April 19th - Wagga TAFE - Horticulture
Present – Anne, Liz, Felicity, Jan, Barb, Heather, Lyndal, Marilyn, Carol and Lisa.
What a fantastic resource we have in TAFE. Many thanks to Kent Rogers for a great morning.
Kent answered all our curly questions. Did you know that Riverina hydrangeas are usually pink because our soil is more alkaline (pH 7)? If you want them to flower blue they need a pH of 4.5. You could add iron sulphate, or watered down battery acid?!
Anne’s cyclamen should be put out with the cat at night because it likes the dark and the cold.
Kent showed us the essential tools in his propagation toolbox. A sharp pair of Secateurs are imperative. We just need someone to invent a pair that won’t get lost in the prunings or the bottom of the wheelbarrow.
We had a tour of the glasshouse and the propagation shed. We learned some techniques such as taking cuttings of our favourite plants and how to strike them.
Kent demonstrated budding and grafting. I’m going to have a go at grafting my wild lemon rootstock (previously unidentified tree growing in the old cattle yards) and the fabulous mandarin growing in a far off paddock.
TAFE run a course in propagation, which is on every 2nd Friday. They would love to hear from anyone interested.
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