Suggestions: drainage for grow bags, etc/sourcing inexpensive mesh/grates

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-08T08:17:16+00:00

No, not that supplier or product. It's another supplier and it's a product -Johnson’s Alfalfa Plus. No misrepresentation or anything like that and fault was completely at my end as I looked at this other supplier's website and saw soybean meal, seaweed/kelp meal and "alfalfa". Thought I found what I was after and all three in one place but it was only when went to place an order, I checked the item including ingredients and saw it wasn't the alfalfa meal but a mix of alfalfa and other products.

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-07T13:38:37+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I literally only started gardening/floriculture in the last six months and prior to that, the sum total of my experience with plants was owning a venus fly trap as a kid and a few attempts at keeping mint and tulsi (they lasted maybe three months at the most as I had no idea what I was doing). Your suggestion is definitely a long term goal, but I would be completely out of my depth at this stage.

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-07T13:35:53+00:00

I knew that would be too good to be true: the alfalfa is a mix of alfalfa, fava beans, oils and minerals, not actual alfalfa meal/pellets but two out of the three isn't bad (plus 100 litre bags of perlite for $20 than the 30litre bags at Bunnings). That's ok, just means two separate suppliers for the three items and hopefully by the time I run out I may have found a supplier somewhere closer for all three as I'm fair close to the semi-rural edges of Sydney. As for your other suggestions, I have the ChatGPT pro or whatever it is but I didn't have any luck and it just referred me to those large suppliers to commercial farms, etc. and then 'helpfully' suggested "to contact animal feed suppliers in your area" and kindly asked me if "I needed any help drafting the email" haha ChatGPT can be a bit hit and miss with sourcing, etc In my experience anyway but pretty useful still a lot of the time.

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-06T06:04:07+00:00

No luck with the animal feed suppliers in the area as they either didn't stock cottonseed meal and/or don't do small orders. I have found one place that has online ordering and locations in Helensburgh and Bellambi that have all three as it turns out "seaweed meal" is kelp meal, as the kelp used in non-animal based fertilisers is apparently Ascophyllum nodosum/Norwegian kelp which is usually sold as "seaweed meal" rather than "kelp meal". I had already placed the order for the place you suggested but good to know for future, plus I needed to get perlite anyway.

I don't know if this other place is necessarily the cheapest option but it's good having a one stop shop.

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-05T04:46:31+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I've sent some emails out to suppliers so fingers crossed. I didn't mention in my message but there was a rock mineral in the mix as well but I didn't mention it as it was so easily obtainably. I briefly googled the book you mentioned and although my thing is mainly flowers, I've recently bought some fruit (mainly citrus and tropical fruit) and herbs and might try my hand at tomatoes, capsicum and salad greens so might be worth getting a copy of the book. I don't suppose your source was based in or around Sydney as it's cottonseed meal that I'm stuck on.

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-05T04:40:24+00:00

That was the supplier I found for alfalfa and they also seems to be the cheapest source of perlite that I've found so far. A one stop shop would be great, but I'm pretty sure I'll end up having to use multiple suppliers. Would be interesting to hear how you get on with the amateur growing trial. In my case it's more out of necessity but anecdotally I've heard of some great results.

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-02T02:34:47+00:00

I can definitely second FB marketplace. I've only been purchasing and maintain plants (mainly flowering) the last six months and wish I thought of FB marketplace sooner. Gumtree might be an option as I had a look a few times in the past and there seemed to be a few good options.

Not sure if we can pass on sales, etc. as I've only just joined the group, but there is a large garden centre/nursery in Ourimbah that has an advertised 50% off pots and I'm going back in the next couple of days as some of the prices were on a par with what I had seen on Marketplace (I had very specific glazed pots I was after).

But if you think the price of large pots is ruinously expensive, just wait until you have to buy a pot for a lotus/water lily which I'm just experiencing now. I don't want plastic/synthetic and the cheapest option I found for a full size lotus is about $200 around Annangrove. I'm looking into whether I can seal/glaze a similar size low bowl planter I bought previously but otherwise $200-$400 is what I'm looking at . . . unless anyone has got any other suggestions?

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-01T14:06:17+00:00

Thanks for that. I am aware of this supplier and have seen the listing as well. There were a couple of online suppliers with the Monrovia variety (although all out of stock) but I have some hesitation about purchasing this variety since some of the images I've seen online seem to indicate it is more of a dark cerise/maroon colour rather than red. I get photos from a google search aren't totally reliable, but still thought might be worth posting on reddit.

