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Showing 3271 - 3300 of 13823 comments

Pumpkin 02 Jul, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate): Try thelostseed.c.a - they have them but are out of stock at the moment. Ring or send an email as they may have some packets left.
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Shallots (also Eschalots) 29 Jun, Jean (Australia - temperate climate): I have just purchased some shallot bulbs which I want to plant in the garden beds. Just recent;y I smothered the garden beds in dried chicken manure hoping to fertilise the soil for spring planting. My instructions say "enrich soil with a low nitrogen fertiliser". Would this soil now be too rich in nitrogen? What would be a low nitrogen fertiliser that I could buy?
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Shallots (also Eschalots) 02 Jul, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate): Depends how rich the soil was before you put the chicken manure on. Either rake some of it away from where you are going to plant the bulbs, it not dug in already. Or dig the manure in a couple of times to spread it throughout the soil profile. I like to give my shallots a bit of a hit with fertiliser to make them strong (and produce good big bulbs for planting next year for the ones I keep).
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Choko/Chayote (also Chayote squash, christophene, chouchou, mirliton) 28 Jun, Peter (Australia - temperate climate): We had an enormous Choko growing at the back of our chook shed when I was a kid. Mum pressure cooked small ones whole, slash in half, dab of butter, yum! We sold big ones off front verge 2 for a trey bit (threepenny coin). Found out later Choko was used a lot in apple pie, since it would bulk up the filling without imparting any flavours of its own. Saw an old one in Green Grocers, must revitalise the heritige!
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Yam/Oca (also Oka) 27 Jun, Melinda (Australia - temperate climate): Hi - just wondered when it is right or if it is right to plant and grow yams in Goulburn, NSW, esp in the middle of Winter (heavy frosts, freezing conditions). Thanks!
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Yam/Oca (also Oka) 29 Jun, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate): Melinda , Read the notes - it is all there. Try Temperate and Cool /Mountain climates. A BIG HINT - when to plant and when to harvest.
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Rosemary 24 Jun, ... (Australia - temperate climate): need to grow a herb outside in sydney winter - can I grow rosemary
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Rosemary 26 Jun, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate): Go to Rosemary and read up all about it.
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Rosemary 26 Jun, Mark (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Yes, rosemary will go well in Sydney. I have grown rosemary in every location I have lived. western Sydney, western NSW, S/E QLD and now in the snowy mountains.
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 24 Jun, Greg (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Firstly I’m not sure cool/mountain climate best describes my climate, Horsham Victoria (January average temperatures > 30 and cool winters with frosts. I planted Yacons in pots in August and garden bed in September. Plants still 2 - 3 feet high and green. When should/should have I dig them up? greg
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 28 Jun, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate): Read the comments here, it generally tells you these things. Plant time Oct -Nov. Harvest time 25 weeks.
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Yam/Oca (also Oka) 23 Jun, Amanda (Australia - temperate climate): Hi I live in Mildura vic Australia is it possible to grow yam here, as we have just moved here... Thank you
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Yam/Oca (also Oka) 25 May, Cheryl (Australia - temperate climate): .i'm wondering if Amanda tried growing yams and if so can l get some tubers or buy some yams .l live in mildura too .
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Yam/Oca (also Oka) 28 Jun, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate): It does say plant (P) Oct to Nov for Temperate climate.
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French tarragon 23 Jun, Anne-Marie (Australia - temperate climate): My french tarragon that I have been growing for approx. 3 years now is growing more as a prostrate plant than an upright plant. The height is probably only about 7.5 cm but it has lots of long ground covering branches. Do you have any thoughts on why this would be so? Please use my e-mail address for your response. Much appreciated. Anne-Marie
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French tarragon 15 Jun, Ii (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have exactly the same issue and find that the taste is overpowering and bitter, and the leaves are small. It’s not as sweet as the tarragon I know. Did you find a solution?
