WEBVTT
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Hello, I'm Elizabeth, an obsessive backyard gardener, who might be able to offer you a couple of tips.
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And I'm Keith, a landscape consultant, and I'm also passionate about gardening.
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The one thing we both have in common is Muddy Boots.
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Today's Muddy Boots is proudly sponsored by Clyde Compost, premium certified organic compost, soil blends and potting mix, all trusted by gardeners who want the best results.
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Visit ClydeCompost.com and don't forget to use the code MUDY15 for 15% off your order.
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It is QA time again, but before we get started with this week's questions, we have a winner to announce of our giveaway of the incredible number seven natural pruners from the original Lowy in conjunction with the Backyard Botanist.
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The number seven natural brings together Lowy's renowned easy cut technology with a beautiful plastic-free wooden handle and is an absolute joy to use in the garden.
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Our lucky winner is Lizard Legs29.
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Love the name.
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Congratulations to Steph.
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You are going to absolutely love the ease of these fabulous pruners, and we will be in contact with you shortly to arrange delivery of your fabulous prize.
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Congratulations, Steph.
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Okay, Keith, it is QA time.
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Let's start with some questions, shall we?
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Yep.
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Our first question is from Cassie who says, I'm looking for some advice on the upcoming eggplant season.
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Last year my eggplants suffered from flea beetle.
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I battled them all summer with very little produce making its way to the kitchen.
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I tried diatomaceous earth, echo oil, and individually bagging fruits, each with no success.
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The beetles seem to have been in the flower bud prior to the fruit forming.
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Must I net the entire plant from the beginning or is there another option that you can suggest, Keith?
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Well, you can't go netting the plant because they need pollination in order to get the fruit happening.
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So, Cassandra, the flea beetles are pupating in the soil mulch and then come out to attack your plants.
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Firstly, by attacking the leaves before moving on to your flowers, which is what you're expensive.
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So, firstly, I'd be I would be making sure that you remove any mulch that they tend to pupate in, and then I'd suggest that you need to break the breeding cycle by applying on a weekly basis, econeme, in a five-litre spray container, as soon as the plants begin to grow.
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Spray the leaves on both sides and keep it up until the flowers are budding up.
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I would then suggest that you get a sticky yellow trap, either a flat one or one in a tube, and place it close to the plant.
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Another thing you can do with the econeme is if you have you're worried about these horrible little flea beetles pupating in the soil, is actually use the econeme as a drench in the soil.
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And that will help to eliminate the actual bugs in there as well.
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What do you mean as a drench in the soil?
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Um well if you if you if you if you spray the soil and and saturate it with um with the econeme mixed with the water, that will also act as a as a a um a preventative.
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Okay, fantastic.
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Okay, Ellie's question is next.
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I wonder if you can please help me with my apple tree.
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I moved into my house about 18 months ago and found a pruning cut in the tree that has been weeping constantly since I moved in.
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It's quite a mature tree but sustained a brutal hacking all over, which I assume occurred at the time of the house sale in spring.
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The damaged area seems to now have a few bug holes bored into it.
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I poked maggots out and stuck twigs in the holes to stop more eggs from being laid in there.
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There are also some bugs hanging around the cut, which I assume are eating the sugars in the weeping liquid.
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What can I do?
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Hi, Ellie.
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Very, very unusual for a deciduous tree to be weeping um during the winter period but it's got nothing on it because um the sap flow just stops.
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So all I can think of is that it could be lots of moisture that's coming out from uh like like a water coming out of the out of the actual things.
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The cut that I've seen from the photograph is certainly acceptable in terms of limb removal removal, but borer holes are a problem, particularly uh if they go down deep into the tree's heartwood.
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So I what I'd suggest you do is you get yourself a piece of wire, a long piece of wire, and and feed it down through the bora holes as far as you can go down until you stop.
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And by doing that, you would have gone through that that borer and you would have stabbed him right through the middle.
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And then what you can do then is um go down to Bunnings and buy yourself a can of sterry prune.
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Um, this is a spray, a bitumen spray that you shake up and you go and you spray over the cut.
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And the idea here is that you are spraying the holes, spraying into the holes in order to seal them over.
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Because those bugs cannot survive without air.
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That's why they start in one spot and go all the way through, and they've got air coming down through them.
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So that's what I'd be suggesting you do.
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And um, you'd want to do the maybe you might need to do that a couple of times.
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Okay, fantastic.
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Now we have two questions from Amelia.
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Question number one.
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I live on a suburban block and am making the most of my grow space by installing some arches to grow on.
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I'm looking at growing some rock melons and pumpkins, and was wondering if you had any suggestions for some good tasty varieties for this purpose.
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I was thinking about growing butternut butternuts, but I'm not sure which are the best to grow.
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Hi, Amelia.
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You actually have lots of options to grow edibles on frames over or over arches.
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And from the the melon vines, some of the best uh rock melons.
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There's a French variety, which is petit gris d'Eranese, which is a French heirloom that's over 400 years old, and it has a superb flavour uh and a fragrance like no other.
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And then there's another French fawn called Delis de la Table, which is a mouth-watering rock melon.
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Uh, another one called Ha Ogen, which is actually it it is a Hungarian uh heirloom.
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Now, for pumpkins, you can certainly climb pumpkins, you can use the button-up variety up over up over a frame, it'll it'll grow that quite well.
