Next on: Tonight 7.30pm, Rpt Sunday 1.30pm on ABC + iview | | | | | |
| | | | | Costa Georgiadis explores carnivorous plants, Sophie Thomson visits a botanist’s dog-friendly garden, Millie sows perennial plants and Tino shows you how to select and maintain pruning equipment. | | | | | | | | |
 | | | | | | | | Tonight 7.30pm on ABC + iview | | | | Costa visits a glittering and gruesome display of carnivorous plants from around the world at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | Fact Sheet | | | | Tino shows you how to select and maintain pruning equipment to give you perfect results every time | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | |  | | Gardening Australia Weekly Quiz
What is liana?
A) Bush land filled with tall, leggy trees B) A woody long-stemmed vine that has its roots in the ground and climbs around other plants C) When trees grow on an angle
Answer to last week's question:
Q: What species is the current tallest living tree in Europe?
A. C - Karri Knight (Eucalyptus diversicolor) | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Tropical Climate Zone - Beans (Climbing and Bush)
- Carrots
- Coriander
- Zucchini
Subtropical Climate Zone - Beetroot
- Celery
- Parsnip
- Sunflower
Arid Climate Zone - Asparagus
- Capsicum
- Chilli
- Lettuce
Temperate Climate Zone - Endive
- Mustard Greens
- Onion
- Spinach
Cool Climate Zone - Cabbage
- Chicory
- Onion
- Turnips/Swedes
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| | | | | Cool - In cool temperate gardens, asparagus spears are poking their delicious heads through, and can be harvested when they are thicker than a pencil. Cut carefully close to the ground.
- Show your cloves some love, and weed your garlic patch this weekend. Home grown garlic is delicious, but it hates competition.
- As part of Science Week, check your soil pH, watch your worms, count some invertebrates – get to know what’s down below!
Warm Temperate - Cockies Tongues (Templetonia retusa) are flowering now. These tough native shrubs bear masses of bright pea flowers, said to resemble the tongue of the Cockatoo.
- Grapevines are dormant, so it’s a perfect time to prune. Prune seedless grapes back to around 10 nodes, while seeded grapes can be pruned back to 2 or 3. Remove other excess canes.
- Celebrate science week, grab a torch, and see what happens in your garden after dark. Keep eyes and ears open for all sorts of nocturnal critters – insects, bats, possums, spiders and more.
Subtropical - It’s time to harvest turmeric. As the lower leaves yellow you can use a trowel to gently dig out rhizomes, remembering to leave a few in the ground for next season!
- It’s your last chance to prune any roses that didn’t get a haircut in July and follow that up with a nice organic feed towards the end of the month.
- Before you harvest all your incredible edibles, why not let some of your favourites set seed? Saving seed is easy, fun, and means you have plenty to plant next season.
Tropics - It’s time to plant a Vanilla Vine (Vanilla planifolia). An evergreen climber, this beauty needs its flowers hand pollinated in order to produce the delicious edible pods. Sweet as!
- Interested in backyards, biodiversity and birds? Get involved in your local citizen science community, head outdoors and become a volunteer birdwatcher.
- Tomato harvesting is in full swing, and if you find yourself with a glut, why not look at making some pickles, preserves, sauces and semi-dried snacks from your home-grown goodies?
Arid Zones - Enjoy the great indoors and refresh your potted plants. Give plants a deep soaking, a good feed and top up potting mix, before the growing season kicks off again.
- Whether you treat them like a vegie or a fruit, the humble Choko (Sechium edule) is at home in any garden. Give them a bit of shelter from the wind, something to climb on and they’re away!
- Mandjalen (Eucalyptus miniata) and Mandadjek (Grevillea pteridifolia) are flowering now, signifying the cool, dry Wurrkeng season for the Kunwinjku people of western Arnhem Land.
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Catch up on ABC iview | | | | Never miss a gardening moment! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
