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Club Meeting February 2023

Bronwyn Koll from Agribusiness Yarra Valley presented an update on fruit fly control in our area.

Fruit Fly

Main points:

Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) affects all fruits except pineapples. This includes not only all commercially grown fruits and home-grown fruit in the Yarra Valley but also native and pest species such as blackberry and prickly pear.
It has the potential to cripple our commercial fruit production and to curtail a major source of export income. The major risk is in peoples’ backyards, so the whole community needs to be involved in its control.
QFF is indigenous to moist tropical areas of Australia but has migrated south due to the increasing use of irrigated horticulture. There is so much of it in Victoria that it is now considered an established pest, like codling moth or citrus gall wasp. This means that the onus for control is no longer on the Government, but on the community. Fruit destined for sale overseas, or in states still free of QFF, such as SA or Tasmania, must be treated by radiation or fumigation before it leaves Victoria.
There can be 3 – 6 generations of QFF per year, depending on the weather. Warm, moist summers favour the larger number of life-cycles and hot, dry summers the smaller number. Each cycle lasts about 32 – 43 days.
A female can lay up to 2000 eggs in her lifetime, so there is the ever-present threat of a major QFF outbreak.
The female deposits her eggs under the skin of unripe fruit, leaving a barely-detectable mark on the skin. She also deposits a bacterium which hastens the rotting process and provides food for the developing larvae. At this stage the rotting fruit falls to the ground. After about 5- 7 days, the larvae emerge. They can be distinguished from other maggots by their ability to jump.
The larvae then enter the pupation stage. They burrow underground for up to 14 days, forming a hard outer covering until they emerge as sexually mature adults, reddish-brown flies about 7mm long with characteristic yellow markings. The QFF then mate and the whole cycle starts again.
The most important month for QFF outbreaks in the Yarra Valley is February, but any period of warm, humid weather where the temperature is more than 15°C at sunset produces a risk. There is ripening fruit somewhere in the Yarra Valley for 10 or 11 months of the year. There have been three outbreaks this year, two In Silvan and one in Kinglake.
Control depends on understanding and interfering with the life cycle:
- monitoring fruit for infestation; harvesting the fruit before it falls; collecting fallen fruit to prevent the larvae migrating underground to pupate using exclusion netting to prevent QFF access to the unripe fruit.there are biological predators such as ladybugs which can be purchased.the use of insecticides is less advisable because they may kill beneficial insects such as bees and ladybugs.
using traps containing fruit fly bait plus insecticide or some other kill method. There are different types of traps; some are effective in attracting immature males, some in attracting virgin females, and some attract mature females which are seeking to lay their eggs. Traps are available online or through garden centres.
Control of QFF is complicated by the large numbers of fruiting roadside weeds such as blackberries, which are themselves poorly controlled, and fruiting natives such as kangaroo apple and lilypilly, which are protected.
If an infestation is detected,
- notify Bronwyn (0490 381 999, email qff@agribuiness-yarravalley-com.). She will confirm whether it is QFF and assist with control strategies and communications with neighbours and Council.don’t contact Agriculture Victoria; they don’t regard it as their problem.increase monitoring and traps. (This is not a solution but will be useful to identify the extent of the problem.)
boil thoroughly or freeze or solarize infected fruit before disposal in a sealed bag in council bins, never in the compost.

Club Meeting March 2023

Michael Taylor gave a most interesting talk on snakes.

Snakes

Main points:

