"Stuart Naylor" wrote in message
...

/adjusts lab coat and einstein-hairdo

Perhaps try another different variety.

of hairdo? no, i was just making that up. it's my moustache that's the
spit
of einstein's. g

A wisp of a gray moustache and mostly gray shoulder length hair?
That sounds like someone I know.

doesn't sound like anyone _i_ know. i'm a girl, really ;-) (i take it you're
not, though).

Anyway about 10 days later I could plainly see a couple of shoots in
the hanging basket which would have been real beaut if they had been
lemons, but they were tomato plants. About 2 weeks later up came a
spud then eventually up came the 4 lemons (or at least I think they're
lemons).

clearly you're not using the abysmal potting mix _i_ am! (address all
gripes
to my potting mix whinge-o-thon.) *

I don't usually buy potting mix, this is my first year trying it and
so far I've been quite happy. My usual habit was to use well matured
home made compost which also works well.

i have problems getting _quantity_ of compost... any tips? it took me about
2 years to make enough to make cucurbit mounds this year (which are
brilliant!! i love them!!! and i've got volunteers sprouting away like mad,
which isn't as much fun as i thought it might be...)

i have so much trouble making compost in quantity that when i moved here 4
months ago, i brought my compost with me (and people said i was mad. well, i
sure showed THEM! ... um...)

i'd LOVE a tumbling composter - i'd make special collections for it if i had
one of those. sigh....


Tomatoes and potatoes grow like weeds around here.

excellent!!!! except when you want to rest the beds from the solanaceae
family. --- can talk the talk, eh ;-)

You certainly can talk the talk. I had to use a bloody search engine
to find out what in hell a solanaceae was.

mwahahahahaha! and another humble gardener commences his education in plant
families! vengeance is mine!!!
kylie

"0tterbot" wrote in message

i have problems getting _quantity_ of compost... any tips? it took
me about
2 years to make enough to make cucurbit mounds this year (which are
brilliant!! i love them!!! and i've got volunteers sprouting away
like mad,
which isn't as much fun as i thought it might be...)

Do you have any books by Jackie French? If not they are well worth
buying or borrowing from the library. You can just grow plants in
piles of weeds if that is all you have - Jackie gave me the idea.

I have some BIG weeds in my garden - giant phalaris and cocksfoot and
all sorts of other giant clumpers which got away when I had to have
cancer treatment and couldn't do any gardneing. These I just dig up
and leave lying on the paths (fully develiped seed heads and all) and
once teh roots ahve dried out I then just throw them in a pikle
somewhere and they often formt eh basis for growing spots. ATM, I've
got volunteer spuds growing in weeds - basically the weeds are being
used like the hay beds for spuds, but you could also use them for
cucurbits. any weeds tha do sprout again get pulled out or buried in
more weeds or old hay on top.

If I was running a nice neat garden, I'd have composted all these but
I currently dont' ahve the space in any of my compost bins so they are
bein used in another fashion.

i'd LOVE a tumbling composter - i'd make special collections for it
if i had
one of those. sigh....

I lusted after a tumble composter for years but was put off by the
cost. I saw the following at a firend's and she recommended them
highly.:
http://www.tumbleweed.com.au/pages/d...?page_id=20061

I now have 2 and find them fantastic and they are much cheaper than
the ones I was lusting after. Everything my friend said about them is
true - great beasties. I think thye were about $150 each.

"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message
...

Do you have any books by Jackie French? If not they are well worth
buying or borrowing from the library. You can just grow plants in
piles of weeds if that is all you have - Jackie gave me the idea.

i've been getting through the ones available at the library (my, she is
prolific!!) her weed book was a _revelation_ to me. i'd been too anal about
the whole thing, & looking at it totally the wrong way. i really like her
books, she's great :-) another good thing is she's a "local author", so i
can directly apply things she says, pretty much.

I have some BIG weeds in my garden - giant phalaris and cocksfoot and
all sorts of other giant clumpers which got away when I had to have
cancer treatment and couldn't do any gardneing. These I just dig up
and leave lying on the paths (fully develiped seed heads and all) and
once teh roots ahve dried out I then just throw them in a pikle
somewhere and they often formt eh basis for growing spots. ATM, I've
got volunteer spuds growing in weeds - basically the weeds are being
used like the hay beds for spuds, but you could also use them for
cucurbits. any weeds tha do sprout again get pulled out or buried in
more weeds or old hay on top.

