Larvaes on the brassicas

Wednesday. Up early. Rained all night. Weeded no 3. Somebody had been inside and left jumping tracks but seems to have eaten nothing. Lots of green larvae on the broccoli and one sleeping orange spotted tiger moth. Picked surely 50. Most leaves were eaten, some to the core! Rinsed the lentils that had soaked over night, for sprouting, ripped the oregano leaves of the tiny branches for last bit of drying before mortar and jar. Mick kept on digging on the flat spot. Now we have soil and sandy soil in lots of places and have not really decided what todo with them piles but we will soon figure it out.

The ghost mouse must be a tiny bat. Again droppings on the table and it knocked one of the traps from the beam. We have put one trap on each ceiling beam.

We might have a pear tree. Put net around every fruit  (4 fruits) so they will not be eaten like last year.

Onsdag. Upp tidigt. Regnade hela natten. Rensade ogräs i nr 3. Någon hade varit inne och lämnade hoppspår men verkar ha ätit ingenting. Massor av gröna larver på broccoli och en sovande brandgul prickig tigernattfjäril. Plockade säkert 50 larver. De flesta blad blev ätna, några till kärnan! Sköljde linserna som hade legat i vatten över natten, för att spira, rippade de små grenarnas oreganoblad för sista torkningen före mortel och burk. Mick fortsatte att gräva på den platta platsen. Nu har vi jord och sandstenig jord på många ställen och har inte riktigt bestämt vad vi gör med dem högar men vi kommer snart att räkna ut det.

Spökmusen måste vara en liten fladdermus. Återigen droppings på bordet och det knackade en av fällorna från ena takbjälken. Vi har lagt en fälla på varje takbjälke.

Det verkar som om det ena trädet är ett päronträd. Vi har satt nät om varje frukt så att de inte blir ätna som förra året. De är bara 4!

Inspecting the gardens

 Börjar med Gardenian. Vi har två men den här var vi tvungna att kapa lite för den hade fått något som gjorde att den vissnade. Men se här kommer den igen med massor av knoppar – hurra! Starting off with the Gardenia. We have two. This one got something that made it dry and wilt so we had to drastically cut it down but here it comes again with lots of buds – yipee!

Här är Davidsons Plum. Förra året fick vi ingenting. I år ser den ut att blomma så vi hoppas på frukt i år. Det är en väldigt sur frukt som man kan göra endera sylt av eller koka till maten. Here is our Davidson´s Plum. Last year there was no yield from it but here are some flowers coming so we are hoping this year will be a good one. We made jam from it the first year but you should be able to cook it in a meal too.
 Here is  our Lomandra. We had two in the garden but we had to remove one due to its location in the middle of the path almost.  We have many  down by the creek. This might be Kerstin Peters favorite thing to eat. We have not cooked with it yet. Raw, it is a bit on the slimy side. Här är ena Lomandran, ett slags kaveldun. Man kan äta nederdelen av bladen och blomfröna kan bli mjöl. Vi har inte provat. Vi hade två men en växte i vägen för stigen till grinden så vi tog bort den. Det finns många fler nere vid bäcken.

 Mick vid vår Aloe. Den blommar snällt då och då. Sägs vara ett riktigt ogräs om man släpper ut den här i naturen. Here is Mick at our Aloe. If let loose it is allegedly a real weed. It blooms nicely now and then.

 Netted our grapes. First year we got nothing, Second year we got 2 dl juice and last year they all shrivelled. Hoping for a good harvest this year. Maybe even for some wine. Nätat druvorna. Första året fick vi inget. Andra året fick vi 2 dl jos och förra året fick vi inget utan de skrumpnade bort. I år hoppas vi på en fin skörd. Kanske tom till vin!

 Last year we found out that one of the trees was possibly an apple or pear tree but before the fruit ripened someone got before us (Mr. Possum!) This year we will put a net around them. They are few yet but with some TLC the tree might flourish. Förra året upptäckte vi att vi hade ett äppel eller päronträd. Det hade bara några kart men innan de hann mogna så åt någon dem (Herr Possum förmodligen). Iår ska vi sätta nät runt. De är inte många (5 st) men om vi sköter om trädet väl så kanske det blir fler nästa år.

 En av våra 3 jakarandor. Under blommar after rain lillies. Here is one of our 3  Jacaranda trees. Underneath are After Rain Lillies blooming.

From the right / från höger: Loquat, Avocado, Loquat, Grevillea, Midyimberry /bär och sist 2 poinsettias från Kalle och Maki.

Soon to be planted in the garden. Blir snart planterade i trädgården.

