Gardening in North Otago 28th August 2010

Some nice sunny days this week to help spring come to life.
The Garden centers are fulling up with wonderful well grown bedding plants, some even in flower which makes me think they will need protection in the garden when planted out right now. The best idea is to buy while there is a good selection on offer and hold them in a sheltered place to harden off for a week or two before planting out.
Roses on sale now are all leafing up in their bags, it is still ok to plant them for a while yet while the ground is moist and cold. They will be making feeder roots into the potting mix in their bags so planting will need to done carefully from now on so not to disturb those new feeder roots.
Trees and shrubs
There are some lovely magnolias and michelia's on offer now as well, they are all in bud and look as if they need hardened off before planting, to get plants to look as good as that this early in the South Island spring they will have had some pretty special growing conditions. One lovely small magnolia I noticed was called Fairy blush, it is an evergreen which grows bushier and smaller than the original grandiflora magnolias. This one can be grown as a hedge or in a large pot. magnolias resent having their fleshy roots disturbed so be very careful when planting.

Keep an eye on the flowering camellias and rhododendrons now in the garden centres, most are showing buds and flowers, this is the time to choose the right shades for your garden
Herbs
With the popular modern cooking trend these days a kitchen herb garden is a pleasure to grow and have close to the house.
It is wonderful to be able to pluck needed herbs from your kitchen garden like parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, bay, basil, to name just a
a few. Herbs grow happily together and all like the same growing conditions, full sun and a well nourished good draining sweet soil. This means they can grow in a small area or even a large deep good draining container. A dressing of lime in winter will sweeten the soil in time for their growing season, mid spring through to winter.
Rosemary being a woody herb will produce strong roots that will encroach on softer growing herbs so in small herb gardens plant this in the top a bucket with the bottom cut out and buried in the ground. The bucket will contain the roots. Mint can be contained this way as well.
Never plant lemon balm in a kitchen herb garden because in no time at all it will spread and choke every other plant.
Tall plants like pineapple sage, fennel and upright rosemary can be planted as a low hedge divider if you wanted to section off an area in the veg garden for herbs. A standard bay planted at each end of a herb divider hedge could look good.

Vegetables
Its all on now for sowing as many seeds as you have room for and planting leaf veg before the white butterfly's arrive here on the coast,
keep the hoe moving between rows to keep weeds down, this movement will keep soil warmer.

Protection will still be needed further inland.

This weekend I plan to create a raised garden for strawberry runner plants I have been given. I plan to use logs from trees topped during the winter to retain the raised soil. Strawberry plants benefit from manure buried in shallow trenches along the side of the rows then when they start growing a dressing of fertiliser high in potash for good fruit development.
Putting out runners weakens a strawberry plant by the end of the season so new runner plants planted each year is best.
Cheers, Linda

Still a winter chill in the air this week which if nothing else keeps the weeds back a little longer although I have been weed spraying to eradicate those that have dared to pop through early.
I also find that by adding a couple of inches of compost
to the top of the soil once the winter clean up is completed really helps to supress early spring weed growth and adds benifical humus to the soils structure.
I encourage birds into our garden to deal to pests like catapillars,aphids and grass grub so always expect weeds from the seeds in their droppings as nature intended, it's all part of gardening and weeding little and often will keep you one step ahead of nature.

I am still breaking up and shifting perennials like agapanthas, large and dwarf types, day lillie's, grass's, and succulents. Some of my plants never made it through the winter so there are a few gaps needing filled.There is still time to divide hostas, these dramatic shade loving perennials can make a shaded spot with their fresh greens and variegated light shades. Simply lift established clumps at least 4 to 5 years old and use a sharp spade to slice them into a few good sizes pieces, then replant, even in pots they look great.
I have been finding a lot of self sown plants like wall flower, primula, for-get-me-not, bellis daisy and heaps of other useful seedlings to fill gaps which should not mind being transplanted while the ground is so wet.
I have noticed that the north-end of Oamaru is away ahead of our Weston garden with mass's of spring bulbs on display and early blossom, we have nice hellebore's in flower and heaps of bulbs through but nothing in flower as yet.I guess we are just that bit closer to the snow on the Kakanui's.

Also this week some of our taller shrubs like phebaliums, pittosporums, psudopanax and the like have been reduced in height.This can be done if height is a problem without spoiling the shape of shrubs.
What I do is cut out the center top branch down to where the other branches bush out. This removes the natural point at the top of the shrub and will sometimes reduce the height by 2 or more meters.The shrubs will soon send up a new leader but will also put more growth into the side branching which can be trimmed into shape if a problem. The reason that this sort of control works now is because it is just the start of the growing season and plants will recover fast because they are intent on just growing. Leave doing this for another month further inland.

