G'day, I am attempting here to put together some
gardening tips and tricks for lazy gardeners like me and a few cost effective
and non-toxic ideas for the health of you, your family and plants. Any
suggestions or ideas will be most welcome at any time. Australia as we
all know has very extreme climate patterns ranging from severe drought
to flooding in every state and territory, none of us are exempt from this
so we need to treat our gardens with lots of TLC
At the suggestion of one of our members I now have a forum, where you can post your gardening problems and if I can't answer them, someone else may be able to:-)
One thing I would really like to touch on is non-toxic
pesticides and fungicides. Not only are the commercial ones expensive but
they are also detrimental to good bugs. (You may need to buy a few spray
bottles from the supermarket or hardware store and label them)
Aphids - If you find any ladybugs
in your garden, gently pick them up and place them on affected plants.
A strong spray of water will dislodge many aphids,
caterpillars, and other insects from their hiding places among the foliage
of perennials, shrubs, and trees.
In a spraybottle mix a few drops of bio-degradable
dish washing liquid, this will suffocate the insects and not harm the plants
or ornamentals.
Garlic spray - puree a few cloves of garlic and
add it to the above mix (stain through fine cloth before spraying as it
may very well clog up the hole:-)
Other bugs - Ammonia Spray To get rid of mealy bugs, mites, scales, thrips, and aphids, try this. Mix 1 part household ammonia with 8 parts water. Test spray a few leaves to be sure it doesn't damage the plant. Then spray the whole plant.
Rust or Black spot - Try the Garlic Spray
Snails - Invite them to a party
and give them a beer, drink a can of beer (almost - leave a little bit
for your little guests) and pour a little into small containers and place
it near the juicy seedlings
Lawn weeds - 3 parts vinegar
to 1 part dish washing liquid, but be careful not to spray it on the good
stuff, adjust the nozzle to a stream setting instead of spray. Another
tip to prevent them starting in the first place is not 'shave' it when
mowing, adjust the setting on your blades to leave a little more growth
there
I guess we have all suffered with the severity of
the elements, but a little common sense may save a few tears and curses:-)
I guess there is not much we can do about flooding ( unless you have a
shed full of sand bags) - but good drainage is a must for prolonged periods
of rain. But the real killer of plants is the intensity of the sun and
moisture evaporation - so when do we water????????
Light daily sprinklings encourage shallow roots
that are dependent on frequent irrigation, instead of deep roots that fend
for themselves.
The best way to tell when a garden needs watering
is to look at it. If the soil is dry to a depth of a half an inch or so,
it's time to water. How often you need to water varies greatly with the
temperature. With high temperatures 24+C, watering once a week will probably
be more than adequate. But when temperatures hit over 30C, you may need
to water as often as every other day. Other factors influencing the frequency
of watering are the nature of the soil, the amount of sunlight, how well
the garden is mulched and whether the plants are in flower (during flowering
plants generally require more water). But always keep in mind, you can
definitely water too much. If you can give the garden an inch of water
that should suffice for a week, place a staight sided container in the
area that is being watered and when it holds about an inch (2.5cm), move
the sprinkler to another area.
Drip irrigation is excellent if you can afford it.
Please remember to water in the early morning, if that is convenient, this
also eliminates fungal diseases. AND BE AWARE OF ANY WATER RESTRICTIONS
IN YOUR AREA!!!
