Is Premium, really Premium? - Aug 12, 2016
Dear Gardening Friends,
I wore shorts to work yesterday so Spring has unofficially started. Don't rush out to plant your tomatoes just yet because my legs are notoriously unreliable and if we get a frost then your plants will go black and die overnight.
But you can plant Tomato seeds now. By the time they pop up the frosts will have past. I have planted Arthur's Famous Big Greek Tomatoes this week. Arthur's family has been growing this giant tomato on the family farm in Petri/Greece for generations. We sell these seedlings to raise money for The African AIDS Foundation in Camden. Seedlings will be available in September so save a spot in your garden.
A potting mix supplier is after our business so I asked the rep to give us some bags of their Premium Potting Mixes so we could trial them. We planted Silver beet seedlings directly into the bags. We planted seedlings in our Tim's Best potting mix at the same time to see which potting mix was the best. The results have been amazing. Check out the photo. Our Tim's Best Potting Mix is at the back.
The plants in the front bag haven't grown at all. This Australian Standards Premium mix is being sold in Chainstores and Garden Centres every day. The second bag isn't much better with only two seedlings really growing. We have always known that Australian Standards Regular Potting mixes were crap but now we've discovered many Premium Potting Mixes aren't much better!
Just imagine how many people are growing plants in these potting mixes and they are blaming themselves for the poor results.
I spotted this indoor plant in a shop this week and it just amazes me that people don't realise that when you buy a plant it has to be repotted into a bigger pot immediately.
Plants are nearly always pot bound when you buy them so if they are not repotted they go backwards very quickly and then Mealy bugs and Scale insects move in to finish them off! The new pot has to be at least 25% bigger and always use Tim's Best Potting Mix.
Karyn nearly killed us this week when we had to eat her birthday cake. We had to cut it with a chainsaw and even a small slice filled the plate. We all survived long enough to sing Happy Birthday!
Pig has won two gold medals in Rio.
One in Synchronised Swimming and another in Rhythmic Gymnastics! We always knew Pig could do just about anything but he has certainly made the nation proud.
We've had over 20 truck loads of plants delivered this week so spring is just around the corner. Come and see the exciting new plant releases that Simon has discovered for you!
Happy Gardening
Tim