Keep an eye on peach and nectarine trees, ornamental as well as the fruiting varieties, for the first sign of pink in the buds. As soon as you notice this, spray for curly leaf immediately.
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Almonds can be sprayed for shot hole and apricots for brown scale, scab, gummosis and shot hole at bud swell.
Root crops like carrots, parsnips, swedes and turnips don’t do well in freshly-manured soil, needing plenty of organic matter to thrive. Plant them in a bed that has previously grown cabbages, silver beet or lettuce.
New release
If you are looking for a plant that is a little different, check out Coprosma ‘Pacific Sunrise’.
This shrub grows to about one metre high and has very striking hot-pink foliage tinged with chocolate-brown highlights.
It would look great in a tub or as a background planting.
Compact propagation
Limited space shouldn’t deter you from growing fresh vegetables and it’s easy to create an inexpensive potted kitchen garden.
All you need is a sunny spot, good-quality potting mix and some imaginative containers to make it part of your cooking and part of your decor.
There are mini varieties of cabbage, cauliflower and pumpkins.
In addtion tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums, zucchini, silver beet, spinach, radish, carrots, dwarf and climbing peas and beans, lettuce varieties and strawberries all grow well in containers.
And don’t forget herbs of parsley, mint, chives, oregano, marjoram, basil, coriander and thyme which do equally well in pots.
Regular applications of a soluble fertiliser is needed.
Soil Solution
Heavy soil problems can be improved by digging in gypsum, organic matter and coarse sand.
Gypsum doesn’t alter the pH of the soil so it is safe to use around plants that prefer acid soils such as rhododendrons and camellias.
Work the gypsum into the soil carefully so as not to damage the roots.
If possible well-rotted organic matter should also be used and mixed into the soil to improve the texture and fertility.
Citrus Care
The leaves on citrus trees are a good indicator of nutritional deficiencies.
When lower leaves start to turn yellow this is usually due to a nitrogen deficiency. Blotchy yellowing or mottling of the newer leaves can be corrected by applying trace elements.
An iron deficiency shows up as yellowing of the new leaves, between the veins, while the veins themselves remain green and premature. Fruit drop can be caused by a boron deficiency.
The application of a citrus fertiliser when required and keeping the root area beneath the tree well-mulched with compost can help with these problems.