Hawkesbury Wonder

Amazing. After giving up on the veggie garden about four weeks ago due to the oppressive heat and then a few rainy days when I had spare time and couldn't get there I still had some lettuce to tend to after making it down to the community gardens this morning (the third lettuce down on the right will be dinner tonight).

I have lost my radish and beetroot I'd previously planted, but managed to replant these again this morning. Along with two rows of Hawkesbury Wonder Dwarf Bean from D.T. Brown seeds.

Where I am currently working is in a raised bed within a secure, fenced area that costs 24 dollars a year (50 cents a week) to rent.

Now that we have received some rain (though not as much as some of our neighbors, though better than none) and the excessive heat seems to have abated for the time being, I hope to get into full veggie production again.

Well that's it for now. Cheers and happy veggie gardening

Stewart

Potato time

The rain had reduced to a shower on Wenesday or two and the sun had been able to peak through a few clouds enough to allow me to get the last of my spuds out of the ground at the

Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens. I was a little disappointed with the harvest though, returning only two or three smallish spuds per bush. All things considered with the weather they had to endure I suppose they did alright.

Here is Neville with one of the bigger Sebagos that he took home for making chips with.

I'll be preparing the now 'ex', potato patch for members of the onion and brassica family over the next few weeks. So I'll be adding lime, horse, cow and chicken manure to the soil and digging it all through.

One of the more disappointing things going on at the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens is the crows getting into the corn before I even get a chance to get near it. I have some bird netting in the shed I purchased a while to keep the birds out of my plum tree so I'm going to throw it over the corn an see if I can salvage a cob or two for myself.







Tomatoes; I've had an absolute dismal year for tomatoes so far. First it's been bone dry, then scorchingly hot, then rainy and overcast and on top of all that I think I have over done it with the potash and the fruit fly has beaten me to nearly every piece of fruit available.

So it tomatoes take two, hoping I'll have better luck in the second half of the season. I have planted seedlings of Burke's Backyard tomato at the community gardens and some seedlings of Yellow Perfection and Reisentraube (chreey tom bearing trusses of 20 to 40 fruits) at home.


Spelt Wheat I'd like to say I've been busy preparing the spelt wheat patch at the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens but I suspect someone there likes using the rotary hoe a lot because I haven't done a thing. That might all change tomorrow (Sunday) because now that it has rained and the soil is moist it's time to get the green manure crop started.








The cow-pea seed needs to be planted up to three inches deep so I'll hand broadcast them first and rotary hoe them in and the Japenese millet only needs to be sown shallowly so I'll be hand broadcasting that and rake it over lightly and hopefully we'll get a nice storm and water the whole lot in. Fingers crossed lets see how I go.







This is the progress of the red kidney beans (5 x 10 mtr rows). Flowering like mad and setting heaps of pods after the rain. Am I looking forward to harvesting? No, not really, but then they won't harvest themselves. The Navy beans planted 2/3 weeks after have enjoyed the rain as well and are flowering and setting beans like mad.

This is just a pretty photo of a pretty Gerbra to say good-bye with.
Good-bye and cheers till next time

Stewart.

I've gotten over myself...

Hi there, well I've gotten over myself a little bit in the last few days and am feeling positive about my veggie garden again. After weeks of seemingly endless extreme heat, for Toowoomba's climate, and hundreds of watering cans of water I was feeling like I was getting no where, but the weather has changed, though it is still hot but not stifiling. I'm also hopeful we have stopped the Houdinis of the chook world escaping and I might be able too put my backyard back together again. And as you can tell from the photo of veggies I picked from the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens things have been growing and looking up in spite of my child like frustrations (read tannies). The only thing I have left to combat is that dastardly pretentious possum I have running around eating any little seedlings I happen to plant, not to mention any ripening tomatoes it can reach. Now that can only mean outright war when it comes to my tomatoes.

Included in the harvest are a red bucket of sebago potatoes, one bok choi cabbage, a hand full of butter beans, heaps of yellow button squash, three ruby lou potatoes, more green button squash, two leeks, one over grown spring onion, two Spanish onions and four Detroit Globe beetroot.

I also planted a row each of bulls blood and golden beetroot seed, more but fresh lemon cucumber seed and four Bourke's Backyard tomatos.

It's supposed to be hot the next two days and then, hopefully, some rain Saturday.

QUEENSLAND WEATHER FORECAST
Issued at 11:35am EST on Wednesday the 16th of December 2009

IDQ1070002
EXTENDED OUTLOOK

Saturday.. The rain and storm band will move into the southeast parts of the
state, with showers and storms extending from the west and north-west of the
state into the south-east. Isolated showers will occur over the northern
east coast. Elsewhere conditions will be fine. Winds over the interior
will be light to moderate SE to NE.

During Sunday and Monday widespread showers and storms will occur over
the
south-east as an upper cold trough moves across the area and
destabilizes conditions. Isolated stream showers will return to
much of the east tropical coast on Sunday and continue through Monday.
Only isolated showers and or stormswill occur about the Gulf of
Carpentaria. A weak SE change will move through the
south-east coast early Sunday and then decay overnight Sunday.

