Gardening in North Otago August 13th 2014

Spring has sprung, unpredictable days, heat in the still low sun here on the coast and us gardeners paying full attention forecasts.

The hose has been out in my garden after all the strong winds over the past couple of weeks, trees and shrubs shifted over the winter need the water kept up and stakes firmed to allow new roots to take hold.
Folia feeding is beneficial now as well as the ground warms and plants are looking for nutrients. I have worm tea but watered down horse or cow manure is a useful and inexpensive folia or root food especially around the roots of roses while they are pushing out new buds.
It is at this time of the year I notice yellowing of some plants, the ground gets depleted of nitrogen during winter especially when plants are shallow rooted like camellias, azaleas and rhododendron, give them a feed with an acid fertiliser especially formulated for them.( If powder water in)
Potted plants that make a lot of roots and have out grow their containers will soon show poor growth but these plants can be revived by either re-potting them into a larger pot or reducing the root mass by half then re-potting back into the same pot. I remove excess roots by removing the root bound plant from the pot, lay it on the ground then I use a sharp spade to chop the root ball in half. Once potted up again I apply slow release fertilizer and compost to either soil or a heavy tree and shrub mix and hope for rain to add more nutrients.
With all the slow release fertilisers on offer now it's makes it easy to choose the right one for all plants.

I started spraying weeds a couple of weeks ago, on the warm days and see now that it has worked, this will remain an on going task from now on until next winter.

Lawns
Moss can be delt to in lawns, pathways and garden structures. There are a lot of products out there to deal with moss but killing the moss in lawns is simply a short term measure, it dose not address the basic problem. If you really want to eradicate moss from your lawn, then you have to find the problem causing it. The reasons are varied, but not too difficult to isolate.
Things that would be causing moss in your lawn could be:
Water logging - in winter or summer.
Poor feeding regime - usually shown by light green grass.
Soil too acid - carry out a test, lime may be needed.
Shaded Lawns - overhanging trees or large shrubs.
Mowing lawns too close is a very common cause, for it weakens the grass allowing moss to take hold.
Drought - if severe enough to harm or kill the grass. Not to be confused with a bit of summer-browning
Sandy - free-draining soils. This can weaken the grass and allow moss to take over. Some mosses are quite happy in these conditions. Add humus (compost or sieved soil) to add more body and rake in, this will encourage worms as well.
Compaction - continued use by children and pets with no remedial attention by way of aeration in the Autumn.
Generally, lawns that are well maintained - which includes being well fed, cut properly, aerated and de-thatched - problems which result in moss will not occur. Moss rarely competes with strong growing grass in lawns. Get the grass growing properly starting with the first spring feeding when temperatures rise soon. Slow release grass fertliser is ideal when the ground is wet and rain is about to happen.
Treating small areas of moss in lawns can be carried out with sulphate of iron watered on at the strength displayed on the pack per sq meter, the moss will turn black and after a couple of weeks you can rake out the dead moss and re-seed.


Vegetables

Pick winter crops while still at their best - Fold cauliflower leaves over and tie to protect from frost and keep florets tight.

Asparagus is a vegetable that repays planting over many years. To prepare beds cultivate deeply and add generous amounts of compost. Existing asparagus beds should be cultivated carefully to avoid damaging the crowns that lie just below the surface, add a new layer of mulch.

Here on the coast get spring sowings off to an early start now, use a row of cloches or a stretch of clear polythene to warm and dry out the soil.
Further inland the soil will take a bit of thawing out before any planting Can be done but the garden can be prepare by digging in compost / humus.
Potatoes need to be sprouted now then into the ground for early crop, people have been telling me of the benefits gained from planting potatoes on a bed of pine needles, I lay them on comfry leaves but will use some pine needles as well this year.

Fruit

My peach tree is just at bud burst right now so will spray with a copper spray for leaf curl, once in blossom it is too late to spray.
If you have not already pruned your peach or nectarine tree I will run through how to go about it, recovery will be quicker now the sap has risen.
1. For the glass shape pick four main scaffold branches and simplify, cut larger branches needing removed close to the trunk, leave a collar, it will encourage tree borer.
2. Remove small weak upright branches on trunk or main branches.
3. Leave 50 to 75% pencil thick shooting wood per tree.
Both peach and nectarine fruit on wood developed last summer. Inspect the buds on newer wood, single buds are leaf buds, double buds are immature fruit buds and triple buds are mature fruit buds. Cut to an outward facing double bud, leave triples.

Cheers, Linda