Vegetable Garden Update

An overview of the main vegetable patch. In the foreground is a lone basil plant - a leftover from the tomato cull a couple of weeks ago. Behind the basil are three rows of carrot, covered in moistened pea straw mulch (it's important to keep carrot seeds moist during germination).  Behind the carrots are two rows of snow peas. A wooden frame stretches wire over the peas. Behind the peas is waste ground. Then a number of flowering plants. At the far end of the garden is my monster pumpkin plant.

A close-up of the snow pea frame. Simple but effective.

The Revenge of the Monster Butternut Pumpkin. Ok... a couple of weeks a go I posted a pic of this plant growing around the compost bin and slowly taking over. The bin in the above photo is at the right, house brick on lid. Every couple of days I have to hack a path though the jungle to get to the bin. And of course all the while watching out for snakes.

Click on each photo for enlargements. Bye.  

Latest Post

OK, it's been a while since my last post. And I have more pics, but will post them soon. What's been happening?

Ok... the tomatoes are no more. The crop ran to a tired conclusion, so I pulled them out (all except one plant which is still fruiting - bizarre). I them removed all stakes and wire and weeded the entire area. I applied some compost, then a light sprinkling of blood and bone. In went three rows of carrot - Manchester Table variety - using carrot tape (seeds embedded in light paper strips, like tape, which makes thinning easier).

Then over the last two days I've been constructing a wooden frame to support flattened rolls of wire mesh. In went the snow peas (also known as sugar or snap peas), well mulched with rotted straw and watered with weak fish extract. I planted the peas yesterday morning, and by that evening they had already attached themselves to the mesh! Amazing.

Ok, some pics to come soon. Bye.

To all those harmless lambs out there

I read this today at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-15/saudi-heart-breakers/3830624

I don't know if this is sad or funny:

Saudi Arabia's religious police have arrested more than 140 people for celebrating Valentine's Day.
The Organisation for Promoting Virtue and Discouraging Evil says officers have punished those caught so far, and that its campaign of arrests is continuing.

In a six-page statement, the religious police said they were saving women from "deceiving men", who used the day to give the fake impression that they loved a woman while pretending to be a "harmless lamb". The religious authorities say Muslims who take part in Valentine's Day are in fact weak, lacking imagination, and far removed from the "sublime and virtuous" objectives of their religion.

The organisation has also confiscated all red roses from shops.

Make me Smile

Welcome to the Land of the Mullet



As tough as a wet tissue



God this is funny

Sydney Holiday Pics

After Glenelg we flew to Sydney for 3 nights at the Four Points. The first pic above was taken from our balcony overlooking Darling Harbour. The rain had eased and the rainbow was a nice welcome. The second pic is shot from the same balcony, early evening. In the forground, three minutes from our hotel, is the Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife World, and new Madame Tussauds which is to open in May. The bridge across the Harbour leads to the Maritime Museum and Star Casino. Lots of restaurants and bars surround the Harbour, with plenty of playgrounds and activity centres for children. 

The Chinese Gardens is close to Darling Harbour and we spent a couple of hours there. The pic above is of one of several waterfalls in the Gardens. Very peaceful.

Our holiday was very special, but all things must come to an end. Before we left I had a small pumpkin plant sprouting near the compost bin. When we returned, the result can be seen in the first pic above. Wow! I'm not sure what to do with his plant - prune back, retaining as many fruit as possible, or train across the fence? Who knows.

The second pic above shows what happens to tomato plants in 10 days. My wife's parents kindly watered and harvested our garden while we were away, and the results can be seen above. The large steel bowl on the left is full of cherry tomatoes! Four large containers full of fruit, in 10 days! And after that photo was taken I harvested another full container! I guess I can turn much of it into tomato sauce. Guess what we're having for dinner tonight, and tomorrow night, and the next night ....

Hope you liked my pics. Stay tuned.

Glenelg Holiday Pics

Glenelg Beach. This walkway to the beach was 3 minutes from our hotel room. Nice.

Dad at the BBQ. Lunching in the foreground. Background is dad's semi-tropical garden. Hammock to the right. Click on any of my blog photos for enlargements. 

Our Vacation

Ok, i have lots of pics to show, but i'm on my mobile phone and can't seem to upload pics, so they will have to wait until i can get to a real computer.

After 10 days in Glenelg, South Australia, we are now in Sydney for 3 days. In fact, I am writing this in the lobby of the Four Points Darling Harbour. It's our last day. It's raining outside and we want to go to The Rocks (Sydney Opera House) but the showers really are quite heavy.

Yesterday was pretty special. At noon we visited the NSW Art Gallery to see the Picasso Exhibition. Superb. Two things struck me - the scale of the paintings (either remarkably small or stunningly huge) and the use of colour. One normally notices Picasso's manipulation of the picture plane, but it was the subtle and clever use of colour which i found most striking.

In the evening we went to see a musical - "Annie". Featuring my one and only daughter Samantha!! The musical was fabulous, songs and sets memorable. And we went to the stage door afterwards where Sam introduced us to Anthony Warlowe, Alan Jones etc. A very special night. And one proud father!

Ok, that's all for now. Waiting for the sun. More later