Road Test: From Hero to Zero

When I saw this photo on the side of a jiffy pellet box, there was no way I could not give this a go. Pour on your water and up she goes, weeeeheeee!

So I made my purchase and we toddled along home, the boys beside themselves with excitement, and just quietly, me too. I had visions of rows and rows of these neat little pots, proudly displaying their beautiful, healthy seedlings emerging from their peat, wood fibre and lime homes.

Well we gathered around the garden table, out I popped a jiffy pellet, poured the water, stuck our heads into the pink bucket to watch and held our breaths...

and we waited... and waited. And waited some more.

I poured in a bit more water... boys lost interest...

I pegged out the washing...

Filed my nails...

(yeah right)

Peeked again, and this had happened!

We have lift off!

Lol, okay, so I may be exaggerating a little, but I did think they would soak up the water like a sponge and impress us all. Instead it was a long slow wait, but it did rise to its dizzying heights eventually, and all in all it was a cute little pot.

I love that this pot is an all-in-one idea, no messing around with potting mix, just water, wait, wait some more, pop your seed in, and cover.

What I don't love about this pot though, is that peat pots are not a particularly environmentally friendly option (thanks for that Elaine!). I thought I was being super earth friendly using them, but I did do a little bit of research and found that peat comes from peat bogs, an important habitat for birds and other wildlife. The bogs are drained to get to the peat, bye bye habitat.

I feel a bit bad now. I bought 72 pots... I told you the photo sucked me in.

But let us not despair! Apparently you can buy coconut husk pots, which work in much the same way.

So after we've used up our peat pots, bring on the coconuts!

They are super cute though hey.

This Time It Really Is Watermelon... I Promise

I didn't know that watermelon leaves didn't look like pumpkin leaves! Lol, I just assumed they'd look the same... but well no, they don't. And finally, the mystery of the watermelon has been solved (I think), and I have the lovely Elaine of Brisbane Local Food to thank.

Remember yesterday when I posted about my mystery plant? I thought I had planted watermelon, but it turned out looking a lot like cucumber (the postman has a lot to answer for in my garden). Well in response to that post, Elaine had this to say:

Those leaves are Cucumber-type leaves, not Watermelon leaves. W leaves are very small and deeply incised, more like a palm with fingers than just the palm.

And the light bulb switched on in my head. You see, there were some plants in my garden that I couldn't place. I knew I had planted them, and I knew they weren't weeds, but I didn't know what they were. I meant to post about them and ask, but I just never got round to it. I wasn't really interested in them to be honest, I thought they were some sort of flower I had planted to attract bees. After Elaine's message I googled watermelon plant images, and saw some leaves that I recognised. Above and below are some photos of mine that match those images. I have heaps of them, all over the place.

Finally...

I have watermelons!!!!!

Guess the Veggie

This has happened before. Several times before as a matter of fact. This should be watermelon. I planted watermelon. It clearly said watermelon on the seed packet, and, to further reinforce the watermelonesque aspect of the seeds in the packet upon which was clearly written watermelon, there was also a picture of a watermelon.

So then tell me what this is.

They look a lot like cucumbers to me.

At no point in time do I recall planting cucumbers. At no time do I remember actually having cucumbers in my house. But those little knobby bumps, that looks like cucumbers.

Are they cucumbers?

Introducing the Beautiful Anna and her Blossoms

Okay, so they have some way to go before they actually become apples... and perhaps having enough for apple pie is wishful thinking. But there is no doubt whatsoever that these apple blossoms are beautiful pink potential apples!

Having never grown apples before, let alone a tropical variety, I turned to Brisbane Local Food and was advised by the super helpful Scarlett that apple trees like a tasty spring feed. Scarlett suggested compost, liquid seaweed and some nice aged manure.

As I was missing several components, what Anna actually got was manure (horse and cow), and mulch.

And of course she has my undying love*.

*Conditional on apple production.

Diggers at my Local IGA!

Digger's seedlings... at my IGA...

...who would have thunk it?

For the most part, I am super excited. I live across the road from that IGA... on the other... there's kind of a lot of plastic involved with this seedling. Like really a lot.

I wouldn't have thought that Digger's would be into plastic pots. Their seeds certainly come in paper envelopes... hmm maybe it's special composting plastic!

What do you think?

Nothing to Do Next Sunday? Visit the Brisbane Organic Growers Fair!

Ooo I am very excited! I have never been to the fair before, and it looks like it's just going to be great. They're going to have heaps of things happening there, heritage farm animals, yummy organic food, demonstrations of all sorts, seeds, fruit trees, and even, I have been led to believe, good coffee.

I went a little nutso last week and have ordered EIGHT dwarf fruit trees from Forbidden Fruits Nursery for pick up at the fair. I just got so excited on their website, they have got heaps of great stuff, quite unsual things too. I can't wait to get them. Lol, I've got no idea where I am going to put them, seriously, eight trees!

