Digging in the Dark!

The TUMBLEWEED Worm Cafe

Tonight Tim and I set up our worm farm.

 While some couples may be watching dating in the dark we are digging in the dark!

The main reason we decided to get a worm farm was to recycle our kitchen scrap waste. It is just horrible to see kitchen scraps go into land fill and pollute the earth. The worm farm we have is the Tumbleweed Worm Cafe from Serenity Nursery. It will turn our scraps into useful garden fertiliser full of beneficial microbes. Worm casting and worm tea will be produced and used as organic soil improver's.

Look what we did:

 There are 4 trays with the kit, but you only need one working tray to start. Keep the others put aside.

Insert the first tray and lay a sheet of news paper into the tray. Soak the soil block in water ( it's provided with the worm cafe). Then lay the soil mixture onto the newspaper.

Top up with some soil from the garden that is  free from inorganic fertilisers.

Use a bucket to catch the worm juice. This can be be diluted with water to the colour of weak tea and watered onto the garden.

You will need about 1000 worms for this worm farm and they will cost around $50 (for approx 1000). May I add that I love worms I think it brings back childhood memories of digging in the dirt.

Carefully place the worms on top of soil and water in.

Place the second tray on top. the tray has tiny holes in the bottom of it so the worms

 can crawl up into it.

Our ceramic compost bin is overflowing with kitchen scraps...

Sprinkle some more dirt over the tiny holes and then spread a layer of kitchen scraps.The scraps will attract the worms up into the second tray and the worm casting will be left in the bottom tray.

Continue the process a few times. It is important to add a sprinkling of dirt over the kitchen scraps every time as worms don't have teeth and need the dirt to help grind the food down.

Every week sprinkle a little dolomite lime or TUMBLEWEED worm farm and compost conditioner ( shown here) ontop of the food scraps. This will help lower the acidity of the kitchen scraps especially acid foods like citrus fruit.

I hope you enjoyed our demonstration.

If you want to find out more visit me in the nursery.I'll be more than happy to talk worms with you.

Krystal x

 First Image via Tumbleweed. Other Images Serenity Nursery

Autumn Ideas.

Plant annuals now for winter colour. It's the perfect time as the soil is still warm. Try pansies, violas and snap dragons.

Go for warm colours in the garden this autumn to create a sense of warmth

Autumn is the perfect time to rejuvenate your garden to prepare it for Spring. Prune hedges now to keep them compact before new growth. Pick up fallen leaves and compost regulary. Mulch well to encourage healthy soil and to keep your plant roots warm through the cooler months.

 

I't's a great time to grow stone fruit, citrus and lots of edible varieties.

Spend these lovely days outdoors admiring the warm autumn tones.

 

wheelbarrow image by Andrew Lehmann

Classic Whites

 Mum's standard rose surrounded by pink ground cover roses, agapanthus, a coprosma hedge and rock rose Cistus. A fuss free low maintenance garden..great for busy mums..

I don't think you can beat classic white Iceberg Roses, with their lush green foliage, ability to be stronger and more resilient than allot of roses. Teamed with a green box hedge white roses can look elegant and classy.

What to do with your flowering roses now:

Continue to dead head them through out the flowering months to help promote new flowers. Just cut the spent flowers back a bit more than just the bud or flower itself.

Spring Planting

While I was making Rhubarb pudding my husband attended to the veggie patch.

Tim made a tomato trellis using timber stakes and wire.

Planting lots of new veg. to our existing patch so we can continue to harvest throughout the year.

After all the seedlings were planted Tim used Seagold liquid kelp to help establish the vegetables.

What veggies to plant in Spring:

Tomatoes, Capsicums, Pumpkins, Lettuce, Eggplant, Chillies, Spring Onion, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Garden peas, Beans

Lots of vegie seedlings and Seeds in store now see you soon.

New Product

Yates Confidor Tablets Garden Insecticide protects roses, azaleas, lillypillies, palms, magnolias and eucalypt trees against significant damage caused by aphids, azalea lace bug, psyllids, mealybugs and scale.
Confidor is systemically taken up from the tablet via the plant roots to control insect pests. The nutrients in the tablet assist uptake of Confidor by the roots and enhance plant growth.

Features

• Systemic insecticide
• Provides extended protection against insect pests in ornamental plants
• Easy to use – No spraying or mixing
• Provides months of protection
• Contains added fertiliser to help plant growth

Text & Images- Yates.com.au

Pictured here is an Australian Lilly Pilly showing signs of Psyllids, a tiny sap sucking insect. These insects can cause a dimpled effect on foliage. It is sometimes difficult to control psyllids and we suggest using Yates Confidor Insecticide Tablets.

Better still select a lilly pilly form that is Psyllid Free.

Pictured here is an indoor plant covered in Mealybug. Mealybug appear like white cotton wool tucked in plant crevesis or along the stems and leaves. This can be a common occurance on indoor potted plants and palms. The Yates confidor tablets would be ideal to pushed into the pot plant or used at planting time. The tablet would last upto 6 months. What a great idea- no spraying required.

Tip: Give your potted indoor plants a break from the indoors, place them outdoors for a couple of days every month or so to give them fresh air. Indoor plants in a well ventilated area will be less prone to pests such as meallybug.

Available instore Now.

Getting Dirty with Milton

Set to air just in time for spring is an exciting new gardening show "Getting Dirty with Milton". It will be hosted by South Australian garden expert Milton Vadoulis. Milton has such a enthusiasm for gardening and has been in the industry for over 30 years. There are lots of gardening tips and he will take you through some of SA's best gardens.

 So don't forget to watch the very first episode Wednesday 31st August at 8pm on Chanel 44. We were lucky enough to watch a preview at the launch night this week and it's a fantastic show,

 with a few laughs too.

Berry Good for You

Well you all may have noticed that every time you see blueberries in the supermarkets they are very expensive, this is because blueberries have extremely delicate skin and can only be hand-picked from the bush, machines would damage them thus making them a labour intensive fruit to grow. Why not grow your own. Blueberries require an acidic soil so if your soil is too alkaline simply grow your blueberries in a container and use an acidic potting mix.

We have a great range of blueberries and acidic potting mix in store now.

image via bathwater

..3..2..1 Blast Off

With Spring just around the corner it is the perfect time to give your garden a 'blast'.

Neutrogs Rocket fuel is a certified organic pelletised fertiliser ideal for your entire garden. Rocket fuel has been specially formulated to help you grow healthy organic fruit

and veggies. Skip in today and grab some, your garden will thank you for it.

Image via neutrog.com

Growing Healthy Citrus Trees

Top Tips for Growing Citrus Trees

1. Prepare- Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Dig in some Plants Plus Groganic soil improver. Dig gypsum into clay soils and create a raised bed.

Dwarf citrus are ideal planted into pots.

2. Feed- Citrus are hungry plants and require feeding twice a year, in early spring and late summer. Well fed citrus aren't often troubled by pest and diseases.

3. Harvest- Taste test citrus to check and see if they are ready to eat. thinning excess fruit when they re small will encourage larger fruit to develop.

Pests that may occur:

Citrus Leaf Miner

Citrus Leaf Miner is the larvae of a silvery white moth. The moths lay their eggs of the leaf surface. Once hatched the larvae tunnel into the leaf leaving a silver trail.

Symptoms: Curling and distortion of mainly new growth, plus silvery trails on the leaf surface.

How to prevent: Use Yates PestOil as a low toxic protection against citrus leaf miner. Once a citrus has leaf miner it is difficult to control however using Pest Oil and removing infected branches will help.

Wake me up before you GO GO

We are excited that Neutrogs GOGO juice has just arrived. This stuff is so cool and it really works.

GOGO Juice is teeming with beneficial microbiology and is essentially a
 pro-biotic for your soil and plants.
It feeds your plants with organic goodness and provides your soil with beneficial bacteria that assist in breaking down your soil to maximise the nutrients availble to your plants.

Image via Neutrog

Get Dirty!

Top up mulch around everything in the garden. It will help keep the roots cool and keep moisture where it is needed. Don't forget to mulch your pot plants too.

Image via Our French Garden