No more anonymous comments

I've received a few emails recently from people saying they were unable to leave comments on my blog.  I'm sorry about this but there is no other way.  A few weeks ago I changed a few settings on my blog and removed the ability to leave anonymous comments.  If you can't leave a comment but have something you would like to say, my email address can be found on my for sale page.  

Sadly, I have to prevent anonymous comments because I am no longer willing to put up with the threatening and hateful comments that are being written by the leadership team of a church we left several years ago.  

After leaving that church, from time to time I would get a bunch of threatening comments left on this blog.  Some tell me to die, others tell me to kill myself, some call me an idiot, others ask me what authority I have to write anything.  They are unpleasant, but no one but me sees them, and I delete them.  I never thought too much about who may be writing these comments.  

One of the many nasty comments left by church leadership

Lately, when these comments are left someone also unsuccessfully tries to hack into my email and other accounts.  The comments were all 'anonymous', but nothing is truly anonymous nowadays.  

The timing of the last set of comments and log in attempts made me curious.  I don't know why I wasn't curious earlier, and I feel like a fool.

I work with investigators and cyber security experts, so I asked if they could tell me more about these comments and unsuccessful log in attempts.  They did whatever it is that cyber security people do, then they told me that the attempted log ins had originated from the town our previous church is in and gave me a few other details that link this to the leadership of our previous church.  I feel naive for not realising earlier that these comments were from the leaders of our previous church.   

A few things happened over the past few years that really should have tipped me off as to who was writing these, but I never joined the dots.  It is frustrating that five years after leaving I am still being harassed by the leaders of our previous church.  Their ongoing actions say a lot about them.  

If you are considering going to a church, be careful.  Make sure that you can leave if you chose to do so.  Some churches are great, others less so, and some like my previous church cross the line from being controlling and toxic churches into being manipulative cults that will harass you if you ever leave.  

If you can't leave a comment, feel free to reach out via email.  My email address can be found on my for sale page.

Baby lizards hatching

The other day I was doing something in the garden and I moved a pot that was filled with soil.  Under the pot were a few tiny lizard eggs.  

I could not replace the pot in fear of squashing all the eggs, and I could not leave the eggs uncovered without them being eaten by birds.  I worried that I had killed these lizards before they even had a chance to hatch.  Sorry lizards, I wouldn't have touched that pot had I thought there were eggs under there. 

I carefully collected the eggs and put them in a small container of cocopeat and hoped they would hatch.  One of the eggs was damaged when I lifted the pot and clear fluid was oozing out, I was pretty sure it was beyond hope, the other eggs looked good and probably still had a small chance of survival.  

Reptile eggs are different from bird eggs, they must be handled differently or you will kill the baby.  Chicken eggs need to be tilted/rotated/rolled to ensure the embryo develops properly.  If you roll a reptile egg the baby will often die.  In a chicken egg the embryo attaches to the air space at the fat end of the egg, no matter which may you roll the egg the baby can breathe.  A reptile embryo tends to float and attach to the top of the egg, if you roll the egg the baby may drown.  I knew this, and I was careful of the tiny eggs.  Even so, a lot could go wrong, and I had a bad feeling about this.

Tiny baby skink

I put a piece of bark over the eggs to protect them.  At first it was too dry and the eggs started to shrivel, so I started to mist the substrate with water.  The eggs plumped up again.  I worried that this shriveling had destroyed any chance these eggs had of hatching, but there was a small chance I got onto this in time. 

After a few weeks, one tiny skink hatched out of a tiny egg.  It was very exciting.  The baby skink was tiny and adorable.  

We kept it for a day or two, and then released it in the vegetable garden close to where I collected the eggs.  The baby lizard will have plenty of shelter, and access to food.  

The kids were a mix of sad to see it go, and thrilled that they hatched a lizard.  

Baby skink being set free

I was relieved that at least one egg hatched.  I still felt bad, but at least I had not killed them all. 

A day or two after releasing that baby lizard a second tiny lizard egg hatched.  Again this was exciting, and we kept it for a day or two so the kids could stare at this tiny and remarkable creature.

When we were letting the baby free we noticed a third egg had also hatched!  

We released the third lizard along with the second one, they were released in the vegetable garden just next to where I got all the eggs from.  They have plenty of food, and plenty of places to hide from predators.  

Baby lizard soon after hatching

Tiny baby lizard

The day after we released those two lizards, another one hatched!  

I was worried when I lifted the pot that I may have doomed those poor eggs, but I am happy to say that most survived.  Only the one damaged egg that was oozing liquid did not make it, all the others hatched.  

