All recent comments/discussion

Showing 1141 - 1170 of 1608 comments

Sweet Potato (also Kumara) 13 May, Leslie Viljoen (New Zealand - temperate climate): I'm not an expert but if you cut a Kumara into pieces, it will grow vines from the "eyes". We have one growing like crazy - but since it's cold now I think it's going to die.
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Sweet Potato (also Kumara) 15 May, Daniel (Australia - temperate climate): With Kumeras, they will grow if you plant a whole kumara but they wont produce tubers. The shoots that do grow from that can be used as cuttings, and as these new cuttings grow, you will get the Kumera tubers growing from those new plants. Needs a long warm summer to grow bigger tubers! Hope that helps
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 09 May, ali (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi, I am looking into growing fardenlosa shiny beans commercially and have found a lot of useful info. However I can't seem to find info and how long these plants will produce a good crop and when to re sow?
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 10 May, John (Australia - temperate climate): Shiny Fardelosa beans take 11-13 weeks to harvest and will bear for 2-3 months. If you are growing them undercover they can be planted all year otherwise plant them in spring up until later in the year.
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 24 Sep, Mel (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Hi John, I am growing Fardenlosa in pots in a glasshouse (1500)... are bumblebees the best option to pollinate? cheers
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 08 May, Mary Holland (New Zealand - temperate climate): Will runner beans give beans for more than 1 year, if left in the soil.?
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 08 May, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Yes, they will keep going unless you get frosts.
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Daikon (also Japanese radish, Lo Bok) 05 May, Gareth Lusty (New Zealand - temperate climate): Here is a Giant White Radish (Raphanus sativus) https://duckduckgo.com/?q=daikon+radish+picture&t=h_&ia=images (Couldn't use your link, Gareth - Ed.)
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 03 May, Rosemary Jorgensen (New Zealand - temperate climate): I also have grown trouble free Scarlet runner beans for years. Last year I had no beans at all. This year I had enough to feed us but none to give away. The culprit is the green vegetable bug or shield beetle. They suck and forming beans dry and then they do not develop. This last season, I examined them every day and squashed beetles. I still was scarcely winning the battle. It is hard to spray with anything because the plants are always in flower and we are eating them every day. I am also inundated with white fly. I sometimes have success water blasting them off, but they are far too persistent on the beans.
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Beans - climbing (also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) 04 May, Sean (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Climbing beans, such as Scarlet Runner, often don't set if you have a run of hot weather. White fly are attracted to bright colours like yellow. Get a piece of bright yellow card or plastic sheet and smear it with petroleum jelly. Tie or nail this to a stake near your beans. The white fly will be attracted to the yellow and will stick to the greasy petroleum jelly.
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Celery 02 May, peter andrews (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): being on a pension now,i have taken a big interest in growing vegies,so I invested in a glass house ,I already have beetroot plants growing, very good ,also I have silver beet growing very good ex in fact .also I have broccoli growing good ,cabbage good ,and cauliflour now shooting up ,can I grow capsicums now ,?,,,,,,,and can I grow celery now,,?,,,,,,and can I grow chillie peppers now ?,,,,, its a great way to keep your mind going and its so nice when you see all the plants starting to get healthy and start growing .hope I am doing ok ? I will welcome any advice you can give me to help me master this art of growing ,kind regards peter
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Celery 10 May, Mem (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi you wont be able to grow chillies or capicums until mid spring-early summer,you can grow celery,broccoli,cauliflower,leeks,cabbage,spinach,silverbeet and peas without cover through winter provided you're in an area without frequent hard frosts and lettuce,radishes and beetroot etc in the glasshouse.
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Celery 03 May, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate): In your area you would normally sow seed in march and April in your glass house ready for transplanting in May and June. You could also sow seed in August and September for October and November planting out. To avoid stringiness in your celery keep the water up to the plants. Well manured or composted soil will also help.
