How well everything is blooming right now, the early English roses, philadelphus,(Brides blossom) peony roses and honey suckle and ohh, the fragrances, they are sure to trigger memories of early summer 2011 in the future
The rain we have been getting along with the warm sunny days and very little wind make for perfect growing conditions, long may it last.
This week I was ruthless and pulled out or cut back the fillers that flowered through spring, a change over needed to be done and with the ground so warm the new plantings will clump up quickly. I planted petunias,lavatera,lobelia,statice, blue salvia and geranium cuttings that I set to make roots a few months ago along with purple sage and lavender, all grew fantastic roots which I hope will reward me with a nice show over summer.
If you are also doing this, once the ground has been cleared of plants that have finished flowering the soil will be starved, give it a good watering then apply compost and a sprinkle of slow release fertiliser or blood and bone before replanting.
I see the biddy bid sticky weed is starting to make seed!!!! so much of it is still being pulled out of our garden, I am determined to get it all before it spreads it's seeds. If you see any in your garden get rid of it now at the flowering stage the seeds develop very quickly from now on.
Keep dead heading roses, it's six weeks from cutting at an outward facing bud to another bloom at this time of the year. Keep the water up to them But make sure they go into the night dry. Moisture on leaves and blooms on warm nights will encourage mildew and black spot. If they were not fed after the winter prune give them some stable manure or slow release fertiliser now to keep the bushes healthy and flowering well.
Spring bulbs have finished flowering, tie a knot in the leaves of daffodils rather than cut them off yet as they need to take all the top green to store in the bulb. Tulips collapse quickly and can be dug up and stored in a dry place until planting out again in May next year. Blue bells need to be left to seed if you want them in mass, they increase in the bulb but also seed successfully.
Keep the water up to Lillie's, they are making rapid growth and some are flowering now, they resent being in dry ground so mulching is a good idea and stake them now before they become too heavy.
It is time to break off the spent flower heads on rhododendrons, mine are not too tall for me to get around as yet, if they were I would break off only what i could reach. There is a point just above where the new leaf growth starts that snaps off clean by using finger and thumb. Tight fitting plastic gloves are best worn because the seed heads are really sticky. Removing the heads before they set seed allows the bush to put it's energy into making new flower buds instead.
Ahh,The endless summer holidays of trying to keep the kids entertained and away from the TV and computer. With out them even knowing, why not set up a painting and planting table...... gather up all the discarded kids paint brushes plus small ones from the shed along with half tins of house paint which can be tipped into screw top jars and add a few test paint pots to increase the colour range. Water based house paint will withstand the outside weather, is very cheap, and most of all, will wash off hands and clothes. Next visit the recycling center and hunt out planting pots of all different sizes to be painted by your young Artists. Then choose seeds that are suitable for planting in pots, or hunt around the garden for plants already seeding like calandula( marigolds) hellobours (winter rose) alyssum and heaps of bulbs and other plants that have sowen seed in the ground and are now small plants ready to be dug up and planted in a pot. A seed and plant hunt would fill in time while the painted pots are drying.
With a little help from an older child, parent or grand parent even pre-school children can enjoy this .If you’re keen to promote an interest in healthy food, why not try growing salad greens, beans and peas. Runner beans in a large pot with an old fanning branch heeled in for the beans to climb will go well with the Jack n the bean stalk story.
Once the painting is finished and pots have had time to dry, fill to the top with potting mix and a little added slow release fertiliser or blood and bone and start planting. Sit planted pots in full sun with a watering can on stand by for the job of watering each day. This activity can be on going for as long as you want to draw it out by not letting Children do it all on the first day and then giving them the responsibility of maintaining the pots.
Another activity that works with keeping kids busy is giving them a lump of oamaru stone to chisel, saw and rasp, they will surprise you with what they create for the garden....(Christmas present??) so when the painting and potting up is finished the table can become a stone work bench.
Vegetables
Tomatoes will be growing rapidly and will need regular feeding and watering. Be sure to remove laterals off taller growing tomatoes and make sure they are firmly staked. They should be flowering now and can be sprayed with a Tomset to help pollinate the flowers, especially where bees are absent like in a glasshouse.
Continue successive planting of Lettuces, Radishes, Spring Onions, Beetroot, etc.It is very important to keep the vegetable garden moist now with early morning watering to minimize water wastage.
Remember to "Mole" up your Potato's to encourage a good hearty crop.
Leeks, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Silver beet, Onions, Spinach, Celery can all be planted this month.
