Skip to playerSkip to main content
Gardening Australia Season 36 Episode 31

#RealityPlusTV

🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❀️Reality Plus TV❀️
πŸ‘‰ Official Channel: https://www.dailymotion.com/LoomLens
❇❄ ❊ ✽ ❃ ✾ ☘ ❋ πŸ’Ÿ β–½ ❄️ πŸ’” πŸ’• πŸ€ πŸ•ŠοΈ 🌸 🌼 ✡ ✲ ✱ ✻ ✽ ✸ ⁂ ❅ ❆
Transcript
00:00Hey!
00:07Hi!
00:08Ha ha ha!
00:10Ooh!
00:16Ha ha ha ha!
00:18Hey!
00:20Hey, buddy.
00:22Hey!
00:24Ah!
00:26Oh!
00:28Hello, and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36This week, we've put together an episode that shows you how to grow anywhere.
00:42Whether you've got plans for a potted patio, an indoor oasis, or a backyard bounty,
00:48we've got everything you need to feel inspired to get stuck in,
00:53no matter how small your patch is.
00:56Here's what's in store.
01:00Tammy shares some great ideas for growing indoors.
01:04If it's too close, you risk burning the leaves.
01:06I'll be looking at the finer points of growing citrus in containers
01:11with citrus expert Ian Tolley.
01:13I can produce a really nice crop in that size container, or even bigger.
01:18We meet a gardener breaking down the back fence.
01:22What it gives back to me is a million times greater than what I've put into it.
01:28And if you've got a small space and are searching for inspiration,
01:32just wait till you see this suburban garden oasis that turns tiny into terrific.
01:38It's a familiar scenario for more and more people.
01:48You want to grow some veggies, but you live in a block of apartments.
01:52It could be on the second or third floor.
01:54Limited soil, hot, exposed.
01:58How exactly do you dig in and get growing?
02:02Up on the fourth floor of an apartment complex in the northern suburbs of Sydney
02:07is a bountiful balcony pumping out produce year round.
02:12Meet Wendy Tolley.
02:15I'm just out to prove that there's nothing I can't grow up here.
02:18Gardener extraordinaire, who's learning there's no limit when it comes to location.
02:23So it's a modern apartment and some would prefer a nice sleek kind of polished look,
02:29but we have a working farm here, and so we have a lot of dirt.
02:34And so one of the issues is a muddy terrace all the time, which I love.
02:39My husband doesn't like it so much.
02:42So that's one of the challenges, just keeping the place clean and liveable,
02:45but also natural.
02:47What sort of things have you aimed at planting?
02:50Well, we've been here for five years, so I've made every mistake in the book.
02:54From planting too many things, having gone to the garden centre
02:58and bought everything visible, to planting for the wrong season,
03:04planting the wrong type of plant for this situation,
03:06keeping in mind that it's a container garden, so space is at a premium.
03:12And so after five years now, I've kind of got it down pat
03:15where I go for the best bang for your buck.
03:18I like the way it sort of all opens out.
03:21You know, you've got this nice space.
03:23I mean, these here, look at them.
03:25I mean, you've got silverbeet, you've got cos lettuce, you've got bok choy,
03:29and you can just repeat pick.
03:31Yeah.
03:32Well, that's how we do it here.
03:34I mean, everywhere I look, there's a lot of edibles.
03:37What's your most productive edible out of the garden?
03:41My leafy greens are definitely the most productive,
03:44but I've branched into things like broad beans.
03:47They're attractive, plus the beans are absolutely delicious.
03:50We've got some broccoli growing.
03:52They're good value too.
03:54Cut off their heads and they'll re-sprout.
03:57I've got blueberries growing in pots too.
03:59Really easy.
04:00I treat them just as I would an azalea or a camellia,
04:03and so pine needles make a really good mulch for them,
04:06being acid-loving plants.
04:08Yeah.
04:09How productive have they been?
04:10Last summer was amazing.
04:12We had literally handfuls of blueberries.
04:15Quite astounding that in a balcony situation
04:17you could actually produce your own fruit.
04:19How do you look after your soil in all your containers?
04:22Well, I learnt very early on that soil is everything.
04:25So I started composting, which is very possible, on a balcony.
04:30I brought in worm farms.
04:33We have manures and fish heads and little bits and pieces like that
04:37that I dig into the soil.
04:39They're a great source of nitrogen, potassium and calcium.
04:43Great for growing tomatoes.
04:45And so the quality of the soil that I have up here
04:47is better than potting mix that I brought in.
04:50And it just keeps getting better.
04:52As you can see, you know, it supports a wonderful garden.
04:56So, Kosta, this is my workspace,
05:02and this is my homemade compost bin here.
05:06It's just a garbage bin with holes drilled in the side for aeration.
05:11Yep.
05:12And what I put in there is leaf litter that I find on the balcony
05:15or, you know, scrounge around from downstairs.
05:18And it's a good little contained size.
05:20Yes, it's 100 litres.
05:21In a bin you can move it around.
05:23Yes.
05:24And here are my worm bins.
05:27What's your process with your worm farming?
05:29Well, it literally comes out of the kitchen,
05:31so we just have a bag of scraps.
05:33All my kitchen scraps go into the bins and a little scoop of lime.
05:38That'll stop the bin from getting smelly.
05:41I also add what we call browns, which are the carbon element.
05:47I do that using shredded paper, cardboard, dried leaves.
05:52There's a balance of about four to one,
05:54the four being the carbon to one being the greens,
05:57the stuff that comes out of the kitchen.
05:59Fantastic.
06:00And I can see here these are the castings.
06:04They are the real gold, aren't they?
06:07Yes, they are.
06:08So this is all household scraps that have turned into something
06:11that can go back into the soil to grow food.
06:16So is that a Genoa fig?
06:17Yeah, a black Genoa.
06:18Nice, one of my favourites.
06:23We have all the pests up here, all the same diseases,
06:27and so we have to, I have to find ways of ameliorating those issues
06:33and creating biodiversity up here.
06:35That's always a challenge as well.
06:37But it's amazing how many things will find their way
06:40up to the fourth floor.
06:42These brassicas of yours look plastic
06:44because there's not one hole in any of the leaves.
06:47Yes, well, insect exclusion netting is the secret here.
06:51The white cabbage moth larvae attack the leaves typically,
06:55so all it is really is just some polypipe
06:58and just a bit of bamboo or a stick.
