YOUR FAVOURITE GARDENING MAGAZINE
gardener the
for everyone who loves gardening
Grow to eat 路 Salad herbs 路 Fenugreek 路 Morogo
Plant Dahlias for loads of colour
Bonsai
in a nutshell R22.95
OCTOBER 2010
SOUTH AFRICA
Bedding plants for all
Salvia & Spring Onions Everlastings
Starry wild jasmine Broom cluster figs
INCL VAT
OTHER COUNTRIES
www.thegardener.co.za
R20.13 Excl. TAX On sale 20 September to 18 October 2010
DIY - Vertical Veggie Patch
October 2010
FEATURES
34
Precision Maintenance A garden where good design has been followed up with meticulous maintenance The Horticultural Colour Chart How horticultural colours have been categorised since 1938 Everlastings Three indigenous members of the Asteraceae family To Drip or Spray? A look at the pros and cons of drip and overhead irrigation systems Bright Ideas for your Garden See what the young talent did for Garden World’s Spring Festival Pink Perfection If it’s pink hues and tints you want then plant these dahlias A Fresh Start Summer-flowering bedding plants for October
38 42 45
REGULARS
CONTENTS 50 54 58 62 65
It’s not on top it’s underneath If you want a healthy tree it needs happy roots Rejuvenating a weary lawn Anna’s lawn needed some help after moles, dogs, caterpillars and winter had taken their toll
1
Welcome
8 16 18 20 25 40 68
Garden Graft Ideas, tips and tasks for October Your Letters Moon Gardening Using the signs of the zodiac Lunar Gardening Guide Plant Profile JASMINUM multipartitum In the garden with Anna A little bit of everything Wildlife Gardening Where am I? Budgeting for a Garden A Clockwork Meadow 72 Diary of a Cape Garden Mediterranean Inspiration 75 Unusual Combos that Work Salvia and Spring Onions 76 Indigenous with Jenny Dean FICUS sur 78 Rose Care Rose Bonanza 80 Growing Herbs Healthy herbs for salads 83 The Spice Collection Fenugreek 84 Growing Vegetables Mmm, Morogo! 88 Bonsai In a Nutshell 89 Petpourri Pets that Pong 90 Koi A fascinating hobby 120 Tales from the Green Dragon A new species – what to do next
Publisher Lonehill Trading (Pty) Ltd
David van den Bergh
kim@thegardener.co.za
Editor Tanya Visser
Advertising Jonathan Gouws 031 764 0593 jonathan@thegardener.co.za
DIY Expert Garth Demmer
Managing Director Kevin Beaumont Managing Editor (Editorial enquiries) Wendy Moulton 031 764 0593 wendy@thegardener.co.za Chief Copy Editor Desiree Collett van Rooyen Art Director Ruth Brophy Web and Graphic Design Tanya Campher Photography Geoff Redman,
Advertising and Classifieds Mokete Maepa 031 764 0593 mokete@thegardener.co.za Groundcover Advertising/ Advertising Production Controller Rusty Croft 031 764 0593 rustyc@thegardener.co.za Office Administrator (Enquiries) Kim van Rooyen 031 764 0593
CREATE
DEFINE YOUR LIVING SPACE 95 99 100 102
Vertical Veggie Patch Garden Buddy Quick and neat edging Fun Fountains
MARKETPLACE
107 111 113 115
New Products & Giveaways The Gardener DVD Series Groundcover advertisements Classified Directory
COMPETITIONS PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS 2 12 14 28
Husqvarna ride on mowers Open Gardens Happenings and Events Elands Emerald Collection: DELOSPERMA cooperi 49 Protek Single dose solutions 57 Beautiful begonias with Nu-leaf Nursery 87 Gardening Tips from Earth2Earth 104 Subscribe to The Gardener 106 Keep your pond beautiful with KLB Back Win a garden with Stihl
Subscriptions RNA 011 473 8700 subs@RNAD.co.za Editorial contributors Alice Spenser-Higgs, Andrew Dominy, Anna Celliers, Angela Beckx, Barry Gush, Di-Di Hoffman, Gerald Schofield, Gary English, Glynne Anderson, Graham Duncan, Hadeco, Dr Hugh Glen, Ilona Thorndike, Jenny Dean, Kevin Beaumont, Lindsay Gray, Louis van Aswegen, Ludwig Taschner, Margaret
Roberts, Ruth Brophy, Tanya Visser, Tim Neary, Wendy Moulton. Editorial Head Office 3 Haygarth Road, Kloof PO Box 29244, Maytime 3624 Telephone (031) 764 0593 Telefax (031) 764 1148 e-mail: info@thegardener.co.za
Copyright subsists in all work published in this magazine. Any reproduction or adaptation, in whole or part, without written permission is strictly prohibited. The Gardener will not be held responsible for any omissions or errors. Unsolicited material will not be accepted. The Gardener is available at leading nurseries and selected retail outlets nationally.
