Mid Week Blues

It seems I've got the mid week gardening withdrawal blues.

I've started a new roster for driving the Taxi that will give me every weekend to myself instead of having a split week.

But last Saturday I felt unwell and had to work on Sunday so it's been nearly two weeks since I've managed anything productive in the garden.

So that leaves me Thursday and Friday to battle through and then I've got two glorious golden days to garden my little heart away with.

I've got to clean the chook pen and spread new straw for them, organise a bin and two piles of compost. There's a gazillion seeds and seedlings to plant. And I've managed to borrow some of the neighbours backyard for planting pumpkin in so that's got to have horse manure, compost and coffee grounds added to it.

And mentioning coffee grounds, I've got buckets of the stuff to spread and add to garden beds, throw it over the lawn and in compost. It's everywhere.

I am currently enjoying some of the best broccoli I've ever grown, along with heaps of peas, lettuce, rocket and coriander. Just enough strawberries to keep me interested and the broad beans are flowering like mad but no beans yet.

Onions, garlic and beetroot are making good growth as well as radish, lettuce, purple climbing beans, Chinese cabbage and pokchoi.

 I can't get any leek seeds to sprout so I'm guessing the seed is old. It's a fresh packet but just no go. Not even one out of two sowings.

How fast does water cress grow? I think my seed has shot but it's very slow to get growing. My first time growing water cress so I've nothing to compare it with.

Not having much luck with capsicum and eggplant seed as well but that might just be from the coldish weather. I'll sow a few more this weekend and see if I have more luck.

Well that's about it for now, chomping at the bit for the weekend to get here.

Cheers

Stewart

I'm a planting ma' Camomile seeds.

Post by My Veggie Garden.

Cheers



Stewart

Leek 'Lyon - Prizetaker'

Not mine, but I hope they look like this when I'm finished

There's a rain a comin'. Well at least it been forecast to. And when there's rain a comin' and I have a day off, Sunday that is, that can only mean one thing. It's a seed planting time.

I'll have my work cut out for me tomorrow because I want to get all of these planted so as I can take advantage of the coming rain.

1. Leek 'Lyon - Prizetaker'
2. Watermelon 'Sugar Babe'
3. Zucchini
4. Squash yellow button
5. Spring onion
6. Pak Choi
7. Chinese Cabbage 'Nagaoka F1'
8. Fennel 'Florence Finale'
9. Radish
10. and some Marigolds

As usual I have a ton of weeding to do as well as spreading blood and bone around the other half of the garden that I didn't get done before the last rain.

Cheers then to a busy and productive Sunday

Stewart

Lettuce rejoice.

Working like mad again (I'm self employed. It's the only way I can get a Christmas bonus and a few days off) and I've only managed a few hours in the garden on Sunday afternoon but I still managed to find out something interesting.

You see I've tried getting some lettuce seed up and running but my strike rate has been appalling which it usually isn't.

 As I'm a reasonable seed starterer I began to suspect the seed although they were supposed to be viable and not out of date.

Therefore in order to see if it was me or the seed I went out and bought two varieties of 'fresh' lettuce seed and planted them as I usually do and 'hey presto', wouldn't you know it, within four days I had lettuce seeds germinating and sprouting all over the place.

So if you every find yourself puzzled as to why you are having trouble getting seeds up try some fresh seed first.

Cheers and happy sowing

Stewart

Just a little video on planting tomato seeds.

 Just a little vid to show how I plant my tomato seeds.
( I've been trying all day to put a backing track on this video but youtuba are taking forever so I'll post it as is.)


The seeds I planted here are the free 'Santorini' heirloom tomato seeds attached to the cover of September's issue of 'Burke's Backyard' magazine.

  According to the mag the seeds 'are from the famous Greek island of Santorini in the Aegean sea. We (Burke's Backyard) sourced this heirloom variety from an old Greek farmer who has been saving his own seeds for 50 years.
  On the dry, volcanic soils of Santorini, the old grower says he never waters his plants and his tomatoes are sensational, so in most areas of Australia normal, natural rainfall will be enough. They're very sweet tasting, 5-6cm smallish fruit produced on a knee-high bush that doesn't need staking.'
  

Some plants to plant or sow

In the cooler temperate parts of Oz you could be planting

• Beetroot
• Lettuce
• Cabbage
• Mustard greens
• Peas
• Onion
• Radish
• Shallots
• Snow peas

You'd also be wanting to look at ordering your spuds and Perennial veggies like

• Rhubarb
• Asparagus
• Artichokes
• Horseradish
• etc

Still plenty of time for good soil prep by adding

• Aged animal manures
• Compost
• Blood and bone
• Worm castings if you have them

Good gardening

Stewart

I went Berko

I went berserk (some say berko) yesterday on the strength of the BoM's prediction of good rainfall this week and planted heaps of seeds.

I planted seeds (direct sowing that is) of carrots, lettuce, cucumber, rock melon, beetroot, corn, bok choy and beans (butter of course).

