Yates Growing With You Australia - Autumn 2021 by Yates Gardening

AU T U M N 2 02 1

IT'S THE

perfect PLANTING SEASON

Grow a FLAMINGO (FLOWER!)

Autumn

flowers & vegies WHAT TO SOW & GROW NOW

LUSH LAWN TIPS EXPERT SWEET PEA WISDOM

Get Inspired Orchids for Mother's Day Spring flowering bulbs Beautiful brassicas

Bring ‘The Great Outdoors’ indoors Keep your plants happier and healthier with a range of Yates® plant care products. Indoor plant care is now much simpler with a specially designed range of potting mixes and fertilisers. From the smallest balcony to your indoor jungle, Yates® has a solution. This means every plant from leafy greens to stunning orchids will always get the care and nourishment they need.

Great things start with Yates™

Yates and Thrive are registered trade marks and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup Australia (Pty Ltd)

Yates and Thrive are registered trade marks and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

Letter from the editor

It’s been a wonderfully productive summer in the vegie patch! Let’s just say our freezer is full of enough zucchini slice to keep us well fed for many nights…. And as we harvest the final weeks of a rainbow of different tomatoes, pumpkins reveal their delicious fruit as the vines start to die back and the scarlet runner and snake beans wind up, I can look back on summer and say that our garden has made a wonderful contribution to our meals. Another stand out in the vegie patch has been our tromboncino zucchinis. My lovely neighbour gave me one of her fruit at the end of last summer, I saved the seed for planting and I envisaged a special spot to grow them. My gardening-supportive husband created a very sturdy arch over one of our garden beds, made from an old trampoline frame and covered it with thick fencing wire. Affectionately now known as the harbour bridge garden, I planted tromboncino seedlings at the base of the arch and as they grew I fed them through, up and over the wire. It created a fantastic half-moon of tromboncino plants, dripping with their long interesting fruit. As per other zucchinis, the fruit grow rapidly and go from 5 to 50cm long seemingly overnight. I love chopping the long necks of the fruit into rounds and roasting them. The frame has worked so well that I’m dreaming of installing another harbour bridge and will be on the look out for discarded trampoline frames! Soil preparation for autumn planting is now in full swing, and the fragrance of Dynamic Lifter® fills the air. I really must sit down and plan the

vegie beds (and then stick to the plan), but I’m notoriously bad at being tempted by additional plants which then get slotted in everywhere… and the plan goes to mush. The joys of having so many delicious autumn vegies to choose from! Broccoli, Asian greens like tatsoi, spinach and peas will definitely get a spot, plus onions, garlic and broad beans. I just love autumn in the vegie patch. Our perennial flower border has continued to be a source of floral delight and over summer penstemons, salvias, agastache, echinacea and convolvulus were gorgeous. And as the weather cools, I can see the sedums and chrysanthemums just itching to get started. So many delightful flowers to keep me and the bees blissfully happy. Have a wonderful autumn in your gardens,

Angie Thomas

Horticultural Communications Manager

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Great things start with Yates™ Yates is a registered trade mark and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

What's inside 01

AUTUMN GARDENING ESSENTIALS

VEGIES & HERBS

AUTUMN FLOWERS & FOLIAGE

It’s time to get busy in the garden! Learn about key autumn gardening jobs to keep your garden looking fantastic.

Keep the fresh, home grown produce coming with lots of delicious vegies and herbs to sow and grow in autumn.

Add autumn colour to your garden with camellias and Chinese pistachio.

FRESH START

TANTALISING TAHITIAN LIMES

TULIP TIME!

Growing a brand new lawn from seed.

Grow your own tangy Tahitian limes.

Time to plant tulips and other spring flowering bulb treasures.

AUTUMN LAWN HEALTH

AUTUMN CITRUS CARE

FLAMINGO FLOWERS

Fix those lawn bare patches and the importance of autumn lawn feeding.

Our top tips for keeping your citrus healthy during autumn.

How to grow these vibrant flowering plants indoors.

LAWN PEST FOCUS

CREEPY CRAWLIES

EASTER TREATS

Learn about lawn armyworm and how to protect your lawn from this damaging caterpillar.

How to get pesky cockroaches under control.

Grow some Easter inspired floral colour.

WINTER GRASS WOES

RODENT SEASON

FABULOUS FLOWERS TO SOW & GROW

Preventing winter grass infestations in your lawn.

Strategies for controlling rats and mice around your home.

Keep the blooms coming with our handy guide to what to sow in autumn.

AUTUMN IS PLANTING SEASON!

SENSATIONAL SWEET PEAS

NATIVE PAPER DAISIES

How to make the most out of the autumn sowing and growing season.

Time to sow sweet peas for a stunning spring flower display.

Create your own native wildflower meadow with gorgeous paper daisies.

HOME GROWN BRASSICAS

Growing this supergroup of vegies at your place.

SWEET PEA WISDOM

Learn from one of the world’s top sweet pea breeders, Dr Keith Hammett.

GARDENING IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES

Handy autumn gardening tips for around Australia

AUTUMN VEGIE & HERB CARE

Getting the most out of your autumn vegie patch. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

AUTUMN GARDENING Essentials Autumn is a wonderful time of the year for gardening, being kinder to gardens and gardeners alike. The air temperature is milder, but the soil is still warm enough for root growth and plants to establish, so it’s an ideal season to sow and grow a fantastic range of ornamental and edible plants. Mild autumn afternoons are also perfect for relaxing on a lush green lawn, so pop some simple lawn care tasks in your gardening diary too.

Lawns need feeding during autumn to promote recovery from a long hot summer and additional wear and tear from weeks of backyard fun and games. Autumn feeding also helps the lawn prepare for the cooler months ahead and encourages the grass to stay greener for longer. Organic based lawn foods have the additional benefit of supplying the soil with valuable organic matter, promoting improved soil health and structure. Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Concentrated Lawn Food contains a special blend of rich, composted Dynamic Lifter and fast acting ingredients, providing dual benefits to the lawn. The fast acting nutrients, including nitrogen, promote quick lawn greening and potassium encourages healthy growth which is hardier during winter. The organic ingredients provide gentle, slow release organic nutrients and promote soil health. Yates Dynamic Lifter Concentrated Lawn Food is suitable for all lawn types, including buffalo, and being a super-concentrated formulation, a 7kg bag will feed 250 m2 of lawn. Moist and cool weather during autumn can lead to lawn diseases such as brown patch and winter fusarium, which appear as circular brown, discoloured or dying patches of grass. To help reduce the incidence of lawn diseases, water lawns in the morning so the grass has a chance to dry off during the day. Wet grass foliage overnight can promote disease. At the first sign of any disease, apply Yates® Zaleton® Dual Action Systemic Fungicide over the lawn using a sprayer or watering can.

Autumn lawn tip! If broadleaf weeds such as clover, dandelions, thistles and bindii start to emerge in the lawn during late autumn, early control will limit their establishment and spread. A quick and easy solution is to use a hose-on pack of Yates Weed’n’Feed®, or Yates BuffaloPRO® on buffalo lawns, over the lawn. They control the most common broadleaf weeds as well as providing the lawn with a quick burst of greening nutrients.

Mother’s Day orchids A growing gift for Mother’s Day can bring smiles and lovely memories for years to come, and with moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) in beautiful flower during autumn, they make the perfect Mother’s Day gift. Team an orchid with a decorative pot, a bag of Yates® Speciality Potting Mix Orchids and a bag of Yates Thrive® Plant Food Spikes Orchids so Mum has all her orchid needs covered. Moth orchids do best in a well-lit position indoors that is protected from direct light and will thrive in a bright, humid bathroom.

Know your soil pH Soil pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline the soil is. A pH of 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. Most plants prefer soil pH to be around neutral, between 6.5 and 7.5. pH has a significant effect on plant health and the availability of nutrients. For example, at an alkaline soil pH of 8, iron is difficult for plants to access and leaves start to yellow, with the veins remaining green. Testing your soil pH, in various locations around the garden, provides important information about whether the soil pH needs to be fixed. Alkaline soil can be treated with Yates Soil Acidifier Liquid Sulfur (to lower the pH) and acidic soil can be treated with Yates Hydrangea Pinking Liquid Lime & Dolomite (to raise the pH). They’re easy to apply over the soil with a watering can.

Specialist citrus care Healthy, well fed citrus trees can provide us with buckets of delicious and juicy fruit. In addition to the three main nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, that citrus require, they also need trace elements for total health. A common trace element deficiency in citrus trees is magnesium. Lack of magnesium shows up as a dark green V shape at the base of older leaves, with the leaf tips becoming increasingly pale. Magnesium deficiency can lead to trees dropping their leaves and overall tree health and productivity will suffer. Yates Leaf Greener Magnesium Chelate is a fast acting, concentrated form of liquid magnesium that is sprayed onto citrus leaves to correct magnesium deficiency.