Having four hatch and being able to release them was a great result, far better than I had expected.  These four baby lizards now live in my garden, and will eat insects and/or be eaten by birds.  From here they will do whatever nature intends.  

I love how excited my kids were at seeing the tiny lizards, and I am love that (while my kids wanted to keep the lizards forever) they were willing to release them. 

Simple Kombucha continuous brew recipe

Very simple Kombucha (чайный гриб) continuous brew recipe 

I wrote an earlier blog post on kombucha SCOBY and described what a scoby is compared to the pellicle and starter liquid.  That post started to get a little long so I decided to stop there and write a separate post on the kombucha recipe we use.  

There are plenty of kombucha recipes on the internet.  They pretty much all work because it is actually hard to go wrong brewing kombucha when you use both pellicle and starter liquid. 

I am not suggesting that the way I brew kombucha is the best way to do it, or even a good way to do it, I am only saying it is simple and it works for me.  This blog post is partly a way for me to record this in case I ever forget how to do this in the future.

Continuous brew чайный гриб

I tend to do continuous brew rather than messing around with batches and bottling and using fridge space.  Continuous brew works for me, it never goes wrong, I don't see how it could go wrong, and it takes very little time and effort.  

Some people much prefer batch brewing.  I hear about these going wrong from time to time.  Apparently the issues with batch brewing are simple enough to avoid.  I can't offer any advice on batch brewing or flavouring kombucha because I don't do that.  

Continuous brew and batch brew are both good methods, which one to use is more about personal preference than anything else.  The scoby doesn't care if you do continuous brew or batch brew, you could try both and see what you prefer.  

Kombucha ready to drink

Kombucha looks like beer or apple cider

I have a large glass jar with a tap.  This jar contains one or more pellicles and some finished kombucha/starter liquid.  

I drew two lines on the jar, one at 4 liters, the other at 6 liters.  I fill it up to the 6L line, we drink it as wanted and I refill it once it drops to the 4L line.  It is simple, and a little inconsistent, but can never fail unless there is some mechanical failure such as the jar gets smashed or the tap falls out.  

I don't put the lid on the jar as the scoby needs some air.  Instead I tend to keep a cloth on top of the jar, this keeps out insects and dust.  I used to hold the cloth on with a rubber band, but stopped bothering with that a few years ago and the cloth just sitting on top still does the trick.  

Continuous brew чайный гриб recipe

Once we drink enough that the liquid drops to the 4L line I fill it with sweet tea that has cooled.  Never use hot tea as this will kill (or at least damage) the scoby. 

1. I boil 2L of water, add 1/2 cup white sugar, and 2 or 3 tea bags.  I mostly use regular black tea bags, but sometimes also include a bag of green tea.  
2. I let this steep for about 5 to 15 minutes, then remove the tea bags.  
3. I let this cool to room temperature.  
4. Once cooled I pour this sweet tea in my jar, and it is ready to drink in a few days (or immediately if you prefer it sweeter).  

Let me stress that I always allow it to cool before adding it to my jar, never add this when still hot or it will kill the scoby.  

Some people use more sugar while others use less sugar, some people use more tea bags others use less tea bags.  Sometimes I use some black tea and include some green tea, other times I only use black tea.  I use tea bags so I don't have to strain out any leaves, using loose leaf tea would also be fine as long as you can strain out the leaves.  

If I go away for a while I just fill it up and it is fine when I return.  I don't have a lid on my jar so there is no risk of building too much pressure.  The contents of the jar are too acidic for most pathogens to survive, so there is no danger there.  A pantry moth or something could get in and I would have to deal with that, but that hasn't happened here yet.

Continuous brew kombucha simply works, you can't really go wrong as long as you let the tea cool before adding to the jar and the scoby is strong. 

Continuous brew kombucha, I keep a cloth on top 

My jar already has a pellicle, and 4L or so of starter, so it brews quickly and is ready to drink in next to no time.  I hear of other people having to wait two weeks before their brew is ready, they tend to use significantly less starter liquid than I do.  

Sometimes when we are drinking a lot of kombucha this drops a bit below the 4L line before I have a chance to refill it, that doesn't really matter.  Other times I refill before it reaches the line, again this doesn't really matter.  Over summer it brews a lot faster, over winter it brews far slower.  This is not a precise science.  

Most recipes suggest adding a pellicle and 10% starter liquid to 90% tea, this works fine but is a lot slower than how I do it.  I use about 66% starter liquid and about 33% sweet tea, and it brews very fast.  We tend to drink some kombucha most days, so want to fill my jar and have it ready to drink as soon as possible.  Sometimes my kids drink it as soon as I filled it, I prefer to wait a few days as I like the sharper taste.

