Lismore Garden Club News

In my humble opinion we are about to enter the best season of the year for gardening. There is no doubt that like humans the plant world also prefers the milder conditions that autumn brings as opposed to the challenging heat of summer.

Now is the time to prepare the soil for planting a productive vegie garden. Work in compost or rotted animal manure and dolomite, and water in with Seasol and leave for two weeks before planting. This allows time for the beneficial micro-organisms and earthworms to build up in the soil. Use the same preparation and resting period for your flowering annual garden beds.

Autumn is also an excellent time to plant avocado and citrus trees. A friend who was a successful tropical fruit orchardist once told me that March is the best month to plant paw paw seeds as the cooler weather slows the growth and helps the trees to mature at a much shorter height. This is beneficial so you can reach them to pick fruit and also flying foxes are hesitant to come into low trees.

This is also a really good time to propagate plants from seed, by cutting and division. Those of you that know me also know that I grow bromedliads and I find that spring and autumn are the best seasons for dividing these increasingly popular plants. I will be running a series of workshops from our home in Goonellabah which includes the division and repotting of bromeliads. The first workshop is Sunday, March 7, from 9-11am and there will be a small cost to cover materials. To book, phone me on 6624 7422 or 0421 021 451.

The Lismore Garden Club meets on the second Thursday of the month at 1pm at the Lismore Workers Club. Visitors and potential new members are most welcome. For information, phone Ray on 6625 1773 or Rosemary on 6629 3353.

Finally: “In the midst of life, take time to laugh and love and pray, then it will be worth living each and every day.”

Happy gardening

Ron Burns