Twig: lawns, gardens and paint don’t mix

Our house painter washed out his brushes on our lawn, which has now died and won’t grow back. How can we get it growing again?

The Prong garden tool, a great invention to avoid backbreaking digging in the lawn or garden.

Our house painter washed out his brushes on our lawn, which has now died and won’t grow back. How can we get it growing again?

JAYNE NEUBAUER, ADELAIDE

Paint mustn’t be washed out where it will go into stormwater — responsible painters should follow guidelines for waste disposal to minimise all contamination. Your only solution is to dig out and replace the affected soil, as the saturated paint and associated chemicals cannot be treated.

I recently grew kohlrabi but the stems were thin, not bulbous. The leaves were tasteless and hard whether raw or steamed and the bulb was just OK, a bit like cauliflower stem. Is this right?

DIANNE STEPHENS, KILMORE, VICTORIA

This cabbage relative suits cool areas but is adaptable. Grow it as a spring or autumn-winter crop, avoiding summer. Kohlrabi needs to be grown quickly, with generous fertiliser and water, maturing within six to 10 weeks. Old plants become tough and woody. The swollen stem should be sweet but is not highly flavoured. Use it as you would cabbage: raw in coleslaw and salads, or cooked in soups and stir-fries, or steamed with butter and garlic.

In cultivating a food forest I’d like to replace my lawn with herbs. What would you recommend? Where can I source seed in bulk?

DIANE WESTERHUIS, MID-NORTH COAST, NSW

Herb lawns are not as robust as turf, so start with small areas and experiment. You may need to add pavers or paths to reduce wear and avoid stepping on bees. Chamomile is the classic choice but may be short-lived. Buy seed from allrareherbs.com.au. The non-flowering cultivar ‘Treneague’ won’t need mowing. Matt-forming thyme cultivars cover well but are best with dry summers. Seed is often not available for cultivars, so divide plants or take cuttings to build up stocks while you prepare soil, eradicating all weeds. Pennyroyal and Corsican mint are good for damp areas, grown easily from divisions.

Please advise what to do for my indoor plants now the weather is cooling. Should I give them a feed or is it too late?

JOHN ATHERTON, MANDURAH, WA

Unless they’re in constantly heated rooms, reduce watering as temperatures cool. Allow the soil to dry out between waterings. If pot plants haven’t been fed for a couple of months, apply a soluble fertiliser now, at half strength, to see them through until spring.

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Send your questions to: [e-mail] or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. helenyoung.com.au.

The best question for May wins two pairs of the best garden gloves you will ever own, worth $83. Fully washable Elle Grips and Foxgloves Works are from foxglovesdirect.com.au.

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FLORA

Autumn is the season to lift and divide clumping perennials such as agapanthus, clivias and liriope.

Prising up a gnarly old clump of agapanthus can be a challenge but Queenslander Peter Nicol has invented a tool that uses leverage to save time and backbreaking digging.

Called the Prong, it’s a strong and simple hand tool for penetrating hard soil, levering out rocks and stumps, and lifting plants. Sick of breaking spade handles and bending fork tines, Nicol made the Prong out of steel and offers a 10-year guarantee.

The single tine unit is fitted with a “heel” to help apply force and comes in three amusingly named sizes: Long Prong, Son of Prong and Lady Prong.

A finalist in The Australian Innovation Challenge in 2013, it is available nationally. Go to prong.com.au for stockists.