Podcasts about ruud kleinpaste

Hair, fur, wool, nails, and skin. This doesn't sound too bad when we think of stuff lying on the floor. It's the part of decomposition; a job that many invertebrates get in to when an animal dies. Keratin is really hard to digest – mammals and birds can't do that (cat's fur-balls, owls ejected pellets, etc). Some moths are therefore valued members of the RECYCLING SQUAD. All I really need to do is mention “CARPET BEETLES”. This appears to be the most common carpet destroyer in Aotearoa; probably because our houses are a lot more “open” than in Europe, for instance. Less insulation (especially in older homes), more moisture inside, not well sealed, wooden structures, and draughty windows We also have this habit of living outside a lot: leaving windows and doors open in summertime, so that there is an unlimited indoor-outdoor flow. Carpet beetles are quite different from clothes moths – different family of insects. Also, a different life cycle and different tactic of chewing on carpet. The adult beetles (those with the ability to reproduce) have a real beetle “look” – a little bit like miniature ladybird beetles: the membranous flight wings are hidden under some sturdy forewings. They are actually quite beautiful little beetles: patterned in browny-orange, white, and black; and only a couple of millimetres in size. But these beetles aren't really your problem at all! In fact, they are pretty useful pollinators in your garden. In mid-summer you can find dozens of them in your marigolds, yarrow, and even Pohutukawa flowers; I bet you that the vast majority of New Zealanders rarely notice them there! Later in summer when the beetles have mated, they fly into your home through the open door or window and lay their eggs in your woollen carpet. larvae will start gnawing at the keratin (wool), especially on the underside of the carpet backing, so that the woollen strands become loose and are easily sucked up the vacuum cleaner They look a little like “hairy maggots”, and are pretty resilient down there. Their habitat of choice is birds' nests, lined with feathers and fur, as well as carcasses of dead rodents, hedgehogs, and birds Breaking down the keratin is their gig! The trick is simple: all you need is a clever enzyme that chops the protein into bits, and you will have earned your reputation as one of the few insects that are literally able to split hairs. As is the case with clothes moths, control can be achieved with some residual insecticides – active ingredients such as permethrin and other synthetic pyrethroids will do the job well (Safeworx aerosol cans). It works well and is residual for 6 to 8 weeks, as long as the substrate treated is not exposed to direct sunlight. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have always tried to grow some plants that end up nicely in the late autumn and wintertime. It's really impressive when there are some eye-catching flowers or plants in great sizes and wonderful shapes. Miscanthus Here is a Miscanthus species, known as “Morning Light”. A silver grass that can grow up to more than a meter high with pinky-brown flowers. It waves in the wind and can grow year after year in the border. It won't need to be cut or run over with the lawn mower. When spring is announcing itself, the Miscanthus will retreat until next autumn. Kermadec Nikau Palm and Australian Grass Tree Two special, large plants that create some depth for many years to come: Rhopalostylis baueri var. cheesemanii is a “Nikau” palm from the Kermadec Islands, north of New Zealand. It can slowly grow to some height, just like our local Nikau palms. The way it creates patterns with its large leaves is something that will impress. Plant it in an area with not too much heavy sunlight during the day. Give it a small amount of liquid fertiliser in early spring and again later in autumn; not too much and not too “heavy” in the dilution (I use “Seafood Soup”). In the foreground is Xanthorroea glauca (the Australian Grass tree). There are twenty or so different species in Australia – slow growing in terms of creating a trunk, but foliage will form quite quickly. They're reasonably tolerant of some frosts. No Phosphorus in fertiliser is safest – I use Blood and Bone. Epidendrum I am always amazed how (even in Canterbury) the Epidendrums are surviving the cooler winter conditions. No matter what colour of this orchid you grow, they'll be as tough as they come. The colour patches are quite lovely, and the plants themselves are easy to grow. In spring and summer, the odd spray with some liquid fertiliser will keep them creating more and more flower stalks. If some stalks break off, it's really easy to chuck them in a pot with soil so they can keep on growing as give-away plants that are easy to enjoy in sunny spots. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cast your vote! We're in the middle of the Fungus of the Year. An incredible series of stories about mushrooms, fungi, moulds, diseases – the poisonous and gorgeous organisms that surround our planet, gardens and —believe it or not— our food! Surprises galore: i.e. The Fungal Kingdom is larger than the Plant Kingdom! There are more fungal species than plant species – get your head around that! We could easily do a fungus story for each Jack Tame program between now and 2086 – My old mate Peter Buchanan (ex-DSIR – Manaaki Whenua, Bioeconomy Science Institute) has always been the storyteller and is now working with teachers. Let's start with a few amazing organisms. VEGETABLE CATERPILLAR The “Vegetable Caterpillar”, Te Awheto: a native mummified caterpillar and a native stick-like fungal fruiting body. The Caterpillar gets to a large form underground, where it can be consumed by a fungus. The “fruiting body” develops from the head of the dead caterpillar to well above the ground, where the spores are released (aiming to grab more live caterpillars!). Māori worked out relatively quickly that if Awheto was collected in good numbers and burnt, the powdered charcoal mixed with bird fat would create the perfect and stable black pigment, used to make Ta Moko. A Caterpillar, a Fungal Fruiting Body, a Barbeque, some Bird Fat and Black Charcoal… Photo / Supplied WOOD EAR FUNGUS I love the Wood Ear Fungus (Te Hakeke) in our Native forest. They look so Dark Brown and elegant on the dead native trees. Touch them and they feel like a human ear, chew a bit off and they are as soft as a human ear – in fact, they smell and kind-of taste like a human ear! ... But they don't! No smell – no taste, but a brilliant way to absorb smell and taste from cooked foods. It wasn't just the Māori who cottoned onto the way to harvest and cook with the ear fungus – the Chinese merchants that settled in Aotearoa realised that the New Zealand Ear Fungus was pretty closely related to the one in China! A significant trade with China (1870 – 1910) developed from a number of ports in Aotearoa – it was known as “Taranaki Wool”. Chew Chong was the leading ear fungus exporter and has been honoured in the NZ Business Hall of Fame for to the “Fungus Trade”. Photo / File | Peter Buchanan Landcare Research FISCHER'S EGG I am really keen to find one of these rare “truffels”, one fine day. It's from just a few places in the South Island: Nelson, Dunedin and Gore and is threatened with extinction (DOC, IUCN Global Red List). The fruitbodies of Fischer's egg have no opening through which to release their spores. Similar “stomach-like” fungi mostly depend on animals to disperse their spores after consumption of their fruitbodies… so, here's a question: Did the flightless Moa feed on (and disperse) Fischer's egg? Photo / Supplied Remember: the 18th of June is the last day to vote (click here or scan the QR code to do so). Have a look at stuff like this to find out more about fungi, and this wonderful book that Peter put together. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday June 6 2026, we speak to Jasper Osborne, the man behind Hunt For Good, the not-for-profit operation culling pest deer and getting it to those in need. Jack is over flaky buyers on Facebook Marketplace after another no-show. A new season of Clarkson's Farm is out, and our Screentime expert Karl Puschmann has his review on it Ed McKnight has all the info about the forecasted rising interest rates and what to do about them. And Ruud Kleinpaaste has his Fungus of the Year 2026 picks – voting is open now! Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week I got rather excited with my bird feeding exercise in the garden – silvereyes everywhere, bellbirds becoming part of the ornithological gig, starlings in good flocks, hedge-sparrows in hedges. As the winter is getting near, the birds will come and visit your generous fodder in good numbers: sugar water, bits of meat and dripping, but also remnants of very ripe bananas, fruit bits, and anything that is edible. One of the biggest attractants is sugar water and the old bits of meat – dozens and dozens of birds will make their way to the smorgasbord. An important point we need to consider about feeding birds in your garden is that you'll need to keep going till spring. Your generosity is something the birds rely on and when you stop, there will be consequences for the artificially high populations created by extra feeding. I often catch large numbers of silvereyes when they dash in the direction of the food resources; they often have no idea that my very fine bird-catching net is not always visible. All I do is get the birds and give them a light-weight metal and numerical band around their leg, so I can always tell who is who in our garden. Hundreds of them each autumn/winter, individually coded. In some parts of the South Island, we also get Bellbirds and Tui. You might think you will have “lost” them from the garden when spring is moving in – they are getting very secretive around nesting time, but they will remember your place as a heaven full of food. Yes, they know where you live – I reckon they'll also know what kind of plants you have in the garden. And the most important aspect of it all is that in spring and summer they'll come and do the pest control business for you by scouting the scale insects and aphids, psyllids, whitefly, and mealybugs from your plants to feed their kids. LOTS OF FOOD! Over the past decades I have been doing some local research in my gardens (West Auckland, East Auckland, and some spots in Canterbury) where I observed the silvereyes, tūi, and bellbirds literally hoovering the small insects from our plants. Seeing as I hate spraying systemic insecticides, I like these birds with their knowledge of entomology and the location of the food – I have great respect for their job in our garden. Oh, and by the way: tūi and bellbirds will probably do a significant job of pollination in your garden as well. What's not to like? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 30 May 2026, Joel Little is in studio to launch 'BIG FAN', his move to support the next generation of musicians and live music gig culture. Jack has thoughts on the tattoo trend losing momentum. Dr Dougal Sutherland unpacks the research that suggests attending live music events is good for your wellbeing. Ruud Kleinpaste has tips to help your local garden bird population. And our music critic Chris Schulz reviews Sir Paul McCartney's brand-new album, ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane'. Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Always lovely to see a lot of our “locals” hanging up all sorts of feeders for our local birds – it's the thing you do from autumn onwards. To be honest, it's a thing to watch from the window – it also shows the little fights that pinpoint who's the boss around the gardens. From now on food is becoming scarce and certain species require different types of tucker. Some species of Eucalypts are flowering in my garden right now; elsewhere so do Tagasaste, some puriri, and Banksia. Mexican Orange blossom does its best too, judging from the silvereyes that descend on those flowers. Nectivores are often attracted by sugar water, delivered in all sorts of ways: bottle feeders are available in garden centres and can be filled with dilutions of that sugar water. Do NOT use honey water, as that may spread bee diseases from hive to hive. Be aware that we have heaps of Native Nectivores in Aotearoa: tui, bellbird, and silvereyes to name a few. A lot of people feed birds dodgy supplements such as stale bread and food scraps; yes sparrows and starlings (as well as mynas and the odd blackbird) might initially seem to appreciate your gestures, but so do rats and mice (who are also looking for fodder). A bread meal is often quite detrimental to birds – if they drink water afterwards, the swelling of the bread can rupture their stomachs. A number of bird species enjoy some seeds: sparrows, greenfinches, gold finches, and such introduced creatures – blackbirds don't mind some seeds covered in fruity stuff. Julie has a different view on the matter: “blackbirds are there to rip the mulch off the garden”, whether or not they want to catch worms or any other invertebrates… But this is how I attract them to my garden from June onwards: lard blocks made from MAD BUTCHER meat and dripping and contained in an old onion bag or in a small, metal “cage” where the birds can hang from. This last contraption feeds a wide range of birds that over-winter in my garden. Replenish frequently and remember to place the feeders in a spot out of reach from neighbourhood cats. A source of water might also be handy as —even in winter— birds need water. My goal is to get the largest flocks of silvereyes on the lard blocks and sugar-water stations throughout winter and right into spring, when the silvereyes start to disperse to go breeding. Why is that my goal? I'll tell you next week – it's all about Natural Pest Control. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a great time of the year. The leaves tumbling down in wind or rain, even in very cold conditions, tells us it's going to be winter soon. Some leaves are pretty sturdy on the lawn, others blow themselves to the old growing places for plants, flowers, fruits, and seeds. What now? Gather them up and put them in the weekly recycle bin? There are a few things we can do to make them useful for the garden: Collect a heap of these leaves and put them in a compost bin. Mix the leaves with twigs and woody debris, some old food scraps and dog poo. Literally anything that once lived can be composted and turned into next season's plant food – think N-P-K. Get a good depth (four inches or so) that you can scatter over the dormant pants. This will protect the plants during winter, and it will also keep the very cold ice-base away from the hibernating plant. Everything is then protected from tricky conditions. If you add some slow-release fertiliser as well, you'll literally increase the fertility of that patch of your garden. But the third one is my favourite: Get yourself a big plastic container (where you usually grow some large specimens with plenty of root space). Fill that container up with fallen-down leaves, and as you are filling it up, simply stand on the leaves (and small branches) and smack it into a nice compact layer of leaves. Then you turn the bin upside down and you end up with a perfect, compact tower of compressed leaves, ready for spring or next year autumn! The spring leaves would be great to keep the developing plants safe, warm, and surrounded by fertiliser. The year-old lot will be dry, light and the very best long-lasting winter cover for the coming months. My personal way to go even further is by chucking everything inside a sizeable rubbish bin (at least a meter tall), in which you can really go to town with massive amounts of fallen, dried leaves. They will suit soil improvement, great fertility, and easy-to-dry soil conditions. Just be careful stepping in and out of such a huge rubbish bin without breaking legs and necks… LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Allium Rust on garlic has become quite an issue in the past 10 years. Not just in Canterbury, where I live, but in many places of New Zealand. It's a fungal disease that never was that problematic in “the old days”. I used to grow heaps of garlic in Auckland and Christchurch, but slowly, stuff started to become troublesome. People complain that this fungal disease strikes in late winter/early spring, and the only thing that stops it from hammering the garlic plants is by regular spraying with copper or copper/sulphur fungicides (organics!). “Regular” might be as frequent as every fortnight! The easiest way to identify the rust attack is the yellow pustules that cover the leaf surfaces. Rust is transmitted by air movement – the spores float with the wind and can travel from great distances. If you are in a densely populated area with many gardeners that grow onions, shallots, leeks, and other Allium species, the spores will be everywhere. Another thing that seems to cause Allium Rust is by having too much moisture in the soil – keep it as dry as you can. Traditionally, garlic used to be planted on the shortest day (third week of June) and harvested around the longest day (just before Christmas), but I've done some trials for the last half a dozen years or so to bring those dates forward by at least a month and a half. With rather little success, to be frank – I still need to spray regularly and when I am on the road and miss one of the sprays, the leaves will turn that yucky yellow-orange with the rust. I tried growing inside my old tunnel house (drier conditions and no fungal spores having access to the young plants) – now that made a bit of a difference! This year I decided to go inside my brand-new tunnel house. A week ago (on the 4th of May) I planted a few narrow beds of garlic in various lengths between other plants (including my late-comer tomato plants). Keeping the tunnel house openings closed as much as possible will reduce the fungal spores floating into the tunnel house, and this will avoid infections right from the moment I plant the garlic. Remember to keep the garlic reasonably dry – it all works to keep your crop healthy. If you do find some yellow spores on the leaves, spray with some copper/sulphur fungicides. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems pomegranates are now planted all over New Zealand. Some people encounter some troubles when these fruits ripen around this time of year. Here are some things that might be the causes of those troubles and how to prevent them: Cold and wet summers, resulting in a pretty mediocre ripening of the fruit from late summer till now-ish. The fruit can split or rot inside. A hot, sunny site with good drainage might reduce such troubles. Splitting of fruit is often caused by irregular watering or huge rainfalls followed by long, dry conditions. Regular watering might reduce those fruit-splitting troubles. Splitting fruit can also be the result of some fungal diseases (such as Anthracnose) when the fruit becomes quite black in colour. Botrytis is a grey mould that can start causing mishaps too – keep the foliage dry as much as you can. Temperatures of the site may also change the development of that fruit. If it's often too cold, the fruit may not ripen in a nice, sweet way. A lovely intense warm area often ends up with sweet fruit. Plant them in a warm sheltered spot; prune them in winter, so that the next generation of foliage will thrive with good airflow. Be aware that it sometimes takes two or even three (four!?) years for the pomegranates to start producing fruit in “full swing”. Sometimes birds are getting into the developing fruit in autumn… just be aware that some netting might avoid that. Sap-sucking insects (scales, mealybugs, and aphids) really love the softer skins of the developing fruit. Some simple organic sprays (oils, neem oils, etc) will give these sucking bugs a run for their money. I have heard of rodents climbing the shrubs and trees – a good rat trap would be handy, especially when baited with Selena Gomez Oreos! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A couple of months ago our tunnel house got smacked by the wind. Young tomatoes were rescued from their spot and some of them survived in medium-sized pots. It was a matter of getting rid of that ancient, 8-meter-long tunnel house and replacing it with a new one – half the length but double the strength. The whole renovation took a few school holidays' weeks, but it looked pretty darn good. I decided to plant the few tomatoes that were still struggling in the pots and have a go in the new tunnel house. Plant them in fresh soil with Wet and Forget SeaWeed Tea as a potash-rich fertiliser. By the time they started getting into good growth again, the plants created tomato flowers with the idea of becoming tomato fruit in the future. With the tunnel house door open during the day and the odd Bumblebee inspecting the new flowers (getting nectar and pollen) the new tomatoes were getting their treatment known as “pollination”. Pollination with bumblebees is generally different from the technique of other pollinating insects. Bumbles literally vibrate the flowers in a clever and consistent matter; this allows the pollen to become dislodged and fertilise the flowers. When autumn arrived the numbers of bumblebees reduced dramatically, I needed to find an alternative assistant “pollinator”. On top of all that, the door of the tunnel house had to be closed from time to time due to rubbish weather. Did a bit of research and found that the flowers did not care a lot about sequences and electric frequencies. All you need is an electric Pollinator Wand that would vibrate and loosen the pollen within a few seconds – just move up-and-down the row. Toothbrush? Shaver? Take your pick! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ecosystem Services... sounds awfully like an Economical Job! Thank goodness it's not an ecological gig: Ecosystem Services are the ecological contributions organisms make to the smooth running of our planet. Invertebrates, spiders, birds, trees, shrubs, fungi, whales, and insects, etc, do a variety of jobs that help us and all other creatures we share this Earth with. And we often forget about this! Pollination Without it, many of our plants, shrubs and trees won't be able to reproduce. A third of everything you eat has had the services of a Honeybee (or Bumblebee) involved! Others such as hoverflies, native bees (28 species!), thrips, beetles, birds, and heaps of flies love to visit the flowers – we often seem to forget about these beautiful green flies, known as dung-flies! Photo / Getty Images Dolomedes Minor – The Clever Nursery Web Spider An endemic Spider Species that occurs only in New Zealand and are very clever in many ways. In late spring, the female is starting a web site on some grassy bit mixed with fine silk, that can hold a good, large piece of silken nursery. A couple of hundred juveniles or more grow bigger every time they change their external skin. When all juveniles come to the third skin development, the female spider knows it's time to get the kids in the web site, where they can run about. This is also the time when mum chews quite visible holes into the edges of the nursery web – the juveniles know it's time to find some food outside the silken website. It's good food, and material that allows them to find some “Ballooning Silk”, which enables them to travel with the wind in all sorts of directions. Many, many kilometres without the use of petrol… Predators, Parasites, and Parasitoids In everybody's garden you'll find there are hundreds and hundreds of critters that will keep your plants, the grasses, and the gardens in perfect condition. As a Dutchman I could even use the term “in perfect condition and for FREE!” We often seem to overlook the presence of these free critters that clean the place on a regular context! Left to right: Giant Centipede, Alexander Beetle, Praying Mantis, Predator Mite Huge native centipedes are always tricky customers, especially in the northern parts of the North Island. They often hide in rotting logs and will come out when you least expect it, in the middle of the night. Yep I have been bitten by these rotters – no sense of humour! The large beetle (Alexander Beetle) is one of my favourite insects in the garden – fast moving, and easy to make themselves invisible! They'll eat anything on their soils and once they grab your skin it's not easy to get them off! But 100% Predators in your garden – they're a brilliant creature to endorse. I love the Praying Mantis in our garden; their perfect way to find a food species helps you all the time. Keep a good eye on them as their eyesight is a fabulous way to get all the critters that cause troubles. If you've never seen these tiny Predator mites, this is your chance to learn how to get them in your Modus Operandus. Honestly, once you get what you are looking for, you'll always win the game from spring right through to well into autumn. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just have a look, will you! Just when you think the Dahlias are on their way out, you're asked to come to the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch or a local beauty garden, somewhere nearby. A series of colourful plants that shows you a range that's totally unexpected – how do you get these at your place? From left to right: Mick's Peppermint, PomPom Rusty Orange, Le Baron, and KennemerLand Cactus. Currently it's still “growing time”, or seriously, keeping the plants producing before the beginning of winter. Generally speaking, the Tubers won't be available until mid-winter. Some varieties are able to be planted slightly earlier, others a bit earlier – just ask the people who produce the next generation. That means we have still plenty of time to go and visit the various Dalianthic “Hot Spot” and order the beauties you are looking forward to growing – Oderings, Dahlia Tubers, Stillwater Flowers, DahliasNZ.com, Mitre 10, Apollo Farm, etc. Bluetiful Dahlia Springtime is the planting time of the Tubers – no more frosts, etc. Plant about half a meter apart in well-drained soils, containing good compost with great fertilisers in the soil, where the new plants will benefit from the next level of NPK. All the fertilisers will be used to create new parts of the plants. Support them if they grow upward in a hurry, as some often do… Give them a good watering from time to time. They can be grown as Potted Dahlias, especially if the potting mix is of great quality. Once you start with Dahlias, you'll never forget this colourful movement ever again! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might not be obvious in Aotearoa, but there's something like 1400 different species of snails! They're in many groups and with many different jobs to do, in the forests, in liquid habitats, on tree trunks, and in your garden. Native snails consume dead and decaying leaves, fungus, and algae (they don't eat your veggie garden) and leave behind nutrient-rich poo for soil health. The Leaf-veined slug is one of those Molluscs that slithers around in the evening and at night. Their movement can be relatively smart, especially when they cruise on outdoor furniture or on leaves. Here they clean surfaces – literally! I've always called them the Wet & Forget slug, simply because they leave those clean tracks where-ever they went. Paryphanta the kauri snail. A serious native snail with almost 80 mm diameter shell. It occurs from Kaitaia to the southern parts of Northland. It's even distributed to Titirangi and Laingholm, where I used to have it on our lawn, especially at night. I'll never forget having to remove these massive snails before mowing the lawn! They are carnivorous: eating worms, insect larvae, and other snail species. The way they catch the worms is akin to sucking up spaghetti from the layers in the soil! Limax maximus (literally: “the largest slug”) also known as the leopard slug. Introduced into New Zealand and has a habit of getting inside our homes, especially when there's a cat with milk in its bowl. The slurping by this slug can be heard by the neighbours! And here is one of those introduced snails that can cause a lot of damage to your garden: Cantareus Asperses, the Brown Garden Snail. It's originally from Northern Africa and taken to France, a long, long time ago, it was introduced to NZ with European settlers. Troublesome eater of leaves etc in massive numbers; hiding under pots during the day and always more numerous than you think. One of the so-called “control” measures is spreading sharp chicken eggshells around the plants, so that the snails can't walk over those sharp items. This picture shows one of those snails crossing over a brand-new, super sharp knife… One historical story is far more important than sharp knives: this snail species is one of the preferred snails that French people cultivate and use to create Escargot. Snail farming in New Zealand might not be a bad idea – it makes that protein a lot cheaper with the rising prices of our food! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: Article includes images of animals caught in predator traps. Not terribly long ago, Selena Gomez had a go at marketing a chocolate cookie that features cinnamon and all sorts of sweet stuff in the recipe. It was an Oreo described as “Flavour-Forward”, and it was suggested people consume that wonderful stuff during things such as the Emmy Awards or the Oscars. Sweetness and cinnamon are often used to attract possums to the lethal traps, used to make New Zealand Predator-Free… And guess what! A local Cantabrian biologist (Graham Hickling) had a go at trying out the Oreo to see if possums might be interested – and they were! More than enough for me to have a go myself in the last few weeks, beginning with my Possum Trap. The Selena Gomez Oreo is dirt cheap – you don't have to be Dutch to appreciate that… With some apple, a couple of Oreos, and various other good possum attractants (self-raising flour and cinnamon), I started on night one, to see if any possum would be interested. Problem is, I hadn't heard a possum for the past five months, so my hope was not too high… The following morning: bingo! One hedgehog. All the Oreos were gone, some apple was still around, and the hedgehog showed no signs of life at all. I tried a second night with the same set-up: Bingo! A second hedgehog. The third night I had a go with a mouse trap or two. Two mice in one night, followed with a rat on the night thereafter. May I recommend the Selena Gomez brilliantly cheap and useful, sweet lure to keep our Aotearoa in a much better state of predator-free? Just saying! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Resident Builder, Pete Wolfkamp was joined by a range of guests including Phil McNamara from Branz to chat granny flat regulations and consenting, Kevin Taylor to chat tiny homes, and as always Ruud Kleinpaste chatted all things gardening. Callers asked about stolen tools, peeling paint, and double glazing. And, Pete settles a lovers quarrel over door hooks. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the garden with Ruud Kleinpaste, he shared advice on unknown weeds, pruning peach trees, and looking after monarch butterflies. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seeing as it's getting towards autumn, a number of bulbs need planting in the garden - I'll pick on a few of them. Tulip Fabulous early spring colour – remember the historical stuff with the Dutch making heaps of money out of often virus-ridden “varieties” (early 1600-s AD) – around Fl 3000.00 per bulb while the average yearly wage of a skilled craftsman was around Fl 300.00. The bubble burst in 1637 AD. These days they are a bit cheaper and more reliable. They grow well in the South Island with very cool winters – up north they need winter chilling (taking out of soil and put in fridge for 8 weeks). In mild climates it pays to plant later in the year, say May/June. But in the South Island, planting the bulbs can start in a few weeks; order them now! Some great bulb outlets: Bulbs direct, Garden Post, NZBulbs, Fiesta Bulbs, and Hadstock Farm in Springston. Work the soil to 20 cm deep in sunny to semi-shade position (generally bulbs prefer well-drained soils). Plant 15 cm spaced and 15 cm deep. In warmer climates, plant them a bit deeper (20 cm deep). A bit of mulch over the planting site will keep weeds down. Bulb fertiliser is recommended and after flowering some blood and bone will feed the green leaves. Do NOT cut those green leaves after flowering: they gather sunlight (photosynthesis) for re-stocking the food reserves inside the bulbs underground. Narcissus Daffodils Prep the soil to 40 cm or so – daffodil roots go way down! Plant them 10 cm deep and space 10 cm apart in well-drained soils (perhaps under deciduous trees). Hagley Park is a great example. Planting them in full sun is okay too. Mass planting works really well, and bulbs come up year after year and they'll multiply. Apart from the Far North, the whole of New Zealand can grow them. Leucojum Leucojum is also known as “snowflake”, and in the Netherlands it's known as the “Zomer Klokje” (summer clock). This wonderful plant has a special place in my heart: we used to have this rare and endangered native species in the wetlands where I used to roam as a nature nerd in the Netherlands. There are many different varieties now, flowering in spring, and planting is best done in early April. Must get some more! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 21 March 2026, beloved children's author and creator of Hairy Maclary, Dame Lynley Dodd joins Jack to discuss being honoured with the Legacy Award at the New Zealander of the Year awards and the lasting impact of her work. Jack considers when secret identities should be kept secret. Kevin Milne reflects on the influence of fathers on their sons after watching the latest documentary from Louis Theroux, Inside the Manosphere. Two Hollywood heart throbs lead Francesca Rudkin's film picks. Plus, Ruud Kleinpaste chats getting your bulbs ready. Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Resident Builder with Peter Wolfkamp, we talked consenting issues and rotting fences. Later, Ruud Kleinpaste joined Peter to give advice on painting, monarch butterflies, and the elusive passionfruit. Get The Resident Builder Podcast every Sunday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cicadas are slowly on the wane towards the end of March. It's been a pretty Noisy March so far, typical of the regular system whereby Cicadas have a three, five, or seven year life cycle. Black field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) are still making a heck of a noise in the late afternoon/evening, especially in the North Island and top of the South. They'll be enjoying that dodgy boy-girl party for at least another month or more! Black field crickets make their characteristic noise by rubbing their wings together (great mating calls). You won't see them often, as they hide in cracks in the soil during the day, but when the sun goes down the crickets will come to the surface to eat grasses – they can do a lot of damage to pasture and lawns, leaving bare soil around their home cracks. Control is quite hard. In the old days, farmers used wheat, soaked in Maldison, strewn over the paddock in early summer (January is the month before crickets become adults and hence, reproduce). For a lawn it might be a nice idea to pour water with a good dash of dish-washing liquid down the holes of these insects in the middle of a hot day. The crickets emerge in the noon-day sun (because the soapy water stings their eyes, I reckon) and the sun will heat the black bodies up real quick (Natue's Micro-wave oven!). Another “singer” in autumn is the Katydid (Caedicia simplex); mostly in the afternoon and early evening. It creates a rather unique noise by rubbing the edges of its stiff forewings together, like a fingernail on a comb. The noise has the quality produced by a ventriloquist – the insect “throws its voice” so you can never be sure where it is calling from. Katydids feed on garden plants, especially flowers, and they truly seem to like the roses and Dahlias that flower in autumn! They are well-camouflaged on green plants, so birds, frogs, and lizards can find it tricky to locate them. Gardeners who feel they're being “attacked” by these insects often ask if there's a way to “get them” with some insecticide… “Only when you're very good at ventriloquism” is my answer – I love them!! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 7 March 2026, the Pacific's most experienced correspondent Barbara Dreaver joins Jack to discuss the challenges she's faced in three decades on the job, and her brand-new memoir ‘Be Brave'. Jack shares his three main observations from the conflict in Iran. Dr Bryan Betty shares why sitting too long may harm your health and Alice Taylor shares her top tips on cooking fish. Plus, Ruud Kleinpaste reveals all on kingfishers and what they eat. Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 28 February 2026, kiwi acting legend Karl Urban joins Jack to discuss his latest action-packed project The Bluff.Jack shares his experience vibe-coding. Nici Wickes delivers a delicious gnocchi recipe. Ruud Kleinpaste chats keeping your tomatoes good for next summer. And, Chris Schulz is at Electric Avenue - he shares how the epic Split Enz reunion went down. Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We built a new Tunnel house around Christmas – meaning: we were far too late with our summer crop – just a few plants waited patiently in their pots to be put in the new facility and yes… they are having a go. Relative warmth in February, March and April gives them ability to grow fruit well into autumn and when they are inside glass houses or tunnel houses they'll even carry on in early winter. (that's the situation in Canterbury) In warmer areas it is usually a lot easier to keep on going; Auckland was a great place to keep the climbers on track. A Sunny patch in the vegetable garden is probably one of the most important contributing factors. Six or even more hours a day is needed to keep it all going. This year has been a pain – everything needs adjustment. In our garden everything is late. But planting sizable tomatoes in early January is rather ridiculous… But there are some things you can do to get some crops in late summer. It is important to trim the bottom new side shoots and let air circulate as much as possible. Trim off he yellow leaves too. This is what it looks like after trimming. The air movement reduces relative humidity and that allows the leaves below to dry much quicker. No fungal troubles ahead! Keep on removing the “laterals” that form in between the new leaves – laterals attempt to make more and more side shoots, but too many of them result in too many small fruits all over the plants. We had to plant our late tomatoes in excellent soil that looked and acted like compost-rich material. This allowed a quick and useful, fertile soil around the main stalk. This in itself made the roots grow fast and in all sorts of directions. Every week or 10 days I made sure that the plants were well watered with a decent amount of water over the plant's area of growth. Nitrophoska Blue is a brilliant complex of fertilizer in the form of a granular mixture. When plants are watered the granules are slowly released and deposited around the root zone. Every 2 days I aim to gently water the plants; not too much… just keeping up with the liquid fertiliser which allows the tomatoes to grow new, deep-green leaves and healthy new fruits. My secret is SeaWeed Tea from Wet and Forget. I dilute the Seaweed Tea in the watering can (or an old plastic drinking bottle) to make the liquid look like a week tea. The brilliant trick is to water the plants and root zones every 2 days or so and add some liquid fertiliser at the same time. The tomatoes will reward you with great, tasty fruit while growing with Vapour Trails, so to speak. That means keeping an eye on the density of foliage, which needs to be trimmed regularly – give the plants space! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mid-summer in your garden is an important time for your “locals”. Normally you won't see many birds apart from the common blackbird and thrushes, sparrows and starlings, grey warblers, tui and bellbirds. It's just a matter of having the right areas to forage for these birds, and extra food is usually not drastically needed to keep everybody in good condition – food aplenty all over the place! Just one useful tip for gardeners, though: Silvereyes act a little differently. Over the years I have noticed that if you feed them sugar water in summer, they will certainly come back to your garden to lick up all the sweet liquids. EVERY DAY!! The reason that's important? They quickly learn where you live and where to get free food! They'll remember that well into the wintertime when nice food is hard to get. The regular visits to your garden are a benefit due to the free pest control that these birds deliver: silvereyes love to pick up aphids, caterpillars, mealybugs, and scale insects while they forage at your place. Scale lemon before and after the Silvereyes. I've seen this many times and the great benefit for me is that I will never need to spray my plants with insecticides to control the pests most gardeners are chasing! Another typical summer feature is the emergence of porina moth chrysalises. This moth is a native of New Zealand. There are a few species that love to eat grasses, especially their roots underground. They are known to go to great heights (think about mountains!) to chew their breakfast, lunch, and dinners from tough and hard grassy plants. Ironically, when settlers started farming with fancy grass species from Europe and elsewhere, the Porina quickly cottoned on to selecting these lovely, edible grasses as food. Starlings (and often other bird species) have quickly learned to dig into those wonderful soft lawns full of Perennial Ryegrasses. The reason is simple: our native Porina simply love those ryegrasses and related imports, but they cause damage, and the farmers are not impressed with the way Porina does that damage. Birds to the rescue! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If I remember correctly, cicadas used to be quite a bit more common in the Auckland Summer Months. Yep they changed from year to year and occasionally almost completely quiet, but that was rare, to be frank. In Christchurch they've been a lot less noisy – especially the past 4 years or so. But early 2026 it started with a few choruses and now the “clappers” are also occupying the sound-scape. Male cicadas have so-called Timpany, which are little drum cavities on the underside of the bellies. They look a little bit like bent and shaped flaps. The timpany are really good at amplifying the sounds they make to lure females closer and closer – Party time! Females are known to aim for the noisiest male on the block. Egg-laying is happening from now on, at this time of the year. When the female has a good number of fertilised eggs to get rid of, she climbs into a suitable host tree. Her Ovipositor is a pretty useful tool to lay eggs inside the wood of a branch; a dozen or two are laid in an elegant pattern in the bark, where the eggs develop into very small larvae; these will emerge late autumn or early winter. Gardeners are often quite good at finding these herring-bone pattern because the damage in the twigs often causes weak-spots, leading to broken branches; Fruit growers are not keen on having many damaged branches in the orchard. Life Cycle: The eggs hatch in a few months and the tiny “nymphs” drop off the branch or twig in which they were born... drop to the ground and start digging. They create a tunnel and a cell around a tree root (or shrub root – or even grass roots) and suck the sweet phloem juices out of the root system – sugar is turned into protein and the body grows. They shed their skin 4, 5, 6 times and a few years later (up to 5 or 6 years in the soil!) they climb to the top layers of the soil... waiting for a perfect time to emerge at night in late spring or summer At night the nymphs come out of the soil, climb up a tree trunk and grasp the bark Their skin splits and out comes a fully winged adult cicada; it pumps up its wings and is ready for some R&R... singing and dancing Threats to larval cicadas: When they are in the top layers of the soil late winter/early spring, they are in easy reach of the probing bills of kiwi. Yep – cicada nymphs are the spring-time bulk food of Northland Brown Kiwi.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During a rather aggressive storm in springtime, our ancient tunnel house showed it was time to get a new one. That was our Christmas project. Some of our tomatoes survived but there was still lots of space for other plants and ideas, and Kings Seeds sent a catalogue to my inbox just at the right moment! February specials and Brassicas plus a great number of beautiful plants in many colours (and for a reasonable amount of money). Let's try something out! Snail Vine An exotic, heirloom vine grown for its highly perfumed, spiralled flowers resembling curled snail shells. Ideal for growing up fences, trellis, and pergola, or sow in containers with a grow cone or obelisk for support. Fabulous for providing fragrance to outdoor spaces. They germinate within 2 weeks in summer, love warm conditions and develop fast in full sun. Great for our warmer areas in New Zealand, but even in the cooler regions they usually become an “Annual”. Try a few seeds as soon as you get them and keep some for next spring as a back-up. Echinops Blue Globe A fabulous textural plant for floral work and in the garden where they add a metallic-like accent. Easy to grow, the versatile plant produces striking steel-blue, globe-shaped flowers. Excellent as an everlasting flower as they retain their colour and form well when dried. Good to start it in sizeable containers to manage the moisture in summer – you can start them in early autumn, so they'll flower in early spring; Now – look at those amazing blue colours! Echinacea Lustre Look at this! A popular range of large-flowered, ornamental echinacea in a vibrant colour range. Also known as coneflowers, they make wonderful cut flowers with their distinctive, daisy-like blooms and long vase life. They flower the first year from seed. The echinops and echinacea are both great options for drought prone/dry areas and being perennials, they really are good value in your garden and loved by pollinators. Stratify: Chilling seeds in the fridge for 2-3 weeks prior to sowing will promote germination by breaking seed dormancy. Cauliflower Green Macerata A lime-green cauliflower with brilliant flavour and a nice change from the “typical” white curds. A vigorous plant, the leafy frame protects the green curds which mature to around 1 to 1.5 kg in weight. Do not overcook them, to retain the bright-green colour. Like many cauliflowers they are great plants to start in Autumn, so a little bit of patience is needed… But what comes out of your efforts will be quite wonderful! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing Pomegranates is not a very popular gardening subject in New Zealand, yet, once you get into it you might be surprised what the shrub looks like and how the fruits taste when fully grown and mature. Punica granatum is the one with red flowers that hails from the Mediterrané and Tropical and Sub-Tropical regions. The Socotran Pomegranate hails from the Socotra Island (Yemen) and has pink flowers but less sweet fruit when it ripens. My research tells me they grow well in warm regions, but I saw them growing well in Canterbury too, as long as the frosts aren't too extreme. Plant in winter… Generally speaking, plant in a sunny spot (regular sun-light for most of the day) with a large area of well drained fertile soil of good depth (50 cm deep is a good start). Regular watering (not over-watering!) is appreciated and will allow the plant to move upwards. Citrus fertiliser (with a decent amount of Potash in the N-P-K ration) is a great boost from springtime till autumn. Every two weeks or so will help the plant nicely. From spring till autumn the flowers, followed by developing fruit, will absorb the food. There are dwarf varieties (“Nana”) that are suitable to plant in large pots – they can grow to a meter long. Often it takes three years for a plant to become habitual growers of bright-red flowers, followed by the red fruit. In some warm conditions (Northland, Auckland, coastal Hawke's Bay, etc) the Pomegranates might take two (sometimes three) years to start delivering the fruit. In summer, the flowers fade a bit towards an orangey look – pollinating insects will by then have done their job. Fruit will develop in autumn or slightly later. A regular but light pruning after harvest will keep the plant in great condition for development in springtime. Sometimes the plants show growth of “suckers” popping up beside the main trunk – when the plant is grafted, these suckers can also develop below the graft. Suckers are exactly what their name suggests, “useless suckers” that won't develop any flowers and subsequent fruit for the future – get rid of them! When the plant gets into the ripening phase, some sap-sucking invertebrates can do some damage: MealyBugs, Aphids, whitefly, and scale insects. Grab a Neem Oil or Conqueror Oil and smack them every fortnight. Enjoy this fruit! Yes, it can be a bit messy, but hey! Try it out! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In my Gum trees I have a good colony of Aussie Silk Moths, aka gum emperor moth caterpillars – they live and feed on gum trees (but also on liquidambar). Now's the time to look for them in the “wild” – in the South Island they occur all the way down to Canterbury (Lincoln and Banks Peninsula is as far south as they get). The smallest caterpillars are quite dark in colour – almost blackish and about 8mm long. As they grow (and shed their skins) they change their colours and cause distinct chewing marks on the lower gum leaves. In a few weeks they'll grow bigger and bigger until they end up being 12 centimetres long and absolutely gorgeous. If you think that daddy longlegs are fascinating, show the kids these caterpillars! The growing caterpillars move further and further upwards in the tree, often preferring the freshest leaves. In the meantime, caterpillar colours have become green and blue with stunning legs, feet, tubercles and nodes in orange and red, pretending to be “poisonous”. After about three weeks they'll spin a cocoon, brown and rather hard. Ironically this moth belongs to the silk moth family, but this Aussie silk is of rather inferior quality – not soft enough to make clothes from. The moths will spend most of their time in chrysalis/pupa/cocoon overwintering. What happens inside the cocoon is that remarkable phenomenon of “metamorphosis” – think of it as totally re-arranging the molecules (which made a caterpillar) and forming those into the shape of a moth. In November/December/January, the chrysalis opens and out comes this amazing brown and pink moth with eye spots. It's a big moth, with a 15 cm wingspan! These moths mate and the females lay whole strings of relatively large, creamy-white eggs on gum leaves – the eggs hatch in summer and that's where we are now! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're an absolute nuisance in summer, especially around the barbeque later in the day! If you've been in Australia during the holidays, you may have been near the coast with ponds and rivers, inlets and wetlands. There you'll find salt-marsh mosquito – nasty biters (that species was eradicated from NZ some decades ago – just as well, it transmits Ross River Virus). In New Zealand we don't have any capable vectors of malaria or dengue or Chikungunya or encephalitis – biosecurity is important! Our mozzies live in stagnant water. In the garden, a tyre-swing collects water during rain and mozzie larvae will inhabit that tyre. Blocked guttering, ponds, troughs, buckets, stock hoof-prints, etc, as well. We even have a native species (Salt Pool Mosquito) in saltwater pools near rocky shores: Northland, Goat Island Marine Reserve, Bay of Plenty, Kaikoura. They bite too, especially during the day. The idea is to use repellent – frequently! The girls need protein to produce eggs, and that comes in the form of blood – especially from mammals and birds. Just a drop… that's all they need. Personally, I think that our mosquitoes are great parts of our environment; not many people realise that they have good jobs to do: Larvae (juvenile phase) go up and down in water – they breathe through a snorkel system in their bum (which can have serious drawbacks). They eat bacterial soup and clean the water, really. They change skin, moulting a few times, turning into a comma-shaped pupa/chrysalis before hatching as an adult mosquito with wings and an attitude (females only - males drink nectar and pollinate). Larvae clean the water and are food for whitebait, aquatic insects and a huge food chain that follows. The adult, flying, mosquitoes feed native birds (fantails, etc), dragonflies, jumping spiders, and a whole cohort of useful predators! And with that drop of blood, you sponsor a complete ecological system: tolerance, please! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yes, I realise it won't be summer for another week or so, but the following observations are just a few Gardeners' Tips to muck around with: Ancistrocerus gazella is an introduced “potters wasp” from Europe. It got here decades ago and is a really cute predatory wasp that does some great things in your quarter acre paradise. This little wasplet makes nice nests inside hollow tubes and then it goes on the hunt for small caterpillars, usually the leafrollers that silk your leaves together and chew from within their leaf-silk tent. Ancistrocerus paralyses the caterpillars, lays an egg on them and cements the quarry and its own potential baby inside the carefully chosen tube. Of course, the caterpillar will become food for the ectoparasite, and this helps to reduce the chewing damage on your roses, perennials and other plants. Here's a tip: create a bunch of small-diameter bamboo tubes as a choice of real estate for these wasps to live in. The accommodation runs a little bit like that of the mason wasp (who gets their kids —larvae— to feed on paralysed spiders). Frustrated Cucurbit growers (cucumbers, melons, marrow, courgettes, you name it) often complain at this time of the year that their plants simply don't set fruit at all; in fact, the plant almost exclusively produces male flowers and hardly any female flowers! Yep, common complaint. If there is a scarcity of pollinators the plant “thinks” there isn't enough pollen/there are not enough pollinators to fertilise the female flowers, so it creates more male flowers to “compensate”. A remedy that works toward solving the problem is to have a lot of Pollen and Nectar plants surrounding the cucumber/melon, etc, so that a heap of pollinating insects are constantly patrolling the area. The first female flower will then almost certainly get her turn, and the plant “knows” it's okay to produce more female flowers. If you can achieve that from mid-spring onwards, all will be well! Talking about pollinators, have a look out for the Wool Carder Bee! It's another introduced pollinating insect from Europe, and it has some quite amazing behaviours. It loves to hover and fly around the Lamiate flowers in your garden, stuff like Salvias, and lamb's ear. These types of plants are its favourite food, and it defends its patch fiercely by chasing away other pollinators – bees, bumble bees, and even wasps! It does so by dive-bombing these “interlopers” with almost Top Gun-like sorties. They will even squeeze bees and bumble bees between their abdominal segments, festooned with spikes! Gruesome stuff, especially when then mortally wound these bees. When wool carder bees start nest building, they scrape off the fine, light-coloured hairs off the leaves of certain plants (remember lamb's ear!) and work these fibres into the most delicate, soft and insulating ball that acts as nest nurseries for their larvae and pupae in development. Their name (wool carder bee) tells the story of their ability to cut off the hairs and fibres and use those resources to create brilliantly designed nests for their babies. When you point all this activity out to the kids, you'll find they will be busy observing aerial battles and dogfights, right in your back yard! I think it's worth-while to plant some lamb's ear, just for the entertainment value alone. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the rottenest pests gardeners get on their plants are Pseudococcus longispinus, or any of its close relatives. Longispinus derived from the word meaning “with a long spine or tail”, so we're talking about the Long-Tailed Mealybug. Mind you, there are other rotters that don't look anything like these mealybugs – a variety of scale insects do the same kind of damage, which you really don't want to see in the garden. All these insects feed by plumbing their mouthparts into the veins of the plants where they extract honeydew, a sweet sap that contains Nitrogen, which makes the young bugs grow. Ah! Yes, the group of sap-sucking bugs is the only invertebrate cohort that can be called “bugs” in the naming game of Entomology! They ingest the sap and poop out honeydew. But their numbers (huge groups) and activities are debilitating for your plants, causing yellowing and ill-thrift, plus black sooty mould all over the place. The sooty mould is a fungal cover that feasts on the sweet honeydew – you can always tell the suckers because of the sooty mould! To identify these mealy-insects you'll need to have a good eyesight. The way to start your identification is to look for dense, white patches of silk all over your plants, especially over the leaves and on the stems. If you scrape off the fluffy white deposits, you'll get to the insects hiding underneath that fluff. Big ones and smaller ones all living together out of the rain and out of the sun. 1-4 mm in size. They eat a massive range of plants, both edibles and ornamentals. The spines and tails give the game away – there are also droplets of honeydew in amongst the mix. Scale insects are a different-looking critter. These pests are characterised by looking like randomly shaped and coloured pustules on the stems and leaves of the host plant. Often the “caps” of the scale insects are pretty hard; the actual insects live under the caps, often in perfect protection. Control of mealy bugs and scale insects is difficult. The white fluffy silky stuff makes the bugs waterproof – water-based sprays cannot penetrate through their skin, unless you use some systemic insecticide that is taken up by the plants. Groventive is such a systemic spray but read the label and you find it cannot be used on edible crops! Conquerer Oil and Neem Oil are non-systemic treatments that will give the immature Mealybugs a run for their money (suffocation and inhabit their feeding from the plant). But it will require regular spraying (once a week) until all bugs have starved to death or suffocated. Thoroughly cover the infested plant – and don't forget the underside of the leaves too! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most gardeners are aware that certain plants appear to be great for pollinators. Pollination is important for the reproduction of plants, and it comes in many different ways. We often just sit and watch the spectacle unfold as we have a cup of tea in front of our shed. Pollination is done through ABIOTIC ways: (wind movements) or through BIOTIC techniques (Mostly insects: bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles and birds). It makes sense that early flowering plants rely on early pollinating insects. Dandelions are a good example; they often use small native bees to do the job. By the way, about one-third of New Zealand's plants are wind-pollinated (think grasses and the various plants that cause hayfever). Here's a line-up of all sorts of pollinators in the group of insects. For the flowers pollinated by insects, especially bees, it's interesting to note that they have different colour vision to humans. Blue, green, violet and ultra-violet are the key colours. The blue flowers that will certainly bring in the pollinators are Ageratum, Chatham Island Forget-Me-Not, Cornflower, Delphinium, Echinops, and Eryngium, with standards such as Salvia, Phacelia, Campanula and Tweedia. When birds are getting involved in pollination (just under 10%), you'll find that Tui and Bellbirds are often at the front of the line, with silvereyes waiting for their turn. Kowhai, Flax, Rata species, and special recipients of bird beaks, such as Kaka Beak and Mistletoe are the lure for birds. Bellbird and tui with orange pollen and red flowers While most insects see things in blue, violet, and ultra-violet spectrum, birds see red and yellow. Blackbirds also see red flowers: They love to “cause trouble” in the Feijoa trees with heaps of red flowers by violently ripping the flowers to pieces… The most efficient way to pollinate the crop of feijoas!!! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They are “on the wing” at this time of the year. Spiders do not have wings of course, but they can fly for many miles – it's called Ballooning. There are many examples of them flying in jet streams, thousands of feet off the ground, across water, seas, oceans. Each year we get the juveniles of those huge Australia Golden Orb-Weaving Spiders in NZ – they grow up to become huge Australian Golden Orb-Weaving Spiders and frighten the life out of New Zealanders! At this time of the year, look up on a fine, sunny almost wind-still day and see what's floating past! Spider silk glands have liquid proteins called spidroins. They're actually kinda gooey and are pressed out gently to form silk; it's strong, yet light and flexible – a fabulous building material that serves many purposes. We all know about the famous “websites” that spiders make to catch flying prey. Take the kids outside on a dew-laden morning to find those webs and see if you can find the owner nearby. Those webs have sticky and non-sticky strands of silk, so the spider can walk on them without getting stuck themselves. New Zealand's famous nursery web spiders build quite elaborate constructions in gorse bushes and long grasses: white nests, with (deep inside) a small silken ball with hundreds of eggs. That nest alone is made of 5 or 6 different types of silk Even the one spider most people love to hate (the Daddy Longlegs in the corner of your ceiling) has a clever trick with silk: it can hold a few dozen eggs in its mandibles with just one strand of silk. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At this time of the year there's only one place I'd love to be: The North Island. These are the largest moths in Aotearoa. They are also very nicely coloured – lots of green and yellow as well as white and orange patches. Their wingspan is up to 150mm, and they're a noisy flyer at night. Females are often larger than males – they lay masses of eggs as they fly through the forest at night. The relatively small caterpillars hatch on the forest floor and commence eating dead wood, infected by fungal material. The funny thing is that these very young caterpillars only move around for 6 to 12 months, after which they move up tree trunks to find out what the wood tastes like… Once they've found a suitable tree with nice bark and yummy phloem and xylem, they will start to build a long-term tunnel system in which they can live 5, 6, or even 7 years. It's a 7-shaped tunnel that goes into the trunk and down (yes, the shape of a 7!), and it lives there for 7 years. The puriri moth “homes” are always protected by a patch of silk that protects the dwelling from enemies such as centipedes and even small birds. The silk is tough enough to keep the predators out. Caterpillars chew on the re-growth of the Cambium at night and bit by bit, which is why it takes so long for these larvae to become “mature”. Once they have reached their final “instar” (size) they turn into a chrysalis (a “Pupa”) that finally becomes that huge green ghost moth that we see flying at this time of the year. The adult moths (which grew to that size in 7 years!) have just 24 hours (and at most to 48 hours), to do all their loving, living, and shopping. They look spectacular and full of protein and eggs…. Which is why Ruru are keen on hunting these insects LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three reactions to the concept of “feeding your plants”: Plants feed themselves through Photosynthesis (you don't need to feed your plants!) They'll pick up elements in the soil that they need for growth and development – nobody feeds the plants in a native forest. What's scientifically needed for our gardens is a soil test that indicates which chemical elements are lacking in soil. This is about the Science of Fertilisers. This is the time of the year when soil temperatures are the best for plant growth. Roots work over time to extract minerals, dissolve them in water, and transport them through the phloem bundles to the leaves of plants, where photosynthesis puts it all together and creates carbohydrates and chemicals that allow cell-elongation (growth). Plants use three main elements for bulk growth “food”: Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (K), which are generally known as NPK (their chemical symbols). N is used to make green stuff: leaves and Chlorophyll (LAWNS, LETTUCE, SPINACH, HEDGES). P is good for root development and plant health (CARROTS, PARSNIPS, POTATOES, etc). K (potash) is for sex: flowers and fruits (TOMATOES, APPLES, STRAWBERRIES, FLOWERING PLANTS). Other elements needed for a plant to function are needed in much smaller quantities: Mg (Magnesium), S (Sulphur), Ca (Calcium), Cu (Copper), Fe (Iron), Zn (Zinc), Mn (Manganese), and a heap more of those minor “trace elements”. There are a few different types of fertilisers: “General” Fertiliser – for general growth. Usually something like N-P-K 7-3-6 or 12-4-13 (note how Phosphorus is usually less than the N and K). Potato fertiliser: N-P-K 3-9-6 also good for carrots and parsnips. Tomato or rose fertiliser, which is usually higher in potash (K): N-P-K 3-4-9. This helps to stimulate flower and fruit growth. Of course you can always use the general fertiliser (which tends to be highest in Nitrogen) and simply add a few handfuls of Superphosphate (P) if you grow root crops, or handfuls of Sulphate of Potash (K) if you want to up the dose of K (potash) for flowers and fruit. Organic fertilisers usually have lower concentrations of elements, and they are often less prone to fertiliser run-off into water courses. Chicken poo (a “natural” organic fertiliser) has a high content of Nitrogen which can burn plants – I would always send it through a cycle of composting before use. I use General fertiliser on my young tomatoes to get them growing up and create a strong climbing vine before the flower buds are formed. Once they start flowering, I assist the plants with more potash to keep on making fruit – I just switch to a higher potash fertiliser such as Wet&Forget's Seaweed Tea. Seaweed Tea and Seafood Soup were designed to quickly fertilise lawns and large amounts of vegetables. It has this clever system of watering your plants and enriching the soil. I use the contents of Soup and Tea in watering cans – often in a very mild (or “weak”) solution. In the tunnel house I do this almost every day to water the tomatoes; with small amounts of tea or soup I add a little bit of fertiliser with every watering - works brilliantly! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since June, Biosecurity New Zealand has confirmed five yellow-legged hornets have been detected in Auckland, and they're asking locals to be on the lookout. But what do you do if you come across one and what does it mean for our honey and wild bee populations? Ruud Kleinpaste, better known as 'The Bug Man' talks to Jesse.

This time of the year a wonderful Pohutukawa “shrub” is flowering its little heads off: Metrosideros carminia known as the crimson rata; a Native in the North Island all the way down to Taranaki and Hawkes Bay. It comes as a shrub when you get them from cuttings, but they'll move up like tree climbers when they emerge from seeds. Pollinators love them – and so do I. Favourite food of tui and bellbirds, as well as silvereyes and wood pigeons (kereru). Kowhai come in many different species and heights; there are fabulous, gnarled forms which, in themselves, are beautifully sculptured. Divaricating shrubs!! Muehlenbeckia astonii. A Native plant that could be your new hedge, or your sculpted shrub, or even a suitable nesting site for native birds. It's all about elegant little leaves, hanging from a zig-zagging system of branches that you will only find in Aotearoa. In winter the whole shrub will change colours to a Dark-Orange that will stand out, no matter what the weather is like. White flowers – and all this is endemic. May I introduce you to the Corokia - another yellow Native of our country. It's full of flowers at this time of the year; also with zig-zag twigs and Endemic distribution – we know how to grow weird and wonderful natives! Often on these flowering shrubs you will find native bees sucking nectar for their off-spring, pollinating the flowers and creating large amounts of seeds for our landscapes Horopito (Pseudowintera colorata) is another one of those shrubs that stands out in its colour – It's native to New Zealand, and our local “garden fiddlers” have managed to breed a range of varieties in all sorts of colours. If you want to see them spectacularly bunched together in our native habitat, go to the Catlins: you'll fall in love with them! Oh – and the leaves are edible… lovely and hot. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I arrived in New Zealand as an immigrant (in 1978), the Asian Paperwasp arrived here too. I remember I was impressed by the New Zealand obsessions to keep these invaders out of the kiwi ecosystems. A few years later I started working for the Ministry of Agriculture and the Asian (or Chinese) Paperwasp was still being pursued; unfortunately without success. We tried to create some pro-active techniques to stop unwanted critters making it to our wonderful country and every time some new pest arrives, I feel awful and ready to have a crack at a counter offensive. So – here we are …. With a real “Hornet” (Hornets are a different group of wasps): The yellow-Legged Hornet. Have a look at the pictures of these brutes: they have yellow legs and are way bigger than the wasps we are used to. They are originally from East and South-East Asia (My birth place: Indonesia!!) and rapidly moving all over the place: the rest of Asia, Korea, Japan, Now Europe, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy Belgium and the UK. Almost exactly 8 years ago it showed its “EU Passport” in the Netherlands; Let me tell you that the Dutch moved rather quickly to knock that hornet on the head… Good Luck!! Rather recently it was found in Ireland – an island with perhaps better chances to eradicate it. This Hymenopteran is on the move!! Nobody likes this beastie – it simply has no sense of humour; in terms of its dietary preference you could say that this Hornet is as selective as a vacuum cleaner. It goes for all sorts of native insects (flies, beetles, wasps, honey bees) ripe fruits, pollen and nectar, as well as people with allergies to wasp stings. So right now is the time to gather the Nature Nerds of our country and start our counter attack, together with the Ministry of Primary Industries. So far we've found 2 adult male yellow-legged hornets in Grafton and Albany – that was some months ago. A week ago there was a female (a Queen) in Glenfield, trying to build a brand-new nest. That nest was still small and light in colour: The very beginning of the nest, made by the queen (a so-called “primary nest”) This nest can grow much bigger as the colony builds up in numbers (up to 60 centimetre diameter); so far MPI haven't found any established nests yet So, how can we all help to give MPI a hand getting rid of this pest species: Gardeners are usually extremely observant, when it comes to insects on the property and in this case the identification is relatively easy (especially with NatureNerd kids in the household!!) Identification: The Hornets (on the left) are quite a bit bigger than German wasps (on the right), common wasps and our established species of paperwasps. Thorax and abdomen have different colours too. Wings rather dark and not translucent – I reckon most people can see that easily. At this stage we simply do not have a useful treatment to kill these rotters in your garden; I'm sure some scientists as well as back-yard inventors might try their luck with all sorts of concoctions, fatal to the hornets, but in my opinion it's best to do the following as soon as you find a nest or some big hornets in your garden: First Report it to MPI: Contact MPI's exotic pest and disease hotline: 0800 809 966 Carefully take a photo of the suspect insect(s) Alternatively: report these pests online: https://report.mpi.govt.nz/pest/ Have a look at the Fact