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Um, but I would probably suggest you look at something like um the French heirloom pumpkin called Potti Maron, which is a gorgeous little small thing.
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Um, it's got a rich chestnut flavour and a stunning deep orange fruits, so it looks absolutely fantastic while it's hanging there.
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Or there's another one called Pumpkin We Bee Little, which are a small softball-sized fruits.
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Um and it's it's um it it's uh uh male the male, there's another mutton form of this which is named Jack B.
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Little.
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That's another form, yeah.
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Um, which is great for stuffing, having a hole or roasting.
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So all these varieties are perfect for the small backyard and for climbing.
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Seeds of these particular varieties are are available from the diggers club.
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Um and after I'd sent that through, she said that I'm a diggers member, so she got straight on and ordered some.
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So that's fantastic.
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Well done.
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Question number two from Amelia now.
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Can I have some soil advice, please?
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This is my first year giving a veggie garden a solid crack.
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I started it in around March and things seemed to be going well.
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However, over winter some things thrived and others completely failed.
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I'm pulling a lot out now in preparation for spring planting and have tested the pH, which is at 7.5 in multiple spots, so seems to be consistent.
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Prior to planting in March, I prepped the bed with bulk soil from a landscape supplier, chocolate block, sorry, from a landscape supplier, chocker block, no Clyde compost here in Newcastle, New South Wales.
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Go-go juice and rock dust.
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Is there anything I should be doing differently this time or should I still prep with chocolate, go-go juice, and rock dust?
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I plan to get some microgold as well.
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Good.
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Now you're doing you're doing absolutely everything correct.
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Uh might just need to do some deep forking uh for a little bit of a uh and maybe give those those beds a little bit of a rest.
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Your pH at 7.5 is absolutely perfect because um the the the the higher that that little bit higher than 7 neutral is going to be the amount of of manure that you've got in there which reacts as some an ammonia.
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So look, you're doing absolutely everything in, but do a lot of people just don't understand that that they need to, when they've done all this work, they need to get a broad fork into that soil to open it up, to allow everything to work its way through so that you're getting all that symbiotic relationship happening with all the microbes and all the other bits and pieces that are living in that soil.
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Yep.
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So that's fabulous doing a great job.
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Okay, Sarah has the next question.
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I'd love to know if you have something that kills or deters stink bugs.
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Okay, so stink bugs um have little tiny breather tubes on their bodies, and it's generally up around the neck area, and that's they're basically their mouths.
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So, in order to kill stink bugs, which are a real problem, you need to use um an eco oil or mix yourself up some detergent, um, you know, some strong detergent, put that in a bucket, and just go out there and just tip it over the over the whole stinking bug.
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And what that'll do, that'll smother the little mongrels and then they'll die.
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So, eco oil or or a strong detergent mixed with water over the top of those.
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Fantastic.
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Okay, we have a question from Jessica now.
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I recently follow followed your advice on our garden beds, and we had huge success, thank you.
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My dad asked for my help with his beds that didn't manage to produce many vegetables this winter.
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So I helped by adding new trogs, chocolate, which I mixed into the soil with neutrogs populate, and then mulched with hooflung dung.
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Large number of worms came to the surface but then died.
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In one bed the worms appeared very slow and miserable, and in the other bed they appeared more lively.
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But it seemed to happen to both of them.
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We know it wasn't due to the neutrog products, and we've since decided to let the beds settle for a couple of weeks.
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Do you have any idea why the worms may have risen to the surface and died?
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Yeah, I I think that the problem you've got there is that um it will be a timing issue.
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So they're not going to be necessarily going to be earthworms.
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And if they are earthworms, then what you've done is you've upset their whole environment because they live in the earth.
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They actually do burrows up through the soil, come up at night and drag down a piece of leaf or whatever else, and that's their food.
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What you have in most of these beds are compost worms, and the compost worms live in the compost area and the compost layer.
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So, what happens with with those little fellas is that if the weather gets very cold, they will slow right down.
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And that's what I'm sort of thinking that you got here is that they're not dying.
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That they could they could just be very, very slow, and they need a bit more, yeah, need a bit more moisture over the top.
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But like I said with the previous um um question, you need to get the broad fork down deep into the soil and then leave it to rest for a bit and let let nature do its own thing.
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Um, and that's probably one of the best things you can do.
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Okay, fantastic.
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Amanda is next.
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Can I keep my broccoli and cauliflower covered with nets for the whole growing season, or do they need to be uncovered for pollination?
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No, they don't need any pollination unless you intend to grow them and and and allow them to go to seed and then harvest the seed and then save the seeds.
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So any of those sorts of things don't need to be worried about netting.
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In fact, that rotten stinkin' white butterflies around in in unison at the moment with all these stinking mates, and they are just doing enormous amount of damage to gardens, unless you've got your hoverflies, which I've no I've got in the garden, and they have got no eggs on the back of the leaves, they're cleaning those up beautifully.
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So you don't need to net those for pollination.
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The only thing you need to net for You mean you can net them?
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Sorry, you can't.
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You can net them, yeah.
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Sorry, I was thinking about other things like like capsicans and chilies and eggplants.
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You need to allow those to be um pollinated.
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But netted, netted.
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Okay, done?
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Yep.
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We have a question from Jordan now.
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I would like to understand more about mitigating the Queensland fruit fly in the garden.
