NATURAL DETERRENT
I had worms and grubs in my apples until I heeled in a cutting of Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’ under the apple tree.
I intended to shift it, however, it didn’t get moved. Much to my delight there have been no more bugs – a great way to pest-proof apples.
Gail Watson, Sandy Knolls, Canterbury.
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HOYA HOME

Mother thrush decided to build a nest in one of our hoyas growing in a hanging basket.
This shot was taken last spring, about half-an-hour before the intrepid pair took their first flight. We saw them for several days afterwards, chasing mum for food.
Jack Jenkins, Whenuapai

GRATEFUL GARDENERS
Thank you very much everyone who responded to my Noticeboard request and contacted me or sent bulbs of the winter-flowering gladioli. They are very much appreciated and I have passed on spares to gardening relatives. I can’t wait to see them in flower next winter.
Michelle Wylde, Hamilton.

I would like to say thank you to the people who sent me elephant garlic and to the very kind person who left the cloves in my letterbox.
Lynne Grant, Te Aroha.

TRUCKIN’ ON

I have always wanted an old truck for my garden and now I have one. It looks like it was parked there and left to rest. I love it.
Brenda Long, Ahipara.

BEETLE TRAP
I noted a reader having problems with the hibiscus beetle (Issue 316).
A simple method to trap these pests is to use a white plastic ice cream or empty margarine container. Add soapy suds in the bottom and, as the beetles are attracted to white, they enter the container, get the suds on their wings and drown.
Remove any spent flowers and fallen buds daily. Dispose of these in a plastic bag in the garbage bin and do not use flowers for compost. This will all help break the breeding cycle.
I use this method and have found it works.
Stuart Cheyne, Buderim, Queensland.

COFFEE CALAMITY
Val Morley’s letter (Issue 321) reminded me about our coffee tree. It is about three years old and it grows in our courtyard hidden under a massive puka tree to protect it from frosts.
All through last year and earlier this year, we watched as an impressive crop of beans started to bud, swell and slowly ripen to a lovely red. We enjoy a nice cup of coffee and were discussing the various ways to harvest, roast and prepare our crop.
The only trouble was, we became sidetracked by another matter and the next time we checked our crop, the whole lot had ripened, fallen and scattered all over the ground, impossible to retrieve. Does anyone know if fallen coffee beans will sprout?
Ah well, better luck with the next crop.
Brian Burton, Pukekohe.

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COFFEE TIME

This is a photo of coffee beans picked this season from my Coffea arabica bush. The shrub is about five years old and, for past three years, the crop has increased.
We have now had this season’s first cup of organic coffee from the beans. Processing them is not as easy as growing them and is very labour intensive for a few cups of coffee – our hard work made about half a medium-sized jar.
It’s great fun, though, and the bush is a very attractive one that is green all year and has jasmine-shaped, white flowers.
Val Morley, Hibiscus Coast.

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VIOLET MEMORIES
The recent article about the carnation ‘Otaki Pink’ (Issue 317) reminded me of the violets sold in Willis St, Wellington, years ago.
These violets were grown by my grandfather, Arnold Butt, near the Otaki Gorge – he had rows
of them. He would pick every day, making bunches as he went with leaves around the outside. He’d place the bunches in boxes, take them down to the Te Horo railway station in his Model T Ford and put them on the train for collection at Wellington station.
I used to love going there and helping – the perfume was lovely and I have some of the violets in my garden, even now.
I worked in Wellington as a teenager and I can still hear the street-seller calling out “Oootaki viooolets!”
Trish Gough, Tauranga.

BEAUTY IDENTIFIED

Can someone identify this plant? I have had it in my garden for several years but no one around here knows what it is. It has lovely foliage and red flower spikes in winter.
M Moffatt, Matata.