Michael ran the reptile house at Healesville Sanctuary for over 30 years
Snakes are ubiquitous in our region but are not to be feared. They are not aggressive and will do their best to avoid humans.
Although all snakes in the Melbourne -Yarra Valley area are very venomous, the purpose of the venom is to kill prey, not to protect themselves. They will only strike when they can’t escape. They do, however, resort to bluff when threatened, rearing up and assuming a striking pose.
If you are confronted by a snake looking as if it’s about to strike, back off. If you can’t back off, stay still. Do not attempt to kill it or otherwise interfere with it. The vast majority of snake bites to humans in Australia occur because of such deliberate interference.
Death from snakebite is relatively rare: in Australia we average about three deaths from snakebite per year; probably most are from eastern browns, then tiger snakes.
The commonest snake in the Upper Yarra Valley is the copperhead; less common is the tiger snake. The copperhead is often confused with the red-bellied black snake because it may have a reddsh-coloured belly, but it always has a cream-coloured head whereas the red-bellied black always has an all-black head. There are probably no red-bellied blacks in this area because it is too cold for them. Likewise, eastern browns do not occur in the Upper Yarra Valley, although they have been found in warmer, drier areas such as Warrandyte and Yarra Glen.
Tiger snakes can be distinguished from copperheads by their head and neck shapes: tigers have a broad triangular head and a distinctly narrower neck, whereas copperheads have a head that is the same width as the neck.
It is difficult to identify snakes just by their appearance because the colours and markings can be very variable: tiger snakes may have no stripes and copperheads may look brown.
Copperheads hunt during both day and night when conditions are right. They are heat-sensitive and tend not to be about during high daytime temperatures, becoming more active on warm summer nights.
Snakes’ vision is very poor and they cannot hear. They can sense vibrations, which are conveyed through their jaw to the inner ear; but their most important sense is the sense of smell, assisted by the flicking tongue, which traps airborne particles and vapours and conveys them to a sense organ (Jacobsen’s organ) in the roof of their mouth.
The fangs of the common snakes in Victoria are very tiny, which is another reason why it is rare for humans to be envenomated: the fangs cannot penetrate clothing and are even unlikely to penetrate bare skin.
Avoiding snakebite:
- Assume there will always be snakes outdoors in this areaDress appropriately if gardening: wear gloves, Leave the snake alone
- Know the phone number of a local snake catcher
First aid for snakebite:
- Keep absolutely still! Do not move!Summon help to come to you, don’t go to get itIdeally keep a broad stretch bandage in your back pocket, ready to wrap the bitten limb. Wrap firmly over the bite and work towards the top of the limb.
- Never ever suck out the venom or bleed it out. Do not apply a tourniquet.

Club Meeting June 2023

Hannah Grant, Diversity Officer from Yarra Ranges Council, spoke on the Council’s Gardens for Wildlife Program, whose aim is to make our gardens attractive to wildlife.

Land For Wildlife

Main points:

The program was started by volunteers in 2017 and subsequently taken up by Council
It is a partnership between residents, volunteer guides and the Council, in which Council officers (or volunteer guides) visit properties and make suggestions about making them attractive to wildlife, particularly by encouraging the planting of indigenous plants, the retention of habitat trees – especially trees with hollows – control of environmental weeds and the development of certain garden features such as ponds, bogs, rock gardens, insect hotels etc.
The program also fosters contact between residents and various volunteer Friends’ groups.
Residents are given a written report specific to their property and how its wildlife appeal could be enhanced, plus a voucher for the purchase of 10 indigenous plants, a brochure on weed control, a directory of indigenous plant nurseries, and a list of web sites and other digital resources such as the Gardens for Wildlife Facebook group.
The main focus so far has been on the Dandenongs, where properties are small, but it is hoped to extend the program to areas with larger properties (>3 hectares), such as Warburton, in the future. Larger properties can also join the Ribbons of Green program.
Hannah regards the program as making an important contribution to preserving biodiversity, controlling environmental weeds, increasing awareness of aboriginal cultural practices, improving residents’ health and wellbeing, and providing wildlife corridors to enable our native animals to move throughout the landscape.
No garden is too small to provide habitat for our wildlife; and providing wildlife habitat is not incompatible with growing exotic plants.
Joining the program is free and is done through the Yarra Ranges Council website.

Club Meeting July 2023

Grafting

Luke Whiteside gave a talk on grafting and propagation of heritage fruit trees.