FIRST QUARTER
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Garden:
Prick out any seedlings as necessary
Keep up watering
carefully observe all plants - they'll tell you if they need some more water, nutrients, help with pest control, tying up for more space.... This is a very important time to take good care of tomatoes and peppers.
Orchard:
You should be able to have a break for a few weeks now if you're up to date!
Time to begin picking the fruit and enjoying the season!
Cheers, Linda.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Gardening in North Otago 6th December 2011
As I write the rain is falling and I am happy about that because after those hot days just past, my garden needs a freshen up.
The big clean up after all the hedge trimming has been on going here, things look as I said last week a little too neat and tidy but nature will do it's best to put that right!
I know you will be finding there is so much to be cut back in the garden, plants like tree peony which doubles in size each growing season. Don't let tree peony swamp your garden and smother other plants. When finished flowering the older woody canes can be cut down to the second bud from the bottom leaving the new green stalks to be next years flower branches. By doing this now seed pods will be cut off as well, if allowed to ripen they will pop all over your garden and grow. Other larger plants I have had to cut back are bush lavatera's, English abutilon, ornamental broom, and false Valerian. These will all grow back soon and look a lot nicer, some will flower again.
Dead head roses spoiled by the rain, they will only rot on the bush if left which will encourage fungus. Cut back to an outward facing bud on a strong lower section of the branch.
Begonias are really pushing through now and I see that I have lost a few of the ones I left in the ground from last year, I am guessing all the rain we had rotted them. I did dig out and store most of them and have planted them out. The food begonias most appreciate is any fish based fertiliser, as a folia spray or watered in around their roots.
Hydrangeas are producing flower heads now so it is important to keep the water and food up to them, blood and bone, dry, liquid or slow release fertiliser will keep them happy and flowering well. Remember it's lime for pink and Epsom salts or aluminum sulphate to keep them blue.
Fuchsias are making a lot of growth now as well, if you missed cutting any back do it now, they will flower later than the ones you have cut back but will soon catch up .Fuchsias are on sale right now and are wonderful in pots for a shady spot. Because they put on a lot of growth in one season they soon become bushy and fill a pot.
Tip cuttings can be taken from fuchsias now, if you spot some you like in a friends garden ask for some cuttings.
Tip cuttings from Hebe's will root with no trouble as well right now. Use wet crusher dust or river sand to strike them, never beach sand.
If you are looking for something non invasive to make a show of colour against a wall why not try Abutilon (Chinese lantern ) it comes in three Strong colours, yellow, orange and burgundy. I have planted yellow and burgundy together in a large container with nice lime green grass's below them, being a rather spindly plant I am intertwining them as they grow, they are just starting to flower now and look great together. If you do train them against a wall you could leave some longer branches and shorten back others to get a good cover of flowers.
What a wonderful addition to the flower garden peony roses are, they are fantastic this year or am I just seeing more in peoples gardens? The brilliant shades and very large blooms fill many vases I am sure. Remove seed pods once blooms have finished to stop plants putting effort into making seed.
With the weight of rain I can see which branches need lifting on large deciduous trees, if left they will cast too much shade over surrounding plants. It's the lower branches that can be removed without making the tree look as though it has been cut. The upper branches will hide the cuts, so any branch growing downwards with a canopy branch directly above it can be cut back or removed altogether.
Lawns
keep feeding lawns, dry lawn fertiliser must only be applied when we get rain to wash it in but a liquid fertiliser is fine any time. Lawns get really stressed from now on as the heat of the day intensifies.
If your lawns are inclined to crack when dry they have probably been planted on clay soil, apply gypsum ( soluble lime) and water in. After a couple of years of doing this your lawns will have a spring back in them. Gypsum works it's way through the clay and makes it become more like soil.
If lawn weeds are a problem spray before cutting or remove flat weeds with a knife when noticed. I spot spray with lawn weed spray because I don't want to upset the balance of the work going on in the soil beneath the lawn by contaminating it with chemicals.
Vegetables
Perfect weather for vegetables and fruit this year, keep the hoe going because the weeds are doing well also. The days are warm and the nights a little cooler, just right for growing. I am amazed that the white butterfly is still not a problem, in our garden! not that I want them laying their eggs on my veg plants, long may it last.
Tomatoes will be getting taller and starting to fruit now, the removal of over half the leaves on a plant will benefit your plants, more nutrients going to the fruit along with more sun to encourage flowering and allowing flowers to become more visible to insects for pollination. Try it and see if you get a better crop.
The cooler nights tend to upset tomato plants, leaves an become bluish and tend to curl causing plants to become susceptible to blight. One method of keeping them in good health I have been reading up on is the use of copper wire.
