August 8, 2026 • 19 mins
This week, Pete and Ruud answer your questions about keeping your garden in the best shape it can be this season!
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Resident Builder podcast with Peter Wolfcamp
from News Talk sed.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
B, Right O, Roud climb pass. Good morning, sir, Peter, greetings, greetings, greetings.
So you tell me more, well, congratulations on your not
quite hundred years. Yes, but it's texting the other night.
I mean, you know, you go back to the to
(00:33):
the very early days of this iteration of z B.
So yeah, yeah, there was always one ZIB news Talk
said B or news talk on ed B as it
used to be called. You were there right at the
beginning pretty much.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, seven, yeah, eighty seven, that's right. I remember. I
luck the way you said, can you remember when you
were that? When was your first day?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
And it happened to be the day that Julie gave
birth to our youngest son, right, so that was a
amazing On nineteen eighty seven, so I was at the
studio and I got invited by a guy called Layton Smith.
My god, he's no longer there.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Is he he's alive because he was in here talking
with Paul Mike the other day.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I know, No, he's all right. But it was very
funny because he had read he'd read in the Herald
is about all the nonsense that I do with bugs
and all that, and he didn't know what, you know,
who can do that with bugs? So he asked me
to come over to the studio. And the first question
he says, he says, says, you know, he does typical
radio stuff. We're talking to root climbuster, entomologist blah blahlah blah,
(01:45):
wrote tell me about and what was it? Tell me
about crabs scraps? Right? I said, have you got the troubles?
Have you got troubles? Layton? And he says, no, no, no,
is it No? It's a friend, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And he's asking for a friend. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
And it started off like that, and you could see
him that he could not he couldn't get anywhere with
it because I was talking about the whole things. It
was wonderful. That was the beginning of it all. And
to be quite honest, yeah, that was forty years ago.
Over forty years ago. Yeah, unbelievable. Actually, have to be
quite honest.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
That's fantastic. Yeah, it's fantastic.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
That's good fun.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Alrighty oh, shall we take some calls? Let's do that?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
You think we should?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Now, I promised to ask someone rang and asked about bora.
They were concerned that they'd seen some evidence of bora
in their sort of nineteen fifties house. Am I right
in saying that bora are typically on the wing around
September October?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, octob in November is the time when I would
do this spraying. You're right, So springtime early springtime, that's.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Right, okay, And that's a good time to maybe get
some maruth from spray And yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Okay, well, per Mathrin, I meant I would do it, so, yeah,
I would get so all right. I would go to
Safe Work yep, which finishes with an AX. It's a
company that has three or four four different places in
New Zealand where you can get them. But you find
them safe Works, and into say October, you spray the
areas that have got the holes. And the reason is
that that is the place basically where all these creatures
(03:20):
come out. Yes, and when they come out and touch
that aircraft spray, which is what I'm recommending. The stuff
that we develop to actually spray in aeroplanes residual and
it lasts for at least three to four months. It's
an enormously really good stuff. Yes, so you can actually
have a go at these things and they will then
(03:40):
really reduce their numbers very quickly. Do it again the
next year. I can do it again the next year
because they got three to four year life cycles.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Right, Yes, I have need of that as well. Right,
that's good. I will find safe works sometime this week
and be ready for their arrival in spring time, September spring,
in just a couple of weeks. That's fantastic, right, Tony.
Good morning to.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
You, Good money to you both. Rude, I've got a
question about cockroach is what's a good deterrent? And do
mo foles keep them away?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Where do you have them, Tony?
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Mainly in the kitchen and sitting room area, but they
could be in the bedrooms as well.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
But can you can you describe them to me what
they look like? Tony?
