Fruit trees

[george formby]

Strawberries are bastards in my opinion. Finally hit a punnet a day about 3 weeks ago off 5 plants, er, 4. One is in a mobile garden & the birds hammer it. Only had 3 berries off it. The best I have ever tasted, though. Pajero. Need loads of food & water to keep them happy. I always thought they stayed close to the ground but mine are over 2ft high & have 3ft runners on them.

How do I keep the young plants going for next year? I've read that they should be kept in sand or gravel once rooted.

Oh, i has aubergines now. Finally the bajillions of lovely purple flowers are fruiting.

This is my first ever year as a gardner. Love it.

[Swoop]

Strawberries have been producing well but have now gone "off the boil". Hopefully a second batch soon.
The grapes are ripening rapidly. For all those who have bird problems... Mitre 10 have bird netting. Get some and use it!

Beetroot are going great guns (one batch already bottled), as are the tomatoes which only need a bit more sun to change to an eating colour...
Beans have been great this year with the purple ones ripening much earlier than the green. Lettuce has been producing massive amounts and the pumpkins are getting much larger.
The rockmelons and watermelons are also improving in size.
A bumper harvest!

[Blackbird]

New lemon tree with no fruit - old one rotted last year.
Lime - growing well but fruit drop off when they're small.
Early peach tree - only got a handful off before the rest got brown rot.
Lemonade tree - great crop. My favourite!
Golden Queen peach trees - coming on nicely - no sign of brown rot.
Royal gala apples -not as many as last year and quite small - maybe a bit dry rhis year. Bloody Kaka from the bush near our place fighting with the Rosellas for the upper tier of fruit.
Granny Smith apples - it will be another great crop.
Blueberry plant - the usual 50 or so berries which the birds usually nick. Hasn't been very successful but keep giving it "one more year" in hope

Our most successful "crop" is bromeliads. They're everywhere in the garden but you can't eat the buggers - they look great though

[george formby]

I'm like a proud parent, I put so little in but get so much out. No sniggering at the back!

One of me matties. I can pick up a basket ball with one hand.

[Banditbandit]

same here banditx2...possums get the lot..in spite of fencing with chicken wire etc. Gave up on corn - they love that...they also love citrus - they get joy from the fat layer in the pithy bit of lemons and grapefruit.
Last month the regional council pest control person made a visit here to sign up the rural hood to a poison program...using arsenic. So he mounts the white box up a tree out front laden with poison...(tiny little pea size). I forgot about it - checked it after 10 days and found THREE dead possies right at the foot of the tree piled up - actually on top of one another. Ate the bait - bang - dead - drop. Fuck...

Good shit .. we live in a rural area so they are always a problem ... I find lead poisoning works well too ... I prefer it to leaving something like arsenic around outside ..w e also have weka and birds around.