Veggie-Might

I'M BACK!

2011-11-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

Well it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten my hands dirty in some soil and even longer since I’ve checked into my blog.

My wife, son and I moved back to Nagoya Japan in January this year and we’ve been very busy setting up and running our new Children’s English School. It’s been going incredibly well and I am now excitably able to start devoting some time to getting my hands back into some soil!

I wish I had taken a photo of what our backyard looked like before we spent 4 days clearing it of the jungle and assorted detritus that builds up over many years of neglect but here it is after all our hard work.

I’m planning on setting up a small 2 x 2m raised veggie patch, areas for flowers and plants, a grassy area, a bench and a nice big ceramic fish bowl.

Lots to do before our second son is born sometime in March!

Climbing Beans 2010

2010-06-15T03:39:00.000-07:00

Climbing Beans (Stringless Blue Lake).

What: Yates Seed.
Where: Round Bucket.
When: 6 June 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 7-10 days.
Actual Germination:

Advertised Maturity: 10-12 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

I found a fat caterpillar had moved in made short work of one of the seedlings and was working on a second already! >_<

15 June 2010

Oriental Radish (Daikon) 2010

2010-06-15T03:34:00.000-07:00

Oriental Radish (Daikon).

What: D.T. Brown Seed.
Where: Large black container.
When: 15 June 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 5-8 days.
Actual Germination: 4 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 6-8 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

Beetroot (Detroit Red globe)

2010-06-15T03:31:00.000-07:00

Beetroot (Detroit Red globe).

What: D.T. Brown Seed.
Where: Rectangular self-watering container.
When: 6 June 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 days.
Actual Germination: 8 days.

Advertised Maturity: 10 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

15 June 2010

Improved Apollo Tomato 2010

2010-06-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

Tomato: Improved Apollo

What: Yates Improved Apollo Seeds
Where: Yogurt container.
When: 6 June 2010.

Sown in: Mixed Potting Soil
Fertiliser: Blood and bone.

Advertised Germination: 10-12 Days.
Actual Germination: 8 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 12-14 Weeks.
Actual Maturity:

It's past the ideal season for these but it did so well last time I thought I'd have another go at them.

15 June 2010

The Pitfalls of Going on Holiday

2010-06-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic time on our holiday back to Japan for 10 days to introduce Boudi to all of his Japanese relatives and heaps of our friends. While we were away I asked my Mum to feed my fish, pick up our mail and to water the veggies.

BEFORE

The fish survived although my external pump blew out but miraculously re-sealing itself and thus avoiding pumping the tank dry and flooding the apartment. This was not fault of my Mum’s however as I’d neglected to clean the filter before we departed. The filter ended up being a right-off and I had to make a frantic purchase on Ebay to get everything going again.

No problems with the mail and not too many bills to come home to which was nice.

Now on to my poor old ‘veggie patch’. As a disclaimer I should note that my Mum has ‘black thumbs’, a point I’ve known for a long time. About the only plants that she’s able to avoid killing are the type that you stick in vessels of water (lucky bamboo and the like). I think I set the fear into her when I suggested that my tomatoes were incredibly thirsty plants requiring lots of water every day.

We returned home and I found half the veggie patch a sickly yellow colour with puffs of mould here and there and what wasn’t yellow looked like Swiss cheese. A bunch of aphids and a tribe of caterpillars had moved in and made short work of anything that wasn’t yellow and / or mouldy. I salvaged what I could and junked the rest.

AFTER

It actually turned out not to be a bad thing in the end as it forced me to give the balcony tiles a really good scrubbing which was just as well because we had our 6 month unit inspection the following week.

Mum always taught me to look for the positives in any negative situation.

Japanese Turnip 2010

2010-04-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

Japanese Turnip (Hakurei)

What: Yates Seed.
Where: Medium black pot
When: 24th April 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 6-10 days.
Actual Germination: 5 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6-10 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

30th April 2010

These suffered a lot from over-watering while I was away on holidays and some aphid damage but seem to have bounced back with some TLC.

May 2010

15 June 2010

I thought I'd get another lot going:

What: Yates Seed.
Where: Medium black pot
When: 6 June 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 6-10 days.
Actual Germination: 7 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6-10 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

15 June 2010

Chinese Pickles

2010-04-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3 medium carrots
20 radishes, skin scrubbed, cut in half and then sliced very thinly
1 ½ telegraph cucumbers cut into quarters lengthways, seeds cut out, sliced thinly
1 ¼ tsp salt

Method

1. Heat sugar with vinegar till sugar dissolved. Cool.
2. Combine all sliced vegetables, sprinkle with the salt and gently toss with hands. Sit in a colander in fridge for three and a half hours.
3. Wash off salt and gently squeeze out excess liquid, pour over vinegar mixture and refrigerate in a glass jar for at least two days.

THANKS POH!!!

Carrots 2010

2010-04-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

Baby Carrots

What: Seed (Grower's Pride Baby Carrot).
Where: Large Rectangular Self-Watering Planter.
When: March 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix at a depth of 6mm.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-21 days.
Actual Germination: 16-18 days.

Advertised Maturity: 10-12 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

I didn't have a lot of luck last year with these but I have put them in a sunny spot with some cucumbers and hope to at least get a few good bunches of carrot tops to use for tempura.

10 April 2010

These are plodding along VERY slowly.

May 2010

Buk Choy vs Pak Choi

2010-04-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've grown both individually in the past but as I use them for the same recipes etc I thought I'd just see how they went together in the same container. Previously I've planted all of my choy/choi seeds in their own container or spaced apart and as a result always end up with huge leaves very loosely bunched.

This time around I planted a heap of Buk Choy and Pak Choi seeds in the same container in order to keep the bunches more tightly packed and so I can 'cut and come again' with small leaves.

The Buk Choy and Pak Choi seed packets have very similar germination and maturity guidelines, however the Buk Choy seeds sprouted 5 days ahead of the Pak Choi seeds and have raced away as you can see:

In future I don't think I'll bother with Pak Choi.

Rocket 2010

2010-04-10T16:04:00.000-07:00

Rocket
What: Seed (Mr Fothergill's).
Where: large rectangular self-wateringcontainer.
When: March 2010.

Sown in:Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 6-10 Days.
Actual Germination: 5-7 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 4-5 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 5 weeks.

10 April 2010

After first harvest (Ruby Chard on the left).

These have been picked quite regularly however some of the leaves have gotten a bit too old to be good for a salad. I might do a big harvest and make some potent pesto from the older leaves.

29 April 2010

These were decimated by caterpillars while I was away on holidays, the END....

Try Again.

What: Seed (Mr Fothergill's).
Where: large rectangular self-watering container.
When: 6 June 2010.

Sown in:Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 6-10 Days.
Actual Germination: 8 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 4-5 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

15 June 2010

Cucumber 2010

2010-04-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

Lebanese Cucumber

What: Seed (D. T. Brown).
Where: 20L Bucket modified to a self-watering container and large rectangular self-watering container.
When: March 2010.

Sown in: recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 6 - 10 Days.
Actual Germination: 6 days.

Advertised Maturity: 8 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: 10 Weeks.

10 April 2010

You wouldn't think that the plants in the container and the bucket are the same age:

29 April 2010

Obviously I'm going to pull the pin on the ones in the bucket and have a go at something else....

The plants on my trellis did OK but suffered heavily from being over-watered plus being decimated by caterpillars while I was away on holidays. I ended up getting about a dozen cucumbers in the end.

May 2010

Radish 2010

2010-04-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Radish

What: Seed (Yates Radish - Gentle Giant).
Where: Square self-watering planter.
When: March 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 5-8 days.
Actual Germination: 4 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6 - 8 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 5 weeks.

10 April 2010

I’ve read a lot of posts regarding the best spacing for radish and how you shouldn’t plant them too close together or it will stunt bulb growth etc.

I have to call Bull Shit on this however.

I planted these radishes to try a new pickles recipe I came across. The recipe called for 20 radishes so I decided to plant 2 seeds in each of 12 holes in an area the equivalent of 60cm x 5 cm around the edge of the container and well the results speak for themselves:

Lots of good growth and healthy looking leaves:

No problems at all with adjacent bulb growth:

A massive harvest from an area of 60x 5cm in just 5 weeks:

The end result:

I've put in another run of radish (24 April 2010) at the base of my Reggae Roma Tomato and have tried 3 seeds per hole to test the limits.

29 April 2010

These were over-watered to death while I was away on holidays, the END...

Time to try again!

What: Seed (Yates Radish - Gentle Giant).
Where: Rectangular self-watering planter.
When: 6 June 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 5-8 days.
Actual Germination: 6 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6 - 8 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

15 June 2010

Buk Choy 2010

2010-04-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

Buk Choy - White Stem.

What: Seed (Yates ).
Where: Large self-watering container.
When: March 2010

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of blood and bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 7-10 Days.
Actual Germination: 6 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6-8 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: Picked as young leaves from 5 weeks.

10 April 2010

Have already produced two big loads of leaves for the dinner table and below is after the second harvest. No signs of Aphids yet but I have killed a few caterpillars......

29 April 2010

These were decimated by caterpillars while I was away on holidays, the END....

