Gardening in North Otago 20th September 2013

Spring is such a beautiful time but as always so unpredictable, very difficult gardening weather with one day warm and the next really cold! This week I have been spraying again including all our gravel paths, I have to keep the spraying up to keep them weed free. On all the garden paths here we use crushed marble from Taylors lime Quarry in Dunback, this gravel includes a good amount fines in the mix which help the gravel pack down well. While I was in the spraying mode I sprayed the lawn weeds as well, I prefer spot spraying flat weeds rather than spraying the whole lawn and upsetting the worms. The moss had to go as well, I do this by watering on sulphate of iron with a watering can at the rate of 300 grams / 10 liters of water to cover 10 sq miters. The moss is now black an almost ready to rake out. If only the annual flowers I have planted would grow as fast as the weeds. If you prefer not to use chemical sprays on annual weeds why not try some of the natural alternatives on sale, these work best on hot sunny days when plants are very thirsty. The leaf of the plant collapses which means there is nothing left to support the roots causing the plant to die. Perennial weeds like convolvulus and couch grass (twitch grass) are not so easy to kill with alternative weed spray because their roots are long and strong but if you are prepared to keep at them, spraying each time they send shoots up you will beat them. The most economical weed control is common table salt, purchased in bulk or in kilo bags at agricultural outlets. Use it at the rate of 240 grams (about 12 heaped tablespoons) to a litre of warm or hot water to dissolve it, and then spray it on the foliage of the weeds, again do this on dry sunny days. This works very fast on annual weeds but perennials will probably need further salt treatment. If spraying only the foliage at the above rates there will be little residual damage done to the soil. To make absolutely sure give the area a good watering after the weeds have died. Trim shrubs that flowered in late winter now if you have not already done so, before they put new growth on past growth and get leggy. This partially applies to ericas, callunas and hebes once finished flowering. Now is the time to layer azaleas and rhododendrons, low growing magnolias and other low growing shrubs by pinning slim branch down into the soil then firming in with compost and soil ( a bent wire hold may be needed). Hopefully by the end of this growing season this branch will have developed strong roots, keep attached to the Mother plant for another year before cutting free to be potted up to grow on as a new bush. Newly planted shrubs and trees need to be really well staked before the strong winds we usually get in October, if trunks and roots are moving around in wind growth will be slow and stunted or not at all. Also keep the water up to newly planted shrubs and trees until roots become established enough to hold. I mentioned tubular begonias last week and should have added to bed them down into damp (not wet) sawdust or peat / compost until you can really see they are sprouting well before potting or planting out. Once you you do this and they begin to sprout well they must never dry out again until they have finished flowering and its time to dry store them again. With the days warming up soft cuttings can be taken from plants and shrubs this month, dipping in hormone to get them started is beneficial to encourage roots quickly. Soft cuttings can also be taken from perennial herbs. Vegetables: Still no white butterfly's about (in my garden) keep planting out seeds and seedling plants, keeping the water up to them. Mound up potatoes as they push leaf through and cover at night should there be another cold snap which will blacken off new growth. Get peas in with supports, they will be up in no time wanting climb , like climbing beans they need to be planted in an open sunny position and support has to go in when they are planted so they are not disturbed once they start growing. Because they put on so much growth in a short time a trench of animal manure enriched compost and a little lime for their roots to tap into will keep them growing and flowering longer. ( This applies to the flower sweet peas as well) Herbs: If you have not the old growth from your herbs yet do it as soon as possible because they are putting on new growth now, feed manure enriched compost with lime added and keep picking often to encourage continual new growth all season for your salads and cooking. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago September 10th 2013

