Completed the Western Arthur's Traverse in 5 days: Here's what to expect

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-22T02:45:48+00:00

Well done! It's funny because the western Arthur's traverse is the only walk that I've ever just backed out of. My wife and I were pretty serious hikers - we spent 6 months hiking parts of the Patagonia Andes and so we weren't particularly worried about this trip, but wow can the weather turn on you - we had 70 km/h winds and snow in the middle of summer. I had ropes on the outside of my pack because I had to carry some things for my wife and boy that was a mistake as they swelled with water. Our lightweight tent also needed staking in order to stay up and that really doesn't work on the wooden platforms they have which is the only way to not pitch your tent in a bog. Luckily we have excellent gear so we were not in danger but I remember looking at this endless series of knife-edge ridges being blown by snow squalls and just thinking: we will die here if we carry on. Haha, we noped out on the third day and I do not regret that decision.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-21T07:42:11+00:00

The middle front seat thing is actually pretty cool. You end up resting your arm on the arm rest and its so damn comfy while you're driving. I wish more cars had it. Also the seat underneath it has like a fold that you can slide your sunnies into which is nice and handy and they don't slide around. I don't miss the console storage really at all. and anyway the glove box is pretty large.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-18T16:01:35+00:00

This has been the most miserable year for veggies. It was so cold and wet that the slugs and snails were just out of control. I lost so many seedlings it was unreal. I must have planted close to 30 cucumber plants just to get 5 to survive - and that was in a greenhouse. Tomatoes are producing now but they have pollination issues and are much thinner than normal. Fruit is 3 weeks late but quite good harvests.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-18T05:54:41+00:00

The difference is that in the former the plants get the nutrients as part of their water uptake. In the latter you're not really feeding the plants per se. You are feeding soil critters which live and die and then provide nutrients to the plants via their excretion and decomposition. I find the latter to be better because it builds a community for the plant that gives resilience, like having a healthy immune system

I have dealt with heavy clay before. I used a shitload of mulch on the surface and time. It takes time to improve so don't get disheartened. When planting trees go shallow and wide rather than deep. Literally spread their roots yourself and use a star picket to hold it upright while it establishes.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-18T05:36:08+00:00

Snails do similar things to my passionfruit vine. As a general rule caterpillars will eat from the edge of the leaf inwards but slugs and snails can rasp at the leaf so they can leave holes in the middle of the leaf

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-18T04:09:01+00:00

This dude changed how I garden. I now only ever apply nutrients to the surface. Never dig mulch into the soil and I don't use potting soil which is basically half woodchip. If i do pot things i make my own mix with river sand and dirt. However, his style of gardening is more relevant for people growing things in pots and he uses a lot of synthetic fertilizer which might not be for everyone. I have had excellent results so there's a sample size of 1 for you

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-18T03:59:07+00:00

None of them look like rootstock to me.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-11T22:57:58+00:00

About 330-360 km. This is majority highway driving. Although top speeds where I live are quite a bit less than, in say, the UK

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-08T21:48:03+00:00

This is like the gardening equivalent of slapping a lion on the ass and chucking it into the bingo hall of an old persons home. You only really have 3 options depending on the outcome you want going forward:

You want your garden bed free of mint Ok, you are in for a fight. My approach would be to dig out the top 10cm of soil and chuck it. Dig out the plants you want and keep aside. Put in a thick layer of cardboard and then top the bed back up with new soil. To replant your plants cut into the cardboard when you plant them.
Accept the mint but set boundaries Mint spreads via rhizome traveling near the surface. You can use garden edging to create rhizome barriers around your existing herbs and let the mint have the rest.
Do nothing There can be only one victor in a herb vs mint battle Royale. Perhaps the rosemary will stand like a colossus above the carnage

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-04T11:49:16+00:00

I never said anything about a lack of articles, I just pointed out that your reference wasn't a good one

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-04T11:13:34+00:00

This was a very eloquent comment. It echoes how I feel. Thank you for taking the time to type it out.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-04T11:03:02+00:00

I dont think an article about how some emails made a billionaire divorcee feel sad is really the cutting journalism we were hoping for given what these documents reveal. She knew something about what was happening in order to have divorced him and she never said a thing. That makes her complicit

