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Cranbourne Lawnmowing
26-03-2014, 08:09 PM
I've got right into my vegie gardening lately . Have about 20 capsicums going at the moment , a big tomatoe plant that is just about to come out to make room for more herbs, broccoli ,cauliflower ,bok choy , celery and red onions . Have the room for another 2.4 mtrs of vegies but don't know what I'm going to plant yet and some of my native garden beds might end up being taken over before long as well. I had lettuces growing in a length of pvc pipe up on the shed wall but couldn't keep it moist enough to do any good over the summer so might try a few different herbs in over winter. I'm happy that I haven't had to use any pesticides yet but if I don't figure out what has been having a crack at my bok choy that may change although a chilli spray might have to be tried first.

Anyone else been finding the time to home grow some produce?

bb1
26-03-2014, 08:34 PM
Do free range eggs count,

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
26-03-2014, 08:40 PM
Do free range eggs count,
Now there's an idea! How many chooks do you have?

Lockie
27-03-2014, 06:16 PM
Had a bumper year with the toms, 13 varieties = 26 plants of which 8 were cherry. Have 14 capsicums on the go as well as 4 pumpkin vines, 3 melon, corn, onions, cucumbers, strawbs, egg plant, zucchinis, beetroot, carrots plus a heap of herbs and fruit trees. in the sowing pots coming up in my mini green house are broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, leeks, more onions, coriander. Going in the ground this weekend are more carrots, beetroot, silverbeet, spring onion, radish and some asian greens. Garlic went in 2 weeks ago. Busy weekend coming to get the beds ready for winter veg. The veggie patch has grown from a small 4 bed set up to 8 good size beds with more planned, like a berry bed.

brett73
27-03-2014, 06:22 PM
Mine didn't fair well over summer, as the person I organised(and paid) to water it, didn't do the job right. Now we have to move, so will see what the next place offers up, space wise.

brett73
27-03-2014, 06:25 PM
I'd go out and have a look after dark, for what's attacking the bok choy. Could be earwigs, beetles or caterpillars or even the obvious snails/slugs. Mine used to get demolished by earwigs.

Mow And Go
27-03-2014, 09:02 PM
due to lack of time, I have herbs, spices, tomatoes, garlic ...that's about it lol

bb1
27-03-2014, 09:09 PM
Now there's an idea! How many chooks do you have?

just the 2, but 2eggs aday are enough

cadase
28-03-2014, 09:58 PM
Think my neighbor has been growing or cooking something, cops been there all day with a big azzed, booze bus styled truck, cop said they'll be there all night, wouldn't tell me what was going down, so i told him if they keep their generator on all night i'll be calling the cops :). quick as a flash he said don't worry about the generator it's just there to run the floodlight next to your bedroom window :) a cop with a sense of humor :)

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
15-04-2014, 09:45 PM
I'd go out and have a look after dark, for what's attacking the bok choy. Could be earwigs, beetles or caterpillars or even the obvious snails/slugs. Mine used to get demolished by earwigs.
Caterpillars. Damn things are destroying my bok choy , broccoli and cauliflower. I new the butterflies were getting into them and got some netting over them but I was too late and I've just about given up trying to pick them off there is hundreds of them. Next season I will use chicken wire to keep the butterflies out but allow things like bees to get in for pollinating. Don't have a problem with any other nasties. Last year had a problem with snails and slugs but I've now got all vegie boxes and barrels in a 12 metre area that I've used crushed red granite as a base and any slimey bugs don't seem to want to touch it. I have lots of praying mantis living in my grevillea garden so maybe I should put some in the vegie patch to see if they make a diffence. Wifey brought home carrot, pea, spinach, parsnip and spring onion seeds for me tonight but might be to late to be sowing now . ( need a green house). Capsicums are going great, just ate our first ones from the crop tonight . Yum love me capsicums. Next year I'm planning on planting 10 of them .

Lockie your vegie plot sounds awesome.

