Speaking in Tongs

Kitchen tongs are great for transplanting seedlings.

Their sharp edges easily slide through the soil.

They enable you to pick up the whole plant with soil around the roots.

No handling of the delicate leaves and stems is necessary.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't plant pumpkin seeds early and repot them before putting then out in the garden.  This year I have given it a go.  I will also plant some directly where they will grow.

C'mon boys and girls...this is a race!

From speaking in tongs to speaking broadly...

I have broad beans ...

...and lots of lovely broad bean flowers.

From broad to downright fat!

Check out the girth on this garlic!

I hope the size of the stalk is indicative of the size of the bulbs.

Maybe they have just enjoyed growing their tops.

Hindsight

Hindsight is a wonderful thing...it allows us to see all our mistakes with the clear knowledge of the consequences.  

Sometimes it is just one monumental error and at other times, it is a sequence of small events and misjudgements ...like these:

 

• Visiting my son in the U.S. in the middle of last year...when I should have been doing a chainsaw course at the Community House.

• Suggesting The Cook do the course in my absence.

• Purchasing a chainsaw.

• Encouraging her to use the chainsaw.

• Mentioning that that tree outside the lounge-room blocked the view of the ridge.

• Turning my back.

She is usually pretty neat in the kitchen so I am hoping she finishes the job cleans up this mess!

Feeling Seedy

Brewster and the hens are beginning to moult and the silver birch leaves already have a definite yellow tinge.  My Northern Hemisphere blog friends are talking about seed catalogues and some are even beginning to plant under lights.  

As mild as it has been, the Summer isn't going to last much longer.  

I have ordered some heirloom seeds from a local seed company and have been perusing the Digger's catalogue for treasures.  

However, impatience got the better of me and I bought some 'ordinary' seeds the other day...just to get me started.

Yesterday I planted some in seed trays - there is a list in the sidebar.

I also wanted to show you this little number.  It is a nozzle that fits onto a soft drink bottle.  It cost me less than four dollars from Diggers and is one of the best gadgets/tools I have.

It has a soft flow and you can pour a lot of water onto seeds without washing them out.  

Puss with boots

My old work boots have a hole in the sole!  That is because I work so hard.

Check out the new ones.  Well they aren't new but from the op-shop.  

My old Mum would never let us wear second-hand shoes because she said they ruin your feet.  But these ones are hardly worn and haven't been moulded to someone else's feet. 

They are Blundstones and cost only $12.00. 

BARGAIN!

The Cook reckons they are 'Dead Biker's Boots'...but I won't think about that.
I have checked and there are no blood stains.

I was only going to take one photo with Claude, but he really got into modelling so, hence the series.

The cat is above all things, a dramatist.
Margaret Benson

Hazel is forked!

Remember my poor broken stainless steel garden fork with the five year warranty?  You know the one that was less than a year old?  The one I broke a tine off, with my own muscles?  

I know you remember, Ali.  

In this modern world, Trojan garden tools are made by Cyclone.  After a couple of phone calls I found myself telling my tale of woe to a nice man named, David.  When I explained about my fork I don't think he quite believed me because said he wanted photos.  I thought he was getting a little bit too familiar until I understood he wanted photos of the fork...not me.  Once that was sorted out,  I told him I had blogged about the mishap.  He said he didn't even know what a blog was.  So I dutifully emailed through the photos of the fork as requested and added a link to this blog...just for educational purposes.

He emailed me back, obviously having popped over to the blog, and said he would be sending me out an extra heavy duty forged steel fork.  Clearly he recognises what an Amazon I am...even without pics. 'Oh, and by the way', he added, 'I am trying to grow tomatoes but they have spots on the leaves.  What can I do?'   Of course, flattered as I was, I gave him chapter and verse about growing tomatoes and dealing with blight.  

As promised the new fork duly arrived by delivery person yesterday. It is made in Australia (Yay!) and has a 10 year guarantee!  I have carefully taken photos to document this fact in case I manage to break it. 

I am as happy as a doorstop with my new fork!

Now I am going to email my friend, David with a link to this post.  Mmmm, I wonder if he is single?

My favourite tool

This is an unpaid promotion for a Fiskars weeding tool.  It is fantastic and so easy to use.  It is ideal for removing those nasty flat weeds with long tap roots from the lawn, such as dandelions.  I easily pulled up a blackberry seedling and some cape weed with it.  I have also tried it on paspalum and it copes quite well so long as the plant isn't too large.  It is useful for small dock plants (the bane of my life) but not with older, more established plants.

It has four metal prongs on the bottom which you position over the centre of the weed.

Then you use your foot to press the prongs into the ground.

Pulling back on the handle, which acts as a lever with the footrest as a fulcrum, causes the prongs to close over the weed and it comes out of the ground.  This takes very little effort.

The weed is held in the prongs until you slide the yellow handle (half way down the shaft) down and it pushes the weed off the prongs.  This is good if you want to put them in a barrow or bucket to dispose of.

No bending is required and the tool is lightweight.  A winner all round...except if you are a weed.

Thank you to my daughter for giving this to me as a Christmas present last year.  I love it!