Spring vegies Climbing plants Spices Flowering trees Sweet corn PRINT POST APPROVED PP 424022/00409 APPROVED PRINT POST Rose care ISSUE 50 Spring 2009 For more gardening hints & tips,ps, visit www.aboutthegarden.com.auwww.aboutthegarden.com.au Issue 50 Visit our selections for... Spring 2009 About this issue... Website Features of the Spring vegie planting 4 Social climbers 6 season Spice up your life 8 Spring fl owering trees 10 Sweet corn 18 Just about anything you ever wanted to know about Spring rose care 20 gardening can be found at: www.lifeisagarden.com.au Special interest Kitchen recycling with Envirobokashi 5 Plants from Redlands Nursery 16 Petunia Raspberry Blast 21 Find Searles premium garden products and Regulars gardening hints & tips on: ATG Spring 2009 Garden Diary 12 www.searles.com.au Spring handy hints & tips 14 Stuffed capsicum recipe 22 Subscribe to About the Garden 22 For great gardening hints and tips, products There’s so much to do at this wonderful and services, visit: time of year! From the moment the fi rst www.mygarden.net.au magnolia or peach blossom appears until hydrangeas and frangipanis signal the approach of summer, spring is full of garden delights! This issue is all about enjoying backyard produce and the many beautiful fl owers of spring! Take care and God bless... Con Searle Nothing makes us love a man so much Great recipes and as praying for him. — William Law programs to help kids learn how to grow • Managing Director: Conway Searle their own food at: • Contributors: Noel Burdette, Frida Forsberg, Alana Searle, Ashley Searle, Jason Searle & Tony Stallwood wwwww.kitchengardenfoundation.org.auwww.kittchheenggara ddenffound • Magazine Manager: Alana Searle • Design & Layout: Frida Forsberg — ATG Graphics Dept. • ATG Group Co-ordinator & Advertising: Jo Johnson • Front Cover Photography: Alana Searle Want more? About the Garden is published seasonally by About the Garden Pty. Ltd. ABN 21 076 919 992 Subscribe to About the 4914 D’Aguilar Highway, Kilcoy or P.O. Box 70, Kilcoy Qld. 4515 Phone: (07) 5497 2313 • Fax: (07) 5497 2287 Garden’s Seasonal Newsletter Email: [email protected] The material appearing in About the Garden is subject to copyright. Other than as permitted by the Copyright Act, no part of this magazine To subscribe, email may be reproduced without the permission of the publishers. No responsibility is accepted by About the Garden Pty. Ltd. for the accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. Although believed to be accurately and correctly sourced, thereof disclaims any liability against itself, editor/s or employees arising from any person acting on the material herein. The opinions expressed in the [email protected] magazine, or by contributors, do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. ©Copyright 2009 About the Garden Pty. Ltd. There are varieties of carrots available improve drainage. Planting from seed Spring vegie planting that mature at different times and by is preferable as carrots don’t usually staggering your planting times, you can transplant well. Follow the directions Carrots havea e carrots ca o on hand almost year- on the seed packet carefully and be Growing your own vegetables is not only an excellent round. CarrotsCarro store well in the ground sure not to plant too deep. Thin young way to cut down your grocery bills and reduce your and it’s betterbett to have too many than seedlings. ‘Baby’ carrot varieties grow carbon footprint, it’s a great pathway to a healthier Tomatoes not enoughenough so plant several packets if well in pots of Searles Herb & Vegetable lifestyle. Here’s how to get started with some of the youyou have roomro for them. Carrots dislike Premium Potting Mix, as can several Ashley Searle Ashley highhigh nitrogennitroge fertilisers and often grow blunt-rooted varieties. Crop rotation most popular vegetables in Australian home vegie gardens. best in soil thatth has been ‘used’ by can be very helpful in preventing soil- other vegetablesveget the previous season borne diseases. Keep moist, but don’t without further feeding. Good drainage overwater as this can lead to root rot. To Tomatoes like an open, sunny site to suppress weeds and water the is important in preventing rot-related harvest, ease them out of the ground with deep soil, excellent drainage roots rather than the foliage. Feed diseases, so build up garden beds and with a trowel to avoid snapping the and protection from wind. The tomatoes with Searles Fish & Kelp mix in plenty of river sand if you need to root and twist off foliage before storing. smaller varieties can grow well in Plus. Soil-borne viruses like wilt can large pots or tubs. Taller varieties usually be avoided with crop rotation will need staking, preferably at or by growing in pots. Use Searles Only one type