Gardening in North Otago April 24th 2019

A good example of compost bins, wooden pallets could be used.

Easter over it is now time to do some SERIOUS GARDENING! before winter sets in.

Light hedge trimming and a massive amount of cutting back needs to be addressed, for me it takes only a couple of hours to create havoc and the whole of the next day to clean up. 

Leaves are falling thickly now and as I have mentioned before most leaves compost well layered with green waste, ready compost and some manure. However oak and some magnolia leaves do not break down readily, these I burn and add the ash to compost heaps. Get moisture through the layers to start bins working, adding nitrogen rich ingredients like coffee grinds, chopped up nettle and comfrey leaves or a proprietary compost activator will provide protein for the bacterial communities to help activate a speedier decomposition process. 

Don't waste fertiliser on plants that will not be using it, feed only bulbs and plants that are due to flower soon, all other plants will be slowing their growth right down to rest through winter. 

Move all spring flowering potted plants that have been tucked away in a shady spot over the hot months into a sunny spot, camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons in pots will need feeding if they were not fed with acid fertiliser when they finished flowering, shrubs get very hungry in pots. 

I have shifted all my seedling trays to a sunny spot, they may not look as though they are growing new top growth during colder months but with of the sun on pots and trays during the day and frost cloth cover at night seedlings will continue making feeder roots. 

Bearded iris rhizomes now need to be exposed to the sun for a baking so rake any mulch off them, cut seed pod off and leaves back now to reduce the chances of overwintering pests and diseases.

Lawn growth is slowing with the ground being so dry, best to raise the catcher now to where your mower can pick up leaves but not scalp dry grass.

keep traffic off them and raise the blades on the lawn mower when next mowing. I spot sprayed daisies and flat weeds last week and got a good result. Grass seed sown now should strike without competing with weeds but once frosts start you will need to wait for a spring sowing. 

Fruit: If you have laden apple trees still to ripen, pick the largest of them and store in a cool dry place for later but leave as many as you intend to use on the tree to ripen naturally if birds are not a problem. Feijoas, the aroma and flavour of fresh feijoas are a treat when other fruit has finished, ripening and picking will go on into winter. Feijoas are said to be an excellent source of hydration for the body and provide soluble fibre to combat a build up of toxins in the digestive system.

Vegetables: prolonged dry spells soon finish established veg gardens off in autumn but warm soil is perfect for getting seeds and seedlings well on their way before the frosts cool things down. Tomatoes are getting time to ripen on vines, if pumpkins still need ripening keep an eye out for leaves blackening, this means frost, pick with stalk still attached and sit in a sunny dry spot to finish ripening then store inside. If a winter veg garden is not the plan, clear the ground and sow a green crop to add humus to tired soil and dig in while soft, before stalks and flowers. 

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago April 15th 2019

Easter in Rockvale Gardens 

Easter  break soon as North Otago glows in Autumn splendor " A second spring when every leaf is a flower "   (Albert Camus

 It is a joy to be outside in the garden for many I am sure. because I spend a good deal of my time doing that during the year Easter break is a time when I catch up with family who come and stay.
But then back on the job again leaf rake and blower in hand!! 
Compost bins will be filling fast with leaves and grass clippings, I will be adding manure and ready compost then wetting  between layers to get things into decomposing mode. However in ground that is expected to produce year after year, just as farm land requires fertiliser to ensure adequate growth so to do our gardens. While composts and manures must be accorded their place in soil management they are inadequate to ensure proper mineral nutrition of plants and must be supplemented by fertilisers during the growing season.

