Basic gardening tips - Petunias

I adore petunias and it wouldn't be a summer garden without them but, planning your planting will ensure the best displays when you want them.



It's very simply!  Petunias when planted as seedlings will take about 6 weeks to start producing an abundance of beautiful flowers.  While they are establishing it is best to nip off newly forming flowers for about the first 2-3 weeks.  This allows the seedlings to establish strong root growth and become sturdy plants, which will reward you with a wonderful summer display.





 I planted these little seedlings recently behind an establish white petunia to get a more uniform display.  The blue and white petunias have been in 4 weeks, and they are starting to bush out nicely.

 

Petunias also come  in what the nurseries call "pots of colour", these are larger more establish plants that  provide an instance display.  Depending on how quickly you want your floral display will determine whether you buy seedlings or "pots of colour", of course there is a price difference and you get more for your dollar with the seedlings.

I use both, planting out for an instant colour display while waiting for the smaller seedlings to develop. 

However you choose to plant your petunias they are a must for any garden, with a wide range of colours and shapes.



Do yourself a favour and plant petunias

 

Happy gardening

 

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tip - hydrangeas

The Hydrangeas are looking very pretty at the moment, but they are all pink.   My fault because I didn't  test the pH levels and adjust according to the colour I wanted.

Hydrangeas are fascinating in that, unlike most other plants, the colour of their flowers can change dramatically.   Blue require a more acidic soil and pink nitrogen rich soil.  I also use Hydrangea Pinking and Blueing to enhance the colour.  Although I only applied the colouring mixture once this season there are a few flowers that have a speckling of purple, which means that they were trying to change colour but didn't have the right soil balance.

 It is easier to control the colour of  hydrangeas if they are grown in containers because you can control or alter the pH of the soil in a container better than it is in the ground.

On the other hand, hydrangeas often change colour on their own when they are planted or transplanted. They will adjust to the new environment very quickly.   It is not unusual to see several different colours on one shrub the next year after planting.

After flowering and in the Autumn cut them back hard and they will respond  brilliantly next spring/summer.



Happy gardening

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - citrus trees

I can't imagine life without citrus, with their zesty fresh juices full of vitamin c,  a squeeze of any citrus mixed with olive oil on a salad, home made marmalade, or the aged old remedy of hot water with lemon in the morning to energise ready for a busy day.

Citrus plants love sunshine so require about five hours a day to produce a good crop.  Planting them in a north-facing, warm and sunny position is best or in  cooler climates, grow them alongside a sunny wall, for warmth or an alternative is to  use large tubs like I do and move them around.  My daughter-in-law grows them in bright blue pots in their small court yard and they do very well, this years crop was plentiful for only 3 miniature trees.  Choose a spot that is well drained and if using a pot use suitable potting mix, because citrus don't like wet feet.

As with any plant it is necessary to prune the young shoots to create bushiness and for large juicy fruit thin out as the fruit form.  I know it's hard to snip off those precious little fruits but you will be rewarded with a much better crop, especially when they are young trees, so be brave. 



As the tree matures try to shape it so that the centre is open which creates good airflow, very important for health trees.  Fertilise to create good growth and rich soil to encourage worms, always a plus. Don't forget to snip off any shoots below the graft or your tree will revert back to the root stock.



You may encounter a few problems with your citrus so here are two to look for.  Yellow leaves, this is usually due to an iron deficiency so simply use iron chelate to turn those leaves back to a healthy glossy green. Also keep an eye out for sooty mould. It’s a fungal problem but it doesn’t need to be treated with fungicide. Sooty mould actually indicates there is an insect pest, such as white fly. These are sap sucking insects, often found on the undersides of leaves, especially during the cooler weather. They suck sap from the leaves and secrete a sweet sticky substance that drips onto the foliage and the sooty mould grows in the secretion. The treatment I use is white oil, you can either buy it or make your own.  I make my own using the following:





1 cup of ordinary cooking oil
1/2  a cup of water
Small amount of ordinary washing-up detergent.
Mix with water, it's about 40 parts water to one of this mixture.
Stir it up and spray it on.












Good  citrus requires a bit of effort in the beginning but you will be inundated with a continuous crop of wonderful, juice fruit for years to come.

