Recent content by nemspy

So my wife surprised me last night by uttering the words "have you ever considered setting up a sun lamp inside and growing a plant or two in here?"  -- I've considered it, but always thought she'd be less than impressed at the idea. lol   Anyway, this year, again, has been nothing short of a...

Hi everyone,   In light of last season's epic balcony failure, I've picked up one of those mini greenhouses from Bunnings to stick out there in an attempt to shield a few plants from the worst of the sea breeze. I've taken a shelf out of the thing so there's more room for it to grow.   Has...

  I can't use the sacrificial plant. There's just not enough space up here. Meanwhile, down below is an untamed hillside with about 15 billion Nasturtiums.   There's a nice bit of garden bed, raised up in corrugated iron boxes, on the outskirts of the school where I teach.... hmmm......

I don't suppose anyone's interested in some second generation seeds that are producing a rather nice purple capsicum/something else, probably a cheiro goias hybrid? The result is a small purple capsicum (ripening to red) around the side of a plum, that has jalapeno level heat around in some...

  I think I brought the colony up here, Rainman.   What I'm hoping to do this season is grow fewer plants so I can keep them under control or even wipe them out.   I'm also going to try using the very woodchippy citrus tree potting mix that, inexplicably, worked very well for me in my first...

    That's a Fatalii, surely? Last season was bloody depressing for me. Obviously my large balcony is far less than ideal; however, my first season it got quite verdant up there and I had plenty of pods. This season just gone was just APHIDGEDDON. No amount of squishing or pyrethrum would...

That back right one in the second photo looks like most of my plants!

  Mine haven't. My entire collection completely carked it about a month ago with the exception of a large red hab and a large cheiro goias which are still going ok. The stuff I started from seed in Sept last year never really took off at all, got ravaged by aphids, or scorched by the wind. Then...

Yeah, the red hab and goais lived at my Mum's in Perth overwinter. The hab kept its leaves all winter. They are about five feet tall in pots and no matter what the balcony throws at them they look great. The other stuff? If a sparrow farts outside they seem to be absolutely crisped with...

Honestly, I'm just about ready to pull the pin and wait until we move away from this balcony situation.   My plants this year are beyond a joke. They started out all lush and lovely but every day I go out they have lost more leaves, very few flowers fail to drop, and 2/3 of my collection look...

Near gale-force winds it seemed like last night. One of my plants was actually UPROOTED :(

So did anyone else, at the festival, go past that display by the train and pick up any fallen pods for seeds? I scored a lilac cayenne and a white jellybean habanero. :)

The festival was OK. I always find events with crowds irritating because of how much people just suck. You'd try to get up to see the various stalls and 50% of the people causing the traffic jam would be dickheads who have finished with the stall and have just decided to have a chat with their...

Ill be going, although my wife probably wont let me buy any more plants :(

Not many pods at all - plants ranging from super healthy looking to just about bare of leaves - major pot and soil mix issues, I reckon.   My saffron and orange habs seem to be finally holding fruit but the plants really didnt like this last month or so of summer and hot winds. ----   Not sure...