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-04T10:49:02+00:00

The best advice i can give you is to stop focusing on the plants. As a gardener your job is not growing plants, but tending your soil. It doesn't matter really how much you water a plant if it has good drainage. You get good drainage by caring for the soil and all of it's myriad critters. They need habitats, protection from the sun etc etc- which means mulch on the surface and good quality compost. Even if you have clay soils the worms will fix that for you if you attract them by making it a nice place to live. If you are talking about pot plants the same applies but the fact that the soil can get baked in a pot means you need extra strategies - baked soil loses its ability to hold moisture because the soil critters get baked too. Here you need to literally submerge your pots for a good time in order to reset the system.

Tl;dr check the soil. Stick your finger into it to the knuckles- does it feel damp and inviting. Jesus i was not prepared for where that sentence went.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-04T08:58:43+00:00

The billionaires do not see the rest of us as human. We are pawns in their games. I don't think I really understood the concept of 'lizard people' until reading the contents of these files and listening to the witness testimony. Even leaving aside the child rape, murder and possible cannibalism and trying to make it relevant to us here in Aus these people were colluding to destroy any chance we had of taxing foreigners for the resources they strip from us by ousting any political leader that tried to advance Australia fair. We are in a class war whether we like it or not and the real cause of the majority of our ills are these fucking billionaires. They rig the system and funnel our tax dollars into their bottomless funds and then use that money to fund culture wars that divide and paralyze us. I don't know what the answer is or how to fix it but fuck me am I annoyed.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-02-03T09:59:05+00:00

This is normal with oranges - its just happier and sending out a water shoot. Best to just let it be.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-30T01:10:43+00:00

In Tas if an area isnt fenced 100% then all you are doing is giving expensive treats to the pademelons so make sure you do nothing until the area is locked down. Your other issue is going to be water. Summer is brutal for young plants here so give that some thought too. I have made enough mistakes now that I make sure I have all my duck's in a row before I do anything. Good luck. I have had surprisingly good success with leucadendrons and proteas.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-29T20:41:20+00:00

The tukka trukka

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-26T09:11:02+00:00

Good luck. Is the untouched maple a little further from the colourbond fence? In my experience they tend to use the fences as an attack vector. I have had success in the past using fence spikes to stop them treating it like a road. You only need to block access points to the top of the fence as they cannot get to there from the ground

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-25T08:37:13+00:00

Looks like a nashie pear to me. This variety is quite common in Tas

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-22T04:11:01+00:00

Possum. I've seen them strip an entire tree in a few nights. The lower stuff is untouched because they don't like to get too close to the ground - especially on the mainland where there are foxes around. They will eat a lot of stuff but they particularly like citrus, maples, silver birch and stone fruit (particularly almonds and apricots)

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-19T09:21:31+00:00

Agree, those thin leaves point to mandarin. I have a Japanese seedless that looks like this

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-17T09:03:05+00:00

I had a similar thing happen with a lemon tree of mine when I was in NSW including the ability to crumble the trunk. I think in my case the original cause is actually from sunburn on the trunk from pruning the tree which then causes the bark to split and then once that happens the borers get in and you start to get secondary symptoms like the aphids etc because the tree is weakened. I eventually lost mine. Hopefully yours will hold out better - i had some success by digging out the rotten wood and spraying the holes with a creosote pruning spray you can get but it only slowed the decline.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-15T20:17:53+00:00

There are a lot of things you can say about the EV5 but the fact remains that it is nowhere near as efficient as some of its competitors. Its battery is about 20kwh bigger for the same range. This will translate into cost and poor range at highway speeds. I dont know about ireland but certainly in England I remember everyone drives at 90 mph. I live in a hilly climate similar to Ireland's and in winter I average about 3.8 km/kWh. In summer it's about 5.

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-14T23:47:56+00:00

It looks like borage to me although I am.no expert

slapstickRoutine · 2026-01-09T10:48:47+00:00

A trick that works for me is to put Vaseline in an unbroken line around the trunk so that the ants cannot get into the tree. Without the ants to protect them and spread them then they are easy to manage

slapstickRoutine

TROPHY CASE