Well here's hoping for a brighter veggie future, with some cooler
weather and some rain

Cheers
Stewart

34 bloody degrees

Well now, what can I say, it's 34 bloody degrees I just got home from the Toga and once again I have planted seeds (direct sown) on the strength of the weather forecast for showers and storms for the rest of the week. The last rain event Monday week ago netted 42 mls of rain but the ground was so dry and the rain fell so fast that it is all but dry again, all be it a bit greener.

From the last lot of sowing I now have baby corn, bok choy, beans, beetroot, kolhrabi, rock melon and a few drunken women lettuce. The fennel is not up and the carrots are about five strong from a five foot row.

Planted today was some more lettuce (great lakes), carrots (fingers crossed), more fennel, baby watermelon, rock melon, violet bush beans, bok choy. I also have some squash and zucchini seedlings I planted after the rain that have come up as well. Some lemon cucumber seeds I planted seems to have failed, that's my third go now so it looks like my seed is stuffed.

Potatoes are flourishing and I've started to harvest zucchini from two bushes I planted earlier on.

That's about it for the community gardens. I have made plans with one of the other gardeners down there to plant 'baked beans', bean seeds so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

ttfn

Cheers Stewart

Getting better all the time

Hi all,

I'm in between Math assignment at the moment so thought I'd do a quick blog.

I'm slowly getting more mobile day by day though having a good sneeze is still out of the question.

I had mums hubby come down to the Toowoomba organic community gardens yesterday to help me get the potato patch ready.

He must have been impressed with the show because he signed up for membership on the day.

I couldn't do much myself but I managed to separate the Leeks and replant them for further growing on.

The weather here has been unseasonal warm to hot so I've been getting optimistic and have started some of my spring seed plantings including the free Tomato seeds that come with September's Burke's Backyard magazine. I've also sown a full range of lettuce including Drunken Woman, Red Leprechaun, Red Cos and Red Iceberg. I've also sown some Florence Fennel, Celery, and some seeds I saved from a shop brought tomato.

I'd better get back to math and finish my assignment and I'll see if I can update some more early next week. They (weather forecasters)are predicting some rain early neat week also so fingers crossed here. It's been 8/9 weeks without rain now so it will be good to get some as it is all getting a bit on the dry side of things.

Bfn

Stewart

Not the deadly

I had to hand in my enrollment paraphernalia for my prep course at uni today so I hopped on the deadly and rode out there.

It's about 9k's each way and mostly up hill on the way there and obviously down hill on the way home.

And for my 47 year old ex squash playing knees that don't do much more than lean on a brake peddle or accelerator in the taxi, I gotta tell ya that's a long way.


My plot at the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens is on the way home, and as seen as I haven't been there since the last lot of rain I popped in to see how things were going.

When I first got my plot I planted some Violet Sicilian Cauliflower by seed which I planted in a spare raised bed close by. (behind the bike in the above photo)

They're doing well but I've got to get some blood and bone and sulphate of potash on them, as well as some mulch.


The peas are still growing well and will need to be stakes soon (I think I said that last time as well).













Weeds? What weeds?

This is a red cos lettuce the seeds of which I got from diggers. Never grown them before but they look good so far.








Leeks and spring onions.

I'm growing the leeks on at the moment, when they get about 200mm high I divide them up in to individual plants for growing on.










These are the broad beans I planted for a green manure but I'm finding myself attached to them and not wanting to turn them in.

When I get chance I'll ask the pres if I can have some more space for my potato planting plans and then I can keep the BB's.









Cabbage is doing well





















Broccoli Romanesco, same as the Violet Sicilian Cauliflower I planted some of these guys up.

They seem a little slow off the mark, but look healthy enough.

And same again, I've got to get some blood and bone and sulphate of pot ash on them, as well as some mulch.








Also after the recent rain the weeds are having a ball. Looks like wipper snipper time.

Well that's it for now, after having little to do for the last month the veggie gardening jobs seem to be piling up so I'd better get cracking and get into it.

Cheers,

Stewart

Egg 'versatile' Plant v Jack 'runny nose' Frost

Ooops, no contest, Jack 'runny nose' Frost by a knockout.

Egg 'versatile' Plant is said to be planing to make a come back in early spring.

I'm off to my plot at the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens to plant some cabbage and lettuce and ues a garden hose :)

Cheers and happy gardening
Stewart

Done Diggin', for now & Kylie's Rose

Well I had a good productive day in the garden today.

In my home garden I managed to weed and mulch the Italian garlic, Purple flowering Broad Beans and the Strawberries as well as giving them a dose of fish emulsion.

I'm still chasing the Grey aphids that seem determined to keep having a go at my brassicas.



Then after lunch I went down to the community gardens to finish digging the last third of my garden plot.

