Bondage and Discipline time - Nov 20, 2014
Dear Gardening Friends,
We are melting here today. Simon has been talking about beer all day. I hope you have found a shady spot under a tree where you can escape from the heat.
I have noticed that it is so much cooler when I take a chair and sit it on the grass under a shady tree rather than on paving. The heat reflects off the concrete pavers while the grass is so cool.
During the drought there was a real push to replace grass with paving or artificial grass because grass was seen as a water waster but we forget that grass cools the ground around your house.
We had some exciting news last Saturday night when we were awarded the Best Nursery in NSW Award for 2014. We have won this award many times in the past but we still get excited.
We will now go up against all the other state winners to see if we can win the National Award. It is usually announced in February. Thank you to all our garden club members for your support this year.
It’s bondage and discipline time in the garden. If your tomato plants are like mine they will be sprawling everywhere at the moment. You need to tie your tomatoes up to the stake so they don’t just become a big mess!
You can use old stockings but if you are a man then these can be hard to come by unless you are a cross dresser? We have a product down here called Jolly Garden Ties. It comes in a big roll and you just cut it to size. This stretches as your tomatoes grow so it doesn’t damage the plant.
I recycle them because they can last for a couple of seasons.
Never use those plastic coated wire twist ties or you will just ring bark your plants.
I have been liquid fertilising my tomato plants with Powerfeed this spring with great results. The plants have never looked better. I water it over the foliage too because the added seaweed helps to prevent fungus diseases.
A new mini vegetable garden has arrived this week. It’s called a Vegepod. This looks like a good idea for people who have limited space.
It has a hinged mesh cover that prevents butterflies, snails and many other pests from getting at your fruit and vegetables. It would be great for growing strawberries because it will keep out the birds.
Each pod measures 100cms x 50cms. It takes about 5 bags of Tims Best Potting Mix to fill the base. It has a spray irrigation system in the roof and a self watering wick system in the base.
You could go away for a week and your vegetables would still be alive. It would also make a great herb garden. No more nasty caterpillars on your basil plants. We are taking orders for Christmas. Vegepods cost $129.00. Come and see our display pod in the shop.
Do you remember how we were selling the Dianthus Memories to help raise money for Dementia Research? Only $1.00 was being donated from an $18.99 sale so we offered to donate an extra $5.00 for every Dianthus plant we sold.
Well thanks to our garden club members we raised and extra $445.00 for Alzheimer’s Australia. We have paid them today so thanks for your help.
If you don’t remember anything about this plant then see your doctor.
Simon has discovered an exciting new range of Hibiscus called Flamenco.
These are more compact growing than traditional varieties and they get heaps more flowers!
They are perfect around swimming pools because they flower all summer long.
We have a selection of colours but it will be hard to beat this one.
Hibiscus love lots of water during the warmer months.
Prepare the soil with Tims Planting Compost for best results and mulch around the base with sugar cane to lock in the moisture. They can be grown in big pots too.
To all our Indian friends, we finally have Mango trees, Indian Guavas and Paw Paws.
There are some beautiful Mango trees growing in Minto and Glen Alpine. They only grow about 5 metres high by 5 metres wide in the Macarthur District and it could take 20 years to grow this big.
We have Seedling Mangoes as well as grafted varieties. The Grafted varieties will get flowers sooner but with both types the fruit won’t ripen until March/April and they are huge!
We have the famous Bowen Mango. It is often sold as Kensington Pride. (Same, same).
For best results plant your Mango tree on a mound of soil one metre across by 20cms high. This keeps the surface roots out of the clay. Use Tims Planting Compost and never fertilise the tree at planting time or it will die!!!
The Paw Paws are self pollinating varieties. These grow on a pole up to 3 metres high.
The best place to plant them is up against a north or west facing brick wall. Same planting as per Mangoes.
Mulch around the base with Sugar Cane. Water often until established. If you get heaps of Paw Paws bring one in for me! Same with Mangoes!
Paw Paws cost $17.99.
Finally one of my gardening friends sent me a photo of a Lebanese Mountain Tomato that he grew in his garden last summer.
It weighed a staggering 1.7 kilos! I am in the process of getting a few seeds so we can grow it next year too.
We do love a big tomato!
Still time to make your garden beautiful for Christmas.
Happy Gardening
Tim