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Kale (also Borecole) 02 May, Alice (New Zealand - temperate climate): Aphids over wintering on any curly leaved kale. Last year I grew a lot of leafy greens, the kale Nero was a great success, however the others grew really well but were infested with wooly aphids seeking shelter I assume. I'm not into chemical sprays, and getting the spray in all the curly leaves seems too time consuming, I can wash them off but it's almost pointless with the numbers per leaf. Have others found this? What can I try that's not too much of a hassle as I have a young family and don't really want to go out spraying with garlic spray for example after each time it rains.
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Kale (also Borecole) 25 Jan, Wihiria Mark (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi, An organic gardener told me that broken egg shells keep any crawly grub away as they do not like the sharp edges of the egg. Good way to use egg shells as well. I found it did work with cabbage, cauliflower, hope this is useful to you as well.
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Kale (also Borecole) 22 May, hornz (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): try companion planting with spring onions, shallots &/or garlic
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Sweet Potato (also Kumara) 02 May, Pou TeRongomau (New Zealand - temperate climate): October and November best time to grow kumara in the Waikato Hamilton area.
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Spring onions (also Scallions, Bunching onions, Welsh onion) 29 Apr, Ben (New Zealand - temperate climate): Why can't you plant near peas or beans? If they are growing upwards and spring onions are at the base but a bit off their root system would that help growing close or it just a i don't like growing with you kinda thing..
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Spring onions (also Scallions, Bunching onions, Welsh onion) 01 May, Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi Ben, Best to plant something else in between peas/beans and onions. Peas/beans have symbiotic bacteria amongst their roots which fix nitrogen into the soil, while the onion family are antibacterial - hence they fight one another's good points. If you put say a row of leafy greens between the two, then the argumentative roots of the two foes will be separated, and the leafy greens will benefit from both the extra nitrogen plus the extra pest protection of the onions. Win win win.
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Zucchini (also Courgette, Summer squash, Baby marrow) 26 Apr, Maree (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Can you sucessfully grow zuchini plants in containers, and if so, how deep + wide should the container be for one plant please?
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Zucchini (also Courgette, Summer squash, Baby marrow) 26 Apr, John (Australia - temperate climate): Yes you can. I have done it but the biggest challenge is to keep them moist enough so you don't get any setbacks. I used 400 mm (16") diameter plastic tubs.
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Asparagus Pea (also Winged pea) 24 Apr, peter woods (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Can I grow the same wing bean bulb two years in a row or do I have to harvest from new seed every year ? We are in Tauranga. Thanks for your time.
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Asparagus Pea (also Winged pea) 25 Apr, John (Australia - temperate climate): Winged beans are perennial and will regrow in the spring. To harvest the seed you need to wait until the pods are full ripe which will be late in the season. As they can be very strong growers some people pinch the tip out after about the 12th leaf. This will cause the plant to send out side shoots.
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Daikon (also Japanese radish, Lo Bok) 24 Apr, Awhi Kingi (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): I think I have some Daikon radishes in the garden that sprouted from birdseed , they are getting quite large . no one I know can identify them . I was hoping you might be able to look at the photo's for me and see what you think ? I'm a very new gardener but loving it
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Daikon (also Japanese radish, Lo Bok) 30 May, Olwen Mason (New Zealand - temperate climate): They came up in our lawn in Wellington from birdseed. They got very large and I was very surprised to see them when the lawn was mown after a long unmown time.
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Daikon (also Japanese radish, Lo Bok) 24 Apr, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Have you seen the photo on the daikon page of Gardenate ?
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 18 Apr, Nigel (New Zealand - temperate climate): Is it possible to grow eggplant from cuttings?
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 19 Apr, John (Australia - temperate climate): Yes it is. Take short tip cuttings in late Spring and into the Summer. If the leaves are large, reduce them with a pair of scissors. Put your cutting/s into a jar of water in a warm spot (not hot) and they will grow roots. Treat them as ordinary seedlings after planting out.
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 28 Apr, Chris (New Zealand - temperate climate): A speedier way to propagate is to use an aquarium air pump to add extra oxygen to the water you have your cuttings in
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Celery 17 Apr, Yvette (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): My celery has been the biggest hit in my garden all Summer here in Taumarunui. Its starting to look past its best, rip it out now or wait for the frost to get it and continue to use it until then? I was under the impression you could sow celery for winter, this is obviously wrong and I should now wait till spring? :}
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