Red Sunflowers

Update: Week 3 of January 2012:

Prado Red Sunflowers

Weather highlights:
Lowest Min 10.2C
Highest Max 37.6C
3 mm Rain

Propagation:
Potting on/up:
Broccoli Purple Sprouting
Cabbage Ethiopian
Cauliflower Romanesco
Cauliflower Violet Sicilian
Kale Morton's Mixed
Kale Tuscan Black (Cavalo Nero)

Next Week To Do:
I'm setting myself small tasks as I recover from strained back muscles...slowly, slowly!
Sow Silverbeet, Mini Cauliflowers and some Broccoli seeds on 26th/27th or 31st Jan.
Remove Squash and Cucumber plants from Bed 11 as they have powdery mildew and have finished production for the year.
Plant out seedlings of Beetroot, Silverbeet, Parsley when (or if) the weather is cooler or overcast or rainy!
Prepare Bed 5 for some Potatoes as a trial planting using saved tubers and new stock if I can find any!!!

Harvest:
Beans Tongues Of Fire 40g
Cucumber Bushy 94g
Potato Bismark 591g
Tomatoes Money Maker 127g
Zucchini Rondo De Nice 2151g
Cossack Pineapples 316g
Plums (tree 1) 11352g (made into Plum Sauce)
Plums (tree 2) 563g

Chooks: 29 eggs
1 from the lone Barnevelder
16 from the 5 Farmyard Ferals
12 from the 4 Faverolles

I have stopped harvesting
the Tongues Of Fire Dwarf Beans,
they will be left to mature for seed saving.

Future harvest I'm looking forward to!

Some Suyo Long Cucumbers plants finally survived
the earwig onslaught
and are just starting to set fruit!

This spider has taken up residence
in the Red Bor Kale
he seems to be keeping the bugs away!

If you live in Adelaide
there is a competition to find
Adelaide's Best Vegetable Patch
see details HERE

Grand Twins Visit

Update: Week 2 of January 2012

Guess who came to visit!
Their Daddy found the wheelbarrow
and they loved the ride!

Weather Highs and Lows:
Lowest Min 8.5C
Highest Max 28.7C
No Recorded Rainfall

Propagation:
Seeds:
Radish Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus Oriental from DT Brown
Radish Raphanus sativus Mixed colours from The Italian Gardener

Harvesting this week:
Plus salad greens from Goldrush Lettuce, Mushroom Plant, Gotu Kola, Parsley, Shallot Greens, Silverbeet and Leaf Amaranth.
Beans Gourmet Delight 21g
Beans Tongues of Fire 76g
Capsicum Hungarian Yellow 23g
Carrots Mixed 96g
Cucumber Bushy 313g
Leeks Bulgarian Giant 132g
Onion Red 86g
Potato Brownell196g
Potato Bismark 216g
Potato Cranberry Red 384g
Silverbeet 77g
Squash Acorn Table Queen 103g
Tomato Big Rainbow 69g
Tomato Black Cherry 68g
Tomato Ida Gold 127g
Tomato Money Maker 64g
Tomato Stor Gul 153g
Zucchini Rondo De Nice 1427g
Cossack Pineapple 77g
Plums 351g

Chooks: 31 eggs
5 from the lone Barnevelder
22 from the 5 Farmyard Ferals
14 from the 4 Faverolles

The Grand Twins are growing up fast...

They dug in the dirt
- future little helpers in Nannie's garden I think!

Little Miss is fascinated by flowers while MiniMan collects sticks!
They loved testing out PoppyDoc's Wooden Toy stock!
When it was time to go Little Miss was still carefully studying her Nasturtium flower!

Shingleback Lizard

Shingleback Lizard Tiliqua rugosa

aka Stumpy-tailed Lizard; Boggi;
Sleepy Lizard, Bobtail Lizard,
Two-headed Lizard and Pinecone Lizard

I have been waiting to catch a photo of this lizard for a couple of weeks. I first spotted it seeking a cool damp spot during the heat. Today it was seeking the warmth of the tyres along the driveway that have agapanthus growing in them.
This is a good spot for it to live because the agapanthus are renown for attracting snails and one of the Shinglebacks favourite meals is a snail!!!

Our Shinglebacks have lighter coloured markings than those in other parts of the country probably because it is normally hotter over here!