Gardening in North Otago 29th October 2013

Another lovely week in North Otago after a windy but still warm Labour week end. Our Kanzan cherry blossom was blown away too soon but we still have the beautiful Shimadzu sakura low spreading almost white flowering cherries in full bloom. These are truly beautiful and deserve a spot in every garden big enough to cope with them. Weed spraying, lawn seed sowing and mowing has been keeping me pretty busy out here, the ground is warm now even after that recent cold snap and the weeds grow before my eyes, still time to pull out or hoe and spry before they make seed and spread every where. Just watch spraying around roses, they only need a sniff of a hormone weed spray to put out stunted deformed yellowing leaves and then eventually die back. Roses are doing well after the good deep rain soakings and the nights warming up, keep the food and deep root watering up to them as they bud up, foliar feeding on fresh new leaves works well now along with slow release fertiliser which ensures they are feed each time they are watered. Healthy well fed roses are less likely to become diseased. Cut back Erica's and callunas that have finished flowering, this stops them from going woody, taking all the spent Flowers off will encourage them to produce fresh new green growth for summer. If you don't cut the old flowering growth off they will make their new growth out from the old growth which means they become woody at the bottom. Cut back aubrietia rockery plant and you will get another flowering. Also cut spent flowers off hellebore's so you get the full effect of their wonderful leaves. Polyanthus have been wonderful over the Winter but now it's time to cut them back and shift to a shady spot, they can be planted out in a sunny spot again early next Winter. Lawns: keep feeding lawns when rain is about, powdered fertilisers need to be washed well in to stop it burning lawns during hot sunny days. New grass sown now will strike very quickly, sow thickly to choke out annual weeds. Spray flat perennial weeds in established lawns but not new lawns, annual weeds that grow up with new grass will eventually be mowed out. Vegetables: PLANT, PLANT, PLANT plants & seeds, I have planted out pumpkin and squash plants grown from seed, they need a large prepared area for them to ramble with a lot of compost and old stable manure dug in. The leaves will always let you know when they need water. If you have a glass house or tunnel house why not plant some peppers, they can grow high so when their stems are strong enough bang in a stake and attach a string from the stake to the roof to support them as they grow up. Berry Kane's and strawberries are doing a lot of growing now as well, They both flower and fruit up really quickly as long as they get all day sun they will ripen fast. Berries and new seasons peas are perfect for encouraging Children into the garden they all learn the results of clearing ground and planting are well worth the wait. Keep manure enriched compost up to rhubarb, if the soil gets hard and dry around rhubarb it will grow stringy dry uneatable steams, rhubarb sponge and cream, YUM. Keep picking herbs to stop them going to seed, dry what you don't use and store away until the months when they are not available. Drying herbs :Pick in the full heat of the day, lay out on news paper in a dry airy place until crisp, (all moisture must be gone). Then rub together into sprinkle sized bits and store in brown paper bags or glass jars. The elder flower is blooming which for me means making elder flower cordial, this is the summer drink in the UK , so refreshing with iced water. Elder berry here is considered a weed because the birds drop the seed and it grows any where and everywhere, when it pops up here in our garden I pull it out and pick my flowers from a bush on the farm. I thought I would share the very easy recipe with you all. Elder flower cordial Prep Time: 40 minutes Steeping of flowers: 48 hours Ingredients: 1k /2 ¼ lbs sugar 1.5 litres / 6 cups boiling water 4 medium lemons, washed 30 large Elderflower heads, shake to remove any insects ( Do not wash) 2 oz citric acid (available from a chemist Preparation: Place the sugar into a large saucepan/stockpot or a large Pyrex bowl. (I use my croc pot) Pour the boiling water over and stir until all the sugar has dissolved and leave to cool. Grate the rind of the lemons with a fine grater, add to the sugar water. Slice the lemons into thick slices and add to the water. Add the citric acid and stir, then finally add the flower heads to the water and stir again. Cover and leave to steep for 48 hours. Strain through clean fine muslin cloth into a clean bowl. Using a funnel, fill sterilized bottles. Seal and store in a cool, dark place (not the refrigerator) for a few weeks or freeze in plastic bottles to keep for longer. The cordial is delicious diluted with still or fizzy water. Once a bottle is opened store in the refrigerator. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 15th October 2013

