can anyone direct me to a recipe for a Xmas 'cake' that is made only of nuts and dried fruits? I'm not sure what's used as the 'glue' - may be fruit juice. Contains macadamias and pecans and other yummy treats. May have originated in a 'house and garden' mag or an Aussie Women's Weekly. I've eaten it (well, that's the polite term!) and really enjoyed it. It absolutely has to be a no flour no eggs recipe, though.

Part two: are there still dehydrators on the market? Do they show up in the second hand trade at all? And what do they cost to run? I'd like to get set up before the apple glut this year, being fonder of dried apple than gallons of apple sauce.

Do you specifically want a dehydrator or would you be willing to try drying using an oven as I have instructions for oven-drying apples.

There are dehydrators for sale on Trademe, range from $50-$70 2nd hand, $200 brand new. So I'd expect there'd be some available from 2nd hand shops/Loot/etc. Have you tried asking around organic/health shops? There is a fantastic organic shop in Napier which sells all sorts of stuff like this...but I haven't a clue what it's called anymore :(

Napier. A long time since I went north in that direction. And if I went through the Wairarapa - would I arrive with anything left in the budget?;-)

Did you end up finding a dehydrator?
Popped into a 100% (Appliance store) in Auckland last week and they had only 1 in stock - at $299!!!!

GF

Did the rain miss you this weekend? We got some but we didn't get to full flood in the river. Grim for the folks around Gisborne, and there won't be a lot of pumpkin around for Xmas dinner by the sounds of things. Hope they manage to nip in with a cash crop or two - especially as the costs of running a hort block are not set to fall anytime soon.

The various Irises are showing up at the moment - gracilipes, germanica, a weird one I've never been able to ID and an odd white one my mother shared with me. And the English Irises which I prefer to the usual Dutch ones. I enjoyed bucharica but it's finished now.

The mealy bugs are still popping by to feast and I'm looking at buying a big container of Confidor - such is the level of my despising for the little beasts. And scale in all its forms. Hitting it with meths is Not Enough. (I'm not usually bloodthirsty but this lot - and bronze beetles - my worst nature is fully roused. Off with their heads!)

I noticed a big strawberry ripening under the plastic today - and several more to follow. I'm astonished! The birds have always beaten me before. I shall pick it, show Claw, and scoff the lot!

Poor old Claw. I'm not sure if he had a family this year. He doesn't look as frazzled as he usually does. Very leisurely in his flipping of the mulch and scritching up of my new plantings. I hope he's around for a while longer, though. We've only started to become easy with each other in the last few months.

Enjoy the long weekend. They've promised us fine weather for the rest of it.

We only got a bit of rain - all of Friday and most of Saturday morning/early afternoon, otherwise it was a fantastic weekend! Even got a little sunburnt - I only went to the letterbox but got distracted by some wayward weeds...before I knew it, 3 hrs had passed and my neck and arms were a bit pink! I feel so sorry for Gisbourne folks, seems to be the weather pattern lately doesn't it?

I've been so surprised with the irises - a fantastic blue/purple one (no name) that hasn't flowered the last 2 years is in a haze of flowers and still has more spikes developing. My dutch irises (more warehouse specials I put in ages ago and thought had rotted out!) are much the same. Must be the year for them!

My blackberries are covered in mealy bug! Last year didn't have an issue with them, but like you am going to have to resort to other means of dealing with them. I kinda don't want to as the silvereyes and fantails are having a banquet on them, but even they can't keep up with the blighters!

It must be too humid here all ready as my pajero strawberries are starting to ripen up nicely but rotting before fully ripe, even with mulch under them. Hopefully the others will fare better when they start to ripen.

Who's Claw? Not a magpie I hope! The blackbirds and thrushs are making such a mess in the garden with their digging. All the mulch we've added in the last year or so is finally paying off - black soil and so many worms! THEY'RE HUGE! The birds must think they're hit the jackpot! I keep complaining, but really I shouldn't as it's good to see birds thriving around here. I miss the Tuis though, they didn't stay for too long when the Kowhai were in bloom so fingers crossed they're back again when the Totaras are in berry.

Hope you enjoyed long weekend!

Definitely grim over Gisborne way but the roads are open again, which is a plus. One of our local roads took months to restore after last year's wind and deluge. Huge chunks gouged away.

The tuis come around for the kowhais and flax mostly. Then they head back up into the bush. The fantails are the same. A couple of seasons a year when they're down, sounding like squeaky corks coming out a bottle. The kereru come to shudder the plum trees and ponder which new leaf to take next. Like some sort of tea leaf expert. When I take the dogs out up in the forestry blocks there they are: perched on skinny sagging broom branches and scoffing. What did they do before we brought broom, plums, and tree lucerne???

It's good there are weeds otherwise we'd be wasting perfectly good gardening time on boring housework!