Gardening Australia episode 24 2021

Gardening Australia episode 24 2021

Gardening Australia episode 24 2021: Jane Edmanson takes a look at clematis, Tino Carnevale visits a Hobart market gardener, Jerry Coleby-Williams gets the inside scoop on potting mix, Josh Byrne tours an indoor jungle, and Millie Ross gets set up for spring.


 

 



Inspiring, entertaining and full of practical advice, join Costa Georgiadis and the team as they unearth gardening ideas, meet avid gardeners and look at some of the most inspiring gardens from across the country.

 

Gardening Australia episode 24 2021

 

Spring to Success

Millie sets up the garden for a successful and productive spring, taking us through her best tips to get a head start. Spring is such an exciting time in the garden, particularly if you live in a cool or temperate climate. It’s a great time to set up for the growing season ahead, and Millie has the following tips to offer. Despite seedlings being available in the shops, it doesn’t mean the soil is warm enough yet for them to grow. Millie uses a soil thermometer to check.

Millie grows her pumpkins ‘in a pile of goodness’ – straw, chicken manure and compost. By piling it up now it will rot down in time for planting in a few months. Stone pavers on top of the mount will absorb the suns heat and radiate it back out for the seedlings.

Heat is invaluable for starting seedlings, and a sunny windowsill is the classic. Millie has made a heatbox out of a reptile tank heater sunk into some sand. She gets an even 20 degrees, which is the perfect temperature to raise seeds and strike cuttings. At night it’s covered in plastic to stay warm. An old window also makes a good cold frame.

Decomposing compost also generates heat. Turning and adding nitrogen will boost this process. Placing cuttings on top of the pile will give them some extra heat.

FAQs – Pruning westringia | Oaks from seed | Growing watercress

Gardening Australia presenters answer commonly asked gardening questions.

Oh My Darlin’ Clematis – Gardening Australia episode 24 2021

Jane dives into the most eye-catching of ornamentals, climbing clematis and learns how to grow them from some dedicated specialists. If you’re looking for a colourful climber or creeper for cooler climates, look no further than the Clematis. These pretty perennials are just perfect for adding an outrageous pop of colour in the garden, with many of the hybrids and cultivars flowering from spring right through to autumn.

As a rule, Clematis are most suited to temperate climates, and most will struggle in the tropics. Wild clematis have their origins in China, but their beauty and popularity saw them become the ‘must-have’ garden plant throughout Europe during the 19th century. Due to continued interest and breeding, there are over 400 Clematis cultivars available commercially, and Alameda Homestead Nursery, on the outskirts of Melbourne, grows around a hundred different deciduous varieties.

Saffron Button is the dispatch coordinator and part of the family nursery business, and explains that these cottage garden classics are prized not just for their showy, stunning flowers, but for the fact that, unlike many other climbers, “they don’t damage what they are climbing on, meaning they can ramble over arches, pergolas, through hedges and up trees with no worries”. “These social climbers can also be grown as creepers or ground covers, in a pot or even in a hanging basket – they are as versatile as they are stunning” she explains.

Mess-free Duck Feeder

Guest Presenter Hannah Moloney designs a mess-free feeder for her ducks. Hannah loves her ducks. She says there’s some things you need to know if you want to keep them. Firstly, some breeds will be hugely devastating if you let them roam freely in your garden. Secondly, they’re incredibly messy and will poo everywhere! It can be a battle to keep their food and water clean, so Hannah has come up with a simple DIY bucket system to help this.

The Wild Inside – Gardening Australia episode 24 2021

Josh swings into a jaw-dropping indoor plant jungle and meets the committed plant collector behind it.

In an age where Instagram is everything, the phrase ‘indoor jungle’ is bandied about on socials more often than it should be, and it is rare to find a space that actually meets these criteria and lives up to its Insta pics. But, in Perth’s southern suburbs, Josh is meeting a gardener whose home is just that – an indoor jungle – and her plant collections will make you want to stop scrolling and start gardening.

Fesi Djojo is, by her own admission, an indoor plant fanatic, and even a quick glance around the living areas of her home confirms this. There are plants everywhere – large clusters grouped together, trailing plants like Dichondra, Hoya and Epipremnum hanging from ceilings, bookcases and shelves dedicated solely to foliage, form and beautiful selections of both pots and plants. “I did a count in February this year” says Fesi, “and there were 558 plants inside our home”. While this number of plants could feel overwhelming, even cluttered, Fesi has styled and placed plants in a way that feels almost natural, like they are supposed to be there. “They are now an integral part of the design of the indoor spaces of our home, I use plants where others may use art or objects”.

Mix Masters

Jerry gets the scoop on what makes a top-quality potting mix and follows the factory production process from start to finish. We’re at Rocky Point, a soil, mulch, manure and potting mix factory in Woongoolba on the northern tip of the Gold Coast. Here, on 70 acres, over 100 employees churn out a staggering 4 million bags of consumer grade potting mix a year, processing tonnes of raw materials into the stuff you take off the shelf at the nursery. Huge open air concrete bays sit like a giant’s pantry, just waiting for the enormous trucks to come through and mix up the perfect blend for your potted plants at home.

The person in charge of this horticultural alchemy is production manager Mark Rayner. He’s been working in the horticulture industry for over 40 years, developing custom potting mixes for both the commercial and home garden industries. If there’s a person that knows potting mix, it’s Mark.

“The home gardener is looking for growth. They want a range of things that will produce a good plant quickly”.

Market Garden Maven – Gardening Australia episode 24 2021

Tino visits a market gardener and finds out how she supplies some of Hobart’s top restaurants.

Pop into just about any inner-city backyard and you’ll likely find pots or a patch of produce, providing some vegies and herbs to the homeowners. But a visit to Eves Garden backyard in West Hobart is testament to just what can be achieved on a quarter acre block with a bit of know-how, determination and a shed load of hard work.

Liz Lelong is the brains and the brawn behind this magnificent market garden, a one-woman operation that, after five years of hard yakka, is now her livelihood. “I spend most of my waking hours out in the garden” says Liz. “I’m always propagating, planting, weeding, harvesting – there is always work to be done”. The garden is sprawling, and looks much larger than its quarter acre footprint. “There are 30 different garden beds in here, and of course my greenhouses, which I built”. That’s a recurring theme in Eves Garden – Liz has built everything herself. “I’m always loathe to pay anyone to come and do work for me, my ethos has always been that I’d like to learn the skill so I can do the jobs myself” she says.

Propagating Monstera

Indoor plant collector Fesi Djodo shares her tips on propagating monstera. One of Fesi’s favourite plants is a variegated Monstera deliciosa. It’s not easy to get, so she’s going to take a cutting for a friend and show us how she does it.

 

 

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