Gardening in North Otago 1st August 2019

Ballerina apple trees

North Otago is becoming more spring like every week with camellias blooming everywhere, magnolia buds beginning to burst and spring bulbs thinking it is mild enough to bloom. Going by my past notes we still have proper winter weather ahead this month before we can leap fully into spring and soil along with plants need this to perform during the growing seasons. However, Spring is the one time that gardens bursts forth with an abundance of hidden splendor without us having to do a lot of pre planning, nature pretty much takes care of things once they are in place, so at this time I like to create and dress the garden by planting out, shifting and feeding. Liquid feeding annuals and perennials that have been nursed through winter, roots are starting to take in nutrients to plump up buds.  

Seeds can be sown for the cottage annuals like cosmos, cornflowers, love in the mist, snapdragon and alyssum, all can be sown under glass in a warm area but more tender annuals can wait until it is a little warmer unless you have a heated glass house. Perennials and annuals already putting out growth need to be protected from any sudden freezing and pots and hanging baskets will be waiting for attention. It does not take long for roots to fill a pot and exhaust what planting mix is left, best to remove the shrub or plant to investigate. If completely root bound take a sharp spade or knife and cut half the root ball away, fill pots with new mix, replant and water in.

A few more hydrangeas have been pruned here as nice fat buds are swelling on the stems, cuttings can be taken and bedded in river sand from the hardened stems that flowered last season.  

Almost finished pruning roses here, only the flower carpet and fairy roses to go, both these varieties bush up with small non hard wood branching, if they are large, trim with a hedge trimmer, if newly planted prune back to hard wood at an outward facing bud. Feeding and spraying roses is next, copper oxychloride and winter oil, can be mixed and applied together, the oil helps the copper to stick and copper helps protect new growth from frosts that occur in late spring. Best not to be applied to fresh new growth as burning may occur.

Bulbs that shot up during warmer winter days will continue to head for an early spring display, if temperatures drop now buds will be held and the cold will have a noticeable effect on soft new growth. However prunus autumnalis are in full flower and the fragrance from winter sweet, witch hazel, Daphne,boronia and violets wafting through gardens make spring seem closer so onward in readiness for the spring explosion. 

Vegetable  gardens are enjoying the mild weather with the odd frost helping to break down soil. Birds are nesting so cover leaf veg with shade or frost cloth to keep them off. Time for sowing seeds to germinate in a warm well lit place to be ready for pricking out into punnets then planted out in a warm spring garden. 

Fruit Trees are still available in Garden Centres, if you would like an apple tree but feel your garden is too small why not look at apple ballerina, a very slim non branching variety of apple with Medium, red skin, Crisp, juicy, nice eating and cooking apples, Ballerina  grows to 3-4m tall by 30cm wide perfect for adding height, blossom and fruit to a small garden.

Grape pruning needs to finish soon before sap rises, to prune a fruiting leader remove all new long growth on the vine other than the fruiting leader, on the leaders prune each new growth back to the second bud. These fruiting buds should be around a hand space apart to ensure adequate sized fruit, this means removing some of the new bud growth along the top of the leader and all of the new bud growth growing underneath. Some of these new budding top growths will throw two lots of bud branch, remove the least stronger one leaving only one lot of double buds to produce fruit.

Keep an eye on peach bud burst which will most likely be early this year, a copper spray right at bud burst will help with leaf curl.

 
Cheers, Linda.

Seedlings ready to pot on.

Gardening in North Otago July 22nd 2019

Dust has now settled here in North Otago after the few days of lovely soft rain setting us up well for new spring growth.

