Gardening in North Otago 5th March 2019

At this time of the year I like spending time hand watering around plant roots and in doing so this gives me a chance to enjoy a mellow day while moving slowly about the garden rather than the rip and bust to get things done. 

Autumn crocus has burst into flower, chrysanthemums are budding and I notice some spring bulbs are pushing through which means it is bulb planting time, iris, crocus, hyacinth and daffodils along with any daffodil bulbs you need to shift.  Bulbs require deep planting in a sunny well drained spot, tulips and lilies can be planted in may or June.

Sow Seeds

As I mention often March is the month to collect and sow seeds, hardy annuals can be sown directly where they will flower with a little fertiliser forked into the soil before sowing. A majority of seed I collect are stored for a spring sowing as protecting germinated seedlings through the winter can be tricky.

Hard wood cuttings: This is the time to take hard wood cuttings, place cuttings in a water filled container as they are taken. Prepare cuttings by removing bottom leaves and cutting top leaves back by half. Push cuttings into river sand, keep moist and hopefully over a few weeks they will develop roots in the warm sand. Then rooted cuttings can be potted on into potting mix fill pots to sit over winter making more roots. Once pots are filled with roots cuttings can then be potted on into bigger pots. At this stage pinching tip growth back on the cuttings will encourage nice bushy plants. 

Planting: With days shortening and nights cooling warm ground begins to retain moisture again making Autumn one of the best times for planting trees and shrubs to settle in before the coldest part of winter. Always plant trees and shrubs to the depth they were in the pot or bag and stake well if tall.

Hedges: will have finished pushing out this years growth so get them trimmed well before frost's arrive to damage new growth, especially the lovely photina red robin, if trimmed now beautiful new, bright red growth will be enjoyed during winter.

Ponds will be heating up, especially small shallow ponds, warm water has low capacity for holding oxygen, so you may see your fish gasping for air close to the water surface. A minimum depth of two feet is suggested for for the bottom of a shallow pond to remain cooler. If your pond has no waterfall or fountain algae is sure to grow as water heats up. A natural way to stop this happening is to add barley straw to the pond, basically as the barley straw decomposes it releases something similar to hydrogen peroxide (H202) which will eventually kill the algae. Fill a string bag with barley straw and weigh down with a rock, if there is a waterfall or fountain place the straw where water will flow through. Top up pond water gradually so the temperature does not change dramatically for fish.

Lawns. Grass grub damage is really showing up now in our lawns with black birds letting me know just where they are, I have decided to leave the black birds to deal to them then rake out all damaged patches and re-sow.

Vegetables: All seeds sown now will germinate but watch the heat, I have covered my seed boxes with shade cloth to keep them from the harsh sun. If planting out seedlings plants I would cover them as well with shade cloth to help keep moisture in and white butterfly's and birds off.

There is time from now to sow a green crop in vacant areas of gardens, blue lupin, mustard or alfalfa will add natural nitrogen to soil. Dig in before it flowers, or just cover with compost when bedding gardens down for winter.

Cheers Linda