May Garden Calendar – Getting Ready for Winter

May is the month that sorts the gardeners out, and the month that heralds the completion of one of nature’s cycles; a time when autumn leaves crunch underfoot. Don’t burn off the leaves-this leads to major air pollution problems around city areas. Instead, use the leaves as surface mulch on garden beds, or compost them for later use. An easy method is to bung them all into a large garbage bag, and plonk them out of the way for a few months.

JOBS TO DO NOW

  • If you love orchids, consider the miniature cymbidium orchids, which are the same as ordinary orchids but have smaller leaves and more petite flowers. All can be planted in partly shaded rockeries in orchid compost (never in straight soil). Orchids will be sending out their flower spikes now, so sprinkle some snail bait around. When using these, spread them out thinly and never in heaps as this may attract dogs; snail baits are poisonous to dogs and cats, so always scatter them sparingly and keep the packet locked out of your pets’ (and kids’) reach.
  • Set the lawn mower up a notch to let the grass thicken for winter.
  • Garden shrubs and trees can be moved from now until August, when bud burst occurs. Dig up as much of the roots as possible and water in with a solution of plant hormone growth stimulant (kelp) such as Plant Hormone after planting.
  • Cut back chrysanthemums and lift dahlia bulbs.
  • As the vegies finish and die off for winter, dig in plenty of manure and leave fallow or plant a green manure crop to improve the soil. Try ‘Clever Clover’, which is available from the CSIRO in Canberra.

INDOOR PLANTS

  • As winter approaches, ease off with the watering of indoor plants. Plants like to be kept a little drier in winter, as excess water chills their roots. Leave repotting and fertilising until spring, and keep plants away from heaters or airconditioning vents.
  • Small (match head-sized), fluffy white blobs on plants indicates the presence of mealy bug. There is no effective longterm treatment for this pest and it is best to quickly get rid of affected plants before the pest spreads.


TIME TO PLANT

  • It is really too late to plant tropical things like bougainvillea and frangipani unless you live in the tropics, but you can still sneak in winter-flowering jewels such as luculia, flowering quinces, camellias, hardenbergia and many grevilleas, as well as some violas, pansies, alyssum, Livingstone daisies, lobelia, English daisies, calendulas, dianthus, anemones, primulus, ranunculus, poppies, stocks, sweet peas, snapdragons, larkspurs, cornflowers, foxgloves and cinerarias.
  • In the vegetable garden plant cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, radish and broad beans (not in tropical areas).

Reference:  Donald Burke

March Garden Calendar

March is the most popular month in Australia for marriages and births. So what about a garden wedding? Most brides have stephanotis in their posies, so you can try growing your own; they have pure white trumpet flowers and a romantic, connubial perfume.

JOBS TO DO NOW
• Most bulbs are on sale now. Plant jonquils immediately, but delay planting the other bulbs until next month.
• Start planning your spring display of annuals, pinching out growth tips and fertilising.
• Lots of weeds will be about, especially onion weed and oxalis. Some gardeners claim that these two weeds can be removed by hand, but this is not true; they will need several treatments of Roundup or Zero. These chemicals are most effective when plants are growing rapidly, so don’t bother to use them in winter. In lawn areas, let the grass and onion weed grow for a few weeks and the onion weed will stand up clear of the grass; it can then be carefully treated with a Zero Weeding Wand. Be careful not to put any Zero on the grass itself, and don’t walk on the Zero as your feet will transfer it to the grass.
• Prune straggly geraniums and fuchsias. If you like, use the prunings for cuttings-you could end up with new plants for free.

LAWNS
• This is your last chance to resurrect any crook bits in the lawn. A light fertilising with a Complete Lawn Food will cheer up the lawn and help it through the rigours of winter.
• In shady areas, oversow the lawn with Shady Lawn Seed or, better still, replace the lawn with low-maintenance ground covers such as native violets, ivy, gazanias, prostrate conifers or low growing natives, build a garden bed or rockery, or pave with bricks. Dichondra is a great lawn alternative for shaded spots.
• Compacted lawn areas or rock-hard soil should be aerated with a garden fork or power aerator (available from equipment hire shops).

