Gardening in North Otago February 1st 2019

Not much watering had to be done this week after the rain, so good to get rain at night.

The hedge trimmer has been on the go again here and yes the plants and shrubs did shudder to their roots when it came their way! If it needs it, it gets it! Trimming with secateurs is not practical in our large garden. February is the month that new growth on all plants, shrubs and trees will have reached maximum height and width so if growth is interfering with space and blocking light take it back, the next stage is for this growth to harden and make new buds.

Our buddleia's have been flowering for a while now attracting butterflies, to keep it flowering remove spent flowers plus the thin branches they are attached to. When finished flowering they can be taken back to the ground to allow new fresh growth to take them through the winter. Buddleia's are a great fill in bush and look attractive with their blue green foliage even without the blue, pink or white flowers, plant at the back of a border and you will not be sorry.

Begonias, petunias and Lilly's are taking center stage now begonias are tropical perennials and like partial shade. Strong sunlight will burn leaves and blooms and grown in dense shade they will grow more leaves than flowers. Wind protection is needed as stems are damaged by strong wind. 

Begonias prefer high humidity not wet soil, let the top inch of soil dry out before watering. 

Petunias: dead head these often, cutting back and feeding petunias will keep them flowering all summer long. 

Lillies: should be in good draining soil but never be allowed to dry out, mulching helps with this. Lilies do not re bloom, remove faded flowers so plants don't waste energy making seeds, leave foliage until it turns brown and energy from this is stored in bulbs for next years flowers, cut dead stalks in late autumn. Large lily clumps can be divided up and shifted straight after flowering. 

 Anemones and ranunculus: will be in Garden centers now I pop them in the fridge for a month in paper bags (not plastic) then soak them overnight in tepid water before planting, this simulates a winter chill then they are stimulated into growth with the water warmth before planting. Staggering the planting over several weeks will extend the flowering. 

Lawns: continue to stay green with the rain and warmth which means no slowing down in growth. Daisies and clover are thriving on moist green lawns, spot spraying on a warm dry day will get rid of both as well as that creeping tiny leafed weed with yellow flowers that forms a mat in lawns, every part off this needs to be zapped because it flowers and seeds very quickly then spreads from lawn to lawn when mowing. 

Fruit: It is time to shorten back fruiting leaders on grape vines, growth is needed for the fruit starting to form. If a leader has produced too many bunches remove some when shortening back. 

Veg Garden: Get seeds in the garden now for autumn veg, lettuce, carrots, beetroot, dwarf beans, parsley, parsnip, silver beet. Keep mounding up late plantings of potato rows to encourage bigger shores, corn can be mounded also as  they have a shallow rooting system and mounding helps to keep them upright in strong winds. Corn demands a very high level of nitrogen, the more available nitrogen, the closer plants can be spaced. 

Cheers, Linda. 

Gardening in North Otago January 16th

Whew! what a scorcher this week with the nor west wind, thank goodness for all that lovely moisture in the ground.  However it takes no time for things to dry out here in North Otago and the Waitaki valley was green for an unusually long time since spring but I see it has now reverted back to the dry summer conditions that we are used to.

Rhododendons, camellias and azaleas  are shallow rooted so keeping moisture up to them is important,  a layer of mulch and a good soaking now and then will keep them happy. Also keep an eye on maple trees,  I find they suffer during hot drying winds and let you know by leaves turning brown spoiling the lush look of them but they soon recover after a good soaking.

Roses are doing well now, dead heading  keeps them making new flower buds and a dressing of manure or blood and bone or rose fert now would give a boost. 

Hydrangeas and Dahlias are taking center stage right now, wonderful vibrant shades in both after such a good supply of moisture but with such a lush start some dahlias will need staking before they get top heavy. 

