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Growing things, in general.


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G'day Troops.

 

Apart from growing cannabis I also like growing a lot of different things as well. I have a small but very productive vegie garden that helps keep the cost of living down and I eat very well. Just now I have corn, onions, peas, beans, birds eye chilli, spuds, strawbs, rhubarb and garlic growing down the back. In large pots I have mint, parsley, limes, mandarins and sylvan berries. I have a herb bed that has lemon thyme, rosemary, jalapeno's, marjoram, oregano and sage in it. I have still got some heritage tomato's to get going yet, but that will happen soon. My Aunty is a mad keen gardener, and gives me seeds for all sorts of heritage vegies that she grows.I take her eggs and lemons (I have a very good lemon tree) and she gives me seed and cuttings. I'll put up some pics as things settle into their stride, and I start getting a result. I'd like to have a crack at some asparagus, I love it fresh, lightly steamed with plain yoghurt and lemon. Tucker made in heaven. I tried to germinate some avocado seeds, but things are looking a bit sad there, but I'll leave them for a while and see.

 

An old, now dead, mate once said to me "If your'e going to grow something, you should be able to eat or smoke it". Fair comment, Thomas H.

 

:guitar: :guitar: :guitar:

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I am just in the process of building a new raised bed for some more veggies and such! :)

My winter tomatoes and peas just finished off, turned over the soil and got a green manure mix going now, will let that go a bit, turn that over, then throw something else in for the summer.

I got a little herb garden going in an old basin sink thing, got a nice rustic look to it ! :),

(this pic about 6-8weeks old, they have filled out a bit now, basil has bolted, oregano growing everywhere along with the mint, gotta keep em in check! :D

 

http://i54.tinypic.com/2h2p189.jpg

 

I got some dwarf lemons and limes and oranges, love em, but i want to put them in the ground, just cant decide where.

 

I cant wait to get my hands on some heirloom variety's! been looking on edenseeds.com.au

 

also got a few capsicums going, chilies and onions,

 

fresh fruit and veggie brighten a meal up like you wouldn't believe!, or just as good by themselves

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I've always been a gardener. The veggie garden went to weeds last year, but I am getting back with a bit of a redesign... the old soil beds are slowly being replaced with raised beds of a more user friendly size. ATM I have the first two 1.2mx1.2m raised beds cropping, mixed lettuces, rocket, 2 crops of spring onions. There's also some pak choy, bolting as the weather warms up and peas as well that don't look like they are going to do anything. No loss though, this is the most mature bed and now has the tilth required for root crops, so their main purpose was to suck up any excess nitrogen before I sow carrots... I hate forked carrots, whether they crop or not, they've done what I wanted. In the past that sort of thing would have fed the rabbits... myxo, sigh, no more now it is just compost.

 

I'm putting raised bed #3 together atm, it will house my leb cucumber vines (seed just sprouted) and a giant pumpkin. I have one ground level regular bed of the same size with tomatoes, 2 Apollo's. I trellis grow the tomatoes on sections of reo, eventually 2 plants fills 1.2x1.2m. I still need to find somewhere for a black Russian tom, some beetroot and my zucchinis. I've got a spot picked out for the sweet corn where the parrots can't see it... I just have to remember I've got something there that needs water. Obviously there is a little more digging to do.

 

In permanent crops there's a heavy cropping lemon tree, a patch of 7 year old asparagus, a range of herbs, rhubarb (which I don't eat but my elderly neighbours do), a couple of patches of Jerusalem artichoke, one struggling globe artichoke... I need to more that into a sunnier spot. I lost black and redcurrant bushes and my strawberry patch in the extreme heat a couple of seasons ago. They will return, but maybe not this year. I still have raspberries, but also have blackberry in close proximity (it engulfed the strawberry patch) so they can all go and I'll get fresh canes once the patch is free of blackberry.

 

I also have 106 potted plants that need various levels of attention, a heap of pruning and shredding to do, compost to turn, cuttings to take, bulbs to lift, lemons to pick and process, blackberries to spray, and that doesn't include any special gardening projects I might also have.

