Coming up

Jerry shares tips for growing unfamiliar plants; Sophie manages fire-affected fruit trees; Tino learns how to easily preserve vegetables and Josh discover how the plant breeding program at Kings Park is developing new and exciting cultivars of garden favourites.  

Gardening Australia Weekly Quiz

A) A fruit that is used as a garnish?     
B) A fruit whose flesh comes from more than one flower part?
C) A fruit that has come from a plant that has been fertilised by a male and female plant?

See next week's newsletter for the answer!

Answer to last week's question:
Q) The botanical name for lemon-scented gum is?
A) C - Corymbia citriodora

What to plant this weekend

Tropical Climate Zone

• Beetroot
• Celery
• Dill
• Potatoes

• Broad beans
• Chives
• Onion
• Silverbeet

• Brussels Sprouts
• Kale/Collards
• Parsley
• Tomatoes

• Carrots
• Chives
• Rocket
• Shallots

Jobs for the weekend

COOL

• Fill bare spots in your vegie patch with fast growing greens. Think spinach, cos lettuce, rocket, silverbeet and Asian greens – tough, tasty and terrific for you!
• Planning on bunging in some broad beans? Take the time to add some lime – dust a handful over a square meter of prepared soil two weeks before planting for sweet soil and beaut beans.
• Head to the high country for awesome Autumn colour. The native deciduous beech are shimmering gold, while exotic tupelo, ginkgo, maples and more are bold, beautiful and breathtaking.

• Pop in a Prostanthera rotundifolia, the round-leaf mint bush. Native to southern Australia, this tough, tidy shrub is perfect in pots, and the foliage aromatic and edible.
• Cut back the feathery foliage of asparagus, now that the cooler weather has turned the leaves yellow and brown. Chop the lot, leaving about two inches above the ground, and mulch well.
• Keep an eye on clivias in the cold – wet winter weather can see these beauties succumb to fungal issues. Ensure they are not kept too damp and keep mulch well away from foliage.

• If you’re looking for a super citrus, why not plant a pomelo? These tough, fast growing trees bear huge fruits, which are far sweeter and less bitter than grapefruits.
• If you’re growing a handsome Hardenbergia at home, training their stems horizontally will encourage foliage and flowers from the ground up, making this native even nicer!
• Fabulous frangipanis can be propagated from cuttings now. Take a piece of hardwood about 30cm long, leave in a protected spot for a couple of weeks to dry and plant out! Too easy!

• Make your patch pop and plant some sweet corn! Sow seeds direct into rich, free-draining soil, and instead of planting in a line, plant in a block for best pollination.
• Indoors or outdoors, is there anything more colourful than a croton? Tough, tolerant and oh-so-tropical, these fab foliage plants love full sun, and their bright, bold foliage is a must-have.
• If you’re in Darwin, contact the council and get involved in the Gardens for Wildlife program, helping to connect people to their environment, and create precious wildlife habitat at home.

• Stop the spread of brown rot by removing low-hanging branches of citrus trees and replacing straw-based mulch with chunkier wood chip mulches over winter.
• With olives ready to harvest, it’s time to get picking and start pickling! Olives can be picked when green or black – the darker the colour, the riper the olive. Soak, salt, preserve – and enjoy! 
• Spend time checking over your irrigation system this weekend. Check connections, flush lines, replace drippers and adjust as required, so you know it’s going to work when you need it most!