Hiya Jen. was a very late night actually! - has been a few of them lately. I'm organising a project and it's kept me inspired to finish it soon. Hi Kiwibubbles. isn't it wonderful growing your own goodies. I've learnt today that it's possible to buy a pear tree with three different types of pears grafted onto it. that will be one of the additions to my garden before too much longer. The same pamphlet included that dwarf nectarine's are available - they grow to 1.5m and have good crops of the usual sized fruits. that's going to be another addition. :-)
juliewn,
May 27, 8:22am
Hi Revenge. thanks for the tip about last season's fruit trees. I'll be checking those out too. :-)
purplegoanna,
May 27, 3:23pm
revengeme how many sprouts do you get per stem roughly.perhaps i should start to think what i can use for aphid control.anyone got any non-pesticide home remedys!
juliewn,
May 29, 6:24am
Bumping for organic aphid removing options. hope someone can help.
babz_nz,
May 29, 4:12pm
I make my own organic spary for aphids I buy dehydrated garlic flakes from our asian market really cheap. Soak some in hot water leave for about 4 days untill garlic is mushy Blend with stick blender then strain through muslin or fine fabric. Store in bottles till needed dilute with water and spray. Easy peesy and effective on all veges, roses in fact any thing that aphips like
babz_nz,
May 29, 4:13pm
My sprouts went like that But I hosed them off, sprayed and sprayed will they were all dead and they have come back. I get about 70 sprouts per stem remove the leaves below each sprout
babz_nz,
May 29, 4:14pm
oops I meant the sprouts have come back not the aphids
revengeme,
May 29, 6:08pm
I sprayed and sprayed but unfortunately the aphids had made a nice home inside my veges (especially my brussel sprouts), so unless I want to completely demolish my veges in order to get rid of the aphids, I'm just going to have to start again. Sorry juliewn, I haven't counted them but it looks like a lot to me. I'll have to try the garlic spray on my other veges, thanks babz_nz.
revengeme,
May 29, 6:11pm
oops sorry I meant purplegoanna not juliewn when I said I hadn't counted them.
juliewn,
May 31, 3:51am
Hiya everyone. home again. very tempted by garden centres from here to Napier, then to Hastings, on to Carterton area, and all the way back. just could not fit anything in the car so the temptations were left where they are. Hi Stevee. yay for the shed being down - I'm guessing you're anticipating the new garden beds and what you'll plant in them. Yes, it's good seeing things develop here. the grass seed has grown well over the past 10 days - couldn't see much when we got home after dark tonight. will check it all out tomorrow.
juliewn,
May 31, 3:53am
Hi Whiskey. great that your stone has sprouted. hopefully someone will see your post to answer your questions. I think I'd leave it till it's grown enough so you have a strong straight piece of stem that's about the thickness of your little finger - prune any side shoots that grow from next Spring,so you get a good strong growth, and leaving a strong shoot or two growing from the upper part, You can then cut a piece off, about 20-25cm approx, to use to graft onto a root stock next winter. You could also leave the piece you have growing, as that might grow to fruit well, giving you two options. If you wanted to grow more fruit in a small area, I saw on a previous thread that some people have successfully planted two fruiting trees of a similar type in the same hole in the ground - two types of apple, etc. the two trees grow together, giving fruit - and a longer fruiting season with two varieties being planted - maybe this might be an option for you too! Hope this helps.
stevee6,
May 31, 6:44pm
Imrael - just planted my sweetpeas this weekend. I just tidy up an area next to a fence or building and tack up some netting. Then dump a bag of compost on the ground(we're on sand so it's compulsory_ plus a couple of handfuls of general garden fertiliser and soak it all in. Soak the sweetpea seeds over night and then plant them in a trough in the compost/soil/fertiliser, cover and soak again. They shoot up really fast and it's really only a matter of keeping an eye on them and tying in unruly shoots until they begin to flower. Then of course loads of deadheading every day to keep them flowering - but well worth the effort.
imrae1,
May 31, 7:47pm
Thanz Stevee6 I took the chance and did the deed and they have just brocken the surface. What I would like to know is.can they grow on the same patch with the runner beans.
