Gardening and growing great plants.

Growing Citrus

by Dennis Ting - Gardenworld Nursery

As we come into autumn and the cooler weather this presents an ideal time to plant citrus trees in the home garden.  This weather allows the new plants to put out roots into the surrounding soil and get established before the warmer weather in spring.  This strong root growth is then available to support the trees demands in spring with the heavy leafing out and possible flowering too. 

Citrus deserve more of a place in our gardens as Melbourne's climate has warmed up over the years and winter cold is no longer an issue for most types.  Also our summers have become warmer and longer and citrus thrive in these conditions. 

Universal Gardens

by Peter Green      

When I am asked by customers to give advice and suggestions regarding the choosing of drought tolerant plants, they are often surprised by the wide range on offer. Some are natives. Some are not. There is a good variety of native plants that do well in and around Melbourne. There is also a huge range of environmentally friendly exotics (non-natives) that do better than some natives. Usually because their place of origin is a lot more similar to Melbourne's climate than, say, a Sturt Desert Pea which although native, comes from a climate much different to ours, and does not grow well here.

Survivors In The Heat

 By Dennis Ting - Gardenworld Nursery

Following on from the four very hot days at the end of January, Melbourne was again hit by an extremely hot day on Saturday 7th February 2009 when temperatures reached 46.4c during the day with strong gusty winds in the afternoon.  These conditions have resulted in the Tragic Bush Fires throughout Victoria. 

We have had customers come in and report that they have been seeing damage on plants that in previous years never experienced much damage due to high temperatures which is not surprising given the intense extremes we have seen this year. 

For the home gardener the questions must begin to be asked about whether we are seeing a permanent change to our climate with warmer winters (less cold and frosts) and hotter and more extreme summers? 

Unique Product from Northcott's of Hamilton

by Dennis Ting - Gardenworld Nursery

Organic Mulch & Long Acting Fertilizer Pellets

With the continuing dry weather conditions and limited watering we are able to do in our gardens I have noticed that the soils we are growing our plants in are not as healthy or active as they once were.   

Previously my home garden soils would be teeming with insect, worm and microscopic life that indicated good soil health with the on going rapid decomposition of the organic material and mulch to feed the plants. 

Lately I have seen reduced activity and the soil structure below appears to be deteriorating.  Despite regular watering and fertilizing this is having an impact on the growth and health of the plants. 

What is needed is not just more organic mulch, fertilizer or water alone but the addition of a product that will help condition the soil and improve the productivity of the soil. 

One such product that has recently arrived in the Garden Centre is produced by Northcott's of Hamilton called "Organic Fertilizer, Mulch & Long Acting Soil Conditioner".  It comprises of organic pelletised sheep manure with added residual wool.

Stop and smell the roses

The tragic bushfire events of the past weeks have left us a bit shocked. Its hard news to face so I have only been digesting the reports in little bits. One thing we do know is that there are some excellent nurseries in the areas affected and that there have been some losses. Horticulture is a tough industry even at the best of times and some things take time to grow, and time can't be replaced by insurance payouts. Propagation of a cutting or seed to a large tree can be a good 5 to 10 years so we may see shortages of some crops that take time. Plantation timber supplies may also be affected.

It is a time to come togther - to mourn, to talk and to support one another. From this tragedy, a stronger bond will grow. Community spirit is already shining through.

One thing that I have done this week is to wander through the nursery and think about how lucky I am to work in this place. I have marvelled at the grass trees, hidden amongst the palms and yes even stopped to smell the roses. I can thoroughly recommend you try it - and without your mobile phone. If it's not your local nursery, try some botanic gardens or parks. You will feel soothed by the sights, smells and sounds - and learn a bit about yourself and the world around you. Go on, give it a try.

Recovering From The Heat

By Dennis Ting – Gardenworld Nursery

 

The record temperatures experienced in Melbourne for four days last week have certainly taken their toll on the gardens which are already suffering from the effects of drought together with limited watering due to current restrictions.

 

On the Saturday it had cooled down and I fielded numerous inquiries from customers who both visited and phoned us at Gardenworld.

 

The first question was usually along the lines of the plants were kept well watered at the roots but still got burnt.  The answer to this one is that with an ambient temperature of 45c and low humidity the atmosphere is acting like a dryer so no amount of water is going to help.

 

Curtain Lace an Alternative Material to Net Fruit Trees?

By Dennis Ting – Gardenworld Nursery  

Following on from my segment early this month with Rob Pelletier on 3AW’s The Big Backyard program on “Exotic Fruit and Nut Trees for Melbourne” there have been repeated requests on my new technique to keep the Cockatoos (and other birds) off my Walnut tree here in Melbourne. 

As anyone who is attempting to grow a few fruit or nut trees in their own backyard the major pests are birds who will start taking the fruit and nuts before they are even remotely ripe for human consumption (and enjoyment!).  The months of hard labour nurturing the crop can all be to nought if suitable prevention measures are not found.

Understanding food

 

During the week someone sent me a very interesting article from the Australian Financial Review (Jan 23-26,2009). The author Sue Williams was interviewing scientists about what they are finding out about food. One of them was the CSIRO's Ingrid Appelqvist. She was saying that although carrots eaten raw provide fibre, the body does not have the enzymes to break down the carrots cellular structure in order to release the nutrients. "What goes in and comes out is much the same". Instead we should  slightly cook them and then puree them to extract the most nutrients.

The same goes with a tomato. Appelqvist says "...there's much more chance of increasing the bio-availability of lycopene from a grilled tomato as from a raw one. If you add a little olive oil, because its fat soluble it even enhances that in a way". This augers well for tomato sauces and soups in being beneficial in the possible prevention of prostate cancer. Cooked peanuts were also rated better than raw - I suppose thats part of why a lot of Asian food is considered quite healthy.

So next time you eat that healthy raw carrot, consider that you are not getting the best from it.