Marching To The Beet

REALWORLD GARDENER 27th July 2011, 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney


Wildlife in Focus" Dusky Moorhen with Kurtis Lindsay. Some say it can't fly, othere say it looks like a chicken, but listen here to find out what this bird can really do.

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Vegetable Heroes: Beta vulgaris or Beetroot.This is the time to plant our seeds or seedlings for warm and temperate areas of Australia, but colder areas need to wait until September,Best planted at soil temperatures between 7°C and 25°C.  You can grow beetroot in pots, but they need to be BIG pots, like at least 30cm diameter or those poly styrene jobbies from the green grocer.Position-wise, beetroots aren’t overly fussy. They’ll tolerate full sun to part shade and even do fairly well in dappled light under a deep rooted tree. Soak seeds in water in a shallow saucer for 24 hours before planting so that you can separate the seeds. Keep well-watered and adding liquid fertilisers such as Fish emulsion. Remember Seaweed stuff is not a fertiliser. Dry beetroot develop a woody and inedible core. For  really tasty and tender beetroot, start pulling them out at golfball-size. When they get to 7.5cm they get a but woody tasting.
Citrus Care: Now's the time to spray your citrus with Lime Sulfur to combat Citrus Louse Scale and knock off Bronze Orange Bug eggs while you'r at it. For product info http://www.yates.com.au/Prune your citrus to allow more air circulation into the centre of the tree if you have the scale problem. Remove and dead and twiggy growth.

Plant of the Week: Daphne odora and Daphne odora "Eternal Fragrance."
Before you couldn’t grow it in tropical gardens, only cool to cold climates.
There was this problem that daphnes’  leaves suddenly hanging down limply, and felt leathery and dry. Most often, this is also caused by over watering. About 20 years ago, there was a daphne virus, but you rarely get the virus in daphne. But the idea still hangs on that your Daphne will suddenly drop dead.

People think that daphne love to be moist all the time, but you should just water the daphne and let it dry out. Use mulch to keep the roots cool.

If daphnes are over or under watered, it causes them great stress and that's when insects like scale attack.   Then there is the location - Daphnes liked morning sun or an easterly-facing spot - anywhere that's got shade from the hot afternoon sun. Don't forget really good drainage is also important. ­So it all seemed a bit tricky.

NEW VARIETY OF DAPHNE  called ETERNAL FRAGRANCE from http://www.pma.com.au/
'Eternal Fragrance' offers an extended flowering period - with the main flush in spring and continuous spot flowering throughout the year, particularly in the warmer months.
Buy online from http://www.lambley.com.au/

It's Camellia Tea Time

Real World Gardener Wed 20th July 2011 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm

Feature Interview: RWG talks to Mike Barrett, executive member and president of the Weeds Society of NSW, about an upcoming seminar on "Environmental Weed, Current Policies and Practices. Wed, 27th July at Epping Club, 45-47 Rawson street Epping. Registration is preffered at http://www.nswweedsoc.org.au/ or ring  or email Mike on 9875 3087 ; mikebarrhort@iprimus.com.au
Vegetable Hero: Camellia sinensis or Tea Camellia. Yes, that's right, grow you own tea in your backyard or on the balcony!
The China tea bush, or Camellia chinensis, produces small tea leaves and grows to about 1.6m. It is a very hardy, multi-stemmed but slow growing shrub.Get the history of tea here www.kew.org
You will have to keep it clipped to about a metre so you have plenty of new flushes of growth to pick from.
Camellias like acid soil, so for pots, add some coco peat into the potting mix.
To make  green tea •Pick the very youngest leaves and leaf buds.
•Blot the leaves dry, and let dry in the shade for a few hours.
•Steam the leaves (like you would vegetables) on your stove for about a minute.
•For a different flavour, try roasting them in a skillet for 2 minutes instead of steaming.
•Spread the leaves on a baking sheet and dry in the oven at 120 C for 20 minutes.•Store the dried tea leaves in an air-tight container.
To make black tea•Pick the very youngest leaves and leaf buds like before.
•Roll the leaves between your hands, and crush them until the leaves start to darken and turn red.
•Spread them out on a tray, and leave them in a cool location for 2-3 days.
•Dry them in the oven at 120 C (250F)  for about 20 minutes.•Store in an air-tight container.
Buy the Tea Camellia at Camellia specialist nurseries and at the Friends nursery at Royal Botani Gardens, Sydney. http://www.rgbsyd.nsw.gov.au/
Design Elements: Lesley Simspon, garden designer and Marianne (host) talk about Chelsea Flower Show 2011, and what else is there besides the major design awards. Listen to the podcast.