Stop the rot Poorly drained soil or prolonged wet weather can lead to the development of root and collar rot diseases. These diseases affect the ability of plants to effectively absorb moisture and plants can, confusingly, appear wilted. Citrus and avocado trees and many Australian native plants can be particularly susceptible. Yates Anti Rot Phosacid Systemic Fungicide can be applied as a foliar spray during autumn, and the fungicide travels down through the plant and into the stems and roots to target root and collar rot diseases. Using Yates Anti Rot Phosacid Systemic Fungicide as a protective spray during damp conditions will give more effective control than waiting for symptoms to appear. GROWING WITH

Y O U - YA T E S

Fresh start Growing a brand new lawn from seed

If you’re thinking of a brand new, lovely lush green lawn, a really economical way to create one is to use lawn seed. Early to mid-autumn is a great time to start a new lawn from seed. Air temperatures are milder, but the soil is still warm, which encourages lawn seed to germinate, and the lawn will have time to start establishing before the cool winter weather arrives.

Water – water the area with a fine mist spray. It is very important that the top soil remains moist for the first 14–21 days to complete germination. This may require watering several times a day if the weather is hot or windy. As the grass establishes, the number of waterings can be reduced but increase the volume of water at each watering.

Choosing the right lawn seed To get the best possible results from sowing your new lawn, there are a few important steps to follow: »

Weed control – weeds will compete with the new lawn so should be controlled 2 weeks before sowing lawn seed (this allows the weeds to die completely). Yates® Zero® Weedkiller can be used as a general spray over the area to kill any weeds and existing grasses.

Soil preparation – lawn seed should be sown into well drained, firm but not compacted soil that is rich in organic matter. An application of lawn top dressing can also benefit lawn establishment where the existing soil is heavy clay or poor and sandy or the surface is uneven.

Measure – measure the area and calculate the correct amount of lawn seed.

Sow – rake the soil surface in straight lines to create shallow furrows. Mixing lawn seed with Munns Buffalo & All Lawns Starter Fertiliser makes sowing lawn seed much easier and encourages better germination and root development as well as providing the grass seedlings with nutrients as they establish. Broadcast the seed and Starter Fertiliser mix evenly over the area. It helps to halve the seed mix and sow half in an east west direction and the other half in a north south direction. After sowing, lightly cross rake the area to mix the seed into the topsoil.

Whether your lawn is in sun or shade, needs to be tough and hard-wearing or you’re craving a soft-to-walk-on backyard, there’s a lawn seed to suit. Here are some favourites from the Munns® Professional lawn seed range:

Munns Professional Kikuyu Premium Seed Blend Creates a beautiful, dense green lawn with finer leaves than regular kikuyu.

Munns Professional Couch Premium Seed Blend Grows a fine textured hard wearing rich green lawn.

Munns Sun & Shade Premium Seed Blend Creates a blended deep green lawn that will handle heavy shade to full sun.

Lawn pro tip! Apply Munns Professional Lift Off over newly seeded areas to provide the new seedlings with readily available nutrients for strong early growth and seaweed for healthy root development.

Autumn lawn health Is your lawn looking a bit thin and patchy? You can thicken up the lawn by oversowing with lawn seed, which helps fill in the gaps and create a dense grass cover. Thickening up the lawn will also help reduce weed infestations, which can quickly invade patchy areas. Autumn is a great time for repairing and thickening up the lawn, as new grass seedlings can establish during the mild conditions. Professional tip: Munns Professional Root Regenerator®, containing a specialised blend of soil improvers and microbes, can be applied over the lawn during autumn to promote strong and healthy growth.

To prepare the lawn: »

Remove any dead grass or weeds by gently raking. In bare patches, lightly cultivate and loosen the soil to create a nice soft and crumbly surface for the seeds to grow in.

Scatter Munns® Professional Quick Fix Premium Seed Blend over the thin areas and bare patches and gently rake into the surface.

Munns Professional Quick Fix contains premium improved turf type perennial ryegrass seeds that are ideal for thickening thin lawns and repairing patches in both sun or shaded areas. Perennial ryegrass develops deep roots, which help the plants cope in times of drought.

Munns Professional Quick Fix has multiple additional benefits. It contains slow release fertiliser that will feed the new grass for up to 3 months as it establishes, a professional grade wetting agent to promote better water absorption into the soil and the seed has a multi-purpose coating to boost germination and deter birds, while also allowing you to see where you have sown seed.

It’s very important to water the area regularly while the new grass establishes. Watering several times a day may be required in hot, windy or dry weather.

REPAIR PATCHES WITH MUNNS PROFESSIONAL LAWN SEED RANGE • FAST GROW technology with germination in 5-7 days*

• Added 3 month fertiliser

• Multi-purpose seed coating

• Added wetting agent

Lawn pest focus. LAWN ARMYWORM Lawn armyworm are so named because of their army-like nature, where large numbers swiftly decimate expansive areas of lawns and other vegetation. Lawn armyworm symptoms include dead or dying patches in lawns, the grass may have a straw-like appearance or exhibit chewed and tattered leaf tips and margins or small discoloured patches rapidly radiate outwards over time (particularly over several nights). Adult lawn armyworm moths are dull light brown, around 20 mm long and survive for one to two weeks. During this time, female moths can lay up to 2000 eggs, which hatch into larvae (caterpillars). Mature caterpillars are up to 40mm long with a greyish-brown body and dark brown head. They have green, grey and beige longitudinal stripes, together with two distinct rows of paired, black semi-circle markings, along their bodies. These caterpillars are the damaging stage of the lawn armyworm lifecycle, which generally lasts for 5 to 9 weeks. When disturbed, caterpillars drop to the ground, tuck their head into their abdomen and form into a spiral-like shape. Mostly seen in the evening and at night, they hide during the day underneath clods of soil, beneath vegetation or in lawn thatch. However, on overcast days or when in large numbers, they may also be seen during the day. In ideal conditions, armyworm activity can last from spring into autumn and severe infestations can occur after a period of dry conditions followed by wet. In addition to monitoring for symptoms, the presence of caterpillars can be detected by observing the lawn at night with a torch, looking closely for signs of webbing or caterpillars. You may also see birds pecking at the lawn, which are hunting for the caterpillars. Another detection method is to add some dishwashing liquid to a 9L bucket of water and in the late afternoon or evening,

slowly pour the contents of the bucket onto a 1 m2 area of partially affected lawn. Place a damp towel, hessian bag or piece of carpet on top, wait 15 minutes, then inspect for caterpillars. If no caterpillars are observed, leave overnight then re-examine in the morning. To limit the lawn armyworm population, regularly mow lawns to reduce egg laying sites and the amount of grass (caterpillar food) and dethatch lawns to reduce day-time hiding places for caterpillars. Also avoid using bright outdoor lighting at night as this may attract flying adult moths into the garden. Lawn armyworm can also be controlled with Yates® Grub Kill & Protect For Lawns. Applying at the first signs of any damage will kill the destructive lawn armyworm and prevent further destruction. Yates® Grub Kill & Protect for Lawns granules are applied over the lawn by hand or using a spreader.

Lawn armyworm tip! Baythroid® Advanced for Lawns will also control lawn armyworm and is applied over the lawn using a garden sprayer or watering can.

WINTER GRASS WOES Winter grass (Poa annua) is a soft, tufty light green grass that is usually noticed when it produces masses of creamy coloured seed heads during winter. It’s also a different colour to the lawn, so it really stands out and ruins the look of a nicely manicured lawn. Winter grass seed starts to germinate when the soil temperature reaches around 12°C, most commonly during autumn but also in spring as the weather warms up. Although it will naturally die off during prolonged periods of hot weather, being a prolific producer of seed, it can spread rapidly, create larger populations each year and overtake the lawn in winter. It also has the ability to set seed even at low mowing heights. It might be called winter grass, however autumn is the time to act! Winter grass can be prevented and controlled with Munns® Professional Winter Grass Killer. It contains a pre-emergent herbicide and kills new winter grass roots as the seeds germinate. Apply in autumn to prevent winter grass seeds from germinating or at the first sign of young winter grass seedlings. Best results are achieved by applying the product during autumn to cool, well-watered lawns and water the lawn after applying to move the active ingredient down to the soil. Winter grass will die slowly, with effects taking up to 3 weeks to appear.

Munns® Professional Winter Grass Killer can be used on common lawn types such as buffalo, couch and kikuyu and comes in an easy to use hose-on applicator.

Professional lawn tip:

Thin, patchy and shaded lawns are particularly vulnerable to winter grass infestation, so keeping the lawn thick and well-fed will help reduce winter grass.