It usually has more bubbles

While my method may not be the best way to brew kombucha, the fact that I can keep a continuous brew going like this for a few years is testament to the fact that this method is working.  Perhaps there are better methods, but this works for me, and it is so simple. 

If you have a kombucha recipe that is different, and it works for you, please keep using it.  If you try one recipe and don't love it, then change it and try something different.  One of the best parts of kombucha is nothing is precise, and you really can't fail.  

If you are new to brewing kombucha, it is difficult for anything to go wrong if you brew using both pellicle and starter liquid.  Some people discard the pellicle from every batch, which works for them, but when first learning how to do this it is best to include the pellicle as well as the starter liquid.

чайный гриб has been brewed by people at home since at least the 1800s, it is simple and inexpensive.  I have never used a heat mat, I don't have a thermometer, nothing is overly precise and nothing ever goes wrong.  At worst I leave it too long before drinking and it tastes a little too sour for my liking.  

If you want to try brewing kombucha at home, you could try using unflavoured kombucha from the shops.  This will likely have a significantly lower number of strains and you can't be certain it has not been pasturised (killing many of the bacteria and yeasts) prior to sale.  You are better off finding someone who brews kombucha and buying a scoby (not just a pellicle) from them.  If you can't find any locally, and you are located in Australia, my contact details can be found on my for sale page.  

Hedou micro dwarf bok choy

Hedou micro dwarf bok choy (Brassica rapa) is one of the smallest, and fastest growing, varieties of bok choy.  It is sometimes called an extra dwarf, or micro dwarf variety, and is far smaller than baby bok choy.

I recorded the number of days this takes to grow a few times, this little one takes about a month from planting the seed to harvesting full size plants, and takes about 10 weeks from planting the seed until the next seeds are ready for harvest.  

Hedou micro bok choy

Last winter I had a container of soil that I planned to grow something in during the warmer months.  I didn't think of using this for anything else until mid winter, and there was not a huge amount of time before I wanted to plant something else in there.  

Rather than leaving it empty over winter, I grew some hedou bok choy in there.  This had ample space for root growth, and could fit a lot of plants.  

Once they flowered and died I was able to plant some perennial buckwheat in the container.  This meant I got to eat some of these bok choy, I refreshed my seed stocks, and didn't have to tie up useable space growing this as the container would have otherwise just been empty.  This was a great use of (otherwise unused) space.

Micro bok choy

All varieties of Brassica rapa cross pollinate readily.  I didn't want to cross this with other bok choy or tokyo bekana.  For this reason I grow some Hedou bok extra dwarf choy in my garden, but don't let it go to seed.  

To ensure I keep my line pure, I grew some Hedou micro dwarf Bok Choy in my greenhouse and only collect seed from these plants.  Seed set is lower in the greenhouse as few pollinators live in there, and many are captured by my sundews.  The lack of pollinators also means the chances of cross pollination are incredibly low.  

Hedou micro bok choy

These plants grew very fast.  Some were culled/eaten, others were allowed to flower and set seed.

Even though my line is not crossed with any other variety, there is a chance to add some selective pressure.  I tend to cull heavily and only allow individuals to flower if they possess all the traits I want to see.

Even though these plants are tiny, I want strong vigorous plants.  Anything that appeared weak was culled.  I don't want weak genetics in my line. 

I grow everything organically so want my plants to have natural resistance to pests.  You will notice holes in many of the leaves, this is unavoidable.  Anything that was affected by a lot of pests was culled.  

Hedou bok choy grows taller when in flower, perhaps 40cm tall, some plants are taller than others.  The flowers are typical yellow brassica flowers.  

Some plants produce very few flowers, these were culled as I want my line to be fertile and simple to save seed from. 

Bok Choy Flowers

Hedou bok choy flowering

The plants allowed to flower and set seed all posses the traits I want to see in this line.  In this way I am keeping the line pure, and I am selecting for desirable traits.  

Seed saving is simple.  As they were pollinated in my greenhouse they would have pollinated one another and little to no crossing with other varieties could have occurred.  I allow the plants to grow and then die naturally.  Then I allow the seed pods to dry on the plant.  Eventually I collected the seeds to plant later.  

I certainly don't get a lot of seed when they are in the greenhouse due to the low numbers of pollinators, but the seed produced is pure and not contaminated with other varieties.  I try to hand pollinate some flowers, but I can't do as good a job as insects.

I sometimes sell seed of Hedou bok choy, as well as other vegetables, if you are interested they are listed on my for sale page. 