What a stormy month so far, strong winds, heavy black sky's, rain, hail, frost, thunder and lightening, blossom blown off and trees blown down. Spring is certainly living up to it's unpredictability this year. Because of the weather my main tulip display was flattened so I dug them up with tops still attached and have left them die back before storing them in a dry place to be planted out again next May. I have weeded and composted the gardens they were planted in ready for the planting of blue salvia in a couple of weeks. This is the time of the year that I am busy getting my garden presentable for all the Spring tours that have started. With the ground warming and the heavy rain we have had it is just right for planting and it is about this time of the year that I think about getting the weeds away in my flower beds before they make seed, I then change beds from a spring show to a summer show with annuals. In these beds I cannot use bark or straw covering because I am changing them every season, I use clean weed free compost. The trick is to get rid of the surface weeds and past flowering annuals, water the bed well, then put a thick layer of the compost on top of the wet soil, it must be a thick layer! do not dig it in! leave it on top to suppress any weed seeds wanting to germinate, plant your new seasons plants into it. Remember to keep dead heading and feeding flowering pansies and polyanthus as long as there is a chill in the air they will keep on flowering until it gets too warm for them. If you feel they have done all they are going to do dig them out, cut back and plant in a cool shady place where they can be left and planted out again next year. I see shoots on my flamboyant Begonias now and some tubers have become big enough to cut into several shooting sections to become plants on their own. Flamboyant begonias make a wonderful show as a boarder or in pots and hanging baskets and they flower on and on through the summer. once they send up leaves I start feeding them fish fertilisers to keep them going strong. Coastal gardens will be ahead of gardens further inland, these gardens will still be getting reasonable frosts. Late frosts on the new growth on roses can be a problem but don' t be too concerned because rose leaves recover very fast and will have new buds to open in six weeks time. If watering don't let rose foliage go into the night wet, the rain of course can not be helped, water and spray them early in the day. When the nights start warming up any dampness on rose leaves will encourage mildew. Also keep the food up to your roses now, they are making their buds and it's hungry roses that get diseased. Nitrophosca is good right now on any summer flowering plants and shrubs for a quick result, use every fortnight to keep the food supply up. I have been spot spraying convolvulus, couch and clover, fresh new weed growth is coming through the ground now so its the right time to zap them on a non windy day. If roses get even a sniff of hormone spray it will deform the foliage and the rose bush will eventually die so don't risk spraying on a windy day. I have noticed some of my front shrub plantings are too big now, hiding good planting areas behind each over grown shrub. It takes only a few years for gardens to close in with out us really noticing and what a difference can be made by opening up and creating distance for a new and interesting planting. One area opened in my garden is deep enough to allow me to mass plant with blue bells and include a new maple tree and it was only two scrappy over grown shrubs removed which has made this difference. I planted a lot of sun flower seeds into trays a few weeks ago which are now large enough to plant out, now I know summer is just around the corner when i think of the show I will have of those huge sunny flower heads following the sun around the garden. Also up and almost ready to plant out are cosmos, larkspur, nasturtium and marigolds, although I must say they got a tickle up from the frosts and hail this week, maybe I will hold them a little longer before planting out. If you are keen to attract monarch butterflies on the coast, plant swan plants now but protect from late frosts until established. Vegetables Keep an eye on potatoes that are through the ground, mound the soil up around them and frost cloth may be needed at night just to be sure if your garden is low lying. Seeds are popping up in no time now so get them in ready for salad time. Because of the cold snap I have started some seeds in the airing cupboard, if you do this you must take them out as soon as they make an appearance or they will grow leggy looking for light. Pumpkin, squash, corn and courgette seeds can go in now, if you prefer to buy plants be sure to harden them off outside in a protected place for a while before planting them out. If your vegetable garden has been disappointing in the past with plants not growing as well as you would like you could do a Ph test and if the PH of your soil needs to be raised you can then add lime to do this. I sprinkle a little lime on my compost heaps in spring and Autumn and when the compost is ready to put on the garden I feel I have added lime then. But if you have done a test and you need to raise the PH Sprinkle the lime over the soil surface and rake it into the top couple of inches, letting it naturally work down to the root zone. Do not dig it deeply into the soil, it will leach down soon enough. Dolomite lime is less likely to drastically change the PH but if your soil is in need of sweetening our local lime (calcium carbonate) will do the trick. Usually application rates are 2 to 3 pounds per 100 square feet of garden area, every second year to raise the pH from 5.5 to 6.5. There are some veg that like a more acid soil so don't go adding lime unless your soil needs sweetening. Brasica plants,cabbage, brussel sprouts and the like enjoy a sweet soil so you would be safe adding lime every second year where you plan to plant them. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago September 8th 2013