KILL & PREVENT WINTER GRASS BEFORE IT TAKES HOLD OF YOUR LAWN WHAT IS WINTER GRASS:

Winter Grass is a common weed that grows in tufts and is lime green in colour. It is a prolific producer of seed, making it important to control before seed set. • • • •

Selectively controls Winter Grass Safe for ALL common lawns Apply in Autumn to PREVENT Winter Grass emerging Apply in Spring to KILL residual Winter Grass to reduce seed set G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Autumn

is planting season We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to autumn planting options. Delicious cool season vegies like broccoli, spinach, garlic and snow peas can go in and it’s time to plant spring flowers like hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and gorgeous sweet peas. You can choose beautiful camellias while they’re in full and fabulous bloom or pick your favourite autumnal foliage tones. Citrus trees and Australian native plants will also enjoy being planted in autumn’s mild and gentle conditions. Just like building a house on solid foundations, a flourishing garden starts from the ground up. The secret is in the soil! To give new autumn plants the best possible start, it’s important to prepare the soil before planting. It’s not complicated. It’s as simple as mixing some handfuls of Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the soil or planting hole. It refreshes and rejuvenates the soil, breathing life into the garden and nurturing new autumn plants. What is Yates® Dynamic Lifter? It’s concentrated, composted, pelletised chicken manure blended with the added goodness of blood and bone, fishmeal and seaweed.

Why is Yates Dynamic Lifter good for your soil? Used regularly, the rich organic matter contained in Yates Dynamic Lifter will help increase the soil’s water and nutrient holding ability, improve soil structure as well as providing a source of food for earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms, which are super helpers in the garden. Earthworms and microorganisms turn organic matter into valuable plant available nutrients and earthworms also make tunnels

We’re celebrating one of the best seasons of the year to garden – autumn! The baking heat of summer has faded, but the soil is still warm enough to encourage root growth, creating perfect conditions for planting.

through the soil, making it easier for plant roots to grow. Yates® Dynamic Lifter will help to improve your soil, no matter what soil type you have, from the heaviest clay to the lightest sand.

Feeds earthworms and microorganisms.

Enables better water and nutrient holding.

Assits drainage Good source of and aeration slow release organic through nutrients: Nitrogen, binding of soil Phosphorus, particles. Potassium (NPK).

Yates Dynamic Lifter also provides new plants with a good source of gentle, slow release organic nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) as they establish. And feeding existing plants is as easy as sprinkling the pellets around the root zone. Don’t forget to feed plants like grevilleas and banksias too - Yates Dynamic Lifter is safe for Australian native plants. Yates Dynamic Lifter is packed with rich organic ingredients, making it quite distinctively ‘fragrant’. But did you know that Yates Dynamic Lifter also comes in a reduced odour variety? It’s great for people that may not love the smell of traditional Dynamic Lifter, with a much subtler odour that you (or your neighbours) may prefer.

Organic gardening tip! Yates® Dynamic Lifter is approved for use in organic gardens by Australian Certified Organic, so is ideal for gardeners wanting to care for their soil and plants organically.

Dynamic® Liquids For gardeners that prefer liquid solutions to feed their garden and nurture their soil, Yates Dynamic Lifter also comes in a liquid concentrate and hose-on. Yates Dynamic Lifter liquids are natural fertilisers that contain a rich blend of chicken manure, seaweed, blood and bone and fish meal. They’re also boosted with potassium, which promotes plant health and flowering and fruiting, and fulvates, which improve nutrient availability to plants and promote soil microbe health. Yates Dynamic Lifter liquids are approved for use in organic gardening and can be used year round to gently feed your garden and improve the soil. The 2L hose-on pack of Yates Dynamic Lifter allows you to quickly and easily feed 70 m2 of garden beds and lawns and the 500mL liquid concentrate makes up to 225L of fertiliser, which can be applied using a watering can.

Pots a plenty during AUTUMN

Gardeners with limited space or who love the flexibility and accessibility of growing plants in pots can also enjoy the benefits of Yates Dynamic Lifter. Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter is a general purpose, Australian Standards ‘black tick’ free-draining potting mix, made from a blend of high quality horticultural bark and Yates Dynamic Lifter organic fertiliser for gentle feeding. It’s suitable for most indoor and outdoor plants, including flowers, fruit trees, shrubs, vegetables and herbs. Once plants are established, to encourage ongoing healthy growth, Yates Dynamic Lifter pellets can be applied onto potted plants every 8 weeks. Scatter the pellets over the surface of the potting mix and gently tickle them in. Alternatively Yates Dynamic Lifter liquid can be watered over potted plants.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Beautiful brassicas

Brassicas is the name given to a family of plants that includes popular vegies like cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The cooler seasons are ideal for growing these delicious and super healthy vegies, whether it’s out in the vegie patch or in pots on a sunny balcony, veranda or patio.

Also called crucifer vegetables, brassicas are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, and are reported to contain natural compounds that stimulate our immune system as well as being an important source of antioxidants. Add more brassica vegies into your diet by growing your own! Here are some delicious options for you to grow at your place: Yates® Broccoli ‘Shogun Winter Harvest’ is a hybrid variety that produces firm, rich dark green dome-shaped heads. After the main central head has been cut, small side florets can continue to develop. In warm and temperate areas, seed can be sown during autumn. In cool climates, look for broccoli seedlings in your local garden centre. Yates® Kale ‘Red Russian’ is a very attractive kale, with grey green deeply serrated leaves and mauve stems. Being so ornamental, it looks equally at home in the vegie patch and in flower beds. It’s also packed full of nutrients and is delicious in salads, soups and casseroles. You can pick kale leaves individually as you need them. Yates® Cauliflower ‘All Year Round Hybrid’ is a vigorous variety that produces an excellent tasting large, tight curd. Sow seed throughout Australia during autumn and cauliflowers will be ready to harvest after around 15 weeks.

Yates® Cabbage ‘Sugarloaf’ is a conical shaped, crisp and sweet flavoured cabbage that matures quickly (8–12 weeks after sowing). It’s an easy to grow variety that’s hardy and reliable. Yates® Brussels Sprouts ‘Drumtight’ is a highly productive variety with firm green sweet heads that retain their colour and flavour. You can pick the sprouts individually over a long period. Brassica seeds are best sown into trays or punnets of Yates Seed Raising Mix and seedlings transplanted into their final home when they’re around 7cm high. To give the seedlings a great start, dig some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the soil before transplanting seedlings. This adds valuable organic matter to the soil, improves soil structure and attracts earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms. Once the seedlings are established, each week apply a complete plant food, like Yates Thrive® All Purpose Liquid Plant Food, to help promote healthy plant growth and a great harvest.

Young brassica seedlings are a magnet for destructive snails and slugs. Your seedlings can disappear overnight! To attract and kill snails and slugs, lightly sprinkle some Yates® Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the newly planted seedlings.

Growing brassicas organically Newly planted vegetable seedlings and fresh autumn growth can attract some very destructive pests, including caterpillars and aphids. Even the smallest of caterpillars can chew through mountains of foliage and left unchecked can result in heartbreaking skeletonised leaves. Light green cabbage white butterfly and cabbage moth caterpillars are particularly troublesome to brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflowers and Brussels sprouts. They can damage the leaves and also the heads of broccoli and cauliflower.

Aphids, which often congregate in their hundreds, literally drain the life out of plants, causing leaves to curl and yellow. You may also see ants crawling up and down plant stems (they’re attracted to the sweet honeydew that aphids produce) or sooty mould disease developing, which appears like a dark grey covering of ash over leaves and stems. Grey aphids (also known as cabbage aphids) are common on brassica vegetables, forming seething colonies on stems and leaves. Brown, black or green aphids can also affect brassicas, often hiding underneath leaves. Being an organic gardener doesn’t mean you have to let your vegetables succumb to these pests! Organic gardeners can easily control hungry caterpillars by spraying vegies each week with Yates® Nature’s Way® Caterpillar Killer (Dipel®). Based on a naturally occurring soil bacteria, once sprayed the caterpillars

stop eating and after a few days fall from the plant. Spray leaves thoroughly, including the undersides, as this is where caterpillars often hide. Yates Nature’s Way Caterpillar Killer is approved for use in organic gardens and there is no withholding period. Simply wash vegies before eating. The odd aphid can be squished between your fingers or hosed off with a squirt from the hose however large, damaging colonies can develop quickly. To protect vegies from aphids, spray plants each week with Yates Nature’s Way Vegie & Herb Spray (Natrasoap®). It’s an insecticidal soap based on natural vegetable oils and is approved for use in organic gardening.

Tough on garden pests. Kind to gardens. As a gardener, you put a lot of effort into caring for your garden. But how do you naturally keep the bugs away from your precious harvest? Yates® Nature’s Way® has you covered with a range of products that are approved for use in organic gardening by Australian Certified Organic. All our products include natural ingredients such as plant extracts, oils and beneficial bacteria which are better for you, your family and your garden. And just because we’re organic doesn’t mean we are soft on the pests.

Yates and Nature's Way are registered trade marks and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Autumn vegie

& herb care

Autumn’s mild conditions are wonderful for growing a deliciously diverse range of vegies. Here are some autumn vegie care hints to keep your patch or pot wonderfully productive. Peas »

Climbing peas, like snow and sugarsnap, are the ultimate space saver vegie. They can be grown along a trellis on a fence or up a tepee or tripod in a vegie patch or in pots, taking up minimal horizontal space.

