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For the first time this summer, all the vegies we ate at tea tonight were from
the garden:

sweet corn
white UFO squash
snake beans
dragon's tongue beans
tomato (the first tomato we've picked and found grubless!)

(the other bit was snags and chilli sauce)

Yummmmmm...

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
For the first time this summer, all the vegies we ate at tea tonight were
from
the garden:

sweet corn
white UFO squash
snake beans
dragon's tongue beans
tomato (the first tomato we've picked and found grubless!)

(the other bit was snags and chilli sauce)

Yummmmmm...

bet it tasted great. i would have been so proud. was the corn easy to grow?
DH is in love with the idea of growing corn.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." -- Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
For the first time this summer, all the vegies we ate at tea tonight were
from
the garden:

sweet corn
white UFO squash
snake beans
dragon's tongue beans
tomato (the first tomato we've picked and found grubless!)

(the other bit was snags and chilli sauce)

Yummmmmm...

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet

You are lucky - well done!
My poor garden is back to completely neglected. The cooch has won and what
was growing is at death's door due to DH not bothering to water as I asked
him :-(
I think I will eventually have to dig it all up with a Dingo and start
again - maybe in raised planter beds of railway sleepers or the like.

Liz

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
For the first time this summer, all the vegies we ate at tea tonight were
from
the garden:

sweet corn
white UFO squash
snake beans
dragon's tongue beans
tomato (the first tomato we've picked and found grubless!)

(the other bit was snags and chilli sauce)

Yummmmmm...

Well Done!!!!!! Isn't it wonderful to sit down and eat something that you
have grown..... Our garden isn't as well stocked as yours but tonight we
had our own broccoli and french beans :) For dessert we had a raspberry
tart made with our own raspberries. The boys find it very exciting to go
out and pick the things ready for tea lol.

Aussie Lurker

good one chookie,

and what are you saying you didn't have your own grown chilly
source!!?? tut, tut, tut.

but don't it taste grand hey?

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

"michelle downunder" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 20:22:45 +1100, Chookie
wrote:

Yummmmmm...

i lvoe home grown vegies.. my tomatoes look rather stunted this year.

Michelle

so are ours, about 1/4 - 1/3 normal height, maybe because we planted them
late???
Alissa

Perhaps they didn't get your humour and paid you back in kind.

oops - musn't forget to "ha ha ! "

LOL! ha ha !! giggle !!!

I know you probably mean this in "good humor" but they are starting to sound
like a grudge :-\

--
Leanne
--------------------------------
There is a time for departure even when there is no certain place to go...

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lst..._0BGCBvVMFF54J

In article ,
"arachne" wrote:

bet it tasted great. i would have been so proud. was the corn easy to grow?
DH is in love with the idea of growing corn.

Yep! Big seeds -- though usually impregnated with Thiram, so your DS won't
be able to help plant them :-( Corn is pretty easy otherwise; it likes a bit
of nutrition (I chucked some blood & bone around), but not as much water as
other vegies. Mulch it to keep the weeds down and underplant it with
cucumbers/squash/pumpkins/watermelons. I've spotted the first pumpkin!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet

Chookie wrote:

cucumbers/squash/pumpkins/watermelons. I've spotted the first pumpkin!

Do people hand pollinate their cucurbits as a rule?

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"arachne" wrote:

bet it tasted great. i would have been so proud. was the corn easy to
grow?
DH is in love with the idea of growing corn.

Yep! Big seeds -- though usually impregnated with Thiram, so your DS
won't
be able to help plant them :-( Corn is pretty easy otherwise; it likes a
bit
of nutrition (I chucked some blood & bone around), but not as much water
as
other vegies. Mulch it to keep the weeds down and underplant it with
cucumbers/squash/pumpkins/watermelons. I've spotted the first pumpkin!

if the thiram is on them when they are seeds, doesn't it get into the crop
you eat? i wonder if i could buy organic ones?
sounds like fun.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." -- Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

if I remember correctly, Thiram is a funcicide to prevent root rot in
seedlings as they germinate. All commercial seed (that I'm aware of) comes
with this as the company has no way of knowing if you are replanting your
veges in the same spot year after year and prone to disease. Maize seed
that you buy for farming comes like this too. It wont get into the crop -
it is a surface dressing on the seed to help it germinate and grow. Having
said that, if you are keen to go completely organic, I would suggest buying
an open pollinated variety of corn (from Seed Savers or somewhere like
that - our health food shop stocks some of this type of vege seed) and then
keep your seed to grow again next year - that way you have total control
over what happens. It wont work with normal hybrid varieties of corn.