Basic premise: The presence of copper (wire) would help the tomato plants be more resistant to "blight" related diseases during the course of the growing season.
Material: 12" length of 18 gauge, uninsulated copper wire (usually for wall picture hanging). 12" per tomato plant.
In spring, right after transplanting your tomato plants (assuming main vine is at least 1/4" in diameter and transplant shock is over). Insert or force one end of the wire thru the center of the main vine about 1" above ground level. Kink the protruding wire end so that it doesn't slip out of the vine. Force the remainder of the wire (9-10") into the root zone in the ground. That's all that's to it.
The person who wrote the above also wrote that he use this method on half his crop and controlled the other half with sprays. Result, the copper prevention was as successful as his spraying programme.
Our Daughter Tamin ( Golding Arts 2011) has designed a calendar for 2012 which includes my North Otago gardening suggestions for each month along with images of our garden. Should you be interested in purchasing one for yourself or to give as a gift they are available at Paper plus.
Cheers, Linda.
The big clean up after all the hedge trimming has been on going here, things look as I said last week a little too neat and tidy but nature will do it's best to put that right!
I know you will be finding there is so much to be cut back in the garden, plants like tree peony which doubles in size each growing season. Don't let tree peony swamp your garden and smother other plants. When finished flowering the older woody canes can be cut down to the second bud from the bottom leaving the new green stalks to be next years flower branches. By doing this now seed pods will be cut off as well, if allowed to ripen they will pop all over your garden and grow. Other larger plants I have had to cut back are bush lavatera's, English abutilon, ornamental broom, and false Valerian. These will all grow back soon and look a lot nicer, some will flower again.
Dead head roses spoiled by the rain, they will only rot on the bush if left which will encourage fungus. Cut back to an outward facing bud on a strong lower section of the branch.
Begonias are really pushing through now and I see that I have lost a few of the ones I left in the ground from last year, I am guessing all the rain we had rotted them. I did dig out and store most of them and have planted them out. The food begonias most appreciate is any fish based fertiliser, as a folia spray or watered in around their roots.
Hydrangeas are producing flower heads now so it is important to keep the water and food up to them, blood and bone, dry, liquid or slow release fertiliser will keep them happy and flowering well. Remember it's lime for pink and Epsom salts or aluminum sulphate to keep them blue.
Fuchsias are making a lot of growth now as well, if you missed cutting any back do it now, they will flower later than the ones you have cut back but will soon catch up .Fuchsias are on sale right now and are wonderful in pots for a shady spot. Because they put on a lot of growth in one season they soon become bushy and fill a pot.
Tip cuttings can be taken from fuchsias now, if you spot some you like in a friends garden ask for some cuttings.
Tip cuttings from Hebe's will root with no trouble as well right now. Use wet crusher dust or river sand to strike them, never beach sand.
If you are looking for something non invasive to make a show of colour against a wall why not try Abutilon (Chinese lantern ) it comes in three Strong colours, yellow, orange and burgundy. I have planted yellow and burgundy together in a large container with nice lime green grass's below them, being a rather spindly plant I am intertwining them as they grow, they are just starting to flower now and look great together. If you do train them against a wall you could leave some longer branches and shorten back others to get a good cover of flowers.
What a wonderful addition to the flower garden peony roses are, they are fantastic this year or am I just seeing more in peoples gardens? The brilliant shades and very large blooms fill many vases I am sure. Remove seed pods once blooms have finished to stop plants putting effort into making seed.
With the weight of rain I can see which branches need lifting on large deciduous trees, if left they will cast too much shade over surrounding plants. It's the lower branches that can be removed without making the tree look as though it has been cut. The upper branches will hide the cuts, so any branch growing downwards with a canopy branch directly above it can be cut back or removed altogether.
Lawns
keep feeding lawns, dry lawn fertiliser must only be applied when we get rain to wash it in but a liquid fertiliser is fine any time. Lawns get really stressed from now on as the heat of the day intensifies.
If your lawns are inclined to crack when dry they have probably been planted on clay soil, apply gypsum ( soluble lime) and water in. After a couple of years of doing this your lawns will have a spring back in them. Gypsum works it's way through the clay and makes it become more like soil.
If lawn weeds are a problem spray before cutting or remove flat weeds with a knife when noticed. I spot spray with lawn weed spray because I don't want to upset the balance of the work going on in the soil beneath the lawn by contaminating it with chemicals.
