The wonderful Labour weekend weather bought garden growth on beautifully with the last of the blossom trees in full bloom, prunus shimidsu sakura a lovely low, spreading prunus with large double very pale pink / white ballerina blossom and the up right prunus kanzan with bright pink blossom gracing many gardens in North Otago.
Weed spraying, lawn seed sowing and mowing will be keeping Gardeners pretty busy and the ground is very warm now for weeds to grow before our eyes, still time to pull out or hoe and spray before they make seed and spread every where.
Roses are doing well now that the nights have warmed up, keep the food and deep root watering up to them as they bud up, foliar feeding on fresh new leaves works well now along with slow release fertilizers which ensures they are feed each time they are watered. Green fly on bud tips can be washed off with a strong hose which will hopefully drown them.
Cut back Erica's and callunas that have finished flowering, this stops them from going woody, and taking all the spent flowers off will encourage them to produce fresh new green growth for summer. If you don't cut the old flowering growth off they will make their new growth out from the old flowering growth which means they become woody at the bottom.
Cut back aubrietia rockery plant to get another flowering and cut spent flowers off hellebore's so you get the full effect of their wonderful leaves
Ployathus: They have been wonderful over the Winter but now it's time to cut them back and shift to a shady spot. They can be planted out in a sunny spot again in late Winter.
Lawns: Keep feeding lawns when rain is about, powdered fertilizer's need to be washed well in to stop burning lawns during hot sunny days.
There will never be a better time in nature to PLANT, PLANT, PLANT all Flower plants & seeds.
Vegetables: plant out pumpkin, squash and corn plants. Pumpkins need a large prepared area to ramble with lots of compost and old stable manure dug in. Leaves will always let you know when they need water.
If you have a glass or tunnel house why not plant some peppers, they can grow high so staking will be needed. Tomato plants will be romping away, those planted early will have been affected by the last cold snap, bottom leaves can curl and take on a blueish look but they should grow through that and grow normally. It helps to plant bee attracting flowers as tomato flowers develop
Raspberry Kane's and strawberries are doing a lot of growing now as well, They both flower and fruit up really quickly as long as they get all day sun they will ripen fast. These berries and new seasons peas are perfect for encouraging Children into the garden they all learn the results are well worth the wait.
Rhubarb: Keep manure enriched compost up to Rhubarb, if the soil gets hard and dry around rhubarb it will grow stringy dry uneatable steams.
Keep picking herbs to stop them going to seed, dry what you don't use and store away until the months when they are not available.
Drying herbs :Pick in the full heat of the day, lay out on news paper in a dry airy place until crisp, (all moisture must be gone). Then rub together into sprinkle sized bits and store in brown paper bags or glass jars.
Elder flowers are blooming now so elderflower cordial will be happening again https://thisnzlife.co.nz
Weed spraying, lawn seed sowing and mowing will be keeping Gardeners pretty busy and the ground is very warm now for weeds to grow before our eyes, still time to pull out or hoe and spray before they make seed and spread every where.
Roses are doing well now that the nights have warmed up, keep the food and deep root watering up to them as they bud up, foliar feeding on fresh new leaves works well now along with slow release fertilizers which ensures they are feed each time they are watered. Green fly on bud tips can be washed off with a strong hose which will hopefully drown them.
Cut back Erica's and callunas that have finished flowering, this stops them from going woody, and taking all the spent flowers off will encourage them to produce fresh new green growth for summer. If you don't cut the old flowering growth off they will make their new growth out from the old flowering growth which means they become woody at the bottom.
Cut back aubrietia rockery plant to get another flowering and cut spent flowers off hellebore's so you get the full effect of their wonderful leaves
Ployathus: They have been wonderful over the Winter but now it's time to cut them back and shift to a shady spot. They can be planted out in a sunny spot again in late Winter.
Lawns: Keep feeding lawns when rain is about, powdered fertilizer's need to be washed well in to stop burning lawns during hot sunny days.
There will never be a better time in nature to PLANT, PLANT, PLANT all Flower plants & seeds.
Vegetables: plant out pumpkin, squash and corn plants. Pumpkins need a large prepared area to ramble with lots of compost and old stable manure dug in. Leaves will always let you know when they need water.
If you have a glass or tunnel house why not plant some peppers, they can grow high so staking will be needed. Tomato plants will be romping away, those planted early will have been affected by the last cold snap, bottom leaves can curl and take on a blueish look but they should grow through that and grow normally. It helps to plant bee attracting flowers as tomato flowers develop
Raspberry Kane's and strawberries are doing a lot of growing now as well, They both flower and fruit up really quickly as long as they get all day sun they will ripen fast. These berries and new seasons peas are perfect for encouraging Children into the garden they all learn the results are well worth the wait.
Rhubarb: Keep manure enriched compost up to Rhubarb, if the soil gets hard and dry around rhubarb it will grow stringy dry uneatable steams.
Keep picking herbs to stop them going to seed, dry what you don't use and store away until the months when they are not available.
Drying herbs :Pick in the full heat of the day, lay out on news paper in a dry airy place until crisp, (all moisture must be gone). Then rub together into sprinkle sized bits and store in brown paper bags or glass jars.
Elder flowers are blooming now so elderflower cordial will be happening again https://thisnzlife.co.nz
Cheers, Linda.
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