Gardening in North Otago May 1st 2015

Some needed rain this week and raking and then more raking of leaves and hedge trimmings here this week and each full wool pack is getting to the end of them and the compost heaps are filling well. Once deciduous trees have lost their leaves we can see over crowded branches needing to be removed to let more light onto gardens allowing the sun in for spring bulbs to preform well. The overall look of an established garden can be changed by having a clean out, don't be sentimental about a tree out grown it's spot or in the wrong place, If it was not planted by you or just arrived in your garden odds are that the birds planted it! Clear those rouge trees out or transplant them to a spot where they are able to grow full size with out becoming a nuisance. 

This week as well as raking leaves I have been re potting some pots that have been full of summer colour but were now looking very tired, some I filled with succulents because I noticed that a lot of my succulents have flowered and become stalky which means that it is time to forgo the Mother plant and plant out her Babies. Each rosette on the end of a stalk can be broken off with a little part of the stem and pushed into river sand or potting mix, each one will develop roots and become a Mother plant. These Baby succulents look great in pots over the Winter months, Fill a pot or push in around the edges of pot planted out in Hyacinths or dwarf Spring bulbs. There are so many different succulents, in shades of red, orange, silver and fresh green. If you have exhausted clumps in the garden break them up, toss out the dodgy ones and replant the fresher. 

As mentioned in past notes some of my dahlias have collapsed with frost but some are still growing well, those needing attention I have cut back and covered with pea straw, cut tops can be left on top to protect tubers if straw is not available. If you have dahlia tubers in ground that could flood and stay wet they will probably rot. Gently lift them, hose off dirt and store in slightly damp river sand or damp sawdust in a cardboard box, leave in a cool, dry ,dark place, label and plant out again in late spring. Dahlia tubers can be divided now as well, dig up and hose off as explained, a division needs a tuber and an eye, the eyes are located on the neck of a tuber clump, near a cut stalk, an eye resembles a potato eye ( a small swelling) cut with a clean sharp knife, you may get three divisions from one tuber clump, name and store.

May is the last Month to plant Tulips to have them doing their thing when they should, Tulips seem to take a long time to come into flower, unlike a lot of other Spring bulbs already starting to make an appearance but tulips are so worth planting in a spring garden.

Two plants you can dig a trench for then fill with manure are sweetpeas and clematis, to reach the desired height they need a lot of rich food and a sweet soil so some lime for these as well. I have sweet peas well through after planting them in March, they should start flowering in late August. Sweet peas planted now will come up and grow slowly over winter and then really take off when the soil warms up again. 

Keep taking rose cuttings, choose a straight stem and cut off about 12 inches from the top just below a leaf node. Pull off the leaves along the stem two half leaves can be left at the top. Soaking in willow water for a couple of weeks is said to introduce hormone for rooting into the cuttings. Dig a spade into damp ground, make a slit in the soil and bury cuttings about six inches down into this wedge and firm the soil around cuttings. Name and water and they will make roots in the spring.  When you see they are growing on their own roots uproot them carefully and plant into pots to grow them on. You can use this method for many shrubs, like ceonothus, geraniums, potentilla, euonymous, hebes, weigela and even abutilon. Just make sure you pick a healthy straight stem. Use rooting hormone powders / gels to dip cuttings in before planting will help cuttings to take root other than than the willow water method. 

Erica's - Autumn is when they bud up to start flowering in Winter, if they were cut back after flowering they should have gone through the Summer looking fresh and green and should now be well in bud. Ericas and callunas are wonderful ground covers and look good growing down retaining walls. There are many different shades of pink, lavender and white, some are ground covers and some are upright growing and large growing varieties to miniatures, so much choice in ericas being offered for sale right now in garden centers. Erica's need full sun and good drainage to look their best, are frost hardy and their colour intensifies the colder it is, they look great planted in drifts of 3 or 5 together to give maximum impact, our garden would be very dull in the Winter months without Erica's.