I checked with subtropical expert Russell Fransham who says it is Odontonema strictum, commonly called firespike. A Central American rainforest native, it can handle full sun or quite deep shade but can be knocked back by frost. Russell says it is a great plant to bring hot autumn and winter colour under big trees. Cutting it back to stubble when flowering finishes keeps it compact and handsome. It can make a great houseplant or tub plant for a patio and grows from cuttings or layers very quickly. – Andrew Maloy.

COMPOST HINT

My son gave me a year’s Weekend Gardener subscription for my birthday and I really enjoy it – especially all those money saving hints and tips from readers. So here’s one in return.
I like the benefits of making my own compost but I don’t like having to wait so long for it to mature. Paying for activator doesn’t appeal so I have been experimenting and find that adding the rinse-water from my homemade yoghurt containers (and the odd shop one bought when on special) speeds up the process.
If you have yoghurt, it’s free, quick and easy to hurry the process.
Pouline Morley, Stanmore Bay, Auckland.

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BIRDS SERVED

FEEDING birds in winter is one of my favourite things to do. I use citrus fruit, banana, pineapple, popcorn and sugar syrup.
The syrup, made from a cup of sugar to a litre of water, is placed on one of my two feeding stations and the tuis and waxeyes gorge themselves – a popular café stop in winter.
K Nicholas, Gisborne.

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BIRD BARRIER

This photo was taken in my 92-year-old mother’s garden in Blenheim. For a long time she had trouble with the birds scratching out the soil from this border on to the grass.
She tried many things; netting, sticks, weedmat but nothing stopped them. By using all her surplus punnets the problem was solved and the result looks very tidy.
Vivien Melrose, Otaki Beach.

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SORRY SPUDS
We have the same problems with potatoes as the reader who asked Plant Doctor Andrew Maloy for help (Issue 317) – rings like tree rings visible when potatoes are cut in half, and hard centres after they have been cooked.
Aware of the potato pysllid, I checked for pests and eggs and sprayed with my crop with a systemic spray. The result was no pests, no eggs and no edible potatoes. However, my unsprayed kumara, which are also prone to this pest, were perfect.
I took sample spuds to the seed supplier who identified the problem (from a printed colour chart) as a seasonal disorder. I’ve never seen this before in my potatoes, but it is obviously common enough to have made it on to a published problem list.
M Billings, Whangarei.

The psyllid in question infests mostly members of the Solanum (potato) family, which includes tomatoes, peppers and tamarillos. It has been reported on kumara but not as a pest of the same significance. Kumara are members of a different plant family (Convolvulaceae) from potatoes. – Susie.

ELF HELP

I have been trying to source one of these elves (pictured) for some time. Although the garden centre that sold them is still in business in the Auckland region, it no longer stocks them because the maker has returned to England.
There were originally several elves in the set, the one in the photo, another kneeling on a tree trunk and another, I think, sitting on a mushroom.
I wondered if a reader knows of one for sale, as I would love to have it as an addition to my garden.
I am happy to pay any costs involved. My phone number is 06 323 7672.
Robyn Lundin, Feilding.

EGGED ON

After reading the interesting article on the birdhouses (Issue 316), I wondered if readers might be interested in this photo taken by a relative in north Canterbury. I am not sure what type of bird’s egg this is but I find the photograph always raises a smile.
G Baty, Nelson.

OUR WRITER RESPONDS
Readers have asked where they can obtain the fragrant pink-flowered luculia I wrote about (Issue 318). Taranaki plantswoman Abbie Jury advises me it is not overly difficult to strike from cuttings and suggests home gardeners without misting equipment take cuttings now and treat them as they would a vireya or fuchsia cutting.
This luculia is not widely available from garden stores but can be found at Kaipara Coast Plant Centre & Sculpture Gardens, 1481 Kaipara Coast Highway,
Kaukapakapa, or through www.plantsnz.co.nz, www.sculpturegardens.co.nz and www.fruittrees.co.nz websites.
Sue Linn, Hawkes Bay.

