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
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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

with landscape designer Louise McDaid

DRY GARDENS part 4-lawns for dry conditions.
There are those gardeners who like to see a green expanse of lawn, and there are others who see it as another possibility of planning and planting another area for garden beds.

Some of us think lawns are high maintenance-mowing, fertilizing, weeding watering, while others think it’s low maintenance.
There are a lot of reasons why you should still have a lawn.
It does cool an area, but don't expect it to be green all year round. It's seasonal like a lot of plants in your garden.
Don't waste time an energy trying to grow a lawn where it just won't grow-like under trees or heavy shade positions.

So what types of lawns do best in dry conditions?

Warm season grass-Sapphire-is a soft leaf Buffalo.
Native grass alternatives that act like a real lawn.
Zoysia macrantha is sold as Nara turf-warm season grass.
Seed sown  native lawns might take a year or so to get established but are well worth the wait.

Nara Native Turf

Red Grass-is a warm tough season grass, withstands long drought periods. suits heavy clay.
Weeping grass "Griffin."-Microleana stipoides is a cool season grass. Green for most of the year but has summer dormancy.
Wallaby Grass-cool season with good drought tolerance.

TIPS for lawns in hot dry times.
Not watering too often, not watering long enough,  and scalping your lawns when mowing are all bad practices that make the job of keeping a lawn looking great all that much harder.

If you have any questions about the types of drought hardy lawns that Louise mentioned, why not write in and ask for a fact sheet?

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

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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

WILDLIFE IN FOCUS

with ecologist Sue Stevens

Mistletoe is an air-born parasitic plant that lives off the sap of their hosts, These plants thrive in almost every type of climate and soil in Australia, and are found everywhere Australia wide except Tasmania.
There’s a particular bird that loves the berries of Mistletoe plants, with a really obvious name.

Mistletoe bird

Do you know why mistletoes look like their host plants?
Some botanists think it's because of a hormone within the host that gets into the mistletoe and influences the way it grows.
Mistletoes may also mimic to hide from leaf-loving animals such as possums, 60% of whose diet consists of the leaves of plants.


Mistletoe babies

FLOWERING TIMES OF MISTLETOE IN Australia.
A good time to look out for the Mistletoe bird is when the berries are obvious on the Mistletoe.
Those living on the coast will see the Mistletoe flowering in spring and summer, but many mistletoes were at their peak of flowering in March, particularly in the drier inland areas.
These bizarre plants are easy to spot when in flower because of their bright antler-shaped orange or red blossoms that stand out against the dark foliage, advertising their nectar to birds.If you have any questions about the Mistletoe bird or even have a photo of one, why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

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

with Louise McDaid, Landscape Designer

There are times of the year when it’s better for planting out new trees, shrubs and perennials.

Sometimes though, we just have to have something what we see in a nursery,garden centre, plant collector's fair or a friend gives us a plant or two.

So how does this plant cope?

Should you plant it out in the garden when it’s really hot?

Or should we wait and hope it survives in its pot until cooler weather?

It’s a personal choice as to which plants get watered and which you hope will survive the hot dry conditions that some of us have experienced.

Established trees that are quite large might be alright but younger smaller trees and shrubs definitely will need a bit of assistance.

If you’ve got that specail plant still in a pot, now’s the time to put it into the garden because Autumn is the best time to plant out, and to move plants in the garden.



Australian Native Eucalypts

If you have any questions about this week’s any trees on your property, send it our email address, or just post it.

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

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

SPICE IT UP

with Ian Hemphill
Ever heard of native pepper? Maybe you’ve already used it in your cooking?

If you haven’t, you’re in for a surprise, not only can you grow your own native pepper almost anywhere, there’s also a surprising amount of recipes that you can use it in.

But be warned, information on the internet isn’t always right so you need to pay close attention to this…

Native pepper-berry can be ground in a normal peppermill, but use it sparingly.
Native pepper is five times hotter than standard black peppercorns!
The strong flavour of native peppers goes will with lamb, game and any slow cooked dishes.
Pepper leaf has the same flavour as native pepper, but has the same strength as standard ground black pepper.
Use it in ground form and take in the smell of the Australian native bush. A wonderful aroma!

If you only want to grow the one native pepper tree, , check that it’s  Tasmannia lanceolata, the native pepperberry.
For those wanting the fruit, you need two trees to get the berries, but one tree will supply you with plenty of leaf that can be dried and ground to give you the same flavour as the berry itself. 