Welcome
I
t’s official! (Well, as far as I’m concerned, it’s official...) I have declared October to be the real month of spring’s arrival this year. Right across South Africa the signs of spring have been very late in showing themselves, a result of the severe cold and the lack of rain that we have experienced. Is this good news or bad news for us gardeners? I take it as good news, and not only because my glass is always (at least) half full. It affords gardeners who have not yet gone out and planted spring bedding plants a marvellous opportunity to do so and still reap all the benefits, so, if you are one of them, go out there and do it now! We can also start planting all those veggies that we could only dream about during the cold months, and we’ll watch them grow with vigour. Of course, now is a beautiful time in the garden, so be especially observant. Look out for all those signs of new growth that your plants will be showing: delicate leaves unfurling and buds starting to burst into bloom. Come to think of it, over the next few weeks our gardens are going to behave like a hyperactive child that has been let loose to run wild – and we should get set to enjoy it! This bumper issue of The Gardener covers a wide variety of topics, and I just know you are going to devour it. When I’m faced with the whole issue – spread out on the back wall of the office so that we get a sense of its progress as it happens – it is very difficult to single out articles for a mention, because they all look fabulous. But here goes anyway: look out for the dahlias on pages 54 to 56. They are certainly one of the most rewarding bulbs anyone can plant; they just keep on flowering, giving months of absolute pleasure. There are some stunning
new varieties available, with the short, compact ones ideal for smaller gardens. Apart from their reduced size, they have all the same great qualities that their older relatives have, so you won’t be missing out on anything. We feature some of the stunning pinks, but if that doesn’t suit your colour scheme then remember: they come in a wide range of glorious colours. Speaking of colours, on pages 38 and 39, Gerald, our guru-inresidence, shares with us the story of the official Royal Horticultural Colour chart. It is fascinating, and I’m willing to bet that you will look at the way flower colours are named in a different light from now on. The charts photographed for the article were bequeathed to Gerald by Felicity Green, a friend (and neighbour) of his late father, and who knew Gerald when he was a child. She was an avid grower and collector of rhododendrons, azaleas and fuchsias, and her strict instructions to ‘Please keep sheets in present order’, handwritten in black on the covers of the charts, have survived over the years and are evidence of how useful she found the charts to be. It’s lovely to think that her garden still lives on in a way, right here in our office. And that’s it from me, folks, I’ll leave the rest of the magazine for you to discover on your own, but not at your leisure – you’ve got to hurry now, because there’s loads of gardening to do!
ON THE COVER
The pink-tinged buds and large white double flowers of PRUNUS ‘Shirofugen’ grace our cover this month. ‘Shirofugen’ is just one of the many cultivars and hybrids of the Japanese flowering cherry that burst into blossom in October. They thrive in the colder regions of our country – this photograph was Green Champion taken in Hilton in KwaZulu-Natal.
Tanya dressed by:
Visit us on:
w w w.t h e g a r d e n e r.c o. za
OCTOBER DIARY
In your
region
Summer rainfall temperate Turn your patio into a welcoming entertainment area for summer by getting rid of the winter clutter and doing some cleaning. Clean out the braai, treat garden furniture to a fresh coat of paint or outdoor varnish and wash or re-cover soft furnishings like cushions. Add a few potted herbs and ornamental fruit trees to green up the area; consider strawberries and parsley planted together in hanging baskets; a ‘Black Velvet’ fig tree in a large container; and kumquat, calamondin and bay trees – they are all beautiful evergreen trees that would suit smart pots or wooden barrels.