Kombucha (чайный гриб) SCOBY

For a few years we made чайный гриб (pronounced as chai-knee grib).  This translates to tea mushroom.  The beverage itself is sometimes known as grib “mushroom”.  I have read on the internet that it is also affectionately called gribok “little mushroom”, but have never heard anyone use this term.  Most people in Australia call this drink kombucha. 

Kombucha is sweet tea that has been fermented using SCOBY.  If you make kombucha at home it is cheap and surprisingly simple to do.  Many people flavour it with various things, while some of these are nice I prefer to drink it as is without flavouring.  

SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.  Various studies have been done to count the number of species present in the scoby, while these numbers range dramatically depending on the scoby tested (and keeping in mind that each scoby will gain and/or lose species as time passes), kombucha often contains around 200 species with 20 bacteria and 16 yeast being the most dominant. 

People often like to think that symbiosis means all the organisms working together in balanced harmony to benefit each other.  The truth is far less romantic.  Symbiosis only means different organisms living together for a period of time, symbiosis does not have to be mutually beneficial, or even beneficial at all.  

In kombucha, all the organisms are competing for survival, some of them benefit from this arrangement, others less so, some even entrap and almost 'farm' others.  These organisms competing for survival make the environment too harsh for non-beneficial organisms, while adding health benefits to the drink.  It is a fascinating subject that is poorly researched, and no two scoby's are exactly the same.  

kombucha jellyfish

For some inexplicable reason there is a growing number of people who like to argue (looking at you Reddit) over what exactly is the 'SCOBY' in kombucha.  It seems like semantics to me.  They will also aggressively demand that scoby is written all in capitals because it is an acronym, they are correct on that point, but I find it harder to read when all in capitals so tend to use lower case. 

Kombucha pellicle

When making kombucha at home it often has a pellicle.  The pellicle is a flat thing that looks a bit like a pancake, or a jellyfish, (or a placenta).  Some people refer to the pellicle as the scoby, while others aggressively attack them for using this term as it is not strictly accurate.  

The pellicle is made of cellulose that is built by bacteria.  The scoby lives in and on and under the pellicle, you could not separate them if you tried.  The pellicle helps to protect the scoby, and helps the scoby survive if conditions are not ideal.  Kombucha pellicles have been tested in the international space station to see how it protects against radiation etc - it is a fascinating subject.  We don't fully understand how the pellicle works, or exactly what it does, but we know it has a role for the microorganisms interacting with each other.  While the pellicle is not the scoby, I don't see much harm in calling the pellicle the scoby, to me it seems like semantics.  

While certainly not ideal, it is possible to brew kombucha by simply adding the pellicle to sweetened tea.  This is possible, and I have done it, but things could go wrong.  The main problem is the liquid will generally not be acidic enough to prevent other microorganisms from growing.  Another issue is most of the scoby are in/on the pellicle rather than mixed through the liquid.  If starting kombucha with only using the pellicle, by the time enough of the scoby are in the liquid and the pH is low enough there are also many other microorganisms who have started to grow.  For this reason you should always include at least some starter tea when brewing kombucha.  Most people add about 10% starter to 90% sweet tea but I include a lot more.  You could only use the pellicle and add something acidic to lower the pH, but it is easier and better to just include some starter tea.  

Kombucha

Kombucha starter tea

Some people refer to the kombucha liquid that you drink as the SCOBY.  Again, this is not technically true.  The liquid is tea and waste products after it has been partly digested by bacteria and yeast (it sounds gross, but it is good for you).  The scoby lives in this liquid, and feeds off this liquid, and you could not separate them if you tried.  While the liquid is also not the scoby, I don't see any harm in people referring to the liquid as the scoby, again it seems like semantics.  

It is possible to brew kombucha by simply adding some starter liquid to sweet tea.  I am told the finished kombucha brew tastes different than when the pellicle is also added.  

Fermenting kombucha using only the liquid and no pellicle works well enough because this liquid is too acidic for many harmful microorganisms to thrive, the scoby are mixed through the liquid, and the scoby can multiply quickly and make the environment too harsh for other microorganisms to get a foothold.  

kombucha jellyfish in a jar

For those who disagree with me that the pellicle acts as biofilm and can be used effectively as an inoculum, I thought I would include a link to a paper on this topic and quote some relevant parts.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8371556/#:~:text=Kombucha%20pellicles%20are%20often%20used,part%20of%20the%20kombucha%20consortia.