HOSTAS UNHARMED
I struggled for five years to get hostas looking something like beautiful but failed because of the relentless attacks by slugs and snails from the moment the leaves appeared above ground.  I had been told, ‘“you can’t grow hostas in Auckland” and “give it up”.
However, last year after reading a tip in Weekend Gardener, I saved our spent coffee grounds and, long before the hostas appeared, spread them thickly over the crowns. Eureka, lovely clean undamaged leaves! And a bonus is that the coffee grounds condition the soil as well.
Win McMinn, Auckland.

POSSUMS FOILED
We have planted a small orchard with various fruit trees but because there’s bush on our property and on the farmland behind, we have a possum problem.
My husband devised this deterrent – a ‘hula hoop’ made of irrigation hose with bird netting sewn on to it. Using string, we suspended it from the lower branches of the tree, as shown. It has been 100% effective so we now have these netted hoops on all our fruit trees.
The ‘Granny Smith’ apples on the tree in the photo grow to an enormous size and we have been able to harvest them all for a change.
I enjoy the useful tips sent in by other readers.
Diana MacMillan, Mahakipawa.

ROSE OFFERINGS
Last year, a picture of my rose was published in the letters column (Issue 292) under the heading, Nameless delight.
I received a number of requests for cuttings of the rose but unfortunately, some gardeners missed out. I now have more cuttings to give away on a first-come, first-served basis.
If anyone is still interested, they can email me at:
williamandgrace@hotmail.com
Grace Hooper, Manurewa.

LOQUAT RESCUED
Three months ago, a trellis fell on our new loquat tree. We were working in the garden at the time so hurried to it. While I held the trunk in place, my husband went to collect tape, rope, a strong post and a hammer.
We did the best we could, trying to put the tree together again and giving it support.
Now you would never know anything had happened, apart from the bandage around it. I am sure the quick action helped it survive.
Elaine Taylor, Blenheim.

MOSAIC MASTERPIECE

I decided my garden shed needed brightening up so I created this mosaic of a pukeko and a rainbow. I’m quite pleased with my effort as it is the biggest mosaic I have done.
Brenda Long, Ahipara.

KING-SIZED KUMARA

We are thrilled with our kumara crop this year. We started digging them at the beginning of March and as we went along the row they just got larger and larger, the biggest being 650gm.
They were planted in November from cuttings I took from one large supermarket kumara I put in a container with water to grow.
We have been growing kumara for six years in a large, low, raised bed. It has about 20cm of free-draining soil (lots of compost) on top of a hard base of sand and peat.
This year, I put each plant on a mound about 35cm apart with a tablespoon of potato fertiliser and gave them another dose of fertiliser in January. Very little attention was required, other than pegging back the runners so they didn’t intrude on other plants.
Cynthia Petersen, Raumati South.

DAUGTER’S DISPLAY

In August last year, my husband Maurice and I went to visit my daughter in Wellington. She works for the council’s parks and gardens section and took us for a tour around Wellington. This photo, taken in the Karori Cemetery, shows one of her plantings. It was a wet, dull day, but the colour of the kale was so bright and warming. The coloured grasses along the edgings also looked bright and welcoming for visiting family and friends.
The cemetery is surrounded by trees and has beautiful rose gardens as well. It is so beautiful and tranquil and is my daughter’s favourite workplace.
I am a very proud mother, knowing that my daughter’s work adds to the beauty of our capital city.
Gay Tait , Gisborne.

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The best letter published each issue will win a pair of these handy Fiskars PowerGear® Pruners. It can be about gardening, your garden or a neighbour’s, your
favourite plant or a great best gardening tip.
Email your letter to: wgpubs@xtra.co.nz
or post it to: Letters, WG, PO Box 8185, Symonds St, Auckland 1150.
Please include your first and last name, your town or district and your address.

CDs RECYCLED

I sorted out my CDs on a rainy day and found I had a lot of scratched ones. I thought I would use them as bird scarers, but then had an idea that has worked really well. I wrote the name of the seedlings planted on them in a felt pen suitable for CDs, and put them in my plots.
They stay readable despite dirt and rain and once a crop has finished, I turn its CD label around and write the new crop on it. You could also put the planting date on the disc if you like.
No more faded plastic or wooden markers for me.
Yvonne Retter, Te Puke.

