Gardening Guides
Be a gardening legend with step-by-step instructions on how to grow a wide range of plants, what to plant when, how to combat pests and diseases, plus extra tips and tricks to get your garden flourishing.
Be a gardening legend with step-by-step instructions on how to grow a wide range of plants, what to plant when, how to combat pests and diseases, plus extra tips and tricks to get your garden flourishing.
At Awapuni we're big on reusing and recycling. For starters, Our seedlings are wrapped in newspaper, we are now offering for our customers to order our products label free and we use all sorts of recycled boxes to get our plants out to our customers.
At the nursery we are constantly looking for new ways to repurpose items and we thought you might be too. So we asked Dominque from She Sees Green to give us her top five tips for cutting down on waste
Dominque says the key to reducing waste is to just start where you are.
“If you are buying lunch in a plastic container everyday then take a reusable container with you, then move to taking in leftovers. If you are pretty good at recycling but throw food waste into your landfill bin, try to buy less of what you often throw away then consider giving your reduced food waste to your neighbour's chickens or starting a compost bin. Whatever point of the reducing waste journey you’re at, every bit helps to protect our land, water, and air.”
Here are her top five tips:
1. Know your recycling rules.
If your takeaway pizza box has cheese on it, if a bottle has some milk left in the bottom and even if your water bottle is a quarter full, they can be sent to landfill instead of being recycled. Simply rinse your plastics and tins and remove any patches with food from boxes for recycling. Remember to put items directly into recycling bins without plastic bags, which delay the recycling process and can mean your recycling gets put in a landfill.
‘Soft plastics’ like plastic shopping bags, bread bags, and cracker liners need to be collected and recycled separately, some supermarkets are now accepting them. Wherever you live look at your council website to check which number plastics can be recycled, and ask where you can take soft plastics, chemicals and paints, electronic waste, and batteries to be disposed of correctly.
2. Cardboard boxes are great for no-dig vegetable beds.
Cardboard boxes can, of course, be recycled or used on the fire but they are also great for creating gardens without the need for digging and moving dirt around. They help to create fertile soil and are great for getting rid of weeds without needing plastic ground coverings. Remove any stickers or tape and they can be used to layer with nitrogen-rich ‘greens’ (veggie scraps, grass, and manure) and carbon-rich ‘browns’ (straw, hay, sawdust, and woodchips) in a ‘lasagne’ method perfected by permaculture gardeners. If I forget my reusable bags at the supermarket I ask for a box and reuse it on my garden. Did you know that when you order supermarket delivery you can request delivery without plastic bags and with boxes? My local countdown delivers in banana boxes and the driver takes them back to be reused if I don’t want them!
3. Take reusable bags with you everywhere.
Single-use plastic bags are not good for human or environmental health. Find some long-lasting reusable bags. I like jute, bamboo or hemp bags because they are less water-intensive to produce than cotton but whatever you have is great too! Have a stash of reusable bags in the back of your car, at your office desk and one or two small ones in your handbag then you can grab what you need when out and about without needing plastic bags. Old pillow cases, shoe bags, and mesh bags are all great for putting produce or bread in when at the bakery, supermarket or farmers market. Even better pop a few reusable containers in your reusable bag for buying takeaway lunches or bulk food shopping, your butcher or fishmonger may also be happy to put weighed items in them.
4. Think glass, not plastic.
If you have an olive or gherkin addiction, then you will never need to buy plastic containers again. Glass jars can be washed and reused repeatedly. We store our bulk dry goods including nuts, flour and seeds in glass jars as well as salads and snacks for work lunches, and we use them when freezing leftover stews and soups (just leave some space at the top to avoid cracks!). Fill a few glass bottles with water and pop in the car to avoid buying plastic bottles when out. Using glass means less plastic is produced, less energy is used to recycle plastic, you can reuse glass over and over without worrying about toxins leaching into your food and you can clearly see what is inside! Oh, and forgot your reusable coffee cup when out? Just use a jar!
5. Compost and grow healthy treats.
Did you know that one-third of food globally is wasted each year? Separating your food waste for composting allows you to see what you are wasting and make better buying (and growing) decisions. When food waste is put in your landfill bin the food produces methane emissions that contribute to climate change. Composting offers a great way to manage food and garden waste and create a nutrient-dense soil with beneficial bacteria that can be used to grow more food! Use your matured compost on vegetable gardens or to grow veggies or herbs in pots if you are short on space. There is so much that can be composted including coffee grounds, leaves and grass and if you would like to compost meat and dairy or want to compost inside consider a Bokashi bin.