Summer rainfall subtropical Gardens in this region are now poised to burst forth into tropical splendour. Accentuate this by planting some of the really hot looking new cordyline varieties that are now available. They are great as focal specimens and for containers. Consider either CORDYLINE australis ‘Southern Splendour’ with bronze-green strap-like leaves that have very bright pink edges, or C. australis ‘Sunrise’ with narrow leaves that have a reddish-pink mid-rib with pink edges. Both are very striking and vibrant.
Winter rainfall
Add colour and character to a patio with a potted ornamental fruit tree
GERBERA ‘Moulin Rouge’
Get ready for summer by mulching all flower beds, rock and rose gardens with coarse organic material like bark or compost. This will cool down the soil and keep it moist between watering. Rejuvenate flat-growing ground covers, like DYMONDIA margaretae (silver carpet), that have become a bit patchy during winter by doing the following: use a bulb planter or an old tin can (with both top and bottom removed) to cut out the dead areas. Fill up the holes with fresh compost and add a little bone meal then put in new plugs (available in trays) or transplant plants from patches that are overgrown and still healthy.
Dry continental Try a lovely Barberton daisy variety called GERBERA ‘Moulin Rouge’ in your perennial beds. It loves full sun and sandy soil and is, according to all reports, a tough and hardy plant with huge semi-double flowers that come in shades of ripe watermelon pink to lipstick red. Paint your pots. The style gurus recommend orange, lime-green or shocking pink this season. Light blue is equally fashionable. Plant them up with the toughest and most graceful summer-loving plants like ALOE ‘Hedgehog’, DASYLIRION wheeleri, AGAVE geminiflora and ELEGIA tectorum.
CORDYLINE australis ‘Sunrise’
DYMONDIA margaretae
10 l www.thegardener.co.za
Must do Keep feeding and watering springs bulbs until they die down completely. Every month feed hydrangeas with special hydrangea food to get them ready for Christmas. As soon as spring flowering shrubs have stopped flowering you can prune them back for neatness and to encourage fresh growth. Feed after pruning, water well immediately afterwards and apply thick mulch around the roots. Now is a good time to take lavender, marguerite daisy, rosemary and other perennial herb cuttings. Plant summer-flowering bulbs. Sow parsley and basil seeds in pots and keep on a sunny kitchen windowsill.
ma
DICHONDRA micrantha (wonder lawn); MENTHA pulegium (pennyroyal), which is good for wet and shady areas; PHYLA nodiflora (daisy lawn) – for drier conditions in sun; or ZOYSIA tenuifolia (Korean grass) – slow growing but very hardy.
Kitchen gardening Easy to grow summer vegetables: Carrots – sow seeds directly in well prepared ground. To ensure a continuous harvest sow several times from spring to autumn. The soil must be cultivated deeply to make it loose and friable. Cumbers – sow seeds directly. The plants will need sturdy stakes to keep the fruit off the ground. Green beans – plant seeds of bush types as they are easier to manage. Lettuce – plant ornamental oak and loose leaf lettuce seedlings, which are available in packs from nurseries. Radishes – sow small amounts in situ throughout summer. Squashes and baby marrows – sow seeds in situ. As soon as they emerge they need to be thinned out. Let them trail up obelisks made of poles or over a wire fence. Sweet peppers – plant ready-bought seedlings from your nursery. Tomatoes – plant ready-bought seedlings from your nursery. Tomato seedlings should be planted deeper than they originally grew in their nursery packs. The plants will be better anchored and thus sturdier, and roots will develop along the buried portion of the stems. Pinch off the lower leaves when you plant them. Spinach – plant a few rows of spinach every few weeks to ensure a continuous supply.
Vegetable and fruit care Feed young veggies every two weeks with a water soluble fertiliser and remove any weeds that germinate between them. Put out snail bait amongst strawberry plants and provide a mulch of straw, coarse clippings, or landscaping fabric to stop the fruit from touching the soil. Pick the fruit frequently to encourage new growth. Once a week water all citrus trees deeply. Thin out peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums when they are about pea-size. They need a second application of general fertiliser like 3:1:5SR or an organic equivalent. Continue spraying and baiting against fruit fly and codling moth.
