Gardening makes you feel good! - Oct 14, 2022
It's got a lovely fresh fragrance!
Dear gardening friends
Gardens really are looking after themselves at the moment. I can't remember the last time I watered my vegetable garden.
I've just planted Tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers then watched them grow.
It's a bit like living in England.
You don't need a garden hose.
We have fabulous Fuchsias here at the nursery. All named varieties, so you can start a collection.
Fuchsias are easy to grow. They like morning sun, followed by afternoon shade.
They can be grown in pots, hanging baskets or in your garden.
They flower through spring and early summer, and then again through autumn, so they are great plants to grow.
We've discovered that they love Tim's Best Potting mix. We've been potting them up, into hanging baskets, using this fabulous potting mix, and even we have been amazed by the results. The plants have grown huge, and they are covered in flowers.
We have at least 10 varieties here to choose from. They are covered in flowers, they also make amazing cheap gifts. Much cheaper than a bunch of flowers and they last forever.
Come see.
A pallet load of Chicken Manure arrived this week, direct from the farm.
I said to Nathan "Wow that stinks".
"It's got a lovely fresh fragrance" he replied. That got me laughing.
We stopped stocking Chicken Manure a few years ago because I couldn't find a supplier who actually sold Chicken Manure.
It was full of wood chip, it had no smell, it wasn't manure, that's for sure.
The Chicken manure we got yesterday is real. It's straight from the farm and it's been composted with sawdust for at least 12 months.
Chicken Manure is great for vegetable gardens. If you've already used Cow Manure, sprinkle some Chicken Manure over your garden too.
Worms love Chicken Manure.
Worms have been doing it tough with all this rain. Spread chicken manure, and the worms will come.
Big bags cost $7.99 or buy 4 for $30.00.
"It's got a lovely fresh fragrance."
You'll meet your neighbours.
It brings people together.
People ask me all the time "Will a Mango Trees grow in Macarthur?".
I always smile.
There's a beauty growing in Campbelltown Catholic Club's garden. It was probably planted by a previous gardener, or it may have just popped up, by seed.
It's grown into a beautiful small tree.
I've been watching it for at least 10 years. It's in flower at the moment, and it always produces fruit.
Unfortunately, if you get rain while they are in flower, most of the flowers drop off. If this was in my garden, I would spray the flowers with a fungicide, the moment it stopped raining. This increases the fruiting by at least 200%.
You don't need a dwarf Mango tree in Macarthur. Our cooler weather in winter, stops trees from growing enormous, simply because the growing season, is much shorter.
They do need good drainage, and they grow much better if you prepare the soil first, and plant your tree in a raised garden bed. It's the same for Citrus.
Seedling grown and grafted trees take about 12-18 months to flower. The fruit grow much bigger than the Mangoes you buy in the shop, and they are ready to eat in March/April.
Bowen Mango or Kensington Pride is the sweetest Mango. It's the same variety sold under two different names.
We have Mango trees here in the nursery. 30 years ago I would have laughed if a customer asked me for a Mango tree.
But it's getting so much warmer here in Macarthur, with more concrete, and more heat absorbing houses. You can grow most Tropical fruit trees now.
We have other tropical fruit trees including Avocados, Guavas, Lychees, Paw paw and Bananas. We are open today.
I've been working with the Rose Bushes this week, Hayden was helping me. They are all bursting into bloom.
It's hard not to sniff test them. This is a David Austin Rose called "James L. Austin".
(See photo above.)
It has a beautiful sweet perfume, despite the label saying, light to medium.
My nose likes it.
I was just thinking if I bred roses I'd call one after me. "Tim F. Pickles", I'd have a beautiful fragrance, I'd smell like Rexona Sport. I'd have thorns, big ones.
I might be hallucinating.
If you love Roses, come and see us. We are running out of the most popular varieties already. But we still have hundreds to choose from. They have never looked better. Big plants covered in buds and flowers cost $39.99.
Zoom zoom.
Now is the best time to plant vegetables.
If you think you've left it too late, you haven't. The stuff you plant now will grow quicker than seedlings you planted earlier.
It's all to do with soil and night temperature.
As it gets warmer, plants grow faster.
Reinvent your soil with our Chicken manure.
You will be amazed how fast things grow.
It's great for flower gardens too.
Now that day light savings is here you get more time to garden. Put your phone down, and see how much better you feel, when you get your hands dirty.
Come and see us if you need help.
Lots of new plants have been arriving.
Come for a walk through.
We will make you feel good.
Happy gardening
Tim