toilet paper rolls seed starters

[Frank]

Wish I had seen this sooner. I had been using masking tape for bottoms. Folding closure shown here is better:

[Fran Farmer]

I do about 8-10 cuts with scissors in a diagonal direction round the bottom of my toot rolls and then snip off the points of the cuts and fold the slashes inwards. I don't bother to interlace the cuts or use any tape on the bottom at all. I just fold inwards.

[David Hare-Scott]

Fran you haven't been around much lately, are you OK?

David

[Terry Coombs]

I don't even do that . Cut 'em in half , stack 'em in a waterproof container , fill with soil . By the time the seedlings are ready to transplant the roots are a solid plug in the bottom . And often coming thru the sides too !

[Fran Farmer]

Yes, I'm fine David. Thank you for asking.

I had to have a minor medical procedure 2 and a half weeks ago and that kept me quiet for a while. It was only minor repair work that I thought I should have done before I got too old. Having it done now will make my life easier as I did get older and more decrepit. I was also away for all of December house-sitting for a relative who was having a stem cell transplant.

And of course summer was a total washout what with the heat during the day, (now officially the most hot days in the summer period ever), the cold at night and the lack of rain. We have only just begun to get tomatoes in the last 2 weeks when we should have had some at least 2 months ago. Nothing did well and of course we lost every single piece of fruit on every tree due to an early hot Spring followed by the return of the cold early Spring. The second summer of 2013 was a total washout garden wise.

But I'm putting in stuff now hoping for a long Autumn (mostly leafy greens) and even then I am going to buy large slabs of plastic and straw bales and try to extent the growing season.

What has kept us amused is bee watching. We had so many in spring but because of the dry summer we were asked by a friend to report on sightings. We found the blue banded bees were active and that there were still lots of honey bees around but they preferred certain plants at different times of the day or flowering cycle. Watching them and noting other insects, such as the various wasps has been very interesting. I can gladly report that our garden has very good biodiversity.

[Fran Farmer]

I've done that too in the past but a change every now and then is as good as a holiday.

It's amazing how many supermarket items can be recycled usefully in the garden or in my hobbies. I've found that a flimsy lidded plastic container that originally contained a certain pastry addiction, is just perfect for storing prepared locks of fleece waiting for me to spin. And then there is the plastic lid and base of one of the mixed salad greens that we sometimes buy and which is perfect for seed starting because it holds about 6 of the toilet tubes.....

[David Hare-Scott]

A bad season here except we got some fruit as I was pumping from the dam to keep the orchard alive. The river stopped for 6 weeks, the longest in ten years, and the pasture was down to brown stubble heading towards dirt. We have had some nice rain mid Feb and then again last week, it was getting to the point that if I didn't get some we would have no summer growth and be hand-feeding all winter. It looks OK now and if we get some more before winter I will mow the orchard instead of keeping it as reserve.

As well as being so dry the neighbour had this genius cow that got through the barb wire, the electric tape round the house area and the chook fence round the vege garden. She ate all the greens, brasicas etc and tromped the rest. One night I put her out (with the dogs) three times but she kept coming back.

D

[Fran Farmer]

Well done on the fruit. I'm jealous. The only people we've managed to hear of who have had any fruit at all this year in the whole district is a couple who live in the centre of the local village and who have managed to produce edible peaches. They are the talk of all the gardeners. (As an aside, this bloody program is trying to tell me that I have spelled 'çentre' incorrectly - bloody poxie thing!)

The river stopped for 6 weeks, the longest

We did that for a couple of years and then decided never to do it again. Now we just sell stock if we have to and buy again if we need to do so. Thankfully we too have now had some good rain with follow ups.

It looks OK now and if we

:-)) I'd have brought out the shotgun in the end. A good round of rat shot up her rear would fix both her and the neighbour. (Now it's trying to tell me that I've spelled 'neighbour' wrongly and it's telling me that you have done so too! A pox on the poxie thing!)