Lockie
16-04-2014, 01:55 PM
Cheers mate, I just keep adding to it each year.I have carrots coming up at the moment with beetroot.
Try spraying your choy, broc and cauli with dipel, its a naturally occurring bacteria that only harms caterpillars and grubs, shuts down their stomachs and they starve to death. Completely safe for all other insects and animals. Bunnings and nurseries have it, works a treat.
Broad beans going in next plus some more broccoli and Asian greens.

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
21-05-2014, 11:46 PM
Hey Lockie, Sounds great , I've ended up buying a mini greenhouse as well . I've got 4 tomatoe plants going in there as well as Kale , radishes, spring onion, carrots, peas, parsnip, beetroot and silverbeet. I've ended up planting some brussel sprouts outside too Celery is going great ,red onions shouldn't be far off and have a lot of beetroot on the go.

I havent tried dipel on vegies before but have tried it on my grevillea's before when they were attacking all the new growth but didn't make much difference. Mind you they are different species of caterpillar.

I'm guessing you love your capsicums. I'm taking my last ones off in the next couple of days , next season I'm going to plant around 10 of them. Love eating them roar ,cooked or roasted taste awesome.

kevinsuzanne
22-05-2014, 05:30 PM
Try some derris dust on your brassicas etc the pest is usually cabbage moth [a green slug] on the underside of the leaves
Its organic to.

Bluey
22-05-2014, 05:56 PM
I use pyrethrum on everything. Best damn all round bug killer there is in my opinion. Plus it is natural. It is made from chrysanthemum flowers. Companion plant some chrysanthemums around your veggie patc. Adds colour and helps keep the bugs away.

Lockie
22-05-2014, 05:59 PM
The family absolutely love capsicums. This mild weather has extended the season for them too. I'll leave my cap plants in over winter, give them a little prune and tidy up ready for next summer. I get 2-3 years out of my plants, that way i get a better haul in the second and third year and earlier (if the weather plays ball). in the middle of a battle with a plague of earwigs and millipedes that are eating all the heads off my young carrots. Have put oil, soy sauce and sardine traps (same as beer traps for snail and slugs) out that are making a big difference. Unbelievable how many they are catching.

Bluey
22-05-2014, 06:11 PM
The family absolutely love capsicums. This mild weather has extended the season for them too. I'll leave my cap plants in over winter, give them a little prune and tidy up ready for next summer. I get 2-3 years out of my plants, that way i get a better haul in the second and third year and earlier (if the weather plays ball). in the middle of a battle with a plague of earwigs and millipedes that are eating all the heads off my young carrots. Have put oil, soy sauce and sardine traps (same as beer traps for snail and slugs) out that are making a big difference. Unbelievable how many they are catching.


Yep love stuffed capsicums. Have you tried boric acid on the ear wigs. It rolls em pretty good. Dust it around your garden and areas they are likely to be hiding. Clean up rotting vegetation around the place and other areas they hide

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
07-06-2014, 10:48 PM
Has anyone got any good ideas on pollinating the flowers on tomatoe's? I've got some plants that are starting to flower in a small greenhouse but there is no way bee's etc are going to get in to do the natural process.

edbeek
07-06-2014, 11:21 PM
They mostly self pollinate. They have male & female parts in the same flower so easily pollinate. You can shake the plant to help it a bit.

Lockie
09-06-2014, 06:58 PM
Yeah give them a shake every day till u see fruit set

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
10-06-2014, 08:34 PM
No worries. Thanks . Didn't think it could be that easy.

BtW Just picked the last of the capsicums and thinking about removing the plants to plant pea seedlings. Have set up a new raised bed too but not sure what I'm going to plant there yet. I do have a heap of spring onions in the little green house but not sure how they will go in the open. Frosts in the morning around here are shocking.

