yip me to just of to join up loving my vege patch.
whiskey13,
May 21, 9:44pm
Hi-ya everyone! I hope the weather isn't reeking havic too much in your area. Just one question for anyone who can answer.I goggled how to grow an apricot tree from a stone(kernel)I planted a kernel and a stone that i had soaked for 24hrs then refridgerated for 4-6wks then planted. The stone hasn't come throu but the kernel is now 12cm high(it was planted on the 1st march) Now my question is do i graft it onto dwarf root stock and plant it in a BIG pot or espalier it against the fence! We dont have the room for a big tree to be planted and I'm so proud of what I've done so far! LOL
whiskey13,
May 22, 12:24am
Funny you should be picking out of season cos I've just filled a sizeable container with raspberries. Another jar of jam to add to the pantry
drewboy,
May 22, 10:16pm
I have just joined up. i was channel surfing yesterday and saw her on the tv3 sunrise programme.I had been looking for that last little bitof inspiration to get me into my veggie garden again and she did it.I know I would never be able to survive on $10 but im damn dertimined that my family WILL have freashly grown produce this winter!.now where did I put that spade!
marge_s,
May 22, 10:32pm
I'm a big admirer of Linda but I garden for pleasure and the fresh produce is just a bonus.However, last week I was given redundancy notice so now I have to get serious about the vege garden.Anything to reduce costs and make a contribution if I'm not working.
imrae1,
May 23, 1:48am
Marge The garden is the best place to be if you are home, Stress just disappears and time goes quickly, The bonus is you also find dinner at your feet
goodbooks,
May 23, 3:14am
I'm a big fan of hers too - in fact I would say she's at the top of the most inspirational New Zealander's we have. I'm hoping our local newspaper might sponsor her to come here to talk, as part of their reduce, recycle project through their newspaper.
juliewn,
May 23, 6:23am
Hi Jules.
That's great. did I hear correctly on the news earlier today that it's Northland where the drought has broken. if so, maybe you're getting rain now. hope so!
It's been drier than usual here - raining steadily and at times heavily tonight - the most we've had in a while. In fact, when I built my raised gardens last Spring, in two places where water has previously pooled near where the garden is, I dug down about 600mm into the ground, forming large holes in the two area's, that were about 1.8m x 1.2 metres each in size.
I used broken pieces of concrete placed at least 30mm apart, with more layered over the holes between the concrete pieces in the first layer, then more layered over the gaps in the 2nd layer - thus forming several thick layers of large gaps between the concrete pieces, with the layers stopping soil from going into the holes. hope that makes sense. The land on the other side of the garden is lower, so any water filtering through would then drain through the other side.
My aim was to make a filtration system, whereby water didn't pool on the surface near the garden, and instead was filtered through the concrete to the other side - and also to have the whole system helping to provide good drainage for the garden itself.
The system hasn't been fully tested yet though - as we just haven't had enough rain to do so - so with heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, I'll be checking to see how it goes.
Great what a little DIY can do to create what's needed - I think it will work well - and looking forward to seeing what happens.
Enjoy the rain everyone. :-)
kaliyuga,
May 23, 6:15pm
poor Lynda, what a devastating blow a fire is, I want to send her some seeds
jules.,
May 24, 1:29am
It was very sad to hear! Maybe you could get in contact via NZ Gardener site, Im sure she will appreciate any donations :)
Julie, you have been very busy, it sounds like it will be a great wee system when it gets going. We have had no rain for so long and now we,ve hardly had a break from the rain for the past few weeks, theres so much water we are flooding in areas. Not bad flooding but a lot of surface floods etc. I dont like the rain at all, but pleased we have finally had some and my rhubarbs that i thought were had it have now shot away again!
rubyshine,
May 24, 2:03am
What Linda has done is great. I started growing a handful of tomatoes and now grow an abundance of veges and make sauces and soups with the left over.
and now i've moved onto making chutneys and my own breads.
juliewn,
May 24, 6:33am
Good for you Ruby. My Partner and I were talking about growing veges - we both find that growing our owngives a lovely feeling because we are providing fresh and nutritious foods for us all. It feels very good. :-)
juliewn,
May 24, 6:35am
ps. If you would like to share your recipes. . there's a preserves thread and a bread thread in the recipe messageboard. Lot's of recipes are there too. isn't Trademe a great resource for learning more about cooking and gardening.
