Mint Update

From one pot of common mint costing me $2, I have propagated several pots successfully, with some knockbacks by powdery mildew occasionally.

Pot A cuttings in ice-cream tub. Attacked by powdery mildew and treated with fungicide.

Mint grown from Pot A cuttings which are potted into my previous buk choy pot.

Pot B with 3 cuttings done before my Tassie holiday, looking horrible due to neglect. Pot B cuttings looking great after returning from holiday and recent picture after harvesting once.

Pot C (black) and Pot D (blue) cuttings shortly after planting over from water.

Mint grown from Pot C.

Mint grown from Pot D. Attacked by powdery mildew several times, treated with fungicide.

Another lot of mint grown at the vege patch from cuttings in a soya bean milk container (no pic previously)

Mint given by a friend last Christmas (08).

Same mint at the vege patch June 09. Subject to aphids attack.

New Buk Choy, Snow Pea & Spinach Seedlings...Daffodil Bulbs.

Recently after my Tassie trip, I planted two purple buk choy seeds. They have since germinated but growing really really at snail-pace. Same goes for my chilli padi seedlings. After the 'demise' of my first set of snow pea seedlings at the vege patch, I decided to grow them in pots for the first part of their life till they are well-established to be planted at the patch. And this round, I planted Digger's seeds instead, which are resistant to mildew. I learn that snow peas pods as well as the leaves can be eaten. Markets are selling at $11 per kg, not mentioning the supermarkets, so I am really keen to grow some, especially when my family does love them. The 3 new ones germinated after ten days in the pot and the pot is usually in the mini greenhouse except during the day.

I have also sown two spinach seeds in a green planter but only one germinated.

One of the few plants left at the vege patch - mint and the avocado below.

I have worked the soil on the left side of the vege patch and added aged cow manure. Planted daffodil bulbs, watered and covered with a layer of water-saving mulch.

Revamping the Patch Next to the Garage.

Today's weather was great...sunny enough, not cold enough to make me hibernate, so I put on my garden gear and spent two hours at my new house doing a tiny area next to the garage while my son went kinder. The 'tiny' area did not turn out to be too tiny after all. I could not finish my work in one go but was pleased with what I have done, at least getting all the irritating weeds out the of the patch. I removed the old rotting existing weed mat with all its pebbles and replaced it. Weeds were growing all over the old mat. A new weed mat, a few layers, will help stop weeds from growing for months. I was also glad to see a few fat earthworms in the earth. That is a good sign.

1/6 of the tiny area with weeds growing among the pebbles and rotting weed mat beneath. Clearing the pebbles and laying of new weed mat...half of the tiny area done.

5/6 of the area done. 1/6 of it was planted with daffodil bulbs after loosening soil and adding blood & bone and composted cow manure.

A bucketful of parsley harvested.

Leftover parsley growing at shady Patch E.

After working at the tiny patch next to the garage, I raked up all the fallen leaves of the plum tree at the main lawn. I am intending to use them for leaf mould. Also dug up some baby dandelion weeds. I am a little optimistic seeing some of the lawn seeds sown some time back germinate. Although new dandelion weeds have sprouted as well but I only found two dandelion flowers to pluck off. If things remain this good, I would be able to save thousands and not have my lawn re-done again.

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I cooked a pot of seafood hotpot for dinner using the parsley and rosemary and thyme from my garden. Hmm it was yummy! Here's the recipe for sharing :

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200g boneless white fish fillet (cut into 2cm)

150g prawns (shelled)

6 mussels (frozen ones are easy to use)

2 squids (cleaned and cut up)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion (cut into 1cm)

1 garlic (crushed)

A few sprigs of thyme

A few sprigs of rosemary

Chopped parsley (for garnish)

400 g can canned tomotoes

1/3 cup white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

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1. Heat olive oil and fry onion till soft.

2. Add garlic, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme and white wine and simmer.

3. Add fish when broth boils. Allow to cook for around 2 minutes.

4. Add the prawns, squids and mussels and allow to cook some more.

5. Add lemon juice and parsley.

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This dish is simple and quick to prepare, healthy and yummy and goes well with pasta or rice.

Tidying Up the Garden

Today's weather is quite good and after seeing my accupuncturist yesterday, I felt much better to do some work. Plus with the attack of my capsicum, that was the last straw. I am out for some vengence. I cleared the whole cluttered mini greenhouse and relocated it at a more strategic position since the Sun's position has shifted with the seasons. I have my aloe vera, a small pot of vietnamese mint, a small pot of mint, my potted capsicum plant, my hot chilli, my chilli padi seedlings, my repotted oregano, lemon verbena and curry plant all in this house. I spent a few hours in the morning tidying up the whole working area. I also stepped up - wrapping my cayenne pepper, calamondin, kaffir lime, mint, the two capsicum plants from the vege patch in plastic sheets like this :

I also had my lavender and a pot of mint under two laundry hampers. I have left my pot of eaten nasturtiums as a bait. I hope I can locate my torch soon so I can go out for a spot check tonight.

Nasturtium & Capsicum Damage, Chillies

Just as I was getting over some damage in my garden (chilli and oriental radish and snow peas plants being eaten..purple king disappearing...), I suffered another blow. This morning as I was out checking my cayenne pepper, I was glad to find it was not eaten last night after I wrapped a plastic sheet around it. However, I was greeted with worse horror - my capsicum plants at the vege patch was ruined, under the cage! Capsicums eaten half, leaves almost all shredded on one. Fortunately the cuprit left one capsicum plant untouched.These bugs are small enough to get through the holes in the cage. I am beginning to suspect that they were the ones who took my whole purple king, not possums. My new nasturtiums were not spared either. I have since shifted the first pot of nasturtiums to the front yard to avoid further horror.

My chillies seem to be responding to the cold. Not sure really since this is their first winter. The edges of their leaves are turning a little black. I know black on leaves are frost-bites but it is not that cold yet.

Some invaders have been feeding on the leaves of my cayenne pepper and chopping off stems.