Muddy Boots

Find out who will be this month’s Q&A winner of The Plant Runner’s prize!
We have been inundated with excellent questions, here are some of the topics discussed this month:

• Passionfruit hoppers can be controlled by weekly spraying of ECO Neem and Eco Oil
• Frangipane with woolly aphid. Keith suggests controlling with Pyrethrum (add a drop or two of dishwashing liquid)
• Don’t over prune natives such as chrysocephalum apiculatum - dead head only, particularly in summer
• Mites on plants like Vibernum? Try Mavrik or ECO Neem and Eco Oil
• Dilute worm tea to ration of approx 1:10 to 1:15 or hear how to wash through the worm farm to collect worm wee and castings - stay tuned for more tips on worm farms in our upcoming episode!
• Deter possums from eating your passion fruits by providing a decoy apple!
• Some basic principles on pH testing and correction
• Pomegranate trees - best to have 2 plants of different varieties will increase the yield through cross-pollination
• Ornamental grape vines excellent for summer shade. Keith suggests Thomson seedless and crimson seedless. Ensure Neutral pH, good potting mix and liquid feed
• Ficus Pumila - a great clinging climber
• Keith’s top tips on keeping rabbits off your plants! 

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

What’s growing in Keith’s garden? 

Flowers, trees and of course lots of edibles. This week we take a closer look at what’s happening in his beloved garden.

The trial garden - what’s living up to expectation and what’s not! Some disappointing new varieties of Rudbeckia. Agastache and salvias are always winners and eryngium (Sea Holly) also performing well.

Keith’s edible garden - late tomatoes due to cooler summer, more zucchini and cucumbers than he knows what to do with and avocados are fruiting! Issues with brown rot has seen Keith drying stone fruit using his Ezidri dehydrator.

Late summer planting - Keith suggests lettuce, carrots, beetroot seeds or seedlings, Brussel sprout seedlings (Keith recommends Quality Plants & Seedlings but may have sold out).

Other jobs - Summer pruning of fruit trees after the fruit, deadheading of spent flowers and light cutback to encourage late flowering, aerating soil (use a broadfork - check out F.D Ryan's) and mulching.

Pests and diseases - Black spot on roses can be treated with 50/50 milk/water applied on a sunny day or copper spray like Kocide. Blossom end rot can occur due to high acidity - prevent/treat by adding Dolomite lime to soil before planting to stabilise pH. Powdery mildew - avoid  by cutting out competing plants and ensuring soil is well fertilised and mulched. Rust - burn out by encouraging new growth (speed up with high nitrogen fertiliser). Passionfruit leaf-hopper, Springtail and other “critters” can be avoided and treated with ECO Neem and Eco Oil

Happy Summer gardening!

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

Today we go back to one of Keith’s favourite topics! Where everything in a good garden starts - the soil.

Finally an easy guide to why we should we be composting, getting started and maintaining a perfect, odour-free compost. 

• We learn about the Carbon:Nitrogen ratio (ideally 1 part carbon to 3 parts nitrogen)
• the role of microbes in breaking down compost. 
• What can and can’t go into the compost bin - No animal products (besides manure & egg shells)! Dog hair and even vacuum lint are ok to go in - who knew!
• Whether you have room for an open-air compost, a compost bin in the corner of your garden or an apartment with a small worm farm or Bokashi bin, we can all play a part in reducing green waste going into landfill. 
• Applying mulch and organic fertilisers to our garden allows composting to naturally occur in our garden.

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

Today we explore the world of native and exotic plants. What is a native plant? What is an exotic plant?  How can we integrate these different designs into our garden spaces?

Keith outlines some of the benefits of growing natives and exotics in the one garden. These include:

• Ability to grow different combinations by creating micro climates from exotic tree canopies
• Aesthetic appeal - creating colour combinations of both foliage and flowers
• Seasonal appeal - creating colour and interest throughout the year. Eg Casuarina glauca (Cousin It) and Ligularia reniformis and Miscanthus Sinensis “Flamingo”
• Deter pests - plants like rosemary and passionfruit both deter possums!
• Attract beneficial insects
• Less maintenance generally with native plants
• Many hybridized varieties of natives including Acacia Cognata “Mini Cog”, Westringia “Aussie Box” and “Grey Box” and grafted forms of Western Australian flowering gum

Learn how to avoid exotic varieties becoming invasive! Eg Bamboo and Rice Paper Plant

Phosphorus toxicity? Avoid any type of chicken manure. Keith recommends Neutrog’s Bush Tucker

Hear Keith’s ideas on the importance of foliage, form and colour!

Good luck with your new eclectic mix of natives and exotics!

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

Our first Muddy Boots Q&A for the year!

Find out who will be this month’s Q&A winner of The Plant Runner’s prize!

