Aussie 2007 Season

[tessa]

i've got 707 sq. metres, on which the house sits, and the pools resides...and two lawns.
maybe it's time to get rid of everything except the house.

[Mantis]

Greenhouse is 16sqm, other main bed is 20 with a smaller one of maybe 3. What am I doing wrong

Oh, yeah, Full Moon, the fert I use in the self watering tubs is actually Azalea and Camellia food , and the brand is Brunnings. Works really well.

[Grub]

Cosi,

You have 400sq m for growing produce alone? That would be great.

Tessa, I have lawn, but no pool. Probably the same space.

Interesting re the fert, Manto, as azaleas and camellia's are acid-loving plants and, as such, I use that fert for citrus as well, but I always thought it was intentionally leaning to the acid side of the PH spectrum.

BTW: I have packaged some seeds up and now only need to get to the post office.... 2morro.

[Grub]

I did some measurements in the dark with a head torch or miners lamp...

I have x 3 beds that are about 10ft x 31/2ft or 3m x 1m = 10sq m
I have two beds that are 8ft x 3ft or 2.30m x 0.9m = about 4.5sq m
I have one bed that is 9ft x 4ft or 2.60 metres x 1.2m = 4.25sq m

So roughly 20sq m of beds out the back plus half a rose bed and another long bed down the front - say 30sq m.

I have about 30 potplants as well. And Mrs Grub has said I can build another bed out the back if I want.

But it's all very desparate compared with Spatz... She even has sheep.

[Raymondo]

Mantis, just looked at your tub design. Why the pot? Does it act as a kind of wick (I presume it's filled with potting mix too)? Do you seal the filler tube where it passes through the top tub? If so, with what? Silicon?

[cosmicgardener]

Grub, that includes fruit trees, berry patch, washline, hothouse and 4 main rotation beds, shed and ubiquitous pine trees. So it is a bit of a squeeze. That's just a guestimate - might get B to measure it tomorrow. I'm not allowed to do anything strenuous The garden is divided into an upper level ( veggies/fruit) and a lower ( entertaining area, herbs flowers etc.)

Cos

[Grub]

Cosi,

I think I remember a pic or two and how I enjoyed seeing the diversity... this was perhaps from last summer. You had something interesting in there, probably remember what it was about 3am.

Hope you get your batteries back soon and spring forth.

BTW: What purpose do the pine trees serve? Windbreak?

[tessa]

yes grub...i remember seeing spatz's patch on the telly.
i reckon all our yards would fit in her's. well. her front yard, anyway. maybe all of tomatoville would squeeze into the back?

by stroke of divine intervention...i just got a surrogate patch in the country this week. i was just turning in the soil yesterday to get it all started...and when i got there today...there were two sheep and 6 chickens that someone put into the patch.
me thinks it's the neighbours who reckon that they own it now on account of lack of usage.
long story...
but if i can get this worked out...then i reckon i'll be skipping any and all trips to the produce store in three months time.

*fingers crossed*

[Mantis]

Ray, the black pot in the top tub of the SWT's is indeed the wicking chamber. I silcon this pot in but after a year of being constantly moist the silcon gives way, but it doesnt seem to matter. The filler pipe is loose and not fixed in , in any way. The hole it goes through is a neat fit though.
The thing that I dont show on the website is the two short lengths of 6inch pipe that are place either side of the black pot and serve to hold up the top tub. I will try to get a pic and add it in.

[cosmicgardener]

Grub, the pine trees serve no useful purpose. When this house was first built for some reason the people planted a row of pines down each side of the property. Needless to say they grew at a rate of knots and now tower over everything. We were told 'nothing will grow on Fossil Bluff'. Well they are wrong! We got rid of some when we first bought, but this left one mega one (4 trunks in the patio are which is now pushing the retanining wall out and 4 others which are in an awkward place and hard to get to. These trees suck so much of the water out of the soil that we can not spare, and they shade and acidify the soil - nothing will grow within 20 feet of them. So our big project is to get rid of them. Nothing stops our North Easterlies when they blow anyway!

[Grub]

For sure, lash out, get someone in to cut, grind and remove the pines. I have an old one here and can only grow cherry tomatoes in its vicinity. It looks too late for you, but if you can put a barrier down that would help stop the roots.

I like the duck, but what are all the white things on the hills? They don't look like sheep, I am supposing that are protecting young trees of some description. Has anything every landed and drunk from the birdbath?

I also note the Tassie gardening uniform of several layers

[maryinoregon]

Made my first fresh salsa of the season using mostly Grub's Mystery Green, a pink tomato and a few red cherries. Holy guacamole! Can we say ambrosia? GMG are coming on like gangbusters too!

One question though. How soft or firm is GMG when ripe, compared to say, Cherokee Purple? I think the weather here in Oregon, USA has affected all my tomatoes, no matter what the variety. As they approach ripeness they are a bit soft. Grubs seems prone to cracking on the bottom, so I have to watch them like a hawk to catch them at the perfect time. Forgive me for butting in on your thread as your season gets going, but I want to do right by this tomato next summer. Many thanks.

[cosmicgardener]

Grub the man in the summer outfit is Bob who refuses to pay others to do what he claims to be able to do (and usually does, but at his pace! ) The roots extend too far, and we both have an allergy to it. So go it must. The duck is good, it doesn't eat much. Yes, we get lots of birds to the bath - blue wrens, honey eaters, wattlebirds, thrushes etc. The things on the hill are native trees which hopefully will eventually form a parkland. The hillside is no man's land between a McMansion type subdivision right at the top on which only one fellow has built in 5 years and the real Bluff. We'll excavate the corner when the tree is gone and put in steps.

Mary, butt in all you like - Australians do it all the time, no worries.

cos

[Spatzbear]

That's interesting, Mary. I hadn't experienced any cracking where Grub's Mystery Green bottom is concerned. Can't answer your question concerning softness. I usually pick all tomatoes when they have the same kind of softness.

The tomato babies are finally REALLY growing. Have moved some of them into the bedroom where there is more space and a bigger window. They seem to like it in there.
Grow, babies, grow! 8)

[Grub]

Mary,
I don't think it is any more or less prone to cracking. It can get soft when very ripe and without tasting like its overripe. I am guessing, but it does sound like a weather thing. Maybe pick a few a bit earlier and bring them in to ripen. I'm sure they will taste great that way and maybe you will have better control of them during the ripening stages. Maybe try a few a tad earlier.

Best wishes, Grub. And feel free to jump in on this thread... we are all just shooting the breeze here