A good rain here in North Otago at the beginning of the week which is always beneficial during spring as long as it stays warm enough for people & plants. The later flowering blossoms are taking center stage now like prunus Kanzan and prunus shimidsu sakura. Enjoy because they will be the last and not be on show again until this time next year. So much happening in gardens now, keep an eye on tall growing chrysanthemums as they start making growth now, I cut back the first new growth before they make hard wood. They do not flower until the Autumn so by removing the first new growth they should regrow a little shorter and be more manageable. Prune fuchsias back now if you have not already done so, they will make new fresh growth, because they flower on new seasons wood they can be taken well back. Too early yet to trim box hedges, wait until the new growth firms up a little. The perfect time in spring to trim box once the new growth is well out is when there are a few overcast days in a row, the hot sun burns new undergrowth, dull days give them time to recover. Dahlias on offer, they are wonderful in the garden for summer colour. If you have a sunny spot that needs a bit of brightening up how about putting in a few dahlia tubers they are so reliable, tall, medium and dwarf. They are just starting to make a move so if you want colour to continue in your garden when the spring show is over dahlias will do the job. Dahlias like a warm full sun free draining spot, the tubas will rot if planted in ground that stays wet. Bedding plants: All bedding plants need attention once planted, water and folia feed often. I had great success last year using sifted soil as a top layer to the soil on flower beds before planting annuals and seeds, I got to the same good results with the grass seed germinating in resown patches in lawns. Sifted soil is fine and packs round new roots firmly if kept moist, and is soft and fine allowing roots to grow quickly. Soil is, after all nature given for growing and here before we had so many other choices! Hydrangea's are popular again, they are leafing up now and will need fed ready for their long flowering season, aged animal manure is a good food source for them, they are shallow rooted so need watered often. To keep pink use a little lime around the drip line and for blue you use alliumn sulphate or epsom salts, These must be watered in and not just left on top of the roots. Vegetable garden: I have just dug compost into a sheltered area of the veg garden and constructed a tall pyramid shaped wooden structure with wire net for growing runner beans up. Once erected and beans in at the base they sprout and climb up really fast then look great in flower before the beans form. More peas, silver beet and beetroot have also gone in along with mixed lettuce seeds in a tray, I plan to transplant them into the garden as I need them. Lettuce seedlings will hold in a tray for a long time in a shady spot and only really start growing when they are planted, fed and watered Keep molding up potatoes as they show leaf, this keeps them cooler allowing more time for them to grow a bigger crop. FIRST EARLY VARIETIES: Cliffs Kidney, Jersey Bennes, Maris Anchor, Rocket. SECOND EARLY Ilam Hardy, Karaka, Red king. MAIN CROP: Desiree, Mondial, Nadine, Pentland Dell, Red Rascal, Rua Cheers Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 1st October 2013

October: This month is where chasing weeds becomes a full time job - Hoeing and hand pulling weeds is still the best option in planted areas. If you are clearing a garden to plant out for a summer show I suggest clear all annual weeds, pull out, or dig well under. Couch grass needs to be taken right out, get each long runner under the ground and any little pieces that may have been chopped with the spade, they grow and spread very fast if left, I spot spray Couch with round up now in badly effected areas. Once all obvious weeds are gone cover the area with organic compost, thick enough to keep the light from allowing any weed seeds left behind to germinate. Organic compost if cooked well will have been heated to the point of destroying seeds that it once contained. NOW plant,plant, plant! as many annuals and perennials as you can into the prepared area. They will grow really fast from now on and beat the weed seeds blown in or dropped by birds. Moisture and liquid feeding for new plantings is the key to success as they settle