of zucchini should watered up until the point when fruit planting stage to avoid damaging Pest Gun for severe infestations of be grown at any one time as cross- begins to mature, after which point existing roots. Tomatoes will grow aphids, caterpillars or mites. Hang pollination between different varieties keep the roots slightly damp. Mulch in practically any soil, provided it Searles Fruit Fly Traps to combat can affect fruit quality. To keep a well under each plant to protect the Zucchini Vegetables has been dug over with plenty of fruit fl y. To avoid damaging the benefi t from continual supply, plant an extra 3 plants shallow roots and prevent the fruit Searles 5IN1 Plus at least 2 weeks fruit, include part of the stalk being kept moist every month over the warm season. In coming in contact with the soil. Zucchini before planting. When planting from when harvesting and snip and well weeded. spring and autumn, give zucchini full is pollinated by bees, so don’t seed, be sure to thin them out once off baby tomatoes in trusses. Most veggies A generous layer of sun; in summer, semi-shade. Zucchini use pesticides. Watering in the they start growing as overcrowding Planting basil near tomato prefer a slightly mulch, about 5cm thick likes a well-composted, deep soil mornings can discourage fungal can encourage disease. Make sure plants is said to improve alkaline soil, so if your will help conserve that has been heavily manured the infections. Powdery mildew the root ball is well anchored when its fl avour and also helps soil is acidic, sweeten it water and smother season before. Ensure good drainage. can be controlled with Searles planting as top-heavy plants can remind you which herb works at least 2 weeks before weeds. Compact varieties can be grown in Mancozeb Plus. Searles Bug blow over. Mulch well around plants best in tomato dishes! containers. Dig the soil over to a depth Beater can control aphids. planting with Searles of 15cm, adding plenty of Searles 5IN1 Pick zucchini when it is young Garden Lime at the A new zucchini Plus. Sow seeds 1m apart, into saucer and tender. Regular harvest recommended forming on the plant Lettuce is a great crop for beginner drill, maybe 5mm deep. Once they like depressionsd in the soil. Keep well- promotes more fruit. rate. gardeners and children because it are large enough to handle, thin is so fast to mature (about 8 weeks seedlings to about 25cm apart. from sowing seed). Planting lettuce Lettuce can be prone to fungal Lettuce Feed your garden........... crops successively on a monthly disease in humid conditions so RecyclingR made easy with the basis can ensure you always have make sure plants are well-spaced Recycle your food waste lettuce on hand. Give lettuces full to allow airfl ow and water Bokashi Kitchen Composter Grow sun and water regularly to keep only in the mornings so vegetables with the fabulous their shallow roots from drying out. plants have time to dry fast by providing The Bokashi Kitchen to keep in your kitchen. They will wilt in excessive wind and out before nightfall. adequate water Composting System is a Bokashi micro-organisms Bokashi Kitchen Composter summer heat. Lettuce can grow well If aphids attack, and fertiliser to make are contained in a dry in containers. Enrich soil with Searles wash them off with a convenient way to compost them crisp and sweet. 5IN1 Plus before planting and ensure hose. For best results, any kitchen scraps including mixture of bran and rice The easy way to recycle This applies to lettuce, good drainage, building up beds if apply Searles Flourish meat, dairy, onion, seafood hulls known as Bokashi, carrots, silver beet, necessary. Lettuce seed is best sown fortnightly, according and citrus. Bokashi uses which has been fermented ALL your food waste beetroot and straight into garden beds in a shallow to the directions. and dried for easy storage. celery. effective micro-organisms which ferment waste in To use the system, simply anaerobic conditions rather add your daily kitchen than aerobic conditions. scraps as you produce Capsicum loves the heat, so in cool become quite heavy when laden TheThe processproce is odourless, them. Lightly cover the The simple and easy zones, wait until frosts have passed with fruit. Maintain a light mulch. doesdoes notnot producep heat or scraps with a sprinkling recycling alternative before planting. Capsicum is also Feed fortnightly with Searles Fish & Capsicum lechate, doesn’td require of Bokashi, compressing highly ornamental and can be Kelp Plus up until fruit set. If growing turningturning andan produces the waste to remove any grown for its brightly coloured fruit in containers, feed weekly and don’t that turns kitchen waste minimalminimal greenhousegr gases. air pockets. Bokashi juice which lasts a long time on the plant.