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As a declared pest that isn't monitored monitored anymore in Victoria, it would be great to learn more about how to stop those maggots from ending up in my tomatoes.
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I've tried netting and bait traps, but they seem to still make their way into my tomatoes.
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With the weather heating up, I've already seen some in the garden.
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I don't want to repeat a repeat of last summer's crop.
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Yeah, once again, um make sure that you they are the the the Queensland fruit fly.
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So what you're looking for is is a a a red-bodied red-bodied fly with with some some yellow markings on him, and that is definitely the fruit fly.
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Um I I I would strongly suggest that you you just do lots of netting.
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That's probably one of the best things you can do.
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Net everything and make sure that there's no way for these little mongrels to get in.
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But also get out and and get yourself some of that wild may attractant, fruit fly attractant, and set those up in bottles around your garden.
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Um I've got 200 square metres in my backyard, I'm gonna probably put out about four or five of these bottles.
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And all you do is you put 200 middle of this liquid, the wild wild may fly attractant in the bottom, and that draws the males.
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And once the males are in there, the females have got no fun.
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So try that, but yeah, look, we're not doing any monitoring down here in Victoria because we've got no money.
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It's as simple as that.
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Um you need to be getting on top before they actually mate and get the eggs in and uh sting all the fruit.
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Have a look at your fruit and make sure that if you've got any fruit there, it has got these little tiny dots on them where the the the fruit fly, the female fruit fly, has put its its little stinger into that into that fruit, and you've got a little tiny, little tiny indent, and it goes around not just in one spot to go around all the way around laying the eggs.
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God.
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There's no hope.
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Shannon is next.
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I'm wondering if you can help me with an issue of borers in trees.
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I live on a farm in Kalani, Queensland, with some large established elms, oaks, a pepperina, and a fig of some type, all showing signs of borers.
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About six to eight months ago in autumn, I made a comfort solution from our local CRT, which I put along the drip lines of the trees.
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It's been down for about six months now, but I don't think it's worked.
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Can you please advise what will work and how often I need to dose the trees?
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I know if I don't do something, I will lose the trees and already have limbs falling down regularly.
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Um what what um we didn't really get here, Shannon, was actually the size of the tree.
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Some of them are quite big.
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So it's a real problematic thing.
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So what you have to do is have a look where the dead branches are and cut those off and just see if those if where you've cut them off close to the trunk, if those bora holes go through.
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If they do, get yourself a piece of wire and feet feed it down through it.
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Comfidore is um is is a slow systemic um poison that that will will is soaked up and put through the tree.
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Not my not my idea of of doing anything proper.
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Go for the wire, go for the econeme, spray them, and then put the the the steering prune over the top there to totally seal them all off.
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And then get you get a broad fork, go around your trees, deep aeration, and then get some some um some myco gold down into them, and let the trees get access to the st to the goodness that gives them the strength to fight off this pest and disease.
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Okay, fantastic.
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Kerry has the next question.
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Can you recommend a good product for white grubs in lawns and west facing garden beds?
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It's all about pests, isn't it?
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Okay, so what I've I've asked Kerry to do here was to identify what the grubs what the white grub is.
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So the the what you're looking for with white grubs in lawns and in garden beds is the colour of the head.
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So if you've if you find a white grub and it's got a um an orange head on it, it's not a problem.
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If you find a grub that's got a black head, that's a problem.
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Um excuse me.
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So what what you need to do is just just work out whether you've got an orange-headed one or a black-headed one or a yellow-headed one or whatever.
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If they're uh orange and and uh yellow, then they are only beneficial to the soil.
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All they're doing is is creating more compost.
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But if they've got a blackhead, they will chew off good uh off the good living roots off plants and things like turf and everything else.
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So you've got to make sure that you get in there and and determine what they are first.
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Now, if you've got blackheaded ones, you can go to Bunnings and they've got a grub killer, which you can apply.
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Um, and that's probably one of the best things you can do.
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Okay, there we go.
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Good luck with that, Carrie.
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The next question is actually more like a statement, and I thank you to Keith, and it's from Lynn.
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I'm excited, I am excited, she says, that I just had to message you.
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Finally, in my garden beds, I have worms.
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We live in Tolmee, 20 kilometres out of Mansfield, where we have some severe frosts.
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The soil I bought for the beds is never the best as we only have a choice of two garden suppliers.
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The soil is always light grey and sandy to touch.
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So I recently went on to Keith's Keith's plan of how to build good soil.
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Every time we're in Melbourne, I come home with bags of Clyde compost, rot dust, and I had already bought soil life, so I've been using that.
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Today I found worms.
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I've never had worms before.
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Occasionally, when it rains, they are on the gravel, but now my garden beds have worms.
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I'm so excited and I have to thank you.
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Oh, that's beautiful.
00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:16.559
Thank you so much for sharing that.
00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:17.200
That is lovely.
00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:17.839
You don't have to talk.
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:18.880
Didn't have to talk on that one.
00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:22.400
Cartia has the next question, and it's a lengthy one, so you can have a bit of a break again.
00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.200
So here we go.
00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.759
I'm hoping you can help me with my magnolia tree.
00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:30.480
It's been planted for about eight years and until now has always been healthy and kept its leaves.
00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:33.839
This year, however, it has dropped all of its leaves for the first time.
00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:39.920
We had very hot and exceptionally dry conditions here in central west New South Wales during early 2026.