Apart from that hugely strong wind late Tuesday afternoon which created havoc here and around the country spring is sitting pretty so far and doing all it should be doing here in North Otago .The much needed rain after that wind made sure gardens stayed fresh, but much raking up was done here to put things right again. We had the first wedding of the new season here in our garden last weekend so I had been really busy getting it into wedding mode, plenty of blossom and spring colour about so all was good. Now that it's planting out time and there is a lot on offer it's probably a good time to talk about plants for the right place. starting with dry areas of the garden, under hungry trees or areas that drain too readily. You will be wasting your time and money planting shallow rooted plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas or hellebore's in these areas. Group plant with plants that will work their roots down to look for moisture like: euphorbias in all their varieties, colours and sizes, agapanthus, large and small varieties they are great on a slope, grass's grouped together as they are in nature do well in the dry and add movement to the garden as they waft in the wind, geraniums, they need water until their roots get down and also need cut back after flowering, lupins are wonderful in big groups but also need water until they become established, after the first flowering they will self seed to make their groups larger. All these plants once established will not need watering. (Shady areas next week.) Bedding plants: All bedding plants need attention once planted, water kept up and foliage feeding. I had been sifting soil for resowing grass patches in the lawn and decided to use the sifted soil as a top layer to the soil before planting annuals and seeds to get the same good results I am getting with the grass seed germinating. Sifted soil is so fine it packs round new roots firmly so they don't dry out, and is soft and fine allowing roots to grow quickly. Hydrangea's are a popular shrub, grouped or as a gap filler, they are leafing up now and will need fed ready for their long flowering season, animal manure is a good food source for them ( not fresh) they are shallow rooted so need mulched and watered often. To keep pink use a little lime around the drip line and for blue use aliumn sulphate or epsonsalts, these must be watered in and not just left on top of the roots. Ponds: The warmer weather is quickening up pond growth it's time to watch for slime developing which is harmful to fish when getting caught in their gills. If you haven't cleaned out your pond do it now, I have been removing the duck weed that has sat on top of my ponds during the Winter, over the Winter months it turns a rusty red colour with the cold and stops growing but at this time of the year it takes off again and multiplies so fast it can cover a pond in a matter of day's. I used to curse it but now I wait for it to grow and scoop it out to put on the garden as a Spring mulch. If you have fish & water lilies you must remove duck weed now to let the sun in. Water lilies are starting to make leaf now and need sun to bud up. I will tackle the oxygen weed next, that is also very good as a mulch on the garden, If you see fish chasing each other around your pond I would leave for a while removing any. Fish blow their eggs into the weed to keep other fish from eating the eggs. When I added fish to my ponds I just put in some oxygen weed from a pond full of breading fish and the baby fish all hatched out of the weed into my pond with no big fish around to eat them. A good way of clearing a pond after Winter is to flood it, most of the rubbish will float off, don't stir up the bottom as long as the water is clear on top then the pond is working. If a pond fills with green slime in the warmer weather it means that there is too much nitrogen in the water, maybe fertiliser drifted in when the lawn or garden was being feed. Or some may have leached out of water lilly containers into the water. If you have a large pond put in a bale of old straw and just leave it to rot down. If your pond is small break some squares from a bale and weight them down to the bottom. This works wonders on murky pond water and will get the pond working and clear in no time. Vegetable garden: Keep molding up potatoes as they show leaf, this keeps them cooler allowing more time for them to grow a bigger crop. If you are still to sprout and plant potatoes I have named a few FIRST EARLY VARIETIES: Cliffs Kidney, Jersey Bennes, Maris Anchor, Rocket. SECOND EARLY Ilam Hardy, Karaka, Red king. MAINCROP VARIETIES: Desiree,Mondial, Nadine, Pentland Dell, Red Rascal and Rua. I have sown mixed lettuce seeds in a tray and plan to transplant them into the garden as I need them, lettuce seedlings will hold in a tray for a long time and then really start growing when they are planted, fed and watered so I spread out my plantings. Cheers Linda.

Gardening in North Otago September 17th 2013

Having a lovely Nana time with our latest Grand child,sweet Tahlia, the one good thing for us that came from the strong winds experienced. Our Daughter with new Baby was affected enough by loss of power where she lives that she needed to come home to us, Ya! But back to spring gardening, I have been enjoying the blossom, bulbs, sun and bee's, planting out bedding plants and putting the finishing touches to new garden theme designs this week. I think every gardener enjoys trying new plants and colour combinations. I had a large clump of lambs ear growing in my rockery which did not need to be so large so I dug half of it out and broke it up into single plants to use around the border of a garden and as silver drifts in among low annuals. Silver is a perfect shade to use as a break between strong and soft shades, will grow in sun or semi shade and lambs ear has the added bonus of being an interesting texture. Keep an eye on seeds if you have them germinated, until now I have had mine under glass and some hardening off under frost cloth and looked at them only occasionally to see if they had struck, this week I noticed they were well up and in need of thinning out and regular watering. I thinned them by transplanting some like Pansy and lobelia which have shallow roots into deeper seed trays and those with longer deeper roots like lupin, hellebore and Oriental poppy into their own individual small root pots. The shallow rooted plants transplant well into the garden or baskets from a tray but it is best to have a well developed root ball attached to the stronger, deep rooted seedlings when planting out. Baskets and pots need to be thought about now, again use only shallow rooted plants for baskets like pansy, lobelia, small type petunias, nemesia, and trailers like Virginia stock and nasturtium, with the addition of slow release fertiliser and water Chrystal's to keep them going. The roots of what you want to plant will determine the size and depth of the pot. Potted roses need a deep pot which will not heat up and cook the roots at the height of summer. Tin foil around the inside of a pot before filling,( shinny side facing out) will help keep roots cool for roses, camellias, azales, hydrangeas and small trees & shrubs. All potted plants need excellent drainage and a consistent supply of food and water. if a potted plant is left to really dry out before each watering it will never thrive or look lush and healthy. Now is the time to take tubular begonias out of dry storage, I see mine are starting to sprout a little. I cut large tubas with a sharp knife into smaller individual pieces each with a noticeable shoot to become new tubers ready to plant into baskets and containers and when the tubers become too large for a pot I will cut into sections again. The showy red flamboyant begonias become nice big tubas in time and by cutting sections off them each year you will achieve a bright front boarder of them in no time. It's best to lift them at the end of their growing season because like dahlias they can rot in wet ground over winter. All begonias love any fertiliser with a seaweed of fish content Roses are really leafing up now and the warmer it becomes the more aphids ( green fly) will be about, aphids settle on the top new growth of rose bushes and are easily visible on new small leaves for you to dispose of by removing with finger and thumb. I leave spraying until leaves are well grown and hardened up a little. New lawns sown on the coast should result in a strike now that the ground is warmer, as I have mentioned before seed must be sown thickly in spring to beat the annual weeds. Keep the mower blades up when cutting spring grass to allow it to thicken up and feed lawns just before or during rain and they will stay lush. Vegetables Here on the coast Plant lettuce plants at two week intervals and any spare ground could be planted out in new potatoes. My board beans are well up, I was once told to plant each bean with a little pot ash to help with rust problems, they still get a little rust but I think that's probably due to them getting too dry between watering's, like corn, roots are well up near the surface, mounding soil up over roots stops them becoming exposed and drying out too quickly. Strawberries are starting to move towards budding, they need fed, watered and mulched, animal manure and straw, pine needles or un sprayed grass clippings will do the trick. I have started my patch again with new runner plants that are too small to put straw around yet and notice the birds are scratching around them so have had to cover with strawberry net until they grow bushier. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago September 3rd 2013

