Cordless Hedge Trimmer Review

Worried about electric cords on your hedge trimmer, well Hoselink have come up with the answer.

It’s a Li-ion battery powered trimmer with a 52cm dual action blade and a handle that rotates.

When fully charged it will go for about 35 to 40 minutes.

It comes with a two year warranty and costs $179.00.

I have trialled it on my Jaboticaba trees and the Mock Orange bushes and it did the task quite well.

It is probably not that suitable for my property as we have acreage and some quite big shrubs that need trimming on a regular basis.

I will certainly recommend it for normal sized backyards and courtyards; it’s probably all you will ever need.

An added bonus is that is very quiet, no neighbours to disturb and it's light enough for the girls to use.
You can view on the Hoselink web site at, http://www.hoselink.com.au/

http://ianjudy.blogspot.com.au/

Where to buy Tropical Plants in Brisbane

Are you looking for tropical plants in Brisbane and feeling frustrated?

The majority of Garden Centres only stock what I call ‘lowest common denominator plants’ and to get something different even rare can take quite a bit of searching.

Fortunately there is a nursery almost in the centre of Brisbane that’s easy to get to whether you live on the south or north side of Brisbane.

It is called ‘Palms for Brisbane’; don’t let the name fool you as they sell a lot more than palms.

They have Heliconias, Costus, Gingers ect, ect.

It’s run by Greg Smith and his family and they are always most helpful in selection of plants and will even advise on landscaping your property.

In my dealings with Greg I have always been happy with my purchases and he also supports our ‘Open Garden’ by letting us leave our flyers there.
http://ianjudy.blogspot.com.au/

Best Axe

Let me first say that I am a big fan of Fiskars products, even before I started this website I had tools such as compost fork, tree pruners and secateurs.

The best thing about the Fiskars brand is that they are made in Finland and are good quality not like some of the junk that comes out of China.

I now have an Axe to review, like all other Fiskars products it feels good to handle and is very well balanced which helps when chopping.

The very sharp  blade has a non stick coating and  is rust free.

The  reinforced fiberglass handle is virtually unbreakable but very light which is very good if you are doing a lot of cutting.

I have used it to cut out a tree and it made light work of what could of been a tough job.

This axe comes in four different sizes from chopping size to splitting cutting size.

I was happy to review this product as it is probably the best axe I have ever used.
http://ianjudy.blogspot.com.au/

Composting made easy

What a great little piece of equipment this 'Compost Mate' is.
I have had one for several years and it is used all the time as I have three large areas where I compost all garden waste.

It works like an over sized corkscrew, just a few turns then lift and your heap gets turned over and air get into the heap and of course accelerates the composting process.
Reln Industries make them and you can purchase them from any large hardware store for about $25 dollars.
They are well made and should last you a lifetime.
We open our garden every November through the 'Open Garden Scheme' and as part of the weekend we run a raffle to help a local charity.
In the nine openings we have had we have raised almost $20,000, all which has gone to charity.
Reln Industries have supported us by providing some nice prizes and we do appreciate their generosity.
They are a good company and we are happy to support them through this blog, plus the product is good.
http://ianjudy.blogspot.com.au/

Garden Sprayer

There are so many garden sprayers on the market that it has become difficult to choose.

For me one of the most important things I look for in a sprayer is, can I get spare parts?

Certainly if you bought a ‘Chinese cheapy’ you would not get spares and would have to throw it away.

My choice is ‘Hozelock’ these are made in the UK and are distributed by Fiskars, so there’s two very reliable brands.

Spares are always available, be it washers or nozzles, I cannot stress the importance of this.

The sprayer pictured is a top of the line model (Viton) which can be used for industrial liquids as well as general garden spraying.

The sprayer pictured has a 10 litre capacity but you can get five and seven litre capacity sprayers.

The sprayer is easy to pump and gives out a good spray, that’s about all you need in a sprayer and as an added bonus it has a two year warranty.

http://ianjudy.blogspot.com.au/

Sugar Cane Mulch Brisbane

I am often asked what sort of much I recommend.

I only use sugar cane in bales, I find that this coarse mulch does not compact and allows rain and fertilizer to flow through and reach the soil, whereas other fine mulches will compact and any rain will drain off.

The other benefits of sugar cane are:

 It is virtually weed free;

Good for controlling weeds;

Easy water penetration and moisture retention;

Reduces the need for watering;

Promotes earthworms;

Prevents soil erosion; and returns nutrients back into the soil.

We apply sugar cane twice a year using around 160 bales every year (we have a big garden).

We apply it to a depth of 3 “or 75 mm and ensure the soil is moist prior to spreading.

Remember that by mulching your garden you are INSULATING your soil, so the most important time to mulch is prior to winter.

Now where do you get it and how much?

We get ours delivered (10 bales or more is free delivery) at $5.50 a bale by Andrew Currant from Norwell. His contact details are farm (07)55462303 and mobile 0414458175.
My garden blog is found at http://ianjudy.blogspot.com/

Garden Product Review: Pruning Fruit Trees with a Fiskars Pruner

It’s that time of the year when the Custard Apple trees need pruning back, you can always tell when the leaves start to turn yellow and drop. Like all fruit trees they are best kept to a size which is relatively easy to maintain.

My problem is that I have six of them and they take a lot of pruning.

This year Fiskars came to my rescue and provided me with a log reach pole pruner to review which I really appreciated.

It certainly made trimming the lower branches easy but was not long enough to get all the way to the top of the trees, for this they make a telescopic pruner which I had already purchased several years ago, so with these two pruners I was able to complete the job without too much effort.
The trimmer head swivels 26 degrees, cuts branches up to 32mm thick and has a reach of 1.58 metres.

Like all garden tools these cutters require some maintenance, usually a quick spray with WD 40 or a similar lubricant.

The products are made in Finland and are excellent quality, you can expect years of hard work out of them and they have a lifetime warranty.
My garden blog: http://ianjudy.blogspot.com/