Natural Gardening:

Quick Harvest:

Keep these classic tips in mind when it comes to growing your own this summer,
if you want to speed up your harvest plant seedlings of tomatoes, brinjals,peppers,swiss chard and chillis from a local garden centre rather than sowing seeds.
Vegetables like carrots, beet, lettuce, turnips, radish, swiss chard, baby marrow, spring onions, beans and sweet corn can be sown directly into the bed.
Certain vegetables do better if started in seed trays or seed beds and are transplanted to the veggie garden later: the whole cabbage family falls into this group. Leeks, onions, Swiss chard and lettuce can also be considered for this method.

Natural Gardening
Companion planting is very beneficial to vegetable gardening. Beans, peas and cabbage dislike being close together and never flourish when planted next to onions and garlic. Peas and tomatoes planted together with early potatoes also hamper each others growth. Marigolds planted amongst the vegetable ward off insects on account of their pungent smell.
Tomatoes flourish if watered with milk diluted 1:3 with water.
A spray made with milk diluted 1:6 with water is effective against fungal diseases.
Earthworms love coffee grounds and tea leaves. Dispose of coffee grounds and tea leaves around your vegetables.

TIPS:
Basil is a warm season herb popular in salasa, pizzas and tomato dishes. You can grow them in pots.
Dig out apring annuals that past their best to make room for summer plantings.
Warmer weather rain and often brings an increase in pests and fungal diseases.

KAY MONTGOMERY

Mielie Bug potion

Spray bottle 1 cup water peppermint oil cine member sunlight soap shake the contents vigorously and spray every 7 days 2 litrs water 1 Tbsp bicarb 1 Tbsp oil 2 Tbsp sunlight liquid vigorous shake spray the under side if the plant, repeat every 7...

Grow bountiful basil

To experience one of natures mot delicious perfumes burry your nose in a handful of freshly picked basil leaves. The fragrance and flavour of basil have made it one of our most popular culinary, household herbs. It also has has many health benefits especially as a...

Create a water wise pavement garden

Transform your verge into an attractive water-wise low maintenance garden with plants that lure a myriad pollinators. By Kay Montgomery An attractive verge creates a favourable first impression of your property, but with the needs to save water, this area is often the...

Gardening tips

Molasse water for enriching the soil and increasing the microbes in the soil. Put half a cup of molasse in 9 liter of water. Pour it over the soil every 3 months Earthworm castings is very diverse in microbes. It is the poo of the red wickler earthworm. Use 1 cup...

Gardening tips

Lawns Lawn can be an attractive part of the garden, whether it is a playing surface haven in ones garden Herbs grow herbs in containers or include them among other bedding plants. When planting up new containers always use fresh herb potting soil. Water...

How to attract birds to your Garden

- Feed regularly with bird seed and fruit at a bird feeder. - Supply nesting opportunities with nesting logs - Build a pond, water feature or bird bath - Plant indigenous plants that attract birds - Tecomaria capensis (Cape Honeysuckle) - Leonotis leonurus (Wild...