I lost my old photo thread and the index one says there’s an error, so i’ll start a new one.

3 kg of rhubarb harvested off these 3 plants. I placed the leaves back in as a mulch.

New bed is about 1/2 mt wide and 2.5 mt long. One problem with growing anything here was chooks sticking their necks through and eating what they could reach, but I got whatever old bits of wire mesh, made a barrier with a few rocks to space the fences and now they can’t get their heads through it, I will grow some leeks here.

The cherry tomato..lovely sweet fruit.
alt=“Photobucket” >

The dwarf nectarine is giving us beaut fruit :)

Got a few sweet apples off these ballerina apple trees, their first year too.
Bare patches in the middle and the back is where I pulled out recent spuds. I’ve put some dwarf beans in the back bed, not sure what I’ll put in the middle bed yet.

The frogs are hanging out in that water iris.

its a beautiful garden HP
-and i know what you mean by the craning necks of the chooks – i put an old sheet of f/glass along the bottom of my netting for the same reason
- snake alert !- just below the nectarines – they do look tempting tho’
- in the last picture what is that ferny looking plant behind the pond.?

Yep the pond looks so good. I’d love a pond.

pepe said:

its a beautiful garden HP
-and i know what you mean by the craning necks of the chooks – i put an old sheet of f/glass along the bottom of my netting for the same reason
- snake alert !- just below the nectarines – they do look tempting tho’
- in the last picture what is that ferny looking plant behind the pond.?

Thanks Peps :)
The ‘ ferny ‘ looking thing is Acacia Cognata, ‘ Cascade’ – dwarf wattle trees. I love the weeping look, they are great for raised bed borders, to the left of it is a variation A. cognata ‘ Mop Top’. I have bigger ones out in the front garden. They will get about 1.5 mt wide and across x 1/2 mt high. With the exception of the small tree philodendron at the rear, thats my native garden.

looks good HP.

veg gardener said:

looks good HP.

Thank you Veg :)
It mightn’t be the bestest garden out, but it’s interesting , theres something different everywhere you look and around every corner.

Happy Potter said:

veg gardener said:

looks good HP.

Thank you Veg :)
It mightn’t be the bestest garden out, but it’s interesting , theres something different everywhere you look and around every corner.

yeah and looks to me its growing alot of stuff in a small area, like alot of people on here are.

veg gardener said:

Happy Potter said:

veg gardener said:

looks good HP.

Thank you Veg :)
It mightn’t be the bestest garden out, but it’s interesting , theres something different everywhere you look and around every corner.

yeah and looks to me its growing alot of stuff in a small area, like alot of people on here are.

“ Where theres a will theres a way” :D

I reckon if I had a bigger piece of land, I wouldn’t be able to find the time to manage all of the things I’d like to grow, so I just grow what we need for the current season.

Happy Potter said:

veg gardener said:

Happy Potter said:

veg gardener said:

looks good HP.

Thank you Veg :)
It mightn’t be the bestest garden out, but it’s interesting , theres something different everywhere you look and around every corner.

yeah and looks to me its growing alot of stuff in a small area, like alot of people on here are.

“ Where theres a will theres a way” :D

I reckon if I had a bigger piece of land, I wouldn’t be able to find the time to manage all of the things I’d like to grow, so I just grow what we need for the current season.

yeah i just plant stuff because i like to grow veggies, but we have the space takes less time to mow in away.

The ’ ferny ’ looking thing is Acacia Cognata, ’ Cascade’ – dwarf wattle trees. I love the weeping look, they are great for raised bed borders, to the left of it is a variation A. cognata ’ Mop Top’. I have bigger ones out in the front garden. They will get about 1.5 mt wide and across x 1/2 mt high.
——-
ok i’ve noted it this time (i might have asked before?). good looking leaves.

That’s a very healthy looking garden HP. Good job!

For Veg,
(little jelly cream cakes)

hehe

Happy Potter said:

For Veg,
(little jelly cream cakes)

hehe

they look sooooo tasty! :)

pain master said:

Happy Potter said:

For Veg,
(little jelly cream cakes)

hehe

they look sooooo tasty! :)

Tooooooo nice PM!
They’re all gone now (and no I didn’t eat one lol)

Happy Potter said:

For Veg,
(little jelly cream cakes)

hehe

yummy

Evening :)
I harvested half of my corn patch , 15 plants , uppermost cob only and left the lower cob on.. some perfect, some not complete, odd sizes ( the little tip on the left I broke off another cob accidently) but I think not bad for my first time growing it :D Tomorrow I will harvest the top cobs on the second patch of 15 plants.

Pulled up 10 kg of coliban spuds too from 4 plants , already shared about.
The climbing beans are thick amoungst the corn stalks , little beans aplenty.
Leb cucs fab , and huge! Picked all the big ones and shared about.
Long yellow capsicums are just beautiful in salads.
And finally the tomatoes are starting to colour up :)

We are really enjoying the foods I’m growing :D :D

I’d be happy with that corn harvest, and sounds like the rest of the patch is doing well too :)

bluegreen said:

I’d be happy with that corn harvest, and sounds like the rest of the patch is doing well too :)

They will get BBQ’d tomorrow, buttered and wrapped , similar with little whole spuds :)
The cherry tomatoes arn’t making it inside , I scoff them on site. yum!

Happy Potter said:

Evening :)
I harvested half of my corn patch , 15 plants , uppermost cob only and left the lower cob on.. some perfect, some not complete, odd sizes ( the little tip on the left I broke off another cob accidently) but I think not bad for my first time growing it :D Tomorrow I will harvest the top cobs on the second patch of 15 plants.

Pulled up 10 kg of coliban spuds too from 4 plants , already shared about.
The climbing beans are thick amoungst the corn stalks , little beans aplenty.
Leb cucs fab , and huge! Picked all the big ones and shared about.
Long yellow capsicums are just beautiful in salads.
And finally the tomatoes are starting to colour up :)

We are really enjoying the foods I’m growing :D :D

Congratulations Happy Potter, sounds wonderful!

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

I’d be happy with that corn harvest, and sounds like the rest of the patch is doing well too :)

They will get BBQ’d tomorrow, buttered and wrapped , similar with little whole spuds :)
The cherry tomatoes arn’t making it inside , I scoff them on site. yum!

In Greece they sell BBQ’d corn on street corners. They don’t wrap it, just toss it on a rack over coals as it is.

Bubba Louie said:

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

I’d be happy with that corn harvest, and sounds like the rest of the patch is doing well too :)

They will get BBQ’d tomorrow, buttered and wrapped , similar with little whole spuds :)
The cherry tomatoes arn’t making it inside , I scoff them on site. yum!

In Greece they sell BBQ’d corn on street corners. They don’t wrap it, just toss it on a rack over coals as it is.

The Greeks do things with food … all fresh and flavoursome and yummy…druther Greek cooking to French any day…

harvested half of my corn patch , 15 plants , uppermost cob only and left the lower cob on.. some perfect, some not complete, odd sizes ( the little tip on the left I broke off another cob accidently) but I think not bad for my first time growing it :D
———-
good crop – could have been picked a fraction earlier.
all that work developing good soil is certainly paying off big time. its great that all the family is feasting on your produce – luxury at an affordable price.

Dinetta said:

Bubba Louie said:

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

I’d be happy with that corn harvest, and sounds like the rest of the patch is doing well too :)

They will get BBQ’d tomorrow, buttered and wrapped , similar with little whole spuds :)
The cherry tomatoes arn’t making it inside , I scoff them on site. yum!

In Greece they sell BBQ’d corn on street corners. They don’t wrap it, just toss it on a rack over coals as it is.

The Greeks do things with food … all fresh and flavoursome and yummy…druther Greek cooking to French any day…

Out in the villages, when you go to a taverna, the menus have no english so they take you into the kitchen and show you what’s cooking and let you taste test before you order.

We ate at tavernas every night, they’re cheaper than cooking your own.

It was our favourite country. We slept on beaches, swam, went to tavernas, ate, drank and became totally feral.

Out in the villages, when you go to a taverna, the menus have no english so they take you into the kitchen and show you what’s cooking and let you taste test before you order. We ate at tavernas every night, they’re cheaper than cooking your own. It was our favourite country. We slept on beaches, swam, went to tavernas, ate, drank and became totally feral.
——
the greek island of naxos was like that. doesn’t matter about menus – just ask the waiter – he will feel duty bound to recommend the best.
most greeks seem to have lived in melbourne sometime – or visited rellies there. so language is not a problem.

pepe said:

harvested half of my corn patch , 15 plants , uppermost cob only and left the lower cob on.. some perfect, some not complete, odd sizes ( the little tip on the left I broke off another cob accidently) but I think not bad for my first time growing it :D
———-
good crop – could have been picked a fraction earlier.
all that work developing good soil is certainly paying off big time. its great that all the family is feasting on your produce – luxury at an affordable price.

Hi Peps,
why re picking them a fraction earlier ?
Obviously you can see somethign I can’t..
Yep most veges and salad items are coming from the garden atm :)

most greeks seem to have lived in melbourne sometime – or visited rellies there. so language is not a problem.
==================
There’s less english spoken off the tourist trail.

Hi Peps,
why re picking them a fraction earlier ? Obviously you can see somethign I can’t..
Yep most veges and salad items are coming from the garden atm :)
——-
morning HP
i used to sell corn at a roadside stall on my property in the adelaide hills. let me say there are some corn nutters around (including me). the nutters like it one day prior to fully ripe. this is rather like having lamb instead of mutton.
although barbequeing them makes a different – more flavour then just boiling.
for eating raw or boiling – some of them in your pic are just a fraction too old – less buttery – more skin.
don’t mind me – i’m just being fussy.

pepe said:

Hi Peps,
why re picking them a fraction earlier ? Obviously you can see somethign I can’t..
Yep most veges and salad items are coming from the garden atm :)
——-
morning HP
i used to sell corn at a roadside stall on my property in the adelaide hills. let me say there are some corn nutters around (including me). the nutters like it one day prior to fully ripe. this is rather like having lamb instead of mutton.
although barbequeing them makes a different – more flavour then just boiling.
for eating raw or boiling – some of them in your pic are just a fraction too old – less buttery – more skin.
don’t mind me – i’m just being fussy.

Ok, no worries. all tips welcome :)
I can’t tell ,knowing zilch about them.

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

Hi Peps,
why re picking them a fraction earlier ? Obviously you can see somethign I can’t..
Yep most veges and salad items are coming from the garden atm :)
——-
morning HP
i used to sell corn at a roadside stall on my property in the adelaide hills. let me say there are some corn nutters around (including me). the nutters like it one day prior to fully ripe. this is rather like having lamb instead of mutton.
although barbequeing them makes a different – more flavour then just boiling.
for eating raw or boiling – some of them in your pic are just a fraction too old – less buttery – more skin.
don’t mind me – i’m just being fussy.

Ok, no worries. all tips welcome :)
I can’t tell ,knowing zilch about them.

when the silks have just turned brown you can peek inside the covering – ideal time is when the kernels are less yellow and full (flat) then some of yours. i will look at your pic again to see if there is some.

they certainly look delish.
2nd bottom left or 3rd top right look the youngest but all are a fraction too old – altho’ i hasten to add – fantastic eating and umpteen times better than any shop stuff.

