Garden and Home South Africa - October 2015

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The veggie garden
1 Mulch strawberries with straw.
2 Plant out seedlings of aubergines,
tomatoes, peppers and chillies.
3 Sow a row or two of beans; plant
climbing beans near a support. Sow baby
marrows (zucchini) and squash as soon
as possible as fruit flies are less prevalent
early in the season.
4 If your olive trees have pale speckled
leaves, check the undersurface for mites.
Spray Pyrol under the leaves; repeat
every 4–5 days for a few weeks to control
young emerging from eggs.
5 Grow sweet potatoes from slips
taken from sprouting tubers. Plant these
out in the ground or in a large, deep
container preferably in light sandy soil,
enriched with well-matured compost
and slow-release fertiliser. They can be
left to trail on the ground or trained up
a support. Harvest underground tubers
after 90–130 days.
3 INDIGENOUS
TREES FOR
TOPIARY AND
HEDGING
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Syzygium pondoense (pondo
waterwood)
A sturdy shrub or small tree with neat,
lush leaves on purple stems; the new
foliage is flushed with pink. It bears
white fluffy flowers and colourful fruits
in late autumn.
The bottom line: Half-hardy, it’ll take
semi-shade.
2Podocarpus falcatus (Outeniqua
yellowwood)
This adaptable tree is easy to train and
has coarse, needle-like leaves.
The bottom line: Frost hardy, it
grows in semi-shade or full sun and it
tolerates windy coastal conditions.
Rhamnus prinoides (dogwood)
3 An evergreen with glossy green
leaves which darken with age, it’s
found in many areas of South Africa.
Birds love its tiny dangling red fruits
which appear in midsummer.
The bottom line: Frost hardy, plant it
in sun to semi-shade and keep it moist
for optimum growth.
WIN!
UP TO DATE
This gorgeous calendar, R80 (including
postage), from Otterley Press has plenty
of space to jot down notes, plus seasonal
tips on growing roses. Visit otterley.co.za
WIN! We’re giving away 10 calendars. To
enter, SMS OTTERLEY, your name and
e-mail address to 48406. An SMS costs
R1,50, errors will be billed and free SMSes
don’t apply. For full Ts&Cs, see page 155.
For a cool spot
To brighten semi-shady
areas, try coleus with
chartreuse and crimsonpatterned
leaves, like
Coleus Kong Lime
Sprite (1) or lime-green
Coleus Wasabi (2). They
complement New Guinea
impatiens and Impatiens
walleriana perfectly.
You’re invited!
When: 10 October 2015
Time: 10h00
Where: Cradlestone Mall, Krugersdorp
Join Garden and Home at the
Pink Flower Fair where floral
communication expert Jill Manson will
show you how to create gorgeous, easyto-make
flower arrangements. Tickets
are R120 and include refreshments
on arrival, a gift bag and a six-month
subscription to Garden and Home.
To book: visit caxtonevents.co.za
Sow clever
Each Sow Delicious Slab of Seed consists
of blocks of organic soil containing openpollinated
heirloom seed that can be
broken off, making it easy to sow a variety
of healthy veggies successively. Included
are instructions on when to plant and the
best companions. Visit sowdelicious.co.za
or hadeco.co.za
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gardenandhome.co.za | OCTOBER 2015 119