CHEERS FOR CHOKOS
I have to agree with columnist Andrew Steens (Issue 315) that chokos grow like mad, especially in the north. However, he ignores chokos’ worth when he says that no one wants these fruit “except for a few misguided fools who want to grow one of their own”.
The strongest weapon in the choko’s arsenal is, in fact, its blandness. This enables it to take up the flavour of other ingredients cooked with it.
It is therefore ideal for bulking up pickles and so on, as it retains their flavour. You can add them half-and-half to make raspberry jam, giving you twice as much jam with true raspberry flavour. And if you like a feed of marrow, chokos are just as good.
Paul Gardner, Coromandel.

LIVING REMINDER
This climber, Podranea ricasoliana, grows outside my daughter’s bedroom window as a reminder of the country where she was born.
With its glossy foliage and abundance of attractive pink flowers, the pink trumpet vine is a showy plant, well known to many South African gardeners. It is a vigorous, woody, rambling, evergreen climber without tendrils. The compound leaves are a deep glossy green.
It sends many tall strong stems up to 10m or more high if left unchecked. These have long, spreading branches with a graceful arching habit. Large bunches of fragrant lilac-pink, trumpet-shaped flowers are produced all summer long (from November to March).
Mariette Dodd, Blenheim.

HELPING HAND
My stepdaughter grows vegetables for her family and ours. Last year, in her backyard plots she had a variety of veggies that lasted over the summer months and beyond.
Even my youngest grandson, Joey, has got into gardening and takes great pride in his vegetable growing. He has sowed peas and planted, with help, capsicum, cucumber and lettuce, which have done very well in the family’s old sandpit.
Joey waters all the plants for his mother in dry weather – not bad for an 11-year-old. When summer crops are over my stepdaughter plants more for winter in their place.
Ken Harwood, Kaitaia.

BEAUTIFUL BUSY LIZZIES
I would like to share my pleasure from impatiens this summer. We have a had a hot, wet summer and these stunners have performed magnificently, lighting up dark, damp corners, under trees and in borders.
Nothing seems to harm them; all they need is water and well rotted horse manure and away they go. Sure, I water them daily, but that is enjoyable and relaxing at the end of a hot day. They root easily in a jar of water on the windowsill in about two weeks so more can be added to the display.
I have two older-style varieties in pink and coral. These grow taller than the seedlings I have bought from the garden centre and sometimes survive our frosty winter under leaves, springing back in the warmer weather again.
Sharon Taylor, Hamilton.

The lily in your photo is ‘Orania’, an oriental trumpet hybrid. The plant that has all the flowers has a condition known as fasciation. It’s a little like a Siamese twin with two or more stems from the same bulb partially fused together. This is why there
are more flowers than you would expect from a single flower stem. This isn’t a disease and the bulb should send up a normal stem next year. The chances are it will split into two large bulbs, so you will get two strong stems with lots of flowers on each,
but not 102.
– Mark Rozema, Rozema Gardens, Timaru.
www.rozemagardens.co.nz

Thank you for such a great magazine. I know what readers mean when they say they put it aside to read as a special treat or they read it from cover to cover.
Bindu Chaudhary, Bombay Hills.

LILY REVIVAL

I bought this bulb for my daughter as she liked the leaves. She thought she had lost it, but last week some colour emerged. Now, look what has happened. The flower is stunning and there are more coming. I have found out it is a blood lily (Haemanthus coccineus).
Trish Gough, Tauranga.

EARLY BIRDS
We live in the country and every year birds pinch some of our persimmon crop.
This year they moved in when the fruit was only just starting to change colour. In other years, they have waited until there was little, if any, green colour left on fruit before eating them.
We are wondering whether this was prompted by less wild food, such as hawthorn and barberry berries, because of poor bee pollination. Certainly our plum crops were affected this summer.
Has anyone else noticed this change?
Wendy Reid, Kopu.