Lawns have slowed down at last, lime and gypsum as well as a dressing of fine compost can be spread on lawns now, lime to sweeten, compost to add humus and gypsum to soften hard compacted ground which has a lot of clay content. After two or three years in a row of applying gypsum at this time of the year there will be no more cracks appearing in lawns during dry spells. 

Vegetables: 

Growing carrots without a problem or two is not always easy, the ground needs to still hold a little heat for them to germinate and continue to grow, if they stop and then start growing again the regrowth ends up as a hard core and the carrot stops growing down into the soil. Carrot fly is also a problem which also attacks celery, dill, fennel, parsley and parsnip. The pest overwinters as pupae in the soil or in old host plant roots which have been left in the ground. The adult flies are long and black with yellow legs and iridescent wings. Females find plants by smell, mostly inthe evenings they lay eggs in soil cracks adjacent to plants. Avoid thinning in late afternoon and remove all thinning's as the female is attracted to smell and damaged plants. Plant carrots in a different spot each year and Companion panting can help side track the carrot fly. Gardeners have found early crops sown in September or October usually mature before the fly is on the wing, but it is always handy I feel to have a carrot or two in the garden when needed. The carrot rust fly season is marked by distinct flights, starting in September/October going through to May. Companion plants for carrots are lettuce, onions and tomatoes ( in summer). never plant dill or parsnips beside carrots. Parsnips planted in late December will be being dug now, they are known not to be successful grown in dry summer ground but if you managed to get them to mature, now that the ground is getting cooler they will sit in the soil for as long as needed without going to seed. 

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 22.4.2015

North Otago is on fire with Autumn colour which brightened up all those dull rainy days we experienced, and the first frost last week which knocked back all my dahlias, blackening the leaves and turning the flowers to mush, the nasturtium's collapsed as well.

Things have quietened down here now after such a busy spring, summer and autumn and with winter approaching it is time to now do some SERIOUS GARDENING! 

This is the last month to lightly trim hedges but cutting back is still on the go here, it takes only a couple of hours to create havoc and the whole of the next day to clean up, and when that was finished it was back to the leaf raking to fill the compost bins.

The last rain will have dampened compost heaps which should be holding heat now to keep them working through the cold months. Keep layering leaves along with animal manure,( especially hen manure this helps to heat up a winter compost), soft garden weeds, un-sprayed grass clippings and left over compost from your last lot. Give the heaps a good watering if dry to keep things going. 

 Peony roses resent being disturbed at this time of the year, just cut back the dead tops and lay on top of the clump to protect the new growth during winter. If a clump needs divided or shifted wait until Spring. 

Cut old leaves from hellebore's then fortnightly feedings of blood and bone will give them what they need to bud up as the first flowers of the new season. In colder areas it is best to leave some top growth on to protect buds. 

Only feed bulbs and plants that are due to flower soon, all other plants will be slowing their growth right down to sleep through the winter so don't waste good fertiliser on plants that won't use it.

There are still great bulb choices on offer in garden centers, think spring and get them in, they are such a good investment for a garden.

Move all spring flowering potted plants into a sunny spot now, plants like camellia, azaleas and rhododendrons that have been tucked away in a shady spot over the hot months. If you fed them with acid fertiliser when they finished flowering they should be fine, if not then give them a little and water in well to give a boost, shrubs get very hungry in pots. I shifted all my potted seedlings to a sunny spot where they should be fine through the winter months, seedlings need as much sun as they can get over winter, they may not look as if they are growing on top but they will be making lots of feeder roots. 

 Lawns:

 Lawns here are soft and soggy, best to keep traffic off them and raise the blades on the lawn mower when next mowing. Still time for sowing a new lawn and spraying clover and flat weeds on a dry day. 

Fruit:

If you have laden apple trees still to ripen, pick most of them and store in a cool dry place for later. But leave as many as you intend to eat on the tree to ripen naturally, nothing nicer than ripe fruit straight from the tree if you can beat the birds! 