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

Hi Peps,
why re picking them a fraction earlier ? Obviously you can see somethign I can’t..
Yep most veges and salad items are coming from the garden atm :)
——-
morning HP
i used to sell corn at a roadside stall on my property in the adelaide hills. let me say there are some corn nutters around (including me). the nutters like it one day prior to fully ripe. this is rather like having lamb instead of mutton.
although barbequeing them makes a different – more flavour then just boiling.
for eating raw or boiling – some of them in your pic are just a fraction too old – less buttery – more skin.
don’t mind me – i’m just being fussy.

Ok, no worries. all tips welcome :)
I can’t tell ,knowing zilch about them.

when the silks have just turned brown you can peek inside the covering – ideal time is when the kernels are less yellow and full (flat) then some of yours. i will look at your pic again to see if there is some.

Arrh ok. I was watching the silks and it seemed they were turning brown pretty quickly.
Thanks!

Bubba Louie said:

Dinetta said:

Bubba Louie said:

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

I’d be happy with that corn harvest, and sounds like the rest of the patch is doing well too :)

They will get BBQ’d tomorrow, buttered and wrapped , similar with little whole spuds :)
The cherry tomatoes arn’t making it inside , I scoff them on site. yum!

In Greece they sell BBQ’d corn on street corners. They don’t wrap it, just toss it on a rack over coals as it is.

The Greeks do things with food … all fresh and flavoursome and yummy…druther Greek cooking to French any day…

Out in the villages, when you go to a taverna, the menus have no english so they take you into the kitchen and show you what’s cooking and let you taste test before you order.

We ate at tavernas every night, they’re cheaper than cooking your own.

It was our favourite country. We slept on beaches, swam, went to tavernas, ate, drank and became totally feral.

Oh you couldn’t become feral in Greece, surely? Not like … ummm… err… b a c k w o o d s U S A?

After that description, I’d pack my bags and go there …problem with $funds$, tho’…

Dinetta said:

Bubba Louie said:

Dinetta said:

Bubba Louie said:

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

I’d be happy with that corn harvest, and sounds like the rest of the patch is doing well too :)

They will get BBQ’d tomorrow, buttered and wrapped , similar with little whole spuds :)
The cherry tomatoes arn’t making it inside , I scoff them on site. yum!

In Greece they sell BBQ’d corn on street corners. They don’t wrap it, just toss it on a rack over coals as it is.

The Greeks do things with food … all fresh and flavoursome and yummy…druther Greek cooking to French any day…

Out in the villages, when you go to a taverna, the menus have no english so they take you into the kitchen and show you what’s cooking and let you taste test before you order.

We ate at tavernas every night, they’re cheaper than cooking your own.

It was our favourite country. We slept on beaches, swam, went to tavernas, ate, drank and became totally feral.

Oh you couldn’t become feral in Greece, surely? Not like … ummm… err… b a c k w o o d s U S A?

After that description, I’d pack my bags and go there …problem with $funds$, tho’…

It’s probably changed heaps since then. I know they were about to stop free camping while we were there. Pity some people spoil it for others by not keeping their camp clean, littering and thinking any available tree is their tiolet. :(

The ruins weren’t even fenced back then, you could just wander around and touch things. That’s probably changed, at least with the major ones. There’s so much antiquity in the countryside that you could just be out for a wander and come across an ancient temple with nobody else in sight. Quite amazing really.

Good morning all.
Hey is this a water hyacinth ? The bulbous thing amongst the lily leaves. It was given to me by a friend who’s got a little fish pond a couple weeks ago. It was one little piece, now 3 pieces.. it obviously grows fast.

considered a weed in the waterways but has a lovely blue/purple flower, okies if kept in controlled situation.

The Estate said:

considered a weed in the waterways but has a lovely blue/purple flower, okies if kept in controlled situation.

Hi Thee, I looked it up and it’s illegal here , notifiable too. It’s hard to control…I will deal with it. And the person I got it off, and whomever they got it off ect.
It’s in a black plastic bag on the lawn, to kill it.

The Estate said:

considered a weed in the waterways but has a lovely blue/purple flower, okies if kept in controlled situation.

two weeds that authorities will rip out of your garden.. other than cannabis that is.. are water hyacinth and alligator weed.. no thanks ..

roughbarked said:

The Estate said:

considered a weed in the waterways but has a lovely blue/purple flower, okies if kept in controlled situation.

two weeds that authorities will rip out of your garden.. other than cannabis that is.. are water hyacinth and alligator weed.. no thanks ..

Appropriately and swiftly dealt with Rough, and I will sniff out where it originated from too. I’ll report it myself.

Happy Potter said:

The Estate said:

considered a weed in the waterways but has a lovely blue/purple flower, okies if kept in controlled situation.

Hi Thee, I looked it up and it’s illegal here , notifiable too. It’s hard to control…I will deal with it. And the person I got it off, and whomever they got it off ect.
It’s in a black plastic bag on the lawn, to kill it.

I would not go that far, as long as in the pond is fine !

Happy Potter said:

Good morning all.
Hey is this a water hyacinth ? The bulbous thing amongst the lily leaves. It was given to me by a friend who’s got a little fish pond a couple weeks ago. It was one little piece, now 3 pieces.. it obviously grows fast.

yep! sure is! don’t let it escape :)

The Estate said:

Happy Potter said:

The Estate said:

considered a weed in the waterways but has a lovely blue/purple flower, okies if kept in controlled situation.

Hi Thee, I looked it up and it’s illegal here , notifiable too. It’s hard to control…I will deal with it. And the person I got it off, and whomever they got it off ect.
It’s in a black plastic bag on the lawn, to kill it.

I would not go that far, as long as in the pond is fine !

Thee.. it’s a state prohibited weed. Notifiable,Illegal. One of the worst.
I’m not one to think ‘oh I won’t let it get out of my pond’….

Good decision HP. :)

Ok, my spuds are all dug up now, got 2 buckets and they weighed 22 kg all up. This patch can rest now until I plant corn again in the coming spring.

First lot were big ones.

Halfway through. Hot work!

Second lot were smaller, but more of them.

Happy Potter said:

Ok, my spuds are all dug up now, got 2 buckets and they weighed 22 kg all up. This patch can rest now until I plant corn again in the coming spring.

First lot were big ones.

Halfway through. Hot work!

Second lot were smaller, but more of them.

Wow HP, magnificent bounty! you’ve done very well again!!!

Lots o0f chippies there !!

Second lot were smaller, but more of them.
———
i’m thinking of planting more white spuds – what sort are those?

The Estate said:

Lots o0f chippies there !!

Wedges, and roast spuds to be exact. I will par cook, (deep fry in olive oil) season, freeze on trays, then vacc seal and keep in the freezer.
I haven’t tried this before but I’ll be sure to let yous know how they go.

pepe said:

Second lot were smaller, but more of them.
———
i’m thinking of planting more white spuds – what sort are those?

They’re colibans too Pepe, and I was surprised at the amount I got because the first coliban bed yeilded not much at all. Allllthoughhhh , the patch from todays was enriched greatly,( originally it was to be the corn bed) the poorer patch wasn’t built up or had anything added before planting.
There ya go, answered my own question lol.

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

Second lot were smaller, but more of them.
———
i’m thinking of planting more white spuds – what sort are those?

They’re colibans too Pepe, and I was surprised at the amount I got because the first coliban bed yeilded not much at all. Allllthoughhhh , the patch from todays was enriched greatly,( originally it was to be the corn bed) the poorer patch wasn’t built up or had anything added before planting.
There ya go, answered my own question lol.

Oh and I forgot to add, the difference this dig was I didn’t come across any marble sized spuds, they were all big and/ or uniform size.

Happy Potter said:

The Estate said:

Lots o0f chippies there !!

Wedges, and roast spuds to be exact. I will par cook, (deep fry in olive oil) season, freeze on trays, then vacc seal and keep in the freezer.
I haven’t tried this before but I’ll be sure to let yous know how they go.

you can just store spuds in bags. they last 6 months in a cool, dark place.
i like you’re outlook tho’ HP – the garden is a food source and processing it immediately is good. you new vacuum sealer is obviously inspiring you at present and your results are eagerly awaited.

Err, correction on those spuds Pepe, they’re sebago’s , not colibans. Just found my list of what I planted where :}

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

The Estate said:

Lots o0f chippies there !!

Wedges, and roast spuds to be exact. I will par cook, (deep fry in olive oil) season, freeze on trays, then vacc seal and keep in the freezer.
I haven’t tried this before but I’ll be sure to let yous know how they go.

you can just store spuds in bags. they last 6 months in a cool, dark place.
i like you’re outlook tho’ HP – the garden is a food source and processing it immediately is good. you new vacuum sealer is obviously inspiring you at present and your results are eagerly awaited.

Thanks Peps , I will let yous know how the wedges taste later on.
It’s a bit labour intensive to prep and freeze the spuds , but they are my organic spuds and a bit of work now will save me money in the long run. I want to maximise the life of what I grow for our own use.
I took the vacc sealer to Giant Sons new resi unit, he had bought meats and we vac sealed them, dated ect so he can eaily see when to use it. Vac sealing them means they can be frozen longer.

The bigger pic of that one Pomolo.

I’m trying to think of a funny caption lol.

Happy Potter said:

The bigger pic of that one Pomolo.

I’m trying to think of a funny caption lol.

“Could you move so I can get comfortable please.”

Gone.

pomolo said:

Happy Potter said:

The bigger pic of that one Pomolo.

I’m trying to think of a funny caption lol.

“Could you move so I can get comfortable please.”

Gone.

“It’s a dog’s life!”

Lovely photo HP :)

pomolo said:

Happy Potter said:

The bigger pic of that one Pomolo.

I’m trying to think of a funny caption lol.

“Could you move so I can get comfortable please.”

Gone.

pass me the remote for the telly please LOL

The Estate said:

pomolo said:

Happy Potter said:

The bigger pic of that one Pomolo.

I’m trying to think of a funny caption lol.

“Could you move so I can get comfortable please.”

Gone.

pass me the remote for the telly please LOL

and while you up, grab us another beer luv

The Estate said:

pomolo said:

Happy Potter said:

The bigger pic of that one Pomolo.

I’m trying to think of a funny caption lol.

“Could you move so I can get comfortable please.”

Gone.

pass me the remote for the telly please LOL

and while you up, grab us another beer luv

LOL! they’re all good, thanks ..I want to put a caption to it and send it to giant sons email so he can show his RMIT class mates :)

My tomatoes and corn after the 3 day heatwave.
Anyone for sun dried tomatoes.. on the vine..

A ‘Fragrant Cloud’ rose still managed to open despite severe bud burn.

Oranges burnt, and lots a lemons scorched.

Burned acacia cognata. Now pulled out.

Taken after the 3 hot days, but after yesterdays scorcher, the remaining green things in these pics in the front garden are now brown too. Most pulled out now. The prostrate conifer in the middle was a lovely deep blue colour.

Such a shame, HP. After all your TLC too :(

orchid40 said:

Such a shame, HP. After all your TLC too :(

Yes I know Orchid, lot’s of work. But bare ground means opportunities to replant.
Although I reckon it might be fake turf and a statue project .. but a statue of what ?

silver beet seems to have survived. the lemon tree looks ok.
sad tho’
- still we start anew in autumn.

pepe said:

silver beet seems to have survived. the lemon tree looks ok.
sad tho’
- still we start anew in autumn.

some of that rain they are having up north would help, just some…

pepe said:

silver beet seems to have survived. the lemon tree looks ok.
sad tho’
- still we start anew in autumn.

