The theme is garlic and worm farming

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on   http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.
Compost Capers with Cameron Little: You’ve got a compost bin so why do I need a worm farm as well I hear you ask? The compost bin actually doesn’t turn your scraps into fertilizer, it becomes compost which has very little nutrients for growing plants. Yes, lots of humus that enriches your soil’s structure, but worms add another component.

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Vegetable Heroes:Garlic-Allium sativum comes from the Onion family. Alliaceae.
Sow direct in garden where they are to grow.
Garlic grows best on fertile, well-drained, loamy soils. Any soil suitable for onions is good enough for Garlic. Given a warm sunny position garlic is easy to grow.  Soil pH should be in the range 5.5 to 7.0.
Garlic grows best when the temperature is between 13º to 24ºC. That’s why Garlic is traditionally planted in cold weather and harvested in summer ("plant on the shortest day, harvest on the longest"). You can plant Garlic blubs now in all districts of Australia, including cool temperate. For cool districts, you’re right on the edge of when you can plant, so don’t delay, plant today.
Plant the cloves after separating them from the bulb, point upwards, deep enough to just cover with soil.
When you plant the cloves, don't plant too deeply otherwise they will rot off.
Plant them so the tops of the bulbs are just below the surface. Plant them about 8 cm apart with the point end facing up.
Garlic usually takes about 17-25 weeks. 4-6 months to mature. You can tell because the leaves or stalks have flopped over and turned brown.
Give them plenty of water, (especially in spring).
Also fertilise them, 2 or 3 times throughout the growing season. Some young shoots can be cut off for a garnish. Some people even harvest young garlic and eat the 'green' garlic leaves and all.
Reduce water at end of Spring (4 weeks prior to harvesting).
When they are ready to be dug up, ease bulbs out with a fork, careful not to damage bulbs. As these won't store well. May go a bit mouldy.. If good weather. let them dry in the sun for a few days.
Monaro purple, and Rocambole- are Hardnecks variety and these do have flowerheads like onions, and usually bigger cloves. They don’t have as good a shelf life as the softnecks and prefer cooler winters. Rocamboles are renowned for their excellent flavour, glamorous red-purple skins and easily peeled, single circle of 6-12 plump cloves.
Design Elements: What’s in a style when it comes to gardening? We can have Federation or Cottage garden styles, but is it the same as a theme? Can you have both? Let’s find out.

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Plant of the Week:     Lenten Roses or Hellebores have a role in many types of gardens and are often relegated to the shadier areas of our gardens. But they actually tolerate a lot more sun than we give them credit for. Hellebore “Ivory Prince”Height: 30cm  Spread: 60cm  Growing Conditions:
Full Sun/Part ShadeFull ShadeDry. Frost Hardy (Below 1c) 
Common Name: Hellebore, Winter Rose, Lenten Rose -A vigorous grower with tidy plant habit. A heavy flowering variety with around six spikes carrying up to twelve flowers each is not uncommon. The ivory-white flowers fade to musky pink and then finally aging with an overlay of chartreuse green. Easy to grow with minimal maintenance and frost hardy below 1ºc it can also withstand low water conditions making it ideal for planting under trees where few other plants can compete. Although a great shade solution - hellebores can also tolerate a good deal of sunlight also and so do not need to be restricted to shade gardens alone.

H. Ivory Prince comes to us from the renowned UK breeder David Tristram. Selected not only for the copious flower stems produced but also flowers face forward unlike most varieties where they hang making it difficult to see their full beauty. The foliage is also handsome in a complementary blue-green colour.

Strawberries and Little Wattle Birds

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.
Wildlife in Focus: The Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera) is one of four wattlebird species, all of which are endemic to Australia. The others are the red, yellow and western wattlebirds. The Little Wattlebird is also known as the brush wattlebird. Listen here to ecologist Sue Stevens talk about this bird.

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Vegetable Heroes: Last week I talked about a vegetable that’s really a fruit and this week, well it’s not even a fruit  so what is it? Strawberries or Fragaria x ananassa.Strawberries are actually not berries or fruit at all, but enlarged ends of the plant's stamen. Sometimes called an accessory fruit or false fruit because some or all of the fruit doesn’t grow in the ovary but outside where the ovary is. In the Strawberries case it’s the stamen or the pollen producing male part of the flower that is usually yellow or orange, and reasonably fragile, like the insides of Daylillies, or if you know the of  the flowers of Eucalypts, they're made up of lots of stamens but no petals.       Strawberries love at least 6 hours of sun a day and will grow in most soils but strawberries prefer a sandy loam that is deep and contains very high amounts of organic matter.
Water well, especially when the young plants are establishing, and during dry spells. Strawberries prefer a moist environment. Avoiding overhead watering will reduce fungal disease; drip irrigation or a 'leaky pipe' is best.
I did see a different way of growing strawberries at the Floriade (in Venlo, Netherlands,) which might suit listeners. The above ground planters were made with weld mesh into a circle of diameter about 1 ½  to 2 metres, then lined with coconut fibre. You could use other materials to line them.    
Into this the soil was added then the strawberry plants. Mulched with straw of course. Not only did it look good but provides perfect drainage for the plants, and no bending down for the gardener.  
 For all sub-tropical, temperate and arid zones you can plant strawberries now, and for cool mountain districts, unless you have a greenhouse, you’ll have to wait until October. Arid and sub-tropical regions have the added bonus that you can sow strawberry seeds at this time of year as well. They are frost sensitive but a 10cm layer of mulch will be enough to protect the plants.
Nearly 3/4 of the strawberries roots are in the top 8cm of soil, so to prevent them drying out, mulch well with straw, hay, even your black plastic.
 To feed your strawberries, sprinkle a small handful of complete fertilizer (such as tomato food,  organic pellets, fish emulsion and any stuff which is high in potash) around each plant as it comes into first flower, and water well. Liquid seaweed fertilizer once a fortnight will not go astray either.
Strawberry plants, from autumn and winter plantings, should begin to flower in September, and the first crop of fruit should arrive a month later.
Design Elements:-       This series is all about Garden Design Problems. If you have any email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR, PO Box 644, Gladesville 1675        Today the problems “My garden slopes very steeply? So pencils at the ready....!

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Plant of the Week:New Release Roses
New release roses for 2012-Floribunda Rose 'THANK YOU ROSE'  and Rosa  Eyes for You .Hulthemia persica (syn Rosa persica)

This magnificent new floribunda has been named for Transplant Australia as a symbol of thanks and gratitude. It has a mauve colour with a delicate fragrance. The growth habit is similar to  'Iceberg'. Approx 1.2m tall. Decorated with awards at the 2011 National Trial Garden Awards including Silver Medal and Best Floribunda rose of the 2011 trials.Available from www.treloarroses.com.au

Treloar Roses will donate $1.00 from the sale of each rose to Transplant Australia. For more information go to www.transplant.org.au or phone             1800 827 757     
Second New Release rose mention on the program is 'Eyes For You' is from Brindabella Gardens. Roses do not often have 'eyes' but this one is a Hulthemia persica (syn Rosa persica)  Large pink flowers, deep rosey eyes, black-spot resistant and perfumed. The flower looks a little like a cross between an oriental poppy and peony, but much easier to grow than other of them.
Available from www.brindabella-gardens.com.au

Minor Birds and Shady Gardens

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.
This episode aired in Sydney 16th May 2012, and across Australia on 26th May 2012
Wildlife in Focus:Mynah and Minor birds, friend or foe? These days we're paying the penalty, with the Indian Mynahs displacing native species and attempts to control their numbers largely unsuccessful. They're considered by many to be the scourge of our backyards and parklands. Indian Mynah birds were introduced to Australia to control insects but have become an invasive pest themselves. Listen here to Guest presenter author, and TV personality, John Dengate talk about these birds.

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Vegetable Heroes: Green Manure Crops. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Fix all your soil problems by growing a green manure crop. No hard work involved, just benefits for your soil.
At this time of year try faba bean, field pea, oats and wheat. This will improve your soil incredibly, and, for a bit of forward planning, you’ll find it well worth the effort. At this time of year, it’s called a cool season green manure crop.
How do you  do this? I hear you ask, well here are the steps.
Rake the garden smooth to prepare the seed bed.
Plant seeds that sprout and grow quickly for your green manure crop. Use what's popular in your area or choose from alfalfa, white clover or wheat or oats. 
Or, recycle any kind of seeds for green manure - leftover flowers, outdated or extra veggies. You can add any out-of-date vegetable seeds you have left over from last season as well. Legumes like beans and peas are especially good, since they’ll fix nitrogen in the soil, but anything else you have will help. Just scatter the seed around your garden bed, about two handfuls per square meter. Then lightly rake it over to get the seeds into the dirt, and water it in well. You may need to cover the bed with a net if the birds discover the free feast you’ve laid out for them.
Fertilize once with organic nitrogen if it seems slow to get growing.
Let the green manure crop grow 7-10 cm tall. Leave the green manure on the garden until it matures to control erosion and existing weeds in the bed - call it a cover crop.  
Don't let it seed – With legume crops, when the plant begins to seed after flowering, the nitrogen fixing potential of the crop becomes less because  the nitrogen is partly used up in seed the forming process. 
With grain/grass crops, they will seed without flowering so if you let them seed, you will have lots of seeds falling into the bed and this will make it hard for you to stop the seeds sprouting of the green manure crop instead of the one you want.
Cutting it down – When it has reached a good height (half a metre) and is not seeding, cut it down to the ground. If it is a small bed, use shears. If it is a large space, use a mower. Place all the green matter back on the bed and it will cover the bed and the roots of all the plants will remain in the soil.            Leave the bed for about a month and don't dig up the crop, let it rot in the bed. It should not grow back because you haven’t let it seed.
What you’ll get is soil which is full of organic substance, life and minerals, ready to use and produce an excellent crop of food.
Design Elements: This series of Design Elements. All about Garden Design Problems. If you have any email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR, PO Box 644, Gladesville 1675        Today the problems are dealing with different types of shade in your garden, and can you have too much sun? so pencils at the ready....!

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Plant of the Week:       What do the names Dianthus 'Sugar Plum' Dianthus 'Candy Floss' Dianthus 'Passion' Dianthus 'Slap n Tickle' Dianthus 'Cherry Sundae'Dianthus 'Rosebud' suggest?
Some people know them as cottage pinks, More commonly known as 'garden pinks' these dainty dianthus are- compact evergreen, dry tolerant and easy to grow, long flowering - and best of all, fragrant perfume! There’s a Dianthus for everyone’s taste in any climate. ideally suited to small spaces, containers, edging as well as general garden use.
a)   Dianthus plants are sun lovers and prefer average, well-drained soil. They appreciate a bit of humus in the top soil layer, but they will not survive long in a damp, highly fertile muck. Do not use mulch around pinks because their crowns tend to rot beneath it.
b)   Whetman Pinks have been the main grower and distributor of scented Pinks in the UK since 1936. And now they’re being propagated in Australia from UK stock plants, so virus free. 
c)   Two types that I know of from that range are Candy Floss:
d)  Sugar pink and beautifully perfumed.  Approx flowering height 28cm . A great variety for patio planters where you can enjoy the perfume on warm summer evenings.
e)   Coconut Sundae:  Coconut Sundae is a beautiful white sport of Raspberry Sundae and produces a mass of perfumed flowers with a maroon eye.  It is really eye-catching.   Flowering height approx 20cm . 
f)    There may be others yet to be released in Australia so stay tuned for titles like sugar Plum, Tickled Pink and Romance!
g)   The problem with the some older varieties of Dianthus or Pinks is that they have an inherent virus in their leaves. I used to wonder why they would all die on me after a few years, but it wasn’t because I had a brown thumb. I discovered this fact from a plant breeder, so that’s why it’s great to learn that there is virus free stock coming into Australia. Sad news for some, NOT ALL of the old varieties, but these new ones have great scent as well.
The virus actually means the decline of the plants,ie, slowly starts to fade away.
h)   They are very drought hardy growing in very free draining soil. Also very easy to propagate from soft tip cuttings any time of the year. A bonus if you do actually have a yen for growing your own plants.
i)     Generally summer flowering but spot flower from time to time. Plant some now for next summer colour.
j)     There’s a nursery near Bowen Mountain in Sydney which specializes in the old varieties with names like Napolean  III, Olde Enlish Mauve, Paisley, Strawberry Fields, Tudor Tart and Tuscan Lace.  The last being a typical 19^th century form and very fragrant.

Black Gold Good 4 The Soil

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.
NEW SEGMENT
Compost Capers: all about different types of composting. Today we continue with worm farms and why are worms so good for the soil? What do they actually do? How do they actually eat those food scraps if they haven’t got any teeth? Listen here to Cameron Little, Director of www.sustainabilitysystems.com.au talk about this topic.

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Vegetable Heroes:Pass the Peas Please. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a (pea) flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking. Peas belong to the Fabaceae family, which means they fix Nitrogen from the air into their roots.
The best time to sow Peas, if you are living on the East Coast is from April until September from April until august in arid climates, from April and until July in sub-tropical districts and for cool zones, late winter until October. On the Tablelands they should be sown after the last frosts.
Best planted at soil temperatures between 8°C and 24°C.
Sow the seeds directly into the soil 15mm to 20mm deep (1'' or knuckle deep) . Water in well and don't let them dry out.
I like to soak my Pea seeds over night. This helps achieve a better strike.
Some gardeners prefer to sow their seeds into tubs/punnets so they can keep a closer eye on them especially if there is a possible of a frost, once they have their second crop of leaves and no more frost, they can be transplanted out in the garden.
TIP:Peas  don’t  seem to grow well near Onions, Chives, Garlic.  Peas  don’t like a lot of mulch or manure especially up against the stalk/stem, or being over-watered as they tend to rot off at the base of the stem.
Wait until they have started flowering and then give them a good feed of liquid fertilizer at least once a fortnight.
Liquid fertilizerS you will get a better result in a shorter time.
By watering Peas in the mornings will help to avoid mildew. Don’t overhead water late in the afternoon. If you do have mildew, try spraying with 1 part whole MILK tp 9 parts water.
Design Elements:       Today the problems “a couple of awkwardly shaped areas that the owners don’t know how tom make look attractive. Somewhere where the grass won’t grow properly? so pencils at the ready....!

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Plant of the Week:Proteas, Protea nerifolia.
Proteas can grow in all parts of Australia but need great drainage, so if you’ve got clay soil, forget it. All Proteas love a sandy loam or open soil.    Do test your soil pH as most Proteas need acidic soil with a pH below 6.
Proteas need full sun with good air movement. Because they keel over with  humidity. The more sun they more flowers for all Proteas. Full sun by the way, means around 4-6 hours of sunlight and not dappled sunlight.
A few varieties will grow and flower in semi-shade-P. Nerifolia Cream Mink, P repens Honeyglow, P.magnifica x pudens Juliet,P. Frosted Fire and P. Pink Ice.
P. Pink Ice is the one you most see in floral displays.
Mulch your Proteas but only use a natural mulch such as bark or straw or leaves.
TIP:Don’t disturb the plants roots when weeding.
Proteas are pretty tough once they're established.
Water at least twice a week in the first summer, - daily when it's really hot. You can gradually reduce this as the plant becomes established.
TIP:Remember Sabina's litmus test for all plants, 2 seasons for establishment.
Proteas can be grown in tubs and containers but will need watering every day.     
Generally it is not necessary to feed Proteas planted in the garden unless your conditions are extremely severe, like in a sand belt. 
Proteas grown in tubs will need feeding with controlled release fertiliser, a low phosphorus variety.
Proteas become untidy looking if you don’t at least prune off the flowers when they’ve finished. Removing flowering stems helps keep the bush compact and looking great. 
With young bushes tip prune in spring and late summer. With mature plants prune immediately after flowering, usually leaving 10cm of healthy stem.
Varieties- King Pink Protea cynaroides. The King Protea is one of the most popular varieties, having one of the largest flower heads in the protea family. Nana
     

Permaculture Made Easy and Solve Your Garden Design Problems

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.
INTRODUCING NEW SEGMENT!
The Good Earth:There’s no reason that an ornamental garden can’t have permaculture principles in it already? But generally permaculture includes being self-supporting, maybe not entirely, but  find out more how to start your garden with Tafe teacher and Director of Permaculture Sydney Institute, Penny Pyet.

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Vegetable Heroes:   Angelica or Angelica archangelica.
   Although angelica is a hardy biennial herb-growing the first year and flowering the second-it will continue to live for several more years if you clip off the flower stems before they start flowering. 
 The bright green, feathery leaves look tropical and are large, becoming about 0.7-1m long, and are divided into 3 leaflets with toothed edges. Greenish white lightly scented flowers that hang in umbrella like clusters at the ends of the stalks which are 1-1.5m tall, hollow, and stiff. so it's not really a plant for all but the largest of pots. The roots are a yellowish-brown to a reddy-brown colour.
How to grow it-Angelica likes deep moist, rich soil that is slightly acid, growing best in semi-shade. As usual add home-made compost when first growing this plant.
So why grow this herb? The stems of home grown and then candied Angelica leaves  are better than any store bought stuff and Angelica leaves make a tea the is similar to China tea. Angelica will grow in all climates in Australia except the hot humid districts. One thing to note-it dies down in winter then pops up again in spring.
To get the flower seed, it’s just a matter of waiting after the flowers have died. One seed head has about 100 seeds. But you need to sow them within a few weeks after ripening or they lose their viability.
 Seeds need light to germinate. Ideal temperature for germination is 20C, and germination usually occurs in less than 2 weeks.
  TIP:When buying or ordering angelica, make sure to use the botanical name for it, as there are several species of angelica, and they are not used in the same ways. eg. There's Chinese Angelica, or Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis) American Angelica and Wild angelica.
 If they self seed, then keep the strongest as replacement stock. 
 You also can propagate angelica from root cuttings.

