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Post by steev on Oct 21, 2019 20:43:25 GMT -5
Harvested Bosc and Shinko pears (birds were working them hard), two cultivars of aamonds, and more Flame Tokay; plenty more aamonds, grapes, and a huge crop of various quince (one is a veg-type, maybe a sort of stand-in for spuds, Kuganskaya, if memory serves).
Something has been digging a tad in front of the pump-house; prolly not a pig, there being lots of un-eaten fallen grapes, thanks to the birds; maybe a badger, though I've seen no possible burrow; I wonder if it's possible to keep badgers as pets; might be an interesting variation on "guard dog"; they're the only mammal that runs equally fast forward or backward; pretty cool to flee from something while keeping the business end in it's face. They could be a problem to the cats and poultry I intend to have, though.
Friday morning, we were able to get the sleeper-couch I can use OTF as guest facilities; left the other for the new owners.
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Post by steev on Oct 28, 2019 20:26:23 GMT -5
Whatever's been digging near the pump-house has now been digging inside the veggie corral.
The birds have completely stripped the grapes.
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Post by templeton on Oct 29, 2019 19:10:53 GMT -5
hi Steev, re pistachio - I've grown a couple of dozen from seed this Austral spring. I just bought a pack of unroasted = raw pistachios from the grower at my local farmers market. He was most sceptical.
Soak overnight, into some coirpeat in a ziplock bag, onto a heat mat for week or two at ~21C, then potted on the germinating seeds. i got maybe 50 % germination.
The grower has a long list of possible failure points - they will be 90% male, they females will be no good, they will grow for about 15 years then they will all die of nematodes and fungal rot.
I have also purchased two grafted plants, and im keeping the below graft rootstock shoots attached for the moment, in the hope i can take cuttings of the resistant rootstock, and graft some more plants onto them.
I also bought two more packets of different varieties of raw nuts which i intend to sprout as well.
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Post by steev on Oct 30, 2019 11:04:16 GMT -5
I agree about the rootstock sprouts; that's my plan; grafted saplings are just too spendy; I need nine more females for my males, which would cost nearly $800.
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Post by steev on Oct 31, 2019 19:34:20 GMT -5
As I was driving to work this morning, I passed the local primary school and all the kids were in a costumed procession (Hallowe'en!); cheering, that; I remember doing that nearly three score and ten ago; I remember us dancing the Maypole, I guess on the First of May (Hooray, hooray, it's the First of May; outdoor...um, never mind); verboten, now, of course, having been a Pagan practice, don't you know; s'pose it's only a matter of time before Hallowe'en is also crushed under a juggernaut of self-righteous fundamentalists, fearful that they'll not get into their imaginary heaven if they are tolerant of other people's beliefs, such as letting children costume and seek free candy.
Templeton: have you tried the potato/honey method of rooting green cuttings?
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Post by templeton on Nov 2, 2019 20:27:48 GMT -5
As I was driving to work this morning, I passed the local primary school and all the kids were in a costumed procession (Hallowe'en!); cheering, that; I remember doing that nearly three score and ten ago; I remember us dancing the Maypole, I guess on the First of May (Hooray, hooray, it's the First of May; outdoor...um, never mind); verboten, now, of course, having been a Pagan practice, don't you know; s'pose it's only a matter of time before Hallowe'en is also crushed under a juggernaut of self-righteous fundamentalists, fearful that they'll not get into their imaginary heaven if they are tolerant of other people's beliefs, such as letting children costume and seek free candy. Templeton: have you tried the potato/honey method of rooting green cuttings? No i haven't - I'll look it up. Re halloween - there is considerable resistance in Aust to this - we never celebrated this when i was a kid, but over the last decade or two the supermarkets are full of nasty plastic witch and ghost gear, specially grown big orange pumpkins ( in early summer ffs - probably imported), and kids patrolling neighbourhoods. Nearly everyone over 20 is bemused by this new 'tradition' - the more cynical of us see this as yet another facet of the inexorable creep of NorthAm culture - or maybe its just that we never burned witches here  T |
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Post by reed on Nov 3, 2019 7:35:22 GMT -5
Really templeton, you truly don't have a giant inflatable skeleton with red LED eyes by your front door? |
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Post by steev on Nov 4, 2019 20:29:51 GMT -5
This year, besides the obligatory Hallowe'en pumpkins, the local discount supermarkets were selling six other varieties of pumpkins/squash for the same usage after October at $2 each, a very good price for winter squash.
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Post by diane on Nov 5, 2019 0:54:28 GMT -5
The grower has a long list of possible failure points - . Sounds like he doesn't want any competition. |
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Post by steev on Nov 5, 2019 1:01:19 GMT -5
Cheaper than most seed packets too. That's what I think, plus the squash ain't bad, then I get the seeds; such a deal. |
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Post by templeton on Nov 7, 2019 16:06:39 GMT -5
The grower has a long list of possible failure points - . Sounds like he doesn't want any competition. That was my thought...research suggests they are pretty variable in production and can be a bit cantankerous in growing. |
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Post by steev on Nov 8, 2019 22:53:43 GMT -5
One of my clients came up with some favas that were tiny, navy bean size; there were much more than she wanted planted, so I took a pocket-full; I'm curious to see what they do, compared to my no-doubt Windsors and bell beans (ful). Now, if it will just start raining, I can get things in the ground.
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Post by steev on Nov 9, 2019 0:42:53 GMT -5
Never burned witches? Damn! haven't you Strines had Any fun?
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Post by templeton on Nov 10, 2019 23:55:34 GMT -5
Fun? Baiting pommy bastards ...but that's a bit too easy these days what with BREXIT (what were they thinking?) their weird PM, and even weirder leader of the opposition...
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Post by steev on Nov 11, 2019 21:22:12 GMT -5
(what were they thinking?) Not to be pedantic (much), but I think you mis-punctuated; shouldn't it have read "What!? Were they thinking?" Sadly, the same could be said of our last Presidential Election. |
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