Date posted: 15 November 2019
The weather is really starting to heat up as we get closer to Christmas and the end of the school year.
In the Little Sprouts Kitchen Garden, we've had some real success with our carrots. With the burst of warm weather, they're really on top of each other.
When growing carrots, there is always the consideration of whether or not to thin them out when they start growing. This year, we made the decision to leave them and not thin them, and it was worth it. They make a great show! The children will have the opportunity to harvest all shapes and colours because we mixed up the placement of the sizes and colours when planting.
If you have a clay type soil that gets hard in summer and water logged in winter, why not try adding gypsum to the soil. You'll need to dig into your soil about 5-10cm and you will have to add quite a lot of gypsum, but it will make a real difference to the structure of your soil.
Watering with all the different plants in the Kitchen Garden is very important now. Pots that are in the sun will start to dry out much quicker and need constant attention. Sunflowers and Sweet Corn use a lot of water but this can be done with a watering can!
If you're lucky enough to have your very own worm farm, now is the time to consider bringing them inside so they stay below 30°C. And as exciting as the Christmas period is, don't forget about your plants over your holidays. Make sure you organise somebody to water them if you're going away and shift them to the shade on those extreme heat days.
20 April 2023
Have you noticed a strange looking unit near the First Creek Wetlands at Adelaide Botanic Garden? Did you know this machine is collecting valuable biodiversity data which will be used to safeguard South Australia's Myrtleceae trees against a deadly disease.
03 April 2023
We caught up with Mount Lofty Botanic Garden horticultural supervisor Mark Oborn to get some insider tips for visiting the garden during autumn colours.