So as the rain tumbles down I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself right now and if the BoM, with further predictions of rain ,storms and showers through out the week, has it right then by early next week I should have little baby veggies popping up every where, fingers crossed of course.

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

Warm fuzzies

Click on the photo for the big picture.

I just love it when newly planted seeds poke their seed leaves up into their new world.

It's the circle of life starting all over again. Warm fuzzies for me.

A lovely surprise

When Veggie Gnome from The Mad Gnomes Strike Again won the This little piggy went to market competition she was kind enough to surprise me by sending back several packets of seeds.

Even more surprising was the seeds themselves.

Check out this list and a big thanks to Veggie Gnome.




1. Blue Podded Capucyner Peas.

I can't find much info about the Blue podded peas spelt Capucyner, but spelt Capucijner I found the following information.
(I guessing they are the same). Skippy's blog has a story on Blue podded peas as well.
'Blue Pod Capucijner' is an heirloom variety. It has particularly beautiful flowers, pink and red, fading to blue as they wilt. The pods are deep maroon which change to blue through the season. They are delicious when young, but turn leathery as they mature. Peas are hardy, weak-stemmed, climbing annuals. Custom has it that you can make a wish if you find a pea pod that has nine or more peas in it. Edible pea pods are grown the same way as sugar peas, just harvested much earlier, prior to filling out.




2. Carrot. 'purple dragon'
Botanical Name: Daucas carota.
Very nutritious vegetable originating from central Asia. This variety has a beautiful and unique purple-skin with amazing contrasting yellow-orange interior.










3. Red Orache

Atriplex hortensis is a member of the genus Atriplex and is commonly known as Red orache.

Interesting blog story on Red Orache here.




4. Lettuce 'red leprechaun'


Botanical Name: Lactuca sativa
'Little Leprechaun' is a variegated Romaine lettuce with leaf colors from red to forest green. It is generally ready for harvest 75 days after sowing.

This gorgeous mahogany red and green romaine is small in stature and big on taste. Miniature heads are prime harvest size when only 7-8" tall, ideal for container culture and for serving individual main dish Caesar salad.



5. Lettuce 'drunken woman' (I see plenty of these on a Saturday night thanks) Botanical Name: Lactuca sativa
Italian Heirloom. Attractive bright green leaves with ruffled almost frizzy edges in deep bronze. Leaf lettuce type with dense center that is very showy and slow to bolt.













6. Chinese Broad leaf celery.
Can't find any info on Chinese Broad leaf celery. Anyone care to help me out?

Cool list of plants huh, my only problem is that I've never grown any of them before.
Luckily I'm always up for a challenge and to be put on an interesting learning curve.

So far I have planted the peas, the two types of lettuce and the purple dragon carrots, the rest will have to wait until spring.
I'll keep you updated on the progress as they make their way to full grown veggies.


This is where I have planted the lettuce. That's four of each.

Autumn/Winter planting

It's hard to believe I'm thinking about Autumn and Winter plantings when I'm sitting here in 92% humidity with sweat rolling down my back, but that's exactly what I'm doing.

I ordered my copy of Green Harvest's 2009 catalogue last week and it arrived early this week, very efficient.
Anyhow so far on my wish list is
1/ Cabbage, 'Red Express'.
2/ Broccoli, 'Romanesco'.
3/ Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian'.
4/ Peas, 'Melting Mammoth'.
4/ Peas, 'Greenfeast'.

Already ordered from Diggers
1/ Cabbage, 'Mini'.
2/ Cauliflower, 'Mini'.
3/ Kale, 'Tuscan Black'.
4/ Parsnip. (Planted)
5/ Kohlrabi.(Planted)
6/ Broad Bean, 'Crimson'.

Already in is my Brussels Sprouts, Spring Onions, Lettuce and Silverbeet

I also have to source some garlic, onions and shallots from somewhere.
There's bound to be things I've forgotten to mention but this will make the back bone of my Autumn and Winter plantings.

I'm looking forward to Autumn and Winter this year after a lot of experimenting last Autumn and Winter I feel confidant of growing some healthy and useful crops.

Seeds of redemption

After the embarrassment of So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!!, I've been busy redeeming myself by getting it right for a while.
So it is that I can report some pretty successful seed raising results.

First cab off the rank is some of Mr. Fothergill's, Evesham Special, Brussels Sprouts. And how many did get to strike I hear you ask, well only 100% I say(patting myself on the back).

The Brussels Sprouts are flanked by the tomato's I planted at the same time as I did my So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!!
Just a note on Brussels Sprouts. I'm no expert on growing these and as of now I am still to produce a viable crop, but I keep planting these things earlier and earlier. My trusty, 'fruit & vegetable GARDENING in Australia', by The Royal Horticultural Society advises me to sow late Summer early Autumn, but I'm getting in ahead of recommended time. What I hoping is that planting seed now will mean the Brussels are forming in the coldest part of winter and not bolting or over producing leaf as they have in the past. So, watch this space.


