TEA ROOM # 24

chrissy, stake, thanks for helping clarify. Sammut was so kind and e-mailed me some documents regarding him. I didn't know he was of Irish descent. I'm of Irish/English/Scot/Flemish descent. Who knows, I might be related to all of you and/or Ned Kelly. Lee
PS, stake, the passiflor edulis sounds wonderul. We have a long growing season here and I'm wondering if the fruit of the vine would have time enough to ripen befor our first frost. Too, I grow our natives ones for the Gulf Fritallary Butterfly, so I don't use pesticides on anything around here except these horrible fire ants. I'm sad to say that I use Acephate but I do cover the treated mounds with old milk crates to keep out, especially, the birds as it's so toxic to them. It smells like rotten cabbage. I've tried everything but nothing works like the acephate. Wish they had stayed in South America where they have natural predators. They have none here and can cause painful bites and stings and some people are quite allergic to their bites/stings as some are highly allergic to bee/wasp stings.
All take care. Lee

Hi Lee,
Pleased to meet you..
We had a Nellie Kellie Passionfruit, the best!! Sadly we had togive it up, with our water tank, when we exteneded our shed for another Bedroom. Just make sure you put a "Liver" in the hole before you plant it & it will be magic!!!
Best Wishes Helen

Hello Helen, it, too, is nice to meet you. I tell all that this site is the friendliest and wittiest.
Well, all of you are about to get me interested in trying to get an edulis. An actual liver, Helen? As in the organ? Well, the native americans put a dead fish in the holes in which they planted their corn(maize).
The dilemma I face is the butterflies as Passiflora are their larval food source and I think it might be defoliated before the fruit ripen. What do you think of this situtation? Lee

G'Day Lee
I wouldn't have thought you would have any trouble getting a Passiflora edulis as far as I know it is grown all around the globe where suitable climates exist. I don't know about the butterflies about the only thing that attacks them here are Slugs, snails & "Light Brown Apple Moth" one of our natives that has a particular liking for a lot of our imported plants. Perhaps Baccillis thurigiensis would control your butterfly larvae. If you don't know the product it is a naturally occuring bacteria that infects the caterpillers of some butterfly/moth genera and stops them from eating. I bet Metrosideros would have the answers for you but I don't know if he reads this forum.
Regards Brian

Hi Lee,
Yes, a Liver, we (I) get from the Butcher. Sorry, I've never had a prob with Butterflies,maybe the others can help with that? I really miss my passionfruits, but couldn't be helped. Lack of land!
Good Luck to you, with them.
Take Care,
Regards Helen
Ps, I'm glad I've never had to plant a dead fish with anything!!!LOL!!!

Helen, we have !! A huge (dead) European carp (which for anyone who is not familar with this fish is an introduced pest species which has adapted all too well to our inland rivers out competing our own native fish) placed under a newly planted Moreton bay fig which was planted in a chook house next to a pond...that Moreton bay fig never looked back !!lol

Hi brical1,
Euwwww!! Yes, I know dead things are good for plant growth, but I'm not even an offal person so...Euwwww!!! Best Wishes??? with your icky things,
Regards Helen

I didn't/couldn't handle it...it was caught when they netted the farm dam...they were the only fish in there(sad) so rather than let good fertilizer go to waste it was well utilized..a good thing to do with dead canetoads too...why waste?lol

I hear they stuff them up there, for tourists, LOL!! The cane toads, that is???
Hahahahaha!! I've sen funny emails about it!!

They are grotesque looking things aren't they...and becoming more widespread...but our native birds including crows are adapting.by removing the poison glands and eating them..Hubby has a dam on his property(central qld)...and to see the dead canetoads on the dam bank lying on their backs after the birds have had their feast is really promising from an enviromental point of veiw that is.
Yes I've seen some good one's too.although I would never want one sitting on my mantle piece!!lol

