Author Topic: Australian Gardening Thread  (Read 144730 times)

deborah

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #650 on: February 02, 2018, 11:02:51 AM »
+1 Sir Walter for grass to plant. We don't have any grass, which pleases SO mightily. When everyone else starts their mower, he sits there with an incredible smile on his face!

deborah

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #651 on: February 05, 2018, 01:32:44 AM »
Today I made jam from our European Plums - Greengages (3 bottles), Coe's Golden Drop (3 bottles) and Victoria plums (6 bottles). The Greengages and Coe's Golden Drop unfortunately ripened and fell to the ground while I was away (in the main), but there were enough to make jam for the year. The Victoria plum crop is ENORMOUS and the tree appears to have as many as when I started. Last year it had 3 plums - it seems to have got into a biennial cropping cycle, which is why there is so much jam (it is SOs favourite). I will start bottling them tomorrow.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #652 on: February 05, 2018, 02:35:00 AM »
+1 Sir Walter for grass to plant. We don't have any grass, which pleases SO mightily. When everyone else starts their mower, he sits there with an incredible smile on his face!
Sir Walter Buffalo, anytime up to early winter for you in Perth.
a quick internet search tells me this is also low allergenic. Excellent.

Next query: do I purchase enough to cover the area I want, or do I purchase enough to cover some % and then let it infill? I'm guessing it will be a 10mx5m area, but I haven't measured yet.

deborah

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #653 on: February 05, 2018, 02:38:44 AM »
A friend of mine bought a piece of Sir Walter, and divided it into 4 patches. Over the years he gradually covered the whole lawn area with it. So you can do it that way if you're patient.

GT

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #654 on: February 05, 2018, 03:02:02 AM »
Next query: do I purchase enough to cover the area I want, or do I purchase enough to cover some % and then let it infill? I'm guessing it will be a 10mx5m area, but I haven't measured yet.

I'd just buy the amount needed to cover the area.  You want it all in and growing in one hit as you'll be wanting to use it soon as Duckling will need to be out on the grass and you don't want to have to fend him away from areas where you may have patchy grass cover waiting for runners to help spread it over the area.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #655 on: February 05, 2018, 03:07:41 AM »
Periwinkle, grass and some other weedy things keep coming under the fence from our neighbour's yard. DH and I are tempted to plant some mint there to see if the mint might win the battle of the weeds in that part of the garden. Plus, we'd have mint. (we have a mint plant in a pot sitting under the garden taps to catch drips, mostly it just looks unhealthy and on the brink of dying)

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #656 on: February 05, 2018, 03:12:05 AM »
A friend of mine bought a piece of Sir Walter, and divided it into 4 patches. Over the years he gradually covered the whole lawn area with it. So you can do it that way if you're patient.
I suspected as much. Possible, requires a trait i do not have for this endeavour.

Next query: do I purchase enough to cover the area I want, or do I purchase enough to cover some % and then let it infill? I'm guessing it will be a 10mx5m area, but I haven't measured yet.

I'd just buy the amount needed to cover the area.  You want it all in and growing in one hit as you'll be wanting to use it soon as Duckling will need to be out on the grass and you don't want to have to fend him away from areas where you may have patchy grass cover waiting for runners to help spread it over the area.
Right, I will find suppliers so we can get quotes as soon as we have keys. Yeah, he's gonna be digging in whatever bare sand he can find as it is XD

Periwinkle, grass and some other weedy things keep coming under the fence from our neighbour's yard. DH and I are tempted to plant some mint there to see if the mint might win the battle of the weeds in that part of the garden. Plus, we'd have mint. (we have a mint plant in a pot sitting under the garden taps to catch drips, mostly it just looks unhealthy and on the brink of dying)
Oooh yes, make them battle it out! I put $5 (imaginary) on the mint. My parents lawn smells delicious whenever they mow it thanks to an escapee from 10+ years ago.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #657 on: February 05, 2018, 03:22:44 AM »
My garden should have several sorts of mint. Apple mint, Spearmint, and common mint. Mint seems to die back in winter, and doesn't get enough rain in summer to do much good. However, the apple mint seems to go wild. I'll give you some if you want it - add it to the list of stuff I'm giving/loaning you at the net meetup, or when you come around - if you want some.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #658 on: February 06, 2018, 12:57:34 AM »
Periwinkle, grass and some other weedy things keep coming under the fence from our neighbour's yard. DH and I are tempted to plant some mint there to see if the mint might win the battle of the weeds in that part of the garden. Plus, we'd have mint. (we have a mint plant in a pot sitting under the garden taps to catch drips, mostly it just looks unhealthy and on the brink of dying)
Lemongrass is also a good barrier plant, if you can grow it in Canberra

