I agree Jen. After seeing her on Sunrise, and last year on Breakfast, and now reading her Get Growing email and the magazine,she writes as she speaks - she has a real gift in expressing anything to do with gardening in an interesting and encouraging manner. and an inspiring manner too.
whiskey13,
Mar 25, 6:04am
Hi stevee6. Funny you should mention your ornamental basil plant with dark purple flowers and leaves cos that sounds just like what i planted. I ordered a packet of Sweet Genovese and Cinnamon, planting them side by side. But when Cinnamon came up it wasn't green like the photo and discription, it looks like "Dark Opal" and it tastes lovely and looks beautiful. Photo in the morning if i remember. I know they give a guarantee and i am yet to contact them.
jules.,
Mar 25, 7:50pm
ive been a bit slack, i planted seeds about 2 weeks ago and more spuds, but none have come thru. but i think thats my fault, i have been so busy with the kids (some is playing basket/mini ball and has joined the kapahaka group at school, daughter has started roller skating and they both have hockey starting), i have had no time or energy to keep the garden growing. the last of the beans are still hanging in there and the cucumbers are all but done. the capsicums are are doing well. will plant some seeds in egg trays this weekend and get them on the go rather than try again with the seeds in the garden.
stevee6,
Mar 25, 11:31pm
More bumps for more prospective vege gardeners :-)
stevee6,
Mar 26, 4:48pm
Damn damn DAMN -missed Lynda on Sunrise this morning. Hate waiting until 8.25 for it and tend to get on to other things *sigh whine etc*
kiwiscrapper1,
Mar 26, 11:07pm
Linda was on ZB garden show with kerrie Woodham, Its usually a man on but being easter he must have been away, Its a great programme, like talk back people ring up with questions. She was so interesting to listen to. It's on every Sunday but cant remember what time.
bjkiwi,
Mar 27, 1:47am
in another thread someone mentioned a recipe for Mint Relish using green tomatoes, they mentioned it was in the NZ Gardner archives!Does anyone know how I can find it!TiA
peach50,
Mar 27, 2:35am
Mint Relish Hello bjkiwi This recipe is on Nz Gardener- Get growing-March easter 2008 newsletter. Unsure whether the link will work so copy and paste for you. To make Green Tomato and Mint Relish, you need: 1kg green tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped, 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar, 1/2 cup of water, 3 sprigs of fresh mint, 1 cup of cider vinegar, 1 cup of caster sugar, 1 small green chilli, cut in half, and 2 teaspoons of dried mint. Put the tomatoes, white wine vinegar, water and fresh mint in a pot and cook over fairly high heat for 15 minutes. Allow to cool a little, then add the cider vinegar, sugar and chilli. Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Then add 1 teaspoon of dried mint and cook for another 20 minutes over a low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the final teaspoon of dried mint before pouring into jars. This relish keeps for up to three months in the fridge, or process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to store for up to one year.
bjkiwi,
Mar 27, 4:30am
thanks for that peach50 I appreciate the effort.Do you think I could use fresh mint instead and if so how much do I use as a substitute! - we have mint coming out our ears!
juliewn,
Mar 27, 8:45am
She sure has a great way of speaking and writing about gardening. easily the most encouraging and inspiring of any other TV/radio/magazine gardening person I've ever seen. Hi Steve. I think you can watch the programme through the NZ Gardener website, or there's usually a link in the Get Growing emails.
stevee6,
Mar 27, 2:50pm
Juliewn - I'm so glad she does that. Very very annoyed with myself for missing it. You know, if I won Lotto(yeah yeah, I know) I'm going to sponsor Lynda with her own tv gardening show. I remember ages ago in this site we had a 'suggestions for a proper garden show' and she'd be the perfect person to front it. But I guess we'd have to clone her - how she keeps up the pace I have no idea - she makes me tired just watching her :-)
jen92,
Mar 27, 3:28pm
What a good idea re your lotto winnings Stevee, I'm still wondering why on earth TV1 doesn't put on a gardening show once a week, surely NZ is a nation of gardeners!Especially with the price of food these days, I'm sure more and more people are considering or have started their own vege patch!If they did a poll they'd find there are more than enough people who'd like a weekly gardening show back on TV again!
juliewn,
Mar 27, 11:41pm
Hi Jen and Steve. I agree. . a garden show would be great. and even better with Lynda Hallinan presenting. I discovered a programme a few of months ago - about 7am on a Sunday morning - called Ground Rules. Lynda and a man named Richard (Underwood!)were presenting it. I think he was previously on Maggie's garden show. if not, I've seen him on something else on TV re gardening. The show was a repeat - I hadn't seen it previously. it hadgarden advice, info on new plants, how to's, etc. it was excellent - well worth setting my mobile phone alarm to wake up and watch it, plus I taped it as I've generally watched the programme a couple more times. back tracking the tape for pieces I want to see again.
