We believe that everyone can have a garden that is not only productive, but beautiful as well. For 40 years we have worked to find the best plants for Australian gardens. As a Diggers Club member, you'll be given all the help you need to succeed in the garden.
Join The Diggers Club today for two years and you'll receive 4 free packets of some of our best heirloom vegetable seeds to get your garden growing; Spring Onion Red, Carrot ‘St Valery’, Broccoli ‘Romanesco’ and Silverbeet ‘Fordhook’. You'll also receive our 'Welcome to the Club' gift pack of 2 free packets of seeds, the current Diggers magazine as well as a copy of the Seed Annual; a complete list of our heirloom vegetable seeds and cottage flowers.
Plan and plant your cool season vegie patch
Autumn is the best time of year for sowing and growing brassicas such as cabbage and cauliflower, because Cabbage White Butterfly is not as active in cooler months. Find out what to sow and what to grow in your garden this month: Cool Zone, Warm Zone, Hot Zone, Subtropical Zone or Tropical Zone.
Grow a green manure crop
Improve your soil by growing your own green manures, they are easy to grow and create a healthy soil capable of producing abundant crops. Free Download 'How to grow green manure'.
Caring for perennials
Cut back summer flowering perennials in autumn after flowering and plant new perennials ready for your summer garden. Our ‘This plant goes with that’ advice will help you to choose the best combination for your garden. Read about how to create art by planting summer perennial combinations. or download a free summer flowering perennial garden design!
In this issue:
♦ We bring you 40 years of Diggers best garden ideas, revisiting the great eucalyptus debate, Australian gardens with "non-natives", lemon trees, clever clover, and reconnecting with nature by planting trees.
♦ A new book about the life of Tommy Garnett is previewed.
Plus green manures, potatoes, garden-worthy native trees, avocados, our self-pollinating orchard, grapes, nuts and berries.
As gardeners we love plants, but it's not uncommon for us to jump straight into the fun tasks such as plant and colour selection before we check the type and health of our soil. Our soil improvers come in three main categories summarised below: Soil improvers, Seaweed solutions and fertilisers.
Improve water-holding capacity, increase microbial activity and increase drought resistance.
♦ Biochar Sweeten acid soils, reduce fertiliser use, improve water conservation and improve compost!
♦ Mycogold Improve microbial action in a plant's root system - a must when planting trees.
♦ Rockdust Conserve up to 30% more water, making plants healthier and more drought-tolerant.
Revitalise plants year-round and improve resistance to pests.
♦ Granular Seaweed Sustainably sourced bull-kelp, apply straight to garden or make into a solution.
♦ Ocean Brew Improve plant and soil vigour year-round.
Specially developed for growing healthy fruit and veggies.
♦ Organic Vegie and Herb Fertiliser Keep your harvest organic with this BPA- registered fertiliser.
♦ Fruit and Citrus Fertiliser A special blend developed specifically for growing healthy fruit and citrus.
Browse our full range of soil improvers.
Video: Quick tips for choosing the best soil improver for your garden
Diggers Landscape Architect, Keith Edwards provide a short explanation of three key soil improvement products and the role each one plays in creating healthy soil. Watch on YouTube (opens in a new window).
Clive and Penny Blazey, founders of the Diggers Club, gifted ownership of their highly successful garden company along with family-owned properties Heronswood and St Erth to the Diggers Garden and Environment Trust in 2011.
“We established the Diggers Garden and Environment Trust to ensure that the work we’ve done over more than 30 years in preserving historic gardens and houses as well as the best garden traditions through education will continue forever,” said Clive.
The Trust strives to conserve historic gardens, buildings and cultural heritage and to protect heirloom seeds.
Strawberries still warm from the sun are a taste to behold and cannot compare to the bland offerings in the supermarket. Diggers offers the best in heirloom and gourmet varieties. Perfect in your vegie garden, hanging garden or in pots! Shop strawberries now.
Learn tried and true gardening techniques from masters in the field. Browse workshops and masterclasses.
Coming up:
Botanical Sketching: Heronswood, 23rd June
Growing Potatoes: Heronswood, 24th June
Introduction to Permaculture: Heronswood, 1st July
Joy and Benefits of Chooks: Heronswood, 1st July
Growing Potatoes: Cloudehill, 7th July
It's time to order:
♦ Trees: For gardens large and small
♦ Roses: Bare root roses now in-stock
♦ Grapes: Grapes for your backyard
It's time to plant:
♦ Potatoes: Heirloom and gourmet varieties
♦ Strawberries: Potted and runner varieties
♦ Fruit trees: Plums, peaches, apples and more!
Take a quick look at Diggers Heirloom Seed Trials video for 2018 and see how some of our favourite vegies performed! While you are there check out our other gardening clips.
It's winter and that means it's time to plant bare root berries!