00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.480
So initially I assumed the tree may have died from the heat and lack of moisture.
00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:51.440
As it dropped its leaves after most of the heat had finished in early autumn, I continued watering it regularly just in case.
00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.519
I've attached some photos because there is something interesting happening with the branches.
00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:02.880
About one-third to two-thirds of the way along many of the branches, the wood still appears green, while the upper sections are brown.
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:10.400
However, right along the branches and out towards the tips, there are still lots of furry-looking buds that appear healthy, as though they are preparing to blossom.
00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:18.880
My question is, should I prune back the brown sections now, perhaps by one-third or two-thirds, or should I leave the tree alone and see what happens?
00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:22.559
I'm particularly reluctant to prune it if those buds are still viable.
00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:27.440
I'm also wondering what else could cause a mature magnolia to suddenly drop its leaves for the first time.
00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:33.599
Could it simply be the extreme heat and dry conditions, or could there be an underlying issue with the soil, drainage or roots?
00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:39.680
What has me particularly puzzled is that my other established trees and fruit trees seem to be doing quite well despite the same conditions.
00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:46.559
I'm very glad I continued watering the magnolia, but I'd love to know whether there is anything else I should be doing now to give it the best chance of recovering.
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:49.839
Should I prune it, leave it alone, or be doing something else?
00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:55.200
Um we need to determine whether or not the tree was um evergreen when she put it in.
00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:56.160
She couldn't remember.
00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.160
It was actually gifted to her.
00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:05.839
But I would rem I would be removing all of all of the dead wood down to where you've got um the green bark showing.
00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:11.519
Alright, so cut it down to that particular point and then let the tree try to establish itself from there.
00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:31.680
Um one of the things that you need to do is you need to get a prepping fork and go around the tree, around the where where the drip line used to be around the tree, get it down and get a fork, get a wetting agent of some sort, seesaw make a great wetting agent, um, which you can apply to the soil, and that just allows the moisture to soak down nice and deep.
00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:44.079
Um and then the other thing I'd suggest you do is get yourself some mico gold and apply it down where the holes you've prepped gone around and prepped with it with the the aeration fork, and then wash those, wash that into the soil.
00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:58.000
Do not under any any circumstances apply any fertilizers whatsoever, anything greater than seesaw, which is not a fertilizer anyway, but it's a tonic, and that will help set that that tree back up, hopefully, um, for success.
00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:04.799
Um the fact that your other trees are doing alright, I think you might find that there must be something in the soil in that one little spot.
00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:07.519
It might be it might be rock or heavy clay or whatever else.
00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:19.519
But you if you get the prepping fork in and get it working into the soil and do the other little bits and pieces, the winning agent, the seesaw, and the mico gold, I think you'll find that they'll all come on in leaps and bounds.
00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:20.640
Fabulous.
00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.039
Good luck with that, Katia.
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.119
Okay, that brings us to the end of our last question for this month's QA.
00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.559
Thank you again to everyone for their great variety of questions.
00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:35.039
And now let's see who our lucky winner is of this month's QA prize from the Plant Runner.
00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:40.480
And this month's prize goes to Katia and her cherished eight-year-old Magnolia.
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:41.599
Congratulations, Katia.
00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:43.119
We'll be in touch with you shortly.
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:49.359
Don't forget to check out theplantrunner.com for your organic indoor and outdoor plant care needs.
00:20:49.519 --> 00:21:00.720
And before we go, for any of our local listeners, Keith and I will be doing a live QA at the Frankston Library from 1 pm on Wednesday, October the 21st, and we would love to see you there.
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:06.640
Go to library.frankston.fic.gov.au to book and happy gardening.
00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:08.799
Thank you for listening to Muddy Boots.
00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:16.000
For more information on today's podcast, please go to muddyboots.net.au and happy gardening.
00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:07.200
Hello, I'm Elizabeth, an obsessive backyard gardener, who might be able to offer you a couple of tips.
00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:12.320
And I'm Keith, a landscape consultant, and I'm also passionate about gardening.
00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:16.960
The one thing we both have in common is Muddy Boots.
00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:27.839
Today's Muddy Boots is proudly sponsored by Clyde Compost, premium certified organic compost, soil blends and potting mix, all trusted by gardeners who want the best results.
00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:32.560
Packed with goodness, free from nasties, and perfect for healthy soil and thriving plants.
00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:39.759
Visit ClydeCompost.com and don't forget to use the code MUDY15 for 15% off your order.
00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:53.359
It is QA time again, but before we get started with this week's questions, we have a winner to announce of our giveaway of the incredible number seven natural pruners from the original Lowy in conjunction with the Backyard Botanist.
00:00:53.600 --> 00:01:03.200
The number seven natural brings together Lowy's renowned easy cut technology with a beautiful plastic-free wooden handle and is an absolute joy to use in the garden.
00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:08.959
Our lucky winner is Lizard Legs29.
00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:10.400
Love the name.
00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:12.239
Congratulations to Steph.
00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:20.159
You are going to absolutely love the ease of these fabulous pruners, and we will be in contact with you shortly to arrange delivery of your fabulous prize.
00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:21.840
Congratulations, Steph.
00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:24.560
Okay, Keith, it is QA time.
00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:26.400
Let's start with some questions, shall we?
00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:26.719
Yep.
00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:32.159
Our first question is from Cassie who says, I'm looking for some advice on the upcoming eggplant season.
