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Showing 1411 - 1440 of 13850 comments

Snow Peas (also Sugar Peas, Mangetout, Chinese Peas) 22 Feb, Richard (Australia - temperate climate): This is a somewhat late reply I'm afraid but it may help you in the coming 2021 year. Peas are just pollinated by wind so bees are not required. Giving the flowers a little shake after they form may help but this is unlikely to be your issue if your peas are not very well wind shielded. Mostly I would be concerned that you are posting this in August (peak frost time!) As I understand pea flowers will go sterile if the flowers are hit by frost. I think that this web site is incorrect in advising people to plant peas as early as April. I would recommend not putting peas in the ground any earlier than June. My wife loves peas and so I plant peas twice a year to maximize yield. I put one set down in July and another in September.
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Snow Peas (also Sugar Peas, Mangetout, Chinese Peas) 10 Aug, Anon (Australia - temperate climate): See if they will become bigger with time. They don't need bees. The snow peas I grow only take about a week from flowering to grow to about 75-100mm long. I grow giant oregon snow peas from Boondie Seeds. If you start with good rich soil then they don't need more fertiliser.
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Snow Peas (also Sugar Peas, Mangetout, Chinese Peas) 11 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate): I have heard that using potash should fix this issue, too much nitrogen in the soil/air and they want to grow instead of fruit. Potash should help it to concentrate or flowering/fruiting.
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Cabbage 08 Aug, Robyn (Australia - temperate climate): My cabbages and cauliflowers are not forming hearts this year. They are very healthy looking, lots of leaves, and planted about 10 - 12 weeks ago. What have i done wrong?? Is it lack of sunshine, lack of nutients, or pollination..have bith green and red varieties of cabbage.
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Cabbage 10 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate): I am sub-tropical and I'm just finishing picking my broccoli and cabbage. I had a couple of weird red cabbage and ice berg lettuce that were all big leaf and no heart. Same plants right next to each other, one good, one just leaf. If massive leaves then I think too much N fertiliser or just a rogue seed or something. I bought these as seedlings. Talking to an agronomist last week and he said these winter crops need cool/cold weather to form a heart. He said if the weather was hot for week or so when they were to head up then this might have stopped them. I have only grown red cabbage the last 3 years and have a big variation in the size and quality of the heart.
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Potato 07 Aug, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I was so disappointed my marrows n things were attacked/eaten/went to pot I stopped gardening. I've got my second wind! If I use store-bought spuds, can I plant them if they get eyes/will they actually grow and land on my plate? Live this site-thanks!! Stay safe.
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Potato 10 Aug, Anon (Australia - temperate climate): The difference between store potatoes and buying certified seed potatoes is disease. Store are more likely to be effected by disease. But if you have good fresh soil that hasn't had a lot of disease in it then you probably might be able to produce a good crop. You can grow a crop in the spring but also try planting late April early May.
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Broccoli 06 Aug, Anthony Ryan (Australia - temperate climate): My broccoli plants have finished producing main flower heads some side shoots are still growing though. Once they finish producing flower buds do you pull out the plant or cut or trim it so it will regrow next winter. I have heard both broccoli and cauliflowers are biennial if so what should I do for my cauliflowers also. Any help would be greatly appreciated
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Broccoli 07 Aug, Anon (Australia - temperate climate): Some (sprouting) are perennial some are annual. I don't know why anyone would trim the plant then look after it for 6-8 months. Far less work to just pull it out and replant new seed/seedlings next Autumn.
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Carrot 31 Jul, Richard Allan (Australia - temperate climate): If sowing when it is hot, cover with hession or a couple of layers of old shadecloth. The idea is to keep the soil moist and not let it dry out at all
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Carrot 03 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate): A good idea to do this anytime. And to do it when transplanting seedlings especially when the seedlings are bare rooted (no soil around them). I have a 2m x 2m x .4m high frame with 30% shade cloth.
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Borage (also Burrage, Bugloss) 31 Jul, Rita (Australia - temperate climate): Contrary to the growing season of Borage I'm in Central Victoria and we have had it growing since autumn rains came. We have had several severe frosts this season and it is still going gang busters. I have noticed though that there is tending not to be seeds being produced, most likely from the lack of bees around in the cold. Something to do with climate change maybe?
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Borage (also Burrage, Bugloss) 03 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate): This website is only a general guide for planting. DO read the statement at the bottom of the page, local conditions come into play. I (and I am not part of Gardenate) believe most of the planting guidance here is from soil temperatures required to germinate seeds. People say don't plant corn until it is warmer weather, probably Sept/Oct. I had corn self germinate in my garden two weeks ago, middle of winter. Tomatoes another warm weather crop has been germinating all winter. I had borage last autumn/winter, was going no where until the winter solstice then it took off, plants 1.5m wide and 1m high. The year before I has 1 bee come each morning, with the borage I had 80-100. Disease has wiped out a big % of the worlds bees. Plant some flowers etc to encourage them to come to your garden and increase their numbers. Miss used words, climate change, where I live, is it changing from sub-tropical to tropical, I don't think so.