Yates® Snow Peas produce crisp, sweet pods that can be eaten whole and Yates Sugarsnap Peas have juicy, sweet flavour packed pods that can be eaten whole when young or shelled when mature.

Sow pea seeds in a spot that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day (in cool zones wait until June to start sowing climbing pea seeds). Sow seeds direct where they are to grow, beside a trellis or support, into damp soil. Don’t water again for a few days as pea seeds can rot if they’re too wet. Seedlings should pop up in around 10 days and you can start harvesting in around 8–10 weeks. Snow and sugarsnap peas are prolific croppers, so you should have lots of tasty peas for several months.

To encourage a great harvest, as soon as the seedlings are established start feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser which is boosted with extra potassium to promote flowering and pod development. Keep picking pods regularly too, which helps prolong the harvest.

Watch out for powdery mildew on peas, which appears like a dusting of talcum powder over the leaves. Control with sprays of dual-active Yates Mancozeb Plus Garden Fungicide & Miticide.

Seedling saver »

Tender new autumn seedlings are irresistible to snails and slugs. Not only do we provide the snails and slugs with delicious food (the seedlings), we also supply them with ample moisture (which snails and slugs need) as we help the young seedlings establish.

Snails and slugs can devour entire seedlings overnight, chew in to stems causing the seedlings to fall over, or eat most of the seedling’s foliage, leaving just a skeleton.

These slimy fiends are easy to control with a light sprinkling of Yates Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the plants, which attract and kill snails and slugs.

W s i i o G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Asian vegies »

Asian leafy vegies like tatsoi, Chinese broccoli and Chinese cabbage are tender and flavoursome and ideal either fresh or cooked in both salads and stir fries.

It’s easy to grow a gourmet selection of Asian leafy greens by sowing Yates Asian Stir Fry Mix seed. Find a sunny or partly shaded spot and sow seed directly where the plants are to grow, in a vegie patch or pots. Individual leaves can be picked from just a few weeks, leaving the rest of the plant to grow.

Keep the soil or potting mix moist and feed each week with a nitrogen rich plant food like Yates Thrive® Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food to promote fast and healthy growth.

Leafy Asian greens can be prone to caterpillars. You may not see the caterpillars themselves, just chewed leaves or droppings. Control caterpillars by spraying the plants every week with Yates Pyrethrum Insect Pest Gun. It contains pyrethrin, a natural extract from the pyrethrum daisy, and will control a wide range of insect pests, including caterpillars.

Garlic »

It’s time to plant garlic cloves, that will be ready to harvest in around 8 months time. Find a sunny spot in a well-drained garden bed, or you can also grow garlic in a 30cm diameter pot.

Mix some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the garden soil or potting mix. This helps increase the amount of organic matter in the soil which attracts earthworms and soil microbes, helps retain moisture and nutrients in the soil and promotes better soil structure. Yates Dynamic Lifter will also provide the garlic with slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.

It’s best to buy fresh garlic cloves from a garden centre as garlic purchased in a supermarket may have been sprayed with a sprouting inhibitor and may not grow.

Plant the garlic cloves around 4cm deep with the pointy end facing up, leaving around 10cm between each clove. After planting, water the garden bed or pot well and apply a 5cm layer of mulch like sugar cane or pea straw. This will help keep the soil moist.

When the first garlic shoots emerge through the mulch, keep the soil or potting mix slightly moist and feed every 6 weeks with Yates Thrive Natural Vegie & Herb Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food to promote healthy leaf growth as well as good sized garlic bulbs.

Baby leaf spinach »

Prized for their nutty flavour and smooth texture, baby leaf spinach leaves are a popular addition to mixed salads, pasta and stir fries.

Baby leaf spinach can be grown in the vegie patch or in pots, in a sunny or partly shaded spot. It’s a quick vegie to grow and you can start picking individual leaves as you need them from just 6 weeks after sowing.

The best tasting leaves will be from plants that are grown quickly, so ensure to keep the soil or potting mix consistently moist and feed each week with a fast acting liquid fertiliser like Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.

Organic gardening tips

Organic gardeners can still create a fabulously productive vegie patch using products that are approved for use in organic gardening.

Soil preparation and feeding – before sowing seeds or planting seedlings, improve the soil by mixing in some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. This adds valuable organic matter to the soil, improves soil structure and attracts earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms. Reapply Yates Dynamic Lifter every 6 weeks around the plants to provide gentle, slow release organic nutrients to promote healthy plants growth.

Planting Tip:

When plantingcaterpillars a new navel tree into the ground, mixdecimate autumn vegies. Controlling – theseorange destructive chewing insects can rapidly ® ® Nature’s Way® Caterpillar also known as , contains a naturally occurring soil bacterium Yates Dynamic Lifter® Killer, Soil Improver & Dipel Plant Fertiliser someYates that specifically targets caterpillars. Caterpillars that eat sprayed foliage stop feeding immediately but may into the bottom hole. take 3-4 days toof diethe andplanting fall from the leaf. Yates Dynamic Lifter improves the quality of the soil and supplies the newly planted Controlling aphids, thrips and whitefly – small sucking insects like aphids cause leaves to yellow and distort and plant orange with gentle, organic asHerb it establishes. health to suffer. Yates Nature’s nutrients Way Vegie & Spray (Natrasoap®) is an insecticidal soap, made from vegetable oils, that is very effective against insect pests like aphids. Spray over foliage every 5-7 days to keep plants protected.

VEGIES & HERBS

to sow

I N AU T U M N

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During autumn there’s a fantastic range of vegies and herbs to sow, that will help keep your kitchen well stocked with delicious and fresh home grown ingredients. Here is some autumn Yates® seed sowing inspiration for around Australia:

TROPICAL / SUB TROPICAL

TEMPERATE

VEGIES

HERBS

VEGIES

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VEGIES

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Asian Stir Fry

Basil - Purple, Sweet, Thai

Beetroot - Cylindra, Derwent Globe, Super King

Borage

Broccoli Shogun

Dill

Baby Beets

Chives, Garlic chives

Cabbage - Sugarloaf, Red Mini

Dill

Cabbage Sugarloaf

Broad Beans Early Long Pod

Cress Salad Curled

Broccoli - Shogun, Summer Green

Sage

Carrot Manchester Table

Carrot - All Seasons, Baby, Topweight

Parsley - Italian Plain Leaf, Curled

Capsicum Giant Bell

Thyme

Chinese Cabbage Buk Choy

Cauliflower All Year Round Hybrid

Rocket Large Leaf

Carrot Manchester Table

Lamb's Lettuce

Lettuce - Baby Combo, Frilly Mix, Greenway Iceberg, Green Mignonette, Frilly Mix, Salad Mix, Winter Triumph Iceberg

Microgreens Cabbage Red, Mizuna, Rocket

Cauliflower Phenomenal Early

Lettuce Buttercrunch

Mesclun French Salad Mix

Celery

Onion - Hunter River Brown, Hunter River White, Sweet Red

Kale - Tuscan, Red Russian

Chinese Cabbage - Buk Choy, Wom Bok

Radish - French Breakfast, Gentle Giant, Salad Crunch, White Icicle

Leek Welsh Wonder

Cucumber - Apple, Burpless, Continental, Gherkin Pickling, Lebanese, Long Green

Spinach - Baby Leaf, Winter Queen

Radish - Confetti Mix

Eggplant Blacknite

Spring Onion Straight Leaf

Silverbeet - Compact Deep Green, Fordhook Giant, Rainbow Chard, Perpetual

Lettuce - Buttercrunch, Cos, Great Lakes Iceberg

Turnip Purple Top White Globe

Spring Onion

Onion - Hunter River Brown, Hunter River White

Dwarf Peas - Greenfeast, Earlicrop Massey

Strawberry Alpine

Parsnip Hollow Crown

Climbing Peas Snow Peas, Sugarsnap, Telephone

Tatsoi spoon mustard

Pumpkin - Butternut, Hybrid Grey Crown, Queensland Blue

Turnip Japanese Hakurei

Radish - French Breakfast, Gentle Giant, Salad Crunch, White Icicle

COOL VEGIES

Spring Onion Straight Leaf Tomato - Grosse Lisse, Improved Apollo, Patio, Roma, Tiny Tim Turnip Purple Top White Globe

Spinach - Baby Leaf, Winter Queen Lamb's Lettuce

Watermelon - Candy Red, Country Sweet Dwarf Bean - Borlotti, Bountiful Butter, Brown Beauty, Gourmet's Delight, Hawkesbury Wonder, Stringless Pioneer, Stringless Snapbean Climbing Beans - Purple King, Stringless Blue Lake Dwarf Peas - Earlicrop Massey, Greenfeast Climbing Peas - Snow Peas, Sugarsnap, Telephone Sweetcorn - Early Chief, Honeysweet

Check seed packs for sowing directions and the best sowing times in your area.

