Environmentality 19 December 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

Smokey and Jaime were joined by our resident gardening expert, Jodi Jackson today to discuss caring for your garden during the holidays.

The important message Jodi would like to share is that if you go away and leave your garden, it is important to prepare your garden beforehand! Here are some of her tips:

 - Provide your garden beds with an extra sprinkle of blood and bone, chicken manure pellets or rock dust.
 - Plants in pots need additional feeding compared to plants in soil.
 - Conserve water by stacking pots together, which keeps sun off the edge of pots.  If pots heat up on the outside from sunlight and heat, the roots of plant can be literally, 'cooked'.
 - Mulching provides beneficial nutrients to the straw, for example pea straw provides nitrogen to plants once it is broken down in the soil. Be careful with gumtree and pine tree leaves and bark, both of which have grown inhibitors contained within them
 - Don't scatter pots around a large garden, as you may forget to water some of them.  Don't stack pots together on the northern or western sides of your property. The exceptions this rule are a) you have a large pot with a hardy plant like a succulent, b) if it is an irrigated pot or c) there is shade on the northern side.
  - A good tip is to use a colourful stake to help garden carers to pay special attention to watering your 'needy' plant.
 - Water timers can be purchased for as little as $30, and can be used with batteries.
 - It is useful to purchase plants from a variety of nurseries, which minimises the risk of plant disease and fungal issues affecting all of your plants.
 - Rhubarb plants are heavy feeders and best cared for by providing heavy amounts of manure around each plant, the worms take care of the rest!
- Share and document your observations about your local garden and area on www.natureshare.org.au

Jodi is making broad bean dip from her crop, now safely frozen, whereby you blanche the inside part of each broad bean, then crush them with olive oil, garlic, pepper and paprika. She is also making a roasted carrot and avocado dip, which is delicious with toasted chiabata bread.

Today the following tunes were played:
  Sultans of Ping - Where's My Jumper
  Joey Ramone - I Couldn't Sleep At All
  Zelenuft - Beta Zolar

Thankyou to Jodi for providing such fantastic insight.  We will hear more from Jodi next year, and will also continue to follow the Lemon Tree Project.  We wish all listeners a Merry Christmas and festive season, we hope you will listen in again to Environmentality 98.9FM in the New Year!