juliewn,
Mar 27, 11:42pm
A while ago also, I discovered a programme on Maori TV called Kiwi Maara - it's at 5.30pm on Sunday's, and is presented in Maori, English, and Sign Langauge - the very first NZ show to include our three national languages - so good to see. It's a show that includes eco-friendly ways of garening, planting in connection with Maori tradition's, etc.etc. I watch and tape that too - there's lots to learn. Recently they were planting potatoes - they prepared a trench, laid several layers of freshly picked comfrey leaves in the bottom, then placed the potatoes on that. I'd known that comfrey is excellent added to a compost bin - and that it can be soaked in water for a while to make a good fertiliser. and had never heard of placing the leaves beneath potatoes like that. and plan to add a comfrey plant to my garden now.
juliewn,
Mar 27, 11:42pm
I know they can spread easily. another thing I saw on one of those gardening shows was that a new type of cloth is available. dig a good sized hole and use the cloth in a verticle manner, covering the perimeter of the hole, and with a good amount overlapped. Plant roots are not able to go through the cloth, so it contains the plant that's planted within that circle. A great idea. The same result could be achieved by cutting the bottom out of a standard 10 litre bucket, and burying that in the garden - I'd leave the top a little above the soil surface so the plant couldn't grow over the top of the bucket. Have a lovely weekend. Cheers. Julie
peach50,
Mar 28, 12:03am
mint Hello again bjkiwi I believe the dried mint gives it a better mint flavour and it gives the relish a better colour with tiny pieces of mint. My recipes book recommends drying mint, sage and bay leaves.Remove the best leaves from the stems. Lay the leaves on a paper towel without allowing them to touch.Cover with another towel and layer of leaves.Five layers may be dried at one time using this method. Dry in a very cool oven. The oven light of an electric range may provide enough heat for overnight drying. Leaves dry flat and retain a good colour. Good luck with this.
revengeme,
Mar 29, 6:22pm
bump bumping this thread for kapaikat.
juliewn,
Mar 31, 2:04am
We have some rain here tonight. great to water my veges. hope NZ's dryest areas are receiving some raintoo.
stevee6,
Mar 31, 2:30am
Jen, I would guess the reason why is simply that the c*** they put on doesn't cost them much while a NZ Garden programme would take time, effort & money. What amazes me still is that NZ plants are incredibly fashionable for gardeners worldwide, and NZ has a very high greenie profile thanks to LOR. If they made a good programme(not too many 'personalities') with the wide range of garden styles here and expertise, it could be a prime seller to the many countries that value gardening as more than just an 'old person's hobby'. To me, TVNZ is just so behind the times it's farcical.
springtime,
Mar 31, 8:24pm
Hear hear Steeve.What I don't understand is that NZ Gardener is so popular (voted best mag) and we have all these posts. and growing your own garden is the new revolution . why can't all of us get together and start hounding the bigwigs at the TV stations to provide a decent garden show instead of producing another "Dance with the Stars" show.that show has done it's dash, after third series as far as I am concerned!
stevee6,
Mar 31, 9:33pm
LOL if TVNZ don't know that many many people want a decent NZ gardening programme(not the stupid NZ H&G one with a few 'designer' gardens) they must be deaf. After the last one closed down there were letters to the paper and to the corporation, met with a blanket silence. I would guess the programme execs haven't been outside the office in years!
cinnamon_celia,
Mar 31, 11:42pm
WooHooooooooooooooooooooo I just won a prize in the online competition.Its a bucket of Saturaid!.not sure what its for, LOL.but I,m very excited.I never win anything!
stevee6,
Apr 1, 12:35am
Congratulations! Saturaid is brilliant stuff - mix it in with your potting soil or around treasured plants as it makes the takeup of water much better - far less waiste.
juliewn,
Apr 1, 7:20am
Yay! and Congratulations Cinnamon. That's so great that you've won the competition. I've been using a similar product when I've planted some plants in my garden that I particularly don't want to lose, so it will help to keep them watered on days when I've not been able to water them. Ummmmm.you might have to buy some plants to use it!
pipilongstockng,
Apr 1, 7:44am
Hey Julie. just reading a few posts back, and saw your reference to the comfrey under the spuds.I didn't see the programme, but I first got to know about comfrey a few years ago, when a friend living up country wanted some for that purpose, and he told me it was to stop rot ! what did the programme say about it. just for nitrogen or ! :)
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