The below talks about what the pellicle is, the different layers, and the role of entrapped yeasts: 

The kombucha biofilm presents similarities to cellulosic pellicles grown by pure acetic acid bacteria (AAB) in sugared black tea but differs by the presence of yeast, which are involved from the early steps of biofilm formation. Based on observations, the formation model consists in an initial trapping and aggregation of yeasts (possibly in pseudo-mycelium form) in bacterial cellulose. With accumulation of cellulose and cells, a consistent layered pellicle is formed and, from then on, grows in thickness. The top layer at the interface with air is made of parallel cellulose fibrils and hosts yeasts and bacteria, while the bottom surface at the interface with liquid is made of cellulose network colonized by bacteria and where biomass accumulates. Finally, a middle layer located under the top cellulosic layer is filled with biomass and viable bacterial cells that are suspected to be the active agents of pellicle growth. This region is thought to play a nutritional function for bacteria by taking advantage of entrapped yeast metabolism and autolysis, thus revealing an aspect of the microbial interactions in kombucha. This study indicates that the yeast–AAB interactions in kombucha act on the structure and building of the pellicle, which could, in turn, enhance other types of interactions, including the metabolic interplay necessary for optimal kombucha production.

Some people brew kombucha without ever using a pellicle, and throw away every pellicle they see.  While this seems to work for them, for a beginner I would not recommend it.  Brewing kombucha using both starter tea as well as the pellicle is very simple, and it has been demonstrated to produce a healthy result.  Using both pellicle and starter tea is the traditional way to make kombucha, and it is really hard for anything undesirable to start growing.  

For someone who is just starting out brewing kombucha, it is easiest to use both pellicle and starter tea.  The pellicle and the starter liquid both contain live SCOBY, and including both when brewing kombucha is simple and gives a beginner no real way to fail.  Including both the pellicle and the starter tea ensures you will have the maximum diversity of microorganisms, it will have the maximum number of beneficial microbes, and it gives the best chance that they will be interacting in ways you want them to.  

Once you have done a few kombucha brews and have a feel for how things should progress, as well as what looks normal, feel free to discard the pellicle and only brew using the liquid (which is simple), or to only use the pellicle (but only if you are very confident you know what you are doing).  When you are still learning, however, I strongly suggest using both the liquid and the pellicle.  

If you are new to kombucha, and are buying scoby to get started, don't just buy a pellicle.  Make sure you get pellicle and some of the starter liquid.  

Kombucha

Kombucha continuous brew 

There are plenty of kombucha recipes on the internet.  They all work because it is hard to go wrong brewing kombucha when you use both pellicle and starter liquid.  

I tend to do continuous brew rather than messing around with batches and bottling and using fridge space.  Continuous brew works for me, it never goes wrong, and it takes very little time and effort.  

Other people prefer batch brewing.  This works for them, and they are happy with the result.

They are both good methods, they both work well, it is just personal preference.  

Continuous brew чайный гриб

You can see in the photo above I have a large jar that has a tap.  It is simple, and can never fail unless the jar gets smashed or the tap falls out.  

I don't put the lid on the jar as the scoby needs some air.  I tend to keep a cloth on top of the jar, this keeps out insects and dust.  I used to hold the cloth on with a rubber band, but stopped bothering with that a few years ago and it still does the trick.  

This blog post is getting a little long.  Rather than make this post even longer, I wrote another blog post with the kombucha recipe I use. 

Red jelly bean succulent

Red jelly bean succulent (Sedum rubrotinctum) is green with a slight reddish tinge for most of the growing season.  When stressed, however, this variety of jelly bean succulent gets a lot of red colouration.  

Red jelly bean succulent

Winter brings out the colours

Many succulents can take on some impressive colours when under stress, the red jellybean succulent is no exception.  

Over summer many succulents take on some impressive colouration to protect themselves from the harsh sun.  The cold weather of winter seems to bring out the best colouration where I live.  During spring and autumn they are less red and more greenish.  

Various succulent cuttings - some have winter colours

The little plant in the front of this picture is usually green

String of beans gets purplish in my winter

The slight pink is only over winter in this one

Red jelly bean succulents are very simple to grow.  They grow equally well in a small pot on a window sill as they do in the garden.  They prefer full sun, but can survive a little shade.  These little succulents look delicate, but are surprisingly hardy.  

The healthiest red jelly bean plants I have seen were under large eucalyptus trees in poor soil.  The tree had sucked most of the moisture out of the soil, and provided a slight frost shadow.  Life under that tree would be pretty harsh, yet these plants thrived there.  

I am told jelly bean succulents are not frost hardy, but mine have survived years of heavy frosts with little protection.  They survive drought and blasting sun, and they cope surprisingly well in the wind.  

Red jellybean succulent

Propagation of jelly bean succulents is simple.  Each leaf, each little jelly bean, can be planted and will produce a new plant.  Given how small the leaves are this is a slow way to make more plants and I prefer not to propagate this plant from its leaves.  