07:01That's simple.
07:02Yep.
07:03And then curve it over.
07:04Yep.
07:05Fasten it at the top just to give it a bit of stability.
07:07So once you've got the netting on, they can't get in.
07:10Perfect.
07:11And I love it how Wendy's making the most of her meterage by growing up.
07:17I mean, these snow peas here, they're taller than me.
07:20Yes, they are.
07:22I know that's easy, but they're two metres.
07:26It's the use of the vertical space that I have.
07:29A few bamboo poles like that.
07:31I can see you doing it everywhere.
07:32I mean, you're training that mulberry up.
07:34You've got...
07:35I like this.
07:36I can just push that out of the way, make my passage.
07:39The olive, you've got up against the lattice.
07:42But this is one that I wanted to ask you about.
07:45This is a grapevine, yeah?
07:46Yes.
07:47That must be fantastic in the summer when it pops up.
07:51Yeah.
07:52And you're just slowly training it around
07:54and it's giving you all of that shade, the privacy.
07:58And then eventually over the eaves as well.
08:01Wow.
08:02So how long's that been in?
08:04Probably about two years.
08:06It's doing really well.
08:08Yeah.
08:09It's a prolific provider of grapes in the summer, yeah.
08:14Wendy's garden shows you that good things take time.
08:17When you look after a garden, your garden will look after you,
08:21inside and out, year after year.
08:27The education that I've received from simply pottering around
08:30out here has been incredible.
08:32And I think I'm better for it.
08:34Much better for it.
08:42What's an easy way to train your pumpkins up off the ground?
08:45Get your hands on a sheet of Rio mesh, curve it in half,
08:49and secure each corner to a star picket with wire.
08:52Then gradually train the pumpkins up as they grow.
08:55Once the pumpkins start to mature,
08:57you'll need to make a little hammock out of an old stocking
08:59to make sure they don't snap with their own weight.
09:02How many herbs can you squeeze into the one pot?
09:05Well, this is a good working example.
09:07This pot's 600 millimetres wide and about 450 millimetres deep full soil.
09:15Now I've got six herbs in here.
09:17There's parsley, thyme, oregano, winter savoury,
09:22and two types of sage.
09:24Each of these were put in just as one plant.
09:27Now when they're small, it can be tempting to squeeze more in.
09:31The problem is they'll become crowded and they'll compete.
09:35Here, it's about as tight as I'd want them to be.
09:38Even when picking regularly, I wouldn't want to have any more in here.
09:41Overcrowd and you'll get poor performance.
09:44Can I recommend a fern for a dry, shady area?
09:50Look no further than the raspy maidenhair fern.
09:53It's an Australian native and it occurs from Darwin
09:56right the way down to Melbourne.
09:58That's a lot of territory and climate zones to cover.
10:01I didn't plant mine.
10:03It turned up as wind-blown spores
10:05and it settled in to a spot that only gets morning sunshine.
10:09I never water it.
10:10In drought, it becomes herbaceous
10:12and when you get good soaking rain,
10:14up comes a fresh new whirl of beautiful pink foliage.
10:19It's even moved in.
10:20It's spread.
10:21It's an effortless joy to have in the garden.
10:28If you're anything like me, you'll know that the gardening fun
10:34doesn't have to end once you head indoors.
10:38Indoor plants have exploded in popularity over the last decade
10:43and it's easy to see why.
10:45With so much on offer, the big question is what to choose.
10:49And guess what?
10:50We're here to help.
10:51I love all plants, but I especially love indoor plants.
11:10And I love coming to a nursery because you have your pick of the crop.
11:14There's so much green bling on offer.
11:16And our eyes are often drawn to the prettiest, shiniest things.
11:20But when we take them home, unfortunately, we often kill them.
11:24So to keep the relationship growing over the long term,
11:27it helps to think about a few basic things like the space you've got,
11:31the light, the soil, when to water and what plants to pick.
11:40A good rule of thumb when choosing indoor plants
11:42is to choose based on how much time you can commit.
11:45If you're time poor, then there are lots of great varieties
11:47that you can choose that will fit in with you and your schedule.
11:50Like this hoya here or the common wax flower.
11:53It's a trailing evergreen climber,
11:55which means that if you give it support, it will climb.
11:57Otherwise, it will spill over the sides of a hanging basket.
12:00And I love the foliage of Peperomia obtusifolia.
12:03It's a bit of a mouthful, but it's got these gorgeous variegated leaves.
12:07But you can also get just plain green varieties too.
12:10One of my favourite plants is the homolina.
12:13It has these beautiful heart-shaped leaves that are deeply veined.
12:16Put it in a pot and leave it on your desk
12:18or put it on the floor and it will look perfect.
12:23Another favourite easy care plant of mine is the Diffenbachia.
12:27It has these large, lush leaves, beautifully patterned as well.
12:31If you really want impact, then go for a monstera.
12:34It has these large leaves with these fenestrations,
12:37these holes in the leaves,
12:39and they just make such a statement in your home.
12:42So those are some of the really easy care plants.
12:47But now, let's look at some that require a little more TLC.
12:53Rex begonias are showstoppers.
12:55One of my personal favourites is the Begonia escargot.
12:58It looks like a snail,
12:59and the leaves and the stems shimmer in the sunlight.
13:02Everyone makes a beeline for these plants at the local nursery,
13:05but they can be a little bit on the high-maintenance side.
13:08They love high humidity,
13:10and people tend to overwater as well.
13:12To create a high-humid environment,
13:14you can group them together like this,
13:16and this creates a lovely, lush microclimate
13:18that they can thrive in.
13:20Or else you can invest in a humidifier.
13:25Fiddleleaf figs are so popular.
13:27Much love for their large, leathery leaves
13:29and beautiful venations.
13:31But they can be a bit temperamental.
13:34And when you get them home,
13:35they can drop their leaves like that,
13:36and you end up with a sad-looking stick.
13:39All you need to do
13:40is make sure you give them the right environment.
13:42They need lots of bright light.
13:44Direct morning sun is OK,
13:45but definitely not the afternoon sun.
13:47And make sure you only water when the soil is near dry.
13:51One of the most common things
13:52that people do with all indoor plants is overwater.
13:55That's the biggest killer.
13:57If it's damp, leave it alone.
13:59And there's an easy way to tell if it needs water.
