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Post by SA Hunter on Feb 13, 2018 21:56:16 GMT 10
I planted out some peas, broad beans, turnips & onions in a few pots I had.
My carrots are growing great too.
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Post by doglovingjim on Feb 15, 2018 21:29:28 GMT 10
My plants survived however for one of them the leaves on the bottom are slightly yellowing (which means I'm either over watering or under watering it right?).
Regardless I have another question regarding compost, if I were to put banana peels and grass in a plastic bag and leave it out for a week would it turn into compost? Would I sprinkle it on the top of the soil or bury it underneath a bit to give the best nutrients?
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Post by doglovingjim on Mar 1, 2018 17:40:43 GMT 10
Update: Yes it certainly will take months if not years to make compost like that.
My plants are all thriving, I look forward to when they start growing tomatoes. My question today is if I should let a dead leaf (little sub branch too technically) cling on until they fall off or should I cut it down until it's to the living branch. One of those obvious questions I know but for me when in a group with people that have more experience, for me everything is a learning experience and no question is too stupid.
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Post by spinifex on Mar 1, 2018 18:09:51 GMT 10
Generally its good to wait until any leaves turn somewhat yellow before removal. This is because the plant will pull nutrients (especially nitrogen) and stored carbohydrate out of old leaves and stems to fill out fruits or make new growth at the tips.
However if you see fungal spots or such, pulling off affected old leaves can help reduce spread. Put the diseased stuff in a bag and bin it.
Oh ... and ... the yellowing leaves at base of plant is lack of nitrogen. This can happen if you water a bit too much and you leach nutrients out through the drain holes in the pot. If this is happening the plant will start to also show deficiency symptoms for potassium (leaf edges scorch) and magnesium (middle of leaf stays a bit greener but outer parts yellow) as these nutrients leach out easily.
under watering a plant will result in it looking wilty and/or new leaves will be smaller than usual when fully grown and more 'leathery'.
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Post by spinifex on Mar 1, 2018 18:32:56 GMT 10
With regard to your compost question DLJ ... do you happen to be near the coast? If so ... I highly recommend collecting a little kelp. You can either brew it to liquid fert over a few weeks (can get a bit niffy!) or dry it, crush it up and mix through potting soil before planting or put a sprinkling over the soil surface and it will break down over a few months and slowly release nutrients into soil.
Be wary of lawn clippings for making compost. Lawn grass species have a lot of natural wax on their leaves and when it rots down the waxes can make soil water repellent. (ie once the soils dry out they are difficult to get properly wetted through again - water just sits on surface and drains out through cracks in the soil without properly wetting the roots.)
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Post by doglovingjim on Mar 8, 2018 14:51:42 GMT 10
Sounds like a pretty good idea, sadly nah I don't live near the coast. All my plants are growing wonderfully at the moment and I'm really happy for them.
Random question, do they still have heirloom seeds/cuttings for banana's? Like how they used to taste, back when they tasted good. Is growing them here in Australia even possible?
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Post by spinifex on Mar 8, 2018 19:12:12 GMT 10
Not sure about heirloom bananas. But yes, they grow well in Oz as far south as Adelaide (against a north facing wall). Probably not in Melbourne unless you're very near the coast. Your part of the world is better for cool climate fruits. I've heard good things about these folks: www.heritagefruitssociety.org.au/ |
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Post by doglovingjim on Mar 8, 2018 20:35:14 GMT 10
Thanks.
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Post by SA Hunter on Mar 9, 2018 10:37:31 GMT 10
Sounds like a pretty good idea, sadly nah I don't live near the coast. All my plants are growing wonderfully at the moment and I'm really happy for them. Random question, do they still have heirloom seeds/cuttings for banana's? Like how they used to taste, back when they tasted good. Is growing them here in Australia even possible? dj - I'm on the lower Eyre Peninsular in South Australia - and there are banana trees growing all over. Just drive around the streets and one can see banana trees loaded with fruit. They are even selling banana tree cuttings at our local Bunnings. As to how to grow them, I'll leave that for someone who knows ahat they are talking about. |
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Post by Peter on Mar 9, 2018 13:57:38 GMT 10
I've seen bananas fruit as far south in WA as Bunbury. I was amazed - and apparently so was everyone else who saw them.
I'd like to try them here one day...
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hd1340
Senior Member
Posts: 334 
Likes: 426
Location: WA
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Post by hd1340 on Mar 9, 2018 19:29:57 GMT 10
One of my first projects when we get Tasmania is to get some fruit trees started in pots ready to put in the ground once we buy.
