Ornamental grasses are an excellent way to add height, movement, colour and contrast to your year round landscape. This week we hear about some of Keith’s favourite varieties and how to incorporate them into your garden. Most grasses are easy to grow and require minimal attention provided they have reasonable soil. Preferring full sun but some will tolerate part shade. Once established they are drought tolerant and rarely prone to pests or disease. Keith recommends cutting grasses back almost to the ground at the end of winter. Can be then easily divided by digging up and dividing with sharp s ..read more

Mid July and half way through Winter. Plenty of jobs to prepare for the Spring season ahead! Get your soil into great shape - add compost (Keith recommends Clyde's Compost), Munash Rock Dust, MycoGold (added at time of planting) and mulch. Add products like Blood & Bone manure and Rooster Booster now as these take some months to take effect Good time to plant and/or fertilise brassicas. Feed with liquid fertliser like Charlie Carp or Power Feed now to optimise growth. Still time to plant cabbages, lettuce, radish, turnips, peas, beans and herbs Clean up your tools - scrub off rust, sharpe ..read more

We know from Keith’s Instagram that he visited the Agrarian Kitchen at Willow Court in Tasmania. Today we hear from Rodney Dunn, the brainchild behind the Agrarian Kitchen - a restaurant, cooking school and garden set in New Norfolk, Tasmania. The kitchen garden is at the centre of everything that happens at the Agrarian Kitchen with fresh produce being grown and harvested to support the cooking school, restaurant and function venue set  Keith applauds the companion planting approach used in the garden to promote continuity of supply over the year. The 5000m vegetable garden is set in wha ..read more

Q&A time again! Who will be this month’s lucky winner of the fabulous prize donated by The Plant Runner? Unwanted grass coming up in garden beds try either organic Slasher or the less toxic version of Roundup now available called Roundup Natural Nectarine with gumosis seems unusual to Keith! Possibly grafted onto an unsuitable rootstock? Pots with wheels! A great idea to enable moving them around with the seasons. Check out Omnia Plant Gliders. Potting mix should be replaced every 3-5 years Pruning crepe myrtle - cut back by ⅓ in Winter months Dahlia tubers only need to be dug up if you a ..read more

Landscaping a garden can be overwhelming. Where to start? What to consider? This week, Keith gives us some practical advice. Steps to follow: Start with a ‘wish list’ - consider how you would ideally want to use the space. Do you want a BBQ, a pool, outdoor seating, a pond, vegetable garden etc. Look at the paved areas - do you want decking, paving, granitic sand etc.  Start a Pinterest Board can be a great way to explore what you like and compile your ideas. Consider zones including those that you don’t want to be seen (utility area, clothes line etc) Create your plan (or employ a lands ..read more

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots! Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook ..read more

Struggling to have enough pockets for your secateurs, phone, seed packets etc while you're working in the garden? Well this week we meet Sahra Dixon, who has the solution! Le Sac is a gardening belt designed to be both practical and stylish. Cotton/canvas, machine washable, built for comfort with plenty of pockets for your gardening essentials (even a pocket for your Airpods!). Affordable at $75.95 Find out also about Sahra's other venture - The Wool Shed. The Wool Shed is an intimate, farm-to-table experience, situated on a working farm in Burragate on the far South Coast of New South Wales ..read more

Q&A time again! Who will be this month’s lucky winner of the fabulous prize donated by The Plant Runner? Lemon tree with droopy branches from so much fruit? 4 stakes and lightly tying the branches to support them, could help here. Alternatively, remove some of the fruit Cut flower bed in a raised bed - Keith recommends a wild flower mix. Look at The Seed Collection  Direct or pre-propagate in a greenhouse? Check the seed pack. Peas, beans etc can be sown directly Hibiscus rubra with spots and holes. Could be metallic flea beetle. Treat with ECO Neem and Eco Oil (including the soil an ..read more

Citrus trees - a complex and needy tree to grow but worth it when you are well rewarded with abundant fruit. We have regularly discussed their heavy feeding requirements and the long list of pests that can cause problems. Today, instead, we are discussing “root stock”. Grafting is bringing a tree with good root structure together with best the quality and size of fruit. Rootstock is grown then the trunk is cut above the ground and the desired fruiting tree is grafted onto this trunk.  The most common root stock is Trifoliata due to its smaller size, disease resistance and tolerance to col ..read more

Whether you have a large rural garden or a small city balcony, creating “zones” will help you make the most out of the space and optimise its functionality. Hedging is a great way of creating different zones Plants like Syzygium australe (Straight and Narrow) are perfect for a tall narrow screen Grasses like the giant form of Miscanthus sinesis can be used to divide areas Areas can be divided by using different materials and structures such as concrete reinforcing mesh to grow a creeper on or vertical timber screening that can be softened with plants like Festuca glauca Varying heights can al ..read more