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Asparagus 29 Jul, Terri (Australia - temperate climate): We live on the Edge of the Great Swamp, near Koo Wee Rup in Victoria, where most of Australia's asparagus is grown. The plants are in full sun constantly, and in peaty soil which is constantly wet. You should be fine.
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Asparagus 30 Jul, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate): If you live near a bigger town/city see if the company Nutrien Ag Solutions has a depot near you or call the Bundaberg depot. Ring them up and discuss it with them. Ask to talk to their agronomist. If you live near them take the leaves in to them. They are very helpful.
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 29 Jul, Dale (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have silver-beet,kale,and white spinach growing ,but there are all these tiny white dot like insects on the leaves.I have been trying to identify them with pics on the the net,but get a little confused.Could they be thrip or aphids? I did have them all over my pak choy and sadly I pulled them all out and gave to the goats.I also made a soap and water spray,which seemed to help.But really I don't want them at all. Any ideas or companion planting ideas would help thanks.
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Silverbeet (also Swiss Chard or Mangold) 17 Oct, S (Australia - temperate climate): Sounds like green caterpillar eggs
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Pumpkin 26 Jul, Jaime (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi, I'm on the Central Coast of NSW. Is there any way of growing pumpkins so they're ready for Halloween?
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Pumpkin 27 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): It says 15-20 weeks so you are outside of that timeframe. The seeds need warm weather to germinate. and grow. You could try, the pumpkin grows pretty quickly then takes about 3-4 weeks to mature to eat. Need full sun.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 25 Jul, Jack (Australia - temperate climate): My capsicums have been stripped bare just the stem left about 14 to 16 cm high mind you it hasn't happened to the bigger one's. any advice especially on pesticides?
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 27 Jul, colleen (USA - Zone 10b climate): If this happened suddenly, it was probably hornworm caterpillars--they can strip a plant almost overnight. I placed a bird feeder near my peppers and tomatoes, and birds are kindly taking care of the problem for me...but in the short run you might want to dust with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). It's organic, considered highly safe, and will stop the caterpillars from feeding.
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Capsicum (also Bell peppers, Sweet peppers) 27 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Probably some grub/caterpillar, look for killers of these at gardening centers or look up organic sprays on the internet.
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Asparagus 25 Jul, Leanne (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Hi all! I have just received my asparagus crowns. I’m concerned now that the bed I’ve chosen won’t be right for them. It gets full afternoon sun in summer and can get quite hot with no shade? Advice would be greatly appreciated :)
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Asparagus 27 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): My plants are in full sun most of the day 6am to 6pm in summer, Bundaberg Qld. We had a lot of hot weather the last summer, had no problems. Give them a good watering each week if no rain in summer.
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Burdock (also Gobo (Japanese Burdock)) 24 Jul, Elaine lopez (Australia - tropical climate): Hi Were can i buy fresh gobo burdock root
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Burdock (also Gobo (Japanese Burdock)) 27 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Try a Google search
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Asparagus 24 Jul, SueEllen LePage (Australia - temperate climate): I am currently growing white asparagus and the plants are in their 3rd year. It is winter and the asparagus is giving me some large spears that I have harvested and eaten. I am leaving the smaller spears. Now that the smaller spears are growing into ferns, should I continue to cut the larger spears or should I leave them all to grow? Also I always thought asparagus was a spring crop, why am I getting such a crop?
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Asparagus 27 Jul, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Why a crop this time of year, probably because you have kept watering them. I did that establishing my asparagus the first two years. I'm sub-tropical and I stop watering mine the end of April, just the odd watering, not heavy, we have had very little rain since mid March. I actually cut my ferns yesterday, will not fertilise, compost and water until the end of August. I only eat my asparagus for about 5 weeks last year in the spring. But I cut my ferns off in Jan and had about 3-4 weeks of spears before letting them fern again. If the crown is biggish 9-12
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Asparagus 06 Aug, Diane (Australia - tropical climate): Hi i have just moved to Gladstone and i have always tried to grow Asparagus however i am never in a place long enough to eat any of it. i was told to wait until the ferns have gone yellow before you cut them down is this a fact or fiction. thanks
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Beetroot (also Beets) 21 Jul, Andrew (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Subtropical QLD - I germinated beetroot seeds in June and planted out in July. One seedling has flowers on it already. We have had cold weather and I also thought beetroot were biennial. Is this normal for flowers to get on plants so quickly?
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