"Jeßus" wrote in message
On Mon, 5 Nov 2012 17:32:31 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

...now it's spring, what are you all up to?

Watching the weeds in the veggie garden grow! Every bloody time I'm
all set to get stuck into it, something else comes up that has a
higher priority... it'll have to be either later this week or early
next. Gotta get those spuds in soon, with luck all the serious frosts
are behind us now.

I know the feeling. We got stuck in the other day. I've been faffing round
for weeks trying to make a mark and Himself did more in 1 day than I've done
in weeks. It really emphasisied for me the difference in how men and women
work. He really focusses and I (sort of) multi task. I notice a plant
needs water as I'm trying to weed near it. I give it water and then 'cos
the soil is so soggy I cant' continue to weed there till the next day, but
while I was getting the water int he watering can, I notice that the area
under the tank looks like a snake haven and so clear that. And so it goes
on. He just does what he set out to do.

I'm sure that when you do get time you'll make huge inroads ina short time.

I've been busy in the veg patch, the rose bed and doing garden visits
which
always inspire me and fire me into action.

We've had 8 huge pine trees removed from between my rose bed and the veg
patch so now there will be no further root competition from the blasted
things. It was amazing to watch the men clib the trees to drop them in
chunks but in the process they dropped a huge branch on my wonderful old
Hills Hoist and it took weeks before they replaced it with a new one. Of
course the new one is crap quality.

Bugger on the clothesline...

I imagine the soil is fairly acidic where the pien trees were, could
be good for Azelias or Blueberries.

Ah! Thanks for that tip. I'd prefer something productive and azaleas don't
do well here because of our savage frosts.

Speaking of Blueberries and acidic soil, I have several plants
scattered around the gardens but they haven't exactly gone crazy.
I'm thinking of creating a bed just for blueberries, I have access to
plenty of decades-old sawdust, which they would love to grow in.
I'm making a LOT of blueberry mead these days, so it's something I
should do, as supply of quality berries can be patchy at times.

So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it sounds
delicious.

On Tue, 6 Nov 2012 11:09:43 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
On Mon, 5 Nov 2012 17:32:31 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

...now it's spring, what are you all up to?

Watching the weeds in the veggie garden grow! Every bloody time I'm
all set to get stuck into it, something else comes up that has a
higher priority... it'll have to be either later this week or early
next. Gotta get those spuds in soon, with luck all the serious frosts
are behind us now.

I know the feeling. We got stuck in the other day. I've been faffing round
for weeks trying to make a mark and Himself did more in 1 day than I've done
in weeks. It really emphasisied for me the difference in how men and women
work. He really focusses and I (sort of) multi task.

LOL. Well, I'm most woman-like then
But I've learned (I think)... once the seemingly endless half-finished
projects I have are completed, in future I'll start ONE project and
complete it - then move onto the next... that's what I tell myself
anyway

I notice a plant
needs water as I'm trying to weed near it. I give it water and then 'cos
the soil is so soggy I cant' continue to weed there till the next day, but
while I was getting the water int he watering can, I notice that the area
under the tank looks like a snake haven and so clear that. And so it goes
on.

Yes, exactly! I do this all the bloody time.

He just does what he set out to do.

I'm hoping to become more like that...

I'm sure that when you do get time you'll make huge inroads ina short time.

I've been busy in the veg patch, the rose bed and doing garden visits
which
always inspire me and fire me into action.

We've had 8 huge pine trees removed from between my rose bed and the veg
patch so now there will be no further root competition from the blasted
things. It was amazing to watch the men clib the trees to drop them in
chunks but in the process they dropped a huge branch on my wonderful old
Hills Hoist and it took weeks before they replaced it with a new one. Of
course the new one is crap quality.

Bugger on the clothesline...

I imagine the soil is fairly acidic where the pien trees were, could
be good for Azelias or Blueberries.

Ah! Thanks for that tip. I'd prefer something productive and azaleas don't
do well here because of our savage frosts.

Speaking of Blueberries and acidic soil, I have several plants
scattered around the gardens but they haven't exactly gone crazy.
I'm thinking of creating a bed just for blueberries, I have access to
plenty of decades-old sawdust, which they would love to grow in.
I'm making a LOT of blueberry mead these days, so it's something I
should do, as supply of quality berries can be patchy at times.

So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it sounds
delicious.


I only have a few blueberry plants at this time, I still buy from a
couple of people most of the time, for the mead at least as it
requires an awful lot of blueberries. One day I'll put a decent patch
in but it's a big job. I'll have to fence the lot with corrugated iron
just to keep the possums out, just for starters.

My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

"Jeßus" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 6 Nov 2012 11:09:43 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

I know the feeling. We got stuck in the other day. I've been faffing
round
for weeks trying to make a mark and Himself did more in 1 day than I've
done
in weeks. It really emphasisied for me the difference in how men and
women
work. He really focusses and I (sort of) multi task.

LOL. Well, I'm most woman-like then

:-))

But I've learned (I think)... once the seemingly endless half-finished
projects I have are completed, in future I'll start ONE project and
complete it - then move onto the next... that's what I tell myself
anyway

LOL. Betcha don't!

I notice a plant
needs water as I'm trying to weed near it. I give it water and then 'cos
the soil is so soggy I cant' continue to weed there till the next day, but
while I was getting the water int he watering can, I notice that the area
under the tank looks like a snake haven and so clear that. And so it goes
on.

Yes, exactly! I do this all the bloody time.

He just does what he set out to do.

I'm hoping to become more like that...

I'm sure that when you do get time you'll make huge inroads ina short
time.

I've been busy in the veg patch, the rose bed and doing garden visits
which
always inspire me and fire me into action.

We've had 8 huge pine trees removed from between my rose bed and the veg
patch so now there will be no further root competition from the blasted
things. It was amazing to watch the men clib the trees to drop them in
chunks but in the process they dropped a huge branch on my wonderful old
Hills Hoist and it took weeks before they replaced it with a new one.
Of
course the new one is crap quality.

Bugger on the clothesline...

I imagine the soil is fairly acidic where the pien trees were, could
be good for Azelias or Blueberries.

Ah! Thanks for that tip. I'd prefer something productive and azaleas
don't
do well here because of our savage frosts.

Speaking of Blueberries and acidic soil, I have several plants
scattered around the gardens but they haven't exactly gone crazy.
I'm thinking of creating a bed just for blueberries, I have access to
plenty of decades-old sawdust, which they would love to grow in.
I'm making a LOT of blueberry mead these days, so it's something I
should do, as supply of quality berries can be patchy at times.

So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it sounds
delicious.


I only have a few blueberry plants at this time, I still buy from a
couple of people most of the time, for the mead at least as it
requires an awful lot of blueberries. One day I'll put a decent patch
in but it's a big job. I'll have to fence the lot with corrugated iron
just to keep the possums out, just for starters.

That IS a huge job. We don't have possums (Thank God!) but we have copious
numbers and varieties of bird and they love our fruit and veg. Netting is a
constant chore near harvest time.

My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

Interesting recipe :-)) Wonder if it'll work? I'm trying to deter rats
round my hen house ATM. I don't want to use poison so it's a watering can
of water down each hole once a day. I now know what the expression 'drowned
rat' means. I haven't quite managed to drown any yet but they sure hate
water in their holes and come up looking very saggy and most definitely 'Not
happy Jan!'. ******* things.

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:27:41 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
.. .
My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

Interesting recipe :-)) Wonder if it'll work? I'm trying to deter rats
round my hen house ATM. I don't want to use poison so it's a watering can
of water down each hole once a day. I now know what the expression 'drowned
rat' means. I haven't quite managed to drown any yet but they sure hate
water in their holes and come up looking very saggy and most definitely 'Not
happy Jan!'. ******* things.

Yeah, I can't any kind of plastic around the chook pen as the rats eat
it... I've had a few rats and mice drown themselves in the water
bucket, which is great. I use rat traps with peanut butter, caged off
so only rats and mice can access it.

"Jeßus" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:27:41 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
. ..
My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

Interesting recipe :-)) Wonder if it'll work? I'm trying to deter rats
round my hen house ATM. I don't want to use poison so it's a watering can
of water down each hole once a day. I now know what the expression
'drowned
rat' means. I haven't quite managed to drown any yet but they sure hate
water in their holes and come up looking very saggy and most definitely
'Not
happy Jan!'. ******* things.

Yeah, I can't any kind of plastic around the chook pen as the rats eat
it... I've had a few rats and mice drown themselves in the water
bucket, which is great. I use rat traps with peanut butter, caged off
so only rats and mice can access it.

One of the old Earth Gardens or Grass Roots mags (whichever one it is that
has Jackie French writing for it) had a great 5 gallon bucket rat/mouse trap
made by Kackie's husband. The rats/mice climbed up a rampy/laddery thing on
the side of the bucket and when they went to get the bait, they were
effectively walking the plank and dropped into water for a very long
swimming lesson. I've been meaning to hunt out the article for weeks so if
I find it, I'll put the details in here so you can get it on interlibrary
loan.