00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.040
Last year my eggplants suffered from flea beetle.
00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:38.959
I battled them all summer with very little produce making its way to the kitchen.
00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:45.920
I tried diatomaceous earth, echo oil, and individually bagging fruits, each with no success.
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:49.760
The beetles seem to have been in the flower bud prior to the fruit forming.
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:56.079
Must I net the entire plant from the beginning or is there another option that you can suggest, Keith?
00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:02.159
Well, you can't go netting the plant because they need pollination in order to get the fruit happening.
00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:08.960
So, Cassandra, the flea beetles are pupating in the soil mulch and then come out to attack your plants.
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:14.960
Firstly, by attacking the leaves before moving on to your flowers, which is what you're expensive.
00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:32.719
So, firstly, I'd be I would be making sure that you remove any mulch that they tend to pupate in, and then I'd suggest that you need to break the breeding cycle by applying on a weekly basis, econeme, in a five-litre spray container, as soon as the plants begin to grow.
00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:37.039
Spray the leaves on both sides and keep it up until the flowers are budding up.
00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:43.919
I would then suggest that you get a sticky yellow trap, either a flat one or one in a tube, and place it close to the plant.
00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:54.719
Another thing you can do with the econeme is if you have you're worried about these horrible little flea beetles pupating in the soil, is actually use the econeme as a drench in the soil.
00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:57.919
And that will help to eliminate the actual bugs in there as well.
00:02:58.240 --> 00:02:59.599
What do you mean as a drench in the soil?
00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:10.479
Um well if you if you if you if you spray the soil and and saturate it with um with the econeme mixed with the water, that will also act as a as a a um a preventative.
00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:11.759
Okay, fantastic.
00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:13.680
Okay, Ellie's question is next.
00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:16.080
I wonder if you can please help me with my apple tree.
00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:23.520
I moved into my house about 18 months ago and found a pruning cut in the tree that has been weeping constantly since I moved in.
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:30.159
It's quite a mature tree but sustained a brutal hacking all over, which I assume occurred at the time of the house sale in spring.
00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:34.080
The damaged area seems to now have a few bug holes bored into it.
00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.879
I poked maggots out and stuck twigs in the holes to stop more eggs from being laid in there.
00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:44.319
There are also some bugs hanging around the cut, which I assume are eating the sugars in the weeping liquid.
00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:46.080
What can I do?
00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:47.360
Hi, Ellie.
00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:56.159
Very, very unusual for a deciduous tree to be weeping um during the winter period but it's got nothing on it because um the sap flow just stops.
00:03:56.319 --> 00:04:02.560
So all I can think of is that it could be lots of moisture that's coming out from uh like like a water coming out of the out of the actual things.
00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:14.639
The cut that I've seen from the photograph is certainly acceptable in terms of limb removal removal, but borer holes are a problem, particularly uh if they go down deep into the tree's heartwood.
00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:24.639
So I what I'd suggest you do is you get yourself a piece of wire, a long piece of wire, and and feed it down through the bora holes as far as you can go down until you stop.
00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:32.399
And by doing that, you would have gone through that that borer and you would have stabbed him right through the middle.
00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:40.000
And then what you can do then is um go down to Bunnings and buy yourself a can of sterry prune.
00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:47.040
Um, this is a spray, a bitumen spray that you shake up and you go and you spray over the cut.
00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:53.680
And the idea here is that you are spraying the holes, spraying into the holes in order to seal them over.
00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.040
Because those bugs cannot survive without air.
00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:02.079
That's why they start in one spot and go all the way through, and they've got air coming down through them.
00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:04.000
So that's what I'd be suggesting you do.
00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:07.519
And um, you'd want to do the maybe you might need to do that a couple of times.
00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:08.639
Okay, fantastic.
00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:10.800
Now we have two questions from Amelia.
00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:11.920
Question number one.
00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:17.199
I live on a suburban block and am making the most of my grow space by installing some arches to grow on.
00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:24.160
I'm looking at growing some rock melons and pumpkins, and was wondering if you had any suggestions for some good tasty varieties for this purpose.
00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:29.040
I was thinking about growing butternut butternuts, but I'm not sure which are the best to grow.
00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:30.240
Hi, Amelia.
00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:34.720
You actually have lots of options to grow edibles on frames over or over arches.
00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:39.279
And from the the melon vines, some of the best uh rock melons.
00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:50.959
There's a French variety, which is petit gris d'Eranese, which is a French heirloom that's over 400 years old, and it has a superb flavour uh and a fragrance like no other.
00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:57.279
And then there's another French fawn called Delis de la Table, which is a mouth-watering rock melon.
00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:04.000
Uh, another one called Ha Ogen, which is actually it it is a Hungarian uh heirloom.
00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:12.319
Now, for pumpkins, you can certainly climb pumpkins, you can use the button-up variety up over up over a frame, it'll it'll grow that quite well.
00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:21.920
Um, but I would probably suggest you look at something like um the French heirloom pumpkin called Potti Maron, which is a gorgeous little small thing.
00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:29.439
Um, it's got a rich chestnut flavour and a stunning deep orange fruits, so it looks absolutely fantastic while it's hanging there.
00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:36.720
Or there's another one called Pumpkin We Bee Little, which are a small softball-sized fruits.
00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:44.000
Um and it's it's um it it's uh uh male the male, there's another mutton form of this which is named Jack B.
