Gardening in North Otago April 16th 2013

Lovely autumn days over the last week, and the leaf colours get more stunning by the day. My garden was inflicted to more chain sawing and hedge trimming this week; it took only a couple of hours to create havoc and the whole of the next day to clean it all up. If shrubs and climbers need cut back it needs to be done now while there is still time for things to recover, harden off and bud up again before June. Do not disturb peony roses, just cut back the dead tops and lay compost on top of the clump to protect the new growth during winter. If a clump needs divided wait until spring. Hellebores will benefit from fortnightly feeding now to encourage better blooms. I have been removing the old foliage from mine, but in colder areas it is best to leave their top growth on to protect the new growth. The flowers will soon shoot up past the old leaves. Cut all old leaves off and destroy when you can because green fly seem to winter over on the underside of hellebore leaves. Only feed bulbs and plants that are due to flower now, all other plants will be slowing their growth right down to sleep through the winter. Don't waste good fertiliser on plants that won't use it, unless as I said last week it is blood and bone which will get down to roots in readiness for spring growth and not encourage out new growth. Move all spring flowering plants in pots into a sunny spot now, plants like camellia, azaleas & rhododendrons that have been tucked away in a shady spot over the hot months. If you fed them with acid fertiliser when they finished flowering, they should be fine. If not then give them a little and water in well to give them a boost. Shrubs in pots get root bound and hungry, I shifted all my potted seedlings from semi shade where they have been over the hot months to a sunny spot where they should fine through the winter months, seedlings and rooted cuttings need as much sun as they can get over the colder months, they may not look as though they are growing as they will not put out any new growth on top but with the warmth of the sun on the pots they will be making lots of feeder roots. Keep layering leaves on the compost along with animal manure, soft garden green & soft hedge trimmings and un-sprayed grass clippings along with left over compost from your last lot. Give the heaps a good watering from time to time to get things started. With the very warm days we have been having damp compost heaps should be building up heat now which will remain working through the cold months. It is still possible to divide border plants and perennials or rock plants. In very cold districts leave the dead top growth on, or it can be cut but spread over the clump and left. If you are strawing your gardens this will do the same job. If you have small evergreen shrubs and conifers that need shifted do it now, as long as the root ball is not to well spread they should transplant well. Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas can be shifted now as well. Lawns I spot sprayed the lawns this week, there was quite a lot of clover spreading, I usually only spot spray where needed because I would hate to kill wonderful hard working worms. I am still raking out and re-sowing where damage was done by grass grub, thankfully germination of the grass seed is very fast so the lawns will not look patchy for long. the next job will be to spread fine compost around the lawns to add humus Lawns have really picked up since the nights have cooled, Moss in a lawn is a good indication of sour ground a dressing of lime would sweeten it but not solve the problem which is usually due to poor drainage. Vegetables I planted broad beans and carrots this week and have had to have the hose out again to give the veg garden a good soak, let’s hope we get the rain that was promised Remove shading from glass houses now and reduce the watering,more light, less watering for pot plants inside as well. Leeks should be available now for planting, they are planted laying down in a trench that will hold water to get them going, then they sit up and grow fast. Fruit If you have apple trees laden, pick most of them unripe and store them a cool dry place for later. But leave as many as you intend to eat on the tree to ripen naturally, nothing nicer than ripe fruit straight from the tree. We are still picking those delicious late peaches It's grape picking time for me again while it is still dry, not such an abundant crop this year but enough to make into a few special bottles of wine....... or vinegar !!! which could be turned into Homemade Weed Killer, 1 gallon of white vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, dish detergent (any brand), Empty spray bottle. Put salt in the empty spray bottle and fill it the rest of the way up with white vinegar. Add a squirt of dish detergent. This solution works best if you use it on a hot day. Spray it on the weeds in the morning, and as it heats up it will do its work. So how ever bad the wine turns out there will be no waste. Gardening by the moon: April 19th until April 26th FIRST QUARTER PHASE – The best time to sow or transplant fruiting annuals (we eat the fruit or seed bearing part), and flowering annuals, grains. Also sow annual grasses, and green manures and apply liquid fertilisers. Prune flowering annuals to encourage growth. Carry out grafting and budding. Mow lawns to encourage growth. This is the second best phase to sow or transplant leafy annuals ( eatable leaf or stem) and flowering annuals. Cheers, Linda.