Gardening THAI CHILLI harvest day

THAI CHILLI harvest day 😍
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Perfect day today for ASPARAGUS maintenance
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Today, we cleaned the ASPARAGUS bed removing leaves, weeds and debris
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The ferns you see on the right hand side needed to be chopped to ground level as the plant is in dormant stage. The ferns role is to help grow the plant and develop a stronger root system. Every winter they die back and can be chopped
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Winter is a great time to fertilise asparagus especially with aged manure and this is because it allows strong shoots to be produced nice and early in spring for consumption 😋
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In addition, we added some organic compost to settle into the soil for preparation of the growing season and a feeding mulch, in this case we used pea straw but lucerne is also very nutritious for a winter mulch
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Because our asparagus crowns are still baby, if we do get a few asparagus sticks this coming spring, we won't harvest all of them to allow some to grow into ferns that will be used to further develop the root system ✅
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#vegetablegarden #vegetables #veggiepatch #growyourown #organicgardening #homegrown #greenthumb #mygarden #backyardgarden #garden #urbangardenersrepublic #growsomethinggreen #instagardenlovers #hydrovegan #thehappygardeninglife #gardeningaustralia #lobotany #urbanorganicgardener #gardenactivist #seedsnow #epicgardening #mybackyard #inmygarden #sustainable #organicgardenermag #gardeningtips #asparagus

*** PEST ALERT ***
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A devastating pest has been identified @thegeogarden - CUTWORMS
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CUTWORMS are the larvae of a number of common moth species. They've been hampering the growth of some of our young silverbeet and spinach plants
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Finding CUTWORMS is not easy because they are the masters of disguise often hiding under the soil or inhospitable sections of plants close to ground level and come out at night to feed
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Action needs to be taken IMMEDIATELY because they will destroy a plant. They eat their way through stems, foliage and the most disturbing of all is roots, if they start chewing their way through roots you can say goodbye 😭
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PEPPER love @thegeogarden
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Here's a short tour of the situation with our winter peppers thriving in our @birdiesgardenproducts
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The video was actually longer but we didn't realise IG had a one minute limit
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Gardening BROADBEANS growing well in

BROADBEANS growing well in a part-shade location. As they get taller it's a great idea to stake them for added support to strong winds. Their vertical upright growth makes them susceptible to wind damage
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We planted ours pretty close so they can grow into each other forming a natural wind break ✅
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Yellow CAPSICUMS on their way 😋
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We currently have a lot of capsicums growing on our plants of all sizes and maturity but the majority of them are still green but as we get closer to spring they are starting to ripen slowly but surely 😂
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I was pruning back one of our eggplants and as I lifted a large branch I discovered this - a little colony of CAYENNE CHILLIS growing completely hidden and protected behind this large leafy eggplant branch. We wondered where the rest of our cayenne chillies were? 🤔
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**** PEST ALERT *****
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CITRUS SOOTY MOULD FUNGUS
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This is predominantly caused by an infestation of SCALE insects who secrete honeydew. The fungus then develops over the honeydew giving it this unsightly oily and greasy looking black marks and smudges on leaves but can also appear on branches and stems
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This fungus can potentially spread quickly on a tree thanks to ants. Ants feed on the honeydew and it is therefore in their best interests to protect and keep the SCALE colony flourishing by protecting them and moving them around the tree to reproduce
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Best way to control the fungus is to control the SCALE population and this can be done by applying off-the-shelf or homemade oil sprays, neem oil, tree pastes or organic pyrethrum sprays. In extremely severe cases, it may be in your best interests to place some horticulture glue around the trunk of your tree to prevent the ants from migrating the SCALE to all parts of your tree
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Once the SCALE population has been controlled, the sooty mould will dry, fall off or be washed off allowing the leaf to properly photosynthesise again ✅
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Gardening A delicious assortment of

A delicious assortment of sweet winter PEPPER produce
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Can you see the rupturing cracks and the head starting to open up ever so slightly? This is a cue that the cauliflower is almost ready for harvest 😋
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Our mystery GARLIC variety is growing well. This is the third variety of garlic we are growing
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All we know about this particular variety is that it was obtained from an unknown source - apparently an organic garlic farmer 👨‍🌾
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This is all part of the fun in gardening. Explore, try and experiment. It's not the end of the world is something doesn't work out ✅
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When all things fail to grow in winter who do we turn to? Oh yes, the humble RADISH
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RADISHES are best described as compatible with any climate, season and soil type. They are even frost-tolerant. What a complete all-year performer! ✅
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Gardening We setup a new

