Brighten your Garden with Oranges, Yellows and Pinks.

Ixoras.

This is an I love it or I hate it plant.

My mum loves them. I must admit I verge on the opposing side. Why on earth would I write about them if they are on my not so favourite list?

Well as with many things these plants have grown on me over the years and as with many plants there seems to be a time and a place for them.

Ixoras are native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, with many of them in Tropical Asia. These plants typically can't handle frosts so if you are in a frost prone area these may not be for you. Some Ixoras are more prone to being cold affected while others can handle a little bit of cold.

Ixoras have dark green leathery leaves and produce large clusters of tiny flowers in the summer and autumn. The more common Ixoras usually have orange, gold, pink or red flowers. Ixoras prefer acidic soil and usually like a little shelter from our blazing summer sun. In saying that I have seen many gorgeous Ixoras growing in full sun and full shade.  They don't mind being in pots or the ground.

I find the four most popular Ixoras are 'Prince of Orange', 'Pink Malay', dwarf orange and dwarf gold. Ixora williamsii is also popular as it has red flowers but it really dislikes the cold so is not commonly grown in Ipswich.

Prince of Orange has fiery orange flowers and can grow around two meters tall. The dwarf orange and yellow grow to around 1/2 metre. These look amazing in pots but I have seen them in gardens  trimmed into a hedge and they look stunning when in flower. You can hardly see their green leaves.

My favourite Ixora is Pink Malay. Why do I love it? Not just because it gets covered in pink flowers but because it is so hardy. This Ixora is absolutely amazing; growing to around a metre it can handle full sun and shade. It can grow in pots or the garden and I have seen it successfully growing in a shopping centre car park. Yes that's right, a shopping centre car park. A place that has no good soil, no mulch, no care, only rain fall and it looks glorious. This is why I love this plant.

Ixoras like all my plants get fertilised with Organic Link and Triple Boost. I use Searles' Peat 80 potting mix for pots and Searles' garden soil for gardens.

There is a grub that likes to destroy your Ixora flower heads. There are a few ways to combat this - You can mix neem oil in with your fortnightly Triple Boost or I sometimes use Searles' Bug Beater. Eco-oil would also work. Sooty mould can also form on the leaves. This can be caused by scale and ants. Give your plant a really good soil drench and use a soil wetter if necessary. Fertilise and spray with Eco-oil. In a fortnight or so you should be able to hose off the soot and hopefully the ants would have dissipated.

This autumn brighten up your dull spots with shades of orange, yellow and pink.

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. 

It's who you know

I was horrified the other day to hear a story.  The story basically went like this:

"A customer was in the green life section of a rather large store that sold thousands of items including gardening necessities. She overheard a staff member telling another customer to use a particular potting mix as it was the best on the market. Curious, she moved closer to see what they were talking about only to find out the staff member was promoting composted fertiliser as potting mix. The unsuspecting customers bought three bags along with plants. "

What horrifies me is this particular product even states on the bag 'this is NOT a potting mix'. These first time gardeners were about to make a huge mistake that would probably cost them the life of their plants. 

This is not the real problem. The real problem occurs when these people kill these plants due to wrong information. They then get upset at the waste of time, energy and most of all money spent on gardening only to have everything die. 

The correct information is so important. The best place to get correct information is at a place that specialises in that particular subject.

If you want correct and helpful advice on gardening - visit your local garden centre. 

Garden centre's have fully qualified expert staff. Staff who are not only experts but who are local and have all suffered the same gardening problems that you suffer.  Garden centre staff enjoy helping you through your gardening problems, taking the confusion away and giving you back the joy of gardening. Gardening is usually our passion. 

I know at Trevallan our staff have over 30 years of gardening experience. Staff are constantly kept up to date of products entering the shop and market by attending supplier information sessions. We are members of the Nursery and Garden Industry Association and apply their strict regulations.  Our staff are Certified Nursery Professionals and have won many awards for our service to horticulture. 

We don't need a thousand gardening items on our shelves. We just need the ones we know work and use ourselves. 

Our gardens are an investment. To make sure that investment prospers we need great down to earth advice. 

Next time you decide to improve your plant life balance and give your life some TLC make sure you visit the gardening experts - Trevallan Lifestyle Centre - your local garden centre.

Bloomin' Fabulous

A common question I am asked is "why didn't my fruit trees fruit profusely or if they did why was the fruit misshapen?" Or "why didn't my camellias and azaleas flower as well this year?" Or even "why are all my coloured foliaged plants like crotons and dracaenas losing their colour?"