Silverbeet - Ruby Chard / Swiss Chard 2010

2010-04-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Silverbeet - Ruby Chard

What: Seed (Yates ).
Where: 1 x large rectangular self-watering container.
When: March 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of blood and bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 Days.
Actual Germination: 8 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 11-12 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: Picked as young leaves after 5 weeks.

10 April 2010

Rocket on the right.

I've harvested leaves several times for salads.

29 April 2010

These were decimated by caterpillars while I was away on holidays, the END....

Coriander 2010

2010-04-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

Coriander
What: Seed (D. T. Brown).
Where: Small black pot.
When: March 2010

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 18 - 24 Days.
Actual Germination: 16-20 days.

Advertised Maturity: Not shown but previous experience was 10 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 12 weeks.

10 April 2010

29 April 2010

These seem to be going nowhere since the cooler weather has set in....

15 June 2010

Mini Mama Capsicum 2010

2010-04-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Mini-Mama Capsicum

What: Seed (First generation from seeds from above seedling).
Where: Large square self-watering container.
When: March 2010.

Sown in: Re-used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of Blood and Bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: Unknown but past experience was 14 days.
Actual Germination: 13-15 days.

Advertised Maturity: Unknown but past experience was 10 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

After the poor attempt last time I went overboard and planted a heap of seeds and am hoping to get at least one of them to fruit.

10 April 2010

I've culled off a lot of the smaller seedlings and am waiting for 1 or 2 good ones to rise above!

29 April 2010

Well I jinxed myself didn't I! I wanted at least one of them to fruit and that's what I got, one to fruit with one mini-capsicum.......

May 2010

Pak Choi 2010

2010-04-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Pak Choi
What: Seed (First generation seed from Floriana Easy Grow Pak Choi ).
Where: Large rectangular self-watering container.
When: March 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Unknown
Actual Germination: 12 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6-7 weeks.
Actual Maturity: Picked as young leaves from 5 weeks.

10 April 2010

Bok choy on left and Pak Choi on the right as shown.

Have already produced two big loads of leaves for the dinner table and below is after the second harvest. No signs of Aphids yet!

29 April 2010

Returned home from a ten day holiday to find these decimated by caterpillars, The END.....

Basil 2010

2010-04-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

Basil
What: Seed (optained from plants at work).
Where: Small black pot
When: April 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Unknown.
Actual Germination: 14 days.

Advertised Maturity: Unknown.
Actual Maturity: From 12 weeks.

I've gone all out again in an attempt to get an early feed of pesto.

29 April 2010

Looking good so far.

May 2010

15 June 2010

Spring Onions 2010

2010-04-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

SPRING ONIONS 2010
What: Seed (Yates Spring Onion).
Where: Large black pot.
When: 20 March 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 days.
Actual Germination: 12 - 14 days.

Advertised Maturity: 8-10 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

3 April 2010

Not a lot has changed in the last month so I don't see me giving them much more time.....

29 April 2010

Starting to look a bit better.

May 2010

15 June 2010

Reggae Roma Tomato 2010

2010-04-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

Reggae Roma Tomato 2010

What: Seed (Second generation from seedling).
Where: Large square self watering planter.
When: 20 March 2010.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Unknown but past experience was 10 days.
Actual Germination: 10 days.

Advertised Maturity: Unknown but past experience was 14-16 weeks.
Actual Maturity: Not matured.

I planted a bunch of seeds as they were quite old and hadn't been stored very well, however, all germinated. I picked the best two looking seedlings and pinched off the rest. I planted a heap of radish around the tomato seeds at the same time so it's a bit hard to see the seedling at this stage...

10 March 2010

These have taken off really well but I couldn't bring myself to cull all but one of the plants so I'm growing two plants either side of the support pole. I'll probably pay for it later.......

29 April 2010

This plant was a casualty of my recent holiday to Japan for 10 days and was suffering heavily from being over-watered by my fill-in gardener. I trimmed all the junk leaves off but the plant was too far gone and didn't recover, which is a shame because there was a few nice toms setting.

May 2010

It's well past the ideal season but I'd thought I would give it one more try.

What: Seed (Second generation from seedling).
Where: Yoghurt Container
When: 6 June 2010.

Sown in: Recycled Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: Unknown but past experience was 10 days.
Actual Germination: 10 days.

Advertised Maturity: Unknown but past experience was 14-16 weeks.

15 June 2010

Snow Peas 2010

2010-04-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

Snow Peas 2010

What: Seed (D.T. Brown Snow Peas).
Where: 20L white bucket.
When: 16 January 2010; 13 March 2010

Sown in: Mixed Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 7-10 days.
Actual Germination: 10 days.

Advertised Maturity: 14 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 12 weeks

February 2010 (first lot of seeds)

March 2010 (second lot of seeds)

These haven't done as well as I hoped probably due to the fact that I didn't refreshen the soil after it's run with cucumbers. I'm pulling the plug on these and will take the time to set it up properly!

29 April 2010

Recipes

2010-04-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Coriander Pesto

I had a big bunch of coriander and after a quick search around for a simple recipe I came across this one and it turned out fantastic!

Ingredients

1 litre chicken stock (or vegetable)
1 chicken thigh filet
10g dried shitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
2 cups 'Aborio' rice
¼ cup grated parmesan

Pesto
1 cup coriander leaves
50g parmesan, grated
1 clove garlic, chopped
50g peanuts, toasted
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
100 mls olive oil

Method

In a food processor combine coriander, parmesan, garlic, pine nuts, lemon zest and juice. Pour olive oil in a steady stream with the motor running.

Bring stock to the boil with the dried mushrooms. Remove mushrooms when soft and slice. In a heavy based saucepan heat the olive oil. Add the chicken, leek and garlic and fry until soft. Add the Swiss brown mushrooms and shitakes and cook until soft. Stir rice into pan to coat.

Reduce heat to medium low. Add stock 1 cup at a time stirring until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is al dente. Stir through parmesan, season to taste and serve with a dollop of the coriander pesto.

Mexican Tortilla Pie

Ingredients (serves 4)

* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 large red onion, finely chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 500g beef mince
* 1 small red capsicum, finely chopped (4 'large' ones from the garden)
* 125g can corn kernels, drained, rinsed
* 2 teaspoons Mexican chilli powder (used 2 fresh chillies from the garden)
* 415g can diced tomatoes (used 3 large tomatoes from the garden)
* 1/2 cup torn fresh coriander leaves (from the garden)
* 1/4 cup chopped flat parsley: not in original recipe (from the garden)
* 4 salsa-flavoured tortillas (used plain ones from work)
* 1 1/2 cups grated tasty cheese
* 1 large tomato, deseeded, finely chopped (from the garden)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Reserve 2 tablespoons onion. Add garlic and remaining onion to pan. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add mince. Cook, breaking up mince with a wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or until browned.

2. Add capsicum, corn and chilli powder. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until capsicum is just tender. Stir in diced tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mixture is thick. Add half the coriander and half the parsley. Season with salt. Stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

3. Place a 6cm-deep, 20cm round springform pan on a baking tray. Place 1 tortilla in base of pan. Spread one-third of the mince mixture over tortilla. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of cheese. Repeat layers twice with remaining tortillas, mince mixture and cheese, finishing with 1 tortilla. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden. Set aside for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

5. Meanwhile, combine chopped tomato, reserved onion, coriander and parsley in a bowl. Serve pie with tomato mixture.

Pesto Salmon Fettuccine

This is a great dish of you have some left-over salmon steaks in the fridge, or a very cheap family meal if you use canned salmon.

Ingredients

2 grilled salmon steaks or 1 400g of pink salmon
Fettuccine
Basil pesto (see here for pesto recipe http://kantan-cooking-sp8.blogspot.com/2010/01/creamy-pesto-chicken-penne-pasta.html)
1 cup of full cream
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
Spring Onions

Method

If using salmon steaks: cook steak and remove skin and bones from salmon and gently break into large pieces.
If using canned salmon: drain salmon, remove bones and gently break into large pieces.
Cook the fettuccine al dente in salted boiling water
Whisk together the cream, sour cream, and pesto in a large saucepan.
Heat on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
Stir in salmon pieces and chopped spring onions and continue heating until the mixture starts to simmer.
Drain the fettuccine when cooked and add to the salmon mixture with half of the cheese.
Return to heat and toss the mixture with tongs until fettuccine is coated and the mixture is thoroughly heated.
Serve with remaining Parmesan cheese, black pepper and some cut seaweed sheets.

Beef Lasagne

Ingredients

250g Packet of Lasagne sheets
1 1/2 cups of shredded tasty cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Bolognese Sauce
1 tbsp of olive oil
500g of lean minced beef
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of crushed garlic
800g of diced tomatoes
100g of tomato paste
200g of choppes mushrooms
A handful of torn oregano leaves (or 2 tsp of dried oregano)
A handful of torn basil leaves (or 2 tsp of dried basil)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Sauce
60g of butter
1/3 cup (50g) of plain flour
3 cups (750ml) of milk
1 cup of shredded tasty cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Bolognese Sauce
Heat oil in a large saucepan
Add mince, onion and garlic
Cook stiring for several minutes over high heat until meat is browned
Add remaining ingredients
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes stirring occasionally

Cheese Sauce
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat
Stir in four and cook gently for 1 min
Add milk and bring to simmering point stiring constantly
Use a small meshed strainer and a wooden spoon to smoothen out lumps
Add cheese and stir over heat until it melts

Preparation
Spray a rectangular baking dish (approx. 23cm x 33cm x 6cm deep) with cooking oil
Arrange 3 lasagne sheets over the base
Spoon 1/3 of the bolognese sauce evenly over the pasta
Spoon 1/3 of the cheese sauce evenly over the bolognese sauce
Repeat sheets and sauce addition twice more
Top with a layer of the shredded cheeses
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180^oC until cheese is golden brown (approx 15 minutes)
Cover with foil and bake for a further 25-30 minutes
Stand for 10 minutes before serving

Serve with a fresh salad or with potato chips.

