There’s never been a better time to get growing!

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Next on: Tonight 7.30pm, Rpt Sunday 1.30pm on ABC + iview   Coming up   Jane revives indoor orchids, Millie visits a sky-high garden, Tino shows how to make simple garden paths, Jerry shares some simple tips on keeping rats at bay in the garden and Josh maximises growing space by elevating his edibles.   WATCH MORE     Video preview   Tonight 7.30pm on ABC + iview   Josh shares some tips for growing food at new heights in your garden.   Find out more       Factsheet highlight   Fact Sheet   Jerry has some alternative ways to rid your garden of rats.     Watch more         Gardening Australia Weekly Quiz How many species of the Phalaenopsis orchid are found in the wild? A) Around 20 B) Around 70   C) Around 500 Watch tonight's episode and see next week's newsletter for the answer! Answer to last week's quiz: Q. What is the botanical name for the Silky Oak? A. a) Grevillea robusta      What to plant this weekend   Tropical Climate Zone Cauliflower Chives Parsnip Tomatoes Subtropical Climate Zone Beetroot Carrots Cucumber Rocket Arid Climate Zone Celery Eggplant Kale/Collards Potatoes Temperate Climate Zone Broad Beans Endive Lettuce Radish Cool Climate Zone Brussels Sprout Leeks Parsley  Shallots   Jobs for the weekend   COOL Why not propagate some indoor plants this weekend? Take cuttings from climbers like Pothos, ivy’s, sweet potato and pups from spider plants and strike in water! Simple! It’s crunch time for celery. Preferring full sun and a deep, fertile soil, plant celery seedlings in deep trenches. Feed fortnightly with fish emulsion – the faster they grow, the better they taste. If your camellia is all bud and no bloom, spend some time removing excess buds. Ideally, there should be no more than two buds per cluster, which should see a fab floral show in spring. TEMPERATE Propagate some strawberries from runners – the long, whippy shoots that appear after fruiting. Gently remove these from the parent plant and pop into soil. Cuttings can be taken now of grey-leaved plants, like lavender, catnip and helichrysum. Strip lower leaves from healthy, non-flowering shoots, dip in honey and plant in propagation mix. Bring some colour to your patch and plant out some pansies. These awesome annuals are dead easy to grow, come in all the colours of the rainbow, and the white ones can deter cabbage white butterflies. SUBTROPICAL In subtropical gardens, clean up your act and harvest your luffa before they get mouldy. Harvest while the skins are still yellow and beginning to slip, remove skins and seeds and allow to dry. With cooler weather on the way, make sure you raise the level of your mower blades the next time you love your lawn. This helps the grass stay healthier, look lusher and out compete weeds. Bring in the good bugs and bees and sow some cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus). Their blue blooms brighten up every backyard, the flowers are edible and they’re great garden companions. TROPICAL Keep an eye on the stems and foliage of plants for scale. These small, solid-looking sap-suckers can be squashed by hand, but heavily infested parts should be pruned and binned. Plant some seeds of Amaranthus tricolour in your patch. This lovely looking leafy annual is edible, the young red and green foliage being tender, tasty and full of vitamins and minerals They may flower almost all year, but perennial Pentas need a prune. Pruning around 30cm from their overall height will help them retain a compact shape, and they’ll flower again in no time. ARID  Stressed and heat damaged plants are not uncommon in arid gardens. It’s tempting to tidy them up but DON'T cut off affected foliage until spring as it is protecting the growth below. Kale can fail when sown directly, so start them in punnets. Use good quality seed-raising mix, fill punnets to ¾, spread seed generously and cover. Thin seedlings as required, and plant out in June They're generally good bugs, but slaters can cause problems by ringbarking young seedlings. Placing hollowed orange halves in garden beds traps slaters, which can then be fed to the chooks.    Catch up on ABC iview   Never miss a gardening moment!   Watch more     Subscribe     Follow Us     The ABC sent this message to garden336.tool@blogger.com these details are included to help provide assurance that this is a genuine email from ABC. Any personal details and data acquired by the ABC from your participation in any ABC Online Services will be used only in accordance with the ABC's Privacy Policy.     © 2020 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC, ABN 52 429 278 345. 700 Harris St Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia.   Unsubscribe from this eNewsletter | Discover other email newsletters | Privacy

From indoor plants to produce plants – now’s the time to get growing!