We setup a new lattice for our young second year RASPBERRY plant
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We have two 2+ metre canes that will fruit this year (plus some smaller ones) and so we were trying to work out how to best set them up
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We have the canes growing vertically at the front of the pot and then we twirl and arch them onto the backboard lattice. That way it makes the job of picking berries easier 😍
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So many young and developing CAPSICUMS 😍
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*** POSSUM ALERT ***
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Every winter hungry possums visit us @thegeogarden in search of food. They like to give our citrus trees a haircut at the canopy but thankfully do not touch the fruit. Although they generally do not eat citrus fruits, a desperately hungry possum will take a bite or two for survival
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Unfortunately in a number of areas around Melbourne, councils have removed a lot of the native vegetative shrubs and evergreen trees such as Eucalypts that formed part of the possum's staple diet for such a long time and replaced them with deciduous trees like oaks, maples, planes and ornamental pear trees for a more decorative street appeal
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The problem however is that come winter time, these trees have no leaves on them and so the possums move into home backyards in search of green foliage ✅
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Our vegetable garden can look a bit tired during winter time, but we enjoy looking at some of our evergreen tropical plants 😍
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Tropical plants like palms and ferns love high nitrogen intake and are typically fed with UREA based solutions to create that deep rich lush green look
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DID YOU KNOW?
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UREA in humans is the metabolic waste from urine containing the nitrogen compounds produced by the body
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If you do not wish to purchase UREA fertiliser, human urine is the best form of natural UREA fertiliser for lush green non-edible plants (we don't but it is a common practice by a lot of gardeners)
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Using human urine as a fertiliser in plants has been used for thousands of years as a reliable, potent, cost effective and readily available nitrogen rich fertiliser. Often it's passed down as a great gardening tip from one generation of gardeners to another ✅
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#vegetablegarden #vegetables #veggiepatch #growyourown #organicgardening #homegrown #greenthumb #mygarden #backyardgarden #garden #urbangardenersrepublic #growsomethinggreen #instagardenlovers #hydrovegan #thehappygardeninglife #gardeningaustralia #lobotany #urbanorganicgardener #gardenactivist #seedsnow #epicgardening #mybackyard #inmygarden #sustainable #organicgardenermag #gardeningtips #tropicalplants #tropicalplant

Gardening We don't only love

We don't only love LIMES but we enjoy the dark green foliage of a lime tree and the ornamental evergreen beauty it provides to a garden 😍
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#growyourown #organicgardening #homegrown #greenthumb #mygarden #backyardgarden #garden #urbangardenersrepublic #growsomethinggreen #instagardenlovers #hydrovegan #thehappygardeninglife #gardeningaustralia #lobotany #urbanorganicgardener #gardenactivist #seedsnow #epicgardening #mybackyard #inmygarden #sustainable #organicgardenermag #gardeningtips #lime #limes #citrus #fruit #fruits #citrustree

Today we turn 1 🍭
We just want to say a big thank you to all our supporters and followers we appreciate your beautiful comments ❤️
You motivate us each and everyday and and we hope that we also inspire others
Love @thegeogarden
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Beautiful BROCCOLI 😍
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Side shoots are growing everywhere. It's so exciting watching broccoli grow
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Fertilising our rocambole GARLIC with volcanic rock dust and rock phosphorus from @richgrogarden
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Garlic needs a long growing season and apart from preferring a soft, fluffy soil filled with aged manure and composted humus, it does need at least two applications of fertilising before the buds start swelling up later on in the growing season
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BENEFITS OF ROCK DUST:
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1. A true to definition 'general all round' fertiliser
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2.Excellent source of nutrients, minerals and trace elements at natures intended levels for optimum plant and tree growth
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3. Non-leaching slow release fertiliser. They do not wash away easily
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4. Excellent relationship between the rock minerals, microbial activity and plant intake
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5. PH neutral. They will not alter your soils' acidity or alkalinity ✅
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Gardening TUSCAN KALE - Our

