All recent comments/discussion

Showing 5671 - 5700 of 20105 comments

Watermelon 10 Nov, Krystal (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Hi Lea, I’m in Rangiora. I’ve got some beautiful watermelon seedlings growing. So glad I’ve come across your post as I was going to plant outdoors. How did your watermelon end up going in the glasshouse? Will you grow again?
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Ginger 06 Mar, Gurmeet (Australia - temperate climate): Can I grow giger now. I m living in Perth thanks
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Broccoli 06 Mar, Terry (Australia - temperate climate): In a 4 bed crop rotation is it safe to plant crops like brassicas in the same bed in both Autumn and Spring in the same year.
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Broccoli 06 Mar, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): You can plant brassicas year after year after year if you like but then you are not doing crop rotation are you .Read up about crop rotation to what it achieves.
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Onion 05 Mar, Carole (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): When is the best time to plant red onion seeds and what sort of fertilizer should I use do u use lime?
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Onion 06 Mar, mike (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Best time to plant - read the top of the page. Fertiliser - one with not a high N content. Lime - read up about using lime.
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Squash (also Crookneck, Pattypan, Summer squash) 04 Mar, Dave (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Hi, I planted Baby squash last season and they all produced beautiful flowers which then dropped off and no fruit was ever produced. I still have 1 plant growing profusely but it is also dropping its flowers and not producing fruit. I have a raised garden bed which consists of Culterra's professional potting soil mixed with last years winter leaves to which I add lawn cuttings from time to time. The raised bed drains well but faces west with full sun from 10h00 till 17h00. To protect the veggies from the hot afternoon sun I have shade netting covering the raised bed. All my various other veggies and herbs have done extremely well. I tend to water every 3rd day or so when no rain is about. I reside in Pretoria. I am also careful with which veggies I plant together. I also follow the principle of planting Marigolds and Basil in with the veggies. I keep peas, beans and cucumbers well away from onions. I grow potatoes but again well away from the raised bed. Any idea what is up with the baby squash? Your assistance will be appreciated.
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Squash (also Crookneck, Pattypan, Summer squash) 12 Nov, Another gardener (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Probably not being pollinated. Do it by hand. e g just take one of the "male" flowers (the ones on stalks - and a single stem inside the flower), peel the petals off the male flower to make it easier to get into the "female" flowers and rub the pollen onto the "female" flowers (the ones with the fruit under them - and the curled shaped stamens).
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Taro (also Dasheen, cocoyam) 03 Mar, Martha Kekana (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate): Where can I buy Taro leaves in South Africa, fresh or dried? I am in Johannesburg
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Pumpkin 03 Mar, Bec (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi, I’m based in Brisbane and have my second season of pumpkin plants in the garden, japs and blue, most likely. This lot have just sprung up from compost that wasn’t fully decomposed that I used to plant some sweet potatoes and other things in. My pumpkin vines are wilting quite badly and I have just read a bit about the cucumber beetle spreading bacterial wilt, which I will check for ASAP. Just wondering, if I do find the sticky, white strands, indicating bacterial wilt, do I need to pull out all of the effected plants? If I don’t find the bacteria present do you think the wilting may be caused by a bacteria in the compost? I thought the plants were just super thirsty so I was watering nearly daily but today we have had quite a decent amount of rain and this afternoon my pumpkin leaves are still wilting but when it cools down they have sprung back up again. It really hasn’t been very hot today, which is what encouraged me to research and ask.... Thanks in advance for your advice. Bec
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Pumpkin 03 Mar, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have no idea - I had pumpkin plants through to Feb last year through temps up to 37 degrees - Bundaberg. They never looked wilted in the middle of the day. I did water each day though. I don't own the website I just comment.
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Broad Beans (also Fava bean) 01 Mar, Ron (Australia - temperate climate): Are Fava beans suitable for digging back into the ground
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Broad Beans (also Fava bean) 03 Mar, mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): All organic matter is suitable to dig back into the soil. Anything that has lived - plant animal. But it needs time to decompose to be available to plants.