14:02Simply insert your finger into the potting mix.
14:06So it's a bit dry.
14:08And it needs a good water.
14:12When watering,
14:13make sure that it runs through the bottom of the drainage holes.
14:15That's how you know you've given it a good drink.
14:17Your pot plants are not just relying on you for water.
14:26It all starts with the soil.
14:31As a minimum for all your indoor plants,
14:33I recommend a premium potting mix.
14:35As for your aroids, like the Skindapsis here,
14:37I recommend making up your own mix.
14:39Aroids are one of the largest and most diverse plant families.
14:44And many of them are your common house plants.
14:46Like aglonoma, philodendron and monstera.
14:51Aroids really love moist but well draining soil.
14:54We have four parts of dampened perlite,
14:56great for aeration and drainage.
14:58Four parts orchid bark, also great for drainage.
15:01One part compost, which is great for organic matter.
15:05One part cocopeat, which will hold moisture,
15:08which they really love.
15:09And one part horticultural charcoal.
15:11This helps sweeten the soil and helps with drainage too.
15:15Check the Gardening Australia website
15:16for more specialised mixes you can make yourself.
15:21And of course, all plants need sunlight,
15:23so you need to take into account
15:24the different light zones at your place.
15:27Most house plants are happy in bright indirect light,
15:30like this philodendron, Brazil.
15:33This is one of my favourite plants.
15:34The brighter light you can give it,
15:36the brighter the variegation will be.
15:38You can put it in a hanging basket
15:39and allow the leaves to cascade over the side.
15:42Or you can put it near a wall
15:44and use little hooks so the vines can climb.
15:47It's a really versatile plant.
15:49I love it.
15:52For hotspots that get direct sun, try crotons.
15:55They have gorgeous tropical-style foliage
15:57that could be speckled or splashed
15:59with lots of colour.
16:03For areas at home with low light,
16:05my favourites are the cast iron plant
16:07for its elegant dark green leaves
16:09and Dracaena,
16:10because it looks like a little tree
16:11with a crown of green and gold foliage.
16:14And the other thing you can do,
16:15if sunshine is in short supply at your place,
16:17try having a go with artificial lights.
16:20I've brought my lampstand here from home.
16:23This is what I use.
16:24And while these lights are great for reading,
16:27they're not so much great for growing your plants.
16:29What you need is a full-spectrum light,
16:31one that has all the colours of the rainbow
16:33and mimics daylight.
16:35And really, you can experiment
16:37with lots of different artificial lighting.
16:39This one here, it's got a red light
16:41and red light is great for flowering.
16:43You can also find ones with a blue light
16:45and blue light helps promote vegetative growth.
16:48When using your lights, consider the distance.
16:50You want to keep it about 40 to 50 centimetres away
16:53from the light source.
16:54Otherwise, if it's too close, you risk burning the leaves.
16:57And there's no benefit to leaving your lights on 24-7
17:01because like us, plants kind of have a circadian rhythm
17:04so they need night time to rest.
17:06So make sure you turn your light off at night.
17:11At the end of the day,
17:12it's about providing a little bit of TLC to your plants
17:14but getting a lot back in return.
17:16Plants are so good for our wellbeing,
17:19so have fun growing.
17:27If I had my way,
17:33everyone would have one of these in their backyard.
17:36I mean, seriously,
17:38how satisfying is a backyard lemon tree?
17:42But the reality is,
17:44not everyone's garden has the space for a full-size tree.
17:49Sophie's meeting an expert on growing citrus in pots.
17:57You might remember I've recently visited Renmark
18:02on the Murray River
18:03for a masterclass with citrus expert Ian Tolley.
18:06I've come to see Ian again,
18:08this time about growing citrus in containers.
18:11The Great Australian Backyard is getting smaller and smaller,
18:14so this is an increasingly popular space-saving way to grow them.
18:18I love working in this.
18:20And look, while we're at it,
18:21let's sort this container size.
18:23100 litres, you're getting a bit too small.
18:26If you want to keep this in a continuous production area.
18:30I've got 250 litres.
18:32Safety in the volume of water I can store,
18:35safety in the heat I can absorb,
18:38the fertiliser regime.
18:40I can produce a really nice crop in that size container,
18:44or even bigger.
18:45Now, what about choosing varieties?
18:47Are there some better suited to container growing?
18:49None.
18:50They're all fine.
18:51Any variety that you want to consider, you can put in a container.
18:56The container will limit their size so you can handle it.
19:00You certainly don't need rootstocks.
19:02Dwarf rootstocks are great in the field,
19:05in a tight backyard or a front garden,
19:09where you're not going to use containers,
19:12and they will limit the size of the tree to about half size.
19:16So they're great.
19:17But in here, wasted effort, wasted time,
19:20just grow it in the container.
19:22Ian uses a radical planting method we saw
19:25the last time he was on the show.
19:27He washes the roots until they are bare
19:29and then spreads them out.
19:31He backfills until the tree's stem
19:33is at the same level relative to the potting mix
19:35that it was in the previous pot.
19:37The best time to plant is spring.
19:40Now, citrus are hungry plants
19:42and they rely on us for all their nutrients.
19:45How should we fertilise them when they're growing in containers?
19:48Oh, composted chicken manure.
19:51Most of the firms these days have it added with extra nutrients,
19:56just like this.
19:57That's what you want.
19:58And how often?
19:59Monthly.
20:00Okay.
20:01Always monthly.
20:02You don't know what the roots are doing.
20:04Put it there.
20:05Let them decide.
20:06And how much do you give a tree?
20:08How do you know how much to give?
20:10Well, look, use the manufacturer's recommendation,
20:13but always keep experimenting.
20:15Just keep adding a little bit, a little bit.
20:18And if you happen to burn the very tip of the leaf
20:20and it goes brown, you know you've reached a point
20:23where you're just about absolute maximum.
20:26So do experiment.
20:27But you're safer with chicken manure than the commercial NPKs
20:33with all their additives.
20:35Get that wrong, you could burn the tree.
20:37Okay.
20:38Now what about deficiencies?
20:39There's a tendency with citrus particular when they're cropping well,
20:43get a little bit short of zinc, a little bit short of manganese.
20:47You might even get to iron deficiency and then magnesium deficiency.
20:51Here's one here.
20:53That's a really typical magnesium deficiency problem.
20:58You can see the dagger.