TUSCAN KALE - Our chickens are loving life @thegeogarden. They are one lucky group of spoiled chickens 😂 they go crazy for kale
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Happy chickens = healthy chickens = nutritious and yummy eggs 🍳 A beautiful ecosystem ✅
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Is there a more robust and resilient herb than a super fragrant ROSEMARY bush?
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Whilst most herbs are seasonal often with soil, watering, pest and disease problems, the humble Rosemary bush outperforms everyone ✅
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It can be transplanted or propagated very easily from cuttings. A true low maintenance all-year performer whose hardiness make it unbreakable as a perennial herb 😍
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Yummy CAPSICUMS coming along nicely 😋
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PEA flowers
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PLANTING TIP:
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Avoid high nitrogen fertilisers on peas especially if you don't practice crop rotation
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An example of this is planting peas in the same garden bed on where you planted snake beans the season before. The soil is likely to have been enriched with nitrogen especially if you turned the snake bean plants into green manure
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Peas are often grown with very little feeding assistance, but if there is a need to supplement the growth of your peas because they look stagnant or are growing very slowly it could either be a nutrient deficiency or the plants are not able to access the nutrients in the soil because of the PH. If it's the former, try comfrey-based liquid fertiliser, plant tonic seaweed solutions or rock fertiliser
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The key is to boost the plant with a bit of phosphorus and potassium but not too much nitrogen. Always read the ratio of nitrogen intake in any fertiliser used on legumes and nitrogen-fixing plants ✅
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#vegetablegarden #vegetables #veggiepatch #growyourown #organicgardening #homegrown #greenthumb #mygarden #backyardgarden #garden #urbangardenersrepublic #growsomethinggreen #instagardenlovers #hydrovegan #thehappygardeninglife #gardeningaustralia #lobotany #urbanorganicgardener #gardenactivist #seedsnow #epicgardening #mybackyard #inmygarden #sustainable #organicgardenermag #gardeningtips #pea #peas #sugarsnappeas

Gardening A few weeks ago

A few weeks ago we posted a photo of cutworms that almost wiped out our entire crop of silverbeets and spinach 😭
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The good news is that after prompt action, we managed to save the existing crop and although not all of the plants have fully recovered, the signs are promising with regrowth happening 😅
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For those who may not know CUTWORMS are more than nibbling creatures on foliage. They can eat the stems at or below soil level very close to the roots and can easily weaken and kill a plant 😏
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They are definitely a pest to be reckoned with in the garden and demand respect ✅
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Delicious RED SPRING ONION 😋
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Spring onion would have to be one of our favourites. A staple everyday cooking ingredient, our garden simply wouldn't feel complete without it
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RED SPRING ONION is rich in antioxidants and if you're not interested in eating the green frond, how about letting it grow a bulb and using it like a shallot?
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10/10 for versatility ✅
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#vegetablegarden #vegetables #veggiepatch #growyourown #organicgardening #homegrown #greenthumb #mygarden #backyardgarden #garden #urbangardenersrepublic #growsomethinggreen #instagardenlovers #hydrovegan #thehappygardeninglife #gardeningaustralia #lobotany #urbanorganicgardener #gardenactivist #seedsnow #epicgardening #mybackyard #inmygarden #sustainable #organicgardenermag #gardeningtips #springonion #springonions #redspringonions #springbulbs

This is our WHITE ALPINE strawberry plant. Today we had to relocate it from its ground pot to another temporary home because we want to find a more permanent hanging pot for it
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It looks so incredibly healthy for a plant going through winter dormancy. It's even got strawberries on it. Good strong roots and a lot of new shoots developing around the crown 😍
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It's not a common sight, but how beautiful are these flowers from a bolted lettuce?
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Often when a lettuce bolts, it is an indication that the variety in question was not planted in the correct season or was not given adequate time to grow and establish itself in the correct season
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DID YOU KNOW?
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There are varieties of lettuces that grow solely in winter and others that grow solely in summer and others that can grow all year round
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Knowing which variety grows best and at what time of the year can sometimes be tricky and is often discovered the hard way via bolting
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In this example, we will happily allow the seed to form properly on this flower stalk and then collect it for sowing in more warmer conditions ✅
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#vegetablegarden #vegetables #veggiepatch #growyourown #organicgardening #homegrown #greenthumb #mygarden #backyardgarden #garden #urbangardenersrepublic #growsomethinggreen #instagardenlovers #hydrovegan #thehappygardeninglife #gardeningaustralia #lobotany #urbanorganicgardener #gardenactivist #seedsnow #epicgardening #mybackyard #inmygarden #sustainable #organicgardenermag #gardeningtips #lettuce #lettuces #bolt #flowers