deborah

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #659 on: February 06, 2018, 01:05:34 AM »
It grows, then dies when we have a frost.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #660 on: February 06, 2018, 02:08:49 AM »
Periwinkle, grass and some other weedy things keep coming under the fence from our neighbour's yard. DH and I are tempted to plant some mint there to see if the mint might win the battle of the weeds in that part of the garden. Plus, we'd have mint. (we have a mint plant in a pot sitting under the garden taps to catch drips, mostly it just looks unhealthy and on the brink of dying)
Oooh yes, make them battle it out! I put $5 (imaginary) on the mint. My parents lawn smells delicious whenever they mow it thanks to an escapee from 10+ years ago.

LOL It would be funny to set up a time-lapse video of something like that and watch the Battle of the Weeds.

My garden should have several sorts of mint. Apple mint, Spearmint, and common mint. Mint seems to die back in winter, and doesn't get enough rain in summer to do much good. However, the apple mint seems to go wild. I'll give you some if you want it - add it to the list of stuff I'm giving/loaning you at the net meetup, or when you come around - if you want some.

Oooh, thanks for the offer. A friend in our city has normal mint (well, I assume it is) run amok if it's not in a pot, maybe it depends on micro climate? (or luck, maybe) Does apple mint taste reasonably similar to common mint? If yes, would love to take you up on that offer, thank you xx

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #661 on: February 12, 2018, 07:28:23 PM »
Next lot of seeds are coming up.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfHp4CRjpFP/

Just need to pop the broccoli seedlings into their tubs.

Noticed there's an infestation of black aphids on the remaining corn cobs, will pull all the plants out today or tomorrow.  Trying to work out what to do with the stems.  If I can put my hands on my secateurs (I assume they're in the garden shed...somewhere) I could chop them up into 10-20cm lengths and pop them into the worm farms.

The Oxheart and Tommy Toe tomatoes are finally colouring up, plenty of Black Krims ready to eat and the last of the Money Makers are getting a blush too.  Based on this seasons growth, I'd be going for Black Krims and Oxhearts next year and maybe investigate another variety or two.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #662 on: February 12, 2018, 08:45:15 PM »
Pumpkin? In Melbourne? In February? It will have a hard time maturing before winter.

I like the green zebra tomatoes - I have always got a bigger crop from them than from some of the other varieties. Purple Cherokees are excellent (but oxheart are probably similar) - you can cover an entire slice of bread with one slice! And they are REALLY nice grilled (as are the Jaunee Flammee). Charles H Wilber (who had the Guinness world record for the world's tallest tomato plant, and the one with the heaviest crop, seems to like Better Boy (which I don't think is available here) and cherry tomatoes.

GT

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #663 on: February 12, 2018, 09:25:47 PM »
Golden Nugget pumpkin, 75 day turn around, should be OK in May, maybe.

Again, the plants are more for the kids than anything else, it's the whole growing and learning thing they're getting out of it.

Just cut back all the corn plants and chopped them up into the worm farms.  Ripped out the root balls from one tub, chocker block full of roots, including under the tray in the bottom to keep the dirt out of the water as part of the self watering pot.  Did my best to pull out the major roots (added to the worm farm), break up the root mass as best I could and then topped off the pot with fresh soil.  Will give it at least a week before I pop the broccoli seedlings in.  Will tackle the second pot tomorrow with the girls.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #664 on: February 12, 2018, 09:32:45 PM »
Guinea pigs love corn leaves and stalks if you happen to have any or know someone with some.

A few more volunteer tomatoes ripening:

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #665 on: February 22, 2018, 05:15:52 PM »
I have a fence line running north to south on the western side of my house. There's 3m between the house and fence. Would this area be suited to fruit trees? It's currently paved with some kind of conifer trees growing along the fence line.

