Well, last week should have been all about weeding, cutting back, cutting box hedges and planting but all came to a halt last Wednesday when I needed to be at the bedside of my little Grandson in Ch Ch Hospital. Returning home this Wednesday for a brief catch up on things before returning to Ch Ch.

The weeds are starting to mature and make seeds, get them out before they do, and most are easy to pull when they have grown a bit. I am still battling with biddy bid and convolvulus. Spray convolvulus where you can, round up will destroy so far back along roots, but not all the way so just keep zapping it as it pops up. When it grows up through plants I untangle back to the root and direct the regrowth away from the plant.

Divided clumps of violas because they have finished flowering now; I just dig up part of a large clump and pull it to bits basically. You can gently pull masses of new young plants out of the clump and plant them out separately in a cool shady part of the garden. they will soon form their own small cluster which can be planted out next year to flower where you want them.The same for pollyanthas and primulas, break up clumps; plant out only fresh new growth and throw away knotted old spent growth.

There is still time to divide agapanthus, large and dwarf varieties. they can get a bit clump bound which reduces their flowering.

Dig out the whole clump (if it is still manageable enough to do this), then pull off smaller root balls and plant out on their own using fresh compost to get the roots going again. Agapanthus are great gap fillers in new gardens, they can always be removed as you fill your garden with permanent plants.

If you have some aged compost that has finished working and is ready to put on your garden you will be able to make some economical compost tea.

Compost Tea is a nutritionally rich, well-balanced, organic plant food made by steeping aged compost in water. The water is then diluted and used as a root and/or foliar feed. It is also noted for its ability to control various plant diseases (blights, molds, wilts, etc. when used as a foliar spray), to repel and control insect pests and their damage when used on a regular basis, and to encourage the growth of beneficial soil bacteria which results in healthier, more stress-tolerant plants. The basic recipe most often recommended is as follows:

1 large container with lid (plastic rubbish bin works well) enough aged, completed compost to fill an old pillow case 1/2-3/4 full. Fill the container with water, place the compost into the pillowcase (cheese cloth bag or pantyhose also work well), tie off the top and submerge in the container of water. Cover (to prevent odor and insect problems) and let steep for a MINIMUM of 2 weeks. This steeping time is crucial to the formation of beneficial bacteria and the required fermentation process. When finished, dip out the tea and dilute it (3 parts water to 1 part tea) and use as root food for any and all plants on a weekly or as-needed basis.

To use as a foliar spray or on young seedlings dilute it a little more. The remaining tea can continue to steep until needed. The following factors will determine the quality of the finished tea: Use well-aged, finished compost - Fresh compost can burn the plants or contain harmful pathogens and compost past its best will be nutritionally deficient. The contents of the compost should be balanced. If using purchased compost it should contain a portion of aged animal manure which apparently remains active longer than compost made up only of plant matter.

(It is important to note that COMPOST TEA AND MANURE TEA ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Manure tea can be made in the same way but is not generally recommended as foliar spray and is not as nutritionally well-balanced.) Never apply as a foliar spray in the heat of the day but apply to the roots any time.

Next week I will write about companion planting in the vegetable garden.

Veg: Keep the water up and continue planting out. Mound potatoes and remember early potatoes can be dug when flowering but late session potatoes are left until all green tops have died down.

Fruit: Watering is most important now during hot weather.
Cheers, Linda.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago November 17th 2015

Not a bad week behind us even with the couple of late frosts here in Rockvale gardens, even though we have been blessed with some rain it is never enough so I am still dragging hoses from garden to garden unlike sensible gardeners who have installed irrigation!

I have been weeding and cutting back heaps of plants finished flowering, alyssum, ground cover phlox, aubrietia, aquilegias and forgetmenot. if you cut them back now they will green up again and look good over summer, same goes for Erica's, cut all the brown spent flower stems back and they will green up again in no time.

After spreading compost, I started filling every gap with flower seedlings like cosmos, petunias, static, blue salvia, natushims, and lobelia not leaving any room for weeds to grow, hence the need to water often.

All trees have leafed up now, don't be afraid to cut out over crowding branches to let light in to plantings underneath. If there are two branches filling the same spot take the lower one out. Maples and Oak trees tend to grow thick canopies so I have been thinning mine out. I remove heaps but when I stand back and look it is not noticeable and now there is dappled light coming through.

This year my dahlias are slower to leaf up than past years, but they will still get tall so put stakes in now before they get up too far.

If your daffodils did not flower so well this spring, It's a good time to break up large clumps while you can still see where they have been, flowering can be restricted when the clumps get over crowded. Plant out in small groups in about 20cm of compost...plant, feed with blood and bone and mulch so they don't dry out over summer.

Autumn flowering bulbs are now in garden centers, belladonnas, crocuses, nerines, plant in full sun where they will not be disturbed.

I see the spittle bug is about again, they don't do plants too much harm but when numbers settle into lavender and other plants they spoils the look of plants. I force them off with the hose each time I water.