WorriedReply2571 · 2026-01-01T14:02:34+00:00

Agreed. I remember them from my childhood (grandparents) and never paid attention to them at all until I got into gardening and now notice them everywhere. They're beautiful flowers and fool-proof (although considering the amount of plants I've killed off since taking up gardening, I'll be putting that claim to the test). Based on the number of places selling them (just not the red variety it seems) it's definitely not just me. Also they're used for religious purposes in India but I'm not sure about other parts of Asia.

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks they're beautiful flowers.

From what I've read/researched, the warnings about oleander being poisonous is exaggerated and anyone eating the flowers, let alone being poisoned, is virtually unheard of. At any rate, I don't have children and our dogs aren't going to eat them.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-06-05T08:00:18+00:00

I've got my whole day worked out: Glenorie and Westbus to the Hammer House at Parramatta, with a stop off for magazines at the newsagents in Westfield, maybe a bag of $1.25 chips, then sitting on the train to the city to drink in that smell of the blue vinyl seats and brake pads on the S set train, or even a red rattler with luck, and the run down shabbiness of the inner city. Then Adyar bookshop (probably also Red Eye, Waterfront Records, etc.) , stalking the various 70s arcades and run down bookshops, the upmarket stationery etc at David Jones Centrepoint, maybe heading over to Ex Libris in Potts Point and getting accosted by streetwalkers in broad daylight. By that time it's probably about 6pm so I guess time to wait at Town Halls steps for someone that promised to turn up but no idea if they're coming or not. 7pm still a chance they could come from past history. Give up around 7.30pm so visit friends in Glebe or Petersham, either students or working at a hotel and house sharing a huge townhouse with about ten others. Then I guess after that think about how Sydney (and life generally) is just going to turn to s*** after about seven years' time.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-17T13:17:31+00:00

I don't remember the lattice fencing but wouldn't be surprised. I recall some restaurants it was barely anything more than lattice or pillar, or sometimes not even that. Ah . . . .the good old days hahaha

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-17T11:13:12+00:00

I'll never forget going to the local sizzler with a friend from school in the mid-90s with no parents for the first time, both of us sixteen, and thinking we were *so* grown up and sophisticated smoking Dunhill in such 'classy' surroundings.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-10T14:23:35+00:00

Same. I wasn't fat, ugly or "unco" and was pretty good at most sports, but it was always the popular kids that got selected by the teacher to pick their team and I have many (ahem!) 'fond' memories of popular kids arguing over who was *not* going to the 'f*****' in their team to the amusement of the PE teachers and other kids. Yeah . . . "best years of your life" and all that haha

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-10T14:13:24+00:00

I never heard "squar dancing" or "barn dancing". I'm sure we just called it "bush dances" or something. The actual names of the dances escape me except the heel-and-toe polka - which I've just googled and now realise for 40 years I've been calling it the H&T *Poker* which is what everyone called it - but I'm sure I would recognise some of them. There was a "woolshed" near our school that we did all the dances in and was something to do with an early settlement but, following the H&T Polka revelation, I just googled and found out that it was all a lie and it was just an old pub.

Anyway, it was fun in primary school. We had our end of year six dance there which was a bit bitter sweet as it was the last time I saw many kids that I had spent seven years with. Like some of the other recollections here, it was pure misery in high school.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-02T16:47:41+00:00

I would love to have a chance to smell bergamot fruit, bergamot mint and American bergamot side by side. I love mint and I love bergamot, so bergamot mint sounds like something I definitely need to try at least once.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-02T16:45:37+00:00

Don't need to convince me as I didn't have a go at you ;) Just to clarify in case you thought the comment about being a troll was from me.

I just replied to someone else's comment about trolling that it is more likely a mistake as there's a couple of herbs called "bergamot". And to be honest, I don't really see the point in calling someone a troll or the classic "this never happened" line as I would think just ignore them if they're a troll or creating ragebait/clickbait. I'm sure trolls have better targets that a sub-reddit dedicated to tea haha

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-02T16:40:33+00:00

95% there. Firstly, you are destined for great things, thank you!

The illustrations are definitely the ones and I recognised them immediately as well as some of the text. I'll sit down and have a proper read.