Speaker 5 (04:27):
No, I'm sorry, I can't. I'm blind, so I didn't
even know for a while there, I didn't even know
I hit them till somebody visited me and nighttime.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Okay, what I'd like you to do is if somebody
could help you by describing it or picturing it, and
give me a bit of a cock color and a
size if you like. Then I can tell you what
these particular things are and whether or not it is
really important to do that, or whether you have to
do that, you know, or maybe it's a native one
(04:59):
that comes in every now and then, and then I
would say, don't worry about it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
Yeah, Well, what I have been told is I mean,
people like myself who were really ignorant have been told
these big ones and small ones and and stuff. And
the building has I actually live in an apartment boarding
the whole place has been They've come around and done,
you know, and the exterminators have been around. But I'm
(05:28):
just wondering for the future, what would deter them from
coming back.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Well, that's that's the point. If there is if there
is spilled food, they might come back. That's what they
really like. They like this the fact that you've got
a nice, warm, warm house. That's good. But you know,
it could only be at a certain time of the
year that they're going in because they're basically trying to
you know, to have some young ones that year the
year and again in this time of the year that
(05:56):
starts to happen. Yeah, I identify them.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry, I thought they might be native
ones because someone said, all they're big ones, and as
as you got swans as well, but there was basically
classes and stationed. It's why they did the whole building.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Yeah, fair enough. Yeah, that can happen. And again, you know,
you know the stuff, the stuff that we just talked
about Peter and I, and that you can get from
safe works, which is in a residual promethne if you like,
that would be good. If you can spray that so
that they the moment they walk over the stuff where
it's sprayed, they they that's the end of them. That
(06:36):
is the end of them. They don't like it, they'll
go away and and that's it. They die.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
So might be an idea, Tony to get someone to
help you identify them, because typically the native ones are
the little cockroaches.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
To got larger ones to do that are black, for instance,
the stinky the stinky roads which are physical and I
remember Kiwi eating them, but it's another story. And you
know they've got me different sizes. But some of the gray,
the brownie ones that don't have too many other colors
in them are usually the native ones. That's just a
general general idea.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
All right, And yeah, Okay. Once we know that, then
we can we can make a more informed decision, which
is important. Right, do you do that absolutely? Heather, A
very good morning to you.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Oh, good morning you guys. I just want to ask
that birds. I feed them every morning, and I want
to know I'm doing the right thing. I know you
don't give them bread. I give them kiwi fruit tears
when they're cheap, pears, apples and oranges. I slice them
all up on a big tray and I get two.
Weis to get little green frinch. And I had a
(07:45):
yellow bird the other day, and I remember we used
to get yellow hammers years ago, but I don't know
what it was. But anyway, I just wanted to tell
you I've got this blackbird that comes. I call him Fatty.
Comes every morning, and he comes every when he sits
on my balustrade outside my kitchen window. Now, the other
day I went out with the tray and I put
(08:05):
it down. Look down, they were sitting on my foot.
Does really friendly, and he picked up a bit. And
now when I take the dog for walk, he flies
and he lands in the trees on the boode as
I go along, and then he comes back with me
and it's just lovely. It just makes my day.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yes it does. So tell me the birds that come
to you. So you're talking about black birds, you do, beore.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
I have the little little green ones, you know, a
little finch? Are they finches? And then I have a
brown one with a nice color white and cream and
then on his wing. And then I have a lot
of sparrows and pigeons which are trying to.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
Get rid of.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
And I have toes, lots of toes as well.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Oh do you get too. Do you have lots of numbers,
like large numbers.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Yeah, well I'm glad to put that two trays because
there's just so many of them.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Okay, all right, that's theh But the toes.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Are mean and they have a go at the other boods. Oh,
I also make them. I also make them oats porridge
and a big pan and I put I put one
of those those currents and I put eppele in there.