To propagate them I tend to take stem cuttings.  Snip a section off that has some leaves attached, leave it for a few days somewhere in the shade for the wound to heal, then plant it in soil.  It really is simple.  A stem can usually be cut into several pieces if wanted, or left larger, either way works well as long as the stem has at least one leaf attached.  

Sometimes the stems already have roots, sometimes they don't, either way I get 100% success rate from propagating these from stems.  The stems I use always have at least some leaves, I have never tried to propagate using a stem with no leaves, it may work.  

They get more green when not stressed

For me these succulents flower in spring.  The flowers are small and yellow, and appear in clusters.  I would not grow these for the flowers as they are not overly impressive, but I don't make any attempt to remove the flowers as I don't dislike them.  

The flowers aren't large and don't seem to have a scent.  I have seen some insect pollinators on the flowers from time to time.  I don't know how easily these set seed, or how easily they grow from seed.  

There are various (remarkably different looking) forms of this species, if they grow well from seed it would not be difficult to develop a new variety by crossing them.  

Clusters of small yellow flowers

Red jellybean succulents are relatively common succulents.  They look nice, are simple to grow, and are very simple to propagate.  They may be found for sale in a local garden center.  

If you can't find any for sale in a local plant nursery I sell red jelly bean succulents and can post to most states in Australia.  During postage some leaves may fall off, if this happens don't worry.  You can plant these leaves and you should end up with one large healthy plant that you bought, and a bunch of cute baby plants from the leaves.  The baby plants can be left in the same pot as the mother and allowed to catch up in size before repotting.

Duckling and pigeon

A few years ago when we lived on acreage we found a baby crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) that had fallen out of its nest.  Crested pigeons are a native bird, they are nice birds.  

It was fully feathered, but could not yet fly.  We called the local wildlife rescue people who could not pick it up until the next day.  At that time we had some very young ducklings in a brooder, so we put the baby pigeon in with them for the night.  

Thought it was worth sharing the photos as they are super cute.  

Duckling and pigeon

Super cutie

Fruit tree hedge bad idea

When we moved here the land behind us was paddocks that was being developed into housing.  What was paddocks filled with sheep is now rather ugly and brand new housing that seem to change owners almost annually.  

People can see into our windows at night, and over summer the heat of the day radiates as if it is a hot plate.  We decided to plant a hedge to screen it off so we could have windows open at night without people being able to see in our windows, and to hopefully block some of the heat.  

We decided to plant fruit trees for the hedge.  Why plant a tree and get nothing from it?  We knew fruit trees would lose leaves over winter, but figured we mostly had curtains closed over winter so that should not be too much of a problem.  We planted two different apples, a peach, and a nectarine because these grow well in this climate and I like their fruit. 

Our trees are established now, and over summer they do a great job of screening off the shanty town behind us.  In spring they are covered in blossom and look incredible.  It blocks a surprising amount of heat over summer.  

It is good to share what works for me, it is also good to share what does not work for me so people can learn from my mistakes.  Even with all the benefits, I regret planting this hedge. 

View from fence towards house, windows nicely protected

View from house - can't see the houses back there

If I had a chance I would never have planted a deciduous fruit tree hedge.  If you are thinking of planting a fruit tree hedge, I would advise against it.  

Over winter there are no leaves.  We knew this and figured that would be fine because curtains are closed at night.  We were wrong, it isn't fine.  During the day we sit on our deck and eat lunch in the sun, and we can see the houses behind us.  Sunny winter days we have curtains open, and the street behind can see in unimpeded.  

Pruning a hedge is very different to pruning to get fruit.  I currently prune part way between the two methods, we get less fruit and have a less dense hedge.  To be honest, pruning this hedge is a pain.  

Pruning fruit trees for fruit is simple, pruning a hedge for privacy is simple, pruning this mess to be both hedge and produce fruit is harder and takes a lot more time than it should.  Admittedly we do get fruit from this, but not very much.

Deciduous fruit trees were a poor choice for a hedge.

Fruit tree hedge from the side

Someone suggested we should have planted a citrus hedge as they are evergreen and provide fruit.  This was considered, but decided against as most citrus don't survive well here without protection.  We have a meyer lemon next to the house, it is well protected and gets heat from the brick wall at night.  They would not cope well out in my yard like this with no protection.  That being said, they might work well in warmer climates.  

