Pruning Up High, Growing Fruit Trees, and Gifting Gerberas

What’s On The Show Today?

How to prune in high places, part 1, in Tool Time, growing fruits from seed in Vegetable Heroes; continuing the series on mass planting with Garden Designer Peter Nixon in Design elements, and talking about one of the top 5 cut  flowers, the Gerbera in Talking Flowers.

TOOL TIME

High Reach Pruning Part 1

Now’s a good time of the year to do a bit of pruning, wherever you live in Australia.
Sometimes though our garden gets away from us because we all lead busy lives, and can’t fit enough things in the day.

The problem is, there are some branches of either a shrub or a tree, that are quite high up.
So how do we prune this safely, and if possible, without getting up on a ladder.
Let’s find out…

I'm talking with Tony Mattson General Manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au

Just in case you’re thinking of getting up on a ladder, is a couple of information from Staysafe NSW, which I’m sure will apply to all states.
Only use ladders for simple access jobs, or for a short duration.
It’s best to work from ground level whenever possible.
If you must use a ladder:
Always maintain three point of contact with the ladder. This means two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand on the ladder at all times.
Never lean or reach away from the ladder while using it. 

Tony suggests that tie the ladder to the tree so that it won't move.
The staysafe link:

http://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/health-and-safety/safety-topics-a-z/ladders

Instead of ladders consider the different types of pole pruners.

Keep in mind that you'll be holding it up for a period of time so choose one that suits your strength capability.
If you have any questions about high reach pruning why not email us realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

Growing Fruit Trees From Seed

Is growing fruit trees from seed just something for kids or is it something that we can do ourselves?

But if we grow it ourselves from seed, is it going to be useful?
That’s a good question and something that is hard to answer because it all depends on what seed you’re trying to grow.

The thing to remember is that most of the time, you will be getting a chance seedlings of perhaps the mother plant or perhaps something a bit weaker.

What Are The Drawbacks?
Then there’s the drawback of when growing from seed, it takes a lot longer before the tree starts to fruit.

But there’s even one more drawback.
A lot of fruit trees are grafted onto understock.
The reason for this is because the understock is more hardy and a stronger grower than the scion.
The scion is that bit of the tree that is the actual tree that you want.

Of course the disadvantage of grafted trees is that when the tree graft gets damaged or the top part of the tree dies for whatever reason, the understock takes over.
Quite often the understock is not a great fruiting tree.
Think those rough or bush lemons with the thick yellow nobbly skin and inside, the fruit is most probably not very juicy.

So do you still want to give growing a fruit tree from seed a try? Why not then?

Let’s start with growing a lime tree from seed.
Lime trees are great because you can use them in cooking, especially Thai food or with your gin and tonic.

Since the lime seeds you’re going to use is from fruit that you buy from the shops, they’re most likely hybrids.

Therefore, planting lime seeds from these fruits often won’t produce identical limes. Polyembryonic seeds, or true seeds, will generally produce identical plant.

I’ve never heard of these types of seeds being available in Australia.

Keep in mind that other contributing factors, like climate and soil, also affect the overall production and taste of lime tree fruit.

You can plant the seed directly in a pot using potting mix or place it in a plastic bag. Before planting lime seeds, however, be sure to wash them and you may even want to allow them to dry for a couple days, then plant them as soon as possible.

Plant seeds 1 cm deep in containers in potting mix

Germination usually happens within a couple of weeks.

As I mentioned before the downside to growing lime trees from seed is that it can take anywhere from four to ten years before they produce fruit, if at all.

Nectarines from seed
Let’s go for something bigger like a Nectarine seed.

Fruit trees are most often likely to be hybrids as well so that the new plant will be the same kind of plant, but its fruit and vegetative portions may not look the same as the parent, because the plant is "heterozygous."

There’s a good word.

The genetics term heterozygous refers to a pair of genes where one is dominant and one is recessive — they're different.

This means that all fruit trees must be vegetatively propagated by either grafting or budding methods.

The seeds of all common tree fruits (apple, pear, peach, and cherry) require a chilling period before they’ll germinate and grow into plants.