That we will :)

bluegreen said:

pepe said:

silver beet seems to have survived. the lemon tree looks ok.
sad tho’
- still we start anew in autumn.

some of that rain they are having up north would help, just some…

Oh don’t remind me LOL
..still can’t get over all that water just running off

some pics I took this morning.

I put 5 button squash in a bare patch in the mini orchard, how big do the bushes get anyway?
They went flat with the heatwave but shot up after it passed.
I will have to chop some of it back so the little lime tree on the shed wall at the back gets more sun.

Canteloupe vine and bush pumpkins in the mini orchard , other side.

Self seeded tomato between dwarf stone fruits and apple trees, and getting some beaut tomatoes off it.

Fernery before and after.

This tree fern seems to be singing “ I will Survive HEY HEY” ( with Max’s encouragement )

pretty gerbs. HP, sorry abourt the fernery, mine are the same :( Squashes etc… looking great though !

despite the weather your various garden spaces are looking good HP.
i’m jealous of your toms – i bought beaut ones at the market yesterday for $2.50 per kilo – so obviously some people can grow them.

pepe said:

despite the weather your various garden spaces are looking good HP.
i’m jealous of your toms – i bought beaut ones at the market yesterday for $2.50 per kilo – so obviously some people can grow them.

Yep it will recover ok in time :)
I have no idea what sort of tomato it is, it just came up where I’d put worm casts. I was about to pull it out when I saw red fruits, so I’ll leave it in a bit longer. Bit of a jungle in there to get to them though lol.

Todays pics .
Vege bed before and after I added small paths to divide it into four beds and used same pavers to build the beds up a tad. Theres some silverbeet and cauli’s in already , duck manure added and netted from birds.

The feathered ones having a blast bathing in the excess dirt I gave them today.

Free mulch delivered to my front door , daily!
(I get 2 w’barrow loads of gum leaves a day in my carport from massive gum trees out in the street)

And I tried to get a pic of my fish whilst walking past the pond with camera at hand ..

those chooks look like they are in heaven :)

bluegreen said:

those chooks look like they are in heaven :)

LOL don’t they just.
I hadn’t put the dirt there 5 minutes and they were merrily getting into it.

Oh dear your garden did take a hiding!

The chooks look so happy! like kids in a swimming hole

Love the new beds HP.. really pretty :)

bon008 said:

Love the new beds HP.. really pretty :)

Aw thanks Bon :D
Just a little finish off work today on it, then I can work on a frame for netting that I can walk under. I’m waiting for resident capsicum plants with good sized fruits on it to get a bit bigger then they will come out. Then I can add lots of goodies to the new soil :)

Navel orange april 07.

Tree march 08 (on the right)

Same tree at the moment. The heatwave didn’t help of course, but it was going like this before then. It should be lush green and laden with fruit by now.

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

you show me yours and I’ll show you mine LOL

The Estate said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

you show me yours and I’ll show you mine LOL

are you trying to scare me – both of you.

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

Peter Cundle would be proud of you :)

Happy Potter said:

Navel orange april 07.

Tree march 08 (on the right)

Same tree at the moment. The heatwave didn’t help of course, but it was going like this before then. It should be lush green and laden with fruit by now.

What is that green stuff.????

What is that green stuff.????

————————————-
LOL Lucky, thats past years pics.
Actually the lawns about the only green thing left , it gets grey water weekly.

Happy Potter said:

What is that green stuff.????

————————————-
LOL Lucky, thats past years pics.
Actually the lawns about the only green thing left , it gets grey water weekly.

They are lovely photos HP……

pepe said:

The Estate said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

you show me yours and I’ll show you mine LOL

are you trying to scare me – both of you.

lol Pepe.. I know its the wrong season to skeletonize it, but I weighed that up against the mild winters we get, plus the tree has a healthy trunk and a sound root system. It just needs revigorating.

Lucky1 said:

Happy Potter said:

What is that green stuff.????

————————————-
LOL Lucky, thats past years pics.
Actually the lawns about the only green thing left , it gets grey water weekly.

They are lovely photos HP……

Aw thanks Lucky :D

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

The Estate said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

you show me yours and I’ll show you mine LOL

are you trying to scare me – both of you.

lol Pepe.. I know its the wrong season to skeletonize it, but I weighed that up against the mild winters we get, plus the tree has a healthy trunk and a sound root system. It just needs revigorating.

got time for it to put on new growth before the cold sets in I think. Just protect any new growth from frost as much as you can.

After …

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

The Estate said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

you show me yours and I’ll show you mine LOL

are you trying to scare me – both of you.

lol Pepe.. I know its the wrong season to skeletonize it, but I weighed that up against the mild winters we get, plus the tree has a healthy trunk and a sound root system. It just needs revigorating.

got time for it to put on new growth before the cold sets in I think. Just protect any new growth from frost as much as you can.

Actually BG, because of the tall sheds around it, and because my backyard is in the middle of 5 propertys, its in a frost free area. Does get full sun though.

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

The Estate said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

you show me yours and I’ll show you mine LOL

are you trying to scare me – both of you.

lol Pepe.. I know its the wrong season to skeletonize it, but I weighed that up against the mild winters we get, plus the tree has a healthy trunk and a sound root system. It just needs revigorating.

its ok – i’m over my fainting fits now –
with BG consuming ducks and HP skeletonising trees i’m getting used to being shocked.
just confirm HP – the verb ‘skeletonising’ does not result in the adjective ‘leafless’.
the good news is we are getting light rain – so that will cheer up the gardens – and hopefully revive werribee trees LOL.

Happy Potter said:

After …

right – the structure is good now
- not too sure about the visibility levels of that lovely timber fence.
i did that to my lemon verbena and its looks terrific now – please wait for a month.

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

After …

right – the structure is good now
- not too sure about the visibility levels of that lovely timber fence.
i did that to my lemon verbena and its looks terrific now – please wait for a month.

I think a couple of mine could do with that treatment. I’m not brave enough though :D

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

The Estate said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

doesn’t look too bad.
a mineral mix would do no harm – however to me it looks more like a pruning job. the tree has grown and not been pruned.

Ok it’s pruned. I have lightly pruned it in the past.
This time I skeletonised it…
I’m not game to show a pic LOL!

you show me yours and I’ll show you mine LOL

are you trying to scare me – both of you.

lol Pepe.. I know its the wrong season to skeletonize it, but I weighed that up against the mild winters we get, plus the tree has a healthy trunk and a sound root system. It just needs revigorating.

its ok – i’m over my fainting fits now –
with BG consuming ducks and HP skeletonising trees i’m getting used to being shocked.
just confirm HP – the verb ‘skeletonising’ does not result in the adjective ‘leafless’.
the good news is we are getting light rain – so that will cheer up the gardens – and hopefully revive werribee trees LOL.

Not leafless ? Now he tells me! LOL.
(needed reINvigorating, even)

Yep it will rain again in Spain. None forcast for here. My rain dance is broke.

Happy Potter said:

After …

Wow, that’s a drastic haircut HP !!! It will be all the better for it though. I had to cut my lime tree down by 50% today. Darn thing was overshadowing the espaliered pear and hardly any limes either. That’ll teach it a lesson!

Not leafless ? Now he tells me! LOL.
——————————
one of the GA presenters suggested that you should only prune half the tree at a time – if hard pruning.

orchid40 said:

Happy Potter said:

After …

Wow, that’s a drastic haircut HP !!! It will be all the better for it though. I had to cut my lime tree down by 50% today. Darn thing was overshadowing the espaliered pear and hardly any limes either. That’ll teach it a lesson!

Big lime tree then Orchid? I’ve taken all the fruit off my 2 dwarf limes as it’s their first year, they are small, and were barely twigs with a couple fruits on each when I got them. Now they are heaps better and very leafy.

pepe said:

Not leafless ? Now he tells me! LOL.
——————————
one of the GA presenters suggested that you should only prune half the tree at a time – if hard pruning.

lalalala sticks fingers in ears lalalalalala…

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

Not leafless ? Now he tells me! LOL.
——————————
one of the GA presenters suggested that you should only prune half the tree at a time – if hard pruning.

lalalala sticks fingers in ears lalalalalala…

it’ll be fine HP. I don’t remember Pete ever leaving leaves on the ones he pruned :)

You don’t suppose there’s something leaching from the concrete foundations of the nearby shed, do you?

(Can’t see the photo very clearly…)

Dinetta said:

You don’t suppose there’s something leaching from the concrete foundations of the nearby shed, do you?

(Can’t see the photo very clearly…)

That sheds been there a few years now, I doubt it’s foundations are causing the trees demise. Theres 2 other citrus nearby too, a lisbon lemon and a mandarine, both fine.

Dinetta said:

You don’t suppose there’s something leaching from the concrete foundations of the nearby shed, do you?

(Can’t see the photo very clearly…)

Oh and forgot to add, the pic links back to my p’bucket album, and you can resize it too 100 % for a closer look. The resizing bit is immediately above the pic.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

You don’t suppose there’s something leaching from the concrete foundations of the nearby shed, do you?

(Can’t see the photo very clearly…)

That sheds been there a few years now, I doubt it’s foundations are causing the trees demise. Theres 2 other citrus nearby too, a lisbon lemon and a mandarine, both fine.

Oh good, I just thought I would raise the point…

My parents had trouble with a paw paw tree, it was believed that the calcium (?) (lime?) exuding from the concrete rain water tank base was causing the paw paw not to fruit…so we hammered nails into it to give it iron…bore wonderful fruit but a hailstorm came from the north, knocked it around, came back from the south (talk about a freak of nature) and totally mashed poor paw paw tree…

Happy Potter said:

After …

Holy guacamole Batman! That’s a bit more extreme than I would have done! Oh well, it doesn’t need pruning any more! LOL!

Happy Potter said:

orchid40 said:

Happy Potter said:

After …

Wow, that’s a drastic haircut HP !!! It will be all the better for it though. I had to cut my lime tree down by 50% today. Darn thing was overshadowing the espaliered pear and hardly any limes either. That’ll teach it a lesson!

Big lime tree then Orchid? I’ve taken all the fruit off my 2 dwarf limes as it’s their first year, they are small, and were barely twigs with a couple fruits on each when I got them. Now they are heaps better and very leafy.

Not a really big tree Pepe, I guess it was about 6-7 ft but it’s in a small bed and too close to the pear etc. It needs to be put in its place!

some pics.
I can’t garden as yet but I love walking about out there in the sun, camera in hand ,so I thought I’d share these pics. And planning what I’m going to do once I’m able to.

Yeaaa! the orange tree is going to make it :) In spring, what branches don’t have any new growth on them will get lopped off.
The garden bed behind the tree where there is celery parsley and spring onions are growing is where I’m planning to grow raspberries. The orange tree will provide afternoon dappled shade.

My poor widdle onion seedlings. Not good.

The magnolia thats got to go. Unfortunately.

The fernerys coming back after its scorching, and the fairys on the fountain is what I look at as I’m having brekky out there.

The fishies and their pond. The dwarf A. Cognatas are over 1 mt tall now. They arn’t supposed to grow over half a mater tall. Some dwarfs!

