"Ed Adamthwaite" wrote in message
Hi Farm1,
it's been a disaster season here in the Dandenongs east of Melbourne for
tomatoes. Early on we had a plague of aphids sucking the life out of
everything green. Applications of white oil hardly made a dent in their
attack. Then we had practically no rain and weren't allowed to water them
more than twice a week. The white oil residue nearly suffocated the
plants and it was only the new growth that kept the plants going. The old
leaves died and had to be cut off. Once the aphids died out later in the
summer the new growth managed to get ahead and flower. I have had less
than 5% of the harvest that I had last year. The one redeeming feature is
that the tomatoes that have ripened so far have few seeds and liquid but
have more than 90% flesh. They are the best flavoured tomatoes that I have
ever had. If only had enough extra to put into the dehydrator....
Regards,
Ed.

Geeze Ed, although you sound like you have had a rotten year for toms,
you've actually managed to cheer me up considerably.

We haven't had nearly your run of incidents - just not up to par or as good
as they should be.

I hope you got compensatory better returns for other crops like we've done
with cucumbers and strawberries.

"0tterbot" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

What's happening with tomatoes around the country?

We've had limited numbers of decent ones ripening and tis seems to be
common according to what others I've spoken to locally have said.

i'd agree with that, & my tomatoes are shite too! even the ever-reliable
cherry varieties just aren't ripening (we've had a grand total of SEVEN
cherry toms & that is all).

:-)) I went to a 'fibre day' at la weaver's place one road further to the
east from you and the lady there had good toms growing. I hasten to add
that she had rigged up a couple of poly pipe arches with plastic over the
top and had all her veg growing in there, so I noted that just in case we
end up living nearer to where you are. I suspect tha realy reason for the
arch was to keep of the wildlife but ti also worked for evening out the
climate extremes and being on her own, she didn't need a big crop of
anything, just fresh stuff instead of supermarket stuff.

the romas this year are just a dud - i've
stopped watering them & lost all hope for them this year. tomatoes give me
the shits anyway, i don't know why i bother.

Literally the shits or metaphorically?

my cucurbits have been truly awful (& have friends saying the same about
that as well). we finally have a few cucumbers happening at long last, but
NO pumpkin, potimarron, spaghetti squash etc AT ALL, and, (wait for it!)
only two zucchini so far!!!!!!!!! this is unheard of!!!!!!!!

Good Lord! Zucchini and cucumber doing the proverbial strangling of us in
our beds and Golden Nugget pumpkins being given away in copious quantities.
Zucchini cake, zucchini fritters, zucchini loaf.....How long till the first
frost? Perhaps the only good reason to hope for a frost.

i haven't seen
much bee activity for quite a while & i wonder what is going on there.
we've had bees out the wazoo all year round since we came, but not lately.

at my house, it's just been an awful season - too cool to start with, then
an unbelievable heatwave, now it's been too cool again & at no stage has
there been enough rain. hopeless. my basil this year has been all right
though for the first time ever (probably because i stopped trying to
companion plant with tomatoes). then again, the carrots have been very
good as well - i seem to have conquered my carrot problems!

I suspect if we get a rotter of a season for one thing, then we get
compensation for another. A bit like life I guess

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
:-)) I went to a 'fibre day' at la weaver's place one road further to the
east from you and the lady there had good toms growing. I hasten to add
that she had rigged up a couple of poly pipe arches with plastic over the
top and had all her veg growing in there, so I noted that just in case we
end up living nearer to where you are. I suspect tha realy reason for the
arch was to keep of the wildlife but ti also worked for evening out the
climate extremes and being on her own, she didn't need a big crop of
anything, just fresh stuff instead of supermarket stuff.

keeping the wildlife out would be a BIG motivator, i suspect! we're in the
process of making tunnel-like covers with shade cloth on top (not sure if
shade cloth is ideal or not, but the first ones are intended for brassicas
to keep out the c.w. butterflies.) other than that we are having/have had
big problems with furry creatures & now the ****ing rabbits are back, and a
new invasion of choughs just today. i could just scream some days, but i'm
learning to take it more philosophically. sort of. it is nice to live
amongst bushland in this area but some days i feel its not worth it!

the romas this year are just a dud - i've
stopped watering them & lost all hope for them this year. tomatoes give
me the shits anyway, i don't know why i bother.

Literally the shits or metaphorically?

:-) i just can't get interested in them. i like eating them, but i'm not a
tomato-growing nut & never will be. anything that has to be staked, propped,
wired, or whatever just drives me crazy. so i haven't staked the cherry toms
because in my experience they simply do not care either way!! (also, eating
tomatoes makes my finger joints hurt - someone told me they cause arthritis
flare-ups & perhaps this is the first sign!!)

in this same way, the very idea of growing fruit trees bores me to sobs. if
they go well on their own, that's great. otherwise, i just don't give a
shit, it's too much trouble. i thought i was interested in fruit like i'm
interested in veg, but apparently i was wrong.

I suspect if we get a rotter of a season for one thing, then we get
compensation for another. A bit like life I guess

this is very true, & one of my sole consolations :-)
kylie (who seems to have included a good deal of swearing in this post!)

0tterbot wrote:
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
:-)) I went to a 'fibre day' at la weaver's place one road further to the
east from you and the lady there had good toms growing. I hasten to add
that she had rigged up a couple of poly pipe arches with plastic over the
top and had all her veg growing in there, so I noted that just in case we
end up living nearer to where you are. I suspect tha realy reason for the
arch was to keep of the wildlife but ti also worked for evening out the
climate extremes and being on her own, she didn't need a big crop of
anything, just fresh stuff instead of supermarket stuff.

keeping the wildlife out would be a BIG motivator, i suspect! we're in the
process of making tunnel-like covers with shade cloth on top (not sure if
shade cloth is ideal or not, but the first ones are intended for brassicas
to keep out the c.w. butterflies.) other than that we are having/have had
big problems with furry creatures & now the ****ing rabbits are back, and a
new invasion of choughs just today. i could just scream some days, but i'm
learning to take it more philosophically. sort of. it is nice to live
amongst bushland in this area but some days i feel its not worth it!

the romas this year are just a dud - i've
stopped watering them & lost all hope for them this year. tomatoes give
me the shits anyway, i don't know why i bother.
Literally the shits or metaphorically?

:-) i just can't get interested in them. i like eating them, but i'm not a
tomato-growing nut & never will be. anything that has to be staked, propped,
wired, or whatever just drives me crazy. so i haven't staked the cherry toms
because in my experience they simply do not care either way!! (also, eating
tomatoes makes my finger joints hurt - someone told me they cause arthritis
flare-ups & perhaps this is the first sign!!)

in this same way, the very idea of growing fruit trees bores me to sobs. if
they go well on their own, that's great. otherwise, i just don't give a
shit, it's too much trouble. i thought i was interested in fruit like i'm
interested in veg, but apparently i was wrong.

I suspect if we get a rotter of a season for one thing, then we get
compensation for another. A bit like life I guess

this is very true, & one of my sole consolations :-)
kylie (who seems to have included a good deal of swearing in this post!)


Crickey youre in as mood today.
Time for a soothing lavender bath...

"jonno" wrote in message
...
this is very true, & one of my sole consolations :-)
kylie (who seems to have included a good deal of swearing in this post!)
Crickey youre in as mood today.

you're not wrong there, sunshine!!!!!!

Time for a soothing lavender bath...

firstly, baths make me pass out; and secondly, whilst i have two bathtubs,
one contains water chestnuts & the other is my grey water system. and
thirdly, the lavender's not flowering again yet.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS??!
*^#%$!!!!! g

:-)))
kylie
(isn't a morning in the garden meant to be a soothing experience?)

"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
"jonno" wrote in message
...
this is very true, & one of my sole consolations :-)
kylie (who seems to have included a good deal of swearing in this post!)
Crickey youre in as mood today.

you're not wrong there, sunshine!!!!!!

Time for a soothing lavender bath...

firstly, baths make me pass out; and secondly, whilst i have two bathtubs,
one contains water chestnuts & the other is my grey water system. and
thirdly, the lavender's not flowering again yet.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS??!
*^#%$!!!!! g

:-)))
kylie
(isn't a morning in the garden meant to be a soothing experience?)

I guess it would be wasted to say like the seppos.
Have a nice day.................

On Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:16:13 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
:-)) I went to a 'fibre day' at la weaver's place one road further to the
east from you and the lady there had good toms growing. I hasten to add
that she had rigged up a couple of poly pipe arches with plastic over the
top and had all her veg growing in there, so I noted that just in case we
end up living nearer to where you are. I suspect tha realy reason for the
arch was to keep of the wildlife but ti also worked for evening out the
climate extremes and being on her own, she didn't need a big crop of
anything, just fresh stuff instead of supermarket stuff.

keeping the wildlife out would be a BIG motivator, i suspect! we're in the
process of making tunnel-like covers with shade cloth on top (not sure if
shade cloth is ideal or not, but the first ones are intended for brassicas
to keep out the c.w. butterflies.) other than that we are having/have had
big problems with furry creatures & now the ****ing rabbits are back,

Ahhhh Free meat for the pot..... Yummmm !

and a new invasion of choughs just today. i could just scream some days, but i'm
learning to take it more philosophically. sort of. it is nice to live
amongst bushland in this area but some days i feel its not worth it!

the romas this year are just a dud - i've
stopped watering them & lost all hope for them this year. tomatoes give
me the shits anyway, i don't know why i bother.

