Bad Blogging and Watermelons

Oh yes, I have done it... I have produced watermelon. On its last legs it may well be (the children got to it today); I still grew a watermelon to the size of a grapefruit.

Which is at least ten times larger than any other watermelon I have grown.

If I were in competition with myself, then this melon would be taking home the blue ribbon.

Which is more than I can say for my poor neglected blog.

(I think I might be close to retirement :D)

I Grew an Apple

Sort of.

How big must an apple be before you can call it an apple?
I ate it. It almost popped my eyeballs out of their sockets, but I grew it, and so I ate it.

I'll bet all sorts of problems would have been avoided if I had been the gardener of Eden.

A Rare Red Fruit

How could I resist in the face of this advertising line?

Oh you so know that I couldn't.

This is a Red Centre Lime. Or an Australian Blood Lime, and is a cross between a native Finger Lime (I don't actually know what a finger lime is, but I do feel as though I should. At least I am giving it capital letters) and a mandarin (I know what that is).

Which is just so very, very exciting.

Who doesn't love a lime? And if they are good in green, how fabulous are they going to be in red?

Ooo red and green.

This is practically a Christmas post.

The Hanging Cucumbers of Mitchelton

I adore a good cucumber.

This variety is called "Muncher Burpless", and it most certainly lives up to its name, being both munchable, and not causing any burping.

I have the cucumber plants growing up one of my bamboo teepees, sitting in a bed with lots of lovely aged cow manure. I am pretty sure I threw some ground coffee into the mound as well, but that's hardly surprising - I collect so much coffee now that I use it in everything.

So whether it's the coffee or the manure, I am doing something right as I am picking a lovely fresh cucumber every other day. I love them fresh with mayonnaise, or sliced, salted and squeezed to within an inch of their lives and then drenched with lime and creme fraiche.

Yum.

It Blinked at Me

And that's when I realised it was alive.

Who finds a tortoise in their backyard? In the middle of the suburbs?

Quite obviously, we do.

We named him Mr Beaujangles, and after a lovely play sent our newfound friend safely on his way into a neighbouring backyard.

One without a dog, cat, chickens and small children.

It may have been my imagination, but I am relatively sure I detected a look of relief on his face as he trudged off.

The boys really liked playing with him.

Third Time Lucky?

I have tried several times now with watermelon.

With zero success.
But something in me just keeps on trying.
Maybe this time?
Hang on to your hats little watermelons... I'm feeling lucky.

My Big Fat Zucchini

I really wanted to call this post My Big Fat Zucchini and If You Want it to Rain Have an Outdoor Party, but really, if I set that sort of precedent, who knows the lengths my post titles will eventually reach?

Possibly much like my sentences - way too long.

So yes, it has rained, and not because I washed the car or left my washing on the line, oh no, that wasn't quite enough. What I had to do was to throw a party - you know the kind, the kind where you all sit around outside so as to enjoy the great outdoors. Until it starts sprinkling just that little too hard. Possibly not hard enough to penetrate the soil to any great depth, but most certainly enough to drive everyone upstairs.

Call me the Rain Party God.

Anyway, back to matters more vegetal.

I have zucchini. Or indeed courgette, if you prefer. And this is my Biggest Zucchini Ever.

Finally, after fussing over the plants for months, I have cracked a size larger than my little finger. How did I do it?

I stopped fussing and left them alone.

The Zucchini Rain Party God I am thinking.