 

Nearly 9 o'clock... and now I have my evening gardening jobs to do. :thumbsup:

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G'day Troops.

 

It seems everyone is in the process of getting their summer veggies going. This is nice to see, people getting prime tucker for virtually nix. For those with children, I applaud you. They couldn't eat anything better. Start them young on fresh produce and they'll never look back. We all know a bit of elbow grease will achieve good results, and a vegie garden is evidence of that. I had the idea of not doing a spring/summer garden this year, a while back, when I was feeling very unwell. I didn't have the where withall to do it, but I've regained much of my health and have gotten busy. I'm a bit late this year, and as a result have missed out on my broad beans, which I love. Broad beans with butter and fresh black pepper. Keep your eyes open for Australian grown pepper. There is a family up near Innisfail, at Silkwood, who have the only pepper plantation in Aus. It tastes like pepper should.

 

All my beds are raised as the underlying soil is a heavy clay loam. This stuff has poor drainage and not a lot grows well in it. My lemon tree is the exception, it rages. I had to sort out some drainage for it and it's come along in leaps and bounds, it gets the floor and nest box straw and manure from the chook shed as well. I had some black russian tomato's last season and they went feral, took over most of the plot I had them in. They produced well and made lots of pickle's, chutney and sauce, plus they were excellent to eat raw. When I'm talking to Aunty Lorna next, I will ask her what the tomato's are that she gave me. I have a few to spare. Would anyone like some? Contact me via PM and we'll work something out.

:guitar: :guitar: :guitar:

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When I started my little weed plants, I also bought some terracotta pots and tomatoes and strawberries to plant. I just went to Bunnings, I did not grow them from seed. Last week I also added some eggplant, capsicum and cucumbers to the collection. The tomateos and strawbs had a lot of their leaves eaten by catterpillers. The new plants are only a week old, so they look ok! I'm really very inexperienced with gardening, but I'm enjoying having a new intrest and look forward to learning more about it.

 

Eating healthier and having organic (as much as I can) home-grown produce has been a big motivator. I strongly believe all these chemicals in our supermarket bought fruit and veg can have a negative effect not only on our health, but also our mental health. Wanting to be healthy and happy is something I aspire to, and growing seems to be a step in that direction.

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really it should be law for every family houshold to have a veggie garden where practical ..

save the country billions of $, while at the same time making Aussie families a lot healthier, happier and contented people

 

Gardening was possibly the first therapy for the cavemen who found himself to be hopeless at Hunting and Gathering

when the rest of the Tribe told him to 'stay at home' so that at least the Hunters could catch and kill some food for the tribe

 

so this fella stayed at home in the cave and feeling pretty depressed at his complete lack of hunting prowess

he tried to join in with the females who traditionally stayed in an around the cave

 

well he was as welcome as a fart in an elevator

so he is told to find something to do outside

 

he thought himself doomed

for if one could not bring food too the table, then one could not eat from the table either

 

the hopeless hunter started grubbing in the soil outside, as if preparing a shallow grave ...

as he was digging around he uncovered some potatos buried beneath the soil under a dead old plant

 

Man got dirt under his fingernails and liked it ...

the Gardener was born ...

 

:peace:

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really it should be law for every family houshold to have a veggie garden where practical ..

save the country billions of $, while at the same time making Aussie families a lot healthier, happier and contented people

 

Gardening was possibly the first therapy for the cavemen who found himself to be hopeless at Hunting and Gathering

when the rest of the Tribe told him to 'stay at home' so that at least the Hunters could catch and kill some food for the tribe

 

so this fella stayed at home in the cave and feeling pretty depressed at his complete lack of hunting prowess

he tried to join in with the females who traditionally stayed in an around the cave

 

well he was as welcome as a fart in an elevator

so he is told to find something to do outside

 

he thought himself doomed

for if one could not bring food to the table, then one could not eat from the table either

 

the hopeless hunter started digging in the soil outside, as if preparing a shallow grave ...

as he was grubbing around he uncovered some potatos buried beneath the soil under a dead old plant

 

Man got dirt under his fingernails and liked it ...

 

the Gardener was born ...

 

:peace:

 

fuck your high

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