Subscribe to Gradening Australia – http://ab.co/GardeningYouTube
As Millie clears the decks for her builder to demolish half her house, she works out which plants will stay and which will go.
Protect in place
A Persimmon ‘Fuyu’ was planted early on with the aim of it being a centerpiece of the finished garden. To protect it, Millie estimates the size of the root structure with some basic maths:
As a general rule of thumb, a tree’s roots occupy an area two to five times the size of the crown. However this doesn’t work for all tree shapes.
A more accurate way to calculate it is to measure the trunk diameter at chest height and multiply this by 12. So for a tree with a 50cm diameter, the protection zone will be 0.5 x 12 = 6m.
Allow more for larger trees, which are more sensitive to root disturbance; for a large, precious tree, you should always consult an arborist.
Millie calculates that a timber pallet should be big enough to protect the root zone, so she cuts it in half to be able to place it around the trunk. She fixes it in place with some metal stakes, which will also help protect the tree.
Protect by moving
Some plants need to be removed to protect them, such as the hop vine shading the pergola. It’s a tough plant and is dormant over winter so will cope with being dug up and repotted, after Millie trims off any damaged roots. She also takes cuttings to propagate so new plants will be available if the main one dies.
Remove
Plants that are not wanted in the new garden – and aren’t in good enough condition to transfer to friends – are cut down. This includes some ornamental pears, however the wood won’t go to waste and will make frames for new plants.
One pear will stay to shelter the new garden until it is established.
Prepare
To prepare for new plantings Millie wants to get rid of her couchgrass lawn, so she lays down some black plastic and old tarps – the sun will burn off and kill the plants underneath.
However this method also starved the soil of life, so Millie is preparing some compost to regenerate it afterwards.
She has created a holding bay using straw bales and filled it with a mixture of the mulched plants that have been removed from her garden, autumn leaves and chook manure.
Plant
Never one to waste a growing opportunity, Millie plants out the straw bales with some seedlings to provide leafy greens and flowers over winter. She plants out kale, celery, silverbeet, and some cineraria for colour.
Millie primed the bales by sprinkling fertiliser on top (they are placed cut-side upwards) and after sitting out in the rain for about a month, they are ready for planting into. Simply make a hole in the top, fill it with a bit of compost, and plant a seedling into this. Water well and give the plants a liquid feed every two weeks.
For so many people, the garden is the biggest room in the house, and Millie can’t wait to rebuild hers.
FEATURED PLANTS
Persimmon ‘Fuyu’ (Diospyros kaki cv.)
Cineraria (Cineraria cv.)
Hops (Humulus lupulus)
NB Hops (Humulus lupulus cv.) are an environmental weed in some parts of Australia.See the latest content from Gardening Australia as it goes live by hitting subscribe: http://ab.co/GardeningYouTube
Watch Gardening Australia on ABC iview: http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/gardening-australia
About Gardening Australia:
Gardening Australia is an ABC TV program providing gardening know-how and inspiration. Presented by Australia’s leading horticultural experts, Gardening Australia is a valuable resource to all gardeners through the television program, the magazine, books, DVDs and extensive online content.
Connect with other Gardening Australia fans:
Like Gardening Australia on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gardeningaustralia
Follow Gardening Australia on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gardeningaustralia
Visit the Gardening Australia website: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening
This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation YouTube channel.
********
Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC’s Online Conditions of Use http://www.abc.net.au/conditions.htm (Section 3).