Halp!

I went out to check yesterday, and the rocket was trying to flower…I thought Rocket was the lettuce of choice for hot areas, as it does not bolt easily? It was 37c on Wednesday, I had quite a few casualties in the vegetable patch because I was away for 5 days…

What happens next? I picked off the flower. This plant cost me $4.50, a single well-developed specimen in a pot…I had planted them in a box outside the front door, but then decided to move to what looked like a more choice spot, in the ground, beside the onions, under the doolan and jacaranda…do I just keep harvesting and buy myself another plant?

best to let the rocket go to seed and come up whenever they feel like it.
i get perpetual rocket, dill, coriander, spinach, lettuce, parsley and others – they are called ‘volunteers’.
it gives you a better class of weed.

Thanks Pepe, good to get first-hand advice…I’ve bought some more rocket seedlings, it does not look like I am “helping” at the races today so I hope to get a bit of heavy work done in that portion of the yard later…

I wouldn’t call rocket a lettuce personally. You’ll have it coming up everywhere now. The wild type with the yellow flower is especially rampant.

Oh goodie! This is the one, has a yellow flower…OK, technically rocket is a salad green but lettuce is just one word and it’ll do amongst me friends ‘ere…

pepe said:

best to let the rocket go to seed and come up whenever they feel like it.
i get perpetual rocket, dill, coriander, spinach, lettuce, parsley and others – they are called ‘volunteers’.
it gives you a better class of weed.

This is the way I do it too.

This is mainly parsley and radish and flanders poppies.. um? underneath are carrots and beetroot. Above is an apple tree.. granny smith

umm.. maybe a photo?

roughbarked said:

umm.. maybe a photo?

Oh ginger! and you’re complaining about a lack of water…looks very lush!

roughbarked said:

umm.. maybe a photo?

The carrots and beetroot must have a struggle.

pomolo said:

The carrots and beetroot must have a struggle.

yeah, everything battles for a place to fit in .. in my yard.. but when it finds that place .. I leave it go and just garden on the fringes.

bluddy ‘ell.. if it can survive in that part of the yard without me doing too much watering.. to make it look green instead of brown.. then it gets pride of place by hand weeding everything else out or blanket seeding or mulching.

from the photo above I will glean more than 50 litres of seed of plain leaf parsley.

weight that out in kilo’s and make me an offer.

I will also get more than enough apple pies to keep all of granny smith’s neighbourhood happy.
plus i get a display of poppies and larkspurs and radish flowers.. there is a patch of rocket adjacent as well. in the same region I also harvest beetroot radish carrot and mandarins as well as oregano and.. as some may have seen.. apricot and grapes.

I’m not going to tell you how much it costs me in expensive filtrated town water to back up this plan.. but I will tell you that the sales of fruit from one tree in my backyard will pay for all of that.

I will add that light and aspect do have a huge amount to do with how I keep most parts of my yard green.

umm.. maybe a photo?
———
that’s an impressive low water jungle RB.
you’re rapidly getting a devotee – my type of garden.
probably not good in limited space tho’.

pepe said:

umm.. maybe a photo?
———
that’s an impressive low water jungle RB.
you’re rapidly getting a devotee – my type of garden.
probably not good in limited space tho’.

I have 1661 sq m within my fence.. and I have taken over the crown land surrounding the western and southern sides plus all that down my stree from here on the south.. planted it all to native woodland.

Could only do that latter during wet years.. as no amount of water will work otherwise and .. during wet years I have to pump my drains or they come up on the floor of the house.
Last time we had wet years? 1985/1990

pepe said:

umm.. maybe a photo?
———
that’s an impressive low water jungle RB.
you’re rapidly getting a devotee – my type of garden.
probably not good in limited space tho’.

Mine too, altho’ I was too tired to think of the words last night…now that’s sustainable gardening and I am awed by the productivity of it…

roughbarked said:

Last time we had wet years? 1985/1990

If I remember aright, it rained during the winter as well as the summer, those years…then 1990 was a big flood after which somebody turned off the tap….

I have 1661 sq m within my fence.. and I have taken over the crown land surrounding the western and southern sides plus all that down my stree from here on the south.. planted it all to native woodland.
—————————————
1600s.m. isn’t too small – probably the same as my fenced area. people with 100 sq.m. would have to constantly clean the beds and maybe just have the occasional freeby plant – i should think.

Dinetta said:

pepe said:

umm.. maybe a photo?
———
that’s an impressive low water jungle RB.
you’re rapidly getting a devotee – my type of garden.
probably not good in limited space tho’.

Mine too, altho’ I was too tired to think of the words last night…now that’s sustainable gardening and I am awed by the productivity of it…

hmm my mulching program needs another hunderd tonnes after 30 years it has all broken down. Am looking for a cheap source of new mulch.. Though my yard makes heaps of it every year.. I just can never seem to have enough mulch.. ;)

No, I’m starting to realize that…

As for your rocket.. like lettuce and beets all that stuff.. just allow it to self sow.. I showed you my plain leaf parsley which I try to keep under the apple tree shade.. where only weeds would grow otherwise.. works well.. this is bigger than some backyards.. My triple curled parsley lives a bit further up the yard between an apricot and almond.. it does the same thing.. and I have never seen them cross.. or hybridize.

roughbarked said:

As for your rocket.. like lettuce and beets all that stuff.. just allow it to self sow.. I showed you my plain leaf parsley which I try to keep under the apple tree shade.. where only weeds would grow otherwise.. works well.. this is bigger than some backyards.. My triple curled parsley lives a bit further up the yard between an apricot and almond.. it does the same thing.. and I have never seen them cross.. or hybridize.

i wished i had more big shade trees here. areas like under the apple tree are ideal for self sown stuff.

pepe said:

roughbarked said:

As for your rocket.. like lettuce and beets all that stuff.. just allow it to self sow.. I showed you my plain leaf parsley which I try to keep under the apple tree shade.. where only weeds would grow otherwise.. works well.. this is bigger than some backyards.. My triple curled parsley lives a bit further up the yard between an apricot and almond.. it does the same thing.. and I have never seen them cross.. or hybridize.

i wished i had more big shade trees here. areas like under the apple tree are ideal for self sown stuff.

out in the sun in a spot where water may be applied liberally .. watermelon self sows.. or that’s what i noticed when I gave the spot just northwestish of the apple tree it’s first water since last year. My yard works that way.. if it rains at the right time of the year.. I get Lakspurs and flanders poppies .. Italian chamomile.. as free floating residents in any spare space.. plus I have natives popping up all the time.. I tend to rip up the young Kurrajongs and eat them like carrots.. don’t need that many kurrajongs..
hmm http://www.flickr.com/photos/99559986@N00/4086819965/

roughbarked said:

hmm http://www.flickr.com/photos/99559986@N00/4086819965/

Are these cactus flowers as well? The fact that they are so beautiful must be part of their survival tactics…

Taking Woof for run…back in 45 mins…