RAMPANTt ‘RAMPICANTE’

My grandfather is a keen gardener and I have had a veggie garden for a little more than a year. I often ring him for advice and I think he really loves me enjoying something that has been of interest to him for so many years, When his birthday arrived I decided to get him something gardening related – a selection of interesting seeds from Kings Seeds. Among the seeds I gave him was the zucchini ‘Rampicante’, a variety I was thinking of growing myself.
Granddad phoned me in January and told me about these odd-shaped things in his garden – he had no idea what they were. Then the penny dropped – they were from the zucchini seeds I’d got him.  We visited a month later to find these strange-looking things throughout his garden, hanging from trees and making their way into the paddock next door. I had no idea these zucchini – they taste like a butternut squash – would get this big.
Visitors have been intrigued by them and neighbours’ children have been visiting to check out his crazy-looking vegetables, so I thought I would share a photo with you.
I am starting to think of the seeds I can get him this year, but I think I will leave these off the list.
Sharon Taylor, Hamilton.

BREEDER ELABORATES

Thank you for the mentions (WG 312) and your editorial.
Dahlia ‘Keith’s Pet’ was one that appealed to me, but which evoked little enthusiasm from my agents. So I kept it for my own pleasure. It found its way to the UK, where, last year, it was awarded a Garden Merit award as a container dahlia by the RHS.
‘Another Pet’ was similarly one that I kept for my own pleasure when it was deemed to be too close to ‘Scarlet Fern’ to be disseminated. It is, of course, a fully saturated scarlet, while ‘Scarlet Fern’, aka ‘Mystic Desire’, is a burnt orange.
‘Another Pet’ has now replaced ‘Scarlet Fern’ under the name ‘Mystic Enchantment’.
Right now an orange cultivar named ‘Love Affair’ (mine with the dahlia, because I was running out of pet names when it was rejected) is now getting noticed.
I released two reverse collerettes at the same time, ‘Dark Tiger’ and ‘Pale Tiger’.
‘Dark Tiger’ was a reference to a dark tabby kitten called Marco, while ‘Pale Tiger’ was a reference to Tut, short for Tutankhamun, his brother. Initially I favoured ‘Dark Tiger’ because the contrast between ray florets and the petaloid collar was greater and it had interesting leathery leaves. This is one I got wrong, because ‘Pale Tiger’ has performed much better in subsequent years.
Sadly Marco, like his namesake, is no longer with us, but Tut is undisputed top cat in my multi-catted household.
Dr Keith Hammett, Auckland.

GOODBYE WHITEFLY
To eradicate a whitefly infestation, mix half a cup of dishwashing liquid into a litre of water (this will be your basic stock for a year or two).
I take 30ml of this and add it to a litre of water in a small, handheld plastic sprayer. Adjust the nozzle to create a fine mist then spray underneath the leaves of your vegetable and other plants. The whitefly are dead within two days, although still stuck to the plant.
I have been using this remedy for several years. The result? Goodbye whitefly.
Barry Fabish, New Plymouth.

MICROGREEN MARVEL

I just love experimenting with new gardening ideas, so when I saw Fionna Hill’s column about microgreens I knew I would have to try them. I started with a packet of ‘Fiji Feathers’ pea seeds from GardenPost (ph 0800 752 686, www.gardenpost.co.nz).
Two weeks after ordering the seed, I was eating my first harvest. This is such an easy way for gardeners without much room for a veggie patch to have homegrown salads. It will also be useful over winter when most of my garden is too wet and shady to grow vegetables. I’ll have pots of microgreens on every windowsill.
Marie Edwards, Auckland.

MONARCH DEATH
Our monarch butterflies seem to have come later this year and there haven’t been as many caterpillars. Last year, the plants were stripped of leaves but not so this year.
We check the garden regularly for paper wasp nests and do our best to keep them under control.
Last year, as the plants were stripped of leaves, we transferred the caterpillars to plants with plenty of leaves. However, they didn’t stay, disappearing over night.
Cheryl Bedggood, Dargaville.