Who isn’t tempted by the native seasoning of pepperberries, bush tomatoes wattle seed, ground coriander seed, sweet paprika and lemon myrtle. Yum!
If you have any questions about the Native Pepperberry why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

Real World Gardener is funded by the 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

with landscape designer Louise McDaid
Continuing on the series in drought proofing your garden, you’ll find out why some plants are more hardy than others.

It’s not so much which plant breeder did or didn’t do, but more about particular plant adaptations that make some plants better at coping with lack of water than others.

Needle like leaves, grey leaves, leaves with hairs on them and hard leaves are all adaptations to dry conditions.
In fact, Australian plants have the most obvious adaptations to dry conditions.
Sclerophyll means hard leaf, and the Sclerophyll forests of Australia are plants that have adapted to the harsher conditions of the last few thousand years. 

Grey leaves reflecting the sun's rays, and leaves that hang down with their edge to the sun, as in Eucalypts, are a prime example.

The needle like leaves of many Banksias are exposing a  reduced surface area to the sun. Also the reduced leaf has few stomata, meaning fewer avenues for water to escape in transpiration.
You don’t have to just plant cactus and succulents. There are many natives and non native plants that fit this description.

Now you have the tools to look at plants in the nursery and decide yourself if they’ll grow in dry conditions.

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

Real World Gardener is funded by the 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

PLANT DOCTOR

with Steve Falcioni, of eco Organic Garden,

This new segment-Plant Doctor, looks at different pests and diseases that can occur in your garden.

Do you find that no matter how carefully you look after your garden, there are plants that seem to get everything wrong with them?

Then you’re left wondering, is it me? Is it the wrong climate? Should I spray with something? Should I forget about this plant?

Well today’s look at what can go wrong is about a fungal problem that seems to hang around during the warmer months.

Fungal diseases are caused by microscopic spores that float through the air landing on just about everything in your garden.
As soon as the spores find the right environment, the fungus starts to grow.

Doing nothing only increases the problem and eventually reduces the life of the plant. But there are environmentally friendly or organic ways to treat problems.

One of the best ways to treat powdery mildew is to use Potassium bicarbonate, available as eco Fungicide and eco Carb for roses. This is best applied with a sticker of horticultural oil, so that it stays on the plant after rain. The potassium bicarbonate works so well, that it bursts the fungal cells, 5 minutes after application.

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

Real World Gardener is funded by the 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

with landscape designer Louise McDaid

photo: Real World Gardener

 NEW SERIES-DROUGHT PROOFING YOUR GARDEN part 1

Today starts a new series on dry gardening around Australia.

We’re not talking cactus and succulents specifically or gardening with only hardy native plants.

The idea behind this series is that summers are getting warmer so we need to look at how we garden, and what we can do to preserve our precious plants.

Let’s find out what this is all about.

It's important to know what type of soil you have.

Once you work that out, you can set about improving it (if it needs it) which will save you years of headache in the years to come.
Poor sandy soils and waterlogged heavy clay soils are just two that need to be improved.


If you ignore this step, your plants will refuse to grow well, and you may end up spending too much money on fertilisers and pest control products to overcome soil deficiencies.

Plants that grow in the wrong conditions, tend to be stressed and easily succumb to pest and disease.

If you’re looking at a large garden and thinking, how am I going to achieve that better soil profile?

Don’t think of doing the whole garden at once. Start working on a small corner by giving it the right amount of mulch and compost.

Then gradually work your way around the garden over several months. Look it may even take a couple of years, but at least you’ve started.

If you have any questions about this week’s any trees on your property, send it our email address, or  you can write in for a fact sheet.

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

Real World Gardener is funded by the 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

THE GOOD EARTH

with Margaret Mossakowska from Permaculture North

Whether or not you’re into permaculture, there’s plenty of things to be done in the autumn garden.

Working conditions aren’t quite as unpleasant, plus all the seed and bulb catalogues fill out post boxes or inboxes if we’re getting them via email.

Who can resist all the new varieties of seeds and bulbs but what must we do first?

Various online websites, garden magazines and gardening books, tell us when to plant this or that.
The reality is, those timeframes are very generalised and it's knowing your seasons and responding to the climate in your district, which indicates when it's the time to plant certain crops.
Of course, if you're a beginner gardener, there are some basic rules that you need to know.


Of all the least attractive or glamorous tasks in the garden, working the soil is one of them.
You can make the task easier by planting green manure crops as Margaret suggested.
Green manure crops make the task of digging and fertilising a whole lot easier, because you let the green manure crop do the work for you.

You don't have to dig them in, just lay them on top of the soil and let the worms do the work for you.
You also can just rake them into the top 10 cm of soil if you prefer.
If you have any questions about the Autumn garden why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll post a CD in return.