March 9th, 2021
TOOL TIME
Topiary Shears
During the warmer months of the year, your garden can start looking like a jungle because it’s growing so fast.
More so because of la nina bring welcoming rains to drench the parched soil.
What things can you do in the garden to tame it somewhat other than a short back and sides?
Have you thought of a bit of topiary?
You don't have to go all out and doing something like in this photo, although it is rather nice.
You could just do a few simple balls on a stick instead.
But what tools help you do the job properly?
Let’s find out what needs doing
I'm talking with Tony Mattson general manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au
Normally you need to do the trimming fairly regularly and you're trimming the newer growth.
Older wood may need a nip with secateurs.
- The single handed topiary shears are great for small jobs such as perfecting that topiary ball. Topiary shears are similar to sheep sheers. (pictured
- Two handed topiary shears are a lightweight hedge shear usually weighing less than 1 kg.
- The blades are straight and vary between 20-25cm (8-10 inches) in length.
- There's also battery operated one handed shears.
Starting your own topiary from scratch like the balls in the photo, you need to choose the right type of plant that responds well to topiary.
Think buxus species, lilly pillies, or the common myrtle, (Myrtus communis) are great starting points to kick off your topiary garden.
Between each trim, step back and look at how you are progressing so it ends up symmetrical.
If you have any questions either for me or for Tony you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.
October 31st, 2020
Warraburra Nura Native Garden
In Conversation with Alice McAuliffe Creative Producer
You may not know of garden in on the 6th floor of a building that you the public can visit.
From the website, “Waraburra Nura is a public medicinal plant garden at the University of Technoly (UTS) Sydney, developed by UTS ART in partnership with Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research (JIIER). Established in 2018, the garden is located on level 6 of the UTS Tower.
'Nura' is a local word meaning country or the place that you are from.
Let’s find out more.
I’ve being talking with Alice McAuliffe who is a creative producer .
- Alice recalled that Waraburra Nura didn't start so much as a garden but as a way of creating a third dimension for artworks by various aboriginal and torres strait islander artists.
- Alice put forward a proposal the idea to put in a few boxes with plants initially but the idea grew.
- The process to create the garden involved designer Nicole Monk. Garden boxes were sent up from Melbourne.
- Garden soil had to be light so that the weight would not be too heavy for the balcony plus a possible 100 people. Aunty Fran Bodkin (Dharawal Senior and botanist) advised that the soil should contain pumice.
- Plants were chosen because they had medicinal properties, and together created associations which increased their medicinal properties.
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This garden is open to the public on weekdays during student hours
'
About the garden' section on the website states that “Waraburra Nura (Happy Wanderer’s Place) is a space for visitors to connect to Country in an urban environment. The garden utilises combination planting, an Indigenous agricultural practice which enhances the rich medicinal value of each plant.
All of the plants in Waraburra Nura are native to Wa’ran (Sydney) and have been cultivated by Darug, D’harawal and Gadigal peoples for generations.
If you have any questions about Waraburra Nura, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write to 2rrr PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
August 26th, 2020
THE GOOD EARTH
Building Habitat for Native Bees
This year, gardening has been taken up by many people who have never gardened before.
But that’s not all, worm farming, keeping chickens and bee-keeping have become more popular because people are spending more time at home.
You probably know there are honey bees and Australian native bees.
But which type of bees pollinate your crops better or is there no difference?
Let’s find out..
I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska of www.mosshouse.com.au
Margaret suggests build habitat for the native bees because they are so much better at pollinating your flowers, in particular veggies in the tomato family, than honey bees.
- Building native bee habitat can be bricks made from clay, or wood and other materials.
Margaret's Clay Bricks Recipe
Mix clay with water then 2 or 3 parts of sand.
Margaret then pours the mix into moulds. One litre milk containers say from rice milk.
When dry she drills various size holes into these 'clay' bricks and places them strategically around the garden.
- For 'blue banded bees,' or even 'teddy bear bees,' drill holes 6mm in size and 6cm deep. The bees will excavate the holes further.
- Bees will also next in bricks where the mortar has worn out.
Most native bees are dormant or die during the Australian winters.
Flower are important from spring onwards.
Plant flowering trees with small flowers such as melaleucas or paperbarks.
- Borage is also an excellent plant for bees because it has a high percentage of protein and sugar in the pollen and nectar.
- Perennial basil is also fantastic for not only attracting bees but hover flies and other beneficial insects to the garden.
- Why not also let some parsley or coriander go to seed.
- Provide some water for the bees-not deep, and include some pebbles so the bees don't drown. Plant saucers are ideal for this purpose.
If you have questions for Margaret about keeping native bees, or have information to share, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com
August 6th, 2020
DESIGN ELEMENTS
How to Create a Sense of Enclosure.
In the middle of winter, the only sun you can see may be outside.
So it would be nice to venture outdoors into the winter sun but what if you're overlooked?
May not feel so welcoming.
Magnolia grandiflora 'Teddy Bear.' 4-5m height (pictured)
I talk with garden designer Peter Nixon of Paradisus Garden Design.
What you want is some sort of screening hedge or planting that not only hides that fence, but hides it well enough so you don't see any fence.