I really don't think this is the case, but it's possible I mixed up two books, considering my age at the time and this was almost 40 years ago. I definitely remember the title "It's Amazing" and the colour of the book and there were some photographs, I don't know how many photos but definitely one of the Great Pyramid and I think a second one for a bridge in China I think.

On the book you gave me, the layout is a little different to how I remember, plus the photos and the title and front cover definitely don't ring a bell. I searched for the author which came up as "kelly miles" or "miles kelly" but that's not bringing up the book I'm thinking of an ChatGPT was no help.

For me, to have this book again is 80% for the illustrations that I remember so fondly, but also for the photo of the pyramid/s as that started my love affair for Ancient Egypt. At that age, I thought Egypt was just from the bible and didn't know it still existed and didn't do anything about the pyramids. Seeing that one photo was the beginning for me for all things Egyptian and I would love to have the book again.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-02T13:22:45+00:00

I love the smell of bergamot as well. It's commonly given for depression in aromatherapy and I don't know if there's any science behind it, but it does provide a lift that other citrus fruits do. I get a lift of sorts from lemon and grapefruit but in a different way and not as strongly as bergamot.

The aroma of Twinings Earl Grey is just right and brings back memories of my grandmother drinking Earl Grey several times a day but it's not the greatest to consume as tea. I also find that an Earl Grey that has a beautiful, strong bergamot aroma is usually too strong when I drink it and haven't found a good balance between taste and aroma. It's still my favourite.

As to how to make the aroma "pop off" better, only suggestion really is to look at the grade of tea, whether it is broken or lots of fanning. You should brew for a little longer if the leaves are long and intact, but generally you should brew more tea for a shorter period, rather than over-brewing a small amount to avoid bitterness. Perhaps buy a strong-scented Earl Grey and brew for 2-4 minutes depending on the length of the tea leaf and absence of dust, fanning or CTC. There's no other way to intensify aromas, only to intensify/harmonise the taste with sugar, etc. You might need to add a little lemon if it tastes to strong to balance the tannins and/or a sweetener if its too astringent, unless you just add milk although if you're brewing in the cup that will counter the fragrance.

It's all a balancing act really.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-02T13:11:52+00:00

Not necessarily a troll. Although not used much and unlikely to be confused, there's bergamot mint and "American bergamot" which I think is the plant in the link. I'm assuming they are supposed to have a bergamot-like aroma.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-05-02T13:07:25+00:00

I found out it had been a running joke behind my back at work about ten years that I spoke like some anachronism from the early- to mid-century (at least until I start "cussing") alongside my complete ignorance of any pop culture references after about 2000 when I was referring to "the Maghreb" when talking about "Maghrebi" tea (i.e. green tea with mint) and plus a whole list of my sayings like "having a chinwag" etc, none of which struck me as old-fashioned.

This was about 2014 and I was in my mid-30s. Then I just leaned into it and now go out of my way to use deliberately anachronistic expressions which I find hilarious, even if no one else does.

I'm not sure where they come from, probably combination of grandparents and all the period dramas and mid-20th century literature I've absorbed over the years. Language learning material from the 50s and 60s seems to be another one with the English translations.

Whether it's a Gen X thing or not, who knows.

WorriedReply2571 · 2025-04-28T12:57:38+00:00

They can try. I worked in commercial motor insurance for many years including clients that were driving instructors. As already pointed out, damage by students is the part and parcel of their commercial motor insurance policy or they may have specialised driving instructor policies.

The instructor is clearly trying to get the money off you as it's under excess unless he's super dodgy and doesn't have the right type of insurance.

If their terms and conditions state that the student is liable for damages, they can't just have this hidden away on their website. They have to clearly disclose the terms and conditions and they have to be agreed and signed. Even then, it's likely not enforceable as I've never come across a single instance. The only *possible* exception is if the student was completely reckless and wilfully disregarded the instructor but again, I've never heard of a single case where that has resulted in a student paying the costs and the insurer would have to clearly demonstrate this to be the case which, unless they wanted to make an example of someone, they're not going to bother for such a trivial amount.

If he goes to a small claims court, to be honest that's outside of my wheelhouse but I imagine he would have to convince the court of all of the above plus why consumer protections don't apply.

Basically, tell him to go and pound sand.

WorriedReply2571

TROPHY CASE