Episode: #12 18/11/06
Presenter: Fiona Bruyn

There is nothing that can ruin the look of a beautifully designed garden more than the sight of horrible weeds. Weeds are a problem for all gardeners. Besides sneaking into garden beds where they hide amongst your plants you will also find them in some pretty unlikely places where you wouldn?t think a plant could survive.

You need to get rid of those weeds before they become an expensive problem. Even in the garden one weed can produce lots of seed and that is where the old saying of one years seeding 7 years weeding makes plenty of sense.

One of the worst weeds you can find is onion weed. The flower might look pretty but it is a real monster if you unleash it in the garden. A good example of this is a call out Fiona made to look at a sea of onion weed where a lawn was supposed to be. It had been recently landscaped and it was obvious that the onion weed was not removed properly before the new lawn was put down.

This nasty weed spreads by seed and after flowering, the underground bulbs multiply rapidly. The worst thing to do is dig it out because the bulbs will drop from the mother bulb and you will inadvertently spread it around the garden. Zero glyphosate will kill this culprit just spray when it is actively growing - as the flowers start to appear.

Another problem that Angie from Hornsby has experienced deals with flowers, or lack of them.

Many people choose plants for their gardens because they have either beautiful flowers or fragrance. So when the flowers don?t appear it can be very disappointing.

Plants that don?t flower do so for a few reasons. It may be that the plant has never produced many flowers and the trait has come from its parent plant. So try and buy plants when they are in flower so you know they have the ability to flower well.

Lack of sunlight & water can also be the cause of the problem.

If you have ruled out all of the above reasons then it could also be a lack of minerals particularly potassium which helps to produce flowers.

This deficiency can be rectified by using a fertiliser like liquid fruit and flower by thrive. It is readily absorbed by the roots and foliage.

If you want to learn more about plants and gardening visit Jackie French?s garden on the 26^th of November. It is part of the Open garden scheme and she is holding workshops.

Featured Gardens

Yates Zero Glyphosate Weed spray

• Ready to use.
• Non selective control of all grasses and broadleaf weeds.
• Effective, economical and easy to use in rockeries, garden beds, paths, driveways, fence lines, lawn edges and before planting new lawns and gardens.
• Kills the weeds, roots and all.

Yates Thrive Concentrate Fruit and Flower Plant Food

• A fast acting, complete, liquid fertiliser ideal for feeding a wide range of flowering and fruiting plants.
• Feeds through both the foliage and the roots
• Specially formulated blend of nutrients, rich in phosphorus and potassium and trace elements, to encourage prolific flowering and fruiting.
• Easy to measure and mix - no waiting for powders to dissolve.
• Promotes flowering and fruiting.