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REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK

The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

Last week I said that a natural garden is one where the weeds don’t take over.

Natural gardens aren't formal; instead they feature free-form plantings and soft edges. Pathways meander through the space, sitting spots appear unexpectedly and havens are provided for birds and animals.

Wildlife is also an important part of a natural garden.

Let’s look at what can go wrong and how to fix it by calling in the experts in part two of a natural garden….






Within our fences there is usually some sort of stable ecosystem in which plants, animals and pathogens coexist in a state of balance.



We upset this balance by using synthetic chemicals, planting a tree, putting in a pond or a veggie bed.

Lots of small steps can take us a long way towards helping garden wildlife.

Things like make a log shelter for our reptiles, building a pond to attract frogs, create a compost or start a worm far.

All these things , as well as plants, belong in a natural garden, although not as features.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

Spice It Up

with Ian Hemphill for www.herbies.com.au

You probably have this spice in your kitchen spice shelf right now, You probably use it often in cakes, puddings and maybe even some casseroles and stews. The spice trade is the second oldest trade in the world, says Ian Hemphill from Herbies spices. But did you know that once again, you may not have the real deal that you thought you had.

Let’s find out a whole lot more about this spice.

Look out for true cinnamon or grow your own tree.
All you need to give the tree is a sunny to partially shaded position and a moderate supple of water throughout the year, but don’t over water.
Protect the tree from heavy frost and prolonged cool weather.
A cinnamon tree can survive short mild frost.

 
Some say only really for sub-tropical to tropical areas but we know better because there are Cinnamon trees growing in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
It might be a little cold in say, Armidale, but if you were going to try, you would choose a sheltered position, maybe near a north facing wall. It doesn't like heavy frost, so if you get bad frosts you’re probably just setting yourself up for disappointment.
If you’ve got any questions about where to get a Cinnamon tree, or growing Cinnamon, drop us a line. to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,  or post them on Real World Gardeners facebook page, we’d love to hear from you.

b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

Louise Mc Daid
What is a natural garden?
It's not about letting the weeds take over! In England, a lot of gardens that I visited had a natural element to them where plants where combined in an informal way to create natural meadow borders
There, the idea is becoming increasingly popular. It means using plants that attract wildlife, combined with not using pesticides.
The result is a supposed to mean a natural balance and the well tended estate gardens that I saw it worked very well.
It also means it can go pear shaped if you’re not too careful and haven’t planted things that work well together.
Let’s look at what can go wrong and how to fix it in part one of a natural garden….Let’s find out about some of these now?

Lots of small steps can take us a long way towards helping garden wildlife.
Things like make a log shelter for our reptiles, building a pond to attract frogs, create a compost or start a worm far.
All these things , as well as plants, belong in a natural garden, although not as features.
In England, Scientists are investigating how native and non-native plants affect garden biodiversity in a three-year study project called Plants for Bugs.
Will a project like that start in Australia too?
My guess, is that a lot of creatures have adapted in some small way to the exotic plants we have in our garden too.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by CBF, Community Broadcasting Foundation.
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Living Planet

with Katie Oxenham

They’re probably hibernating right now, and they’re definitely nothing to be scared of.
There’s too many myths and legends about bats of all kinds and mostly untrue and unkind.
The greatest harm to bats is not knowing  anything about them , and this creates fears and hatred towards them.
Some say, even possible extinction because they’re now regarded as a vulnerable species.
My brother in law has a sheep farm in South Australia and also has been planting plenty of trees on his property.
One day, he was leaning back on his kitchen chair having a morning cuppa when it seemed to squeak unnaturally. He leant forward and tried again, sqea- a- a k?
He turned around to find a microbat was hanging of the chair and he was nearly squashing it.
Being a friendly sort of fella, he put little batkins outside.
Let’s find out a bit more about these little creatures.

It’s not too early to be thinking of what you’re going to net your fruit trees with this spring and summer. If you can put your finger through any of the holes, then that net is dangerous to wildlife, not just bats of any size.
Birds and mammals can get hopelessly entangled in those larger holed nets and cause life threatening damage to their limbs, and wings.
Choose a fine mesh instead and makes sure the net is tied off at the bottom of the tree so they can’t get in from underneath.
Remember without bats that pollinate Australian trees, we’d have no trees and no Koalas.
If you do come across a distressed animal, contact your local wildlife service right away, and don’t try to handle the bird or animal.
For more information about Microbats see: www.ausbats.org.au
If you’ve got any questions tree netting, drop us a line. to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,  or post them on Real World Gardeners facebook page, we’d love to hear from you.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by CBF, Community Broadcasting Foundation.
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Design Elements: Reviewing Trees 



 

What makes a tree a tree? Is it because it has a trunk? How high does it have to be before it’s a tree and not a shrub. After all, don’t we have tree Rhododendrons?Let’s review some of these trees for your garden now….Let’s find out about some of these now?

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by CBF, Community Broadcasting Foundation.
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Compost Capers

with worm expert Cameron Little
Does your council ask you to separate your rubbish and recycle everything you throw out? Probably not yet, but that day is coming soon.
In Wales, for example, councils no longer accept regular rubbish.
You have to sort it into many bins.
They even recycle your food scraps-raw and cooked that you must put into separate bins.
A good way to start is with home composts. Most people have home composts.
Home composting is the most environmentally-friendly way of dealing with kitchen and garden waste, plus it produces compost that can be used as an excellent soil improver.
Composting is useful in all gardens. Only in the very smallest gardens will it be difficult to find space for a compost heap and material to fill it. Owners of such smaller gardens could consider worm composting instead.
Let’s find out more about some friends of compost.

Composting is done all year, and you don’t have to stick to just one type of compost method.
Usually though, late summer to early winter is the peak time for making compost.

If you go away for any length of time, your worm farm will survive just nicely if you make sure it’s loaded up with food scraps.
Don’t just dump them on top,  incorporate them into the composted material that’s already there.As long as the water can drain away if it pours with rain, your worms won’t drown and you’ll come home ready made compost.
Better still, put your worm farm under an evergreen tree so it can’t get flooded.
For regular composts, aim for between 25 and 50 percent soft green materials (e.g. grass clippings, annual weeds, vegetable kitchen waste, or manure) to feed the micro-organisms.
The remainder should be woody brown material (e.g. prunings, wood chippings, paper, cardboard, straw or dead leaves).
The bacteria and micro-organisms that produce the compost function best when the balance of green and brown materials is correct.

If you’ve got any questions about composting or worm farms, drop us a line. by email or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,  or post them on Real World Gardeners facebook page, we’d love to hear from you.