Happy gardening

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - propagate and share with friends

Gary and I have just come back from our evening walk with Oscar and on the way we called into a friend's house to see their new garden.  Bev was delighted and excited showing us around the garden pointing out dozens of plants I had propagated and given to her a month ago.  All the plants were thriving and by giving plants to your friends it cuts down on the expense of establishing a new garden,  plus it is nice to share.

It is very easy to propagate even my husband did it for the first time while I was away in Sydney.  He came home earlier than me, so I showed him how to take cuttings from hibiscus plants at his daughters, place them in damp paper and a plastic bag for the journey home.

Propagate from either new soft stems or old ones making sure they have sufficient nodules for root growth.  Remove all the leaves from around the nodules, leaving a few at the top, but cut those in half.

Gary dipped the ends in a hormone powder before putting them in a propagating mix, this stimulates growth.  The new hibiscus are small but growing, so should have nice strong healthy plants to pop in towards the end of summer.  Remember little plants should go in small pots as they will establish better and when raising from seed we use old egg cartons, just a little seed raising mix in each cup and in no time up come the new little seedlings.

I have 2 propagating areas.  One in full sun for hardy plants and the other in shade for the more delicate.  For the plants that I'm not sure where to put, they are placed in a crate and moved around the garden until I find a suitable spot that respond well too.

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a plant you have grown and it is so easy, most plants will grow from cuttings or seed, so the only way to learn is by trial and error.  It costs very little, some potting mix, slow release fertiliser and recycled pots, so get propagating.





Happy gardening



Bronwyn

Basic gardening tip - Basil a great herb

Basil is one of the most versatile of herbs, enhancing the flavour of both hot and cold dishes.  Every garden should have a plant if only for the delightful smell it produces as you brush past when watering.


Basil responds well to pruning, which will extend its production for a few seasons.  Cut back by a 1/3 to ensure good regrowth.  My old basil plant has been going strong for 2 years, cutting it back when it became to straggly, but today out it came.  It was producing to much seed and small thin leaves, so its day had come.

I always throw the old plant with its seed heads into one of the garden beds, in the hope I will get new plants.  Anyway, if you don't get seedlings it makes good green mulch for the garden.

Making sure all of the plant was removed, included all the fine roots, I topped the pot up with rich potting mix, popped in the new plants and fed with liquid Seasol.  I now have 3 pots of new Basil growing throughout the garden.















Basil will grow quite happily any where you put it, but I find my bests plants are those that have part sun, part shade and plenty of water.

All I have to do now is watch, wait and pick.



Happy gardening



Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips for bulbs and corms

Did you know you have to let the leaves of bulbs die back naturally because during this process the bulb is setting its new flower for next year.  Depending where you live you can lift the bulbs and store in a dry spot or like me leave them in the ground or pots.  Bulbs like the fressia seen here also set seed, this pot of drying fressia is a mixture of bulbs and seeds I collected from my step-daughters neighbour in Sydney and they now flower profusely here in Queensland.

I always plant in pots because it suits our climate, planting annual seedlings like pansies on top as they provide a great display of colour while waiting for the bulbs to push up through the soil and it gives an added dimension to your pot.








They can look a bit straggly while drying, as you can see with the jonquilles left but, it is worth it for the spring display.

Irises and dahlias pictured above have been particular beautiful this year in our garden.  Dahlias, depending on the variety can grow to about 155 cm, so will need staking. 

Bulbs are a wonderful addition to any spring garden, providing an array of wonderful colours and perfumes, well worth the effort


Happy gardening

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Spring in the garden

The winter, in our area, brings beautiful Blue Wrens, tiny Brown Honeyeaters, Swallows and  Magpies nesting in the abundant bushy areas of the garden.  It is important at this time of the year to provide them with safe habitats and then the Spring surprises you with baby birds.

Safe habitats is coupled with good pruning habits.  Cutting back tall lanky bushes by 1/3 when necessary, this will ensure thick bushy areas for nesting and protection, especially for little birds.  Growing prickly plants also keeps predators away.

There is nothing like sitting in our family room watching the little wrens flitting from bush to bush, the blue coloured male surrounded by his harem of brown females.  The Swallows swooping back and forth to there little mud nests to feed their babies.

Little birds are hard to find and you don't want to put to much stress on the parents so we leave them alone to get on with the business of raising a family.










But, we have had a family of Magpies nesting in the garden for the past 4 years.  Magpies are literally in your face, swooping if you come any where near their nesting area.  Gary has been wearing his bike helmet for the past few weeks as every time he goes into the garden they swoop and Oscar has learnt to run faster.

