Coconuts can kill? - Aug 22, 2013
Dear gardening Friends
Spring is not far away now. I went to Turramurra during the week to pick up some vintage chairs and the gardens over there were already bursting into flower. Spring starts sooner the closer you get to the coast. We had another frost this morning so spring may take a little longer to arrive here.
Lisa has ordered our first batch of Tomato seedlings this week. If you live on some of the hills around Macarthur then it will probably be safe to plant these now. If you live in one of the lower suburbs then wait another couple of weeks. If you are planting tomatoes it is a good idea to cover them at night. Put a plastic pot or bucket on top of your plants before you go to sleep
We have some exciting news here at Tim’s Garden Centre. We have a new Tomato plant that is fruit fly resistant. It’s called Tim’s Fruit Fly Resistant Tomato. If you grow this variety you won’t be eating maggots. I trialed it in my garden last year and let the fruit ripen on the vine. I didn’t use any pesticides and the fruit were fruit fly free. The fruit have a leathery skin that seems to deter the fruit fly. The best news is the apricot sized fruit taste delicious
Tim’s Fruit Fly Resistant Tomato can be grown in a pot or in your garden. Please don’t plant it in one of those $3.99 potting mixes you buy from the chain stores or you will get the results you deserve! It is a wild growing variety so it is better to make a tee pee using 3 x 1.8 metre high stakes tied at the top. Better still buy one of those plastic or wire cones. We will have these in stock next week. Don’t prune out the side shoots on this tomato. You will get heaps more fruit if you let it be a wild child! It will produce a hundred or more tomatoes around Christmas time and beyond.
We are still stocking Tim’s Taurus tomato which is a large fruiting variety that hardly has any seeds. This is a proven performer that simply tastes great. I like to plant several different varieties in my garden just incase one is susceptible to disease. This way you don’t put all your egg tomatoes in the one basket.
Remember tomato plants need lots of water especially as the heat of summer arrives. Mulch around the base of your plants with sugar cane to help prevent the water from evaporating.
If you are a new vegetable gardener check out our Youtube clip “Preparing your vegetable garden for planting”.
We have had spectacular results since we “pot dressed” all our potted plants here at the nursery. Jesse and Blake spread a handful of Greengold Planting Compost around the base of every plant. The bigger pots got several handfuls. Greengold Planting Compost contains a wetting agent, an organic fertiliser and added compost. When it is spread over the soil it slows the water down and stops it just running out the bottom of the pot. The wetting agent make the existing potting mix hold more water and the organic fertiliser makes your plant sprout fresh new growth. I have taken a photo of one of the Grevillea’s and you can see the new growth shooting from the bare trunk. This is the results after just 2 weeks.
If you have pot plants at home “Pot dress” them now and you will get spectacular results too! One bag costs just $12.95 and you will be able to pot dress at least 20 plants with this. If you have a Citrus tree or a blueberry plant in a pot at home then use this product now. You can also use it to freshen up old potting mix before planting new season seedlings like petunias.
P.S You can use it on indoor plants too.
I mowed my Day Lilies on the weekend. These old fashioned grassy looking plants have spectacular flowers throughout spring. I used to cut them off at ground level every season with a hedge trimmer. This was a massive job and then I had to pick up all the pruning. Then one day I was on the sit down lawn mower and I had an epiphany. I just drove into the garden and mowed the Day Lilies like grass. The clipping got all chopped up and became fertiliser for the plants. The Day Lilies responded with fresh new growth and the best flower display ever! If you have Purple Fountain grass or other grassy looking plants in your garden prune them off at ground level now. Sprinkle some Fast Food around the base and stand back quickly!
Karyn prunes our Fountain Grass every spring and they respond with that lovely purple new growth. I think all grassy looking plants respond to a good man prune once a year.
Talking about Karyn she is off to Japan in the next couple of weeks to play soft ball! Karyn is the team’s big hitter! She is famous for hitting the ball over the fence. I am sure she will spend time looking at all the famous gardens in Japan while she is there too.
We are getting our roof painted purple again this week. Wow what a difference. You can’t miss us now as you come around the corner.
Purple is a great horticultural colour that seems to go with all plants. Perhaps we have been inspired by the Lavender plant.
I was watching a show on the ABC during the week and was fascinated to learn that more people get killed by coconuts than sharks every year! Never turn your back on a coconut!
Apparently they are quite safe once they are on the ground but when they are falling from the tree they can kill you. Gilligan should be dead.
Have you sprayed your lawn for bindii yet? Time is running out. If you love your dog spray this weekend.
Happy gardening
Tim