Gardening in North Otago March 1st 2018

Autumn begins: The wonderful warm ripening season, long shadows, low sun in cornflower blue sky's. ( At this mellow time of the year the poet in me emerges!!) I am still cutting back plants that looked stunning through summer but are now just tied and straggly like bush lavatera, mignonette, lavender tops, geraniums, they will all leaf up again to go through the winter, and still seed collecting, there are so many ready now, I plant a few now but save most to sow in spring. It is a perfect planting time for trees, shrubs, spring bulbs and perennials and annuals. As I have mentioned before buying  punnets of annual and perennial seedling now to pot on into individual pots will give you a head start on early winter flowering, some will bud up and flower others will grow strong roots through winter and flower when the ground warms up in spring. Try this with pollyantha, Iceland poppy, lupin, primula, wall flower, stock, snapdragon and if sweet peas are planted in late Autumn they will pop up and sit through winter to flower in August.

This month is said to be the best time to plant conifers, there are such a lot of different types on offer now and I consider conifers contribute to the bones of a garden. Tall narrow conifers planted in groups give larger gardens a vertical push and formality. Labels need to be read carefully they give the height and width for the first ten years, after that they do keep growing and should be removed if they start to look untidy, most ornamental conifers look wonderful for years and years. A web site with a comprehensive selection is ttp://www.conifers.co.nz , a good contact for those who like to bonsai.

It's difficult to think about Spring when Autumn has just begun but if you want that beautiful spring splendor in your garden after the chill of winter it is now that most spring bulbs are on offer, all that beauty sleeping in bags waiting to be planted.  Daffodils along a roadside fence line, grouped in a vacant paddock, under deciduous trees with bluebells and best thing is they can be forgotten about and happily multiply year after year. Tulips are planted last in the month of May.  

Compost:This is an excellent time to start building a new compost heap and get it heating up before winter. http://freshorganicgardening.com/learn-to-build-a-compost-pile/. The heating process stops during the coldest months so get one started now when leaves are falling and lawns still need mowing. Hen manure becomes too hot for heaps during other months but ok to add now. 

Lawns. This is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn,because perennial weed growth is slowing.The ground and nights are warm and dew helps with moisture so grass seed will be up in no time.  Water your new lawn early in the morning instead of during the day, between 6am and 10am, this will ensure that the moisture actually gets down into the soil and to the roots of your grass before the sun evaporates it away. For mature lawns aeration with a fork or a push along spikier is one of the easiest and most effective ways to keep your lawn healthy and happy and best done now, in autumn after your lawn has suffered heavy foot traffic and drought throughout the summer. If a lawn is chocked with thatch then the hiring of a detaching machine is needed.

Vegetables: That last rain was just what veg gardens needed and with the now heavy dew's moisture seems to be staying to benefit all the new planting. Keep planting in rotation, leaf veg where root veg has been and it is a good time to sow Root plants like Asparagus , Beetroot , Carrots , Chives , Leeks ,Onions , Parsnips , Shallots , Spring Onions.  When potatoes are dug they need to be kept in the dark or they will go green. I take what I need from a dig and leave the rest in the ground until needed. When the time comes for storing them there are products which will inhibit sprouting, but many gardeners avoid chemicals near food so I will once again mention a natural alternative with you. Layer the stored potatoes with sprigs of rosemary, sage and lavender, the essential oils given off by these herbs not only inhibit sprouting, they will also help to keep the tubers free from bacterial soft rots. 

Fruit: Apples, quince, plums, walnuts and late peaches so much at once! the birds must be overjoyed by their feasting and the rats / mice will be munching sunflower seeds and waiting patiently for the walnuts to ripen, I am sure they are pleased with the work we have put in to feed them!

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago February 20th 2018

The rain at the beginning of this week will rejuvenate gardens and lawns but I am sure the drop in temperature is having an adverse effect on Gardeners  as well as dog's, Scruff became like a drowned rat as he followed me around, looking at me as if to say why are we out here??? and then there is the wet dog smell once inside! I am looking forward to the balmy days back again as we slide into March.  

