Gardening in North Otago 29th January 2013

Great sunshine again this week and such heat, things have dried out in a matter of days even with the water well down underneath after those rain storms. If you think your rhododendrons are suffering, buy a large bale of peat to spread around the roots and water in, peat is wonderful for soaking up and swelling with moisture. A good long soak is best for a dry Rhododendron and then a shift to another location in the garden if the area in which it is growing is too dry. If you have another spot to transplant it to, dig a hole twice as large as needed and half fill with peat, soak the peat and push around the Rhodo's roots, cover with soil and mulch with wet straw. The recovered rhododendron will probably show signs of stress next season by developing brown leaf tips. This is ok, the Rhododendron will take a season to settled in and some really large ones will take longer, just cut the brown tips off. It is not unusual for some young deciduous trees to loose all their summer leaves in dry conditions and then grow another lot when it is cooler. If there are still signs of green when you break a twig you will know that your bush or tree is still alive and will probably recover. If the twig is brittle and snaps off then you have lost it. Mulching is so important now to take the garden into what could be a long dry Autumn. All bulbs that have died down will need a good watering and mulched to hold the moisture in, from now on is when bulbs dry out and whole clumps can disappear if thy get too dry for too long. This dose not apply to iris rhizome's, they need a good baking in the sun from now on so don't cover them with mulch. I continue to dead head roses and feed for the next lot of blooms, it is also time to dead head dahlias to keep them blooming longer, cut off the spent bloom and stalk before they make a seed. Keep cutting back all early summer perennials and shrubs before they run to seed, cutting will promote a new lot of blooms, but remember to feed and water what you cut back to help them make the new growth required of them. Lawns: are starting to brown off in area's of my garden that bake all day in the sun, hosing will keep the grass alive but it's rain they need to keep them green. Keep eradicating flat weeds before they seed down into the grass. Herbs: All herbs should have flowered and run to seed at least once this season, keep cutting and using or drying them to keep them from doing this. I cut bunches then hang them in a dry place until all the moisture is gone and they are crisp to touch. Then a good rubbing will remove dried leaves from stalks and further rubbing will break up particles small enough to be put in dry jars ( (never store in plastic containers or plastic bags.) The slightest hint of moisture will encourage mould. My mixed herb combination is parsley, thyme, sage, basil, pineapple sage, marjoram, nasturtium leaves & flowers, and smaller amounts of rosemary and lemon balm because they can over power the others. In the vegetable: garden: the weeds have gone mad again after the few warm days, get them with a hoe while small. It is beneficial to plant a green crop to be dug in where ground is not being utilised, mustard seed, barley, oats or blue lupin seed will add hummus to the soil when dug in at the soft green new growth stage. Fruit: I have had drip water on my grapes this week, as they are putting growth into the fruit, I do not feed them because they will respond by pushing out heaps of leaders and leaf. I have shortened fruiting leaders back closer to the fruit being formed. Apples are doing well, I thinned mine out last month where I noticed over crowding, too many on one branch will stunt growth and become too heavy for the branch. Nature is pretty good at taking care of this so do not be surprised to find the ground beneath apple trees strewn with what has been rejected for the good of what is left growing. Gardening by the moon Date: 02 February 2013 Last quarter This is not a good time to be sowing anything in the garden. Instead use this time to weed and harvest from the garden. It is an excellent time to start building a new compost heap. Biodynamic: Moon in Virgo: This is a Earth sign. It is a good time to sow Root plants like Garlic, Jerusalem Artichokes, Onions, Shallots, Spring Onions, but it would not be a good time to sow Flower plants like Broccoli, Moon in Virgo: Dry and barren. Good time for garden maintenance. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 22nd January 2013