TIME TO PLANT
• Strawberries can be planted now. If yours are a few years old, replace them with new virus-free plants and see if you can beat the kids, starlings and magpies to the fruit.
• Plant snapdragon seedlings now, and they will be in flower in time for the kids to play with in the May holidays. When you squeeze the flowers they open up like a lion’s mouth and can keep the children thoroughly amused for minutes!
• Plant bulbs now for flowers from late winter into spring. The hardiest bulbs are jonquils and freesias. In cooler areas you can enjoy daffodils, tulips and grape hyacinths.
• Nothing beats sweet peas or poppies as cut flowers, so plant some in amongst the stocks, violas and pansies. You can try the carpeting form of sweet pea known as Snoopea-unlike other sweet peas, Snoopea has no tendrils and does not climb; it just covers the ground in a kaleidoscope of fragrant red, blue, pink, and white blooms.
• Vegetables to be planted now include Brussels sprouts, beetroot, Chinese cabbage, peas, snow peas, cauliflower, lettuce, cabbage, silver beet, carrots, parsley and radishes.

Reference: Don Burke

GARDENING CALENDAR – January

It ‘s usually too hot at this time of the year for much gardening-just bung some Zero or Roundup on the weeds and lower
yourself into the pool or banana lounge.  For an easy care summer garden, mulch all the garden beds.

JOBS TO DO NOW
• Deep watering once a week with a garden sprinkler is essential if the eather is hot and dry. Pay particular attention to trees, which are often forgotten in dry weather.
• Fertilise the garden, especially roses, hibiscus and leaf vegetables- use any complete fertiliser with trace elements,
well-matured cow pats.
• Lightly prune fuchsias and roses, trim off any dead flowers and generally tidy them up. Hydrangeas can also be lightly
pruned if they have finished flowering cut back old flowering heads to a plump set of buds but leave non-flowering stems alone .
• Get the lawn mower serviced.
• Continue treatments on all plants for scale insects where necessary.

INDOOR PLANTS
• Throw out all your old, sick or dying indoor plants and replace them with new ones. A good range of indoor plants
is available now; select one or two big plants rather than lots of tiny plant which look messy and require loads of maintenance.
• Give indoor plants an occasional stint outside in the rain, but be careful that they don’t sit in full sun as this will burn their leaves. Under a shade tree is a safe spot for them. Also, keep an eye on indoor plants that are outside as they are sitting targets for snails and slugs. Before you bring the pots back inside, check the rims thoroughly for snails that may be lurking around.

HOLIDAY HINTS
• Massive root damage can occur to trees and shrubs left unwatered at this time of year, so be sure to give the garden a
soaking with a sprinkler before you go on holidays.
• Indoor plants will survive unattended for weeks in self-watering pots such as or Water-well model.
• Indoor plants can be watered well then encolsed, pot and all, inside large, clear plastic bags and left in a cool, not too
brightly lit room.
• Pay on of your neighbour’s kids to come in to water all your plants, bring in the newspapers and feed the pets.  Give them careful instructions about special plants and also give them a good idea about how long the hose needs to water thoroughly.
• Install a watering system. It’s a good way to save water and makes the task pf looking after your garden a bit easier, especially when you go away.

TIME TO PLANT
• Try planting a small area of annuals in strategic place in the garden-one or perhaps two colours will suffice. Slightly yellowish, older seedlings from the nursery may establish faster and better than lush, green, younger ones. Choose from petunias, marigolds, salvia, ageratum, delphiniums and poppies.
• Plant some vegetables-beans, beetroot, brussels sprouts (not in the tropics), broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, carrots, radishes, silver beet, sweet corn, spring onions and zucchini.

From Burke’s Backyard

Dr. Garry Gordon gives his presentation “Cancer, Degenerative Diseases, and Aging”

Dr. Garry Gordon gives his presentation “Cancer, Degenerative Diseases, and Aging” at the Advanced Detoxification and Gene Based Medicine Conference held in Phoenix, AZ March 10-11, 2007. This video gives some insights into the new generation of alternative treatments. You need to have flashplayer enabled to watch this Google video

Gary Null – How To Supercharge Your Immune System

Gary Null has written attacks on many facets of conventional medicine. He says that physicians are not conspiring but are just trained and conditioned to accept the premises of their profession. Concerning chronic illnesses their economic interest is in sickness maintenance, not prevention. He accused the “medical community of suppressing alternative cancer treatments to protect the medical establishment’s solid-gold cancer train”. 1 hr 31 min 40 secYou need to have flashplayer enabled to watch this Google video