Hard wood cuttings of hydrangeas are best taken in early summer, choose a steam that has flowered and is pushing out new leaf growth, cut just above a bud around 6 inches long, remove remaining leaves and soft growth. Push cuttings into sharp river sand or crusher dust, place in warm shade and keep moist. They take a while to make roots so don't be tempted to pull out until you notice new growth. Once rooted pot up and keep moist and feed often to encourage strong growth, they should be ready to plant into the garden next spring when roots have filled the pot.

Seeds are popping and with two little Grand Daughters helping I now have small paper bags holding seed from delphiniums, dianthus, poppies, foxglove, hollyhock, sweet peas, lupins plus many more to come. With fast germination and growth seed trays are best kept outside in light shaded and mist watered only when the top layer of mix is dry. Over watering will encourage collapse as roots are too few to take in excess moisture.

Look around plants that have dropped seed from spring flowering plants in your garden, I have found nice little seedlings of pansies, viola, hellebore's, sweet William and aquilegias, which I pot up to get strong root growth before planting out.  Remove seed heads off anything you do not want to spread, that goes for weeds as well, make sure you whack the seed heads off and dispose of if you don't have time to deal with removing. 

Lawns

Keep an eye out for grass grub evidence, brown patches left as they munch the roots. they are most active from February to May.  For a few of years there was no product to deal to them but now I see some back on shelves. I did not see many brown night beetles around this year, maybe grass grub numbers will be down because of wet ground. 

Fruit: Seasonal fruit and veg are plentiful now for freezing or preserving, strawberries, cherries are still going and stone fruit is plentiful now so worth a drive up the Waitaki valley if growing fruit is not your thing.  

Vegetables:  Heaps of growing time ahead so keep sowing root veg seed and plants. carrots (harvest April / may) parsnips (harvest June)

board beans (harvest May / July) cabbage sow in seed tray, plant out in 4 weeks (harvest April May ) cauliflower sow in seed tray, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / July) leeks grow in seed tray plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / June) lettuce I sow butter crunch now and stagger it right into winter

onions grow in seed trays, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest July - October)

silverbeet (harvest March / April

Cheers Linda.

Gardening in North Otago January 10th 2019

These summer days are still unpredictable here in North Otago but still warm with rain at the right times for Gardens to cut down on watering which is usually a summer must. I have lawn fertiliser ready for the next decent down pour . 

Cutting back: With all the growth I do tend to repeat myself with the cutting back all early summer perennials and shrubs before they make seed but it really is important if you want plants to continue flowering on new growth.

Hedges: You can be especially hard now on hedges if height and width need reducing, grow back rate is fast to cover any unsightly scalping.  Height can be taken out of shelter shrubs like pittosporum, laurels and conifers should they be getting taller than required. Remove the center leader to a point where lower branches will cover the cut, this will stop these shrubs from becoming the trees they were created to be. Growth removed from top's and sides will regenerate but bottom branches removed from trunks  will not regrow.

The rain so far this summer has been very beneficial to shallow rooted  rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas which are  no doubt covered in spent flower heads making seed, removing as many of these that can be reached will benefit growth especially on new plantings. Some here have out grown the space allotted so width and height has been reduced now before budding becomes too advanced. 

Roses in our garden are needing continuous sunny days to pick up after such a wet first flowering, dead heading and sunny days are required for a full on second flowering.

 Seed collecting is well under way now, a few warm days in a row ripen pods that have been slow to mature. I like to store mature pods  into small paper bags or envelopes where they can pop in their own time. I have learned that storing named bags in a container which will keep out mice is another must.

Continue to mulch with light scatterings of  un-sprayed grass clippings to keep moisture in the soil, they break down into humus quickly with summer rain. To be ready for hot drying winds tree foliage benefits from mulching out to the drip line where possible. 

Lawns are getting a break from scorching so far this summer giving lots of lush green mulch from each weekly mow. Weeds can be sprayed out during dry days, there are a few different lawn weed sprays on offer, even one that weeds and feeds at the same time. Use a product at the suggested strength and consider spot spraying for the sake of worms.

