Gardening in North Otago 4th December 2013

The big clean up after more hedge trimming has been on go here, things are looking a little too neat and tidy now but nature will do it's best to put that right! I know all gardeners will be finding there is so much to be cut back in the garden, plants like tree peony which doubles in size each growing season. Don't let tree peony swamp your garden and smother other plants. When finished flowering the older woody canes can be cut out. By doing this now seed pods will be cut off as well, if allowed to ripen they will pop all over your garden and grow. Other larger plants I have had to cut back are bush lavatera's, English abutilon, ornamental broom, and false Valerian. These will all grow back soon and look a lot nicer, some will flower again. Keep dead heading roses, don't just cut the flower off, cut at an outward facing bud on a lower section of the branch strong enough to support a new flower. Begonias are really pushing through now and I see that I have lost a few that I left in the ground from last year, I am guessing all the rain we had earlier on rotted them. I did dig and store most of them over the winter which I am now glad about. The food begonias most appreciate is any fish based fertiliser, as a folia spray or watered in around their roots. Hydrangeas are producing flower heads now so it is important to keep the water and food up to them, old stable manure, blood and bone, dry, liquid or slow release fertiliser will keep them happy and flowering well. Remember it's lime for pink and Epsom salts or aluminum sulphate to keep them blue. Fuchsias are making a lot of growth now as well, if you missed cutting any back do it now, they will flower later but will soon catch up .Fuchsias are on sale right now and are wonderful in pots for a shady spot and they soon become bushy and to fill a pot. Tip cuttings can be taken from fuchsias now, if you spot some you like in a friends garden ask for some cuttings. I break a cutting off at a heel or a bud section, remove some of the top growth and push into firm wet river sand.Tip cuttings cuttings from Hebe's will also root with no trouble in river sand . Abutilon (Chinese lantern: If you are looking for something non invasive to make a show of colour against a wall why not try Abutilon (Chinese lantern, they come in three strong colours, yellow, orange, burgundy and white. I planted yellow and burgundy and white together in a large container with nice lime green grass's below them, being a rather spindly plant I intertwined them and they now look like one bush. If trained against a wall leave some longer branches and shorten back others to get a good cover of flowers. Peony roses: What a wonderful addition to the flower garden peony roses are, they have been fantastic this year or am I just seeing more in peoples gardens? The brilliant shades and very large blooms fill many vases I am sure. Remove seed pods once blooms have finished to stop plants putting effort into making seed. Low hanging tree branches: With the weight of rain not so long ago I could see which branches need lifting on large deciduous trees, if left they will cast too much shade over surrounding plants. It's the lower branches that can be removed without making the tree look as though it has been cut. The upper branches will hide the cuts, so any branch growing downwards with a canopy branch directly above it can be cut back or removed altogether. Lawns: keep lawn food on hand for the next good rain, lawns get really stressed from now on as the heat of the day intensifies. If your lawns are inclined to crack when dry they have probably been planted on clay soil, apply gypsum ( soluble lime) and water in. After a couple of years of doing this your lawns will have a spring back in them. Gypsum works it's way through the clay and makes it become more like soil. If lawn weeds are a problem spray before cutting or remove flat weeds with a knife when noticed. I spot spray with lawn weed spray because I don't want to upset the balance of the work going on in the soil beneath the lawn by contaminating it with chemicals. Vegetables: Perfect weather for vegetables and fruit this year, keep the hoe going because the weeds are doing well also. The days are warm and the nights a little cooler, just right for growing. I am amazed that the white butterfly is STILL not a problem in our garden, long may it last. I had bad luck with the runner beans planted directly into the ground before labor weekend, they popped up then were eaten off I am guessing by snails / slugs!. So more beans have been planted but this time into trays to be transplanted when big enough to make a start on climbing up the frame. But, yes I know the slugs & snails will be waiting so I will make beer traps out of empty plastic fiz bottles by cutting the bottles with the lid in place through the middle, bury the lidded half in the ground and fill with beer, cut door opening in the other half for snails & slugs to slide in, then force the other half with door opening on top. The bottom of the bottle will be the roof to keep the rain out. Gritty egg shells will go on the ground around the bottom of the frame as well. Tomatoes will be getting taller and starting to fruit now, the removal of over half the leaves on a plant will benefit your plants by allowing more nutrients to the fruit along with more sun to encourage flowering and allowing flowers to become more visible for pollination, try it and see if you get a better crop. The cooler nights tend to upset tomato plants, leaves become bluish and tend to curl causing plants to become susceptible to blight. One method of keeping them in good health I have been reading up on is the use of copper wire. Basic premise: The presence of copper (wire) would help the tomato plants be more resistant to "blight" related diseases during the course of the growing season. Material: 12" length of 18 gage (wall picture hanging wire). the main vine should be at least 1/4" in diameter and transplant shock over. Insert or force one end of the wire through the center of the main vine about 1" above ground level. Kink the protruding wire end so that it doesn't slip out of the vine. Force the remainder of the wire (9-10") into the root zone in the ground. That's all there is to it. The person who wrote the above also wrote that he used this method on half his crop and controlled the other half with sprays. Result, the copper prevention was as successful as his spraying programme. Any new idea is worth trying to avoid spraying what we eat! Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 29th November 2013