Sheet: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=keep+an+eye+out+for+yellow-legged+hornetsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few things to look for in October: Passionvine Hoppers do a bit of damage from late October/Early November till March-April These are the problematic insects that are common in the north (and for the past few years, also around Christchurch – they're spreading South! Adult passionvine hoppers plus one nearly-mature fluffybum Most of the damage is cased when the bugs are growing bigger and older (later in spring); by then these insects can jump away from insecticides applied; they clever enough to avoid being immersed. CONTROL and PREVENTION: Keep an eye on the new fluffy bums hatching in your garden right now!!! Those tiny nymphs often congregate in large flocks at the ends of new growth; they are still very feeble in their movement and won't be able to escape a cloud of fly-spray aimed at them on a wind-still morning Spray these young Passionvine Hoppers in October with a good dose of fly-spray; your only chance to hit them before they become troublesome. Slugs and Snails are a real pest in the garden at this time of the year; moisture and new plant growth encourages them Control measures that work: Weed control will expose them to predators (thrushes) Using Bait pellets in a pottle, dug into soil: take-away container with lid on and bait inside; holes cut in the side of the container let slugs and snails in; but not dogs and cats Alternative version is to use some off-cuts (15-30 cm long) of plastic waste-pipe, diameter 50 to 75 mm, which allows access to slugs and snails, but not to birds. Put some bait in the pipes and anchor them down with a heavy brick Encourage Carabid beetles (Ground beetles): they often feed on slugs and snail juveniles and eggs Slug and Snail bait station And then there are Mites, especially Two-Spotted SPIDER MITES Tiny, eight-legged ACARI that love to suck the fluids out of the leaves of your plants in spring, summer and autumn. Tetranychus urticae is a cosmopolitan species of mite that causes heaps of damage. Control is not very difficult: there are some good miticides (note: miticides, not insecticides) on the market that will deal to most outbreaks. However, mites are known for becoming quite tolerant of chemical compounds. Mineral oils and the so-called fatty acids are also effective on spidermites, as is a couple of repeat sprays of Neem oil. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Codling moths are a pain in the backside for people that grow apples. A week or so after flowering, the fertilised, tiny apples (known in the UK as “codlings”) are the perfect target for the moths to lay eggs in. The caterpillars emerge from the eggs and tunnel into the developing fruit, causing ugly tunnels, often with fungal infection, brown decay, and “frass” sticking out of the hole. Once these caterpillars are inside, you won't get them out and the fruit will be rather awful as it develops. In the old days we used to regularly spray pretty nasty insecticides on our apples: Carbaryl, Organophosphates, etc. Not nice! The moths are quite pretty: golden colours, about a centimetre in size, flying around the orchard when the flowering has just finished. The caterpillars exit the fruit when full grown – they descend down the stem/trunk and pupate in loose bark or further down in the soil. A second Generation develops in summer, especially in the northern parts of NZ. Second generation moths can be detected by using a Codling Moth pheromone trap, which indicates exactly when the moths are flying again, looking for mid-summer sized apples to lay their eggs on. Those sticky pheromone traps will trap some of the moths, but not in sufficient quantities to significantly reduce their numbers in your home “orchard”. To really get rid of the majority of codling moths you better use a specific virus that knocks the caterpillars out before they take their second bite of the apple. This virus only targets codling moths and no other insects. That Virus is called MADEX 3, and the active viral particles are a Granulosis Virus. Excellent and safe to use, unless you look like a codling moth caterpillar! A couple of stockists of Madex 3 who focus on the DIY online business are: Good to Grow and NZ YUZU. Commercial distributers who purchase somewhere nationally but may not stock Madex at every branch are: Farmlands, PGG Wrightson, Fruit fed Supplies, Horti centre, etc. This is a commercial product, used by apple growers – it covers large orchards and is very effective indeed. It is also quite pricey (around $180 for 100 ml) but if you put it in the freezer and only use what you need, it'll last for many, many years. Share it with your neighbours to cut costs, follow the instructions, but KEEP IT IN THE FREEZER AFTER USE. It'll be time to use it in the next week or so! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few weeks after the beginning of Spring is a good time to collect some inspiration for your garden. Check out the local Botanic Garden, take a looksee in open gardens, a visit to the Garden Club, or else a simple walk around the neighbourhood to see what grows well and what goes well. Thalia Narcissus with white accents (orchid narcissus) and Fritilaria contrasting with green and blue. Some of our native species stand out in spring: Pittosporum eugenioides (also known as Tarata) is here just in time for our bees and bumble bees to take advantage of the massive amounts of nectar and sweet dribblings that's on offer. Native bees in particular will come and visit. Amalanchier canadensis (the white flowers) are lovely northern hemisphere trees that end up giving you berries for your sandwiches. They are also known as Canadian Shadbush. Their white flowers go very well with Chaenomeles (Japanese Quince). Mind you, the only trouble with Chaenomeles is the fact that their spikes are extremely sharp, making pruning a bit tricky. Combinations of various plant species allows different colours to be seen from different angles. Foliage of many plants interact with some flowers. This is what the exact same part of the garden looks like from different angles. The idea is to combine them to allow contrasts in sun and shade, which means looking in different directions will show new patterns. Hebe, Euphorbia, and bright yellow Spiraea japonica “Gold Flame”. When it comes to patterns, some plants create wonderful three-dimensional pieces of art. This Kowhai has dense foliage in random directions. It is a perfect spot for our birds to build a nest, after flowering has finished… Nectar feeders will visit regularly so check them out! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In case you are trying to call me on the phone in the next few weeks... sorry, leave a message! I've just come back after a week on an offshore Island in the Marlborough Sounds – its name is Maud Island (Te Pākeka). One of those wonderful closed Island Reserves, managed by the Department of Conservation. All sorts of pretty special birds and native frogs, as well as rare insects of course. And in the water, all sorts of marine beauties, such as colourful hermit crabs. These critters move into an empty snail shell to protect themselves from being eaten by predators, live in front of your eyes! But this wasn't just a jolly trip to Paradise, it was a lot more important than just a field trip. DOC organises overnight trips for local school kids in the Marlborough Region. A dozen or so board a boat late morning and end up walking around the island with some DOC rangers, my friend Richard, and myself. And the stuff we come across is literally part of their environmental curriculum that will stick inside their brains for decades to come. Seeing these students live locally, these 24 hour education experiences are likely to be beneficial for the young locals of the future. This was teaching time for students! Wouldn't it be a great idea to have these kinds of amazing encounters for all of our kids (so they learn about the Operations Manual of Planet Earth)? One of the cool things you can do with kids on an environmental trip away, is putting on a bright light at night – especially lights with some Mercury Vapour emissions that attract the moths, beetles, flies, and all the nocturnal flying invertebrates on a nice dark night. The numbers of species can be significant, and the stories always come down to the question: “What do these creatures do, out here in the night? What's their job? What is the ecosystem service?” The research is brilliant work for teachers and the kids – it never ends! The next few weeks (in the school holidays) it's the teachers turn. The Sir Peter Blake Trust tackles a lot of environmental education in the form of virtual reality sessions whereby kids (and teachers) see the marine creatures through 3-dimensional masks, as well as the quality of our coastlines – or the not so beautiful areas destroyed by pollution and kina barrens. Gathering plankton and magnifying the incredible life. Visiting Campbells Bay rock pools, Stardome Observatory, getting into Matauranga Māori and spending a day at Tawharanui in the most wonderful forest track with rare birds, orchids and Kiwi. The whole idea is to create nature literate teachers who create cohort after cohort of nature literate kids – a key part of our Education to restore our Country and its Ecology. And you know what? I love the way we're going! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here we go – it's spring and people wake up to some troubles with their lawns. Starlings dig their beaks into the soil and cause “holes” everywhere – some dunnocks (hedge sparrows) follow the starling's idea. Grass grubs have always been a “problem” in NZ gardens and lawns. C-shaped grubs that live underground, feeding on roots of grasses and other plants/shrubs. There are a number of species in the Beetle Family Scarabeidae (scarab beetles) but the native grass grub, Costelytra zealandica, has always been in New Zealand. Its traditional habitat and host plants were native grasses, such as tussocks, and they occur at quite high altitudes. There is no doubt that these beetles considered the new high-nutrient imported grasses as ice-cream, especially when we started planting whole paddocks full of that stuff! With all those birds, your lawn becomes a lot more biodiverse – personally, I love that! Mosses grow as the pH lowers; they are miniature forests in which an enormous range of caterpillars, millipedes, beetles, and flies as well as mites and predators, parasites, and other beneficial critters do their brilliant jobs. Moss in lawns is not really a “problem”. For those people that want to “restore” their lawn, the best time to “sow” a new lawn (after totally spraying the old grasses and weeds, leaving nothing but a bare soil) is autumn. Of course, you can also get yourself a series of rolled-up turf mats (ready-lawn) or, as I noticed some school principals prefer, create an “all weather” playing field from artificial grass – spare me! You've got it, I really am not impressed with perfect lawns – few ecosystem services, very low biodiversity and far too “sustainable” (to use a much over-used marketing term). A lawn can have flowers and lots of perennials, a place where you can walk from one end of the garden to the other, a pathway, mowed to low growing and easy to maintain – the kids can play there and birds graze the grubs from under the roots. It certainly should not be a monoculture of grass plants trimmed to an inch of their life and meticulously cut along the edges. Imagine a lawn with heaps of flowers, and all you have to do is mow a meandering track through it all. Other troubles: homeowners let their dogs use the backyard as their own personal toilet. Often after a winter of such potty practice, when the snow melts, you'll often find your lawn speckled with unsightly yellow patches. What causes these patches? Dog urine contains a variety of nitrogen compounds. Too much nitrogen will burn the grass and create yellow patches. But appropriate concentrations of nitrogen can actually be beneficial to the lawn, which is why you'll often see rings of thick dark green grass around the yellow patches. This makes sense since the main ingredient in lawn fertilizer is nitrogen. The concentration of nitrogen in the dog's urine depends on the type of dog, its sex, and what the animal eats. Larger dogs will pee more and cause more damage. Female dogs also tend to cause more damage than males because they squat and urinate in one concentrated patch whereas the males spray their urine over a larger area. Diets high in protein can increase the concentration of nitrogen in the urine since protein breaks down to release nitrogen compounds. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Typical time of the year – we need to get on with Gardening in many different parts of the garden! My tunnel house has to be prepared for spring and summer: the plastic cover is absolutely dirty and covered with algae and grime. That means that the sunlight is reduced, and plants will struggle to get into photosynthesis. I usually grab my Wet-and-Forget Rapid to weaken the winter load of moss, mould, and grime so everything will brighten up and grow some decent crops, plants, and flowers. The next step – equally important! Order the seeds, bulbs, or cuttings you are wanting to plant. Not just in the glass house or tunnel house, but anywhere in the borders, along the paths, in raised beds, or simply in indoor pots, terracotta, or ceramic beauties. Everything will now develop to a great, young plant, ready for trans-location to your garden. Remember, the best growth is between now and Christmas! While you're organising the new plants from your favourite supplier, it pays to consider getting some useful Seed Raising Mix. I reckon that stuff is important to get the seeds growing marvellously. Not just quicker but also providing the right fertilisers to produce strong plants that utilise the N, P, and K for the future months. When the plants are a lot bigger, you can always start playing with the phosphorus (root growth) and Potash (to stimulate flowering and fruiting) and Nitrogen (to get healthy leaves). One of the things I often forget is the hedges: pruning them is generally a pain in the proverbial, but to be honest, the more you prune the hedges, the denser they'll become! We are now already a week or so too late for the first pruning (late August is great!), with a second one in October and the third in December. Every trim creates lots of new buds – hence the density in the long run. And then there is the last opportunity to prune some trees. While some of the “late-comers” are still without leaves, it allows you to prune them efficiently; you can see where all the branches are, so you can shape them the way you want. A decent pruning job will also create new buds lower down the tree – you can then decide how high you want that tree to grow and how dense it will be in your garden. The more you prune, the more “end-buds” you create – and that means that you can shape the tree exactly the way you like it. To be honest: this part of September is ridiculously busy, which means that I have spent far too much time writing all these notes... Gotta get on with it NOW. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a regular complaint from gardeners: Lichen on the stems of our shrubs, trees and bark. In this case: Julie's treasured Magnolias. It kind of makes sense as the shrub or small tree often appears to have more lichen than leaves – mostly smallish buds, not large, impressive flowers. And few leaves that often look small and somewhat discoloured. No wonder gardeners are concerned about Lichen! Here are the identified species of lichen on our Magnolia: Cartilage Lichen and Common Sunburst Lichen. Lichen do not live in or from the plants – they don't invade the plants or steal nutrients, they just sit there on the branches in the sun. Often the more light or sun there is, the healthier the lichens are. Gardeners often think that the plants' lack of health is due to the presence of lichen but a far more accurate diagnosis is exactly the opposite. Shrubs and trees which are not in the most perfect place (with the best sun or shade) or with a minimal amount of healthy fertilisers or moisture are struggling to keep their growth rates in maximum condition. The lichen simply takes advantage of increased sun and light. Here is just one example that shows how lichen (in this case many different species) literally establish themselves on tiled roofs. The lichen do not have “roots” to get inside the tiles, or “feed” from the tiles. They therefore don't damage the surface they live on. Lichen is not a plant, but a symbiosis of two or three organisms that work together: fungi and blue-green algae (often Cyanobacteria) and yeasts. The fungus can store water for “the TEAM” and is the home of the algae. The algae can do photosynthesis and shares the sugars with the fungi. They all work together for the past 600 million years on Earth “WHEN LIFE CAME OUT OF THE OCEAN… THERE WAS LICHEN!” These lichen grow on metal, windscreen glass, and asphalt – known as Sexy Pavement Lichen. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Courier smiled as he deposited the two catalogues on our door-step – he knows we're Nature Nerds, and so do the lovely folk at Kings Seeds. We both settled in front of the fireplace, going through the Nurture/Nourish reading. I was checking all the tomato varieties and other food delicacies, while Juuls browsed all the pretty stuff in Kings Seeds line-up. Always interesting to see how two people focus on the plant species that is close to their Heart, Art, and Stomach! I kept my Tomato wishes in the same group it's always been: Bloody Butcher and Tigerella, while sniffing around the Cherry Tomatoes in all their magnificent colours. Last March I managed to harvest the seeds of Tomato Gardeners delight, so those are also ready to be sown, along with Black Krim and Tessaloniki and some more tomato seeds living in my shed. Now it is a matter of sorting out where they'll go in the tunnel house. Watermelon Sugar Baby is something I haven't grown for far too long – it's a yummy dessert!  Remarkably, Julie decided to interfere in my choices by flagging the tomatoes Brandy Wine Pink and Kellogs Breakfast. This feels like an attack on my tunnel house too. But then again, she reckons that beefsteak tomatoes are very useful when cooking!  She's right, of course! Her Botanical knowledge is quite amazing and going through a catalogue is like re-arranging the garden:  Aster King Size Apricot feels like one of those new varieties that she needs to try. I reckon it's probably decades old and had (so far) escaped her attention – it's pink! Talking about "pink": How about a Banana ornamental Pink! Julie has always loved Cosmos. She just fell in love with the Cosmos double click Rose Bon bon simply because it is part of "creative writing" – something that English Teachers really appreciate. Rose Pink Blooms with multiple layers of ruffled petals -what's not to like?    Lysimachia Beaujolais is something I cannot remember having seen before. It's a stunning plant that looks like it would dominate the borders in your garden with dark wine-coloured flowers on spikes. I look forward to Julie's decision of where to plant it. Poppy Amazing Grey is not your regular bright red poppy, but a purple-grey variety that would work well with a coloured background. This is a great flower to experiment with. As is often the case with poppies, keep the seeds for a few weeks in the fridge before sowing. I was invited to take a close look at a new Thalictrum, Thalictrum White – “Just want to point out this plant will be attracting bees and other Entomological critters”. I reckon I should go out at night and bathe the pure white flowers in UV Torch-light! Zinnia elegans is a group of wonderful cut flowers in amazing colours. Have a look at the Kings Seeds Catalogue: 20 different varieties giving your garden surprising powers of accent. Zinnia Queen Lime blush ended up as Julie's choice of 2025/26. Lime coloured! Finally we agreed on a regular food item for Spring, Summer, and Autumn: a decent type of Lettuce, Lettuce Little Caesar. But this one? Honestly? Gotta be English! Organic Pumpkin New England Pie. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before we lose our Winter Scenes, it might be an idea to get up at sunset and look around your garden (or a nearby forest, if you like). Spiders are in many places, despite the cold, icy conditions. The best time to see their “websites” is on dew-laden mornings – the owners are nearby and await the rising of that wintry sun. Spider silk glands have liquid proteins called spidroins. They're actually kind of gooey and are pressed out gently to form silk. It's strong, yet light and flexible – a fabulous building material that serves many purposes. Those webs have sticky and non-sticky strands of silk, so the spider can walk on them without getting stuck themselves. Websites can be incredibly fascinating in the way the spider builds them – this sheetweb is extremely strong and contains silken supports above and below the sheetweb's “trampoline”. If a moth or beetle flies over the web and accidentally hits the guy-ropes, the poor insect loses its balance and ends up on the silken trampoline. In no time the spider works out where the prey ended up and dinner is served! But winter finds that spectacularly weird phenomenon, known as “gossamers”. Small websites in conspicuous places, often made visible by fog or fine rainfall. The spiders usually hide under their web and grab overwintering insects (often very small critters), which sustains them and allows them to grow. If weather allows, they will “balloon” with a soft wind and disperse to new living quarters. But if their massive living place suits them for a little bit longer, they just stay in their dwelling. In spring, huge numbers of small spiderlings will take to the sky in large numbers of flying Arachnids, who don't even have wings! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When rain and cold weather stops for a day, I go out into the garden. Just looking – Julie often has new inhabitants in the garden and some of those are surprising. Grevillia is a species that hails from Australia. Some older TV Gardening Show watchers may remember Don Burk doing his hour-long shows every week – he loved Grevillia and so do I. In mid-winter, birds and pollinating winter insects will look for these flowers, filled with nectar. White Magnolia are coming out right now. No pollinating going on, just plenty of off-white colours that lighten up your boring garden background. Miscanthus chinensis, still waving in the wind. A froglet sitting quietly. Gaura Butterfly Rose with an emerging kiwi. “Just a Daffodil”, according to Julie – bright colours in winter. These are Hamamelis (also known as Witch Hazels). Many of these wonderful plants have an excellent smell – our yellow variety (H x Arnold Promis) is probably the exception, not much smell at all, but the bright colour stands out in a bare winter's day. The red Witch Hazel is known as Hamamelis x intermedia Jelena. The colours sometimes float in a copper direction, with a smell that's just divine. “Hamamelis” comes from two Greek words: hama (meaning “simultaneously”) and melon (“fruit”): it refers to that in autumn flowering varieties the flowers as well as the fruits that occur on the plant at the same time. I love those Hamamelis shrubs – and while researching a bit about our specimens I came across a spectacular hybrid: Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diana'. Bright red flowers in winter but also preceded by bright red leaves before they fall in autumn. Guess what: I'm searching for that specimen mentioned above! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 9 August 2025, Australian idol legend Guy Sebastian joins Jack in studio for a chat about releasing album number ten, and gives a very special performance of a brand new track. Jack considers his experiences with the NYC subway compared to Auckland's new CRL. A hearty recipe for the weekend, Rosa Flanagan of Two Raw Sisters shares a how-to for her Slow Cooked Moroccan Lamb and Pumpkin dish. Ruud Kleinpaste reckons it's about getting warm enough to get back into the garden. Plus, Catherine Raynes shares details on a brand new Kiwi tale of resilience, The Unlikely Doctor by Timoti Te Moke. Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.