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Watermelon 01 Mar, Lemeze Hartley (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Can watermelon seeds be planted in March as its still very warm in Cape Town
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Watermelon 13 Mar, Donovan (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate): Yes you may but there's a good chance that the seeds will take longer to sprout or not sprout at all. I still think it's worth taking a chance. I'm seeding mine in Saturday and hope for the best.
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Pumpkin 28 Feb, John Saunders (Australia - temperate climate): Thank you for advising people that the pumpkin should be left until the vine dies / drys! It is impossible to by a "real" pumpkin from a shop these days because they are all cut off the vine early. The producers / sellers have even gone to the extent of cutting the stalk remains off so the subterfuge is not apparent. I love a good pumpkin. Where do I get one? Not locally.
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Pumpkin 03 Mar, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I see pumpkin grown around here and they are left to die off before picking. A pumpkin left to mature will keep for a long time - immature they will not last long. In commercial crops if you left the stalk on when picking it would probably scratch other pumpkins in transport and then ruin them.
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 26 Feb, Russell Byers (Australia - temperate climate): Hi. Wondering whether okra is an annual,perennial or bi annual in the adelaide area and whether cold winter temps knock them back.
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 28 Feb, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Try an internet search - google or duckduckgo.com
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Garlic 25 Feb, Sharon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): The easiest garlic to grow in the subtropics is Russian or elephant garlic. I find I get bigger cloves if I plant a little earlier late say lateApril/early may to give the plants a little more cold growing season Try and buy your seed garlic from a local grower for a locally adapter strain..
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 25 Feb, steve (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi. I have some original old very very hot chilli's that i saved from my Mothers plant which was originally her mothers plant.. They have been in the freezer since 1995. The seeds have an emotional attachment and i would love to be to grow these seeds into plants and hand onto the next generation - if it is possible. Having been in the freezer as a full pod - Would the seeds inside the pod be ok ? Would the plant cope outdoors with constant breeze? Any or all Advice would be much appreciated. Thank you
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 28 Feb, Alice (Australia - temperate climate): Hi Steve Seeds from your frozen whole fruit will not be viable. Seeds stored in freezer after drying at least 80% will keep viable in freezer but not fresh. Sorry
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 03 Mar, mike (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): I would still try and grow some just in case.
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 27 Feb, Mike (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Go on the internet and do some research about saving seeds. Some seeds need some curing first before putting in the fridge. I don't know whether it is/was a good idea to put in the freezer - other people here might know. Example - tomatoes need to be fermented in water to take the gel case off the seed before drying and then put in a bag and then into an air tight jar and put in the fridge. When taking that jar out off the fridge let it sit for 20-30 mins before opening it. If opened straight away condensation can happen and maybe ruin the seeds. You can only try - plant a couple of seeds to see if they germinate and then grow in a place protected from the wind a bit. Do some research to try and find a company/??? who can advise about your situation. Google something like - seed saving companies or seed saving bank. Good luck
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 24 Feb, Liza Storo (Australia - temperate climate): I live in Adelaide. Can you grow Yacon there? Any advice on growing and where to get the rhizomes/tubers to plant?
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 21 Jun, Tina (Australia - temperate climate): My daughter grows them in Gawler and I grow them in Naracoorte where it is cooler. let me know if you want a tuber
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 15 Sep, noel (Australia - arid climate): would love a tuber live . kapunda
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 24 Feb, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Read the article here about growing it. Try the internet for buying - Diggers Club may have it.
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 24 Feb, Liz at Gardenate (New Zealand - temperate climate): Chris grew them in Armidale, (cool/mountain zone) so you should be okay
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Chicory (also Witloof, Belgian endive) 22 Feb, Belg (New Zealand - temperate climate): Orderings in Chistchurch
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