Thursday 1 October 2015

Some great simple gardening ideas

 I am sure that most Aussies who are keen on gardening watch Gardening Australia each week. On the 22nd August there was a segment  called Great Ideas in which Costa visited Nevin Sweeney who shared some of his innovative but simple ideas. I am going to try a couple of them and started off with Nifty Ned's Propagation Thingamabob.


I knew that there was mention of an unglazed pot in the middle which held the water after the hole was covered over with glue so I bought one from Bunnings and found an old larger pot 'down the back' for it to fit into. 



However, I should have watched the video again as I didn't realise both pots were supposed to be unglazed as my outer one is glazed and also the larger one should have been filled with sand not soil. Oops! Anyway, the cuttings seem to be growing okay at  this stage. 




Another idea which looks easy to do is the Great Fertilizer Factory and I have the pipe, the string, the comfrey and nettle and just need a 2 bottles including a 1 litre one filled with sand and the CEO to hang it up somewhere suitable. The pipe sits on another bottle and comfrey and nettle are put into the pipe and the juice is pressed out into that bottle on the ground by the weight which is the sand filled second bottle. Check out the video and you will understand what I mean. It is Idea No. 5.  I like easy to do tips, don't you?



While I was down the back the other day I had a look under the Jaboticaba to see if anything was happening there at the moment and I noticed that the flowers were forming on the stems once again and there are hundreds of them. We didn't get much fruit last time for some reason but it does fruit twice a year and we got heaps the time before that so I suppose it just depends on how much rain we get as it isn't watered.


For any new readers this is what the fruit looks like. It grows along the branches and underneath the foliage so you would never even know it was there unless you went looking for it.  If you would like to read more about the fruit check out The Bizarre Jaboticaba Tree. It is quite fascinating. 



It has quietened down in our city now as the Carnival of Flowers is over for another year although I noticed today when passing Laurel Bank Park that the viewing platform is still up and there were lots of people in the park checking out the beautiful gardens. I took a photo of these cute pink flowers in Queens Park when we visited there before the Carnival. They are gorgeous. It is worth coming to Toowoomba during this time when the gardens are looking their best if you have any plans to visit the Sunshine State next year. 

By the way, if you would like to know more about chicken tractors check out Farmer Liz's new eBook Design and Use a Chicken Tractor. I would really love one of those tractors. The eBook is only A$5.00. 






15 comments:

  1. Nanna Chel, you sound like me. I always get HALF the instructions right...lol! Always seems to work out in the end though. You've been very industrious. Now, the jabotica...I've heard of it, but never tried one. What's it like? Mimi xxx

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    1. The fruit looks like a grape, has quite a tough skin and has a seed inside which you have to spit out when eating the fruit. You do that in a very refined way of course ;-) It has a very unusual exotic taste and from memory it is quite sweet. It is definitely worth trying.

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    2. Hmmm...you've got me thinking now. I'll try to find a plant. Mimi x

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  2. wow that Jaboticaba does look wonderfully weird! though i think i have tried it, if the birds love it i might try & get some seeds, then maybe they will eat it instead of all my citrus! worth a try do you think?
    wow just got carried away watching the ABC gardening shows lol there is so much information on them, i do miss watching it
    as usual nannachel a very informative post, loved the Propagation Thingamabob. & the Great Fertilizer Factory, what a great idea for small spaces!

    thanx for sharing

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    1. I haven't seen the birds eat the fruit, Selina as it is all under the foliage and I would have to sit and watch the tree for a while to find out. A lot of it does drop to the ground after a while so you only have a small window of opportunity to pick the fruit before it drops.

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  3. I like your Thingamabob. Could you not use one of your Olas? Less evaporation.

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    1. My ollas are going to be occupied elsewhere once I get around to fixing up the gardens for this year's veggies, Lynda. Note the operative words 'once I get around to fixing up the gardens'. Talk about procrastination!

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  4. Wow, what a strange tree! What an interesting idea, we have missed gardening Australia the last few weeks, but this weekend we have a quiet one planned. :)

    xx

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    1. I miss Gardening Australia over the Christmas break. They have some really good hints on the show.

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  5. I have never heard of that tree or see one. It looks like something from science fiction or else a fairy story! I like the pot watering system. I think I could use that. Watering will become a big job soon. It is warming up here over the weekend, but it has been glorious so I can't complain.
    Also daylight savings starting is good for me, I get lots of gar ending done in the evenings. xxx

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    1. It is certainly warming up here too Annabel. I doesn't get as hot as Adelaide though thankfully.

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  6. Sigh, still no fruit on my Jaboticaba. You've reminded me that I must get back to watching Gardening Australia, as I've been missing it lately. I love the idea of the Great Fertilizer Factory but I don't have access to nettles. I guess comfrey on its own would do thought. I'm a bit of a fan of Costa, I have a photo taken with him at Nambour Garden Expo a couple of years ago, my brush with fame!!

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    1. It does take a few years to fruit apparently, Hutchy. I didn't even know we had one until last year and it has been sitting down the back for many, many years. The CEO must have planted it at some stage as friends used to give him lots of plants years ago when he was more active in the garden. I was working so didn't take any notice of what was growing down there. LOL!

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  7. Interesting stuff, I am going to have to make a note for next spring on the watering thing!

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  8. I am in water saving mode here, Kathy as it is so hot but not as bad as other areas Thankfully we go back to our cooler weather later in the week.

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