Bugs, pests and problems Trace elements for plants are the same as vitamins for humans and although plants normally receive a sufficient supply from well-managed and healthy soil, they occasionally suffer from a lack of a particular element. This normally manifests in the cooler months and shows up as yellowing of the leaves. When young foliage turns yellow or even white but the veins remain dark, it is generally identified as chlorosis caused by too much lime in the soil. Plants that can be affected are murraya, brunfelsia, gardenia, citrus, hydrangeas, camellia and azalea. There are other forms of yellowing on older leaves that can be caused by trace element deficiencies that are not always easy to identify specifically. A general remedy is to apply a foliar feed with added trace elements, or to water the plants with a seaweed-based liquid plant food.
SCABIOSA columbaria ‘Pink Mist’
VIOLA odorata ‘The Czar’
www.thegardener.co.za l 9
OCTOBER DIARY
Garden
Graft
Prime Time October in the garden means lovely soft coloured flowers and heady fragrances. BRUNFELSIA pauciflora ‘Floribunda’ immediately comes to mind as a gloriously fragrant shrub. This large semi-deciduous plant is covered for months on end in flowers that start out deep purple, then fade to lilac and finally to white, giving the plant its common name of ‘yesterday, today and tomorrow’. Plant one or more of these shrubs in sun or light shade at your bedroom window or in a pot on the patio and remember these wise words uttered by a friend while we were admiring a brunfelsia in full flower together: “do not think about yesterday, it will make you cry. Do not think about tomorrow, it will make you worry. Live for today … it will make you laugh out loud!”
Plant now Although roses dislike it if their roots are disturbed in summer, they do not mind the presence of a few dainty ground covers, perennials and small shrubs, so consider adding some to give even more colour and romance to your rose garden.
BRUNFELSIA pauciflora ‘Floribunda’
Try the following rose companions: ACHILLEA millefolium ‘Colorado’ (yarrow) – has fine, woolly green leaves and mixed coloured flowers from red, to pink and white on tall stems. It is evergreen and hardy. BRACHYCOME Pacific ‘Breeze’ and ‘Island’ – daisy-like, compact-growing perennials with mauve and pink flowers. CONVOLVULUS sabatius ‘Saffire’ var. Compacta – hardy perennial ground cover with dark green leaves and light blue flowers. CUPHEA mexicana ‘White Wonder’ var. Snow (false heather) – a dainty but hardy little shrub with small green leaves and white flowers. ERIGERON karvinskianus (fleabane or Mexican daisy) – spreading ground cover with masses of white and pink daisy flowers. Hardy. IBERIS sempervirens (candytuft) – dainty, small-leaved ground cover with large bunches of white flowers in spring. Hardy. LOBULARIA maritima ‘Snow Princess’ (sweet alyssum) – a clump-forming plant with pale grey-green foliage that covers itself with clusters of tiny white to soft purple fragrant flowers. SCABIOSA columbaria ‘Pink Mist’ (cornflower) – perennial ground cover with pink pompon-like flowers throughout the year. Hardy. VIOLA odorata ‘The Czar’ (sweet violet) – hardy, spreading ground cover with fragrant deep-purple flowers in spring.
Your lawn
BRACHYCOME ‘Island’
Correct small irritations that catch the eye (like bald patches) by digging out the affected turf and replacing it with a piece of the same size and shape taken from a less visible part of the lawn. To re-grow grass in the area from which you took the piece first fill it with fine compost, then level it and plant grass seed or a few runners or plugs. Hollows and bumps can be fixed by cutting out the turf in the affected area and adding some compost to level out a hollow or taking some soil away to level out a bump then gently replacing the piece of turf and tapping it down lightly with the back of a spade. In areas where it is difficult to grow the usual lawn types consider the following alternatives, which are flat growing, fairly hard-wearing and don’t need mowing:
IBERIS sempervirens
8 l www.thegardener.co.za ACHILLEA millefolium CONVOLVULUS ‘Colorado’ sabatius
ERIGERON karvinskianus
LOBULARIA maritim ‘Snow Princess’
Pink Perfection T
he use of colour in a garden is very personal: some people opt for brightly-coloured plantings while others prefer the calming effect of soft colours. With the large array of flower colours that dahlias offer, they are the perfect companion to any planting scheme. The range of pink hues and tints are particularly well represented in garden centres. Few other flowering plants are better suited to South Africa’s varied soil and climate conditions. With just a bit of care dahlias can be grown where hot winds blow beneath a blazing sky or where cool mists migrate over sandy coastal gardens.
