Au0rey's Edible Backyard

Joined:06/08/09 Updated:23/10/11 Frost:
Location: MULGRAVE (VIC)

About My Edible Backyard

Why Au0rey Love's Edible Plants

My garden is about 300sqm most of it is new Buffalo Sapphire lawn so Ihave rather limited spacefor planting things. Ilove herbs spices, deciduous/tropical fruits and flowers.I love the idea of being able to harvest my ownvegetables and herbs fresh for cooking. I also love sitting at the patio and enjoying my garden, watching my boy and dog play just to name a few. I also love watching the bird wildlife come visit our trees. The greatest challenge would be nature -the climate...heatwaves andstrong windsalways make gardening hard work - And the constant invasion of pests/animal looterswhich Ihave to be vigilant about. The rewards are more than just having healthy produce from the garden but also a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment I get with each success and overcoming any challenges nature throws me.

Comments

Brad1 says... [5970 days 6hrs ago]

your page is looking great. I answered your strawberry post when I noticed it :)

Fruit Tree Forum Contributions

Au0rey Forum Contributions
Organic way to control peach curl - Hi, have you tried using oregano oil in successfully curbing peach curl in peach trees? I hope to find a safe organic method for my two trees. Thanks...3190 days 16hrs
How to prune passionfruit vine1 - Hi all, I have a passionfruit vine which has been really fruitful this year. Attached are pictures of it at the moment. It is my first time growing one that is successful and it is only about 3 years old. Could I ask if it needs any pruning in winter? I a..3219 days 13hrs
Which apple variety has the best nutrients - Hi all, I am looking at buying an apple tree for my garden. As the garden is not big, I do not have many options. i want to get an apple tree which as the title says has the best nutrients. I am not sure if all apple varieties are the same in terms of nut..3219 days 13hrs
Young passion fruit vine - Sorry about photo orientation. I have rotated it before uploading but it still came up wrong. And I attached two and only one got posted. Here's the other one...3943 days 11hrs
Young passion fruit vine - Hi, I have a young non grafted black passionfruit vine which has done well this year and grown this big. It hasn't started fruiting yet. Do I need to prune this vine to encourage pruning? And when should I do it? It has lots of shoots crawling all over. ..3943 days 11hrs

White Currant (Grafted) ^10/10

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 15hrs

Comments: -

I think it is grafted but I am not entirely sure. When I bought it it already had some berries. It was planted same time as my black currant. Yummy refreshing berries. It is shaded most time of the day as sunshine does not directly hit its spot but it is growing well.

Sept 2011 : Went dormant earlier than my black currant but re-grew earlier in spring and already has new flower clusters.

Fruiting Months October and November

Height 0.6 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Sun/Shade: Low Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: seasol, dynamic lifter

When I Fertilise: Winter

Pest Control: Caterpillars. Squashing and watching best control.

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0 of 1 people found this review useful

Black Currant

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 15hrs

Comments: - This black currant was planted roughly Oct 2009 but till now I have not got a single berry. It is flourishing in terms of vegetative growth and is in a good sun position.

Fruiting Months October

Height 0.4 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Seasol, dynamic lifter

Pest Control: None.

Question: Why isnt it fruiting? Have given potash in winter and dynamic lifter.

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Cling-stone Yellow Peach

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 15hrs

Comments: -

Planted June 2009.

This peach tree was transplanted from my friend's garden. It is about 2YO when moved but it transplanted extremely well and bore flowers and fruit the first year on our property. The peaches are yellow clingstone and I have no idea what variety it is. They are crunchy and sweet and the favourite tree of my husband who has no interest in gardening.

Fruiting Months October, November, December

Planted: 2009

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Blood

When I Fertilise: Winter

Pest Control: Lime Sulfur before bud swell but it still got a fair bit of leaf curl. Will do twice a year of lime sulfur.

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Question: If I want to control the size of this tree, should I trim it in spring/summer so that I allow it to have time to grow new shoots before it goes dormant in winter? If I trim it only in winter, wont I lose a season of crops???

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1 of 3 people found this review useful

Pomegranate

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 16hrs

Comments: -

This pomegranate is already here when I moved in. It is not very big and I have not seen any fruits yet...lots of leaves and I dont fertilise it...just regular watering.

Dec2010 : Two flowers grew but dropped off.

Height 1.6 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: No

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2 of 5 people found this review useful

Aloe Vera

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 16hrs

Comments: -

Under the patio where there is partial sun & shade, the aloe vera plant is doing very well. It needs only ocasional light watering. In winter, I use a fleece & pegs to wrap around the whole pot to prevent any frost. The mother plant has gone so big I harvested and make a a dessert out of it (white fungus, gingko nuts, aloe vera flesh, rock sugar, canned longans). There are lots of pups growing and the pot is overcrowded that I needed to repot some pups and give some away.

