Weed ident: Start the file

Zoe says: Thanks so much for answering my question.  You rock garden doctor.  Now I'll try and get my camera working to see if they mystery plant in the garden is purslane, which I'm really hoping it is 😉 I am here to answer questions, it's what I do. But your comment on Purslane (Portulaca …

…so the mould says, “Hey, I’m a fun guy”

After Rebecca made her indoor garden, she threw away the mould...but it grew back, apparently. Rebecca asked: Hello Garden Doctor My indoor garden is a little ill! The soil in my indoor pots is getting mouldy, and it's not even winter yet when the problem usually arises. I have a very small dark flat with …

When only the best mildew

Tokes said (via facebook): got powdery mildew on [my] zucchini and may as well just chuck the whole lot out. That's a bit drastic, for something as predictable as Powdery Mildew! I'll tell you what you can do about it. Powdery Mildew on Zucchini, and the rest of the Cucurbit family, including Melons, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, …

Talking to a stranger: Friend or foe

Zoe asked Hello there, I have a question that I hope you’ll have time for. I live in Canberra and we have a large interplanted organic bed which is next to the neighbour’s fence. Having defeated the plague of earwigs and ravenous slaters with yeasty beer-brewing leavings and time, I have now got a plague …

Punkin disorderly

Kara asked: Oh wise garden one….my pumpkin plants have gone crazy but I’ve only just started seeing flowers in amongst the chaos, should I be seeing fruit (I haven’t really looked too hard….) and if not should I start doing pumpkin style rumpy-pumpy? And how do I know when they reach full size? And can …

Growing out through the indoors

Mel asked: My indoor potted Basil plants keep dying. This could be because, a. I don’t live in a warm climate or b. I keep going away and leaving them to die. Aside from needing to water my Basil plants more do you have any tips for coaxing growth from a cold a and frigid …

The Basil brush up

Having taken the top position in the Garden Doctor poll, I thought I should write a little post about Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum). Though it is the most commonly grown species of basil, it is not alone in its genus for culinary herbs. There is also Sacred or Holy Basil (O. tenuiflorum), Greek Basil (O. …

Planting List: February

Getting in early with the February planting list, as the month is very short. Some of the summer vegies can keep going in, but think about varieties, for example, only bush varieties of beans will mature before cold weather will finish them off. Successive planting of things that are fast maturing should continue to ensure …

They must have been spuds, but it’s over now

I'm sure we've all done it. Bought an excessive amount of Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) because they were cheap. SPUD's 10KG's 4 $5 screamed the sign at the roadside stand, with its endearingly misplaced apostrophes. How could you resist such an offer? You would have potatoes until the cows come home, or other archaically rural expression …