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What are you growing? 2018


The Captain!!

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16 hours ago, NewBrews said:

I tried growing Garlic this year. They started off OK and then the possums got them along with everything else. 

See if the little toad can get through wire mesh next year.

We’ve got some possums out in my little farm lot where I plan to grow quite a bit of garlic for sale locally. 

I just hope that when this does come to happen that they don’t destroy the crops. Otherwise I’m going to have to net the whole lot.

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Just set up a green house to teach my kids how easy it is to grow your own and how satisfying it is to reap what you sow ... so to speak. I'm away for most of next year so interesting experiment to see if my youngens can handle this. Next step getting them to brew in my absence hahaha. Cant trust em with tomatoes.. cant trust them with Galaxy ... hops.

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16 hours ago, Smashed Crabs said:

Just set up a green house to teach my kids how easy it is to grow your own and how satisfying it is to reap what you sow ... so to speak. I'm away for most of next year so interesting experiment to see if my youngens can handle this. Next step getting them to brew in my absence hahaha. Cant trust em with tomatoes.. cant trust them with Galaxy ... hops.

Good stuff, that's a lesson well worth teaching your kids.

I discovered gardening later on in life and wish I had known about it way sooner, so good for the soul, health & heaps of other reasons.

Like your thinking on brewing & good luck. 🙂

 

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On 12/25/2018 at 4:38 PM, Hilltop hops said:

Finally got my patch sorted and fenced to prevent access from my bluey and the kids so last thing I want is the heat destroying my crop! 

I was listening to an expert at growing tomatoes a few months back, where he was asked about this. He said keep the water up to them in really hot conditions, they drink more than most people realise. He stated he regularly waters them twice a day during these heat waves. I've done that this year & my plants are in full sun most of the day & are going great guns.

An obvious sign the plants are not getting enough water during a hot day etc. is the branches/leaves will wilt or droop. If they are getting enough water they remain somewhat perky (for a better word).

I generally water them thoroughly in the morning, then give them another water mid afternoon in the peak of the heat of the day.

Cheers,

Lusty.

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I love the umbrella Hilltop and so will the plants.  

Don't stress the droop in hot weather so long as they are well watered.  I have lots of wicking beds where optimal moisture is maintained through hot spells and the leaves on the zucchini still wilt during the day and bounce back overnight.  I think the plant is defending itself by reducing the surface area of the leaves exposed to solar radiation when they go into a droop on really hot sunny days.  

The other wicking bed observation I have made is that the evaporation rates are very high without a mulch .  Something like a pea straw is ideal and you don't need to bury everything in it and it makes a lot of difference in terms of moisture loss.

With all the watering going on I reckon it is important to keep air circulation going as well.  I always prune the 'bottom storey' of my tomatoes and keep tying them up to keep the air circulating.  The humidity at the base of heavily watered plant in warm conditions can set up molds and mildews that can be a real menace.  The other side effect of watering during a period of heavy growth is a depletion and leaching of nutrients.   Its a good time to side dress with compost, manure and blood and bone and fork it around.  A little potash is also welcome as the plants begin to set fruit. 

It has been a terrific growing season in Melbourne with more than our rain quota through December while being consistently warm rather than hot.  This week was hot but there has been enough moisture in the ground for the garden to cope and keep growing. 

Work hard, raise a sweat and don't forget to re-hydrate with cold home brew.  We must keep our fluids up.  😉🍅 🍺

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46 minutes ago, James of Bayswater said:

...The other wicking bed observation I have made is that the evaporation rates are very high without a mulch .  Something like a pea straw is ideal and you don't need to bury everything in it and it makes a lot of difference in terms of moisture loss.

+1

47 minutes ago, James of Bayswater said:

...With all the watering going on I reckon it is important to keep air circulation going as well.  I always prune the 'bottom storey' of my tomatoes and keep tying them up to keep the air circulating.

+1

After a few years of growing tomatoes I can now spot the shade leaf branches developing & give the plants a good pruning a number of times during the plants' growth phase, & then just periodically & selectively once fruit begins to form. I no longer water them late afternoon or night, & not a trace of any mould related issues.

54 minutes ago, James of Bayswater said:

...The other side effect of watering during a period of heavy growth is a depletion and leaching of nutrients.   Its a good time to side dress with compost, manure and blood and bone and fork it around.  A little potash is also welcome as the plants begin to set fruit.

As I grow in pots, I use dis-solvable fertiliser in my watering liquid. Has worked well so far. I admit I'm still learning about soil pH etc. though, & how to create the right environment for different plants.

It's all fun though, & much like home-brewing, the pay-off for growing your own fruit & veg etc. is terrific tasting stuff! 😎

Cheers,

Lusty.

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I've been doing a lot of gardening this past few weeks. Joined up a couple of garden beds on the perimeter across a front entrance path for more privacy. Relocated existing plants and put in an escallonia iveyi hedge. Lots of barrowing soil and mulch to there and other parts of the garden. Put in new irrigation there and redid a bunch of other circuits while I was at it. 

Not so excited about that as there won't be anything to eat. Did also put in an imperial mandarin to shade a camellia which is now suffering from too much sun after having to get rid of the bamboo that was shading it to put the solar box on the wall. Looking forward to some fruit from that in years to come! Probably too mild a flavour to be useful for brewing, but good eating.

Tastes the first few ripe blueberries today. Delicious! Plenty more coming too.

Looks like the tomato plants will yield well also.

Heaps of kumquats in the early stage of development too which is great. Looking forward to brewing with them again! 

My hop has cones ready to harvest already, but not that many. There's still others developing. I think the whitefly infestation must have brought on early flowering. If there's any in a decent state of development next brew day I'll throw them into the boil.

All a bit of fun, good fresh air and exercise. Plus beer tastes even better after a few hours of gardening.

Cheers, 

John

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