As this bed is mainly going to be used for a spring planted crop of potatoes I'll probably plant more peas in here mainly as a green manure crop.

I'll let them go until I get at least one picking of peas off the bushes and then dig the whole lot in.





I also went down yesterday (Sunday) to plant some Leek and Spring Onion seedlings. The photo is a bit short on detail but you get the picture.











The ' Greenfeast' peas I planted are up and going strong.

I also mulched them with some aged horse manure that is available at the gardens, so that should help them along as well.







Kylie's Rose.

This is a photo of Kylie's Rose who is my step daughter.

I can't remember how I came by this rose and I don't remember what it is called either, but we attributed it's beauty to Kylie and it has been with me now for 17/18 years (the rose and Kylie that is).




We lived on the Gold Coast at the time I purchased it and when we moved here to Toowoomba Kylie's Rose came with us.

Magic Monday

Hi all, well after two weeks of sinus problems and 97mls of rain I made it down to the Toowoomba community organic gardens today.

The main job I wanted to complete was to plant the broad bean seeds that I collected from last years crop to use for a green manure crop.

Job done.

The peas I planted a few weeks ago have come up and are well on their way so the next job will be to provide them some support.

Even though they are a bush pea they still grow up to one meter high and will need supporting.

Next when I got home was some new laying boxes for the chook a books.

They are about 6/7 months old so they should start laying soon, but I'm guessing they might not start until the day length starts to get longer.




The Rolls Royce of laying boxes or am I just kidding myself.














My dear wife has been getting frustrated waiting for my chooks to start laying eggs and went out to the local produce store and got herself two point of lay chooks.

So now it's a race to see who lays eggs first.

That's it for Monday,
Cheers and happy gardening,
Stewart

Busy as a one armed wallpaper hanger and loving it.

Hi all, I managed to spend a few hours on my Community plot on Friday and Saturday and here are the photos to prove it.
And no I didn't take photos of somebody else's plot and take the credit. It's all my own hard labor.

You might be able to make out four pegs I hammered into the ground, well that for now, is my plot.






Same thing just a side angle.

Clicking on the photos will give you a larger photo to view.












Here is a novelty for me, it's called a garden hose and a water tap. Its been between 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 years (I can't remember for sure), but I know it's more than 5 and seems like forever since Toowoombarites have been allowed any external use of water, ie:- hosing, watering gardens, washing cars etc, etc, due to low dam levels.

So thanks to an Australian Government grant these guys collect the rain water that falls on the roof of an adjacent medical center, which means they have water in abundance and I can get my fix of watering a garden with a hose. Woo whoo.







This is the water storage tank. I don't know how much it holds, but it looks mighty impressive.





























Here is what I managed to turn over on Friday and when I went down again on Saturday I added some Dolimite and Sulphate of potash and planted two rows of 'Greenfeast' Peas.

PEA 'Greenfeast' syn. Lincoin, is a heavy bearing bush shelling pea to 1mtr, hardy & disease resistant.








Here is my Saturday effort. About 2/3 turned over now.
There is a huge pile of horse manure there so I'll be adding that on Monday I hope and planting a green manure of Broad Beans in the reas of the garden bed.








Just a side angle.

How's that? I'm lovin the water and the extra planting this space will allow me.
I'm as happy as a pig in mud atm.

Cheers and happy veggie gardening,
Stewart.

Lunch is served.

Baked pasta with fetta and pumpkin

I've been getting around to making this for a while now and finally succeeded today.

It could easily drop 100g of pasta and pick up 100g of pumpkin and maybe some extra fetta wouldn't hurt either, but as it is it was very yummy.

A great way to use up some extra pumpkins.
Three thumbs up





I'm going down to the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens this afternoon to start digging up my patch so the extra carbs should come in handy.

Have a nice day and happy veggie gardening, cheers,
Stewart

Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens

Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens



I did it, finally, and I mean, "Finally", (I've been gonna do this for months) I've gotten around to visiting the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens and was impressed enough to join as a member.

The major benefit for me is that I gain an extra 30 to 40 sq/mts of garden to play with. Yeah for me :)


I've been frustrated with the lack of space in my backyard due mainly to overlapping crop growing times restricting what I can plant, ie, garlic and onions growing through to December when I need the space to plant potatoes in September.

Now, I'll be able to plant my slower and less needy crops, like potatoes, at the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens and use my backyard for more permanent and high maintenance plants and veggies like Asparagus and Rosella as well as salad plants that need more regular watering.

I also mentioned back on the 22 of January about a Toowoomba area Backyard Veggie growing club and now that I've been to the Toowoomba Community Organic Gardens I'm thinking that for anyone interested we might be able to combine the two.
What do you think?

It could be like an informal get together.
I'd like to invite people from Aussies Living Simply and make a morning of it every now and then. They have a nice covered area for picnics as well as one of them big outdoor oven thingies (don't know their proper names).

Well that's it for now, cheers and happy veggie gardening.
Stewart