October 2020 Issue #182

Hello,

What fun that we both love gardening. Thanks for joining me.

1) Avocados
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Cinnamon Rawnola

Should you think you've had a good day in your garden and now you're tired, well take a look at a beaver's working day doing a spot of landscaping! No-dig Garden's Facebook page.

Eco gardening tips

• Avo marvoes
  Marvellous avocados, I have four grafted, dwarf trees in my new place. Did you know that avocadoes don't ripen on the tree? They either need to be picked or they fall to the ground, hard as rocks, and you then ripen them inside, which can take a few weeks.
  
  

  Avo flowers have both male and female parts which open twice over 2 days. When the flower first opens it's female, when it re-opens on the 2nd day, it's male. Avo trees are classified as either A (eg: Hass and Reed) or B types (eg: Hashimoto, Fuerte and Bacon) and for cross-pollination it's good to have one of each, as their timing of flowering helps one another. Sometimes you can be lucky and have self-pollination in warm areas, but for improved pollination and fruit set, plant an A and B tree.

  
  

• Useful ash
  Ashally, ash is good for plants (sorry, being funny). Whether from your fireplace or bonfire, as long as you haven't burnt anything toxic, such as plastic or treated wood. Sprinkle around garden, put in compost — not too much at a time. Be careful, as too much ash will raise the soil alkalinity level which some plants can't cope with.
  
  

  
  

• Mothball madness
  Mothballs can help control pests: they repel deer and many other animals in the garden; they repel moths in your cupboards; they control mice infestations…BUT…there are dangers and disadvantages to using mothballs. They are poisonous and can harm kids and pets if chewed, sucked or eaten. They contain naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene and give off vapours which are actually insecticides… so they harm us too. Mothballs that are left out for a long time, actually slowly turn from solids to toxic vapor.

Best Vegetable Peeler

You only need this one multi-functional peeler. It grates, planes, slices ...it's all you need to prepare your vegetables for eye-catching salads and cooking.

Made of stainless steel, it's a high quality, sturdy and comfortable kitchen essential.

See more information at Garden Gift Hub

Cinnamon Rawnola

Thanks to Natalie Brady for this recipe.

This is a simple, delicious mix, and you can also play around and have some fun with by adding other ingredients.

Ingredients

• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup rolled oats, or buckwheat
• ½ cup dates, pitted
• 1 Tbln cinnamon
• 3 Tbln pumpkin seeds.

Method

1. Put all ingredients into a food processor.
2. Pulse until combined. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Note: It’s so versatile you can use it in many different ways. Try it as a crunchy topping on smoothies; porridge, added to chopped fruit, or rolled into bliss balls using 1-2 Tbln nut butter or coconut oil to make them hold together.

Preparation time: Approximately 5-10 minutes
Serves: Makes about 2 cups

Live, love and garden
Megan