Sand - welcome. You sound as though you were on a mission! Good luck with the buckets and garden - it'll all be so worth it in summer. How about picking up a couple of tyres(one per kid) from your local tyre place and getting the kids painting the exterior(great school holiday task), then filling them with mix and letting the children plant their choice of veges. They can also make a label for their tyres(more good school holiday stuff). Drew - what about your kids each growing a garlic bulb and a sprig of mint or similar in their veges gardens, and teaching them to cook something using the herbs! Good way to add to their taste buds with their very own produce.
juliewn,
Jul 17, 10:44am
ps. if they're not there already, don't forget to have several holes in the bottom of each bucket, so there's good drainage and the bucket doesn't fill up with water. The rain will be lovely to get the plants growing well for you. perfect timing!:-)
sand6,
Jul 17, 4:00pm
thanks julie I have just read through the tyre thread and horrified to think that our supermarket spuds are sprayed with that poison. I am going to give potatoes a go. In the meantime I will buy them from the farmers market. Have also been reading about subtropicals and how some can be planted in pots. The shipping of such trees is cheap also. Going to put skewers in my pots after reading a hint in here somewhere, as I have a cat. great stuff:o)
purplegoanna,
Jul 17, 8:30pm
wahooooooo i just won a cusine magazine for sending in my Roast Pumpkin & Garlic soup recipe into the little comp in last weeks get growing email.can i love my friday 'get growing' email anymore! I dont think so! lol
stevee6,
Jul 17, 8:35pm
WTG purplegoanna! Yep - love my Friday garden fix - makes me feel I'm not alone :-)
juliewn,
Jul 18, 8:03am
Good for you Purple. :-) Me too Stevee. the moment the Get Growing email shows in my Outlook system, everything stops till I've read it!. Lynda's in Paris, Italy next. hope she has a great time. Have a great weekend Everyone.
juliewn,
Jul 18, 8:11am
ps. last night's dinner, was stirfried veges with prawns tossed through, a little peanut butter and the juice of two lemon's added, then some Udon noodles stirred through and quickly heated. and with coleslaw on the side. The meal included cauliflower, pak choi, silverbeet, cabbage and broccoli from my garden - we ate a whole cabbage! Ok. it was a mini cabbage the size of a small whole coconut! There was silence as we ate - the meal tasted that good. Yum! Beetroot, leeks, carrots and parsnips are nearly ready too. we're looking forward to that. I've just been talking to my Son Chris for the past hour or so - he's currently in Montreal. I said to him about the veges I'm growing. You go Mum, he said. Awww. that's my boy. :-) yes. he's still my boy, though he's 26! :-)
stevee6,
Jul 18, 8:08pm
I just read this weeks email - and I'm pale green with envy! 30C sunburn and sore feet *sigh*. While our garden stuff is put off because it's bucketing down(well of course - it's the weekend grrrrrrrr). Oh well, won some cool strawberry plants, early middle season and late, so they'll be getting planted this week. 15 plants for $20! Not bad :-) BTW Daleaway - saw your soup recipe in the Get Growing email - yummmmmmmmm
callistar,
Jul 18, 10:41pm
Hi, I'm new to these message boards, but have been getting the NZ Gardener e-mails a while. Have just been looking at seed catalogues. I haven't read through all these threads yet, but am looking forward to being a regular both for info and inspiration. We have a lifestyle block out Raglan way and I really want to get a good portion of our own food growing this spring.
simplesean,
Jul 19, 3:53am
In case you missed it. you can get a free kings seeds catalogue if you're a get growing reader. it has instructions in the latest newsletter :)
javlin,
Jul 19, 4:54am
welcome callistar Hope your garden is productive. What are you planning to plant!
whiskey13,
Jul 19, 5:05am
Dad's just given me heaps of containers to grow my mesclun, stevia, and chillis in, can't wait for warmer weather!
whiskey13,
Jul 19, 5:08am
I'll take the 550, please and thank-you, garden on dudes(if the weather is good for you!)
callistar,
Jul 19, 5:09am
hi javlin I always get carried away and plant way too much and silly things - this year I have just planted asparagus (my dad always grew it but I never have), but for the rest I'm aiming at just basics - tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, carrots, peppers,pumpkins and potatoes. I'm not very good at getting out in the garden consistenly, but am hoping that the weekly e-mail will keep me more on task this year.
javlin,
Jul 20, 4:49am
callistar I find it hard to give the garden the attention it deserves. I tried a variation on one of the recipies in the latest newsletter tonight - Soup - potatoes, leeks, silver beet, celery, dash of salt, boiled together till spuds were soft, mashed roughly, grated cheese and a bit of pepper on top. Was Yummy. All out of the garden except the obvious and except the spuds! I thought I'd used up all of ours and bought some only to find a box of ours lurking in the back of the cupboard. Started using them and now supermarket ones are sprouting :( so used them tonight
whiskey13,
Jul 20, 6:44pm
Help please! My jerusalem artichokes that i brought off trademe have arrived and I'd like to know when i can plant them out, I've had a feed (very yummy) and have saved some for planting, also,how do i store them if nows not the right time to plant them. All help appreciated and thanks in advanced
jules.,
Jul 20, 11:22pm
bump. up we go again :)
jules.,
Jul 21, 2:45am
Rain rain go away.
whiskey13,
Jul 21, 6:44pm
I brought a golden queen peach tree on tuesday, potted it up ready for when we move. I didnt realise just how much i had growing til someone at work asked.peach, cherry, apple, mandarin, 2 apricots( 1 i started from a stone), plum,tangelo,grapevine, lemon, cranberry, blueberry, gooseberry, red currants, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, tea tree, coffee tree, rhubarb, jerusalem artichokes, asparagus.
juliewn,
Jul 22, 7:49am
Hi Whiskey. I keep them in the fridge until they begin to sprout, however I've dug some up today, and have found some are beginning to sprout. They can be planted at that sprouting stage, set fairly deep (about 10cm deep). and if planting more than one tuber, space them about 15-20cm apart. And next year you'll be enjoying your first crop, after seeing them grow around 6' high or more, and having little sunflower shaped flowers. I saw Jerusalem Artichokes listed on Trademe - with instructions for growing, so that may be of help also. Enjoy growing them.
drewboy,
Jul 22, 4:44pm
I would love to try jerusalem artichokes after listening to lynda talk them up.but I dont' think I have enough room in my garden.Im so please with it at the moment.we made a mini hothouse over one half of the garden and those plants have shot away, but unfortunately the poor brussel sprouts, silverbeet and spinich that only have windbreak over them look like they have gone into hibernation for the winter LOLWho here has glasshouses!.how do you do your veggies in there!.just grow them in pots!
jules.,
Jul 23, 2:06am
argh, looks like we are in for another crappy night here in the 'winterless north'! winds gusting 100km in open areas. we've bearly seen the sun for a month. i know its winter, but give us a break! hows everyone else doing!
juliewn,
Jul 23, 8:41am
Hi Drewboy. how did you make the mini-hothouse! . sounds interesting. Re the Jerusalem Artichokes. I see there are some currently listed on Trademe. they're not always available easily, so good to see them on here. Hope your gardens are growing well everyone.
stevee6,
Jul 23, 10:11pm
Bump Got the August Gardener today - lovely gardens!
stevee6,
Jul 24, 2:47am
Bump for someone new.
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