What you need to do know is put the seeds through a cold treatment.

·         First take out the seed from the fruit and clean off any fruit the is sticking to the seed and allow the seeds to air dry.

·         Then place them in a glass jar with a loosely fitted lid or cover.

·         Set the seeds aside June of next year.

·         Mix the seeds (in mid-June) with either moist (but not wet) sphagnum peat moss, sand or shredded paper towels.

·         Put the mixture to the jar and replace the lid.

·         Place the jar with the seeds in the fridge.

·         The seeds should stay in the fridge for at least 60 days.

·         Early in Spring plant the seeds out.

But before you rush outside to plant your seeds, there’s one more thing that you need to do.

Special Note

·         Stone fruits have a hard covering over the embryo.

·         It’s a really good idea to crack the hard covering slightly using a nutcracker just before planting so you’ll have a better chance of germination.

·         Be careful not to crush the embryo inside the covering.

·         The new seedlings will develop a tap root.

·         You can also improve the rate of germination by soaking the seeds in water for 12 to 24 hours before planting.

·         Keep the soil moist but don’t fertilise at this time. 

Once the seedlings have gotten going, you can plant them out into the garden or a larger pot.
If you’ve started your seeds in the ground first up, then to make transplanting easier,
You need to cut the taproot by pushing a spade under each plant.
Of course now what you can do is learn the art of budding or grafting, but that’s for another day.
THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY?

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Mass Planting For a Mediterranean Climate
You may have heard that some parts of Australia experience what’s called a Mediterranean climate.
That’s where you can have moist mild to very cold winters and warm to hot and mostly dry summers.
Sometimes the winters are a bit harsh and cold so how do you plant out a garden that has harsh freezing cold frosts but warm to blazing hot summers with little rain?
Do you stick to just having a desert style garden or one with succulents, but that has limited appeal really.

Perhaps you would like a garden with lots of mass planting instead and plants of different heights and flowers?
So what can you really plant in this climate.
Let’s find out about. I'm talking with Peter Nixon, landscape designer and Director of Paradisus garden design.

Peter mentioned plants like Chinese plumbago, Grevillea rhyolitica and Cistus species which do well in mass plantings and definitely work in a Mediterranean style climate.
If you have any questions about mass planting for Mediterranean climates, why not email us realworldgardener@gmail.com

TALKING FLOWERS

Gerberas as Cut Flowers

Did you know that Gerbera flowers were named after Trauggott Gerber, a botanist and physician from the 1700s?
Another fascinating fact is that supposedly, many people place gerberas by their bed to enjoy a better sleep!
Gerberas emit oxygen and absorb toxins and carbon monoxide at night instead of during the day like most flowers.
I’ve heard that they’re the longest lasting cut flowers in a vase.

The Gerbera is the birth month flower for April.

If you look at gerbera flower, you would think that it’s just one big flower head with lots of small petals. In fact, the flower head is a huge cluster of hundreds of flowers.
Gerbera seeds are expensive because each flower only produces a few seeds that are only viable for 1 year.
Plus the large fluffy seeds don’t fit into automatic seeding machines so need to be hand sown, maybe still today?
They are native to South Africa, but a lot of breeding has gone into developing the large daisy-like flowers we see today.
Listen to the podcast here

Watch the video of Mercedes Sarmini talking with me (host) on Real World Gardener radio show.
We're talking about how best to look after Gerberas in the Vase.



How to grow a Gerbera-
Gerberas are perennials and do best in full sun, in well-drained soil.
They’ll grow in most parts of Australia but are happiest in a warm climate.
In cool or moist areas plants need excellent drainage and shelter from the cold. I
If your soil is poorly drained, grow the plants in a raised garden bed.If you experience wet autumns and winters plant gerberas where they will keep dry during the colder months.
If you have any questions for Mercedes, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com

Fermenting Veggies, Shore Birds, and Colourful Crotons.

What’s On The Show Today?
An Australian Shore bird the migrates thousands of kilometres each year to reach Australian shores. We’re up to something good for your health in Vegetable Heroes; continuing the series on mass planting with Garden Designer Peter Nixon in Design elements, and a fabulous multi-coloured leaved plant in Plant of the Week.

