Coping with heat waves

Heat waves place extreme stress on gardens when plants lose lots of water through their leaves in an attempt to keep cool and retain humidity around their foliage. You can help reduce moisture loss by providing some temporary shade over sensitive plants in the vege patch and ornamental parts of the garden.
See also: Sun and heat protection

However, seedlings and pot plants are usually the first to suffer in heat waves, and these may need watering twice a day until weather returns to normal. If potting mix dries out, the first sign may be complete collapse of a plant. If you water dry potting mix in the normal way with a hose or watering can, your plants may not be getting as much water as you think. This is because potting mix shrinks slightly when it dries, leaving a narrow gap between the mix and the pot. When you water, most of it runs into the gap and out through the drainage holes, leaving the mix around the roots still dry. Seedling punnets and smaller pots can be thoroughly watered by immersing the entire pot in a bucket half filled with water, or use a laundry tub if a lot of pots need reviving.

Water should come over the top of the pot. Leave the pot in the water until bubbles cease to rise. Short term immersion won’t hurt the plants. Then lift the pot allowing it to drain into the container. This method of watering also works very well when your water supply for plants is strictly limited.
For pots too large to be immersed in a container, fill some large soft drink or juice containers and insert 2 or 3 neck down into the potting mix. Provide support if necessary and allow them to empty slowly into the mix. Re-fill the bottles and repeat watering until water is being drawn into the mix very slowly. If heat is likely to continue for some time, place some mulch or stones on the surface of the potting mix to slow evaporation.

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Taking cuttings

Summer is a good time to take semi-hardwood cuttings of your favourite evergreen perennials to add to your garden or share with friends. And, as you can see from the moon planting panel on the right side of the page, the Full Moon phase is best for this job as root growth establishes more quickly when cuttings are taken in this phase.
Semi-hardwood cuttings are sections of stem that have stiffened enough not to wilt easily. Cuttings should be at least 10 cm long and contain about 5 nodes, so that at least 2 nodes can be covered with mix, and you have two sections for growth. A node is a joint in the stem where leaves or roots can form – and indicated by a line on the stem or a leaf scar. Pinch out the very tip of the cutting, and leave foliage on the next two nodes, then carefully remove foliage from the lower nodes and trim the cutting just below a node. (You will find a lot more detail about preparing different types of cuttings in Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting.) Then poke the cutting into a pot that contains organic potting mix with some washed river sand added to ensure easy drainage.
This week, I’ve been taking cuttings of thyme, rosemary, Arabian jasmine, zonal geraniums and some Hawaiian hibiscus varieties. We replace our commercial perennial herb plants every three or four years because younger plants produce the best growth for harvesting.
I cut the remaining leaves in half on geraniums and hibiscus (and any plants with large leaves) to conserve moisture in the cuttings, but leave some leaf material to photosynthesise (make energy to grow). Dipping the base of the cuttings in certified-organic honey can help stimulate root growth – you only need a teaspoonful in a shallow dish. I water the pots with an organic liquid fertiliser and poke the cuttings into the mix against the edge of the pot as it helps support the cuttings. The cuttings are kept consistently damp in a warm spot out of direct sunlight until they have formed roots and are ready for putting in individual pots or planting in the garden.
Most experts recommend that cuttings should be covered. However, we have found that the perennial culinary herbs, lavender, and a lot of plants with furry leaves don’t like the humidity provided by a cover. However, the pots of jasmine, hibiscus get covered with a large plastic juice or soft drink bottle with the base removed and the lid intact. At the first sign of new growth the leads will be removed to allow some ventilation.
If you want to take semi-hardwood cuttings of abelia, box, bougainvillea, callistemon (bottlebrush), carnation, clematis, daphne, grevillea, Hawaiian hibiscus, jasmine, NSW Christmas bush, pelagonium (geranium), lavender, margoram, oregano, rosemary, sage or thyme, the Full Moon phase this month extends until noon on 26th January, and from 19th to the 24th next month.

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Mar 7, Chicken Manure for Plants

Chicken Manure for Plants

Experts say that the manure a chicken can produce in 6 months amounts to a cubic foot. In poultries, manures are collected because other than stinky, the manure draws flies and rodents which are both pests.

In removing the dung however, one should remember not to put it on any soil as fresh manure is highly abundant in ammonia, the very reason for the stinky smell and which is harmful to the soil and plants, particularly the roots.

Nonetheless, there is an exception to such notion. Fresh chicken waste for plants can be added to soil in fall and only for the purpose of rendering it hallow.

The best way to deal with dung is to compost it. Chicken Dung has become more popular in recent years as a good source of plant fertilizer and soil amendment agent.

Many articles and documents allude to chicken manure as the king of animal manure because it contains the most amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Above all, it virtually has no weed seeds. There are no application restrictions in Chicken Waste.

Procedure in applying fresh chicken manure

Choose a barren or uncultivated portion in the garden where you can collect manure. Experts admonish that only in mid to late fall should you start adding manure into it. If you add fresh manure as the growing season concludes, the manure composts even during winter.

Using a wheelbarrow, move the chicken manure and spread it onto the uncultivated area with a layer thickness of 2-3 inches. Never forget to wear mask as the ammonia can be harmful when inhaled.

Smooth out the manure and break down the clumps.Cover the manure with a lay of compost in 2 to 3 thickness in early spring to add nutrients and micronutrients to the soil that the manure lacks.

Till the waste into the top six inches of the ground where you want to cultivate. Thereafter, the soil looks crumbly and dark brown with sweet smell of the earth. You can also use rake to break up the soil clods and smoothen out the surface.

Applying composted chicken manure for plants

Till the top of the garden and add composted chicken manure for about 3 to 4 inches thick. Unlike the fresh, the composted chicken manure can be used throughout the year, anytime. It is also safe to handle it with bare hands, which is unlike the fresh manure.

The chicken manure compost can be used as mulch. 2 to 3 layer of the compost can be applied around plants to satisfy the high nitrogen requirement, especially of ornamental grasses.

You can also make container or pot soil with composted chicken manure for plants by mixing it with soil in a 1:1 ratio.By mixing 3 to 4 handfuls of the manure with 2 to 3 inches of soil, you can fertilize your vegetable and ornamental plants.

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Top of Chicken Manure For Plants

Listed under Compost Pile

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What to grow in March 2011

March usually provides pleasant gardening weather in many parts of Australia, and is a good time of year to plant evergreen perennial trees, shrubs, and vines in all areas except those that experience heavy frosts, as soil is still warm enough to allow plants to settle in before winter.
Green manure crops
For areas where conditions are unsuitable for growing crops now (and where you may have a garden bed that you are not using at the moment) time and effort will be well spent this month growing a green manure crop to add humus to your soil for future crops. All parts of the garden can benefit from a green manure crop, as humus in soil insulates plant roots from soil temperature fluctuations, and improves both moisture content and drainage of soils. Humus in soils allows plants to be more resistant to adverse climate conditions. Of the green manures that can be sown now, triticale is good for reclaiming waterlogged soils, and wheat can handle heavy soils and semi-arid conditions. Oats grow quickly and add lots of organic matter to soil. See post on green manures.
The following planting guide is an abbreviated list for vegetables, fruit trees and some culinary herbs that can be planted in March in Australia and New Zealand. A comprehensive guide that includes planting times for the entire garden, as well as when to fertilise, prune, weed, take cuttings or divide plants, can be found in my book Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting.

WARM CLIMATE – South of Rockhampton
Before the Full Moon, bulb fennel, cabbage, headed and open Chinese cabbage, grain crops, lettuce, mizuna, radicchio, rocket, silver beet (pre-soak seed), tatsoi, chamomile, coriander, nasturtium and sunflower can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of strawberry or white clover, Japanese millet, oats, field pea or triticale. Celery, leek, spring onion, sweet basil and parsley can be sown or transplanted.
During First Quarter phase, broccoli, bush and climbing beans and peas can be sown directly into beds, and tomato and zucchini and can be sown or transplanted.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, parsnip, and radish can be sown directly into beds, and cauliflower, early season onion, swede turnip, turnip, lemon balm, lemon grass, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme and watercress can be sown or transplanted. Globe artichoke suckers, strawberries, avocado, citrus, olive and pineapple can be planted.

WARM CLIMATE – Rockhampton northwards
Before the Full Moon, nasturtium and sunflower can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of Japanese millet, lablab, oats or triticale. Cabbage, leek, silver beet (pre-soak seed), spring onion and chamomile can be sown or transplanted.
During First Quarter phase, broccoli, and bush and climbing beans can be sown directly into beds, and capsicum, cucumber, egg plant, pumpkin, rock melon, summer squash, sweet corn, tomato, watermelon and zucchini can be sown or transplanted.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, parsnip and radish can be sown directly into beds, and lemon grass and oregano can be sown or transplanted. Citrus, pineapple and strawberries can be planted.

TEMPERATE CLIMATE
Before the Full Moon, bulb fennel, cabbage, headed and open Chinese cabbage, grain crops, lettuce, mizuna, radicchio, rocket, silver beet (pre-soak seed), tatsoi and coriander can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of red or strawberry clover, faba bean, field pea, barley, cereal rye, oats, triticale or wheat. Leek, silver beet (pre-soak seed), spring onion, chamomile and parsley can be sown or transplanted. In warmer areas, celery and chickpea can also be sown. In colder areas, also sow English spinach and sow Brussels sprouts directly into beds.
During First Quarter phase, cauliflower can be sown directly into beds, and broccoli can be sown or transplanted. In warmer areas, peas can also be sown directly into beds.
During Full Moon phase, beetroot (pre-soak seed), carrot, radish, swede turnip and turnip can be sown directly into beds, and early season onion, globe artichoke, lemon balm, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and watercress can be sown or transplanted. Globe artichoke suckers, strawberries, avocado, citrus and olive can be planted. In warmer areas, parsnip, mango, and pineapple and oregano can also be sown or planted.

COOL CLIMATE
Before the Full Moon, headed and open Chinese cabbage, grain crops, lettuce, mizuna, English spinach and tatsoi can be sown directly into beds, as well as a green manure crop of clover, faba bean, field pea, cereal rye, oats, triticale or wheat. Leek and spring onion can be sown or transplanted. In warmer areas, cabbage, radicchio, coriander and rocket can also be sown.
During First Quarter phase, suitable broccoli can be sown or transplanted in warmer areas.
During Full Moon phase, radish, swede turnip, turnip and garlic can be sown directly into beds, and strawberries, mint and watercress planted.

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Downy mildew

Jan 12

Posted by: lyn in: Pest-free Gardening

For those of us who are fortunate enough to still have gardens, the prolonged wet conditions provide the perfect conditions for downy mildew to flourish. A set of three conditions (10:10:24) is necessary for downy mildew to establish – a minimum of 10 mm of rain, a temperature higher than 10 degrees Celsius, and foliage that stays wet for more than 24 hours. It is also more likely to affect plants that are stressed for some reason, and where there is poor air circulation. This group of fungal diseases produce pale green or yellow spots on the upper side of leaves, and white-grey furry patches on the underside of leaves of a wide range of plants, including cucurbits, the cabbage family, lettuce, onions, peas and grapes (starts as oily spots). Different species of the fungi infect different varieties of plants, so that downy mildew on your cauliflowers does not mean that other vegetables in your garden will be affected.

The best thing you can do is remove badly damaged foliage and dispose of it in a sealed plastic bag – compost it! Then give soil around affected plants a drink of seaweed extract tea at the strength advised on the label. A good potassium content in seaweeds strengthens plants cell walls helping plants to build resistance to diseases.
Spray remaining leaves with 100 mls milk in 900 mls water (to make 1 litre of spray), and add a good pinch of bi-carbonate of soda (baking soda) for every litre of spray. Full cream milk works best because the fat content helps the spray stick to the leaves, and full cream, organic milk is even better (according to some gardening gurus) – if you can spare it. Milk and bi-carb are not fungicides, but they produce unsuitable conditions on leaf surfaces for the fungi’s survival. Spray leaves early in the day, and repeat every four or five days until mildew clears.
Downy mildew tends to disappear as weather becomes drier because it needs constant humidity. However, powdery mildew needs high humidity, but not wet weather, to establish and will continue to flourish after weather becomes drier. Powdery mildew is caused by an entirely different genus of fungus and treatment for that disease can be found here.

P.S. When spraying – be careful to avoid these tiny fellows below – the adult and larva of the Fungus-eating Ladybird.

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My Recipe for Seed Starting Mix

I love this time of year. Though we found ourselves blanketed with another foot of snow yesterday, the spring garden is becoming more of a reality. The shelves in my seed-starting area are starting to fill up with flats: leeks, parsley, spinach, peas, kohlrabi, and kale.

When I first started gardening, I used the bagged seed starting mix available in most nurseries for my indoor seed sowing. These are largely comprised of peat, and most have a bit of perlite and/or vermiculite in them as well. These mixes work fine, but they contain hardly any nutrients. For some crops, which you plan on planting out in a month or so, this isn't a big deal. But for crops that are started eight to ten weeks before planting, such as eggplants or tomatoes, I prefer to use a mix that has more nutrients for the plants. I've written a short article with the recipe for my seed starting mix -- I hope you'll check it out.

Not only is it better for your plants, but it's just kind of fun to make your own mix. At this point, it's the closest many of us are going to get to playing in the dirt, right?

Do you make your own seed starting mix?

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