Well this week has been all about weeding, cutting back, cutting box hedges and planting.
I have divided clumps of violas because they have finished flowering now; I just dig up part of a large clump and pull it to bits basically. You can gently pull masses of new young plants out of the clump and plant them out separately in a cool shady part of the garden. they will soon form their own small cluster which can be planted out next year to flower where you want it.
The same for polly type primulas, break up clumps; plant out only fresh new growth and throw away knotted old spent growth.
There is still time to divide agapanthus, large and dwarf varieties. they can get a bit clump bound which reduces their flowering.
Dig out the whole clump (if it is still manageable enough to do this), then pull off smaller root balls and plant out on their own using fresh compost to get the roots going again. Agapanthus are great gap fillers in new gardens, they can always be removed as you fill your garden with permanent plants.
The weeds are starting to mature and make seeds, get them out before they do, and most are easy to pull when they have grown a bit. I am still battling with biddy bid and convolvulus, I have resorted to spraying the convolvulus with round up which should travel right back to the root of the long runners and kill them. If it is tangled up through plants and bushes I have been pulling the runners until they break and then waiting till the new shoots pop up to zap them with round up. It's going to be a long battle because it seems to be growing everywhere this year.
If you have some aged compost that has finished working and is ready to put on your garden then you are able to make some economical compost tea.
Compost Tea is a nutritionally rich, well-balanced, organic plant food made by steeping aged compost in water. The water is then diluted and used as a root and/or foliar feed. It is also noted for its ability to control various plant diseases (blights, molds, wilts, etc. when used as a foliar spray), to repel and control insect pests and their damage when used on a regular basis, and to encourage the growth of beneficial soil bacteria which results in healthier, more stress-tolerant plants. The basic recipe most often recommended is as follows:
1 large container with lid (plastic rubbish bin works well) enough aged, completed compost to fill an old pillow case 1/2-3/4 full. Fill the container with water, place the compost into an old pillowcase (cheese cloth bag or pantyhose also work well), tie off the top and submerge in the container of water. Cover (to prevent odor and insect problems) and let steep for a MINIMUM of 2 weeks. This steeping time is crucial to the formation of beneficial bacteria and the required fermentation process. When finished, dip out the tea and dilute it (3 parts water to 1 part tea) and use as root food for any and all plants on a weekly or as-needed basis.
To use as a foliar spray or on young seedlings dilute it a little more. The remaining tea can continue to steep until needed. The following factors will determine the quality of the finished tea: Use well-aged, finished compost - Fresh compost can burn the plants or contain harmful pathogens and compost past its best will be nutritionally deficient. The contents of the compost should be balanced. If using purchased compost it should contain a portion of aged animal manure which apparently remains active longer than composed made up only of plant matter.
(It is important to note that COMPOST TEA AND MANURE TEA ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Manure tea can be made in the same way but is not generally recommended as foliar spray and is not as nutritionally well-balanced.) Never apply as a folia spray in the heat of the day but apply to the roots any time.
Next week I will write about companion planting in the vegetable garden.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Gardening in North Otago 20th November 2009
This was a better week,apart from the wind. it was good to get some warmth yesterday.
I have been weeding, weeding,!! and cutting back heaps of stuff that has finished flowering, alyssum, ground cover phlox, aubrietia and aquilegias, if you cut them back now they will green up again and look good over summer. same goes for Erica's, cut all the brown spent flower stems off and they will green up again in no time.
I have also been changing the flower beds from Spring to summer, all the forget-me-not is gone along with the died down bulb tops.
I spread my compost on the cleared ground and then covered that with some pig and sawdust manure and mushroom compost because it is clean with no weed seeds, I have started filling every gap with flower seedlings like cosmos, static, blue salvia, natushims, lavatera and lobelia not leaving any room for weeds to grow.
All trees have leafed up now, don't be afraid to cut out over crowding branches to let light in to what is planted underneath. If there are two branches filling the same spot take the lower one out. Maple trees tend to grow thick canopies so I have been thinning mine out. I remove heaps but when I stand back and look it is not noticeable and now there is ice dappled light coming through.
Dahlias can be pinched out like chrysanthemums to encourage bushiness' but they will still get tall so put stakes in now before they begin to bend and fall.
There are autumn flowering bulbs in now, like belladonnas, crocuses, nerines, plant in full sun where they will not be disturbed.
