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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.
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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
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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
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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?
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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.
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Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 05 Apr, Aloese Lefono (New Zealand - temperate climate): Can they still grow and produce from April on?
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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.
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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.
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Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 04 Apr, Arlene Davis (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): The leaves of my cape gooseberry plant has white spots and is turning brown. The pod has black - looks like fungal growth inside. Is there a home remedy for this and can the fruit be eaten?
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Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 05 Apr, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Sounds very much like a fungal problem to me. Many organic gardeners use a 10% milk solution in water to control mildew. You could give this a try as a first resort. Using a copper based spray is also okay. To prevent fungal problems plants need good air circulation particularly in humid areas. If your plant is dense it may be a good idea to thin it out a bit, cape gooseberries are normally treated as an annual so save some seeds and plant them in the spring in a sunny, airy spot. Trust this helps.
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Burdock (also Gobo (Japanese Burdock)) 04 Apr, Claire (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Hi Lanya, Some on-line suppliers have burdock
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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.
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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.
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Horseradish 02 Apr, Beata (Australia - temperate climate): Where I can buy horseradish plant? I leave south of Perth - Western Australia.
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Horseradish 17 May, Rachael (Australia - temperate climate): Try Bunnings herb section, I bought a plant just yesterday there, but they only had a few plants--I can speak for other stores other than my local one, but as I said, they only had a few plants. The tag had 'food for life' on it-I'm presuming that's the company that is distributing them at the moment. Because there were only a few plants, it was hard to find- Good luck!
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Horseradish 05 Apr, frances (Australia - temperate climate): found in herb section of Bunnings
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Horseradish 03 Apr, John (Australia - temperate climate): I would try local growers markets, traditional green grocers or organic gardening groups. You will find these on the internet or markets are often listed in local papers.
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Beans - dwarf (also French beans, Bush beans) 01 Apr, Lynne Jones (Australia - temperate climate): Growing Beans - over winter do not cover the soil with leaf matter where you are planning on growing your beans, this will encourage a breeding area for weevils, flea beetle, snails and slugs. Put out Yellow Sticky Traps at end or winter (late August) in the garden bed on a stick or on the fence close by to trap mite, thrip etc. Use potash & blood & bone in the bed prior to planting, check the pH if not done for 12 months. If you have a sandy soil use Dolomite for the magnesium. When plants have begun to flower use a side dressing of liquid manure or blood and bone to increase size of your crop. after 2 months put out fresh Yellow Sticky Traps. Water in the mornings.
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Cabbage 01 Apr, Kathi (Australia - sub-tropical climate): How well do Wombok cabbage (Chinese cabbage) grow in Sub tropical climate? Any special requirement?
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Cabbage 04 Apr, Giovanni (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Chinese cabbage generally likes cooler conditions but can be planted in August and September in sub-tropical climates. Sow the seed directly into the ground and thin or transplant seedlings. Germination is fairly quick .
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Rosella (also Queensland Jam Plant, Roselle) 01 Apr, Donna Purcell (Australia - temperate climate): I have five bushes.Two are growing well and have produced fruit but not enough for jam.Does anyone know if picked fruit stores well in a fridge until there is enough? And does picking fruit encourage more fruit to grow?
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Rosella (also Queensland Jam Plant, Roselle) 13 Apr, Dave (Australia - temperate climate): You can freeze them till you have enough from next picking
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Rosella (also Queensland Jam Plant, Roselle) 03 Apr, Giovanni (Australia - temperate climate): I haven't done it but I have heard of others that have.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Garlic 30 Mar, Fadeela (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate): What type of soil does garluc need to be planted ? D
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Garlic 30 Mar, John (Australia - temperate climate): Garlic will respond to good soil in an open position. It generally likes cooler climates but can be planted in April or May as the weather starts to cool. Keep watering consistent and harvest late in the year.
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Rhubarb 30 Mar, sue (Australia - temperate climate): hi plant is getting a brown spot on its leaf then it spreads to the stems & dies can you give me some idea what the problem is thanks
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Rhubarb 30 Mar, Jack (Australia - temperate climate): What you describe is a fungal disease. When harvesting rhubarb remove any affected leaves and any outer tired or shabby leaves. This will aid good air circulation. Water your plants at the base in the mornings rather than overhead so the plants will not be damp overnight. Discard affected leaves so as not to spread the fungus in the garden. You could also use a fungicide if necessary but good hygiene is always a good practice. Trust this helps.
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