Making Pasta Sauce

After giving away about 20 tomatoes I still had about 30 left over from my Reggae Roma plant so I decided to make up a couple of batches of pasta sauce to freeze.

I decided on making 4 types of sauce using around 450g of tomatoes for each lot, these being:

1. Tomato and Chilli.

2. Tomato and Basil.

3. Tomato, Parsley and Chives.

4. Tomato and Mini Capsicum.

METHOD

• Cut a shallow cross on the bottom of tomatoes.
• Blanched tomatoes in boiling water for about 1 minute.
• Chilled tomatoes in iced water for about 1 minute.
• Skinned tomatoes.
• Diced tomatoes.
• Put diced tomatoes, other ingredients into a saucepan.
• Mashed ingredients.
• Seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Brought saucepan mix up to the boil and then simmered for 2 minutes.
• Chilled saucepan in a cold water bath for 2 minutes.
• Poured sauce into labelled plastic storage container.
• Bunged into the freezer.

Pasta sauces destined for the freezer 25 July 2009

The end results!

Tomato and Basil (It was so good that I made up another batch of the next day).

Tomato and Chilli (a nice little kick although it would be better a little hotter).

Simple Tuna Bruschetta

Ingredients
* 1 loaf crusty baguette
* Garlic clove halved.
* 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
* Splash of Balsamic vinegar.
* 2 medium-sized tomatoes diced (from the garden)
* 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped, extra whole leaves for garnish (from the garden)
* 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves chopped, extra whole leaves for garnish (from the garden)
* 1/4 cup fresh flat parsley leaves chopped, extra whole leaves for garnish (from the garden).
* 1/2 cup of red onion, diced
* Small tin of flavoured tuna. We use 'Japanese style' which has wasabi and soy sauce
* Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Slice the baguette into ½ inch rounds, cut on the diagonal.
2. Brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil.
3. Grill bread for about 2 minutes per side, until browned but still soft inside.
4. Rub one side of each bread slice with the garlic.
5. Combine and mix tomatoes, basil, coriander, parsley, onion, salt, pepper, tuna and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl.
6. Divide the mixture between the bread slices, garlic side up, and garnish with extra basil, coriander or parsley leaves if desired.

Herb Mashed Potato

It doesn't get much easier than this for a quick recipe to make mashed potato a bit more interesting!

Gather a few bunches of you favourite herbs, I've found parsley and chives are a good combination.

Use a food processor (or equivalent) to blend down your herbs into the consistency of a chunky paste.

Cook your mashed potato as you normally would and just fold through the herb paste before serving.

Here it's served with beef and a side salad of rocket, roma tomato and an egg.

If only I had enough room for a few cows and a couple of chickens on my balcony!

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne Pasta

A quick and easy pesto pasta dish to make use of all of that basil you are growing!

Making Pesto
I'm not going to put in any specific quantities as I find it's best to add things in amounts to your own taste.

Ingredients
Parmesan cheese
Garlic cloves
Pinenuts or walnuts
Fresh Basil leaves (lots)
Fresh Parsley leaves (a few)
Good quality virgin olive oil
(you can also add a bit of sour cream if desired).

Method
Blend all ingredients in a food processor adding the oil a bit at a time until thickened and combined. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl several times during processing.

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne Pasta

Ingredients
Penne Pasta
Barbequed chicken or chicken thigh fillets
Chicken stock
Mushrooms
Pesto
Parmesan cheese
Cream
Salt and pepper

Method
Cook pasta until al dente
Cut chicken into small pieces (brown in a pan if using thighs)
Add chicken, mushrooms and stock into a pan and bring to a simmer
Stir through pesto until combined
Add cream and return to simmer
Stir through parmesan (simmer until chicken is cooked for thighs)
Combine pasta and sauce to serve
Season with salt and pepper
Serve with additional parmesan

From start to finish takes only about 40 minutes!

Mentaiko Pasta

This is a very simple, fast and tasty dish, as long as you don’t mind eating fish eggs! In saying that though the taste is very subtle and if you weren’t told what it was I bet you wouldn’t have the slightest clue.

Any decent Asian supermarket (particularly Japanese stores) will stock mentaiko.

Ingredients
Butter
Mentaiko (Cod Roe)
Lemon
Spaghetti
Some leafy greens: Rocket works best and I throw in a bit of Ruby Chard for some extra colour.

Method
While the spaghetti is cooking:
Wash and dry your leafy greens
Defrost the mentaiko (1 ovary will do for 2 serves)
Put some butter and mentaiko on a plate
Top with drained spaghetti and leafy greens
Squeeze on some lemon juice
Toss well to mix through the lemon juice, butter and mentaiko

Rocket and Ruby Chard

Mentaiko

Butter and Mentaiko

Ready to Serve

Ready to Eat

Creamy Smoked Salmon and Caper Pasta.

Ingredients

Pasta of choice
Spring Onions.
Extra-virgin olive oil.
Garlic cloves, crushed.
Pure cream.
Lemon.
Young Rocket, Swiss Chard or Spinach leaves etc.
Salted Capers, rinsed.
Parmesan Cheese, grated.
Smoked Salmon, cut into strips.

Method

- Cook Pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water.
- Drain Pasta and return to saucepan.
- Heat Oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Add Garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add Cream, Capers and Spring Onions.
- Simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes or until cream is slightly reduced.
- Add Cream mixture and Parmesan Cheese to pasta. Toss to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Top with Smoked Salmon and young Rocket, Swiss Chard or Spinach leaves.
- Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan Cheese.
- Add a generous squeeze of Lemon.
- Lightly toss to combine.

The Return of the Sun!

2010-03-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Winter in the summertime, the great 2009 cull, dramas at school, split shifts at work and the birth of our son, all did their part in putting spending time in my veggie garden well and truly on the back-burner for the last couple of months.

Only my herbs, some snow peas and one very poor looking tomato plant survived the extended neglect and now that the sun has decided to peek around the edge of the building again it’s time to get back into it.

I spent a good hour yesterday sweeping and scrubbing the tiles and junking lots of sickly plants and getting set up. I may have been a bit advantageous this morning but the garden now has new plantings of:

Buk Choy
Pak Choy
Cucumber
Snow Peas
Basil
Reggae Roma Tomato
Rocket
Swiss Chard
Radish
Garlic Chives
Mini-Capsicum

Now if only the rain would go away and let the sun come out in full force!

Cherry Tomato: Unknown

2010-01-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

Cherry Tomato

What: Unknown Self-Seeded Cherry Tomato Seedling.
Where: Medium black container
When: 4 January 2010

Sown in: Mixed Potting Soil
Fertiliser: Blood and bone

Advertised Germination: Seedling.
Actual Germination: Seedling.

Advertised Maturity:
Actual Maturity:

This seedling is a self-seeded survivor that I rescued from the wild....

9 January 2010

This plant is doing well after a feed of liquid fertiliser and has a few flowers on the way already.

17 January 2010

This plant died a slow death due to a lack of sun.....

March 2010

The Great Summer Cull of 2009

2009-12-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

The lack of sun at the moment has really put the brakes on my token dietary supplementation efforts.

In despair I have put a number of plants out of their misery including:

3 x Eggplants
6 x Snow Pea Vines
1 x Row of Spring Onions
1 x Row of Rocket
1 x Row of Swiss Ruby Chard
2 x Containers of Bok Choy
2 x Zucchini plants
1 x Chilli plant

Now I am down to just my herbs, a couple of cucumber vines on the way out, a zucchini plant that isn't showing much promise and a couple of tomato seedlings. It's a very sad looking balcony at the moment but on the plus side it gives us a bit more room to hang out Boudi's cloth nappies....

The Best Seed I've Ever Sown：ボーディ

2009-12-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning 25^th the wife had a bit of a show on one of her pads and told me that she thought Boudi （ボーディ）　would be coming soon. At about 9:30pm that night she woke me up to tell me that she thought her waters had broken and by 10:00pm she started feeling some contractions. Because her waters had broken we had to go straight into the hospital for a check-up to make sure everything was OK and we were there from about 11:00pm until about 10:00am on Thursday morning 26^th with my Mum arriving at the hospital around 6:00am as the second support person for the wife.

As the wife wasn’t contracting regularly and there were no other complications we were able to go back home and were told to return to the hospital at 6:30am on Friday the 27^th for her to be induced if she didn’t start contracting more regularly in the meantime. My mum stayed with us that night and we all managed to get a few hours sleep (even though the wife was contracting she was still able to get a little sleep!). We were up early and the wife was feeling good but still not contracting regularly so we decided to go to the hospital a bit early at 5am to help the wife settle into her birthing room before the serious business began.