Design Elements:  Today the problems are My garden is a big boring square and my yard is too big or seems too big?.. That usually means you don’t know where to start, so pencils at the ready....!

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Plant of the Week:Acer palmatum or   Japanese Maples make a statement on their own with fine delicate lacey foliage and strikingly coloured leaves. What could be better as a focal point in a small garden are using several in a large garden to highlight a different colour or to complement a colour scheme?
Plant for the red coloured leaves in Autumn
Native to Japan, China, Korea  :small deciduous tree 15' to 25' shape can be rounded to irregular.
Leaves can be fine to medium texture. Japanese maples have a slow  growth rate .is slow 
Summer Foliage :opposite, 2" to 5" long, medium green color,5, 7 or 9 lance-shaped lobes, palmately arranged.
 Autumn Foliage :turning yellow, orange, red or purple dependable for fall coloration color develops late and leaves hold well.
Bark :twigs have green and red, polished, shiny bark that is showy trunk and main branch bark is gray .stem and bark color is a valuable ornamental feature .    Grow in :full sun to partial shade is best; shade tolerant ,moist, slightly acidic, well-drained, high organic matter soil is ideal .often stated to be delicate plants, but probably more adaptable than given credit for.
Japanese Maples perform best when grown in quality, free draining organic soil, in a cooler environment. Light dappled shade can be beneficial, as is protection from hot winds. Good water and nutrient supply during the spring and summer growth phases is important, and mulching can be helpful.dislikes hot, dry locations ,avoid windswept winter locations    Make a great specimen plant, especially cultivars accent plant for artistic appearance ,rock gardens ,in mini-groves avoid over use of colored foliage selections .

White faced Heron and Rosemary Goes Coastal

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.
Wildlife in Focus:White faced Heron.This bird was once known as the White-fronted Heron, and incorrectly as the Grey Heron, or Blue Crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australia. Hear new co-presenter ecologist, Sue Stevens talk about this bird.

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Vegetable Heroes: BOTANICAL NAME: Armoracia rusticana syn. A. lapathifolia.
 Horseradish is a member of the mustard or Brassicaceae family. 
The bite and aroma of horseradish root is totally missing until it’s grated or ground. That’s because as soon as the root cells are crushed, volatile oils known as isothiocyanate are released.
 Horseradish is a perennial to 1.5m high on a tapering, fleshy taproot to 60cm long and 5 cm thick, it has large basal leaves, 30-100 cm long, so that’s about 1-3 ruler lengths.
. It should be planted in a permanent position -   Vinegar stops this reaction and stabilizes the flavour.    Horseradish has white flowers in the middle of summer to mid-autumn. 
It tolerates damp soils and grows vigorously.
  TIP” This deep rooted plant can be used in orchards to open up compacted soils and return nutrients to the surface of the soil.
Now’s the time to get a piece from a friend or your friendly garden club members because Horseradish is propagated by root division in spring or autumn  for harvest the following year.
Grows in any soil and takes full sun or part-shade.
 Next year by mid autumn if you were lucky enough to have planted it last year either in autumn OR spring, the roots should be ready to harvest.  Dig up all the plants. 
 Use the larger roots to make horseradish sauce and store the smaller ones in sand for replanting next year. 
  You could plant some of the smaller shoots in pots – either give them away or sell them once they start into growth..
Design Elements:Garden problems solved-This month, Design Elements is starting a new about solving design problems in the garden. Today the problems are “How do I make my small garden seem bigger, and my garden is a very long and thin rectangle, what should I do?

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Plant of the Week: Westringia fruticosa orCoastal Rosemary is not edible, it’s native and it’s flowers are attractive to native bees, but what else is it.It is an easily grown shrub of simple and neat appearance which grows wild near the coast of New South Wales. Stretches of it are seen hugging the cliffs and down to beach level, either prostrate or several feet high depending on situation.
  lt is useful as a large type of ground-cover plant. Sometimes it throws out one or two main branches to develop an irregular habit, but generally the plant is shapely. After reaching a mature size it does not deteriorate quickly with age as some species do, but maintains a good condition for years. During the coldest weather it keeps a fresh appearance and is also drought hardy, though adequate water should be given to avoid tendency to yellowing leaves and bare wood.