SEPTEMBER,the season of new beginnings and this past week has convinced me that spring has arrived in Weston after a mild winter, lovely sunny days and blue sky's this week. Everyday something new is happening in our garden, sweet peas, ranunculus, anemones and tulips are well up and putting on good growth. I am now watching what is pushing through the pea straw and clearing a space to let them through and needed light in. Weeds are off to a flying start as well, I have been spraying over the last two weeks and notice the first lot has worked, there are organic weed sprays on the market that work best when weeds are new and small so now is the time, get them before they flower and make seed. With very wide perennial boarders insisting on growing couch, biddy- bid, and chick-weed, I try to get rid of them now while the flowering plants are still low and with the ground still soft weed pulling is easy. While doing this weeding I can see what needs attention like delphiniums needing stakes in to give support while growing, removing mulch from around iris rhizomes and peony rose crowns and removing self sown plants and natives before they settle in. All plants, shrubs and trees will respond to feeding now, the sap is well up and buds are swelling and bursting open. We have a number of deciduous magnolia trees and they are taking center stage right now with beautiful blooms pushing through their huge furry buds and camellia's and rhododendrons are bursting into colour here. Liquid feed all perennials and bedding plants making growth and use a good general fertiliser for trees and shrubs to help them along now. Azaleas and tulips are the exception, azaleas like fed after flowering and tulips store enough food in the bulb for their requirements. if you load them up with more they will grow more leaf than needed and hide the blooms. (No feeding for Australian or South African shrubs such as leucodendron, protea, waratah and grevillea.) cut the old growth from the cat-mint if you have not already done so, I leave old growth on over the colder months to protect the new growth, once the new leaves are seen to be making good growth the old can be removed. It's also time to dress your garden for late spring and summer, think colour and where you want it and what colour is needed where. At this time of the year concentrate on the sunny areas in the garden being the warmest to get bedding pants and perennials moving. Roses: there are still roses on offer, they do not need always need to grow together in a rose bed, use them as gap fillers in boarders. To give those new to roses an idea of what to look for I will list the different types below. There is a rose for every sunny situation and a few that will tolerate light shade. PATIO ROSES: About knee high for front boarder planting, about 80 cm apart when grouping, these can also be grown in containers as long as the roots are kept cool ( tin foil around the inside of the pot before filling will help with this) feed right through the growing season. FLORIABUNDA: Flowers grow in clusters - bushes grow to about waist high on average, space these about 1mtr apart when grouping. Cut off spent flower clusters and they will reward you with masses of colour right through the growing season. HYBRID TEA: This is the rose to give you the large exhibition one steam bloom. They grow about chest high. These are the picking rose and need feeding well right through the growing season to give the best results. Miniture: A dwarf growing bush rose with all parts scaled down, height will be listed on the label - I find these not as long lived as the larger bush rose. If you have one that is not performing and has been growing for a few years, dig it out, change the soil and plant another. The secret to keeping roses free from disease is to remove all last years' diseased wood and leaves from the ground around them and burn. Keep the food up to rose bushes starting now while they are beginning to leaf and continue right through until the end of summer. Manure enriched compost around them now will feed and protect the roots but keep it off where the rose has been grafted. Blood & bone, vormacast or the liquid form is also good right now. When the ground warms up a little sprinkle a man made balanced rose fertiliser around them, these fertilisers have been designed to promote just the right amount of leaf and flower growth, and need the warmer soil to activate. Don't waste them by using them too soon. I have learned through selling and growing roses which are the good doers- But in saying that there are growers of roses that raise better healthier roses than others. From my experience a rose-planted bare rooted in the winter or early spring will do better for me than a rose planted going into the summer. But I understand the new gardener likes to see the bloom's before buying and now days a large range of roses are on offer in the late Spring, bagged, in bud and flower ready to plant. They take a little more care to become settled. Vegatables: green crops need to be dug in now, before they flower and get stringy. Keep planting seeds and seedlings and enjoy the absence of white butterfly! Fruit: Buds are swelling to blossom burst as sap rises, what's needed now are sunny days and bee's. I worked on my gooseberry bushes last year and again this week,Thinning branches before the leaves arrive, cutting up the bottom branches to get the bushes higher off the ground making it so much easier to pick the fruit from underneath and not have to fight your way through a tangled mess of prickly branches. Cheers, Linda.