And then the other day it was so cold, I
made I got one of those. I had one of
those soup things with by and everything, and I cooked
(09:19):
that up and I put pumpkin and cam go there
with brazik. So I'm giving them am I giving them
what they should allowed to.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Have, I would say at this time of the year
and right now with everything that's happening in New Zealand, no,
I would.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Ask you, Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yeah, there is bird flu and that is really the
most important thing. And bird flu is a thing that
actually can be transported or if you like, transported from
one thing to another. And if you've got lots of them,
you will get contamination on all these different speeds, on
not all, but some of the difference exactly, and your
(10:01):
two we would be one of them that would really
really be hammered by it.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Okay, so them until we see what happens.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I tell you what I've done. I've got exactly the
same thing. I had eight hundred different species different birds
on my particular space where I would fed them. And
the reason is I used to catch them and then
bend and put a bend around their leg with a number,
so I knew who was who, and I could tell
then who came back next year, and who came back
(10:30):
over the two years and three years and four years,
and was mostly the silverized that I got, but other
stuff as well. But I have stopped that completely because
I used to train kids and especially my grandson on
how to do this, and I'm not going to do
it now because I don't want to get this particular
material the bird flew together. Yeah, so I would clear up, yes, please,
(10:56):
and keep an eye on that in the you know,
either whatever on the on the radio or whatever happens.
But there's there's still dock in the Ministry of Agricultures
if if you're like, you know, I'm really not happy
with this at the moment, so I stopped.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Sorry, I'll do the same thing.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah, yeah, hey, thanks for raising what is obviously a
fairly important matter. So just just for the purposes of clarity,
because you know, I've seen some videos recently online where
people go, look, you know, I've got this half a
orange out and the twoees love it, and the wax
eyes love it, and da da da da da. So
what you're saying, in all seriousness is if you are
in the habit of providing food for wild birds, you
(11:35):
should stop doing that right now.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
That's my recommendation. And I think DOC and MPI are
also saying the same thing. No, please, don't do it.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Right and simply because that stops birds congregating, let's say,
because here's free food on offer, yep, And so it
reduces that potential for transmission. If they're out foraging in
the wild, they're not clustering, and then that opportunity for transmission,
if it's out there, is reduced, okay, exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
And also because they're all together, Yes, they are touching
each other, and there are very quickly to give each
other those particular things. But if they are going to
have to do it on their own, that's when they're
on their own, if literally. And you're much much clearer
out because.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
While there hasn't been more cases, that's not to say
that people should be complacent, is what I'm picking up.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
No, exactly, Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Right, that's very very good information, which is something we've
come to expect from you.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, there is my new if you like my new
citizen scientist. Here you go, there, you go.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Right, we'll take a short break. We'll be back with
Marie in just a moment. Not surprisingly, what we were
just discussing around feeding the birds has prompted a few
text messages. We'd rather watch them starve. I'm sure they
won't starve, they just won't find an easy meal. So
(13:06):
and someone has text through as well. Does the no
feeding the birds also apply to sugar water for the tooyes? Well,
I guess it does.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Yes, it does. It's about connections between the various birds,
that's right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now just another text that I found intriguing.
So someone goes, hey, good morning, rude. Two young colfi
tree in our garden. They haven't really thrived. They're about
seven years old. During the week we discovered a big
fat wood pigeon, good old k sitting right in the
middle of the tree, stripping the foliage. There's some buds
on the extremities, probably where we can't reach, but nothing
(13:40):
else in the middle. There's no flowers for our toyes.
A pair of wood pigeons last year stripping the top
of the black Doris plum blossom blossoms. Rather, while I
love them, I also love my garden. Any suggestions, Well,
it's challenging, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Well, you put some netting over there, I guess, and
if it's small enough to do, you know, that's the
way to go. But you're absolutely right, there's creatures that
really enjoy those things. And yeah, oh yeah, because there.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Is not a lot that she'd have to have barb
wire up to keep them out exactly as they hurt
all through. You know, they're fantastic. Oh well, look this
is this is that lovely interplay between what we want
out of nature and what nature wants out of nature. Marie,
Good morning to you.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
Good morning Rude and pit up, and congratulations on your
one hundred years.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, I mean, it's nice to hear that, but you
know it's it's not us, by the way.