Lift tulips now. Store in paper bags in a cool place to be replanted in the autumn.
If your daffodils did not flower so well this spring, It's a good time to break up large clumps while you can still see where they have been, flowering can be restricted when the clumps get over crowded. Plant out in small groups in about 20cm of compost...plant to a depth of double their height then feed with blood and bone and mulch so they don't dry out over summer.
Lawn mowers need to be lifted a notch now, try mowing without the catcher now and then, and rake the clippings out over the lawn to add humus to the lawn. Lawns need fed regularly through the growing and cutting seasons but never feed a dry lawn, if you do you are in danger of burning it. Have some fertiliser on hand for the next rain or feed each area when watering. I sprayed the daisies and weeds two weeks ago, then fed them in the rain and already the gaps where the weeds died have almost filled in with grass.
Water lilies can be added to ponds now that the water is warmer, if buying one it should be in leaf now so plant into a plastic pot using thick news paper first then rich manure and garden soil. Manure first with soil on top plant the lily and top with a thick layer of stones or gravel. It is important not to let any fertiliser or manure leach out into the pond water because it will encourage the water to go green with slime which is harmful to fish when caught in their gills.
If your pond is stagnating it means that it is not working ... try putting in some old unsprayed straw or hay, weigh it down with a rock so it does not float around on the surface of the water. At first the pond water will not look too healthy but soon you will be amazed at how fast it will clear and stay clear once things start working naturally. To work naturally the bottom of the pond can and should be a little muddy, but the top should be clear, you can easily tell when it is.
A way to fill your pond with fish now the water is warmer is to put oxygen weed in from a pond already filled with fish, the fish blow their eggs into the weed so there is sure to be eggs that will hatch out in your pond and no big fish around to eat them.
If the pond is working well you will not have to feed fish in the warmer months, they will get plenty of bugs from now on.
Check your fruit trees now for over crowded bunches, thin the bunches out by snipping small fruits off with sharp scissors. Give each fruiting tree and bush a good root soak now and then in this dry weather.
Keep planting all vegetables but not too many of the same at one time.
I have been weeding, weeding,!! and cutting back heaps of stuff that has finished flowering, alyssum, ground cover phlox, aubrietia and aquilegias, if you cut them back now they will green up again and look good over summer. same goes for Erica's, cut all the brown spent flower stems off and they will green up again in no time.
I have also been changing the flower beds from Spring to summer, all the forget-me-not is gone along with the died down bulb tops.
I spread my compost on the cleared ground and then covered that with some pig and sawdust manure and mushroom compost because it is clean with no weed seeds, I have started filling every gap with flower seedlings like cosmos, static, blue salvia, natushims, lavatera and lobelia not leaving any room for weeds to grow.
All trees have leafed up now, don't be afraid to cut out over crowding branches to let light in to what is planted underneath. If there are two branches filling the same spot take the lower one out. Maple trees tend to grow thick canopies so I have been thinning mine out. I remove heaps but when I stand back and look it is not noticeable and now there is ice dappled light coming through.
Dahlias can be pinched out like chrysanthemums to encourage bushiness' but they will still get tall so put stakes in now before they begin to bend and fall.
There are autumn flowering bulbs in now, like belladonnas, crocuses, nerines, plant in full sun where they will not be disturbed.
Lift tulips now. Store in paper bags in a cool place to be replanted in the autumn.
If your daffodils did not flower so well this spring, It's a good time to break up large clumps while you can still see where they have been, flowering can be restricted when the clumps get over crowded. Plant out in small groups in about 20cm of compost...plant to a depth of double their height then feed with blood and bone and mulch so they don't dry out over summer.
Lawn mowers need to be lifted a notch now, try mowing without the catcher now and then, and rake the clippings out over the lawn to add humus to the lawn. Lawns need fed regularly through the growing and cutting seasons but never feed a dry lawn, if you do you are in danger of burning it. Have some fertiliser on hand for the next rain or feed each area when watering. I sprayed the daisies and weeds two weeks ago, then fed them in the rain and already the gaps where the weeds died have almost filled in with grass.
Water lilies can be added to ponds now that the water is warmer, if buying one it should be in leaf now so plant into a plastic pot using thick news paper first then rich manure and garden soil. Manure first with soil on top plant the lily and top with a thick layer of stones or gravel. It is important not to let any fertiliser or manure leach out into the pond water because it will encourage the water to go green with slime which is harmful to fish when caught in their gills.