Here are the three easy steps to sowing and growing delicious vegies and herbs in autumn:

Step 1 »

Choose a sunny spot in the garden that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. There are some vegies and herbs, such as Yates Baby Leaf Spinach and Yates Sweet Basil that can be grown in part shade. Many vegies and herbs are also perfect for growing in pots, so you don’t need a big backyard to grow some of your own produce. Consider delicious options like Yates Asian Stir Fry and Yates Parsley Italian Plain Leaf. Seed packets include helpful information about how much sunlight your chosen vegie or herb needs and whether it’s suitable for growing in pots.

Step 2 »

Follow the directions on the seed packet and either sow seeds direct where the plants are to grow or sow into trays of Yates Seed Raising Mix. Water gently and keep the soil or potting mix moist. For beans and peas, limit watering until seedlings emerge as seeds can rot before germinating if the soil is too wet. For seedlings grown in trays, transplant them into their final home once they’re large enough to handle. During warm temperatures, ensure young seedlings are kept well watered.

Step 3 »

Once the seedlings are established, encourage lots of healthy growth by feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.

Never visit the grocery store again

Shop for all seeds great and small. From juicy tomatoes to fresh leafy greens. Start growing vegies with our online shop. Choose from over 200 varieties of seeds all available at

shop.yates.com.au

Great things start with Yates™ @yatesgardening

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Growing tantalising

Tahitian limes Grow a taste of the tropics at your place with zesty Tahitian limes. From freshly squeezed juice in a refreshing drink to marmalade, cakes, desserts and marinades, limes can be used in multiple ways in the kitchen. Tahitian limes (Citrus latifolia) are heavy bearing trees growing to around 4m tall, with juicy fruit that is harvested green when the limes are around 6cm in diameter. Tahitian limes need a warm and sunny, frost protected position and well-drained soil. They can also be grown in a large container filled with good quality potting mix like Yates® Premium Potting Mix. 40-50cm diameter Yates Tuscan® pots make great homes for citrus trees. They have a beautiful classic look, are lightweight and made from UV stabilised plastic to withstand harsh conditions and help keep the pot looking great. Designed by horticulturists, they are well drained and have vertical ridges on the inside wall, which encourage citrus roots to grow downwards, rather than circling around the pot. Growing a potted lime tree means that even cool climate gardeners can enjoy home grown limes, if you position the pot in a warm, protected spot. Against a north facing wall is ideal, where it can soak up the sun and also enjoy radiated heat from the wall. When planting a new lime tree in the ground, mix some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser into the bottom of the planting hole. It improves the quality of the soil and supplies the newly planted lime with gentle, organic nutrients as it establishes. Keep your new lime tree well-watered for several months as it settles into its new home and continue to keep the soil moist during the following spring and summer, as the root system is still developing. Potted citrus trees will dry out much faster than in-ground trees, so it’s important to monitor moisture levels in the potting mix regularly. Limes are usually picked while they are still underripe, tangy and green. However, if they’re left on the tree their skin will yellow and the fruit will become slightly sweeter. So if your limes turn yellow, they’re still perfectly fine to eat.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Autumn CITRUS CARE

As the citrus harvest season begins, keep your trees protected and promote the best quality fruit with our top autumn citrus care tips. 1.

Citrus trees will often produce a second flush of new foliage in late summer and early autumn. New growth needs to be protected from citrus leaf miner attack by spraying the leaves with Yates® Nature’s Way® Citrus & Ornamental Spray. It deters the citrus leaf miner moth from laying her eggs on the foliage, thus preventing the damage caused by the tunnelling larvae. To protect citrus from leaf miner, spray leaves every 5-14 days from when the new foliage is around 4cm long. Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray will also control aphids, which are attracted to tender new citrus leaves. Aphids are small sap sucking insects that can be green, brown or black and can cause leaves to curl under and twist. Like citrus leaf miner, the damage caused on new leaves by aphids is permanent. It’s easy to control aphids on citrus by spraying the foliage with Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray, including on the undersides of leaves where aphids often hide, every 5–14 days. It’s based on natural pyrethrin and vegetable oil and is approved for use in organic gardening, so is ideal for gardeners wanting to use organic methods of insect pest control.

Feeding citrus regularly is the key to promoting bucketfuls of juicy fruit. Citrus are very hungry plants and lack of nutrients can lead to a decline in fruit quality.

Yates Thrive® Citrus Liquid Plant Food is a complete plant food that has been specially formulated to provide citrus with the nutrients they need. Apply Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food around the root zone of in-ground and potted citrus trees every 1-2 weeks during autumn, while citrus trees are busy maturing their fruit.

In fruit fly prone areas, citrus fruit can be vulnerable to attack by fruit flies, even from when the fruit are still small and green. To control the adult fruit flies before they get a chance to lay eggs, which turn into destructive maggots, apply Yates® Nature’s Way® Fruit Fly Control as a band or spot spray onto the trunk or lower foliage of trees. There is no need to spray the actual fruit. It’s important to re-spray the plants each week (or sooner if there has been rain) to maintain effective protection.

4. In addition to nutrients, having access to sufficient moisture is important for fruit quality. Citrus trees have a shallow root system and can dry out rapidly. Keep the soil or potting mix moist with regular, thorough watering. Applying Yates Waterwise® Soil Wetter around the root zone of in-ground and potted citrus will help water penetrate evenly and effectively down into the roots and spreading a layer of mulch around the root zone will help retain moisture. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Controlling creepy crawlies Cockroaches are one of the most loathed insects that sneak into our homes. There are various introduced cockroach species, and they leave behind mess, produce foul smelling odours, ruin fabrics and other household items and can sometimes carry infectious human diseases and worm parasites. Some people are allergic to cockroaches and the materials they leave behind, triggering conditions such as asthma and dermatitis. Cockroaches are prolific and rapid reproducers and are highly successful insects due to their ability to survive on a very wide variety of food sources. For example, the female German cockroach (Blatella germanica) can lay up to 240 eggs in her 200 day lifetime and the population can grow very quickly, particularly when there is an abundance of food and water. It’s important to control cockroaches inside your home as soon as they’re noticed. Evidence of an infestation includes small faecal droppings, smudges from regurgitated food and faeces, foul-smelling odours in cupboards, or other sheltered areas, damage to fabrics, clothing, shoes and books. Cockroaches come in various colours, including black, brown and yellow, and some have distinct patterns and markings. Cockroaches have a flattened oval body, triangular head and a pair of long flexible antennae that wave independently to sense their environment. They can be present throughout the year and are mostly active at night, generally hiding throughout the day. If cockroaches are observed during the day, this could be the sign of a major infestation. Cockroaches are fast moving, can travel across both vertical and horizontal surfaces and run away when exposed to light. Some cockroaches also have wings and will sometimes fly. Cockroaches are social insects with many preferring to live in groups. They use their faeces, sometimes mixed

with a pheromone, to attract mates and mark out feeding and shelter areas. This produces a nasty odour and an awful mess. Cockroaches are attracted to areas where food and water are available and are commonly found in warm, humid and sheltered areas such as the pantry, kitchen, bathroom, toilet and garage. To kill the most common species of cockroaches inside the house, apply Yates® Home Pest® Cockroach Killer Gel Bait in areas frequented by cockroaches, including behind and under appliances, cabinets and sinks, around plumbing pipes, doors and windows. Apply 2-5mm diameter spots of gel using the easy to use syringe applicator. Cockroaches will eat the bait and then transfer it to other colony members before dying. And to create a barrier to discourage cockroaches from entering the house for up to 3 months, apply Yates Home Pest Long Term Barrier Spray around exterior walls, door entrances, flyscreens and window sills and frames, as well as around foundations, under the house and in cracks and crevices.

Creepy crawly tip! Yates Home Pest Long Term Barrier Spray will also create a barrier to control flies, spiders, ants and mosquitoes outside the house. It can also be sprayed onto plant foliage and leaf litter to control mosquitoes for up to 14 weeks, with mosquitoes often hiding and resting in amongst shrubs and on leaf litter on the ground.

PROTECT YOUR HOME WITH For every pest you do see, imagine how many you don’t...

KILL THE PESTS YOU

CAN SEE

& THE ONES THAT

YOU CAN’T

CONNECT WITH US @yatesgardening

yates.com.au ®Yates G is R aO registered Australia (Pty ofUDuluxGroup Pty Ltd 18Ltd) W I N G trademark W I T H YO - YA T E S(Australia)

RODENT SEASON Rodents like rats and mice can become an increasing problem during the cooler months, as they’re searching for food and shelter.