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
10-06-2014, 08:39 PM
Lockie have you grown Kale? If so have you found they do better out in the open during the colder months. I've got mine in a green house and they look like they are going to go to seed. ( starting to grow like trunks) I'm wondering if it could be too warm for them in there.

fairdinkum
10-06-2014, 09:51 PM
I wish the snails and slugs that ate my attempted vege patch last year would come back and eat the weeds that have taken over the area

PaulG
10-06-2014, 11:20 PM
Kale loves the cold! ;) No luck with recently planted Caulies here though. I thought it would have been cool enough but they're not even six-inches tall and wide and are already trying to grow their heads. Amanda on the other hand at their primary school garden have big beautiful caulies growing and they are a warmer temp than here being at the foot of the Toowoomba range at Withcott.

brett73
11-06-2014, 04:48 PM
No worries. Thanks . Didn't think it could be that easy.

BtW Just picked the last of the capsicums and thinking about removing the plants to plant pea seedlings. Have set up a new raised bed too but not sure what I'm going to plant there yet. I do have a heap of spring onions in the little green house but not sure how they will go in the open. Frosts in the morning around here are shocking.

Put one of your capsicum plants in a pot, trim the branches and put in your little hot house or under cover somewhere away from frosts, replant next spring. I've had a bigger stronger plant with better yield by doing this.

We've just moved across to Mt Martha, so will be starting a new veg patch, once we get settled a bit more. Just picked up 3 dwarf fruit trees, to stick in the ground also

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
11-06-2014, 09:04 PM
Paul thats what I was thinking . The Kale must be finding it too warm and thinks its the end of the season. Will plant out in the open asap.

Brett... That is a great idea will have to do that and see how it goes. cheers. What are the fruit trees you got?

brett73
12-06-2014, 09:42 AM
Picked up a Nectarine, Apricot and Peach, still want to get an Almond and Cherry. There's already a BIG apple tree and a Lemon tree here.

Lockie
12-06-2014, 06:30 PM
Yeah Kale loves the cold, i have Tuscan and Red Kale coming on great out in the veg patch, your spring onions will be fine in the veg patch too, frosts have never hurt mine. I have them everywhere. If your still worried about frosts, just set up a little shade cloth tent over them, i do this for any early tomato planting in spring. A few stakes with shade cloth over the top and clipped on, quick and easy.

PaulG
12-06-2014, 09:03 PM
I forgot. (happening a lot lately.....) I bought a small Blueberry tree recently too. Can't wait until it starts producing more in a couple of years. :) Just need to get another one but an early maturing one as this one is a 'Powder Blue' if I recall correctly, which is a late season berry.

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
22-06-2014, 07:15 PM
A couple of pics after messing around out back today. Think I might have stuffed one of my Kale .

758475857586

AJD Mowing
22-06-2014, 09:45 PM
Nice picture of you in the chair mate :)

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
03-08-2014, 08:58 PM
Nice picture of you in the chair mate :)

Thats actually the misses. :scared

Did a bit of pottering out there today after a bit of fishing . Have a lot of pics to post of me and the lovely cooking up a storm . Using fresh home grown ingredients of coarse.
Just waiting for my sons girlfriend to turn up with a missing ingredient for my homemade cream of celery soup.

edbeek
27-08-2014, 08:49 AM
I got my vegie plot all cultivated and waiting for the warmer weather. Planted a heap of seeds into pots yesterday.
Should have tomatoes, climbing beans, zucchini, QB pumpkins, capsicum, cucumber and watermelons.

Stump
28-08-2014, 06:48 PM
I planted my tomatoes a month early this year, and all have come up. Aiming to thin them out to 60-80 plants to make Passata Italian style. Even purchased a processing machine from an italian family from ebay. Planted mainly Oxhearts, and a few Grosse Lisse for eating. Should have tomatoes nice and early.

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
28-08-2014, 06:53 PM
Watch out for the frosts Stump.

edbeek
31-08-2014, 07:28 PM
Ha. I went to my neighbours today to see if I could get a few cherry tomato seeds and came home with her whole seed collection. :doh

Now I have to extend my garden bed by at least half again and don't have access to a rotary hoe any more.

