24 March 2025 | Australian Natives
Why autumn is the best time to plant indigenous species It’s been a long dry summer. According to the Bureau of Meterology, during December, January and February Viewbanks’s mean temperature was 2.1 degrees above average and rainfall was about 80%. And March has...
24 March 2025 | Biodiversity, Gardening tips
Soil amendments and fertilisers: are they the same? The terms ‘soil amendment’ and ‘fertiliser’ are sometimes used interchangeably, but in fact mean quite different things. However, some substances such as compost and aged manures can function as both. Amendment...
3 February 2025 | Cucurbits, Gardening tips
Harvesting, curing and storing pumpkins Pumpkins are planted in spring and harvested in autumn. That means they take up space for anything from 4-6 months so harvesting, curing and storing them carefully is a must if we are not to waste that long growing period and...
1 January 2025 | Gardening tips, January, Monthly Guides
What to plant in January in Melbourne January is a month in which I sow very little and plant out very little. Instead I put my attention into watering, weeding, and mulching to support the vegies already planted. It is too late to plant out vegies that have a long...
30 November 2024 | Gardening tips
English gooseberries – rare and underrated! Top tips: incorporate organic material into the soil water deeply twice weekly in summer prune to a single stem or develop a vase shape prune every winter. Have you ever considered growing English gooseberries (Riba...
29 September 2024 | Citrus, Fruit trees, QLD Fruit Fly
Defeat citrus gall wasp (and Queensland Fruit Fly) with kaolin clay! Citrus gall wasp, an Aussie wasp originally from Queensland, can affect all citrus but seems most prevalent in lemon, lime, cumquat and grapefruit trees. The galls result from the injection of eggs...