WILDLIFE IN FOCUS

Bar Tailed Godwit.

How well do you know Australian Shore birds?

Did you know that even though a bird is migratory, it’s considered an Australian bird because it spends quite a number of months on our shores? 

Even though it's a largish bird, weighing around 190g, flying thousands of kilometres from the breeding ground in Siberia and Norther Scandanavia to shores in Australia and New Zealand is no mean feat.
Did you know that when they’re in Australia they look quite different to what they do when they’re overseas.
So let’s find out more about the Bar Tailed Godwit .
I'm talking with Dr Holly Parsons from www.birdsinbackyards.org.au

You'll find these birds in Australia now, feeding up so that they can make that long journey back to their breeding ground in March-April. 

These birds will then head north, stopping off in Korea, China or Japan, ending up in Alaska which is their breeding ground.
Holly mentioned one bird that was tagged called E7
E7 was tracked as taking the longest non-stop flight of any bird, flying 11,500 kms from Alaska to New Zealand.

Sadly, thousands of Bar Tailed Godwits' don’t make it back because of the lack of places to stop to re-fuel.
So if you do see these birds along the shore, please don’t release you dog to chase them away.
If you have any questions about Bar Tailed Godwits why not email us realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

Fermenting Vegetables-it's easy.

From time to time I like to break up just growing a veggie and put in something about how to treat a problem in the veggie garden, or pick out a something different about a veggie.
Today, we’re going really different because I’m going to talk about how to ferment your veggies.
Fermenting vegetables is not only a way of preserving them, but it’s also really good for you because of the way the fermentation process works.
Did you know that fermentation is an ancient method of preserving food that’s been around for thousands of years? Ever heard of sauerkraut?
Yes, eating sauerkraut with meat actually helps you digest the meat.


So how does fermentation work?

Without getting too much into science here’s a quote from the book, Lacto-fermenting: The Easy & Healthy Way,
“Lacto-fermentation happens when natural starches and sugars found within vegetables and fruits are converted to lactic acid by the friendly bacteria lactobacilli. The term “lacto” in lacto-fermentation, refers to the production of lactic acid.
This acid is a natural preservative, inhibiting the growth of putrefying bacteria.
Of all the acids common to food preservation, lactic acid is the one most easily used by the body and does not cause over-acidifying effects.”
An anaerobic environment (without air), enhances the production of lactic acid and this is why fermenting kits were developed.

How do you ferment your vegetables then?

First you need to prepare the vegetables.There are several ways to prepare the vegetables for fermenting: grating, shredding, chopping, slicing, or leaving whole.
How you choose to prepare your vegetables is a personal choice, though some vegetables are better suited for leaving whole, while others ferment better when shredded or grated.
 Let’s talk about which food can be grated, usually by hand.

Grating is good for hard or crunchy vegetables, because grating creates the mnost surface area letting the salt penetrate the veggie more whickly and drawing out the moisture.

You really need to add brine to grated vegetables,

Brine is of course, salt and water.

What about slicing? 
Good veggies are the softer ones that can be sliced thickly although you can slice firm vegetables such as beetroot into thinner slices.
Chopping veggies is also good, but these take loner to ferment and also need more of that brine mixture. 

Candidates for this method are cauliflower, celery and carrot pieces.

What about whole vegetables? 

You can also ferment whole vegetables and I’m sure you would’ve heard of pickled gherkins and pickled cucumbers.
You can also ferment radishes, green beans and Brussel sprouts.

How do you actually ferment now that you’ve chopped, grated or sliced the vegetable?

Did you know that you can use salt, whey or a starter culture?
Salt is good because it stops the growth of undesirable microorganisms,
Starter cultures such as whey (brine from a previous ferment) or freeze-dried starter cultures can add bacteria to the culturing process to get things going more quickly.
But you ‘ll have to source them from somewhere.

In this segment, salt is the only method that will be covered because it’s by far the easiest.