I am determined not to wast the quince weighing down the branches here, quince paste and quince added to apple jelly and is a wonderful taste from the past. 

This is the best season for walnuts here that I can remember, while raking the leaves there is a continuous plop of nuts falling which entertains Scuff the dog no end as he rushes from one drop to the next.

Vegetables: The broad beans, carrots and peas I planted a couple of weeks ago are well up this week, helped along I am sure by the warm rains and warm ground, perfect for getting seeds and seedlings well on their way before the frosts cool things down.

Plant food, nothing tastes so good veg picked straight from the garden. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago April 14th 2015

Wow, what an early introduction we got to winter this week!! out came my winter woollies and boots then I looked everywhere for some enthusiasm for cold weather gardening and came to the conclusion it was too much of a shock to the system in early April. I chose instead to paint garden chairs and work on my landscape design plans until it warmed up, then it was back to leaves, leaves, leaves so many on the ground and yet to fall, "groan" but to compensate we do have a beautiful gold, red and orange wonder land out here right now. Most of the leaves turn into good compost but I don't compost too many oak or walnut leaves, they take too long to break down in my heaps after a few wool packs mixed in with grass clippings the rest get burned then the ash can be added to the compost heaps. 

Dampness will stay in the ground if we don't get drying winds this gives us a break from hosing and hydrangea's, rhododendrons, Camellia's and azaleas a chance to make hard wood before winter. Hydrangea wood is hardening with some flower heads transforming into dark rich reds which means they are at the stage, if picked and hung upside down or left in a vase until all water is gone they will remain that colour for many months. Other plants that will stay nice through winter if picked now areleucodendron, protea, and nandina. Give all a dressing of compost because they are busy budding up in readiness for spring.

As I walk around our garden looking at all the plants collapsing after their summer display I was heartened this week to see thenerine buds popping open to take their turn on center stage. Nerines are very pretty pink, white and red shades sending flowers up on long stalks from strappy green leaves, they last well in water when picked. Nerine bulbs are easy to grow in a good draining position, needing very little water when dormant but appreciate water in their flowering stage, Prune back perennial wall flowers, mignonette and dentata lavender now to encourage new growth for a good winter flowering.( On the coast only), do the same to Marguerite daisies. Further inland take hard wood cuttings from these daisy's, pot up and protect over winter, a lot of Marguerite daisy bushes are lost due to continuous inland frosts. 

This week I broke up more clumps of violas like Maggie mott and clumping primulas to plant sections with root attached into pots or trays, they will grow and clump up from now on ready to be planted out in spring. Both of these make lovely edging plants, one clump will give you many new plants.

Ranunculus are still on offer, they so worth while and a good investment because they multiply well and give vibrant or soft mid height colour to an early spring garden. Ranunculus corms look very dried up and brittle in the packet when bought, soak them over night in water with a little liquid fertiliser and they will become nice and plump. Plant at least five together, (claws down ) in groups to get the best effect. 

With lilies becoming available in shops this month established clumps may be lifted if necessary, but do not disturb them unless they are very over crowded or unsuitably sited,  top dress them with a mixture of compost and blood and bone. (A cup full of blood and bone to each bucket of compost. be sure to keep lily bulbs moist while they are out of the ground, roots must never dry out. Almost all lilies need to be planted as deep as three times the height of the bulb,the only exception to this deep planting is the Madonna lily which is planted just below the surface and prefers to be shifted in mid summer straight after flowering. This is also one of the few lilies which also prefers limy soil. 

Keep planting well grown evergreen shrubs, still time to get them settled in before winter. Give evergreen hedges a last light trim during this month. 

Vegetables: 

I have mentioned growing a green crop in vacant areas of the vegetable garden, oats is probably the best one to plant in the autumn, it will grow in no time, dig in while still soft and green. First timers might like to follow the green manure suggestion of using blue lupin as a nitrogen additive . other wise, use mustard as a good soil conditioner in spring and summer, changing back to oats in the autumn.