Thanks, Stake and Helen, I don't think I'd have problems finding an edulis. The problem I'd have is keeping the butterflies off it long enough to produce fruit. I might be asking for too much. Maybe, I can't have my cake and eat it too.
Helen, we, too are having so many problems with introduced species many of which the government approved. One of my most hated is the Kudzu vines the gov't brought in during the '30's-50's to prevent soil erosion. It didn't work and is taking over many parts of the country and it's the dickens to kill.
All, I think I'll stick to eating liver instead of planting it.LOL Who knows, if I plant it, baby livers might sprout.
Have seen doc. on the cane toad problem. They are indeed not the prettiest creatures. What's the environmental impact of them? Weren't they imported to prevent some kind of insect damage to certain crops?
What I dread getting here are the africanized honey bees, aka killer bees. They are aready in parts of Texas, Arizona, California, and even Florida. We're only 300 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and who knows what could be brought in. Our honey bees are already dying from something that nobody can figure out the cause. So many people depend on moving their hives around the country to pollinate crops for people.
All take care. It's cold and rainy here. It would be lovely to just curl up in bed all day but wouldn't that be foolish unless I were sick. Lee

Good morning everyone. Noone can say the topics here are not interesting and varied. Dead fish, cane toads, offal for plants and even a bushranger.
All odd subjects on their own but all still garden related.
I will buy a liver for my passionfruit. We buy cat and dog food for the magpies , so why not more 'food' for the plants
My son in Darwin tells me the cane toads are over there. I have to wonder about Queensland. Seems the plaguey things start there. Cane toads and Prickly Pear, what else. I wonder if the first rabbit arrived up there Ha ha.
No, no state issues here. we are all wonderful.
We had a very light shower overnight. I think it was a splash of overflow as the cloud raced past to the northern states.
I hope you are all feeling a bit cooler . You certainly had it hot Chrissy. Your poor plants. Like you, I do not like the excessive heat. It really pulls one down .
I used to work in the shearing sheds in heat like that in WA and not be bothered much. The time I was out cutting sandlewoood in the bush over there , the temps inland were around 40C- 45C for days at a time. You went out very early then rested from about 11am until about 4pm then went back to work. Luckily we worked for ourselves so could do as we pleased.
It could get hot in the shearing sheds too as they are corrugated iron.
Now, I'd lay down and never move in that sort of heat.
Lee, you have had a lesson in history with our Ned Kelly. He is a large tourist attraction down here in Victoria. Glenrowan has a large complex with a re enactment of his capture and a replica of his mothers cottage
Beechworth has the jail where he was held for a time and there are replicas of his armour everywhere.
Helen your little plants arrived yesterday and were quite 'chirpy'
you did well thank you.
I had to laugh about you not liking the icky things. reminded me of my youngest daughter. The kids when little used to throw all the guts from any sheep or kangaroo we killed, into the chook pen and wait a few days. they would then turn it all over and watch the chooks devour the wrigglies. ( no I wont mention the name of the wrigglies to make you ill ) the daughter would run away and hide She can't stand icky things.
Hello Judy, I would not want a toad on my mantle piece either. If I had a mantle piece that is. I keep telling hubby that a mantle piece is a necessity in the lounge. what else can you lean on ? .
Colleen, we look forward to seeing the ute load of cacti you and Brian will bring home. I can imagine the two of you picking out the prickles as you load and unload them .
Hello sammut, glad you enjoyed sitting in the fern house. It is lovely in there. i often take my cuppa down and sit.
Steve, I moved my large Dendrobium Delicatum from the shade house the other day as it took up too much room. It was only 2 little canes in a pot when I bought it 10 years ago, now it is large. I think it will flower more out under the shade cloth . It was easy to move. I just grabbed a handful of canes and lifted. I had put it in to a pile of rocks after it outgrew its pot a few years ago. it is one that grows very easily.
Your plants sound enormous.
Better go and put out some yummies, hubby has disappeared and the shade house may be starting. I have to go supervise. have a great day.
Jean
Apple Cinnamon Slice

good morning all,
helen - mine haven't arrived as yet but suspect they will today. mail is a funny thing isn't it. the closer you are sometimes the longer it takes.
crissy -that sounds very very hot -poor thing. i love love love the summer but cannot stand heat that strong. i have been on my couch for three days sick so haven't done anything in the garden (or house or anywhere). feeling better today but won't push myself. its a lovely 23 degrees here at 9am today.
off to quickly tidy this house and wait for the mail....
shelly xx