There are two common types of rats that live in suburban Australia. The black rat, also known as the roof rat, and the brown rat, also called the Norway rat. They’re both around 16–20cm long with a smooth coat and big, thin ears. Mice are usually around 7.5–10cm long with a smaller tail. In your house, the tell tale signs of a rodent problem include hearing scratching in your roof or walls, seeing chewed food packets and small droppings, or pets acting strangely or being overly excitable. Here are a variety of options to get rodents under control.

Poison-free rodent solutions To deter rats and mice from coming inside, plug a Ratsak® Ultrasonic Rodent Repeller Pro or a Ratsak Ultrasonic Rodent Repeller Mini into a powerpoint in rooms where rodents can be most active, such as in the laundry, garage or kitchen. These units emit high frequency sound waves to repel rats and mice and will not harm humans or non-rodent pets. The Ratsak Electronic Mouse Trap is a highly effective way to control mice, using advanced smart circuit technology that senses when a mouse has entered the trap, while a uniquely designed tunnel prevents escape. Once inside, the circuit triggers a high-voltage shock, killing the mouse quickly and effectively. The electronic trap kills up to 100 mice (per set of AA batteries) and can be baited with peanut butter or Ratsak Attractant Paste. Another trapping option is the Ratsak Trap Station, which can be used both inside the house and also outside, including near compost bins and garden beds. It houses a strong trap inside a durable and lockable station, helping to keep traps away from children, pets and other animals. The trap can be baited with peanut butter or Ratsak Attractant Paste. Ratsak Naturals Rodenticide Bait Pellets kills mice by dehydration. The pellets are made from natural ingredients and while deadly to rodents, they’re safe to use around humans and animals when used according to the instructions.

Rats and mice need to feed on these pellets for 2–5 days and will then die within 7 days. And to repel rats and mice, Ratsak Repel Rodent Repellent Gel contains a naturally based formulation to deter rodents from entering the house. The gel is applied onto surfaces where rodents travel.

Bait rodent solutions Ratsak Fast Action Throw Packs contain pellets in individual chew-through packs, which kill rats and mice in a single feed. Ideal for hard to reach places such as roof voids and ceilings. No need to touch the bait, just throw where there are signs of rodent activity. Ratsak Wax Blocks are another easy and effective way to kill rats and mice in just one feed. Ratsak Wax Blocks are moisture resistant, making them ideal for damp areas such as laundries and garages. The Ratsak Reusable Rodent Station is pre-baited with 4 wax blocks and helps keep baits away from children and pets. It should be placed where there are signs of rodent activity and in dark, sheltered places where rodents often hide. Ratsak Rapid Strike Dual Active Wax Blocks contain the fastest kill Ratsak formulation available. Each block can kill up to 20 mice or 5 rats, and contain aromatic ingredients and proteins for increased palatability and faster bait uptake. Place blocks where there are signs of rodent activity, preferably in a secure bait station.

Professional tip! When handling wax blocks, throw packs and traps, wear gloves to prevent a human scent being transferred, which can deter rodents from approaching.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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LIV

Sensational SWEET PEAS

Sweet peas are delightful and very popular plants that combine delicate and very pretty flowers with a beautiful fragrance. St Patrick’s Day (March 17th) has been the traditional day to sow sweet peas, however, it’s often best to wait for cooler conditions in April to sow them. In the tropics and subtropics, sow sweet peas later still in May. There are gorgeous sweet pea varieties to suit most climates and gardens, whether you want to cover a fence, have room in a garden bed for a sweet pea tepee or fill a container or hanging basket on a sunny veranda or balcony. Here are a few of the most popular larger sweet pea varieties:

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PlAnt HeigHt 1.5-2 m

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A vibrant colour mix of early flowering and heavily perfumed sweet peas. Colourcade produces masses of lightly frilled flowers on long stems. Perfect for picking.

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» Yates Sweet Pea ‘Blue Reflections’ has beautiful blue, mauve and white flowers.

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Position full sun

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» Yates® Sweet Pea ‘Colourcade’ is a blend of the finest fragrant white, purple and pink sweet peas with lightly frilled flowers.

Once the seedlings are around 5 cm tall, start feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Rose & Flowers Liquid Plant Food. This fast acting complete fertiliser provides nitrogen for healthy leaf growth, phosphorus for strong root development and potassium for lots of lovely sweet pea flowers.

Tall varieties will need to be grown on a frame, trellis or tepee. Young seedlings may need to be supported with small twigs or bamboo skewers until they can reach their trellis.

Sweet peas take around 12-14 weeks to flower. Don’t forget to cut handfuls of deliciously scented flowers for a vase.

As the plants grow, watch for signs of powdery mildew, which appears like a dusting of talcum powder over the leaves. If not controlled, this disease will progress to causing the leaves to yellow, plant health will suffer, and the flower show cut short. Powdery mildew can be controlled with regular sprays of Yates Rose Gun™. It comes in an easy to use trigger applicator and contains a systemic fungicide, which moves around the plant’s system to control common diseases like powdery mildew.

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SWEET PEA INTERVIEW WITH

Dr Keith

Hammett

Dr Keith Hammett is one of the world’s leading professional breeders of ornamental plants, including sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus), dahlias, amaryllis and clivias, and has released more than 300 cultivars so far during his extensive career. His plant breeding highlights include stunning bicoloured and flake sweet peas and the ‘Mystic’ series of dahlias with striking dark foliage, and his clivia collection contains more than 30,000 plants. He is passionate and generous about sharing his horticultural knowledge and Yates’s horticultural communications manager, Angie Thomas, was fortunate to interview Keith about one of his specialties, sweet peas.

When and how did your interest in sweet peas start? I had an uncle who separated his flower garden from his vegetable garden with a row of Sweet Peas. At the age of 14, I bought a packet of Sweet Pea seed and entered my first flower show the following year. I was encouraged to enter more shows, at both a local and national level (a teenager being interested in horticulture was quite a novelty) and went on to study botany at university. During my university years I began to experiment in breeding sweet peas and dahilas, which I had also become interested in since another uncle had been growing them on their farm’s home garden. What is it about sweet peas that you love? Their form, and when I still had a sense of smell, their scent. To gauge a sweet pea’s fragrance, I now rely on friends and colleagues to provide their feedback and rating. Tell us about your farm I have a 10 acre farm in Auckland, New Zealand, with a glasshouse connected to my house and two plastic tunnel houses. It’s set up as a research farm, where I can grow seedlings, take cuttings and cross-breed, as well as having facilities to grow plants during winter.

Do you have a favourite sweet pea variety? No, like children, it is wise not to play favourites. How do you go about creating and screening new varieties? The most important first step is to define a goal. Second, assemble a gene pool that contains the characteristics that you wish to bring together. Third, understand the breeding mechanism of each plant genus and fourth, have patience. It takes several years to get to know the cultivars you have in your gene pool. In year one you make the cross-pollination. In the second year all the plants produced by that cross should all look to be identical. Seed saved from that generation will produce a population of plants with all the characteristics of their grandparents all jumbled up. You look for any plants that are a step closer to the goal you defined. Seeds are saved individually from any candidates. These are grown in the next season and most likely they will segregate again and new selections will be needed. This process can continue for several years before a cultivar becomes ‘fixed’ for the main characteristics. To get a new cultivar released takes between 10 and 15 years from the time the cross was made. Start young!

G R O W IG NR G OW WIITNHG YW O IUT H - YA Y OTUE S- YA T E S

What are some interesting facts about sweet peas?

What are your top sweet pea growing tips?

In the early 1900s, ‘sweet pea mania’ hit the United Kingdom. A show, held at the Crystal Palace in London, attracted more than 33,000 bunches of sweet peas and the organisers ran out of vases!

It’s best to sow seed directly into the ground, or into pots, in full sun. This way stocky hardy plants are produced. Feed with a slow release plant food that’s not high in nitrogen, as it can cause bud drop. And for powdery mildew, it’s best to start control sprays as soon as the first disease symptoms are noticed.

Sweet pea flowers self-pollinate 2 days before opening, so we have to manually open up the flowers before this happens and transfer pollen from one flower to another.

When growing sweet peas for cut flowers, stem length is dictated by the variety but also the difference between day and night temperature, with a 20˚C difference being ideal.

Orange sweet peas can be bred, however they tend to scorch in the sun, so not all characteristics are good ones.

Some varieties, such as ‘Blue Shift’, have the ability to change flower colour as they age.

There was a new sweet pea relative, Lathyrus belinensis, discovered in Turkey in 1987, with a yellow and orange flower. An exciting, brand new hybrid was created between L. belinensis and L. odoratus and named Lathyrus x hammettii. Editor’s Note: You’ll note the second part of this plant’s name – hammettii, which was given to honour its breeder, Dr Keith Hammett!

As night time temperatures increase, stem length decreases, so flowers produced earlier in the season will tend to have longer stems. High daytime temperatures also interfere with pollen, leading to reduced seed set.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Autumn

FLOWERS & FOLIAGE

As the hot and harsh summer days wane and autumn gently glides into our gardens, there are some beautiful flowering and foliage plants that are in their element. To brighten your autumn, let’s take a closer look at camellias and Chinese pistachio trees.

