Archive for the ‘Herb, Fruit and Vegetables’ Category

Unexpected Arrival

Gardening, Herb, Fruit and Vegetables | Posted by Dean
Dec 11 2007

Today I was innocently working away on the day job when next thing a plant is dropped next to me. Upon looking at it I immediately realised it was another pot of Chives. We currently are using these infrequently so I was confused as to why we needed more. Upon turning to my Mum and saying we already have Chives she pointed out that these are Garlic Chives.

After a Google search (see its still my friend) I found that Garlic Chives are often called Chinese chives, Chinese leek, Ku chai, Oriental garlic chives or Nira (Japanese). The plant also has a garlic like flavour, hence its name and is great in many Asian dishes such as stir fries, noodles and soups. I will definately be trying that theory in the coming week when I cook up some grub when I am on leave to give the usual cooks a break.

Another difference is the plant itself has a more strappy leaf appearance, unlike the tubular structure of regular everyday chives. I will probably be growing the Garlic Chives and standard Chives side by side once my new planters arrive from Deals Direct in the coming days. Once planted I will take some happy snaps.

Addendum
We have decided that we will adopt the Ku Chai name for the plant.

Update: Hot off the press is the impending return of the Wheeled Planter. I may wait for its return and grow each variety of Chives in a dedicated tub.

Update: The status of the Wheeled Planter has once again changed and it appears that it will not be returning. I did find an eBay shop called DiscountDeals_Store selling them, but at a much higher price.

Certainly not paying for their extortion. Funnily enough the categories and products on offer from that shop map almost exactly to Deal Direct. Further all the text and images within their eBay advertisements are also plagiarised from Deal Direct.

Comments Closed

New Additions to the Family

Gardening, Herb, Fruit and Vegetables | Posted by Dean
Dec 11 2007

Today we went back to Mitre 10 to exchange a Mr Fothergill’s Sunflower pack that was infested with bugs. The switch was painless, however I could not resist looking at what else they had in stock. As happens with me in a garden “toy” shop at the moment I ended up walking out with more plants and supplies. I will not bore you with the supplies, but in terms of the plants we walked out with another tomato variety and another chilli variety.

The tomato is a Grape Tomato and was bought bearing fruits. So it has been planted in a tomato specific potting mix and well watered in. Hopefully this will soon be bearing edible fruits. It should do as it will be spoilt.

Ebony Fire

The chilli is an Ebony Fire chili which is a real ring burner. It is a black/red fruit with exceptionally dark foliage. Very different to the Jalapeno and “Hot Chilli” that I suspect is another Jalapeno. The Ebony Fire is laced with ripe fruit and is basically at its maximum height of 30 cm. I will wait a few days for the plant to adjust to its new home and then I shall be harvesting. I will let you know how the ring goes after consumption. I will also upload a photo of this plant soon.

Wheeled Planter

I also took delivery of a Wheeled Planter pictured above from Deals Direct, I am a bit of a sucker for their products. It is now the home of the green lettuce, red lettuce, and the spinach (picture to come once I get some time and dry conditions to take one). It is a great size and the plants have a lot of room to grow. I would be purchasing at least one more, but unfortunately they are out of stock. I certainly will be keeping my eye out for more of this product. In the mean time I have ordered some barrels and wash tubs instead.

I am also considering the purchase of some cucumber and zucchini seeds for planting in the coming barrels. I have a nice sunny location in mind for these in the back yard. Should be another interesting experiment.

1 Comment »

Tomatoes, Capsicums, and Chillis are Coming

Gardening, Herb, Fruit and Vegetables | Posted by Dean
Dec 10 2007

Well after the very brief thunderstorm of yesterday I had a look at the fruit and vegetables and was delighted to find that one of the Grosse Lisse and the Beefsteak tomatoes both have flowers on them. This is great news as both have been flourishing without outward signs of producing fruit. After a more careful inspection I can see about 3 or 4 more buds forming, which again is a fantastic sign. I then took a look at the Yolo Wonder capsicums and the two chilli plants and they too are full of buds. I am looking forward to a harvest in the next few weeks now.

2 Comments »

A New Blog After Months of Nothingness

Cat and Pest Control, Flowers and Decorative Plants, Gardening, General, Herb, Fruit and Vegetables | Posted by Dean
Dec 09 2007

Time to write a new blog seeing as I have not updated since April Fools Day after seeing the 300 for the first time at the cinema. I have since bought the DVD and seen it again at IMax when it made a limited run return trip. The reason that I have been slack in posting new material has largely been due to work pressures and commitments that have seriously drained my free time. I have been largely ignoring this site whilst ensuring the directories tick over.

