Your Garden Questions Answered
Episode: #4 14/04/07
Presenter: Sue McDougall
As our confidence grows in the garden, it is amazing what can be achieved with some of the easiest to grow plants around. Few would dispute that ivy is un-killable and many people would never plant it in a million years but if you knew how good it could look, you would probably give it a go.
It is a great idea to use it for creating a living swag effect on a wall. The preformed frame of chicken wire can give it something to grow around and will stop it from clinging onto the wall.
One of the features of the Garden Gurus garden club is getting your questions answered by the Gurus and one of the most popular subjects is the vegetable garden.
Joanne from Booragoon has started growing rhubarb again after a break of many years and is worried because her stems are green and not red. Don’t worry as it can still be eaten, even if it is green. Certain cultivars are bright red and if it is grown from seed the colour can vary greatly, so choose small seedlings with red stems.
A tip when growing rhubarb, apply some sulphate of potash over the plant in spring and again in autumn as this will help develop the colour and strengthen the stems. Of course the stems are what we use and a word of warning the leaves are toxic but when boiled up make a brilliant bug killer.
Edible plants can also double as ornamentals and a really hardy plant is the bay tree (Laurus nobilis). It is relatively slow growing while they are young so they are perfect for growing in containers and kept trimmed, but if left to grow they can get very big. The fresh leaves, as well as flavouring your favourite soups and stews, are just the thing for repelling weevils in the pantry.
The Ancient Romans believed that the leaves protected them against thunder and the plague and the Italians and English believed Bay leaves brought good luck and warded off evil. So can you afford not to have a bay tree in your garden?
As the weather cools down it is the perfect time to plant peas. Peas do amazing things to the garden soil, even if you are not into growing veggies. Peas improve the fertility of the soil by taking nitrogen from the atmosphere and putting it into the soil. Leaving it there for the next crop you want to plant.
If you have any bare areas of soil in the garden, grab some soil improver and dig it in and spread some seeds over. Within 1 week they will have germinated and in about 12 weeks you can start picking super sweet peas. Then when the crop has finished, the end result is super fertile soil.
Recipe for Rhubarb Spray
Rhubarb leaves are poisonous to animals and people as well as soft bodied bugs such as aphids and whitefly.
Boil 1kg rhubarb leaves in 3 litres of water for half an hour.
Add 1 tablespoon of pure soap flakes and dilute at a ratio of 100ml per litre of water.
Label poison and use up concentrate within a few weeks.
www.yates.com.au
Featured Products
Yates Sulphate of Potash
Presenter: Sue McDougall
As our confidence grows in the garden, it is amazing what can be achieved with some of the easiest to grow plants around. Few would dispute that ivy is un-killable and many people would never plant it in a million years but if you knew how good it could look, you would probably give it a go.
It is a great idea to use it for creating a living swag effect on a wall. The preformed frame of chicken wire can give it something to grow around and will stop it from clinging onto the wall.
One of the features of the Garden Gurus garden club is getting your questions answered by the Gurus and one of the most popular subjects is the vegetable garden.
Joanne from Booragoon has started growing rhubarb again after a break of many years and is worried because her stems are green and not red. Don’t worry as it can still be eaten, even if it is green. Certain cultivars are bright red and if it is grown from seed the colour can vary greatly, so choose small seedlings with red stems.
A tip when growing rhubarb, apply some sulphate of potash over the plant in spring and again in autumn as this will help develop the colour and strengthen the stems. Of course the stems are what we use and a word of warning the leaves are toxic but when boiled up make a brilliant bug killer.
Edible plants can also double as ornamentals and a really hardy plant is the bay tree (Laurus nobilis). It is relatively slow growing while they are young so they are perfect for growing in containers and kept trimmed, but if left to grow they can get very big. The fresh leaves, as well as flavouring your favourite soups and stews, are just the thing for repelling weevils in the pantry.
The Ancient Romans believed that the leaves protected them against thunder and the plague and the Italians and English believed Bay leaves brought good luck and warded off evil. So can you afford not to have a bay tree in your garden?
As the weather cools down it is the perfect time to plant peas. Peas do amazing things to the garden soil, even if you are not into growing veggies. Peas improve the fertility of the soil by taking nitrogen from the atmosphere and putting it into the soil. Leaving it there for the next crop you want to plant.
If you have any bare areas of soil in the garden, grab some soil improver and dig it in and spread some seeds over. Within 1 week they will have germinated and in about 12 weeks you can start picking super sweet peas. Then when the crop has finished, the end result is super fertile soil.
Recipe for Rhubarb Spray
Rhubarb leaves are poisonous to animals and people as well as soft bodied bugs such as aphids and whitefly.
Boil 1kg rhubarb leaves in 3 litres of water for half an hour.
Add 1 tablespoon of pure soap flakes and dilute at a ratio of 100ml per litre of water.
Label poison and use up concentrate within a few weeks.
www.yates.com.au
Featured Products
Yates Sulphate of Potash
- Rich source of potassium for encouraging flowering and fruiting in all plants, as well as promoting disease resistance.
- Completely soluble.
- Potassium sulphate is one of the safest and most concentrated forms of potassium.
- Ideal for mixing with Blood and Bone for an organically based complete fertiliser
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