Main points:

Propagation of heritage fruit trees is important. Commercial considerations such as harvesting times and storage have predominated over flavour and adaptability to local conditions, and this has led to a loss of diversity: the old, tasty types are in danger of being lost if they don’t meet the requirements of the supermarkets.
The two main types of propagation are by seeds (sexual propagation, which increases diversity by mixing the genes of the parent plants to produce genetically different offspring) and cloning (asexual propagation, which uses the living tissue of the parent plant to produce offspring that are genetically identical). Cloning includes such techniques as layering, grafting, budding, tissue culture, propagation by stem cuttings or root cuttings, etc.
Grafting:
- It is possible to graft many different scions onto the one rootstock: a grafted specimen containing up to 3 or 4 different apple varieties is available at Baroona for about $40, and many more have been attempted (up to 40 on the one rootstock in the USA!)
- The rootstock and the scion must be related. You can’t graft a cherry onto an apple rootstock, for instance.
- There are several different ways of joining the rootstock and the scion: wedge graft, whip and tongue graft, approach graft, cleft graft, bud graft etc.
- The donor tree must be healthy. Never take cuttings from a diseased tree. Sterilize cutting tools with methylated spirits between cuttings.
- Cuttings must be very fresh.
- Tools: Fancy grafting knives are available, but a sharp pocket knife will do. Also required are grafting tape (thin), labels and pigment ink pen, Clonex diluted 90%, to keep material just barely moist.
- Ideally both surfaces to be joined should be the same size.
- After painting with Clonex solution, join the two surfaces as closely as possible, excluding as much air as possible, and bind with grafting tape.
- The big advantage of grafting is that you can choose the rootstock to suit your soil conditions, or to choose the ultimate size of the grafted tree, or even the growth habit of the tree.
- Best time for grafting apples, pears, plums and cherries is from July till mid-August.
There will be a workshop at Ecoss led by grafting expert Neil Barraclough from 10 am – 3 pm on 5^th August; entry $5; scions and rootstocks appropriate to the Upper Yarra Valley will be available for purchase.

CLUB MEETING NOVEMBER 2023

Wildflowers

Club member David Borton gave a talk on the wildflowers of Western Australia.

Western Australia has almost half of Australia’s 25000 plant species, and ⅔ of these do not occur naturally anywhere else on earth. The south-west is particularly famous for its plant diversity and is recognized as one of only two diversity hot spots in Australia.

He and Sally visited WA for a week in early September this year in an all-inclusive package deal arranged by ANZ Travel in Kew, which he found to be excellent value for money. Starting at Kings Park in Perth, they travelled up the coast to Kalbarri, returning by an inland route and visiting many of the nature reserves and parks where wildflowers were to be seen in abundance.

David’s talk was illustrated with many photographs, which were excellent despite the difficulty in focusing because of the ever-present wind. He found the phone app Google Lens very useful, although not unequivocal, for identifying unfamiliar plants.

Frog Friendly Gardens

Club Meeting February 21, 2024

David de Angelis gave a very entertaining talk on frog-friendly gardening in the Upper Yarra Valley.

Main points:

Each description of the various local frogs was accompanied by a photograph and a recording of its conspicuous call; many of these calls are familiar to us all but the frogs themselves are rarely seen. Only males make these calls, which can be biphasic. One part of the call is to attract females and the other to keep other males away.
Local frogs don’t need indigenous vegetation to thrive; their main diet is insects
The vast majority of local frogs need to lay their eggs – and the tadpoles need to develop – in standing water, whether this be a pond, an old bathtub, a half-filled watering can or something similar.
Frog species in the Yarra Ranges: The commonest frog here – and Victoria generally – is the common froglet. This species only requires 6 weeks to develop from egg to frog, so can breed in temporary water. It has therefore managed to survive droughts. This is the case also for the spotted marsh frog. Other species, such as the Victorian smooth froglet and the Southern toadlet, have not been so lucky; they need the water to persist for about 6 months for the tadpoles to complete their development. For this reason, their main calling season is in the autumn ahead of the winter rains. These two species are less common in the Upper Yarra Valley, although not yet regarded as threatened. The Southern banjo frog or pobblebonk is well known. An interesting feature of its call is that the three syllables are actually the call of three different banjo frogs. Much rarer is the growling grass frog which has been found in only two locations in the Yarra Valley. It is very susceptible to chytrid fungus.
Pond /wetland conditions:
- The type of vegetation seems to be less important for breeding than the presence of water, as long as there is adequate cover. This applies to submerged vegetation and plants growing on land, both of which are important for frog habitat.
- There is a huge range of plants to choose from. Best plants for pond edges are strappy-leaved plants (e.g. irises, junca, lamandra) and emergent plants such as water milfoil, water plantain, marshflower, knotweed, buttercup. These provide places for frogs to lay their eggs.
- Submerged plants for oxygenation and shelter include valisneria.
- Beware of floating plants such as duckweed which can spread rapidly and over-shade the pond surface.
- Choose a sunny location to provide optimum growing conditions for submerged vegetation. A warmer pond also inhibits the growth of chytrid fungus, which is lethal for frogs.
- About 50% of the water surface should be free of any floating vegetation (submerged vegetation is OK)
- Some bare rocks are advisable to keep the pond warmer, inhibit chytrid fungus and provide possible habitat for the growling grass frog. Also have some rocks under water.
- Make sure there are differing water depths in the pond, both shallow and deep, to provide a range of differing temperatures.
- Algae can be controlled by the use of barley straw. Algicides labelled as safe for fish are probably OK for frogs too.
- Mosquitoes: Tadpoles make pond conditions less amenable for mosquito larvae as they keep the water moving. Some small native fish are OK for mosquito control, but avoid goldfish at all costs!