21:00It's a description used worldwide.
21:02A green dagger from the petiole.
21:06And that's typical magnesium deficiency.
21:09If you think your citrus might have a deficiency,
21:12you'll find helpful tips on how to identify it
21:14on the Gardening Australia website.
21:17Now, what does Ian use to treat deficiencies?
21:21Chelating materials these days are freely available
21:24for your zinc, manganese, magnesium, iron.
21:29All of those are ground up so fine
21:32that when you spray them on the leaves,
21:34in fresh leaves, in young leaves,
21:37all that will go through the stomates.
21:39Tree picks it up quickly.
21:41You don't get that in fertiliser that you put on the roots.
21:45So we don't put it on the soil?
21:46No, it won't go into the soil.
21:49So you don't have to miss out on having citrus
21:52because your space is limited.
21:54Follow Ian's advice and put one in a pot.
21:57On the Gardening Australia website,
21:59you'll also find Ian talking about his solutions
22:02to common citrus pests and diseases.
22:05When you grow a garden, you're not just improving the space around you,
22:16the entire neighbourhood benefits.
22:19And that even includes those people that don't have the time or the space
22:24for a garden of their own.
22:26Our next story is with an urban planner,
22:29whose garden is a living, breathing example of all these benefits.
22:35What we do with our private land has more impact on the vitality of the public realm
22:48than anything government can do.
22:51I took down my own front fence, a sculpture garden,
22:57putting a drinking fountain for people going past, a book library, etc.
23:02And that was so well received that I decided that,
23:06considering my backyard faced onto a bike track,
23:09I would turn that into a public park.
23:11And here we are.
23:13What it gives back to me is a million times greater than what I've put into it.
23:19And I think that's what a lot of people miss,
23:21is it's the most sensible thing you could ever do.
23:26My name's David Engwich.
23:28I was born in Dolby.
23:30My dad then became an itinerant gospel preacher,
23:33so we travelled all over South East Queensland
23:36in a caravan and a gospel truck.
23:39New school every few weeks.
23:42So I was the perpetual outsider.
23:45Then I moved to Brisbane to start my apprenticeship when I was 16.
23:49And I've been here more or less ever since.
23:52I was cleaning windows for a living in 1987
23:56when the highway department decided to widen the road just out here.
24:01I became involved in the community group
24:03that was set up to fight that proposal.
24:06And that was what got me first interested in urban design
24:10and the impact that urban design has on community life.
24:16I wrote a little book that took off all over the world as part of our campaign.
24:21The next thing I was travelling the world as some kind of guru
24:24on community development, urban design, transport.
24:28And then I decided to stop being a theoretician
24:31and actually start to create great public spaces.
24:35The very first thing I did was take down the fence.
24:38Then I changed the levels and blurred the boundary between the footpath and my front yard
24:45so you could no longer tell where one began and the other ended.
24:48I had the idea of columns as part of looking like some ancient ruins.
24:53Some people think they're Greek columns but if you look carefully
24:56you know they've got more of an Asian feel to them
24:59than a classical Greek feel or whatever.
25:02So this backyard was just a weed patch.
25:05In fact I've got letters from the council telling me
25:08that if I didn't fix it up within two weeks that I'd get a fine.
25:12So I was pretty poor at looking after my own backyard.
25:15Oh, it's a rickety one.
25:17The very first thing I did even before I built the deck
25:20is I built the steps from the bike track up
25:23and people going past were going,
25:25Oh my God, are you inviting us to come in?
25:28And they said absolutely.
25:30This is called Servosity Park.
25:33We're actually on Google Maps now.
25:35Servosity is a name I invented some time back
25:39and it was a combination of civility and generosity.
25:45And when I'd built the park my daughter said to me,
25:48Dad, you need to give it a name.
25:50And she said, why don't you call it Servosity Park?
25:52And I'm, well, it's perfect, you know.
25:54It's about civility and it's about generosity.
25:58Didn't really know whether or not it was something
26:00that would be embraced by the community.
26:02It's a bit of an unusual idea,
26:04using private land for public good.
26:07You can hear kids laughing constantly,
26:10you can hear kids splashing in the water,
26:13families enjoying it,
26:14bike riders stopping to have a rest.
26:17It actually gives me a sense of pride and joy,
26:20knowing that this is something that David's done
26:22for no other reason other than to give back to the community.
26:26I've had visitors at one o'clock in the morning.
26:30It's different cohorts at different times of the day, you know,
26:34so mornings tends to be grandparents and young toddlers.
26:39I actually think it's even more beautiful at night time
26:43because everything's up lit.
26:44It's kind of like that magical...
26:45Yes.
26:46..fairy feel to it.
26:47Yes.
26:48Early evening might be somebody bringing their international visitor down
26:54with a bottle of wine and some cheese,
26:56and then later in the evening it's young people.
27:02Three o'clock in the afternoon it'll be, you know,
27:05I have one of the high school students
27:07who calls in almost every afternoon on his way home from school.
27:10Hello.
27:11Aidan.
27:12Great to see you.
27:13Hi.
27:14Good to see you as well.
27:15Yeah.
27:16Yeah.
27:17Your creek is really amazing.
27:19I've always loved creeks and waterways
27:21and I've always planted one in my garden,
27:23so this one's really lovely and all the landscaping
27:26you've done around it as well.
27:28Yeah.
27:29So the fern trees I actually planted about eight years ago
27:33and I just plonked them into the weed patch
27:35because I love fern trees.
27:37Some of them died because I wasn't really looking after them.
27:40The rest of the plants, I just went to a nursery
27:44and I'd read the label, you know, like sunny or shady
27:50and it's all experimentation.
27:52I'd probably lose 50% of what I plant
27:55because it's the wrong thing in the wrong spot.
27:58I'm a great example of what can be achieved
28:00by a very, very novice gardener.
28:04I'm a great believer that design should evolve
28:07rather than be master planned.
28:10So this fence came about when an artist arrived one day
28:13and said, what can I do to help?
28:16So I hadn't planned to do anything with the fence,
28:19but we sat down and we designed this mural together
28:22and then other artists have since come along
28:25and donated things like the bee.
28:27I got inspired to make the tree that's carved out of polystyrene
28:31and then coated with a concrete render.
28:33So it's another one of those things in the garden
28:36that was never ever planned.
28:37It just spontaneously happened.
28:40This is my latest project.