If I was running a nice neat garden, I'd have composted all these but
I currently dont' ahve the space in any of my compost bins so they are
bein used in another fashion.

excellent. the idea of weeds as mulch was wonderful for me - weeds as
growing locations even better! or weeds as foliar feed (another jackie
idea). well anyway, clearly we are both fans ;-) i might do a weed-spot
experiment, now!

i'd LOVE a tumbling composter - i'd make special collections for it
if i had
one of those. sigh....

I lusted after a tumble composter for years but was put off by the
cost. I saw the following at a firend's and she recommended them
highly.:
http://www.tumbleweed.com.au/pages/d...?page_id=20061

I now have 2 and find them fantastic and they are much cheaper than
the ones I was lusting after. Everything my friend said about them is
true - great beasties. I think thye were about $150 each.

wonderful!! i shall take your recommendation on board.
kylie (who is really pining for one now ;-)

"0tterbot" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message

Do you have any books by Jackie French?

i've been getting through the ones available at the library (my, she
is
prolific!!) her weed book was a _revelation_ to me.

If you liked that then try her soil food book. That is my usual bed
time reading - doesn't matter how many times I read it, I always find
something new to try or marvel over.

i'd been too anal about
the whole thing, & looking at it totally the wrong way.

Yep - I think a lot of us have come to gardening by way of the
conventional route and it takes time to unlearn all those taboos we
learned on the way.

i really like her
books, she's great :-) another good thing is she's a "local author",
so i
can directly apply things she says, pretty much.

Yes, her land at Araluan looks like its a very hard and hungry block
and that valley is prone to real heat and drought as well as some
poopful land. We were down there not long ago and things are just
dire - poor sods.

I have some BIG weeds in my garden - giant phalaris and cocksfoot
and
all sorts of other giant clumpers which got away when I had to
have
cancer treatment and couldn't do any gardneing. These I just dig
up
and leave lying on the paths (fully develiped seed heads and all)
and
once teh roots ahve dried out I then just throw them in a pikle
somewhere and they often formt eh basis for growing spots. ATM,
I've
got volunteer spuds growing in weeds - basically the weeds are
being
used like the hay beds for spuds, but you could also use them for
cucurbits. any weeds tha do sprout again get pulled out or
buried in
more weeds or old hay on top.

If I was running a nice neat garden, I'd have composted all these
but
I currently dont' ahve the space in any of my compost bins so they
are
bein used in another fashion.

excellent. the idea of weeds as mulch was wonderful for me - weeds
as
growing locations even better! or weeds as foliar feed (another
jackie
idea).

Yep - I brew my blackjack mix in an old olive barrel and I brew my poo
stew in a big plastic garbage bin - I've yet to be able to convince my
husband that it's his job to relieve himself now and then into it :-))

well anyway, clearly we are both fans ;-) i might do a weed-spot
experiment, now!

It's worth a try, but probably a bit late now for the best weed patch
growers - the cucurbits..

i'd LOVE a tumbling composter - i'd make special collections for
it
if i had
one of those. sigh....

I lusted after a tumble composter for years but was put off by the
cost. I saw the following at a firend's and she recommended them
highly.:
http://www.tumbleweed.com.au/pages/d...?page_id=20061

I now have 2 and find them fantastic and they are much cheaper
than
the ones I was lusting after. Everything my friend said about them
is
true - great beasties. I think thye were about $150 each.

wonderful!! i shall take your recommendation on board.

Wel just to encourage you: about 6 weeks ago, I pruned my box blobs -
the prunings were up to about 6 inches long. I threw them into one of
the tumblers with some poop (old cow poop which I'd stupidly let dry
out). I watered the lot from both ends (the lids come off on each
end) and tumbled it a few times each day - about a week ago, we used
it to mulch the corn and them put more mulch on top - the corn has
powered on since then sending out axial roots all over the place. The
pruings weren't completely broken down, but enough to use it on
somethign that was about thigh high like corn - its now about waist
high - perhaps we put it on a week and a half ago.

kylie (who is really pining for one now ;-)

:-)) I raided the hosekeeping allowance and we went thorugh a
vegetarian phase till it'd recovered :-))