stevee6,
May 24, 5:33pm
Hey Juliewn - it's almost a year since we put those beds in and we've done very well. The courgettes are just finished(we've frozen around 15 kg of sliced ones) which was easily the top crop, but also tomatoes, beans, peas, spinach, broccolli, new potatoes, asparagus(I transplanted the plants from the old site and they just took off), rhubarb, artichokes, rocket and parsley for africa!, lettuces of all shapes and sizes, carrots, spinach.etc etc etc! And this is before I start on the berries! As I clear a bed I top it up with compost and get going again so that makes it very easy. I think the whole thing has been a revelation as there is no doubt, raised beds make the whole thing far more manageable. I've just added a new raised bed for perennials(the rhubarb takes way too much space to share a bed with anything! except plants as grunty as itself) and my beloved perennial/rose garden is starting to look less appealing compared to a small orchard(the neighbours next door have let me plant a few extra fruit trees in their unused backyard but its not enough), so who knows. We're
jules.,
May 25, 3:22am
i think this cold snap has finally done the blimmen white butterflies in! i have had no new holes in the brassicas and the ones that were nearly chewed into non existance are starting to recover and have some new growth on them. the mandarin tree is so loaded i have had to prop it up with a board to save the branches snapping off. they are so yummy and juicy, the kids have been having 2 or 3 in their lunches every day, and they disapear down to stand and eat them straight off the tree after school too. the oranges are almost ready too. the citus fert. has worked wonders, last year we got no mandarins and very few oranges. so will keep feeding them.
juliewn,
May 26, 10:52am
Hi. is anyone else having spring growth and flowers on plants and trees. our young plum tree has new growth when the leaves are still green and haven't fallen yet - I'm wanting to be able to send little prunings from it and don't want to prune it yet as sap must still be flowing.Our blueberries have lots of flowers. when that wouldn't usually be until spring.
purplegoanna,
May 26, 5:39pm
yep all my daffidol bulbs are in full leaf but they havent flowered since the first year, am i doing something wrong! do i need to replant them every year or leave them be! also if anyone can help with my broad beans, theyre just above knee height, they have flowers which open then fall off.so far no beans! is it because theres no bees pollinating the flowers! i did see one lonesome bee on them yesterday, i dont actually like them but my parrots do, mindyou they seem to score alot of my garden vege including all my bok choi! lol
jen92,
May 26, 6:23pm
Gee.you were up early Julie ! Earlier than the rooster even.Yes, I have daffs and jonquils coming up and some irises too.Not that any are flowering, but the leaves have all sprouted up from the ground although some other perennials have gone to sleep!It's very confusing.
kiwibubbles,
May 26, 6:27pm
completely new to veggie growing wow i'm really glad I found this forum - I"m really wanting to get a veggie garden started this year along with planting some fruit trees.What I want to know at the moment, cos its probably too cold now to plant anything, is what is the best type of wood to make a raised garden bed! I understand some sleepers are poisonous!
revengeme,
May 26, 8:10pm
hi kiwibubbles I'm not sure about wood for planter boxes, but I can tell you that it is absolutely not too cold to plant now, you just need to plant winter veggies ie: cauliflower, broccoli etc. also most fruit trees are planted in winter, althought they tend to come out in garden centres around July. Most garden centres will now be selling last years fruit trees on special, these are good ones to buy because they have had an extra year to develop. Good Luck with the gardening!
revengeme,
May 26, 8:14pm
oh and. you can email [email protected]. to get a free weekly newsletter from the NZ Gardener team, they have started a get growing campaign, anyway this newsletter tells you what things to plant and has a section where you can ask questions and so on.
kiwibubbles,
May 26, 9:34pm
awesome yup just signed up for the newsletter :D Might look into those fruit trees now then. I'm particuarlyinterested in Guava, Feijoa, Lemon, apple, cocktail kiwifruit and plums (the kind with a dark red/purple flesh - NOT orange flesh) (gee I'm not asking for a lot am i! lol) Do they need full sun and will they grow easily in clay soil! Where in Wellington would be the best place to get those!
revengeme,
May 26, 11:46pm
hopefully someone else can answer that because I have no idea! I've just gone into my garden to harvest some brussel sprouts, only to discover my crop is infested with aphids ( I've been neglecting my garden for a bit), my whole crop is ruined.:-(
kiwibubbles,
May 26, 11:57pm
ugh i hate aphids - had them all over my swan plants! grrr - apparently there is an organic spray made from chilli that gets rid of aphids.
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