These mushies , from my front garden, are bigger than the palm of my hand. Don’t know what they are so won’t be eating them.

The columnar apples, and a sunny north facing wall in the mini orchard. I keep looking at it to work out what mini fruit am I going to plant there. Don’t know yet. Something that wont grow up to, but not over 2 mt.

And the dwarf lime in the bottom left foreground will get moved to the corner near the window. Once that big tree philodendron pot gets pulled back a bit. It’s very sunny and frost free there. Perfect spot for a tahitian lime in Melb.

And lastly some veges, capsicums are going very well , cabbages in the background.

Happy Potter said:

some pics.
I can’t garden as yet but I love walking about out there in the sun, camera in hand ,so I thought I’d share these pics. And planning what I’m going to do once I’m able to.

Yeaaa! the orange tree is going to make it :) In spring, what branches don’t have any new growth on them will get lopped off.
The garden bed behind the tree where there is celery parsley and spring onions are growing is where I’m planning to grow raspberries. The orange tree will provide afternoon dappled shade.

My poor widdle onion seedlings. Not good.

The magnolia thats got to go. Unfortunately.

The fernerys coming back after its scorching, and the fairys on the fountain is what I look at as I’m having brekky out there.

The fishies and their pond. The dwarf A. Cognatas are over 1 mt tall now. They arn’t supposed to grow over half a mater tall. Some dwarfs!

These mushies , from my front garden, are bigger than the palm of my hand. Don’t know what they are so won’t be eating them.

The columnar apples, and a sunny north facing wall in the mini orchard. I keep looking at it to work out what mini fruit am I going to plant there. Don’t know yet. Something that wont grow up to, but not over 2 mt.

And the dwarf lime in the bottom left foreground will get moved to the corner near the window. Once that big tree philodendron pot gets pulled back a bit. It’s very sunny and frost free there. Perfect spot for a tahitian lime in Melb.

And lastly some veges, capsicums are going very well , cabbages in the background.

Your mushies look like the edible ones. Pity i’m not close enought to check them out for you.

Bubba Louie said:

Your mushies look like the edible ones. Pity i’m not close enought to check them out for you.

looks is not enough

mushrooms that smell like mushrooms are great…those with a coppery smell can make you sick, so I’m told…so give them a sniff…

Dinetta said:

mushrooms that smell like mushrooms are great…those with a coppery smell can make you sick, so I’m told…so give them a sniff…

They did smell nice like normal mushies but I still wasn’t taking the chance.
I used mushroom compost out front so I’m assuming thats where they have come from.

My poor widdle onion seedlings. Not good.
————-
widdle is a variety i don’t know LOL.
i’m about to plant the summer onions (probably hawkesbury brown because creamgold are hard to get) in polystyrene trays. they need deep roots so maybe your trays are too shallow ?

pepe said:

My poor widdle onion seedlings. Not good.
————-
widdle is a variety i don’t know LOL.
i’m about to plant the summer onions (probably hawkesbury brown because creamgold are hard to get) in polystyrene trays. they need deep roots so maybe your trays are too shallow ?

It’s an exclusive HP variety lol. Poor growers, nothing to write home about.
You kidding ? deeper pots then ? Ok! I can do that.
And that’s the sort of info that the sites and gardening books do not tell you. Then poor sods like me fail and give up and wonder where we went wrong.

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

My poor widdle onion seedlings. Not good.
————-
widdle is a variety i don’t know LOL.
i’m about to plant the summer onions (probably hawkesbury brown because creamgold are hard to get) in polystyrene trays. they need deep roots so maybe your trays are too shallow ?

It’s an exclusive HP variety lol. Poor growers, nothing to write home about.
You kidding ? deeper pots then ? Ok! I can do that.
And that’s the sort of info that the sites and gardening books do not tell you. Then poor sods like me fail and give up and wonder where we went wrong.

they take a long while to grow large enough to transplant. if i plant my onions now they’ll be 150-200mm high in sept/oct – thus the long roots. i’m making a mix of potting soil / cow manure / bentonite clay / coir for them.
the coir bricks have disappeared from the shelves, so i might use a bit of my sieved compost if i can’t find it.

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

My poor widdle onion seedlings. Not good.
————-
widdle is a variety i don’t know LOL.
i’m about to plant the summer onions (probably hawkesbury brown because creamgold are hard to get) in polystyrene trays. they need deep roots so maybe your trays are too shallow ?

It’s an exclusive HP variety lol. Poor growers, nothing to write home about.
You kidding ? deeper pots then ? Ok! I can do that.
And that’s the sort of info that the sites and gardening books do not tell you. Then poor sods like me fail and give up and wonder where we went wrong.

Until this year we used to always direct sow onions. Didn’t know you could transplant easily. Pepe I sowed some creamgold but got a very poor germination (not sure how old the seed was; might have been a bit old). However the red onion and hawkesbury brown both did pretty well

Coolies AnneS, and Pepe. I shall grow onions yet!

Happy Potter said:

Coolies AnneS, and Pepe. I shall grow onions yet!

then perhaps one day I shall succeed as well ;)

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

Coolies AnneS, and Pepe. I shall grow onions yet!

then perhaps one day I shall succeed as well ;)

Absolutely BG. Then we can do a little bum dance taking in the smell of onions cooking on the barbie lol.

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

Coolies AnneS, and Pepe. I shall grow onions yet!

then perhaps one day I shall succeed as well ;)

Absolutely BG. Then we can do a little bum dance taking in the smell of onions cooking on the barbie lol.

or in my case, a big bum dance…

pepe said:

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

My poor widdle onion seedlings. Not good.
————-
widdle is a variety i don’t know LOL.
i’m about to plant the summer onions (probably hawkesbury brown because creamgold are hard to get) in polystyrene trays. they need deep roots so maybe your trays are too shallow ?

It’s an exclusive HP variety lol. Poor growers, nothing to write home about.
You kidding ? deeper pots then ? Ok! I can do that.
And that’s the sort of info that the sites and gardening books do not tell you. Then poor sods like me fail and give up and wonder where we went wrong.

they take a long while to grow large enough to transplant. if i plant my onions now they’ll be 150-200mm high in sept/oct – thus the long roots. i’m making a mix of potting soil / cow manure / bentonite clay / coir for them.
the coir bricks have disappeared from the shelves, so i might use a bit of my sieved compost if i can’t find it.

i was planning on getting 2 of the Bricks.

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

then perhaps one day I shall succeed as well ;)

Absolutely BG. Then we can do a little bum dance taking in the smell of onions cooking on the barbie lol.

or in my case, a big bum dance…

a bum is a bum is a bum….

I should know

whoops

Pics of the sweetpea frames I built. North facing end

South facing climber frame.. doesn’t get enough sun for sweetpeas so I have to think of a shade loving flowering climber for this end.

The red onions seedlings. And some first daffs, just ‘cause they’re pretty:)

looks good HP.
those onions are similar to mine. my creamgold got inspected by mice – but not to worry – many have survived. now all we have to do is wait 3 months whilst they grow large enough to transplant.

pepe said:

looks good HP.
those onions are similar to mine. my creamgold got inspected by mice – but not to worry – many have survived. now all we have to do is wait 3 months whilst they grow large enough to transplant.

3 months eh. ok. I hope you found a lighter/warmer spot for yours.
I assume wait until the potting mix is a tad on the dry side before watering.

Happy Potter said:

South facing climber frame.. doesn’t get enough sun for sweetpeas so I have to think of a shade loving flowering climber for this end.

They look good HP.

Try a Hoya or Trachelospermum jasminoides (Chinese Star Jasmine)

hortfurball said:

Happy Potter said:

South facing climber frame.. doesn’t get enough sun for sweetpeas so I have to think of a shade loving flowering climber for this end.

They look good HP.

Try a Hoya or Trachelospermum jasminoides (Chinese Star Jasmine)

Thanks Horty!
I have a Hoya ..it’s been in a small pot for way too long too…

Happy Potter said:

hortfurball said:

Happy Potter said:

South facing climber frame.. doesn’t get enough sun for sweetpeas so I have to think of a shade loving flowering climber for this end.

They look good HP.

Try a Hoya or Trachelospermum jasminoides (Chinese Star Jasmine)

Thanks Horty!
I have a Hoya ..it’s been in a small pot for way too long too…

Oh perfect!

3 months eh. ok. I hope you found a lighter/warmer spot for yours.
I assume wait until the potting mix is a tad on the dry side before watering.
————
mine are getting about 5 hours of sun now.
watering depends on your soil/enclosure. mine have bentonite in the soil (and its been cold) so i’m watering once or twice a week.
about 12-15cm is the right height for transplanting – might be 2 months?

Heyas, onion update lol..
These brown onions came up after 3 days under light, one week later they are several cms high!
Under lights and indoor warmth is the way to go for serial onion seedling killers, like me :)

Well done on the onions HP! I had mine in punnets for months and decided to give them a garden to grow in. I can see a few thin little green threads but that’s all. The leeks are doing better.

orchid40 said:

Well done on the onions HP! I had mine in punnets for months and decided to give them a garden to grow in. I can see a few thin little green threads but that’s all. The leeks are doing better.

Thats what I was trying to avoid Orchid , wasting my time trying to raise seeds to nought. I’ll leave these to grow up quite tall then gradually climatise them to outside temps. Seems I’ve gone from being unable to grow round onion seedlings , to having too many. I’m rapt they have come up so quickly. Then again I don’t know if thats a good thing or not. They will easily surpass the ones I have outside in the polystyrene box, within days.
Finding a spare bed for onions will be harder.
I do expect to harvest great onions later on.

These brown onions came up after 3 days under light, one week later they are several cms high!
Under lights and indoor warmth is the way to go for serial onion seedling killers, like me :)
———-
looks good to me as well.
my onions are growing in one of those four tier hot frames but rodents can get in. the mice eat and dig the soil rather than the plants. artificial light and heat is sounding good for winter seedlings.

Morning all, I’ve been cleaning up the back vege bed , and the sewer cover that Melb Water came out to fix months ago, was in my way. Well the overflow of concrete they left behind was like a muffin top, and prevented me making a straight bordered bed and Lord help anything that gets in my way in my garden!! lol. It needed cleaning up.
I tried hammering bits off it but I wasn’t making any progress so out came the angle grinder, but after I broke blades my bloke came to the rescue with the jackhammer. That did the trick and now it’s as it should be , round and neater and not in my way of the onion bed.
The whole area needed tidying and beds bordered. And the entrance to this little patch was Max’s favourite digging spot.. now levelled and I paved over it with whatever pavers I had left over, broken ones didn’t get wasted either. Made it less muddy ect.

Pics
Before

During.

After.

Wow, great job HP! All very neat and tidy and ready for anything. Your arms must be back in full working order :) Not to mention the rest of you LOL

Oh and the ‘light house’ onions today.
Showoffs.

looks good we got some Pavers here as well ones from the rental place. new shed and chook pen will be started here soon.

orchid40 said:

Wow, great job HP! All very neat and tidy and ready for anything. Your arms must be back in full working order :) Not to mention the rest of you LOL

I can’t feel them, still jiggly from the jackhammer! LOL. (Hubby got called into work mid job)
Nar I’m fine ,the scars are fading thin red lines. They look great.
The thing I’m not allowed to do yet is lift the weight I was able to before, so the 2 big rocks next to the mandarine tree are waiting for hubby to move, another day.

