GARDENING IN PARADISE
JENNY’S TROPICAL GARDENING
February 2019
WHAT an amazing month we have experienced in our gardens! We have received so much rain, followed by very high temperatures and some more rain! As I am writing this article I notice a better change in the weather and am wondering if we may get any more heavy rains in the next month or whether it will be safe to start preparing our beds for our vegetables and herbs. I have some good raised garden beds for my vegetables and I like to start preparing them for each year’s crop about this time. I do grow many vegetables all year, and instead of planting many in all-day sun, I plant them where they receive morning sun and afternoon shade and I find they do quite well. I do like to add composted material to my beds each year and I love using mushroom compost and Activ 8, along with chicken manure, cow manure and some dolomite. I then put a good layer of mulch on top and water everything in so as to give the soil a good boost of nutrition for the coming crops. Starting the bed preparation and raising seeds early gives a great start for a long season of growing lots of crops.
This Centenary lakes are so beautiful.
DELICIOUS PUMPKINS! I grow pumpkins all year and my favourite pumpkin is a cross between Kent, Bugle, and Jap pumpkins and produces many delicious pumpkins in such a variety of shapes and sizes, which have so much tasty flesh....people I have shared them with are always amazed at how heavy they are. Some do not even leave any room inside for seeds! Pumpkins are more nutritious than most cucurbits. They can be used in many ways in either sweet or savoury dishes and they make delicious soup! Cutting the top off a rounded pumpkin and scooping the flesh out, then using it to serve pumpkin soup from, is great. Pumpkin vines appreciate enough room to spread and can even be grown on a fence or trellis. I grow ours on a mound of soil and composted cane trash, with some fertiliser added and water them a few times a week. I also run the mower over the long trailing stems which escape the area I have given them and I find this also seems to help fruit production. Pumpkins should be picked when the skin colours deepen and change and when the stems go brown. Always leave about 5cm of stem on and the pumpkins can be stored in a cool, airy place for as long as needed. We have a great selection of vegetable, herb and flower seeds at Mitre 10 and I am always happy to advise people on the varieties. We have also just received a great range of fruit trees and this is the best time of year to plant them and get them off to a good start.
We also have some great mesh bags which are folded into a carry bag and these are great to use to cover a range of fruits and vegies to protect them from birds and insect pests, and they are excellent to take to the shop to put any fruits and vegetables to carry them home....they can be easily washed and re-used. Ask at the front counter for these great buys. Fruit trees such as lychees and longans, which have now finished their fruit production for this season, will benefit greatly from a good pruning to keep them at an easily manageable height. Fertilise them after pruning and water if needed. AMAZING FURCRAEAS! Furcraeas certainly make a stand-out statement in the garden and look good either in group plantings, in rows or just as a feature plant. They have thick, fleshy long leaves in green and white and can reach a couple of metres in height. They are very easy to grow but take care when cutting the leaves as the sap can irritate skin. Upon maturity, they produce stalks which can attain a height of 6-12 metres and has lovely little flowers spread along the branches, which bees love to visit to collect pollen. These stalks then produce many little bulbils which can be removed and planted. They also produce new plants on the parent plant, so they are easily multiplied! BEAUTIFUL GROUND ORCHIDS! Spathiglottus orchids are easily grown in the garden or in pots. They do like to have some protection from the sun in the hottest time of the day. They also like to be planted in a mix which will drain well as their roots do not like staying wet all the time. Deadheading (that is, removing old flowers) will help to keep the plants producing more blooms and fertilising once a month will also benefit these beautiful plants. I use a fertiliser from Manutec called Orchid Bloom Booster which gives very good results. This is also available at Mitre 10. It is best to regularly break up the clumps of plants as they multiply, as this will assist them to grow very well and produce more flowers; simply dig them up and gently pull the individual plants apart and replant. Until next month, Happy gardening!!
Jenny.
ASS FRUITORTED TREE S
Furcraea.
Home grown pumpkin.
Seedling flowers.
Page 8 Cassowary Coast Independent News, Thursday, February 28, 2019
NOW STORIN E
59 Butler Street, Tully, QLD 4854 Ph: 07 40684900 Fax: 07 40682351