Generally speaking stable and poultry manure contain practically all the elements required, particularly Nitrogen, phosphate, and potash in a natural organic form, but manure too fresh can cause rank growth so all the more reason to break it down with composting. 
Plants that will not tolerate phosphate fertiliser are Lleucodedrons, Proteas, Banksia and Erica's. Dried Blood is high in nitrogen, and is an easy way to replenish the nitrogen content in the soil. plants like Polyanthus, Primulas and Cyclamen love it and will flourish when you add dried blood to their diet. 100% Pure and Natural.
During this dry spell gardens will respond well to a good gentle soaking then when plants like primula and viola clumps are sitting up they can be dug up and broken apart to fill gaps in front boarders while the ground is damp.
Feed rhododendron, azaleas, & camellias with fertiliser mixed especially for them and water in to boost them for spring flowering

Lily bulbs will become available this month and can be planted from now until June.
Vegetables 
Time to dig up and divide Rhubarb crowns, mixing in heaps of compost before replanting and a good time for sowing of Spinach and Snap Peas and spring onions. Fill the top of a shallow pot with Spring Onions and pull them as they’re needed. Harvest Pumpkins now and remember not to remove the stalk from the Pumpkin, this stops it from rotting.
 fruit: I have been harvesting apples and quince and gathering walnuts this week and I am sure to be becoming across the odd Easter egg among plants after the big egg hunt in the garden soon.

Cheers, Linda.

Easter egg hunt at Rockvake Gardens.

Gardening in North Otago April 10th 2019

Clocks are back and a chill now in the air morning and night but Autumn in North Otago usually delivers golden balmy days. I experienced the true glory of Autumn fringing the aqua lakes and exploding in front of my eyes while driving through to Wanaka last weekend. 

Gardens are slowing down getting ready to rest but there is still end of season growing happening in the warm soil. I have been taking tip cuttings of many plants before the days get cold, so many plants can be produced from rooted cuttings. Snip tips around 10 cm long, remove lower leaves and soft top growth then push them into river / crusher dust to make roots. Once roots have developed in the sand cuttings need to be potted on into small pots and when these pots are filled with roots transfer cuttings into bigger pots until they are large enough to be planted into the garden. Leafy tip cuttings from all hedge type shrubs can be taken now along with tip growth from lavender, daisy bushes, hebes, lavatera, salvias and geraniums, give anything you want more of a go now before frosts halt growth in plants.  Autumn is also the time for collecting / sowing seeds and harvesting herbs to hang and dry.  All this while we wait for leaves to carpet the ground in abundance to make a raking worth while, we have started bagging piles for the compost heaps and I have had the sprinkler on between leaves and green layers as heat needs to be created while the sun is still strong.

Roses are showing lovely shades for the last flowering, no more dead heading they need to make seed heads now which will help to harden wood. 

Leucodendrons develop rich colour as days and nights become colder,  picked bracts will last in a vase for weeks, even months. Picking the bracts is a must to keep both leoucodendrons and proteas from becoming top heavy and blowing over. They resent any form of  phosphates. potassium and nitrates fertiliser a little blood and bone in spring will keep them looking good.

On the coast prune back perennial wall flowers now to encourage new growth for a good winter flowering, do the same to Marguerite daisies. Further inland take hard wood cuttings, pot up and protect over winter. 

Keep planting all the bulbs on offer, ranuncula an anemones also for a vibrant or soft mid height colour to an early spring garden. 

Vegetable garden:  I have mentioned growing a green crop in vacant areas of the vegetable garden to add humus, options on offer now. Pumpkin leaves will soon let you know if there has been a frost, bring pumpkins in to avoid frost damage. When you knock on a ripe pumpkin the rind will sound hollow and the colour should be deep over all. To harvest cut a pumpkin off the vine carefully with a sharp knife, do not tear. Leave a liberal amount of stem (3 to 4 inches will increase the pumpkins keeping time. Cure pumpkins in the sun for about a week to toughen the skin then store in a cool dry place. If you got a lot of vine and flowers but very few pumpkins more bee's would have been needed to pollinate flowers, grow colourful flowers next to the pumpkin patch next time.

Fruit: Still a lot being picked from trees and vines and so many satisfying ways to use this fruit, I like to think when storing autumn bounty we are capturing the summer sun stored with in to be enjoyed during those cold dark months to come. Feijoas should be plentiful right now as well, not all fruit will ripen at once so harvesting may go on until June. Feijoa, vanilla and fresh ginger jam on a warm scone is an autumn treat. 

https://www.bite.co.nz/recipe/1496/Feijoa-jam-with-vanilla-and-fresh-ginger/

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago April 3rd 2019

April and how lucky we have been with the weather this summer and autumn here in North Otago, warm sun filled days and rain from time to time just when needed. There is a lot to do in the garden this month, leaf raking, cutting back, bulb planting, mulching with compost and pea-straw and wrenching shrubs and trees needing shifted. 