Once the midwife hooked her up to the inducement drip and a bunch of uncomfortable monitors and she started to up the dose, the wife started to contract a lot more strongly and regularly and Mum and I worked hard to support her as best we could. For a while the wife was standing up and squatting during every contraction but we managed to talk her out of continuing that in order to save her legs! The midwife found that Boudi wasn’t in the ideal position and got the wife to lie on her side during which time the wife asked to try some gas to suck on during her contractions which by this stage were getting quite strong. The wife was quite vocal during her time on the gas but Mum was worried that she would break her teeth on the mouthpiece so the wife agreed to stop using it. She said that it didn’t do much to help her pain anyway!

The midwife came back in to check on how the wife was going and was happy with her stage of dilation and Boudi’s position and so the wife was able to get on her back instead of her side. The midwife stayed to give the wife a quick lesson in pain management through breathing which she mastered in about two contractions and from that point on through all of the contractions to come and all of the pushing until Boudi was out, she barely made a noise and required no other medication for pain!!! The wife even managed to have a bit of a nervous laugh during a break between contractions when Boudi’s head was all but through. Once Boudi’s head was out, I helped turn and lift him on to the wife's chest and we all had a tear in our eyes listening to him screaming. We were surprised that he was so clean, he had really long soft fingernails and so much hair! It was 2:37pm on Friday the 27 of November.

After Boudi had a suckle, the wife was taken away to surgery to have an epidural and to get her 3^rd Degree Tear cleaned and stitched up. Ma went home and I was left with Boudi in the birthing room for about 20 minutes until we were both moved into a woman’s ward room to wait for the wife to get back from surgery. I set up her and Boudi’s clothes and other stuff in the room until one of the midwives came to check Boudi’s temperature and found that he was a little bit cold. To help bring his temperature back up he was placed skin-to-skin onto my chest which was a great father-son bonding experience for us. We were both a little unsettled for a while as he was scratching my chest with his long fingernails and trying to latch onto one of my nipples! He soon got tired of that and gave up and we stayed like that until mum returned from surgery.

Everything went well with the wife’s surgery and I stayed with them in the ward until about 9pm. Over the next few days I spent from 8am to 8pm with them (except for between 12:00pm and 2:00pm during which time there are NO VISITORS allowed) until we were finally cleared to go home at 4:00pm on Monday the 30^th December 2009.

ボーディ

Inspirations and Daydreams

2009-11-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

We’ve been back in Australia for almost two years now but there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think of how great it would be to head back to Japan. We do have plans to move back in the future but as we are eagerly awaiting the birth of our first child it won’t be for a little while yet.

I first became interested in vegetable gardening as a young child of about 10 (I believe) after a regular holiday trip to our house by my Scottish Grandmother. She immigrated to a farm plot in Bathurst, Australia from Scotland as a young Post-WWII wife and mother and knew the benefits and need to be semi-self sufficient in regards to the feeding of oneself.

Of course as a 10 year old boy I was mostly interested in getting muddy and playing with a few worms, but together we managed to set up a small veggie plot in which we planted corn, radishes, beans, beetroot, carrots, strawberries and a few herbs. I kept up the maintenance of my little garden after Nana had returned home but was always too impatient and picking things early. The veggie patch soon gave way to make room for a wooden half-pipe ramp and my newly found skateboard obsession though......

I never thought much about gardening from that point on although strangely I always maintained an interest in watching ‘Landline’ for some reason, which is a weekly Australian agriculture and farming programme and I later went on to University to study aquaculture. Stranger still, I developed quite a good pair of Blue Thumbs working in the aquaculture industry specialising in the growing of phytoplankton for use as live feed in hatcheries for the farming of prawns/shrimps for a number of years before heading up to Japan.

Japan is a country of contrasts on so many levels, not the least of which is the difference between the city and the country. I lived in Nagoya City (the third largest city in Japan) but one of my many jobs involved my taking a 40 minute train trip out of the city. Within 10 minutes on the train out of the city the concrete jungle gave way to rice fields and areas where just about every square metre of land that could be utilised to grow something edible was farmed.

My wife’s family owns a large orchard in Nagano where they commercially grow apples and pears and also watermelons, peaches and numerous vegetables for their own consumption. We would often take trips to Nagano during the various harvest times and help pick a few boxes of fruit.

Here we are in the family orchard in Nagano picking apples in Autumn and pears in Summer.

As a family we would also go on daytrips to surrounding farms during the year to partake in the eating of various fruits and vegetables. Here we are with our Nephew and Niece in Shizuoka gorging ourselves on strawberries.

Over time I started to feel a bit guilty returning to my city apartment and back to the life of a voracious consumer in Japan. On our return to Australia I was determined to get back into vegetable gardening even though I knew we would be continuing a life as apartment dwellers.

I think I’ve done alright so far with my little plot here on our balcony in Australia but I can’t stop daydreaming about a house in the country in Japan, getting down and dirty in a ‘real’ veggie garden and trading in my Blue Thumbs for a nice Dark Green pair!

Improved Apollo Tomato

2009-11-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

Tomato: Improved Apollo

What: Yates Improved Apollo Seeds
Where: 3 x yogurt containers.
When: 22 November.

Sown in: Mixed Potting Soil
Fertiliser: Blood and bone.

Advertised Germination: 10-12 Days.
Actual Germination: 8-10 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 12-14 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: 28 weeks.

I thought I had saved a bunch of seeds from the previous Reggae Roma Tomato plant but despite searching high and low I couldn't find them at home and couldn't find any seedlings at the local nursery where I got the original plant, so I have decided to branch out and try another variety. "High Yielding" it says, but can it beat the 60 tomatoes I got from my first Reggae Roma?

2 December 2009

10 December 2009

I've moved the best two plants into two self-watering containers.

27 December 2009

Both of these plants suffered badly from a lack of sun combined with excess water, however I chopped them off and side shoots just might salvage them yet.

17 January 2010

This plant took off from side shoots several times only to die off again.

February 2010

I persisted however and ended up with some very messy main stems (that's a random Bok Choy plant on the right).

March 2010

I'm glad I stuck with this plant as although it it quite messy it has taken off in a big way in the last month and is starting to produce fruit.

10 April 2010

This one is now over 7ft tall and at last count had 50 tomatoes on the way.

29 April 2010

I returned home from 10 days holiday to find this plant suffering heavily from being over-watered. I tried to salvage it but in the end I picked off all of the Tomatoes as the plant was on it's last legs so to speak. Even after all of the dramas this plant has been through I still managed to harvest just under 4kg of Tomatoes from it! I put all of the green tomatoes into a plastic bag with a ripe red apple and they all started to colour up nicely.

May 2010

Dirty Black Summer: Winter in the Summer Time.

2009-11-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Yes you read that correctly and it is official, Summer is going to be my Winter and this is despite summer here on the Gold Coast having an average temperature of 24.1 C - 75.4 F!

We moved into this apartment last year in March and we had plenty of sun back then, but now I have quickly seen my small plot go from getting around 6 hours of fierce sunlight per day to getting about 3 hours of weak sunlight just before it gives way to the moon.

I can only assume that the slight seasonal change in the daily wondering of the sun has been just enough for it to catch the edge of our building and making it MIA for the better part of the day…..

Unless I can convince the building manager from the adjacent apartment to erect a massive solar reflector for me there’s not much I can do except consolidate what I’ve got for the next three months and start making plans for the return of the sun in Autumn.

I don’t like my chances though………

Garlic Chives

2009-11-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

Garlic Chives / Nira

What: Seed (Yates).
Where: Small Black Pot.
When: 7 November 2009.

Sown in: El'Cheapo Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 10 - 21 Days.
Actual Germination: 10 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 8 Weeks.
Actual Maturity:

27 December 2009

Getting there, I reckon another month and I'll be happy to start harvesting.

17 January 2010

February 2010

10 April 2010

Making self-watering containers out of buckets.

2009-10-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

I use a lot of recycled materials in my small garden including 1.5L soft-drink bottles, 1L yogurt containers, 3L ice-cream containers and 20L buckets for raising seedlings and for growing out various crops. The following steps outline how to construct a very effective self-watering container from a 20L bucket and a product I have recently discovered.

Step 1: Of course is to collect and thoroughly clean a bucket, in this case I have a couple of 20L buckets sourced from a bakery.

Step 2: Drainage holes need to be cut into the bottom of the bucket for instances when the self-watering reservoir overflows. I didn't have a drill so I just used a sharp knife to twist drill a couple of holes into one sufficiently large hole.

Step 3: The holes need to be covered sufficiently to allow water to flow out but to keep your soil in. A thin layer of coarse gravel would be ideal but I've opted to recycle a couple of 'body scrub sponges' that I've uncoiled.

Step 4: I recently discovered this product at my local nursery which for $4.80 saves me a lot of time setting up my own dodgy self-watering insert! Basically it's just a bowl with a flat perferoted lid that can collect water at the bottom of your container, which can be utilised by roots when required.

Step 5: I place a thin layer of soil in the bottom of the bucket to accommodate and stabilise the plant water well and then because I'm growing plants that need supporting I've inserted an old broom handle and stabilised it with some wire also sourced from the bakery.

Step 6: Then as I do with all of my containers I add a few layers of soil with blood and bone, Water-Storage Crystals and a Rechargeable Solid Water bag as outlined here: http://veggie-might-sp8.blogspot.com/2009/08/water-management.html

The Finished Product

Knock together a trellis from some cheap fencing and you double the range of vegies you can grow in them.

