Vegetable garden

[nioka]

I found a dead bird recently.

Julia, if you are still using Rogor you may have even caused it. Spraying with rogor to crops is the story behind "The Silent World'.

 

[Speewha]

Hello,

Thanks to Roland and nioka for posts re Rogor lethal stuff to man and beast, even if you protect yourself and cover up in protective clothing, the risk of over spray being wind carried and causing harm elsewhere especially if you are on a suburban block is to great.

Yellow leaves on some plants and citrus trees can be caused by an iron deficiency , Chelated Iron works wonders sprayed on the leaves directly and watered in around the roots. Cow poo as mulch with some Gypsum dug in will help break up the clay and help the plant extract the good things that are found in clay soil.

I have a small block, but manage to grow lots of vegies and salad greens, tomatoes etc, I never use pesticide or herbicide, nothing wrong with the odd worm hole and weeds never did anybody any harm. IMO

The ABC web site and magazine Gardening Australia are very helpful lots of good tips, with regional variation for our vast land.

Sorry have rambled on a bit , was very surprised and happy to find this thread on ASF yet another plus !

Regards

 

[Julia]

Julia, if you are still using Rogor you may have even caused it. Spraying with rogor to crops is the story behind "The Silent World'.

No, Nioka, the death of the bird wasn't due to any chemical. My allusion to feathered creatures not lasting here was a reference to the extremely territorial nature of my dog who regards birds as the ultimate intruder.
I'm sad to say that she killed the bird (a pigeon). The scattered feathers on the lawn and her guilty demeanour were a giveaway.

And I don't go round using Rogor with wild abandon, for goodness sake.
I've used it I think once in twelve months after every other more conservative measure failed to stop the grasshoppers from stripping my precious Basil to stalks.

 

[nioka]

Spring has sprung. The plants are growing and a few pleasant days to spend a little time in the garden (between posting on ASF of course).

From the garden this week. The first of the nectarines, peaches & paw paw, and the last of the oranges, mandarins and tangellos. Cabbage, beans, silverbeet, potatoes, carrots, lettuce and the last of the choko from the veg garden. A couple of pineapples and a bunch of bananas.

Nothing like the taste of the home grown. When the world wearies and life doesn't satisfy there is always the garden.

 

[Julia]

It seems very early for the stone fruit, Nioka. Are they a tropical variety?
My father used to grow a very sweet tropical peach which didn't seem to mind the warm and humid environment.
Have you ever grown jaboticaba? (could be jaboticava)

 

[doctorj]

I've recently inherited a couple of rather sickly (but green) looking little chilli plants.

At the moment the chilli plants live by a window that gets as much light as its likely to get inside (a couple of hours a day, if its sunny)

Will they survive outside, where they're likely to get a bit more sun, but it frequently will get below 0?

Lend me your green thumb!

 

[roland]

First time harvest of some carrots over the weekend. We cleared a little patch at mum's place about 4 months ago and sowed directly into the "dirt".

Very satisifying to see the orange bits poke their heads just above ground level.

TIP - make sure the soil is fine and consistant - otherwise you will have carrots in all sorts of deformed shapes - just like ours

 

[awg]

growing mangoes

i know this is probably not the right forum for this sort of advice, but..

I have a 10yr old mango tree that flowers well, but sets hardly any fruit.

this year it has 2 mangoes.

small ones bud, but drop off almost straight away.

i think it is a Kensington Pride...the mangoes are very large, have only grown a couple to full size.

I am located in Newcastle NSW, right on the coast.

I have tried fertiliser, fungicide and hand pollination.

the fruit only ever sets on the North-East side of the tree.

i dont water the tree, should I at fruit set time?

any clues or experience appreciated...or Garden forum addresses

 

[Happy]

At the moment the chilli plants live by a window that gets as much light as its likely to get inside (a couple of hours a day, if its sunny)

Will they survive outside, where they're likely to get a bit more sun, but it frequently will get below 0?

Lend me your green thumb!

Introduction to outside sun you could ease placing pot in part shade with morning sun which seems to be easier on plants or with some kind of protecting artificial shade if planted directly in the garden soil.

As to frost if light frost, I would say chillies will drop some or all of their leaves and burst to life again in spring.

If frost below 5 or 10 degrees I suspect that definitely leaves will go, and some dieback can occur. You can protect branches with some wrapping, plus soil mounded outside wrapping for extra thermal protection, similar to what gardeners do with rose bushes.

 

[noirua]

Re: growing mangoes

i know this is probably not the right forum for this sort of advice, but..

I have a 10yr old mango tree that flowers well, but sets hardly any fruit.

this year it has 2 mangoes.

small ones bud, but drop off almost straight away.

i think it is a Kensington Pride...the mangoes are very large, have only grown a couple to full size.

I am located in Newcastle NSW, right on the coast.

I have tried fertiliser, fungicide and hand pollination.

the fruit only ever sets on the North-East side of the tree.

i dont water the tree, should I at fruit set time?

any clues or experience appreciated...or Garden forum addresses

Try this forum: http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/mango-tree-not-fruiting/

 

[Happy]

Re: growing mangoes

I have a 10yr old mango tree that flowers well, but sets hardly any fruit.

this year it has 2 mangoes.

small ones bud, but drop off almost straight away.

i think it is a Kensington Pride...the mangoes are very large, have only grown a couple to full size.

I am located in Newcastle NSW, right on the coast.

I have tried fertiliser, fungicide and hand pollination.

the fruit only ever sets on the North-East side of the tree.

i dont water the tree, should I at fruit set time?

any clues or experience appreciated...or Garden forum addresses

Mango is bit tricky, as it needs moisture available for the roots and fairly dry air.

Freshly set fruit hates to be wet and does not handle well high humidity, which is caused by frequent drizzles or showers even fog or mist.

Some fruits that were lucky to survive this condition carry black patches on skin.

I don’t think anything can be done, just area’s rainfall pattern seems to be incompatible with the plant requirements.

 

[Julia]

Re: growing mangoes

i know this is probably not the right forum for this sort of advice, but..

I have a 10yr old mango tree that flowers well, but sets hardly any fruit.

this year it has 2 mangoes.

small ones bud, but drop off almost straight away.

i think it is a Kensington Pride...the mangoes are very large, have only grown a couple to full size.

I am located in Newcastle NSW, right on the coast.

I have tried fertiliser, fungicide and hand pollination.

the fruit only ever sets on the North-East side of the tree.

i dont water the tree, should I at fruit set time?

any clues or experience appreciated...or Garden forum addresses

Have you tried liquid potash? Needs to sprayed over the tree as is absorbed through the foliage. Fruiting plants need potash to produce fruit. Probably too late to try it for this year. Won't it have finished flowering by now?

 

[Grinder]

Love my vegie garden! Basil, coriander, tomatoes, carrots all do well as does my cherry and magoe tree but not my lime. What does it take to get lime? I positioned it in almost full sun and have been feeding it well but still nothing. Any ideas?

 

[awg]

thx for the replies, especially Noirua, good website on mango probs.

pointed out possums are killers, we have heaps of the mongrels.

i will try the various tips on the site

presently have 2 growing mango on tree, flowers just finished.

re type, cant remember if it is bowen or kensington pride, the fruit were huge, about 10" long by 6" round, ripen Feb, anyone know which?

 

[Whiskers]

thx for the replies, especially Noirua, good website on mango probs.

pointed out possums are killers, we have heaps of the mongrels.

i will try the various tips on the site

presently have 2 growing mango on tree, flowers just finished.

re type, cant remember if it is bowen or kensington pride, the fruit were huge, about 10" long by 6" round, ripen Feb, anyone know which?

Hi awg, that's a huge mango. I have seen KP's get that big, especially if you have them growing near a septic drain.

Btw, Bowen and Kensington Pride (KP) are the same, although there are some sub strains that vary in size and flavour.

Happy is correct, wet, humid weather is the biggest problem for fruit set. The main disease is Anthrecnose, a black marking that starts on the skin and develops into the fruit... similarly Stem End Rot starts from the base of the stem. Commercial growers have to spray frequently with Mancozeb.

As Julia says Potash (Potassium - Symbol 'K') is also needed in luxury supply to maintain a good fruit set, size and eating quality. Certainly foliar potassium sprays especially with added kelp and or humic acid are best for a quick recovery. You will probably find some of the garden supplies of kelp have added humic acid and also fish.

Sometimes large size can come from excess nitrogen. There will be nothing wrong with them except that by excess N, I mean the balance of the main elements are a bit out of proportion. Typically there is a shortage of Phosphate (P), often measured by the BRIX, which is also needed for fruit set, eating quality and pest and disease resistance.

Another good site to supplement Noirua's, especially if you're into a bit more technical aspects of the commercial industry, is http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/26_7716_ENA_HTML.htm

There are good photo's also which may help identify your variety, even green eating varieties.

I've also had a lousy crop on my tree this year because of the continuous wet weather, because I mainly choose not to spray my garden fruit and veg and also because it's right near the shed guttering which supplies drinking water... so I'll be luck if I get two from my small tree this year.

 

[noirua]

Banana skins contain potassium and can be buried around the Mango tree all year round.

 

[roland]

our next door neighbours used to have lots of beer swilling BBQ's and the Mango tree was just in the right spot so the fellas didn't have to go to the inside loo

they have always had the best crop of Mangos ever ....

 

[Whiskers]

Banana skins contain potassium and can be buried around the Mango tree all year round.

Yes indeed, and veg scraps contain many other trace elements as well. I never dump vegetable matter, always use it for compost in garden often covered with lawn clippings.

our next door neighbours used to have lots of beer swilling BBQ's and the Mango tree was just in the right spot so the fellas didn't have to go to the inside loo

they have always had the best crop of Mangos ever ....

Very good roland.

Need the solid stuff too for the best results, but at least that tree is getting plenty of organic nitrogen and probably a bit of sugar and protein... good microbial food from a bit of spilled and or straight-through beer as well.

 

[noirua]

Very good roland.

Need the solid stuff too for the best results...

I'm not sure about the solid stuff. I seem to remember some information on the internet that fresh human manure can either ruin the ground or add something nasty to it.
Some Scottish Islanders hads to abandon their Island after doing this over many years.

 

[Whiskers]

I'm not sure about the solid stuff. I seem to remember some information on the internet that fresh human manure can either ruin the ground or add something nasty to it.
Some Scottish Islanders hads to abandon their Island after doing this over many years.

That's interesting, noirua.

Might be something to do with the cold climate slowing down the decomposition.

There are of course many pathagons in human excrement which can be problematic in concentration and unfavourable decomposition conditions.

As an aside, it seems many hormones both natural and synthetic along with other complex 'drugs' are unable to be filtered out and retained in recycled water for domestic consumption.

But for the most part sunlight is a good sterilising/neutralising agent.