Such a lovely summer day today,Tuesday the 22nd January with not a cloud in the sky and a gentle warm breeze following me around the garden as i worked Keep cutting back all early summer perennials and shrubs before they make seed. Cutting will promote a new lot of blooms, but remember to feed what you cut back because they will need help to make the new growth required of them. I am still filling the wheelbarrow time & time again with all the summer cutting back then filling the gaps with summer annuals. Roses are budding up again from the pruning after the first flowering, it takes about six weeks from cut to new bud. I am still finding rust effected leave to remove and destroy on some but see the spraying I have been doing at ten day intervals with an organic fungicide has helped stop the spread onto new growth. It's been a wonderful summer this year for rhododendrons, camellias, azalea's and hydrangeas, they all do best in moist soil so the rains have been perfect for them, mine have put on a lot of new growth and the hydrangea colours are very vibrant. I have given them all a dressing of blood & bone which will help maintain the rapid growth and I continue to mulch with un-sprayed grass clippings to keep the moisture in the soil. Summer tree foliage is benefiting from the moist summer soil as well, by this time last year the hot drying winds had really effected the new growth on my trees, they are also putting on heaps of growth and would benefit from a summer dressing of blood & bone or general fertiliser. I have been cutting English lavenders ( The tall straight single flower head type) and bunching for drying, the fragrance is fantastic and once hung and dried will give off this fragrance through the winter months to remind us of the hot summer days. Picking must be done when the flowers are fully out and completely dry. If you have very woody lavenders, it's a good time now to cut them back by two thirds. They will regrow fresh and bushy and make hard wood again before winter. If they are too old and woody they will probably not put out new growth so take cuttings from what you cut back and grow a few new plants. Lawn weeds can be sprayed out during dry days. Use the product at the suggested strength and consider spot spraying for the sake of the worms. If too heavy handed even the grass will be affected. There are a few different lawn weed sprays on offer, even one that weeds and feeds at the same time. All lawns should be doing really well this year and with a feed on a rainy day from time to time they will remain green & lush. I have been having great success with Nitrophoska on the lawns, It to be not too detrimental on the grass if not quite washed in after a rain, and it keeps the lawns dark green. Fruit & Veg: It's proving to be a bumper year for both fruit and veg, sunny days warm moist soil and the slightly cooler nights down here in the south...perfect! My corn and pumpkins have really taken off now after a slowish start, and gardeners are telling me their tomato plants are producing and ripening really well this year so pollination has been good with the sunny days bringing the bees and insects out. Plums are plentiful as well, because i am still picking black currents I added them to my plum sauce this year which got the thumbs up: The colour is deeper and I feel the currants improved the vinegary flavour that is usual for plum sauce. Looking back through my notes the growing pattern of dull days over the last five years may have been broken, lets hope so. Keep rotating root and leaf vegetables to get the best results, i.e Where carrots have been growing, plant lettuce. I have just sown carrots and parsnips, picked all the board beans and replaced the spot with lettuce plants. Gardening by the moon 27th January Full moon Full Moon The full moon is the time to plant watery or fleshy plants like marrows and cucumbers. The moon is at her most influential at this time over the water element (the tides are also strongest then). This is also a good time for harvesting stems, seeds especially as the full moon and fiery signs coincide.. Cheers Linda

Gardening in North Otago January 15th 2013

What a stormy January we are having, with all those spectacular cloud formations have been. I am liking the heavy rain falls keeping the garden fresh, but not so good for hay making. Some of my roses are still suffering from rust on leaves. Some roses are more susceptible to rust attack and I feel these roses succumb when the ground becomes dry during strong warm winds, becoming distressed between watering's. I continue to remove rust effected leaves then spray with a fungicide when time allows. I don't use sprinklers late in the day if overcast, wet leaves going into warm nights encourages mildew. Deep watering around the roots is what I recommend to keep fungus at bay. I continue to dead head roses and give then a summer prune. cut a spent flower stem down to an out facing bud on a thick, strong part of stem. There are so many plants requiring a cut back now, my wheel barrow is on the go most days filling up in no time with cut back lupins, munkshood, mignonette, nasturtiums, iris, buddleia and delphiniums to name a few. I have just cut back my one plant I grow a lot of which flops all over the place now, it is acanthus mollis known sometimes as (Bears britches) or (The oyster plant) cut well back to guarantee new fresh growth during autumn and winter. Keep taking tip cuttings from chrysanthemums, I find they root well in river sand. My hydrangea's are wonderful right now, big healthy leaves and large full blooms, and I guess because of the frequent rains the colours are very intense. Petunias are taking center stage now, they are wonderful gap fillers for sunny gardens, they do not preform well in shade. A shady spot can be filled with impatiens which are also coulourful when planted in bold groups. Dead heading rhododendrons is really boring and time consuming but worth doing on newly planted bushes to encourage growth into the bush not into making seeds. There is a point where the spent flower seed heads break off cleanly without disturbing the new growth shoots at the sides, once you start you will find that break off point. I was out with the lawn fertiliser in that last heavy rain and see the weeds have been fed as well so will need to spot spray again, it's never ending when lawns need to look good. Fruit & Veg. I got many pots of black current jam made last week and there are still some ready to pick to freeze for winter pies this week...It's one of those jobs I need to find time for and always pleased I did once it is done. The vegetable garden is doing fine,seeds are popping up in no time after sowing, my lettuces seem to be sitting waiting to be picked without bolting, the corn is putting on some growth now but I find myself telling the pumpkins to hurry up as they and corn need a long hot ripening season. Keep planting all veg, seeds & plants (apart from corn and pumpkin) they should have been started before now. Gardening by the moon FULL MOON Sunday, 27 January 2013 Full Moon The full moon is the time to plant watery or fleshy plants like marrows and cucumbers or planting. The moon is at her most influential at this time over the water element (the tides are also strongest then). This is also a good time for harvesting stems, seeds especially as the full moon and fiery signs coincide. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 9th January 2013

Happy New Gardening year to all. What a changeable January we are having so far, but thankfully we are experiencing some long sunny days and with the heavy rain from time to time I have not had to drag the hoses around often whtcih is a bonus for any gardener. Roses, last year dull days and mildew were a problem for roses but this year it is rust that attacked a few of my roses after the first flowering. I pull all the affected leaves of and destroy them as I dead headed, this left bushes quite bare but it takes no time at all for new leaves and buds to grow back after a spray with fungicide to keep the rust at bay, then deep watering around the roots is the thing for roses during these hot months. All roses should have had a summer pruning after their first flowering, cut a spent flower stem down to an out facing bud on a thick part of stem. If it is just the flower removed the remaining stem will die back to only the first bud, that part of the stem will be too weak to support new blooms. Cut back summer flowering perennials and shrubs to encourage continuous flowering, I have just cut back my daisy bushes, delphiniums, lavaterias, dianthus, lupins and most of the herbs because they were all going to seed. Feed with slow release or a liquid fertiliser, they will all come back fresh and most will flower again. I have cut some chrysanthemums back for the second time, they flower in the autumn on shorter steams by doing this. Plant some tip growth from chrysanthemums into river sand and they should root, plant out and next year they will be a clump like the Mother plant. Put stakes in now to support all Chrysanthemums. Foliar feeding is very important to encourage fresh new growth after cutting back anything at this dry time of the year. Fill gaps in the flower garden with annuals. Front planting full sun: impatiens, small type petunias, begonia, small marigolds, lobelia, alyssum Mid plantings: nicotina, coriopsis, tall petunias, tall marigolds, bedding dahlia, salvia, nemesia. Tall plantings: cosmos, lavatera, sun flowers, Canterbury bells, love in the mist. Semi shade ( with good light )plantings: impatiens, bedding begonias, lobelia, Japanese anemone (perennial), foxglove. When the next heavy rain arrives feed the lawns and they will bounce back like fresh spring lawns. I am still lifting lower new branches on the large spreading trees to let more light in for plants growing under them. Oaks, flowering cherries, ash, Alms and maples put on a lot of new growth each year and most want to grow to the ground to shade their roots if left. Remove cross over branches and any branches you feel are not required, dappled light is much nicer than dense shade. My ponds get topped up regulary at this time of the year, there is a lot of evaporation on the hot days and still ponds tend to green up a bit as the water warms. I added half a bale of straw to one end of mine to keep slime from growing. I put it in and weigh it down with a large rock and with the topping up and the straw doing it,s job the water stays clear for the fish and the lillies. Fruit and veg The gooseberries, strawberries, raspberry's and currents have done well with the nice warm weather but they are ripening quickly so it is a rush to get them picked before they drop from the bushes. I have just picked all my black currents ready for jam and pies. I cut all the fruiting branches off ( they fruit on the previous years growth) then strip them of berries in a nice shady spot. This way the fruit is picked and the bush is pruned at the same time. I have reduced the length of fruiting runners on my grapes and removed all unproductive growth. Tomatoes need water kept up and some leaves removed to let more light in too many leaves take up nitrogen that should be used by the fruit. Water needs to be kept up and plants are maturing fast then bolting to seed if not picked when ready. The birds can be a problem for me so I use strawberry net when needed. Corn and pumpkins are making good growth and the potatoes I thought were all top and no potatoes proved me wrong by being just the opposite, I gave them a tickle up on Christmas day and was amazed at the number and the size of them! Keep planting all veg , we have the best growing and ripening time ahead. Planting by the moon NEW MOON Saturday, 12 January 2013 Garden: Orchard: Bird Protection on trees with ripe fruit Summer prune all stone fruit and young fruit trees after picking their fruit Watch moisture levels in the soil carefully, especially under young fruit trees and citrus, feijoas and kiwifruit, which all have very shallow feeder roots. Water stress now could mean pear slug damage. Cheers, Linda