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French tarragon 31 Jul, kelvan (Australia - temperate climate): Cut plant to ground level in winter.Pull up and divide your plant/s early spring.
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French tarragon 28 Jun, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate): Try a new planting from different stock.
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French tarragon 28 Jun, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Comments here are by the general public not Gardenate so no response by email. I don't know anything about French Tarragon.
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Tomato 23 Jun, Mike Ktori (Australia - sub-tropical climate): We have recently moved from the Derwent Valley in Tasmania to Sandstone Point in Queensland. We formally had to plant our tomatoes under glass and never succeeded in having fruit in time for Christmas.Now we have room for a few raised beds whereas we had acreage in the valley; I'm wondering if, in this warmer climate, I can have tomatoes year round.
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Tomato 28 Jun, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate): You can grow all year round. Summer can become a but hot and very wet (as in inches of rain in hours) -use mulch around the plants. Best to grow a crop from late Feb for a winter picking crop and plant in mid August for crop into summer. Or even plant a succession crop each time also - 4-6 weeks between each planting. Only need 2-4 plants each time. .
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Cabbage 20 Jun, Steve from Kanahooka NSW (Australia - temperate climate): Hi Mike, Very interesting tips, I will try the worm castings in the shade cloth, sounds good. I also use brown gum leaves as a mulch around the plants, the garden worms love it, I also dig my browns into the soil after crops have finished as well, same as you. The reason I purchased a 2 compartment compost bin was to have varying compost NPK ratios. My compartment No.1 has 50% Browns to 50% Greens which is good for above ground growth and compartment No.2 will have approx. 80% Browns to 20% Greens for my below ground root vegies, I alter percentages all year round to suit the plants I am growing. In the winter I grow brassicas and I use 70% Greens to 30% Browns for more Nitrogen. I also pile my grass clippings on the gardens in the summer when I have excess clippings. BR...….Steve
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Cabbage 21 Jun, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I don't know the techie stuff about compost but I thought the greens (N) was only there to break down the brown (C) And you need to combine them with water and air to achieve compost. Once the N has been used up then the process loses the heat in it and it will go to cold compost. I didn't think there was much N in compost so different levels of G and B wouldn't make much difference. Be interesting to have them tested. My garden bed is a continuous bed so all the different plants are mixed up in rows. Low plants - lettuce radish shallots cabbage one end and the high plants - corn tomatoes snow peas the other end.
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 17 Jun, Diane (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Silverbeet grows just fine in Taumarunui without being in a glasshouse- just keep the possoms off it. Mangolds are NOT silver beet but a large turnip used as stock feed
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 20 Jun, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate): From Gardening website.--
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 21 Jun, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate): The article says it is really a beet.
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Tomato 17 Jun, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have sown various and different tomato seeds (climbing and other) trays in the greenhouse and now they are seedlings. 1. How big must they be before I plant them out(sown 25/5/18) and 2. How can I stop bugs/insects from attacking/destroying the tomatoes? 3.I want to put up a frame and netting/shade cloth all around but my concern is that if I do so then how to the tomatoes get pollinated if the bees can't get to them (and other plants)? :( Thanks.
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Tomato 18 Jun, Mike Logan (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Use derris dust or some other home made organic spray - look on the internet. Plant as soon as they have a few true leaves. They grow better in the ground than in a pot. Tomatoes are self pollinating - by the wind - or give them a gentle shake. Google about this if you like. Try Greenpatch Organic for vegetable netting 3.5 and 6m wide $4 and $7.50 by the meter. We are going into cool/cold weather so next time plant earlier (Feb- March) or leave it until spring time.
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Tomato 02 Sep, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Mike Logan - I forgot to say - thanks for yr advice last June.
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 17 Jun, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi. I have just read that beans are not happy around chives but have a couple of climbing beans (and climbing peas)near chives. Should I leave them or dig up and transplant the chives ir beans or neither? Thanx.
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