Nature stops for nothing at this time of the year so I have my head down gardening again after a sad time for our family last week saying a final goodbye to my Mum. From the words of John Lennon "Life happens when you are busy making other plans" Some changeable days this week and the night beetle are here again in full force, I was getting the washing in just on dark one evening and they were making so much noise devouring the leaves on trees I thought there was an engine running somewhere! Also the fat moths and the spittle bug are in force again, Spittle bugs don't seem to be deterred by the odd cold snaps we have been experiencing. Spittle bug nymphs can turn a liquid secretion into bubbles by moving or pumping their bodies. Once the bubbles have formed, spittle bugs use their hind legs to cover themselves with the froth. The ‘spittle’ serves multiple purposes. It shields the spittle bugs from predators It insulates them from temperature extremes and It prevents the spittle bugs from dehydrating. Spittle bug eggs are laid in late summer and are left to over winter on plant debris. The eggs will hatch in early spring and go through five stages, before becoming adults. When the nymphs originally hatch in early spring, they will attach themselves to a plant and begin feeding. Although spittle bug nymphs do feed on plant sap, the damage is minimal and populations are usually small, so no pesticide is necessary. A strong blast with a hose should be enough to dislodge a spittle bug nymph,they’ll be gone in a few weeks anyway. In extreme cases, they can cause stunting and weaken plants or reduce yields. If you should have a severe infestation, remove plant debris in the autumn and work the soil to reduce egg population. Adult spittle bugs (frog hoppers) are 6 to 8mm long, elongated, oval and usually dull coloured with prominent eyes Nymphs are smaller and bright greenish/yellow. Dead heading roses is on the go here again already after waiting for those fat buds to open and I am keeping up the fish emulsion to foliar feed and deter green fly, but have had to use a nasty on the underside of my hellebore leaves because am sure this is where the green fly winter over in my garden. If you have orchids it is the time to re-pot them now, use the orchid mix for the best results, it takes the guess work out of wondering what to feed them. The dew's are still wetting so the ground is still holding some moisture, scatter grass clippings around as mulch if your lawns have not been sprayed, they become good humus. But don't pile them on too thickly because they are inclined to form a shield that stops the rain reaching the soil beneath. I throw them about to empty the catcher then go back and rake them out. So much spent spring growth in our garden needs cut back now, I am making a lot of gaps by cutting back aquilegia's, forget-me-not, pansies, viola's and catmint, I have cosmos, poppies and statice, lobelia, and petunias to fill gaps. The hose is out every second day now to keep moisture up to rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias now their brilliance is all but over. What a fantastic spring it has been for theses bushes, the right amount of sun and rain resulted in the best blooming. Now rhododendrons need to be dead headed to prevent seed being made, there is a specific point at the base of the spent flower head that if bent will snap off perfectly, if you have not done this before it will not be long before you will learn where that point is. Snap off as many of the flower heads at that point as you can without disturbing the new growth just below. Feed with a light dressing of acid fertiliser, water in well around the drip line then mulch to stop bushes drying out over the warmer months. Vegetable: It seems I only need to turn my back on the vegetable plots for a couple of days and the veg are smothered by very healthy weeds! Food needs to be keep to tomatoes, currants an berries, lemons and fruit trees... fruiting takes a lot out of a plant.There are specially prepared fertilisers for most plants with instructions for when, and how much to apply. Blood and bone is a good all rounder but can attract fly's at this time of the year so water it in well. All fruiting trees and plants need lots of water now to create juicy plump fruit, the rain we have been lucky enough to get has been perfect for them but it's the winds to come that will do the damage so keep the water up when you know it will be needed. Remember to cover your strawberries to keep the birds from eating them as soon as they show any sign of red. Strawberry netting stretches out to cover a large area and does the job well, the birds are helping themselves to my gooseberries so I have thrown some frost cloth over them until I get a chance to pick them. As tomatoes grow be sure to remove laterals of the taller growing variety and stake them to keep them upright as the fruit gets heaver. They should be flowering now waiting for the bee's to pollinate them. If your bees are few and far between like mine this year you may have to take a hair drier into the glass house to gently blow the pollen around while leaves are dry. Early morning soaking on the vegetable garden keeps moisture up to them through the day and helps with the germination of seeds. Successive planting can be kept up right through the Summer. If you must use spray's on your vegetables make sure you read the directions to know how long the with holding period is before you can eat the vegetables. Why not try an organic option there are more on offer every year, or try companion planting. Some plants have been proven to help and enhance others so I will list what has worked. Carrots and onions together, the onions help keep the carrot fly at bay and carrots the onion fly. Celery and the brassica family, i.e.: cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. the celery will confuse the white butterfly when wanting to land and lay it's larvae eggs. Marigolds and beans/brassicas, the marigold emits a natural gas which protects surrounding plants from insects like aphids and white fly. Make your own natural sprays: The following plant leaves can be boiled in water and the resulting liquid used on plants. Basil will eliminate aphids Chives prevent mildew occurring on cucumbers, squash and pumpkins. Coriander also for aphids and spider mite. Eucalyptus is a good general purpose insecticide. Rhubarb has been found to help prevent blackspot. These may be only plants but in liquid form they can be harmful to children so keep marked bottles high up. I found out that it is not a good idea to breath in fumes when bringing to the boil, and to keep doors and window open. the fumes from some of them can certainly make you feel really odd. Get corn and pumpkins in as soon as possible because they need a long growing and ripening season. Try planting corn in squares like I suggested in my last notes. Our Parkside Garden calendar with monthly gardening notes and seasonal images of Parkside Gardens is now available in Paper plus. Cheers, Linda