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Showing 1561 - 1590 of 1608 comments

Pumpkin 05 Jan, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Brett, Are you using bought seeds or saving seeds from pumpkins? If you have bought seeds, it might be worth contacting the supplier and telling them about your problem. Otherwise, if you saved seeds, see the answer to Jean's query.
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Pumpkin 05 Jan, David (New Zealand - temperate climate): Ray, your pumpkins are falling off early because they are not fertilised. You may need to go around with a paintbrush and transfer pollen from the male flowers to the female. Check the comment from Jaci to identify which is which.
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Pumpkin 05 Jan, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Jean, you may be lucky. If you had an organic pumpkin it will probably produce both male and female flowers but if it was a F1 hybrid then its seeds will produce sterile plants. Check the flowers for possible female ones (see comment from Jaci above).
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Potato 26 Dec, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Johnny, as long as you have plenty of earth over the roots, your potatoes will be fine. The idea of covering them as they grow is to increase the number of potatoes on each plant.
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Leeks 21 Dec, Deb (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate): Why have my leeks all gone hard and woody inside. They are beginning to flower but are still quite thin and woody
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 18 Dec, Wayne (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi my caps and chillis are in my hothouse the temperatures can get up to 42cel is this too hot and will it affect their growth
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Tomato 11 Dec, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Tony, check that your potting mix is not too soggy. Although tomatoes like plenty of water, they also need good drainage. Have you got your bag slightly raised off the ground so that excess water can drain away?
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 11 Dec, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Lucy, my capsicums have also been slow starting. I think the cool spring nights have slowed them down. You should see some improvement as the weather settles down.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 10 Dec, lucy (New Zealand - temperate climate): how long do capsicums take to grow? because I put some in in september and they were allready seedlings and now their about 20cm tall but they are not flowering, why not???
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Cucumber 06 Dec, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Emma, it sounds as though your cucumber plants have been eaten by slugs or snails. You could try some slug bait in half a plastic bottle (so that birds can't reach it) or go out with a torch to catch and kill them at night.
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Broccoli 27 Nov, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Peter, your broccoli seedlings should be fine. Broccoli usually do well when the plants produce plenty of leaf. They produce flower heads later in the growth cycle.
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Salsify (also Vegetable oyster) 23 Nov, Stephen and Sandra (New Zealand - temperate climate): We have got the black salsify, we would like to know where to get the white salsify from. When do you plant it and how long to harvest?
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Salsify (also Vegetable oyster) 05 Dec, (New Zealand - temperate climate): I procured some black salsify seed from kings seed. They reckon its about three months before it is ready for harvest.
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Zucchini (also Courgette, Summer squash, Baby marrow) 12 Nov, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Billie, check behind the flowers. The ones with a miniature fruit are female. You can use pollen from the others. If all the flower stems are straight, you have male flowers only. That seems to happen when the weather is a bit cool as the plants start flowering.
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Zucchini (also Courgette, Summer squash, Baby marrow) 11 Nov, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Billie, and Bridget, your zucchini are dropping off because they are not pollinated. You can help pollination with a soft paintbrush if there are not many insects around.
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 05 Nov, Sina (New Zealand - temperate climate): Okra should germinate in 10-21 days at 20C, so you shouldnt need to use black plastic. Soaking the seeds in lukewarm water for at least two hours will definately help. In a temperate zone it is definatly worth growing in tubs as warmth is necessary especially at night at all times, but if you get up to 40C, a sheltered spot will do. well watered and a foliar mist and a couple of liquid feeds will keep them happy. Usually start to crop in 52 days
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Radish 03 Nov, Eugenia (New Zealand - temperate climate): Does anyone know why some of my radishes are splitting? Only some came out perfect.
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Radish 01 Dec, Ruth (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): The most likely reason is that you have left them in the ground too long.
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Garlic 29 Oct, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Jesse, you should get one head (or bulb) of garlic from each plant. The bulb will contain a number of cloves. Some varieties produce more cloves than others.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 19 Oct, lucy (New Zealand - temperate climate): thanks, i will plant the courgettes in my vege garden.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 15 Oct, lucy Dobinson (New Zealand - temperate climate): can you grow capsicums with courgette?
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Broccoli 23 Sep, Ben (New Zealand - temperate climate): I am new to planting broccoli and have recently cut the main head off one of the broccoli plants. I have several side shoots off the same plant, do they get as big as the main head?. The reason i ask is i dont want to leave them too long and let them go to flower.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 21 Sep, Lucy Dobinson (New Zealand - temperate climate): do capsicum plants grow well in big pots? Because I have just planted some seedlings in a big pot, and I am wondering if they will still produce fruit.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 18 Feb, (New Zealand - temperate climate): You can grow Capsicum in pots quite successfully, keep the soil moist not too wet and feed with nitrogenous fertilizer when fruit are starting to set Tom in Hawkes Bay
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Zucchini (also Courgette, Summer squash, Baby marrow) 18 Sep, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Lisa, zucchini/courgettes behave like that when they are not fertilised. You could try using a soft paintbrush to do it by hand.
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Broccoli 16 Sep, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Jen, you will be able to collect seeds but if you have planted F1 hybrid seedlings they may not reproduce.
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Broccoli 16 Sep, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Alex, Cut it across the stem just above the first leaves. The plant will then send out side shoots.
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Potato 16 Sep, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Steve, it would be best if you use the manure in making compost. It has a high nitrogen content which can damage plants if used direct.
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Chilli peppers (also Hot peppers) 03 Sep, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Julie, chillies will do better in full sun
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 28 Aug, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate): Diane, you will be able grow capsicums if you start them early under cover so that they have a long growing time.
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Showing 1561 - 1590 of 1608 comments

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