Hello! Nothing new to report from Tasmania weather-wise! The last two days have continued in exactly the same way with the icy cold temperatures & raining in patches all day. Today the wind picked up too!
We have been watching the monster, Irma, carve a path of destruction through the Caribbean – devastating. All those of you in the path, please stay safe. I am sure you are doing everything practical to keep out of harms way – but go the extra mile with caution and make it through safe and sound.
We did a lot in our library yesterday, but today I did more in the kitchen.
I made some rissoles (hamburger patties) which turned out pretty great, also made some raspberry ice cream and now have some bread baking.
The bursts of sun throughout the day ensure the hothouse is a comfortable temperature. My lettuce is ready for transplanting but I heard we have another week of this uncomfortable cold. So I will wait a while longer.
The marigolds that popped up are looking sturdy!
And I was so pleased to see some more sprouts breaking through the soil… even if you do need a magnifying glass to spot them! Above is Thyme.
One reluctant sunflower that has been in this position for a couple of days! (Not keen to come out from under the blankets and I so very much understand!)
The rocket is looking good. Not having grown it before I am not sure at what stage it can be planted out. As with the lettuce though – still too cold out there for it.
I also pulled up a few oregano plants to see if I can get them going. I’d like to do a good number more and put them on my stall. They came out of the ground complete with roots so I think they have a good chance to go well.
I was most excited to see leaves on the raspberry canes! I have yet to prune out the second row and rewire the area, but so happy to see them starting!
I went into the main vegetable patch – no beans showing yet. But lots of the snow peas have popped up through the soil!
The duck yard snow peas are going along pretty well despite the weather
I did lay down a little snail bait here as I noticed that they were being chewed a bit. And really – I try to keep things pretty much organic, but my one concession is snail bait occasionally. I have zero desire to go outside in the dark right now to hand pick off pests – and there are too many seedlings to practically cover each one.
Of course the minute I am fussing about in the garden there are at least a couple of stickybeaks coming over to see what I am up to!
The fruit trees are showing signs of new growth!
I nearly have a tulip!
It was nice to get out in between the rain squalls to find signs of new growth – spring is here somewhere!
Clearly I wasn’t successful digging up all the onion weed! Oh well… the white looks pretty with the yellow
Lots of liliums are starting to grow
And a few forget-me-nots are appearing!
Of course our beautiful plum blossoms are still dominating the yard with the white flowers… and the petals on the ground look like snow! (or is that real snow???)
We are a day away from the weekend again!
I hope everyone has had a great & safe week…
Cheers!
Love your little seedlings! Happy almost Spring!
Oops..
Just realized that your Springtime began September 1st! Thanks for sharing your great photos.
😀 yes, well – apparently the weather-gods didn’t get the spring memo!! I woke to bright sunshine… 30 minutes later dark & pouring again! I shall have to concentrate on indoor tasks again! Glad you enjoy the photos – its lovely watching the flowers appear little by little!
They are rather cute! 🙂
It’s lovely seeing the Spring pictures but it does remind me that it’s definitely Autumn in the UK now 🙁
I planted perennial onions in my herb bed so I can chop those up when recipes call for an onion (it usually substitutes fine) and I’m intrigued by your homemade Worcester Sauce…
Hi Hazel! I love autumn best, but I am ready to start again not finish up!! 🙂
Perennial onions…I am just googling!! Similar to spring onions & shallots?? I need to make more use of my spring onions! None of the seeds of my onions/leeks have sprouted yet…hoping to fill Ruby’s spare plots! haha
I am adding the link here as I posted the recipe a while ago… hopefully the link will add ok 🙂
Plum Worcester Sauce
Its a pretty big volume of sauce 🙂 But it tastes awesome! (one of Ruby’s)
Thanks for the link- that’s a lot of sauce!! I might try a scaled down version. Is treacle black treacle/molasses?
Perennial onions are like big spring onions. Also known as Welsh onions and there are also Egyptian/Walking onions, all similar. I use them a lot.
Thank-you for the extra info on the onions!I use onions a lot… but at a rate I couldn’t keep up with in the garden! I should try some different varieties!
Yes… its a mad volume of sauce! lol. treacle is different from molasses – I had to google. I think its part of the same ‘family’ – Golden Syrup, treacle, molasses. Golden syrup is more refines, molasses is darker and richer… I just bought jars labelled “treacle” 😀
PS… shall I re-emphasise about NOT LETTING IT BOIL OVER!! (Yes I did that once and it was a nightmare to clean.)
I wonder what the rules are about importing plants into Tasmania? I could send you a bit of mine!
I’m still a bit confused about the treacle thing. I think it must be like our black treacle, which tastes like molasses. I googled it too and it said they were all treacles, but you wouldn’t want to use molasses and golden styrup interchangeably! Anyway, black treacle comes in a nice tin!!
I think molasses may be a bit rich. I have used all three… golden syrup – makes a lovely steamed pudding but you are right… certainly wouldn’t substitute molasses in that situation… but you would maybe get away with the treacle which isn’t as rich. hmmm. Thats the problem with international ingredients and how they are named… they seem to vary!
Thank-you for the thought about the plants… but it is waaaaaay strict. Australia is very strict on all plant and animal material incoming anyway, but even between mainland Australia and Tasmania, there are the same restrictions again. We are fortunate to be very disease and pest free here so they work hard on keeping it that way!
I send out a lot of plants and seeds to friends on the mainland but cant accept any in return!! Oh well… The payoff is less problems in the veggie patch! 🙂
I had a feeling it was strict. Oh well, that’s a shame but I wouldn’t want to be responsible to introducing some terrible plant disease!
lol – no!! I think we would feel pretty bad!! 😀
When people come to visit Australia – or even just Tasmania from the mainland – I have to run through a list of do’s and don’ts so they get through customs with no hassles or misunderstandings!