My lillypilly

What a sad case, I found this Lillypilly (Syzygium) dumped in a lane way and left for dead. What a horrible waste!

After two years it now looks great. Originally it would have cost someone a fortune it had simply run out of root space and seemed to be suffering from fertilizer burn.

It's now growing in the ground and doing well after two years, still a long way from full recovery but in a few years will look wonderful. Someday when we leave our rented house someone else will hopefully appreciate it.

Chickens

There is nothing better than watching Mum's chickens run around her backyard, scratching the soil for grubs and having dust baths. Even these very small chickens produce enough eggs for a small family if properly cared for. They are so cute to watch and kids love them.

It is possible to have chickens in Sydney however roosters are banned although Mum has Henry (below). The only other requirement relates to keeping the chicken house clean and not positioning it under the neighbours kitchen/dining room window.

My Garden: Summer 2009 Backyard

Poor Buddha is even beginning to sag. I've made a few changes in the garden over the last week, my lillypilly is now in the ground surrounded with Japanese buxus.

I don't have digging space so I'm trying to fill the space along the fence with pots. Will try some Bird of Paradise, gardenias and a climber of some kind to cover the fence.

This mini rose is a gift from a friend, such a great feeling to see it doing well despite the heat.



Herbs such as sage and parsely are doing well. They love hot and dry.

My water source in the background (left), I just need to add a tap and put a mozzie proof cover on top. I'm not rushing we've not had any rain to save over the last two weeks and none predicted for the remainder of February.

Cute little Euphorbia, Brett's choice.

Geraniums/Pelargoniums

I have about four plants in a window box at the moment and although pretty they've been attacked by caterpillars, bud worms and now they have rust which I discovered yesterday. So I started treatment for the rust by removing and bagging badly affected leaves and sprayed with my baking soda solution to prevent any further outbreaks. Caterpillars are now under control but as you can see bud worm is still active.

Rust, a fungal disease, is difficult to control because of the millions of spores produced are carried by wind onto other parts of the plant. These copper/red coloured spores are found on the underside of the leaves. Unfortunately Zonal Geraniums/Pelargoniums are very susceptible so I might replace them with either regal or ivy leaf types in the next few weeks, I will at least wait to see if my attempt to control this outbreak is successful.

Roses

I actually thought they were doing OK but after a move (they are in pots) to increase sunlight and air circulation there has not been a lot of improvement. I have two hybrid Ts, Peace and Double Delight and a floribunda, Bonica.

This year they've had rose canker, mildew, caterpillars, bud worm and mealybug. The roses are in a good potting mix, well drained but probably do not have the level of organic material they prefer.

What can I do now

• Rose canker is easily prevented by ensuring secateurs are sharp and cleaned with methylated spirits.
• Control mildew/mould outbreaks with a baking soda solution every 7 days
• Control aphids with Natrasoap, they will definitely appear when roses have young shoots
• Remove damaged stems and spent flowers as they appear
• Add some blood and bone

Try again next year.

Tomato yeild 2008/2009

This is the first year that I've had tomatoes before Christmas, around 600g. Pruning was a bit severe but may have helped bring on some earlier fruit. In future only remove those leaves near the ground, about 20-30cm to improve air circulation. Will leave them alone for now to leaf up. My beefsteak tomato is producing good fruit but still green and small.
We tasted our first tomato last night (19 Dec) (variety unknown, roma style) and found them quite nice, low acid. I made my favourite bean and tomato salad and squeezed some extra tomato juice over the top. Its a traditional Italian recipe which I discovered when I was also growing my own beans, (Purple King, great taste, no storage capacity but highly productive) a few years ago.

Dipel

My geraniums in the window box under my bedroom window have been eaten by caterpillars. I've been picking them off one by one but decided to see how Dipel works. It's been available for about 30 years!

Dipel is an insecticide containing Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria, caterpillars apparently stop eating immediately once they have ingested it, taking about three days for them to die. Confidor is an alternative but too toxic for home gardener use however, it is usually the only product available at hardware stores.

Dipel spores are killed off by sunlight so it should be applied every 7 days when infestations are high.

Although it is safer to use, always wear eye protection, gloves and dust mask especially when opening sachets as spores break loose into the air. The same protection should be worn when spraying pyrethrum, dusts or organic pesticides. Packaging never provides enough information on personal protection equipment.

I now would never buy premixed trigger/spray packs for any product. I purchased PestOil (Yates) only a few days ago, I could not adjust the droplet size and it ran down my hand. More of a problem was a pyrethrum spray pack that I purchased a few years ago. The pack leaked badly, despite it being organic is too toxic for this to be acceptable.

Recipe for control of fungus

In 2 litres of water add a drop of vegetable oil, a drop of detergent, 4 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda and spray plants every 7 days for the entire growing season. It's perfect for most fungal problems and I'm using this on my roses and tomatoes.

This a remedy from Gardening Australia.

Tomatoes - Potash

I added some Potash (Potassium) to my tomatoes (10g to a watering can) as it assists fruit development and ripening. I have lots of large unripe tomatoes which are taking their time to ripen. Hopefully this will help. Noticed that this year they have been attacked by caterpillars, whiteflys, mildew (now under control). I will water in some Charlie Carp next weekend. Everything else appears normal, uneven watering was a problem a few weeks ago.

2008 Sydney to Gong - 2 November 2008

The day before the ride I was at Tafe getting my chemical application licence. I got home late and fixed a flat tire on my road bike at 10pm (which I only discovered when I got home) I knew I was too tired to do this ride and deal with the normal problems, flats, bad riding and hills. After fixing a flat after only 5km I gave up and went home. My pump destroyed the valve so I couldn't pump the tire up. So no spares, no working pump I wouldn't ride do a ride of half the distance without being able to look after myself.

Try next year but I have to admit that I'm looking for other challenges, three Sydney to Gongs might be enough.

Stop press

Both tubes were Bontrager which are produced for Trek. I couldn't find a hole in the orginal tube, probably bad valve. Crappy quality for a premium price tag $12 (Clarence St Cycles, Sydney). When I got home I replaced the bent valve, pumped up the tire. It went flat again over night! I pulled out the tube and found that that it had folded over itself by 10cm, which explains why it was difficult to pump up. I expect the bent valve was due to the soft nature of the brass used.

I always use a basic Chinese brand which sell for about $9.00 and with one exception never had a problem.

2008/2009 Tomatoes Leaf Spot

I have Early blight which is a fungus disease on my Red Russian and Beefsteak tomatoes. It's left pin holes in the leaves and caused flowers to drop

I hope that a remedy from Gardening Australia will work, http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1484689.htm.

In 2 litres of water add a drop of vegetable oil, a drop of detergent, 4 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda. It's perfect for tomatoes.

There is another recipe among Gardening Australia's factsheets which is a bit different, it includes Pestoil, however this recipe should work well. Sydney Botanic Gardens use a similar solution.