CHRYSALIS RESCUE

I thought readers might like to see my solution to the wind blowing many of the monarch butterfly chrysalises off my swan plants. I carefully tied a bit of cotton around each chrysalis so I could tie them to a bamboo stick which I put on the front veranda where the chrysalises were protected. All but one has hatched.
I have at least 50 swan plants around my house and from the beginning of January until the end of February I have heaps of monarch butterflies. It’s a shame my plants are stripped after the first hatching. This leaves caterpillars from a second hatching often too small to form a chrysalis because there’s not enough food for them.
Janet Wakeling, Wanganui.

PERUVIAN BEAUTY

Don Barclay Letter

LAVENDER JOY

This summer, I had a fascinating visit to the Lowburn Lavender Gardens, at 50 Heaney Road, Lowburn, near Cromwell in Central Otago. The gardens had only been open for a week when my friend and I received a warm welcome and had a friendly chat with the owners. We were invited to take time to stroll around the grounds to view the different types of lavender grown.
Such colours – blues, mauves, pink and white. We meandered around taking photos, enjoying the peace of the countryside – several seats around the grounds allowed a quiet sit-down. A lavender and craft shop had a range of items, such as hand cream, soap and massage oil on sale.
Well worth a visit (phone 03 445 1721 or see www.lowburnlavender.com for opening times).
M Moffat, Timaru.

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HAPPY HOOK UP

Here’s a way to recyle old wire clothes hangers and pantihose. If you have a garden against the side of a house or garage, tie at least four strings to the coat hangers and hook them on to the spouting above.
The strings are quite loose when you first tie up your peas or tomatoes but strong enough to anchor them later in wind and rain. My tomatoes always do well, but this is the first year I have tried growing peas in a pot with these ‘overhead stakes’.
Also, old pantihose cut into strips are great for tying up plants. They are gentle on plants and you can thread two together to make them longer. I also use clothes pegs to attach bird netting to the strings.
Happy hooker hanging.
Dawn McKay, Waiuku.

ONION AND AIR PLANTS
The question of fat necks on red onions and why red onions bolt to seed was raised in Issue 307. These seem to be more susceptible to bolting if they get a growing check – either due to cold weather or getting too dry – when they are getting ready to bulb up. From memory, some cultivars are worse than others.
In the same issue, Jacqueline Sparrow wrote about the air plant, Tillandsia usneoides and mentioned aerial roots. I think the only time T. usneoides may have roots is when seed germinates.
Nutrients and water are absorbed through specialised cells that cover the plant instead of through the roots. These give it that silvery sheen when dry and a silver-green sheen when wet.
Propagation is easy, just break a length of growth off and drape or tie it where you want it to grow and sprinkle water on it.
Ken Davey, New Plymouth.

BOTTOMS UP

My Tecomanthe venusta has flowered for the second time in its short life. It amuses me this lovely climber started flowering from the bottom (soil level) and then continued to flower up the stem.
It looks so funny with no leaves at the bottom of the climber and then large flowers appearing on the trunks of the plant. My specimen is very happy growing in the shade with a cool root system and climbing up the retaining wall on to a wire fence. Long may she enjoy her environment.
Helen Blackwell, Maraetai Beach.

BUTTERFLIES RETURN

A joy to once again see red admiral butterflies in the garden because they have been absent for several years.
This picture was taken in the spring.
Lorraine Nelson, Pahiatua.

SWEET REWARD
Your columnist Andrew Steens in Issue 308 writes of growing sugar cane. Is there a book on growing and processing sugar cane? Also, where do you get the seed to start growing sugar cane?
B A Arthur, Hamilton.

