Homely CapersGeneral
Meet Stephen Ryan – The new host of Gardening Australia
With Peter Cundall retiring from his role as the face of Gardening Australia towards the end of 2008, the show continued on with the other hosts taking turns to introduce the show. It was with great surprise, and was very refreshing, when I watched episode one for 2009 to find Stephen Ryan as the new [...]
Caterpillar Mayhem
With record rainfall in January 2009 (524mm) there has been an outbreak of insects. Between the grasshoppers and moths inundating my house and workplace (they smell bad when they die in large numbers), my garden has been getting a flogging. My 19 Arrowroot plants which were going great guns have been attacked by a plague [...]
505mm of rain in 25 days
It has been a very wet start to the year, my garden has been flooded at least 10 times with water above ankle deep, so much so the fish in my pond could nearly swim to freedom. But the good news is our town water supply is at 98% (I can’t wait to get photo’s [...]
Australian Christmas Carols
One of my twitter followers asked about Christmas in Australia, and not having snow. Here is a christmas carol that is somewhat popular over here. You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video Merry Christmas!
Direct Sowing Tomatoes
It’s too hot at my place to plant seeds in pots to grow into seedlings, they get very dry very quickly and never seem to make it. Any place with enough light for them gets up around 40 degrees C, and the potting mix dries out. Time for some direct seeding! In the veggie patch [...]
Water Restrictions – How ironic
The local newspaper reads that Stage 3 Water Restrictions are now in force, No sprinklers, no hosing down concrete, no this, no that… Yet outside it’s pouring rain, 34mm later (~1.35 inches) there will be no need to water the lawn for at least a week now, even if it doesn’t rain! The weather man [...]
Uses for Excess Mangoes
It’s criminal to let mangoes go to waste, but this year there are just too many to poke a stick (or many sticks) at. Almost everyone I know has a mango tree, or knows someone else who does, so there is little way to give them away. Please don’t hurl abuse for the waste, but [...]
I’d Like to Check You For Ticks
Last night I took a look at my Daschund and noticed that she had a tick on her eyelid (that’s got to hurt). The old saying goes, when you find a mouse you have mice, in this case many ticks. My German Shepherd dog also has small ticks all through her thick coat. Now where [...]
Perenial Tomato
There was a tomato plant growing at work last year, it sprouted in a patch of gravel where someone threw a slice of tomato from their lunch. No one ever watered it, the only kind act was that it was tied to a nearby post with a piece of flagging tape. I was quite surprised [...]
About Me
My name is Ben, and I'm a self confessed gardenoholic. My other interests include growing plants, looking at plants, drinking coffee and taking the odd photo. My wife thinks I'm mad, but is getting into the whole garden thing, possibly going mad as well. In my spare time I'm a geologist (must be something about dirt and rocks...)- Get me on Twitter
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