Zucchini

2009-10-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

Lebanese Zucchini

What: Seed (D. T. Brown).
Where: 20L Bucket modified to a self-watering container
When: 12 October 2009.

Sown in: Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 6 - 10 Days.
Actual Germination: 6 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 8 Weeks.
Actual Maturity:

19 October 2009

It's starting to get very crowded in here! Lots of flower buds on the way though.

7 November 2009

20 November 2009

It's quite easy to see the difference between the male and female flowers even at this early stage:

These plants were in a position that had very limited sunshine and as such started to get mouldy leaves and what not. I pruned off all of the mouldy leaves and raised it up to get some sun but so far there's been nothing but a steady stream of male flowers developing. There looks to be a few female flowers forming but they shrivel and die long before they even look like blooming.....

10 December 2009

I lost two of the plants, one is on the way out but the last has had a growth spurt! Despite its growth I've got nothing to show for my efforts. There have been a bunch of female flowers but they shrivel and die before getting anywhere near blooming...

27 December 2009

THE ZUCHINNI BLUES.......

I planted 4 zuke seeds about 10 weeks ago and so far have zip to show for my efforts >_<

I haven’t had any trouble growing lots and lots of these:

But for no apparent reason they quickly turn into these:

Cucumber

2009-10-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

Lebanese Cucumber

What: Seed (D. T. Brown).
Where: 20L Bucket modified to a self-watering container
When: 12 October 2009.

Sown in: Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 6 - 10 Days.
Actual Germination: 6 days.

Advertised Maturity: 8 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: 7 Weeks.

19 October 2009

It's time to knock together some sort of trellis for these plants I think.

7 November 2009

Trellis is up and just in time! It looks like I'll have to extend it if these plants keep growing so fast. Lots of flowers and a few cucumbers on the way if I've hand pollinated them correctly that is.

20 November 2009

It didn't take very long for that cuke to go from the above shot to this!:

1 December 2009

Despite a desperate lack of sun there are plenty more like this on the way, they are yummy too!

7 December 2009

These plants don't get much sun but they are producing well and look quite healthy!

10 December 2009

The lack of sun hasn't done these plants any good and they have lost a lot of leaves, however what remains is still producing ok for the time being.

27 December 2009

These plants started to suffer badly from powdery mildew so I cut off all of the foliage and after 2 weeks and a dose of liquid fertiliser side shoots have taken off and are producing more and larger cucumbers than ever.

17 January 2009

Bolting to Seed

2009-09-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

It’s amazing the change in form and size of a plant once it has decided to bolt to seed. I thought it would be interesting to put together a bunch of pictures of various crops in the throngs of vegetative reproduction. Here are a few plants that are currently getting their freak on in my ‘patch’.

PAK CHOI

I decided to let the last one go to seed just to see if I am able to get any viable seeds out of it as they were all quite tasty and very easy to grow in small containers. After a couple of weeks it's gone to seed in a BIG way! I'm not too sure where the seeds are supposed to come from though as there is no obvious seed ball etc. built up behind where the flowers drop off.......?

EDIT: Applestar from http://www.helpfulgardener.com has the answer! That being that "with the mustard family like Pak Choy and Broccoli, those spindly things after flowers fall fatten up into pods and develop little round seeds inside".

EDIT: 7 November 2009

I'm still waiting for the Pak Choi to dry up a bit before collecting the seeds. It just refuses to 'die'.

EDIT: 15 November 2009

I ended up getting a heap of seeds from my Pak Choi plant that I will plant once the sun returns!

SHISO

These poor plants didn't get much time to get established before my wife mauled them to get a Shiso fix and it may have shocked them into bolting to seed..... From all accounts they should just self-seed themselves in the container and there is plenty of room for extra plants. I might have to work on rigging up some kind of electric deterrent to keep my wife away from them for a while though!

EDIT: 7 November 2009

I got enough Shiso seeds for another round of planting and interestingly the seeds were all more than double the size of the shiso seeds I originally purchased.

EDIT: 30 April 2010

The size of the seeds didn't help me when it came to stopping the plants from bolting.....

CORIANDER

I purchased this plant as a seedling and it subsequently developed very lush foliage that was able to cope with heavy harvesting, however after a particularly brutal harvest it turned its attention into trying to bolt to seed. In the end I gave up the fight as can clearly be seen and hope to get some viable seeds to try again.

EDIT: 7 November 2009

I managed to get a decent amount of seeds out this dry looking coriander mess!

Also my Buk Choy has been desperately trying to go to seed but I've found that the growing flower heads look and taste a bit like broccolini and go great in a stir fry. YUM!

EDIT: 20 November 2009
I did manage to get a few seeds from one of my buk choy plants.

FLAT PARSLEY

This is one of my oldest and most used plants in the patch so I was a bit worried that it had started to bolt. I let it get to this stage just to get the photo before trimming it right back and giving it a good feed and a drink. I hope it bounces back quickly!

EDIT: 30 April 2010

I've decided to let this one go to seed as it's looking a bit sad.

Not bolting to seed but some nice flowers.

CHIVES

OREGANO

Positives of a Balcony Container Garden

2009-09-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

It’s nights like last night that make me glad to have my small veggie garden under cover on my balcony. A big thunder storm rolled in with high winds and pelting rain, but all I had to do to protect my newly planted seedlings and established crops was pull the containers back about 1m. There will be lots of people waking up this morning in the local area going out to inspect their smashed up veggie gardens.......

Water Management

2009-08-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

Without a doubt when it comes to growing vegetables in containers the biggest issue that you will be faced with on a day-to-day basis is appropriate water management.

This is especially true for myself given that my garden is on a third floor rented apartment balcony. I'm sure the people downstairs wouldn't appreciate a waterfall of water cascading down on them and the landlord wouldn't appreciate container stains on his balcony tiles due to over-watering.

Over-watering can also be a big problem in regards to the actual growing of your vegetables, as many vegetables don't like having 'wet feet'. Under-watering and irregular-watering also create their own problems. Things like mulch etc. that can be used to reduce evaporation are not appropriate in my case as they tend to blow around all over the place and make a big mess, although I have used newspaper as a type of mulch with some success.

Water management for container vegetable growing requires daily observation and adjustment to the amount of water required, especially during different stages of plant growth. Seeds and seedlings quickly dry out in containers and established plants can consume huge quantities of water per day. For example, this Reggae Roma Tomato plant in a ~15L pot at its peak was requiring up to 8L of water per day!

There are a few products on the market however that can assist the container vegetable gardener.

Rechargeable Solid Water
http://www.rechargeablesolidwater.com/introduction.htm

Rechargeable Solid Water (RSW) is a neutralized cross-linked co-polymer of partially neutralized acrylic. Upon contact with water they expand and form a gel-like suspension which by placing the charged bag next to the root zone of a plant, releases the water to meet the growth needs of the plant. Rechargeable solid water is unique because the polymers have a memory that allows the bag to be fully rechargeable by either applying water or rain.

Water Storage Crystals
http://www.bunnings.com.au/sustainability_save-water_water-storage-crystals.aspx

Water storage crystals act as reservoirs of water in the soil that plants can access during dry conditions. Crystals can absorb up to 400 times their weight in water and should be mixed into the soil or potting mix before planting. The plants root system will then seek these small reservoirs and penetrate the crystals.

While being no substitute for observation, products such as these can be of great use to the container vegetable gardener especially if like me you are a shift worker who is often required to do last minute overtime at work and can't always race home to water my veggies!

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I SET UP MY CONTAINERS

Step 1: I put in and secure the wire to hold in place the supporting pole.

Step 2: I add enough soil to stabilise the supporting pole and a thin layer of blood and bone.

Step 3: I add some more soil and then a sprinkle of 'Water Storage Crystals'.

Step 4: I hydrate the 'Rechargeable Solid Water' bags for about 5 minutes, add some more soil and then place the hydrated bags against the sides of the container on a slight angle along with another light sprinkling of 'Water Storage Crystals'.

Step 5: I add more soil, another thin layer of blood and bone and a final sprinkling of 'Water Storage Crystals'.

Step 6: I top up my container with a final layer of soil and water thoroughly.

Step 7: I place the plant (in this case it's a Reggae Roma Tomato plant) so that is in-between the angled 'Rechargeable Solid Water' bags, add a layer of newspaper and water the paper heavily so that it wont blow away.

To follow the progress of this container you can check in as I Edit and Update my 'Reggae Roma Tomato' post.

Eggplant: Blacknite

2009-08-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Eggplant: Blacknite.
What: Seed (Yates ).
Where: 1 x 3L Juice container and 1 x 1L Yoghurt container.
When: 4 August 2009.

Sown in: Re-used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of blood and bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 Days.
Actual Germination: 12 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 14-16 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: 19 Weeks.

22 August 2009

I've been a bit slow on updating this as you can see below. It's going to get very crowded in there in a month or so but there is just so many other things that I want to plant this season....

19 September 2009

5 October 2009

First flower doing it's thing, fingers crossed!

18 October 2009

Plenty of folliage and plenty of flowers. Not an eggplant in sight though.......

10 November 2009

AT LAST SOME ACTION!!!

1 December 2009

After 19 weeks from 3 plants all I have to show for my efforts is these two small unattractive things.....