28:46The cubby house deck will get extended along.
28:49We'll put some seats under the mushrooms
28:52and hopefully this will be another little magic space
28:55for kids to come.
28:56I'm going to build a bridge to here
28:58because kids will then be able to have a little mini circuit here
29:02across the two bridges.
29:04He is an exceptional artist.
29:07Everything he does is self-taught,
29:09whether it be the carpentry work, the sculptural work,
29:13the painting work,
29:14all of it are skills that he has learned
29:16and adapted for this particular space.
29:19I feel so lucky to be a part of it.
29:24We can all take responsibility
29:26for creating that sense of community that we all hanker for.
29:31Put a couple of pot plants out,
29:34create a little sitting nook.
29:35If you're an artist, do some art,
29:38whatever it happens to be,
29:40but re-humanise the space in front of your house
29:44and send the message that community matters,
29:46neighbourhood matters.
29:51Still to come on Gardening Australia,
29:54Josh hits up Hydro Heaven in a converted driveway.
29:58Millie has a one-pot wonder.
30:02And we meet a man living the suburban gardening dream.
30:12When designing gardens, there are always restrictions.
30:16But rather than being an issue,
30:18limitations actually set off the problem-solving wheels in my head.
30:23Courtyards are a great example
30:25and Jane's visiting one that shows us
30:28just how much you can do in a small space.
30:43Just because you're gardening in a small space
30:45doesn't mean that you can't think big.
30:48And that's exactly what's happening
30:50in a tiny courtyard garden in suburban Melbourne
30:54that's being transformed by a gardener with big ideas.
30:58Jenny Downs.
31:04So when you came here, you found disadvantages,
31:06but certain advantages of living in a smaller space.
31:09Yes, the proximity of the plants means that you actually are closer to nature
31:15and you can see things that you wouldn't perhaps notice in a bigger garden
31:20and it's really quite interesting.
31:23It is frustrating, though, that you have to limit your garden palette
31:27in terms of the size of the plants.
31:29But I find it creative to use them in another way,
31:33to try and create a rainforest sort of effect.
31:36If you can use plants to do a job like that, it's wonderful.
31:44This area, I wanted to have a separate decking area,
31:49but I also wanted to have a destination to go to.
31:52So what you see isn't necessarily all there is.
31:57I wanted to be able to walk into the garden
32:00and have a bit of an adventure as well.
32:03I wanted to be sick and dense.
32:05Also, I wanted to block a few ugly views as well.
32:08Yes. So that's what the crape myrtles are doing.
32:10Yes, the crape myrtle.
32:11It loses its leaves,
32:13but the camellias that have been freed up and are growing up,
32:16they'll cover that space for me.
32:19And at the back there, the whole way round,
32:21have you got camellia hedged?
32:23Yes. I wanted a little forest.
32:26And, of course, this beautiful maple tree.
32:29Yes, that's really one of the features.
32:32I just love that dissection.
32:34It's so beautiful.
32:35It's beautiful.
32:36I think it's one of the most attractive Japanese maples
32:40because it's got such a lacy, beautiful foliage.
32:43It's just gorgeous.
32:45This is such a nice little nook,
32:54and I really think seating is so important in the garden.
32:57If you don't have a seat,
32:59you're just going to keep working all the time.
33:01That's absolutely right.
33:03We often come out here, have a coffee, read a book,
33:06just watch the birds.
33:07But you've cunningly, cunningly created this little area
33:11because it's not just a seating area,
33:13it's your clothesline.
33:14It is. It's a fixed object.
33:16I couldn't hang it anywhere else.
33:18There wasn't enough room.
33:20So I thought, well, how do I disguise it?
33:22So there's a cover over it.
33:24I can still dry my clothes.
33:26But also your plants.
33:27I like what you've got.
33:28You've got the hoyers hanging up.
33:29Yes.
33:30I've had to use plants which are light in their pots
33:34because otherwise I wouldn't want the weight of it
33:36pulling down the side of the washing line.
33:38So hoyer's a good plant for that.
33:40And also by using something like that,
33:43you can disguise the washing line itself.
33:47When you have an almost empty space,
33:59it can be hard to know where to start.
34:01But Jenny went from bland to beautiful
34:04by taking her design cues from nature.
34:07This is my creek bed.
34:09When I first arrived, it was a new build.
34:11So this little area, tiny though it is,
34:14it's got sort of a self-contained feeling to it.
34:17And why have you done it like this though?
34:19I want it to be able to be visible from here
34:21so that you can look down and see the plants.
34:23And hopefully when these grow up and these grow up,
34:26you'll actually be doing a forest walk.
34:29In addition to the main garden area,
34:32there are several other small and narrow spaces.
34:36One features a wall of epiphytes in pots
34:39hanging on a frame on the side fence.
34:42This is such a narrow space, isn't it,
34:44between house and the fence?
34:45It is, but it shows you can do a lot with plants
34:50to cover the wall and to keep your house cool
34:54and get variety of planting in as well.
34:57Well, it's a whole green wall filled with plants
35:00that are literally just hanging in pots
35:02and you've got such a lot of variety, like this one.
35:05Yes, the ripsalis.
35:07It's a great one to have because in a green wall
35:11it helps you to blend plants in.
35:13Yeah.
35:14I love the zygocactus.
35:15The flowers are just beautiful and lovely to watch.
35:17And it's going to have flowers for ages.
35:19Yes.
35:20Look at the buds coming on it.
35:21It's a real treat.
35:22And this is a treat.
35:23Isn't it gorgeous?
35:24Oh, another rat's tail, ripsalis.
35:26It's amazing that they flower.
35:27Look at these tiny little things.
35:29They're just gorgeous.
35:30Yeah, that's going to be a mass of flowers.
35:32Yes.
35:33And all of these are epiphytes.
35:34They are.
35:35They're just hanging down.
35:36It brings the outside in
35:37and it's just really relaxing to be able to see this
35:41and it brings the nature into the house.
35:51Another Jenny calls the bayou because of the old man's beard dangling over a seating area.
35:58On the far side of the unit, Jenny has squeezed even more plants into a very narrow walkway.
36:04This baby tears is good in a small area, isn't it?
36:07It's great.
36:08It just manages itself really.
36:10And if you run over the pavers, just pull it off and that's it.
36:13Done.
36:14And this one, this is terrific.
36:15You don't often see a tea tree doing that.
