Author: Victoria

January 2023 Do I need to cover carrot crops? To grow great carrots insect barriers are effective. A good barrier can protect carrots from pests such as carrot rust fly (psila rosea), pillbugs and slugs. Cover the crop before the seeds germinate and make sure the edges of the fabric are held down with boards…

General Food-producing shrubs for Victoria area Vegetables Carrots: Do I need to cover carrot crops? Peas: Edible peas and sweet peas Fruit Quince: How to tell when fruit is ripe. Raspberry: Raspberry canes die back Herbs

February 2023 Water lily not producing flowers. Why? Water lily is the common name given to flowering plants in the botanical family Nymphaeaceae. Not to be confused with lotus flowers (Nelumbo), another aquatic plant species. Water lilies are flowering pond plants that grow from tubers planted in the soil in a body of water. They…

Is it better to start edible peas indoors or out and is it the same for sweet peas? Edible Peas (Pisum sativum) are a member of the Fabaceae family and are cool weather plants. There are various types – shelling peas, sugar peas and snow peas which are eaten at different stages of development. The…

Oct 2022 I want to leave one of my large vegetable beds ‘vacant’ for now to give it a rest. What is the best way to do this? If I understand this correctly, you want to give the bed a rest but don’t leave it empty! By leaving soil empty you run the risk of…

Soil CareLetting a garden bed lie vacant (fallow)

Oct 2022 I want to leave one of my large vegetable beds ‘vacant’ for now to give it a rest. What is the best way to do this? If I understand this correctly, you want to give the bed a rest but don’t leave it empty! By leaving soil empty you run the risk of…

Container Plantings Ornamental Edibles Perennials Flowering Heathers: Can I grow heathers in pots? Foliage Pond Shrubs and trees Flowering Rhododendrons. Remove spent flower spikes? Foliage

Oct 2022 What kinds of ingredients should be considered when preparing for ornamental plants in a container? Please provide any hacks you may have for container gardening. We all like some cheer at our front doors or on our patios. There are some simple do’s and don’ts when planting up containers. When planting up a…

We get a lot of questions at our garden clinics and don’t always have the time or the tools to give full answers, but we take note of the questions and research some of them later. This collection of questions and fully researched answers dates back several years. You can browse through the categories below,…