Our mail is always an extra couple of days as we are considered outside the city limit so it has to go to two places first (or something like that) then if it is a parcel we get a card telling us to go and pick it up.How wonderful to hear they travelled well, how are you going to treat yours Jean?
Re livers and fish for passionfruit ...the best results I ever had were from some leftover fish guts and bits left over from a fishing trip.
I did not appreciate the smell in my freezer ...so it went in under a new passionfruit ...I swear the passionfruit fairly shot through like a Bondi tram to escape the smell (you know the way our plants jump up after Dynamic Lifter ...same reason I reckon). I had so much fruit that I was making syrup ...cordials ...tomato and passionfruit jam, threw it over hubby's ice cream ...vanilla slices with passionfruit icing ...you name it!. Over the years just about everything works because I think as well as providing essential goodies for the soil I think the worms work the soil and poop out wonderful worm poo as well as making the soil so soft and lovely you can dig with your hands. Passion fruit are really hungry ...if you don't have any
Old ham bones
mullet gut
fish bait
pig heads
prawn heads
dead chooks etc
Dig a deep hole under where you will plant your passionfruit and throw in an ice cream containers worth of chook pellets, organic life or similar ...about 1 cup of blood and bone, a tiny dusting of lime and top it off with some cow poo (a couple of inches) ...cover all of that with about a foot of soil ... then plant the passionfruit. Mulch well with lucerne hay or sugar cane, I lay newspaper under that to supress any weeds. Water well (I use seasol on everything but it's optional)Then stand away. ^_^
You worked in shearing sheds Jean? wow you must be a good cook are you? I bet you could write a book ...I collect and regularly cook old shearers cook recipes, I am guessing you were a cook as well as doing stuff in the sheds, what an interesting life.
Whoo Hoo hubby has just picked up the mail and there is a card ...^_^
Better get myself organised ...keep your fingers crossed for me about three of the garlic vine seeds germinated in the warm water ...hopefully they will grow.
I just came across a huge blue tongue outside ...that means snakes are out ...watch out for them.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day ...me I ... will hide until the heat goes away, Jean your shadehouse sounds so inviting.
chrissy

Hello Chrissy. I will get all that and I expect a ginormous vine to grow. I wasn't the cook in the sheds, I was the roustabout and wool classer. . I did cook for shearers out on a large station at one time for about a week. I have never seen men eat so much mashed potato.
We have had annoying sprinkles all morning. Not enough to call rain but it will wet you if you stay out in it long enough. At least it is cool to work on the shade house.
Hello Shelly. you take care of yourself and stay out of the heat.
Brian will be popping in later as I have given him a table in the corner where he can have his puzzles. Over there next to the wine bar I added for the wine lovers. . The puzzles will amuse as all as we have our cuppas.
Better go, hubby has gone outside and he definitely needs me there to supervise the building. Sit back in the cool and enjoy a glass of something nice and cold. A very nice Berry Punch
Jean.

Thanks for the table 77Sunset. I didn't know you had a wine bar I might be able to help with ideas for stocking it. If possible get some Petite Manseng it's a white that could easily take this country by storm.
Regards Brian

Jean ...just what I need a nice glass of punch.

I have decided to go on a diet starting yesterday. Wish me luck.

Hi All,
I'm way behind everyone today. Had to drive second daughter half-way back to Melbourne for work, better than getting up for a 6am bus, to get her there on time.
brical1~I wanted to tell you about the 2 stuffed Cobras entwined around a stuffed Mongoose, that used to live on my bookshelf!!! Belonged to the other half. I couldn't cope with looking at it every day & banished them to the back of a cupboard!!!LOL!!!
Glad they are all gone now, YES other half too!! LOL!!!
Lee~ Is it possible to put a net over your vine until the flowers produce fruit? We have to cover our massive Plum tree with nets, as the birds by day & possums at night, have a feast on them.
Jean~I'm glad the parrots arrived safely & are are chirpy.
Chrissy~ Why did I mention liver???Look what it led to....mullet guts & dead chooks!!!LOL!!! Euww!!! My friend here lets me know when she's making Chicken Liver Pate, so I don't visit, I'm not good with icky things like that :(
Also, Chrissy, I hate to tell you this, but my Sister's Christmas present, still hasn't arrived in Sydney??? It was posted nearly 2 weeks before..
Stake~Please save a seat for me at the Wine Bar, I could do with a Singapore Sling about now???
Must go, have to pick other Junior up from work....
Hope you all, have had a good day?
Cheers Helen

