Flourish Garden Club Minutes of 5 June 2010 June 30, 2010

1. Thanks to our hostess.

Thank you to Nici Palmer for hosting the meeting at her lovely home in Wynberg .

2. What to do in your garden this month

-          Plant indigenous now

-          Feed with 315 or 234 or organic fertilizers high in potassium

-          Feed citrus with bounceback

3. Library

Sally has bought another book for our library entitled “Wild Flowers of Table Mountain” – be sure to have a look at it.

4. Speaker

Thank you to our speaker for the day – Pat Featherstone from Soil for Life.  Soil for Life is a non profit organization which teaches people how to grow food.  The method they teach is how to make lots of food in small spaces and how to build soil.  I f you want a living soil you should keep artificial fertilizers away.  The organization   promotes no meat and they do not use synthetic pesticides or artificial fertilizers.

There is a good movie on circuit at the moment called “Food Inc” – consider seeing it.

Books you may want to read “ Eating Animals” and “Omnivores Dilemma”.

5. General

-          Garden and Home has an amazing special on subscriptions at the moment at R97.00 for a 1 year subscription.

-          Kirstenbosch has Fresias at half price at the moment.

-          Garden refuse removal – Caroline recommended a very pleasant and trustworthy person called Desmond from a company called DMC Gardening Service.

-          There was a general discussion on worm farms.   A tip to keep fruit flies away from worm farms is to keep some vinegar in a bottle in the farm, also don’t put too much fruit into it and avoid using rotten fruit.  Put soil into the bottom of the farm as soil contains microbes, which helps with the decomposition process.

-          Snails – to get rid of them, pick a few (quite a lot) from your garden and put them into a 2 litre bottle and let them die.  Use this juice from the dead snails and sprinkle over your garden.  The live snails will avoid the smell of their own dead.  You can do the same with bugs ( from the book Jane’s Delicious Garden – it’s the bug vs bug method) Its gross, but its organic and it works!!  Ferremol is organic and can also be used.

-          Use bioneem oil for aphids and wipe citrus leaves.

6. Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Saturday 7 August at Caroline Doyle’s home in Tokai.  The speaker is a designer and will take a critical look at Caroline’s garden which is very much a clean slate at the moment.

April Meeting Minutes May 19, 2010

Flourish Meeting Minutes

Hosted by Nikki Ferris at her home in Devils Peak

By Alison Reidy

Debbie opened the meeting:

• Welcome to the new members – Andrea and Jan.
• Kathy has found a speaker who is a nurseryman from Superplants and is willing to speak to the club for one of our meetings.  – Members to think up suggested topics.
• Debbie is to be away every alternate month till October
• Name tags – please ensure you return your name tags at the end of the meetings.
  • Visitors to use a sticky name tag, and permanent members to use the plastic butterfly tags.
• Books: “Jane’s Delicious Garden” is now available in our library

Nikki presented a fabulous talk on her garden, and its progress over the past few years!

• To paraphrase:
  • They rebuilt and raised their walls
  • They started from scratch with their soil and grass
  • They laid very attractive concrete paths coloured with oxide and given a cobblestone impression
  • A few trees planted too close to walls etc by the previous owners had to be removed,
  • Some brave plants from before the build, such as a (now) huge Cape Honeysuckle have recovered from the building and are flourishing!
  • They cleared many rocks which Nikki collected together as a feature in the garden.
    • One of the rocks was extremely large, but fortunately, heavy winter rains helped the moving process along.
  • New stairs were built
  • A fabulous deck and pergola were built for chilling under and watching the great view of the city
  • Nikki’s garden was full of interesting and healthy happy plants!
  • Two lovely wine barrel planters were home to vibrant cabbages and other veggies
• Thanks so much Nikki! I know we all really enjoyed sharing your successes in your garden.

Joanne Austin suggested starting a Seed Bank!

• The idea is for members to collect the seeds / bulbs from organic fruit/veggies/flowers etc that were particularly successful/tasty/ abundant, prepare them appropriately, and submit them to the bank.
• Members would be able to take seeds from the bank to try in their own gardens.
• Joanne Austin kindly offered to manage the bank
• Once seeds from unrefridgerated fruit/veg are harvested, members are encouraged to rinse any pulp etc off the seeds, and leave the seeds to dry in the sun for a few days.  Once dry, package them in a paper bag and label with variety and date, and any relevant notes.
• Joanne Austin did some research and learnt that intense cultivation and pesticides are causing only a limited number of varieties of our fruit/veg to survive, meaning we’re quickly losing the heirloom varieties from years gone by.