That would mean you need that the 'bole length' or the gap between ground level and the first branch, is at a minimum.
So what can you choose?
Here are Peter's best tips:
- Choose things that stay dense and non transparent from the ground.
- Choose useful heights, especially if it's the northern boundary because you don't want to cut the winter sun.
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Magnolia hybrid "Fairy." ht 3m
Heliconia 'Hot Rio Nights.' for northern sub-tropical zones.(norther rivers and up). height 3m, lush paddle leaf.
Hibiscus boryanus- plant in areas where temperatures are above 5 Deg C
Drepanostachyus falcatum -Blue Bamboo is a clumping bamboo height 4m
You can underplant with smaller shrubs but you need to do this at the same time as you plant the larger shrubs otherwise the soil underneath will be compacted with the roots.
June 19th, 2020
VEGETABLE GARDENING: Growing Your Own
COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID & TIPS TO MAKE IT BETTER
I would imagine, most listeners to this show would have a vegetable garden, but perhaps there’s also some new listeners new to gardening?
This next interview will take you through some of the most common mistakes that gardeners make when starting out and what to do to avoid them.
- Amount of sun: plants need the sun to photosynthesise in order to grow into healthy plants
Veggies will take 6 hours of sun to grow really well. Whether it's morning or afternoon sun doesn't matter so much.
In cities and built up areas, sun may be insufficient to grow all of the range of vegetables.
Stick with leafy crops such as celery, cabbage family-broccoli, kale, lettuce.
Vegetables need to consume plenty of water because they're consuming a lot of nutrients as they are expanding lots of energy in growing.
Increase the amount of water holding capacity in your soil by adding compost, heaps and heaps of it.
Adding compost and worm castings will improve the structure of the soil which will also help with drainage.
I am talking with Toni Salter Toni Salter who is The Veggie Lady
June 19th, 2020
Edible Gardens part 5
Ongoing Maintenance
So what’s on the list? Mulching, fertilising, pruning, weeding but what else?
I'm talking wiht Glenice Buck, landscape designer and consulting arborist.
Let’s find out… 
Top of the list is watering your garden, especially the veggie garden.
Glenice recommends hand watering so you can monitor the needs of the veggies.
Fertilising is not far behind as well as using seaweed liquid every 10 days to 2 weeks.
- Once the plants are in and growing, you need to be aware of the soil moisture conditions. Autumn showers are always beneficial for the vegetable garden, there is nothing like rain to push along the garden.
- You will need to supplement this rain with hand watering. Whenever possible, I would encourage gardeners to water their vegetable garden by hand as you can assess the water needs of plants individually, however if this is not possible an irrigation system which is monitored regularly is fine but make sure in times of rain it is switched off.
- The biggest destroyer of vegetables through the winter months is over watering, which can cause fungal diseases.
After the plantings have been in for about a week or so, I would recommend fortnightly applications of seaweed emulsions such as Eco – Seaweed from organic crop protectants. This is not a fertiliser as such, it is a root revitaliser that will help stimulate good plant health and condition along with many other benefits.
Applying fertiliser to the vegetable garden is best completed with a liquid fertiliser such as Eco amino– Gro, Yates Nature’s Way or Amgrow’s Harvest. This can be done once a fortnight or as per packet directions. You can also use your home-made compost tea on your veggies whilst they are growing.
If you have any questions of course, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.
June 16th, 2020
Edible Gardens part 4 Companikon Planting
This series is about edible gardens from start to finish.
So far we’ve covered, site selection, soil preparation and selection of plants or seeds for your garden Part 4 is about companion planting,
So what is it?
Let’s find out…
I'm talking with Glenice Buck, landscape designer and consulting arborist.
If you’re dubious about companion planting at the very least, plant out some flowering annuals close to your veggie garden to attract pollinating insects.
Marigolds and alyssum attract not only pollinators but beneficial insects as well.
Some proven successful combinations of plant species are:
- Marigolds (Stinking Rogers) planted out in veggie beds will repel a number of bugs with their somewhat smelly foliage and are proven to kill nematodes in the soil.
- Chives, thyme and catnip planted with roses will deter aphids and other typical rose diseases.
- Basil works well with tomatoes by repelling flies and mosquitoes.
- Dill, chervil and coriander growing in between carrots will help to deter insects.
- Alternating leeks and carrots in rows will protect each other from insect attack.
- Beetroot, onions, silverbeet, lettuce, cabbage and dwarf beans all work in combination with each other to create a mini ecosystem and will battle through insect attack well together.
- Chervil and coriander are good to plant amongst carrots.
June 11th, 2020
DESIGN ELEMENTS
Edible Gardens Series Part 3
Part 3 is selecting and buying the seeds and plants.
Probably the most enjoyable part of the edible garden process.
So which seeds or plants and where to buy and what about crop rotation?
Let’s find out…
I'm talking with Glenice Buck, landscape designer and consulting arborist.
You don't have to go to a store, because every type of vegetable is available online, either as a seed, or seedlings.
