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Elaine de Saxe
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- Deception Bay, Queensland
- Australia
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Elaine de Saxe's Discussions
Yellow Leaves
Replied 14 hours ago
Yellow Leaves
Replied 18 hours ago
Elaine de Saxe's Events
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December Garden Visit
December 5, 2009 from 11am to 1pm – roma street parklands
Elaine de Saxe's Page
Latest Activity
I had tried garlic a few years ago and was unsuccessfull.I thought that we could not grow them well in brisbane so I gave up. My wife stuck two aussie organic sprouters from pantry into one of the big pots last April and both plants did welI. I re...
Good results Donna! The observations on the Elephant Garlic accord with mine and not having given any thought to consulting the Wiki it's good to know that what I've worked out is the simplest solution. I've had Elephant Garlic coming up in the be...
I have just harvested my elephant garlic, see my blog post dated 11/11/09 for more information if you are interested...
Further thoughts ... I recall you asking about yellow leaves on a baby plant and I said they were the cotyledons (first leaves from the seed) and that was normal. I guess that what you are asking about now is a more mature plant. Anyway ... you ca...
Hooley dooley, sounds rich enough! A pic, perhaps?
Looks like not pollinated. Perhaps too early in the season ... are they tropical? If so then that could be the reason. That there were fruit growing later on suggests the plant needs more warmth to produce fruit. As well, leaving one fruit on so e...
>Do you know of any which do grow through our winters?
Not really, Florence ... some will *grow* but not flower. Whether it's day length or temperature I haven't researched, but unless you have a very warm micro-climate you may as well not give ga...
All that springs to mind is distillation using solar power. There are such devices around but they are tricky to find on the internet. Distillation removes all the minerals not just salt so it might not be so desirable for plant watering but then ...
The two sure ways to tell the gender of a cucurbit flower is the length of the stem and the presence/absence of an embryo fruit. Long stem no embryo equals male; short stem embry equals female.
I'd love to have enough vege-growing neighbours to share with! Wishful thinking aside ... it's a good system, that L bed. Thank you for the inspiration.
What I understand of pollen is its viability is short-lived and it would vary, of course. Win...
The herbs - depending on what they are - and the cucumber might not grow onto maturity given the amount of sun the spot is getting. The only herb which loves the shade that springs to mind is Pennyroyal. There's probably others though. Cuke will l...
Remembered that I hadn't mentioned the lettuces. Great Lakes is a hearting lettuce and need a long cool period in which to grow. They will, as you found, bolt to seed at the first touch of hot weather. The loose-leaf varieties e.g. Cos, Oak Leaf, ...
Brussel Sprouts really love it cold - last winter was colder than this one but not cold enought for BSs - doesn't stop Bunnings from stocking them, though! Tamborine I hear is a great spot for BSs as it is for Rhubarb. Lots of folks sell Rhubarb a...
Wow Vanessa! You've been and are a busy girl :-) Now cucumbers ... not sure there's a difference worth worrying about with cukes - when they are little you can pickle if you want but you can eat them raw just as well. They are probably yellow beca...
I think its time i change the paper and get some carpet. (the worms like eaten the carpet too) The paper that ive had since the worm farm demo, is starting to grow some orange looking blobs of mold???? Ive never seen such a mold, so better safe th...
Profile Information
- About me:
- Individual
- I am currently involved with the following community gardens and groups:
- Not currently involved.
- I am interested in:
- Compost gardening for vegetables. Alternate therapies and many new age topics.
- I can offer:
- Garden involvement, information
- About what I can offer:
- Garden involvement - not sure what that means but if it is a visit here then that's quite likely. I do have info to share.
- My contact details are:
- Deception Bay, Queensland
- I am looking for:
- Garden involvement, produce, services, information, events
Elaine de Saxe's Photos
Elaine de Saxe's Blog
Spudz at DBay
From 750g of seed potatoes plus a couple of Dutchies from a retailer, harvested 3.730g.
Planting in August is a tad too late in the heat ... next time I'd plant as soon as the eyes have developed. And I'd give them a tad more space, too. A 300L bed was a bit cramped. And I'd mix compost (if I have enough!) with the cane mulch and try and encourage some more tubers further up the stems.
The cane mulch plus the layers of 30 percent shade cloth I used to extend the bed depth allowed the tubers to… Continue
Planting in August is a tad too late in the heat ... next time I'd plant as soon as the eyes have developed. And I'd give them a tad more space, too. A 300L bed was a bit cramped. And I'd mix compost (if I have enough!) with the cane mulch and try and encourage some more tubers further up the stems.
The cane mulch plus the layers of 30 percent shade cloth I used to extend the bed depth allowed the tubers to… Continue
Posted on October 28, 2009 at 3:38pm — 2 Comments
Koalas existence is threatened in S.E. Qld - info and petition
Maybe not exactly garden-related but many of us will be keen conservationists.