Planted: 2008

Growing: In a Pot

Sun/Shade: Low Sun

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: composted chook manure

Pest Control:

None

Organic Status:Organic

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2 of 3 people found this review useful

Grape Carolina Black Rose

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 16hrs

Comments: -

Oct 2009 Still tiny but growing. New leaves are a bit distorted and curled. Hope it will crawl up my patio support pole and onto the surrounding...will be very pretty sight.

Oct 2010 Sadly my dog decided to prune both leaders really hard last autumn. Fortunately it survived, to my amazement, and is growing again with a few new buds and now leaves. Looking forward to have it crawl up my pongola again. :)

Sept 2011 Finally this spring this vine has produced lots of flower clusters. It's two leader vines are crawling on both sides of my roof beam.

Planted: 2009

Height 2.8 metres

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: blood and bone, homemade compost, seasol

When I Fertilise: Winter

Pest Control:

None so far.

Organic Status:Organic

Question: Do I need to remove extra new season's shoots/ flower clusters so as to allow the stronger ones to develop into grapes?

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2 of 2 people found this review useful

Kaffir Lime

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 16hrs

Comments: -

Had it in a pot before but it started not to do well so i planted into the ground. It also did not do well. After researching i found that it had iron deficiency and after feeding iron chelate, it become very healthy and even flowered and fruited. I use the leaves (dont use the fruit at all) in Thai and Asian dishes such as tom yam soup and curries and rendangs.

So far this is the only citrus that is thriving in my garden. It is slow-growing and more than enough to meet the needs of my family.

I hardly water it eversince it was well-established and only water during hot summer days.

Planted: 2009

Height 0.9 metres

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Seasol, Citrus Dynamic Lifter

Pest Control: Occasionally I get aphids on the young juicy leaves but usually easy to deal with at the early stages of infestations. Just got to get my eyes peeled during spring new growth.

Organic Status:Partially Organic

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3 of 5 people found this review useful

Brown Turkey Fig ^10/10

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5328 days 18hrs

Comments: -

I have two brown turkey figs. Both are in pots. One is having developing figs while the other was thought dead till it started to produce green buds and now leaves. Am very very estatic that it is alive and glad that I did not give up and bin it...It is from Fleming's nursery.

The other one is just another brown turkey fig tree from a normal nursery and was much cheaper.However, this brown turkey tree did far better than the Fleming's in terms of growth/development and in fact figs from both trees taste equally good.

Fruiting Months January, October, November, December

Planted: 2009

Growing: In a Pot

Fruit Harvest: 10 Fruit Per Year

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Worm poo, homemade compost, seasol

When I Fertilise: When Fruiting and Winter

Pest Control:

No sprays but netting done to deter birds.

Organic Status:Organic

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7 of 13 people found this review useful

pixzee peach (Grafted) ^10/10

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5601 days 9hrs

Comments: -

Well, it is just a dwarf sitting in a pot but gives me full size juicy, sweet and fragrant pretty red peaches! My son is not a fruit lover but he adores the pixzee peaches! It is small and easy to care for. This peach is in its second summer.

Fruiting Months January, November, December

Planted: 2009

Height 0.7 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 2010 Months from Purchase in Pot

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: blood and bone, seasol

When I Fertilise: Winter and Spring

Pest Control:

Mancozeb for peach curl in winter dormant time.

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6 of 6 people found this review useful

Comquat Calamondin

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5690 days 11hrs

Comments: -

This tree has been a pleasure to have though it hasnt produced tons of fruits. It does flower quite a bit. I find it a very pretty ornamental fruiting tree. It is in a pot.

After adding potash, it put on lots of lowers and then fruits but fruits did not grow very big.

Oct 2010 : Learnt from Better Homes & Garden that a fat root stock with thin trunk (like mine) means the citrus tree is hungry. Fertilised with lots of potash & blood and bone and Seasol this time, hoping for more flowers and bigger fruits.

Planted: 2009

Height 0.9 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Partially Organic

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3 of 3 people found this review useful

Lemon grass

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5690 days 11hrs

Comments: -

I have five clumps of this at various spots in the garden. Looking forward to having my own lemongrass for cooking.

Oct 2010 : The five clumps look all brown and dry after winter. The stalks do not look fat enough for harvesting after one year in the ground.

Pollination: Self Pollination

Pest Control:

None

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4 of 8 people found this review useful

Lemon Verbena ^10/10

Au0rey's Edible Fruits
Update: 5690 days 12hrs

Comments: -

Love this herb. It has a wonderful lemon smell and I use it for making tea.

Oct 2010, last winter every single leaf turned yellowish and dropped. I thought it had given up on me. Came spring and after some pruning, some new leaves are growing. Yipee!

Planted: 2009

Height 0.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Hand Pollination

Pest Control:

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1 of 3 people found this review useful