Someone suggested feijoa.  I think that would take far too long to reach a decent height as they grow slow here.  I planted a feijoa tree at the same time as these apples and stone fruit.  The feijoa is only about 5 feet tall.  A house down the road had a feijoa hedge near their fence, it was never dense, and never grew more than chest tall.  I have seen really tall feijoa at other places.  Feijoa survive and fruit well here, but perhaps the conditions are too harsh here for them to reach their height potential.  Or maybe the larger feijoa I have seen were just older.  There is a feijoa hedge in a park near where I work, it is old and looks ok as a hedge, but it is too short and produces next to no fruit each year.  It seems like feijoa are not suitable as a tall hedge in my climate.  

Another person suggested Chilean guava (Myrtus ugni) as a hedge.  I can't imagine a hedge of these, they are too short.  I planted one around the same time as the fruit trees, it is only a bit over knee high, maybe waist high.  Some years it grows well, others it dies back and gets smaller.  I have never seen one over a meter tall.  I looked online and it is says they only grow 1 meter to 2 meters.  If you want a short edible hedge then I think rosemary would be a better choice.   

Things like olives are slower growing and are a bit too scraggly to work well as a hedge unless they are well cared for.  Loquat are also slow growing, and not dense enough to hedge well here without a lot of work.  

These plants may work well as hedges in other climates, but they wouldn't work well as hedges in my garden.

Short edible hedges of things like rosemary or lavender would work, but anything taller seems to be more work and less effective than a non-edible hedge.  

If you want to plant a tall hedge and live in an area of cool winters, then fruiting trees may not be your best option.  Perhaps learning from my mistake would be wise.  If you really want to plant a deciduous fruiting hedge, go for it.  Perhaps you will work out a better way to prune, or perhaps you will make better choices of fruiting plants.  

Saffron crocus

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is a very easy plant to grow.  I have been growing saffron for a number of years, and it flowers reliably for me each year.  While the spice is expensive, growing saffron is surprisingly simple and cost effective.  

Saffron grows from a corm (a corm is similar to a bulb) and is dormant over summer.  Saffron only flowers once per year, and each saffron flower only produces three threads.  Given the price of saffron you want each corm to produce as many flowers as possible.  

Saffron threads from my plants

Saffron flowers reliably for me each year.  The flowers are pretty, and the plant takes up little space. 

From what I read online, many people seem to get good flowering in the first year but have trouble getting saffron to flower reliably in following years.  I think this is because they are following bad advice, they treat saffron corms like flowering bulbs and have poor results.  

Saffron needs slightly different conditions than most bulbs to flower well.  Luckily these conditions are even easier to achieve than the conditions needed by many flowering bulbs. 

Saffron corms 

Firstly, some things are the same between saffron corms and ornamental flower bulbs.  

Larger saffron corms produce more flowers, and smaller ones don't flower at all.  This makes sense.  You can even work out flowering size by measuring the corms.  

Don't measure the width of the corms, they aren't very round and it is impossible to know where to measure.  It is more accurate if you measure the circumference.  The simplest way is to wrap a string around the, then measure the string.  All saffron corms that have a circumference of 7cm or more will flower.  It's that simple. 

For me a corm 7cm circumference (not width) usually produces 3 or 4 flowers, and larger corms produce more flowers.  Some smaller ones may flower, but most won't.  

Mine don't often put up all the flowers at once, each corm seems to take its time and puts up a few flowers over a few weeks.  While this makes growing commercially difficult to get pickers when needed, it is not an issue for the home gardener who can pick threads whenever they are ready.  

Saffron produces beautiful flowers

Fertilising during the growing season, and leaving the leaves to gather energy and die back naturally helps the corm to grow larger and produce more flowers in the following year.  Fertilising won't help this years flowers, it will help the corm grow strong and produce flowers next year.  

I find that top dressing with guinea pig manure results in larger corms, and more flowers the following year.  I've tried using compost, green manure, vermicompost, and poultry manure, all of which work well but nothing seems to work as well as guinea pig manure.  I have never used store bought fertiliser, so can't comment on its effectiveness. 

Saffron needs a cold winter to flower well, which we have here and saffron seems to like it.  I have no idea how they would go in climates with mild winters, I assume they would struggle.  Don't lift corms and store in the fridge like a tulip, when dormant saffron corms need heat.  

Some dormant saffron corms of various sizes

Saffron needs a hot dry summer when they are dormant, which we have here.  If we get a wet summer I dig some corms and put them in the garage somewhere dry.  Putting them in the garage somewhere hot and dry would kill most flower bulbs, but heat when dormant helps saffron to flower well.  If I lift them I tend to split them into batches and put them in mesh bags and hang them on a nail.  