Thanks orchid :)

veg gardener said:

looks good we got some Pavers here as well ones from the rental place. new shed and chook pen will be started here soon.

Cool Veg :)
I love garden projects, so don’t forget the piccies ok !!

Happy Potter said:

veg gardener said:

looks good we got some Pavers here as well ones from the rental place. new shed and chook pen will be started here soon.

Cool Veg :)
I love garden projects, so don’t forget the piccies ok !!

not really a Garden Project :P

veg gardener said:

Happy Potter said:

veg gardener said:

looks good we got some Pavers here as well ones from the rental place. new shed and chook pen will be started here soon.

Cool Veg :)
I love garden projects, so don’t forget the piccies ok !!

not really a Garden Project :P

It’s outside isnt it ? it’s a garden then lol

Happy Potter said:

veg gardener said:

Happy Potter said:

Cool Veg :)
I love garden projects, so don’t forget the piccies ok !!

not really a Garden Project :P

It’s outside isnt it ? it’s a garden then lol

yep its a shed/ Poultry Project hopefully it invloves the skidsteer and tractor.

The whole area needed tidying and beds bordered. And the entrance to this little patch was Max’s favourite digging spot.. now levelled and I paved over it with whatever pavers I had left over, broken ones didn’t get wasted either. Made it less muddy ect.
———————————
wasteland before – wonderland afterwards. congrats HP and partner.
those onion seedlings are thriving – must get me a light box.

Happy Potter said:

Coolies AnneS, and Pepe. I shall grow onions yet!

It’s fine as long as you can keep the chooks away from them…my horrors escaped their pen yesterday and had a field day in the vegie patch while I was out. Dug up most of my beetroot and made a mess of the mulch in the onion beds (dug a few up). Mostly they were just scratching look for bugs by the looks of things scattering the mulch and subsequently smothering the onion seedlings. This morning I have managed to salvage most of them my gently pulling the mulch aside and hilling it up in between the rows of onions.

AnneS said:

Happy Potter said:

Coolies AnneS, and Pepe. I shall grow onions yet!

It’s fine as long as you can keep the chooks away from them…my horrors escaped their pen yesterday and had a field day in the vegie patch while I was out. Dug up most of my beetroot and made a mess of the mulch in the onion beds (dug a few up). Mostly they were just scratching look for bugs by the looks of things scattering the mulch and subsequently smothering the onion seedlings. This morning I have managed to salvage most of them my gently pulling the mulch aside and hilling it up in between the rows of onions.

Oh bugger, that would be annoying Anne. I hope your onions and veges survive .

No beaked creature of mine can get into either of my 2 vege beds. They can stick their heads through mesh fencing and nibble at a capsicum leaf , thats about it. I only let them out now and then to clean up bugs.

Happy Potter said:

AnneS said:

Happy Potter said:

Coolies AnneS, and Pepe. I shall grow onions yet!

It’s fine as long as you can keep the chooks away from them…my horrors escaped their pen yesterday and had a field day in the vegie patch while I was out. Dug up most of my beetroot and made a mess of the mulch in the onion beds (dug a few up). Mostly they were just scratching look for bugs by the looks of things scattering the mulch and subsequently smothering the onion seedlings. This morning I have managed to salvage most of them my gently pulling the mulch aside and hilling it up in between the rows of onions.

Oh bugger, that would be annoying Anne. I hope your onions and veges survive .

No beaked creature of mine can get into either of my 2 vege beds. They can stick their heads through mesh fencing and nibble at a capsicum leaf , thats about it. I only let them out now and then to clean up bugs.

I’ve not had a lot of problems over the years with marauding chooks. Generally the Rhode Island Reds are quite complient and well behaved. This lot though! Just as well we a getting an average of 6 eggs a day from the 9 hens we have or their ays might have been numbered…lol!

Not really. In our 31 years of marriage we’ve only been without chooks for 4 or 5 years. Just love having them about.

AnneS said:

Happy Potter said:

AnneS said:

It’s fine as long as you can keep the chooks away from them…my horrors escaped their pen yesterday and had a field day in the vegie patch while I was out. Dug up most of my beetroot and made a mess of the mulch in the onion beds (dug a few up). Mostly they were just scratching look for bugs by the looks of things scattering the mulch and subsequently smothering the onion seedlings. This morning I have managed to salvage most of them my gently pulling the mulch aside and hilling it up in between the rows of onions.

Oh bugger, that would be annoying Anne. I hope your onions and veges survive .

No beaked creature of mine can get into either of my 2 vege beds. They can stick their heads through mesh fencing and nibble at a capsicum leaf , thats about it. I only let them out now and then to clean up bugs.

I’ve not had a lot of problems over the years with marauding chooks. Generally the Rhode Island Reds are quite complient and well behaved. This lot though! Just as well we a getting an average of 6 eggs a day from the 9 hens we have or their ays might have been numbered…lol!

Not really. In our 31 years of marriage we’ve only been without chooks for 4 or 5 years. Just love having them about.

in my 17 years of life from what i can remeber i have only been without Poultry for a few Months.

Happy Potter said:

Oh and the ‘light house’ onions today.
Showoffs.

look ready to plant out to me :)

Happy Potter said:

orchid40 said:

Wow, great job HP! All very neat and tidy and ready for anything. Your arms must be back in full working order :) Not to mention the rest of you LOL

I can’t feel them, still jiggly from the jackhammer! LOL. (Hubby got called into work mid job)
Nar I’m fine ,the scars are fading thin red lines. They look great.
The thing I’m not allowed to do yet is lift the weight I was able to before, so the 2 big rocks next to the mandarine tree are waiting for hubby to move, another day.

Thanks orchid :)

you can’t lift rocks, but it is OK to wield a jackhammer – I think your splitting hairs here.

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

orchid40 said:

Wow, great job HP! All very neat and tidy and ready for anything. Your arms must be back in full working order :) Not to mention the rest of you LOL

I can’t feel them, still jiggly from the jackhammer! LOL. (Hubby got called into work mid job)
Nar I’m fine ,the scars are fading thin red lines. They look great.
The thing I’m not allowed to do yet is lift the weight I was able to before, so the 2 big rocks next to the mandarine tree are waiting for hubby to move, another day.

Thanks orchid :)

you can’t lift rocks, but it is OK to wield a jackhammer – I think your splitting hairs here.

Oh it was a little one ! about the size of a large drill with a long blade ( I use it for hard compacted soil too) , the rocks are both over 20 kg each.
I wouldn’t compromise the surgical sites , but I was told I can do anything except lift heavy weights, so do what I can and when I can :)

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

I can’t feel them, still jiggly from the jackhammer! LOL. (Hubby got called into work mid job)
Nar I’m fine ,the scars are fading thin red lines. They look great.
The thing I’m not allowed to do yet is lift the weight I was able to before, so the 2 big rocks next to the mandarine tree are waiting for hubby to move, another day.

Thanks orchid :)

you can’t lift rocks, but it is OK to wield a jackhammer – I think your splitting hairs here.

Oh it was a little one ! about the size of a large drill with a long blade ( I use it for hard compacted soil too) , the rocks are both over 20 kg each.
I wouldn’t compromise the surgical sites , but I was told I can do anything except lift heavy weights, so do what I can and when I can :)

fair enough :)

Now I have a jellyfish swarm! LOL

What the heck are these things ? They are jellyfish like, and theres heaps of them in the ponds bio-filter. They’re very small , clear and have white dots , I scooped some up on the tip of a butterknife. They move slowly.

Happy Potter said:

Now I have a jellyfish swarm! LOL

What the heck are these things ? They are jellyfish like, and theres heaps of them in the ponds bio-filter. They’re very small , clear and have white dots , I scooped some up on the tip of a butterknife. They move slowly.

egg clusters of some sort?

Very cute puppy dog :)

you’re kidding… is this the arm-tugging Max?

Dinetta said:

you’re kidding… is this the arm-tugging Max?

Yes that is he, and what a beautiful greeting I got from him when I walked in the door 20 mins ago , jumping for joy at the sight of me, he’d been inside alone for hours…..after a horror afternoon and night and giant son having to be rescued by the police from sitting in the middle of a freeway, then in Frankston hospital for a mental health assesment. He is so lucky he didn’t get hit.
The lads fine now and sound asleep at his resi unit.
mum and dad mental wrecks.
Max knows this too as he is on my lap with his head resting on my chest staring at my face and being quieter than usual.

Happy Potter said:

Max knows this too as he is on my lap with his head resting on my chest staring at my face and being quieter than usual.

Uncanny how they pick this up?

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Max knows this too as he is on my lap with his head resting on my chest staring at my face and being quieter than usual.

Uncanny how they pick this up?

My tone of voice I’d say , and physicalities. I wasn’t smiling at him as usual, and he’s very in tune to my moods.

He was shutting his eyes in that pic as he thought I was telling him off, because when I do tell him off he shuts his eyes because he doesn’t want to see me scolding him. In fact I was only telling him he can’t dig there anymore as I’d covered the area. I said “ now try and dig there” and it was auto shuteyes, he cracks me up lol.

Happy Potter said:

mum and dad mental wrecks.
Max knows this too as he is on my lap with his head resting on my chest staring at my face and being quieter than usual.

sweet :)

(((HUGS))) from me too

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Max knows this too as he is on my lap with his head resting on my chest staring at my face and being quieter than usual.

Uncanny how they pick this up?

My tone of voice I’d say , and physicalities. I wasn’t smiling at him as usual, and he’s very in tune to my moods.

He was shutting his eyes in that pic as he thought I was telling him off, because when I do tell him off he shuts his eyes because he doesn’t want to see me scolding him. In fact I was only telling him he can’t dig there anymore as I’d covered the area. I said “ now try and dig there” and it was auto shuteyes, he cracks me up lol.

“I can’t see you so you must be scolding someone else”?

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Uncanny how they pick this up?

My tone of voice I’d say , and physicalities. I wasn’t smiling at him as usual, and he’s very in tune to my moods.

He was shutting his eyes in that pic as he thought I was telling him off, because when I do tell him off he shuts his eyes because he doesn’t want to see me scolding him. In fact I was only telling him he can’t dig there anymore as I’d covered the area. I said “ now try and dig there” and it was auto shuteyes, he cracks me up lol.

“I can’t see you so you must be scolding someone else”?

Yes , ostrich act lol.

The lads fine now and sound asleep at his resi unit. – mum and dad mental wrecks.
———-
a difficult situation – i hope youse are coping.

Snow pics :)

Lovely snowy pics HP :) That’s as close as I want to be to it though.
Love your boots!! Is that the hat Lucky knitted for you? Looks snug.

first fire – then snow !
that second pic looks like a war zone.
nice hat parade – thanks HP

Happy Potter said:

Snow pics :)

Thanks for my day in the snow. The pics of burnt trees and snow have a stark kind of appeal. I like them. Your snow man was more like a fragile under fed snow bird. Poor little thing. LOL.

I’ve never seen snow:(

orchid40 said:

Lovely snowy pics HP :) That’s as close as I want to be to it though.
Love your boots!! Is that the hat Lucky knitted for you? Looks snug.

Yep it looks like it is:)

Lucky1 said:

orchid40 said:

Lovely snowy pics HP :) That’s as close as I want to be to it though.
Love your boots!! Is that the hat Lucky knitted for you? Looks snug.