Pruning and composting and pea strawing is still going on here around this large, never ending garden! so rain is a bonus taking the compost down to the roots of the plants. It may look as if growth has stopped but here on the coast with the warmer ground there is plenty of feeding going on.  Bulbs are starting to make an appearance and will benefit from a dressing of compost as will hellebore (winter roses) which are looking wonderful right now and pansy's, pollyanthas, and violas are brightening up the gardens, all these plants respond really well to dried blood sprinkled around them. Dried blood is also a good tonic for yellowing camellias and rhododendrons, mix it with camellia and rhododendron fertiliser and apply now while there is rain about and they will reward you well come spring.
Garden shops are full of colourful sesanqua camellias in flower, different varieties of flowering hellebore's and cyclamen to brighten up indoors and porches.These plants will have been grown under protection to get them looking so good so don't be too quick to plant out in the garden, let them harden off gradually first.
Take saucers out from under tubs and planters, frozen saucers will freeze the roots of your plants.
Because we have had it mild here on the coast this rain will have saturated foliage of tender plants like geranium and pelagonium plants, it would be best to put a cover of frost cloth over those planted in the garden and move potted ones in under cover.
Roses:
Mulch, mulch and more mulch. Apply a thick layer of mulch on and around your roses to keep moisture there, this also protects the root zone and enables the plant to concentrate on root movement and getting ready for the up coming growing season. Un-sprayed Pea or barley straw and well cooked compost are all ideal for mulching. I will mention again the wonderful compost available from our meat works at Pukurie, this is weed free, easy to use and looks good on the garden. Contact Gregg on 0272293215 for a load or get it bagged from the Humber street stall.  Sheep manure, old stable manure are also a good sauce of food for roses and new spring growth and on compost heaps. Use sawdust on gardens that stay wet and pathways. The Waireka Lions manure and saw dust stall is always stocked up.

In early spring an application of Rose Fertiliser will enhance the establishment and growth of healthy roses as it has an excellent level of potassium, which is the nutrient responsible for promoting large, vibrant, healthy blooms. For established roses apply 200 g (1 cup) per square metre and water in well. An application just before the end of winter is a good idea, if buds are swelling they are using food. Apply again in mid December for an autumn flush of blooms.  
Vegetable garden:
To have Christmas new potatoes you need to start thinking about them from now on, all varieties are available in shops now. There are early and late varieties so ask about the variety you choose, a potato is not just a potato any more! Lay your seed potatoes out on a tray in a dark dry place and get them sprouting and ready to plant out when the frosts have past.
There will never be a better time to choose and plant ornamental and fruiting trees than right now! Each tree will have an informative label to tell you exactly what you will be buying with instructions on how and where to plant. All fruit trees need to grow in an open sunny position. 
Keep sowing vegetable seeds in trays for planting out later, plant Cauliflowers and Cabbage seedlings and sow early Peas. In warmer areas you can also plant Lettuce, Silver beet and Broccoli seedlings and Onions
Asparagus crowns are now available and can be planted out in a well composted and fertilised bed. (no animal manure though)
Cheers, Linda.  

Gardening in North Otago July 16th 2019

Holiday fun with Nana.

A good weather week for Oamaru with a little much needed rain early on, with it being the School holidays I have been Nana on the job with 5 small people  looking for action. As I write this there are huts being built with tables, chairs and as much of my linen they can get their hands on.....then another meal for all to agree to is next!!!
Good hard frosts now so it's frost cloth on plants like bougainvillea, hibiscus, pelargonium and young daisy bushes, established Margarette daisy bushes will take a knock from the frosts but just leave them, if they do as that frosting on the outside will protect the new growth beneath. In land up the valley gardeners will need to take cuttings of daisy bushes, geranium and paligoniums and protect them until spring.
I have been pruning back hydrangea's now they have hardened, prune just before spring by cutting each flower stem off at the second bud from the bottom, leave the stalks that did not flower because these are your flowering stems for this year. Give pink hydrangeas a dressing of lime now to keep them pink and blue hydrangeas a dressing of sulphate of allium or the specially prepared blue hydrangea mix that can be bought from the garden centers.
This week I attacked a group of large leggy rhododendrons with leaves, buds and blooms on the top of long woody branches. I was only going to cut the woody non productive wood off because the bushes were beginning to flower, however once I started I ended up cutting them all right back to a healthy bulging nodule and then they got compost and straw, fingers crossed they will push out new bushy growth in the spring.
More rose pruning this week, I had to invest in some new secateurs as the pair I have been using did not cut clean and rips on a rose prune will not allow the cut to seal well which will then result in die back, this can sometimes claim the whole branch.
I feel very fortunate to have help from Gardener Stan once a week to spread compost and then pea straw on our sleeping garden. Although not all plants sleep, bulbs are pushing through, pansies, pollyanthus, violas, poppies and primulas are tough little plants that stand up to frosts.
Winter is the time you will find the best selection of deciduous and fruit trees in garden centres. It may be cold and miserable outside but it's the time to buy these trees for planting. They arrive as grafted stock from growers, if you have bought bare rooted trees identify where the graft section is, if low down it should stay above the dirt line, uncovered by dirt. If the tree has been bagged plant up to where planted in the bag and remember to include a stake at planting time to protect against root movement by wind.
Fruit:
A tip I have been told works to eradicate codling moth attacking apple trees. quarter fill a tin or plastic milk container with treacle and hang in the tree it is said to attract male grubs because the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone attracting the male grubs into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds. Tidy up fruit bushes now they are bare, black currants can be pruned now until late winter, they fruit best on younger wood so aim to remove older wood to retain a basic structure of 6 to 10 healthy shoots. For red and white currants cut out only diseased or very old branches in winter then prune new growth back to two buds in early summer, (pruning leaders to outward facing buds but if branches are bending cut to upward facing buds. )
Vegetable garden:
Time to start preparing the soil for spring planting. Cultivate vacant spaces, digging in green crops sown earlier. Add compost, and lime if you feel the ground is sour. Dig compost mixed with sawdust into wet, boggy soils.
Sow seeds of broccoli, cabbage, broad beans, cauliflower, peas, (butter crunch) lettuce, onions, radish, spinach, silver beet, swede and turnips.