For more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, sustainable style and design, food and more head to She Sees Green.
Read full articleAs you would expect, there are several 'trade secrets' to getting the best from your garden.
Many gardeners strive for years without ever really feeling completely satisfied with their efforts. Others struggle on without even guessing how much better it could be.
Well, I can now share with you one of the best trade secrets in the book.
This seemingly insignificant tip - and aren't the best tips always so obvious in retrospect? - will ensure your garden is as healthy, vibrant and low maintenance as the best in the business.
Mulch often and regularly.
Mulching is the best kept secret in the fight against weeds, diseases and windy, dry or wet soil conditions.
It will save you time and effort in the garden and give your soil and your plants new life.
You'll be amazed at the difference this seemingly low value practice will generate.
Forget about hours spent weeding. A layer of mulch is one of the best methods of organic weed control - it smothers weed seeds, ensuring they can't germinate.
Soil too wet? Too dry? Mulch will provide and retain even moisture levels.
Have you ever watered your dry soil and simply watched the water run off? Mulch soaks it up like a sponge.
Ever grown inconsistent sized tomatoes? Some big, some little?
Chances are your tomatoes were watered erratically.
To ensure a bumper crop of tomatoes, and many other vegetables, the soil should be consistently damp. Mulch will keep it that way.
Mulch will also prevent diseases. It reduces the need for overhead watering which, in turn, prevents diseases, like black spot and powdery mildew, from transferring through water.
Right - so if mulching's the answer, the next question is what mulch should you use?
There are several types available and they are all good for different purposes.
Pea-straw is perfect for using in your vegetable or herb garden. Because it breaks down quickly it can be re-applied every time you re-plant your crop.
For best results, I recommend applying a nitrogen fertiliser, such as garden galore or nitrophoska blue, before you put the mulch down.
It can be pretty tricky to apply fertiliser after mulch has been applied!
Plus it will give the plants a fantastic kick start if it's applied first.
Simply apply a layer of mulch 100mm deep over your garden decreasing it to 50mm deep as you get closer to the plants.
The trick is to keep the soil around the plants moist, without letting the roots get too damp causing rot.
Once you have harvested your crop simply dig the existing peastraw into your soil and re-plant and mulch.
Dug-in mulch is brilliant for giving your vegetables an added boost of nitrogen.
Tree mulch is good for using around trees and shrubs because it lasts longer and only needs to be re-applied every six months.
Just spread a layer of mulch out from the base of the plant to the drip line - the leaves on the outside of the tree.
Both tree mulch and peastraw can be found at your local garden centre.
For something a little trendier, I suggest using stones to retain the moisture in the soil.
Stones are ideal for large-leafed plants and trees like cabbage trees or palms.
When stones are watered the moisture evaporates and rises up under the leaves of your plants preventing them from drying out.
Put a weed-mat down, and cover it as far as your design requires with a layer of small stones.
The mat will stop the stones sinking into the soil and weeds growing through the gaps.
For a varied look I suggest adding a layer of larger stones.
Stones are great for creating a tropical look. And like the mulch, they are perfect at creating illusions and hiding unappealing soil.
So for a garden that looks like you've pulled all the tricks out of the bag this summer, remember now's the time to mulch.
Read full articleHas your inner gardener got the best of you and you bought too many plants with no place to put them straight away? Or is the weather just not playing along?
Whatever the reason, here are a few tips to keep your plants alive and healthy until you’re ready to get busy in the garden:
Firstly, keep your seedling or established plants upright at all times. Sit the base of your seedling bundles (still wrapped in their newspaper) in a saucer or ramekin with a little bit of water - but not too much water, you don’t want them to drown!
During winter keep your seedling bundles in direct sunlight. But in summer it’s best to keep them in an area that has part shade.
Your established plants can remain in their bags for a month, but each plant varies. It is best to get them in the ground before they become root bound. A good way to test this is to feel the bag, if it is hard like a rock then the roots have been established and removing the bag could damage the plant.
You should only leave your seedlings or established plants like this for a few days at most. When you’re ready to plant, dip the complete base of the seedlings in water. This will speed up the germination process, which leads to a faster growing plant and, in turn, a happy gardener.