27 December 2009

All three plants have now been pulled.

Just as well I didn't leave these on any longer!

Dinner Time

2009-08-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

Pork and Veggie Noodles.

No prizes for aesthetics but really tasty

Chilli and Tomato Pasta

Very nice althout I'd have liked it a bit hotter!

Pesto Pasta

Rich, creamy and very fresh tasting.

Herb Mash

Very good. Will try this again with some different potato varieties.

Mentaiko Pasta

A household favourite!

Creamy Smoked Salmon and Caper Pasta.

VERY very good this one.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Coriander Pesto

Strong but tasty!

Pesto Salmon Fettuccine

I went a bit overboard with the sauce!

Havest Time

2009-08-18T00:32:00.000-07:00

27 June 2009

1 July 2009

8 September 2009

I'm getting a bowl of this size full of Rocket and Ruby Chard every week at the moment from a container only about 60cm x 30 cm x 30 cm!

It's been slim pickings lately with the exception of my herbs but this wasn't a bad effort considering the current lack of sun...

27 December 2009

Capsicum

2009-08-17T00:03:00.001-07:00

Capsicum
What: Seed (Grower's Pride Californian Wonder Capsicum ).
Where: 1 x 1.5L Soda Container - Open and 1 x 1L Yoghurt Container.
When: 4 August 2009.

Sown in: Re-used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of Blood and Bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 days.
Actual Germination: 14 days.

Advertised Maturity: 10-12 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

22 August 2009

I'm expecting these to all die the curly death in the same way that the previous dozen or so seedlings from the same packet of seeds did last attempt, hence the crowding.

19 September 2009

5 October 2009

I've finally got an edible looking capsicum on the way after several attempts ending badly in the mysterious curls of death.

7 November 2009

After several attempts this is all I have to show for my efforts! You'll notice that I haven't included anything in the shot to indicate scale, there's a good reason for that......

15 November 2009

Radish

2009-08-17T00:02:00.003-07:00

Radish
What: Seedling (Floriana Radish).
Where: Large rectangular self watering planter under Lebanese Eggplant.
When: May 2009.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling
Actual Germination: Seedling

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity: 4-6 weeks.

Heavily infested with Aphids but didn’t impact severely on the growth of the bulbs.

Radish
What: Seed (Yates Radish - Gentle Giant).
Where: Square self watering planter, large black pot around Shiso.
When: 25 August 2009.

Sown in: Used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 5-8 days.
Actual Germination: 4 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6 - 8 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 4 weeks.

29 August 2009

6 September 2009

These have grown amazingly fast and will be a good salad size in just another week.

19 September 2009

Just over a month after planting and it's harvest time!

28 September 2009

A couple of these got a little on the big side and are quite hot to eat as a result…

I planted another 12 seeds around the Shiso plant and left 1 plant in a corner of the square container to see just how big it can get.

17 October 2009

The skin on the one I left to grow started to loose its shine so I pulled it, not a bad size but not surprisingly it's quite woody to eat.

I forgot to add any info for the last batch that I planted..... Despite a heavy infestation with aphids early on, a general lack of sunlight and a late infestation with caterpillars I still got enough for a few nice salads.

1 December 2009

Buk Choy

2009-08-17T00:02:00.001-07:00

Buk Choy - White Stem.
What: Seed (Yates ).
Where: 1 x small seedling container and 3 x 1L Yoghurt container.
When: 4 August 2009.

Sown in: Re-used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of blood and bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 7-10 Days.
Actual Germination: 4 days!

Advertised Maturity: 6-8 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: 5 Weeks!

22 August 2009

29 August 2009

6 September 2009

This plant just took off once I put it in a bigger pot and we had our first meal from it just the other night only 5 weeks after planting it! With 6 other plants also potted it's going to be a struggle to eat it all, it's a nice problem to have I guess.

19 September 2009

With seven Buk Choy plants producing far more ‘cut and come again’ leaves than the two of us can eat every week I decided to snip this one off to make some room for something else.

29 September 2009

Buk Choy - White Stem.
What: Seed (Yates ).
Where: 2 x medium black pots.
When: 5 November 2009.

Sown in: Mixed Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of blood and bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 7-10 Days.
Actual Germination: 2-3 days!

Advertised Maturity: 6-8 Weeks.
Actual Maturity:

I've sown these ones very thick in order to harvest them small and use them whole in stir-frys. I also want to try to band some together to see if I can get a bit more production out of a smaller area.

8 November 2009

The pot on the left has clearly been smashed by caterpillars while the one on the right which remains caterpillar free is powering on.

2 December 2009

The caterpillars won the day.......

Silverbeet - Ruby Chard / Swiss Chard

2009-08-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Silverbeet - Ruby Chard
What: Seed (Yates ).
Where: 1 x large rectangular container.
When: 4 August 2009.

Sown in: Re-used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of blood and bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 Days.
Actual Germination: 7 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 11-12 Weeks.
Actual Maturity: Used in salads after 4 weeks.

22 August 2009

6 September 2009

These plants were looking a bit tired after a month of constant cutting so I removed them all and will plant some more when the sun returns.

Oregano

2009-08-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

Oregano
What: Seedling (Zoom Oregano).
Where: Small Rectangular Self Watering Planter.
When: March 2009(?).

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling.
Actual Germination: Seedling.

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity: 4 Weeks.

Very lush foliage initially but died off substantially after a light harvest. Possibly overly shaded by adjacent Chives and parsley.

23 June 2009

Root stock has started to re-shoot! 25 July 2009.

11 November 2009

Despite being horribly shaded from the flat parsley and chives this plant just refuses to die!

Oregano
What: Seedling (Yates Oregano).
Where: Medium black pot.
When: 23 June 2009.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 8-10 days
Actual Germination: 9 days.

Advertised Maturity: 8-12 weeks
Actual Maturity: 16 weeks.

3 July 2009

4 August 2009

FINALLY!!! It's looking good and ready for the first harvest, pizza night on the weekend perhaps.

10 November 2009

27 December 2009

Some nice flowers showing up.

March 2010

Coriander

2009-08-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

Coriander
What: Seedling (Zoom Coriander).
Where: Medium black pot.
When: May 2009.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling
Actual Germination: Seedling

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity: 4 weeks.

23 June 2009

Very lush foliage able to cope with heavy harvesting and actually needs to be constantly pruned as it keeps trying to bolt to seed.

Heavy infestation of Aphids sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray on the 20th June 2009.

Harvested it back to almost the roots in July but it has come back strong and continues to try to bolt to seed:

15 August 2009

I gave up the fight as can clearly be seen and hope to get some viable seeds to try again.

19 September 2009

5 November 2009

I managed to get a decent amount of seeds out this dry looking mess!

Coriander
What: Seed (D. T. Brown).
Where: 3L ice-cream container
When: 12 October 2009.

Sown in: Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 18 - 24 Days.
Actual Germination: 7 days!!!........................................???

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity: 10 Weeks.

These seedlings have been a bit 'out of sight out of mind' so to speak and as a result have been heavily mobbed by aphids. Hopefully they will recover after squishing all the aphids, as long as I can keep the f%$#ing aphid farming ants from restocking them with a fresh batch of hungry aphids.......!

5 November 2009

I harvested most of this in order to make pesto on the 27th of December 2009.

Coriander
What: Seed (D. T. Brown).
Where: Small black pot.
When: 6 November 2009.

Sown in: Mixed Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: 18 - 24 Days.
Actual Germination: 7-10 Days

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity:

20 November 2009

27 December 2009

Curled Parsley

2009-08-16T23:56:00.000-07:00

Curled Parsley
What: Seed (Grower's Pride Parsley Moss Curled).
Where: Large Rectangular Self Watering Planter at base of Snow Peas.
When: March 2009(?).

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 21-28 days.
Actual Germination: 30 days.

Advertised Maturity: 10 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 12 Weeks.

Grown in an area that receives mostly reflective light.

Very subtle Flavour. After the snow peas had run there course I harvested a bunch of parsley to dry and moved the remaining to a 3L juice container.

June 23 2009

After the snow peas had run there course I harvested a bunch of parsley to dry and moved the remaining to a 3L juice container.

15 August 2009

This plant must be surviving solely on the fortnightly addition of seaweed fertiliser! It's just a mass of roots and I can't see any visible soil from the outside. Still it's able to survive and quickly come back from brutal harvests when it's pesto time etc.

11 November 2009

I planted some more seeds into a 1L Yogurt container:

22 August 2009

Because my other plant has been doing so well I've neglected this one a bit as can clearly be seen....

11 November 2009

Italian Parsley

2009-08-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

Italian Parsley
What: Seedling (Zoom Italian Parsley).
Where: Small rectangular Self Watering Planter.
When: March 2009(?).

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling
Actual Germination: Seedling

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity: 4 weeks.

Very lush foliage able to cope with heavy harvesting.

Light infestation of Aphids sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray on the 20th June 2009.

23 June 2009

This is a great plant and provides a heap of parsley for us and bounces back incredibly fast when the older leaves are harvested.

11 November 2009

This plant bolted to seed before I trimed it right back and gave it a good feed and a drink.

27 December 2009

This plant is looking a bit sad / root bound so I'm letting it go to seed this time around and will start again.

