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Showing 3991 - 4020 of 13826 comments

Beetroot (also Beets) 02 Dec, Gary Ellard (Australia - temperate climate): Finally cultivated beetroot,onions andsnow peas. Bumper crop of beetroot with large "fruit". Very flavoursome. Onions were the surprise. Massive fruit and now hanging in shed.Leeks still going but have swelled stalks. Also looking good. Silver beet protruding 350mm above w/bed and still producing. no seed bolt yet. Wicking exceeded my expectations. In process of establishing 4 more "beds" Brilliant.
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Tomatillo 02 Dec, LEah (Australia - temperate climate): Hi I’m in The Riverina nsw and I have just planted a couple tomatillo seedlings, hoping for the best, what area are you in? Any tips on growing them?
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Tomatillo 03 Dec, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Google "how to grow tomatillos" and read read read.
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 01 Dec, John (Australia - temperate climate): Could someone please tell me. I planted what i thought were Turkish Egg plants. The vegetables that have formed are in a spiky what appears to be a shell of sorts..A bit like the old fashioned Maces the Medieval knights used to use in combat. Completely stumped. I do not have a clue as to what these may be.
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 29 Jan, Cathie (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Any chance you have an African Horned Melon?
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 03 Dec, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): How certain are you they are Turkish Egg plants. Let them grow and see what the end up like. Google about them - read all you can. Or look up some seed selling companies and buy some real T E P seeds. The joys of gardening.
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Salsify (also Vegetable oyster) 01 Dec, Heather (Australia - temperate climate): I've sown some Salsify seeds from Eden Seeds, but can't find a picture anywhere of what the seed leaves look like. I know the plant has grass-like leaves, but generally the seed leaves are completely different. I'm not game to weed the patch until I can identify which are the salsify seedlings. Can someone please describe them for me? I don't think we can post pictures here, unfortunately.
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Salsify (also Vegetable oyster) 03 Dec, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Google "salsify seedlings" - plenty of photos of the young plants. You may have to wait until they grow a bit.
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Garlic 01 Dec, Marilyn Mortlock (Australia - temperate climate): Is it possible to plant garlic in December in Sydney?
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Garlic 03 Dec, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): You sure can plant it now - it just might not grow too well, or not at all. If you read the above about garlic it says plant April to July. There is a reason for that - it is the best time to do it.
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 30 Nov, George Tsui (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Blueberry dying: After growing in pot for nearly a year, my Blueberry starting to die, can some advise me why???
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 10 Jan, Edward S (Australia - temperate climate): Check your soil pH. Blueberries require acidic soil. If pH>5.5, add peatmoss to the soil. Also, try not to water with tap water. Tap water is alkaline. Water with rainwater.
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 03 Dec, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Why would you ask about blueberries in the chilli section? I have no idea - water, heat ????. Google how to grow blueberries.
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Borage (also Burrage, Bugloss) 29 Nov, JB (Australia - temperate climate): I would be careful when planting it as a companion in among other plants because it grows very large and spreads everywhere and can actually end up shading other plants and taking up a lot of room. It's a great way to attract bees though so I would recommend setting an area where there is space for it to grow aside and planting it there. It flowers pretty much all year round and pops up absolutely everywhere once it gets going which is good because you can cut it back or pull it out when it's in the way and you know it will appear again later somewhere in the garden.
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Onion 27 Nov, John (Australia - temperate climate): Hello and thanks for your time I would like to grow red onions i live in the wrstarn suburbs of Adelaide when do I plant seed thank you .
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Onion 01 Dec, Mike (Australia - temperate climate): Read what it says above - it tells you.
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 27 Nov, Don (Australia - temperate climate): I have young silver beet in a raised outdoor bed, leaves are approx the size of the top of a cup and they are all going to seed. What is the best way to handle?
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 29 Nov, Tanya (Australia - temperate climate): I don't think there is anything you can do to stop them going to seed. These thou I find just usually self sow (so just let them go) and more will come up. (I have silverbeet all year round in that bed and I don't replant them)
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 27 Nov, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): How fertile is the soil. A plant once it has used the fertiliser in the soil will go to seed to reproduce itself. I haven't grown silver beet for 20 odd years although a fellow has some growing in the Men's Shed gardens I look after. He has just started to pick them the last week. These were planted after a crop of lettuce and once the SB were established from very small seedlings I gave them a little hit up with fertiliser. I use a little Tupperware cup of fertiliser (7cm across and 4cm deep) into 9 liters of water - leave for a few hours and give a good stir. I used that 9 L to water 7 SB, 12 climbing beans, 4 Ceylon spinach and 6 rock melon plants. YOU could pick the seed head off and give them a fertilizing - but I think it might be too late.