Speaker 6 (14:41):
I know that it's a legacy.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Hey.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
And also I used to work with mister Yo and
his mister buzz Wow years ago. Yeah, so yeah, way
back in the day. But I've thought somebody was going
to throw out some avocado ceilings about city seen wed
is high and I said, no, no, I'll hit them
(15:06):
and I'll written Doug yesterday getting ready for the spring
time to plant them. And it's a multi multi question,
so I know you'll probably only if be able to
answer a little part of it. They are the same
type of avocado, so I understand I have to graft
another type to get them to grow. And also that but.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Not necessarily, no, not necessarily some of the some of
these seeds that grow might do quite well without grafting. Yeah,
don't knuck around. If you don't have to graft, don't
do it. Have a look first, try it out first.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
Oh okay, I didn't realize.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
How do you think the Lord Almighty would do that
in the old days?
Speaker 6 (15:52):
I suppose we disperse the seeds amongst each other. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Well, you've got to have a big bird to swallow
an avocados an avocado seeds.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Yeah, you eat something quite big, and then the other
the other problem is the other end. What are you
going to do with that? Gosh, Oh my goodness, it's funny.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
I didn't think of the Oh my god, sorry exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
If you put it like that, it's not a big deal.
You just chuck them in the ground and see what happens.
This'll be great. Yes, And my neighbors are doing avacaro
straight from the from the plants that they eat, and
they've got really nice avocados on the next lot.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Oh truly. Yes, my soil, my solis, exciting, my soils, clay,
I go down seven centimeters clay.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Okay, so that's very that's the only thing you'll have
to do. You'll have to make a deeper hole if
you like, take the clay out of the way as
much as you can, and put some proper potting mix
in there, or potting soil if you like, and give
that maybe a foot deep, and then what you'll find
is that these plants will find their own way down.
The beginning is clear and nice and not too too awful.
(17:16):
And if they then go down further down, you will
have literally all the all the avocados growing. No problem.
Speaker 6 (17:24):
I want it so much, and I certainly don't want
it to contradict you. I was doing some research and stuff,
and it says that tap root goes down a meter
and a half and once it's the clear, the teproot rock. Yeah,
So the thing is to build up another way.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
You can do an old your own trial, your own test.
You put one in a say, a foot deep material,
and you do another way in maybe half a meter
do a meter deep material, and you'll find that the
avocado will go down, but when it comes across rotten
stuff that doesn't like its roots will go sideways because
it can't go any further down.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
The tep root will are wonderful.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Yeah, why not?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Good luck with that, Marie, the very best to you
and hopefully you'll get a bountiful crop. It'll be a
couple of years, isn't it. You know, fill seed to
a tree that's actually producing fruit.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Oh yeah, problems, but.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It will take a little while. I would have thought, yep, right,
oh oh, that's what I was going to ask. Just
very quickly, we listen a minute. What role does slaters
play in the garden?
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Ah, slaters have got all sorts of jobs basically, if
you like. But they are really good at cleaning stuff up, right,
So yeah, that's that's kind of what they do. Organic material,
They swallow it up and they poop out fertilizers and
wonderful stuff for the garden and other creatures as well.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
No, I moved a pot the other day and there
was just this explosion of slaters and I was like,
I wonder what they're doing under there.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Well, they get the rest of the stuff that the
others don't eat, so that's easy and then it's just
a maga a matter of recycling. Yeah, I'm all for
that the same here. In fact, I actually went along
this week to the Zero Waste Awards.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yes, it was great. It was super exciting and so
many different sectors involved in this whole thing about, you know,
reducing the impact that we have by being so wasteful
on our society and our community and some some outstanding
innovation in that space. So yeah, that was awesome.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
It was great, and a lot of gardeners know that.
Yeke Man just talked to Julie one hundred.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I'll be down your way in September, so maybe we'll
do that, all right, mate, all the best, take care,
Thanks folks for joining us this morning, very special day
here at Newstalks dB as we mark one hundred years.
Take care of have a great day.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
For more from the Residence Builder with Peter Wolfcamp, listen
live to news talks'd be on Sunday mornings from Sex,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Resident Builder podcast with Peter Wolfcamp
from News Talk sed.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
B, Right O, Roud climb pass. Good morning, sir, Peter, greetings, greetings, greetings.
So you tell me more, well, congratulations on your not
quite hundred years. Yes, but it's texting the other night.
I mean, you know, you go back to the to
(00:33):
the very early days of this iteration of z B.
So yeah, yeah, there was always one ZIB news Talk
said B or news talk on ed B as it
used to be called. You were there right at the
beginning pretty much.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, seven, yeah, eighty seven, that's right. I remember. I
luck the way you said, can you remember when you
were that? When was your first day?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
And it happened to be the day that Julie gave
birth to our youngest son, right, so that was a
amazing On nineteen eighty seven, so I was at the
studio and I got invited by a guy called Layton Smith.
My god, he's no longer there.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Is he he's alive because he was in here talking
with Paul Mike the other day.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I know, No, he's all right. But it was very
funny because he had read he'd read in the Herald
is about all the nonsense that I do with bugs
and all that, and he didn't know what, you know,
who can do that with bugs? So he asked me
to come over to the studio. And the first question
he says, he says, says, you know, he does typical
radio stuff. We're talking to root climbuster, entomologist blah blahlah blah,
(01:45):
wrote tell me about and what was it? Tell me
about crabs scraps? Right? I said, have you got the troubles?
Have you got troubles? Layton? And he says, no, no, no,
is it No? It's a friend, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And he's asking for a friend. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
And it started off like that, and you could see
him that he could not he couldn't get anywhere with
it because I was talking about the whole things. It
was wonderful. That was the beginning of it all. And
to be quite honest, yeah, that was forty years ago.
Over forty years ago. Yeah, unbelievable. Actually, have to be
quite honest.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
That's fantastic. Yeah, it's fantastic.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
That's good fun.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Alrighty oh, shall we take some calls? Let's do that?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
You think we should?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Now, I promised to ask someone rang and asked about bora.
They were concerned that they'd seen some evidence of bora
in their sort of nineteen fifties house. Am I right
in saying that bora are typically on the wing around
September October?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, octob in November is the time when I would
do this spraying. You're right, So springtime early springtime, that's.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Right, okay, And that's a good time to maybe get
some maruth from spray And yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Okay, well, per Mathrin, I meant I would do it, so, yeah,
I would get so all right. I would go to
Safe Work yep, which finishes with an AX. It's a
company that has three or four four different places in
New Zealand where you can get them. But you find
them safe Works, and into say October, you spray the
areas that have got the holes. And the reason is
that that is the place basically where all these creatures
(03:20):
come out. Yes, and when they come out and touch
that aircraft spray, which is what I'm recommending. The stuff
that we develop to actually spray in aeroplanes residual and
it lasts for at least three to four months. It's
an enormously really good stuff. Yes, so you can actually
have a go at these things and they will then
(03:40):
really reduce their numbers very quickly. Do it again the
next year. I can do it again the next year
because they got three to four year life cycles.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Right, Yes, I have need of that as well. Right,
that's good. I will find safe works sometime this week
and be ready for their arrival in spring time, September spring,
in just a couple of weeks. That's fantastic, right, Tony.
Good morning to.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
You, Good money to you both. Rude, I've got a
question about cockroach is what's a good deterrent? And do
mo foles keep them away?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Where do you have them, Tony?
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Mainly in the kitchen and sitting room area, but they
could be in the bedrooms as well.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
But can you can you describe them to me what
they look like? Tony?
Speaker 5 (04:27):
No, I'm sorry, I can't. I'm blind, so I didn't
even know for a while there, I didn't even know
I hit them till somebody visited me and nighttime.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Okay, what I'd like you to do is if somebody
could help you by describing it or picturing it, and
give me a bit of a cock color and a
size if you like. Then I can tell you what
these particular things are and whether or not it is
really important to do that, or whether you have to
do that, you know, or maybe it's a native one
(04:59):
that comes in every now and then, and then I
would say, don't worry about it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
Yeah, Well, what I have been told is I mean,
people like myself who were really ignorant have been told
these big ones and small ones and and stuff. And
the building has I actually live in an apartment boarding
the whole place has been They've come around and done,
you know, and the exterminators have been around. But I'm
(05:28):
just wondering for the future, what would deter them from
coming back.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Well, that's that's the point. If there is if there
is spilled food, they might come back. That's what they
really like. They like this the fact that you've got
a nice, warm, warm house. That's good. But you know,
it could only be at a certain time of the
year that they're going in because they're basically trying to
you know, to have some young ones that year the
year and again in this time of the year that
(05:56):
starts to happen. Yeah, I identify them.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry, I thought they might be native
ones because someone said, all they're big ones, and as
as you got swans as well, but there was basically
classes and stationed. It's why they did the whole building.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Yeah, fair enough. Yeah, that can happen. And again, you know,
you know the stuff, the stuff that we just talked
about Peter and I, and that you can get from
safe works, which is in a residual promethne if you like,
that would be good. If you can spray that so
that they the moment they walk over the stuff where
it's sprayed, they they that's the end of them. That
(06:36):
is the end of them. They don't like it, they'll
go away and and that's it. They die.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
So might be an idea, Tony to get someone to
help you identify them, because typically the native ones are
the little cockroaches.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
To got larger ones to do that are black, for instance,
the stinky the stinky roads which are physical and I
remember Kiwi eating them, but it's another story. And you
know they've got me different sizes. But some of the gray,
the brownie ones that don't have too many other colors
in them are usually the native ones. That's just a
general general idea.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
All right, And yeah, Okay. Once we know that, then
we can we can make a more informed decision, which
is important. Right, do you do that absolutely? Heather, A
very good morning to you.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Oh, good morning you guys. I just want to ask
that birds. I feed them every morning, and I want
to know I'm doing the right thing. I know you
don't give them bread. I give them kiwi fruit tears
when they're cheap, pears, apples and oranges. I slice them
all up on a big tray and I get two.
Weis to get little green frinch. And I had a
(07:45):
yellow bird the other day, and I remember we used
to get yellow hammers years ago, but I don't know
what it was. But anyway, I just wanted to tell
you I've got this blackbird that comes. I call him Fatty.
Comes every morning, and he comes every when he sits
on my balustrade outside my kitchen window. Now, the other
day I went out with the tray and I put
(08:05):
it down. Look down, they were sitting on my foot.
Does really friendly, and he picked up a bit. And
now when I take the dog for walk, he flies
and he lands in the trees on the boode as
I go along, and then he comes back with me
and it's just lovely. It just makes my day.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yes it does. So tell me the birds that come
to you. So you're talking about black birds, you do, beore.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
I have the little little green ones, you know, a
little finch? Are they finches? And then I have a
brown one with a nice color white and cream and
then on his wing. And then I have a lot
of sparrows and pigeons which are trying to.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
Get rid of.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
And I have toes, lots of toes as well.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Oh do you get too. Do you have lots of numbers,
like large numbers.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Yeah, well I'm glad to put that two trays because
there's just so many of them.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Okay, all right, that's theh But the toes.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Are mean and they have a go at the other boods. Oh,
I also make them. I also make them oats porridge
and a big pan and I put I put one
of those those currents and I put eppele in there.
And then the other day it was so cold, I
made I got one of those. I had one of
those soup things with by and everything, and I cooked
(09:19):
that up and I put pumpkin and cam go there
with brazik. So I'm giving them am I giving them
what they should allowed to.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Have, I would say at this time of the year
and right now with everything that's happening in New Zealand, no,
I would.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Ask you, Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yeah, there is bird flu and that is really the
most important thing. And bird flu is a thing that
actually can be transported or if you like, transported from
one thing to another. And if you've got lots of them,
you will get contamination on all these different speeds, on
not all, but some of the difference exactly, and your
(10:01):
two we would be one of them that would really
really be hammered by it.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Okay, so them until we see what happens.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
I tell you what I've done. I've got exactly the
same thing. I had eight hundred different species different birds
on my particular space where I would fed them. And
the reason is I used to catch them and then
bend and put a bend around their leg with a number,
so I knew who was who, and I could tell
then who came back next year, and who came back
(10:30):
over the two years and three years and four years,
and was mostly the silverized that I got, but other
stuff as well. But I have stopped that completely because
I used to train kids and especially my grandson on
how to do this, and I'm not going to do
it now because I don't want to get this particular
material the bird flew together. Yeah, so I would clear up, yes, please,
(10:56):
and keep an eye on that in the you know,
either whatever on the on the radio or whatever happens.
But there's there's still dock in the Ministry of Agricultures
if if you're like, you know, I'm really not happy
with this at the moment, so I stopped.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Sorry, I'll do the same thing.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah, yeah, hey, thanks for raising what is obviously a
fairly important matter. So just just for the purposes of clarity,
because you know, I've seen some videos recently online where
people go, look, you know, I've got this half a
orange out and the twoees love it, and the wax
eyes love it, and da da da da da. So
what you're saying, in all seriousness is if you are
in the habit of providing food for wild birds, you
(11:35):
should stop doing that right now.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
That's my recommendation. And I think DOC and MPI are
also saying the same thing. No, please, don't do it.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Right and simply because that stops birds congregating, let's say,
because here's free food on offer, yep, And so it
reduces that potential for transmission. If they're out foraging in
the wild, they're not clustering, and then that opportunity for transmission,
if it's out there, is reduced, okay, exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
And also because they're all together, Yes, they are touching
each other, and there are very quickly to give each
other those particular things. But if they are going to
have to do it on their own, that's when they're
on their own, if literally. And you're much much clearer
out because.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
While there hasn't been more cases, that's not to say
that people should be complacent, is what I'm picking up.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
No, exactly, Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Right, that's very very good information, which is something we've
come to expect from you.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, there is my new if you like my new
citizen scientist. Here you go, there, you go.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Right, we'll take a short break. We'll be back with
Marie in just a moment. Not surprisingly, what we were
just discussing around feeding the birds has prompted a few
text messages. We'd rather watch them starve. I'm sure they
won't starve, they just won't find an easy meal. So
(13:06):
and someone has text through as well. Does the no
feeding the birds also apply to sugar water for the tooyes? Well,
I guess it does.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Yes, it does. It's about connections between the various birds,
that's right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now just another text that I found intriguing.
So someone goes, hey, good morning, rude. Two young colfi
tree in our garden. They haven't really thrived. They're about
seven years old. During the week we discovered a big
fat wood pigeon, good old k sitting right in the
middle of the tree, stripping the foliage. There's some buds
on the extremities, probably where we can't reach, but nothing
(13:40):
else in the middle. There's no flowers for our toyes.
A pair of wood pigeons last year stripping the top
of the black Doris plum blossom blossoms. Rather, while I
love them, I also love my garden. Any suggestions, Well,
it's challenging, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Well, you put some netting over there, I guess, and
if it's small enough to do, you know, that's the
way to go. But you're absolutely right, there's creatures that
really enjoy those things. And yeah, oh yeah, because there.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Is not a lot that she'd have to have barb
wire up to keep them out exactly as they hurt
all through. You know, they're fantastic. Oh well, look this
is this is that lovely interplay between what we want
out of nature and what nature wants out of nature. Marie,
Good morning to you.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
Good morning Rude and pit up, and congratulations on your
one hundred years.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, I mean, it's nice to hear that, but you
know it's it's not us, by the way.
Speaker 6 (14:41):
I know that it's a legacy.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Hey.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
And also I used to work with mister Yo and
his mister buzz Wow years ago. Yeah, so yeah, way
back in the day. But I've thought somebody was going
to throw out some avocado ceilings about city seen wed
is high and I said, no, no, I'll hit them
(15:06):
and I'll written Doug yesterday getting ready for the spring
time to plant them. And it's a multi multi question,
so I know you'll probably only if be able to
answer a little part of it. They are the same
type of avocado, so I understand I have to graft
another type to get them to grow. And also that but.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Not necessarily, no, not necessarily some of the some of
these seeds that grow might do quite well without grafting. Yeah,
don't knuck around. If you don't have to graft, don't
do it. Have a look first, try it out first.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
Oh okay, I didn't realize.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
How do you think the Lord Almighty would do that
in the old days?
Speaker 6 (15:52):
I suppose we disperse the seeds amongst each other. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Well, you've got to have a big bird to swallow
an avocados an avocado seeds.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Yeah, you eat something quite big, and then the other
the other problem is the other end. What are you
going to do with that? Gosh, Oh my goodness, it's funny.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
I didn't think of the Oh my god, sorry exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
If you put it like that, it's not a big deal.
You just chuck them in the ground and see what happens.
This'll be great. Yes, And my neighbors are doing avacaro
straight from the from the plants that they eat, and
they've got really nice avocados on the next lot.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Oh truly. Yes, my soil, my solis, exciting, my soils, clay,
I go down seven centimeters clay.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Okay, so that's very that's the only thing you'll have
to do. You'll have to make a deeper hole if
you like, take the clay out of the way as
much as you can, and put some proper potting mix
in there, or potting soil if you like, and give
that maybe a foot deep, and then what you'll find
is that these plants will find their own way down.
The beginning is clear and nice and not too too awful.
(17:16):
And if they then go down further down, you will
have literally all the all the avocados growing. No problem.
Speaker 6 (17:24):
I want it so much, and I certainly don't want
it to contradict you. I was doing some research and stuff,
and it says that tap root goes down a meter
and a half and once it's the clear, the teproot rock. Yeah,
So the thing is to build up another way.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
You can do an old your own trial, your own test.
You put one in a say, a foot deep material,
and you do another way in maybe half a meter
do a meter deep material, and you'll find that the
avocado will go down, but when it comes across rotten
stuff that doesn't like its roots will go sideways because
it can't go any further down.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
The tep root will are wonderful.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Yeah, why not?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Good luck with that, Marie, the very best to you
and hopefully you'll get a bountiful crop. It'll be a
couple of years, isn't it. You know, fill seed to
a tree that's actually producing fruit.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Oh yeah, problems, but.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It will take a little while. I would have thought, yep, right,
oh oh, that's what I was going to ask. Just
very quickly, we listen a minute. What role does slaters
play in the garden?
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Ah, slaters have got all sorts of jobs basically, if
you like. But they are really good at cleaning stuff up, right,
So yeah, that's that's kind of what they do. Organic material,
They swallow it up and they poop out fertilizers and
wonderful stuff for the garden and other creatures as well.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
No, I moved a pot the other day and there
was just this explosion of slaters and I was like,
I wonder what they're doing under there.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Well, they get the rest of the stuff that the
others don't eat, so that's easy and then it's just
a maga a matter of recycling. Yeah, I'm all for
that the same here. In fact, I actually went along
this week to the Zero Waste Awards.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yes, it was great. It was super exciting and so
many different sectors involved in this whole thing about, you know,
reducing the impact that we have by being so wasteful
on our society and our community and some some outstanding
innovation in that space. So yeah, that was awesome.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
It was great, and a lot of gardeners know that.
Yeke Man just talked to Julie one hundred.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I'll be down your way in September, so maybe we'll
do that, all right, mate, all the best, take care,
Thanks folks for joining us this morning, very special day
here at Newstalks dB as we mark one hundred years.
Take care of have a great day.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
For more from the Residence Builder with Peter Wolfcamp, listen
live to news talks'd be on Sunday mornings from Sex,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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