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Showing 9961 - 9990 of 13854 comments

Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 17 Mar, JWM (Australia - sub-tropical climate): If only I could send you some of the thousands my single green chilli plant is producing!! I live in Brisbane, Australia, and am at my wits end with the amount I get every day - close to 3/4 bucket full every 2-3 days. I have made hot/sweet fruit chutney, eggplant pickle, given away heaps and heaps and still have a bucket full sitting in my kitchen. Don't do too much more than watering every 2-3 days, but started with well rotted vegetable peels etc, so I guess the soil I have planted this one plant in had a good start and no pests at all.
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Mustard greens (also gai choy) 17 Mar, Dee (Australia - temperate climate): Started growing some years ago and they now come up all over the vegetable garden. But why is it suggested that it not be grown with some other vegetables?
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Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 16 Mar, Malcolm Nicol (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have absolutely no luck trying to grow Coriander. Each time we purchase extremely healthy looking potted plants & each time they die. I leave them in a small 8" pot. What should the watering regime be for this. We have it outside under a shrub which provides shade for most of the day. This is a new position we are trying. Should I repot it in a larger pot. All my other herbs seem to grow well.
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 15 Mar, martin (Australia - temperate climate): Scarlet runner beans like lots of water and do not seem to set beans untill the days grow shorter in autumn. In Sydney try planting them in well limed soil in mid January so they begin to flower around mid March.
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Lettuce 13 Mar, Russ (Australia - temperate climate): Hi, I am trying to grow veg in old but clean broccoli boxes. They are not doing well at all, the Cos did not form a heart and went to seed. The Herbs are stunted. Collies and Broccoli are not doing much. I use good quality potting soil mixed with a bit of zoopoo. Water regularly and protected from the very hot sun when young. I just want to have the pleasure of growing a few veg. What am I doing wrong?
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Lettuce 11 May, Catherine (Australia - temperate climate): Hi Russ - it's all about feeing the soil and creating humus, as small boxes provide limited access to nutrients (even using good quality potting mix) because they get eaten up so quickly by the hungry plants. a worm farm or compost are perfect so you can feed the soil regularly each week as natural fertiliser. also - are the boxes draining from the bottom? when you water, the nutrients run straight out the bottom and the plants cant access them. You can build really simple self watering containers in old broccoli boxes... punch a few holes along a horizontal line, about 1/4 from the bottom of the box. then fill to this line with pebbles or gravel - this creates a water table where water will sit and if too much water is added it spills out through the holes. put the soil on top with lots of compost and worm castings, plant your vegies, and then mulch on top. this system allows the roots to reach water at the bottom, but stops the soil from being water-logged. it also allows you to mulch and build humus within the soil without draining it all away. I even water at the edges of the box so that the water goes straight to the water area without disturbing the humus to stop any nutrients draining away. i hope this makes sense! I read Jackie French's Soil Food Web book which was also really helpful. good luck!
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Leeks 13 Mar, (Australia - sub-tropical climate): What should I feed my leeks with ?
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Horseradish 13 Mar, Usha Veerappah (Australia - temperate climate): Can anyone please tell me where I can buy fresh horseradish. I'd like to grow some in my garden and I live in Perth.
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Horseradish 15 Jan, Simon (Australia - tropical climate): I would also like some fresh horseradish roots. Would be willing to reimburse any costs. [email protected] Thanks Simon.
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Daikon (also Japanese radish, Lo Bok) 12 Mar, simon tait (Australia - arid climate): definately thin them out I'd say. Mine take about a half metre round fully mature so they are quite big plants.
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Garlic 12 Mar, kylie (Australia - temperate climate): hi I was wondering what the best soil conditions are and can i plant AFTER a crop of tomatoes has been in?
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 12 Mar, Sue Averay (Australia - temperate climate): I ran an okra trial in my Adelaide eastern suburbs garden this year. Best spot by far is on eastern fence with plenty of afternoon sun, second best on southern wall of house with morning sun from north and afternoon dappled shade. Planted out seeds in November, slow germination through our cool early summer, really took off in late January and are fruiting well. I give them fortnightly Powerfeed. No sign of disease, despite humid spells, and very tolerant of a few days without water.
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 18 Mar, Rob (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Fantastic results for okra here in Brisbane as well! We grow them every year and eat them in a lot of cooking. No problem except for the caterpillar from the moth similar to cabbage moth - really does the plant in fast! Spray with white oil and watch for the signs of leaves being stripped - the holes are the grasshoppers!
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Pumpkin 12 Mar, Erni W (Australia - temperate climate): I have Queensland Blues, which are self sown from seeds we through out with the veggie peelings last year. They have a huge number of male flowers, but few female flowers. How can I increase the ratio of female flowers? (Prune, Feed, How??) Erni
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Cabbage 12 Mar, Chris (Australia - temperate climate): Hi, I also have had my cabbage leaves eaten by the hungry little blighters. I have cut the really damaged leaves off to assist with healthier growth to the ones remaining. Is that the right thing to do though?