You can buy advanced seedlings as an example, from a mail order company in Gippsland, Victoria if it‘s getting a bit late to sow or plant your winter crop. www.diggers.com.au
They call them speedings, because they’re at least a month ahead of where you would be if you started them from seeds.
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| Diggers seeds speeding collection |
Seeds are of course much cheaper but they could be 6-8 weeks behind seedlings, especially cabbages and other brassicas which are quite slow growing.
The other issue if you plant out winter crops too late, so that when they're maturing, the season is too warm. Warm weather can bring with it more fungal problems and a horde of insects to infest your crop.
- Crop Rotation Is Important
Crop rotation is important of course so that you don't have a build of pests of diseases with a particular crop.
If you understand which group the vegetable your growing belongs to, then you can understand what to plant next once a certain crop is finished. Never grow the same crop more than once in the same bed.
Fabacea or Legume family: peas, beans
Asteraceae or Daisy Family: Leafy crops: spinach, lettuces, chicory.
Solanaceae or Potato family:-tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, capsicum
Apiaceae or Carrot family-carrots, parsnip, parsley, dill, celeriac
Brassicaceae or Cabbage family: broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, radish
Amaranthaceae or beetroot family: beetroot, spinach, swiss chard
Cucurbitaceae or Marrow family-cucumber, zucchini, squash, marrow, melon
If you have any questions of course, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville
May 27th, 2020
DESIGN ELEMENTS
Edible Gardens part 2
Soil preparation
Vegetable gardens can be any size or shape.
You can plant them out in purpose built raised beds, in pots, old fruit crates or even old corrugated iron tanks.
Most veggie gardens need a good friable soil with good water holding capacity.
This is the time to invest in a compost bin and worm farm.
But what else you need to do?
Let’s find out more…
I'm talking with Glenice Buck, landscape designer and consulting arborist.
In any garden for vegetables you need to be able to work the soil to a 200mm depth.
Many root vegetables, such as parsnips and carrots, need this amount of friable soil so their roots can grow straight.
Local councils usually run composting and worm farm workshops, where not only do you learn how to do it, but you can purchase the worm farm and compost bin and greatly reduced prices.
This is a great idea because you're recycling your vegetable scraps into something that you can use for the garden, instead of them going to landfill and contributing to greenhouse emissions.
The worm wee or worm "woo," as Glenice calls it is also very beneficial to your plants.
Simply dilute until it looks like weak tea before applying to your veggies.
If you don't have enough compost to fill that vegetable bed, you can buy in one of the many different brands available, either by the truckload or by the bag.
Don't be in a rush to start planting.
Spend the time to prepare the soil properly, even taking 6 months.
Glenice recommends a bucket of organic fertiliser per square metre. You can use anything from spent mushroom compost, cow manure, to pelletised chook poo.
Vegetables themselves are quite beautiful in their own right, so they would be a lovely addition to other ornamental plants.
If you have any questions of course, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.
May 21st, 2020
DESIGN ELEMENTS
Edible Garden series part 1
During the last month or more, seeds, and seedlings have been flying off the shelves.
Seed companies and nurseries, normally would expect that at the start of spring, but in these current times, people are turning to good old fashioned growing your own veggies.
That’s a good thing, but what should beginner and advanced gardeners really need to know to be successful.
Over the coming weeks, Glenice will be bringing to you a comprehensive guide to growing your own edible garden. Whether you have a large vegetable garden, a group of planters on a verandah or a few spaces within existing garden beds, you can at least grow some of your own food.
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| Lynn Woods garden Ulverstone Tasmania. |
So how do you start?
Glenice says "Pick the spot that provides the most ideal conditions."
I'm talking with Glenice Buck, landscape designer and consulting arborist.
So if you haven’t started a veggie garden yet think on this.
According to “sustainability Victoria” they reckon that if you grow your own food you
- save money and supplement your household food supply
- save water – home grown food uses less water relative to the amount of food harvested
- reduce your shopping miles
- reduce packaging
- reduce food waste
- enjoy fresher, more nutritious and more delicious food
- know exactly what you're eating (e.g. no pesticides)
- get some exercise and reduce your stress levels.
Top Tips
Finding the right spot for your edible plants can sometimes be a bit of trial and error, however in general most vegetables will require about six hours of good direct sunlight for them to crop well. There are a few exceptions to this rule but in general six hours is the key. You can modify nearly everything else in gardening but you can’t modify or increase the amount of sunshine an area will receive unless you get into grow lights etc which is a whole other topic.
Ideally if you are going to grow vegetables in the ground, in pots or planters, you will need to also have a fairly flat area with no great slopes. If you are going to construct your own above ground beds, you will have a little bit more flexibility as you can build the beds to adapt to a slope. The other issue to think about is that you will be spending a fair amount of time in this space, so you need to ask yourself:
Things to consider:
- Is it easy to bend over the beds and weed?
- Is the ground surface cover easy to walk and stand on?
- Can you access the areas easily with a wheel barrow?
- You also need to ask yourself:
- Can you get water in the area?
- Is there a tap close by?
- Do I need to get a longer hose?
- Do I need another water tank?
If you have any questions of course, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or glenice@glenicebuckdesigns.com.au
or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.
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