If you have leggy lavender bushes trim them back now past their woody growth,lavenders are just starting to make new growth so this is the right time to get them bushy again.Lavenders also enjoy old stable manure and a little lime at this time of the year.
As I keep saying If you have no time to do anything else in the garden right now feeding plants is a must for health and vigour through the summer, it is well worth the effort and will minimize the spaying needed if plants are unhealthy.
Slow release fertilisers are a safe bet to keep on feeding over a long period. They are very clean and easy to apply and you will not be at risk of over feeding with them. Each time the plants are watered they are fed as the granules break down gradually.
There are slow release fertilisers for specific plants and a general one for most plants.
Now would be a good time to talk about plants that resent fertiliser: Many South African plants and Australian natives such as proteas, leucodendrons, banksias, and all grevillia's do not need feeding. I have lost grevillia's because they had absorbed fertiliser from neighbouring plants. There are wonderful displays of leucodendron bushes around town at the moment, they are great for picking right now so fill vases and enjoy inside, cutting the blooms off will do the bushes good and stop them from becoming woody and leggy.

The Vegetable Garden
It's the perfect time to sow seeds under cover as I mentioned last week,I planted parsnip, carrots, broad beans and peas at the beginning of this month and they are up and doing well.Any seeds that say spring sowing on the back of the packet will pop up now. I use a tray of compost & potting mix with a layer of seed raising mix on the top.This way your seed raising mix goes further. Once planted cover the trays with plastic or glass but use spacers to let air circulate around the trays.This week I put in some rocket (early potatoes) that had good sprouts, but Because the nights are still so cold I have mounded soil up over them and covered the row with straw to help keep the soil a little warmer.
Give rhubarb clumps a good dressing of compost and manure now,they are heavy feeders and start looking for food early in the season.

Fruit trees
Peach and nectarine trees should be sprayed now for that dreaded leaf curl, the most effective fungicides are chorathalonil (Bravo)or copper compound sprays.It is best to spray down on the trees from a ladder to make sure it's they that get a good drenching and not you.


Cheers, Linda.

Overcast,dull days and still very wet and sticky ground but plants and new lambs are pushing on and making it feel more like spring everyday.
This week I have been doing the final winter clean up around the gardens i do not mulch with pea straw, these gardens get a covering of the lovely black compost we get each year from the Pukuiri freezing works, which allows the bluebells, and daffodils to take center stage for the next couple of months. I do have pea straw in areas where bulbs are growing and now that I can see where where they they are popping up clear keep it clear around them so the needed light can get to them.
Weeds are growing!! nights and mornings are so cold but the afternoons are very mild and these conditions seem to promote weeds. Start your spraying programme and zap them while still very small.
After all the rain moss is thriving in lawns, pathways and garden structures. There are a lot of products out there to deal with moss but killing the moss in lawns is simply a short term measure they do nothing by way of treating the basic problem of moss in lawns. They simply kill the moss which is there. It will return

If you really want to eradicate moss from your lawn, then you have to find out the actual problem that is causing it, the reasons are various, but not too difficult to isolate. Moss is a sign that something is basically wrong with your lawn, and because there are so many moss kill products on offer encourages gardeners to just treat the problem off moss every year.

Things that could be causing moss in your lawn could be:


Water logging - in winter or summer.
Poor feeding regime - usually shown by light green grass.
soil too acid - carry out a test, lime may be needed.
Shaded Lawns - overhanging trees or large shrubs.
Mowing lawns too close is a very common cause, for it weakens the grass allowing moss to take hold
Drought - if severe enough to harm or kill the grass. Not to be confused with a bit of summer-browning
Sandy - free-draining soils. This can weaken the grass and allow moss to take over. Some mosses are quite happy in these conditions. Add humus (compost or sieved soil) to add more body and rake in, this will encourage worms as well.
Compaction - continued use by children and pets with no remedial attention by way of aeration in the Autumn.
Generally, lawns that are well maintained - which includes being well fed, cut properly, aerated and de-thatched - problems which result in moss will not occur in the first place. Moss can rarely compete with strong growing grass in lawns. Get the grass growing properly starting with the first spring feeding.

Treating small areas of lawn moss can be carried out with sulphate of iron watered on at the strength displayed on the pack per sq meter. After a couple of weeks, you can rake out the dead moss and re-seed. If you need to use a feed for the area, it is better to feed the whole lawn in order to avoid patchiness!

Staying with grass, trim back ornamental grass's now, cut back the old seeded ends and clean out the dead thatch around the base, its amazing how much you will need to cart away up after this hair cut but they will look wonderful and will grow back to their soft wafting shape in no time. Use what you have cut off as mulch around the garden, a cover for the compost or in the chook or calf house if you have one.

