Let's assume you have the best boss ever. Not only does she allow you to keep office plants, she's incredibly tolerant towards their watering, fertilising, and sunlight requirements plus the odd motivational pep talk that invariably happens throughout the work day. She understands all this because you're the best employee she has and keeping you happy is her number one concern - apart from posting a profit, which comes a close second.

In fact, your boss actually gives you time to tend to your plants and understands when the call of nature...not that call...beckons and requires your immediate attention. Furthermore, they're happy to pitch in a little time when you need to move them all into the sunlight and are happy to ditch their important client meeting to offer a hand when your plants need watering.

And then your alarm goes off...and it's time to get ready for work. That dream was just that - a dream.

For the gardener who can't bear to be far away from plants and would rather spend each and every day in the garden it is possible to marry both. Your work, the necessary evil that keeps your wallet full so that you can continue to expand your garden hobby, is still very important and can't take second place to your office plants - but they can both work together.

Caring for your Office Plants

Tending your indoor office plants during business hours probably isn't a good idea if you're trying to keep the boss happy. However, there's nothing to stop you coming into work early or leaving later so that you can take care of your plants. Even lunch hours, morning tea breaks and the justified non-smoko "smoko" are good times to get in a little extra care and maintenance.

But, if you really want to keep your boss on the right side of the happiness ledger why not maintain a plant in their office too? Explain that her plant has air-purifying qualities and she'll truly appreciate your thoughtfulness - unless, of course, she assumes that you think she stinks and then takes offence!

You will need this time to take care of your office plants and in order to keep your boss happy, gardening chores shouldn't happen during work time. If need be, take a plant home overnight - or over the weekend - to repot, remove scale and fertilise. Then bring it back in the morning and continue the process with each of your office plants.

Another helpful tip may be restricting the amount of plants that adorn your office. Too many and you'll never see a lunch-break again while just the odd one or two may bore you to tears. Work it out with your boss to keep a happy medium.

Posted in Indoor & Tropical Plants at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've never had a veggie patch here before and my plan has always been to set up aquaponics in our backyard. However, progress on this project has been somewhat stimied - yet still, slowly, evolving - and I just became tired of looking at all this vacant soil.

So, rather than let another winter pass by without anything to show for it, little M. (my youngest daughter) and I have been planting some seeds and seedlings hope to cash in on this wonderful rain we've been getting.

The soil is completely ordinary, at best, and previously we've done nothing to nurture it - the aquaponics setup doesn't require soil. So, in some small spots I've amended it with the small amount of compost that I had left hoping to improve the nutrient levels at least a little.

In this small bed we've planted half a dozen brussell sprouts and broccoli seedlings which have now doubled in size. However, one or two have become the "taste sensation of the month" for a few voracious snails.

In the area where the soil is not good and I didn't have any compost spare I planted broad beans and sugar snap peas. Both of these should contribute some nitrogen back into the soil and with a little amending make it a good plot for my spring solanums.

The peas and beans are humming along nicely and with fortnightly feeds of fish emulsion should produce quite well.

The great thing about this project is that little M. doesn't realise that these veggies will become part of her staple diet in the spring: broad beans, broccoli and brussel sprouts - not usually on a 6 year olds menu of choice. ;-)

Posted in Herbs & Vegetables at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Growing potatoes in tyres, or tires as you may spell it, is not as bizarre as it may initially seem. While farmers have been growing them in mounded dirt for aeons it's a relatively new trend to grow spuds in your vehicle refuse.

But, on so many levels it makes sense. Firstly there's the recycling component: you will need at least 4 tyres to grow potatoes in which accounts for at least 2-3 years of driving value. Then, there's the space issue: you can grow far more potatoes per square metre than growing them in the soil. Plus, vertical gardening is always an added bonus because it makes use of the space above the ground which is often wasted.

Finally, when it comes time to harvest your spuds it's just a matter of pulling off the tyres and letting the potatoes fall out - much easier than breaking your back digging them up.

So, how do you grow potatoes in a tyre stack?

The first step is to source some old tyres. One option is to head to your local refuse site and pick up a few that are already taking up landfill. However, these are usually quite dirty and can often have spiders or other creepy-crawlies inhabiting them. Instead, I prefer to visit a local tyre dealership and request some of their waste tyres. These have come off vehicles and are waiting to go the refuse site but are usually quite clean and much easier to deal with. Plus, the tyre store will be very happy to part with them because they save dump fees.

When picking your tyres try and source ones that are the same size. This will make it easier for stacking and keep your stack in a uniform shape.

Step One

The first step in starting this process is to cut out the inner width of the tube (marked by the yellow crayon line). This allows more growing space but won't damage the strength of the tyre wall. The tyre that will be positioned at the bottom will only need this performed on one side with the full tyre wall facing the soil.

Don't throw out those inner rings as they can be very useful too. One single cut from inside to outside can turn this surplus rubber into a great mulch collar for new trees and shrubs and they can easily be stored hanging flat in your garden shed when not in use.

Step Two

Start by laying the base tyre on the ground in the position that you want it to stay - remember, once these are stacked you won't be able to move them. Fill the first one with some growing medium: you can use half soil/half compost, straw (hay) or even potting mix. Then spread the seed potatoes across the surface and water in and place the next tyre on top. TIP: don't use potatoes that you bought from the grocers. These have usually been chemically treated or processed in such a way that they will become infertile in the soil. You can usually source these from your local nursery or rural services stores and expect to pay about $5-10 per kilo. Note: some can be kept from this harvest for next season's planting.

Step Three

This is the final stage of the process and involves covering the potatoes with more growing medium. You may be tempted to continue building the stack immediately and then leaving it to its own devices. While this sounds nice and almost maintenance free, growing potatoes this way isn't that simple. Instead, once the vine protrudes through the medium and continues to grow then you are able to add more tyres and more medium.

The one trick here is not to cover the vine totally but to always leave a few leaves sticking out. If you do cover it, the vine will begin to rot and you will lose your spuds. It's time to harvest your potatoes when the vine begins to brown and die down. Then you can start pulling the stack apart and gleaning your fresh potatoes.

Remember to keep some for next years planting and store these in a dry, dark spot. The rest can be washed and then stored in your pantry to impress, and feed, your family.

Posted in Gardening Herbs & Vegetables at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)