Literally the shits or metaphorically?

:-) i just can't get interested in them. i like eating them, but i'm not a
tomato-growing nut & never will be. anything that has to be staked, propped,
wired, or whatever just drives me crazy. so i haven't staked the cherry toms
because in my experience they simply do not care either way!! (also, eating
tomatoes makes my finger joints hurt

You're supposed to stop chewing when you get to your fingers and only
eat the actual tomatoes....

- someone told me they cause arthritis flare-ups & perhaps this is the first sign!!)

in this same way, the very idea of growing fruit trees bores me to sobs. if
they go well on their own, that's great. otherwise, i just don't give a
shit, it's too much trouble. i thought i was interested in fruit like i'm
interested in veg, but apparently i was wrong.

I suspect if we get a rotter of a season for one thing, then we get
compensation for another. A bit like life I guess

this is very true, & one of my sole consolations :-)
kylie (who seems to have included a good deal of swearing in this post!)

"0tterbot" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

keeping the wildlife out would be a BIG motivator, i suspect! we're in the
process of making tunnel-like covers with shade cloth on top (not sure if
shade cloth is ideal or not, but the first ones are intended for brassicas
to keep out the c.w. butterflies.)

Have you tried makign fake ones out of an old 2 Litre milk container? Cut
them to shape of a CW in flight and put some black spots on them and then
put them on satay skewers near brassicas. I'm quite convinced that they
work to keep off the real CW flutterbys.


other than that we are having/have had
big problems with furry creatures & now the ****ing rabbits are back,

No nearby Jack Russell to lend a hand? We've noticed the numbers of buns
had started building up here too but the 2 JRs are going off and spending
half an hour out of sight doing something. I suspect it might be a bit of
rabbit destruction as we se the odd bits of fur around and less signs of
live buns.

and a
new invasion of choughs just today. i could just scream some days, but i'm
learning to take it more philosophically. sort of.

Snort! Pull the other one, it chimes!

it is nice to live
amongst bushland in this area but some days i feel its not worth it!

We've spent a bloody fortune in hugely wide bird netting as it's the only
way to get produce from our fruit trees. Now Himself has retired, there is
no way Mr Frugality is going to let a simple bird beat him. He's never
given up on anything, or backed away from anything difficult or 'impossible'
in the past so a sodding bird is not going to defeat him. I just wander
along behind him doing what I'm told and shoving the broom head up where I'm
told under the bird wire. It sort of works out OK till I get the Tom Tits
over something and remove myself in a state of high irritation :-))

Gotta say, the apples and nectarines have been well worth the effort of
beatign the birds.

the romas this year are just a dud - i've
stopped watering them & lost all hope for them this year. tomatoes give
me the shits anyway, i don't know why i bother.

Literally the shits or metaphorically?

:-) i just can't get interested in them. i like eating them, but i'm not a
tomato-growing nut & never will be. anything that has to be staked,
propped, wired, or whatever just drives me crazy. so i haven't staked the
cherry toms because in my experience they simply do not care either way!!

I guess I also couldn't be described as a fnatic about the stakign and
tieing up, but I don't mind the other care of them. Himself liked to do the
bondage thing to the toms.

(also, eating
tomatoes makes my finger joints hurt - someone told me they cause
arthritis flare-ups & perhaps this is the first sign!!)

Yep. My father found that toms made his arthritis flare like crazy.

in this same way, the very idea of growing fruit trees bores me to sobs.
if they go well on their own, that's great. otherwise, i just don't give a
shit, it's too much trouble. i thought i was interested in fruit like i'm
interested in veg, but apparently i was wrong.

Hmm. Interesting. In what way don't you like it? I get the same sort of
thrill from watching my trees as I do the veg. I like to see them respond
after pruning and when given food and water etc.

I suspect if we get a rotter of a season for one thing, then we get
compensation for another. A bit like life I guess

this is very true, & one of my sole consolations :-)
kylie (who seems to have included a good deal of swearing in this post!)