Yep it looks like it is:)

Yes it is Luckys knitted hat. Lovely and warm. I had another beanie ear warmer under it so I look big headed lol.
The gumboots worked, couldn’t get lost wearing them , although if I become a regular snow goer, I’ll need snow boots :)

Maidenhair ferns , the one in the plastic lined wire basket tends to stay dry, although it does grow well , it tends to need more frequent watering, whereas the plastic potted one stays moist on once a week watering.

Yes the zygos like dark nights. This zygo I have was on the patio in 2007 and there was fluro lights on until about 11 pm nightly. The side facing the lights didn’t have many flowers, but the dark side of it away from the lights flowered well. The difference is amazing.

Yep, sure is!

Well, that proves that point then, doesn’t it?

Lurvely photo of the flowering zygo…the maidenhair is great as well…

Dinetta said:

Yep, sure is!

Well, that proves that point then, doesn’t it?

Lurvely photo of the flowering zygo…the maidenhair is great as well…

Thanks D :)
The maidenhair ferns arn’t going to sleep for the winter , (frost free in the fernery) , so I,m not sure wheather to cut them back or just leave them be.

The side facing the lights didn’t have many flowers, but the dark side of it away from the lights flowered well. The difference is amazing.
——-
just a minute – mine is in the sun. should i put it in the shade?

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Yep, sure is!

Well, that proves that point then, doesn’t it?

Lurvely photo of the flowering zygo…the maidenhair is great as well…

Thanks D :)
The maidenhair ferns arn’t going to sleep for the winter , (frost free in the fernery) , so I,m not sure wheather to cut them back or just leave them be.

When you get a run of warmer weather, and you know the low temps are gone, cut them back and use the fronds for mulch in that pot…Pomolo will know more than I do, tho’…

pepe said:

The side facing the lights didn’t have many flowers, but the dark side of it away from the lights flowered well. The difference is amazing.
——-
just a minute – mine is in the sun. should i put it in the shade?

No, it’s the night-time lights that stop the flowering…if yours has no access to artificial light after sundown, then it should flower…mine are in nearly full sun in the summer…

Dinetta said:

pepe said:

The side facing the lights didn’t have many flowers, but the dark side of it away from the lights flowered well. The difference is amazing.
——-
just a minute – mine is in the sun. should i put it in the shade?

No, it’s the night-time lights that stop the flowering…if yours has no access to artificial light after sundown, then it should flower…mine are in nearly full sun in the summer…

Thats right , it’s artificial light they don’t like. But they don’t like too much sun either. I do find they flower better out of sunlight. Mine are under the eaves on the east side of the house and they get no sun whatsoever. Too much sun on them and the stems/leaves get a a reddish tinge on them , means they’re too hot. One of mine right at the end of the fernery gets sun on half of it in summer and it didn’t flower on the sunny side.

( back now from drs appt )

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Yep, sure is!

Well, that proves that point then, doesn’t it?

Lurvely photo of the flowering zygo…the maidenhair is great as well…

Thanks D :)
The maidenhair ferns arn’t going to sleep for the winter , (frost free in the fernery) , so I,m not sure wheather to cut them back or just leave them be.

When you get a run of warmer weather, and you know the low temps are gone, cut them back and use the fronds for mulch in that pot…Pomolo will know more than I do, tho’…

Thanks, I will ask

Happy Potter said:

Maidenhair ferns , the one in the plastic lined wire basket tends to stay dry, although it does grow well , it tends to need more frequent watering, whereas the plastic potted one stays moist on once a week watering.

Yes the zygos like dark nights. This zygo I have was on the patio in 2007 and there was fluro lights on until about 11 pm nightly. The side facing the lights didn’t have many flowers, but the dark side of it away from the lights flowered well. The difference is amazing.

Thanks HP.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Yep, sure is!

Well, that proves that point then, doesn’t it?

Lurvely photo of the flowering zygo…the maidenhair is great as well…

Thanks D :)
The maidenhair ferns arn’t going to sleep for the winter , (frost free in the fernery) , so I,m not sure wheather to cut them back or just leave them be.

I never cut mine back. I just remove ageing fronds. Maybe that’s a northern thing. They don’t go to sleep up here.

pepe said:

The side facing the lights didn’t have many flowers, but the dark side of it away from the lights flowered well. The difference is amazing.
——-
just a minute – mine is in the sun. should i put it in the shade?

Not if it’s doing well where it is. If it’s struggling then try it. It’s in a plants genes to try and break the rules I think.

pomolo said:

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Yep, sure is!

Well, that proves that point then, doesn’t it?

Lurvely photo of the flowering zygo…the maidenhair is great as well…

Thanks D :)
The maidenhair ferns arn’t going to sleep for the winter , (frost free in the fernery) , so I,m not sure wheather to cut them back or just leave them be.

I never cut mine back. I just remove ageing fronds. Maybe that’s a northern thing. They don’t go to sleep up here.

Mine can die right back from lack of water…in the winter mine slow right down, it’s a worry but I figure all plants need a “rest” season…so yep, I cut off all the dead fronds and mulch them around the pot…

Drool, that is stunning

Oh cute , little 30 g eggs lol, the feathered lot are happier today.

And the netted chooks yard.

And look what happens when I get distracted by the gardening forum LOL!

Happy Potter said:

And look what happens when I get distracted by the gardening forum LOL!

oops!

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

And look what happens when I get distracted by the gardening forum LOL!

oops!

double oops…lol

Lucky1 said:

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

And look what happens when I get distracted by the gardening forum LOL!

oops!

double oops…lol

I only overcook the pasta!!

bluegreen said:

Lucky1 said:

bluegreen said:

oops!

double oops…lol

I only overcook the pasta!!

I tend to wonder off and find dishes a couple of hours later….in cold water…lol

Lucky1 said:

bluegreen said:

Lucky1 said:

double oops…lol

I only overcook the pasta!!

I tend to wonder off and find dishes a couple of hours later….in cold water…lol

lol!
There was that much again on the floor. But I didn’t waste it , I pushed it onto the cupbpard doors and got on knees to give them a good scrub, and then the floor.
All squeeky clean now :)

Pouring rain atm , YEAAAAA!!
The BOM map for here looks great!

Happy Potter said:

Pouring rain atm , YEAAAAA!!
The BOM map for here looks great!

and heading this way :)

Pot piccies for AnneS :)

Well it’s messy to me.. I’ve got to pick up old pots and potting mix, sweep and tidy and wipe over table setting.

1st column is the dark pink small flower. Then paler pink/white larger flower , then last column hot pink large flower zygo.

Windblown maidenhairs, and I’m so glad this very light framed, shade clothed roof didn’t get blown off..

Ve have ways of making you talk!
(espellier almond)

Happy Potter said:

Pot piccies for AnneS :)

Well it’s messy to me.. I’ve got to pick up old pots and potting mix, sweep and tidy and wipe over table setting.

1st column is the dark pink small flower. Then paler pink/white larger flower , then last column hot pink large flower zygo.

Windblown maidenhairs, and I’m so glad this very light framed, shade clothed roof didn’t get blown off..

Ve have ways of making you talk!
(espellier almond)

LOL. Would that my garden and house were that messy :D That’s incredibly tidy by my usual standard. I’m hopeless.

Tis blowing a gale outside, but that’s nothing unusual for here.

LOL. Would that my garden and house were that messy :D That’s incredibly tidy by my usual standard. I’m hopeless.

————————————————
Well I showed you my messy, now you have to show me yours LOL

Wow that will look fab when all your Zygos are in flower HP! The ferns are looking terrific too – you have made the perfect place for them :)

orchid40 said:

Wow that will look fab when all your Zygos are in flower HP! The ferns are looking terrific too – you have made the perfect place for them :)

Thanks Orchid:)
Chooks lived down this unused side for 10 years. Then I booted them out lol.
The thing is though , the zygos wont all flower at once , one column at a time will be. And it’s hard to know when you buy them or given them what one they are, christmas cactus,easter cactus ect.

Happy Potter said:

LOL. Would that my garden and house were that messy :D That’s incredibly tidy by my usual standard. I’m hopeless.

————————————————
Well I showed you my messy, now you have to show me yours LOL

Hang on will find an old photo…or maybe go and take one of the verandah! LOL

Happy Potter said:

LOL. Would that my garden and house were that messy :D That’s incredibly tidy by my usual standard. I’m hopeless.

————————————————
Well I showed you my messy, now you have to show me yours LOL

I almost need a Bluegreen type party to get me organised!

AnneS said:

Happy Potter said:

LOL. Would that my garden and house were that messy :D That’s incredibly tidy by my usual standard. I’m hopeless.

————————————————
Well I showed you my messy, now you have to show me yours LOL

I almost need a Bluegreen type party to get me organised!

LOL!

Happy Potter said:

LOL. Would that my garden and house were that messy :D That’s incredibly tidy by my usual standard. I’m hopeless.

————————————————
Well I showed you my messy, now you have to show me yours LOL

Not sure this is a good idea. LOL! Rather emabarrassing but here goes:

Not sure this is a good idea. LOL! Rather emabarrassing but here goes:

——————————————————
I wish I had that much land!!

Cool pics AnneS ,thanks :D

Where the mess????

Lucky1 said:

Where the mess????

You do not want me to photograph the kitchen do you!!! LOL
It’s a tip..and the ironing pile has been there so long it’s collected dust.. opps…

We should have a contest for whos got the messiest back yard lol! The winner would get……….what ?

Happy Potter said:

We should have a contest for whos got the messiest back yard lol! The winner would get……….what ?

Oooh.. the winner gets everyone else coming over to help???

I think I would win.. but I can’t pay your airfares :(

Happy Potter said:

Lucky1 said:

Where the mess????

You do not want me to photograph the kitchen do you!!! LOL
It’s a tip..and the ironing pile has been there so long it’s collected dust.. opps…

That was the tidy bit I showed you; inside definitely a tip. My ironing pile is like that too….I rarely do ironing; my bit for saving the planet, cutting my carbon footprint LOL

Happy Potter said:

We should have a contest for whos got the messiest back yard lol! The winner would get……….what ?

The winner would be me…messing the yard with chewed-up things appears to be the dawg’s mission in life, and she’s 2 y o now…

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

We should have a contest for whos got the messiest back yard lol! The winner would get……….what ?

The winner would be me…messing the yard with chewed-up things appears to be the dawg’s mission in life, and she’s 2 y o now…

The mission of ours is to dig as many holes as possible under my fruit trees.. plenty of bare sand available but she likes to bury her stuff under fruit trees because of the tasty manure flavour.. :D Plus she’ll never just bury something.. she will dig 3 or 4 holes and abandon them before she finds the right spot.

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

We should have a contest for whos got the messiest back yard lol! The winner would get……….what ?

The winner would be me…messing the yard with chewed-up things appears to be the dawg’s mission in life, and she’s 2 y o now…

The mission of ours is to dig as many holes as possible under my fruit trees.. plenty of bare sand available but she likes to bury her stuff under fruit trees because of the tasty manure flavour.. :D Plus she’ll never just bury something.. she will dig 3 or 4 holes and abandon them before she finds the right spot.