00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:44.560
Little.
00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:46.160
That's another form, yeah.
00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:49.759
Um, which is great for stuffing, having a hole or roasting.
00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.279
So all these varieties are perfect for the small backyard and for climbing.
00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:57.439
Seeds of these particular varieties are are available from the diggers club.
00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:02.639
Um and after I'd sent that through, she said that I'm a diggers member, so she got straight on and ordered some.
00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:04.079
So that's fantastic.
00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:04.480
Well done.
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.199
Question number two from Amelia now.
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:09.040
Can I have some soil advice, please?
00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:12.000
This is my first year giving a veggie garden a solid crack.
00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:15.680
I started it in around March and things seemed to be going well.
00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.680
However, over winter some things thrived and others completely failed.
00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:28.879
I'm pulling a lot out now in preparation for spring planting and have tested the pH, which is at 7.5 in multiple spots, so seems to be consistent.
00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:39.040
Prior to planting in March, I prepped the bed with bulk soil from a landscape supplier, chocolate block, sorry, from a landscape supplier, chocker block, no Clyde compost here in Newcastle, New South Wales.
00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:40.879
Go-go juice and rock dust.
00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:46.639
Is there anything I should be doing differently this time or should I still prep with chocolate, go-go juice, and rock dust?
00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.120
I plan to get some microgold as well.
00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:49.680
Good.
00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.399
Now you're doing you're doing absolutely everything correct.
00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:59.680
Uh might just need to do some deep forking uh for a little bit of a uh and maybe give those those beds a little bit of a rest.
00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:13.040
Your pH at 7.5 is absolutely perfect because um the the the the higher that that little bit higher than 7 neutral is going to be the amount of of manure that you've got in there which reacts as some an ammonia.
00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:33.600
So look, you're doing absolutely everything in, but do a lot of people just don't understand that that they need to, when they've done all this work, they need to get a broad fork into that soil to open it up, to allow everything to work its way through so that you're getting all that symbiotic relationship happening with all the microbes and all the other bits and pieces that are living in that soil.
00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:33.840
Yep.
00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:35.440
So that's fabulous doing a great job.
00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:38.080
Okay, Sarah has the next question.
00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:42.240
I'd love to know if you have something that kills or deters stink bugs.
00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:53.360
Okay, so stink bugs um have little tiny breather tubes on their bodies, and it's generally up around the neck area, and that's they're basically their mouths.
00:08:53.600 --> 00:09:09.440
So, in order to kill stink bugs, which are a real problem, you need to use um an eco oil or mix yourself up some detergent, um, you know, some strong detergent, put that in a bucket, and just go out there and just tip it over the over the whole stinking bug.
00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:13.039
And what that'll do, that'll smother the little mongrels and then they'll die.
00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:17.759
So, eco oil or or a strong detergent mixed with water over the top of those.
00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:18.720
Fantastic.
00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:21.200
Okay, we have a question from Jessica now.
00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:26.159
I recently follow followed your advice on our garden beds, and we had huge success, thank you.
00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:30.879
My dad asked for my help with his beds that didn't manage to produce many vegetables this winter.
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:37.519
So I helped by adding new trogs, chocolate, which I mixed into the soil with neutrogs populate, and then mulched with hooflung dung.
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:40.879
Large number of worms came to the surface but then died.
00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:46.000
In one bed the worms appeared very slow and miserable, and in the other bed they appeared more lively.
00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:48.080
But it seemed to happen to both of them.
00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:52.799
We know it wasn't due to the neutrog products, and we've since decided to let the beds settle for a couple of weeks.
00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:55.840
Do you have any idea why the worms may have risen to the surface and died?
00:09:56.159 --> 00:10:00.879
Yeah, I I think that the problem you've got there is that um it will be a timing issue.
00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.200
So they're not going to be necessarily going to be earthworms.
00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:09.679
And if they are earthworms, then what you've done is you've upset their whole environment because they live in the earth.
00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:17.840
They actually do burrows up through the soil, come up at night and drag down a piece of leaf or whatever else, and that's their food.
00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:26.559
What you have in most of these beds are compost worms, and the compost worms live in the compost area and the compost layer.
00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:33.360
So, what happens with with those little fellas is that if the weather gets very cold, they will slow right down.
00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:37.519
And that's what I'm sort of thinking that you got here is that they're not dying.
00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:44.559
That they could they could just be very, very slow, and they need a bit more, yeah, need a bit more moisture over the top.
00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:56.159
But like I said with the previous um um question, you need to get the broad fork down deep into the soil and then leave it to rest for a bit and let let nature do its own thing.
00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.399
Um, and that's probably one of the best things you can do.
00:10:58.720 --> 00:10:59.440
Okay, fantastic.
00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:00.639
Amanda is next.
00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:06.799
Can I keep my broccoli and cauliflower covered with nets for the whole growing season, or do they need to be uncovered for pollination?
00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:17.279
No, they don't need any pollination unless you intend to grow them and and and allow them to go to seed and then harvest the seed and then save the seeds.
00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.440
So any of those sorts of things don't need to be worried about netting.
00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:36.960
In fact, that rotten stinkin' white butterflies around in in unison at the moment with all these stinking mates, and they are just doing enormous amount of damage to gardens, unless you've got your hoverflies, which I've no I've got in the garden, and they have got no eggs on the back of the leaves, they're cleaning those up beautifully.
