Thursday 2 June 2016

Why do I bother???

Recently I have been wondering if I should continue to grow vegetables as I find it difficult to shovel dirt and the CEO is having problems with the muscles in his arms. We aren't 21 anymore so I thought I might downsize the veggie patch and when I went to check on my brassicas a couple of days ago that helped me to make up my mind.



During the night some pest had had a feast in my raised watersaver garden which has netting over it to stop the birds and white butterfly from ruining my plants so we have narrowed down the culprit to a rodent or a possum although we have had possums for years and they haven't touched the veggies.


There are plenty of fruit trees around so I dare say they fill up on fruit in between their noisy parties on the tin roof in the early hours of the morning.


It was interesting that the bok choy hadn't been chewed but as it turned out they came back the next night to get stuck into that. Grrr!


So I might just stick to growing some salad veggies in the future. It is funny but some plants just seem to thrive like the chillies which don't get any TLC and cherry tomatoes that didn't grow well in summer but are all over the place now as they come up by themselves. Hmmm, does the word
'chillies' have one 'l' or two...that is the question? Yet others that I plant and nurture don't do any good at all. It is enough to make a person give up :-( Thankfully all my herbs are happy and are easy to grow.


Perhaps it might just be easier to concentrate on looking after the flowering plants and to buy veggies at the farmers'  market. I will get myself one of those shopping trolleys I have seen even young men use at the market and wheel it around while filling it up with veggies etc. Mind you, I wouldn't pay the price they are asking for the ones in the link.





During the week I received the 2016 Queen Elizabeth 11 90th Birthday Silver Commemorative which I ordered a couple of weeks ago after receiving some info about it in the mail. Normally I just put such things in the recycling bin but after thinking about it and the fact that the Queen is Britain's longest reigning monarch, I decided to buy it as it might be of interest to my family members down the track when they are digging through all my 'stuff ' after I have gone to a better place. I would have bought one for each of my grandchildren but you could only buy one per household so whoever finds it first can have it. LOL!



When I see the Queen and Prince Phillip on TV they never cease to amaze me at what they can do at their age as many people in their nineties are in an aged care facility or no longer with us.

Well, I had better get back to trying to fix up my computer after upgrading to Windows 10.  All went well for the first few days and I was able to change a few things around to get it how I liked it then when it was turned on yesterday the desktop looked different as it was missing all the folders, etc. I normally have on it and then I got a message saying that I was signed in as a temporary user and I can't work out how to get it back to how it was after first upgrading. Most Aussies that watch TV would be familiar with 'NOT HAPPY JAN'!!!!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and if you live in Queensland stay safe during the forecast heavy rain on Saturday. I just hope our farmers get lots of rain too.

...oOo...

22 comments:

  1. Heartbreaking with the garden! This is our struggle too! Hubby replanted three times because something was terrorizing it. We couldn't figure it out until he found a small skunk inside one night! Between the armies of cutter ants and these other creatures, it is a battle...

    Hoping the rest of your produce stays safe and have a lovely weekend :)

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  2. Jes, at least we don't have skunks here. LOL! I smelt one when I was in Canada years ago. Whew!

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  3. Dear Nanna Chel, the Queen is womderful. Her Mother was amazing too. I think a lot about this... as I visit a nursing home and see peopel far younger unable to do anything at all. When the Rolling Stones came to Adelaide I said to Amdy how come they are rock starts and their are peopel younger than them in nursing homes! If you figure it out let me know. I have my theories!
    As for gardening.... I stick with successes and have given up anything thats a repeated failure. It is a hard choice.
    I have been to the farm for a couple of days to see my Dad for his Birthday was lovely trip, with love Annabelxxx

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    1. Annabel, I was wondering if you were okay. Happy Birthday to your Dad. He would enjoy having you there to celebrate with him.

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  4. Chel I struggle with pests in the veggie garden too! It is very disheartening to loose home grown produce after the effort of growing and the anticipation of harvest. I too admire the Queen and Prince Phillip for the active life they lead, I wonder how many elderly people achieve this level of activity? I hope you stay safe during the wild weather we have forecast for the weekend.

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    1. Sherri, I don't think we are going to get as much rain as you probably will. I just hope there is no damage done in the forecast 'superstorms'.