Types of nutrient rich mulch - what to choose? Mushroom, Lucerne, Pea straw? Keith recommends Who Flung Dung 

Poppy seeds - an easy one to grow by sowing directly into your garden

Wanting to try gardening with a Moon Calendar? Try this simple calendar readily available online - Moon calendar

Lime tree looking yellow? Increase mulch right out to drip line, check pH and feed your citrus regularly

Harvesting beetroot seeds? Wait for the seeds to dry out and collect in paper bag

Scale on citrus? Treat with Eco Oil and feed regularly

Bumps on Lilly Pilly- Could be psyllid (plant lice). Feed with Bush Tucker. Treat with Eco Oil and ECO Neem

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

Elisabeth is ready to fill her new raised beds and start her veggie patch. Maybe you are too? This month, Keith gives us some great advice on getting started with growing your own food.

Location, location, location - lots of sun is an absolute must!

Type of veggie patch - options include a raised bed or building into existing lawn or garden bed. Eradicating grasses and weeds with a herbicide like Roundup or consider an organic alternative like Slasher according to the directions.

Soil preparation - prepare an existing area and improve soil with addition of quality compost like Clyde's Compost and topping with organic mulch like Who Flung Dung. Keith recommends using a broadfork to penetrate your soil (look for F.D Ryan's). Filling a raised bed? Ensure the base has either a layer of geo fabric or consider using Weed Gunnel. Beds can be filled with layers of organic matter using the “lasagne method”. Improve soil with Munash Rock Dust and fertilise regularly with products like Charlie Carp

What to plant? Ensure you are planting according to your location’s climate. Decide whether you will plant seedlings or propagate from seed.Set your seeds up for success by using the Moon calendar. 

Protect your veggies from pests. Hear Keith’s Earwigs control method.Look for organic products like Eco Oil and ECO Neem and consider netting to control cabbage moths and other pests.

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

No garden is complete without trees! This month Keith shares his top 10 favourite trees for the Australian garden.

1. Full moon maple - Acer japonicum vitifolium - well suited smaller garden
2. Norway Maple or Designer Maple Acer platinoides globosum - well suited smaller garden
3. Acer platinoides Crimson Sentry -well suited smaller garden
4. Persimon fuyu - delicious orange fruit tree
5. Flat top elm Ulmus glabra “Camperdownii” - medium tree with dense canopy
6. Black Tupelo - Nysa sylvatica - medium size tree with stunning Autumn foliage 
7. Red maple - Acer rubrum - larger stunning Autumn foliage
8. White flowering chestnut - Calodendrum capense “Alba” - beautiful larger tree with white candelabra style flowers
9. Argentine ombu - Phytolacca dioica - a HUGE, fast growing evergreen tree
10. Carob Tree ceratonia siliqua - beautiful larger, flowering evergreen tree

So we’ve chosen the tree. What next? Hear how to prepare and plant your tree to set it up for success!

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

Our last Muddy Boots Podcast for the year! Thank you to our loyal listeners this year!

Find out who will be this month’s Q&A winner of The Plant Runner’s prize?

After a climbing rose in yellow or orange hues? Keith suggestions -  Banksia rose, Maigold, Summertime, Golden Showers

Removing leaves and pinching tomatoes? Keep a single main trunk,  reduce leaves and pinch out above the last truss

Best secateurs? Lowe No 5

Some tips for growing a Jacaranda

Saw flies and other pests? - try Yates Baythroid

Yet another citrus pest! The bronze orange bug. Try companion plants Marigold, Pansy, Basil or beneficial bugs by Bugs for Bugs or Natures Way Citrus Ornamental Spray or ECO Neem and Eco Oil

Scarab beetle eatling roses? Again prevent further damage with ECO Neem and Eco Oil

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

For regular listeners the name Clyde's Compost will be familiar. But did you know Clyde’s Compost has a brand new product?

Lignite Humates is what Keith would call a “game changer”.  Hear from Vince from Clydes about both the original Clyde’s compost and his brand new product.

Why Clyde’s Compost? Originally created for the family’s intense vegetable gardening farm,  Clyde’s Compost has been created organically with advice from expert agronomists to ensure a consistent product with suitable pH for the home gardener.

The full range includes Certified Organic Dolomite Lime, Certified Organic Blood & Bone, the Booster Blend & the new Lignite Humates

What is Lignite Humates? Lignite Humates is brown coal! 20% carbon and 80% humate.

Why Lignite Humates? Holds up to 200% more water than your average soil, efficiently breaks down fertilisers and the natural goodness of the soil to assist plant uptake.

A great episode exploring a great product!

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook 

Drought tolerant gardens. There are plants that, once established, are drought tolerant, however, there are ways of creating conditions for making your plants and garden less reliant on water.

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!

Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ 
Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook