Roses are Red

The rose has long been a source of fascination and meaningfulness for cultures around the world.

Cleopatra was believed to have covered the floor of her palace room with roses before Mark Antony visited for in those times anything which was said "under the rose" was deemed to be a secret.

For many of us Queenslanders though how to keep roses looking amazing feels like a state secret. 

I often stare in awe at the pictures in magazines of roses elsewhere in Australia. How dare they have the climatic conditions to grow these plants successfully? I suppose we can’t have everything – at least the maroons can play football!

I have never claimed to know the secrets of growing roses in a climate where for about six months of the year we have what feels like 100% humidity.

Many rose growers out there will probably have a small heart attack at my way of growing roses but that’s ok, my way is the right way for me and maybe if you’ve never had any success in the past it may become the right way for you. 

The first thing I needed to realise was that my roses may never look like they do elsewhere. The humidity we suffer is the cause of most rose problems. No amount of sprays, fertilisers or correct planting techniques will change the problems humidity brings.

To combat most of the rose problems such as black spot, fungus, bud worm that occur during the warmer months I’d trim and fertilise. 

I don’t spray. 

During the really humid months most of my roses look like bare thorny sticks. 

I find removing all the affected leaves, trimming back the plant and then fertilising with a slow release complete organic fertiliser like Organic Link works fantastically. 

I always trim my roses like I am cutting the flowers off for a long stemmed vase. I personally can’t stand long straggly bushes so I make sure all my roses get a good prune continuously throughout the year.

After pruning you can use a product like Steriprune which is designed to protect wounds against infections and die back.

Come the cooler months and my roses are thick and lush and full of flowers. 

The few leaves that do get black spot or mould just get pulled off and when the flowers die, I still trim the stem right back like I am cutting it for a long stemmed vase.

During the cooIer months I might sometimes spray with a pyrethrum based spray for insects or Searles' Rose Pro Black Spot & Insect Killer which takes care of a myriad of insects and diseases. 

My roses are in full sun in pots and in the ground.  

They get fertilised numerous times throughout the year with Organic Link and I’d try to regularly liquid fertilise them with Rose Triple Boost.

Having great roses and plants in general isn’t a state secret.

 

Which is why we are excited to have Des Warnock, our Fertiliser Guru, talking us through the ‘Secrets to a Healthy Garden, Organically’ at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre on Wednesday 30th April. Tickets are essential phone 3021 8630 for more details.

 

Winter Vegetables

Autumn. Warm Days, cool nights. Perfect for vegetable planting.

 

By now your vegetable patch has been freshly composted and manured. It’s just waiting for you to plant out.

The basic cool season vegetables that I find grow well in most areas are –  broccoli, beetroot (my favourite), cabbage, cauliflower, leek, onions, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, snow peas, strawberries (my other favourite), peas, kale and rhubarb. 

 

If you don’t get a frost or you can cover your vegetables - beans, lettuce, capsicum and tomatoes can also be grown.

 

If you get really cold you can give brussels sprouts a go.

This is the basic vegetable range; there are so many different variations on these classic cooler weather vegetables.

 

In seedlings alone you can get about four different versions of broccoli. 

 

If you start using old fashioned open pollinated seeds the list can be endless. 

If your vegetable patch consists of a variety of different sized pots don’t worry, there is a large range of dwarf vegetables available in seedlings and seeds. 

 

Leek, lettuce, capsicums, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, snow peas, strawberries, peas and rhubarb all grow well in pots without needing dwarf varieties.  

 

The secret to growing any vegetables in pots follows the same principles as growing in the ground. 

 

Start with the best quality soil or potting mix, mulch with an organic material (I like organic sugar cane mulch that is free from weeds), fertilise with a complete organic slow release fertiliser and liquid fertilise fortnightly with a complete organic liquid fertiliser. 

 

I like using the Plant of Health range of fertilisers – Organic Link and Triple Boost and Searles' range of garden soil and potting mix - Peat 80 Plus

I find the cooler months are the best time for growing herbs.  Nearly all the herbs are available now. Herbs grow well in the garden or in pots and most herbs can be grouped together in pots to make mini herb gardens. 

The best thing about growing cool season vegetables is that it’s usually too cold for the pests to be out and about.  If you do get a few pests a pyrethrum based spray or one of the new organic sprays like eco oil or eco fend work well.  Mildew and mould is a common problem during wet winters - copper spray (some are considered organic) can be the best solution. 

 

I have heard that having pretend white butterflies in your vegetable patch not only looks pretty but helps deter moths.

Remember though the healthier the soil, the healthier the plants and the less likely you are to get problems. Now get outside and get dirty!

The Dirty Dozen

I'm getting a little gardening bored. It's still too early to be planting my winter vegetables and my vegetable patch is cleaned, composted, mulched and waiting. My few gardens are fertilised, trimmed and waiting for cooler weather to start planting out more. My lawns are fertilised, soil wetted and weed killed - just waiting on rain to green them up. 

So what does one do when garden bored - they start dreaming big. I think I have about 40 seed packets of the things I'd like to grow this winter. 

So I may have gotten a little over excited. So how do I narrow it down? 

Lucky for me I came across an interesting article on the extremely high amounts of pesticide residue on frozen berries. The interesting thing was most of the residue of pesticides banned in Australia. This happens because most frozen berry companies get their berries from a variety of overseas sources. 

The old mind clogs started turning over and after a bit more research I discovered the 'Dirty Dozen' and the 'Clean Fifteen'.

These are two lists released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) each year.

 The Dirty Dozen, a list of the fruits and vegetables likely to contain the highest amounts of pesticide residue. The Clean 15 is a list of fruits and vegetables least likely to contain pesticides.

The EWG take into account how people typically wash and prepare produce - for example, apples were washed and bananas peeled before testing.

The “Dirty Dozen” for 2013 were (number one being the most highest in pesticide residue)

1. Apples

2. Strawberries

3. Grapes

4. Celery

5. Peaches

6. Spinach

7. Sweet bell peppers

8. Nectarines

9. Cucumbers

10. Potatoes

11. Cherry tomatoes

12. Hot peppers

The EWG also added kale/collard greens and summer squash as a plus last year as they may contain organophosphate insecticides, which EWG characterizes as "highly toxic" and of special concern. 

Did you know that all of these you can grow at home in pots or gardens?

Armed with this information planning my winter vegetable patch has become a little easier.  Apart from cucumbers all of the 'Dirty Dozen' can be grown at home this winter.  Cucumbers prefer warmer weather. 

I honestly don't know why cherry tomatoes are on the list. I have no idea why anyone would need to spray these. If anyone has ever grown cherry tomatoes you would know how easy these plants are and how unsusceptible they are to disease and insects. 

I have also potted a raspberry, a fig and a dwarf peach just for fun too. 

I know you are all wondering what the 'Clean fifteen' are. So here it is

1. Asparagus

2. Avocados

3. Cabbage

4. Cantaloupe

5. Sweet corn

6. Eggplant

7. Grapefruit

8. Kiwi

9. Mangoes

10. Mushrooms

11. Onions

12. Papayas

13. Pineapples

14. Sweet peas (frozen) 

15. Sweet potatoes

Don't get gardening bored, plan big and include the 'Dirty Dozen' in your backyard.