Fröhuset är igång igen. Vi har redan planterat ut purjolöken, tomaterna och kronärtskockorna. Nu har vi mest kryddörter kvar där . Lite mer sol kan behövas. The little seed house is used again. Most of the seeds now are herbs. We have already planted our artichokes, leek, tomatoes and more.

And now we have reached the vegetable beds. The vocabulary is still tricky to us. Beds or patches aso.  Och nu är vi framme vid trädgårdslanden. Heter det sängar eller land? Håhåjaja!

 Citrongräset har överlevt men bara precis. Hoppas att det tar sig. Lemon grass, barely made it over winter it seems. Hope it comes back.

 Here is our first vegie patch. We now call it 0 and we will soon have a flat patch of grass here. Left to fend for themselves (no we will relocate them) are some sweet potatoes, parsley, native ginger  russian garlic and ordinary garlic.

Patch 1. Looking good!

Patch 2. Coming along well!

Tredje och sista landet. Fint som snus. Där har vi fyra kronärtskockor som vi hoppas på! Beautiful and we have four Artichokes we are reckoning on.

Well as of now it all looks fine. Crossed fingers for the weather!

Håll tummarna

 

 

 

 

 

Weeding and netting the grapes

Började dagen med nätning av druvorna. Förra året torkade de alla och föll ner. I år håller vi ett öga på dem. Vissa kråkor tycks också hålla ett öga på dem. Vi gillar inte kråkor. Vi vill ha våra skator! Sedan på rensa ogräs i nr. 2. Att ogräs driver dig nötter. Den minut du gör något annat växer det tillbaka extra mycket. Vi måste också döda det runt sängarna. Förra året försökte vi lägga gräsklipp, men det räcker inte, eller vi måste …. eller …. eller …. Vi ska räkna ut något. 2 kg färs blev 12 plättar och umph antal köttbullar. Mer Deep Heat på Jen´s tummen medan vi tittar på en tv-serie från biblioteket. Hade lite trevligt lätt regn under kvällen.

Beginning the day with netting the grapes. Last year they all shrivelled and fell down. This year well keep a closer eye on them. Some crows seem to also keep an eye on them. We do not like crows. We want our Magpies! Then onto weeding no. 2. That grass drives you nuts. The minute you do something else it grows back with a vengence. We have to kill it all around the patches too. Last year we tried laying grass clippings but it is not enough or we have to…. or…. or…. We´ll figure something out. 2 kg of mince became 12 patties and umph count of meatballs. More Deep Heat on Jens thumbs while watching a tv-series from the library. Had a bit of nice easy rain during the evening.

20171115 Wednesday.

Late morning. We had put a picture with wine and a tube of Deep Heat for sore muscles on Facebook. Cosy Friday we called it. A comment came along from Hildgrim to have a look at no dig gardens. So at the library we downloaded the guys homepage and read it this morning. Well shows we have tried something similar but with grass. The grass has been enough for the paths in the beds but not enough for covering a whole patch for new beds (omg) the vocabulary drives us nuts). Which made us use the old fashioned dig and turn over grass clumps method. Anyway Mick all of a sudden remembered that we have saved a lot of cartons up in the storehouse in case we needed to move soon. He had wanted to throw them but Jen said no. We just might try this now for bed no 4 but when they have composted that is the end and hopefully we will have enough grass next time. The grass is also for the toilet. Registered the food we bought in Kemp onto the computer. Jen had a slight headache and resorted to tablets and a nap after lunch. Mick emptied the toilet and cleaned the black water filter which was clogged and made the room stink. It seems to happen now and then. We are writing it down now so we can keep track. It is not the toilet paper this time but straw that has rotted. That toilet is a whole science!

Russian Garlic / Elephant Garlic

When we moved in we saw what we thought was Daffodils and relocated them in anticipation of a bit of colour. It did smell a bit garlicky but did not look like garlic at all. After receiving tons of odd garlic from neighbour we realised the folks before us must have gotten the same plant our neighbours did. Two days ago it was time to dig them up and have a look. The ones from the neighbour are planted in the vegie beds and rests well there for a while. So here are the ones we relocated. They are now harvested.

Russien / Elephant Garlic hanging to dry in the ceiling.
Three uses or stages

They were very small. Top pic shows some we have hung to dry in the ceiling. Now experimenting starts.

Above picture shows we cut part of the leaves to use as leek. We tasted them and decided not to use them raw because they packed quite a wallop. In the plastic tub are the bulbs or rounds. We will just use and fry them as usual but they are a solid round bulb. In the round tub are the babies. Don´t know what to do with them. Maybe find a little patch somewhere and shove them down for future harvests. We´ll see.