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Beetroot (also Beets) 19 Mar, Michael Tierney (Australia - sub-tropical climate): My neighbours and I are having trouble growing beetroot with the same results. We both have tried seedlings and seed but same result. The beetroot grows very nice and bushy but the bulb does not want to grow to more than a large marble. Could you give us a tip to what we are doing wrong.
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Beetroot (also Beets) 20 Mar, John (Australia - temperate climate): Sounds a bit like an oversupply of Nitrogen as this will result in large tops and small roots. Beetroot is probably best planted following a fruit crop such as beans, tomatoes or zucchinis. Ideally they would have followed a leaf crop such as cabbage, lettuce or silver beet. This succession reduces the amount of nitrogen in the soil and allows the roots to grow bigger with less top. As a consolation beetroot and silver beet are botanically the same plant so go ahead and eat the leaves! It is best to manure or compost your soil then follow with a leaf crop followed by a fruit crop then a root crop.
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Beetroot (also Beets) 22 Mar, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): I fallow my ground during the summer. Add residue of plants and grass clippings to the soil during the summer. Turn it over 3 times (a month apart) add a bit lime and fertilizer and plant up in March (now). You need good rich soil through the top few inches as beetroot don't have long roots. I don't add anymore fertilizer while growing. Produce beet from golf ball to small rock melon size. I'm working on it but I think the important thing is to have an evenness of rich soil so that beet grow the same roughly. As stated too much nitrogen - all leaf and little beet.
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Sweet Potato (also Kumara) 19 Mar, Sandy Greer (New Zealand - temperate climate): Thanks for that, but I also remember some Maori potatoes being very similar also to the look of this type I ate..my ex use to grow a lot of heirloom veges and it looked similar to what hr grew back then... Might buy 1 again and grow it to see how it grows...as a vine or an up right plant.
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Strawberry Plants 18 Mar, Di (Australia - temperate climate): Hi I grew some strawberries in styrofoam boxes late year. Can't remember the name but they were small and delicious. Unfortunately, they did not send out runners and eventually died off. Do some do this or have I done something wrong. I have just bought a couple of punnets from Bunnings and they already have runners. How do I propegate if no runners set? Thanks Di
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Strawberry Plants 26 Apr, Mardi (Australia - temperate climate): Hi Di, I think the Strawberries you had are called Alpine Strawberries they do not have runners and are very sweet. I have just sown some seeds (Yates) which I bought on the internet but pretty sure Bunnings have them. I just have to hope they will germinate.
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Strawberry Plants 20 Mar, Ken (Australia - temperate climate): The Diggers Club on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne list a non-running variety called 'Temptation'. This may be the one you are looking for.
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Beetroot (also Beets) 18 Mar, Iona Jelf (New Zealand - temperate climate): I can grow good beetroot ( sown on the appropriate moon into soil well replenished with good compost, mulching the young plants with seaweed, and foliar feeding seaweed and fish several times) but it always takes double the time stated on the packet for them to bulb up well. I'm experimenting with sowing times, does anyone have experience with sowing as late as mid March? I was thinking i could microfleece them over winter and maybe the'd get away again in spring and give me some early beetroot....
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Beetroot (also Beets) 19 Sep, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I'm sub tropical Australia - Bundaberg Qld. I grown beetroot from March to Sept. Too hot to grow in summer - need a lot of watering. I plant March and May. Temps from May-Aug day 23 to 30 and night 3-6 to 11-15.
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Potato 18 Mar, bruce cresswell (New Zealand - temperate climate): How or where can i get kipfler potato's.
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Potato 20 Mar, Jack (Australia - temperate climate): I contacted Eurgrow Potatoes in Hamilton and they do not have it available but said you could try Merton Smith Dawe in Christchurch or Siesta Bulbs in Palmerston North. They package bulbs, potatoes, etc for nurseries, garden centres and so on. Eurogrow were familiar with Kipfler but said that it was mostly only available from organic markets, community markets, etc. All the best in your endeavours.
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Pak Choy (also Pak choi) 18 Mar, (New Zealand - temperate climate): I grow Bok/Pak Choy having come home from Thailand and discovered since my time out of the country it is now grown here. It is easy to grow and readily available as a green vegetable. I endeavour to leave one or two plants to go to seed: 1. for the flowers as they really attract bees to the garden. 2. My next seasons seeds. Some of the seeds will fall to the garden, germinate and grow. I just transplant them to wherever I want them.I like steamed bok choy with a little soya sauce over it once it is cooked. It is great to add to a stir-fry or young leaves added to a fresh salad.
