Gardening in North Otago February 1st 2014

February already, where did January go? some nice sunny days this week along with a good rain last Sunday, it certainly freshened up our gardens. However I have still been dragging the hose's around the hydrangeas and rhododendrons. Continue to dead head roses and feed for the next lot of blooms, it is also time to dead head dahlias to keep them blooming longer, cut off the spent bloom and stalk before they make a seed. Keep cutting back all early summer perennials and shrubs before they run to seed, cutting will promote a new lot of blooms, but remember to feed and water what you cut back to help them make the new growth required of them. The first of the seeds I left to fall from spring flowering plants are up, I will wait until perennials seedlings are stronger,( another week or two) then transplant them into trays, then I sit them in the shade to keep growing before planting them out at the end of next winter. Have a look around plants that have dropped seed in your garden and you will find nice little seedlings of pansies, viola, marigolds, hellebore's, sweet William and aquilegias, to name only a few. Seeded annuals can be planted out as soon as they are big enough,they should flower over Autumn. Feed Daphne and azaleas with acid plant fertiliser to ensure you get good root growth and bud development for the Spring.Take the seed heads off anything that you do not want to spread, that goes for weeds as well, make sure you whack the seed heads off and destroy until you have time to deal with them. Keep trimming hedges as they put on soft new growth and either compost the trimmings or scatter them around the garden, they are soft enough to break down at this time of the year. Lawns: are starting to brown off in area's of my garden that bake all day in the sun, hosing will keep the grass alive but it's rain they need to keep them green. Keep eradicating flat weeds before they seed down into the grass. Grass grub time, February to May is when they munch on grass roots, there are products that can be shaken on and watered in, if you think you will have a problem with grass grub have some on hand for the next rain we get. The grubs feed on the grass roots and leave dead patches of grass on lawns (birds scratching will let you know grubs are there). Once the dead grass patch is visible they will have moved on to another area of the lawn, concentrate on protecting the unaffected areas. Herbs: All herbs should have flowered and run to seed at least once this season, keep cutting and using or drying them to keep them from doing this. I cut bunches then hang them in a dry place until all the moisture is gone and they are crisp to touch. Then a good rubbing will remove dried leaves from stalks and further rubbing will break up particles small enough to be put in dry jars ( (never store in plastic containers or plastic bags.) The slightest hint of moisture will encourage mold. My mixed herb combination is parsley, thyme, sage, basil, pineapple sage, marjoram, nasturtium leaves & flowers, and smaller amounts of rosemary and lemon balm because they can over power the others. vegetables: The weeds have gone mad again after a rain and a few warm days , get them with a hoe while small. It is beneficial to plant a green crop to be dug in where ground is not being utilised, mustard seed, barley, oats or blue lupin seed will add hummus to the soil when dug in at the soft green new growth stage. February is the time to prepare for winter crops. Sow carrots, parsnips, beetroot, spinach, peas, cauliflower and cabbage. Build up the soil first with compost and lime (if soil needs sweetened) Continue taking laterals off your Tomatoes, remove any fallen or diseased tomatoes to prevent disease spreading. Fruit: I have had drip water on my grapes this week, as they are putting growth into the fruit, I don't feed them because they will only respond by pushing out heaps of leaders and leaf which are not required. I have shortened fruiting leaders back closer to the fruit being formed. Apples are doing well, I thinned mine out last month where I noticed over crowding, too many on one branch will stunt growth and become too heavy for the branch. Nature is pretty good at taking care of this so do not be surprised to find the ground beneath apple trees strewn with what has been rejected for the good of what is left growing. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago January 14th 2014

Happy New gardening year to all who toil in the soil. With the departure of our UK Daughter, Husband and three young ones( plus cousins), after two full on weeks here with Nana & Poppa gardening took a back seat and our energy levels had sunk very low as we waved them goodbye on Sunday.....But, with the first wedding of this year in the garden on Saturday the show must go on and renewed energy was found! The good thing for me so far this summer is that I have not had to drag hoses around, what a wonderful time saver that has been and I am sure a godsend to those of you who took time away knowing that your gardens would still be fresh and in bloom on your return. Some of my roses are suffering badly from rust from rust on leaves this year. There are roses are always going to be more susceptible to rust attack and I feel these roses succumb when the ground drys out during strong warm winds, they become distressed between watering's. I continue to remove rust effected leaves then spray with a fungicide when time allows. I don't use sprinklers late in the day if overcast, wet leaves going into warm nights encourages mildew. Deep watering around the roots is what I recommend to keep fungus at bay. Remove all diseased leaves from the ground around roots and add compost plus blood & bone or slow release fertiliser because with continuous blooming roses zap nitrogen from the ground. Continue dead heading roses and give then a summer prune. cut a spent flower stem down to an out facing bud on a thick, strong part of stem. There are so many plants requiring a cut back now, my wheel barrow is on the go most days filling up in no time with cut back lupins, munkshood, mignonette, nasturtiums, iris, buddleia and delphiniums to name a few. I have just cut back a plant I grow a lot of which flops all over the place now in the heat, acanthus mollis known sometimes as (Bears britches) or (The oyster plant) cut well back because it will not take long to regrow new fresh growth for autumn and winter. My hydrangea's are wonderful right now, big healthy leaves and large full blooms, and I guess because of the frequent rains the colours are very intense. Petunias are taking center stage now, they are great gap fillers for sunny gardens, but do not preform well in shade. A shady spot can be filled with impatiens which are also colourful when planted in bold groups. Dead heading rhododendrons is really boring and time consuming but worth doing on newly planted bushes to encourage growth into the bush not into making seeds. There is a point where the spent flower seed heads break off cleanly without disturbing the new growth shoots at the sides, once you start you will find that break off point. I have started seed collecting, sweet peas, sweet William, poppies, iris, there is a lot of ripening going on and I have a lot of small paper bags stored away already. Get stakes in around Chrysanthemums now before they get too tall. Tip cuttings can be taken from chrysanthemums now, I find they root well in river sand.Chrysanthemums flower in Autumn. Lawns: I was out with the lawn fertiliser in that last heavy rain and see the weeds have been fed as well so will need to spot spray again, it's never ending when lawns need to look good. Fruit & Veg. I made many pots of black current jam last week and there are still some ready to pick and freeze for winter pies. I cut off the fruiting branches and then remove the currents, this way you prune at the same time. It's one of those jobs I need to find time for but always pleased I did once it is done. The vegetable garden is doing fine,seeds are popping up in no time after sowing, my lettuces seem to be sitting waiting to be picked without bolting, the corn is putting on some growth now but I find myself telling the pumpkins to hurry up as they and corn need a long hot ripening season. Tomatoes are doing well now that we are getting more sunny days, keep glass houses moist through the day because white fly like it dry. Keep planting all veg, seeds & plants (apart from corn and pumpkin) they should have been started long before now. Cheers, Linda.