Gardening in North Otago September 27th 2011

A chill in the air this week but still nice and sunny to bring the bees out.

This week all our gravel paths have had a work over, they pack down hard over winter and need grubbing and raking to get them weed free and looking fresh again. We use crushed marble from the Dunback Quarry this includes a good amount fines in the mix which help the gravel settle nicely.

I have had the sprayer on the go again to beat the weeds, if only the annual flowers I have planted would grow as fast!
If you do not want to use chemical sprays on annual weeds why not try some of the natural alternatives on sale, these work on hot sunny days when plants are very thirsty. The leaf of the plant collapses which means there is nothing left to support the roots causing the plant to die.
Perennial weeds like convolvulus and couch grass are not so easy to kill with alternative weed spray because their roots are long and strong but if you are prepared to keep at them, spraying what they send up you will beat them. When spraying flowering weeds be mindful of not harming bee's they are a HUGE part of natures plan for our World as we know it and need it to be.
The most economical weed control is good old common table salt, purchased in bulk or in kilo bags at agricultural outlets. Use it at the rate of 240 grams (about 12 heaped tablespoons) to a litre of warm or hot water to dissolve it, and then spray it on the foliage of the weeds, again in sunny dry conditions.
This works very fast on annual weeds but perennials probably needing further salt treatment.
If spraying only the foliage, at the above rates, there will be, little residual damage done to the soil. To make absolutely sure, give the area a good watering after the weeds have died.

Trim shrubs that flowered in late winter now before they put out new growth on past growth and get leggy, this partially applies to ericas, callunas and hebes which should not have old flowers left on to make seed as this makes them become woody.

All of this month is the time to layer azaleas and rhododendrons and low growing magnolias by pinning a low growing slim branch down to the soil and firming in with compost and soil. Hopefully by the end of this growing season this branch will have developed strong roots allowing it to be cut free from the mother plant and potted up to grow on as a new bush.

Wind put's stress on plants, trees & shrubs producing new growth, their roots are working hard and moisture is a must deep root watering is best and newly planted shrubs and trees need to be really well staked, if trunks and roots are moving around growth will be slow and stunted or not at all.

I have mentioned tubular begonias and should have added to bed them down into damp (not wet) sawdust or peat until they are sprouting well before potting or planting out. Once they are damp they must never dry out again until its time to store them again.

Lawns are growing strongly now, flat weeds and clover can be sprayed out now, liquid fertiliser can be added at the same time. Dry lawn foods need to be applied when we next get rain.

Herbs
If you have not cut your herbs back yet do it as soon as possible because they are really starting to put on growth, feed manure rich compost with lime added and keep picking often to encourage continual new growth all season for your salads and cooking.

Vegetables:
Still no white butterfly's about (in my garden) keep planting out but when the winds arrive deep watering is required. Keep mounding up potatoes as they push leaf through and cover at night should there be another cold snap which will blacken off new growth.
My peas are well up. Like climbing beans they need to be planted in an open sunny place and support has to go in when they are planted so they are not disturbed once they start growing. Once supported well you will not have to keep propping them up as they get heavier.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 20th September 2011

Watering is what is needed now to keep the spring growth happening after really strong winds.

This has been a good dry lambing season but we need a decent rain any time now. If rain arrives I will be out with lawn fertiliser.
This week I have been looking around and enjoying the early blossom.
If putting in a new garden this is the time to choose prunus trees and the blossom type you love. If they are not available now make a note and order for next year. Blossom is only on the tree for a short time so it should not be the only reason for choice. Height and spread should be thought about as some prunus grow very large and spread wide and low.
Fortunately today we have choice thanks to the grafting done by growers we can purchase trees on a short, or a taller graft to suit a situation. A 1.8 mtr trunk before branching will allow clearance along a drive or walk way right from planting.
Large spreading trees have large spreading roots! keep this in mind when planting near concrete and the house.
Also the leaf and blossom drop should be taken into consideration, thick blossom on paved walking areas is a real problem, it sticks to feet and is tracked inside, plus it can become very slippery to walk on. The leaf drop near pathways and roof guttering is a pain as well, but a spreading tree over grass walk ways is lovely and everything dropped can be taken up with the lawn mower.
There are so many things to consider when planting trees close to the house, but if you are like me and like the house and garden to be one then you will need to ask the right people about the right trees because there is a tree for every spot, to create the over grown look without the problems.

It really is the time for planting now to beat the weeds, I have been busy with the hoe moving the small weeds around before they get a really good hold, you will only have to blink from now on and they will be up around the ankles! pull them now before they make seed.

Seeds: sow directly into the ground or into trays of seed mix, they will be up in no time if kept well watered. Pricking out is done at the second lot of leaf stage, then plant on into containers like punnets to form strong roots before planting out, and be sure to harden off newly bought bedding plans to the out side conditions before planting them out.

Lavenders are starting to make new growth right now, they like a dressing of lime and some liquid or slow release fertiliser to help them along. If they look a bit scruffy you can trim them now and they will soon grow back and bud up.
If a lavender is looking really woody and the new growth is on the yellow side and just at the very top of the bush, dig it out and put in another one, they do not go on for ever.