Fruit & Veg: It's proving to be a bumper year for both fruit and veg,  corn and pumpkins have really taken off after a slowish start, pollination has better than I thought with all the dull days with tomatoes and cucumbers ripening well. Plums are plentiful for plum sauce and we still have a few black currents ripening for the last pie. 

Keep rotating root and leaf vegetables to get the best results. French, butter and runner beans should be flowering and producing well now and new potatoes will be loving the warmth. I leave them in the ground until ready to use even when the tops have died back. I have dug a wonderful crop of garlic planted from local Kakanui stock around the shortest day now ready to tie and hang, I still find it surprising when I lift such large bulbs produced from single cloves and keep the biggest and best for the next planting on the shortest day.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago January 2019

A happy gardening New Year to all. 

What a changeable start to January, but thankfully we are experiencing some long sunny days and with rain from time to time so I have not had to drag the hoses around which is a bonus for any gardener. 

Roses: Moisture and humidity have proved a problem this summer with rose buds browning before blooming but roses are enjoying the deep moisture from the early summer rain. I cut all affected buds and leaves off and destroy them as I dead head, It takes no time at all for new leaves and buds to grow back. All roses should have a summer pruning after their first flowering, cut a spent flower stem down to an out facing bud on a thick part of stem.

Cut back summer flowering perennials and shrubs to encourage continuous flowering, daisy bushes, delphiniums, lavaterias, dianthus, lupins and herbs before they all go to seed then feed with slow release or a liquid fertiliser, they will all come back fresh and most will flower again. Cut chrysanthemums back, they will flower in the autumn on shorter steams and plant some tip growth into river sand and they should root to be planted once clumped up. Foliar feeding is very important to encourage fresh new growth after cutting back anything at this dry time of the year. Fill gaps in the flower garden with annuals.  Front planting full sun: impatiens, small type petunias, begonia, small marigolds, lobelia, alyssum. Mid plantings: nicotina, coriopsis, tall petunias, tall marigolds, bedding dahlia, salvia, nemesia. Tall plantings: cosmos, lavatera, sun flowers, Canterbury bells, love in the mist. Semi shade ( with good light )plantings: impatiens, bedding begonias, lobelia, Japanese anemone (perennial), foxglove. When the next heavy rain arrives feed the lawns and they will bounce back like fresh spring lawns. 

My ponds get topped up regularly at this time of the year as there is a lot of evaporation on hot days and ponds tend to green up a bit as the water warms. The addition of barley straw to one end of a pond is so beneficial in helping pond water clear naturally.  Weigh straw down with a large rock and with the topping up and straw doing it's job the water stays clear for fish and lilies. 

Herbs: Culenary herbs are putting out heaps of growth now, harvesting, tieing and drying is what I am doing. Hang in a cool darkish place until crisp to touch then rub onto newspaper and store in sealed glass gars. Mint, bay leaves, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory and thyme work well together as mixed herbs.

Fruit and veg are maturing fast then bolting to seed if not picked when ready and birds can be a problem for me so I use strawberry net when needed. Gooseberries, strawberries, raspberry's and currents are doing well now that we have sun and heat but they are ripening quickly so it is a rush to get them picked before they drop from the bushes. Black currents,  cut all the fruiting branches off ( they fruit on the previous years growth) then strip them of berries in a nice shady spot. This way the fruit is picked and the bush is pruned at the same time. reduce the length of fruiting runners on grapes and removed all unproductive growth. 

Tomatoes need water kept up and some leaves removed to let in light, too many leaves take up nitrogen that should be used by the fruit.  

Corn and pumpkins are making good growth and the potatoes I thought were all top and no potatoes proved me wrong by being just the opposite, I gave them a tickle up on Christmas day and was amazed at the number and the size. Keep planting all veg , we have the best growing and ripening time ahead.  

Cheers, Linda