Boo Hoo our driver forgot to pick up my parcel ...I hope it will be ok at the post office overnight.
Still almost 98F in the old language ...whew!
I'm off to watch Eastenders and pretend I am in England ...my poor old Camelias we transplanted look like they didn't make it. Little wonder with this heat and the dope who put the mushroom compost into the soil instead of the cow manure. I left written instructions and he can't read I guess. My fault I should have watched them.

Fingers crossed!! I packed quite a bit of damp Spaghnum moss around the stems.
We wouldn't have forgotten a parcel, would we!!!LOL!!!
Cheers Helen

Stake - Had not heard of Petite Manseng so went googling!
High alcohol content hey...hmm might need to track this one down for a taste.
I'm still convinced that the grape, in it's juiced form, is the best fruit around.
Steve

Hello All, Sorry to not say hello to each specifically but my fingers are a little sore and stiff this morning so please don't anyone feel excluded. Didn't sleep well last night and instead of lying in bed tossing and turning, I just got up in slightly more than a bad mood.
Jean, I think I've seen on TV the re-enactment and there were tourists galore having their pics. taken. Helen, I suppose your suggestion is the best for me. Certainly the butterflies couldn't get through a small sized net. Helen, are you in Queensland?, and if so, isn't that in the northern part of the country. Rats, my map was right in front of me. . The cities listed on it are Cairns,Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Brisbane, Toowoomba, to name a few.
Will run and see what kind of trouble I can get in to. All take care. America calling Sammut. Lee

Brown Brothers Moscato for quaffing on a hot day/night...
low alcohol & a scrummy fruity flavour.
Bit sweet for some but we love it.
Also like Brown Bros Dolcetto & Syrah.
The red for white wine drinkers.
Light & refreshing, I gave some to my Mum & started her down the path to drinking real reds :)
red wine cleans the arteries...
so do whites but not as efficiently.
We had a hot one, reached 34C & is supposed to be hotter tomorrow.
After working in a bar all day coming home to a cold beer was heaven.

Dalfyre,
In our experience anything Brown Brothers is more than fine. Have tried all those you have listed and love 'em. As for the cold beer after work .... goes without saying!
Cheers
Steve

Quote: 'Also like Brown Bros Dolcetto & Syrah.' Absolutely the best red in my opinion...you are so right dalfyre ...it is light and refreshing...sort of reminds me of a 'light' port...if there is such a thing!! I always have a few in my Fridge for when visitors arrive... can never have too much...

G'Day
Cryptic vegetable, still keeping them reasonably easy for the starters "Waterlifter for the relative".
Another wine worth looking for "Albarino" a white Spanish variety producing good wine in hot climates, this, as with the previous it would be awful easy to drink more than you should.
Photo is the collection, plastic bags have little ones in them. One has a very edible fruit quite sweet (much sweeter than any Dragon Fruit I have tried) about the size of a golf ball with 100s of tiny seeds that you just crunch up as you chew.
Regards Brian

Ummm...could it be pumpkin?

Hey! it's alright to have a night cap but no plonk before breakfast.
A bit harder puzzle for Budgieman before he goes to work. "Without, yes by a foreigner with a lady". A well known ornamental succulent.
77Sunset you make that mob have their breakfast first.
Regards Brian

Spot on Brical1.