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Plant of the Week: On the topic of Weeds, Purple Pea Bush or Polygala myrtifolia has mauve-purple, pea-shaped flowers produced throughout most of the year. Flowers develop two-celled flattened seed capsules that ripen from green to papery brown.
a)   Introduced as an ornamental and known to be naturalised in Victoria in 1886. Mainly naturalised in coastal areas where it is an increasing environmental problem. Biological control agents are being investigated for potential control of this weed.
b)  For more info, go to www.weeds.org.au and www.growmeinstead.com.au
a)      ALTERNATIVES:  Geraldton Wax  Chamelaucium uncinatum cultivars
These small to medium sized native shrubs from Western Australia reach 1.5–2 m high with linear, narrow highly aromatic leaves up to 4 cm long. Small flowers occur profusely in spring through to summer and darken as they age. Recommended as a  cut flower, they can be picked in bud or at the full flowering stage. Colours available are:-white 'Alba'; purple 'Purple Pride' red to white 'Sweet Sixteen', and the double flowering pink 'Raspberry Ripple'.A highly

One Potato, Two Potatoes, Three Potatoes, Four!

REAL WORLD GARDENER for 6th July 2011 2RRR 88.5fm
Feature Interview: Talking to Noel Plumb, Ryde Bush regeneration convener. Contact more info email noelplumb@iinet.net.au
Vegetable Heroes:Potatoes like to grow in a deep rich soil, plant seedling potatoes in a trench and as they grow pile the earth up around them. You will need to hill the the rows or potato container several times until the potatoes have flowered to stop the greening of tubers and also protect them from potato moth. Doing this will give you more potatoes as they tend to form on roots near the surface, as you pile up the soil, you get new roots, , more potatoes.... Chicken manure or blood and bone should be dug through the bed as potatoes need a lot of phosphorus but not too much nitrogen.  Pick your potatoes when the vine has died down to the ground, that’s if you want the most potatoes, but they can be harvested from when the first baby potatoes are formed.  The lower leaves should be turning yellow – this happens about 3 to 4 weeks after flowering.  For more info on potatoe growing go to www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/TTAR-5AYUGP?open
Design Elements: Lesley Simpson, garden designer and Marianne (host) give an overview of the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show. Listen here.

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Plant of the Week: Azalea spp.
a)      SITE and SOIL: Plant in an area of semi-shade - the dappled shade beneath open-branched trees is a favourite location. Azaleas will grow in more open situations, but they prefer morning sun, with protection from hot afternoon sun in summer. They like a mildly acidic, organically enriched soil (pH 5-6), so avoid applying lime or fresh manures. Before planting, feed soil with compost and aged manure to improve moisture retention. Don't plant azaleas in cement pots or near new brickwork as the lime from the pot or mortar can leach into the soil, making it alkaline.     
(b)Azaleas are surface-rooting plants, so they don't need very deep soil to thrive - about 30-40cm is adequate.  Make sure they have good drainage and the roots must be cool and moist.
In the sustainable garden, pick off the mushy brown blooms daily if you encounter the fungal disease -Petal Blight. Doing this will reduce the spread, and next year, you'll have less of a problem.
Trim off leaves affected by Azalea lace bug-that gives the leaves a mottled silvery look.

No Whisky In This Nightjar

Real World Gardener for 29th June 2011 on 2RRR 88.5fm

Wildlife In Focus: Kurtis Lindsay talks about the Tawny Frogmouth or Nightjar. Some might have mistaken this for an owl with its owl like features. Find out the difference between Nightjars and Owls by listening to the podcast.

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Photo of Nightjar taken by David Little.
Vegetable Heroes go fruity with Washington Navels. The most popular fruit tree in the world. Citrus sinensis "Washington Navel."  Navels have a small immature fruit at the apex of the fruit giving it that tell tale Navel. The skin is very bright and easy to peel, the fruit is sweet and juicy, but doesn't keep.
Navels mature in winter, so if your tree has fruit in summer then it's a Valencia.
Orange trees need excellent drainage so dig a hole, twice the size of the pot, and fill with water. If the water doesn't drain away in 30 minutes, then select another another site or grow another type of tree.
Orange trees hate root competition of any kind. No lawn, undercover plants of anykind, just mulch, otherwise the tree will sulk and not flourish.
Fertilise with organic pellets and blood and bone.
Design Elements: Lesley Simspon, garden designer discusses with Marianne, (presenter)  the problem of " I wanted a natural garden but it went all pear shaped/" Listen here for the solution.

