Roger Clark's Blog (21)

G'day,

How are things at your place right now in the garden? I have noticed the garden changing - drying out for a while now with no rain to help. The difference between raised beds which are in  full contact with the ground and my containers which are either set up as a wicking bed or simply separated from the ground e.g. sacks, baths, laundry tubs, etc. is most marked. A few weeks ago everything was flourishing, there was moisture in the ground and  watering needed to be minimal.…

My Palagonite experiment

You may remember that I planted out two identical "Rouge De Marmande" seedlings, each in a wheelie bin with identical growing mixes, except that in 1of the bins I mixed in an amount of Palagonite mineral powder as well.

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Palagonite, is the mineral mix I wrote about recently after a talk at BOGI. The ratio recommended is 1kg per square metre of garden bed with a similar…

I made it along to BOGI on Thursday evening for once, It is an hour plus drive from downtown Park Ridge and I often don't make the effort, but I'm glad I did this time. Some of you might have seen the ABC news on Saturday where they also had a segment about the same subject - Palagonite. They showed Polo fields in Qatar, which have been treated with Palagonite and have great results getting grass to grow there.

Palagonite is a mineral mix formed by very specific volcanic activity. Mt…

http://abc.net.au/news/2016-10-11/new-fruit-fly-trap-will-save-fresh fruit-crops-inventor-claims-... Read the article about this. I wonder how much it will be. Surely as it is a product of a respected Uni it should work. It would be a huge boon to not only Organic Gardeners but also the general public, as conventional farmers will be able to grow fruit, etc. without poisonous sprays and this will not only make the…

This year has been most unusual. Not only has it been a very late start to the cooler conditions, but it has also been unusually wet. Now we are getting what looks like a very early start to warmer conditions again.

This is the season when we can out in the garden all day and not be lathered in sweat, when the pests are usually in hibernation - no fruit fly, no cabbage moth, etc,…

This year I have tried growing Green Zebra tomatoes for the first time with good success. The above plant was also a departure from my usual practice of starting from seed. Although I did start the parent plant from seed, but this plant was started from a thinning out of leaders which I did to produce a tall…

Pests come in all shapes and forms. Obviously the bigger they are the more damage they can do, but often it is easier to keep out the larger than the smaller. The larger pests, wallabies, possums, rats birds, etc. need a barrier to stop them from doing damage which is not always easy to erect, but once you have them in place are usually effective.

As I garden in a lot of above ground containers, (old baths, laundry tubs, sacks, etc.), it stops some of the access that normal garden…

Hi everybody,

Those who have followed my ramblings about how my avocadoes did not get pollinated in Spring, will no doubt be a little fed up with the accounts of the lack of success that I have had to get pollination occurring. Having said that I don't recall anyone else raving on about how good their…

I am a member of the Diggers Club. Now I know that some BLF members have said that this is a very expensive…

The recent wonderful rain that has turned my place from a desert like area with brown crunchy grass and struggling fruit trees into something that is now flourishing is not only great for the spirits but also possibly a provider of lessons. 

For example, my hedge of Pomegranates has not been a provider of much fruit, and while the bushes are still relatively young, they have often produced flushes of flowers, but very little has come to maturity. My thinking was that as these are best…

Avocado trees only flower once a year. So when they flower and they usually have a lot of…

Having just attended a very busy two days of the Qld Garden Expo in Nambour, I should share some of the things I learnt from talks attended there, before they disappear from the memory. Peter Young of Birdwood Nurseries related that most commercial growers of fruit trees are now restricting the height of their trees to around 3 metres. This done mainly because of WPHS issues for their pickers, all fruit can now be picked from the ground. The growers have pruned the trees so that they spread…

If you've followed the saga of my weed problem, and how I'm trying to turn the weed (I'll call it Trans for short,(we are on close terms)) to my advantage. You will know that I had to rely on others, much to my embarrassment, it should be acknowledged, to identify what it is that has been causing me such angst. 

I…