There is also quite a big deal growing competition, now that I can't wait to see. Do you think I should enter one of my thumb-sized eggplants?

For all the information on the fair, visit the BOGI website here. I'll see you on Sunday!

What to Wear in the Garden: September

Righty O. Now let's begin with the facts... Fact number one, I am a huge dag. When the boys pry my eyes open of a morning, I throw on the first clothes that come to hand, and then walk around in a bleary-eyed daze organising breakfast and feeding the animals. This often makes for some fairly interesting sartorial combinations.

Fashions such as striped thigh-high socks, pyjama shorts, thongs and a grubby eighties t-shirt would not be an uncommon combination.

Unfortunately it can take me a long time to wake up, so these outfits can last for quite the distance, my neighbours are certainly under no illusions as to my fabulous sense of style.

I do, however, have a sort of uniform for gardening. Now don't get me wrong, I love to dress up as much as any young(ish) lass, it's just that mornings for me are not the time to do it. Anyway, back to my gardening uniform.

This uniform has several features that are a must.

Feature number 1: The outfit must be able to transition. So important. I live down the road from a big shopping centre, and often pop over there for some bread or milk. After my visit I want to get straight back into the garden, therefore transition is doubly important.

Feature number 2: The outfit must be suitable for gardening. Der.

Feature number 3: The outfit must offer comfort, warmth, and protection. This rule really should have come first. If I'm not comfy, I'm cranky. If I'm not warm, I'm very cranky. And if I'm not protected... I forget why I included that now.

So without further ado, please let me introduce you to the Spring Gardening Range.

Let's start with footwear. In the photo above (yes, it's the same photo of my feet... I have great feet, look at them, wouldn't you show those magnificent tootsies off?), you will note the plastic Target Croc rip-offs. Practical in oh so many ways, impractical with those holes that let the dirt in. And so so unfashionable, but I am betting on the black camouflaging them. Comfortable. Super comfortable, which is really the only reason that anyone wears them, as every single person in the world recognises how patently uncool these shoes actually are. I'd be shot on the Sex in the City set.

On to the next photo, as seen below. Spring is here, so it's time for shorts. Preferably shorts that are a little too large, for comfort, and therefore you may also need a belt. The belt crosses over particularly well in the shopping centre transitional phase.

Okay, this next feature is optional. Beads. I love to wear beads that match something else in my outfit. These red ones match the teeny tiny pinstripes on my shorts. You can go anywhere and look as though you put a little thought into your outfit if you wear beads. Mine are a little long, and get in the way, but that's the price you pay in the world of high fashion.

And finally, the scarf. I find that the scarf serves a double purpose, firstly to keep me warm when a jumper is too much, and secondly, it tames the beads. And the third double purpose is that when you take a photo of it you can include yourself and your messy home, just to show everyone out there what you look like.

Testing my Feet

I will attempt to explain this later...

Okay, it's now later. In an attempt to make my photos bigger, I have been playing with the html code of my blog all day. Considering I have no idea what I am doing, it's produced some pretty interesting results.

I still can't make the left-hand column margins any smaller, and the right hand side of the photo has been cut off because it's obviously too big for its middle column space.

If anyone out there had any idea, come, help me reduce my margins.

Meet my Sponsor: Geronimo Jerky

How!

Meet the jerky boys...

Geronimo Jerky is a Brisbane based company which specialises in the best beef jerky you have ever tasted. And the cutest kids by far too.

Geronimo's Big Chief came over to Australia from America 20 years ago and with him brought a recipe handed down from generation to generation for their secret marinade. And after all this time, he has finally decided to let Australia taste it.

Geronimo jerky source only the best cuts of beef to be used with their Big Chief's secret marinade. Geronimo Jerky is made daily, packaged and sold that same week!

The jerky comes in six different flavours, Original, Spicy Shaman, Buckshot, Sidewinder, Blazin' Saddle and Flamin' Arrow. The Flamin' Arrow jerky is the hottest beef jerky you can buy in Australia.

And if you are wondering how we got the boys to cooperate with the photos...

...we paid them in jerky!

Eggplant Lift Off

I was wandering around the garden today wondering what to do... it was a bit of an aimless wander, it rained all day, as it has been all week I think, and everything was lovely and wet, but I was feeling a little disenheartened. I'm not sure why, with all the rain spring has really sprung in the garden. I've got tons of photos to show you all, but I was thinking of doing a bit of a spring theme next week, so I'll save them for then.

Anyway, it struck me that I could try putting one of the eggplant seedlings into the ground. They are probably a little small yet, but I can't really see any problems.

