LokStok Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) I broke my new trowel trying to dig out a rock. these http://www.hostdirect.com.au/showProduct/Kitchen/Kitchen+Accessories/5364/Aluminium+Scoop+-+180+x+95mm,+round+base make the best trowells ever. virtually indestructable, light, cheap, comfortable and in different sizes. Particularly good as a scoop for potting on/up. My current one is 6 years old, gets hammered and is still going strong! you can buy them at any commercial catering supply shop. Edited March 13, 2013 by LokStok 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoOnThen Posted March 13, 2013 I have a couple of the plastic versions one small and one large for potting up and mixing small batches of mix. They are also great for measuring out additives for different mixes. The sad part is I think I paid about the same prices as the aluminum ones on that site. I think I am going have to get my self a couple of nice new shinny ones. Cheers Got Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullit Posted March 13, 2013 The owners seem quite curious about my plants but know little which is probably good, I will just rant about medicine if they ask ;) they are pretty cool, very sweet actually two sisters and four grown up kids all techno hippies! hey wind i wouldnt worry too much bout ya plants , wouldnt label them different ! u should b proud to tell your new friends bout your awesum hobby. its not weed!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted March 13, 2013 It's a double bladed trowel that's for sure ;) To devulge or not to devulge. Some people are just plain evil, others will only become influenced by your ethno specimens! I used to live in a fort and my plants were never seen or the hobby questioned. Since I've moved I've had over 20 (legal but ethno) plants ripped from their pots or ground. You just can't pick the outcome and preparedness is the king here plant boobey traps are just as fun to devise as growing them!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullit Posted March 13, 2013 well that's what happens when ya live in tha city[sharehouse]?!?!? when i lived in share houses many years ago . tha crew new the rules fuk with my plants i will kill u for real hahahaah JUST GET A FUCKEN DOG!! train it up to guard your fort Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted March 13, 2013 Neither actually, farm living to appt living for work. Best and worst move ever, no hassles lately, I gave a few fierce words to a few suspects A dog has limited use in other backyard theft cases I've had, unless you train it to be viscous to people it doesn't know in its territory. I'm not really down for that, I've just smartened up logistically as we all should! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtarman Posted March 13, 2013 Today I potted up my root-bound Nexus (the Herbalistics hybrid Psychotria) plant that has been growing like crazy, and now ought to grow even more crazy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted March 14, 2013 Fixed up the major flood damage to the road to my garden with the tractor blade - first access in 7 weeks after recent major flooding. Cut lots of vasey grass away from cacti and other sacred plants. Transplanted lots of wild seedlings of Acacia melanoxylon, A. maidenii, Trema tomentosa and Alphitonia excelsa for native planting in town garden to screen out weirdo neighbours ugly house and prying eyes. Woo.... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted March 16, 2013 It was soo nice to wake up to the sound of rain on the roof this morning. This is the second time in like 6 weeks. Not normal at all for the lower part of the south island. I hope it continues! Apparently lots of native birds are really suffering from the drought in the north island, not finding enough food and water Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) Realised my seedling takeaway containers didn't have proper labels, just a sticky on the outside. Chance had brought water in, washing some of the labels away. Had to quickly write a tag to go inside for the remainder that still had legible labels Don't often make labelling mistakes like this, guess I anticipated indoor germination and growth with no humidity I heard about the NZ drought today Bogfrog is it as bad as it sounds? Edited September 29, 2013 by whitewind Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted March 17, 2013 Sorry to hear about your label disaster, thats the worst feeling. In the north island it really is. My dad is in wellington, the capital and last wednesday they were down to just 20 days supply of water left. This rain will be thankfully recieved by all, but we will need alot more to soften the damage already caused. Down south isnt suffering quite so bad but if we dont get back to regular rain our country is going to be paying a shitload more for power than we are used to, most electricity is generated using rivers, which have been rapidly shrinking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) 20 days supply? Are they evacuating people yet? Wouldn't want to leave it much longer! The more people can get out the longer the supply lasts, that's insane!I did the same labeling mistake for all my seeds as they were indoors at the time but caught them before it was too late, for some reason I didn't do the others and I don't know why! So frustrating I'm a labeling Nazi (T taught me well) so I can't figure out how it happened! it's going to be very interesting trying to figure out what they are when they grow up that's for sure specially since I don't have a list of what I had, another way to keep track I suppose. On the plus side everything seems to love their new home so that's all good. Next pay I'll go to the local garden centre and buy some potting on mix I have quite a few plants that can go up, would be great to see something happening after nearly 3 years with very suboptimal growing conditions! Edited September 29, 2013 by whitewind 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted March 17, 2013 Emptied the compost dunny onto a whole lot of edible and medicinal plants. After nearly 2m of rainfall already this year there has been heaps of leaching of the soil. Most plants love the dunny compost - it will remedy the recent heavy leaching. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted March 17, 2013 No evacuations and the nutters only banned the use of garden sprinklers at 19 days to no water. Luckily we had some heavy downpours across the country over the weekend. My garden looks very pleased. I hadnt started taking notes of my garden exploits until last year, so i have several mystery loph and tricho seedlings. I find a ring-binder folder works great for keeping all those random papers together. If i find good teks on here i'll print them out and file away for future reference. I had to laugh at my mate when he mixed together 12 types of nitrogens hybrid trich seeds that i had labelled 1-12, he thought i had lost the corresponding names. He said to me one day 'oh its ok, you'll be able to id them for me' :S Mum took me to bunnings yesterday and gave me a $50 voucher to burn. I got potting mix, pumice, and moisture chambers. Thanks mum! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwalchgwyn Posted March 19, 2013 Admired. After a few days of reorganizing the outside space for the growing season, set the Tricho shelf, the Maidenii sun corner (this year they will top me), gave the Heimia a nutritional kelp bath, touched the sundry emerging greenies. Often seems to me that Admiration is the most important of my primate function 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted March 20, 2013 sprayed against mites, dug a few holes, and planted out, build a bell syphon for my aquaponic's set up. installed some temporary rain protection, for the plants which hate over watering. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
endorfinder Posted March 20, 2013 Much to my delight, 3 out of my 8 Theobroma grandiflorum seeds ("Cupuaco", "white" cocoa plant) have germinated after some time in moist hot soil/sphagnum after landing from Peru last Friday. Once I found the heating pad with sphagnum had had great success, i moved all the other seeds there including removing some i'd tried starting in pots, two of which it turned out had also germinated in the meantime! So 3 germ'ed, 5 still waiting, and another 2 were gifted to a local proficient gardener who I haven't caught up with for a progress update. Seeds were received last Friday for reference. Given their short viability I was fully prepared for NONE to germinate, so given that I've got 3/8 already I'm pretty damn stoked - if I can get two genetically distinct plants then one day I'll have fruit! Also decided to put all my eggs in the heating mat + sphagnum basket with my iboga seeds - have 8 odd sitting in sphagnum on a 5W reptile pad along with a couple of bags of the remaining sphagnum + theo grand. Has anyone else tried cultivating Theobroma from seed, particularly bicolor and grandiflorum? I've been largely following protocols for cacao propagation given that grandiflorum is a relatively obscure species outside it's native habitat. I currently have the seeds (biiiig fellas) planted quite shallow to allow proper orientation against light (?) but not so much as to expose the seed and risk dehydration - i humidity domes over all three germinated seeds now. I believe theobromas can be vegetatively propagated but a genetically distinct pair are required for fruiting. Even if I can only get 2 or 3 plants going that's enough to get things moving with this funky fruit in .au! Oh and I've sowed out about 50 pots with various seeds, keep striking iboga cuttings and every damn viridis leaf cut I have while the weather will vaguely let me, had some little mimosa hostilis seedlings pop up (damn that guy's fast)! and i'm looking forward to seeing how ga3 treatment affects passionflower and another couple of annoyingly-dormant seeds. My kava finally bit the bullet today... I was promised a replacement, just need a bit of advice on how to harden it up next time so it doesn't suffer the same fate! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted March 20, 2013 I don't think cocoa needs foreign pollen, it might help, but the two cocoa plants I know (Brisbane bg and kew rbg) both just feature a single tree, but are loaded with fruits at times. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullit Posted March 21, 2013 how bad r those fucken mites!!! this year has been crazy with them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrailBlazer Posted March 22, 2013 (edited) Some cacao can cross pollinate themselves and some can't! It depends on the cv. I have collected 8 different types over the years from various countries and each has its own unique traits such as pod size, Color, Growth, Taste etc. T. Bicolor is another great one to grow! Edited March 22, 2013 by TrailBlazer 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
endorfinder Posted March 22, 2013 If you're interested in trading for some pods when they're in season let me know, TrailBlazer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted March 22, 2013 Pulled out and piled up lots of Wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis) around some potted plants - thankfully a small infestation that is relatively easy to contain and control manually... unlike many rural and bushland infestations.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrailBlazer Posted March 22, 2013 If you're interested in trading for some pods when they're in season let me know, TrailBlazer! For sure mate! Bicolor has a couple of years to go for fruits but a friend has a fruiting tree. All my T.Cacao's are flowering, I have a pretty pink node one with very purple pods ripening soon. Shit year for all Theobrama this year with no rain! I would be interested in a couple of T.grandiflorum if you have any spare, See how it pans out hey! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
endorfinder Posted March 22, 2013 Cheers, bicolor is an unexpected bonus, that's fantastic! Remaining 5 seeds are still looking promising to germ, if I get enough started we can work something out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrailBlazer Posted March 22, 2013 They will germinate easily, Just keep em warm and wet like the wifey ha! Theobrama.spp is one of the easiest seeds to germinate no wuckas. Shitloads of times I have opened pods and seeds have germinated inside the pod, Cots n all Just remember first 2 years in the shadey then after that they can handle the sun like a trooper. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites