All recent comments/discussion

Showing 1171 - 1200 of 1601 comments

Pumpkin 02 Oct, Heather (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi. A friend once gave me a triable pumpkin, it was firm when cooked and very tasty. He said that they take a long time to mature
Reply
Beans - dwarf (also French beans, Bush beans) 06 Apr, carol o'shea (New Zealand - temperate climate): I have done several plantings of dwarf beans this past summer - green, yellow and purple varieties. The returns have been poor to say the least - perhaps 6 beans per plant if I am lucky. What am I doing wrong, if anything? It has been my first season of gardening in Tauranga and I'm told the weather has been somewhat abnormal but even so I would expect better than this. They have been grown both in the open ground, in varying situations and in planter troughs, also in differing locations, i.e. facing in different directions. Any help would be appreciated.
Reply
Beans - dwarf (also French beans, Bush beans) 27 Dec, Scott McMillan (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Hi Carol, 1: Have the plants been getting plenty of hours of sunlight, ie not shaded by other plants and well spaced apart? 2: Do you water regularly early morning? 3: Did you pick the beans early to encourage further production? 4: Was the soil prepared at all or do you use compost, worm tea or the like? 5: Any pest problems? 6: Do you mulch? Hope this helps Regards Scott
Reply
Beans - dwarf (also French beans, Bush beans) 11 Apr, Nik (New Zealand - temperate climate): dont worry it wasnt you this has been the worst growing season I have ever had cold wet spring followed by cold wet spring followed by cold wet summer means plants took ages to get going or died off (happened twice!!) and then I had to start again this applied to everything except I got 8 large pumpkins instead of 1 the year before I live in "sunny" nelson so the rest of NZ had no hope !!! Consider this your 1 in 10 year disaster year also consider planting one of each in a corner somewhere and saving the pods ( pick them when dry and brown and dry) for next years seed, the different colours of bean should grow equally well though you can also get purple and yellow climbing beans but yellow is a bit miserable compared to bush yellow plants good luck
Reply
Tomato 05 Apr, Aloese (New Zealand - temperate climate): I have small tomato plants growing up now everywhere in my garden. Can they still produce fruits or it's the waste of time and get rid of them?
Reply
Tomato 07 Apr, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Unless your area is frost-free they are not likely to survive. We have them coming up in our garden because of a warm Autumn but the first frost will finish them.
Reply
Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 05 Apr, Aloese Lefono (New Zealand - temperate climate): Can they still grow and produce from April on?
Reply
Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 07 Apr, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate): By April, zucchinis and other members of the Cucurbit family (pumpkins, cucumbers, etc will be starting to die off. You may get a few more days that will ripen some of them but you are probably better to remove them and plant cabbage, cauliflower, etc or prepare the soil for broad beans. Check the page for your climate zone for other things to plant.
Reply
Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 09 May, Katherine (New Zealand - temperate climate): I am in Tauranga and still have zeeks growing. Yellow variety. This is the plant that really keeps on giving.
Reply
Burdock (also Gobo (Japanese Burdock)) 04 Apr, Claire (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Hi Lanya, Some on-line suppliers have burdock
Reply
Carrot 03 Apr, Catherine (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Thank you. My soil is very free draining and deep as it is on a hill and has sands with it. I will plant next season's carrots where this season's peas were.
Reply
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 02 Apr, Greg (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): I use tomato fertilizer and it works well for me.I grow chilli in pots inagreen house.
Reply
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 30 Mar, Guy (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): What fertilizer are people using in New Zealand? I see a lot of sites recommending a 10-10-10 or a 5-10-5, most of NZ fertilizer seem to be high nitrogen.
Reply
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 31 Mar, (Australia - arid climate): I use this in temperate Queensland. General all round fert for garden and lawn. Bit low in P but I add a bit more. Go to a farmers fert depot and ask. Buy a 25kg bag, a lot cheaper than shops. $25 for 25 kg at the moment. In a shop 3x the price the other day for 3 kg. CROP KING 88. The fertilizer name. N-P-K-15-4.3-11.3. These indicate that it contains 15% nitrogen, 4. 3% phosphorus and 11. 3% potassium. The forms in which the nutrients are present are indicated in the following table: 15% Nitrogen (N) Ammonia form 4.1% Phosphorus (P) Water Soluble 0.1% Phosphorus (P) Citrate Soluble 0.1% Phosphorus (P) Citrate Insoluble 4.3% Phosphorus (P) Total 11.3% Potassium as Muriate of Potash (i.e. the chloride form) 13.6% Sulphur (S) as Sulphates 48.5% The remaining 51.5% is made up of elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and carbon that are part of the chemical compounds that contain the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients.
Reply
Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 31 Mar, John (Australia - temperate climate): Maybe I am biased but I wouldn't use chemical fertilisers like you mention as they destroy soil life. Healthy soil teeming with soil life is the answer. Build your soil up with old manure, compost and any organic matter and 'numbers' won't be necessary.Use crop rotation starting with a leaf crop after you have added manure, etc to the soil. When the leaf crop is finished plant a fruit crop (beans, capsicum, tomatoes zucchini, etc), then finally a root veg crop. Re-fertilise the soil ready to start the cycle again. plants need more than N-P-K and organic matter will achieve this, building up the soil life, increasing the capacity of the soil to hold water, increasing disease resistance and making more micro-nutrients available to your plants. adding some lime in late autumn or winter will also help. Trust this helps.
Reply
Carrot 28 Mar, Kate (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): I sow carrots every year but since living near the sea most of my biggest carrots split. I can make soup of the split carrots as they are tender but that is all. I do not put them in manured areas although I generally have grown a green crop in the winter and have it well dug in before I sow. Should I save an area from the green crop?
Reply
Carrot 30 Mar, Jack (Australia - temperate climate): Splitting carrots in fruit and vegetables is generally an indicator of too much water suddenly. The skin of the fruit or vegetable that is affected can't handle the increase in water intake and will split. I have seen tomatoes, carrots, apricots, capsicums and oranges affected. In your location extra rainfall can't be controlled so ensure that drainage is good. Fresh manure causes forked and twisted roots as the decomposers working on the manure can damage the growing root tip causing it to fork. A leaf crop followed by a fruit crop (beans, tomatoes, etc) then a root crop is a good rule of thumb to follow.
Reply
Potato 25 Mar, Rod Cooke (New Zealand - temperate climate): Can I plant potatoes now- if not why not
Reply
Potato 13 Jul, (New Zealand - temperate climate): Planting a crop is about planting at the right time for germination (soil temperature) and then the right air temperature for growing the crop. Then consideration should include hot or cold weather, likely hood of heavy rain, possibility of frosts. It is just not a case of I will plant something when I want to.
Reply
Potato 27 Mar, Ken (Australia - temperate climate): Potatoes will not tolerate frosts so if you get frosts delay planting till after the last frost. If you are in a frost-free area their is no reason why you couldn't plant them anytime.
Reply
Potato 23 Mar, euan cooper (New Zealand - temperate climate): what type of potato are in nz
Reply
Potato 24 Mar, (Australia - temperate climate): If you contact Tui Seed Potatoes they have a list of available 'certified virus free' potato seed available, New Zealand Potatoes and Eurogrow also have potatoes where you could get a list of varieties available in New Zealand. They are suppliers to farmers and resellers but could direct you to retail outlets.
Reply
Pumpkin 20 Mar, Barbara Sharp (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Hi, there are pumpkins in garden with big flowers, about 7 crab apple size fruit on each of 5 trailing stems. In Dunedin, what care do they need to produce good fruit.. ie reducing amount of stems, reducing fruit on stems, mulching etc. Have lots of healthy green leaves, have kept them watered and off the ground on boards. Thanks for any advice you can offer. Last year possums got to my only beautiful pumpkin just as it was ready to harvest, so need to cover them this year!! Thanks Barbara
Reply
Pumpkin 21 Mar, Jonno (Australia - temperate climate): You are listed as sub-tropical but also mention Dunedin. If you live in Dunedin it may be too late for the pumpkins to ripen before winter sets in. Pumpkins need about 4-5 months of good growing weather to do really well. The best way to grow pumpkins in areas where the seasons are shorter is to plant them in toilet paper cylinders filled with mix about 3 weeks before the last frost is expected. Stand the cylinders in a container (for watering) and keep them in a sunny spot inside. As soon as the soil is warm enough, about mid November in Dunedin I would think you could plant them out (cylinder included, it will rot. Removing the growing tips when a few pumpkins have formed will definitely help the pumpkins to grow a good size. If the pumpkins don't develop enough this year grate them and use them instead of zucchini in cakes or savoury slice or muffins. Trust this helps.
Reply
Sweet Potato (also Kumara) 19 Mar, Sandy Greer (New Zealand - temperate climate): Thanks for that, but I also remember some Maori potatoes being very similar also to the look of this type I ate..my ex use to grow a lot of heirloom veges and it looked similar to what hr grew back then... Might buy 1 again and grow it to see how it grows...as a vine or an up right plant.
Reply
Beetroot (also Beets) 18 Mar, Iona Jelf (New Zealand - temperate climate): I can grow good beetroot ( sown on the appropriate moon into soil well replenished with good compost, mulching the young plants with seaweed, and foliar feeding seaweed and fish several times) but it always takes double the time stated on the packet for them to bulb up well. I'm experimenting with sowing times, does anyone have experience with sowing as late as mid March? I was thinking i could microfleece them over winter and maybe the'd get away again in spring and give me some early beetroot....
Reply
Beetroot (also Beets) 19 Sep, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I'm sub tropical Australia - Bundaberg Qld. I grown beetroot from March to Sept. Too hot to grow in summer - need a lot of watering. I plant March and May. Temps from May-Aug day 23 to 30 and night 3-6 to 11-15.
Reply
Potato 18 Mar, bruce cresswell (New Zealand - temperate climate): How or where can i get kipfler potato's.
Reply
Potato 20 Mar, Jack (Australia - temperate climate): I contacted Eurgrow Potatoes in Hamilton and they do not have it available but said you could try Merton Smith Dawe in Christchurch or Siesta Bulbs in Palmerston North. They package bulbs, potatoes, etc for nurseries, garden centres and so on. Eurogrow were familiar with Kipfler but said that it was mostly only available from organic markets, community markets, etc. All the best in your endeavours.
Reply
Pak Choy (also Pak choi) 18 Mar, (New Zealand - temperate climate): I grow Bok/Pak Choy having come home from Thailand and discovered since my time out of the country it is now grown here. It is easy to grow and readily available as a green vegetable. I endeavour to leave one or two plants to go to seed: 1. for the flowers as they really attract bees to the garden. 2. My next seasons seeds. Some of the seeds will fall to the garden, germinate and grow. I just transplant them to wherever I want them.I like steamed bok choy with a little soya sauce over it once it is cooked. It is great to add to a stir-fry or young leaves added to a fresh salad.
Reply

Showing 1171 - 1200 of 1601 comments

GardenGrow

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

All recent comments/discussion

GardenGrow

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

All recent comments/discussion

Become A Supporter!

Planting Reminders