Parts in our garden  are really tired now particularly the long boarders although the plants there I cut back early this month are beginning to make regrowth. Cut back border and rockery perennials as they finish flowering then top dress with compost and some blood and bone to give all a gentle boost for the growing they have yet to do. To get superior blooms on gerberas, dahlias, delphiniums and chrysanthemums dead head and give fortnightly feeds of liquid fertiliser, remove excess buds from large flowering chrysanthemums they will be putting on a show soon,  dead heading all plants will encourage flowering rather than seed producing.  With rain and the now heavy dew's gardens should carry on producing new growth until the first frosts but as days shorten colouring and leaf fall will begin then the raking up season will begin!

Those  lucky enough to pile garden trimmings in a stock paddock for burning, be mindful of what is being left for stock to eat. There are a number of common plants that can poison animals and Children : Arum lillies, Calico bush ( Kalmia latifolia ), Daphne, English yew, foxglove, Hemlock, Holly berries, Iris, Ivy, Kowhai (especially seeds) Laburnum, Lily of the valley, Ngaio, Deadly night shade, Privit, Rhododendron, Rhubarb (leaves) Spindle berry, Potato ( green berries and green tubers)

Wrenching: I would dearly love to shift shrubs but I know they would suffer being shifted at this time of the year even if water was kept up to them, best to wait until winter when the sap is down, so wrench now shift later. To wrench is to dig down on one side of the tree or shrub cutting roots as you go, once all feeder roots have been severed pack compost or peaty potting mix  around them for new roots to grow into over autumn.  Untouched roots on the other side will continue to feed the tree or shrub until lifting in winter when plants are dormant. Once planted cut tree or shrub back by a third. However if you have no option and have to shift trees or shrubs a root ball would need to be as wide as the plant, retaining as much of the tap root as possible, the planting hole should be twice as big as the root ball, compost or peat added then filled with water before planting and firming in with a secure stake to protect the transplant from wind movement. Remove a third off the top and side growth then leave a hose dripping down into roots until you feel things have settled.  

 Lawns: Lawn weeds sprayed here last week are wilting away, even the Hydrocotyle which I thought was not going to succumb to the spray. I see where grass grubs are eating away at the roots of grass, mostly in the ground at the foot of trees night beetles strip leaves from, (Grass grubs turn into these beetles), lets hope most drowned during that last heavy rain, if not granules can be applied from now until May during the next significant rain fall. 

Veg: New root veg can go in now, board beans, french beans, carrots, parsnips and beetroot, if planting out leaf veg it would pay to cover from white butter fly and birds that seem to go for the small newly planted. So much home grown produce will be picked and frozen or stored this month, so reassuring for gardeners to know their fresh veg is fresh and safe from chemicals.

Fruit: Dig out old spent strawberry plants and discard, plants being kept for another season should have runners cut off now to preserve the strength of the main clumps. Transplant strong runners and keep the water up to them until they make roots. Apples, late peaches, nectarines, quince and grapes are the next picking crops then walnuts will be falling, SUCH ABUNDANCE.

Cheers, Linda. 

Gardening in North Otago 13th February 2018

North Otago weather this month is a Gardeners dream, cooler nights, still days, warmth and rain all trees, shrubs, plants and Gardeners should be thriving as I am with many trays of seedlings doubling in size daily and compost heaps breaking down nicely. 

Bob has had the hedge trimmer on the go here again, if you think something in your garden needs a cut back do it now, at this time of the year you can trim back quite hard if needed as the grow back rate is pretty quick. Even if the plant is still producing flowers, but you notice there are more seed heads than flowers it's a good indication the plant or bush is ready for a trim.

Keep dead heading roses and dahlias to get continuous flowering, I have also been dead heading lavender, catmint, geranium and cutting hard back bush lavateraand  buddleias, ( the butterfly bush) tall thin arching branches with grey/blue leaves and lavender, purple or pink long narrow flowers that will have faded now.

I noticed some potted annuals looking looking a bit yellow in the leaves, when I investigated further the affected pots had drain holes blocked or were continually sitting in water, these plants were drowning with no oxygen for roots. I tipped the sodden pots on their side and left them like that until the excess water drained away then added slow release fertiliser as nutrients will have washed away.  

I broke up clumps of spring bulbs a few weeks ago and got around to planting them out this week,  the tops had died back and they had dried nicely for planting in groups of 5. Spring bulbs should be coming into garden centers soon. Lilly bulbs cannot be left like that, they must never dry out.