Leaving the corms in the soil works well only if the soil is relatively dry, if it is too wet they will rot.  I grow some in pots, I can move the pot under cover when they are dormant so they will be dry over summer.  I want to stress, do not put dormant saffron corms in the fridge, saffron corms need heat when dormant.  

The thing that makes the most difference to saffron flowering, and the thing most people get wrong, is the depth they prefer to be planted.  

Saffron flower before fully open

The advice given for most flowering bulbs are planted twice as deep as the bulb is tall.  This is far too shallow for saffron corms.  If you want saffron to flower well, they must be planted deeper.  Saffron prefers to be planted much deeper than you think.  Even though the corms are relatively small (a corm with a 7cm circumference is rather little), plant them 15-20cm deep.  Larger corms can even be planted a little deeper than that.  If you plant them shallow they will not flower well.  

Healthy saffron corms divide each year.  One corm can produce anywhere between 0 to 15 new corms each year.  I prefer my corms to produce fewer, but larger, corms.  Large corms flower, and larger corms produce the most flowers. 

Planting shallow will usually mean your corms will divide into many tiny corms, none of which will be large enough to flower.  You don't want this.  Planting deeper means you get less division, but more larger flowering size corms.  

It feels like planting a small corm under 20cm of soil is too deep, and it feels like it will not have enough energy to reach the sunlight, but they will be fine.  If you don't plant this deep they will not flower well next year.  Plant saffron corms deep. 

Saffron growing in a pot - lower plant has several flowers 

I grow saffron in large pots as well as in garden beds.  Both work well as long as I can plant the corms deep enough and they have good drainage.  Saffron corms can rot if they are too wet.  

The past few years I largely forgot about my saffron and left it to do its thing.  During this time it multiplied, and the corms got smaller and smaller.  I still got a few flowers, but overcrowding lead to less and less flowers.  

This year I divided my corms, planted some in pots, some in the garden, and some in mesh bags that I still need to plant.  I planted them deep, and fertilised with guinea pig manure.  While I won't get a lot of flowers this year, the small corms will grow larger and many should be large enough to flower next year.  

Saffron starting to flower

Saffron is a sterile triploid that does not produce seed.  

If you want to grow saffron, you must get corms.  You can not buy saffron seeds.  Saffron seeds don't exist. 

You will see a few people online selling what they claim is saffron seed.  These people are thieves, they do not have saffron seeds and they are trying to steal your money.  They will send you seed from whatever they have on hand, it won't even be crocus seed.  By the time it grows and you realise it is not saffron you have already left positive reviews and it will be too late for you to do anything to get your money back.    

Many of these thieves have pictures of other species of crocus in their listing.  This is a giveaway that they are not honest.  Saffron does not grow from seed, do not buy anything from anyone claiming to sell saffron seed.  

Dutch crocus 'pickwick' is not saffron

While saffron is given its own species name (Crocus sativus), this is slightly misleading as it is either a mutation of Crocus cartwrightianus or possibly an interspecific hybrid involving C cartwrightianus.  

Saffron is pollen sterile, but under some circumstances it is possible (albeit rather rare) for it to develop hybrid seed.  There are a few papers where pollen from C cartwrightianus produced viable seed in saffron.  You will never see seed of this cross for sale because it is very difficult to produce, and most of the seed is not viable.  I am unaware if the ploidy level of these hybrids has been tested, and I assume the resultant plants have never achieved any commercial success as they are not particularly great.  

I would love to get my hands on C cartwrightianus and try to cross them with saffron.  There used to be one place in Australia that sold this species, but they went out of business before I go a chance to buy one.  If you know anyone with this species in their collection I would very much like the chance to grow some and try to cross it with saffron.

If you are thinking of growing saffron you should give it a try.  Like most things, growing your own saffron works out to be more cost effective than buying it from the shops.   

One reputable company in Beechworth sells small packets of saffron for $3.  These packets contain 6-9 threads, which is meant to be enough saffron for an average dish for 4 people.  

My corms tends to produce 3 or 4 flowers each, which is 9-12 threads.  This means that one corm usually pays for itself in its first year, plus you get to enjoy the beautiful flowers.  

Each year the corms tend to divide and multiply, meaning you get more saffron each year.  

I used to sell saffron corms, but I don't have any for sale this summer.  I don't have many flowering size corms this year, and I don't like selling smaller corms that are unlikely to flower.  As mentioned further up in this post I divided my corms, and if all goes well I should have a lot of larger flowering size corms next year.  

If all goes well, I hope to sell saffron corms in future years.  If this happens they will be listed on my for sale page.  If you know of a source of Crocus cartwrightianus in Australia, or you have some that you may be willing to part with, my contact details are listed on my for sale page.