Club Meeting April 15, 2024

PERMACULTURE

Speaker was Peter Veeken, president of Permaculture Yarra Valley.

Permaculture is an agricultural system that aims to work in harmony with the natural world
It was first developed by Tasmanians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1974, and arose out of a concern that industrial, large-scale agriculture, with its overuse of fertilizers and pesticides and monoculture, was degrading our soils.
It has both agricultural and social aspects: help others, care for the environment, produce no waste, re-use repair, refurbish and recycle, share surplus produce, grow a wide variety of produce, minimize the use of non-renewable resources, observe and interact with your own plot (its climate, history, aspect, topography, microclimates).

Peter illustrated his talk with some examples: one from a tiny inner-suburban property in Brunswick, with about 100 sqm of garden. This permaculture garden yields hundreds of kilograms of produce annually with about 4 hours’ work per week. The second example was his own property at Woori Yallock where he grazes four goats and their kids on a series of pasture cells. His wife makes cheese from the milk, and water for the pasture is conserved by use of swales.

GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS’ MEETING MONDAY MAY 20^th 2024

Soil health in edible gardens

Main points:

Craig is a qualified horticulturalist and has written six books on the topic of edible gardening. He maintains that current common horticultural practices are misconceived and that his intention is to bring the new knowledge to as many people as he can. He has a website that is updated daily: https://craigcastree.com.au.
On his house block of 500 sqm in Werribee he produces 85% of his family’s food.
One teaspoonful of healthy soil contains more microorganisms than the total number of humans that have ever lived.
The root zone of plants (their rhizosphere) is surrounded by a huge network of symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi which are in intimate contact with the roots and root hairs and are invisible to the naked eye. The mycorrhizal network is only about 50 – 100 mm deep within the topsoil. Its role is to solubilize nutrients in the soil and thereby make them available to the plants; and in return, the plants feed the mycorrhizae by exuding various chemical messengers including carbohydrates formed by photosynthesis. Effectively, the microbes are fixing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil, and the plant communicates with the fungi by means of biochemical agents in the exudate.
Because digging destroys this delicate and complex network, it is very important not to dig the soil.
Traditionally, we fed plants with artificial N-P-K fertilizers, which meant that the plant didn’t need to communicate with the microbial network, and so the network then failed to thrive. The N-P-K fertilizers also fail to supply the trace elements needed. We should actually be feeding the soil with organic matter so that the soil feeds the plants. In return, the mycorrhizal fungi not only solubilize nutrients, but also protect the plants from attack by pests and diseases. This means that pesticides and herbicides are rarely necessary. Properly-made compost supplies all that plants need.
A sign that your soil is healthy and that the microbes are present and functioning as they should, is that the soil is aggregated around the roots when you pull the plant up. You should not see the roots unless you wash the soil off.
Keep the soil covered. At the very least, cover it with mulch; or better still, cover it with plants! A full garden does not grow weeds. When you pull up a weed, immediately replace it with an edible plant.
Avoid planting edible plants of the same family together in neat rows. Grow a diversity of plants – including flowering plants – in the same bed. This will not only confuse the pests that rely on sight and smell to identify their targets; it has also been found that the microbial population is much greater in soils containing a mixed crop than in a monoculture.
