Coming up

Sophie meets a productive gardener on Kangaroo Island; Tino visits the home garden of a botanist; Josh Byrne demystifies greywater and Millie has some simple solutions to solve common problems in the vegie patch

Gardening Australia Weekly Quiz

A) Between 2000 - 3000 
B) Between 3000 - 4000     
C) Over 100

Watch tonight's show and see next week's newsletter for the answer!

Answer to last week's quiz question:
Q - Which of the following statements is correct?
A - b) High levels of phosphorus can be found in chicken manure

What to plant this weekend

Tropical Climate Zone

• Capsicum
• Eggplant
• Leeks
• Onion

• Broccoli
• Celery
• Endive
• Shallots

• Broad Beans
• Carrots
• Oregano
• Silverbeet

• Cauliflower
• Mustard Greens
• Rocket
• Turnips/Swedes

What to plant this weekend

COOL

• It's time to dig up and divide rhubarb crowns. Strip off the old leaves and stems, dig up the crown, and divide with a sharp spade. Replant crowns about 1m apart.
• Sharpen those secateurs, it's time to prune pretty perennials! Cut Penstemons back by two-thirds to give a flush of late autumn flowers and remove the ratty flower stems of campanulas.
• Busting for brassicas? Get them started in seed trays, either indoors, or in a green house. Think broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage —they'll be ready to plant out in the patch in a month.

• Sedums are a staple in warm temperate gardens, but it's time to give them some love. Prune them to the ground now that they have flowered — it might seem tough, but they'll thank you for it!
• Now that St Patricks day is upon us, it's time to build a trellis and get sweet pea seeds into the ground. These old-fashioned fragrant favourites will grow through winter, and flower in spring.
• Pumpkin vines are dying off and pumpkins are ready to be harvested as the stems dry. It's a good idea to leave part of them stem attached as it helps them store for longer and prevent rot.

• As you clear spent summer vegies from your beds, it's the perfect time to pop in a green manure of mustard greens and barley, to improve soils and break pest cycles.
• Lift, divide and replant comfrey just before a cool, wet spell - warm soil and cool air means the plants will settle in gently. Excess foliage can help speed up your compost over Autumn.
• Putting on a show now is the Bleeding-Heart Vine, Clerodendrum thomsoniae. The eye-catching white and crimson flowers hang in clusters on this tough twiner, which can be grown inside or out!

• If you like pesto the besto, get sweet basil into the garden. A winner in warmer climates, sweet basil is tops in pots — blend some pelletised manure with potting mix and plant up!
• Elegant, strappy and tough as old boots, the Swamp Lily (Crinum pedunculatum), is a must-have. A native bulb, the 2m long strappy leaves and spidery summer flowers are unbeatable!
• Full of flavour and not frightened of humidity, Suyo Long is a cracking cucumber variety. The skin is deeply ridged and dark green, the vine vigorous and the fruit sweet and mild.

• It's time to chuck in a choko! It may be humle, but it's at home in the heat. Give it a support and shelter from strong winds, and it'll produce fruit in no time, which are great raw or cooked.
• If you've been irrigating with greywater over summer, give your lawn and garden a bit of a break over autumn and winter. Flush with freshwater to allow soil and beneficial microbes to recover.
• Eremophila biserrata is a wonderful West Australian native, and an awesome arid lawn alternative forming dense mats of soft, green almost succulent foliage with dainty red flowers.