Gardening in North Otago 22nd February 2012

What a mixed basket of weather during February! The days are beginning to shorten with temperatures dropping at night, I think now of the cooler days ahead as we move towards autumn. There is plenty to do in the flower and vegetable garden right now, I am making a start on the end of season clean-up as plants begin to look tatty and die down. It's much easier to do what you can now while it is still mild than face a huge job later in cold weather.
Seed collecting time has started as flowering plants finish and pods ripen.Sweet peas,alstroemeria's, Poppy's, English abutilon and lupin to name only a few there should be flower seeds popping in every garden along with all the weed seeds!!!! I am doing the rounds of the garden with a four year old this year both of us armed with small brown paper bags and a felt pen, I write the name and she draws the flower......this is not a five minute job! but will hopefully plant a seed ( excuse the pun) in a small inquisitive head.
I mentioned bulbs last week because this is the time to start planting for spring flowering, they are so worth planting clumps form in no time and your display gets bigger & better with each year.
When planting Spring bulbs, it pays to mix bulb food or bone meal thoroughly into the soil prior to planting and don't plant too closely - bulbs need nutrients and space!. As a general rule, plant bulbs so their tops are as far below the soil as the diameter of the bulb. Most spring bulbs are planted now but for tulips you will need to wait until May.
If you are looking for a plant which can survive with minimal water (for that difficult area) try Catmint (Nepeta mussini ). This perennial thrives on poverty and neglect tolerating a wide range of soils. It should not be fertilised and enjoys a well drained site. An excellent edging plant, it should be cut back to new growth after the initial flush of flowers to prolong flowering.
For most plants but especially roses watering deeply twice weekly is preferable. A thin mulch of lawn clippings kept away from the stem retains moisture and keeps the weeds down. Try seaweed or fish fertilisers and combine with half-and-half trim milk and water with soda bicarbonate for a good environmental spray that feeds and keeps the mildew (and possums) at bay.

If you are planing to plant out a lot of small grade trees & shrubs in an exposed area, consider leaving this until mid to late spring when frosts and the air chill are less severe. New plantings need a long warm settling in season and then time to harden off before winter. It is so disappointing when plants are lost during winter because they were not tough enough to survive. Plants in pots can be carried over in a sheltered place until the right time to plant, plants in root trainers are better being in contact with the ground not left in trays, even better pot them up in a pot that will allow root development until it is time to plant them out.

Vegetables & Fruit
I am finding the over cast cooler days are holding leafy veg back from bolting which is a change for this time of the year, how ever we need those hot sunny days to ripen fruit and tomatoes and get the corn and pumpkins well on before the first frost.
Keep planting root vegetables and fill spaces with a green crop to dig in before the flowering stage your soil will love it.

Gardening by the moon ( koanga institute)
Saturday 25th February 2012
Prick out seedlings, transplant and weed

Harvest, dry and store seeds from your favourite vegetables and flowers, choose the largest heaviest seeds, they are the best.!

Harvest seed from Austrian Hulless pumpkins when they have a yellow stripe on them. Dry until the seed breaks when bent

Harvest shellout or dry beans and peas

Make sure all garlic, onions and shallots are harvested and well stored.

Plan winter garden and make sure you know which beds your strawberries, garlic, early peas and broadbeans will be in.

Foliar feed roses, and water roots well

Sow anemones and daffodils, flowering bulbs

Lift gladioli when foliage turns yellow

Water and feed dahlias for long strong flowering

Take geranium cuttings

Layer carnations

Prepare beds for planting Autumn / Winter flowers

Orchard:
Summer prune apricots, peaches and plums after the fruit has been picked. This makes Winter pruning easier and there is less chance of disease.

Cheers, Linda