Gardening in North Otago 26th June 2013

Home again after so many hours in the sky....how did passengers with small Children manage before the movies and games were offered?? I arrived last Thursday to snow, wind & rain but the flooding was reseeding and roads were open so all good and here I am back into the garden with the UK spring splendor a fading memory. It's been nice week after all the rain especially today Tuesday, such a lovely sunny day after the frost here on the coast. Once I got the jet lag under control I was back into the garden gear & boots to acclimatize myself to these winter days. Thanks to Bob and my helper Sally the ankle deep drifts of leaves I left behind had been dealt to and with all the rain the compost heaps are working to break them all down. I got cracking and cleaned out the hen house so the manure could be added to the compost heaps. Hen manure is great at this time of the year because it is a strong manure and will aid the heating process, it needs to break down over winter before it can be put on the garden. After the flooding we have had a chance to see areas in the garden not draining well, if you have plants that are water logged dig them up and improve where they are growing by digging the hole deep down to the clay which is probably forming a pan and holding the water. Break up the clay as much as you can then put a layer of gypsum on top of the broken clay, then add at least three shovels of gravel to create a sump for water to drain into. By doing this the plant of your choice can stay in that spot without the risk of drowning. All the leaves have been cut from all my hellebore's because on the underside of the leaves they were infested with greenfly wintering over, which means they were just waiting to pounce onto my roses come Spring. The flowers have already poped and look lovely on their own without the leaves, new fresh leaves to follow nearer spring. Keep tiding up and dividing perennials and large clumps like agapantha and summer flowering bulbs that just keep multiplying. A good sharp spade is what you will need for this job, just slice through, pull apart and plant else where, give away or dispose of. Make early plantings gladioli for November flowering and sweet-pea planted now will flower in early spring. Roses: Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes to prevent the spread of pest and disease, I am about to do a lime sulphur spray before I prune then about six weeks later after pruning I will do a Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil spray to eliminate powdery mildew, lichen and moss. Re-pot container grown buxus every second year or if they look pot bound.Trim the outer roots and replace any loose soil with new potting mix. They make a huge amount of roots every year and not all are needed. Plant polyanthus for a bright patch of colour a few poly's in a pot is all that's needed to brighten up any doorway. Once wisterias have lost all their leaves prune off all long and unruly canes because if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year. Veg: On the coast Sow broard beans, garlic, shallots and rubarb. Colder areas nothing much can be planted. Fruit: This week I will go through the pruning required for pear trees. Generally, it is not recommended to heavily prune pear trees but if this is required the best time to do major pruning on pear trees is during winter. The more you prune, the greater the chance that fire blight will develop (the leaves and branches will look as if they have been burned by fire), this delays fruit production. If only a light trim is required this is best done late in the summer. The least amount of regrowth will be stimulated by pruning after the trees have finished growing for the year and have hardened their wood. If you live in an area where there's a chance for winter damage, wait to prune until late winter. Pear trees bloom and bear fruit on the sharp, short spurs that grow between its branches. Thin the spurs regularly. Older spurs should be removed occasionally to be replaced by more vigorous young ones. If you end up with too many small fruits set in one year, thin them out to let the remaining fruit grow larger. Envision how you want your pear trees to look and set a three-year plan to get your them into the shape and size you want., First year: remove limbs that are diseased, damaged, upright, crossing and crowded. Suckers need to be removed as soon as you notice them to avoid them turning into woody, weak wood. Second year: thin out the tree some more and bring down some of the height. Third year: thin out the trees some more and cut down to the desired height. (Burn all trimmings) You can avoid ending up with too much fruit that goes to waste by thinning the fruit on the branches after it has set. Leave at least 5 inches between the fruit, this will reduce your harvest and increase the health of the remaining fruit. There a many new varieties of both pear and apple trees that have been cultivated to be very resistant to fire blight. FIRE BLIGHT:This is one disease that can severely damage and, or kill your fruit trees.The leaves and twigs of the trees get the disease from insects who enter the flowers during springtime. The insects get it by gathering pollen from nearby cedar trees. The best way to prevent the disease is by choosing a resistant variety, it also helps to keep the tree moist, especially during blossom time and when the fruit is ripening. Using mulch around the base of the tree will help hold in moisture and may also prevent too-early flowering. If your tree has already been hit by fire blight, you will need to prune out the affected shoots at least several inches below the damaged area. Be sure to sterilize your clippers in a chlorine solution between cuts and destroy the cuttings by burying or burning them. If your tree is badly damaged, it may need to be replaced. Gardening by the moon Waning Gibbous Third quarter planting, or from the full moon to half-full. Plant biennials, perennials, bulb and root crops. Crops which are planted one season the produce yields the following year, trees, and shrubs. 3rd Qtr. Veg garden examples: Onions, potatoes, rhubarb, grapes, winter wheat, and berries. Cheers, Linda.