Vegetables
Perfect weather for vegetables and fruit this year, keep the hoe going because the weeds are doing well also. The days are warm and the nights a little cooler, just right for growing. I am amazed that the white butterfly is still not a problem, in our garden! not that I want them laying their eggs on my veg plants, long may it last.
Tomatoes will be getting taller and starting to fruit now, the removal of over half the leaves on a plant will benefit your plants, more nutrients going to the fruit along with more sun to encourage flowering and allowing flowers to become more visible to insects for pollination. Try it and see if you get a better crop.
The cooler nights tend to upset tomato plants, leaves an become bluish and tend to curl causing plants to become susceptible to blight. One method of keeping them in good health I have been reading up on is the use of copper wire.
Basic premise: The presence of copper (wire) would help the tomato plants be more resistant to "blight" related diseases during the course of the growing season.
Material: 12" length of 18 gauge, uninsulated copper wire (usually for wall picture hanging). 12" per tomato plant.
In spring, right after transplanting your tomato plants (assuming main vine is at least 1/4" in diameter and transplant shock is over). Insert or force one end of the wire thru the center of the main vine about 1" above ground level. Kink the protruding wire end so that it doesn't slip out of the vine. Force the remainder of the wire (9-10") into the root zone in the ground. That's all that's to it.
The person who wrote the above also wrote that he use this method on half his crop and controlled the other half with sprays. Result, the copper prevention was as successful as his spraying programme.
Our Daughter Tamin ( Golding Arts 2011) has designed a calendar for 2012 which includes my North Otago gardening suggestions for each month along with images of our garden. Should you be interested in purchasing one for yourself or to give as a gift they are available at Paper plus.
Cheers, Linda.
Friday, December 2, 2011
This week was all on for me, the start of the race to get so much completed before the Christmas deadline. With so much happening in our garden things need to be rearranged, trimmed, dug out, dug in, pricked out, planted and so on while ensuring tranquility is the essence of the garden for each and every new happening that taking place......which means those gnomes waiting in the wings are ready to pounce tools in hand at any given moment!!! well something like that.
So much trimming with all the new growth and plants like cat nip, aubretuia, ground cover phlox, erica's and all the herbs in a panic to make seed. stop them in their tracks by trimming them back which will encourage them to clump up with fresh new foliage to take them through summer. There are so many other plants waiting for enter stage now like lavender, lilies, hydrangeas, roses and all summer annuals the gaps will fill in no time.
With the help of my reliable hedge trimmer Pete we are half way through trimming the box hedges here, they look almost too neat but will not take long to soften with a little more new growth, the soft clippings are wonderful in the compost or even just scattered around the roots of shrubs. No feeding for them now or the clipping will need to be done all over again. Just keep the water up and let them harden off, once this has happened and the new growth can be snapped to break, cuttings can be taken and set to root in river sand.
All hedges can be trimmed now while the new growth is still soft.
I have been hearing about roses effected with mildew after all the rain we have had, this often occurs when roses are planted in sheltered areas. A combination spry of fungicide / pesticide sprayed every 10 days will help correct this problem. Remove leaves and buds that are too badly effected.
I prefer maintaining my rose's organically with fish emulsion and pyrethrum spray plus a natures way fungicide.
Fish emulsion feeds the buses and fools the insects into thinking that the foliage is protein.
Plant up hanging baskets now with small rooted annuals like lobelia, petite or cascading petunias, nasturtium and cascading begonias. Avoid upright plants and plants that make a big root ball they need more depth than a basket can offer and will soon rob all the nutrients and fill the basket with dry roots. The secrete to hanging baskets is a good heavy potting mix, water crystals, a lot of slow release fertiliser consistent watering. I am using old carpet underlay as liners again this year but if I had none the coconut liners look good and do the job.
Lawns.
The lawn mower is doing a lot of over time right now in our garden, and the mountain of grass unsprayed are being used as mulch where needed. They break down quickly with moisture and warmth. If the weeds are taking over in your lawns now is the time to spray using a lawn weed spray. Don't spot spray with weed killer as it spreads onto the surrounding grass and you will end up having to resow patches.
I fed all my lawns during the last rain which will keep them green, and thick enough I hope to stop weed seeds drifting in.
Vegetables & Fruit
With this great growing weather both the above are romping away, I have had to thin out a few clusters of apples, especially the larger type, sacrifice half to let the remainder grow to a good size and keep the water up and mulch to preserve moisture as they grow and fill with juice. If you do not have the time to thin out fruit leave it to the strong winds they will knock a few off.
Cover berries with strawberry netting before they ripen, the birds will be watching and waiting.