Plants grown on healthy soils contain measurably more nutrients – dissolved sugars and minerals – than plants grown under traditional commercial regimes. It is a reasonable supposition that such nutrient-rich plants may have a role in fostering human health, and also in arresting the observed decline in insect populations.
Pest attack: Watch out for limp or yellowing leaves on your plants. These will be lower in nutrients and more susceptible to pest attack. Pluck the leaves off and bury them in the compost before pests can lodge in them and breed.
Mulch: use organic materials, not pebbles. Craig’s favorite is Neutrog’s Whoflungdung. Don’t use fresh shredded prunings (e.g. as provided by Council) in a mulch because it will rob the soil of nitrogen as it breaks down. Age it first by leaving it standing for about a year. Apply a layer of about 2.5 cm only; more than this will prevent water reaching the soil.
Worms make humus and worm castings and also provide calcium to soils by means of a calciferous gland in their gut. Humus not only contains the necessary microbes, but also greatly increases the water-holding capacity of the soil. Healthy soils should ideally contain about 5% humus and 25 worms per shovel-full. Every gardener should have a worm farm; often it can be supplied or subsidized by the local Council. Locate it near the kitchen door. You can feed the worms with kitchen scraps – except citrus, alliums, meat or animal manures – plus cardboard, paper, cotton fabrics, hair, tea bags; the more diverse the feed the better. Compost worms do not dig or burrow like the worms that live in soil, so don’t put them in the garden. Worm tea is the liquid product of worm farms. It should be diluted about 1:9 before application to the soil and is a superb biostimulant.
Harvesting and weeding: Don’t pull up plants. Cut them off at ground level with a well-sharpened Dutch hoe and leave the roots in the soil, then immediately plant a new plant in the same spot. Water it in with diluted worm tea (preferably) or some other biostiumulant like Gogo Juice, Seasol or Popul8.
Compost: If using manure in the compost heap, try to get it from an animal that has not been treated for worms. Aged manure is preferable, as the worming treatment and ammonia will be off-gassed. Craig does not put anything on his garden that has not been composted first. This includes mulches like bagasse, straw, lucerne etc. Add a handful of garden lime every 6 weeks. Alternate green high-nitrogen layers eg lawn clippings and green plants, with brown, low-nitrogen layers like straw and autumn leaves. Each layer should be no thicker than 100 mm. The finer the materials in the heap, the faster it will break down. Once the compost feels no longer warm, take a couple of buckets full every month or so from the bottom of the heap, sieve it to remove the unprocessed bits and put them back onto the heap. Spread the sieved compost over the undisturbed soil in a layer no thicker than 25 mm. You don’t need a lot of compost to make a big difference.
Phyllosphere: not only is there a rhizosphere, a microbial population around the roots of a plant; there is also a phyllosphere, a microbial population on the areas of the plant above the soil, most particularly the leaves. The role of the phyllosphere is not fully understood, but it influences the activities of the plant such as respiration, water uptake and photosynthesis, and thus indirectly affects the rhizosphere. The phyllosphere needs water to function, and under drought conditions it may be destroyed. For this reason Craig has reverted to using impact sprinklers rather than drip irrigation to water his vegetables.
Making a straw-bale garden on your lawn: Mow the grass down as low as possible. Cover it with saturated cardboard and put haybales round the edges, with the hay-bands still in place. Fill the centre with good-quality potting mix (eg Searles’). Dig holes in the mix and in the hay with a small trowel, and plant with vegetable seedlings with maybe some flowering plants as well. Water it regularly. Within 12 months the cardboard will have broken down, the hay will have rotted and you will have the best soil imaginable (plus the vegetables!)

GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS’ MEETING MONDAY June 17, 2024

Growing Orchids

GUEST SPEAKER: Clive Halls from Beenak Orchids gave a talk on orchids.

