Free air conditioning? - Nov 20, 2015

Dear Gardening Friends,

If you have trees around your house then you will be really enjoying the shade they provide during this hot weather. Yes they may drop leaves and lift concrete sometimes; but it is in hot weather like this when they pay you back with the lovely shade they provide.

Even the tree haters in society will be looking for a shady spot in the council car park on these hot days. Have you noticed how hot your car is when you have to park it in the sun?

I took a photo of Glenalvon house from the roof of Campbelltown RSLs carpark. This historic house was built in 1841. In those days they had no air conditioning so they built houses with big covered verandas and they planted trees to provide shade. In many ways I think we have gone backwards in house design, and we certainly plant less trees.

Even the stables out the back had big thick sandstone walls that keep the heat out.
I'm not sure if you have ever noticed just how beautiful this house is. Check it out next time you visit the RSL.

Our latest potting mix trial is not looking good for a Woolworths and Masters brand products. We planted these seedlings at the same time and they have been watered by our irrigation system. You can see by the results just how badly plants grow in these cheap potting mixes.

I had a customer bring in some tomatoes yesterday that all had Blossom end rot. The fruit had a rotten brown spot at the base. This is caused by a calcium deficiency that is a result of infrequent watering. The customer got the poos with me because it was one of our tomato varieties.

When I interviewed him further he admitted buying the potting mix from a local fruit shop!
These cheap potting mixes don't usually have any water storing crystals or wetting agents or added fertiliser. They are sold in different bags around Sydney. It wouldn't matter where you bought the tomato plants, they are not going to thrive in these mixes.
If you have tomatoes with these symptoms increase your watering. Tomatoes have to be watered every day. Add some garden lime to the soil. This contains calcium. Mulch around the base with sugar cane. This will help keep the water in the soil longer. Grow your tomatoes in bigger pots. Don't buy cheap potting mix!!!!!!

I harvested my home grown Garlic this week. All this Garlic came from just two cloves. We were selling this organically grown Australian Garlic here at the nursery in winter. That's when you plant it. Make sure you get some next year! This will last at least 9 months in a cool dry place. Garlic is so easy to grow and bugs don't touch it. They mustn't want Garlic breath.

Our Frangipani plants are selling like hot cakes. We have 45 varieties available at the moment but because they are so cheap (from $15.99) they are selling fast. Some are starting to bud and flower but they all have picture labels so you can see the amazing colour range. Frangipanis grow beautifully in big pots on sunny patios and you will love the perfumed flowers all summer long!

If you have pots and hanging baskets make sure you water them everyday during this heat wave. It's is an old wives tale that plants shouldn't be watered during the day.

We hand water our plants during the day because that's when we are at work with no side effects. Yes the water is absorbed more during the cooler times but it's better to water than not. Treat all your pots and baskets with Wettasoil now. You can use this product on your gardens too. Make sure all your pots and gardens have a layer of mulch.Sugar cane and Termite resistant Woodchip mulches are best.

Pig put on the pink love sunnies this week for #snapsydney. Check out the photos on Instagram. Poor pig has been smelling his own bacon frying in the sun all week. We've got the plus 50 suntan lotion on him but he's still turning pink!

Hope you're sitting in the shade of a tree somewhere sipping a cool drink.

Happy Gardening
Tim