So I am really really happy with the propagation pots. They have held together so well, and kept the seedlings safe and sound. The watering system is going great, I just water the bottom of the tub and the pots suck up the moisture, like a miniature wicking system. I think I might experiment with a layer of gravel at the bottom of the tub next time, just so the pots aren't sitting right in the water.

So I just dug a hole and popped him in. Easiest planting I've ever done. I put some compost and manure around the pot, and you can see the mulch. What I really love about these pots is that it's pretty clear where the seedling is, and I'm not likely to think it's a weed and pull it up.

So that's it, What to Plant in September is in the ground!

Feed your Friends: Strawberry Lettuce (Part One)

I am a hopeless gift giver. I forget birthdays, I dither over choices and then make the wrong one, I am just really not a huge shopper, and therefore I'm just not that good at it.

But I do have a couple of birthdays coming up amongst my friends, and this time, inspiration has hit. I'm going to give them little gardens.
So my idea for the first gift is a strawberry and lettuce combination. Strawberry and lettuce are companion plants, they both love to be watered, and they both go well in pots. I have visions of my friend popping this pot on her back stairs, and picking some lovely fresh lettuce for a salad, or snacking on a strawberry on her way down the stairs with the washing. The beautiful greens of the leaves are so pleasing to the eye, not only is it yummy to eat, it's also really appealing as an object to look at.

Nothing can go wrong with this gift...

To make Strawberry Lettuce, first you need a pot.

Some potting mix (organic is best!).And of course some lettuce and strawberries.

You can see a few photos up that I lined my pot with some straw. I have a thing about lining pots, I like to keep the soil from clogging up the little hole. Fill up the pot with potting mix, right on top of the straw, just keeping in mind that you are putting a few things in there, so not quite to the top of the pot.
When you take your strawberry out of the pot, just tease out the roots a little, so that they don't just keep growing in circles. This helps them to venture out into their new dirt home.Plant them in so the new soil is level with the existing soil.

And then the lettuce... now there are no photos of me planting the lettuce for a good reason. I got grubby... super grubby, and couldn't touch the camera. The lettuce I potted was already growing in my garden,and they were fragile, and kind of floppy, and just hard to work with. But persist I did, and here's what we end up with.

Water them in and you are done... almost...

They look a little messy hey? Not to worry, that's why this is part one. We're going to hang on to these for a few weeks to let them settle in. Keep the water up to them and the lettuce will stand up straight, and of course everything will grow and look fuller and quite simply bountiful!

We're also going to hang on to them because there's something else I want to do to them to make them look a little more gift like, so stay tuned.

And wash your hands after touching the potting mix, I never buy the stuff, I always just use dirt from the garden, and I can feel my hands burning now. Or wear gloves. Lol, der.

I Think my Capsicums Are Going Places

Hopefully one of those places will be my dinner table :)
Over the past few months I must have sown over a thousand capsicum seeds. None of the seeds ever seemed to germinate so I'd put in more, wait a bit, nothing would happen, I'd sow some more... you get the idea. Then all of a sudden, they were everywhere! I think there must be at least 100 that have popped up around the garden, under things, over things, in the middle of things, lol, really everywhere. Only a few are flowering so far, and I haven't actually grown any before so I read up on a bit about them and here is what I have learnt.

Capsicums won't germinate in the cold, they like a soil temperature of between 18 - 35 degrees Celsius. Which would explain why the seeds I planted in the middle of winter weren't going anywhere. All of the plants that have popped up in my garden are from seeds I saved from capsicums we ate, big ones, little ones, red ones, blue ones (that's a fib, just checking to see you are still paying attention), and my favourites, little orange and yellow ones. So the seeds are really easy to harvest and keep, I just kind of scrape them out of the fruit and dry them out in a bowl for a couple of weeks.

Capsicums like lots of compost and aged manure, but not too much water, apparently they like to dry out in between waterings.

And the most exciting thing I learnt about capsicums, although I'm not convinced that I believe it yet, is that at first they are green, and then as they mature they go yellow, then red, then orange!

I'm going to have to see that to believe it.

Thanks for Being our Neighbour Evie...

"Luuuuuka, Feeeelix"

For 12 months, every morning without fail, sometimes in a princess dress, sometimes in her nightie, the boys beloved Evie has come to our back fence and yelled out for the boys to come and play. Our backyards back on to each other, and above is the photo of the chairs they used to come and go across our fenceline. Over the months they've made innumerable mud pies, jumped for hours on the trampoline, chopped the heads off plants I cared for tenderly in the garden, and played until they dropped... Felix asked Evie for his first kiss, she gave him his first rejection, and they all fought and loved each other like the best of friends do.

But nothing lasts forever, and last week, Evie's mum and dad dropped a bombshell on our world, Evie was moving house.

So today, our last day with our favourite girl next door, we took Evie and the boys out to play.

Good bye lovely Evie, we all love you and will miss you, and good luck :)