Pittwater Life January 2017 Issue

Time to patch up your vegies
Now Christmas is over it is time to catch up in the veggie
patch. There are still several months of warm weather to
come. Take stock of your veggies. Mildew and sunburn have
taken their toll on some and
others may be finishing.
Pull out any that aren’t behaving
well. Feed the garden with a
Powerfeed. Spray it onto the soil
and the foliage for quick results.
It is not too late for more beans,
zuchinis and tomatoes (if you
buy established seedlings).
Make sure that raised metal garden beds are not too
hot. Shade the edges by planting ground covers or annuals
outside the beds. You can plant more carrots, lettuce onions
and leeks. For a quick crop, plant some Bok Choy.
Seed tapes make life very easy. Roll them out and cover
them lightly with seed raising mix. Just make sure that you
leave some room for February planting.
Recent rain has made tomatoes split. These plants are
greedy and will use as much water as they can get. Pick the
ones that have overeaten before the fruit fly get in, and use
them in cooking. Renew your fruit fly baits.
Scarlet a
colourful,
social
climber
The Scarlet Bleeding Heart
vine – Clerodendron
speciossum – climbs and
rambles over paling fences,
trellises, on lattice or over
archways. It is a strong plant
that needs good support.
This very beautiful climber is
very easy to control. It will lose
some leaves in winter but then
burst into the most amazing
scarlet flowers in early summer
and continue to flower until
the weather cools down.
The violet bracts remain
on the vine for many weeks
after the flowers are finished,
making a colourful display
until they fade in winter. It
will grow in full sun or part
shade.
Mine twines and turns in my
hibiscus hedge, adding the
most wonderful splashes of
colour against the rich green
bushes. Prune it back in early
spring and then let it go for
the summer months.
Garden Life
JANUARY 2017 71