Didn't notice any swearing. I just noticed technical descriptions commonly
used by gardeners.

wrote in message
On Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:16:13 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:

other than that we are having/have had
big problems with furry creatures & now the ****ing rabbits are back,

Ahhhh Free meat for the pot..... Yummmm !

Dunno about that. I suspect farmed rabbits are the way to go. Himself shot
one on our back lawn and handed it to me to skin, gut and cook. I figured
it wasn't too dissimilar to a chook so managed the gutting and skinning OK.
Bloody thing got its revenge by being as tough as an old boot once cooked.
I should have just cut it up with some secateurs and given it to the dogs.

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
wrote in message
On Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:16:13 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:

other than that we are having/have had
big problems with furry creatures & now the ****ing rabbits are back,

Ahhhh Free meat for the pot..... Yummmm !

Dunno about that. I suspect farmed rabbits are the way to go. Himself
shot one on our back lawn and handed it to me to skin, gut and cook. I
figured it wasn't too dissimilar to a chook so managed the gutting and
skinning OK. Bloody thing got its revenge by being as tough as an old boot
once cooked. I should have just cut it up with some secateurs and given it
to the dogs.


Feral rabbits soak overnight in salt water. Removes the strong gamey taste
that may be offputting to some. Myself I have not been able to skin & gut
the blighters since going thru puberty, me not the bunnies. B4 being 13 I
used to keep the family in underground mutton. Then the smell of warm flesh
made me throw up, but not enough to become a vegie.

0tterbot wrote:
"jonno" wrote in message
...
this is very true, & one of my sole consolations :-)
kylie (who seems to have included a good deal of swearing in this post!)
Crickey youre in as mood today.

you're not wrong there, sunshine!!!!!!

Time for a soothing lavender bath...

firstly, baths make me pass out; and secondly, whilst i have two bathtubs,
one contains water chestnuts & the other is my grey water system. and
thirdly, the lavender's not flowering again yet.
Yeah you could say youre priorities are wrong.
Baths are for people.
And last years lavender though not as good, would help you and youre not
prepared for anything. You could always buy a sachet at a market and
breathe in deep...
Orright!




ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS??!
*^#%$!!!!! g
All done with...

:-)))
kylie
(isn't a morning in the garden meant to be a soothing experience?)
It is if its planned right.
Those who fail to plan, plan to fail!

The magpies in my garden reckon the others who joined the the other
night don't belong so its an all out battle at the moment.

So much for peace in the neighbourhood garden.
Another few weeks and they will disappear for a few weeks, dispersing
their young.
Bees missing, still some Damn european wasps about. Dont they kill bees too?

"SG1" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
wrote in message
On Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:16:13 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:

other than that we are having/have had
big problems with furry creatures & now the ****ing rabbits are back,

Ahhhh Free meat for the pot..... Yummmm !

Dunno about that. I suspect farmed rabbits are the way to go. Himself
shot one on our back lawn and handed it to me to skin, gut and cook. I
figured it wasn't too dissimilar to a chook so managed the gutting and
skinning OK. Bloody thing got its revenge by being as tough as an old
boot once cooked. I should have just cut it up with some secateurs and
given it to the dogs.


Feral rabbits soak overnight in salt water. Removes the strong gamey taste
that may be offputting to some.

It wasn't a strong gamey taste that was wrong with it, it was jsut as tough
as a boot. I dont' mind gamey flavour.

Myself I have not been able to skin & gut
the blighters since going thru puberty, me not the bunnies. B4 being 13 I
used to keep the family in underground mutton. Then the smell of warm
flesh made me throw up, but not enough to become a vegie.

Know what you mean about that warm flesh smell. There really is nothing
that smells quite like it.

In article 49b36eb9$0$4231$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au, ask@itshall says...

Know what you mean about that warm flesh smell. There really is nothing
that smells quite like it.

Yeah, quite distinctive. As long as theres a breeze, or at least some
airflow, it ain't too bad. And if it needs to be said, the sooner you
gut an animal, the better.

I must be lucky, havent had a bunny with tough meat here as yet.

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
What's happening with tomatoes around the country?

We've had limited numbers of decent ones ripening and tis seems to be
common according to what others I've spoken to locally have said.


My veggie garden has been poor this summer as well here in Gippsland.
Tomatoes have been late, poor sweetcorn crop, no cucumbers to pick yet.
Oddly some of my fruit trees (apples, plums, nectarines) are flowering again
now.

On Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:43:14 +1100, FarmI wrote:

Bloody thing got its revenge by being as tough as an old
boot once cooked.

Slow cooking.

If you have a few, you could always try the chook softner technique; give
them chateau le cardboard to drink, or so I'm told.