Gardening Lots of crunchy RADISHES

Lots of crunchy RADISHES hiding under here. You only need a few centimetres of space to enjoy these beauties 😍
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A welcome addition to any salad in the absence of homegrown summer tomatoes 😋
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BROCCOLI HARVEST TIP:
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The florets are the biggest clue at determining if your head is ready to be harvested
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If you spot a yellow flower, the head should be harvested immediately although the trick with BROCCOLI is to harvest it before the appearance of the first bloom
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The size of the buds is also a very good indicator. If the buds on the outside of the head look big, spaced out and lightly coloured then your BROCCOLI is ready to be picked 😋
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SECRET TO GROWING CABBAGE?
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Answer: Patience and lots of it
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If they survive the snails, slugs and caterpillars then you are 99% there but it comes at a cost - time!
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We need our garden bed in one months time for spring plantations so these cabbages better hurry up 😂
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Despite this morning's huge fog cloud across Melbourne, these THAI CHILLIES were still visible 😂
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They've been consistently producing good harvests over winter and we are so happy with this particular variety of chilli 🌶 They've definitely served us well with our chilli cravings 😂
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#vegetablegarden #vegetables #veggiepatch #growyourown #organicgardening #homegrown #greenthumb #mygarden #backyardgarden #garden #urbangardenersrepublic #growsomethinggreen #instagardenlovers #hydrovegan #thehappygardeninglife #gardeningaustralia #lobotany #urbanorganicgardener #gardenactivist #seedsnow #epicgardening #mybackyard #inmygarden #sustainable #organicgardenermag #gardeningtips #chilli #chillies #thaichili #birdseyechilli

Gardening As we approach spring,

As we approach spring, our EGGPLANTS which have successfully overwintered out in the open cold air (except 1 plant) now require maintenance in the form of pruning, aphid spraying, re-staking and the removal of damaged, diseased and dead foliage and stems. In a couple of weeks they will also be fertilised ✅
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As a result of this, all eggplants have been removed from the plants to prepare the plants for flush new spring growth
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Unfortunately, the last of the winter eggplants in the photo struggled in the depths of winter and are not in an edible state and will be disposed off 😞
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Our second round of POTATO harvest in an area occupying 0.39 square metre (just like our previous harvest)
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Plenty of potatoes but a lot of them did not form very large tubers but as with any harvest there's always a way too cook any sized potato 🥔
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POTATO growing is great fun in the big city and it's even more fun when you experiment with different varieties in tiny spaces and explore what works best for your climate and soil. This spring we'll plant a couple of new varieties 😍
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A yummy assortment of winter PEPPERS 😋 Quite surprised we are getting edible peppers in winter
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After complete decimation by continued harvests our LISBON LEMON tree still has energy to offer more 😍
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In addition, it had been hit hard by hungry possums who have been frequently visiting the tree after dark and they have completely grazed and eaten all of the new foliage at the canopy of the tree. Thankfully the fruit are on the lower branches and possums prefer feeding on the upper soft tender new foliage than the older leaves
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They have also broken new branches containing new buds but in gardening you take the good with the bad ✅
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Gardening C'mon BROAD BEANS. Get