Camellias are a wonderfully versatile and very attractive group of plants. They can be grown as a hedge or espaliered, used as a feature plant or grown in containers, and provide gorgeous colour during the cooler months of the year, particularly in shaded areas that can be challenging to add colour to. Sasanqua camellias, which are more sun hardy than japonica camellias, start flowering in mid to late autumn. Growing several varieties of both sasanqua and later-flowering japonica camellias can bring many months of flowers into the garden. Colours range from white to pretty pastel pinks, reds and even yellow. There are also different flower types, including doubles, ruffled petals and single flowers with exposed stamens, which are adored by bees. Here are some tips to help keep your camellias looking fantastic: »

Feeding – all camellias will love a feed during autumn with Yates® Thrive® Natural Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food. It provides an organic based, potassium enriched nutrient boost to help promote healthy green leaf growth and lots of flowers.

Watering – camellias like moist but well drained soil, so water camellias regularly to keep them hydrated. Potted camellias will require more frequent watering than in-ground camellias.

Trace element extra care - if you’ve had problems with bud balling in the past (where buds form but go brown and don’t open), an application of liquid magnesium might help. Yates Leaf Greener Magnesium Chelate is a concentrated source of fast acting magnesium that can help correct magnesium deficiency in camellias.

Scale – camellias can be prone to scale, which appear as raised bumps along stems and leaves. Yates Scale Gun can be used to control scale on camellias. It works by contact action, so ensure all sides of scale affected stems and leaves are covered.

Chinese pistachio (Pistacia chinensis) trees are autumn foliage heroes, developing intense shades of yellow, crimson, orange and red leaves as the weather cools. They are excellent trees for a medium sized backyard, growing to around 8 metres tall and 6 metres wide. And being deciduous, provide welcome summer shade and let the winter sunshine stream in. They’re fairly hardy trees that will tolerate moderately dry conditions and most soil types, however will do best in a well-drained spot. Some nurseries will have potted Chinese pistachio trees for sale during autumn, where you can choose your favourite autumnal shades. Otherwise, bare rooted trees will become available during winter. When planting a new Chinese pistachio tree, mix some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® into the planting hole to improve the soil and nurture the tree with slow release organic nutrients as it establishes. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Tulip time!

Sublime spring flowering bulbs like tulips, daffodils and anemones dazzle us with their beautiful blooms and jonquils, hyacinths and freesias fill the air with fragrance during late winter and spring.

Whether you create swathes of gorgeous colour in garden beds or brighten an outdoor area with a pot packed with bulbs, autumn is the time to get planting. A little preparation now will result in much healthier bulbs and a gorgeous floral show. Here are some tips to help create a fantastic display: »

If your bulbs haven’t been pre-chilled, put them in the fridge crisper for 4-6 weeks to trick them into thinking they’ve been through a cool winter.

In a well-drained, sunny location out in the garden, enrich the soil in the planting area with some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.

Water the garden bed or pot after planting to help settle the soil or potting mix around the bulbs. Potted bulbs will need regular watering to ensure they have enough moisture.

As soon as the first leaves emerge, you can start to feed the bulbs each week with a high potassium plant food such as Yates Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser, which encourages healthy growth and helps promote future flowers

Monitor for snails and slugs too, which can damage the tender new shoots. Sprinkle some Yates Blitzem® Snail & Slug Pellets around the bulb patch to protect the leaves from snails and slugs. Continue feeding until most of the leaves have died down in late spring or early summer.

The rich pellets will help improve the structure of the soil, encourage earthworms and beneficial microorganisms and provide the newly planted bulbs with gentle, slow release organic nutrients to promote good early bulb growth. »

For potted bulbs, choose a pot or bowl with good drainage holes and fill with a quality potting mix such as Yates Premium Potting Mix. When planting bulbs in a pot, they can be grown quite close together, which helps create a lovely dense look.

Follow the directions on the bulb pack as to how deep to plant your chosen bulbs and ensure that you plant them the right way up!

Warm climate tip! In warm areas try ixias, gladioli, babiana and Zephryanthes (rain lilies) for spring colour.

FL A M IN G O

Flowers

Your indoor plant collection doesn’t have to be a sea of green! Add some floral pizzazz with Anthuriums (Anthurium scherzerianum). Also called flamingo flowers, they have rich burgundy, bright red, pretty pink or white heart shaped flowers with an interesting waxy appearance and a distinctive yellow ‘spadix’ growing from the base. The flowers are long lasting and together with the glossy green leaves, add a tropical feel to indoor spaces. Growing to around 60cm tall, anthuriums prefer a warm, brightly lit spot indoors, out of direct sunlight and protected from draughts. In warm climates you can also grow anthuriums in a shady garden, or in pots on a sheltered deck or patio.

Here are our top tips for growing a lovely lush anthurium: » Choose a pot that’s at least 20cm wide, with good drainage holes. Fill with a good quality premium potting mix like Yates® Specialty Potting Mix Plants & Ferns. It’s a perfect foundation for indoor plants like anthuriums and contains controlled release fertiliser that will feed plants for up to 6 months. It’s also boosted with a biostimulant for extra plant and root growth. » Water the new plant in well, but then allow the potting mix to dry out slightly in between future waterings. Anthuriums do not like to be over watered. Check moisture levels in the potting mix by inserting your finger into the top few cm of mix. » Flamingo flowers like humidity and will enjoy having their leaves misted with

water when it’s hot and dry. You can also sit the plant on a saucer filled with pebbles and then add water to the saucer. This helps to increase the humidity around the plant. » Feed anthuriums every two weeks from spring to late autumn with Yates Thrive® Indoor Plants Natural Plant Food Spray. Made from 100% naturally derived ingredients, it’s an easy to use fertiliser that is sprayed onto the potting mix, feeding plants with a gentle blend of natural minerals and nutrients. Spray onto the potting mix and water in afterwards.

» Indoor plants like anthuriums can often be affected by fungus gnats. Adult fungus gnats are annoying tiny black winged insects that fly around the house. They lay eggs in potting mix which hatch into larvae that can damage plant roots. Create a barrier against fungus gnats by applying a 3cm layer of Yates Gnat Barrier, made from specialised abrasive granules, over the surface of the potting mix. » Remove any spent flowers to keep the plant looking tidy and promote more flowers. Anthurium flowers can also be cut for a vase display. » Anthurium leaves can attract dust, so regularly gently wipe the leaves to keep them clean. And remove any dead leaves or spent flowers to help keep the plant looking tidy and encourage fresh growth and flowers.

Green thumb tip: Indoor plants like anthuriums can be affected by mites, which are tiny sap feeding pests that cause leaves to yellow and mottle and large colonies of mites can create spidery webbing. Control mites by spraying plants each week with Yates® Nature’s Way® Vegie & Herb Spray, which is an insecticidal soap that’s made from natural vegetable oils.

Made from 100% naturally derived ingredients

Feeding your plant babies is now child's play Yates® Thrive® Indoor Plants Natural Plant Food Spray is the ultimate indoor plant fertiliser which is sure to see your indoor plants thrive. Made from a gentle blend of natural minerals and nutrients, this spray will give your indoor plants a nourishing boost. A spray once a fortnight is all your plants need to keep them healthy and happy! Yates and Thrive are registered trade marks and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

Easter treats Pretty pastel colours are perfect for Easter decorating, including delightful soft pinks and mauves, light minty greens and pale buttery yellows. Go beyond painting eggs and trimming baskets and fill your garden with Easter themed colours with some gorgeous new plants from Plant Growers Australia.

Nemesia ‘Easter Bonnet’ produces a prolific display of soft lilac and pale lemon coloured flowers from autumn through to spring. The flowers are beautifully fragrant, attract pollinating insects, and cover the neat dome of foliage when in full flower. Nemesia ‘Easter Bonnet’ will reach a height of 30cm, spread to 50cm wide and is easy to grow in either full sun or part shade. It looks particularly effective when grown in mixed garden beds, planted in groups of 2 or 3, or used as a low edging plant along paths and driveways. Before planting, enrich the soil first with some Yates® Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. It will improve the structure of the soil as well as provide the new plant with gentle slow release organic nutrients as it establishes. Nemesia ‘Easter Bonnet’ also looks wonderful in containers placed around outdoor entertainment areas. Nemesia ‘Easter Bonnet’ is low maintenance and easy to grow in most soil types that are moist but free-draining. To keep plants looking tidy, prune back by half after the main flowering flush has finished. And to promote healthy leaf growth and masses of blooms, feed every 6 weeks with potassium enriched Yates® Thrive® Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food. Sprinkle the pellets around the root zone and water in well. It is also beneficial to apply mulch around the plants to help retain soil moisture levels.

