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