But, the rewards are wonderful as we found out last week when the baby Magpie stared to leave the nest and explore the garden.  At this time they can only fly short distances and still have their fluffy covering.  The parents have settled down a bit as if they have become use to us and see we are no threat.  We are still careful when they are around at least until the baby can fly properly.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did taking them

Happy gardening

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Lettuce - out with the old and in with the new

Lettuce is a must for any summer garden for the freshest of salads.

I like to stagger my lettuce, planting a month apart to ensure there is always a plentiful supply, but when do you take the old ones out?  Like most plants lettuce when left will become lanky and start setting seed, if you don't want to collect the seed for future use it's time to take them out!

New lettuce seedlings come in a few sizes, I plant the medium size as they seem to be stronger and established better .  I know you get more for your dollar with the smaller ones, but they can be a bit delicate, that's why I spent a little more and get a stronger plant.

Fertilise with  liquid Seasol and watch them grow, you'll be picking in no time.


Happy gardening


Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Worms in your tomatoes

Do you have tomatoes with holes in them, that develop into unsightly black spots and eventually ruin the tomatoes.  If you do, then you have worms.  They develop when either wasps, beetles, moths or flies lay their eggs on the tomato bush and as they hatch the worms bore into the flesh and feed until they mature and leave, starting the cycle all over again.  Unfortunately you are left with ruined fruit.

We recently found these little pests on my step daughter's tomatoes, the picture shows a relatively healthy bush, but when you look right into it there was a different picture, as seen above.

So what to do!  Prevention is better than cure, so inspect your tomato bushes regularly for eggs or small worms/caterpillars and  remove, always put in the bin to get rid of them.  There are plenty of insecticides available for the problem but once the worm is in the fruit they won't be effected by them, so you need to get them early.  I prefer to use a tomato dust to control insects on my tomatoes because it is so easy to use, but always read the instructions.  Remember it will also kill the good bugs so only use as required.


Be vigilant and you will have plenty of healthy fruit.







Happy gardening



Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Grafted passion fruit plants

On a recent trip to my step daughters I noticed her passion fruit plants were throwing suckers from below the graft.

Grafting is the combining of 2 plants to produce a super plant.  Starting with a vigorous rootstock and  grafting onto it a different variety that tastes better and fruits well.  The problem arises when the root sock is too vigorous and starts to produce suckers, which in turn takes nourishment away from the grafted plant.

It's an easy problem to solve, just snip off the sucker vines below the graft every time they appear.  Eventually they will stop growing as the grafted plant becomes stronger and bigger.  It is quite easy to tell the difference between suckers and good vines as the suckers have thinner, darker leaves, and the healthy passionfruit plants leaves are a glossy green, as seen in the pictures.










Get those secateurs out and start checking below your graft, it is easy to spot the join because there is usually a slight swelling and the colour is different.  As passion fruit are such fast growing plants you will have a healthy plant in no time.




 However, they are short lived plants, usually about 4 - 7 years so I always have 2 or 3 around the garden all of which have been staggered so we always have productive plants.  Watering well, fertilising and good mulch cover will extended the life of some varieties.  We have a beautiful variety growing in a large pot over an arch at the side of our house, it loves the spot and produces tasty fruit.

Happy gardening


Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Let's talk Mint

Plants come in array of  shapes and sizes, some for instance if given the chance will invade every corner of your garden.  Mint is one such plant. My husband found this out the hard way when he thought it would be a good idea to plant mint as a ground cover, to endless protests from me, but sometimes you have to go through the exercise in order to see the error of your ways, which he did.

The good thing though is mint makes a wonderful tub plant and the bigger the tub the better.

The picture to the right is of mint still trying to take over our front garden bed even creeping up the wall.  It takes constant effort stop it from taking over.

So to avoid a troublesome wonderers, plant your mint in a tub.  To look after it and ensure it is always producing at maximum capacity I have 2 plants on the go, as mint can suddenly become very leggy and straggly.  When this happens I push all the mint into the tub and pour a full bag of potting mix enriched with compost all over the mint.  Don't be afraid that it won't come back because mint is a very hardy, strong plant, just don't do it in winter.  A very easy solution to a problem and in no time you will be rewarded with lush bunches of mint.

That's why I say "plant it in a tub."


Happy gardening


Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Wormwood and children don't mix!