WHEN TO PLANT
Carousel (Cactus)
54 I www.thegardener.co.za
Quality dahlia tubers arrive in garden centres from mid-September and should be planted in September or October, once all danger of frost has passed. If you live on the coast, however, only plant the tubers in October. They suffer if they are planted too early because they start flowering when they still have several hot months to contend with. They should only start flowering in mid to late summer and they provide their best show in late autumn and early winter – right until frost cuts them down.
Sunshine is best
Dahlias prefer bright sunshine, but will perform reasonably in light shade if they receive at least three to four hours of direct sunshine a day. The more sun they get, the sturdier the plants will be.
Soil and staking
Dahlias may be grown in any well-drained garden soil, but will do best in one that is rich in organic matter, phosphate and potash. Dig in compost, very well-decayed manure, or moss peat. Once your dahlias begin to flower, feed them with bulb food to spur them on to produce an enviable crop of blooms. When planting the tallergrowing varieties place a small stake next to the tuber. When the plant grows taller and needs more support then replace the first stake with a longer, sturdier stake (taking care to avoid damaging the roots).
Much more mulch!
Mulching is recommended. This will prevent loss of water from the soil by evaporation and to keep the plants growing well once flowering begins. The soil should never be allowed to dry out and the more organic matter the soil contains and the better you have mulched, the less water will be needed to keep it moist.
Prune and pinch
Pruning and de-budding is advised if good blooms are to be grown. The plant should be confined to just a few stalks, with most of the side shoots being pinched out. Staking should be maintained as the plant grows. If you are planning to use the blooms as cut flowers remove most of the lateral buds as they appear, leaving a single flower bud per stem. Conversely, if you prefer a compact bush with masses of blooms, then pinch out some of the growing tips and the central flower bud. Deadheading all spent flowers will encourage the plant to produce a fresh crop.
Cut for the vase
Dahlias make really engaging cut flowers – for best results place them in a vase containing tepid water and Chrysal cutflower food at the recommended rate.
Alfred Grille (Cactus)
Hot tip!
If your dahlias begin to look a bit leggy by late summer then simply cut off two-thirds of each plant. They will respond by pushing out new growth and blooms. www.thegardener.co.za I 55
Anderson (Cactus)
Information supplied by Hadeco; visit www.hadeco.co.za for details of Hadeco dahlia bulb stockists in your area.
THE PRETTIEST PINKS
Seek out these dahlias for all the shades of pink a gardener could wish for. • Cactus Belmonte – deep rosy pink with long lasting, medium size, double flowers Carousel – very dark pink, chrysanthemumshaped, medium to large size blooms Good Earth – malva rose-coloured, medium to large size blooms Anderson – dark rose, medium-sized blooms, on tall plants with purple-shaded foliage Alfred Grille – medium to large sized blooms of deep salmon rose with yellow centres • Border Park Princess – soft pink, double, semi cactus blooms Carola – stunningly decorative rose-coloured blooms • Terrace Rumba – beautiful pink blooms atop short plants, ideal for pots Salsa – vibrant pink clusters on compact plants, also ideal for pots • Delightfully decorative Gerrie Hoek – pure rose coloured, mediumsized blooms. Free flowering, medium height plants Rosella – dark pink, medium to large blooms on tall plants Otto’s Trill (dinner plate) – exceptionally large, rose-coloured flowers atop tall plants Lolly Pop (pompon) – lilac-rose coloured, small to medium-sized blooms with darker tips on short plants Rose (top mix) – single rose flowers on a low growing, compact plant.
70 I www.thegardener.co.za
diy
Vertical Veggie Patch
Don’t despair if you’ve run out of places to plant all those gorgeous leafy greens, instead GO VERTICAL.
