Gardening in North Otago 16th October 2010

What a lovely week it has been weather wise ,the Kanzan cherry trees are in full bloom right now and look glorious, these are the bright pink double blossom vase shaped tree's. Most years they come out and the wind takes the blossom within a few days.
I have been sifting soil again this week for resowing the patches in lawn and using to add body to gardens and pots, baskets and seed trays. With all the mulches used today gardens become light and fluffy and don't hold moisture. Sifted soil is the answer, spread it on top and it will wash in beneith the mulch with each watering.

Spring bulbs are finishing now, don't be tempted to cut leaves off just yet the bulbs top up on food for next year from the leaves as they die back. I was lucky enough to score a boot full of bulbs this week, they were not wanted in a Duntroon garden getting ready for a revamp. Always happy to take a spade and adopt bulbs, thank you once again to the kind lady who offered them. I will let the leaves die off and plant them in the Autumn.

I have had to pull quite a few lavenders out this year because they have reached the end of their growing, After their trim back at the end of Winter they were not making a lot of new growth. Just a little bit here and there and most of the plant staying woody. If you have the odd lavender doing this pull it out and replace it with a fresh plant. I noticed last year that some plants were not as strong so I put in cuttings from stronger growing ones which I can plant out now to fill the gaps.
Take tip cuttings now dip them in hormone and push them into firm river sand, they will make roots over the Spring and summer then you can plant them out next Spring.

Tip cuttings from, hebe's, and chrysanthemum can also be taken now, as long as the stems snap off when bent they are ready, if they don't then they are still too soft. Now is the time to cut back the new growth on tall growing chrysanthemums for the first time, then when they put up another lot of new growth cut them back again. They do not flower until the Autumn and if you let them flower on their third lot of new growth they should grow shorter and be more manageable.
Prune fuchsias back now and they will make new fresh growth, they flower on their new wood so can be taken well back.

Too early yet to trim my box hedges, wait until the new growth firms up a little. The perfect time to trim box in spring is when there are a few overcast days in a row, the hot sun burns new undergrowth, dull days give them time to recover.

It's time to think about Dahlias in the garden for summer colour. If you have a sunny spot that needs a bit of brightening up how about putting in a few dahlia tubers they are so reliable and there are some beautiful shades and varieties on offer now, tall, medium and dwarf. They are just starting to make a move so if you want colour to continue in your garden when the spring show is over dahlias will do the trick. If you choose some and get them into those gaps now they will be up and flowering in no time. Dahlias like a warm full sun free draining spot, the tubas will rot if planted in ground that stays wet.

Vegetables:
Tomatoes are in the shops now for those with glass houses, prepare the soil well by digging in good organic compost. This will need to have been heated to the point of all fungus disease being eradicated. Because our summers here in North Otago are on the cooler side and a glass or tunnel house is the a must if wanting to be a serious tomato grower. However a glass house is a perfect incubator for fungus disease during nights and dull days when moisture is not taken up quickly by plants, never let tomato plant leaves go into the night wet.
There are a lot of varieties to choose from.
Beefsteak, the big tomato best for sandwiches & cooking,
Early girl, stars producing early and keeps on until late in the season,
Potentate, medium/small firm with moderate acidity and low in sugar,
Money maker, medium size and good flavor ,
Doctor Walter is the very low acid tomato
Cherry tomato's, the plant you can grow in a pot inside or on a porch, great for kids lunch boxes.
Russian red a tomato to grow outside in a sunny spot protected from the wind.
Heirloom tomatoes have become popular, they don't look great but they have the great taste of yesteryear.
There are others that I have not mentioned, nearly all need staked and tied up in the glass house and ALL tomato's like sun all day, 6 to 8 hours and it helps the fruit if there are fewer leaves on the plants. Tomato leaves compete for nutrients, create unwanted shade and harbour disease.

Keep planting vegetable seeds directly into the garden but don't sow too thickly mix seeds with fine soil when sowing and you may not have to thin seedlings out.
Cheers, Linda.