August 2009
The Daley News
Table of Contents
- Get a $15 with My Edibles
- Staff Update
- Citrus Fruit
- Preparing for Spring
- Weeding
- Fertiliser & Compost
- Mulching
- Book Offer
Get a $15 Voucherwith My Edibles ( * This August Introductory offer has expired but the competitions are still running )
My Edibles
To get your $15 voucher enter your edible plants at My Edibles and upload at least 1 photo. We will then email you the gift voucher.
What is My Edibles?
My Edibles allows you to enter with pictures and tips the Edible Fruit & Nut trees you are growing. It also allows you to find out what other people are growing, their triumphs and disasters.
* Conditions - Orders placed during the month of August Only, Wholesale excluded.
My Edibles Competition
It is rewarding to share and learn about Edible Plants. So the more information you enter into "My Edibles" the more others can learn from you. So in this spirit Daleys is running a competition that will end on the 1st Jan 2010.
Division 1: Best My Edibles Page
Judged by Daleys Nursery
Division 2: Most Popular My Edibles Page
Whoever has the most number of people visit their my edibles page
Division 3: Recommend a Friend
Each persons My Edible page (Here is mine) has up the top right a link called Create a My Edibles page. The person who has the my edibles page that generates the most new users from this link will win.
Prizes
Each division winner can choose from:
b) Fruit Fly Kit - Includes Eco Oil, Wild May Fruit Fly Attractant, Male Fruit Fly Trap
c) Book: Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia by Louis Glowinski
Staff Update
The end of winter is a very busy time in the nursery as we begin to prepare for spring. The propagation department is busting at the seams as .jpg)
the team collects, cleans and stores propagation material ready for the start of the grafting season.
All the deciduous trees have their scions collected while they are deciduous, Katie works hard to keep the cool room organized and in order as it fills up. As you can imagine it is from this point on that correct labelling is key to knowing what is what later in the season.
Citrus Fruit
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Winter is also the time to delight in fabulous citrus fruits. They come off at the perfect time of the year to keep our bodies full of vitamins through the winter season and also to brighten up our orchards when many others trees are looking bare and wintery the citrus seem to glow.
Preparing for Spring
Spring is a busy time in the orchard with lots of jobs that will help our orchards start the growing season with a strong burst of growth. Fertilizing, weeding and mulching are tasks that if completed in spring will ensure strong growth of your trees and a bumper crop of fruit. There are some trees like the persimmon for example that will languish if not given all the good things in the spring when they do the majority of their growing.
Weeding
Keep your fruit trees free of competition from grass and weeds. This is one of the most important jobs in the orchard and as the weather warms up it can become one of the most challenging to keep on top of.
Ways to make Weeding Simple
Little by little is not a bad way to start, if a weed is pulled out when you see it that little job is done. I have even approached this task by choosing one particular weed to remove and closing my eyes to the rest, obviously if you can get them before they go to seed this will make your job much easier in the long run, as the old saying goes, one year of seeding means seven years of weeding.
Fertiliser & Compost
The fertilser that you choose will be determined by your gardening 
practice. There are several things that we can all do to recycle nutrients from kitchen waste into our gardens. Compost heaps, worms farms and other recycling systems ensure that nothing is wasted and that all the things that can be recycled as nutrients in your garden are returned to the soil for the worms to relish in. Compost is the most fabulous substance when it comes to gardening and anyone who makes it will know that there is never enough to go around. Even your weeds can be returned to the garden as a liquid fertilizer by first killing them in a bucket of water where they may need to be soaked for some time before even the seeds are destroyed, the liquid can then be strained off and diluted as liquid fertilizer.
Mulching.jpg)
A beautiful thick layer of organic mulch is the best thing for any tree. It retains moisture, keeps the soil temperature even and most importantly as it decays it breaks down to feed your tree. The best idea when you select you mulch each year is to choose something different from the previous year. This will create different particle sizes that break down at different rates as well each type of mulch will contain different nutrients. I find that by laying down newspaper a minimum of 8 sheets thick around my trees under the mulch also helps to keep invasive weeds like kikuyu grass at bay, for a little while at least. It also recycles my old newspaper pile into worm food, you can check with your local paper as to the type of ink that they use if you are concerned, we are lucky in the northern rivers that our local rag prints with non toxic ink, making it perfect for recycling into garden mulch and compost.
Complete Book of Fruit Growing.jpg)
Louis Glowingski's reference book for fruit is an essential for all people passionate about growing fruit in Australia. We would like to offer this excellent reference at a 40% discount to any customer who spends $100 on fruit trees during August. This is a great oportunity to not only create your own backyard orchard but also to obtain that essential reference book for your home library to help you understand the needs of your fruit trees as they grow.
