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All posts for the month September, 2013

Snakes Alive..It’s snake season

Posted by gardenpathfood on September 25, 2013
Posted in: Garden Accessories, Spring Jobs, Summer Jobs. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

There was a snake having a siesta, lying stretched out on my lawn the other day. Now, I don’t know about you but I think that is seriously odd behavior for a snake. Normally as you approach, they slither off.  Plus, this snake was kind of lying flat out, like he was listening to music all relaxed and happy in the sun.Snake Defence

 I suspect this little fella was probably a grandchild of the Eastern Brown that killed my horse a couple of years ago and I am never happy about them being in my yard. Eastern Browns (and no Melanie it wasn’t a legless lizard) are very active, very aggressive and very poisonous. Let them live out in the paddock but not in my garden.

Back to this odd behavior. I have a Snake Defence or two, little solar operated items which emit a high pitched buzz and are supposed to echo through the ground and discourage snakes.  This snake was about fifteen feet from one of them and looked like he just couldn’t make it any closer and he was definitely acting strangely.  it does make me wonder if the Snake Defence emitter was having some effect on him.

Ahhg…the Veges are going to Eat Me

Posted by gardenpathfood on September 11, 2013
Posted in: Community Gardens, Links to other sites, Places to Visit. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I walked in to a vegetable patch recently that definitely appeared positively carnivorous. The vegetables were so healthy and aggressive they could eat me.IMAG0415

I took a little detour to visit historic Jimbour Homestead, (on the Darling Downs, Qld) http://www.jimbour.com/  and walked in to their heritage designed vegetable plot.  It has to be Heritage Design to conform with the wonderful old homestead but in spite of this restriction the growth on the plants is spectacular. The garden is spray and artificial fertiliser free, but the extraordinary growth can probably be attributed to great soil to start with (This is some of the best soil on the downs) and lots and lots of free organics from the bull paddock, since Jimbour is also a working cattle property.

The gardeners have also become really excited about different vegetables and  have at least four varieties of kale for example all growing together and looking amazingly decorative.

One of the most ornamental of the plants had to be the artichoke and this plant is a silver, grey architectural perennial that would look amazing in a pot, or in any spot in the garden, even if it didn’t have the advantage of also growing food.

For information on how to grow and eat artichokes, I will be following this site as soon as I can lay my hands on some plants. http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/4796/how-to-grow-artichokes/page/all

If you are holidaying in Queensland, then be sure to come as far west as Jimbour and visit one of our most historic, (after all Leichhardt left from here on his expeditions), beautiful and now culinary (ily?) exciting spots.  It is well worth your time.