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"In the Garden" with Jane Edmanson NOV
2008 |
 November
is a lovely month to enjoy being in the garden, with
daylight saving, longer days and warm
weather.
With
the sun’s rays getting stronger at this time of the year,
it is timely to remind gardeners that more people get
sunburned while gardening than during any other outdoor
activity. It is
best to prepare yourself with hat and gloves, long sleeved
shirts and block out cream while out in the garden There is
plenty of time to enjoy the fragrance and colour, as well as
bend the back with a few timely tasks before the real summer
heat arrives.
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| A
Vegetable for Beginners |
 
If
you are not a gardener but would like to grow a vegie that
is easy and tasty to eat fresh from your own garden, grow a
zucchini. Grown from
large seeds, all you need to give them is a sunny spot, and
a mound of soil about 50 cm high.
Press 3 or 4 seeds into the soil (you could dig in
some Amgrow
Cow Manure) and keep them watered.
Once
they flower, zucchinis fruit quickly, so keep picking them
when they reach 15 to 20cm long
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| Rose
Care |
Lavender |
 Gardeners
are very pleased with the beautiful flush of flowers on the
roses this spring. Keep dead-heading the bushes and when the
main burst of flowering
finishes prune them back and feed with Amgrow
Organix Rose Fertiliser or Garden
King Rose Plant Food and in about 6 weeks the bushes
should be in full bloom again.
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Lavenders
are good to under plant with roses and combine with
other perennials.
They do best in a sunny spot and will grow to about
90cm.
Lavenders need well drained soil and are good
survivors in these dry times.
Add a handful of Amgrow
Organix Dolomite each year in autumn.
Wait until flowers have finished to prune
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| Balcony
Gardens |
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 With
many people living in apartments, villa units and retirement
villages nowadays, a small garden is all that many people
want to look after.
Such a pocket handkerchief garden makes for a cosy
place in which to entertain or relax and to dress up with a
few containers and plants. There is no need to clutter the
space up with loads of pots in different colours and sizes.
Pick a theme, maybe the popular ‘Mediterranean’
style that blends with the look of your apartment.
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As
for plants, there are plenty to choose from that will
perfectly suit a small sized garden. Vegies are the all
round success story this spring and summer, from tomatoes
both large and small, the many varieties of greens and Asian
vegies for salads, and of course the herb range available to
enjoy in cooking will create a very interesting potted
garden.
These days, nurseries have a huge range of plants that are
grown as standards with one main stem and a flowering ball
at the top. With any plant growing in a container, keep it
moist especially in a windy spot and think about planting a
ring of low growing flowers or herbs around the base of the
pot. |
| What
to do in the garden in November |
| There
is plenty to do in the garden over November both in the
flower beds and the vegetable garden.
Plenty of flower seedlings are available to plant
right now that will give colour right over summer; cosmos,
marigolds, petunias, salvias, verbena and sweet William for
sunny spots and impatiens and coleus for shadier positions.
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For
summer harvesting you cannot do any better than plant out
some vegetable seeds or
seedlings,
as everyone knows there is nothing quite like eating home
grown produce.
Sweet corn, for instance is never the same if brought
from the market, and now the soil is warm enough to grow
them.
Make sure you dig in plenty of Organix
Garden Compost
and
Garden
King All Purpose Plant Food
or
Nutriblend5
into the bed, and make sure the rows are 60 centimetres
apart.
Another great vegetable than can go in now is the
bean, either the dwarf, climbing or butter bean, and all
should be grown on a support such as stakes or wire trellis
Plenty
of other vegetables can be grown right now; beetroot,
capsicum, eggplant, lettuce, marrows, pumpkin and of course
tomatoes. Make sure you water adequately and regularly as
this is often the failing of home grown vegetables, with
good deep waterings twice a week and plenty of compost dug
into the soil you will have wonderful vegetables.
Give
children some space in the garden to grow quick and easy
vegetables such as carrots, radishes, salad greens, beans
potatoes and tiny tomatoes. It is very rewarding for them to
be able to pick from the garden.
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Check
citrus for scale insects and spray with Amgrow
Chemspray Clear White Oil
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A
busy time for deadheading, feeding, planting and keeping an
eye out for pests such as aphids on young tips and buds,
black spot on roses, thrips on gladioli and slugs on
ornamental and fruiting cherries and pear trees. A contact
spray such as Amgrow
Organix Pyrethrum can be used regularly.
Check new growth and flower buds for aphids
and use Chemspray
Garden Insect Spray if present
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|
 Gardenia
leaves may be going yellow: feed with a complete fertiliser
- Organix
azalea, Camellia & Gardenia Fertiliser
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 Prune
spring flowering shrubs as they finish blooming - generally
down by one-third.
Native
plants such as baeckea, bottlebrush, grevillea and
Prostanthera  (mint
bushes) can be given a light prune back by 30cm.
Use Wettasoil
Granular or Concentrate soil wetting agent to help
any water penetrate garden beds and pots
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The
most important job is to mulch the garden, around flower
beds, in the vegetable garden and especially round trees
(though not right up to the trunk of the tree). Mulch
will save water from evaporating from the soil,
protect your plants from extremes of temperature and reduce
weed growth.
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| Happy
gardening to one and all.
Listen
to Jane on 3AW’s ‘The Big Backyard”, Saturdays
and Sundays 8am – 10am, talkback questions
welcome
www.mytalk.com.au
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