 Have you heard of the plant Wormwood?  I recently saw it growing in my step-daughter's herb garden right next to the children's play area, so I looked it up as I didn't know very much about it.  Well did I get a surprise, because it looks such an attractive plant in the garden, but looks really can be deceiving.  

 Never  plant wormwood near edible garden plants and herbs,  as it is considered a poor companion plant for many, mainly edible, plants.  Companions, are those which thrive when planted together, improving  health, vigour, flavour, repel pests and attract beneficial insects, like tomatoes and marigolds.  Wormwood is differently a poor companion plant.

The natural chemical substance contained within the leaves are  water soluble and wash into the soil with heavy rains. This chemical inhibits the growth of other garden plants, especially fennel, sage, caraway and anise, young plants and seedlings.

Always exercise caution when planting, handling or coming in contact with the wormwood plant, as all parts of the plant are toxic

.



Never eat Wormwood!  It is  a bitter-tasting plant that is poisonous, resulting in symptoms that range from headaches, convulsions and nerve damage, it is a poor plant choice in homes with small children and pets, especially dogs as they are attracted to it.

If you want to make wormwood a part of your garden  plant this perennial with established ornamental plants, but I prefer not to have it in my garden at all.

As you can imagine I was on the phone straight away to  ensure my grandchildren and wormwood parted company.






Happy gardening

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - The sky can be a gardeners best friend!

After the last few days of heavy rain and destructive winds it was so nice to see this evenings sunset.

At least we have a reprieve for a couple of days then the storms are back with a vengeance.  As we were away this weekend it will be into the garden at first light, just kidding.  I like to sleep in, but I will be out there at sometime.

The old saying does rings true though:

Pink sky at night fisherman's delight
Pink sky in the morning fisherman's warning

Same applies for gardening so look to the sky for good gardening days.


Happy gardening


Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Chillies in your garden

All our family and friends love chillies and if there is one plant that is a  favourite  of my husband it is the hot, hot chilli bush.  He has been an enthusiastic propagator of all types of varieties for the last 10 years.

They must be one of the easiest  plants to grow and seeds spring up in no time.  Gary prefers to gather his seeds from existing plants, using cardboard egg trays to germinate them. Once they are big enough he plants them out into larger pots to establish into strong little bushes before they go into the garden.

We have Bell, Birdseye, Banana, Thai to name a few and the harvest is shared around, there is a variety to suit all tastes in regards to heat.  Always check the label to see the scale of heat in them because some will take your head off.  Gary loves to swap the different varieties with friends so our chillies are now growing in a Sydney and Brisbane.

So why grow chillies, even if you are not a fan of them to eat they make a beautiful bush with dazzling splashes of red, green, purple and gold. Chillies! A must for any garden.



Happy gardening


Bronwyn

Bath time with Oscar our black pug

Oscar loved the new garden bed with all the manure he thought he was in heaven as he rolled around  to his heart's delight.

 But, wasn't so excited when he ended up in the bath.

He does love finding his treats though while being dried.

Happy gardening 

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Growing Sweet William

Sweet William is a lovely little short lived perennial plant that brightens up any spot in the garden and is a joy to look at.  It has a sweet perfume and comes in colours ranging from pinks, purples and white.

Here they are growing in a box in my garden amongst standard and climbing roses, they give a nice cottage feel to the garden.

The reason I like this particular little gem is because it attracts butterflies into the garden as well as bees and birds.  I get so excited when I see butterflies dashing about the garden from bush to bush because I consciously put butterfly attracting plants in.  The more you plant in the garden the more butterflies, and the plants will survive when their caterpillars start feasting on their leaves.

Like all plants they respond to dead heading and look wonderful in floral arrangements combined with mint and rosemary, the smell is amazing.

Happy gardening

Bronwyn

Basic gardening tips - Growing cucumbers on a support

Cucumbers are a must for any summer garden and are not too difficult to grow.  They like plenty of water and frequent liquid fertilizer in order to produce juicy delicious fruit.

I find that if you support them on a frame they will climb, which avoids fruit rotting on the ground when it gets very wet.

   

The pictures are of my daughter-in-law's cucumbers and she put in a support  2 weeks ago and they have gone crazy, tripling their size and starting to produce fruit.





Just goes to show a simple support can make all the difference and if  you don't have a black pug called Oscar you might get to eat some.

Check out the little tail below, Oscar is on his morning rounds looking for cucumbers in our garden.

Happy gardening

Bronwyn