Also, recently I decided that I wanted to spend more time outdoors and relaxing. Building some distance between my laptop and me as it was becoming far too easy to slip in an out of work mode, for example at 10 o’clock at night I was jumping onto work and picking stuff up unnecessarily. This has resulted in one little stress monkey who is holding on for leave beginning at the close of the next business week. Hooray no more work until the new year! That said the need to build that distance took effect several weeks ago.

So in order to alleviate stress and because of a desire to increase our level of self-sufficiency I have taken up gardening. We have limited usable sun filled area due to a plethora of units and established and shady trees around the yard. Also, given we plan on moving early in the new year we have decided that our best strategy is to take on the challenge of cultivation in pots. This will make the plants easier to transport when the time comes.

After an early drama with one of our pots not draining that led to several plants drowning we have the following plants and shrubs thriving in the pots:

  • The Fruits and Vegetables
    • 2 x Grosse Lisse Tomatoes
    • 1 x Beefsteak Tomato
    • 1 x Cherry Tomato (attempt 2)
    • 2 x Yolo Wonder Capsicums
    • 2 x Chili Plants
    • 1 x Egg Plant – did not really want it but it came in a seedling pack
    • 1 x Green Lettuce
    • 1 x Red Lettuce
    • 1 x Strawberries
    • 2 x Passion Fruit
    • 1 x Spinach
  • The Herbs
    • 1 x Curry Plant
    • 1 x Chives
    • 1 x Mint
    • 1 x Parsley
  • The Show Ponies
    • 1 x Jasmine
    • 10 x Dwarf Lavender
    • 4 x Fairy Lights
    • 1 x Blue and White Bird of Paradise
    • 5 x Red & White Petunias

Of course the current weather conditions in Sydney have assisted no end in supplying ample water to the plants and a lot of warmth, fair to say it has been a bit like a green house when you don’t have a greenhouse of late. Horrible weather for me personally, but fantastic for the plants.

We have been using a mix of potting mixes. Beginning with a Coles brand mix and since moving through a Yates mix and now to a RichGro. I think we will stick with the RichGro given it is enriched with Seasol, Ezi Wet, and Ozmicote, Each plant that has been planted in this mix has instantly taken off. Whereas the others have taken a bit more encouragement and H2O to establish. All though are now very healthy plants.

In terms of garden harvests we have only had some curry plant and parsley. That said going by the abundance of buds and flowers appearing on the plants that is set to change shortly.

Also, whilst mentioning the garden, last weekend saw a monster cleanup. We managed to take a full trailer load to the tip and then promptly managed to get at least another trailer load of green waste ready to go. That is now stacked in the back yard slowly turning into mulch. Although, with our imminent move we probably won’t see that used. The cleanup continues with the vast amounts of leaf litter being dropped from the trees around us. Most of which are not in our yard.

After the bulk of the cleanup last weekend we set up our outdoor Christmas decorations. It looked great with 5 inflatable displays, 1 light tree, and several garden lights set up. Unfortunately since then 2 of our inflatable displays have died due to water in their air blowers. Not happy Jan about that and am awaiting a return e-mail from Christmas Warehouse on whether we can get replacement units. The display has also been attacked by next doors cats with one of the star lights broken.

The crazy old lady next door continues to support an insanely high amount of cats. Currently there are at least 10 next door. Most are kittens, and with the sighting of yet another pregnant cat there are more on the way. The RSPCA have been around several times since we have lived here, but nothing has changed in regards to her pussy habits. It is ridiculous and we now have them living on/in our stuff.

Yesterday was a prime example. In the yard currently I have a large cardboard box that the new Victa came in. In the box I have various gardening supplies, ie. pots, snail pellets, etc. Anyway I moved the box yesterday in order to get to the things underneath it. Next thing the box has fallen from a stable position. I have snapped my head around and this little rat cat furball is running away. So I smacked the box with a bamboo stake and another little rat cat furball jumps out and runs off. It is ludicrous that we are now expected to put up with it. I am on the verge of contacting the RSPCA and requesting they lay traps in our yard to round the cats up and take them away.

Anyways, I best be off again and start building another table for Christmas in the marquee set up out the back.

Comments Closed