April 29 2010

Chives

2009-08-16T23:54:00.000-07:00

Chives
What: Seed (Grower's Pride Chives ).
Where: Small Rectangular Self Watering Planter.
When: March 2009(?).

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 days.
Actual Germination: 16 days.

Advertised Maturity: 12 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 12 weeks.

Very tasy.

23 June 2009

These chives are a great indicator of soil moisture in my plot as they droop very quickly if things are a little dry. The picture here is a good indicator of how I didn't water my plants yesterday as it was very overcast, however, they are definitely needing a drink this morning. They bounce back very quickly after they are given a drink however and produce a heap of chives for us.

11 November 2009

Some of these have started to flower

March 2010

Mini Capsicum

2009-08-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Mini Capsicum
What: Seedling (Floriana Capsicum Mini Mama).
Where: Large square self watering planter.
When: March 2009 (?).

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling
Actual Germination: Seedling

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity: 10 weeks.

Medium infestation of Aphids sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray on the 20th June 2009.

VERY small capsicum although numerous and very tasty.

April 2009

23 June 2009

Pruned this back quite a bit just because I could.

5 July 2009

Am drying the seeds of the 'biggest' Capsicum and will attempt to grow a new plant.

5 July 2009

Last capsicum snipped off and plant dumped on 1st August 2009.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Mini-Muma Capsicum
What: Seed (From seeds shown above).
Where: 1 x 1.5L Soda Container - Open and 1 x 1.5L Soda Container - Closed.
When: 4 August.

Sown in: Re-used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of Blood and Bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: Unknown (1st generation removed from purchsed seedling).
Actual Germination: 14 days.

Advertised Maturity: Unknown
Actual Maturity:

I picked the biggest and best looking seeds to plant and just 2 weeks later:

22 August 2009

Looking good so far although with no back-ups planted it's all or nothing on this one plant....

19 September 2009

This plant died off with leaf curl......

Chilli

2009-08-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Chilli
What: Seedling (Floriana Birdseye Thai Chilli).
Where: Large square self watering planter.
When: Mar 2009 (?).

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling
Actual Germination: Seedling

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity: 8 weeks and ongoing.

A series of light infestation with Aphids mainly on the very young leaves and flowers leading to lots of curled leaves and bent chillies.

Sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray on the 20th June 2009.

23 June 2009

5 July 2009

One of several strings of chilli that's come off this plant so far although those that are remaining are considerably smaller than the first few batches.

Last Chilli snipped off and plant dumped on 1st August 2009.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Chilli
What: Seed (From seeds collected from largest chilli).
Where: 1 x 1.5L Soda Container - Open and 1 x 1.5L Soda Container - Closed.
When: 4 August.

Sown in: Re-used Seed Raising Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of Blood and Bone 100mm below surface.

Advertised Germination: Unknown (1st generation removed from purchsed seedling).
Actual Germination: 14 days.

Advertised Maturity: Unknown
Actual Maturity: 18 Weeks.

22 August 2009

So far so good although it's easy to see that I need to turn this pot a bit more often!

19 September 2009

Despite a frightful visit from 'the curly death' it looks like there will be at least a few chillies on the horizon.

8 November 2009

This isn't much to show for this plant but it was more than I was expecting given the aphid problems that it had. There was also some type of beetle larvae sucking on the roots when I pulled the plant out!

27 December 2009

Snow Peas

2009-08-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

Snow Peas
What: Seed (D.T. Brown Snow Peas).
Where: Large Rectangular Self Watering Planter against wall.
When: Feb 2009(?).

Sown in: Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix at a depth of 3cm.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 7-10 days.
Actual Germination: 10 days.

Advertised Maturity: 14 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 12 Weeks.

Grown in an area that received mostly reflective light as seedlings but full sun for about 6 hours a day when shoots were above 25cm..

Produced heaps of peas for 2 months before starting to die from the base upwards coinciding with an infestation of tiny black insects on leaves.

Early June 2009

Some unknown tiny black bugs

Tiny black insects sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray in mid July.

27 June 2009

All three plants have set off new shoots which are producing peas

Harvested the last few peas and pulled the pin on these three plants on 5 July 2009.

Turned over the soil, added more blood and bone and planted Garlic in the planter.

5 October 2009

I planted 6 seeds in the same container in the same spot following the harvest of Spring Onions from the container. Snow pea seeds were sown in a row along the back with a row of spring onions sown along the front.

12 October 2009

Right on time, 10 days after planting. Two seeds didn't germinate though so I put in another couple to try again.

18 October 2009

7 November 2009

These plants have suffered terribly from a lack of sun and as a result are almost dead. I did manage to get half a dozen peas off them but what's left will be going in the bin and I'll try again when the sun returns.

10 December 2009

Pak Choi

2009-08-16T23:46:00.001-07:00

Pak Choi
What: Seedling (Floriana Easy Grow Pak Choi).
Where: 2 x medium Black Pots, 4 x 3L juice bottle and 2 x 1.5L softdrink bottle.
When: May 2009.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling.
Actual Germination: Seedling.

Advertised Maturity: 6-7 weeks.
Actual Maturity: First leaves harvested in 4 weeks.

All plants infested with several types of Aphids.

Sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray on 20th June 2009.

23 June 2009

27 July 2009

I decided to let the last one go to seed just to see if I am able to get any viable seeds out of it as they were all quite tasty and very easy to grow in small containers.

31 August 2009

It's gone to seed in a BIG way! I'm not too sure where the seeds are supposed to come from though as there is no obvious seed ball etc. built up behind where the flowers drop off.......?

19 September 2009

Applestar from http://www.helpfulgardener.com has the answer! That being that "with the mustard family like Pak Choy and Broccoli, those spindly things after flowers fall fatten up into pods and develop little round seeds inside". There were a couple of hornets buzzing about the flowers today so hopefully I'll get some viable seeds although seeing how fast and productive my Buk Choy is I might not need them....

I ended up getting a heap of seeds from this plant that I will plant once the sun returns!

15 November 2009

Lebanese Eggplant

2009-08-16T23:45:00.001-07:00

Lebanese Eggplant
What: Seedling (Floriana Lebanese Eggplant).
Where: Large rectangular self watering planter.
When: April 2009 (?).

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Seedling
Actual Germination: Seedling

Advertised Maturity: Not shown.
Actual Maturity:

A very heavy infestation with Aphids mainly on all leaves and flowers.

Sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray on the 20th June 2009.

Pollination rates seem to be very low with this plant as only about 4 out of 20+ flowers have resulted in a growing eggplant as of 23 June 2009.

23 June 2009

Carrots

2009-08-16T23:44:00.001-07:00

Baby Carrots
What: Seed (Grower's Pride Baby Carrot).
Where: Large Rectangular Self Watering Planter.
When: Feb 2009(?).

Sown in: Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix at a depth of 6mm.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-21 days.
Actual Germination: 14 days.

Advertised Maturity: 10-12 weeks.
Actual Maturity: As of June 2009 not fully mature on harvesting.

Initially very lush foliage that slowly died back over time.

Thinned out twice during growing period.

Very thirsty plants requiring up to 3L/day to maintain planter water level.

Harvested when most carrot tops were about 2-3cm in diameter however all were only about 5-8cm long.... This was possibly due to a lack of depth in the planter used (20cm).

June 2009

Turns out that that the small size of the carrots was due to the species being a dwarf variety!

EDIT: TRY AGAIN / 8 NOVEMBER 2009

I thought I'd give these another go in place of the unsuccessful garlic.

Baby Carrots
What: Seed (Grower's Pride Baby Carrot).
Where: Large Rectangular Self Watering Planter (next to Chilli).
When: 8 November 2009.

Sown in: Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix at a depth of 10mm.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-21 days.
Actual Germination: 10 days.

Advertised Maturity: 10-12 weeks.
Actual Maturity: Not harvested

Due to a lack of sun these plants were hardly growing at all and I pulled them out. I'll try again when the sun returns......

Garlic

2009-08-16T23:43:00.001-07:00

Garlic
What: Bulb (Grow Fresh).
Where: 2 x medium Black Pots, 1 x Rectangular self watering planter.
When: 4 July 2009.

Sown in: Patio Seed Raising Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: Not Shown.
Actual Germination: 6-7 Days.

Advertised Maturity: 8 weeks or when tops turn brown.
Actual Maturity: 2 years +

15 August 2009

Well then, I completely forgot all about these only taking around 8 weeks to mature. I guess I had it in the back of my mind that when they were ready the green leaves would turn brown. They've now been in there for 16 weeks! Time to at least pull some soil back and see what's up.

8 November 2009

Ok, so a quick root-around showed not much of anything:

So I decided to pull them all out, which is just as well because at this rate I wouldn't have a decent bulb of garlic until 2011!

Roma Tomato

2009-08-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

Roma Tomato
What: Seed (Growers Pride Roma Tomato).
Where: Medium Seed Germinating Plastic Pot.
When: March 2009(?).

Sown in: Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix at a depth of 6mm.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Germination: 10-14 days.
Actual Germination: 12 days.

Advertised Maturity: 11 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 12 weeks.

Transferred to large black plastic pot in May 2009 (plant very root-bound).

Excess foliage pruned in early June. Mistakenly cut a piece off that had about 12 flowers on it.......

