WHAT TO HARVEST
Avocados, Bananas, Beetroots, Blueberries, Broccoli, Fennel, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Sweet, Potatoes, Zucchini
PLANT OF THE MONTH
Botanical name: Ericaceae
Colour: Colours range from white, pink, red, yellow, and mauve
There is a huge range of rhododendrons, ranging in size from large tree-sized plants, down to types that fit into pots. Rhododendrons have to grow in an area that is cool, under overhanging branches from trees is perfect, so they don’t get too hot in the afternoon sun. They love growing in hilly areas because the air is a little bit cooler. Rhododendrons like moisture in their soil, but not too much, or the roots will rot. You need to keep them moist, but not too oversaturated, so drainage is important. Rhododendrons flower in spring and if you see the leaves looking a bit yellow, that is a good time to give them some fertiliser, such as Organic Xtra.
NEWS FROM THE FARM
‘A Structured Approach’
As horticultural growing season is almost coming to an end under hot subtropical conditions, for the following season increased number of conventional melon and capsicum growers are prepared to use pelletised mineral/organic blends.
Fertilizer pellets are being ‘banded’ under plastic mulch directly into the root zone minimising wastage.
Structured minerals such as palagonite and zeolite are being used together with chelated macro and micro trace elements achieving the following results;
- Provide protection/habitat for microbe delivery.
- Time release mechanism for nutrient release.
- Natural chelation.
This is most certainly nature’s way of providing a ‘structured’ nutrient delivery and has ample advantages over the use of synthetic polymer coated chemical fertilisers.
WHAT TO PLANT
Tropical – Beans, Capsicum, Choko, Cucumber, Eggplant, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Okra, Rosella, Sweet Corn and Sweet Potato.
Sub Tropical – Capsicum, Corn, French Beans, Kohlrabi, Leek, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Radish, Tomato and Zucchini.
Cool/Temperate – Beetroot, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Onion, Parsnip, Potato, Squash, Silverbeet.
SOIL AND LAWN UPDATE
APPLY TOP MULCH to hold precious moisture in your soil during the heat and to feed your soil organisms. Sprinkle handfuls of Organic Xtra under your fresh layer of mulch for an injection of soil goodness when it rains.
FERTILISE, FERTILISE, FERTILISE fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, bulbs and flower beds with ECO88s. Water in thoroughly for fast action and for a vibrant burst of colour and fresh Spring growth.
PROGRESS IN YOUR VEGGIE PATCH
Tidy up your veggie patch! Weed, to cut down the competition for nutrients and water in your garden. Give the kids a “buck a bucket” to get them out in the sunshine and into the fresh dirt. Use the weeds as green mulch or put them in the compost.
UPCYCLE EMPTY PLASTIC PET BOTTLES! Cut the bottom off your empty bottles and use these as covers for emerging seedlings in your veggie patch. They will provide protected from slugs, snails and winds in a warm, moist environment. Once your seedlings are mature enough, you can lift the bottle off, turn it upside down and push it into the dirt (neck down) close to the plant to use as a water spike to direct liquid fertilisers and water straight to the root area. Too cool!