Isn't it a great magazine too! My cousin brought us the special edition gardener magazine on Doing it Yourself. Just the kind of thing I'm into. Have already preserved lemons for moroccan dishes and am planning on getting as many mini- fruit trees as M & D will let me! Garden is already full!
stevee6,
Feb 23, 5:04pm
Jules - the hoppers are like aphids in that they suck sap from your food bearing plants, passing on disease as well as weakening the plants.
stevee6,
Feb 23, 5:15pm
BTW - if birds etc are getting to your veges, it may be they're thirsty(for those in the still-dry spots). I've been putting out shallow bowls of water for my hedgehogs as I saw some out during the day and that's generally the reason - they're water hunting.
makerealbany,
Feb 23, 6:42pm
Hi juliewn Signed up and was so pleased I did. Thanks. I have always had heaps of land to grow anything and everything and now have to downscale as our property is much smaller. About 2 acres but it is very hilly with lots of native bush. So have established gardens on very clay soil. Working out okay, heaps of work and heaps of mistakes. ha ha. Have lots of work to do here renovating, etc but find it really challenging to grow things in small spaces. Have been picking tomatoes and making all sorts of preserves. Jam from the plums, lucky to have several trees. One Lemon tree and no other fruit trees so have to remedy that. Chooks are great in the garden but they will eat those veges. I never let them into the vege patches. Want to get some chooks but will need to get better established first.
jules.,
Feb 24, 2:14am
thanks for that stevee, will get out there and start the 'slaughter'!
juliewn,
Feb 24, 4:30am
Hi Steve. I hadn't thought about leaving water out for our hedgehog. will do that too. it's raining now - and steady misty rain has been falling all day - yay! I went outside anyway to check on my courgette's. 5 small finger-sized fruit are showing - am very much looking forward to using them. While outside I gathered an armful of different coloured silverbeet leaves, sprigs of parsley, and a handful of cherry tomatoes - and cos it felt like a soup-kinda-night, I made fresh homemade soup - lentils, haricot beans, pumpkin, silverbeet, onion, etc. simmered together, seasoned a little, then served in large mugs with Molenberg soy and linseed toast. yum! Easy dinner tomorrow night - make some yeast rolls, and zap some soup till hot - and there's dinner.
juliewn,
Feb 24, 4:33am
Hi Makerealbany. I'm glad you're enjoying the email from NZ Gardener. I'm enjoying it too. and there's always something to learn from it. It sounds like you have the opportunity to add lots of goodies to your property. lovely to have room to grow fruit trees and lots of edibles. I haven't had much of a garden for a few years, and have planted a lot this year - and am really enjoying being able to harvest goodies from my gardens.
juliewn,
Feb 25, 2:46am
The rain has stopped here in Whakatane overnight - and it's been hot and humid here today - everything is growing so quickly. including my courgettes. maybe just a few days till we can harvest the first of them. Hope all of your gardens are growing well.
temco1,
Feb 25, 9:39pm
Just picked up the latest nz gardener magazine and on one of the very back pages there is the "next month's issue" details with the noxious weeds.Well.that weed that is in the pic was ALL through our back yard when we purchased our house with it's jungle.Noone could tell us what it was so I am SO looking forward to finding out.Thankfully it wasn't too hard to get rid of.
temco1,
Feb 25, 9:41pm
BTW. The seeds hubby sowed straight into the ground are sprouting beautifully.He's already mounded the spuds once.The pumpkin has a serious case of powdery mildew though.I read that you should burn the leaves and then somewhere else saw that it could be left to run it's course.We've got a fire ban on at the moment so it's option B we have 'chosen' at this stage.Anyone got any further advice!
jules.,
Feb 25, 10:43pm
well, the summer fruit is all but finished, have a few plums left on the tree, maybe just enough for one more bach of jam. just waiting on the feijoas and apples now, then the job starts again :)
juliewn,
Feb 27, 4:06am
Hi Temco. if you've signed up for the Get Growing email, you can email the NZ Gardener to ask questions about growing edibles. and bumping this so hopefully someone can answer your question.
stevee6,
Feb 27, 2:38pm
Bump for some more vege growers.
hannah-lee,
Feb 27, 5:42pm
Temco I have been using milk on my pumpkins. Sounds funny but when you have the dregs of milk left in your bottle, fill it up with water and spray it over the pumpkins, great for mildew. Also i have heard that a baking soda and water mixture also works well on them though someone may be able to tell you the ratios as I don't know them.
juliewn,
Feb 28, 6:07am
Bumping for Irenejr Hope this is of help.
irenejr,
Feb 28, 1:15pm
morning all cheers Julie :) have signed up and waiting for the newsletter! Cant wait to get started, already have my plot turned :) just gotta decide what to plant!
juliewn,
Feb 29, 4:11am
Hi Irene. have fun planting your goodies. . tonight we enjoyed lettuce, parsley, beans, tomatoes, cucumber and courgette's from the garden - it's sooo good to have the veges growing again. Enjoy your garden, and let us all know how you're going. Have a lovely weekend. Cheers. Julie
whiskey13,
Feb 29, 7:11pm
Heavy rain and high winds overnite in Christchurch/Belfast has snapped my jerusalum artichoke at the knees. The main stem is broken right off and the smaller side stems are ok but the main stem was over 2 metres tall and was soon to start flowering so i am over peeved. BUT i know this kind of thing happens all over the place so I'm sure i wasn't the only one that suffered damage.
jules.,
Feb 29, 11:52pm
thats no good whiskey13 we had some strong winds and rain up here, but no damage to the veges etc, only knocked a tree down up the driveway. think we got off pretty lightly compared to some!
floralsun,
Mar 1, 12:06am
This is a great thread - thanks all! I'm learning a lot :-)
stevee6,
Mar 1, 12:58am
Had the first apple from my baby Red Delicious apple tree - got a crisp, tart, totally appley taste I've not had in years with bought apples.
juliewn,
Mar 3, 4:54am
Bumping the thread. Hi Everyone. I hope your gardens are growing well.
hannah-lee,
Mar 3, 4:48pm
An Autumn Bump Hurray! Our Autumn rains have arrived. Been raining straight for 24 hours and I am LOVING it! Still have a major glut of tomatoes, have made tomato sauce and pasta sauce. Having lots of salads and about to start picking a huge amount of rhubarb. Just waiting on the watermelons and pumpkins to fatten up which this lovely rain will be doing for us (we are on tank water and needed it badly!). Thinking about planting winter things now. How is everyone elses garden going!
stevee6,
Mar 3, 8:19pm
I've just been looking through the online incredible edibles catalogue - I need an orchard space *sigh*.
stevee6,
Mar 4, 7:58pm
And with the rain coming for the next day or so I got my autumn/winter seeds in - broccoli, carrots, spinach & silverbeet, bush beans, onions and various herbs, plus some flowers
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