Main points:

Clive has been growing orchids for 60 years. He learnt his trade as an apprentice to Sanders orchids in England, who were the biggest growers of orchids in the world, with nurseries in Belgium, France, New York and in St Albans in the UK.
The family came to Australia in 1973 and established an orchid nursery at Three Bridges
Although most orchids are tropical plants, a surprising number do very well in protected positions in the Yarra Valley. Their main requirements are shade and moisture, in the right amounts. Most orchids from equatorial regions do not do so well, however, not only because of our hot, dry summers, but also because of our long summer day-length.
Protected outdoor locations: Some orchids grow well under trees or mounted on tree ferns, under a veranda or in open-sided shade houses, the latter with a plastic roof with shade cloth underneath to protect against too much rain. Clive recommends 80% summer shade and 40% winter shade for most types. Orchids seem to prefer such protected outdoor locations to being in a glasshouse with other plants, which generally prefer drier conditions than orchids.
Benching: Use benches! do not put your pots on the ground, to avoid pests.
Potting: They can grow for very many years in the same pot, but to get the best out of them they should be re-potted every few years.
Light: filtered morning sun is excellent. Avoid west-facing positions.
Air movement: necessary, but gentle. Flow-through ventilation should be enough.
Water: In the summer, orchids may need watering every day, but only once every couple of weeks in winter. Most orchids that die are killed by overwatering. Overhead misters are ideal and can be cheap to construct. Clive’s run for 10 seconds every 15 minutes.
Bottom warmth: The use of heating mats in winter will encourage growth and induce earlier flowering. These mats are quite cheap to buy.
Fertilizer: Not a critical requirement. Overfeeding destroys the absorbent exterior layer of the roots and can kill the plant. Clive uses a commercial fertilizer with high potassium, low nitrogen, diluted to quarter strength.
Clive illustrated his talk with photographs of his shade houses, and stunning photographs of various types of orchids: dendrobiums, cymbidiums, miltonias (pansy orchids), zygopetalums, cattleyas, masdavallias (kite orchids) phalaenopsis (moth orchids, readily available in supermarkets and sold as an indoor plant), paphiopedilum (slipper orchids), alpine orchids (these are mostly tiny. Some grow well in terrariums indoors), Australian native orchids (eg pterostylis and sarcochilus).
Useful tips:
- Sieve potting mix to remove fines before using it. This prevents the drainage holes in the pot from being clogged.
- Stand the original pot inside a slightly larger pot to provide insulation. Use this larger pot at the next re-potting.
- Never over-pot. Use a pot one size bigger when required, never more.
- Grow plants to suit your conditions.
Yarra Valley Orchid Society will next year be disbanded and amalgamated with the Ringwood Orchid Society. One of the topics that the amalgamated society plans to present to the general public will be the potting and culture of certain orchids…..stay tuned!

GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS’ MEETING MONDAY July 15, 2024

GUEST SPEAKER: Jim Rochford gave a talk on camellias. Main points:

Camellias are mostly native to Japan and China, with many new ones coming from tropical areas.
There are several different species of camellias, the most common being
Sasanqua: small flowers, serrated leaves, blooming in late autumn/early winter, often used for hedges. Many are scented, many are sun-tolerant.
Japonica: the classic camellia, with large regular blooms, prefer partial shade, flowering in spring.
Reticulata: the largest open flowers, sometimes almost 40 cm in diameter, textured leathery leaves, prefer full sun but also perform well in partial shade, flowering in late autumn/early winter.
Many hybrids of these species exist, and new ones are constantly being developed. Jim had many examples to pass around.
How to grow the best camellias:
- Location: Camellias thrive in partial shade, as intense sunlight can scorch their leaves. They prefer protection from harsh winds. Hybrids tend to be more sun-tolerant than the species camellias.
- Soil: Well-draining, slightly acidic soil is ideal for camellias. Incorporate organic matter, such as compost or peat moss, to improve soil quality and drainage.
- Watering: Camellias require regular watering, especially during dry spells. Keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged.
- Mulching: Apply a layer of organic mulch around the base of the plant to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and protect the roots from temperature extremes.
- Pruning: Prune camellias after they finish blooming to maintain their shape and promote healthy growth. Remove any dead or damaged branches and thin out crowded growth. Can be hard-pruned if required, although this will result in loss of blooms for the next season.
- Fertilization: Use a balanced, slow-release fertilizer suitable for acid-loving plants in early spring and again in late summer or early autumn. Jim uses Neutrog’s Sudden Impact for Roses but there are many other suitable products.
- Propagation: All types will strike from cuttings except the large reticulatas, which must be cleft-grafted onto sasanqua rootstock, then kept for 2 years at least, under a bell-jar out of the sun. This makes them very expensive to propagate and most retail nurseries don’t stock them.
Pests and diseases: formerly camellias in Australia were regarded as being disease-free, but in the last 2 years the fungal disease petal blight has entered the country and has spread rapidly. Early-flowering types seem to be less affected. No definitive treatment has been found. Jim advised that fallen blooms should be gathered up, bagged and disposed of, not composted, to assist in slowing the spread of petal blight.
The camellia show this year, run by Camellias Victoria, is on Saturday 10^th August, from 10am – 4pm. Venue is the Burwood Heights Uniting Church, cnr Blackburn Rd and Burwood Highway (opposite Kmart) in East Burwood.

