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Showing 6001 - 6030 of 20139 comments

Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 13 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Maybe stake and support them and a light shaping of the bush.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 09 Dec, Robert (Australia - temperate climate): Will a single Capsicum plant bear fruit or do I need to plant multiple plants ?
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 10 Dec, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Can plant single but 2-3 might be better. Might be better to plant at end of summer than now in the hot and wet season.
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Tomato 09 Dec, Lida (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi,my tomatoe seedling grow well up to about 30 -40cm then all the new shoots and leave curl up and plant stops growing ,can u please help?
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Tomato 10 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Sounds like tomato yellow leaf curl virus. Go on the internet and read about it. A couple of tablespoons of lux soap flakes in some hot water and dissolve then add to 6 l of water and spray all over and under the leaves. The leaves look like the fingers in your hand all curled up.
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Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 08 Dec, Lisa (Australia - temperate climate): I live in Central Gippsland, is this a combatible climate for loofahs? And do they need much water? Lisa
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Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 10 Dec, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Read the notes here. Warm weather- no frosts.
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Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 07 Dec, Leeanne (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Where can i purchase the seed from please
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Luffa (also Loofah, plant sponge) 10 Dec, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Try an on-line search for either luffa or loofah : they are the same plant.
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Rockmelon (also Canteloupe) 06 Dec, Lorraine (Australia - temperate climate): I have rock mellons coming up where i have buried kitchen scraps.. Should i pull them out or let them grow. I am in Ipswich Qld December 6 2018
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Rockmelon (also Canteloupe) 06 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): You could let them grow - thin them out or separate them to 2-3' apart. I did this in Oct - the plants are just setting and growing fruit now. You may have to protect them later when they have fruit on from the sun. Better to plant them late August (away from frosts) or early Sept. The picking season is well under way in SE Qld now - probably finished by Xmas.
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 04 Dec, Dale (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hello Mike Just wanting to know the names of a couple of local (QLD / sub tropical) organic seed companies to buy from. I bought one lot of seeds from Green Harvest, but some are not producing .( it happens hey) I must say it has been such a dry and extremely hot spring and these 35 plus days are a real struggle for all the veggies. I even bought a couple of cheap tarps to give some plants a little shade.... I remember in past posts you mentioned a couple of companies. Also I would like to grow organicncorn,but I didn't see it on the A to Z growing list..are they all GMO now? Your help would be much appreciated. Regards Dale
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 05 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I'm not sure but I think GMO seed is really only sold to commercial growers. A lot of seed we buy is either heirloom or hybrid (a cross of two or more varieties). Someone can correct me on this but I think organic food is more about how you grow it - no chemical sprays or chemical fertilisers. Just had a look - Eden seeds sell organic seeds - probably cost a lot more though. Phone them if you like.
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 05 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi Dale I don't know any organic seed selling companies. I really only started planting a lot of things by seed the last 2 years. I use to buy a lot of seedlings - lettuce, cabbage, corn, celery, broccoli etc. It was only last year I decided to grow more from seed. It can be very hit or miss trying to germinate small seeds. I built a small green house at the back of my shed and installed a water spray line to germinate some seeds - small seeds are easily displaced by big droplets of water. Germination rates vary so much but a lot has to do with how we manage watering etc as they germinate. I buy most of my seeds from Boondie seeds in Armidale NSW. Email her and see what she can tell you. I like her
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Carrot 04 Dec, Tessa (South Africa - Semi-arid climate): Hi there. Rotating ctops is always a good idea to prevent build-up of pests and predatory fungi/bacteria in the soil. And alfalfa, comfrey (non-invasive varieties) and parsley are great for replenishing the soil. But I suspect in this case it's to avoid any carrot fly maggots that may still be present in the soil. Whatever cover you use needs to be weighed down at the edges to prevent access by the fly for laying eggs.
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Ginger 04 Dec, Tessa (South Africa - Semi-arid climate): For those asking, subscribe to the livingseeds.co.za newsletter. They sell ginger, turmeric and galangal(starting feb '19) and the newsletter will inform you when they're in stock again. Livingseeds has always been high-quality and very informative.
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Garlic 04 Dec, Bulton Naidoo (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate): Live in Montagu western cape it's extremely cold here until end of August wen should I plant garlic
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Pumpkin 04 Dec, Robyn (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): I live in Te Anau and wonder what is a faster maturing pumpkin variety?? We had a good crop of pumpkins growing last year, but a rogue frost in mid March killed off the plant and the pumpkin crop did not ripen, and the weather is only coming good now (early Dec) to plant.
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Pumpkin 05 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Look around some seed selling companies - email or phone them. Most times I see like 15-20 weeks to grow but which is early I don't know. Another way is to start the seeds early indoors or somewhere protected from the weather. You could start growing them in Oct say under lights. Sometimes nature throws us a big curve ball and stuffs it all up.
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Pumpkin 09 Dec, (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): thanks
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Strawberry Plants 04 Dec, don grant (Australia - temperate climate): My second crop plants are not flowering at all but they are very healthy looking with lots of leaves. No fruit likely ,any clues ?
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Strawberry Plants 05 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I suppose it depends what variety and kind you planted. I don't know much about that either. But in SE Qld it is important to plant early April. This doesn't give the crown too much time to produce a lot of leaf and then they start flowering. The ones I planted in mid April were still sending out runners until early June. By the sounds of it you may have planted too late and or you have applied too much Nitrogen. A suggestion start preparing your strawberry patch early next year by putting some manure, grass clipping, leaves etc and dig that in and turn it over each 2-3 weeks. Keep it moist so that it break down and decomposes by end of March. This should give you good rich soil without it being overloaded with N. The strawberry season is finished here now.
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Ginger 03 Dec, George (Australia - tropical climate): I cut the ginger seed rhizome into small pieces about 20-25 g, and planted into the soil in late October. They emerged in late November. The shoots looked weak, and leaves curved. They had experienced very hot weather during the period when they started to emerge. I'd like to know how to manage the heat and irrigate them during the extremely hot weather? I look forward to your advice. With thanks!
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Ginger 04 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Sorry I replied about garlic. Read the notes here about growing ginger. Plenty of water but have good draining soil. If you like make a shade cloth cover.
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Ginger 03 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Did you read the notes here? Read the first sentence.
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Leeks 03 Dec, Genevieve Radley (New Zealand - temperate climate): What season are leeks harvested in NZ? Thanks :)
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Leeks 04 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Read the notes here about growing it. It tells you when to plant and how long until harvest.
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Sunflower 03 Dec, Thulani Biyela (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Hi. I am at Mkhondo area, can I plant commercially sunflower in December till January?
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Ginger 02 Dec, Terry (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have tried to grow ginger with very limited success for the past 3 years. Lack of water and TLC were the main reasons for those results. We were given 2 pieces of edible ginger in summer 2017 which I planted in pots .During July of this year 2018 I divided the ginger root into 13 pieces and planted in small pots with potting mix . All 13 pieces have now sprouted some over 30 cm high.I intend to plant all 13 plants into an area of ground which I have prepared with compost and straw from our chook pen .I hope this year wil be successful. Regards Terry
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Ginger 02 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Look up the internet on how to grow it - you might find some tips.
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Showing 6001 - 6030 of 20139 comments

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