Compost put down in spring should be ready to spread around gardens now, leaving heaps and bins empty and ready to recieve autumn leaves. Most leaves are benificial in making good compost but it takes longer for oak leaves to break down, I suggest leaving oak leaves in a pile somewhere where they will not blow about to break down over time before adding to compost, or if burning add the ash when layering leaves, grass clippings, soft hedge trimmings and manure, also keep back some ready made compost to use between layers and give all a good soak to get heaps heating before winter. 

Because the ground is dry shrubs are hardening, most noticable are hydrangea flowers going brown or changing into new stunning shades, I keep the water up to mine while they are looking so pretty and leave the flowers on for a while yet before pruning them back. Further inland old flower heads can be left on over the winter months to protect new growth until the worst of the frosts are over. 

Camellias are budding up now and some may need topped to reduce height and opening up to let in light needed for buds to develop remove inward facing and cross over branches. Feed camellias and rhododendrons with acid fertiliser, water in well then mulch with compost, pea straw / pine needles and they will reward you in spring.  Azaleas need food, as soon as they have finished flowering but if you missed feeding them then feed them along with Rhododendrons and camellias. 

Prune perennial wall flowers and bush lavateras now, do the same to lavender and marguerite daisies, further inland take hard wood cuttings of daisies and protect over winter as Marguerite daisy bushes are lost due to continuous frost. 

Break up clumps of viola like Maggie Mott and the clumping primula vulgaris, plant sections with root attached into pots or trays, they will grow and clump up from now on ready to be planted out in spring. Both of these make lovely edging plants. 

Renuncula and anenomies planted now will give vibrant colour to the garden in early spring, they are so worth while and a good investment because they multiply well. Ranucula corms look very dried up and brittle in the packet when bought, soak them over night and they will become plump, plant at least five together in groups to get the best effect. 

Lilies will be available for planting this month, established clumps in gardens may be lifted if necessary, but do not disturb them unless they are very crowded or unsuitably sited, instead top dress them with a mixture of compost and blood and bone. (A cup full of blood and bone to each bucket of compost. Be sure to keep lily bulbs moist while they are out of the ground, roots must never dry out. Almost all lilies need to be planted as deep as three times the height of the bulb, the only exception to this deep planting is the Madonna lily which is planted just below the surface and prefers to be shifted in mid summer straight after flowering.  I have really enjoyed the drifts of blue from the Agapanthas in our garden this year which have just finished flowering. 

Agapanthas have flowered well this summer, cut off seed heads and breaking up of clumps both large and dwarf varieties can be done now. Once shifted they need a lot of water to get them started in a new spot. 

Planting evergreen shrubs should be done now to get them settled in and hardened enough before winter and evergreen hedges can get a last light trim during this month. 

Vegetables: Growing a green crop in vacant areas of the vegetable garden to be dug in while soft and green will add humus to spent soil, blue lupin as a nitrogen additive, mustard seed as a good soil conditioner and oats before winter.

Green vegetable seedlings are being targeted by birds and white butterfly right now so best to cover them with net or open weave frost cloth raised above the plants while small, birds will not be so interested when the plants plump out a bit. Broad beans can be planted now, try a little potash in the soil just below the bean when planted, it is said to help prevent rust. 

Fruit: Walnuts are falling along with leaves, most of the nuts on our tree fall in their green casing and if I don't pick them up they attract rats who nibble through the casing and the soft shell to get to the nut. Because of the fleshy casing they need to be spread out separated from each other in a dry place to allow the green casing to dry and shrivel away from the nut. If all lumped together in a box they will soon go mouldy. Apples and quince are ripening well and late ripening peaches should be picked now before the birds take them all. 

Get orders in for the fruit trees you require so you don't miss out when they come into garden centers in june / July, PEACH SWEET PERFECTION- a chance seedling from an orchard on the banks of the Waitaki River - strong resistance to leaf curl - bountiful and regular crops of excellent quality fruit is said to be a winner.

Cheers, Linda.