C'mon BROAD BEANS. Get a hurry along. You are draining us with your slow growth and we need your space for spring plantations 😂
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These are the first of our LEMONS from our second lemon tree
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This lemon tree was planted from a 10cm sucker shoot (root sucker not trunk sucker) belonging to my father-in-laws ungrafted lemon tree. His tree was in turn propagated from a branch cutting from my uncles tree. Sometimes it's good to keep the trees within the family 😂
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As a tiny single-stemmed sucker, we grew it in a pot filled with heavy clay soil until it developed a stronger root system
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We then transplanted it to its now permanent position where it has been growing for the last two years
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With lots of patience and care it is now an established tall tree with lots of young side branches and is shaping into a nice looking tree 😍
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Garden rules are there to be broken
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Every seed packet we have got our hand on and read the conditions on planting carrots in Melbourne's warm temperate climate says not to sow in winter and in particular the month of July
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That's exactly what we did 😍
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These PEPPER and CAPSICUM plants were sowed from seed in September 2016 in our @birdiesgardenproducts garden bed and they seem to have survived their very first Melbourne winter 😍
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We pruned back some foliage however we are not sure if it's best to pull them out and re-sow again or whether we should simply top them up with composted manure and fertiliser and leave them in there
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If we leave them in there, the question will be if they produce as vigorous and prolifically as a first year plant
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Has anyone else overwintered them down here in Melbourne and reported consistently good yields after the first year?
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Gardening Our outdoor barbecue has

Our outdoor barbecue has been very cold this winter. It will need to be warmed up very soon with the next batch of sweet PEPPERS coming through 😋
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Spring is definitely in the air
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LAVENDER is back 😍
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The secret to a strong and healthy plant is excellent drainage and low watering. Apart from natural rainfall, they do not require additional watering and excessive watering can easily kill them. It's a common shortfall and oversight
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Dead-heading flowers and pruning off a third of the top layer of the plant in Autumn will go a long way to keeping the plant energised, healthy and preventing the growth of woody stems that can seriously stunt the look and growth of the plant
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Fertilising is another important point. They do not require fertilising (especially if grown in-ground). Apart from giving them a dose as a growing first year plant, ease off on heavy yearly fertilising as the plant gets older. These plants have for thousands of years adapted in wild, rocky soils unassisted ✅
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Even a headless BROCCOLI is still beautiful
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This BROCCOLI has lost its head but there's heaps of little side shoots that are more than ready for the dinner plate 😋
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We took a moment to appreciate the beauty of this gorgeous PURPLE SNOW PEA flower
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Gardening How beautiful is a

How beautiful is a BROAD BEAN flower?
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The reason for why a broad bean plant is so prolific at harvest time is because of the abundance of hermaphrodite flowers it produces in a short period of time
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In fact, it produces so many flowers that a lot of them don't even reach maturity and are rendered useless either before or after the fertilisation process
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The flowers of a broad bean are self-pollinating however insect activity by honey bees and other types of bees will produce higher yields
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Every night, the anthers release pollen. Early in the morning of the following day the flower opens and remains open. During this time, the pollen that was released the night before makes contact with the stigma via insect activity through a process known in botany as "tripping". Ie, the insect trips over the pollen accidentally and the pollen dust makes contact with the stigma
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The drawback of insects pollinating your broad bean flowers is potential cross contamination particularly if you are planting multiple varieties of broad beans very close together and you expect to save true to seed pods ✅
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We love a good homegrown CABBAGE or two that is if you are happy to wait a very long time for it to grow 😂
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Our CABBAGES have all grown nice established heads, but we need this garden bed for spring plantations so we may end up leaving them in there for a few more weeks or we may have to plant our zucchinis around them! 😂 hmmm tough call coming up 🤔
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We are not very good with our crop thinning practices but not to worry. We like eating fruit and veggies of all shapes and sizes and these RADISHES sure don't look bothered by their neighbours very close attention 😂
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Spring has definitely arrived early @thegeogarden
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These NECTARINE blooms have exploded onto the scene 😍
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Gardening An offer of an

An offer of an OLIVE BRANCH
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Our olive tree and this snow pea plant have settled their differences with an agreement made that that snow pea can use the olive tree as a natural trellis 😍
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We love the sight and smell of fragrant CITRUS flowers 😍
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PURPLE BROCCOLI is a beautiful specimen
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The best way to grow your very own deciduous fruit tree is via a hardwood cutting that is at least one year old
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Here we are growing a QUINCE tree for a family member and it is growing strongly. The branch was cut in June roughly 20 cm long and it was planted directly in the soil. No rooting hormone is required for such deciduous cuttings
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The root system needs to establish itself a little further and we will probably give it another season of growth so we can also shape the developing tree so it can be transplanted to its permanent location next winter while it is dormant
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