Seeds...

   Finely got around to harvesting the seed from the long purple Eggplant that was on the bush in the patch... After looking in the Seed Savers book we decided to just scrape the seeds out rather than cutting into cubes, whizzing in a blender then floating the seeds out... We also purchased a large white variety at the markets on Sunday so some seeds will be collected from it soon...
   I think I may have cooked the last lot of seeds we sowed in punnets after putting them in a make shift grow box... Some more were sown in other punnets over the long weekend...
In punnets I planted,
Broccoli, Albert x 6
Cauliflower, All Year Round x 6
Cauliflower, Purple Sicilian x 6
Kohlrabi,  White Vienna x 6
Kohlrabi,  Purple Vienna x 6
Lettuce, Mignonette mixed x6
Cabbage, Sugarloaf x 6
Kale, Dwarf Green x 3
Kale Red Russian x 3
Eggplant, Rosa Bianca x 4
Eggplant Udumalapet x 4
Parsley, Italian flat Leaf x 6
These will just be left in a sunny spot in the yard in a tray to germinate...
I also sowed 6 or 7 Blue Lake climbing beans under the trellis in Bed #8 after pulling out the Cucumbers... They just were not preforming well which I think is due to the Tomatoes that grew there before them... Not very friendly to each other those 2 plants...

Compost & Worms...
We harvested all the larger fruit from the Zucchinis to make up a batch of sauce & found 3 to be fairly badly blown with some sort of fruit fly... Would be nice to be able to spray the garden knowing the Neem is going to stick & do the job it should...
Such is as they didnt get wasted & were turned into worm food...

These guys are mating & increasing in volume so fast that B? is thinking about getting a bathtub so we can increase the output of castings for the patch & to help some others out... I have 3 bags of composted manure blend to feed them as soon as they have finished feasting on the current batch... The 8 bags of manure I was ageing for a few weeks has now been blended with Blood n Bone & cracker dust then added to the drums for3-4 weeks... I used some of the leftover compost & castings solids/slops from the compost tea to help speed things along with its added beneficial bacteria... This is the first time I have screened the manure before mixing it so it will be interesting to see if that helps with the process at all...

Have a great one all...
: )»

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Had a great weekend in the yard doing some jobbies, socialising with ADULTS & playing with a family heirloom that has been "lent" to me...

BBQ, Good Friends & Spuds...
   My farther has passed on custodianship of the family BBQ to us...  He built this BBQ for APEX outings before I was born (40 or a few less years ago) & it is still going strong with a few minor alterations like the tin side panels being replaced with Stainless steel & some Aluminium covers to keep the plate clean when stored & not in use... It had been out of service for the past 10 or so years as family gatherings had migrated to other relatives places so it needed a bit of TLC... The plate needed a bit of a touch to remove a bit of rust build up as well as replacing the regulator & lines just to be on the safe side... Not as flash as a newer model but we know it will last another 40 or so years if looked after.. I like that we can remove the burners & use them to boil the presure cooker (when we get one) for canning our produce in the near future...

    We got to use it for the first time on Saturday when we had friends visit for a bit of socialising...
   Was a great day & got a bit of help in the yard... We needed to harvest the 4 potato bags from around the side of the house as the stalks were all dying back so the young kids all got a go at digging through the soil to see what they could find... Wasnt the best yield but we are still learning with spuds... I think the mix we used was to free draining & it was a struggle to keep the water up to them...
    Also got a bit of a hand with the framework to finish off the AP site... Can set the fish tank & other grow beds up now... Thanks Guys & Girls...
 

Fertilisers...
   We bought a couple of bags of fertiliser last week from Safe Fertilisers as we are starting to run low on the rock dust & have a few beds/barrels that need to be revitalised before they are plated out.. The last batch we got was an all rock dust blend but decided to try a "BFA Certified"  "Enviro Blend" this time..
CBM
Chicken manure, blood & bone, and minerals. This 100% organic blend provides the full
spectrum of macro and micro elements.
N 2%,  P 2%, K 0.4%, S 2000ppm, Ca 8%, Mg 2%,  Fe 1.4ppm, Mn 370ppm,  B250ppm,  
Cu 55ppm, Zn 120ppm, Co 10ppm, Mo 40ppm, Se 3ppm, C 20%, Si 5%
Not the most pleasant smelling blend but should help kick things on a bit... Will still be using the horse manure & worm castings as added organic matter to the beds/barrels, this is just to help add a few nutrients that were used up in the last crop or just not there...
The main crop of Beetroot is not preforming as well as the others planted out at the same time & it was suggested to us that it could be a boron deficiency so they will get a nice top dress of fertiliser too...