If your pond is stagnating it means that it is not working ... try putting in some old unsprayed straw or hay, weigh it down with a rock so it does not float around on the surface of the water. At first the pond water will not look too healthy but soon you will be amazed at how fast it will clear and stay clear once things start working naturally. To work naturally the bottom of the pond can and should be a little muddy, but the top should be clear, you can easily tell when it is.
A way to fill your pond with fish now the water is warmer is to put oxygen weed in from a pond already filled with fish, the fish blow their eggs into the weed so there is sure to be eggs that will hatch out in your pond and no big fish around to eat them.
If the pond is working well you will not have to feed fish in the warmer months, they will get plenty of bugs from now on.
Check your fruit trees now for over crowded bunches, thin the bunches out by snipping small fruits off with sharp scissors. Give each fruiting tree and bush a good root soak now and then in this dry weather.
Keep planting all vegetables but not too many of the same at one time.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Grow Vegetables - PEPPERS
Peppers are fast becoming one of the most popular of all vegetables to grow, second only to tomatoes, why? Why not, there are hundreds of varieties available to the home gardener, especially if you grow them from seed. They come in all shapes and colors, and range from the sweetest to downright fiery. One final attribute, most are prolific producers.
Often, gardeners get addicted to growing peppers by chance. They buy a variety at the local nursery for fun and to experiment. It turned out to be such a success, next year they plant three. Because of the limited varieties offered at garden shops, they’re now buying seed and starting their own. With hundreds of varieties and all easy to grow it’s easy to become a real fan of peppers. Soon they have a dozen different cultivars thriving in their garden.
Peppers enjoy an well-amended soil that contains plenty of organic matter, supplemented with a balanced fertilizer or better yet, one with slightly higher nitrogen and phosphorous levels. Place in an area that will receive the most sun and plant 18 inches apart with rows 3 feet apart. Support with small tomato cages or a similar device to keep plants from splitting or falling over due to a heavy
crop.
Early spring is NOT the time to put your peppers in the garden. Wait until nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 50 degrees, which is late May to early June. To have a bountiful harvest, protect from wind and do not allow plants to be shocked by cold temperatures. If you’ve already set the plants out and you hear a discouraging forecast, protect with hot caps or other successful season extenders. For earlier planting, preheat the soil with plastic mulch, which will offer weed reduction and moisture control later in the season. Then use walls-o-water to protect against wind and low temperatures.
Peppers are relatively pest free which makes them a favorite among many gardeners. Perhaps you may want to protect the stem from cutworms by using a paper collar or a 6-inch plastic pot with the bottom cut out. Using the pot method will also allow protection from the wind for small seedlings.
When harvesting, using gloves, use a sharp knife or pruners to avoid damaging the plant. One word of caution, don’t rub your eyes while working with the fruit, oils will get on your hands and will definitely irritate the eyes. All peppers will turn red when ripe, but flavor is not influenced by maturity. Pick the fruit, no matter the color, when it achieves the size you need or want. Besides eating them fresh, try pickling, drying or marinating, you’re only limited by your imagination. So add spice to your lives, try growing peppers.
Laura Fox
Learn more about Organic Gardening here....
Peppers are fast becoming one of the most popular of all vegetables to grow, second only to tomatoes, why? Why not, there are hundreds of varieties available to the home gardener, especially if you grow them from seed. They come in all shapes and colors, and range from the sweetest to downright fiery. One final attribute, most are prolific producers.
Often, gardeners get addicted to growing peppers by chance. They buy a variety at the local nursery for fun and to experiment. It turned out to be such a success, next year they plant three. Because of the limited varieties offered at garden shops, they’re now buying seed and starting their own. With hundreds of varieties and all easy to grow it’s easy to become a real fan of peppers. Soon they have a dozen different cultivars thriving in their garden.
Peppers enjoy an well-amended soil that contains plenty of organic matter, supplemented with a balanced fertilizer or better yet, one with slightly higher nitrogen and phosphorous levels. Place in an area that will receive the most sun and plant 18 inches apart with rows 3 feet apart. Support with small tomato cages or a similar device to keep plants from splitting or falling over due to a heavy
crop.