So now I have in, or ready to go, Sweet potato, 3 types of beans, 2 types of peas, about 8 types of tomato, 3 capsicum, 2 cucumber, 2 zucchini, rockmelon, watermelon, pumpkin.
El Nino will be on for sure now. :)

edbeek
06-10-2014, 03:52 PM
Seems like I was a bit early planting out my garden. The zucchini and climbing beans and asparagus are doing ok, but everything else is a bit slow.
Pumpkins, cucumber, melons, tomatoes and capsicums germinated ok, but still not doing much growing yet.
Most of the other peas and beans are just coming out of the ground now.

Night time min temps are just now rising to >10° consistently, so everything should take off soon.
Spread some composted grass clippings around everything to try to preserve some moisture, and threw a ute load of old horse manure around on the weekend.

Macka
06-10-2014, 05:31 PM
planted 5 tom's, 2 cap's, 4 nuts, 8 corn & 6 cues, got established plants, garden looks good, soil is amazing worms everywhere the size of ya finger.

Cant wait to water the garden after work having a beer.

edbeek
21-10-2014, 07:41 AM
My garden is just struggling along. Night time temps took a dive again last week and no rain in sight.
Climbing beans and zucchini are starting to flower but the rest are very slow.

Had to build a scarecrow as the crows were nipping the seedlings off. Worked great. NOT!! They built a nest up in a tree about 5 metres away. :mad:

7930

jd
19-05-2015, 05:40 PM
Broccoli has been rocketing along and hopefully soon producing heads. Sowed snowpeas and sugar snap peas a couple of weeks ago. Bok choi and rocket doing well. Still have a lot of carrots in the ground; bit scared to look as previous efforts have resulted in some very weird shapes indeed. :scared

Does anyone use a greenhouse and how effective has it been?

South East Mowing
26-05-2015, 06:35 PM
sorry but can't really mention on a public forum what I am growing and where it is being grown!:laughing:

Bluey
26-05-2015, 06:50 PM
Too late we can lip read

South East Mowing
26-05-2015, 06:54 PM
We have set up a vegie garden this year!

Have not really got into winter plantings yet.

Had tomatoes, capsicums etc over summer - absolutely great.
Just have to set up a watering system as the wife got a shock when the water bill came in:help

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
23-06-2015, 09:07 PM
I've still got a few roma tomatoes going and capsicums. Chilli's are out of control. Not sure why at this time of year but one theory I have is the fact I grew them through last winter from seed so they may be handling the cold weather better than they should.

jd
28-07-2015, 07:22 PM
I've still got a few roma tomatoes going and capsicums. Chilli's are out of control. Not sure why at this time of year but one theory I have is the fact I grew them through last winter from seed so they may be handling the cold weather better than they should.

Tomatoes?? In open ground in Winter??
Broccoli's are coming along nicely. For some reason the climbing peas have not come on like other years. Hopefully, in the months to come.

Cranbourne Lawnmowing
30-07-2015, 07:56 PM
Yes I have one plant that is looking like surviving winter and even has a couple of almost ripe tomatoes on it . Thinking I might give it a good trim/clean up and see what happens through next season.

My peas aren't doing anything either?

brett73
05-09-2015, 07:20 PM
Repotted my lemon tree today, also whacked this together. Should be good for a couple of tomatoes, a silver beet, cucumber and some lettuce. Unsure of what else to squeeze in.

8498

BSD
05-09-2015, 07:59 PM
I've also got the vege juices flowing, looks good, surround with various herbs and stuff, shallots?....things like that.

djkgrounds
06-09-2015, 08:25 AM
Throw a marigold at either end for pest control

Stump
06-09-2015, 09:31 AM
I have slowly transformed my whole back yard area to growing food this year. Just purchased 10 apple trees to plant out into a cordon espalier, and have collected various unusual stuff to grow like perrenial leeks, potato onions from America, yakon, multiplying spring onions, Welsh onions, Crimson flowered broad beans, columnar apples and columnar peaches. Just got my tomato and cucumnber seeds in, and planted out zucchini. Had 30 broccoli all headed up nicely, and got to eat two, before the dog decided it would turn vegetarian and eat them all to the ground. Really need to save for a water tank before the bill this summer sends me broke.