**Also any garden design or plant growing books, podcasts, websites that people recommend?

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #666 on: February 22, 2018, 05:23:45 PM »
I think yes. Probably things that are okay with heat as they will get the hot afternoon sun.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #667 on: February 22, 2018, 06:34:41 PM »
I have a fence line running north to south on the western side of my house. There's 3m between the house and fence. Would this area be suited to fruit trees? It's currently paved with some kind of conifer trees growing along the fence line.

**Also any garden design or plant growing books, podcasts, websites that people recommend?
[/quote

Something vine like growing against the fence will work too.  Kiwifruit (needs male and female vines), Passionfruit or the like.

I always go back to the Gardening Australia website http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/ either for a quick search, fact sheet or a starting point to then hunt elsewhere.  The Earth Garden forums were a good source of knowledge years ago, but they've migrated to Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/groups/447193975415704/ and apparently http://www.ozgrow.com/ is good too.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #668 on: March 29, 2018, 11:21:30 PM »
What's everyone doing in the garden this long weekend?

If I'm not too sick, I will be:
Weeding and mulching the backyard garden beds.
Re-staking the new citrus trees in the front yard.
Planting out my garlic.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #669 on: March 30, 2018, 01:32:28 AM »
I will be wielding various pruning devices in my battle with spikey plants, and cursing pesky paper wasps and ants.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #670 on: March 30, 2018, 03:08:52 AM »
Just watering for me.  Everything is currently in that should be in and seedlings that will be potted out wont need doing for a couple more weeks.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #671 on: March 30, 2018, 03:43:52 AM »
Planting the plants I bought a week ago (native to the area) in the front garden. Moving the Poas that have been overgrown by the grass trees. Discovering weed mat and removing it (in the process needing to move more plants).

At least 20 years ago, I bought hoselink fittings (they weren't called that then) but we needed to get  the normal click-on stuff because I didn't have converters, and shops stopped selling the hoselink stuff. This week I bought some from them directly for the new hose for the front (the others aren't long enough) - the parcel arrived the next day!!! I now have attached everything, but I have discovered that various other fittings around the garden need updating, so I have ordered some more that will arrive after Easter. I have now converted all the hoses to hoselink stuff, so we won't have both any more. AND ALL THE O RINGS AND WASHERS ARE BEING REPLACED where needed.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #672 on: March 30, 2018, 08:39:11 AM »
Planting our garlic, leeks and beetroot.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #673 on: March 31, 2018, 04:37:49 AM »
Cleared under the lemon tree and fertilised and mulched, and made a border around the tree. Did some pruning on it: looks like it hasn't been pruned in ages.  It will take a while.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #674 on: April 13, 2018, 11:35:37 PM »
I just measured all my garden beds and paved areas. Heading to the Perth Garden Festival today to get ideas. Chances are I'll come home with several plants I love but don't know what to do with
XD

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #675 on: April 14, 2018, 02:25:38 AM »
Made some compost last week and its hot!

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #676 on: April 14, 2018, 04:58:37 AM »
Made some compost last week and its hot!

Woohoo!!!

Turn it over to aerate and get it all hot again?

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #677 on: April 14, 2018, 05:20:51 PM »
Yes I did that yesterday. I've really managed to get compost hot before, (OK so its probably warm other than hot).  I'll try to keep turning it every few days and see what happens.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #678 on: April 14, 2018, 07:17:19 PM »
The few plants in pots I've got here finally started fruiting, there's a few capsicums and a bunch of chillies that are still dark green.

I'm not sure just how much longer they'll last, now the warm weather seems to be over.

I've had a few random plants grow in the courtyard that I believe could be murnong plants. Tempted to cook up the roots and see what they taste like.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #679 on: April 14, 2018, 10:39:21 PM »
I want to identify some plants in my garden, has anyone used an app for that and found it good?

Fingers crossed your capsicums and chillies ripen, @alsoknownasDean!

Today we're chopping stuff up for vergeside collection and planting some peas! I also have to pick up the dead wasps and bees from our recent spray. I feel bad there were bees caught in the crossfire of our wasp removal, but relieved it only seems to be a few. Next year I'll be more prepared and try different methods if it happens again.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #680 on: April 15, 2018, 12:47:55 AM »
There is defo an app but don't know what it's called. Next year you can be on the look out for wasp nests forming and knock them down when there's only one or two wasps.

