A step by step guide: Planting, pruning and harvesting your favourite fruit trees

Ornamental grasses are an excellent way to add height, movement, colour and contrast to your year round landscape. This week we hear about some of Keith’s favourite varieties and how to incorporate them into your garden.Most grasses are easy to grow and require minimal attention provided they have reasonable soil. Preferring full sun but some will tolerate part shade. Once established they are drought tolerant and rarely prone to pests or disease.Keith recommends cutting grasses back almost to the ground at the end of winter. Can be then easily divided by digging up and dividing with sharp spade.Some of Keith’s favourites include:Miscanthus sinensis ‘Flamingo’ - tall form growing to 1.2-1.5mMiscanthus ‘Kleine Fontaine’ - with vertical stripe through the leafMiscanthus ‘Klein Silberspinne’ - compact varietyMiscanthus ‘Zebrinus’ - with horizontal stripe through the leafMiscanthus ‘Adagio’ - ideal for smaller gardenMiscanthus ‘Giganteus’ - grows to over 2mCalamagrostis -tall vertical accentStipa Gigantea  - tidy clump with 2m flower stemsStipa ‘ichu’ - smaller varietyPoa labillardierei - small tussock clumping grassFestuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’- blue grass 30cmWhy not add some interest to your garden with some of these beautiful grasses!Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Mid July and half way through Winter. Plenty of jobs to prepare for the Spring season ahead!Get your soil into great shape - add compost (Keith recommends Clyde's Compost), Munash Rock Dust, MycoGold (added at time of planting) and mulch. Add products like Blood & Bone manure and Rooster Booster now as these take some months to take effectGood time to plant and/or fertilise brassicas. Feed with liquid fertliser like Charlie Carp or Power Feed now to optimise growth. Still time to plant cabbages, lettuce, radish, turnips, peas, beans and herbsClean up your tools - scrub off rust, sharpen and treat with VaselinePrune deciduous plants including apple trees by approximately ⅓ . Avoid pruning apricots (this should be done in Summer). Prune to an outward growing bud. Open out centre to allow light and air.Prevent (or treat) pests like aphids and mealybugs with ECO Neem and Eco OilContinue to water your vegetables (depending on rain). Vegetables need 4mm a day!Get on top of weeds while they are growing less vigorously. Keith & Elisabeth love F.D Ryan's Ho-Mi and Collinear tools. Best to do in the low growth period on the Moon calendarOpen up compact soil with  F.D Ryan's Broad fork to eliminate algae and mossPerfect time to buy and plant bare-rooted trees (in cooler states). Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