Lawns: If your lawns were feed during the rain and have thickened up keep the blades up a notch to what you usually have them set from now on to give needed shade to roots.With nightly dew's back lawns should stay lush now through to autumn, if the grass grub leave them alone.

Vegetables: February is usually our hottest month but this year January scorched the ground first and with vegetable gardens being open to the sun they have suffered, dig compost, blood and bone or old stable manure into depleted  areas and soak well to bring the worms back up,  then let all settle until the worst of the worst of the heat is over before planting out leaf veg which will only bolt to seed right now, sowing veg seed would be the best option. Garlic should be harvested and drying by now, remember to put aside the best bulbs for planting on the shortest day for next years crop. 

Fruit: Can't complain about fruit not ripening this year, so nice to eat fruit straight from the tree or vine. Garden centers are ordering now so this is a good time to get an order for trees you would like to fruit at your place. Grapes are plumping up, time to cover from hungry birds.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago February 6th 2018

What a glorious rain on Monday night just what North Otago needed as we move through this scorching summer towards autumn. Now while growth is rapid is the perfect time to sow seeds and have seedlings pricked out then potted up ready to plant out for mid autumn/early winter

For the garden I have sown Iceland poppy, pansies, viola, stock, statice, polyanthus, wall flower, kale and primulas.  

For pots and baskets nasturtium, virginia stock, pansy, plus cineraria silver dust and the aluminium plant cuttings.

Collecting summer seed as it ripens is still on going here, already I have a number of small paper bags labeled and stored for sowing for spring colour. If you sow now for spring plants will need nursing through winter, best to wait and sow in early spring. Seeds to collect now would be sun flower,  aquilegia, dianthus, poppy, marigold, sweet pea, violas / Pansy's. Delphiniums and other spring perennial seed can be sown now as they will need to make the roots required of them.

I am finding an abundance of native seedlings growing all over the garden, this is the work of birds doing their bit to regenerate forna. I pot up the small ones at this time of the year but leave digging the larger ones until winter as they will have a better survival rate lifted then. 

Lift summer flowering gladioli as leaves begin to dry off, and hang upside down inside to ripen before cleaning and storing. 

It's the right time from now on to plant large flowering (hybrid) clematis to get roots established before winter. A fungus spray at planting will help eliminate the wilt problem some clematis suffer from, when planting try not to disturb the root too much and sprinkle a little lime to sweeten the soil. There are some stunning hybrid clematis on offer with huge or delicate flowers in vibrant shades that to me have a tropical look climbing and spilling through gardens. 

Start  planting spring bulbs as they become available or break up existing clumps. Clumps planted are much more effective than one bulb planted here and there. 

Continue dead heading dahlias to keep them bushy and flowering longer, take stalky old growth right back to where the stem is plumper. 

Compost should be cooking well with all the grass clippings and soft green waste but a dry layer is needed as you build, old compost or straw / hay and manure layered between the fresh greens will help with the cooking process. Heaps should be damp, a cover during these hot months will help retain moisture. 

Lawns: Begin preparations for autumn sown lawns, start by spraying out all perennial weeds,then the area should be dug or rotary hoed then raked to ensure there is a fine tilt and no underlying hard pan. To ensure a level, firm planting surface, the soil should be gently compacted again after digging by raking and treading or rolling. Test the ph and if soil is too acid bring it up to about 6 with lime, leave as long as possible for the lime to be absorbed, fertiliser is applied when sowing or once grass is up. Our lawns have been hard hit in places with the heat and grass grub, dry patches have been raked out and filled with peat mixed with grass seed, peat is fine but becomes heavy and doubles in size when wet to settle into patches and seed should germinate fast. Moisture must be kept up until grass takes hold.

Veg & fruit: This is a major harvest month for vegetable and fruits. Keeping the water up to everything especially the late ripening fruit trees is a must to get the best crops. I am sure it must be a favourite time of the year for birds with so much on offer to them, pick and store before they take all. I feel there will be monster pumpkins in gardens judging by the size of  courgettes and cucumbers. Plant french beans and peas to be ready for Easter.

Cheers, Linda