The answer is usually quite simple - Your garden just needs some TLC and a little Potash!

Potassium Sulphate or Sulphate of Potash is commonly called Potash.  It is an essential element necessary to the lives of all plants.

It aids in disease resistance and frost protection by strengthening the plants cell walls.  It helps in seed and root development. It encourages strong new growth and helps with the formation of flower buds and fruit.

Potash can improve the quality and the colour of flowers and enhances the formation of proteins and sugars in fruit. Potash can even help plants with slender stems and large flower heads such as Iceland poppies and gerberas hold their heads erect.

Potash defective cues can be seen in a number of ways in your plant. Your plants might be showing signs of overall weakness especially in its stem.  It could have yellowing leaf margins and grow more slowly.  It could also be disease prone and its fruit and flowers will be small and poorly coloured and sometimes tasteless.

Don't confuse a potash deficiency though with an unhealthy plant. Always make sure you have given your plant some complete slow release organic fertiliser like Organic Link first.

It seems that many Australian soils are low in potassium (potash).

Complete fertilisers, whether they are chemical or organic, usually contain potash.  Organic Link contains potash. An N:P:K ratio can usually be found on the fertiliser label. A very quick explanation of the N:P:K ratio is - N stands for Nitrogen (greening, growing), P Phosphorus (roots) and K Potassium (fruiting, flowering).

If you use mainly a manure based fertiliser like blood and bone or chicken manure you will need to add potash as these products don’t naturally contain it.

Potash also is available by itself in a liquid form and a granular form. 

The liquid form is added to water and used as a foliar spray. Used like this it is quick acting but not long lasting and needs to be repeated on a fortnightly basis. This is best for promoting flowers especially on annuals.  I use Plant of Health's Potash and Silica. 

The granular form is added to the soil and watered in.  The granular is slower acting but lasts a lot longer.  This is best for correcting deficiencies, promoting fruit and stimulating coloured foliage. We use Searles' Potash.

This weekend I want you all to get some granular potash and go a little silly in your gardens. Your winter blooming plants like camellias and azaleas will love you and your citrus trees will adore you.

Gardens and Unicorns

Did you make a New Year's resolution? Have you kept it?

I read a funny saying the other day about New Year's resolutions. It read "My New Years resolution is to become a unicorn". I think many of us tend to over exaggerate our expectations of ourselves. In doing this our New Years resolutions become a bit of a fantasy.

For this reason I don't make New Years resolutions anymore.

I like to say instead - I have set my intentions for the year ahead.

So if right now you had to set your intentions for year ahead, what would they be?

Would any of those intentions be green orientated?

Is this the year for that vegetable patch or to start landscaping the back yard. Maybe it's something really simple like this year I intend to start caring for my plants more.

Nothing too over the top - we don't want yards full of unicorns!

I think the first step is being honest with ourselves. So many of us don't like being wrong. I of course don't have a problem with being wrong because I'm always right......

I find my biggest hurdle in sharing gardening knowledge is asking people to be honest about their soil.

In theory we all water well and fertilise our plants. But how much of this water and fertiliser is really getting into our soils and how much is the plant really getting?

With this continued horrible heat we are experiencing our plants will dry out much sooner than we think. Plus this heat and wind has a tendency to suck any excess moisture out of the soil and foliage of the plants.

Soils can become hydrophobic so quickly and this hydrophobia can lead to unhealthy plants and sometimes even the death of a plant. Even if you think you are a great waterer - hydrophobic soil can strike anywhere, anytime. It can happen in gardens, lawns and pots.

The problem with hydrophobic soil is that it doesn't just stop water from getting to your plant it can also stop fertilisers from penetrating the soil.

While mulching and composts can help, I find the quickest and easiest way to combat hydrophobic soil is with a soil wetter.

I know I've mentioned this before but I see this being a common problem. I also know from experience what a difference soil wetters can make. I use Searles Penetraide at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre and at home. There is a granular and a liquid. I prefer the liquid, my mother and sister prefer the granules. Both do a fantastic job.

Another product I love to use in this heat is my liquid fertiliser 'Silica and Potash'.

Regular use of Silica and Potash Foliar Spray reduces heat and frost damage as well as wind burn. It improves plant growth, flowering and fruit count. It also makes plants physically tougher – tough plants are more resistant to pest and fungal attack.

This weekend get rid of the unicorns and get a healthy thriving garden instead.

Is Green Manure just really Green Poo?

Wonderful blistering hot days, humidity that feels like we should be living in tropics, rain and winds that blow your roof off then cool days that make us wonder if that 50 degree day was just in our imagination. 

This is what it feels like to live in Ipswich in the summer. 

How would you fare in this weather? Hot, bothered, quick tempered? 

I know I've been struggling, the smallest things bother me. 

If I had a vegetable patch right now, I know I'd be pulling most of it up. 

If the heat didn't kill everything off, the humidity probably would have. 

In years past when I have had a vegetable patch in summer I have suffered with burnt leaves, white mould all over my cucumbers, tomato blight and then to top it all off grubs in my fruit (from fruit fly stings).

Which is why at this time of year I always sow a summer green manure crop. 

Green manure crops are crops grown not to be harvested but instead to be incorporated into the soil before they reach maturity to contribute to the health of the soil. 

It is an old technique of soil management that seems to have been forgotten by many gardeners and farmers. I think it's because we are no longer aware of the proven benefits and cost effectiveness of green manure crops. 

Trevallan Lifestyle Centre stocks Eden Seeds, a seed company that only stocks old traditional open pollinated varieties of seed, preferably old Australian varieties and organically or bio-dynamically grown where possible.  The green manure seeds packs contain a mix of seeds.

Green manure crops contribute directly to the fertility of your vegetable patch through the supply of important plant nutrients. Legumes, for instance, supply nitrogen because their roots form an association with soil-borne bacteria that can transform nitrogen from the atmosphere into nitrogen compounds that can be used by plants. Isn't nature wonderful? It's also just saved you money as now you don't need to add as much fertiliser to your vegetable patch.

Green manure crops can also contribute indirectly to nutrient supply. Just the process of decomposition of the crop aids in making further nutrients available that are already present in the soil but in a form that cannot be used by plants.

 

After the plants have grown and you incorporate them back into the soil you are supplying vast amounts of organic matter that is usually supplied by organic mulches. Once again saving you money - no need to buy organic mulch. 

Drought resistance can also be improved as a lot of the crops are very deep rooted. Their roots can penetrate the subsoil and open it up. Next season's crops can also obtain plant nutrients from the subsoil once it is opened by deep rooted green manure crops.

So this weekend get dirty and take out all your hot weather anger on your vegetable patch by pulling everything up and planting some green manure crops. 

 

Your winter vegetables will thank you.

Green Cocktails

Want to go green this Christmas but don't know how? A little over the traditional poinsettia in a pot? 

Maybe you have to buy for that hard to buy for person? You know the ones.  The ones that have the ability to acquire all that they want and don't really like home wares or nic knacks, or have a small family and aren't really into a movie gift card....

You want to get them something planty of course, but what plant?

Light bulb moment!

Cocktails, Thai takeaway, Italian lovers and an office romance sound like pretty good gifts but we are supposed to be talking plants ... 

I am talking plants, just looking at them from a different view. 

Cocktails

 All I need is a cocktail recipe and the ingredients.

I found the recipe for Real Lime Mojito - lime, mint, sugar, rum.

I planted one of Trevallan's dwarf Tahitian Limes in a terracotta pot and under planted it with mint. I used Searles' Peat 80 potting mix, fertilised it with my organic fertiliser 'Organic Link' and put some mulch on top (I used pine bark). I than printed the recipe onto some decorative paper, laminated it and attached it to the tree. Tall glass and rum was bought and I placed this under the tree and BOOM - cocktails done!

 

 

 So everyone wants to have a herb garden but herb garden as a gift seems soooo boring. 

Why not give someone an "Italian Lover" or "Thai Takeaway".
 

Italian Lover

A large terracotta pot with rosemary, thyme and parsley. 

Thai takeaway 

I collected a group of terracotta pots all in different sizes and planted lemongrass, ginger, mint, chillies and coriander. 

For both pots I used Searles' Peat 80 potting mix, fertilised it with 'Organic Link' and put some mulch on top.

Office Romance

Zanzibar Gem, one of the hardiest indoor plants, place it in a planter and take to work. A planter is a pot without a hole. You don't plant in these pots you just place your plant in them. Because they don't have a hole they are great for indoors - when you water, water doesn't go everywhere.

Another idea I had for those that have a vegetable garden already - I wrapped a box and filled it with organic fertilisers, organic pest control and a book on attracting good bugs to the garden.

So many ideas - it feels like I've got a 1000w light bulb moment!

If you are struggling to come up with present ideas for family members and friends, Trevallan may just be where you need to go shopping this weekend!

Trevallan would love to help you put some green back into Christmas this year.