Sally suggested planting our seedlings in empty egg cartons.  Once germinated, just tear the individual egg ‘cups’ off and plant directly into the soil.

Debbie suggested we also do a recipe swap – with recipes containing the fruit/veggies we grew ourselves

• The recipe book that the Constantia Valley Garden Club compiled about 7 or 8 years ago was discussed.  It contained recipes used by the ladies in the club, and was focussed on cooking seasonally and deliciously.

By Alison

• 
  

March Meeting Minutes May 19, 2010

Flourish Garden “Special” Meeting Minutes

Held on Saturday, 6 March 2010 at the home of Marion Siebrits

Wow, what a super garden club meeting we had on Saturday.  It’s so encouraging to see that our fledgling garden club is growing steadily and is matched by everyones enthusiasm for gardening.  Two new members signed up, so we would like to extend a warm welcome to Tamzen and Jennifer.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Our hostess, the very charismatic Marion Siebrits from Starke Ayres Garden Centre invited us into her lovely home and garden.  She spoke to us on how to get started with planting and maintaining a thriving vegetable and herb garden.   Marion refers to her garden as an edible one as her entire garden is just vegetables and herbs.

Lately, a lot of Marion’s inspiration comes from the latest book by Jane Griffiths, called Jane’s Delicious Garden.  This she keeps next to her bed as she’s always thumbing through it.  (FYI – Flourish Garden Club has its own copy but you may need to book it and return it by the next meeting, as it’s bound to be hugely popular with all the members!)

Please forgive me but I’m going to quote the next few paragraphs from the Starke Ayres brochure as it sums up some of our discussion beautifully.

Growing your own veggies is always the healthy option, as well as being a very satisfying pastime.  One doesn’t even have to have a dedicated vegetable patch, you can plant them in a sunny spot in between your shrubs and flowers and create an “ornamental kitchen garden”.  A border of red lettuce around your rosemary or lavender is very attractive and you can harvest whenever you please.  Planting a selection of vegetables in this manner also allows for easy crop/plant rotation which helps prevent diseases and pests becoming a problem.  If the same plant is grown in the same place every year pests and diseases may build up in the soil, while others add nutrients.  Rotate the plants in the following order for maximum benefit:

· First legumes (peas and beans)

· Then leaves and fruit (lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers)

· Followed by roots (beetroots, carrots, leeks, onions, potatoes)

Plant out only a few plants of a variety at a time to avoid a surplus and plan your planting at three-week intervals to ensure a steady supply of veg.  Place compost on the beds when you plant, water regularly and feed with a liquid food for added growth.

We also looked at companion planting and this would include the following:

Leeks and celery	Lettuce and carrots	Celery and onions and leeks
Lettuce and radishes	Chives and carrots	Chives and tomatoes
Parsley and tomato	Beans and potatoes	Sage and cabbage
Celery and beans	Carrots and dill

THINGS MARION CAN’T DO WITHOUT

· Gardenia Scissors

· Latex gloves

· If you are looking for the “Rolls Royce” of compost, Reliance Compost is the way to go. Starke Ayres Garden Centre sells large bags for around R40 p/bag. (info@reliance.co.za)

FOR YOUR DIARY

If you are free this Wednesday and you would like to attend the launch of Jane’s new book, Jane’s Delicious Garden, visit Starke Ayres Garden Centre on Wednesday, 10 March at 17h00 for 17h30.  (R.S.V.P. Lucinda@starkeayresgc.co.za for catering purposes.)

Alternatively, they will be holding a workshop on Thursday, 11 March, 10h00 for 10h30 until 13h00. Cost is R200 including tea.  Booking is essential!  Contact Lucinda at (021) 685 4120.

ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR MARCH

Annuals

· Sow indigenous seed mixes like blue kingfisher daisy and African daisies.

· Plant sweet peas in a sunny spot, making sure tall varieties have a trellis to climb up.

· Sow the shade-loving fairy primula in areas of filtered shade under trees or shrubbery.

Perennials

· Split and divide agapanthus, day lilies, arum lilies and cannas.

· Prune flowering shrubs like bougainvillea and hibiscus.

· Tidy up climbers by removing dead branches and seed pods.

· Deadhead hydrangeas (cut off as much of the stem as possible) and fertilise with Humac.

Prepare for the months ahead

· Remove fallen autumn leaves from lawns, paths, gutters and ponds.

· Buy winter flowering bulbs, but wait until April before planting them.

· Stake and secure dahlias and hollyhocks to protect them from the winter winds that lie ahead.

Give your garden a boost

· Feed your lawn with 3:2:1 or LAN.

· Feed azaleas with iron chelate and one tablespoon or Epsom salts per bush.

· Feed tomatoes with phostrogen.

· Feed citrus trees with Epsom salts and magnesium sulphate (All Phostrogen).

No further garden club matters were discussed.

Please note that the next Flourish Garden Club meeting will take place on Saturday, 17 April. Please watch e-mails for further details!

March 2010 Meeting Minutes March 10, 2010

Flourish Garden “Special” Meeting Minutes

Held on Saturday, 6 March 2010 at the home of Marion Siebrits

Wow, what a super garden club meeting we had on Saturday.  It’s so encouraging to see that our fledgling garden club is growing steadily and is matched by everyones enthusiasm for gardening.  Two new members signed up, so we would like to extend a warm welcome to Tamzen and Jennifer.

HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY

Our hostess, the very charismatic Marion Siebrits from Starke Ayres Garden Centre invited us into her lovely home and garden.  She spoke to us on how to get started with planting and maintaining a thriving vegetable and herb garden.   Marion refers to her garden as an edible one as her entire garden is just vegetables and herbs.

Lately, a lot of Marion’s inspiration comes from the latest book by Jane Griffiths, called Jane’s Delicious Garden.  This she keeps next to her bed as she’s always thumbing through it.  (FYI – Flourish Garden Club has its own copy but you may need to book it and return it by the next meeting, as it’s bound to be hugely popular with all the members!)

Please forgive me but I’m going to quote the next few paragraphs from the Starke Ayres brochure as it sums up some of our discussion beautifully.

Growing your own veggies is always the healthy option, as well as being a very satisfying pastime.  One doesn’t even have to have a dedicated vegetable patch, you can plant them in a sunny spot in between your shrubs and flowers and create an “ornamental kitchen garden”.  A border of red lettuce around your rosemary or lavender is very attractive and you can harvest whenever you please.  Planting a selection of vegetables in this manner also allows for easy crop/plant rotation which helps prevent diseases and pests becoming a problem.  If the same plant is grown in the same place every year pests and diseases may build up in the soil, while others add nutrients.  Rotate the plants in the following order for maximum benefit:

• First legumes (peas and beans)
• Then leaves and fruit (lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers)
• Followed by roots (beetroots, carrots, leeks, onions, potatoes)

Plant out only a few plants of a variety at a time to avoid a surplus and plan your planting at three-week intervals to ensure a steady supply of veg.  Place compost on the beds when you plant, water regularly and feed with a liquid food for added growth.

We also looked at companion planting and this would include the following:

Leeks and celery	Lettuce and carrots	Celery and onions and leeks
Lettuce and radishes	Chives and carrots	Chives and tomatoes
Parsley and tomato	Beans and potatoes	Sage and cabbage
Celery and beans	Carrots and dill

THINGS MARION CAN’T DO WITHOUT

• Gardenia Scissors
• Latex gloves
• If you are looking for the “Rolls Royce” of compost, Reliance Compost is the way to go. Starke Ayres Garden Centre sells large bags for around R40 p/bag. (info@reliance.co.za)

FOR YOUR DIARY

If you are free this Wednesday and you would like to attend the launch of Jane’s new book, Jane’s Delicious Garden, visit Starke Ayres Garden Centre on Wednesday, 10 March at 17h00 for 17h30.  (R.S.V.P. Lucinda@starkeayresgc.co.za for catering purposes.)

Alternatively, they will be holding a workshop on Thursday, 11 March, 10h00 for 10h30 until 13h00. Cost is R200 including tea.  Booking is essential!  Contact Lucinda at (021) 685 4120.

ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR MARCH

Annuals

• Sow indigenous seed mixes like blue kingfisher daisy and African daisies.
• Plant sweet peas in a sunny spot, making sure tall varieties have a trellis to climb up.
• Sow the shade-loving fairy primula in areas of filtered shade under trees or shrubbery.

Perennials

• Split and divide agapanthus, day lilies, arum lilies and cannas.
• Prune flowering shrubs like bougainvillea and hibiscus.
• Tidy up climbers by removing dead branches and seed pods.
• Deadhead hydrangeas (cut off as much of the stem as possible) and fertilise with Humac.

Prepare for the months ahead

• Remove fallen autumn leaves from lawns, paths, gutters and ponds.
• Buy winter flowering bulbs, but wait until April before planting them.
• Stake and secure dahlias and hollyhocks to protect them from the winter winds that lie ahead.

Give your garden a boost

• Feed your lawn with 3:2:1 or LAN.
• Feed azaleas with iron chelate and one tablespoon or Epsom salts per bush.
• Feed tomatoes with phostrogen.
• Feed citrus trees with Epsom salts and magnesium sulphate (All Phostrogen).

No further garden club matters were discussed.

Please note that the next Flourish Garden Club meeting will take place on Saturday, 17 April.  Please watch e-mails for further details!

Jane Jordan’s Rose Growing Tips December 29, 2009

Here are Jane Jordan’s Rose Growing Tips, from our November meeting at her lovely house.

JaneJordansNotes

Enjoy!

5 September Flourish Meeting Minutes September 7, 2009

5 September 2009

Flourish Meeting Minutes

Judy Maconachie, Caroline’s mum, kindly hosted us at her lovely house in Constantia, and also showed us around her fabulous garden, answering our many questions and queries.

Items raised and discussed

• Book Proposal:  Jane Griffiths “Janes Delicious Garden (how to grow organic vegetables and herbs)”
• Recommended gardeners and gardener services were discussed.  Refer to the Flourish blog “Handy Info” for recommendations, and send in any suggestions you have to Ally (ally.reidy@gmail.com) or the Flourish email (Flourish.members@gmail.com) email address.
• What to do this time of year:
  • Compost
  • Weed
  • Feed with 3:1:5 or 2:3:4 or Bounce Back
  • If you don’t have time or space for composting, Soil For Life will remove your black bags of compost or garden cuttings, and use this to make their own
  • The Tokai Lions at the Tokai forest sell great compost:  R6 per bag – R50 delivery charge.  They also sell stones, and bark, amongst other things
  • Pick and Pay’s stones are actually very cheap
  • The flower grower, behind Pedlars on the Bend, was highly recommended.  Simply visit them at the beginning of the week to order your cut flowers for the weekend. They are very reasonably priced, and last a long time!
  • Great wholesale nursery is Little Orchard: on Meadow Lane in Constantia, after the retirement village
    • Open on a Sunday
    • Angelina will help you
    • Great range of herbs (though not cheap) can be found at Ferndale, but once again, Little Nursery have cheap herbs
  • Re-laying a Lawn:
    • Remove the lawn
    • Apply bone meal and compost
    • Firm down to level
    • Re-apply the lawn
    • Apply a thin lawn dressing, and build it up gradually
    • Lawn treatment this time of year
      • Superphosphates or 2:3:4 –  try first applying the superphosphates, and then 2:3:4 in a week or so
      • Bounce Back or Rapid Raiser are great too.
  • Sean had a problem with these plants
    • Macaya Bella not thriving
      • Judy recommended applying Bounce Back, or Epsom salts

Wild Gardenia’s leaves browning, and the plant growing slowly

• Bounce Back was recommended, as well as foliar feed, and kelpak.
• Iron chelate was another suggestion
• Lavenders:
  • cut them in Feb, after they flower
  • the French lavender produces many seedlings
  • Harlequin lady birds are unwanted in the garden – they are orangey.
  • Flourish 2010 committee will be voted in at the October meeting.  Members were asked to concider getting on board, or think about who they would like to propose.
  • Our next meeting is at Jo Austin’s house on the 10^th October – looking forward to it!
  • The November meeting will in fact be our “Christmas Party” at Sean’s house. Date to be confirmed.

Admin Items

Finally, Judy showed us around her gorgeous garden, and we finished off with delicious tea and cake!

n  By Ally Reidy