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.