00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:40.159
So you don't need to net those for pollination.
00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.399
The only thing you need to net for You mean you can net them?
00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:43.200
Sorry, you can't.
00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:45.519
You can net them, yeah.
00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:50.399
Sorry, I was thinking about other things like like capsicans and chilies and eggplants.
00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:53.200
You need to allow those to be um pollinated.
00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:55.039
But netted, netted.
00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:56.559
Okay, done?
00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:57.039
Yep.
00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:58.960
We have a question from Jordan now.
00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:03.200
I would like to understand more about mitigating the Queensland fruit fly in the garden.
00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:11.360
As a declared pest that isn't monitored monitored anymore in Victoria, it would be great to learn more about how to stop those maggots from ending up in my tomatoes.
00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:15.440
I've tried netting and bait traps, but they seem to still make their way into my tomatoes.
00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.000
With the weather heating up, I've already seen some in the garden.
00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:21.279
I don't want to repeat a repeat of last summer's crop.
00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:26.960
Yeah, once again, um make sure that you they are the the the Queensland fruit fly.
00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:36.960
So what you're looking for is is a a a red-bodied red-bodied fly with with some some yellow markings on him, and that is definitely the fruit fly.
00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:41.679
Um I I I would strongly suggest that you you just do lots of netting.
00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:43.360
That's probably one of the best things you can do.
00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:47.279
Net everything and make sure that there's no way for these little mongrels to get in.
00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:56.799
But also get out and and get yourself some of that wild may attractant, fruit fly attractant, and set those up in bottles around your garden.
00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:02.000
Um I've got 200 square metres in my backyard, I'm gonna probably put out about four or five of these bottles.
00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:09.200
And all you do is you put 200 middle of this liquid, the wild wild may fly attractant in the bottom, and that draws the males.
00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:12.240
And once the males are in there, the females have got no fun.
00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:17.600
So try that, but yeah, look, we're not doing any monitoring down here in Victoria because we've got no money.
00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:18.799
It's as simple as that.
00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:27.200
Um you need to be getting on top before they actually mate and get the eggs in and uh sting all the fruit.
00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:45.600
Have a look at your fruit and make sure that if you've got any fruit there, it has got these little tiny dots on them where the the the fruit fly, the female fruit fly, has put its its little stinger into that into that fruit, and you've got a little tiny, little tiny indent, and it goes around not just in one spot to go around all the way around laying the eggs.
00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:46.240
God.
00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:47.519
There's no hope.
00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:48.799
Shannon is next.
00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:51.759
I'm wondering if you can help me with an issue of borers in trees.
00:13:51.919 --> 00:14:00.080
I live on a farm in Kalani, Queensland, with some large established elms, oaks, a pepperina, and a fig of some type, all showing signs of borers.
00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:07.440
About six to eight months ago in autumn, I made a comfort solution from our local CRT, which I put along the drip lines of the trees.
00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:10.559
It's been down for about six months now, but I don't think it's worked.
00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.480
Can you please advise what will work and how often I need to dose the trees?
00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:19.120
I know if I don't do something, I will lose the trees and already have limbs falling down regularly.
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.240
Um what what um we didn't really get here, Shannon, was actually the size of the tree.
00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:25.360
Some of them are quite big.
00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:26.799
So it's a real problematic thing.
00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:35.759
So what you have to do is have a look where the dead branches are and cut those off and just see if those if where you've cut them off close to the trunk, if those bora holes go through.
00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:39.919
If they do, get yourself a piece of wire and feet feed it down through it.
00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:47.360
Comfidore is um is is a slow systemic um poison that that will will is soaked up and put through the tree.
00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:50.159
Not my not my idea of of doing anything proper.
00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:57.919
Go for the wire, go for the econeme, spray them, and then put the the the steering prune over the top there to totally seal them all off.
00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:12.799
And then get you get a broad fork, go around your trees, deep aeration, and then get some some um some myco gold down into them, and let the trees get access to the st to the goodness that gives them the strength to fight off this pest and disease.
00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:14.399
Okay, fantastic.
00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.320
Kerry has the next question.
00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.960
Can you recommend a good product for white grubs in lawns and west facing garden beds?
00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:22.720
It's all about pests, isn't it?
00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:31.519
Okay, so what I've I've asked Kerry to do here was to identify what the grubs what the white grub is.
00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:39.440
So the the what you're looking for with white grubs in lawns and in garden beds is the colour of the head.
00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:45.759
So if you've if you find a white grub and it's got a um an orange head on it, it's not a problem.
00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:49.519
If you find a grub that's got a black head, that's a problem.
00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:52.639
Um excuse me.
00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:59.120
So what what you need to do is just just work out whether you've got an orange-headed one or a black-headed one or a yellow-headed one or whatever.
00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:05.440
If they're uh orange and and uh yellow, then they are only beneficial to the soil.
00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:07.600
All they're doing is is creating more compost.
00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:15.279
But if they've got a blackhead, they will chew off good uh off the good living roots off plants and things like turf and everything else.
00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:19.200
So you've got to make sure that you get in there and and determine what they are first.
00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:25.120
Now, if you've got blackheaded ones, you can go to Bunnings and they've got a grub killer, which you can apply.
00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.679
Um, and that's probably one of the best things you can do.
00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:28.799
Okay, there we go.
00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:30.399
Good luck with that, Carrie.
00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:34.879
The next question is actually more like a statement, and I thank you to Keith, and it's from Lynn.
00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:39.279
I'm excited, I am excited, she says, that I just had to message you.
00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:41.600
Finally, in my garden beds, I have worms.
00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:46.639
We live in Tolmee, 20 kilometres out of Mansfield, where we have some severe frosts.
00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:51.120
The soil I bought for the beds is never the best as we only have a choice of two garden suppliers.
00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:53.679
The soil is always light grey and sandy to touch.
00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:57.919
So I recently went on to Keith's Keith's plan of how to build good soil.
00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:05.440
Every time we're in Melbourne, I come home with bags of Clyde compost, rot dust, and I had already bought soil life, so I've been using that.
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.359
Today I found worms.
00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:08.960
I've never had worms before.
00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:12.400
Occasionally, when it rains, they are on the gravel, but now my garden beds have worms.
00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.400
I'm so excited and I have to thank you.
00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:15.519
Oh, that's beautiful.
00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:16.559
Thank you so much for sharing that.
00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:17.200
That is lovely.
00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:17.839
You don't have to talk.
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:18.880
Didn't have to talk on that one.
00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:22.400
Cartia has the next question, and it's a lengthy one, so you can have a bit of a break again.
00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.200
So here we go.
00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.759
I'm hoping you can help me with my magnolia tree.
00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:30.480
It's been planted for about eight years and until now has always been healthy and kept its leaves.
00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:33.839
This year, however, it has dropped all of its leaves for the first time.
00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:39.920
We had very hot and exceptionally dry conditions here in central west New South Wales during early 2026.
00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.480
So initially I assumed the tree may have died from the heat and lack of moisture.
00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:51.440
As it dropped its leaves after most of the heat had finished in early autumn, I continued watering it regularly just in case.
00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.519
I've attached some photos because there is something interesting happening with the branches.
00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:02.880
About one-third to two-thirds of the way along many of the branches, the wood still appears green, while the upper sections are brown.
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:10.400
However, right along the branches and out towards the tips, there are still lots of furry-looking buds that appear healthy, as though they are preparing to blossom.
00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:18.880
My question is, should I prune back the brown sections now, perhaps by one-third or two-thirds, or should I leave the tree alone and see what happens?
00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:22.559
I'm particularly reluctant to prune it if those buds are still viable.
00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:27.440
I'm also wondering what else could cause a mature magnolia to suddenly drop its leaves for the first time.
00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:33.599
Could it simply be the extreme heat and dry conditions, or could there be an underlying issue with the soil, drainage or roots?
00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:39.680
What has me particularly puzzled is that my other established trees and fruit trees seem to be doing quite well despite the same conditions.
00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:46.559
I'm very glad I continued watering the magnolia, but I'd love to know whether there is anything else I should be doing now to give it the best chance of recovering.
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:49.839
Should I prune it, leave it alone, or be doing something else?
00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:55.200
Um we need to determine whether or not the tree was um evergreen when she put it in.
00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:56.160
She couldn't remember.
00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.160
It was actually gifted to her.
00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:05.839
But I would rem I would be removing all of all of the dead wood down to where you've got um the green bark showing.
00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:11.519
Alright, so cut it down to that particular point and then let the tree try to establish itself from there.
00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:31.680
Um one of the things that you need to do is you need to get a prepping fork and go around the tree, around the where where the drip line used to be around the tree, get it down and get a fork, get a wetting agent of some sort, seesaw make a great wetting agent, um, which you can apply to the soil, and that just allows the moisture to soak down nice and deep.
00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:44.079
Um and then the other thing I'd suggest you do is get yourself some mico gold and apply it down where the holes you've prepped gone around and prepped with it with the the aeration fork, and then wash those, wash that into the soil.
00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:58.000
Do not under any any circumstances apply any fertilizers whatsoever, anything greater than seesaw, which is not a fertilizer anyway, but it's a tonic, and that will help set that that tree back up, hopefully, um, for success.
00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:04.799
Um the fact that your other trees are doing alright, I think you might find that there must be something in the soil in that one little spot.
00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:07.519
It might be it might be rock or heavy clay or whatever else.
00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:19.519
But you if you get the prepping fork in and get it working into the soil and do the other little bits and pieces, the winning agent, the seesaw, and the mico gold, I think you'll find that they'll all come on in leaps and bounds.
00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:20.640
Fabulous.
00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.039
Good luck with that, Katia.
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.119
Okay, that brings us to the end of our last question for this month's QA.
00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.559
Thank you again to everyone for their great variety of questions.
00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:35.039
And now let's see who our lucky winner is of this month's QA prize from the Plant Runner.
00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:40.480
And this month's prize goes to Katia and her cherished eight-year-old Magnolia.
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:41.599
Congratulations, Katia.
00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:43.119
We'll be in touch with you shortly.
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:49.359
Don't forget to check out theplantrunner.com for your organic indoor and outdoor plant care needs.
00:20:49.519 --> 00:21:00.720
And before we go, for any of our local listeners, Keith and I will be doing a live QA at the Frankston Library from 1 pm on Wednesday, October the 21st, and we would love to see you there.
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:06.640
Go to library.frankston.fic.gov.au to book and happy gardening.
00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:08.799
Thank you for listening to Muddy Boots.
00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:16.000
For more information on today's podcast, please go to muddyboots.net.au and happy gardening.