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Next on: Tonight 7.30pm, Rpt Sunday 1.30pm on ABC + iview   Coming up   Sophie visits a eucalyptus oil farm; Jane multiplies one plant to many with simple division; Josh makes a compost sink; we visit the home of an interior stylist whose indoor plant collection will amaze you and guest presenter Emmaline Bowman shows us how to make homes in the garden for skinks   WATCH MORE     Video preview   Tonight 7.30pm on ABC + iview   Guest presenter Emmaline Bowman shows us how to welcome native skinks into the garden   Find out more       Factsheet highlight   Fact Sheet   Josh builds a DIY sink station that washes his vegie garden harvest whilst stopping his compost from drying out     Watch more         Gardening Australia Weekly Quiz What is the botanical name for the Silky Oak? A) Grevillea robusta     B) Quercus robur C) Cardwellia sublimis Watch tonight's show and see next week's newsletter for the answer! Answer to last week's quiz: Q) How many species of ladybeetles are there in Australia? A) C - Over 100       What to plant this weekend   Tropical Climate Zone Asparagus Broad beans Carrots Potatoes Subtropical Climate Zone Beans (Climbing and bush) Cauliflower Eggplant Parsnip Arid Climate Zone Broccoli Capsicum Leeks Parsley Temperate Climate Zone Cabbage Chives Leeks Shallots Cool Climate Zone Endive Mustard Greens Onion Spinach   Jobs for the weekend   COOL National Eucalypt Day is this Monday, so spend some time in the company of these iconic Australians and celebrate the place they hold in our hearts and lives. For soups, salads and sangas, it’s time to sow scallions! Also known as spring or salad onions, sow seeds direct into fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Perfect in between other crops. Hedges don’t have to be boring! There are heaps of herbs that are hedgeable, with the bonus of being edible! Think Rosemary, Sage, Bay Trees, Thyme, Curry Bush, Catmint and lovely Lavenders. TEMPERATE It’s garlic planting time! Source varieties from certified growers, soak firm, separated cloves in dilute seaweed overnight and plant point up into rich, fluffy soil. Autumn may have just begun, but it’s time to plan your spectacular show of spring flowering bulbs. Make a cuppa, crack open some catalogues and order your bulbs for planting in late April/May. Eucalypts aren’t just huge trees, there are some great varieties for home gardens too, like the silver-foliaged Argyle Apple (Eucalyptus cinerea) that can be clipped regularly to form a hedge.  SUBTROPICAL Fight foliage fungal freak-outs by adjusting your fertiliser. Go for feeds with low nitrogen and higher potassium and phosphorous percentages for happy, healthy plants. The Plunkett Mallee (Eucalyptus curtisii) is a beautiful bird-attracting gum, perfect for home gardens. A tough, multi-trunked tall shrub to 6m, the summer flush of creamy flowers is divine. Spotted, freckled, curled or ruffled – pick your faves and plant some lettuce! Sow seedlings into a blend of soil, compost, manure, blood and bone, pelletised chook poo and a dusting of potash. TROPICAL Grow a tomato that’s tasty, tiny and cute as a button! The Thai Pink Egg tomato is productive and perfect for the tropics, and the pale pink fruit are super sweet In bloom now is the bold Tibouchina with their riot of showy purple flowers. These evergreen Brazilian natives love a hard prune once flowering is finished, and a sunny spot out of the wind. Get involved in Citizen Science and become a Dead Tree Detective. Submit photos and info about dead and dying trees in your area to assist Universities monitoring of tree and ecosystem health. Find out more about the Dead Tree Detective Project here. ARID The perfect specimen tree for arid gardens is the Coral Gum, Eucalyptus torquata. Textured gumnuts, brilliantly coloured flowers and buds and dark bark make this a sun-loving stunner. It’s snow-pea time! Knock up a simple climbing frame or a timber trellis, and, after soaking seeds overnight, sow them direct into well-prepared soil at the base of the frame. Mulch well Hardy and handy, Artemisia x ‘Powis Castle’ is a tough cookie in arid climates. A small, mounded shrub, its aromatic, grey leaves are great for repelling mites, fleas…and possibly even rabbits!   Catch up on ABC iview   Never miss a gardening moment!   Watch more     Subscribe     Follow Us     The ABC sent this message to garden336.tool@blogger.com these details are included to help provide assurance that this is a genuine email from ABC. Any personal details and data acquired by the ABC from your participation in any ABC Online Services will be used only in accordance with the ABC's Privacy Policy.     © 2020 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC, ABN 52 429 278 345. 700 Harris St Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia.   Unsubscribe from this eNewsletter | Discover other email newsletters | Privacy