Daisy - Dawdling towards Delicious

[Daisy]

Flash floods are probably the biggest risk where I am, a part from fire of course! But we havent had any like has been seen on the east coast, thankfully I have been building up a tin fence and sticks and soil along the drain side. It flooded up to the house on that side the first year I was here but has never come that far up again.

Kale, beetroot and parsley seedlings are up and i hope they get big enough before any frost. My watermelon got stolen by slater bugs. The pumpkin vines are still growing but with this wet weather and then sunny days, the pumpkins rot on the mulch. I have been training some of the vine up off the ground but I think its too late in the season for them now. Want to get some beans and peas in asap.

Lilly pillies are in full fruit right now. The grapes made me tire of doing cooking with berry types, so most of these I am just eating fresh and pulling down branches full to feed to the ducks. Even they are sick of them! Haha. Its good to know the fruit on this tree is good but I really cant be bothered to figure out a way to store or cook with them right now. They arent nice enough to bother preserving. I have more than enough food for me right now. A few picked fresh each day is enough.

I just got a whole heap of kitchen and cooking stuff donated to me, with more to come. Ive washed and put it all away. I just have to find an extension cord for the mircowave, or move it to another spot. So heavy for a little box. Im exhausted!

 

[Britesea]

sounds like you're off to a great start!

My favorite kale is Lacinato. I especially like to crisp up some bacon, remove the bacon and add shredded kale to the bacon fat, then add a splash of chicken broth and cook until tender, then sprinkle the crispy bacon top and serve.

 

[tortoise]

I saw the kalette! It's a new hybrid, I think it was just introduced last year? Tempting, isn't it?! If I was growing for market I'd definitely pick it!

 

[baymule]

Yes, it gets HOT in Texas. That is why we have air conditioning. I'm old enough to remember life with no air conditioning, only fans. Oh the magic of a attic fan that sucked in the air through the up raised windows!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Thanks for the updates. Your challenges (critters) are something new and fresh from my experience

 

[flowerbug]

i enjoy your descriptions of the variety there and the antics of all involved. we have a lot of different bird life here too and it is mostly because we are an oasis in the middle of farm fields that are often left bare for months at a time.

edited to add that i'm happy to hear your soils are improving. as an avid gardener interested in simple and sustainable ways to grow food i'm always so glad to hear that someone is seeing improved soils.

 

[tortoise]

Relatable! 🤣

 

[Daisy]

The zucchini seeds have sprouted and are looking strong so far, probably not far off flowering The sunflowers are starting to bloom so I planted a few more seeds today. I'll pick up another bag of seeds next run to town. I dug in the pumpkin seeds from the one I used in cooking the other day, not sure if they will work but worth a try. The tin bed out the back is almost ready for the next lot of veg to go in. Herbs are going great, still small plants but I am really pleased they haven't died!

The Mandarin and lime tree are loaded, so much so I think I will have to trim some of the new fruit, just way too many for such little trees. The lemon and other citrus are recovering from my lack of care after their fruiting period.

My neighbour gave me a Lucerne tree a few weeks ago, and it went well in the pot, but once I put it in the ground it started fading fast. I am not sure if it is unhappy with the full sun or unhappy with the soil. They are considered weeds by some so I figured it would grow anywhere! I'll give it a little more of a chance in the ground before I rip it up and try to save it.

 

[Britesea]

There are products out there that you can spray on the leaves of new transplants to reduce the water loss they experience when they first get put out in full sun. I'm sure they have them in Australia too.

 

[Daisy]

I will look out for that, thanks could be a handy product for here! The Lucerne tree does have shade cloth around and over it, to stop the ducks getting to it but it is still a warm spot despite that. If it does die, I can probably offer to trim the neighbours tree for him and feed that to the ducks.

It looks like some plants are starting to suffer a bit in the heat today. It's been a pretty good run though, the soil has been well set up to handle it. More mulch out today. This week will be 40C so I will be back to watering every chance that I get.