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Post by doglovingjim on Mar 17, 2018 22:43:41 GMT 10
 Any idea just by looking what's wrong with this batch? (the others look perfect but these ones, bit yellowish) |
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Post by spinifex on Mar 18, 2018 12:35:50 GMT 10
Definitely nitrogen deficient. Possibly not enough water also. That's a lot of plants for the volume of the pot! Too much competition between plants.
A planter like that is great for herbs, spring onions or a few lettuces. For tomatoes best use a pot minimum 30cm diameter and 30cm deep for a single plant. That allows for proper root mass development. You can probably still divide those tomatoes out into bigger individual pots if you slice their roots apart with an old bread knife (like cutting up a cake).
You can get cheap plastic laundry buckets, melt some drain holes in the bottom with a big nail heated in a stove burner (or candle if you're patient) and use them as pots. Works out cheaper than actual plant pots and they are a good size for individual tomato, caps, cucumber, zuchinni etc.
They will always need regular applications of liquid fertiliser though to get good number and size of fruit.
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Post by doglovingjim on Mar 18, 2018 13:37:09 GMT 10
So would you suggest moving them to different pots?
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Post by spinifex on Mar 19, 2018 16:42:35 GMT 10
Yes. Definitely split them up into big pots. They are unlikely to produce any fruit in their current overcrowded situation. Bear in mind it's getting late in the season for tomatoes. Maybe scrap it and put some herbs, bok choi or radishes in the planter instead. Don't worry about the set-back just learn for next season. Rather than fixing last seasons problems it may be better to get ahead of the curve on what should be the current seasons crops. Also good time for fennel if you're into it.
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Post by doglovingjim on Apr 5, 2018 21:12:49 GMT 10
Update: I have spread out my tomatoes into bigger pots and further apart, now they are growing well and I count as least 10 baby tomatoes beginning to form. Unlike the tomatoes my capsicums are thriving no problems. Making a lot of mistakes and learning even more for next time.
Question: Is it true that tomatoes plants are supposed to only survive one season in most climates (whereas traditionally they can last for multiple)? How does it work in Australia? How would one prolong their lifespan?
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Post by Peter on Apr 5, 2018 22:26:24 GMT 10
My potted vegies have been doing okay (just okay, that is), with the exception of the coriander which is utterly dead.
I started using liquid fertiliser recently, and the results were noticeable within 1 day.
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Post by spinifex on Apr 6, 2018 8:18:43 GMT 10
Update: I have spread out my tomatoes into bigger pots and further apart, now they are growing well and I count as least 10 baby tomatoes beginning to form. Unlike the tomatoes my capsicums are thriving no problems. Making a lot of mistakes and learning even more for next time. Question: Is it true that tomatoes plants are supposed to only survive one season in most climates (whereas traditionally they can last for multiple)? How does it work in Australia? How would one prolong their lifespan? Depending on variety, tomatoes can last longer than a year. In practice it's not worth messing around with. Old plants are much more prone to diseases and are messy, tangly things - they don't take to being pruned. I had some Thai eggplants that went for 4 years in my greenhouse and some bullhorn chillies that went for 3. Each year I pruned them back from waist high back down to a small framework about 30-40cm high and removed all the leaves. Had a lot of difficulties with whitefly and spider mite outbreaks each spring as they were able to over-winter on the host plants. I tried multi-year tomatoes but they never had any advantage over plants grown from scratch each year - mainly because the plant itself grows ok under cooler conditions but fruit formation in cool months is rubbish. What ends up happening is the young plants and old ones end up producing good quality fruits at the same time but the old plants are lower yielding and increase pests/diseases. |
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Post by spinifex on Apr 6, 2018 8:22:27 GMT 10
My potted vegies have been doing okay (just okay, that is), with the exception of the coriander which is utterly dead. I started using liquid fertiliser recently, and the results were noticeable within 1 day. Try some fresh coriander seed now Pete. I sowed some last week - they are just starting to emerge. I can only grow it here in Autumn/winter. |
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tan
Junior Member
Posts: 33
Likes: 46
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Post by tan on Apr 6, 2018 23:09:22 GMT 10
My potted vegies have been doing okay (just okay, that is), with the exception of the coriander which is utterly dead. I started using liquid fertiliser recently, and the results were noticeable within 1 day. Do you make your own or use store bought liquid fertiliser? |
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