Orange: Transplanted

They don't normally move well. I kept this blood orange for two years in a 44 gallon drum, cut lengthways and moved it this morning.


They don't like to move, because root disturbance, well, disturbs them. But I think I did this one gently enough.

I'll know in another few weeks. If it doesn't drop all its leaves I got away with it.

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Broad beans: don't panic

It needs to be getting a little warm for them to set fruit. Bee action.


So if you have just had the flowers dropping off, don't panic. They'll start leaving behind tiny 8mm long embryos and three weeks from now you'll have beans.

For me the biggest trick is to not plant them too early - only about August in Adelaide - otherwise your plants are 900mm high before they start setting fruit. Mine were timed well this year. They're 300mm.

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Time to plant tomatoes

I've had these in pots under glass for four weeks now.




John Lamb on @891weekends dropped the flag on the planting season. That's good enough for me.


And we're off!

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Snake Bean

My Singaporean expat friend Marziah game me some snake bean last season. And they were great. Cut to one inch pieces, fry with olive oil, dried garlic and some salt, briefly. Very nice.


I saw some here in Little India

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Jonah, we've got some fun coming

Chum, I'm here on a first teaching visit. It's taken me a while to get my head clear about when we come. But on the second teaching visit here where I've also bought you a ticket, we should get the chance to


Look up the Singapore river


Go on some hurdy gurdy


Eat a crepe


Dance in the fountain a few times


Not go to Hooters


And look back at the hurdy gurdy we were on.

More (and more interesting) ideas to come.

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Topiary work in progress

I've been on this for about five years. They're slow when they're small.


Care to guess what I'm trying to sculpt?

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Creative villainy in the native garden

Cape wattle is a noxious weed. I bought one fifteen years ago before it was declared. It grew, tall, a little ugly, threw out some seed pods and died. A second generation plant grew, got tall and straggly, three out some seed pods and I recently cut it down.


And now for the creative villainy. A third generation Cape Wattle - its a South African plant - is About 4ft tall. I will let it grow 15ft tall, but then poison it and leave the trunk there for the Happy Wanderer (Hardenbergia) to climb up. Both are sitting there to start their duel.


With any luck I won't need to kill the Cape Wattle. The Happy Wanderer might strangle it.

If anybody wants to see how thuggish the Cape Wattle is, go for a walk above Waterfall Gully in Adelaide. They're rampant. All my leaf waste stays on my property so it's not breaking out of here. But this is the last generation I'll be allowing to grow.

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Poor Bluey: A painful lesson

He died yesterday. His seed had run out and didn't get replenished. Hard lessons.


The theory of using pets to teach your kids the about life, fine.

It's the practice that's hard. And it has a few innocent victims. That's very sad.

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Exotic fruit tasting at Cape Tribulation

What a shame, I didn't get a photo of the mame sapote.

But our traveling coconuts, the mango sorbet and my sandwich manage to get a guernsey.


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Sacrificial Salt Leaves

I'm told that as a method to survive in the seawater the mangrove trees push the salt out to selected leaves, which then drop.


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Killer vege bed

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Tomatoes in North Queensland dry season

I have never seen tomatoes get away so well.


Here in North Queensland you plant your tomato seedlings on Anzac day and they run through until - maybe - November.



And the tropical dry season means no disease and heaps of growth. Incredible.

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