Andrew will write about growing sugar cane in his column when the time is right for planting it. Plants from incredible edibles® will be for sale in garden centres this spring. Meanwhile, you will find plenty about growing and processing sugar cane on the web. Perhaps a friend or relative could print you off some information if you do not have web access yourself. – Susie.

CANINE COMPOSTER
My husband enjoys making his garden compost but the hardest worker in this process is our fox terrier. Bobby loves nothing better than to climb into the bin and dig furiously and very thoroughly in all four corners, hoping to find that elusive rat he swears is there. The result? Fine, well-turned compost and a very grubby but happy dog.
Erica McMillan, Picton.

Read more letters…

Our fruit trees always look so pretty in spring I thought I would share the early blossom of a plum (above right) and apricot (above left) with other readers. The dazzling white plum blossom is my favourite.

It’s sad that we have so few honeybees around to pollinate them but there is the odd one around as you can see.

We do have some bumblebees busy in the garden but they don’t seem that keen on the plums’ or apricot’s offerings.

Sandra MacIntosh, Whitianga.

Cat catastrophe

I HAVE an annoying problem with neighbouring cats using my veggie garden as a toilet and digging up my seedlings and small bedding plants.

I have tried deterring them with mothballs, kerosene wiped around the borders and two types of repellant sprays from Palmers.

Is there a reader who can help?

Today I felt like quitting because the seedlings I planted yesterday were all dug by this morning.

Maggie Windle, Glen Eden.

Herbal help

I am new to growing veggies and have several raised beds. One is used for herbs, which have been chosen for their easy care, speed of growth and the like.

I love Weekend Gardener because it helps me with everything I need 
to be a successful gardener, but one of the best articles was Marilyn 
Wightman’s Right for roasts in Issue 297.

Now I know what to do with all those herbs I have grown. At the same time, the article introduced me to some more I can plant and a couple I will never use. For all us newbies, the magazine is a blessing. Thank you.

Cheryl-Anne Percy, Foxton Beach.

Lachenalia largesse

Here’s a tip for those who’d like to increase lachenalia bulbs the easy way.

Pull the healthy green leaves from the bulb after flowering and plant them in a pot of sand or potting mix. In a month or so you’ll find them covered in tiny white bulblets. Just leave them to grow or pot them up.

Love WG – it’s an interesting magazine.

Molly Lowry, Papakura.

Hot propagator

An instant propagation unit for seed-raising that my mum taught me to use is a suitable windowsill. I sit recycled ice cream containers on a sill in my garage where the sun streaming through in the morning warms the potting mix in the containers.

At present, I water just weekly and in three weeks my chilli seedlings have reached about 30mm high and my eggplants are 10mm high.

Manjula Patel, Auckland.

Fab mag

I have been receiving Weekend Gardener for years and I love it. My family knows when I get a cup of tea and the Weekend Gardener that they should not bother talking to me. I usually read every word and I think its bloody fab.

Thanks – you have taught me a lot and I pass on the tips and the magazines to my friends. I’m sure you get lots of fan mail but thought it was time I had a rave.

Heather Owens, by email.

Surprise snapshot

What a surprise I got to receive a personally addressed copy of Weekend Gardener and then to find my garden was featured in the magazine. As a result I’ve taken out a subscription and look forward to my next copy.

Many thanks to you and JJ of Gardens to Visit for making this possible, your kind gesture was much appreciated.

Lyn Nell, Middle Rock, Darfield.

Psyillid scheme

I have a cunning plan. In the past two summers, my tomato plants have been devastated by the potato or tomato psyllid, despite garlic and seaweed spray and nipping off infected leaves.

This year, in a different part of the garden, I have sweet peas beginning to climb a wired fence. As their flowers start appearing, I plan to plant tomatoes among the sweet peas. Will this confuse the psyllids? Time will tell.

I am sending a photo of another mutually supportive plant pair – a passionfruit vine that is underplanted with Asiatic lilies.

Jenny Taylor, Napier.

I hope you will keep us posted with the results of your anti-pysllid plan – we will all be all hoping it works. – Susie.