Thornburywitch @ Thornburywitch @aussie.zone

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33

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2,628

Joined

2 yr. ago

Um, I know it hurts, but the pumpkins are unlikely to ripen. Ditto tomatoes. It's not the temperature, its the day length. The equinox is past and the days are getting shorter so plant puts one last effort into fruiting then keels over. Maybe leave them another week just to see. They do look nice & healthy though.

Where go?

Flat sheets are my go to. I hate the dodgy elastic too. Protip - when putting a flat sheet on as a bottom sheet, tuck in the top edge first with a generous flap under the mattress. Then it is less likely to wrinkle into a puddle over the course of a week. EDIT: the bottom end tuck under can be a lot less generous and still stay in place.

There is also the old time method of using last week's top sheet as the next bottom sheet, so only 1 sheet per bed has to be washed each week.

Yes. Its the drug getting into your system.

Peas will keep growing if they get some sunshine, but may not set fruit unless they get a nice warm day when flowering. They keep doing their magic with nitrogen fixing however. Fortunately, the young foliage is edible and delicious. Worth a try pretty much wherever and whenever.
This is just my opinion, but I'd rip out the pumpkins and tomatoes (they are very unlikely to ripen now) and plant something else to keep the soil healthy. The pea/bean tribe would be excellent. Then come spring you can rip them out and plant your pumpkins again.

If you want to do onions/garlic in those pots, then manure and bugs will be very beneficial. The onion/garlic tribe take a long time to mature (comparatively), so planting now or soon makes sense for harvesting in summer next year. Leeks are quicker to mature so maybe think about planting these in late winter. Leeks do pretty well planted fairly close together, so they are space saving. I have to say that homegrown leeks are bloody marvellous, far nicer than shop bought. They tend to be thinner but so much tastier.

I just put them on one at a time. I don't think I've ever even noticed which one first. Will pay attention tomorrow morning.

I'm a bit late to the party, but I reckon Badedas is the bomb for tired soaking. Strong recommend. Yes you can still get it.

I've had some luck with red cabbages - they seem to resist cabbage worms and splitting better than the green ones. I did plant them over the winter though as winter works better for broad beans & cabbages. Not summer crops imo. Brussels sprouts are good to plant now too, and are much easier to eat than a whole cabbage for just one person. Very donate-able too.
The nice thing about broad beans is that they dramatically improve the soil, AND they grow well over winter. Even if you don't like eating them, they are donate-able and the soil improvement is well worth it to prepare for next year's crops. The dry spent stalks do wunnderful things to compost too.
This is also the right time to plant leeks and onions/garlic to winter over and get a head start come Spring. The ground is still warm and you can add water as required at least for this month and next. After that it gets a bit cold. Onion thinnings are great as 'spring onions', I can't tell the difference from the bought ones, and they're much much fresher.
The pumpkin tribe has probably had its day for this summer - may not set much more fruit due to declining day length, and not enough sunshine/heat to ripen them. Imo these definitely need to be planted in spring.
I agree with Catfish about carrots - only bother with for specialty ones that you can't buy. Lotsa work, needs very good, very deep soil and even then the crop is small. The foliage is very pretty though - makes a nice border for a flower bed.

Well, durr.

I found having an emergency spray thingie in my handbag was very helpful when I was starting on patches. Cos patches take time to work and the spray is immediate and tides you over until the patches kick in. I didn't like using the gum.
I also found that the patches sometimes left a sore red mark on my skin when removed. Usually when that bit of me got overheated or sweaty. Chemist also warned me NOT to put the patch anywhere near where I was going to spray perfume or deodorant - apparently these kick the patch glue into overdrive and can burn the skin chemically. I usually ended up putting the patch on my upper leg. Hope this helps a bit.

Its that damn fine motor control again - I have this problem too when using the whippersnapper to edge around the trees etc.

I would use a colander to separate out any loose seeds before blitzing. Maybe even split the pods and remove the seeds. Separating the seeds gives you more control over the heat level. Leaving the seeds in makes pretty much ANY dried chilli powder quite incredibly hot and a little bit bitter if the powder has been sitting around for a while. There's a chemical reaction much like the reaction that makes english mustard so hot but french and american mustard so much milder.

The plain pods are fine to blitz up - mix with honey and salt for your own sweet chilli sauce that's a vast improvement on bought muck.

Celebrations are in order for Gibson's dad - please send him the mocktail of his choice and a selection of snax.

⏰

And she bakes good sausage roll.

Googly eyes are a must as well.

House clean once a day is achievable (with robovac). The rest of the time it's just life happening. Better a happy house than a clean, unhappy one. Don't sweat the small stuff (except ants).

Friday quiz

5/10 - tough one today

Please accept my apologies for bringing an umbrella to work today. The delay in actual rain is entirely my fault.

If we get some decent rain, then I will be happy.