My pond is full of baby gold fish, the water lillies / oxygen weed having been slow to move this year until now. If your pond is stagnating it means that it is not working ...as mentioned  in past notes old un -sprayed barley straw weighed down with a rock so it does not float around will help clear pond water. At first water will look a bit murky but will clear and stay clear once things start working naturally. The bottom of the pond should be a little muddy, but the top should be clear.

Add some oxygen weed from a pond already filled with fish, the fish blow their eggs into the weed at this time of the year. I am happy to supply weed for new ponds. 

Lawns:  mowers need to be lifted a notch now and fed each time we get a decent rain. I sprayed the daisies and weeds two weeks ago and now have bare patches where they died off, these patches need roughed up for grass seed to be sown then covered with fine compost or sifted soil and watered often. Dry soil makes it almost impossible for grass seed to germinate. If you miss getting a new lawn sown before the heat of summer another sowing in autumn will not have to compete with annual weeds as in a spring sowing..

Fruit: Check your fruit trees now for over crowded bunches, thin bunches out by snipping small fruits off with sharp scissors. Give each fruiting tree and bush a good root soak now and then in dry weather and they will reward you well.

Vegetables:

Everything should be romping away, main crop potatoes can be planted now, allow plenty of space for growing and mounding 

Varieties:  

Agria  long oval shaped with yellow flesh it is a great all rounder.

Heather distinctive purple skin, it is oval shaped with white flesh and like Agria is versatile in its range of uses.

Red Rascal takes 100 days to mature. It has red skin and white flesh and is a good floury potato.
Moonlight takes 95 days to mature. It is a high yielding variety white skin and flesh that is a good all purpose potato.
Rua takes 100 days to mature. White skin and flesh. Good all rounder. High yielder and a good keeper. Many flowers.
Desiree takes 90-100 days to maturity. Pink skin and cream flesh. Good all rounder. Many flowers.

Harvesting / Storing 

Harvest early varieties when flowers fully open (3 months after planting)

Main crop and late varieties ready when foliage dies off

Dry thoroughly, place in shallow boxes in cool, dark position

Cover with dry sacks to keep out light, I place cut herbs on top of mine to slow sprouting.

Cheers, Linda.

email: linda.lsw@gmail.com  Blog: nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz

Gardening in North Otago November 10th 2015

A lovely mild week shaping up after the bonus of soft rain in the weekend. What a difference rain makes to warm ground and to new spring growth, seeds I planted a couple of weeks back are up and romping away, as are the weeds. Once again I am pulling sticky, biddy-bid and chick weed before it makes seed to stop it spreading and every year there seems to be just as much as the year before! 

That hard frost here last week wiped out a number of the annuals I had just planted, should have covered them!

After a late August pruning our roses have not started flowering yet but are looking healthy with fat buds. If greenfly or fungus are a problem on yours spray every 10 days with a spray that deals to both,( folia feed at the same time).

French and Italian lavenders have finished their first flowering now so cut off the spent flowers to encourage new buds and feed with liquid fertiliser or liquid manure. The French and the Italian lavenders are the ones with flowers like a bumble bee. English lavenders are not ready to flower just yet, all lavenders like lime.

Peony roses are stunning right now in bud and flower, it pays to put supports under them to hold up the heavy flowers and because they are growing so fast, I have tall wire supports shaped like a u that are pushed into the ground with the rounded top in place to let them flop over and stay in place. They need the water kept up. I have heaps of lovely fat buds ready to open on my larger bushes. I also have some crowns that were planted last season so have let only one flower develop to see what it is like and removed any others. I will cut the one blooming flower off before it makes seed pods. The clump will form much faster if you do not let it flower for the first two years.

Peony roses need full sun and do not like to be smothered by other plants.

Some hybrid clematis are looking beautiful right now, you have to be quick to train them where you want them to go because they grow so fast from now on. Direct them while the trailers are still soft, they too like a lot of feeding to take them to great heights, manure is great for them. Don't worry if you have one with no buds just yet they all have different flowering times, If you have just put one in this year, let it flower then cut it to the ground this will make it put up more shoots and you will have a much bushier and stronger climber and if you have one that looks dead with the ends wilting I am afraid it has the wilt and should be cut off at the ground. Don't remove it because I have known some to shoot away again the following year, climatic also like lime.

I have been filling the gaps in the flower garden with old fashioned cottage flowers like cosmos, love in the mist, salvia blue bidder and clary sage. These are all taller flowering annuals and put in close together they will hold each other up. The more plants I put in the less weeds will grow is the plan and all the plants I mentioned will be flowering at Christmas, and then for weeks after that.

Soft hedge growth is almost at an end, trimming to soon will result in having to trim again as new growth keeps growing. Soft hedge clippings a great on the compost.

Vegetables.

Veg is growing fast now, my board beans are all coming ready at once. I will need to pick them all to freeze so non are wasted then buildup the soil and plant peas where they were. Keep planting veg seeds and plants, a few at a time so you have the continuous thing happening,veg tends to bolt before used in warmer weather.

