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Thursday 8 December 2011

A Wheel Of Colour in the Garden

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm Sat. 12noon, 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on www.cpod.org.au/
Design Elements: Good garden design involves knowing how to combine colours so that the final product will be one we like Listen to the first in the series on Colour in garden design is to get you started towards ways to use colour in the garden successfully.


Vegetable Heroes: Cucumbers.Cucumis sativus..
In tropical districts, you can grow them all year round, in Temperate zones-spring andSummer and in cold districts, late spring to late summer is the time you can plant the seeds. Choose a sunny, well-drained position.because Cucumbers need full sun. pH of 6.5 is ideal.
Make a mini mound of soil, plonk in 4-5 seeds and when they germinate pick out the strongest and discard the others.
Don't overwater-if you’re watering too much and wondering why nothing is germinating, that’s because the seed has rotted away. 
   Water regularly at the base of each plant – keeping leaves dry will reduce the risk of powdery mildew disease – and feed every couple of weeks with an organic soluble plant food.
After 7 weeks your cucumbers should be ready. Twist the cucumbers off the plant or cut the stalk just above the cucumber tip. They keep for 7-10 days in the fridge.By the way, if you do get a bitter cucumber, peel it and cut of the ends by about 2.5cm, that’s where the bitterness concentrated. Online seed supplies from -          www.heritageseeds.com.au www.greenharvest.com.au
Plant of the Week: African Violets, Saint Paulia. http://www.africanviolet.org.au/Links.html to join or go to a show.
Secrets to Success:-
  1. African violets need:• Ten to twelve hours of light each day • Light that is bright enough to cast a sharp shadow,• No direct sun, except a little in winter, or early in the morning . Under cupboard lighting in the kitchen is ideal to extend the hours.
  2. Use the wick-watering method.It prevents the plants becoming too wet or too dry, and especially avoids the dry-wet cycle that is especially damaging to African violets. African violets should be watered when the soil feels dry to the touch. Water should be tepid or room temperature.
  3. An open and friable potting mix is essential-it needs to hold water but let it drain away reasonably quickly. If you can't get African Violet mix, add Coco peat, Vermicullite, Charcoal and Perlite in equal quantities.
  4. The diameter of the pot should be approximately one-third the diameter of the plant.
Climate Change Action: www.100percent.org.au/content/ryde-gladesville-climate-change-action-
   If you go to www.climatechangerg.org/ The Ryde/Gladesville Climate Change Action group has a list of things you can do on their website regarding Climate Action, a monthly e-newsletter and you can become a supporter of this group also.     Call Pamela or Jo to find out the next meeting which probably be next year. Monday 5 December 2011 at 6.30 pm. Call Pamela on 0422 532 586 or Jo on 0414 375 149 for details.

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