Annette Jones

Kathleen Sanderson wrote:I have two pretty cast iron teapots (I'll post Amazon links to them in a minute). The most recent one was purchased with four tiny little cups, a non-breakable tea set for my handicapped daughter; her toys all end up on the floor, so I didn't want to get china for her. (She's 45, not a small child.) I also have a SS kettle for heating water for making tea with tea bags, although, to be completely honest, I've found that my coffee maker also makes good tea, so I haven't been using the kettle much. It will come in handy in case of a power outage, though, when we have to heat water on the wood stove.

My daughter's tea set:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DDPZ7HNK?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

The SS kettle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DFF5WPQ?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_5

And my cast iron teapot - I got the light green one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NBGH9Q9?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1

Kathleen your daughter's set is so pretty and functional, thanks for including the link.
I have a disabled nephew who loves herbal teas and think he would love this one so I am getting it for him.
He is a disabled artist with Studio Artes and Little Umbrella (here in Australia), and was so taken with the colours in this little set he is painting it for his monthly art exhibition.
I bet your daughter just loves it too.

I have to agree it's pretty weird!

Christmas Day - the middle of usually hot bush fire prone summer in Australia it actually snowed in our state of Tasmania and dropped to low autumn/winter temperatures all down our east coast.

My plants are very confused, I have shade cloth over them some hot days then the next few days frost cloth just trying for a happy medium and unaffected produce.

It's working but very labor intensive running in and out changing garden covers.

Goodness Timothy, I wonder does it go into some kind of hibernation through winter then regrow in spring.
Or will it be dead and break off. I've never seen fungi in snow like that before.
The things you come across when walking a dog :-) Great pic.

Thanks for the AI insights Paul, now I can have a reasonable talk with the grandkids AND understand what they're on about.

A different issue to the usual great stuff.

Much appreciated that you are including such a relevant topic for todays world. It is changing dramatically and a hand like this is invaluable.

Just treated myself for my birthday next February 2026.

Takes 40 days to get to me in Australia, but so worth it. Can't wait to play with the grandkids.

Anne Miller, you're correct. It does have to do with regions.

It is originally a French word and they pronounce it peri doe. You can google a french sound translation.

However, if you google an English dictionary version they make a hard t sound at the end, so you hear peri dot

Stephen it's looking good,

The stakes and trellis grid have sure worked, you've done a great job at anchoring the soil and it's showing good recovery. The trees look in very good shape as well (love nectarines) and you obviously have knowledge of cover crops and the biomass they produce to get nutrient back into the soil.

From experience of flooding here on my hugels in Australia I've found a couple of reasons soil at the bottom might not be as productive.

Soil after being washed down can compact a lot at the bottom so it doesn't absorb as well and new seeds/plants don't take as well.

The sand looks on the sandy loam side from the picture, so the water would also carries away nutrients leaving less in the bottom soil.

Legumes and brassicas have good sturdy root systems to hold soil, so the daikon is a win, I also use dandelion and clovers for quick cover, doesn't hurt the leaves are edible either. I also use leaves and roots for tea or pound clover leaves in mortar and pestle and add it to pastry and dumplings, they're nutritious and pastry turns pretty green.

Love watching how your block is developing and looking forward to more on the hugel recovery.

Anne Miller wrote:Neat idea.  Some thoughts ...

I have not grown sunchokes because some folks say they cause gas.

My walking onions spread the first year doubling the amount of onions.

I did not have good luck with kale one the temperatures warm up the plants were attacked by aphids.  That was before I knew about using a soap spray and killing the ants farming them with vinegar.  I knew about vinegar just didn't know that ants farm aphids.

Anne, an easy way to stop the gas production. Par-boil your chokes then tip out the water and refill with new water. This will get rid of most of the chemical (inulin - a soluble fiber that causes fermentation in the gut of some people) that causes gas and bloating for some. You can then continue to boil or bake as usual.

You're right about the hugels turning a corner. A great feeling when something you've put a lot of effort into powers up.
That's a wonderful haul, you'll really be able to do great things with it all, I bet you'll find more stuff too.

Hi Stephen, Sorry to see the slugs are beating you to the produce after all your work. So hope some of this is helpful.

I use epsom salts (much safer and gentler on soil than salt) to get rid of them. It penetrates slug skin and dehydrates them meaning they also can't breed more either. It is Magnesium sulfate so a natural mineral in soils.

I also scatter broken eggshells around the actual plants quite thickly, they don't like crawling over rough surfaces it and it benefits things like the cucurbits, squash and tomatoes from blossom end rot.

Stale beer in easy to climb into containers also attracts snails and slugs from the malt smell, they climb in and drown, it needs to be close to the plant needing help.

Bird baths work well as birds are natural predators so having them throughout the garden helps.

Human hair clipping work well if you can get enough boots to donate :-) They simply won't go on it, added bonus is it adds nitrogen to the soil as it decomposes.

Diatomaceous Earth 4 tablespoons to a gallon of water, also works wonders but is a bit expensive so I tend to use the first 2 options. Amazing that there are so many cucumbers on such as small plant, always surprises me when you show the latest gardening offers :-) Fantastic work.