Harvesting & Planting out...
Have been picking a fair of  Kohlrabi, Carrots, Spring Onion & Mangle to turn into coleslaw lately & it has become a bit of a favourite... 4 bas of potatoes were also harvested (see picture above) as well as the garlic that is in the clip below... The stems went a bit soft on some & others had already dried out but were missed amongst the Onions so we though it best to harvest the lot..
The Silverbeet/Chard & other leafy greens are still being used to supplement the chooks diet.. They now look forward to their morning/evening treats & come running as soon as they see us in the patch...
    Below is a list of what was planted out last night to take advantage of the full moon...
Carrots, a  mix of Nantes (Johnsons seeds- organic) & Dragon (Eden seeds) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Mini Round (Diggers seed) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Heirloom mixed (Diggers seed ??) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Tomato, Broad Ripple Yellow currant (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
Tomato, Wapsipinicon Peach (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
All but the Nantes & Dragon Carrots were from the gift we received from from our You Tube gardener friend Watsamadoing last week... Thanks again :D»

Garden walk through Clip...
Bit of what was said above & other natterings...

Weather...
It will start to heat up here a bit by the weekend we are told, hitting about 29°C by Friday, so we are thinking about putting up some of the shade structure to try & stop some of the Broccoli from premature bolting... Will be trying to incorporate the mesh we got to try & keep the White Cabbage Moth/Butterflies from getting to the Brassicas & depositing their eggs...




Have a great one all...
: )»

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WOO HOO !!!!!

I have the day to myself tomorrow so I shall be doing all the little jobbies around the yard I have put on hold because of rain or other disruptions...
There are seeds to sow, plants to plant, Barrels to Wick, a pond to make & a little bit of landscaping to do...
I have an inkling that the onions seeds I have planted out on the 17 & 18th oh march may have failed as I have only seen 1 variety sprout.... It may just be me being impatient but am going to plant out some punnets of seed just in case... They wont go to waste as they will just be popped in throughout the patch & yard if the others have failed...

List of jobbies.... Shall come back & mark these once they are completed...
- Pot out Pineapple top
- Plant out Elephant & Glen Large Garlic  Saturday With B?
- Plant out Dill with Cucumbers  Monday afternoon
-Sow Broccoli seed in with Cucumbers Monday afternoon
- Sow onion & Carrot tape in bathtub bed Saturday afternoon
- Transplant B?s Comfrey & some Aloe vera around the Lemon Tree
- Re pot Amish Paste Tomatoes the same way Ray does on his Praxxus You Tube channel Monday afternoon
- Pot up Chilli seedlings
- Watch countless more You Tube gardening clips Might wait till after jobbies are done...
- Wick up a garden bed for family member
- Investigate for root growth on the Eggplant, Sacred Basil & Tomato cuttings we took on the 17th of March & re pot if needed
-Cut down Barrels, wash then make 3 Wicking Barrels & 1 pond from them (Video on Wicking Barrels on this in post above...) Friday & Saturday afternoons
- Attach wire to the top of chook yard roof Saturday afternoon
- Plant out Panama Red Passion fruit in Wicking Barrel in chook Yard Saturday afternoon
- Make up more Compost Tea after current brew is used Saturday afternoon Monday afternoon
- Harvest top tray of Castings from old Worm farm
- Remove some of the shade cloth
- Pot up Lemongrass for friends Monday afternoon

Thats all I can think of for now but shall add extra when I think of them as there is always more...

Pale-headed Rosella...

We got a visit from this lovely yesterday so thought I would  share... They normally visit in pairs but this one was flying solo so may not of found a mate as of yet...

Have a great one all...
: )»

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