Also, this year at work, I have been growing a seed crop of birdsfoot
trefoil (a new pasture legume) and we always have major trouble with
caterpillars destroying pods and significantly reducing seed yield.
However, this year I decided to try Dipel - a bacterial powder that you mix
up and spray on the leaves (or fruit/veges if that is what you have) - as
the little caterpillars eat it, they get sick and die. This stuff really
works and it is totally safe - the only things it works on are caterpillars
(not moths and other insects, grasshoppers, frogs, mammals, birds, etc). I
have been amazed at how well it has worked and I recommend it to all vege
growers (corn is particularly susceptible to heliothis caterpillars). I
needed it because we needed something to control caterpillars but not affect
the honey bees we use for pollination but I reckon it would be great in the
vege garden.

I'm fairly relaxed about sprays (used correctly of course) but I'm certainly
pleased to find a softer alternative - better for everyone.

cheers
Leah



"arachne" wrote in message
...

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"arachne" wrote:

bet it tasted great. i would have been so proud. was the corn easy to
grow?
DH is in love with the idea of growing corn.

Yep! Big seeds -- though usually impregnated with Thiram, so your DS
won't
be able to help plant them :-( Corn is pretty easy otherwise; it likes
a
bit
of nutrition (I chucked some blood & bone around), but not as much water
as
other vegies. Mulch it to keep the weeds down and underplant it with
cucumbers/squash/pumpkins/watermelons. I've spotted the first pumpkin!

if the thiram is on them when they are seeds, doesn't it get into the crop
you eat? i wonder if i could buy organic ones?
sounds like fun.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." --
Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

"A & L Lane" wrote in message
...
if I remember correctly, Thiram is a funcicide to prevent root rot in
seedlings as they germinate. All commercial seed (that I'm aware of)
comes
with this as the company has no way of knowing if you are replanting your
veges in the same spot year after year and prone to disease. Maize seed
that you buy for farming comes like this too. It wont get into the crop -
it is a surface dressing on the seed to help it germinate and grow.
Having
said that, if you are keen to go completely organic, I would suggest
buying
an open pollinated variety of corn (from Seed Savers or somewhere like
that - our health food shop stocks some of this type of vege seed) and
then
keep your seed to grow again next year - that way you have total control
over what happens. It wont work with normal hybrid varieties of corn.

Also, this year at work, I have been growing a seed crop of birdsfoot
trefoil (a new pasture legume) and we always have major trouble with
caterpillars destroying pods and significantly reducing seed yield.
However, this year I decided to try Dipel - a bacterial powder that you
mix
up and spray on the leaves (or fruit/veges if that is what you have) - as
the little caterpillars eat it, they get sick and die. This stuff really
works and it is totally safe - the only things it works on are
caterpillars
(not moths and other insects, grasshoppers, frogs, mammals, birds, etc).
I
have been amazed at how well it has worked and I recommend it to all vege
growers (corn is particularly susceptible to heliothis caterpillars). I
needed it because we needed something to control caterpillars but not
affect
the honey bees we use for pollination but I reckon it would be great in
the
vege garden.

I'm fairly relaxed about sprays (used correctly of course) but I'm
certainly
pleased to find a softer alternative - better for everyone.


DS has serious food allergies, so i try & make/get everything as close to
natural as possible so we don't find more allergies.

thanks for the comprehensive info! i'm definitely going to check out seed
savers.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." -- Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

"arachne" wrote in message
...

"A & L Lane" wrote in message
...
if I remember correctly, Thiram is a funcicide to prevent root rot in
seedlings as they germinate. All commercial seed (that I'm aware of)
comes
with this as the company has no way of knowing if you are replanting
your
snipped...