We are lucky enough to have a bourgainville growing, I want to trim it back in readiness for it's new growth but I will leave it a little longer. As soon as I see new leaf buds shooting I will run the hedge trimmer over it then flood and feed it at the beginning of next month to simulate the rainy season of it's origins. Then leave it alone from then on. If you feed and water them through summer they will produce more leaf than flowers, Bourgainvillea needs to be stressed to flower their best.

Don't be tempted to transplant hellebore seedlings just yet, I know there are heaps growing around existing plants but they will only flop if you dig them out now, wait until the new leaves harden up.

It's a good time to put in stakes for delphiniums, peony roses, asters and tall phlox now before they shoot up anymore, put the support in before they need it.

Vegetable garden:
If you have not pruned back black current bushes there is still time to do it as they are just coming into leaf. My bushes are newish so I will take a few branches back hard and leave a few the length they are, then mulch with compost and a little pot ash.
Keep planting your veg before the end of September, they should then be ready for Christmas dinner.
Benny and Rua or Agria to follow.
There are lot's of different potatoes to choose from now and most have written on the bag what they are best used for, chipping, mashing or roasting. I grow Rockets & Red king for early then the good old Jersey Benny, Rua or Agria to follow.

Potatoe guide
Waxy: for boiling, salads, casseroles & soups.
: Draga
: Early new season
: Frisia
: Nandine

All purpose for most uses
: Desiree
: Rua
: Vivaldi

Flowery for mashing, wedging, roasting chips and baking.

: Agria
: Ilam hardy
: Red jackets
: Red rascal

The most important thing at this time of the year is to enjoy Spring and all it is offering.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 13th September 2011

Such beauty all around to enjoy but the ever changing weather of spring certainly came into focus this week.
For me it has been on again off again frost cloth and the hose has been full on after the strong, drying winds. It is very important to keep the water up to newly planted trees and shrubs right now while they are putting out new growth and staking is another must with newly planted tall tree's, it takes at least two years before roots take a firm hold in the ground.
I have been planting out bedding plants and putting the finishing touches to new garden theme designs this week. I am sure every gardener enjoys trying new plants and colour combinations. I had a large clump of lambs ear growing in my rockery which did not need to be so large so I dug half of it out and broke it up into single plants to use around the border of a garden and as silver drifts in amongst low annuals. Silver is a shade to use as a break between strong and soft shades, will grow in sun or semi shade and lambs ear has the added bonus of being an interesting texture as well.

Keep an eye on seeds that have germinated, up until now I have had mine under frost cloth and looked at them only occasionally to see if they had struck. This week I noticed they were well up and in need of thinning out and regular watering.
I thinned them out by transplanting some like Pansy and lobelia which have shallow roots into deeper seed trays and those with longer deeper roots like lupin and oriental poppy into their own individual small root pots. The shallow rooted plants transplant well into the garden or baskets from a tray but it is best to have a well developed root ball attached to the stronger deeper rooted seedlings when planting out.

Baskets and pots need to be thought about now, again use only shallow rooted plants for baskets like pansy, lobelia, small type petunias, Virginia stock and nasturtium with lots of slow release fertiliser and water Chrystal's to keep them going.
With pots, the roots of what you want to plant will determine the size and depth of the pot. Potted roses need a deep pot which will not heat up and cook the roots at the height of summer. Tin foil around the inside of a pot before filling,( shinny side facing out) will help keep roots cool for roses, camellias, azales', hydrangeas and small trees & shrubs. All potted plants need excellent drainage and a consistent supply of food and water. if a potted plant is left to really dry out before each watering it will never thrive and look lush and healthy.

Now is the time to take tubular begonias out of dry storage, I see mine are starting to sprout a little. I have been cutting large tubas with a sharp knife into smaller individual pieces each with a noticeable shoot ready to plant into baskets and containers.
The showy red flamboyant begonias become nice big tubas in time and by cutting sections off them each year you will achieve a nice boarder of them in no time. It's best to lift them at the end of their growing season each year because like dahlias they can rot in wet ground. All begonias love any fertiliser with a seaweed of fish content.

I have just planted wild flower seeds thickly into gaps created from removing old trees and shrubs. The wild flowers will make an interesting change until I decide on permanent plantings.

Roses are really leafing up now and the warmer it becomes the more aphids ( green fly) will be about, aphids settle on the top new growth of rose bushes and are easily visible on new small leaves for you to dispose of them by removing with finger and thumb along with the fish emulsion deterrent which will confuse bugs with it smelling of protein. I leave pesticide and fungicide spraying until leaves are well grown and and hardened up a little.

New lawns can be sown now on the coast and as soon as we have a few more nice sunny days in a row to warm the ground up the grass seed will strike, as I have mentioned before seed must be sown thickly in spring to beat the annual weeds. Keep the mower blades up when cutting spring grass to allow it to thicken up and feed a little each time it rains and they will stay lush.

