiling water
PROTOCOL:
1) Peel or grate the zest from 9 large fresh lemons (preferably organic: they should be clean of pesticides and added wax on the surface).
2) Suspend the zest in 30 ounces of 190 Proof alcohol for 48 to 72 hours (up to a week) in a sealed container.
3) Dissolve 25 oz. sugar in 22 ounces of boiling water. Boil briefly to thoroughly dissolve the sugar.
4) Cool the syrup to near room temperature and stir into the lemon extract mixture.
5) Refrigerate the mixture for 24 hours.
6) Strain into bottles and store in the freezer.

Serve ice cold in aperitif glasses.

pepe said:

from wiki -

How to make the Italian liqueur limoncello, at home.
INGREDIENTS:
Peel the zest from 9 lemons, preferably organic. Scrub the outside of the lemons if in doubt. Avoid the white as much as feasible, it is bitter.
30 ounces of 190 proof alcohol such as “Everclear” etc. (900 mL or half of a 1.75 liter bottle). (May not be available in some State or in the UK? *See footnote below.)
25 ounces table sugar (sucrose)
22 ounces boiling water
PROTOCOL:
1) Peel or grate the zest from 9 large fresh lemons (preferably organic: they should be clean of pesticides and added wax on the surface).
2) Suspend the zest in 30 ounces of 190 Proof alcohol for 48 to 72 hours (up to a week) in a sealed container.
3) Dissolve 25 oz. sugar in 22 ounces of boiling water. Boil briefly to thoroughly dissolve the sugar.
4) Cool the syrup to near room temperature and stir into the lemon extract mixture.
5) Refrigerate the mixture for 24 hours.
6) Strain into bottles and store in the freezer.

Serve ice cold in aperitif glasses.

Wow! That sounds a bit nice.

pomolo said:

pepe said:

from wiki -

How to make the Italian liqueur limoncello, at home.
INGREDIENTS:
Peel the zest from 9 lemons, preferably organic. Scrub the outside of the lemons if in doubt. Avoid the white as much as feasible, it is bitter.
30 ounces of 190 proof alcohol such as “Everclear” etc. (900 mL or half of a 1.75 liter bottle). (May not be available in some State or in the UK? *See footnote below.)
25 ounces table sugar (sucrose)
22 ounces boiling water
PROTOCOL:
1) Peel or grate the zest from 9 large fresh lemons (preferably organic: they should be clean of pesticides and added wax on the surface).
2) Suspend the zest in 30 ounces of 190 Proof alcohol for 48 to 72 hours (up to a week) in a sealed container.
3) Dissolve 25 oz. sugar in 22 ounces of boiling water. Boil briefly to thoroughly dissolve the sugar.
4) Cool the syrup to near room temperature and stir into the lemon extract mixture.
5) Refrigerate the mixture for 24 hours.
6) Strain into bottles and store in the freezer.

Serve ice cold in aperitif glasses.

Wow! That sounds a bit nice.

Vodka was used here to good effect :)

Mmmmm Limoncello sounds yum :)
I have the alcohol – now I wish I hadn’t given so many lemons away LOL!
There’ll be more :)
I’ll save the recipe, thanks Pepe.

pepe said:

from wiki -

How to make the Italian liqueur limoncello, at home.
INGREDIENTS:
Peel the zest from 9 lemons, preferably organic. Scrub the outside of the lemons if in doubt. Avoid the white as much as feasible, it is bitter.
30 ounces of 190 proof alcohol such as “Everclear” etc. (900 mL or half of a 1.75 liter bottle). (May not be available in some State or in the UK? *See footnote below.)
25 ounces table sugar (sucrose)
22 ounces boiling water
PROTOCOL:
1) Peel or grate the zest from 9 large fresh lemons (preferably organic: they should be clean of pesticides and added wax on the surface).
2) Suspend the zest in 30 ounces of 190 Proof alcohol for 48 to 72 hours (up to a week) in a sealed container.
3) Dissolve 25 oz. sugar in 22 ounces of boiling water. Boil briefly to thoroughly dissolve the sugar.
4) Cool the syrup to near room temperature and stir into the lemon extract mixture.
5) Refrigerate the mixture for 24 hours.
6) Strain into bottles and store in the freezer.

Serve ice cold in aperitif glasses.

Thanks pepe :) May get around to it one day!

Vodka was used here to good effect
———-
that’s not surprising LOL
was it neat or with a whiff of lemon? sorry – just joking – the recipe says vodka spoils the taste – so i’ll try the recipe first and experiment later.