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