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  5. Hi Nanna Chel,
    Sorry about the garden. I used to set my old fruit and veggies in an area of the yard I did not mind if they ate. As a kind of peace offering. It worked for a long time. I also put fresh greens in a wagon to take in and out of garage in the eve. Annabel mentioned something about a light for the possums I think it was motion sensor. I agree they prefer fruit. hope you get to harvest something this year. :) My old neighbor set up a camera in her garden and when there was movement it got a nice picture of the critter. She said if she was feeding them she wanted to see who it was. We live in a city it is amazing how much wild life we have here.
    Blessings,
    Patti

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    1. Hi Patti, we have at least three possums here. I coukd go out at night and see what is nibbling my veggies but it has turned cold and I am too much of a wuss. Blessings to you too.

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  6. Indeed - why are you still shovelling dirt? Perhaps time to make the switch to no-dig gardening or layered mulch gardening. there is plenty of info on the 'interwebs' about both.
    I know who my culprits are in the garden....wicked hens!

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    1. Mr.HM we looked into no-dig gardening back in the seventies when it was quite popular and we bought Esther Deans books about how to do it. She was probably my age when she wrote her books. I might have to look into it once again although that won't solve the pest oroblem.

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  7. I use to have one of those trolleys when I lived in the city. I didn't like using plastic bags. Mine was from a chinese store so it was super cheap. Keep growing herbs! They cost so much. I've had to make those decisions when I've been pregnant and like now when I am sick with an auto immune disease. It's all about knowing what is right for you and certain times in your life.

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    1. I need one of those trolleys, Zena. I saw a trolley at a market a while ago and it was $70!!!!

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    2. Meg, I saw one at Lifeline today and it was $16! Too expensive as they are $20 at BigW :-)

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    3. Zena that is no good that you have an auto immune disease. So many seem to have various auto immune diseases these days. I wonder why. I do hope you find a way to cope with it so that your health improves.

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  8. Chel, I have all but given up on veges and such. I stick to the herbs and fruit trees. We've had greater success there. The possums eat everything here! So frustrating! You have to admire the Queen and Prince Phillip. They weathered all sorts, and have recovered beautifully. I agree that your commemorative coin, could become a real heirloom. Mimi xxx

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    1. Mimi, we have so many fruit trees that the fruit fly get into so the possums can have that fruit just as long as they leave my veggies alone. A friend of my hubby rang tonight to say that there is a mouse plague on the Downs so perhaps rodents are the culprits. Grrr!

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  9. So frustrating when you go out in the morning and find plants chewed down by visiting mowers! We have possums regularly visiting for their midnight feasts where they nibble on anything with new shoots. I have broccoli planted out at the moment and, so far, nothing has taken a shine to it. Fingers crossed!

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    1. I agree, Meg although I don't think I have had this problem before. Sally the Chook did nibble on a few cabbage leaves through the wire but I haven't had so much of a plant chewed down before. It is quite disappointing.

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  10. Like you Chel, I've been disappointed with some of my veggies this year - especially the beans and corn. No pests as such, but just not thriving. I'm not sure if it is the overly warm weather, or the fact that we've had so little rain. It's hard work carting water around the garden from the tank but otherwise we pay for town water.
    I agree Windows 10 is very tricky. What ever happened to "my computer" - seems to now be called "this PC'! Very confusing!

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  11. Disheartening, absolutely! Never say die though. ;)

    I've spent years trying to get anything to grow in my garden, and every year I ask myself the same question - why am I still doing this? I guess its my tenacious curiosity to learn more, which keeps me rolling up my sleeves every year though. We've lost more plants to nature than I care to count, lol, but one year I know we're going to figure it all out.

    I hope. ;)

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  12. Hi Nana Chel,
    I so agree with you, just when I think I am doing okay in the garden some bug or disease will get an almost ready fruit, veggie or herb, it is so frustrating.
    Chel, I have nominated your blog for a Liebster Award and will be posting part 2 of the award, where I pay it forward, tomorrow morning at 6am. My blog is stayhomeinstead.blogspot.com.au. I hope you enjoy the experience.
    Kind regards
    Fi

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  13. Thanks Fiona but I have already been nominated and had to decline. Thanks for the kind thought anyway.

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