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Plant of the Week: Sabina and Marianne talk about Artemesia sp. or wormwood. Artemsias are members of the Asteraceae family. That means the flowers are daisy like, even though fairly small.    Artemisa absinthum Lambrook Silver ’for all year round colour.‘ and Artemisia vulgaris or common wormwood makes a great grey foliaged hedge. 
 I grew up with a hedge of Artemisia vulgaris at the front of the house so I’m very familiar with the particular scent that common Wormwood gives off. When I got to high school I used to manually prune the hedge, and I don’t recall getting stiff and sore arms like I do now when I prune plants.   It is a tall herbaceous perennial plant growing 1–2 m (rarely 2.5 m) tall, with a woody root. The leaves are 5–20 cm long, dark green, pinnate, with dense white tomentose hairs on the underside.  It flowers from February to April. You can prune Wormwood quite hard, even back to the old wood and it reshoots.
Artemisa absinthum "Lambrook Silver " Grown for its silvery, fernlike, deeply cut and aromatic foliage. Cut off the insignificant flowerheads to encourage new leaves.  You can buy it online- http://www.lambley.com.au/

eWaste Not eWant Not

Real World Gardener for Wed 15th July 2011 2RRR 88.5fm
Feature Interview: Talking to Tony Domanski of Beverich Holdings International http://www.beverich.com.au/, about what happens to the computers, TV's mobile phones, DVD's that people replace almost on an annual basis. From http://www.ewaste.com.au/ figures reveal that in 2006, Australians threw away 1.6 million that year! Hear some of that interview now.
Vegetable Heroes: Asian greens or Brassica rapa var. chinensis.
Plant them when the soil temperature is between 10 and 13 deg. C.The difference between Pak Choy and Bok Choy is Bok Choy has a white stem, and Pak Choy has a green stem
 Sandy loam soil is good but you can grow Asian greens in any fertile soil. Just put some organic matter into it. Before sowing seed work in a plenty of compost and blood and bone. You should also add some Potash because Asian greens like not only lots of Nitrogen but lots of Potassium.The seeds for Asian greens are very small so don’t bury them too deep. Just make a small impression in the soil about 5mm deep. Sprinkle them in the row and  lightly cover them with soil. Doesn’t matter how thick they are because you’re going to thin them out as they get bigger anyway. Asian greens also like lots of magnesium and because magnesium helpos germination, put about half a teaspoon of Epsom salts, into two litres of water. Give it a good shake around and then water the seeds with that mixture. They will come up in about a week. In six weeks, you’ll be harvesting your Asian greens. You can cut them off at root level and they will reshoot in a few weeks, or you can pick the leaves several at a time. Best used when the leaves are young otherwise they will taste bitter.
Design Elements: No DE this week.
Plant of the Week:Cupressus torulosa - Bhutan Cypress and Cupessus glabra-Arizona CypressA tall conical tree with fine foliage, slightly pendulous at the tips. The base of the tree may become bulbous with age. A lovely dark green formal tree, ideal as a formal specimen or screen. Grows to at least 5M in the first 10 years.  A evergreen tree (25) m tall, Fastigiate in warm climates and broader at the base in colder climates. Bark thick, grey brown or brown, peeling off in longitudinal strips.  Branches slender, drooping, with thin, whip-like tips. The branchlets have a cord like appearance. If you look at the branchlets closely, you’ll see a diamond pattern.
Cupressus glabra, known as the Arizona Smooth Bark Cypress, e.   Here in Australia it has a fat, columnar habit in warm climates and as for the Bhutan Cypress, the base becomes broad in colder climates.
However it does well when planted as an ornamental with a better water regime.  A rapidly growing tree (up to 1 metre per year).
 The trunk is stiff and erect; the leaves are scale-like, bluish-green, opposite and tightly clasping the four sided twigs;  Interestingly the leaves or leaf scales have an obvious white resin gland on the back, usually a glaucous blue on the best forms with a fruity or parsley odour when crushed.
Myrtle rust workshops across NSW. The Australian Network for Plant Conservation has organised a series of whole-day workshops on Myrtle rust recognition, reporting, risk assessment, and management concepts and techniques. Workshop dates & Locations and more details can be found  at www.anpc.asn.au or contact Bob Makinson. email: bob.makinson@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

I Musk Lorikeet

Real World Gardener for 25th May 2011 2RRR 88.5fm
Wildlife in Focus: Kurtis Lindsay talks to Marianne about the Musk Lorikeet. Just when you though a Lorikeet was a Lorikeet. Hear the podcast.