Keep mounding up potatoes to encourage bigger numbers by keeping them deep.
You will have good strikes with all seeds sown now, sow at two week intervals to have a secession of fresh vegetables.
Use seed trays for: lettuce, silver- beet, celery, cabbage, courgettes, pumpkin, basil and tomato. Plant out in 4 to 6 weeks.
Plant straight in the garden: carrot, beetroot, corn, peas, beans, cucumber, coriander, rocket and chives.
Planting by the moon
NEW MOON
Friday, 25 November 2011
Garden:
Transplant last of spring plantings - late crop tomatoes, beans and corn, basil, courgettes, cucumbers and leeks.
Take care of liquid fertiliser barrels; keep stirred and refill with comfrey, manure, seaweed etc. Tomatoes, corn, pumpkins may need a boost now
Plant seed into trays for late summer harvesting of dwarf and climbing beans, , carrots, beetroot, lettuce, basil, short season corn (if you are in an area with a long summer) celery.
Cheers, Linda
So much trimming with all the new growth and plants like cat nip, aubretuia, ground cover phlox, erica's and all the herbs in a panic to make seed. stop them in their tracks by trimming them back which will encourage them to clump up with fresh new foliage to take them through summer. There are so many other plants waiting for enter stage now like lavender, lilies, hydrangeas, roses and all summer annuals the gaps will fill in no time.
With the help of my reliable hedge trimmer Pete we are half way through trimming the box hedges here, they look almost too neat but will not take long to soften with a little more new growth, the soft clippings are wonderful in the compost or even just scattered around the roots of shrubs. No feeding for them now or the clipping will need to be done all over again. Just keep the water up and let them harden off, once this has happened and the new growth can be snapped to break, cuttings can be taken and set to root in river sand.
All hedges can be trimmed now while the new growth is still soft.
I have been hearing about roses effected with mildew after all the rain we have had, this often occurs when roses are planted in sheltered areas. A combination spry of fungicide / pesticide sprayed every 10 days will help correct this problem. Remove leaves and buds that are too badly effected.
I prefer maintaining my rose's organically with fish emulsion and pyrethrum spray plus a natures way fungicide.
Fish emulsion feeds the buses and fools the insects into thinking that the foliage is protein.
Plant up hanging baskets now with small rooted annuals like lobelia, petite or cascading petunias, nasturtium and cascading begonias. Avoid upright plants and plants that make a big root ball they need more depth than a basket can offer and will soon rob all the nutrients and fill the basket with dry roots. The secrete to hanging baskets is a good heavy potting mix, water crystals, a lot of slow release fertiliser consistent watering. I am using old carpet underlay as liners again this year but if I had none the coconut liners look good and do the job.
Lawns.
The lawn mower is doing a lot of over time right now in our garden, and the mountain of grass unsprayed are being used as mulch where needed. They break down quickly with moisture and warmth. If the weeds are taking over in your lawns now is the time to spray using a lawn weed spray. Don't spot spray with weed killer as it spreads onto the surrounding grass and you will end up having to resow patches.
I fed all my lawns during the last rain which will keep them green, and thick enough I hope to stop weed seeds drifting in.
Vegetables & Fruit
With this great growing weather both the above are romping away, I have had to thin out a few clusters of apples, especially the larger type, sacrifice half to let the remainder grow to a good size and keep the water up and mulch to preserve moisture as they grow and fill with juice. If you do not have the time to thin out fruit leave it to the strong winds they will knock a few off.
Cover berries with strawberry netting before they ripen, the birds will be watching and waiting.
Keep mounding up potatoes to encourage bigger numbers by keeping them deep.
You will have good strikes with all seeds sown now, sow at two week intervals to have a secession of fresh vegetables.
Use seed trays for: lettuce, silver- beet, celery, cabbage, courgettes, pumpkin, basil and tomato. Plant out in 4 to 6 weeks.
Plant straight in the garden: carrot, beetroot, corn, peas, beans, cucumber, coriander, rocket and chives.
Planting by the moon
NEW MOON
Friday, 25 November 2011
Garden:
Transplant last of spring plantings - late crop tomatoes, beans and corn, basil, courgettes, cucumbers and leeks.
Take care of liquid fertiliser barrels; keep stirred and refill with comfrey, manure, seaweed etc. Tomatoes, corn, pumpkins may need a boost now
Plant seed into trays for late summer harvesting of dwarf and climbing beans, , carrots, beetroot, lettuce, basil, short season corn (if you are in an area with a long summer) celery.
Cheers, Linda
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