Today I made a raised bed from reclaimed decking boards. It's great but I am buggered now. And the internets are refusing to let me upload a photo.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #681 on: April 15, 2018, 05:24:57 AM »
Nice one.
Today I set up 2 more polystyrene boxes, one wicking and one not...planted seeds for  lettuce in one, and nasturtiums and leeks in the other. I started on a third, and ran out of posting mix and it got dark before I could try to find some compost to add. The boxes I set up before have yielded a nice succession of cut and come again lettuce, bok choy, tatsoi, basil and coriander. A few shallots are also growing - I grew them from stumps after I used the shallots.

There's another apple cucumber and a couple more tomatoes in the volunteer bed. I've another 5 jap pumpkins growing. I'm waiting for these guys to die off, since I want to clear where the pumpkins are, and use the compost bay where the others are. But they keep on coming, largely due to the still warm weather.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #682 on: April 15, 2018, 05:38:01 AM »
I've got 2 pumpkins in my kitchen! Pumpkin soup tomorrow with one that came off the vine before it was ripe. 8 left on the vine.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #683 on: April 15, 2018, 01:46:30 PM »
Hey Australians! G'day and Bonjour!

How do you guys grow those trees with the little bears sticking out of them.  I want to grow one of them. So is it really tomorrow over there right now?  Did the RedSox win today?  Let me know and I'll split my bet with you when I collect!  Goodbye or as you say, Adios!

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #684 on: April 21, 2018, 05:35:00 AM »
I impulse bought a dwarf mulberry tree today! Woot! I'm planning to keep it in a pot. Also picked up some blueberry bushes to replace the ones that died over summer. Looking forward to potting up and planting tomorrow.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #685 on: April 22, 2018, 04:04:12 AM »
Hey Australians! G'day and Bonjour!

How do you guys grow those trees with the little bears sticking out of them.  I want to grow one of them. So is it really tomorrow over there right now?  Did the RedSox win today?  Let me know and I'll split my bet with you when I collect!  Goodbye or as you say, Adios!

We grow those trees with great love and care. If not done correctly you can end up with drop bears. (Google them).

The redsox lost as usual, but no surprises there.  Collingwood will win on Wednesday.

And in Sydney it's almost Monday. Melbourne is Sunday night. Brisbane is still around 2005, Adelaide is about 1985, and Perth is still trying to leave the 1950's.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #686 on: April 22, 2018, 05:04:39 AM »
Compost is still hot :). I turned it this morning.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #687 on: April 22, 2018, 05:45:56 AM »
I planted peas and lettuces! Fingers crossed they grow! Despite the rain, the ground wasn't very damp for very deep, so I might have to do some hand watering.

Also, is a bit optimistic to say Perth is trying to leave the 1950's...

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #688 on: April 22, 2018, 05:50:29 AM »
I planted peas and lettuces! Fingers crossed they grow! Despite the rain, the ground wasn't very damp for very deep, so I might have to do some hand watering.

Exciting! Fingers crossed :D

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #689 on: April 25, 2018, 06:57:39 AM »
I planted peas and lettuces! Fingers crossed they grow! Despite the rain, the ground wasn't very damp for very deep, so I might have to do some hand watering.

Exciting! Fingers crossed :D
Several something's sprouted! Either lettuce or weeds, hard to tell.

I also bought a strawberry plant, so I'll plant that into a hanging pot tomorrow :D we visited Bunnings today and they had mango, avocado and mulberry trees all in a line, ready for me to plop in my cart... But we don't have a planting plan yet, and definitely didn't have space in the car, so my orchard remains a mere whimsy of thought a while longer.

I did start pulling up the paving today, though! Really quite easy because they never cemented the edges. The quality of bricklaying must've been quite good since there had been no apparent movement in 20 years since laid, and they were all tightly packed. I need to arrange when my lawn delivery will arrive before getting stuck into brick removal. I also need to check what other steps need to be done to prepare the area for lawn, and decide on any edging between lawn and garden bed we might want.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2018, 07:00:13 AM by Anatidae V »

HappierAtHome

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #690 on: April 25, 2018, 02:07:42 PM »
What about retic for the lawn?

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #691 on: April 30, 2018, 10:15:55 PM »
What about retic for the lawn?
we'll lay that at the same time, I guess. We have retic around part of it in the garden bed, just need new sprayers. Emailing for quotes today!