www.thegardener.co.za I 95
What you need from
Materials
Planting box Shutterply pine board: 1800 x 800 x 122 mm SA Pine, as follows, in mm • 2 @ 1800 x 144 x 22 – long sides • 2 @ 756 x 144 x 22 – short sides • 5 @ 1756 x 144 x 22 – dividers/shelves • 1 @ 800 x 22 x 22 – centre support • 2 @ 1715 x 40 x 6 – cover strips, long • 4 @ 1000 x 40 x 6 – cover strips, short 100 @ full thread cut screws (4 x 30 mm) wood glue Covering and waterproofing • 5 l ABE Supa Laycryl kit plus extra roll of membrane • 1800 x 800 mm Weed Gard/landscaping fabric • 500 ml universal undercoat Fired Earth paint (we used the colour ‘Trail fresh’) Irrigation equipment from Gardena (one of each, unless quantity specified)
push pull connector (12.5 mm), irrigation pipe (3 metres), micro punch, 10 x drippers, elbow, end plug, hosepipe with tap connector (19 mm), hose connector (19 mm), quick connector, 8 x PVC saddles (from hardware section) Growing medium and plants • 4 x bags potting medium • 1 x block compressed palm peat • Selection of edible seedlings
T
his vertical bed consists of a shallow wooden box divided into sections and fitted with an irrigation system that connects to the water supply via a hose pipe. The water feeds into the top section of the box and then trickles down through the drainage holes that connect the sections. The inside of the box is lined with membrane and coated so that the box is reasonably waterproof. Once the box is filled with growing medium the open side is covered with landscaping fabric, and each seedling is planted through slits made in the fabric. This is a fairly challenging DIY project, but just imagine the feeling of satisfaction when you are able to pick the ingredients for a summer salad straight off your wall. The basic requirements are a sturdy wall that is within a hose length of a water tap; the amount of sunlight that reaches the wall will determine which plants will thrive, as leafy greens generally require full sun for most of the day. It is a particularly space-saving way of gardening for flat dwellers with sunny balconies and urban gardeners with very limited space. Just a note of caution: the vertical bed constructed for this article is 180 cm long and 80 cm wide and required the efforts of four very strong people to lift it onto the wall once it was planted up. If you aren’t able to call on that much help when it comes to the lifting stage then consider building a few smaller boxes, as opposed to only one of this size.
Step 1
Measure and draw 5 vertical lines 130 mm apart on the back of the shutterply board (see Diagram A, page 97). Drill and countersink holes 200 mm apart along each of the lines and around the edges of the board. These holes are for the screws that will join the board to the planks when the box is being constructed (in step 3).
Step 2
Drill 22 mm holes, 300 mm apart, in all the dividers plus one long ‘side’ plank, for drainage. Drill an additional hole in each of these, exactly on one corner, for the irrigation pipe.
3a
Step 3
The box requires support in the centre: using a jigsaw, cut out a groove from each internal shelf to accommodate the plank that will provide this support. Assemble the box, using the screws and applying a little wood glue wherever two pieces of wood join. At this stage you can run the irrigation pipe up the side of the box, but you can only finish installing it after the waterproofing is done (to prevent the drippers from becoming blocked).
3b
To suspend box from wall • 10 x expansion bolts (size 6 x 65 mm) • 5 x corner brackets (120 mm) • 2 x expansion hooks (size 6 x 65 mm) • 2 x eye bolts (size: m6 x 30) • 2 x spring hooks (6 mm) • 2 x short lengths of strong chain (3 links each) TOOLS tape measure, pencil, jigsaw, electric drill, 10 mm masonry bit, 22 mm hole saw, cordless drill, 18 mm speed bit, spirit level, utility knife, staple gun Please note that some products may not be available at Builders Trade Depot.
96 I www.thegardener.co.za
3c
800 mm
4b
4c
Diagram A
1800 mm
Step 5
To complete the installation of the irrigation system fit the push pull connector into the hole in the bottom plank, connect the irrigation pipe to it and run the pipe up along the inside of the box, through the holes in the dividers, to the top and then across. At the corner cut the pipe and join the two cut ends to either side of the elbow. Secure the pipe in place with the PVC saddles. Punch 10 equidistant holes in the horizontal section of the pipe and insert the drippers. Seal the open end of the pipe with the end plug. Later, when the box is suspended, use the hosepipe to connect the system to the water supply.
Step 4
It’s time now to waterproof the inside of the box, following the instructions on the Supa Laycryl kit. The box requires at least two layers of membrane and liquid, preferably three. Once the final layer is dry, use the utility knife to cut away the membrane from the drainage holes and to remove excess membrane from the edges.