We know from Keith’s Instagram that he visited the Agrarian Kitchen at Willow Court in Tasmania. Today we hear from Rodney Dunn, the brainchild behind the Agrarian Kitchen - a restaurant, cooking school and garden set in New Norfolk, Tasmania.The kitchen garden is at the centre of everything that happens at the Agrarian Kitchen with fresh produce being grown and harvested to support the cooking school, restaurant and function venue set Keith applauds the companion planting approach used in the garden to promote continuity of supply over the year. The 5000m vegetable garden is set in what was an old prison yard. The productive garden is a closed loop system with minimal waste, converting food waste into compost to maximise soil production.Next visit to Tasmania, be sure to treat yourself to a visit to this incredible placeWhere you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Q&A time again! Who will be this month’s lucky winner of the fabulous prize donated by The Plant Runner?Unwanted grass coming up in garden beds try either organic Slasher or the less toxic version of Roundup now available called Roundup NaturalNectarine with gumosis seems unusual to Keith! Possibly grafted onto an unsuitable rootstock?Pots with wheels! A great idea to enable moving them around with the seasons. Check out Omnia Plant Gliders. Potting mix should be replaced every 3-5 yearsPruning crepe myrtle - cut back by ⅓ in Winter monthsDahlia tubers only need to be dug up if you are in areas with heavy frosts. Feed with Blood & Bone, Rooster Booster or try Strikeback for OrchidsEscallonia hedge is hardy. Can be cut back hard. Keith suggests aerating the surrounding soil with a broad fork (check out F.D Ryan's)Hedge trimmers - Keith recommends AEG or EGO battery operated modelsKurrajong trees attacked by the Kurrajong Bag Moth won’t usual destroy the tree but where size allows try ECO Neem and Eco OilRose with botrytis? Remove affected leaves/petals and bin them Hydrangea cuttings should be taken late summer for propagationPlanting an Avocado tree? - plant on mound, feed well and mulch with pea straw or lucerne. Plant min 8m from the nearest Eucalyptus tree.Thank you for your great questions again!Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Landscaping a garden can be overwhelming. Where to start? What to consider? This week, Keith gives us some practical advice.Steps to follow:Start with a ‘wish list’ - consider how you would ideally want to use the space. Do you want a BBQ, a pool, outdoor seating, a pond, vegetable garden etc. Look at the paved areas - do you want decking, paving, granitic sand etc. Start a Pinterest Board can be a great way to explore what you like and compile your ideas.Consider zones including those that you don’t want to be seen (utility area, clothes line etc)Create your plan (or employ a landscape architect), drawing in your structures, paving, decking and plants. Using the council plan of your house and garden will help you work to scale to work out the quantities of what you need - eg for soil, plants etcBefore commencing, existing vegetation will need to be poisoned and remove any unwanted materials. Slasher is an excellent organic herbicideLay down the paving decking etcBring in the soil and additional materials for soil improvement. Soil improvement is the number one factor to growing a healthy, lush garden. Adding Compost, Clyde’s lignite humate to improve the soil and using products like MycoGold will give your plants a great start. Mulch - Keith recommends granitic sand over the top of soil. Irrigation best to go in before the plants. Check out Dan Modular SprinklersPlanting - Autumn when they can get established before the winter.Consider a landscaper to do the initial work of the pathways, decking, soil and irrigation systems if this is too much work.Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Struggling to have enough pockets for your secateurs, phone, seed packets etc while you're working in the garden? Well this week we meet Sahra Dixon, who has the solution!Le Sac is a gardening belt designed to be both practical and stylish. Cotton/canvas, machine washable, built for comfort with plenty of pockets for your gardening essentials (even a pocket for your Airpods!). Affordable at $75.95Find out also about Sahra's other venture - The Wool Shed. The Wool Shed is an intimate, farm-to-table experience, situated on a working farm in Burragate on the far South Coast of New South Wales.Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Q&A time again! Who will be this month’s lucky winner of the fabulous prize donated by The Plant Runner?Lemon tree with droopy branches from so much fruit? 4 stakes and lightly tying the branches to support them, could help here. Alternatively, remove some of the fruitCut flower bed in a raised bed - Keith recommends a wild flower mix. Look at The Seed Collection Direct or pre-propagate in a greenhouse? Check the seed pack. Peas, beans etc can be sown directlyHibiscus rubra with spots and holes. Could be metallic flea beetle. Treat with ECO Neem and Eco Oil (including the soil and under the leaves), also try Diatomaceous Earth or companion planting with fennel or corianderFicus stipulata (pumila or minima) is a great choice for covering a fence where the soil depth is minimalHear about the benefits of Comfrey and the experience at the Garden of St.Earth. Other crops like lucerne, beans, peas and “Clever Clover” also have benefits to the soil.Keith recommends MycoGold - added at time of plantingThank you for your great questions again!Where you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Citrus trees - a complex and needy tree to grow but worth it when you are well rewarded with abundant fruit. We have regularly discussed their heavy feeding requirements and the long list of pests that can cause problems. Today, instead, we are discussing “root stock”.Grafting is bringing a tree with good root structure together with best the quality and size of fruit. Rootstock is grown then the trunk is cut above the ground and the desired fruiting tree is grafted onto this trunk. The most common root stock is Trifoliata due to its smaller size, disease resistance and tolerance to cold. Troyer is another common rootstock and “Flying Dragon” is another rootstock ideal for pots or smaller spaces due to its slow growing habit.Most rootstocks have a life span of approximately 10 years. Expect to have to replace your tree after this time. Occasionally a rootstock may send up a shoot. This should be removed to ensure it doesn’t dominate the fruiting part of the tree.Citrus care - regular (weekly) deep watering, feed regularly with Neutrog Gyganics or Harry's Citrus Food and regularly spray with a mix of ECO Neem and Eco OilWhere you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook

Whether you have a large rural garden or a small city balcony, creating “zones” will help you make the most out of the space and optimise its functionality.Hedging is a great way of creating different zonesPlants like Syzygium australe (Straight and Narrow) are perfect for a tall narrow screenGrasses like the giant form of Miscanthus sinesis can be used to divide areasAreas can be divided by using different materials and structures such as concrete reinforcing mesh to grow a creeper on or vertical timber screening that can be softened with plants like Festuca glaucaVarying heights can also enhance a feeling of different rooms or zones. Sunken seating areas, raised garden beds or even raised pools for example (check out Plungie Pools)Garden lighting helps create areas at nightCovered seating/pergola areas - consider a deciduous climber to give shade in summer and light and sun in winterWater features such as birdbaths, fountains, showers add interest and a calming elementPaths link the rooms. Paths can be created using bluestone pavers, concrete pavers, grass, sleepersWhere you can find all things Muddy Boots!Website: https://www.muddyboots.net.au/Instagram: www.instagram.com/muddybootspodcast/ Facebook: Muddy Boots Podcast | Facebook