Green vegetable seedlings will be targeted by birds right now so best to cover them with strawberry net raised above the plants while small, birds will not be so interested when plants plump out a bit. Broad beans can be planted now, try a little potash in the soil just below the planting hole, it is said to help prevent rust. 

Fruit

Quince, apples and crab apples in abundance all needed now is time to process them into delicious jam, jelly and paste.

Walnuts are falling along with the leaves, most of the nuts on our tree fall in a green casing and if I don't pick them up they attract rats who nibble through the casing and the soft shell to get to the nut. Because of the fleshy casing they need to be spread out separated from each other in a dry place like a glass house to allow the green casing to dry and shrivel away naturally from the nut. If all lumped together in a box they will soon go mouldy.

Feed citrus well now, manure, seaweed, rock phosphate, dolomite or citris fertiliser and mulch. 

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago April 7th 2015

Easter been and gone for another year already now it's that waiting time of year again, waiting for the deciduous trees and shrubs to put on their spectacular autumn show then drop their leaves, waiting for plants to finish flowering so I can cut them back, waiting for the roses to make seed and not be tempted to cut them back until pruning time in July. It is important not to dead head roses now even though they look untidy. When a spent bloom sets seed the sap continues to be drawn up to feed these seeds and keep them developing, when this is happening the bud shoots on the steam are not activated because the sap is bypassing them to get to the seed. If we cut the seed head off the sap will go into making new growth which will be too soft to go the  winter. Hard wood is needed for pruning so all I am doing with roses right now is remove and dispose of all the diseased leaves from bushes and the ground around them to prevent the over wintering of rust, black spot and mildew. A spray of lime sulphur spray next month will defoliate them and kill off the remainder of summer disease. 

Lovely lovely piles of leaves to break down into leaf mulch and compost to be put back onto the garden. Layer leaves with already made compost / soil, grass cuttings and frequent watering's to get it all cooking while the heat is still around and by spring you will have just what the garden needs for the new growing season.

This is a good time to shift camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, and small conifers. Larger conifers and shrubs can to be trenched now and shifted in the winter. If roots have been removed in the shifting a third of the top growth should be removed, if you don't do this nature will do it for you. 

I have been lucky enough to have received a truck load of good soil, I have been adding compost twice yearly to gardens but because of the very dry growing season we have been experiencing the top layer on gardens here are dry and too light so the addition of a thick layer of real soil is a bonus.

Bob sprayed around our garden, drive way and paved areas during a dry spell this week, I notice it worked well with everything wilting. Frosts will take care of the next lot of weeds that germinate so the weed spray can go away soon until spring. 

Hedges can be pruned for the last time if needed, leaves laying on the top of hedges need to be removed as they may rot the top growth of the hedge.

Lawns:  De- thatching can be done now if required, lawns can get thick with dead thatch under good grass a dethatcher will pull all that build up out to give remaining growing grass a chance to grow healthily. March / April are the best months to resow thin patches and sow a new lawn, nights start cooling after the clocks go back but the ground should stay warm for another six weeks to get some seed sown.  In autumn I often give lawns that have not done well a dressing of sifted compost, about 1/2 a bucket to the sqm working it down to the roots with the back of a rake. It will improve both very light and very compact soils. 

 

Vegetable and fruit 

Clean up sprays can be applied to all fruit trees and fruiting shrubs that have shown leaf spots. Super copper or Natures way fungus spray can be used. Any citrus bushes that have shown signs of leaf or fruit spot spray with super copper as well. 

Still time to sow a green crop when space becomes available in the vegetable garden, dig in veg gone to seed and annual weeds before they go to seed, it's all good humus. 

Keep planting winter veg and keep pumpkins growing on, no sign of frost yet here on the coast.

Begin to give plants more light In glass houses, remove any shading and give plants less water.

Cheers, Linda