Gardening in North Otago 8th May 2018

And then the warm autumnal winds arrived, so still raking pile after pile of leaves in our garden as trees shed for a well earned rest.  

A mass planting of bedding blue salvia had to come out this week to make way for the dozens of red tulip bulbs needed to make a show here in early spring. The saliva flowered beautifully all summer but took a lot out of the soil, beds were dug and topped with compost and a barrow or two of sifted soil before bulbs went in.

Bedding plants: I have Pansy's, pollyanthus, primula and snapdragons filling out nicely for planting once gardens are cleared of the summer growth and compost has been watered in, planting this month while the ground is still warm will get plants to budding stage and if the winter is mild they should flower, if very cold they will sit then burst into flower early in spring. 

Wisterias: will need a cut back now, ours is growing along the upstairs balcony threatening to push through the sliding doors and take over a 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. Some of those 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 have! 

Seeds: I am still collecting seeds while pods are dry and saving them in paper bags and envelopes, Adding a sprinkle of rice will absorb any remaining moisture and help to keep seed dry and in good condition.

Compost again, Balance all those leaves with layers of old compost/soil, straw, manure and grass clippings . Moisture is a must as well, if the 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. It is such a bonus to have compost / mulch on hand for hungry plants come spring when the ground is left sour from winter and in need of boosting.

Lawns: 

Our lawns have slowed down at last, lime and gypsum can be spread on lawns now, lime to sweeten and gypsum to soften hard compacted ground which has a lot of clay content. No more cracks in the lawn if gypsum is applied and watered in for two or three years in a row at this time of the year,

Fruit:

If you had bad leaf curl on your peach and nectarine trees this season now is the time to clean up and remove as many old leaves as possible from around the base of your trees, but don’t compost these as it will spread the infection. Controlling leaf curl isn’t easy but good orchard hygiene habits, repeated each year, will give you the best chance. If left untreated the problem will get worse year-after-year and reduce the tree’s ability to produce lots of fruit. In spring apply a light dressing of a quick acting fertiliser such as sulphate of ammonia to encourage new leaf growth. At the same time apply a seaweed fertiliser, such as Seasol and Comfrey spray, to help the plants’ immunity to leaf curl. once you notice the symptoms of leaf curl on leaves it is too late to control the disease in those leaves but you can try and stop the fungus from spreading, after the clean up spray with lime sulphur, I will revisit this in late winter / early spring with advice on further treatment.

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 come, use polythene, fertilizers bags, old carpet or underlay. Spring planting can be delayed for ages because of wet cold ground.

Cheers, Linda.