Salt pulls out the moisture in food, denying bacteria the aqueous solution they need to live and grow.

Salt  also allows the natural bacteria that exist on the vegetables to do the fermenting. Only the desired salt-tolerant Lactobacilli strains will live and propagate.
Salt hardens the pectins in the vegetables, leaving them crunchy and enhancing the flavor. 

How Much Salt Then?
Use 1-3 tablespoons of our authentic, finely-ground Celtic Sea Salt per 950 mls or close enough to a litre of water to prepare brine for fermenting vegetables.
By the way if you want salt free fermentation you can use celery juice or seaweed, but they won’t prevent your vegetables from going mushy.

That’s the drawback of salt free fermentation.

Tip: make sure you get a good centimetre of juices sitting above the veggies…otherwise mould grows, ruining the whole lot. 

“Some lacto-fermented products may get bubbly, particularly the chutneys.

This is natural and no cause for concern.
And don’t get upset if little spots of white foam appear at the top of the pickling liquid.
They’re completely harmless and can be lifted off with a spoon.

The standard amount of salt to add is 3 tablespoons per 2 ¼ kilos of vegetables. 

Here’s a recipe for homemade sauerkraut. 

It uses just plain salt but there’s no need to add water.
1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded
1 tbls caraway seeds
2 tbls sea salt
Mix all ingredients in a sturdy bowl and pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer or just squeeze with your hands (this is actually very soothing and meditative) for about 10 minutes to release juices.
This takes a little work and some patience. Spoon into a mason jar and using the pounder or meat hammer press down until juices come to the top of the cabbage and cover it.
Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days, make sure the room is not too hot or cold; it should be at comfortable room temperature.
Then transfer to cold storage.

Why is it good for you? 
Natural fermentation of foods has also been shown to preserve nutrients in food and break the food down to a more digestible form.
The probiotics created during the fermentation process, could explain the link between eating fermented foods and improved digestion.
THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY?

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Mass Planting for a Mediterranean Climate part 1
Groundcovers and small shrubs.
This series is all about mass planting but so you're garden won't be boring.

photo Louise McDaid Cloudhill Gardens

That means not just a sea of the same green and the same leaf shape and texture but a variety of colour interesting features.

There’s different levels, different leaf shape and textures and different colours of green to make your garden all that more interesting.

Warm temperate coast regions around Australia can look forward to these next plants.

Let’s find out about what they are.
I'm talking with Peter Nixon, landscape designer and Director of Paradisus garden design

.
Plants that are used to the sunny tropics may have a hard time in temperate winters s because often there’s rain, but weak sun, so plants can struggle.
Peter mentioned if you need weed suppression, something low but in semi-shade will suit Plectanthrus ciliatus, Carissa Desert Star with a dark green gloss leaf and starry perfumed flower or Acanthus mollis.
For sub-shrubs try Jasmin nitidum, which is a sub-shrub to about 1.2 metres and not invasive.
For difficult banks with a slope of 1:5, then go for Helichrysum petiolare Limelight, sometimes called Licorice plant.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Crotons: Colourful leaves

Codiaeum variegatum
Flowers are great, but not all plants flower for a long time so it’s good to have a plant that has plenty of colour in its leaves in your garden or even inside your house as an indoor plant.
Plant breeders are having fun with the colours and sizes too, so you can soon buy the same plant but in the miniature form as well as the standard sized shrub form of 1 metre.
Let’s find out about this plant.

Crotons

I'm talking with the plant panel: Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au

A well-grown croton keeps its leaves all the way to the soil level, but the trick to this is to provide steady warmth. 

Even outside, crotons drop leaves after a cold night. 

These plants do alright after a hard prunes so if a croton becomes leggy, prune it back hard at the beginning of the growing season and move it outside. 

The plant will regrow from the cut part.

A tough plant in the right environment; often seen in old and neglected gardens in Qld

Also a great plant to grow indoors even if you do have the right climate to grow it outside.
Just remember not to overwater it and give it some slow or controlled release fertiliser at the beginning of the warmer season.
If you have any questions about growing Crotons, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com