Vegetable garden update: I suspect I have a capsicum, many little lettuces, I definitely have lots of pea plants and the raised garden bed might be full of sand, not stuff with nutrients, so I might need to add something to it. Probably should've checked before planting...

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #692 on: April 30, 2018, 10:26:54 PM »
My peas have also come up! I planted 3 or 4 seeds against a trellis on a fence. That fence doesn't get sun all day but we'll see.

The rats have got bored with our tomatoes and are having a fine time with our pumpkins, little fuckers. Upside: we might get some tomatoes.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #693 on: May 06, 2018, 05:40:37 AM »
The basil is nearly all gone for this season. I planted some boy choy, tatsoi and lettuce seeds today, as well as the cut off bottom of a leek.  The jap pumpkin is still going - I fertilised another flower today, surely too late in the season but we'll see what happens.  The fruit on a mystery citrus are starting to look like mandarins.

Grass is going up under the lemon tree I mulched a few weeks ago. I knew I should have laid some cardboard. I will have to redo it now.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #694 on: May 06, 2018, 06:38:00 AM »
I'm also still hand fertilising pumpkin flowers. It would be mad if it works as I've had about 7 female flowers open over the last 3-4 days and there's more on the way. As the first wave of pumpkins are ripening. Mishaps and rats mean that we've already picked 5 pumpkins slightly unripe. There's four biguns left plus one more that is half eaten out.

About the rats - we have a cat prowling our garden. He just appeared this week and he is very interested in the rat runs and hangouts and is spending a lot of time here! Not the most humane solution but I hope he gets them.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #695 on: May 06, 2018, 01:41:50 PM »
Pumpkins can be eaten at any stage of development. They just can’t be stored.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #696 on: May 07, 2018, 04:08:57 AM »
Jumping back into this thread as I have plants again. All completely indoors.

I have black aphids on my garlic chives. I've grown them indoors years ago and never had aphids on them or any other herbs I was growing that time. So I don't know why it's happening now. I sprayed them with a water, oil and baking soda solution as per a recipe I found online, then I got impatient because they weren't falling off immediately and just snipped the garlic chives off and threw them out with the rubbish. Figured that would be the end of it. But now the new growth has black aphids on them too. :(((  Where are they coming from? Are they hiding away in the soil just waiting to jump on any new growth? How do I eradicate them without using stuff that's toxic to humans?

GT

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #697 on: May 07, 2018, 04:18:38 PM »
Straight up white oil does the job for me.  They're an issue on my Camelias, so they get fortnightly sprays of white oil to keep them at bay.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #698 on: May 07, 2018, 05:01:26 PM »
Interesting thing I learned about aphids at the weekend (although not helpful for indoors): to encourage & grow the population of beneficial predatory insects that feed on pests we should keep a sacrificial plant that's covered in caterpillars, aphids etc. Half my garden is covered in mealy bugs so I'm not convinced it's going to work but I have got a couple of chewed kale plants that I'm not going to rip out.

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Re: Australian Gardening Thread
« Reply #699 on: May 07, 2018, 05:14:20 PM »
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About the rats - we have a cat prowling our garden. He just appeared this week and he is very interested in the rat runs and hangouts and is spending a lot of time here! Not the most humane solution but I hope he gets them.
My brother had a rat and mouse problem and "got" (i.e. it arrived) a feral cat and it worked a treat.

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I have black aphids on my garlic chives. I've grown them indoors years ago and never had aphids on them or any other herbs I was growing that time. So I don't know why it's happening now. I sprayed them with a water, oil and baking soda solution as per a recipe I found online, then I got impatient because they weren't falling off immediately and just snipped the garlic chives off and threw them out with the rubbish. Figured that would be the end of it. But now the new growth has black aphids on them too. :(((  Where are they coming from? Are they hiding away in the soil just waiting to jump on any new growth? How do I eradicate them without using stuff that's toxic to humans?
I had this happen to me too - I had clumps of chives and garlic chives flourishing - then the black aphids moves in, and despite my best effort one by one the clumps got infected and died off. Agree with GT, go for white oil.
The permie solution is to never completely eliminate pests, and encourage beneficial predators - in theory eventually a balance will be achieved. i suspect it takes years of organics/diversity  to achieve thisetc

 

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