Fruit Fly in the ACT?

BTW a professional gardener friend believes that plants much prefer rain water to tap water, the theory being that rain draws nitrogen and nutrient particles from the atmosphere, and it lacks the chemicals in tap water. I agree with him, based on empirical evidence if nothing else; you only need to look at how gardens respond to rain to see that there is something in that. So harvest rain water for the vegie patch.

You should be able to prune the leader, but just make sure you bring yourself up to speed on the basics of pruning before hacking away. My wife takes it upon herself to ‘prune’ occasionally, and will leave hideous punji sticks in her wake.

Check out this pdf from COGS

An excellent reference book is The Canberra Gardener, by the Horticultural Society of Canberra. It has sections devoted to kitchen garderns, pruning, and includes some useful planting/harvesting calenders. It also provides some good info on the growing environment of Canberra.

Join COGS or visit their website at http://www.cogs.asn.au Lots of local info, tips and techniques there.

Also join COGS or visit their website at http://www.cogs.asn.au Lots of local info, tips and techniques there.

Some good advice here. As someone new to the wonders of vege gardening, would like to see more advice about how and when to do what in the vege and fruit department…
F’rinstance, I have a cherry tree that I planted in spring and is now sending up a high and strong central leader. But in a very small garden I need to keep the fruit tree heights down so they don’t block winter sun into the house and so they can be reached…
Is it OK to chop this leader down now or do I have to wait until winter? Likewise for other fruit tree pruning?

Special G said :

Co-plant basil and other herbs – this helps getting rid of pests.

Wot G said. Plant basil amongst the tommies. They’re meant to be together, from seed to feed. Who said nature’s not romantic? Also cut/pull the flowering heads off basil to stop it going to seed. My wife makes the best basil pesto :-d

Danman, you pretty much got it in one. So the solution is to try and maintain steady patterns, which is why some people grow them in greenhouses. Variation in watering will cause the splitting, and the recent deluges would’ve easily done that. Sun exposure can also contribute. They’re still fine to eat. Just make sure you remove them from the plant as the split fruit is more vulnerable to disease.

Danman I had the same problem. It occurred after those lovely heavy rains we had so I put it down to just that – a sudden growth spurt. Particularly after a period of dry. But that is an uneducated guess.

The red cherry tomatoes did not have the same problem although the Yellow Pear shaped ones split as well.

Still they are all good for tomato relish.

While we are talking abou ttomatos, can anyone tell me why my heirloom tomatos have grown with crack like fissures, lik ethey have had a growth spurt that has cracked teh skin open because the skin cant keep up with the flesh.

Never had this problem before, but this is a new patch of dirt I have them in (Moved from back yard to front yard)

Co-plant basil and other herbs – this helps getting rid of pests.

Assuming you are growing large tomatoes? Pick em when they just start to change colour and take them indoors to finish ripening. You beat the bugs. (Cherry toms don’t seem to succumb as much – I think because they ripen so fast and there are so many).

Also, don’t have them draping on the ground if you can help it (except it’s probably a bit late to do anything about that now – but there’s always next year . . .).

Hope it helps.