I too can't use poison but I am sure tempted. I have no objection to them
being drowned.

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:36:33 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:27:41 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
...
My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

Interesting recipe :-)) Wonder if it'll work? I'm trying to deter rats
round my hen house ATM. I don't want to use poison so it's a watering can
of water down each hole once a day. I now know what the expression
'drowned
rat' means. I haven't quite managed to drown any yet but they sure hate
water in their holes and come up looking very saggy and most definitely
'Not
happy Jan!'. ******* things.

Yeah, I can't any kind of plastic around the chook pen as the rats eat
it... I've had a few rats and mice drown themselves in the water
bucket, which is great. I use rat traps with peanut butter, caged off
so only rats and mice can access it.

One of the old Earth Gardens or Grass Roots mags (whichever one it is that
has Jackie French writing for it) had a great 5 gallon bucket rat/mouse trap
made by Kackie's husband. The rats/mice climbed up a rampy/laddery thing on
the side of the bucket and when they went to get the bait, they were
effectively walking the plank and dropped into water for a very long
swimming lesson. I've been meaning to hunt out the article for weeks so if
I find it, I'll put the details in here so you can get it on interlibrary
loan.

I too can't use poison but I am sure tempted. I have no objection to them
being drowned.

Sorry for missing the rest of this thread until now...

Drowning is one of the better ways IMO and don't have a problem with
it. I've found quite a few mice and rats who've drowned themselves in
buckets of water every now and then. If you do find those details, I'd
be interested in having a look, cheers.

"Jeßus" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:36:33 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:27:41 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
m...
My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

Interesting recipe :-)) Wonder if it'll work? I'm trying to deter rats
round my hen house ATM. I don't want to use poison so it's a watering
can
of water down each hole once a day. I now know what the expression
'drowned
rat' means. I haven't quite managed to drown any yet but they sure hate
water in their holes and come up looking very saggy and most definitely
'Not
happy Jan!'. ******* things.

Yeah, I can't any kind of plastic around the chook pen as the rats eat
it... I've had a few rats and mice drown themselves in the water
bucket, which is great. I use rat traps with peanut butter, caged off
so only rats and mice can access it.

One of the old Earth Gardens or Grass Roots mags (whichever one it is that
has Jackie French writing for it) had a great 5 gallon bucket rat/mouse
trap
made by Kackie's husband. The rats/mice climbed up a rampy/laddery thing
on
the side of the bucket and when they went to get the bait, they were
effectively walking the plank and dropped into water for a very long
swimming lesson. I've been meaning to hunt out the article for weeks so
if
I find it, I'll put the details in here so you can get it on interlibrary
loan.

I too can't use poison but I am sure tempted. I have no objection to them
being drowned.

Sorry for missing the rest of this thread until now...

Drowning is one of the better ways IMO and don't have a problem with
it. I've found quite a few mice and rats who've drowned themselves in
buckets of water every now and then. If you do find those details, I'd
be interested in having a look, cheers.

I'll see if I can dig out the issue and let you know which one it's in.
I've been meaning to go back over my collection anyway as a very early one
has an article on how to make a hat using woven bulrushes and our creek is
full of prime rushes right now. A nice job to do would be reviewing all the
material over the non TV watching period that is the Xmas season.

"Jeßus" wrote in message
So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it sounds
delicious.


I only have a few blueberry plants at this time, I still buy from a
couple of people most of the time, for the mead at least as it
requires an awful lot of blueberries.

I had meant to ask... How do you make blueberry mead?

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:41:55 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it sounds
delicious.


I only have a few blueberry plants at this time, I still buy from a
couple of people most of the time, for the mead at least as it
requires an awful lot of blueberries.

I had meant to ask... How do you make blueberry mead?

I'll go get my little blue recipe book if/when the cat gets off my
lap...

But basically you need blueberries, honey, yeast, water and some yeast
nutrient if you want it to ferment out as much as possible (meaning
quite dry and high in alcohol). I use a LOT of blueberries and honey,
which means its not all that cheap to make but I get the result I
want.

Note that different honeys produce very different results in terms of
flavour and clarity. Brewing mead is a longer process than say beer -
an absolute minimum of two months before it'll be drinkable... but two
years is generally the ideal.

And watch out... it's one of those drinks that hit you much stronger
than the alcohol content would suggest...

"Jeßus" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:41:55 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it sounds
delicious.


I only have a few blueberry plants at this time, I still buy from a
couple of people most of the time, for the mead at least as it
requires an awful lot of blueberries.

I had meant to ask... How do you make blueberry mead?

I'll go get my little blue recipe book if/when the cat gets off my
lap...

