More Birds in the Garden

STAY TUNED TO 2RRR 88.5 FM  Sydney Garden Talk on Saturdays 12noon-1pm
Today's program was all about Pidding Park In Ryde, and how bushcare volunteers have worked to make it the best buhcare site in the Ryde Spring Garden competition. Join you local bushcare group now and make a difference.
For more information contact:Ryde Council Bushcare Officer :Sandra Payne:Ph: 9952 822
Vegetable Hero:Beetroot-grow some now, soak in a shallow saucer of water overnight then sow about 1cm deep.Harvest when about 3cm in diameter for tender tasty beets or no later than 7.5cm in diameter. Keep up the water otherwise they will be tough and woody.
Plant of the week:Jacaranda mimosifolia. Prune dead and crossing branches right back to the trunk so that the suckers don't spring out from the cut. Flowering late October through November. Comes in white as well. Suitable for big gardens.
Australian Conservation Foundation is holding a meeting for Lane Cove residents on Thursday 12th November. RSVP on 1800 223 669
Recycle your electronic waste 9-4pm on Saturday 14th at Willoughby Leisure Centre, 4 Small Street Willoughby.

Festival of the Olive

The image on the right is my amazing African Violet in the special plastic pot for such plants.
TODAY'S PROGRAM 2RRR 88.5 FM Saturdays 12noon-1pm
After interviewing the head gardener, Dave Grey, of Historic Houses Trust, we headed of to Elizabeth Farm for some olive tasting. I've decided the olive growing in Sydney is frought with problems. Best to buy fresh from local produce markets, but if you want to give it a go, here's that recipe.
By the way, the oldest olive tree in Elixabeth farm is actually dead, but has resprouted. The 500 cuttings taken from the tree to try and preserve the genetic link only resulted in 2 surviving. One was planted at Elizabeth Farm, and the other at Vaucluse House in the kitchen garden.
The recipe for olives in Brine is
Make a slit in each olive or crack each one open carefully with a wooden mallet.
•Put the olives in a large bowl and cover with water.
•Change the water daily for two weeks to extract the bitterness and make the olives "sweet".
•After 14 days, drain the olives and place in a solution of brine made with 100g salt/1 litre water for every kilo of olives - leave for 2 days.
•Drain again and place in a solution of vinegar and water made with 1 part water to 4 parts vinegar for a further two days.
•Finally, drain the olives again and store them in olive oil and herbs of your choice OR a mix of 3 parts brine (made as above) to 1 part vinegar covered with a layer of oil
The other topic on the show was growing Bromeliads. Ken from the Bromeliad Society gives tips on how not to kill the plants. DON'T OVERWATER. The next Bromeliad show is not till April in 2010!
But they have monthly meetings, 2nd Tuesday of every month, so why not join?
http://www.bromsocnsw.org.au/

Plant of the week is the rose. Next week is top 5 roses.

Rose Spray recipe:
3 tsps Bi-Carb Soda
2 Tablespoons horticultural oil.
4 and 1/2 litres of water.
Mix and spray fortnightly on roses to prevent black spot and powdery mildew.

Granny Smith Festival Day

Today's program  featured the CEO for Smart Approved Water Mark. Go to http://www.smartwatermark.com/ to use the water use calculator.Michael from Eden gardens gave some beaut descriptions of the 1st and 2nd place getters for the Ryde Spring garden competition. It seems judges are looking for a unified theme. Stuff your garden with as many plants as possible. Don't mix and match plants from tropical and cottage garden themes. Don't have any weeds, and manicure your plants to blazes.

The vegetable hero, was in fact the Granny Smith Apple. Needs winter chilling of 400 hours (below 7 deg. C) to grow successfully. This also applies to Pink Lady and Pinkerbelle apple trees. You also need two trees for pollination to occur.

My tip: leave the apple growing to Bilpin growers and buy your fruit from the organic markets.

Plant of the week:Grevilleas-any. (Pictured)

Put in the new hybrids Grevillea Lady O and the ground cover one G. Lemon Gem. Or stick to traditional good doers like G. Moonlight, G. Superb and G. Ned Kelly. Prune these larger grevilleas to keep them looking good in your garden.

Listen to 2RRR 88.5 FM on Saturdays 12noon-1pm. email your gardening question: sydneygardentalk@gmail.com