Received a note from the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association http://www.biepa.org via the CREEC mailing list. CREEC is Caboolture Regional Environmental Education Centre at Burpengary http://www.creec.org.au/.
The Redlands Council is concerned about the rate of tree-clearing in their area and the consequent threat to Koalas. The website http://www.redland.qld.gov.au/NewsEvents/PublicNotices/Pages/Koal… Continue
Received a note from the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association http://www.biepa.org via the CREEC mailing list. CREEC is Caboolture Regional Environmental Education Centre at Burpengary http://www.creec.org.au/.
The Redlands Council is concerned about the rate of tree-clearing in their area and the consequent threat to Koalas. The website http://www.redland.qld.gov.au/NewsEvents/PublicNotices/Pages/Koal… Continue
Posted on June 29, 2009 at 2:19pm — 1 Comment
Comment Wall (12 comments)
- At 8:37pm on October 12, 2009,
Scarlett Patrick said… - thankyou so much Elaine! the seeds have arrived already - what a pretty card - much appreciated :D
SJP
- At 10:36am on October 7, 2009,
Pree said… - Hi Elaine
I'd love to meet up for a coffee. You're welcome to come over anytime and have coffee at our place as well. Sorry for the late reply, I'm just getting used to this networking site, and I didn't see your comment until now...
Pree
- At 7:10am on October 3, 2009,
Elaine de Saxe said…
- Hi Andrew ...
Winters in Brisbane are mild indeed, some frost in low places but that's all.
My bins are made from a kind of bubble-wrap on steroids, with air coming in from underneath via a pipe and cone.
Bokashi is a Japanese system of a mix of microbes who ferment the scraps, make some liquid on the way which can be broken down and watered into the soil. Then the pickled veges are composted before being used since by this time the collection has picked up heat-generating organisms. The whole lot breaks down quite quickly mostly but items like Avacado skins take forever and eggshells, however small also take a long time. I use shredded paper and sugarcane straw - getting enough browns has always been the limitation with composting. Plenty of gluggy stuff from the kitchen and garden.
However, reading your website it sounds like the compost should be finished in weeks although you don't say how many. Perhaps an indication would help because here am I thinking - what 4 weeks, 6 weeks? when it's more like 14 or 16 weeks or more.
I use a digital thermometer on a probe and am getting tops of 50 deg C but the heaps hold around mid-40s for a couple of weeks. The inventor of the Compost Oven reckons 80 deg C but I've got nowhere near that.
Best regards
Elaine
- At 8:37pm on October 2, 2009,
Andrew E Davenport said… - Hi Elaine,
Not sure how cold your winters are but during ours in the Uk nothing much happens in the way of compost making so 3 to 6 months is probably not too bad. To speed things up you can put extra insulation around the heaps such as straw but be careful not to cut off the air too much. Composting should really speed in the spring when fresh green materials become available again.Your right about nettle being essential and yarrow is vital too with the honey of course. What is Bokashi juice made from and are using that in your QR heaps? Do you find the Bokashi system works?
Kind Regards
Andrew
- At 5:18pm on October 2, 2009,
Andrew E Davenport said…
- Hi Elaine,
Nice to hear from you. I found the group through googling 'quick return compost'. I agree Miss Bruce was a great old gal and inspired a great number of people to make compost and 'give life back to the soil' as she put it. How did you get to hear about Miss Bruce? Did you ever get hold of a copy of her book? They do come up but can be quite expensive.
Has spring arrived yet in Brisbane? And have you tried making QR compost yet? I'm not sure if you can get the activator out there. I know another lady in Brisbane who managed to get some from a company called Sea Magic they only had limited quantaties but it may be worth getting in touch. You could of course make the activator for yourself providing you can get hold of the ritght herbs but there are substitutions that can be made.
Kind Regards
Andrew
- At 3:51pm on September 29, 2009,
Pree said…
- Thanks very much for your message Elaine! We live in North Lakes now, but used to live near your way in Redcliffe prior to that...
- At 7:40pm on August 26, 2009,
Scarlett Patrick said…
- Oh bother of course.
OK so I looked them up in the administrator section and sent them an email. I can't give their address out of course, but I told them you're chasing them. Cheers SJP
- At 3:49pm on August 14, 2009,
Scarlett Patrick said…
- thanks :)
she's gone
it happens intermittently
at least it wasn't unsavoury this time
cheers SJP
- At 6:25pm on June 28, 2009,
Florence said… - Thanks for sharing your experiences with compost today, and great to meet you in person ~
- At 5:57pm on June 28, 2009,
christopher zane hart said… - hi Elaine , thanks for both your company and talk today . It has added a most welcome extra dimension to the Garden Visits .
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