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Cabbage 24 Mar, pierrot (Australia - temperate climate): If you like to stay organic, spread some chili oil ( or tabasco ) mixed with water regularly
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Cabbage 26 Mar, Elina (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate): Hello, thank you for your advice. Do you spread the tabasco mixture around the plants or on the plants themselves? Many thanks in advance!
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Rhubarb 11 Mar, Johno (Australia - temperate climate): My plants are the green stem variety also but i prefer the red stem better i find they have nicer taste when stewed is there something i can do to promote more redness in the storks ?
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Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 11 Mar, Sue (Australia - cool/mountain climate): I have tried many times to grown coriander with no luck. I keep persevering because I like it so much. Every time I plant it, it goes to seed within a very short time without giving me a crop. Have asked the "experts" who give me various bits of advice i.e. not too much water, not too much sun etc etc. We get heavy frosts in my area. How can I stop this plant from going to seed?
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Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 24 Mar, Matthew (Australia - temperate climate): Coriander is one of those herbs that doesn't do well in the searing heats of summer, and I can imagine it is having the same effect from the intense cold as (despite what a plant label will say) it is obvious from looking at it that it has a very sensitive and paper-thin structure and it needs to be handled accordingly. I wouldn't bother growing it in a soil bed for personal use as (like Rocket or Lettuce) it is harvested immediately once grown and it can only go downhill once at the harvesting stage. During the heatwaves, I will bring it indoors to a stable room temperature and I'd probably do the same during times of frost. Most people wouldn't care to put the effort in, however if it is a really sought after herb, I reckon this is the best thing you can do for it. I don't know what your using to grow it in, but I saw better results for Coriander (and all other herbs) using a Terracotta pot with a small amount of gravel at the bottom to improve drainage, than I ever did in a plastic pot. I would imagine it would work better in the cold as the Terracotta would 'pull' the excess moisture out of the soil, though to compensate for the Terracotta, I would give 2 light waterings per day. The only other recommendations I can give are Premium Potting Mix, and the usual recommendation of fast and slow release fertilizers.
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Coriander (also Cilantro, Chinese parsley) 12 Mar, kylie (Australia - temperate climate): I feel your pain! AS far as I know it doesnt like to dry out - so you get a crop much better in Winter, and I'd give up in the summer! It does bolt very quickly. My best crops are in winter (i get frost too).
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Tomato 11 Mar, Trudy (Australia - temperate climate): I am growing tomatoes for the first time in a couple of years and thought I would mulch with old hay to help control weeds and conserve moisture (a jinx). I was short a couple of stakes so let some Roma grow on the mulch but as they were ripening I noticed slaters chewing the bottom side. Went to pick Grosse Lisse yesterday (staked) and a slater pocked his head out of a hole about a foot off the ground. Tommy Toes are fine. Are the slaters the problem or just taking advantage? I only use dipel but none this season. Trudy
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Horseradish 11 Mar, MIke (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Yes, ours certainly seems to be stronger after a second year but the roots are very spindly and they are not easy to peel. Any tips on growing a thicker root? However, to make the sauce and not being too keen on hand grating, I first grated the root with the food processor. This gave thin matchsticks but also lots of lumps, then I added some vinegar and used the chopper to cut it finer and it worked well. I also added some hot mustard to give it a bit more zing.
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Celery 10 Mar, Ken (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Any tips on growing Chinese Celery from seed?
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 09 Mar, Llane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have some capsicum plants and one of them has 2 fruits already and growing well. This morning I discovered that the new fruit fall down on the ground and then I check the big one but it is detached from the plant. Why this happened? We live in Capalaba,Brisbane... any help, thank you.
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Chives (also Garden chives) 09 Mar, Nina (Australia - temperate climate): My chives are growing but now covered by tiny blackflea-like creatures. Any clues as to what they are, and how to get rid of them?
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Chives (also Garden chives) 21 Mar, (Australia - temperate climate): They are just aphids. Try spraying with soapy water hen hose them off. Good luck =)
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Garlic 18 Mar, Philip (Australia - tropical climate): Aphids also hate garlic, if you want something natural to keep them away use garlic with water, fresh garlic for best results, grate it up add it to the water and let it stand for a little while.
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Rosella (also Queensland Jam Plant, Roselle) 08 Mar, (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have had two lots of Rosella seedlings from Big W which have not produced flowers.I have never had this trouble before and would like some hints of what I may be doing wrong.Thank you
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Rosella (also Queensland Jam Plant, Roselle) 21 Mar, Lynn T Gladstone (Australia - temperate climate): I have 30 plants that I started in October. I have just harvested about 50 rosellas and made 5 jars of jam. My soil is not that great but since giving the plants a good feed they have perked up. They do not like wet feet. I have lost 1 plant due to my accidentally disturbing its roots. I have thousands of little holes in the leaves which I think are grasshopper nibblings. I have noticed some grubs in the last 2 days and have 1to identify. It has yellow stripes longways and black dots side by side across its length with white hairs. Does anyone know what they are?
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