Early spring is NOT the time to put your peppers in the garden. Wait until nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 50 degrees, which is late May to early June. To have a bountiful harvest, protect from wind and do not allow plants to be shocked by cold temperatures. If you’ve already set the plants out and you hear a discouraging forecast, protect with hot caps or other successful season extenders. For earlier planting, preheat the soil with plastic mulch, which will offer weed reduction and moisture control later in the season. Then use walls-o-water to protect against wind and low temperatures.
Peppers are relatively pest free which makes them a favorite among many gardeners. Perhaps you may want to protect the stem from cutworms by using a paper collar or a 6-inch plastic pot with the bottom cut out. Using the pot method will also allow protection from the wind for small seedlings.
When harvesting, using gloves, use a sharp knife or pruners to avoid damaging the plant. One word of caution, don’t rub your eyes while working with the fruit, oils will get on your hands and will definitely irritate the eyes. All peppers will turn red when ripe, but flavor is not influenced by maturity. Pick the fruit, no matter the color, when it achieves the size you need or want. Besides eating them fresh, try pickling, drying or marinating, you’re only limited by your imagination. So add spice to your lives, try growing peppers.
Laura Fox
Learn more about Organic Gardening here....
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Gardening in North Otago November 11 2009
Still a chill in the air and a little rain on Friday morning, it would be perfect growing weather without the dreaded wind drying things out so much
I have spent a lot of time watering this week, some of the rhododendrons were drooping they are the first to let me know the ground is dry because they are so shallow rooted. If the leaves are drooping they need a really good soak and the some mulch around the roots to keep the moisture there.
My roses started to flower this week, they are at their best right now with fresh new leaves. To keep them like this they need to be healthy and sprayed every 10 days. Keeping them healthy means keeping the food up to them at the roots and folia feeding.
I always add liquid fertiliser when I spray for bugs and fungus.
Most years I use only fish emulation but have noticed a few green fly and the changable weather is also hard on new growth so I have decided to use shield to give them a good start into what I feel will be a hot dry season.
Always spray on an overcast day, the hot sun can magnify through droplets and burn fresh new leaves. No problem to spray on brighter days once the leaves have toughened up. Remember not to let wet leaves go into the night, this will encourage mildew.
Deep watering around the roots in the early evening is fine.
French and Italian lavenders have finished their first flowering now so cut off the spent flowers to encourage new buds and feed with liquid fertiliser or liquid manure. The French and the Italian lavenders are the ones with flowers like a bumble bee. The English lavenders are not ready to flower just yet. All lavenders like lime.
The Peony roses are stunning right now in bud and flower, it pays to put supports under them to hold up the heavy flowers and because they are growing so fast, I have tall wire supports shaped like a u that are pushed into the ground with the rounded top in place to let them flop over and stay in place. They need lots of water and some liquid fertiliser. I have heaps of lovely fat buds ready to open on my larger bushes. I also have some crowns that were planted last season so I have let only one flower develop to see what it is like and removed any others. I will cut the one blooming flower off before it makes seed pods. The clump will form much faster if you do not let it flower for the first two years.
Peony roses need full sun and do not like to be smothered by other plants.
Some hybrid clematis are looking beautiful right now, you have to be quick to train them where you want them to go because they grow so fast from now on. Direct them while the trailers are still soft, they too like a lot of feeding to take them to great heights.
Manure is great for them, they can't get enough of it. Don't worry if you have one with no buds just yet they all have different flowering times, If you have just put one in this year, let it flower then cut it to the ground this will make it put up more shoots and you will have a much bushier and stronger climber.
If your hybrid is showing leaf then it is sure to flower but if you have one that looks dead with the ends wilting I am afraid it has the wilt and should be cut off at the ground. Don't remove it because I have known some to shoot away again the following year.
climatic also like lime.
I have been filling the gaps in the flower garden with old fashioned cottage flowers like cosmos, love in the mist, salvia blue bidder
clary sage, and lavatera. These are all taller flowering annuals so put a lot in close together so they hold each other up. The more plants I put in the less weeds will grow is the plan and all the plants I mentioned will be flowering at Christmas, and then for weeks after that.
The nor westers arrived and blew my board bean down stakes and all.... I should have been firmer with the stakes, I lost quite a few stalks. I notice that they have no rust this year, could it be the pinch of potash I put in with them when I planted them? or just a lot more sun this growing season than the last few.
keep planting veg seeds and plants, a few at a time so you can have the continuous thing happening. If you put too many in at one time they will all bolt at this time off the year if they are not used.
