Episode: #8 21/10/2006
Presenter: Kim Syrus

If you want your lemons to last longer when picked, cut them off with secateurs, this leaves the little button on top and the fruit unmarked. Simply pulling the lemons off the tree rips the skin, allowing mould in and so reducing the shelf-life.

The other advantage to picking the fruit is that it also encourages the tree to produce even more for you to enjoy or give away to friends!

Low phosphorus fertilizers are essential when feeding plants near waterways. Soluble fertilizers quickly leach their nutrients into the water and this causes serious algal problems.

Kim recommends Blood and Bone on turf around the waters edge. The powder is easy to apply by hand and quickly finds a home on the leaf canopy. A watering then washes the fertilizer off the grass, and into the root zone.

For garden beds, Dynamic Lifter is the feed of choice. The pellets can either be piled near plants or simply scattered through the bed. A watering quickly removes any smell and softens the pellets, keeping them in place.

Think before you feed. Correct fertilizing around our waterways will go along way in reducing the spread of algae in our creeks and watercourses. Let?s help promote a healthy aquatic environment.

For a ?softer? approach to pest control that won?t harm the locals or pets then Yates Natrasoap is a low toxic soap based spray, suitable for using around pets, waterways and organic gardens. The easy-to-use measure bottle makes mixing a breeze. Apply to vegetables, fruit trees, ornamentals and pot plants to control a wide number of pests including mites, aphids, thrips, mealybug and whitefly.

Be careful not spray if the temperature is over 30 degrees or if the soil is dry and plants are suffering from moisture stress. When in doubt, check the label.

We would love to answer your garden questions so, join our online club and start enjoying the benefits.

Featured Products

Blood and Bone

• An organic fertiliser suitable for all gardens including Australian natives.
• Provides nitrogen for healthy leaf growth and phosphorus for strong root development.
• Organic nutrients are released slowly to the plant, improves soil structure, promotes beneficial soil micro-organisms and encourages earthworms.

Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food

• This is a versatile feed for all garden, potted and Australian native plants.
• Slow release nutrients improving structure and retention of the soil.
• It also encourages earthworms and is beneficial to soil micro-organisms

Natrasoap Mite & Insect Spray

• For control of mites, aphids, thrips, mealybug, whitefly.
• Can be used on vegetables, fruit trees, ornamentals, and pot plants.
• Low toxic soap based spay, suitable for organic growers.
• Soap coats the insect causing suffocation and desiccation.
• Minimal risk to beneficial insects.
• Easy to use.