For every order made from now until the end of October, Awapuni Nurseries
will throw in a free Traditional Value range broccoli bundle containing nine plants.
To see the entire range of seedlings available at Awapuni Nurseries click here and have a browse around our plant shop.
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Water, feed, spray and weed. As those cold mornings start to disappear and the threat of frost declines, your garden will begin to do some serious growing.
If your vegetable garden is looking a little bare, October is a great time to
plant some summer vegetables. Carrots, beans, peas, cauliflower, lettuce, and courgettes are all great to plant at this time of year. 
October is a good time to spray your rose plants to protect them from spring’s
creepy crawlies. You have a few options when it comes to aphids, you can pour
used dishwater over the roses.
If you prefer organic methods, spray them with
neem oil; this will prevent the aphids from reproducing or cook-up a
chilli/garlic mix and sprinkle the combination on top of your roses as a deterrent.
Don’t forget to give your garden plenty of water this month so the soil doesn’t
dry out as the weather gets warmer.
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Stop slugs in their slime: the organic way! |
 According to the banking gurus out there, the recession is over! So why not
celebrate by planting something a little up-market this month - mesclun aka ‘the fancy lettuce’.
Wondering what fancy lettuce has to do with slugs and slime? Lettuce is the
Holy Grail of slugs. Lettuce is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Lettuce is…ok you get the picture – slugs love lettuce.
So getting mesclun to full maturity without being attacked by homeless snails is
a difficult task for even the veteran gardener.
Nobody likes the idea
of spraying their plants with insecticides. So this month,
I’ll give you some tips on how to plant mesclun lettuce, but most importantly
how to keep the slugs at bay – organically.
First, let’s plant some lettuce. Grab some of Awapuni Nurseries’ Traditional
Value mesclun lettuce seedlings when you’re at your local supermarket,
Warehouse, or
Bunnings store.
Click here to read more.
Tod Palenski – Awapuni Nurseries
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I have a really BAD problem with all the cats in the neighborhood using my
garden as their dirt box. I know you can buy products, but they end up costing
me quite a lot, and after a while the cats keep coming back. Any ideas how I
can stop this?
 Cats are wonderful pets. Affectionate most of the time and hardly ever seem to bear grudges especially around tea time!
However, they can be a real pain when it comes to your garden.
People have tried many different methods to deter cats from
using their pride-and-joy of a garden as a litter tray. And the
trick is… well there is no trick unfortunately!
Things that work for one cat may not work for another because every cat is different. However I’ve provided a list of tactics that have worked for others and hopefully will work for you.
1) Fill some empty fizzy bottles with water and place them sporadically around your garden. The reflecting light from the sun is meant to deter cats.
2) Build a chicken wire fence around your garden; and place it on an outwards angle in the direction the cat will approach from.
A cat can’t climb or jump a fence at this angle.
3) Scatter orange or lemon peels around your garden. Cats don’t like the smell of citrus fruits.
 4) Place stakes in the ground near areas
frequently visited by neighborhood cats. Make sure they are close enough together to stop the cat climbing over or stepping around them.
5) Spread sharp plant clippings around your garden bed such as, rose thorns. This should stop cats walking over or around your plants.
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Close Up’s, Daniel Faitaua, meets the New Zealand Gardener magazine’s Canterbury Gardener of the year.