It is at this time of the year I notice yellowing of some plants, the ground gets depleted of nitrogen during winter especially when plants are shallow rooted like camellia and rhododendrons, and potted plants with roots trapped in what you have planted them in. With applications of complete plant food and compost this condition will be rectified, all the slow release fertilisers on offer now it's makes it easy, each time it rains or you water food is released to the plant.

Vegetable

Pick winter crops while still at their best - Fold cauliflower leaves over and tie to protect from frost and keep florets tight.

Dig over empty sections of the vegetable garden, avoiding working on wet soil, to prepare for next seasons crops. Add well-rotted compost and dig in well..

Asparagus is a vegetable that repays planting over many years. To prepare beds cultivate deeply and add generous amounts of compost. Existing asparagus beds should be cultivated carefully to avoid damaging the crowns that lie just below the surface, add a new layer of mulch.

To get spring sowings off to an early start now, use a row of cloches or a stretch of clear polythene to warm and dry out the soil. Garlic and shallots can be planted here on the coast along with broad beans. In cooler districts - nothing yet except under cover - cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce seedlings can be nursed along until it's time to plant out.

Fruit

Fruit trees - remove secondary growth since summer pruning of trained fruit trees. Citrus are susceptible to water logging so avoid over-watering and always ensure that your trees have good drainage and are not sitting in a puddle of water.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago August 7th 2010

August,and a cold snap to remind us that it is still winter even though so much is beginning to awake in the garden, I feel spring in the air with the fragrance from winter sweet, witch hazel and Daphne wafting to the music of Chopin around our garden. The birds are beginning to nest and my first jonquil has opened. I do love the beginning of a new growing season as you can surely to tell!

After months of hard stuff going on in this garden it is now time to create and dress the garden by planting out, feeding and watering. I have been liquid feeding with worm juice from my worm farm, which I add at black tea strength to a full watering can then apply generously to all new leaf and budding plants like pollyantha's, forget-me-nots, dianthus, sweet peas, pansy, viola and winter roses. Helping them along with feeding now will get their roots going and keep them green and strong through the cold snaps yet to come.
Slow release fertiliser is a great idea now as well, sprinkle around established ornamental and newly planted trees and shrubs to be there ready when the plants needs food.

This week I finished pruning the hydrangeas and noticed nice fat buds swelling on the stems, cut only those stems that have flowered at the second bud from the bottom, leave all other stems because these are the flowers for this year. Spread old stable manure around the drip line and a dressing of lime for pink flowers and aluminum sulphate for blue. It is much easier to control the colour of hydrangea's in a pot, if the PH of your soil is high they will always revert back to pink from blue no mater how often you add aluminum to the soil, used coffee grinds and grass clippings as well to help can help keep the PH low. If you plan to grow some in large pots to achieve a certain colour it is best not to use any soil from your garden.
Grow some cuttings from the hardened hydrangea, flowered steams which have been removed. A shaded moist area is best for planting these and hopefully roots will grow to feed the buds on the cuttings. Some times I get good results by covering the cuttings with a box keeping the light out and holding the buds back to encourage roots.

I have also been taking cuttings from the hardened off geranium steams, fresh grown geraniums give amazing colour to a warm sunny garden for all of the growing season and even into the winter, they are so easy to grow from cuttings. Take short cuttings with semi hard wood, (not a new green steam) and let them dry out a little before planting them, which means you don't have to deal with them straight away. plant them into a soil and river sand mix and firm down, Potting mix is too light to get a tight seal around the cutting. I am forever taking cuttings from geraniums I like when I come across them in friends gardens, and giving cuttings from mine.

Trim dentata lavender now, that's the tall growing one with the lavender bumblebee flower, they are budding up now ready to burst into flower. Lavenders like sweetening up with a dressing of lime. Leave trimming other lavenders a little longer

Cut back bush lavatera now also, they get very woody if left.

Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies are coming into the Garden centers this month, they can be planted from now until September.

Apply a dressing of Rose Food to establish Rose's and Water in well.

Fruit Trees and Roses are still available in most Garden Centres. If you think your garden is too small for fruit trees, I have seen dwarf Peach and Nectarine Trees on offer, what better if you need a little tree to add height in an era of your garden why not have one that blossoms beautifully and then gives you fruit.They are perfect for the smaller garden as they only grow to a width and height of 1.5 metres. They can also be grown in a tub and require very little pruning.

The vegetable garden is still enjoying a frost or two, although my raised gardens are in such a sunny location I would have liked a few harder frosts to break up the soil. I am still digging carrots and using silver beet and broccoli, and the leeks are growing well, it is so good not to have to worry about the bugs during these colder months. If your veg garden is still cold and frosty there is not much for you to do apart from adding some compost and a little lime in readiness for when you plant out later this month.

I see the bees at work already which is a good sign for the soon to be happening fruit blossom pollination .

Cheers, Linda.
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