Christine and Bob (Manly West, Queensland)

Christine and Bob Brimson are passionate about their garden in Manly West, Queensland.

Bob describes Christine as the green thumb and at Neutrog, we hear that a lot. One partner describes the other in that way; but at Neutrog, we know it’s team work. Someone dreams and plans and someone brings those ideas to life.

Christine is an ardent follower of Graham Ross, listening to him every weekend, taking on board his advice and also travelling on Graham Ross Garden Tours with either Graham or his crew. Last year they visited the Chelsea Flower Show and also visited some wonderful gardens around the south of England including Prince Charles garden at Cornwall. Christine also enjoyed a visit with Graham early this year, to India.

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Planting Strawberries

Strawberries are such a wonderful fruit with a very diverse range of uses. Here at Neutrog, some of our favourite ways to enjoy them are freshly sliced over pancakes, mixed into a smoothie, or bobbing around in a glass of champagne.

One of our Neutrog team shared with us a story that we felt you all deserved to hear. This team member received a surprise delivery on their doorstep from a very kind neighbour, a whole bag of strawberry runners ready to be planted. Sadly, after recently losing their beloved family dog, our team member was a little down in the dumps and the idea of planting out these strawberries was a little overwhelming.

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Neutrog Site & Grounds

There is so much happening at Neutrog Head Office and we are proud that many of our long-term plans are coming to fruition.

Our biggest project will be the conversion of our 2 former mining silos into a 9 story high tourism hub. Our visitor’s hub will be
complete with viewing platforms, allowing our visitors the chance to observe the Neutrog site and our fertiliser fermentation process. We have so many visitors to Neutrog and it will be tremendously exciting to host them in a “cutting edge” facility.

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Living Legends, Melbourne

Situated in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, lies Living Legends, home to many retired champion racehorses.
A visit to meet the horses at Living Legends will have you saying hello to Apache Cat and other old favourites too; including Who Shot the Barman, Tom Melbourne, Fields of Omagh, Brew and many others.
Living Legends is not only about the horses, but also about the historic homestead and the beautiful gardens which surround it. Andrew Clarke, CEO, and veterinary doctor at the property has been a driving force in the development of the entire site, including the gardens around the homestead. Neutrog is delighted to have been along for the entire journey.

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From little things, big things grow

Anthony Grassi, President of the Frangipani Society of Australia shared a heart-warming story about a little tomato seed that made a big difference.

Anthony tell us, “my wife & I went to our local RSL a few months ago for dinner. Our meals included a generous salad with the sweetest grape tomatoes I’ve ever tasted. When we finished there was one solitary tomato seed left on my plate. I took it as a sign & wrapped it in a tissue and took it home. It was planted in my veggie patch, prepared with plenty of cow manure, Sudden Impact for Roses & mulched with Whoflungdung. It grew into a huge bush 2m tall x 2m wide & fruited so prolifically I decided to keep a tally.

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All About Tomatoes

The not so humble tomato is at the top of the “must grow” list for many gardeners. In most years, the challenge is to see who is the most successful in harvesting a crop before Christmas. There are so many varieties to choose from and there is such a great range of colour too.

The Neutrog team told us what they’re growing in their home gardens this year. We have Green Zebra for its wonderful green colour and yellow stripes which indicate when it’s ripe. Several varieties of cherry tomatoes in different colours. The fabulous and ever reliable Grosse Lisse. Plus, a couple of unknowns. One of the team had their property under flood in June 2016. In the summer of 2016-17 a tomato seedling popped up on their river flats. It was a delicious little truss tomato which was never watered, had cows trampling over it and it survived right through until the worst of the frosts the following winter. Seed was saved and it has been affectionately named Flood Red. Another is growing a tomato known as Mr. Curry. Known as Mr Curry, because that’s the old bloke who provided the original seed. This is a huge fleshy and extremely tasty tomato which fruits right through until late May.

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August in the Rose Garden

As we’re getting closer to spring, it’s time to consider the next jobs which need to be completed in your rose garden. Our thanks go to Kelvin Trimper AM, RSSA Past President and Life Member for this most valuable information

1. Finish rose pruning – ensure you remove any leaves from the plant and as many old loose leaves from around the base of the plant as possible, as these contain damaging fungal spores and insect eggs which will create problems in spring if not dealt with now.

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July in the Rose Garden – Cultural Notes

The coldest month is also the busiest in our gardens as the old is swept away and we prepare for the coming bounty that our roses will soon offer. With frosts as heavy as I have seen in our area, temperatures dropped to minus 2.7 and as a consequence the roses have largely defoliated.

Naked plants makes visualising the location of each pruning cut easier, it makes disposal of the prunings easier; it however adds to the burden of cleaning the beds of fallen leaves much more onerous.

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Gardening in Karratha, WA

Bel and David Quinn live in Karratha, Western Australia. Karratha is situated high on the WA coast and has a semi-arid climate – not quite reaching the classification of desert. Temperatures are warm to hot year-round, with winter minimums being in the high 20’s and summer maximums reaching the high 40’s. Rainfall is also low, which means a tough climate for growing, but not tough enough to beat Bel and David.

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