Our garden is open from now on through until winter, it is full and lush with fresh growth, a really lovely time before things start to look a little tired from the wind and hot days to come. We are getting lots of visitors, some bring a picnic and some just like to wander around and relax, plenty of tables, seating and toilets and a donation box as you walk into the round garden.
I have spent a lot of time watering this week, some of the rhododendrons were drooping they are the first to let me know the ground is dry because they are so shallow rooted. If the leaves are drooping they need a really good soak and the some mulch around the roots to keep the moisture there.
My roses started to flower this week, they are at their best right now with fresh new leaves. To keep them like this they need to be healthy and sprayed every 10 days. Keeping them healthy means keeping the food up to them at the roots and folia feeding.
I always add liquid fertiliser when I spray for bugs and fungus.
Most years I use only fish emulation but have noticed a few green fly and the changable weather is also hard on new growth so I have decided to use shield to give them a good start into what I feel will be a hot dry season.
Always spray on an overcast day, the hot sun can magnify through droplets and burn fresh new leaves. No problem to spray on brighter days once the leaves have toughened up. Remember not to let wet leaves go into the night, this will encourage mildew.
Deep watering around the roots in the early evening is fine.
French and Italian lavenders have finished their first flowering now so cut off the spent flowers to encourage new buds and feed with liquid fertiliser or liquid manure. The French and the Italian lavenders are the ones with flowers like a bumble bee. The English lavenders are not ready to flower just yet. All lavenders like lime.
The Peony roses are stunning right now in bud and flower, it pays to put supports under them to hold up the heavy flowers and because they are growing so fast, I have tall wire supports shaped like a u that are pushed into the ground with the rounded top in place to let them flop over and stay in place. They need lots of water and some liquid fertiliser. I have heaps of lovely fat buds ready to open on my larger bushes. I also have some crowns that were planted last season so I have let only one flower develop to see what it is like and removed any others. I will cut the one blooming flower off before it makes seed pods. The clump will form much faster if you do not let it flower for the first two years.
Peony roses need full sun and do not like to be smothered by other plants.
Some hybrid clematis are looking beautiful right now, you have to be quick to train them where you want them to go because they grow so fast from now on. Direct them while the trailers are still soft, they too like a lot of feeding to take them to great heights.
Manure is great for them, they can't get enough of it. Don't worry if you have one with no buds just yet they all have different flowering times, If you have just put one in this year, let it flower then cut it to the ground this will make it put up more shoots and you will have a much bushier and stronger climber.
If your hybrid is showing leaf then it is sure to flower but if you have one that looks dead with the ends wilting I am afraid it has the wilt and should be cut off at the ground. Don't remove it because I have known some to shoot away again the following year.
climatic also like lime.
I have been filling the gaps in the flower garden with old fashioned cottage flowers like cosmos, love in the mist, salvia blue bidder
clary sage, and lavatera. These are all taller flowering annuals so put a lot in close together so they hold each other up. The more plants I put in the less weeds will grow is the plan and all the plants I mentioned will be flowering at Christmas, and then for weeks after that.
The nor westers arrived and blew my board bean down stakes and all.... I should have been firmer with the stakes, I lost quite a few stalks. I notice that they have no rust this year, could it be the pinch of potash I put in with them when I planted them? or just a lot more sun this growing season than the last few.
keep planting veg seeds and plants, a few at a time so you can have the continuous thing happening. If you put too many in at one time they will all bolt at this time off the year if they are not used.
Our garden is open from now on through until winter, it is full and lush with fresh growth, a really lovely time before things start to look a little tired from the wind and hot days to come. We are getting lots of visitors, some bring a picnic and some just like to wander around and relax, plenty of tables, seating and toilets and a donation box as you walk into the round garden.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Gardening in North Otago November 6th 2009
My roses are just starting to flower, Phyllis Bide, Complicata and Fritz Nobis. the rest are full of fat buds waiting to burst open.
They still have no green fly attacking them or black spot, no doubt they will arrive eventually. I have just sprayed with Winter oil and fish emulsion combined, the leaves are so soft and new it pays to do your spraying on a dull day so the sun will not burn through droplets and damage the leaves. No problem when the leaves have toughened up to spray in the sun. Never spray or water the leaves at dusk, they should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing.