All berries are growing fast, benefiting from deep watering while plumping up.

An update on Scruff the dog, he bolted out the cat flap ( collarless) when the fireworks started here at Weston last Friday night, The word went out on Facebook resulting in many animal lovers looking out for him and thankfully was found late the next day hiding under a sheep dog kennel some distance away. It didn't take him long to get back into stride of pulling the hose in the opposite direction than me! 

Our garden is open each day for visitors, some bring a picnic and some just like to wander, tables, seating and toilet available donation box on entry.

Cheers, Linda

email: linda.lsw@gmail.com

Lovely dark purple wisteria along side lavender English abutilon. 

Gardening in North Otago 3rd November 2015

November already, spring almost over and weather still unsettled with a chilling cold snap and much needed rain on Tuesday arriving after the heat of the day before.

This is proving a great spring for rhododendrons, azalea's, dogwoods and lilac after coming through such a dry harsh winter and peony roses are putting out fat buds in readiness for their grand display. The dry winter has not done my roses a favor, I pruned them hard in August instead of July so they have been slow to leaf and bud up, those having had less deep watering than others have attracted greenfly and rust. The green fly have established on the new tip growth making it easy to remove with finger and thumb and rust effected leaves have been removed and bagged to stop spread. Once leaves have firmed up I will spray with fish emulsion and an organic fungicide. Always best to spray on a dull day when there are less bees around and never spray or wet leaves at dusk, rose leaves should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing.  

Spring is the best time for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like hellebore seedlings. ( Winter rose) last years hellebore seedlings should be strong, small plants now, I have been potting some up in root trainer pots, then once the little pots are full of roots I will plant out seedlings in groups under deciduous trees, and around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions.  

Spring bulbs and tulips have finished and look messy at this stage but don't be tempted to cut them back because the bulbs need green tops to die back naturally. twist them and push them out off site under shrubbery if you can until they have lost vigor before pulling them from the bulb.

Box hedge: I am waiting for the new growth to firm up a little before trimming the buxus hedging, If trimmed too soon it will be a wasted effort because while foliage is very soft they are still putting out growth. When you feel spring new growth is done choose an overcast day to trim, this allowing the under growth a little time to recover before being subjected to our harsh NZ sun, however sunburn on new buxus growth is unavoidable and thankfully hedges will soon grow through the burning. However this week I have had the hedge trimmer on the go! some hedges like viburnum and lonicera have almost finished putting out spring growth so if a hedge has reached the height and width required trim back to the last cut, all soft trimmings can go on the garden or into the compost.

Planting on a slope: Spring is probably the best time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the heat of summer and while small the dreaded winds should not get a hold of them and whip them out of the ground. Prepare the bank  first by spraying out all weeds and grass, they will compete with moisture that your plants need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around plant roots. If this cannot be done try not to disturbed soil / clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering. 

Planting: Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water. Use stones around each plant, this will help to prevent wind blowing soil away from the roots. Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant which plants survive well in a pot without a lot of watering, the plants they can leave for a while and they still look good when dried out. I mass plant lupines to fill the gaps on a bank until all the other plants get bigger, they give a spectacular show in the second year of planting and have the added advantage of fixing nitrogen into the soil.
Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If you have not sprayed lawn weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus, but don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Now the ground is warm your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it. Leave the catcher off from time to time and rake cuttings evenly over the lawn. I am waiting for results from all the grass seed sown in bare patches left after moss removal to germinate. Moss grows  because off pour drainage or mowing grass too short either results in soil compacting. Keeping the ground firm (don't dig) just rough the top soil up before raking the seed in, covering well so the birds don't notice then keep the moisture up until seed germinates.

Vegetables/fruit

My no dig veg garden was turned into a strawberry patch last spring and this year the year old strawberry plants are doing well having been feed with pig manure and blood n bone then mulched with fresh grass clippings to keep the weeds out until I find the time to gather pine needles. All berry fruit need consistent watering to produce plump fruit.
A little potash around the drip line watered in will help with fruiting, with grapes advice given in the past was to bury road kill under a grapevine, I have made my grapes a burial ground for any of my bantams that come to a sad end. 

Making a no dig garden: Find a sunny spot on bare ground,( not concrete) surround with sleepers, logs, Oamaru stone or boards high enough to hold layers of manure, soil /compost and straw. Soak the ground before you start to get dampness deep down if working on bare dirt, spread a layer of manure straight on the damp ground, (this will bring the worms up). Then spread a thick layer of compost, old leaf mulch and dried grass clippings, (wet down.) add a layer of soil, clay soil is fine, water well after each layer leaving no dry spots. Next add a layer of straw, (wet down) then add more layers of compost and old leaf mulch and dried grass clippings, (wet down) then top more soil, (wet down), a little lime and an all purpose fertiliser can be added as you build the layers. Lastly add a top layer of straw which suppresses the weeds and is a great deterrent to slugs. When you think the garden is high enough start planting and you should be eating your own produce with in six weeks at this time of the year.

Cheers, Linda.