All recent comments/discussion

Showing 3661 - 3690 of 20121 comments
Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 07 Aug, Liz (USA - Zone 8a climate)
An internet search might help, try 'loofah' as an alternative to 'luffa'
Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 23 Jul, Paul Bao (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
to pollinate it by hands
Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 24 Jul, Anon (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Look up on the internet how to hand pollinate zucchini.
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 22 Jul, Christal van der Byl (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I live in the Eastern Cape and my mom makes and sells chilli paste. I am thinking of growing the chillies ourselves because it can get difficult to find chillies. What advice do you have to make sure that we always have chillies growing? I will be making wooden creates / boxes to grow the chillies in, because the soil on our land is not very fertile if I grow but it will be outside and in the boxes I can move them around for different times of the year where the sun will be catching best.
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 23 Jul, Anonymous (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I feel you would have more chance of a good crop if you planted in the ground than in boxes or crates. They need to be in sunlight all/most of the day. They are a spring through autumn crop I think, I have never grown them. You need to improve your soil by adding compost and manures regularly, yearly. Soil is only the medium that plants grow in. All soils need to have nutrients added to them, compost, manures, mulch that breaks down, fertilisers etc. Do some internet research on how to grow them.
Beetroot (also Beets) 21 Jul, Andrew (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Subtropical QLD - I germinated beetroot seeds in June and planted out in July. One seedling has flowers on it already. We have had cold weather and I also thought beetroot were biennial. Is this normal for flowers to get on plants so quickly?
Beetroot (also Beets) 22 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It is a biennial but is treated as an annual. I have grown beetroot for 40 years and have never had any flower. I'm sub- tropical and have beetroot about 10 weeks old in the garden now. I pickle mine. I would say it is just some weird seed. A plant will go to seed early when the soil nutrient is running out and lack of water. I currently have ice berg lettuce and red cabbage where 7 plants each look fine with a nice head and one other plant is a big leafy plant with no head, 2-3 times the size of the others.
Beetroot (also Beets) 24 Jul, Andrew (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I found out why my beetroot got flowers: because they aren't beetroot, they are Hon Tsai Tai. Whoops!
Beetroot (also Beets) 27 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have grown Hon Tsai Tai for the last 3 years. I have 3 plants that are just about finished flowering. Lots of seed pods on them. Love watching the bees in the morning on the flowers.
Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 20 Jul, Martin Dale (Canada - Zone 8a Mild Temperate climate)
Hello from Vancouver! Thank you for this wonderful site. I wonder if you could tell me if Loofahs can be grown in this part of the country? It would be great if so. Would they need a greenhouse? Thank you! Martin
Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 23 Jul, colleen (USA - Zone 10b climate)
You could, with two caveats: they take forever to mature (like 200+ days), and they take a lot of space (like 6-9 meters). So I think it's too late for you to grow them outside this year, but you could still grow them in a LARGE greenhouse...they set fruit during short days so time your lighting accordingly. Your best bet is probably to start them indoors in peat-type pots in late winter for next year.
Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 14 Mar, Martin Dale (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Thank you so much! I had forgotten that I had posted this question two years ago . . . . I may give it a try this summer!
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 20 Jul, Jyoti (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Best is to plant a new chillie plant.i had a plant which survived winter but did not gave as much fruit as it did before.
Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 20 Jul, Anne Shaw (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Hi there I live close to the mountains in Central North Island and its quite a damp and cold climate. It also gets frosts here. Am wondering if its still okay to try grow Coriander in the garden (and cover on frosty nights) or if its better to grow inside due to the colder climate? Thanks
Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 21 Jul, Nicole Botherway (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi there, I grow coriander in the garden over winter here in Christchurch where we get many frosts. This season my coriander has been frozen solid many mornings and has fared well, being even more prolific than in the autumn. I find corriander for me is a winter herb to grow. Good luck.
Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 27 Jan, Mike (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Living in Christchurch too. I plant coriander the whole year round - in sunny spot in winter and in shady spot in summer
Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 21 Jul, Anonymous (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Check the planting guide here for cool/mountain climate. The big white P (planting time) in the green monthly boxes at the top of the page. If you have frosts from NOV to FEB then give it a miss.
Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 29 Sep, Andrea (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I have been growing coriander in Middlemarch for the past three years, and it gets through the winter with no damage. Plants from seed direct sown in autumn, while small, have handled frosts of minus 12 as well as regular minus 5 degrees. All the late summer and autumn self sown seed is looking good. (Sept). I am constantly surprised by its easy handling of extreme winter temperatures. Using my own seed now from original Kings Seeds - 'Indian Summer' ironically.
Rhubarb 19 Jul, sandra (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Should we feed the rhubarb we have in the garden with a fertilizer on a regular basis?
Rhubarb 20 Jul, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Fertiliser during the growing season. Whatever you buy just follow the directions.
Potato 18 Jul, Judy Osborne (Australia - temperate climate)
I have grown potatoes before only to find the potato to be a clear waxy look when harvested. I waited for the plants to die down before harvesting but they have always looked like that and not the usual solid white like normal bought ones. What couild the problem be?
Potato 20 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Look up a company called NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS and call them and ask them.
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 18 Jul, Theresa (USA - Zone 10b climate)
Hello, I want to grow chili peppers (Scotch Bonnet) soon but I see that it may be outside of the growth period. What advice would you give? I live in Long Beach, CA.
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 06 Aug, Anonymous (USA - Zone 9b climate)
Wait until it says when to plant is a good idea. The guide here says this is the best time to grow it, to give yourself the best chance of a good crop. Now you can start a little earlier or later but you may not produce as good a crop. Then you have to take your weather/climate conditions into considerations. This website isn't spot on all the time. They might say plant beans from fall (autumn) to spring, but the bean fly kill mine in autumn so I only plant in the spring. Where I live it says grow egg plant in warm weather, spring to late autumn. I have picked it all through winter. Sometimes it is all about trialing things or just having a go.
Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 18 Jul, Brad (Australia - temperate climate)
If you're growing cape gooseberry through these colder winter months, keep an eye on the developing calyx (outer shell) around the fruit and make sure the flower petal has fully detached from the calyx. Sometimes the flower will get trapped in the end of the calyx and will develop mould, which might eventually lead to necrosis of the calyx itself and the developing fruit. Most times you can just gently tap the calyx to free the flower, but sometimes you may need to gently pry it with your fingertips.
Onion 17 Jul, Elaine (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I am looking for everlasting onions. Think they are called Allium Cepa Perutile. They are what I would call a a shallot and grow from a shallot.bulb only and get lots around it a bit like garlic and have leaves like spring onions and don't flower or seed. If you Google Iitoi onions in USA they look like that. I moved from Australia years ago and they had grown in my family for generations. I would love to have them again. Does anyone know where I can get a few bulbs in NZ?
Onion 30 Jul, Sarah (New Zealand - temperate climate)
They may be what we call a multiplying, walking onion. I sometimes have some though not at this time of year.
Onion 20 Jul, Mike (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I found a company Garlico in NZ, they grow and sell shallots, 3 different kinds, but not like what you and I are talking about. Mike
Onion 20 Jul, Mike (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I took a look at the I'iotoi onion on google, the photo of them is the closest /the same to what I grow. I have always called them shallots and so did my mother. I/we have been growing them for nearly 60 years. Keep bulbs from one year to the next to replant. The only problem is I live in Australia, near Bundaberg Qld. A lot of people call different things shallots. If you are unable to obtain any in NZ you could ring your agric department and see if I could send some to you. Ring up some of the seed selling companies in NZ to see if they have them.
Onion 16 Aug, Elaine (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Mike thanks for your reply. The shallots you are talking about like the Iitoi in America you ave grown in Bundaberg for 60 years are exactly the same ones my Mum grew. I came from Brisbane Qld where she grew them for probably about the same length of time too. They are unique as they don't seed. I'm not sure Customs would let them into NZ as I know they are strict on fruit. I would love to get some but not sure how.
Showing 3661 - 3690 of 20121 comments
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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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