UYV GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS’ MEETING, MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16^TH 2024

Tomatoes

Instead of a speaker this month, there were two videos on tomato growing by Tino Carnevale from Gardening Australia. These were followed by a discussion, led by Shirley, with emphasis on tomato-growing conditions in the Upper Yarra Valley.

Main points:

Don’t plant tomato seedlings in spring until soil temperatures are 18° – 20°C. Traditionally in the Upper Yarra Valley, tomatoes are planted on Cup Day.
Tomatoes need well-drained friable soil with plenty of organic material and good sun exposure. Add a handful of blood and bone at planting and some potash when the fruit is forming, and when the fruit is ripening.
Two types of tomatoes:
- determinate– bush tomatoes that theoretically don’t need support, grow quickly and crop all at once. These are ideal for sauce-making;
- indeterminate – tall-growing types that need stakes to support them, grow more slowly and crop over a long period. These are ideal for regular picking, salads etc
Try to avoid planting tomatoes in beds that have previously grown tomatoes or other members of the solanaceae family, such as chillies, eggplants or capsicums, within the past 3 years.
Space them about 1 – 1½ m apart to reduce possibility of fungal disease spreading through the whole crop.
Watering: Avoid wetting the foliage. A long, slow weekly watering is better than short watering every day.
Plant seedlings into a deep hole, even up to the first set of leaves, to encourage formation of roots up the stem. Can grow in pots. Add stakes at planting time for indeterminate types.
Prune off lower leaves especially if leaves are in contact with the ground.
Shirley’s talk: She grows 16 – 17 different varieties. Some do better under certain seasonal conditions than others. It’s worth growing several different varieties to cover this seasonal variation.
Mini-hot houses are available from Bunnings and Aldi, useful for raising seedlings.
Plant seeds in August or September. Heat trays are useful if you don’t want to be carrying the seedlings in and out of the sun each day.
Seedlings need to be ‘hardened off’ by leaving them outdoors in the sun for a few hours each day. This makes the stems pinkish in colour. Seedlings whose stems are still green have not been hardened off and will likely not thrive.
Seed saving: Use the first and best tomatoes for your seed source; otherwise buy your seeds anew every year. This also avoids cross-pollination, which can lead to tainting of the original seed type.
Crop rotation: In small gardens this is not really feasible. Instead, follow the tomatoes with a winter crop and add fresh soil/compost before planting again the following year.
Pests: budworm and fruit fly – be diligent, collect fallen fruit asap, don’t put it in the compost (council green bins preferred, or destroy before disposal). Nematodes can be discouraged by growing tomatoes with marigolds.
Excess tomatoes: dry them in a very slow oven, purée and freeze them, make chutney, make sauce.
Controllable challenges: bowerbirds, king parrots, rats, whiteflies
Tomato growing competition: Bring a plate of five tomatoes with stems to the February meeting. Colour variation allowed, seeds available at tonight’s meeting for those who have not yet germinated theirs. Otherwise use your own.

Return to Start

Fruit Fly

Snakes

Land For Wildlife

Grafting

Wildflowers

Frog Friendly Gardens

PERMACULTURE

Soil health in edible gardens

Growing Orchids

GUEST SPEAKER: Jim Rochford gave a talk on camellias. Main points:

Tomatoes

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