The met service has reported that we had the warmest August ever since records began with about 1.5 degrees above average, which does not seem a much on those odd cold days, but for a lot of insect pests it means an early arrival.
A good hard, cold winter takes its toll on insect populations from [...]

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It is Easter Saturday as I write this column, (I normally always write them on a Saturday morning each week) and for the last 3 days I have not watered any of my gardens or container plants – including those in my glasshouse.
This is not because we have had lots of rain, in fact it [...]

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Today’s extraordinary decision by the Environmental Risk Management Authority to immediately ban endosulfan has left the horticulture industry wondering what more it can do to work with the agency.
Horticulture New Zealand is disappointed ERMA has taken the drastic option to totally ban the agrichemical on January 16.
This gives growers just over a month to come [...]

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An informative video about understanding the role of weeds in our soil.

For more information about Integrity soils please visit their website.

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What to plant in November

Beetroot

Basil

Carrot

Capsicum

Celery

Climbing beans

Coriander

Cucumber

Dill

Dwarf beans

Eggplant

Globe artichoke

Lettuce

Leeks

Parsnip

Pepper

Potato

Pumpkin

Radish

Rhubarb

Rocket

Rockmelon

Silverbeet

Spinach

Spring onion

Strawberry

Squash

Swede

Sweetcorn

Tomato

Turnip

Watermelon

Yams

Zucchini

Strawberry Protection
If the birds keep eating your strawberries here’s a handy way of protecting them.  Get a mixing bowl and a strip of chicken wire.  Mould the chicken wire around the outside of the mixing bowl. Separate the [...]

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There are many kinds of oxalis with different coloured flowers. This has to be one of the most frustrating weeds in the garden. It spreads prolifically and is a real challenge to eradicate. The main problem is that you can pull out the weed but under the soil is a parent bulb with a number [...]

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Bryophytes  and  Embryophytes are the botanical names given to mosses, lichen, liverworts, hornworts, molds, algae and slimes. These are what one could label primate plant-like forms which were the first land type plants on the planet, millions of years ago. It was as a result of these primitive plant forms that [...]

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This hot, dry summer brings many insect pests into our gardens and onto the plants.
There are beetles chewing on the foliage at night (often we don’t see what is doing the damage when we inspect during the day, as they are away hiding). Leaf hoppers and whitefly that flit all around [...]

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There are many ways to control those unwanted plants that grow in our gardens and lawns from hand weeding to chemical weed killers. The definition of a weed is any plant growing where you do not want it to grow and is not necessarily the plants we commonly call weeds. It maybe [...]

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Autumn is drawing her cloak around us as winter approaches and for some, problems exist in the garden. The excellent summer we have had, has given us great gardens, being one of the best years for tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, flowers, the list goes on. Good growing times also means an abundance [...]

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