It’s been 14 days since I filled my Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler with grass clippings and horse manure. With a tumble or two each day the contents became very hot (too hot to touch one day) and has turned to a nice earthy brown colour with a sweet smell. The heat generated in the bin will [...]
My three week holiday is coming up very quickly, and since I won’t be around to water and tend for my garden I thought I would share with you a few of my plans to keep the garden alive in this warm weather we are experiencing. Mulch: Reducing the amount of water lost to the [...]
What a day! It all seemed better when I came home from work to find there were heaps of ripe tomatoes on my bushes. It has been a battle with the intense heat, lack of heat, lack of water (for a little bit), too much water, mealy bug attack, caterpillar attack… the list goes on, [...]
With Peter Cundall retiring from his role as the face of Gardening Australia towards the end of 2008, the show continued on with the other hosts taking turns to introduce the show. It was with great surprise, and was very refreshing, when I watched episode one for 2009 to find Stephen Ryan as the new [...]
“Just six hours a week, that’s all it takes to create a beautiful garden that’s self-sufficient in flowers and food,” says Clive Blazey, founder of the Digger’s Club. For Christmas this year I recieved a 12 month subscription to the Diggers Garden Club. Formed in 1978 in a tin shed in Melbourne, the club has [...]
With the recent down pour of rain at my house, I stepped out with my jacket on to aerate my lawn. Not only is it great exercise, but my lawn will grow at an astonishing rate when the cloud lifts and the sun comes out. Lawn aeration is crucial to keeping your patch of grass [...]
In the summer when its nice and warm with an increase in humidity Mealybugs begin to cluster on new shoots of plants. Mealybug females feed on plant sap. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax layer which is used for protection while they suck the plant juices. This waxy layer protects [...]
While sitting on an aeroplane a couple of days ago, I came up with a list of things that I could do when I got home that will not cost much to do, and will boost my garden. Collect horse manure – My friend owns two horses, I regularly go and ‘clean up’ her paddock [...]
It’s not too late to plant out some bulbs to keep your garden in colour through to autumn. Here are six of my all time favorites! Dahlia – many forms, colours such as red, pink, yellow, white and purple. They enjoy full sun, plenty of manure and fertilizer. Canna – growing to two meters tall, [...]
Stumbling along today, I found this old gem! http://www.veoh.com/videos/v16363707XMhgTzc7 It’s a video from the 1940′s about two kids learning about vegetable gardening. While some of the methods are a little out dated (spraying bugs with Arsenate of Lead), and the dialogue is somewhat dodgy… as a whole its a great little film about gardening. I [...]