36:17No, it's been sort of a spaliate along the fence, but I also like to let it run a little bit loose
36:22because it's got a nice weeping habit.
36:24Which one is it?
36:25That's Leptospermum starry night.
36:27And the beauty is you using the fence again.
36:29Yes, yes.
36:30You have to because it's such a narrow space and you've got to manage the plants in a way that
36:36they're probably not growing the way they would, but you can make them do different things.
36:40Jenny shows that you don't need to be limited by a small space.
36:46But instead use it as an inspiration to bigger and better things.
36:52It doesn't matter how small your space is.
36:55Your garden is whatever your imagination desires.
37:00It's just, if you want it, you can do it.
37:16You can grow plants just about anywhere, but there's a few givens.
37:24You need water.
37:25You need a source of light.
37:27But what if there's no soil?
37:29Well, Josh is visiting a veggie garden that's proving sometimes you need to think outside the box.
37:36This is certainly one of the more unusual veggie gardens that I've visited.
37:48It's the driveway garden of Brian Bullock, a mad keen hydroponics grower.
37:55Hydroponics is growing plants in water without soil and the fertiliser is added to the water.
38:05Obviously it's growing well.
38:06Yeah, it's really productive because the fertiliser is in liquid form so the plants are able to take it up
38:12and it's optimised to the particular vegetables and to what they need,
38:17and even at different stages of growth.
38:19Brian is growing all sorts of produce on a very small footprint,
38:24which has allowed him to overcome a lack of garden space for a traditional veggie patch.
38:30What are the advantages of growing hydroponically compared to soil-based gardening?
38:34Well, you don't need a garden.
38:36If you've got a concrete block or you've got a small area on a fence or something like that,
38:41you can utilise that space.
38:42You can grow vertically.
38:44You're saving on water.
38:45You're using 20% of the water you would use in a traditional soil garden.
38:49You're saving on fertiliser.
38:51Because the fertiliser is contained within the system,
38:54it's not leaching away into the water table.
38:56You're using it fully.
38:57And you get accelerated growth because the fertiliser is blended to target the plants.
39:03Just what they need.
39:04Nothing more, nothing less.
39:05So they're always at optimum, as you can see.
39:08You know, these leaves are perfect.
39:10If the plants aren't growing in soil, what do they get their roots into?
39:14OK, we just need to hold them in a media.
39:16In this case, I'm using expanded clay.
39:18But you could use gravel or perlite or vermiculite or a rock-wool block.
39:23And you just need something to anchor the plant in to hold it there.
39:27And that won't break down?
39:28Yeah.
39:29Inert and stable.
39:31And so, you know, people use pea gravel, or that's very cost-effective,
39:36or this expanded clay.
39:37You can reuse this, just wash it out and reuse it over and over.
39:40Brian's hydroponic garden is a classic DIY project.
39:47Made from found and secondhand parts, it's very low cost.
39:52The main thing to keep in mind is to use food-grade parts
39:56and regularly check the concentration of nutrients and pH level in the system
40:01so that plants are getting exactly what they need to flourish.
40:04Take a water sample.
40:06Brian checks his daily.
40:07Which is around about six. That's perfect.
40:10There are a number of growing methods to explore as well.
40:13This set-up is called the Dutch Bucket Method.
40:17Take us through the basic process of a system like this.
40:21Okay, so you've got a reservoir or a drum to hold the nutrient solution,
40:26and then we're pumping it up through this black line here.
40:29I'll put two drippers in each bucket,
40:31and then it returns through the tap hole in the bottom.
40:35And in this case, we've layered it,
40:36so we're utilising that water again for this system,
40:40and then this returns and down into the drum,
40:43and it just pumps around.
40:45Are these containers easy to plant up?
40:47Very easy to plant.
40:48If you want to help me, we'll plant this one up now.
40:51Okay, I'll grab this.
40:52I'll just use this net pot to screen the hole.
40:54If you could just pour some stones in there, please.
40:56Sure.
41:02There they are.
41:04So I've got these broccoli here I was going to plant in here.
41:08And how many would go into a container of this size?
41:11I like to put two.
41:12Like one in each corner is a good thing here.
41:15So I'll just dig a hole.
41:21Is there enough moisture there to prevent transplant shock?
41:23What I'll do now is I'll water them in,
41:26and then I'll check them tomorrow morning or something.
41:29If they look like they're a little bit thirsty,
41:31I'll give them a little bit more,
41:32and then within three days their roots will be down
41:34and they'll be doing fine.
41:36That'll do.
41:38And that's it?
41:39We're growing broccoli.
41:41The Dutch bucket way?
41:42Yeah.
41:43If you're growing two broccoli, they'll be fantastic.
41:45The broccoli are up and running in the Dutch bucket.
41:48But there's an even simpler passive system
41:51that even the most novice gardener could try.
41:54It's called the Kratke method.
41:56Oh, wow!
41:57Look at that root mass.
41:58Yeah, look how healthy it is.
42:00We're just starting with a bucket and a lid.
42:04We cut a hole in it here so that this goes through.
42:08And what I do is I put a drain hole level
42:11with the bottom of the net pot on each side
42:13so we can't overfill it.
42:15And if it rains, the rain won't drown the plant.
42:19And so you just plant...
42:22In this case, we've got celery,
42:24so we just plant our celery into there
42:26and we water it from the top like this.
42:29With your nutrient-rich...
42:31With the nutrients, full-strength nutrients.
42:34So we water it from the top.
42:36OK.
42:37One of the size of film?
42:38Yeah.
42:39It'll come out the side.
42:40So once the roots are into the nutrient,
42:42you only need to top it up like once a week
42:45or once every two weeks, depending on the weather.
42:47Does it go stagnant?
42:49In warm weather,
42:51this is not suited for really hot weather.
42:53It does go stagnant, yeah.
42:54That's why I like to grow Kratky
42:56with the Kratky method in winter only.
42:58OK.
42:59But you can grow in summer, but it's tricky.
43:01And perfect for things like celery
43:03that don't mind wet feet.
43:04Yeah.
43:05Celery just loves this.
43:07Making the use of vertical spaces
43:09is a real advantage of hydroponic growing
43:12that I love.
43:13Imagine the possibility of using walls
43:16and fences to grow food.
43:18This looks like a good space saver.
43:20This is great.
43:22So we'll build it on a vertical system.