Now as reported in So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!! update. #1 I had planted my digger's seeds into punnets, some Five colour Silverbeet, Listada Di Gandia Eggplant, Rouge D'Hiver Cos Lettuce(red brown var.) and Red Iceberg.

Apart from the Red Cos(3 from 5) I also had 100% strike(so far so good eh!)









Of the remaining seeds planted everything went very well also.

The first carrots to arrive were the Early Chantenay which after 10 days from sowing are doing exceedingly well.

Very happy Jan









Also doing well after a good strike rate are the Beetroot Chioggia which I'm dying to try.
















And last but not least the carrot Top Weight were a little sporadic but all came up and are a little slow compared to the Early Chantenay. The proof is in da eating as they say.

anyhow I hope these successes have helped me redeem myself and for now I'll just let myself feel fairly pleased with myself.






Just a photo of a happy lilium. A yellow one of course

So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!! update. #1

Link for the Original So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!!

Hi all,
I been avoiding this update due to the unmitigated failure of the seed to germinate.

It's not very clear in the photo(far left punnet) but I only had two out of six Cos lettuce seeds germinate.
Now I'm not going to blame myself because at the same time I planted up three punnets of three different Tomatoes with varying success, ie six from six, five from six and one from six.

So at this stage I'm going to blame the viability of the seed.

Now while I'm on the topic of seeds and planting I had a very productive day of seed planting yesterday.
First off was carrots of which I have not been that satisfied with the flavour of.
The current variety of carrot I've been growing is named 'All year round', so I planted two different variety's named Topweight and Early Chantenay to see if I can find a more flavorsome carrot.
If anyone has any suggestions for a more flavorsome carrot or a personal favorite, please let me know.

Also my digger's seeds arrived last week so I planted into punnets some Five colour Silverbeet, Listada Di Gandia Eggplant, Rouge D'Hiver Cos Lettuce(red brown var.) and Red Iceberg.

I also planted another couple of small rows of Beetroot Chioggia.

So, ya wanna' sow some seed do ya!!

Alright then, walk this way, no not that way this way.

First I work on the KISS, I "love rock n' roll", no not that one, the Keep it Simple Sally principal, so just grab some Seed raising mix(SRM) and bung it into your empty container of your choice.

Following the KISS principal I going to plant some Cos lettuce. Cos there so easy. Hah ha ha ha, Oh I kill myself sometimes.







Found one.
Now just a few notes
* Your SRM should be moist at this stage, not dust dry or tea bag out of your cup of tea soggy.
* When putting your SRM into your container don't squash it in tight just fill it up and give your container a bit of a tap and level off the top.











Here's on I prepared earlier.
After you will need to put a planting hole in the top of your SRM. Some people use a pencil, I use my finger. The required depth for Cos seeds is 3-5mm so just a divot with said finger and place one seed in each hole.
Some times you'll get advice to plant 2 seeds in each divot but I only want 3 seedlings for my garden so I'm sure of at least 50% strike rate.





If you want a 100% strike rate you'll probable get it with fresh seed but if you want to be sure then you can pop 2 seeds into each divot and when they germinate just carefully pull out the weakest one.


Now all that is left to be done is to cover the seeds to the required depth either by putting some extra SRM over the seeds or as I do just push the edge of the divot over the seeds.







Just a few things left, I always label my seedlings cos I will forget which is which.
Water the punnet. I use half strength fish emulsion for the first watering and after that never let the SRM dry out and don't over water.
I usually water when just the very top of the SRM is just starting to look like it's drying.
I also place the seeds in a well lit but shady area (dappled sunlight under a tree is good)until the seeds have been up for a week or so and then gradually introduce them to full sunlight and by then they should be ready to plant into your nicely prepared garden soil.
A rough time line. End 1 week, seeds of cos lettuce should be up by now and can be watered with another half strength fish emulsion.
End 2 week, seed should be 25/30mm tall and growing well.
End week 3, another half strength fish emulsion. Almost getting full sun
End week4, whack em into the garden, again, with another half strength fish emulsion.

Things are really moving now

4mm of rain overnight has freshened things up around here and will make watering a little easier.

Seed report.
On Thursday 11/09/08 I planted a follow up row of Beetroot
Sunday. Seeds I've planted that have sprouted are Capsicum. Pak Choi (planted 8/09/08), Tiny Toms, Lettuce and Cabbage.

Sporadic sprouting of Chilli. I planted 16 and have 5 but am hopeful the rest will follow. I want to plant these in a flower border as a compromise between ornamental flowers and useful vegies, even though I can't eat them I can give them away to friends who can.

Cheers

Today

My wife commandeered me today for some car repairs but, I managed to get some seed planting done.
Sweet corn Snow Gold Bicolour F1 x 10
Pak Choi x 6
Broccoli Italian Sprouting x 2
Cabbage Sugarloaf x 2
Tomato San Marzano x 6
Lettuce Iceberg x 6
Celery Green Crunch x 6
Basil Sweet Genovese x 6