Gardening Tips From Jason Hodges

Jason Hodges was a guest speaker at a recent Agricultural Field Days event not far from where we live. I find him an extremely funny and down to earth speaker and enjoyed the opportunity to sit in on a couple of his sessions.



Here is my take on what he had to say:

• You can be a good gardener without spending all your time in the garden (hooray!)
• It's important to choose plants well. Select plants that are easy care and suit the location you wish to place them in (sunny, shady etc).
• Use newspaper for weed control. Some weeds contain seeds on their bulbs (eg onion weed) so even if you manage to pull up the weed with the bulb intact, in the process you'll be adding many seeds to your soil. Weed mat comes with it's own set of problems. Instead, lay out newspaper, 2-3 sheets thick and overlapped (so that you get around 4 sheets thick in most places). Wet as you go and cover with mulch. This will prevent weeds from germinating and kill present weeds. The newspaper breaks down over time and becomes part of the soil.
• When selecting mulch, avoid anything that has a uniform colour (eg white pebbles) as these will show up a single weed that grows through. Instead, go for a more natural appearing mulch with variegated colour which will disguise the odd weed or fallen leaves (and in my opinion, looks much nicer anyway - mine, Jason didn't say this).
• When planting, it's essential to plant out properly. Dig a large hole. Tease out any roots to ensure they don't continue to grow in the shape of the bottom of the pot and can spread out to take advantage of water and nutrients in the soil. Mix organic matter into the soil that has been removed.
• Don't add anything green directly to the garden. Green matter uses nitrogen to break down and will remove much needed nitrogen from around your plants. Instead, compost green matter first or add to a section of the garden that is not currently being used.
• If you don't wish to make your own compost, consider burying waste matter in holes in yard. This will still break down over time.

Frangipani:

• Don't like frost. To overcome this, plant up against a wall for protection or in a pot that can be moved.
• Are pretty easy to look after once established.
• To grow from a cutting - allow cut end to heal over. Plant in a very narrow but deep hole. Place cutting a long way into ground in order to support itself.
• Once planted, do not water until new growth appears as this may cause plant to rot.
• Do not stake a cutting. If supported by a stake, the plant will be tricked into thinking it's already established and won't put out decent root systems.