43:24What we do is we pump up to the top
43:26and the nutrients go around the system
43:29and gravity takes them back to the reservoir
43:33and we just pump that around.
43:35And the plants are planted into these net pots.
43:37What we do is by cutting a piece of plastic
43:43and gluing it out like that,
43:45we can keep the nutrient level at the right level.
43:49So even when the system is off,
43:51the plants are just touching the nutrients.
43:54I see.
43:55So they've got their feet wet.
43:57Very neat.
43:58And I guess you could grow picking greens,
44:00cucumbers, anything like that?
44:02Yeah, for sure.
44:03You can grow lots of smaller plants.
44:05This system's fantastic for them.
44:07And great for up against a fence.
44:08I reckon I've got just the spot at my place
44:11to try something like this.
44:12Yeah.
44:13In an urban environment where your space is limited,
44:15you know, this makes great use of it.
44:17Great use of the space.
44:19I've got another project.
44:20Fantastic.
44:21Hydroponics really makes sense for growing food
44:24where space is limited.
44:26And as you can see, the results can be really impressive
44:30and as Brian knows, highly addictive.
44:33You can grow pretty much any sort of food.
44:35Obviously, you're not going to grow a field of wheat
44:38or a field of barley,
44:40but for your homegrown vegetables,
44:42you can grow pretty much everything in hydroponics
44:44via a different message, you know?
44:46And you have fun doing it?
44:47Oh, a lot of fun.
44:48Yeah, it's so productive.
44:49You come home and you can just see the growth
44:51every day in the plants.
45:03Weeds are a scourge in almost every garden.
45:08They pop up all over the place
45:10and you can spend loads of time and energy getting rid of them.
45:14But they are also a really great resource.
45:17Like other organic materials, weeds are chockers with nutrients.
45:20So today, I'm going to show you a really lazy way
45:23to put them to work.
45:24To do this, I'm making some in-ground compost tubes
45:28from PVC pipe.
45:30I'm drilling holes along the length
45:34to allow the worms and other microorganisms
45:37easy access to the weeds.
45:41Well, that looks about right.
45:43Now all I've got to do is get it in the ground.
45:52To ensure the weeds can't escape while they decompose,
45:55bury them deep.
45:56I'm going about 50 centimetres down.
46:00Hello, baby.
46:02Hi.
46:07So I've put that in,
46:08so it's essentially flush with the surface of the soil.
46:10I want it to disappear in the garden.
46:12I'm going to backfill around it with some soil
46:14to make sure it's making contact with the pipe.
46:23Of course, this little system won't deal with big piles of weeds.
46:26What I'm planning to do is put them all around the garden.
46:28So whenever I find a single weed,
46:30I can actually just chuck it straight in
46:32and deal with it where it lies.
46:35This system isn't just for weeds.
46:37You can compost any of your organic waste this way.
46:41And then, to stop them photosynthesising,
46:43which means living,
46:44I'm going to put the lid on.
46:46And they can rot away in peace.
46:48If you've got children in your life, you know there's nothing better than getting them out into the garden.
47:02It's not just about growing plants.
47:04It's about growing a hobby and, more so, a connection to the natural world that will stay with them for life.
47:11Our next story is with a family from Melbourne's west who's doing exactly that in a typical suburban backyard.
47:19I'm Raf. I live in the western suburbs of Melbourne with my wife and two kids.
47:32This is Jasmine and Asher is six weeks old.
47:35And we just love growing our own fruit and veggies in our backyard.
47:43Do you like growing your own fruit and veggies?
47:45Yeah.
47:46What do we grow?
47:47What do we grow?
47:48Tomatoes.
47:49Yeah.
47:50Pears.
47:51Yes.
47:52Lemons.
47:55What about apples?
47:56Apples.
47:57Yeah.
47:58Egg and tomato.
48:00Yeah, okay.
48:01When Jasmine is playing here and, you know, I think first thing is I become a kid as well with her, which is what I love and she loves that as well.
48:11I think my biggest motivation comes from my dad and the memories he created when I was a child.
48:18I remember he loved gardening and I feel like just doing this part right now is just reminding me of those memories, my time spent with my dad.
48:27And my dad used to have like this massive structure for the climber plants to grow on it.
48:32And I remember just going underneath that structure and this plant, the veggies are just hanging and he just like picking them.
48:38So those are the kind of memories I remember.
48:43When I'm out here by myself, I really enjoy going through the garden and just seeing the different stages each plant is in.
48:50I want to be able to know what's happening with every single plant in my garden.
48:55If I don't come to the garden for a week, I'm very disconnected.
48:59It's not that big, it's a compact garden, but almost got everything I can think of.
49:06This part of the garden was all weeds, to be honest, to start with.
49:10Just cleared up literally three by two area and just put one garden bed in there, everything else was still weeds.
49:16I started enjoying that and then I got into it and then I put another bed in there and then another bed in there.
49:22And eventually over time, everything was all nice and clean and just full of garden beds.
49:26So this lemon tree is five years old, the pear tree over there is about four years old.
49:35Same with the apple tree as well, they're similar age as well.
49:38So first year, no food at all.
49:40Second year was probably half of that and this year is loaded with food.
49:45And the size has gone like literally double to triple every year.
49:49This is one of the most successful veggies I've grown actually this summer.
49:53Like there's one over here.
49:56This is my first pumpkin of this wine.
49:58And then it just kind of stopped.
50:00I thought that was it.
50:01But then I just topped it up with compost and manure and it just kicked off again.
50:06And then I decided to grow vertically.
50:08So there's two here, one pumpkin here.
50:11So there's few along the line here.
50:13I'm expecting at least like 10 to 15 pumpkins of just this one wine.
50:17I prefer growing a lot of like pumpkins and potatoes, onions, that kind of stuff,
50:21because they're so easy to store.
50:23Put them in a cardboard box or something, just a dark place.
50:26And garage is perfect place for that.
50:28So these pumpkins are going to last us for the whole year.
50:33Last summer, I had four tomato plants.
50:36Two of them were cherry tomatoes, the little ones, and two of them big ones.
50:39That's all I knew.
50:40Like these are, there are little tomatoes, there are big tomatoes.
50:41That's what you get from supermarkets, right?
50:43And then just following the Instagram and following other people,
50:46made me realise there are 100, more than 100 varieties of tomatoes.
50:49So they ended up growing like, I think 17 different varieties this summer.