Let’s not introduce my dawg to yours…

Dinetta said:

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

The winner would be me…messing the yard with chewed-up things appears to be the dawg’s mission in life, and she’s 2 y o now…

The mission of ours is to dig as many holes as possible under my fruit trees.. plenty of bare sand available but she likes to bury her stuff under fruit trees because of the tasty manure flavour.. :D Plus she’ll never just bury something.. she will dig 3 or 4 holes and abandon them before she finds the right spot.

Let’s not introduce my dawg to yours…

hehe :)

Happy Potter said:

Pot piccies for AnneS :)

Well it’s messy to me.. I’ve got to pick up old pots and potting mix, sweep and tidy and wipe over table setting.

1st column is the dark pink small flower. Then paler pink/white larger flower , then last column hot pink large flower zygo.

Windblown maidenhairs, and I’m so glad this very light framed, shade clothed roof didn’t get blown off..

Ve have ways of making you talk!
(espellier almond)

Well done HP.

Ok the tomato seedlings in the light box coming along nicely , up after 4 days. And tiny basil.
And a Rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’

Yes your seedlings are powering along sigh

I just planted one per pot…I might have to move mine so they get the warmth from concrete of a night, plus early morning sun…I was so desparate to make the most of the yellow seeds that I may have planted 2 pieces of rolled oats by mistake…this means I prolly only got one yellow seed…

If nothing happens within 10 days, I’ll plant some more seeds as it would be a shame to waste the cane toads at the bottom of the pots…

Nice looking seedlings, HP. I like your Rhody too :)

Happy Potter said:

Ok the tomato seedlings in the light box coming along nicely , up after 4 days. And tiny basil.
And a Rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’

nice photos – but i can’t see the light thingy. – can you please tell me what the light is again – mental blockage.

Heres the light box thingy Pepe..
It has a globe with one green prong and one white..although it looks the same colour in the pic. It’s got ’75 w sun lite’ stamped on it.
By the way , the brown onions I raised in it are going fabulously, despite the dog digging them up ,hubby walking over them and getting blown flat in gales. They are bigger and healthier that the ones I raised in the styro box.
I knew that warmth and light would give seedlings a good start, but then once in the ground would struggle, but they haven’t.

Dinetta said:

Yes your seedlings are powering along sigh

I just planted one per pot…I might have to move mine so they get the warmth from concrete of a night, plus early morning sun…I was so desparate to make the most of the yellow seeds that I may have planted 2 pieces of rolled oats by mistake…this means I prolly only got one yellow seed…

If nothing happens within 10 days, I’ll plant some more seeds as it would be a shame to waste the cane toads at the bottom of the pots…

Dinetta I scored another packet of the rare seeds off a friend , if you would like them I’m happy to post them to you. Let me know ok. I have only one of the yellow stuffing seeds up ( blue seed) and 2 of the oxheart yellows, but thats enough.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Yes your seedlings are powering along sigh

I just planted one per pot…I might have to move mine so they get the warmth from concrete of a night, plus early morning sun…I was so desparate to make the most of the yellow seeds that I may have planted 2 pieces of rolled oats by mistake…this means I prolly only got one yellow seed…

If nothing happens within 10 days, I’ll plant some more seeds as it would be a shame to waste the cane toads at the bottom of the pots…

Dinetta I scored another packet of the rare seeds off a friend , if you would like them I’m happy to post them to you. Let me know ok. I have only one of the yellow stuffing seeds up ( blue seed) and 2 of the oxheart yellows, but thats enough.

Oh Happy, you’re a dear…but no, I have had a look at here:

http://home.iprimus.com.au/ironbarkbob/seed/

and I am reasonably sure the yellow seeds are available as well…go to page 2 on the site…he’s australian (burpengary, I think) and how we found out about him is he used to contribute to the original forum until they changed from Miss Moderator to somebody with less life experience…

So I have printed off his pages (there’s only two) and the good thing with the BBY seeds is they’ve helped me define what I really want from this catalogue…as opposed to “I want everything on it!”…

It was just such a bummer, going to a lot of trouble to make up 8 pots, with newspaper (for ease of transplanting) and a cane toad each, and while there’s hope yet, I panicked when you said yours were up already…

Thank you for your generous offer, but you keep them and let them grow and multiply…

Thank you for your generous offer, but you keep them and let them grow and multiply…

———————————————-
No problem. And thanks for putting that link up. I’m sure the tomatoes grown by my poppy were caspian pink, large. That was a pleasant blast from the past.
And how to save seed’s… that is handy. I do want to save the seeds, but I probably would have lost the lot.
Cool!

Happy Potter said:

Heres the light box thingy Pepe..
It has a globe with one green prong and one white..although it looks the same colour in the pic. It’s got ’75 w sun lite’ stamped on it.
By the way , the brown onions I raised in it are going fabulously, despite the dog digging them up ,hubby walking over them and getting blown flat in gales. They are bigger and healthier that the ones I raised in the styro box.
I knew that warmth and light would give seedlings a good start, but then once in the ground would struggle, but they haven’t.

ta – 75w sunlite. sounds good.
looks like i could use one of my spare aquariums.

Right, can upload some pics again :) A few Rhododendron garden pics.

and the little broody chook house .. pics uploaded sideways and I rotated them so I hope they come out right way up ..

Happy Potter said:

and the little broody chook house .. pics uploaded sideways and I rotated them so I hope they come out right way up ..

Argh.. well when the thumbnails clicked on they are the right way up lol

Lovely pics of the Rhodys and Vireyas, HP, they do put on a nice show :)

No Tags, piccies speak for themselves:) First Garden..Tarn House

Ard Rudah, second garden.

pretty in pink.

Happy Potter said:

what I wouldn’t do for a lake like this…

sighs

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

what I wouldn’t do for a lake like this…

sighs

Oh me too. So quiet and tranquil , only birdsong.

Happy Potter said:

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

what I wouldn’t do for a lake like this…

sighs

Oh me too. So quiet and tranquil , only birdsong.

and this is on 5 acres? :O

Was this garden designed by that lady, I forget her name,…oh yeah, Edna Walling?

has her hallmarks…

Dinetta said:

Was this garden designed by that lady, I forget her name,…oh yeah, Edna Walling?

has her hallmarks…

http://www.visitmacedonranges.com/accommodation/
Apparently not,,,

Happy Potter said:

No Tags, piccies speak for themselves:) First Garden..Tarn House

Ard Rudah, second garden.

Beautiful HP. Thanks muchly.

Dinetta said:

Dinetta said:

Was this garden designed by that lady, I forget her name,…oh yeah, Edna Walling?

has her hallmarks…

http://www.visitmacedonranges.com/accommodation/
Apparently not,,,

B&B on 5 acres. I thought it was a typical ‘Walling’ style too.

Thanks youse:)
Not a very good photograper ,and I do tend to be selfish and only photograph what I like.
Can you tell I luv rhodys ? LOL

Lovely photos, HP! I love the rhodies too, they are brilliant. The lake is gorgeous,, so tranquil.
When we go next month we’ve got a lovely driver – he’s the one whose company I went to NZ with. I’m sure he won’t be speeding!
Did you go to Stephen Ryan’s place? (GA presenter) We’re going there but not expecting to see him.

No Tags, piccies speak for themselves:)
First Garden..Tarn House
—————————————
wow those gardens are more like botanic parks.
the amount of knowledge needed to chose plants and then arrange them with each other to form a pleasing landscape on that scale boggles the brain.
thanks happy – lovely tour.

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

And other flowery pics from today

Woke up to this one. I can’

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

wow – cooking can be an exacting art at times.

Happy Potter said:

And other flowery pics from today

Woke up to this one. I can’

Gawd. Post not showing unless I click on quote..

Trying that again, last time..

Happy Potter said:

Trying that again, last time..

gardening science fiction. odd looking plants – but spectacular.

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

that’s beautiful :)

Happy Potter said:

Trying that again, last time..

awesome :D

Thank you :D
The marquee floor wasn’t level in that corner, so it looks on a lean lol.
Cakes been wheeled into a coolroom until 6pm.

Now for the next one! Same but ivory icing and flowers..then that’s it for wedding cakes.. until my girls wedding in march.

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

nice one Potter :)

Happy Potter said:

Trying that again, last time..

Very pretty Cactus :)

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

Oh yum…how pretty is this cake????:)

Happy Potter said:

Trying that again, last time..

Stunning

Beautiful cake there HP; you are so clever!

Thanks Anne , Lucky :)
I got phone calls from several people at the reception asking about other cakes I do. Well I better get fitter, I’ll need to live to 110 lol

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

That’s very nice Hp. Very elegant. Love those cacti flowers too. They’d look lovely on top of a wedding vake too.

I used to do cake decorating too when the kids were still in school. I used to do the moulded sugar flowers as well as the cake. I suppose you do them as too. Hours and hours of work plus I was always fighting the humidity as well. Had a few run ins with customers and it made me toss it in. I didn’t need the agrivation. Used to love doing it though.

That reminds me. Do you need any cake decorating books? I have about half a dozen good ones here that are yours if you say so.

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

An elegant outcome…congratulations Happy Potter…as a matter of idle curiosity, what did you use for icing?

pomolo said:

That’s very nice Hp. Very elegant. Love those cacti flowers too. They’d look lovely on top of a wedding vake too.

I used to do cake decorating too when the kids were still in school. I used to do the moulded sugar flowers as well as the cake. I suppose you do them as too. Hours and hours of work plus I was always fighting the humidity as well. Had a few run ins with customers and it made me toss it in. I didn’t need the agrivation. Used to love doing it though.

That reminds me. Do you need any cake decorating books? I have about half a dozen good ones here that are yours if you say so.

Oh I’d love those books Pomolo!
But, books are too heavy to post! I’m yet to book in for the cake decorating course but I still have the voucher for it. one day yet lol

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

An elegant outcome…congratulations Happy Potter…as a matter of idle curiosity, what did you use for icing?

Thank you :D Just fondant icing, water sugar and glucose, and I bought almond paste to level and seal.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Right back now..
Wedding cake I made for daughters friend. Pretty and simple , but exactly what the bride wanted, and shes as pleased as punch :D

An elegant outcome…congratulations Happy Potter…as a matter of idle curiosity, what did you use for icing?

Thank you :D Just fondant icing, water sugar and glucose, and I bought almond paste to level and seal.

Actually , thats my fondant recipe for flowers.. the icing for covering cakes includes glycerine and gelatin

The cake looks wonderful HP!

The cake looks wonderful HP!

Lightbox onions are looking great. ( raised the seeds in a small aquarium with the grow light on all day, off at night)
Taking advantage of a bare spot between fruit trees, they will be ready soon I hope. It’s getting a little crowded in there!

Dwarf lime was stripped almost bare in gale force winds is making a comeback, immature fruit abound.
I lurrrvee limes! I cant wait to be harvesting it friuit for cooking :)

Dwarf pear with slug damage..gerbera border around my mini orchard, various veges – leeks and hot hungarian yellow chilli’s between – ( chilli’s not visable) and new little sultana grape planted out where the poor dead almond espalier was.

Dwarf Acacia Cognatas around the pond..the smaller A cog. on the left is being attacked by a mite, but it’s too close to the pond to spray it with anything. The taller ‘limelight’ A cog. is now 1.7 mt high. Some dwarf!

Rear vege bed.
Spuds , tomato bed, then button squash.

Raspberries with no fruit on.
Because I ate them all. burp!