June 27 2009

4 August 2009

15 August 2009

Basil

2009-08-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

Basil
What: Seed (Yates Sweet Basil).
Where: 2L ice cream container.
When: May 2009.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-12 days.
Actual Germination: 12 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6 weeks.
Actual Maturity:

Seedling leaves starting to curl due to infested with Aphids.

Sprayed with MULTICROP: Pyrethrum + Garlic Insect Spray on 20th June 2009.

27 June 2009

Basil
What: Seed (Yates Sweet Basil).
Where: Medium black pot.
When: 20 June 2009.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-12 days.
Actual Germination: 10 days.

Advertised Maturity: 6 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 6 weeks.

3 July 2009

4 August 2009

15 August 2009

We are having 5 people around for dinner tomorrow night so I though I had better get an updated photo of this before I harvest the bejebus out of it to feed everyone.

10 November 2009

27 December 2009

Spring Onions

2009-08-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

SPRING ONIONS
What: Seed (Yates Spring Onion).
Where: Large Rectangular Self Watering Planter.
When: 21st June 2009.

Sown in: Top 100mm of Yates Premium Seed Raising Potting Mix, rest Yates Regular Potting Mix.
Fertiliser: Thin layer of RICHGROW: Organic Blood and Bone + Trace Elements & Sulphate of Potash 100mm below surface. Weekly application of YATES: Multi-Nutrient Plant Food with Seaweed at 5ml/L.

Advertised Germination: 10-14 days.
Actual Germination: 8 days - 29 June 2009

Advertised Maturity: 8-10 weeks.
Actual Maturity: 12 weeks.

29 June 2009

4 August 2009

Pulled all of the Spring Onions in order to plant snow peas and a fresh row of Spring Onions in the container.

5 October 2009

Shiso

2009-08-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Shiso
What: Seed (4 Seasons Seeds: from ebay).
Where: 5 x small seedling pots.
When: 14 July 2009.

Sown in: Patio Seed Raising Mix.
Fertiliser:

Advertised Germination: 7-14 Days.
Actual Germination: 11-12 Days.

Advertised Maturity: Not Shown.
Actual Maturity:12 Weeks.

4 August 2009

15 August 2009

I transplanted the biggest and best Shiso plant into a larger pot along with some radish seeds.

25 August 2009

6 September 2009

These poor plants didn't get much time to get established before my wife mauled them to get a shiso fix and it may have shocked them into bolting to seed.....

19 September 2009

I've planted a whole bunch more on the 13th of September 2009 just in case.

19 September 2009

All of the seeds planted on 19 September failed to germinate for some reason.... I did manage to collect a bunch of seeds from those plants that bolted which I have now planted. Strangely the seeds collected below were more than twice the size of the 4 Seasons Seeds that I purchased...?

5 October 2009

Shiso
What: The rest of the 4 Seasons Seeds
Where: 1 x medium black pot.
When: 4 November.

Sown in: Mixed Potting Soil
Fertiliser: Blood and bone.

Advertised Germination: 7-14 Days.
Actual Germination:

Advertised Maturity: Not Shown.
Actual Maturity: Didn't Mature.

NONE OF THESE SEEDS GERMINATED

Shiso
What: All of the above seeds.
Where: 1 x large black pot.
When: 5 October.

Sown in: Patio Seed Raising Mix.
Fertiliser: Blood and bone.

Advertised Germination: None.
Actual Germination: Didn't record....

Advertised Maturity: Not Shown.
Actual Maturity:

5 November 2009

20 November 2009

The main plant that can be seen above is doing ok but started to shade out some of the other plants, so I moved the best two plants into their own containers.

27 December 2009

These are just starting to get to the stage where I feel comfortable to pick a few leaves.

17 January 2009

I've lost the battle to keep all of my Shiso plants from going to seed and will have to try again.......

29 April 2010

Drying and Storing Herbs

2009-08-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Drying and Storing Herbs
Taken from http://letsjapan.org/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 81&start=0

Edogaijin wrote:What's the best way to dry out and store Thyme or other garden herbs? Leave them in the sun for a week or so? Pop them in the oven? Just cut them up and put them in a jar?

I've found the best two ways is to first trim them up as whole stems, dunk in a bucket of cold water, paper towel dry or I often use the wife’s hairdryer (when she's not around) and then either:

- Put them in a zip-lock plastic bag and bung them in the freezer.

or

- Tie a bunch of stems together with a bit of fishing line, poke a tiny hole in the bottom of a brown paper bag and thread the line through it so the herbs are in the bag with the open end down, tie it up in a cool dry place for about 2 weeks.

If drying you should always use full stems and dry upside down so all of the oils in the stems run into the leaves.

Make sure that they're well dry before you hang them up or they'll go mouldy.

I've found the sun (at least in Aus) is way too harsh and literally burns before drying and that stuff from the freezer is good for pizzas and salads and what not while dry stuff is good for simmering type dishes such as pasta sauce etc.

Harvest for drying 5 July 2009.

L to R = Curled Parsley, Coriander, Flat Parsley and Chives.

Ready in less than a week although the chives didn't work out at all....

Seed Raising and Cutting Establishing Containers.

2009-08-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

I use mainly 1.5L soft drink (soda) bottles and 3L Juice bottles and they work fantastically as little humid seed raising and cutting establishing containers.

They are easy to set up and use! All you have to do is:

- Soak in warm water to remove all of the labels and glue.
- Rinse and leave to dry.
- Cut horizontally half way up the bottle leaving about 1 inch at the back.
- Poke 4 or 5 holes into the bottom of the bottle.
- Push back the top half of the bottle to add the soil and seed or cutting.
- Seal up the cut with some tape.
- Unscrew to lid and use a spray bottle to water well.
- Get a black marker pen and label the lid with the ‘what and when’ etc.

You can then easily regulate the temperature via screwing or unscrewing the lid and when you plant is ready it's just a matter of removing the tape.

In this picture you can see a 1.5L bottle that I've just set up with a Reggae Roma Tomato cutting and in the background you can see a 3L juice container that's got an eggplant seedling basking in humidity.

3 weeks after planting these cuttings and the plants were going strong:

With clearly visible roots inside the container:

Which was even more obvious once all the soil was washed away:

I use this technique to establish some backups incase the seeds I collected fail to germinate. In this case these backup clones were not required as I had dozens of seedlings germinate from the target seeds.

Home made insecticides

2009-08-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2607562.htm

Good story on the TV about this:

Presenter: Colin Campbell, 27/06/2009

SERIES 20 Episode 22

When insect pests invade your plants you've got to get on to the problem right away. Colin prefers to use home-made remedies where possible because they're generally safer for the environment and more economical. However he advises, "Be careful of these solutions around children, as they should not be ingested. Don't store them in soft drink bottles and make sure you keep them out of reach of children.

Scale and Mealybugs: Make an oil preparation that suffocates them by mixing four tablespoons of dishwashing liquid into one cup of vegetable oil. Mix one part of that mixture to about twenty parts of water, put it in your sprayer and spray the affected plants.

Aphids, Caterpillars and Other Insects: Add two tablespoons of soap flakes to one litre of water and stir thoroughly until completely dissolved (this is quicker in warm water). There is no need to dilute this further, just spray it on as is.

Black Spot Fungicide: In Queensland, Black Spot's a major problem with roses, but this fungicide mixture works miracles. Add three teaspoons of bicarb soda to one litre of water. Don't get carried away with the bicarb soda because if you make it too strong, it'll cause all sorts of problems. Add a few drops of either dishwashing liquid, or fish emulsion to help the solution adhere to the leaf more effectively.

Fungicide: Mix one level teaspoon of bicarb soda into one litre of water. Add one litre of skim milk and a pinch of Condy's Crystals which you can get from a produce agent (someone that supplies to horse owners). Shake thoroughly.

Grasshopper, Caterpillar, Possum and MIL Deterrent: Mix a cup of molasses into one litre of water and spray it over new foliage.

Nematodes: Add half a litre of molasses to two litres of water and spread over one and a half square metres of affected garden area.

All-round Insecticide: Chop four large onions, two cloves of garlic, and four hot chillies. Mix them together and cover with warm, soapy water and leave it to stand overnight. Strain off that liquid and add it to five litres of water to create an all-round insecticide.

Pesticide: Crush a whole bulb of garlic and cover with vegetable oil. After two days, strain off the liquid, add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid and use one millilitre of concentrate to one litre of water.

Herbicide: Add a cup of common salt to a litre of vinegar. After it's dissolved, brush it directly onto weeds. Remember, it's not a selective weed killer. It'll kill anything it touches so be very careful how you use it.

Predator Attractor: Predators that prey on pests are great things to have in the garden. Lacewings are particularly desirable because they consume aphids and many other pests. To encourage them into your garden, dissolve one teaspoon of a yeast based sandwich spread in water and spray it all over the plants.

My Simple Aphid Discourager


Get yourself a decent sized glass jar, chop up a heap of garlic and chillies and bung them in the jar with water and set aside to ferment for a couple of months. You'll know when you bug-killer-death brew is ready when you open the lid and your eyebrows fall off (it's potent stuff!).
The liquid can be used diluted in a spray bottle to get rid of established aphids but I prefer to discourage them from setting up shop in the first place! To do this I soak a bunch of ice-cream sticks for about a month in the brew and then stick them in around my pots to discourage them and it seems to be doing the trick as my Rocket etc. is going great guns without an aphid in sight.