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 25 May, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Thanks for this Mike. Great helpful reply. I planted spinach a few weeks back from seedlings. Doesn't look like the silverbeet I grew up with but they're slowly doing well (touch wood).
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Marrow 25 Nov, Anna (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Sadly, I didn't get any answers or help, however, I located old marrow seed and they are germinating. Pumpkins are mostly ready and big old squash are now half grown. Subtropical weather is not very kind to many fruits and vegies at this time of the year so I am finding but I am also discovering what does really well!
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Marrow 02 Jul, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): HI ann, Glad you found some marrow. I searched for years and finally, bi go! I planted some marrow seeds a couple if weeks and 3 have germinated.Exciting. Can't wait to plant them out and hope I get to share and eat them not least save their seeds. Yr so right, subtropical weather is a challenge. Here's to many better and more prosperous times in tbe garden How have your marrrow fared??
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Marrow 27 Nov, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Anna - The posts just on this page go back to 31 Dec 2014 and no posting by you, asking questions. I take it you are asking about marrow, squash and pumpkins. For these you need to know if you have frosts or not. For pumpkin I would grow into the winter (they mature slower and keep longer after picking). Probably all of these you could grow (plant seeds say March/April) into the winter or plant seeds August or when you feel frosts have finished and grow in spring. Yes the weather conditions you experience have a big impact on what you can plant. I live in Bundy and you maybe Sydney. You may have lots of frosts or none at all. Very high temps or lower than normal. Big down pours of rain or none at all. In Oct we had double the record - 245 mm (since 1946) of rainfall - 550 mms this year. Although I have a near full garden at the moment - I usually would have all my plants harvested by now - far too hot usually in summer - plants suffer so much in the middle of the day. I usually grow veggies from March to Oct - then rest the ground and add mulch etc during the summer. The ground needs a rest and so do I.
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Broccoli 24 Nov, Julie Baglin (Australia - tropical climate): Hi, I live in Maitland. My broccoli plant has heaps of large, healthy leaves, but no broccoli yet. Is this normal?
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Broccoli 27 Nov, Phil Andrews (Australia - temperate climate): Hi Julie are you in Maitland South Australia or Maitland New South Wales either way it doesn't really matter how old are the Broccoli plants? As long as they are healthy the heads will come eventually.
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Broccoli 27 Nov, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Probably too much Nitrogen in the soil. Also they are better grown into winter not summer.
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Pumpkin 23 Nov, terry (Australia - sub-tropical climate): hi im in nth NSW just near kyogle and lismore my pumpkin plants refuse to form pumkins there seems to be no bees anywhere and its getting to be a major worry Queensland blue pumkins are the best tasting for use in sweet pumpkin pies ill try to hand pollonatye today also is it likely i will have the same problems if i buy seedlings these ones were seed i saved out of a pumkin from last year thanks for your time Terry
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Pumpkin 23 Nov, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Just found this - commercial production. For efficient pollination and fruit set, there must be: both male and female flowers and bees to move pollen from male to female flowers. A number of factors can influence pollination, Cold and overcast days limit pollination activity of bees. Hot dry conditions desiccate pollen making it unviable. Rapid growth promotes earlier flowering. However, high temperatures, long days and high rates of nitrogen can result in: vigorous vegetative growth and few flowers and a higher proportion of male to female flowers. It is important to check the sex of the flowers. A ratio of 1 female to 7 male flowers is usually considered adequate. Flowers open early in the day and for one day only, and they close by mid afternoon. These periods are shorter under high temperatures. Flowers are most receptive to pollination in the morning when bee activity is usually the highest. Bees are necessary for pollination and must be active in the crop. Flowers require at least 12 bee visits for good pollination. If bees are not plentiful, introduce at least two hives per ha after female flowers appear and male flowers start producing pollen. Spread hives around the field outside the crop, preferably so that bees have to fly over the crop to get to another food source. Destroy flowering weeds around the crop.
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Pumpkin 23 Nov, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I was given a Jap pumpkin and I grew a Qld blue earlier this year. The Jap was by far the better for flavor. When I was growing the Qld blue it rained (heavy) several times and the female flowers were very wet inside and just rotted. If no bees plant some flowers (research flowers for bees) around your yard. I'm doing this as I have very few bees I think. Also it is best to grow pumpkin into winter I have read. It wouldn't make any difference if using seeds or seedlings. I have two Jap pumpkin growing now - will be interesting to see if they produce.
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Ginger 23 Nov, Tony (Australia - tropical climate): Can you plant ginger all year round in the tropics? I plan to plant ginger in stages for a continual harvest.
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