Cheers, Linda.

Pruning black currant bushes

Gardening in North Otago 9th July 2019

Deep root soaking means allowing water to be available to all roots of a tree or shrub. 

After being lulled into warm spring like weather Tuesday morning threw us back into reality with the a heavy frost confusing the gardens I had watered the day before. Winter is normally the time to store away hoses but NOT this year. Deep root watering for all evergreens that you notice looking a bit limp, camellias, rhododendrons, azalea's, hydrangea, lavender, Hebe, fuchsia. Shallow rooted perennials will let you know when water is needed, you will notice plumpness has gone from them. Deep root soaking is very important for maples of all sizes, dry ground puts these trees under huge stress which is shown instantly in the leaves and fine branching, now that my maples are bare I have been clearing out dead branches from past dry damage. After a soaking mulch will hold moisture from frost drawing it up, compost, pea straw, leaf mulch, old lawn clippings any organic matter that will not blow away you have at hand is better than nothing.

Dry winters are kind to bugs, I am still cutting leaves from my many hellebore's (winter rose) the back of each leaf is smothered in green fly, these go onto my burning pile. Lets hope we have a few frosts now on the coast to give bugs that thought they could just cruise into spring a hurry up.  

Sow seed under glass in a warm area sow seeds of antirrhinum (snap dragon), carnation, calendula (common marigold), sweet peas, verbena, cosmos and viola they should pop up and be ready to plant out in spring. 

Planting new roses: Plant to below the graft section, at bud union to root stock , fill planting hole with water and let seep away, plant and firm in.

Dahlias will need cutting back and mulching for protection if left in the ground. Clumps can be dug now and reduced or split up, dahlias tubers will hold in a dry place until planting out when frosts are over. Peonies are divided in autumn and on offer now to be planted in good draining soil, if you think there is a chance they would sit in wet soggy soil over winter they may rot, planting can continue until September.

If young trees or shrubs need transplanting now is a good time to do it whilst they are at their most dormant stage.

Vegetables
On the coast start raising vegetable seeds in glass houses or under glass or plastic with ventilation spaces to circulate air and stop seeds going mouldy.
Plant seedling plants that are now on offer along with garlic cloves. In colder areas sit back and let frosts work on the soil.
Start sprouting seed potatoes, early varieties like Jersey benne, Cliffs kidney, Rocket, Ilam hardy, Maris Anchor should be sprouting now for an early planting.
Fruit 
Look closely at the shape of your fruit trees and plan how pruning can improve them if needed. Pip fruit should be pruned during winter.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago July 3rd 2019

Brrrrrrr hard frosts I heard while I was lucky enough to be enjoying milder weather in the far north for 10 days, how ever on our return found we bought the same temperatures back with us!  The most urgent requirement right now is rain, with  parched ground trees and shrubs will be suffering. All shallow rooted shrubs like camellia, rhododendron, hydrangea, azalea, lavender, hebe, fuchsia and some perennials such as Ajuga Reptans and sedum need to be deep root watered when the ground is as dry as this winter. I notice my iris's are looking very thirsty as well so it was out with the hose again on my return. ( avoid watering late in the day, soil and foliage should not be wet going into the night.)
Polyanthus and primroses are starting to brighten little corners of our garden. Primroses are so pretty, they clump up well and in time can be broken up and spread to form a front boarder adding colour to drab winter gardens.

