Gardening in North Otago January 27th 2015

What great holiday weather North Otago has been experiencing again during this last week of January, a summer to remember for holiday makers there are probably more of than Gardeners at this time of the year. As a Gardener I have been loving the warmth and keeping the fitness up by dragging hoses around to keep plants and grass alive and grateful to be able to do because I have heard in some districts further north it is hand held hoses only.

This week I have been keeping on top of the weeds with the hoe and spray. Gravel walkways and drives are great germinating areas for weed seeds. I use round up on the established weeds as have found that organic weed spray works well on weeds at the early stage of growth but I have little success on bigger weeds.

Hedges can have a light trim to tidy them up, overcast days are the best time to do this so that the growth beneath is not stressed by the hot sun. 

All plants can do with a good feeding now because they have flowered well since the beginning of Summer, foliage feeding is great but if feeding with dry fertiliser around roots it should be watered in well, if left to sit on top it will burn exposed roots.

.

Keep dead heading the roses but, to those new gardeners ( repeating myself I know) dead heading means more than just removing the spent bloom, you must cut down to a new strong bud, usually about 3 buds down from the spent bloom. Remove all old leaves with black spot and rust, don't leave them lying on the ground around the roses. Deep soak around roots often and spray fortnightly with a fungus and pesticide mix as well as liquid fertiliser, (all together is fine) There are some organic options available but the fortnightly ritual must be kept up, continuous hot dry weather really stresses roses.

Large clumps of daffodils and bluebells can be broken up now and planted in areas where needed, it is safe to do this once the green has been used up by the bulbs, but a job made easier if the ground has been softened by rain!

Lawns:

I fed the lawns during that last rain it kept them green but the ground did'nt take long to bake hard again. Don't cut lawns too low, I have found if they are encouraged to make top growth grass will develop deeper stronger roots to sustain it, a little sprinkle of water now and then on dry grass will produce weak growth, a good soak and the natural rain will do the job but do not be tempted to scalp once it greens up they still have a long hot Autumn to tolerate yet.

Vegatables:

Plenty to be had from vegetable gardens right now, new potatoes are still being dug, and later crops being put in and tomatoes ripening perfectly. I have just sown a third lot of peas because my little Grandies are so put out when a crop is finished. Carrots and parsnip planted now will be up in no time and there should be bumper crops of corn and pumpkins later on in the season. 

If spaces are left after veg has been dug sow with wheat or or mustard rather than letting weeds grow then dig in while soft and green, this will add humus to the soil and keep it covered until ready to plant a winter crop of veg.

Fruit:

My apple trees are laden, the late ripening peach tree is the same and I see local cherries still on sale, what a difference continuous sunny days make to fruit ripening compared to those overcast summer days in past years.

Nip back the growth on grapes to let the sun in and to stunt leaf growth, the fruit needs all the vine can give now to ripen. 

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago January 20th 2015

Happy New year to all enjoying such lovely summer days, not a cloud in the sky at times and gentle warm breezes following me around the garden as I work, and how about that much needed rain just when it was needed. After spending the last two months dragging hoses around I was so relieved when the heavens opened. I am still in holiday mode here with many little ones needing Nana time and the garden is taking advantage of my absences!! 

Keep cutting back all early summer perennials and shrubs before they make seed. cutting will promote a new lot of blooms, but remember to feed what you cut back because they will need help to make the new growth required of them. I am still filling the wheelbarrow time and time again with all the cutting back then filling the gaps with summer annuals. 

I have just harvested sweet peas which I let go to seed after a wonderful blooming, then replenished the soil with manured compost and planted this seasons seeds for hopefully another show before winter. Sweet peas need a rich soil to grow in the same place year after year, if no compost or manure is added they will come up but struggle.

Roses are budding up again from the pruning after the first flowering, it takes about six weeks from cut to new bud. I neglected the spraying this summer so finding many rust effected leaves to remove and destroy, I have been lucky enough to acquire another trailer load of donkey manure so spread a little around the drip line of most roses before that day of heavy rain, food after the first heavy flowering is a must to keep them healthy until the end of growing season.

 It's been a dry summer for rhododendrons, camellias, azalea's and hydrangeas, they all do best in moist soil so have given them all a dressing of blood and bone watered in when giving them a good soak when needed. 

Already because of this dry Summer I have lost a couple of well grown conifers and a good sized maple, I just did not realise  they were suffering until it was too late, so keep an eye on established tree's and shrubs as well as the newly planted during hot months.

English lavenders ( The tall straight single flower head type) can be cut now and bunched for drying, the fragrance is fantastic and once hung and dried will give off this fragrance through the winter months to remind us of the hot summer days. Picking must be done when the flowers are fully out and completely dry. If you have very woody lavenders, it's a good time now to cut them back by two thirds. They will regrow fresh and bushy and make hard wood again before winter. If they are too old and woody dig them out and replace with new. 

Lawn weeds can be sprayed out during dry days, use product at the suggested strength and consider spot spraying for the sake of the worms, if too heavy handed even the grass will be affected. There are a few different lawn weed sprays on offer, even some that weeds and feeds at the same time. All lawns should be back to growing after that down pour and with a feed on the next rainy day from they will remain green and lush. I have been having great success with Nitrophoska on the lawns. 

Fruit and Veg: It's proving to be a bumper year for both fruit and veg if the water has been kept up, corn and pumpkins have really taken off now after a slowish start, and gardeners are telling me their tomato plants are producing and ripening really well this year so pollination has been good with the sunny days bringing the bees and insects out. Plums are plentiful as well, because I am still picking black currents I added them to my plum sauce this year which got the thumbs up: The colour is deeper and I feel the currants improved the vinegary flavour that is usual for plum sauce. Looking back through my notes the growing pattern of dull days over the last five .years may have been broken, lets hope so. Keep rotating root and leaf vegetables to get the best results, i.e where carrots have been growing, plant lettuce. I have just sown carrots and parsnips, picked all the board beans and replaced the spot with lettuce plants, and planted another row of peas.

Cheers, Linda.