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After the old forum software breaking in a way that we were unable to fix, we've migrated the site to a new platform.

Some elements aren't working as we'd hoped - some avatars didn't survive the transition, and we're still having issues with attachments that weren't added as inline images, but we're hoping to have that all sorted out soon.

How is Your Vege Garden going?

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  • Koffee_KosmoKoffee_Kosmo
    My coffee trees have grown very quickly since they were re-potted last year prior to that they were in small but root bound pits since 2011 While in there new home they get regularly watered and fertilised and Seasol to keep the soil healthy Just took a photo wth my wife close by for height reference This year is the first mass flowering they have had - Last year only a handful of flowers came out KK Attachment not found.
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  • MoonMoon
    on 1416696114:
    Are you sure it's not a fungus ? As it sure looks like one If not and you have water nearby It may be frogs KK
    Nah .. definitely not fungus, which has grown on and around dead tree trunks nearby. This occurred overnight and has mucus around it. The mass is about 10cm x 5cm x Ht 3cm and tapers down. It also happened about a week ago .. although in that instance .. the egg mass turned orange as it dried up. Whatever lays them is relying on the garden being watered so that the eggs remain moist .. cause they dry out quickly in the sun. Again .. some of the eggs were just below the surface when I dug under the mass to scrape them off the surface. It must have a huge abdomen to drop that amount. Even a large butterfly is a stretch. No water pools nearby. Your trees are looking very healthy.
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  • Koffee_KosmoKoffee_Kosmo
    Well the next thing I can deduce is that it is Slime Mould KK
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  • MoonMoon
    You'd have a lot of different species up in Brisbane that are keen to eat up your produce. Having said that though .. it appears to be attracted to the lettuce .. as on both occasions they dropped their load closest to them.. with tomato being the next closest. Best chance of identifying this grizzly - is perhaps a local Melburnian who has had the same thing turn up in their vege garden. After transferring this mass into a sunny position .. it developed an outer crust of eggs that oozed a orangy puss. Now .. I've no doubt Bear Gryllis would find some locals in Asia who would find this a tasty protein source .. however I'm yet to share the local enthusiasm shown on his TV programs about eating crickets and Turantulas .. who's abdomen was considered the choice part of the spider when a young local was asked .. and replied .. because it is creamy.  ??? Not exactly our cup of coffee, perhaps .. but I can see the sense in exploring other protein sources in the West when we run into future food shortages. I also poked it to study its inner consistency, which was like a yellow runny custard .. and gave it the odour test. it had an earthy smell.  .. and I was careful not to get my snozzle too close .. as the outer eggs were light and getting blown around when disturbed .. so inhaling at an inappropriate time may have resulted in me snorting up whatever they may be .. and the thought of them growing inside of me conjured up an image from the film 'Alien' Yep .. that one.
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  • MoonMoon
    Amazing what you can find in a home vege garden Here's the visual of what I'm talking about. Looks a bit like a custard filled muffin  :rofl:
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  • Koffee_KosmoKoffee_Kosmo
    on 1416708342:
    Amazing what you can find in a home vege garden Here's the visual of what I'm talking about. Looks a bit like a custard filled muffin  :rofl:
    It's definitely a slime mould At about 1 min in this video you will see an exact likeness to yours [embed=425,349] And a very useful companion link - http://www.science-guy.com/Science-guy-com:--Protozoa.php KK
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  • MoonMoon
    Hey excellent call KK .. that's impressive! WOW! Cheers for looking that up .. and the vid.  :thumb:
    I was going to scoop this up and put in a plastic bag and into the bin .. only it will only transfer it to multiply somewhere else. might have to terminate these with a dose of chlorine solution. Shame if they're beneficial to the environment, only I'd rather not risk 'The Invasion of the Slime Mould' scenario. Things could get out of control the way those little suckers behave .. spores n all.
    I'm looking it up and researching whether slime mould is ok or bad for gardens before doing anything drastic. Don't like harming the good guys .. and girls.
    UPDATE: Apparently Slime Moulds aren't a problem for plants or Humans .. so no need to order a full biohazard suit for when going out into my back yard.
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  • RichardMRichardM
    I've been getting a lot of those. As far as I can tell, anywhere that I've put coffee grounds, and then have added sulphate of potash, they spring up like crazy. They don't seem to cause any issues though for veges. I have found with a few of them, they fluoress if you put vinegar on them (similar to how some stinkhorns do - though I'd take these slimes over stinkhorns anyday). I will take a photo next time I get one. One day, I had one in my coffee plant pot (which is basically 90% coffee grounds that they are growing in), and overnight, it took up the entire plant surface, and climbed down the side of the pot to the deck.
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  • Steve1Steve1
    Hi Moon, Just out of curiosity - any mulch or organic matter added recently? Lots of stuff comes in with organic material, I've had what looks (and I'm no fungi expert) to be ink caps on pea straw and some other weird mould/fungi on other mulches, particularly eucalypt. Also have bright orange moulds on coffee grounds after a few weeks in a bag (I regularly use coffee grounds as a surface dressing as snail and slug deterrents around new plantings). My call as with a previous post is not to jump in a nuke everything, aphids have predators and nuking the aphids kills the predators, leaving you more likely to have to use chemical control the next time. The moulds are likely a response to organic material and dampness - and soon enough will dry out and go away until next time conditions are right. Meanwhile they are likely doing your soil a beneficial service including fixing carbon amongst other things. (check out the literature on fungal mycorrrhizal vegetable/plant associations) Cheers Steve
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  • MoonMoon
    on 1416830888:
    Hi Moon, Just out of curiosity - any mulch or organic matter added recently? the literature on fungal mycorrrhizal vegetable/plant association
    Yes .. the soil was pretty hard and sterile so I've mixed 3 way vege soil mix, cow manure, seasol and pea straw The pea straw was the last ingredient that I added. The soil is pretty good now. I haven't had aphids .. but have had heaps of white fly. I was using a mix of potassium soap, garlic and hot chilli .. which only seems to piss 'em off and then they land back on the veges. After giving them a squirt .. I noticed what looked like a tiny praying mantis. Probably wasn't but similar look .. only 1cm long. I figured it might have been a predator of the white fly .. and haven't sprayed since. The plants have grown enough for the white fly to not be a problem. They are all over the carrot tops .. but that doesn't matter. They were a real problem for the mint .. and have cut it all back to the ground for a fresh start. Apart from the mint .. they love the Capsicum plants, lettuce, beans, radishes, coriander .. and to a lesser degree, tomatoes. I've just added a layer of cane straw mulch .. to help keep the surface moist and save on water over Summer. The soil in this vege patch is currently good enough to get by on .. and will improve over time .. along with some more organic matter being added over time. My other (original) vege patch is being rested this season. It had Tomatoes that had a bug that was affecting a lot of tomato plants around Melbourne. I've only just pulled out a number of plants that pop up each year. The soil is very rich and I've been putting a lot of compost in it. I have a few beans in there .. only anything else gets attacked quickly. A few of the beans took a hit .. but managed to survive. The surrounding trees have grown .. so the patch doesn't get as much Sun as it did .. which is why I started the other vege patch .. for the plants that need more Sunlight. Early days .. and still experimenting. Both mine .. and next doors nectarine trees haven't produced many nectarines this season .. whereas the Moor Park Apricot is loaded .. which is located at the far end of my vege patch .. as just seen in the photo in the post on top. [Top left corner .. trunk in middle]
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