All recent comments/discussion

Showing 1381 - 1410 of 13845 comments
Cauliflower 20 Aug, dennis (Australia - temperate climate)
how can i get bigger caulie heads , what do the commercial growers fertilize them with ?
Cauliflower 21 Aug, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
A lot of commercial vegies around here are fertilised with Nitrophoska with the trace elements in it $36 a 25kg bag.
Cauliflower 21 Aug, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I'm sub tropical and I don't even try to grow caulies. They need a cool cold climate. An agronomist told me the other week cauli, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce need it to be cool/cold to form a head. I have tried growing them but end up with huge leafy plants and no or little head, reason, over fertile soil. To really be on the ball on growing them you would have to have a soil test done, then a specific fertiliser would have to be applied. You may only have a small time window to plant them, say April to mid May. Talk to an agronomist in your area if you can.
Cauliflower 28 Aug, T.Bah (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
There are cauliflower varieties adapted to hot climate. Even cabbage, broccoli etc. Check SAKATA seeds or Global seed company.
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 19 Aug, Verna Arts (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
For the last 2 seasons I have planted Eggplant plants in raised beds in my garden north of Auckland. Both years The plants have immediately flowered and produced small fruit but neither the plant or the fruit have grown from then on What am I doing wrong? The raised beds are filled with garden mix and I use a fairly generous amount of fertilizer.
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 20 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
The guide here says plant Sept Oct. They are a warm weather crop. You probably need 5-600mm deep soil and the same in width. Good rich soil, deep water 2-3 times a week and give a hit of fert after your first 2-3 weeks of picking. Don't go over board on the fertiliser though.
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 19 Aug, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Eggplants need plenty of water. Perhaps yours are drying out too quickly in your raised beds.
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 02 Sep, em (Australia - temperate climate)
I found that my eggplants needed a lot of water and they really appreciated a good mulch (I mostly just mulched with grass clippings) and they grew until the end of autumn.
Cabbage 19 Aug, philip hope (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I am growing curly leaf cabbage, and which are growing well, and I think almost ready for harvest. Do we treat and cook these the same as the other types and harvest when the heart is pretty high and hard?
Cabbage 20 Aug, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Google how to use it - similar to normal cabbage. More for salady stuff I feel. It is a looser leaf head, so if big enough and hard start eating. The weather is going to turn warm and hot over the next 4-6 weeks.
Strawberry Plants 17 Aug, Deborah (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My rootstock strawberries have produced flowers. I read I should deflower for the first season to strengthen the root system. Since I live in a sub-tropical climate, when should I stop deflowering?
Strawberry Plants 16 Jan, Zyllas (Australia - temperate climate)
Most they will not make them flower and runner for another 6 mos straight since they want the plant to focus on growing not reproducing. They prefer the stem/crown atleast thickness of our pinky or ring finger by then if you let it flower it will give you dozen since plant are mature enough for reproduction. Some people let 1 runner at a time while plants is bearing ofcourse you need to provide fertiliser to support the whole process like NPK 20-20-20 and cacium nitrate
Strawberry Plants 19 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate)
I'm sub-tropical (Bundaberg) and strawberries are grown commercially here. They plant new stock each year in first week of April -depends on temperature soil/air. They start picking strawberries in late June. It is probably the height of the picking season now. The deflowering sounds like rubbish to me. Commercial growers only pick one crop and then plough out. Home gardens can pick off the same plants for 2-3 years and then you require new stock again. If you do this then you have to contend with the old plants sending out new runners each year.
Strawberry Plants 04 Oct, Veronica (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi, with respect to your comment about the commercial growers ploughing the crops back in at the end of the season, do you have any idea where they get the next year's "seedlings" from? Many thanks
Strawberry Plants 30 Oct, Bernie (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I got my initial supply of runners from Sweet Strawberry Runners in the Stanthorpe area. I purchased 25 runners and now have 60 plants. I grow then as a green wall in three rows of 20 pots. Each year I discard the bottom row and then move the others down one row and plant new runner to form the top row. This way you replace your plants every three years and you never forget which plants to discard. As for deflowering, that is garbage. I get beautifully sweet berries from my first year crop. You maybe a bit late to start now but if you contact Sweet Runners they will let you know what varieties are growing and when they will be ready . Good luck and happy eating.
Strawberry Plants 22 Aug, Deborah (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Thankyou
Strawberry Plants 03 Sep, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Talked to a grower last week and they plant mid March (St Paddy's Day) and are starting to pick fruit 8 weeks later.
Asparagus 17 Aug, Michael Archer (Australia - temperate climate)
I purchased some purple asparagus seedlings 1 year ago (Aug 19) Perth WA Planted them out Dec 19. 1 large female bush is still growing spears up to 15mm thick in July 20 and shows no signs of weakening. I have resisted the temptation to eat the spears, but with spring approaching I am wondering if I should prune it or just leave it to the ravages of climate change. Needless to say I am collecting the berries. Michael
Asparagus 19 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate)
A suggestion, stop watering asparagus at the end of May, let the ferns die off. Then around now to early September, cut all the ferns off at ground level. Scatter some fertiliser on the top of the soil and put 150mm of compost/manures etc on top of that. Start water again.
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 15 Aug, Preethi Balamurugan (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi i live in Melbourne im growing my eggplant seedlings indoor i have got the fungoes gnat so i have move my seedlings outsides in alfersco now my seedlings leaves are curlying Up Is it normal? Can I keep my seedlings in alfresco? Thanks in advance
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 17 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate)
i read that fungus gnat are mainly on indoor plants. Once seeds have germinated I find it best to put them out in the sun a bit. Some sun, some shade during the day. The amount of each will depend on how hot or cold it is during the day. Google fungus gnats and read the article about them on The Farmers Almanac
Eggplant (also Aubergine) 12 Aug, vannezza (Australia - temperate climate)
from flowers it will become fruit in two to three weeks time depending the temperature. the hotter the area the more it quickly become fruit.
Peas 12 Aug, Meredith Wardlaw (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, I'm having trouble with peas planted and not germinating.
Peas 13 Aug, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Make sure you have viable seeds, buy only as you need them, like each year. Dig your soil over and wet it. The next day plant your seeds and give a very light watering. DO NOT WATER AGAIN FOR 4-5 DAYS then only a light watering. Too much watering will rot them. This applies to most bigger seeds, beans, corn, zucchini, pumpkin etc.
Snow Peas (also Sugar Peas, Mangetout, Chinese Peas) 08 Aug, Lalitah (Australia - temperate climate)
Growing peas this year(snow,sugar snap and green peas) Why they are having flowers but no fruits? There are some small fruits but mature. Do they needs bees to pollinate?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Showing 1381 - 1410 of 13845 comments
Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.