What to plant in September Beetroot Broccoli Carrot Climbing Beans Chinese Cabbage Lettuce Peas Potato Onions Rocket Radish Spring Onion Spinach Silverbeet Keeping a Worm Farm Worm farms are great for small gardens that would struggle to fill a compost bin. They make nutrient rich castings (vermicast) that can be added to the garden as […]
With the first month of spring very near, now is the time to sort out any lawn problems that you may have. Lawn problems include; sparse grass coverage, lawn weeds, patchy areas, moss, soil insects, ponding, thatch and the health of grasses. The first thing to do is an inspection of all your lawn areas […]
New Zealanders talk about their love of native plants Politicians, artists, academics, farmers, business people – growing numbers of New Zealanders are committed to a passionate love affair with native plants. This collection of 44 personal narratives is sumptuously illustrated by photographs by John Maillard, who travelled from Invercargill to Auckland to bring to life […]
New season tomato plants are now becoming available from your garden centre and now is a good time to start off an early tomato plant or two. The best advise is to plant out, or pot up, a couple of tomato plants every month for the next six or seven months. By doing this you […]
Russell Fransham Subtropicals Say that in public and wait for the pursed lips, the little gasp of disapproval and the muted rumble of pearls being clutched all across the land. DOC and MAF have done their job well. But wait. Not all gingers are weeds. Many of them are quite benign in our gardens and […]
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 […]
August may be a slow time in the vege patch in some respects, but there are a few things you can get on with now that will put you in good stead for some bumper crops in the spring. What to plant in August: (seedlings only) Broccoli Cabbage Cauliflower Perpetual spinach Silverbeet Garlic Prepare now […]
Weather-wise, there’s no doubt it is winter. But take a stroll in some gardens, you could be forgiven for thinking it was spring. In a garden that’s planted with winter colour in mind, these cold wet months are far from dull. If your winter outlook needs brightening, then a strategically placed flowering shrub or tree […]