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Onion 18 Mar, irene (South Africa - Semi-arid climate): every i plant onion they dont come out what can i do plss help or tips.
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Onion 21 Mar, John (Australia - temperate climate): Onions are generally fairly easy to germinate. They need to be planted about 3 times their diameter with soil. A good way to do this is to sprinkle the seed over a small area that has been broken up and is very fine then cover with some more fine soil. Keep the soil damp but not wet. When the seedlings emerge they will be very fine like a needle. keep them damp but not wet as they may get fungus problems. A spot that gets some sunshine and a bit of airflow is good. They will take about 4-6 weeks before they are ready to transplant into rows in the garden. They will take about 6 months to be ready to harvest and store (when the tops flop over and start to dry). I hope this helps. Don't hesitate to ask questions, we are here to help.
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Strawberry Plants 18 Mar, Gerald Harris (South Africa - Semi-arid climate): Hi I'm staying in witbank mpumalanga South Africa ,im looking for a medium size sweet strawberry, which hibrid can you suggest my cell no 0733736692
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Strawberry Plants 20 Mar, Jack (Australia - temperate climate): Log onto noursefarms.com and click on 'strawberries'. They list a range of strawberries and their characteristics that are suitable for South Africa.
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Potato 17 Mar, Likeleli (South Africa - Semi-arid climate): what if i plant potatoes in greenhouse, can they do well in winter?
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Potato 20 Mar, Jack (Australia - temperate climate): You should be able to as long as the greenhouse doesn't get too cold in the winter and you have good air circulation to reduce fungal problems. It would be better if you planted some every 2-3 weeks starting in early spring through until early January. Harvest when the tops die off and you should have enough potatoes to last through the winter
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Garlic 17 Mar, Dianne (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi I have tried growing garlic a couple of times now. Generally I plant on the 23 March and harvest 23 June. First few times garlic was small except for a couple decent sized ones. Last year, I ended up with one large bulb only, on each plant; almost like a small onion. What would cause this to happen?
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Garlic 19 Mar, Verena (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi Dianne I am in a sub tropical area too and I plant late April/May and harvest in November when leaves start to die down. Perhaps you are harvesting to early?
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Ginger 17 Mar, Nikki (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi, I have just bought a ginger plant and was wondering if I should plant it now or wait until spring? Any special treatment I should give it over winter? I suspect it is to small to harvest
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Ginger 17 Mar, Jonno (Australia - temperate climate): If your area is frost-free you could plant it but ensure drainage is good as it may rot in the colder soil. As ginger will be dormant over winter you may be better to save it for spring planting.
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Ginger 17 Mar, Nikki (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Forgot to mention I live in Perth
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Ginger 19 Mar, Jonno (Australia - temperate climate): Should be able to plant ginger then. Perth drainage is good (sandy soil). The risk of rotting very low.
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Shallots (also Eschalots) 16 Mar, tony (New Zealand - temperate climate): I bought some of those long trendy French shallots from the supermarket and put them in and let them go to seed. Now I have heaps of seed for new plants. Same with red and white onions.
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Shallots (also Eschalots) 17 Mar, Jo (Australia - temperate climate): That is a good way to get seed for next seasons crop or to have some to swap or giveaway. Seed can be saved from most vegetables but select a good plant to save seed rather than a poor one as this will increase the chance of good plants from the seed. This is also a good idea to save money, we should encourage it more.
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Sweet Potato (also Kumara) 16 Mar, Sandy.G (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi there, I bought a bag of mixed kumara & in it was 5 varieties & 1 was a purple fleshed purple kumara. I think its maybe a relative of potato.. as I am allergic to nightshade family & on eating 1 of these set my tongue and throat tingling, spat it oit and rinsed my mouth out.. any ideas!?
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Sweet Potato (also Kumara) 17 Mar, Ken (Australia - temperate climate): Potato is a member of the Solanum (nightshade) family while kumara (sweet potato) is a member of the Ipomoea family which includes other plants such as Morning Glory, a totally different Genus.The purple 'kumara' may have been a knobbly potato packed with the others by mistake.
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Cucumber 16 Mar, Margaret McDonald (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Why are the skins (of Lebanese cucumbers) so tough?
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Celeriac 16 Mar, Jan (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): How do you know when the celeriac is ready to harvest?
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