4a
Step 6
The box will be suspended from above with 2 hooks and also rest on the 5 brackets. Decide where the box is to hang and prepare the wall. First, using the spirit level and pencil, decide how high the box is to be from the ground and draw a line 1800 mm long onto the wall. One bracket goes at each end and three in between, equidistant from each other. Hold each bracket in position and mark where the holes should be. Drill the holes, and secure the brackets to the wall using 2 expansion bolts for each bracket. Lift the box onto the brackets, mark where the 2 top fixtures are to go on the wall, and make corresponding marks on the box. Put the box down again and drill holes in the wall; insert the expansion hooks. Install the 2 eye bolts into the top of the box.
Step 8
Reconstitute the palm peat then mix with the potting medium and incorporate some organic fertiliser. Lay the box on a flat surface and fill with mixture. Stretch Weed Gard over the front and use the staple gun to secure it to the internal dividers and all 4 sides. Cut small crosses in the fabric and plant a seedling through each, slanting them slightly in the direction of the top of the box. Attach the cover strips to the front and sides of the box to conceal the staples. Leave the box lying flat in full sun for at least one week to allow the roots of the seedlings to become established. Water seedlings daily.
8e
8a
6a
Step 9
Time to hoist the box! Let the base rest on the brackets and use the short chains and the spring hooks to suspend the box from the expansion hooks. Finally, connect the hosepipe to the push pull connector, irrigate the plants and start planning your first salad.
8b
HELPING BUILD AFRICA
6b Builders Warehouse is the leader in home improvement. You will find everything you might need for home improvement, under one roof, plus each store has a dedicated builder’s counter and quotations department.
8c
Builders Express is the family garden and DIY centre, and caters for all gardening and DIY enthusiasts. Builders Trade Depot stocks a full range of building materials supplying contractors across a broad spectrum of the building industry.
Step 7
Apply a coat of universal undercoat to the outside of the box, followed by two coats of Fired Earth paint. Apply evenly as this paint does not ‘touch up’ well. Allow each application to dry before applying the next. Paint the 6 cover strips as well, although they will only be fitted at the end of step 8.
98 I www.thegardener.co.za
8d
For more information on the products supplied by Builders, and great advice on almost any garden DIY project, go to www. builders.co.za or phone the customer care line: 0860 BUILDERS/284533.
SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW and stand a chance to win... one of 12 Ciso Cordless Secateurs from Bosch, each valued at R874 (incl VAT)
Renew for R207 and
save 25% on the cover price Senior Citizens pay only R193 and save 30%
A subscription to The Gardener costs only R220 and buys a year of reading pleasure along with the added benefits of free delivery and never missing an issue. Taming the twigs in your garden is no longer a tedious and repetitive task when you use the Ciso from Bosch. Ciso Cordless Secateurs are the world’s first secateurs that have an integrated lithium-ion battery and this allows the Ciso to cut through twigs or branches (with diameters of up to 14 mm) smoothly and cleanly at the push of a button. The Ciso is the ideal tool for maintaining flowering plants, shrubs and bushes, and even fruit trees. It is compact, lightweight and cordless, and its ergonomic handle protects hand, arm and shoulder muscles. You will find Ciso Cordless Secateurs at retail outlets, packed in handy metal storage boxes. For more information on the Ciso contact Bosch on 011 651 9859 or visit www.boschdo-it.co.za.
Congratulations to the 100 lucky subscribers who each won a copy of Homegrown Garden Design or Tuinmaak met Eiegoed by Tanya Visser and Anna Celliers, the subscribe and win prize for July 2010.
Subscribe online at www.rnadistribution.co.za or email subs@rnad.co.za
Call (011) 473 8700 with your credit card details or SMS ‘Subs TG’ to 41939 (R2/sms) and we’ll call you!
104 I www.thegardener.co.za
Post a cheque with your details (name, postal address & contact number) to RNA Distribution SUBS, PO Box 725, Maraisburg, 1700
Debit order option: Call (011) 473 8700 and pay only R48 every 3 months.
Subscribe or renew before 18 October 2010 to make sure your name is in the draw for one of the 12 Ciso Cordless Secateurs from Bosch.
Deposit your payment into Subscribe to The Gardener FNB Corporate Jhb, Code and nominate one 25 50 05 00, Account number Afrikaans-speaking friend 62104927259 and fax to receive three consecutive a copy along with your issues of Die Tuinier, details to (011) 474 5479 absolutely free.
Overseas subscribers R678. Rest of Africa R578. Please allow four weeks for processing of orders. All prices include vat. All prices valid to 30 October 2010.