I'm fairly relaxed about sprays (used correctly of course) but I'm
certainly
pleased to find a softer alternative - better for everyone.


DS has serious food allergies, so i try & make/get everything as close to
natural as possible so we don't find more allergies.

thanks for the comprehensive info! i'm definitely going to check out seed
savers.
--
elizabeth (in australia)
DS 20th August 2002

"In these matters the only certainty is that nothing is certain." --
Pliny
the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD)

I have read about your DS' allergies - must be very very difficult. If you
do grow your own veges (and using your own seed is a great way to go - seed
savers has heaps of old open-pollinated varieties that taste great) - think
seriously about using the Dipel against the caterpillars. A lot of the
time, these old varieties are better than the ones we have now - they just
dont transport and store so well which is not an issue if you are growing it
for yourself. There is nothing worse than finding grubs in your veges and
fruit (BTDT) and this stuff is completely natural - developed from a
bacteria found naturally in the soil anyway and it *only* works on
caterpillars. All the scientists have done is to isolate the bacteria and
powderise it so you can add it to water and spray it around - no tricky
genetic engineering. Very very safe and green.

Can you tell I hate caterpillars !!

cheers
Leah

"Missy Me" wrote in message
t...
In article A & L Lane thought carefully before sharing...


I have read about your DS' allergies - must be very very difficult. If
you
do grow your own veges (and using your own seed is a great way to go -
seed
savers has heaps of old open-pollinated varieties that taste great) -
think
seriously about using the Dipel against the caterpillars. A lot of the
time, these old varieties are better than the ones we have now - they
just
dont transport and store so well which is not an issue if you are
growing it
for yourself. There is nothing worse than finding grubs in your veges
and
fruit (BTDT) and this stuff is completely natural - developed from a
bacteria found naturally in the soil anyway and it *only* works on
caterpillars. All the scientists have done is to isolate the bacteria
and
powderise it so you can add it to water and spray it around - no tricky
genetic engineering. Very very safe and green.

Can you tell I hate caterpillars !!

me too :((
They get into everything !!

I used to buy my greens from a farmer's market, but got sick of the
bugs, dirt, and longevity of the vegetable. Everything was as fresh as
fresh, but it seemed like I would have to scoff it all within 3 days (
not good if you wanted to stock the fridge ! ).

Now I feel guity whenever I buy from Coles ( instead of supporting the
local growers ), but it lasts, and it bugless ( except sometimes the
broccoli** )

** Is there something about broccoli BTW ? Given that I sometimes get
bugs in my Coles broccoli, but the farmers market broccoli was RIDDLED
with bugs !!

yes - any cruciferous plant (broccoli, cauliflower, etc) tends to be loved
by bugs and hate to say, but the stuff from Coles has probably been sprayed
a lot to make it bug-free. Not criticising because that is what I buy, but
when customers demand clean (ie. no bug holes, blemishes, etc), then the
farmers will provide it that way even though it is probably better for all
of us if we put up with a few bugs now and then. Not a criticism as we are
farmers and we do use chemicals when we feel we must so dont want to chuck
rocks when I'm living in a glass house on this particular issue.

cheers
Leah

In article ,
"arachne" wrote:

if the thiram is on them when they are seeds, doesn't it get into the crop
you eat? i wonder if i could buy organic ones?
sounds like fun.

As Seanang said, it's a surface fungicide. I don't know that it would get
into the plant as it's only on the outside of the seed, which is not part of
the developing seedling. I mainly buy seeds from Diggers, who are pretty
eco-friendly, and they use Thiram.

Just looked up the Australian Materials Safety Data Sheets (www.msds.com.au),
and you can get skin sensitisation if you handle it a lot (however, I imagine
that like me, you would not allow your DS to handle any poison, on principle).
It's not particularly dangerous (though you shouldn't eat it), and has a field
half life of less than a day.

Dad always used to save his corn in a jar with a handful of lime, which keeps
it dry in storage and IIRC decreases the risk of "damping off" (the fungus
that kills young seedlings).

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet