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Showing 8641 - 8670 of 20172 comments
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 19 May, Clive Halliday (Australia - tropical climate)
We have 5 eggplants in large tubs. They are flourishing wit many flowers. But the young fruit are being eaten through the skin and scooping out the flesh. What is causing this? Nothing unusual found on plants. This did not happen last two years.
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 24 May, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Only guessing - birds or some grub. You could put some plastic bags on them - put a few holes in the bag to let some air in there. Or spray with some grub killer and see if this stops them.
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Celery 19 May, David (New Zealand - temperate climate)
My celery is growing quite well in Auckland but is getting this brown fungal problem (I think) - the leaves wither and the stems go brown . Is there any safe spray,etc to use? Thanks David
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Celery 22 May, John (Australia - temperate climate)
It sounds like a fungal disease. Celery prefers foll sun and good drainage with good air circulation. Fungal problems are exacerbated in wet soils, high humidity and poor airflow. The fungal spores are soil-born so I suggest you try a new bed with good drainage. A lot of rain and high humidity will make this problem worse. Trust this helps.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 17 May, Lynny (Australia - temperate climate)
My capsicum bush is loaded but the fruit is very bitter. How can I sweeten them up?
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 17 May, Ken (Australia - temperate climate)
Adding Epsom Salts at the rate of 1 tbs - 2 litres of water will improve the flavour and sweetness of tomatoes so you could give that a try. They are both in the Solanacea family. All the best.
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Parsnip 17 May, Aaron (Australia - arid climate)
I am in Perth Western Australia and wants try to harvest my parsnip in between July & September can you advice on planting date. Thank you ! Regards
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Parsnip 17 May, Giovanni (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Parsnips take about 5 months to harvest from sowing and are normally planted between June and September in the Perth climate zone. This leaves a gap as seed sown in late September would be ready in late March not July - September as you were hoping. They would normally only keep for 3 - 4 weeks in the refrigerator so you still have a 'gap'. Why not plant some seed in March and give them a try? When the seedlings emerge keep them moist and apply a thick mulch to keep the soil a bit cooler. It's worth a try and you'll know for sure then. Maybe someone else has tried it and can answer.
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Horseradish 17 May, Yvonne (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
I bought white radish at thane market and was told that is also horse radishould is it true?
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Horseradish 17 May, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I once bought white radish (daikon) at a market and was told it was parsnip! radishes and horseradish are totally different plants. Radish is grown from seed and the root is harvested when it is ready. Horseradish can be grown from seed but is normally grown from root pieces. It is 'very friendly' and will spread whereas ordinary radishes will only grow from seed. Trust this helps
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Potato 17 May, Suzanne (Australia - temperate climate)
The information you have here is helpful, but what i need to know is the average growing time to harvest please. The plants are flowering and I'm wondering if that is an indication? We live on the Sunshine Coast and the potato's were planted in October, 7 months ago.
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Potato 18 May, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
In Qld we plant potatoes in Autumn and Spring. St Patrick's Day is the general start time March 17th for Autumn. Spring is probably Sept. They take 12-20 weeks to grow - probably the warmer the climate the quicker. You can pick potatoes any time but to have mature spuds to store for awhile you wait until they flower and then start to die off. Have a little feel around to see how big they are.
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Potato 19 May, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I was talking to a friend today who planted certified potatoes about 8 weeks ago (the last of the hot summer weather) in sandy soil. The last ones to shoot out of the soil had stunted curled up leaves - like the leaves had not unfolded and grown bigger. He took them to a commercial grower to find out why. This fellow said it happened because the soil was too hot. Being sandy loam it probably retained the heat more in the soil. Out of about 35 potatoes about 8 had this problem. The commercial grower has only just planted his crop - Bundaberg Qld. He waits until the potatoes eyes start to shoot and then plants. Hope that helps.
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Potato 17 May, Ken (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Potatoes can take 14 - 20 weeks, when the tops die down to be ready for long-storage harvest. 'New' potatoes can be harvested about 4 weeks after flowering. These potatoes should be 'raided' without disturbing the plant too much so that others can mature.
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Rhubarb 17 May, +david richardson (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi I have a single small plant which is producing multiple stems but they are very thin and as a result not really usable. the plant is on a balcony which gets sun in the morning, this is melbourne! is there something I can do to create more growth of usable stems? many thanks
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Rhubarb 17 May, Jack (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Rhubarb responds to heavy doses of old manure, blood & bone, etc. It also likes plenty of water which is often a challenge for plants grown in tubs. Your aspect is fine and living in Melbourne is not a handicap! Using good potting mix, not cheap stuff, is a must when growing plants in tubs as they need to get everything out of the amount of soil that is in the tub. If it is not practical to re pot it just make a few holes down beside the roots with a stick and pour some blood & bone down the hole before closing it over. Keep the rhubarb mulched and moist and bury all of your kitchen scraps under the mulch. This will rot down and provide extra nutrients.
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Yacon (also Sunroot) 16 May, Craig (Australia - temperate climate)
Has any one grown yacon in hothouse to save from frost l live in melb
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 16 May, Chris Jacobson (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I started growing from seed then it severely eaten by ? what do I do
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 17 May, Jack (Australia - temperate climate)
If it is a chewing pest such as caterpillars you could spray with Natures Way Caterpillar Killer. This is an organic, natural spray that is harmless to birds, animals, us, etc and is effective against caterpillars. If they are only small plants it could be cutworms that live just below the soil surface.
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Ginger 15 May, Gugu Balfour (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Hi, my ginger yields very small rhizomes after the whole year on ground. What should I do to increase size of rhizome?
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Ginger 23 May, Chris (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Hi, have a look at the colour pink is good. Dynamite comes in small packages. Hope that is the case, busy with pickled ginger , have become addicted addicted addicted addicted.
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Ginger 15 May, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Adding lots of old, rotted manure and mulch will help. The manure will provide nutrients and the mulch will help save water. Ginger also needs a good supply of water to ensure good, plump roots.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 15 May, maurie (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
do I need to stake a capsicum plant whilst it is growing?
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 15 May, Darren (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Maurie, capsicums grow fine without staking, however I found that once they start to bear fruit, they lean down to the ground. Staking might help keep your capsicums off the ground.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 15 May, Sean (Australia - temperate climate)
Normally capsicums make a sturdy, self supporting bush. If they are getting tall or leggy a stake would certainly help and would avoid the disappointment of a plant being blown over when it was laden with fruit.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 17 May, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Yes they do fall over sometimes. I have put up a little trellis this year. I had a 4" diameter split pine rail post 7 feet long - cut it in half - put them about 15" into the soil, 5' apart - I have 4 plants in. Drilled some 1/2" holes approx. every 9" and ran some twine (Bunnings 500m $12) between the posts around the outside of the posts. The plants are now just starting to come through the bottom lot of twine. I have done the same with tomatoes - posts are 7' out of the ground - I have a 6' steel post in the middle. If I have to, when the plants come through the twine I will pull the twine together and tie to the steel post. All a bit of an experiment this year to see how it goes. Did a lot of reading about growing indeterminate tomatoes and found I couldn't buy suitable wire netting to make cages. Very expensive also. I had the split rail posts from a shade structure I had pulled down, so it worked out very cheap. Use the twine around my snow peas also.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 17 May, Sean (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You are onto a good thing!For good air circulation and general management tomatoes are better grown in a flat plane than on a cage anyway. re using stakes, etc is sustainable and save money as well. You could probably replant the tomato/capsicum site with climbing peas or grow a quick crop like radishes or leafy greens ready to sow climbing beans in the spring. Good luck!
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 18 May, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
The way I did it, is how they grow them commercially here. With the stake you have to have something to tie them up with. I was buying ribbon and reusing it - but it is $5 a 25m roll. With 2-3 lots of tomatoes (?capsicums) in at a time can use a lot of ribbon and they tend to slide down the stake. I do mix it up a bit. I have had corn in, followed by, snow peas to be followed by climbing beans probably. I'm in the process of setting up 6-8 Styrofoam boxes to grow my leafy lettuce, hon tsai tai rocket baby spinach. Cheers
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 15 May, Heather (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I live in the centre of north island and have shifted to a sloping veg garden. All sorts of beans grow but not much else. Silverbeet does no thrive cucumbers tomatoes all a bit sad. We have planted some mustard seeds whic are thriving, with the idea of digging in. My section is very wet during winter. Hope you can help as I love a veg garden
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 15 May, Jack (Australia - temperate climate)
I suggest you increase organic matter in the soil by growing green manure crops or old manure and digging it in. Adding washed sand will also help. Not many plants like to sit in soggy soil so anything you can do to open the soil up and help it drain will help.You could also add a good dressing of garden lime as wet soils are often acidic. Now is a good time to do that. Only use garden lime and give the beds a good covering. We'll look forward to hearing how you go in the coming spring.
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Showing 8641 - 8670 of 20172 comments
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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. GardenGrow is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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