Good morning everyone. As I told you earlier we were going to look at some cacti well here is my little trolley for me to plant out. I have some wonderful pics so will post a few just for the tea room but Brian will probably do the c&s site. We spent about 3 hours at the place. It was really eye opening.Some of the plants were huge. There was a golden ball cacti that I wouldn't be able to put my arms around. It's a shame that it wasn't still flowering. There were still flowers to come out on some of the other cacti. I was like a child in a lolly shop. The weather was a lot better yesterday and seems to be a nice day today. Don't want any more of that 42 degrees. That's cruel. I especially feel sorry for the animals that can't get out of it that's why I cool my birds and animals down' Steve, The galahs are pets. The first one I got because these people were giving it away because their little girl kept putting her fingers in the cage. The galah's name was Harry, and he talked, barked and purred but he turned out to be a she. The next one I got because I saw her in a pet shop window in a little tiny cage. She cost me $30 in about 1990 but I wasn't going to leave her there. The next one was hit by a car and had a really badly broken wing.I didn't think that he would survive, he did and I've had him since about 1993. The last one was picked up down at the lake with a broken wing by my son. He said some clowns were trying to run over her again. Mongerels. Anyway the 2 with bad wings mated and produced 2 offspring last year. I have no breeding boxes so they made their nest on the ground for everyone to see. Well I'd better get off here now and let someone else have a go. Hope it's cooler for everyone today. Colleen.

a pic of the cacti

Well , look what goes on when I'm not here. Wine discussions. We'll have to have a tea discussion for me. I can't stand to drink any wine. The smell is enough to turn me off, but I have tried many at hubby's insistence. He likes going over to Penola in SA and doing a tour of the wineries, so encouraged me to have a taste at them all. Ugh. I was dying for a cuppa at the end. I told him you were talking about the ones you like and his suggestion for the best wine is Rymill's Traminer. He does have a drop of Port sometimes and keeps bottles of various types of Shiraz in his wine cupboard. There is some from Brown Bros there too.
I went past Browns many times when I lived in Bright. There was ( maybe still is ) a lovely cafe for Devonshire teas, a bakery for fresh bread, a Mustard factory and a Cheese factory all situated in the same area as Browns at Milawa So convenient , where one could enjoy all the goodies at once. The Cheeses were mostly for the cities and export I think, but you could buy any from the factory shop. You could visit and sit outside and enjoy a beautiful cheese platter. So many varieties but my favorite was the best tasty cheese I have had, Milawa Gold.
I have been known to enjoy a cold beer but prefer my good old green tea.
I suppose I must put out a few plates of cheese and biscuits on the wine bar for you wine lovers to scoff . I often think I would like to be able to enjoy a nice wine and join in the talks over which is the best but my taste buds won't have it.
I am going shopping today so there will be a new plant coming home definitely. I must get more potting mix and I won't forget a liver for my passionfruit.
It is a bit overcast this morning and quite nippy. I will be getting the shadecloth for the new epi house today. half the frame went up yesterday and I hope it will be finished over the weekend. Then I have to decide where I want the benches and shelves.
Chrissy, my poor Angels were a bit knocked around yesterday. The wind was coming right through the gate onto them . They will recover and will have to live with it because their pots are too big to move now. The babies are growing fast, but I don;t see any more seeds coming up.
I have a lovely Cosmos in flower now. Just one . I threw a lot of seeds around but as usual none came up except this one. . I am putting the passionfruit vine on a wire near the greenhouses so as it grows it will form a windbreak for that part of the garden. My Bay tree is also there and growing well. It has grown from a cutting and is now around 5' high.
Steve and Brian, will be able to puzzle over their puzzles with a glass of wine . Evenings only though as this is after all, a Tea Room .A very chic one too.
I can see Lesley and Marleneann vying to get in the door past Kat and Teresa. Judy , you will have to squeeze in there somewhere. chrissy, you have the window table and Sue can join you.
Sammut , are you out there ? I'm sure I heard Shelly calling too. Lee , you will have to sit near the fireplace. I may have to extend the premises soon. There was a suggestion about a 2 storey building but I don't think I will risk stairs with all you imbibers around. The cellar stairs are enough to negotiate what with Kat's snake laying about there.
still. he does keep the mice away.
Colleen, I just saw all your cacti. Oh My. I hope you didn't get any prickles in your fingers. We will want to see them all potted up. Are you showing us all of them or are there further lots hiding ? I bet that ute was full.
Better put out some goodies for you all. try these Chocolate CupCakes
Have a nice day and please wash the dishes for me.
Jean.

good morning,
colleen your cacti look great. bigger than i was expecting. did they come in pots or were you able to take them straight from the garden you were visiting? that second one looks like one my mum has in her garden. as a young child i wanted a garden and grew a cactus one.... that is the only one that has survived all these years and is everywhere like that picture.