Vegetables
Here on the coast Plant lettuce plants at two week intervals and any spare ground could be planted out in new potatoes, they are so much better dug just before you cook them.
My board beans are well up, I was once told to plant each bean with a little pot ash to help with rust problems, they still get a little rust but I think that's probably due to them getting too dry between watering's, like corn their roots are well up near the surface, mounding soil up over their roots stops roots becoming exposed and drying out too quickly. The birds were making a feast of my young cabbage and broccoli plants so I have covered them with frost cloth weighed down at the edges with stones. It's a bit of a pain having to remove it when I water but without the birds devouring them they continue to grow well.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 7th September 2011

Mmmm, warm Spring days, the season of new beginnings and this past week has convinced me that spring has arrived in North Otago although there is very little blossom in our garden yet, but something new is happening each day, sweet peas, ranunculus, anemones and tulips are through and putting on good growth. I am watching what is pushing through the pea straw and clearing a space to let light in.
We have very wide perennial boarders which insist on growing couch, biddy- bid, and chick-weed which I try to get rid of now while still small and the plants are still low. While doing this weeding I can see what needs attention like delphiniums needing stakes to give support while growing, removing mulch from around iris rhizomes and peony rose crowns and removing self sown plants and natives before they settle in.

The weeds are off to a flying start so the spraying has begun here, there are organic weed sprays on the market that work best when weeds are new and small so now is the time.
I cut the old growth from the cat-mint this week, I leave some on over the colder months to protect the new growth, once the new leaves start showing the old growth can be removed. I do the same to erigeron daisy, (sea side daisy). I also cut back my lavenders by half this week to prevent them from going woody.
Liquid feeding now on all perennials and bedding plants and a good general fertiliser watered in for trees and shrubs to help them along.
Azaleas and tulips are the exception, azaleas like fed after flowering and tulips store enough food in the bulb for their requirements. if you load them up with more they will grow more leaf than needed and hide the blooms. (No feeding for Australian or South African shrubs such as leucodendron, protea, waratah and grevillea.)

Roses, the secret to keeping roses free from is to remove all last years' diseased leaves from the ground around them and burn. Keep the food up to the bushes, starting now while they are beginning to leaf and continue right through until the end of summer. Manure enriched compost around them now will feed and protect the roots but keep it off the graft. (where the trunk is joined to the rootstock). Blood & bone, vormacast or the liquid form a worm farm is also good right now. When the ground warms up a little sprinkle the man made balanced rose fertiliser around them, these fertilisers have been designed to promote just the right amount of leaf and flower growth, and need the warmer soil to activate. Don't waste them by using them too soon.

All plants, shrubs and trees will respond to feeding now, the sap is well up and buds are swelling and bursting open.


Lets Get serious about growing vegetables!
I have come across people trying to make vegetable gardens work with limited top soil.
Sections have been cleared of top soil to build a home and the depth of soil remaining is not adequate for a good producing vegetable patch. Good deep loam containing a generous amount of humus
( organic matter) is what is required and a slightly raised deeply dug area is best. There is still time to prepare some ground for this years growing season.
1. Frame a sunny spot the size you require with Oamaru stone blocks or old railway sleepers or even small bales of straw or hay.
2. dig the area over to loosen the soil then add some clean top soil and animal manure.
3. Water deeply, then leave for a week or two to settle.
It will find it's level and you may need to add more top soil to obtain a good depth. When planting out your first crop of veg sift some weed free top soil into a wheel barrow to use along the rows to be planted out with either plants or seed. Sifted soil is nice and fine and packs tightly around new roots giving young plants a good start before roots get down into the top soil.

If space is limited why not create a no dig garden.
1. On flat ground edge an area with stone, sleepers or hay bales. ( Full sun)
2. first layer on top of the ground spread news paper a good half centimetre thick and saturate.
3. Second layer a generous amount of horse or cow manure. (this will bring the worms up)
4. Third layer, a generous amount of moist compost with some moist soil mixed plus a sprinkle of lime.
5. Forth layer, wads of lucerne hay (not too thick) wet and sprinkle a few handfuls of blood & bone on top.
5. Fifth layer more compost with soil mixed sprinkled with a little lime.
6. Soak each layer as you build
7. Sixth layer wet news paper, Oamaru mail thickness as a weed suppressant.
8. Seventh layer, top straw cover thick enough to keep light out. (except where seeds are planted)
9. Repeat layering as many times as you like to get the bulk required
10. Leave to sink and settle, this will remove air pockets, keep watering !

To plant: make holes through the wet news paper on the top layer, into the manure/soil for each plant ( leaves should be above straw in the light and roots below covered by the wet news paper and straw. Water regularly because raised gardens are quick draining.
The bed will break down into a nutrient-rich soil, so it will need to be kept topped up with organic matter like soft clippings, hay or pea straw, compost, un-sprayed grass clippings (thin layers)
I have tried no dig gardens with no soil content but found for me they did not have enough body to retain moisture in the heat of mid summer.

Why dig a garden the conventional way when there are millions of worms willing to do the work for you.
Cheers, Linda