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Vegetable Hero: Broad Beans-Vicia faba. What to do with those Broad Bean seeds?
 Direct planting into roughly prepared soil is the best way to grow BB.     Sow the seeds 5-10cm deep, that’s about the width of my small hand if I include the thumb, with 15-20cm between plants and 70cm or 2 ruler lengths between rows.      Your beans should be poking their heads through the soil in about 10-14 days after sowing, but will be slower the later you sow towards winter. Here’s a good tip:Soaking seeds overnight in diluted liquid seaweed can speed this up….germination.        Water seeds well as soon as you’ve put them into the ground and , then, don’t water them…MOST IMPORTANT   until after germination, to prevent the seeds from rotting. Ok, YOU CAN’T DO MUCH ABOUT IT IF IT RAINS.          Broad beans will need to be staked or supported to stop the plant collapsing under the weight of the mature beans.For those few parts of Australia that get frost, flowers formed during frosty weather are probably not going to set pods. Once spring arrives, pinch out the tips of the plants to encourage pod set.  Try to limit water stress as this will also affect pod set. That means don’t let them dry out!     Your beans should be ready in about 90 - 160 days-that’s 3-5 months, depending on how cold the weather is.  Pick the pods when the seeds are looking about the right size but not   hard. If left too long on the plant, beans are likely to be dry and less tasty.    Dig in the roots and leaves after harvest to add nitrogen to the soil.      Remember I mentioned that spacing the beans further apart is important? Well here’s why Broad beans are prone to fungal attack - brown spots on stems and leaves - particularly if planted too closely together or if planted in soils too rich in nutrients such as straight compost and manure.      Don’t grow broad beans in the same spot two years running as it can cause a build up of diseases in the soil.

Design Elements: Steeply sloping garden. A repeat from last week.

Plant of the Week:Proteas an favourite cut flower is great for water wise gardens. For all cultivation on these plants see www.proteaflora.com.au

Royal Wedding Memories with Sweet Williams

Real World Gardener on Community Radio 2RRR.
How about a plant that commemorates William and Kate’s wedding? Now that’s novel.
Feature Interview: Talking to Peter Maish, arboriculturalist and tree preservation officer with a local council. Peter talks about problems with trees and what you can do about them. Listen Here.

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Vegetable Heroes: Cauliflowers, Brassica oleracea.   All cauliflowers need a neutral or slightly alkaline soil to do well. If the soil is too acidic, the plants won’t be able to access the trace elements they need, and may develop whiptail.  On the other hand, soils which are too limey or chalky can lead to stunted and discoloured cauliflower. Winter cauliflowers are much more tolerant of soil conditions, and will grow on most types of soil, as long as there is no water-logging.  Ease off on the liquid fertilisers with high Nitrogen, because Caulis grow slowly over a longer period of time, and the one thing you want to avoid is lush, rapid and therefore vulnerable growth.  If plenty of organic ferts have been dug in, there is no need for additional fertilizers, before to planting out winter cauliflowers. They need a sheltered site, with some protection from winds.  They do better in sun rather than in the shade.  A cauliflower is ready for cutting when the upper surface of the curd is fully exposed and the inner leaves no longer cover it.  As usual in your  veggie garden, cauliflowers are ready at the same time.  If the weather is warm and you leave the cauliflowers in the ground once they have matured, the heads expand and they become discoloured and less appealing. To avoid this lift some early, they will be quite edible.      Here’s a tip to not have to eat cauliflower everyday for a month, gather up the leaves and tie them together over the curd so that they cover it, using garden twine, an elastic band or raffia.  It will also protect the winter ones from the frost.
Design Elements:Even though Lesley and I talk about this garden problem in Sydney, around the country, there are plenty of places with exactly the same problem, and the solutions we suggest apply just as much to a garden in Hobart, as it would to a garden in Cairns.So what is today’s  Garden Design Problem well it is “I have a steeply sloping garden.”What to do? ” Listen here.

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Plant of the Week:Today it’s about Sweet Willams.  Why not plant some of these aptly named plants to commemorate the wedding of William and Kate. I couldn’t have thought of anything more apt. There’s no point buying  commemorate mugs, plates etc, too many people will buy those and you’d probably have to live to 200 to gain any value. So, a sustainable alternative that will make you smile is Sweet Williams or Dianthus. This could be the plant you’re looking for.
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 d)Candy Floss:  Sugar pink and beautifully perfumed.  Approx flowering height 28cm (11"). A great variety for patio planters where you can enjoy the perfume on warm summer evenings.
d)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 (8").