whiskey13,
Jun 1, 12:35am
Woo thanks juliewn your've given me more food for thought, thanks for that. Would my local garden centre have rootstock for grafting!May have to ring them in the morning.
stevee6,
Jun 1, 5:04pm
Wow, with such a horrible weekend weatherwise I dug out my old Gardeners and reread all the stuff on fruit trees and raised beds. I had no idea there was such a lot. And the November '07 has a brilliant article including a garden plant for fitting in loads of fruiting trees & shrubs. Such an inpiration!
jules.,
Jun 2, 6:50pm
ARGHHHHHHHHHH we had an unexpected frost this morning, the cars were iced over. im hoping that it hasnt effected the spuds. wasnt too bad down that side of the house, just cold rather than too frosty. further down the road in more of the 'valley' looked like a blanket of snow all over. all you could see was white, even the rubbish bags that had been put out along the road sides were white on top. its really early in the season for us to be getting frosts, we dont normally get them till august and even then, we would be lucky to get 1/2 a dozen. its going to be a long cold winter. hopefully fine though!
jules.,
Jun 4, 2:12am
wow, an even heavier frost this morning! it was O deg here this morning and a huge thick blanket of WHITE! everywhere. lucky i decided to go out at 10pm last night and put some old sheets over the veges, especially over the spuds. think it worked, may not have been frost cloth and yes they did look really silly, but i think it has worked the same :) am just thinking i will have to go out again after watching the forecast for tomorrow. better go tuck the veges in, hehe :)
books4nz,
Jun 4, 8:53am
Hi to you all. and bumping for you Imrae so you have an answer.
stevee6,
Jun 4, 4:37pm
Imrael - I would think so, particularly because your sweet peas will be pretty much finished by the time the runner beans really get moving. If you also put the beans in later rather than sooner(plant bush beans elsewhere to cover the early bean situation) you'll certainly overlap the use of your trellis very nicely.
imrae1,
Jun 4, 8:53pm
stevee6 Thanx. I will do that next year.
juliewn,
Jun 5, 5:36am
Thanks from me too Stevee - I'll try that too - I can't wait till Spring and planting new crops, even though we're enjoying lots from the garden still, and will do so through winter. I have plans for additional vege garden's next Spring - and to grow a range of things I've never grown before - Chickpeas, Lima Beans, Kidney Beans, etc - some of these have been featured on Kiwi Maara in the past few weeks. I'm also interested in growing quinoa and amaranth after seeing them featured on Kiwi Maara too.
juliewn,
Jun 5, 5:36am
At Palmers recently I found a range of seeds I've not seen before - called "Niche" - there was a range of different packets - mostly of mixtures of seeds. The packet I purchased is "Oriental Stirfry Sprouts" - they're "Certified Organic Seeds" - and this packet includes seeds for "Mung Beans, Chickpeas, and Gourmet Lentils" - and they've been ". specially formulated to add a tasty lift to your stirfries." I'm not going to use them for growing sprouts - I'm interested in growing these into plants, to use the crops for winter soups, etc. so plan to plant the seeds in a planter box, before planting them in the garden - probably beginning about November when it's warmer. Does anyone else have plans to grow something new this coming season!
alma3,
Jun 5, 7:02am
Can anyone advise. I'm really getting into composting and have come by a couple of bags of fresh chicken manure. Have used most of one in my compost pile and I don't think that is smelling. About a bucket was let so after reading somewhere I could cover it up with soil and wait a month before using it on the garden once worms get into it, thats just what I've done.yesterday. Now this evening theres a nasty smell in the back yard and this little pile is down the back near a neighbours fence.I'm abit worried that they will complain.any ideas! Should I put more soil on it to cover better; at the moment its covered by about 2 inches of soil all over. Should I dig a big hole in the garden and cover with a foot of soil!Help.
stevee6,
Jun 5, 4:56pm
Yep, I'd dig a trench and put it in with some composting plants and cover it over well.
whiskey13,
Jun 6, 8:37pm
Linda should have had her baby by now. Congrats if she has :)
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