50:54And probably too much actually.
50:56I may not grow 17 next year.
50:58But that's enough.
50:59But there are so many other different types of like cucumbers, for example.
51:03I just knew that it's just those long cucumbers.
51:06There's like all different varieties like out there.
51:08So I've grown lots of new varieties and I kind of like ticking it up,
51:11putting it in my notebook, what I'm growing next year.
51:13What's the best one, you know, with good flavour and all.
51:16And then there's another one, African horn cucumber.
51:19I'm going to try it for the first time as well.
51:21So as you can see on this one here, it's really, really spiky.
51:25If you touch it, it probably could hurt yourself.
51:27But anyway, this one is not ready yet.
51:29It's turning, it's turning a bit yellow on this side.
51:31So once the whole fruit is yellow, so I've watched some videos online.
51:35That's kind of how I learn anyway.
51:36I'm not genius.
51:37I don't know everything.
51:38So I watched some videos.
51:39So they basically cut the fruit in half, get a spoon and just squish the inside bit
51:43and just have it like that.
51:44But this is one of the interesting veggies I've grown this summer.
51:48Before I started using social media myself, I used to just think it as like people putting photos up
51:53and that's pretty much it.
51:54But after you actually start using social media properly, you realise it's not just putting a photo on.
51:59It's actually sharing your experiences with other people.
52:02You don't know what you're doing wrong unless you then see someone else putting a post about it
52:06and then you're like, wow, I should be doing that as well.
52:09And it really excites you.
52:11And then you do something in your garden and it works and you want to share it with other people as well.
52:14I think that's what it is.
52:15It's really beautiful.
52:16One of the things I got help with was this lemon tree.
52:20Looks great, lots of fruit on it.
52:23But if you see all the leaves, they are going yellow.
52:26The issue with this tree was deficiency, nutrient deficiency.
52:30And because I never really looked after this tree before properly,
52:33so the suggestions were lots of compost, blood and bone,
52:37and then cover it with the mulch, thick mulch.
52:40So it is still getting better.
52:41There's a lot of new leafs coming out, growth happening,
52:44but it might take some time to actually recover from the deficiencies.
52:50I would say I am still a beginner.
52:52Like I've tried so many things, but there is so much more to learn as well at the same time.
53:00It's like a little heaven, little getaway from your day-to-day life.
53:03As soon as you step into my garden, you'll forget about the other stuff.
53:07You'll forget about the stress you have.
53:09And I'm sure by bringing Jasmine and our kids Asher into the gardening,
53:15this life as well, just teaching them these moments,
53:18the food we eat, how we eat, where it comes from,
53:21and just these little games we play together in the garden,
53:24I think these are the memories they're going to remember when they grow up.
53:28Gardening will always be on the agenda, always.
53:31You know what they say?
53:46Move it or lose it.
53:48Your jobs for the weekend are here.
53:50In cool areas, now the weather's warming up, you can top up your mulch.
54:00Layer five centimetres deep and water it down so it's able to capture the next rain.
54:06Get your zucchinis going.
54:08Pick a sunny spot, loosen the soil with a fork,
54:11then plant seeds into raised mounds.
54:14Keep soil moist and give them space to sprawl.
54:18Seedlings raised in controlled conditions are ready to harden off.
54:23Give them a week or two to adjust to the outdoors before planting outside.
54:28In warm temperate areas, pollinated almonds are now dropping petals and forming fuzzy fruits.
54:35Add a dose of cow manure and water weekly for a cracker crop.
54:40Install a protection cover for leafy greens that like part shade and don't like drying out,
54:46such as lettuce, spinach and kale.
54:50Harvest some healthy herbs for your chooks.
54:53Wormwood, mint and lavender can deter critters and keep the ladies calm on the farm.
54:59In subtropical areas, non-invasive clumping bamboo can be tamed now.
55:05Cut old canes right at the base to keep contained.
55:09Sprout seeds like alfalfa or mustard for a quick food fix.
55:14Keep seeds upside down in a fabric covered jar and rinse with water daily.
55:20Scrub turkeys are building nests and that makes free compost when they move on.
55:26Grow in raised beds to protect your plants.
55:29If they can't see it, they can't scratch it.
55:32Arbukina olives are great in the tropics.
55:36Now's the time to give the internal shoots a trim to help increase the airflow.
55:42Beetle leaf pepper will be growing prolifically now.
55:46Pick young leaves for use in salads and larger leaves for soups and curries.
55:52Baby banana shoots can be lifted and replanted.
55:55Use a shovel to separate suckers, bury in fertile soil and layer with mulch.
56:03In arid areas, rock-loving petrophile species piximops can be planted in a dry sunny environment
56:11to provide habitat and food for nectar eaters.
56:15Before the rain sweeps over the tropics, install a rain drain trench with an ag pipe
56:21to help direct water flow.
56:23Mirepoix is the fancy word for celery and carrots, which can both be planted now from seed.
56:30Bung in some compost and sand for rich, free-draining soil.
56:35Well, there's plenty in there to get you started.
56:39And when you're ready for a cuppa, be sure to catch up on ABC iview.
56:44Well, that's all we've got time for this week, but we've got plenty lined up for when we meet again.
56:57Check this out.
56:59I'm in an organic food forest near Port Douglas, where two chefs are working with the tropical climate to grow South East Asian staples.
57:08I'm checking out a golf club in coastal Adelaide, where alongside the perfectly manicured tees, greens and fairways,
57:15there's an amazing array of native plants, birds and insects.
57:21And we meet a plant collector who's unleashing the dragon.
57:25This tree is so mysterious, not only for me, but also for botany, for science.
57:34Thank you, Earth,colorg has a unique map?
57:35It's horizon for us!
57:36Worth it!
57:37It is.
57:38OK, it will.
57:40I'm a opera specialist Oh, indeed.
57:42Thanks, Juliet, and I'll see you.
57:43Mmmm.
57:44I'm a Tonytor, the η”°μ•ˆ, beginner's всё With the Greatest Letters.
57:46You can always say more or more.
57:47Perfect.
57:48What about it?
57:49Interesting.
57:50You can always say you Can see me on my essay where I'm going,
57:55ok.
57:56So I'm happy to meet youβ€”
57:57I'm happy to always say for you,
57:58to set up the book,
57:59try to do it into a dozen as a good place.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment

Recommended