in and make new feeding roots, first thing in the morning is the best time to do this giving plants and dirt time to dry off before night, fungus thrives in damp ground on mild nights. Mulching is really important now as well, the areas mulched here with pea straw in late winter are holding the moisture around trees and shrubs and watering is not require yet . Pea straw looks ok in shrubberies but I do not use it in ornamental gardens where I plant annuals and find these non mulched gardens need weeded and watered often from now on. If you have not feed plants, roses or shrubs do it now, powered plant food should always be watered in, if you have home made compost ready to use add eight parts (by weight) blood & bone and one part sulphate of pot ash this will to add food and a flowering / fruiting component. I often mention using old stable manure around roses which they love and will keep them going over their long flowering period, ,ix with compost and spread around the drip line, watering will take it to the roots as required. Keep this compost / fertiliser at least a hand's- breadth from the trunks and steams and extend out just beyond the drip line enabling the food to be on the outer third of of this circle where the most active feeding roots are. Most of my Camellias are still flowering but once finished they can be trimmed and shaped, take out branches from the middle if your bush is dense and bushy. This lets the light in to help form next years buds.There should be enough gaps for a bird to fly through to allow good bud forming for next spring. Hosta's are starting to leaf now, so watch when working around them in the garden, it will not take much to knock the point off the new leaves, I have lilly of the valley popping up now as well and find I need to be careful working around clumps as well for the same reason, Give them a dressing of compost and blood & bone and the slug bate around hostas before they fully leaf up, keep them moist from now on and they will clump up and reward you well. Lillies are up and growing well, put stakes to tie them to in before they get higher and never let them dry out. Same for peony roses they do so much better growing up through holding stakes. I have been noticing a few cherry blossom trees with root stock branches being left to grow. By this I mean any branches that develop below the graft (where the branches begin at the top of the trunk); these should be cut off while still small. If they are allowed to develop into branches they will take over the whole tree because they are the root stock and will grow faster than the grafted stock. All flowering cherry trees are grafted onto a strong root stock of a very ordinary white blossom tree. If you have a tree with lovely pink or white blossom and you notice some blossom looks different then most likely it will be a branch growing from below the graft, cut it right out. Lawns are really going for it now and need fed often during their growing season, have some lawn fertiliser on hand for the next decent rain we get as this is the very best time to apply lawn fertiliser to established lawns. If applied in dry sunny weather it is likely to burn grass off. Don't fertilise newly struck grass, all fertilisers will be too strong. I planted grass seed a couple of weeks ago thinking the ground was warm enough now to get a strike, but no, I should have left it until October I have roughed the ground up a little and resown seed again in the bare patches left by the moss removal and grass grubs Vegetable garden The shops are full of veg, herb plants and seeds, tomatoes plants and seed potatoes, from now on it is so easy to grow your own food. If you do not have an existing vegetable garden but you do have a patch of vacant ground, clear it, dig it or rotary hoe it, edge it with what ever you have on hand , lime stone blocks, tree branches or sleepers. Spray the weeds around the outside of your edging so they will not encroach on your planting space then go for it, get planting at this time of the year everything will grow fast and grow well as long as you keep the water up and hoe the weeds away. Compost will be needed only on ground that had large tree's or hedges growing near by. Vacant soil should be rich enough to plant straight into once worked up. Corn and pumpkins need to be planted now to assure the long ripening season they need. Carrot seed planted now should mature before the carrot fly is on the wing again to lay the second generation of eggs in autumn. If carrot fly has been a real problem for you in the past I would cover rows with insect net once germinated from October until April which is the three generational life cycle of the carrot fly. I have been told Resistafly F1 hybrid Egmont seeds are less likely to be infested, plant seed with a little river sand to thin rows out. The fly is attracted to the carrot smell while flying low to lay her eggs so thinning out of carrots is almost like calling the flies. If it's a Herb garden you are keen to make dig some old stable manure and lime, all herbs like both. Why not plant up some mixed herb pots now and they will be ready to give as Christmas presents. Cheers, Linda