helen - i received your parcel yesterday in the mail. the parrots leaves were a little shrivelled but i added really good topsoil and gave them a good water. i have them on my front verandah which gets morning sun so hopefully they will make a comeback. they are very green so should.

i got the very very best news in the mail yesterday as well. i was jumping up and down with excitement. our water restrictions have gone from four to two! that means i have gone from two years of not being able to water outside at all to being able to use my trigger nozzle hose at any time. now i can have the garden i dream about. i could only have so many plants as i had to bucket water to each and every one all the time. this sometimes would take me 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day in the very hot weather and i could obviously only do it in the very early or late times. i would store all the water from showers, baths, washing machine, cooking etc. i am so excited. i can also now start up my vegie garden again. oh the plans.

feeling much better thanks jean. had a funeral yesterday which took a lot out of me as i hadn't been off the couch for three days before yesterday. still very tired but feeling better. thanks.

ok, off to tidy the house and then go out in the garden for a bit. nice day here. only 21.4 degrees at 8.30am. don't think it will get too hot. but the weather is certainly unpredictable at the moment.

shelly xxx

Hello Jean and all, I WISH I had a fireplace. They rain is gone but the temps are falling. BRRRR. Jean, I'm wondering about Sammut, too as I paged her earlier. Had a million things to do today, but just got around to the really important stuff. None, though, was that important.
It's 4:06pm here and nearing dinner. Don't know what to cook. Too late to get anything out of the freezer and thaw it out. I, know, I'll fix nothing. Seriously, I'll fix some scrambled eggs and that will have to do.
All take care. Lee

Congratulations on getting your water back shelley, good on you ...now you can have some fun.
Oh Jean the angels get knocked around in the heat and the hot wind as specially. My leaves on the big crosses 6ft ones are BBQed but they will be ok ...they keep coming back don't worry they are beautiful triffids! look at the size of the leaves some are about twenty inches long ...it's no wonder they droop ...but like pumpkins they bounce back ...geez that wine bar is popular!
I am not into the booze all that much ...an inch in a glass makes me giggle so I am not a good drinker ...like you I am not crazy about the taste ...crushed grapes to me mean verjuice
http://www.eatanddrink.com.au/details_product.cfm?id=93&m=p&i=Search
Hey helen just in case you missed it on another thread I posted ...a big thankyou for the parrot bits ^_^ Bl**dy Beautiful!
To everyone else I hope you are recovering from the heat ...it's a much kinder day today ...I hope you all enjoy it, I am off to sit and gaze at that cute little parrot bloom for a while before I must remove it ...oh that will be hard.
chrissy

Here's another pic. There's heaps of them, Jean. We got some little pieces of cacti with roots on and big pieces that we have to let dry out a bit then plant. I can't stand the smell of any wines, they all smell like plonk to me. I'll just have a white coffee thanks talk again soon. Colleen

G'Day
77Sunset If the others start getting into the state where they might fall down stairs I'll stop the wine thing. I have zero tolerance of tiddly people, can't stand the taste of beer and would drink no more than 2 or 3 bottles of wine per year, but tea would have to be measured in gallons.
Another not too hard cryptic. Sounds like the "Gallic, was" leguminous vegetable and since that was so easy another "The universe" flower.
After getting the load of cacti yesterday I think there will be months of work potting up, but I might be able to pass quite a bit of time just looking. One good thing about cacti & succulents there is no need to hurry, they are OK for weeks. It takes a bit of getting used to after a working lifetime of not letting anything dry out, get the hose, damp "em down, pack them properly and after that "Are you sure the packing was damp enough?"
Regards Brian

MORNING to all ,
I am here I did not melt away after the past few days of heat I went out in the garden at 5 this morning and have been laying in the hammock all morning just waiting for the showers they say we are getting to-day they have not arrived yet I have not lost any thing in the heat I was watering in the early morning and late at night , I spent all yesterday reading in the cool
I have not got any thing new for the garden yet --
every one have a beautiful day in your gardens Iam going back out to sit and dream ----------Sammit.

In your Hammock again I bet!!lol

I love my hammock the best place to dream the day away. I hope this is the pic. ---------Sammut.