Monthly Archives: July 2015

16
Jul

PR, Kawerau.

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Use a couple of old car tyres placed on top of each other, then put all your potato peelings inside covered with some compost and dirt then topped up with lawn clippings. Before long, you’ll have a tyre full of fresh potatoes.

16
Jul

Marie, Rotorua.

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If you are not careful a compost heap can become a great smelly heap of sloshy muck. You are supposed to turn it over which is hard work, especially for old folks. Here is a tip. Get an old 40 gallon drum. Make a hole in the bottom. Put a piece of scrunched up wire […]

16
Jul

C.T. Onerahi, Whangarei.

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I only use a large rubbish bag about once a month for rubbish to go to the dump. I always put fruit and vege scraps, tea bags, egg shells, and vacuum cleaner contents into a bucket and when it is full I dig it straight into my small vege garden, where it turns into soil […]

16
Jul

Faye, Auckland.

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Instead of throwing out the root end of the celery, place it in a jar of water. In no time, roots will develop and it can be planted in the garden for lots of free celery. (As it happens, there are quite a few vegetables that can be grown from scraps, like potatoes of course. […]

16
Jul

Ann, Whakatane.

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Cauliflowers. Years ago I cut the cauli out and forgot to pull out the plant. Months later I discovered at least 6 had grown up from the original root, and in diminishing size, each produced a cauli! In due course, more grew from those roots, and 6 months later another crop of caulis. It is […]

16
Jul

SMP, Mangonui.

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I have grown cauliflower for many years and it is not uncommon to have only a few leaves covering the cauliflower. The leaves are delicious & can be used anywhere silverbeet, or puha is. My daughter loves this green better than any other. I’ld be interested to see what others think.

16
Jul

Sam, Auckland.

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Here’s a tip to stop the neighbour’s cat from ‘using’ your garden. Scatter the rinds of oranges or lemons – cut into chunks or strips – around the garden. It won’t harm the pesky cat but they really don’t like the smell. Adds a bit of colour and breaks down into compost after a while. […]

16
Jul

Thrifty, Hamilton.

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Dab eucalyptus oil around the area. Cats detest smells like eucalyptus oil. I believe they don’t like the smell of vinegar either but I haven’t tried that out – only the eucalyptus oil. Reapply every few days.