Add to your Easter colour theme with a charming new salvia from Plant Growers Australia called ‘So Cool Pink’. The ‘So Cool’ range of salvias already includes a lovely range of colours including purple, lilac, white and violet, and the new pink variety is wonderfully soft, pale pink and romantic. ‘So Cool Pink’ grows to 70cm tall, spreading to around 1m wide, and produces masses of flowers during spring with flushes continuing throughout the warmer months. It has a very compact and dense growth habit and its evergreen foliage is aromatic when crushed or brushed against. It’s a low maintenance salvia that’s perfect in sunny mixed border plantings and once established is dry and frost tolerant. It can also be grown in large containers. For best results, choose a well-drained pot and fill with a good quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix. To help keep Salvia ‘So Cool Pink’ healthy and encourage lots of flowers, feed regularly with Yates® Thrive® Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food and prune back after the main flowering flush.

Nemesia and Salvia information courtesy of Plant Growers Australia. For more information on the Salvia So Cool range and Nemesia ‘Easter Bonnet’, visit www.pga.com.au

New garden tip! Salvia ‘So Cool Pink’ grows quickly, so produces fast results in new gardens.

Turn barren into bountiful Yates® Dynamic Lifter® helps create healthy soil, the foundation for life in your garden. Yates® Dynamic Lifter® is an organic blend of composted chicken manure, fish meal, blood & bone and seaweed. It helps improve soil health for better water and nutrient holding, whilst encouraging beneficial earthworms and micro-organisms. Give your plants the perfect start and turn barren, ordinary dirt into bountiful, nutrient rich soil.

Great things start with Yates™

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Autumn

flower seeds It’s time to sow a fabulous range of Yates® flower seeds, to bring glorious floral colour into your garden over the coming cooler months. And it’s very important for us all to grow lots of flowers, to provide food for insects such as bees, butterflies and other beneficial pollinators. Here is some autumn seed sowing inspiration for around Australia: NATIONAL

TROPICAL / SUB TROPICAL

TEMPERATE

COOL

Alyssum - Cameo Mix, Carpet of Snow

Ageratum Blue Mink

Sweetpea - Bijou Semi Dwarf, Blue Reflections, Brilliant Fragrance, Colourcade, Old Fashioned, Original, Potted Fragrance

Aquilegia Columbine

Chamomile

Carnation

Bee Pasture

Cineraria Starships

Delphinium Pacific Giants

Butterfly Field

Coleus

Forget me not

Calendula Pacific Beauty

Delphinium Pacific Giants

Foxglove Foxy

Chrysanthemum Snowlands

Echinacea

Gypsophila Baby's Breath

Colonial Garden Collection

Forget me not

Hollyhock Double Elegance

Cottage Garden Mix

Foxglove Foxy

Marigold Safari Mixture

Dianthus Double Pink

Gypsophila Baby's Breath

Poppy Red Flanders

English Daisy

Hollyhock Double Elegance

Primula Fairy Primrose

Everlasting Daisy

Impatiens Busy Lizzie

Snapdragon -Tetra Mixed, Tom Thumb

Festival of Flowers

Marigold - Crackerjack, Cupid Mix, Safari Yellow

Statice

Hanging Basket Mix

Nasturtium - Cherry Rose, Jewel Mixed

Stock Giant Perfection

Pansy Giant Supreme

Poppy - Iceland Artist's Glory, Red Flanders

Pink Paper daisy

Virginian Stock

Salvia - Blue Bedder, Dwarf Scarlet

Yellow Paper Daisy

Wildflowers of the World

Snapdragon - Tetra Mixed, Tom Thumb Statice Stock Giant Perfection Sunflower - Bronze Shades, Dwarf Sensation, Yellow Empress Pink Paper daisy Yellow Paper Daisy

- GROW YOUR OWN AUSTRALIAN -

NATIVE WILDFLOWER MEADOW

Vast swathes of wildflowers in Western Australia, where Mother Nature paints the landscape in a kaleidoscope of colours, captivate us during winter and spring. These meadows contain a beautiful collection of native flowers, including delightful species of paper daisies.

Create your own mini field of wildflowers by sowing seed of native paper daisies during autumn. Yellow paper daisies (Schoenia filifolia) are brightly coloured dwarf daisies that produce masses of sunshine-yellow flowers over several months. Growing to around 30–40cm tall they love a full sun location in either garden beds or containers. You can sow Yates® Yellow Paper Daisy seeds throughout Australia during autumn. Enrich the soil or potting mix beforehand by mixing in some Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. It adds valuable organic matter which benefits soil structure, encourages earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms and helps hold moisture in the soil. It will also provide organic native-plant-friendly slow release nutrients to the daisies as they establish. In warm and temperate climates, you can also sow seed of Yates Pink Paper Daisy (in cool areas, delay sowing until spring). These hardy annual daisies (Rhodanthe chlorocephala) are easy to grow, producing pretty pale pink flowers with a yellow centre and can create a massed display in sunny garden beds or pots. It’s best to sow these daisy seeds direct where the plants are to grow, covering lightly with some Yates Seed Raising Mix. Keep the area moist while the seedlings establish (seeds take up to

4 weeks to germinate) and then thin out any excess seedlings when they’re 5–7cm high, leaving a 15-30m spacing between plants. Paper daisies are drought hardy, though will appreciate being watered during prolonged dry periods. Water at the base of the plant, avoiding the foliage. To promote healthy growth and lots of beautiful flowers, feed paper daisies every 2 weeks with Yates DynamicLifter® Liquid. It’s a rich natural liquid fertiliser that’s safe for feeding Australian native plants and is easy to apply via a watering can.

Flower tip! Yellow and pink paper daisies make a beautiful dried flower. Pick the flowers when they have just opened, tie in bunches and hang with their heads down in a cool, well aired indoor position until fully dried.

Gardening in different climates All around Australia, there are lots of things to keep you wonderfully busy out in the garden during autumn. In cool climates it’s time to: »

Help protect vulnerable plants from early frosts by moving potted plants to a protected spot, draping frost cloth over sensitive plants and spraying foliage with Yates® DroughtShield™ before frosts are predicted. It forms a protective flexible film over the leaves which helps reduce frost damage. Harvest pumpkins once the vines have browned off. Cut pumpkins from the stem, leaving a few centimetres of stalk, leave in a spot in the sun for a week to encourage the skin to harden and then store in a cool, dry dark place for future delicious use.

Grow your own sweet and fragrant alpine strawberries. Sow Yates Alpine Strawberry seeds into trays or punnets of Yates Seed Raising Mix and transplant the young seedlings into a garden bed or pot when they’re large enough to handle.

Start making your own compost using fallen autumn leaves. Mix bucketfuls of leaves, plus kitchen scraps and handfuls of Yates Dynamic Lifter together in a compost bin, pile or tumbler, keep moist and let the beneficial composting microorganisms get to work. G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

In temperate climates it’s time to: »

During early to mid-autumn, while the weather is still warm, feed potted cacti & succulents with Yates Thrive® Plant Food Spikes Cacti & Succulents. The spikes contain concentrated plant nutrients that will feed the plants for up to 2 months. Just push a spike into the potting mix midway between the plant stem and pot edge.

Keep watch for small bindii & clover seedlings emerging in the lawn, which will grow rapidly in autumn’s mild weather. For large lawn areas, hose-on applicators make treating weeds quick and easy. For kikuyu and couch lawns apply Yates Weed’n’Feed® and for buffalo lawns, use buffalo-safe Yates BuffaloPro® Weed’n’Feed.

Prolonged wet weather can lead to root and collar rot diseases developing in susceptible plants like avocados, citrus and many Australian native plants, particularly in areas with poorly drained soil. Yates Anti Rot is a systemic fungicide that is applied over the foliage to prevent and control root and collar rot diseases.

Repot overcrowded indoor plants into a slightly bigger pot with fresh potting mix. Yates Specialty Potting Mix Plants & Ferns is ideal and provides the perfect foundation for new root growth as well as feeding the plants for up to 6 months with controlled release fertiliser.

In sub-tropical and tropical climates it’s time to: »

Keep sowing tomato seed to provide an ongoing supply of fresh seedlings and dust existing tomato plants with Yates Tomato & Vegetable Dust to control the most common insect pests and diseases, such as aphids, caterpillars and blights.

In late autumn, start harvesting spring planted sweet potatoes. Gently dig around in the soil to reveal the tubers.

Control grass and broadleaf weeds before they set seed (and create future generations) by spot spraying with Yates Nature’s Way® Organic Weed Killer. It’s based on clove oil to give fast burn-down of weeds, with visible symptoms appearing on some weeds after just 1 hour. It’s also approved for use in organic gardening and is glyphosate free, so is ideal for people wanting to use organic methods of weed control in their gardens.

Visit your local garden centre and choose a tibouchina while it’s in spectacular purple (or pink or white) flower. Look for compact varieties from Plant Growers Australia, such as ‘Peace Baby’ and ‘Groovy Baby’, for growing in small spaces and pots.

We also plant seeds in the heads of gardeners

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