| | Next on: Tonight 7.30pm, Rpt Sunday 1.30pm on ABC + iview | | | | | |
| | | | | Sophie visits a protea flower farm, Jerry gets tips from an expert orchid grower, Jane tackles citrus gall wasp and Tino shows you how to do a simple test that will help you understand your soil better. | | | | | | | | |
 | | | | | | | | Tonight 7.30pm on ABC + iview | | | | Tino shares a simple soil test that will help transform any gardener into a soil sleuth | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | Fact Sheet | | | | Jerry meets an expert orchid grower to learn his secrets for keeping hardy orchids thriving | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | |  | | Gardening Australia Weekly QuizOf some 1350 species of Acacia found worldwide, how many are Australian? A) Around 500
B) Around 1000
C) Around 1300
See next week’s newsletter for the answer!
Answer to last week’s quiz question:
Q) What is the most consumed vegetable in Japan?
A) - c) Daikon | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Running out of space to grow vegies? Tino demonstrates an easy way to make a cheap vertical garden using a pallet! It’s a simple and fun project to do this weekend and a great way to increase your growing space! | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Tropical Climate Zone - Beans (Climbing and bush)
- Carrots
- Onion
- Potatoes
Subtropical Climate Zone - Jerusalem artichoke
- Mustard greens
- Parsnip
- Shallots
Arid Climate Zone - Cauliflower
- Radish
- Shallots
- Sweet potato
Temperate Climate Zone - Broad beans
- Endive
- Peas/Snow peas
- Radish
Cool Climate Zone - Asparagus
- Chicory
- Shallots
- Silverbeet
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| | | | COOL - It’s not too late to sow spring-flowering sweet peas! Pop in a two-meter trellis and sow seeds direct in a sunny spot. (Against a warm north wall is perfect!)
- Mid and late season onions can be planted now. Into manure-rich soil, sow seeds in shallow lines, thinning them out to 15cm spacings once they have germinated.
- Plant growth slows in places where we get cold winters, and when growth slows, nutrient uptake slows, so hold off feeding plants until the warmer spring months kick in.
TEMPERATE - In warm temperate areas, Calendulas are winter winners. Excellent at attracting beneficial insects, the showy orange flowers are also edible, and add gorgeous, tasty colour to a salad.
- In pots or plots, sow some fast-growing fenugreek. As a sprout or planted out, this annual herb has a sweet, curry flavour, and is great as a green manure, cover crop or indoor edible.
- Sure, it’s winter, but there is no better time to plan for warm-season edibles. Find a sunny section of garden at your place and start a compost heap for sowing melons and pumpkins come spring.
SUBTROPICAL - ts bare root rose time in the subtropics! There are loads of varieties that cope well with heat and humidity. Why not make contact with your local rose society for their recommendations
- Grab a hard-bristled broom, some white vinegar and water and clean grubby pavers. Dilute the vinegar one part to ten in a spray bottle, apply to pavers and get scrubbing! Beaut stuff!
- You can have your flowers and eat them too. Sow Cosmos sulphureus now, a tough, self-seeding annual with showy, edible flowers and foliage, perfect in stir-fries...and the garden!
TROPICAL - Sow the seeds that are sure to make you smile – sunflowers. From dwarf varieties to plants over 2 meters tall, these happy Helianthus are fast, floriferous and fun!
- Looks like lettuce, tastes like coriander, have a crack at Culantro, Eryngium foetidum. Also known as Thai Coriander, the spiky leaves of this fast-growing annual can be eaten fresh or cooked.
- Zingiber spectabilis are coming into long-lasting flower now. Called beehive gingers because of their distinct, fragrant floral arrangements, these stunners are a tropical must-have.
ARID - Arid-loving, aromatic, attractive and tough-as, find space for Greek Horehound (Ballota pseudodictamnus). The soft, silver foliage compliments other perennial plantings perfectly.
- Kangaroo Paws will thank you for a feed at this time of year. Apply a general pelletised slow release fertiliser, alongside monthly drinks of a diluted worm tea for happy plants and beautiful blooms
- Upgrade your chooks accommodation, and plant a deciduous vine, like a grape, next to their run. This will give them much needed shade in summer, and let the light shine through in winter.
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