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Post by templeton on Mar 5, 2014 4:08:57 GMT -5
I think Deppe also mentions a fast emerging pea that outgrows the slug zone. I use a different strategy - blue tongue lizards ( Tiliqua sp) . But I've begun to notice I've now got a Currawong ( Strepara sp, a corvid)problem, predating my blueys...I've had success with dry sawdust mulch around the seedlings, and crushed dry eggshells, but these are not really a breeding solution. Joseph's strategy will work if there's a brassica in your mix that the slugs don't prefer, but if they eat them all, back to square one. If Deppe had success with hairy brassicas, I would start with them, looking for something that was also palatable. Or grow the hairy ones round the outside, with tasty ones on the inside. Perhaps with a distraction sacrifical crop outside the ring. One issue I can forsee is getting the palatable varieties to grow long enough to actually cross with the resistant ones, and produce seed, thus my suggestion for other interim strategies. One possible reason for the lack of release of Deppes material might be that the hairy ones were only less palatable - the slugs prefer the smooth ones, but if there are only hairy ones maybe they eat them nontheless... Let us know your progress. T
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Post by templeton on Mar 4, 2014 23:03:32 GMT -5
Wow. Nice stalks
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hybrids
Mar 4, 2014 22:52:23 GMT -5
Post by templeton on Mar 4, 2014 22:52:23 GMT -5
bit late to this thread, but add parsnip to the F1 male sterile list
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Post by templeton on Mar 4, 2014 22:49:38 GMT -5
Took me the best part of a day, but someone with a decent workshop and the right materials to hand could knock it out in a couple of hours. I don't do many projects like this, and scrambling round the tiny shed finding tools under piles of stuff, ditto fixings, scrounging through piles of offcuts thinking what might be able to be adapted, couple of trips to the store, setting up workbench in the car port etc etc eats up the hours.
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Post by templeton on Mar 4, 2014 17:01:07 GMT -5
Oops, I'll withdraw my suggestion. Sorry. t
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Post by templeton on Mar 4, 2014 3:16:56 GMT -5
Richard, is the Amuri red the hairy topsetting Cal red? T
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Post by templeton on Mar 4, 2014 3:08:07 GMT -5
I acquired some Mill Creek Onion seed from Foothill Farm Seeds (Allium cepa seeds can be imported to Australia from the US without permit, but only from 'commercial' seed companies All consignments of Allium seed must be imported from a commercial source (e.g. a seed company). An officer may determine this by examining the label and the accompanying documentation (e.g. commercial invoice).
Consignments of Allium seed imported from a non-commercial source (e.g. collected by a private individual) must be re-exported or destroyed at the importer's expense. ). Phew, lucky I found Foothill Farms listed them! The only other supplier I could find was out of stock. I sowed them a few days ago, and they are sprouting. The friendly proprietor recommended a Fall planting. I've never had much luck with onions, apart from vegetatively propagated forms, so here goes. I would post a pic, but we've all seen a little punnet of potting mix with a few tiny green bits poking out... T
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Post by templeton on Mar 3, 2014 6:43:16 GMT -5
Oh, for an acre, a megalitre, and some spare time. And a few packets of your seeds to explore.
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Post by templeton on Mar 3, 2014 6:12:55 GMT -5
Well, we' ve all made that mistake, sometime, Oxbow. The discussion around the emotional weight we put on pure and impure is interesting. I've remarked elsewhere about the trans pacific differences in both language usage, and cultural norms. I personally don't mind the term impure, matches my thoughts. But that is probably more personal than cultural. I can understand wildseedvt's desire for a fixed starting point. It lends a sense of security in case of breeding calamity, or desire to retrace steps. I'm sure I'm not alone in harbouring a Virgoean need to clutch at some sort of chromosomal anchor, no matter how illusory it might be. on the GMPOs, mine are flowering well, and I've been careful not to have any other aliums flowering round about, apart from some leeks across the garden, but I figure they are ok - See, can't throw off the shackles. Now having some seed 'in the bank', I've begun to muse on some potentialcrosses- the 2 topset onions I got from raymondo, and thr other from a friend, are behaving much more like the GMPOs, bulbing and drying down without a bulbil in sight, while my own topsets are powering on, not a bulb to be seen (as usual) and topsetting with abandon. We will see what next season brings. Imagine throwing some of those punkrockcalifornianred onions (for which i sheepishly propose the moniker PuRoCaRe) of richards in the mix...(edit: Oops, Richard has already named this one Amuri -sorry R...) To throw in a sartorial similie, I'm almost ready to caste aside the horticultural trousers, embrace my inner hippy, and don a sarong, with all the possibilities of a wardrobe malfunction that risks... t
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Post by templeton on Mar 3, 2014 5:18:50 GMT -5
It's that blokey hat, Rowan , had me confused for a while too. Glad I figured it out before I dropped in for that visit. And how has the summer been, by the way? I'm pretty sensitive about posting too much on the net, too. I suppose its about hoping that someone else will be an easier target, tho no doubt much of my life is discernable with a bit of informed searching. And I don't shred my paper waste. Oops... T
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Post by templeton on Mar 3, 2014 5:03:52 GMT -5
A belated hi, stillman
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Post by templeton on Mar 3, 2014 3:37:11 GMT -5
Hate to tip a bucket of cold water on everyone's weather outlook, but just noticed the prospect of another elnino in 2014-15 on the Aus. BOM ENSO Wrap site www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/Bugger! T
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Post by templeton on Mar 2, 2014 19:38:58 GMT -5
Had a fantastic avocado mousse dessert in Sri Lanka....and peanut butter goes with anything. Date and peanut butter stuffed spiced baked apples, anyone? Not universally received with success last time i served it - I loved it. T
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Post by templeton on Mar 2, 2014 16:12:38 GMT -5
Another interesting recipe with peas is making pea "crepes" or wraps. I've made them with flour ground from yellow split peas and also from Amplissimo Viktoria peas (chickpea flour would work too). Basically you add enough water to pea flour to make a runny batter and let it soak for a few hours (about 1.5 cups water per cup of pea flour). Before cooking add more water if necessary to get it to a crepe consistency and add some salt if desired. Pour and spread batter thinly onto a hot, well oiled cast iron griddle. We really like these served as a wrap with some peanut butter, lettuce, tomato and dill pickles. Walk, sounds like the southern Indian dish 'masala dosa'. Slightly fermented batter of chick pea flour (I think with rice flour), spread very thin on a big hotplate, toasty golden and crisp on the edges,served with a filling of potato curry and a few dipping sauces. I can still taste it, straight off the street stall...I think it was Varanasi, a bit foggy now, even foggier then mmmmm T
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Post by templeton on Mar 1, 2014 23:59:56 GMT -5
Anyone got true seed of potato onion? Specifically one that is shade tolerant. I usually will only do trades. Kevin, do you know of a shade tolerant one? or hoping? Kelly Winterton sells seeds out of Utah (google him or Green mountain Potato onion). I'm about to harvest some, progeny of his, but my seed is promised. T
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