Opposite the raspberries, mandarine tree, and rhubarb ( I can see rhubarb jam coming up)

Opps,, forgot to add mandarine, and rhubarb bed

nice onions
unfortunately they might be a month or two yet before the tops wilt.
pick em as you need tho’ – always a good philosophy IMO.

Lastly, an overall pic of my mini orchard. Theres 16 fruit trees in there – looks a little crowded but they are actually carefully placed for what space each needs, and where each tree gets a minimum of 6 hours sun a day. Most get 7 or more. It’s roughly 12 sq mt. Once any vegies are out I will re mulch and leave it all to the trees. (eg onions don’t like mulch)
It’s been a wonderful project this mini orchard ,and because it’s compact , far easier to keep the water up to it, easy to feed and what run off of ferts like seasol just gets sucked up by the next nearest tree! and things like limes are protected from frosts.
I just love it.

pepe said:

nice onions
unfortunately they might be a month or two yet before the tops wilt.
pick em as you need tho’ – always a good philosophy IMO.

I have large spring onions for use so I’m leaving the brown onions be for now. I know I can grow onions now! :D
Oh and the red onions raised in the ‘styro box to the back of the mandy tree are much smaller. Although red onions are a smaller onion anyway , they just don’t look as good. The light box seedlings get a better start.

impressive – the whole lot looks good.
i saw the chillies and that whole corner of the house is starting to look established – i remember it being fairly bare not so long ago.
great effort.

Happy Potter said:

Lastly, an overall pic of my mini orchard. Theres 16 fruit trees in there – looks a little crowded but they are actually carefully placed for what space each needs, and where each tree gets a minimum of 6 hours sun a day. Most get 7 or more. It’s roughly 12 sq mt. Once any vegies are out I will re mulch and leave it all to the trees. (eg onions don’t like mulch)
It’s been a wonderful project this mini orchard ,and because it’s compact , far easier to keep the water up to it, easy to feed and what run off of ferts like seasol just gets sucked up by the next nearest tree! and things like limes are protected from frosts.
I just love it.

lots of plants do like being crowded. that corner is the one – quite a revolution in about a year.

Happy Potter said:

Lightbox onions are looking great. ( raised the seeds in a small aquarium with the grow light on all day, off at night)
Taking advantage of a bare spot between fruit trees, they will be ready soon I hope. It’s getting a little crowded in there!

The onion look delicious!

Happy Potter said:

Dwarf lime was stripped almost bare in gale force winds is making a comeback, immature fruit abound.
I lurrrvee limes! I cant wait to be harvesting it friuit for cooking :)

It certainly has made a marvellous comeback…

The onion look delicious!
————————————————- I’m sure they will be just beautiful on my burger, when they are ready :D

lots of plants do like being crowded. that corner is the one – quite a revolution in about a year.
——————————————-
Thanks Pepe. It’s so much more useful now than when it had a wattle tree and various struggling shrubs.

Some before pics:

Happy Potter said:

lots of plants do like being crowded. that corner is the one – quite a revolution in about a year.
——————————————-
Thanks Pepe. It’s so much more useful now than when it had a wattle tree and various struggling shrubs.

Some before pics:

You have done well!

it all looks very neat and tidy :) Thanks for sharing.

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

lots of plants do like being crowded. that corner is the one – quite a revolution in about a year.
——————————————-
Thanks Pepe. It’s so much more useful now than when it had a wattle tree and various struggling shrubs.

Some before pics:

You have done well!

Supoib!

your garden is looking fabulous, HP. Well done :D

Happy Potter said:

lots of plants do like being crowded. that corner is the one – quite a revolution in about a year.
——————————————-
Thanks Pepe. It’s so much more useful now than when it had a wattle tree and various struggling shrubs.

Some before pics:

Wow – what an impressive improvement!!

Thanks Bonn :) and thanks all of you :D I can’t tell you ,well many of you know, how good it is to have your support ,cheers and encouragement. All the credits to yous. Had I not been in this forum with you all, I wouldn’t have attempted this. Muscles and sore back legs knees ect and emptied purse were my part! lol.

It started from the wattle tree blowing over in a gale, and took some other shrubs over with it, nearly 18 months ago. The meyer lemon was there a year before and survived everything. Bare earth = opportunity! And apart from hubby getting the wattle tree stump out , I did it all by myself. Bought in new soil and carted it from the driveway by w’barrow to the back , which took me 2 days, bought and planted out the trees ect when they became available. There’s 5 different columnar apples, 2 dwarf apples ,a meyer lemon, navel orange, imperial mandarine, a pear ,nectarine, peach and 2 tahitian limes. All dwarf trees. and finally a grape. We sharn’t go hungry!

I’ll stick a signup on a board out there one day ‘ Mums Fruit Loop Mini Orchard’ LOL!

Hp, your garden looks wonderful! I love your orchard and the Gerberas around it. Well done girl – give yourself a big pat on the back!!

Happy Potter said:

Thanks Bonn :) and thanks all of you :D I can’t tell you ,well many of you know, how good it is to have your support ,cheers and encouragement. All the credits to yous. Had I not been in this forum with you all, I wouldn’t have attempted this. Muscles and sore back legs knees ect and emptied purse were my part! lol.

It started from the wattle tree blowing over in a gale, and took some other shrubs over with it, nearly 18 months ago. The meyer lemon was there a year before and survived everything. Bare earth = opportunity! And apart from hubby getting the wattle tree stump out , I did it all by myself. Bought in new soil and carted it from the driveway by w’barrow to the back , which took me 2 days, bought and planted out the trees ect when they became available. There’s 5 different columnar apples, 2 dwarf apples ,a meyer lemon, navel orange, imperial mandarine, a pear ,nectarine, peach and 2 tahitian limes. All dwarf trees. and finally a grape. We sharn’t go hungry!

I’ll stick a signup on a board out there one day ‘ Mums Fruit Loop Mini Orchard’ LOL!

It’s important to sit back sometimes and just appreciate how much work you’ve done and what you’ve achieved :)

When it rains so hard that it sags light shade cloth…the gutters won’t cope either.

My daughters pet rabbit Luke, just chillin with Daisy, her terrier. And a close up of his face just to show you he is alive! lol.
he shares the dogs bed, doesn’t dig holes, and loves to go for a walk on a lead.
He ate the crusts off my tomato sanger lol.

very cute :)

He’s a very cuddly bunny :)

Happy Potter said:

My daughters pet rabbit Luke, just chillin with Daisy, her terrier. And a close up of his face just to show you he is alive! lol.
he shares the dogs bed, doesn’t dig holes, and loves to go for a walk on a lead.
He ate the crusts off my tomato sanger lol.

Can’t help but luv a bunny.

pomolo said:

Can’t help but luv a bunny.

or a long eared cat?

bluegreen said:

pomolo said:

Can’t help but luv a bunny.

or a long eared cat?

Luke thinks hes a dog! eats dry dog food, sleeps with and runs about with the dog, he is such a weird funny bunny lol

Cucumbers anyone ?
They’re massive! Found them in amongst the raspberry canes, they will get scoffed in tomorrows salad :)

Happy Potter said:

Cucumbers anyone ?
They’re massive! Found them in amongst the raspberry canes, they will get scoffed in tomorrows salad :)

send them up on the next plane or semi, direct for newcastle Farmers Market, I eat them as apples.

Happy Potter said:

Cucumbers anyone ?
They’re massive! Found them in amongst the raspberry canes, they will get scoffed in tomorrows salad :)

noice – continentals are highly edible.
mine are still small.

Happy Potter said:

Cucumbers anyone ?
They’re massive! Found them in amongst the raspberry canes, they will get scoffed in tomorrows salad :)

Wow – scary cukes HP! Well done!!

Ta darrrr!
Finally finished. Well that door is not staying that colour, but the shed front is finished :D

And some close ups. mistakes galore, but it’s just so me :D I love it!!

Happy Potter said:

Ta darrrr!
Finally finished. Well that door is not staying that colour, but the shed front is finished :D

And some close ups. mistakes galore, but it’s just so me :D I love it!!

That’s awesome! Nice work! The blue tiles have really finished off the colour… maybe you should do something for the shed so that the light airplanes can read???

Watch out for the amount of grout that you have between your sun rays? I have found in my sandstone masonry work that large areas of grout are subject to cracking.

Happy Potter said:

Ta darrrr!
Finally finished. Well that door is not staying that colour, but the shed front is finished :D

And some close ups. mistakes galore, but it’s just so me :D I love it!!

Bewdiful!!

Now you’re giving me mosaicing urges, when I should be concentrating on gardening!! :)

pain master said:

Happy Potter said:

Ta darrrr!
Finally finished. Well that door is not staying that colour, but the shed front is finished :D

And some close ups. mistakes galore, but it’s just so me :D I love it!!

That’s awesome! Nice work! The blue tiles have really finished off the colour… maybe you should do something for the shed so that the light airplanes can read???

Watch out for the amount of grout that you have between your sun rays? I have found in my sandstone masonry work that large areas of grout are subject to cracking.

Wow that is so cool:) Love the whole idea of making it colourful for the backyard:)

Ta darrrr!
Finally finished. Well that door is not staying that colour, but the shed front is finished :D
————————
looks great – those detail shots are even better than the overall.

Here’s a fish that the GF made which would look a treat next to your shed…

Happy Potter said:

Ta darrrr!
Finally finished. Well that door is not staying that colour, but the shed front is finished :D

And some close ups. mistakes galore, but it’s just so me :D I love it!!

that is totally awesome! well done!

pain master said:

Here’s a fish that the GF made which would look a treat next to your shed…

that’s a beautiful fish. It would look a treat anywhere!

pain master said:

Here’s a fish that the GF made which would look a treat next to your shed…

That is one sweet fish:) Tell EM she’s very clever:)

pain master said:

Here’s a fish that the GF made which would look a treat next to your shed…

Nice!

Here’s a fish that the GF made which would look a treat next to your shed…
—————
very versatile these mosaics.
give my compliments to the artist – i understand you’ll find her floating on cloud nine dreaming of a new real garden estate.

the fish is for sale if anyone is really interested. And yes, the (soon to be ours) shed and garden have been designed and redesigned and redesigned…

Hey thanks yous :D
I had a ball doing it! It took a longer time than I’d planned , but I had more distractions that the riot police at the G20 summit!

I love the fish , really cute :) A friend has a plan for a fake sunflower in a pot for next to the door for my shed.

PM, theres grout for wide gaps.

pain master said:

Here’s a fish that the GF made which would look a treat next to your shed…

So she must have made a basic fish before she did the mosiac? Very clever.

>And some close ups. mistakes galore, but it’s just so me :D I love it!!

Very nice..

Happy Potter said:

Hey thanks yous :D
I had a ball doing it! It took a longer time than I’d planned , but I had more distractions that the riot police at the G20 summit!

I love the fish , really cute :) A friend has a plan for a fake sunflower in a pot for next to the door for my shed.

PM, theres grout for wide gaps.

Oh, tell me more?

That is STUNNING , HP! Did you make up the design yourself? It’s so effective!

That is STUNNING , HP! Did you make up the design yourself? It’s so effective!

pomolo said:

pain master said:

Here’s a fish that the GF made which would look a treat next to your shed…

So she must have made a basic fish before she did the mosiac? Very clever.

She did, the inside is clay, and the mosaic is stuck onto this clay body. The clay has been fired.