Hi everyone, hope you are all well. I love the flowers of salsify… must be one of the prettiest veg flowers!

🙁 Can’t seem to be able to add the pic to the post so I’ve made it my avatar.

An update on the edibles growing in my garden:

Apples x 3 varieties
Orange
Lemon x 2…[Read more]

I read somewhere that coffee dregs thrown over the tree also work… haven’t tried this myself yet though.

Thanks for that purplehat! I’m going to order myself some fido jars this weekend. Hopefully though my test batch will be ok. Had a taste yesterday, was very salty and a little bit tangy so going to leave two more days. If anything starts growing on it though I’m going to turf it! 🙂

An update – this was day 3. Not much different today but bubbles have started to collect at the top of the brine.

Thanks for the help and encouragement. If this turns out ok, I’m thinking I’ll try kimchi next. Anyone know a good online guide/recipe?

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Oh yacon, yum! I’m off to place an order now 🙂

Thank you so much everyone. Yesterday I decided to take the plunge and start to experiment. I found an old large jar (that previously had store bought pickles in it), googled a recipe for sauerkraut and started my first batch. Photo below. I’m a happy girl so far. Using a container of water and some quartered outer leaves instead of those weights…[Read more]

Bobbee I must apologise, just reading through the thread and see a loooong time ago you asked me what I meant by autumn raspberries and I haven’t been back on here til now to reply! It really just means raspberries that either produce a second crop in autumn or produce their main crop in autumn… I’ve found out since that the two main varieties…[Read more]

Is this the document you’re talking about Andre? http://eprints.utas.edu.au/2526/1/Henry_Lyle_Nationalsurvey.pdf

Also for those interested, here’s an article titled “Minister backflips on flathead catch but damage done”. Seems the NSW Fisheries minister recently signed off on a document removing catch limits for flathead and other species for…[Read more]

I think you are right Bobbee, I’ve read that too (should’ve done that but I was too excited to see what the crop was like). Have given alot to a friend who makes yummy soup with them. I most roast them. I had been “bandicooting” them every so often since the flowers appeared. Also read that you should take off the flowers so more energy goes into…[Read more]

Could it be a crafty snail? I had one that would sneak into my aquaponics system at night. Found it hiding in a nearby potplant during the day – once “taken care of” no more plants went missing.

Harvested my jerusalem artichokes yesterday (possibly a tad early but the plants were dying). Very impressive – got 3.8kg from planting only 5 tubers!!! 🙂

I’ve just been trying to edit details in my profile and have been getting lots of error messages there too. Anyone else having that problem?

All I can definitely say for you is the plant certainly appears to be from the solenaceae family. It’s such a wide and varied group, many of which are toxic. I would suggest digging one up and taking it to a horticultural expert for id just to be sure. 🙂

Does anyone know if potatos are the only members of the solenaceae family that forms…[Read more]

Wow looks great HG! Mind if I ask what you have grown so far? I’ve just started a small experimental grow bed (testing the concept to see how I go) and am wondering what grows well?

:blink: The Dr actually said that?! Regardless of whether what you are hypothesising is correct or not the Dr should be explaining why that scenario isn’t possible not commenting on whether or not you know what you’re talking about!! What a completely unprofessional thing for a Dr to say especially to a traumatised family looking for answers!

Hi again 🙂

Basically I just used the mushroom “stalk” (where they were fuzzy). Oyster mycelium is pretty easiy to distinguish when it’s growing – it looks cobweb like. Though using your old substrate would definitely be the best option.

Re a more environmentally friendly growing bag, I thought I had seen someone growing mushrooms in denim…[Read more]

Hi Sam, those mushies do indeed look tasty! Well done. 🙂

Did you know you can use your mushies to create mycelium for your next batch? I did a little experiment to see how it would go and was plesantly surprised. Although I made the mistake of using tap water to moisten it and so that killed off quite a bit. I still have the container going…[Read more]

So sorry to hear about your DIL Robyne :hug:

I’m not a doctor at all but maybe ask the mental health team could it be post partum psychosis?

http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=94.1559

http://www.pregnancy-info.net/postpartum_psychosis.html

I had never even heard of this until a friend of the family’s daughter had a complete…[Read more]

Hi again, thought I better wander around the garden before everything dies in the heat!

Photos are as follows:
1. Water chestnuts (plus some fish to keep the mozzies at bay)
2. 3 big toms – can’t wait for these to ripen up!
3. One of the heritage zucchini – looks like a yellow trombone to me (came from mixed seed so I’m not sure what it is)
4.…[Read more]

I too can vouch that the rootstock is an invasive nasty weed. Last year I bought my brother-in-law a NK passionfruit. He planted it and it seemed to grow ok but then in the ACT winter it rotted and died. He then built a raised garden bed where the plant used to be. A few weeks ago he asked me to come an have a look at a plant that had been popping…[Read more]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice – I love ALSers! Have been researching biochar and am amazed I haven’t heard of it before.

Am so glad to know that my “mutant” garlic is perfectly normal! :laugh: I going to replant the bulblets and see what happens. I’m thinking I’ll plant in a barrell with compost, better soil (and biochar!) next…[Read more]