A little rain last week but North Otago is still, parched!
I spent time in Wanaka with family last weekend and the drive over and back was a visual treat, the Waitaki valley is a blaze with Autumn colour. Poplars had lost most leaves and the gold of the willows and birches had taken over turning even a dull day bright.
I dug out a mass planting of bedding blue salvia replacing with dozens of red tulip bulbs stored from each year. The saliva had taken a lot out of the soil so beds were dug and topped with compost and sifted soil along with a sprinkle of blood and bone before the tulips went in. Blue forgetmenot is coming on to plant along side the tulips for a spring display.
Pansy's, pollyanthus, primula and snapdragons filling out nicely for planting once gardens are cleared of the summer colour still flowering well because of the lovely warm days experienced.
Wisterias will need a cut back now, ours is growing along the upstairs balcony threatening to push through the sliding doors and take over the bedroom! I use the hedge trimmer to get rid of all the leafy wispy growth, cutting too hard back into thick wood will remove new buds. Each long winding growth can eventually grow into a thick branch so if training a young plant let only one length go either way along a structure. I needed to be given that advice when planting the now multi branched extremely heavy wisteria we now have!
Seeds:I am still collecting seeds while pods are dry and saving them in paper bags and envelopes, I read that adding a sprinkle of rice will absorb any remaining moisture and help to keep seed dry and in good condition, worth a try.
Compost again, Balance all those leaves with layers of old compost/soil, straw, manure and grass clippings . Moisture is a must as well, if mix is dry add water during the heat of a day so the chill will be off before nights cooling. Decomposing will continue on until temperatures drops dramatically.
Fruit:
Tamarillos These delicious, tangy fruits ripen in autumn and winter and can go from pale green to rich ripe red in about a week. They are ripe when either a deep, dark red or golden orange/yellow depending on variety. Pick fruit individually by cutting stems. Once picked they keep well and will become sweeter after a week or so.
Citrus bushes would benefit from a rich layer of compost, well-rotted manure, dolomite, seaweed, straw – whatever you have spread as a mulching layer around roots.
Vegetables:
Save seed from beans and peas and also a few of your herb and companion flower plant seeds for next spring.
Mold soil around the base of leeks to keep them pale and sweet, but keep it beneath the bottom leaf so it doesn't get inside the stems and make cleaning them difficult.
An application of lime now is a real benefit to many of the leaf crops – cabbage, spinach, kale, broccoli and silverbeet.
In soon to be very cold areas an insulating layer will help to prevent soil you plan to plant out in early spring from becoming water-logged once rains do come, use polythene, fertilizers bags, old carpet or underlay. Spring planting can be delayed for ages because of wet cold ground.
Cheers, Linda.
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