If you’re unable to plant your seedlings in their permanent location for more than a few days or a week you should ‘heel’ the plants in soil. Heeling plants involves temporarily storing a plant in soil until its ready to be planted in its permanent spot. (This doesn’t apply to established plants.) This will ensure your seedlings remain healthy and continue growing. It also provides an extra layer of protection for their roots and gives you a bit more time to prep your garden. Remember, before you heel your seedlings, remove the newspaper.
During summer, the plants can be heeled for about a month and in winter you can leave them in the ground for the entire season.
Once you’re ready to plant them in their permanent location, carefully use a trough to dig them out without damaging their roots.
Read full articleSarah from Edible garden has shared her top tips for autumn fruit trees & vines with us. Mulching, plant ties, mowing under trees and frost protection – it’s all here.
Winter may be a dreary time, but keen gardeners can still use the colder months to their advantage.
A bit of effort and preparation now and your garden will positively bloom in the summer months.
The trick at this time of year is compost, and lots of it.
Composting your garden is like putting high-performance petrol in your car.
It gives the soil a good rev-up and generates extra nutrients in time for spring growth.
Composting improves soil structure and reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers. It also adds structure to your soil, improving drainage in winter and helping with water retention in summer.
Another bonus is that it allows you to recycle kitchen scraps and household waste, thus reducing the volume of rubbish which goes into the environment.
The key to good compost is having the right mix of nitrogen and carbon materials.
Fallen leaves are the perfect carbon component. Grass clippings provide the nitrogen component and should be mixed with the leaves at a rate of 25 parts grass to one part fallen leaves.
Alternatively, if the fallen leaves are on the grass, simply mow them up with the grass. This mixes the leaves and clippings perfectly. It's not an exact science!
Heap the compost into a pile and cover with a tarpaulin or place it in a plastic compost bin, preferably a rotating one, which can be purchased from your local hardware store.
The next big secret is to stir your compost, weekly if possible.
This will ensure the 'right' bacteria are working on your compost.
If your compost is composting well it will start to ferment and heat up. A well-fermenting compost can heat up to over 80 degrees celsius, which will kill unwanted bacteria and weed seeds.
Tiger worms can also be used to make compost - they provide nutrients to plants and are brilliant at breaking down food scraps.
Instead of mixing leaves and grass, create your compost using food scraps found at home. This can include potato peelings, bread scraps and those uneaten school lunches found under beds and in sock draws!
You can still add grass clippings, but only 2cm at a time to ensure the worms can make a meal of your compost - grass can be quite acidic. If you're using tiger worms for your compost I recommend purchasing a specific bin for this purpose.
The worms are easily identified by their vivid stripes or rings around the body.
This composting method doesn't require any stirring. Simply add new layers of food to the top of the bin. The worms eat it and the finished compost can be taken from the bottom layer of the bin as it becomes ready.
Compost will take about 12 to 14 weeks to be ready in winter. When it looks like potting mix you are all ready to go.
Read full articleWorm farms are an excellent way to recycle your kitchen scraps into a rich and organic garden fertilizer.
Worm farming has been growing in popularity for a few years now, but Rebecca from the team, has only just got going on her first one, from WormsRus.
The bottom layer of a worm farm drains to make worm tea. The tea is an intensely rich liquid plant food, that you mix with water, and feed to your plants. After a few months, a tray of worm castings builds up, ready to be dug into your garden. The castings are a great soil conditioner for your garden, and if you don’t have a farm, you can buy the castings in 10L bags
I wanted to share a few things I’ve learnt since starting my own worm farm:
- You initially feed the worms a little bit each day - about one cup. And if your kitchen waste is chopped up, the worms will chew through it faster.
- It will take a few months to get to full capacity - for the worms to multiply. After this the worm population regulates itself.
- Keep your farm out of the direct sun, so the worms don’t get too hot. (it’s not like a compost heap that you want to heat up)
- Raw kitchen waste is best. Avoid onions, citrus and garden waste.
- They love shredded cardboard, newspaper, egg cartons, egg shells, coffee and tea. Also hair clippings and vacuum dust. Worms really love a mixed diet!
- If you start getting little fruit flies, place a cover over the top of the waste, inside the bins. I used a sheet of cardboard, but you can use heavy material or a square of old carpet. Also add some lime to keep the pH level, and scare the little flies.
- Surprisingly - it doesn’t smell! If it starts to, take a break from adding waste until it sorts itself out.
If you want to learn more from the experts, head to WormsRus.
Read full article