Breaking up primula clumps, on transplanting remove gnarly old growth and quite a few leaves, keep water up until they take hold. Polyanthus and primulas benefit from an application of dried blood.
Raising flowering annuals: under glass sow seeds of antirrhinum (snap dragon), carnation, calendula (common marigold), sweet peas, verbena and viola, they should pop up and grow a little during sunny winter days then really take off when soil warms again in Spring. I find carrying small protected seedlings through the colder months make strong rooted plants hardened to temperature changes in spring and early summer. (next new moon is a seed planting time.)
Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies will be on offer this month, plant in good draining soil in a sunny spot, if you think there is a chance they would sit in cold, wet soil over winter they may rot, planting can continue until September.
Remember to continue protecting plants like Margarete daisies and pelargoniums from frosts with frost cloth as a cover above them, not touching. If they frost on the top just leave the frosted tops to protect the new growth beneath. This would not work further inland, it would be best to start nursing cuttings to be planted out when the frosts are over.
Rose pruning is happening now,  just in case you need reminding on how to tackle pruning.... make a slanted cut just above a strong outward facing bud.
Standard roses should be pruned to about 25cm above the main stem and bush roses can be cut back about two-thirds, leaving 3-4 buds on each branch. Mature climbers will need old canes removed to be replaced with new strong canes tied horizontally against a wall or fence to encourage flowering buds. Secateurs must be sharp to avoid damage by ripping branches which will lead to die back. 
                                                                                

Compost: Turn over uncovered compost now, add moisture if the pile is dry. If you still have leaves to Rake up why not fill large black rubbish bags, add a little water and leave to rot. Leaf mulch is a natural benefit to soil which we tend to remove at leaf fall stage because it looks untidy. Rotting it down this way you can then add it to the soil and it will not be noticed

Manure: At this time of the year I make a few trips to the Waireaka sale yards for the Waireaka Valley Lions Club sawdust and sheep manure, volunteers clean out calving sheds and under shearing sheds to keep the stand topped up for keen gardeners. I use the sawdust on garden pathways and the sheep manure on the compost heaps, the vegetable garden and around roses when horse manure is not at hand. Sawdust can be used on wet gardens as a weed suppressant as it helps to absorb excess moisture, but never on dry gardens. 
Vegetables:  Start raising vegetable seeds for spring planting under glass or plastic with ventilation spaces to circulate air and stop seeds going mouldy. On the coast plant seedling plants that are now on offer along with garlic cloves.
Start sprouting seed potatoes, early varieties like Jersey Benne, Cliffs kidney, Rocket, Ilam hardy, Maris Anchor should be sprouting now for an early planting.
I must again sing the praises of comfrey, it is such a useful plant and if you can get your hands on some I suggest you plant root sections in an area of your garden where it can spread and send it's roots deep down into the soil to tap into much needed nutrients. It is fast growing, high in potassium and can be cut back again and again. I have listed some uses for comfrey around the garden.

1. Compost activator, add to your compost bin to heat up decomposing materials and enrich the compost. 
2. Put comfrey leaves into a bucket with a little rainwater and rot down for around 6 weeks to give you a rich liquid fertilizer. 
3. Lay comfrey leaves in a potato trench and leave for 3 days prior to planting the tubers to give them a potassium rich boost of fertiliser. 
4. Use as a Comfrey leaf mulch around plants, by layering leaves around ground stems. Potassium will be released slowly to plants as the leaves break down – Great for tomatoes,       beans and fruit bushes. 

5. Use wilted leaves as a nutrient rich Chicken feed

Cheers, Linda