This is the best Spring ever for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like last years hellebore seeds. ( Winter rose) they should be nice strong small plants now so plant them out in groups under deciduous trees, or around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions.
Trim spent flowers from perennials and daisy bushes often to keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody.
Cut chrysanthemums and perennial asters back now so they will grow up a second time but hopefully not so tall and fall all over the place. I cut some chrysanthemums back 3 times.... their flowering time is not until the end of Summer.
The tips from what you cut from the chrysanthemums can be put into river sand and every one will root and give you as many new plants as you need for new bushes.
Planting on a slope:
Spring is a good time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the dreaded winds arrive.
Spray out all weeds, they will compete with moisture that your plants will need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around the roots.
If this cannot be done try not to disturbed soil/clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering.
Planting;
Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water.
Make sure it dips down at the back for water to pool. Use stones around each plant, this will help in preventing wind blowing soil away from the roots.
Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant what survives well in a pot without a lot of watering. The plants they can leave for a while and they still look good when dried out.
I have massed lupines to fill the gaps on my bank until all the other plants get bigger.
I have been trimming the soft growth off some of my hedges this week, if a hedge has reached the height required best to take the soft growth off now before the foliage beneath gets too much protection from the top growth. The Winter hardened the under growth up and it should still be strong enough not to get sunburned.I am trying this with my box hedges this year because they have all reached the required height. If a hedge is not yet as tall and thick as required leave the new growth to harden off, if you have to trim just do enough to tidy it up. I put all my soft trimmings on the garden as mulch.
Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If like me you have not had to spray the weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus. Don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it now the warmth is here to break it down.
My no dig veg garden is still going strong, no weeds and the rough straw on top is a great deterrent to slugs. As I use a lettuce I put a new lettuce plant back in its place. The conventional flat veg garden we are converting into raised beds will be finished next week, I have seeds and plants lined up ready to plant once they have been filled with fresh soil and compost, can't wait.
I sowed mustard seed in some vacant areas 2 weeks ago and it is almost ready to dig in now.
Cheers linda.
They still have no green fly attacking them or black spot, no doubt they will arrive eventually. I have just sprayed with Winter oil and fish emulsion combined, the leaves are so soft and new it pays to do your spraying on a dull day so the sun will not burn through droplets and damage the leaves. No problem when the leaves have toughened up to spray in the sun. Never spray or water the leaves at dusk, they should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing.
This is the best Spring ever for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like last years hellebore seeds. ( Winter rose) they should be nice strong small plants now so plant them out in groups under deciduous trees, or around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions.
Trim spent flowers from perennials and daisy bushes often to keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody.
Cut chrysanthemums and perennial asters back now so they will grow up a second time but hopefully not so tall and fall all over the place. I cut some chrysanthemums back 3 times.... their flowering time is not until the end of Summer.
The tips from what you cut from the chrysanthemums can be put into river sand and every one will root and give you as many new plants as you need for new bushes.
Planting on a slope:
Spring is a good time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the dreaded winds arrive.
Spray out all weeds, they will compete with moisture that your plants will need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around the roots.
If this cannot be done try not to disturbed soil/clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering.
Planting;
Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water.
Make sure it dips down at the back for water to pool. Use stones around each plant, this will help in preventing wind blowing soil away from the roots.
Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant what survives well in a pot without a lot of watering. The plants they can leave for a while and they still look good when dried out.
I have massed lupines to fill the gaps on my bank until all the other plants get bigger.
I have been trimming the soft growth off some of my hedges this week, if a hedge has reached the height required best to take the soft growth off now before the foliage beneath gets too much protection from the top growth. The Winter hardened the under growth up and it should still be strong enough not to get sunburned.I am trying this with my box hedges this year because they have all reached the required height. If a hedge is not yet as tall and thick as required leave the new growth to harden off, if you have to trim just do enough to tidy it up. I put all my soft trimmings on the garden as mulch.
Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If like me you have not had to spray the weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus. Don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it now the warmth is here to break it down.
My no dig veg garden is still going strong, no weeds and the rough straw on top is a great deterrent to slugs. As I use a lettuce I put a new lettuce plant back in its place. The conventional flat veg garden we are converting into raised beds will be finished next week, I have seeds and plants lined up ready to plant once they have been filled with fresh soil and compost, can't wait.
I sowed mustard seed in some vacant areas 2 weeks ago and it is almost ready to dig in now.
Cheers linda.
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