But basically you need blueberries, honey, yeast, water and some yeast
nutrient if you want it to ferment out as much as possible (meaning
quite dry and high in alcohol). I use a LOT of blueberries and honey,
which means its not all that cheap to make but I get the result I
want.

Note that different honeys produce very different results in terms of
flavour and clarity. Brewing mead is a longer process than say beer -
an absolute minimum of two months before it'll be drinkable... but two
years is generally the ideal.

And watch out... it's one of those drinks that hit you much stronger
than the alcohol content would suggest...

:-)) Is it done in a standard fermenter and twice fermented?

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:38:15 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:41:55 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it sounds
delicious.


I only have a few blueberry plants at this time, I still buy from a
couple of people most of the time, for the mead at least as it
requires an awful lot of blueberries.

I had meant to ask... How do you make blueberry mead?

I'll go get my little blue recipe book if/when the cat gets off my
lap...

But basically you need blueberries, honey, yeast, water and some yeast
nutrient if you want it to ferment out as much as possible (meaning
quite dry and high in alcohol). I use a LOT of blueberries and honey,
which means its not all that cheap to make but I get the result I
want.

Note that different honeys produce very different results in terms of
flavour and clarity. Brewing mead is a longer process than say beer -
an absolute minimum of two months before it'll be drinkable... but two
years is generally the ideal.

And watch out... it's one of those drinks that hit you much stronger
than the alcohol content would suggest...

:-)) Is it done in a standard fermenter and twice fermented?

I've used both standard fermenter drums and glass carboys... it's a
bit more work to clean the carboys out due to the narrow neck but I'm
not too keen on storing mead even in a food-grade plastic drum for
months or years.

"Jeßus" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:38:15 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:41:55 +1100, "Farm1"
wrote:

"Jeßus" wrote in message
So how many blueberry plants do you have? Are your own plants the
ones
that you make mead form our are they bought in? In any event, it
sounds
delicious.


I only have a few blueberry plants at this time, I still buy from a
couple of people most of the time, for the mead at least as it
requires an awful lot of blueberries.

I had meant to ask... How do you make blueberry mead?

I'll go get my little blue recipe book if/when the cat gets off my
lap...

But basically you need blueberries, honey, yeast, water and some yeast
nutrient if you want it to ferment out as much as possible (meaning
quite dry and high in alcohol). I use a LOT of blueberries and honey,
which means its not all that cheap to make but I get the result I
want.

Note that different honeys produce very different results in terms of
flavour and clarity. Brewing mead is a longer process than say beer -
an absolute minimum of two months before it'll be drinkable... but two
years is generally the ideal.

And watch out... it's one of those drinks that hit you much stronger
than the alcohol content would suggest...

:-)) Is it done in a standard fermenter and twice fermented?

I've used both standard fermenter drums and glass carboys... it's a
bit more work to clean the carboys out due to the narrow neck but I'm
not too keen on storing mead even in a food-grade plastic drum for
months or years.

I can understand that. I have a very nice collection of carboys and a
similarly nice collection of really, really big bottle brushes that can
clean the whole inside of those carboys.

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:54:40 +1100, Jeßus wrote:

My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

Ratsak one shot embedded in peanut butter works a treat. Just make sure no pets are
around.

On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:10:53 +1100, wrote:

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:54:40 +1100, Jeßus wrote:

My poor Silver Birches have taken a real hammering from the little
*******s. It's so disheartening to see a birch tree grow so well, then
overnight the main stem is snapped clean off about 2 metres from the
top... I melted some lard yesterday and mixed some kero in it. I'm
going to smear it all over the birch tree's trunks in the hope it
deters them.

Ratsak one shot embedded in peanut butter works a treat. Just make sure no pets are
around.

That's the problem - I have poultry, dog and cats around, so poisons
are too risky. The dog loves to bail them up but doesn't go further
unfortunately.

A friend has a Jack Russell/Foxy cross and he's just amazingly
efficient at dispatching possums. I was in his ute (the friend's, not
the dog's!) one day and just as we pulled up at his house the dog was
out the window and had a possum just before it could climb a tree.
I need one of those!

On 15/11/12 07:18, Jeßus wrote:

That's the problem - I have poultry, dog and cats around, so poisons
are too risky. The dog loves to bail them up but doesn't go further
unfortunately.

We have a cat that chases the cabbage white butterflies to the wife's
please then displeasure as the silly then then liftsd is paws to let
them fly away.


A friend has a Jack Russell/Foxy cross and he's just amazingly
efficient at dispatching possums.

Those dogs were bred for suck work.