Still experiencing the odd frost here in North Otago which means cold morning starts but it soon warms up and becomes pleasant working conditions. However the cold nights, mornings and wind chill are holding some spring growth back.
I am spending days sowing seeds and potting up germinated seedlings, a lot of room is needed for this job once all seeds pop up, thank goodness for the Recycling center and all the pots they are able to supply.
During last week I potted on lavender and hedge cuttings taken at the end of last summer, hedges are not for everyone because of the trimming but I love a nice hedge separating areas in a garden, a lot of plants are required to grow a hedge so it is worth putting in cuttings.
Also in early spring fast growing gap fillers can be divided and planted to take over from spring and early summer flowering plants. I plant them now so that good roots establish, then cut them back at the end of summer and they regrow with fresh growth to take them right through until the beginning of next winter. Plants I use for this are mignoette, geranium, cineraria silver dust, aubretia, catmint,purple sage and anthriscus sylvestris (I call this bronze Queen Ann's lace) it spreads from seed profusely but pulls out easily and is a wonderful gap filler with its large feathery bronze leaves and clusters of small white flowers.
I absolutely love sweet peas, groups of early sowing can sit over winter for an early flowering then another lot planted to scramble up behind lower plantings in borders. Sweet peas are gross feeders so a trench filled with well rotted animal manure below the soil they are sown in will ensure a good display that keeps producing those lovely flowers.
This is the time to take tubular begonias out of dry storage, as they begin to sprout but with it still being cold there is time enough to do this. The showy edging flamboyant begonias become nice big tubas in time and by cutting sections off them each year you will achieve a border in no time. It's best to lift them at the end of their growing season each year because like dahlias they can rot in wet ground during winter, All begonias love any fertiliser with a seaweed and fish content.
All of this month shrubs can be propagated by layering if branches are low enough to the ground to pin down into a dug out area then covered with soil. Azaleas and rhododendrons and low growing magnolias, any shrub that allows you to pin low growing slim branches down into the soil. Hopefully by the end of this growing season these branches will have developed strong roots, leave growing like this on the Mother plant for another year then cut free and pot up to grow on as a new bush.
Ponds will be warming up now and in the heat of summer pond water will become too warm encouraging green slim to grow, the addition of un sprayed barley straw weighted down with rocks will help to keep water clear. It takes a couple of weeks after the straw is introduced to get the pond water working as it should. Water lillies are starting to move along with pond iris and oxygen weed and as water gets warmer fish will begin to think about breeding, Keep fertiliser from drifting into ponds, slime growth is encouraged by added nitrogen.
Lawns:
New lawns sown now on the coast will strike as soon as we have a few nice sunny days in a row to keep the ground warm, as I have mentioned before seed must be sown thickly in spring to beat annual weeds, the best time to water grass seed is in the morning and evening to avoid evaporation and being the coolest part of a day allows the ground to absorb water deeper.
Keep the mower blades up when cutting spring grass to allow it to thicken and feed a little each time it rains to retain lushness.
Fruit:
Blue berries are a popular fruit and a health benifit, Blue berry bushes need to be growing in an acid soil with consistent moisture. Water well and mulch with pine needles, they will gently make the soil beneath more acid. Strawberries also prefer slightly acid soil so pine needles are an option for this as well as keeping weeds down and fruit off the soil.
Vegetables:
I have noticed there are still no white butterfly's about to lay eggs on green veg, when you do spot them cover leaf veg with netting above or even frost cloth which still lets enough light in for veg to be protected and keep growing as normal while small.
Get sprouted seed potatoes in the ground and when leaf starts showing begin mounding soil up around them to create more depth for a bigger crop.
All the veg seeds I planted at the same time are up and doing well, lettuce, broccoli, silverbeet, cabbage and cauliflower.
Root veg seed can be sown now, carrots, beetroot and radish. Parsnips need a long growing season and enjoy a cool soil so can be sown as early as July until the end of November they do best in the South Island.
Corn and tomato seed can be sown under cover to be ready for planting out when the threat of frost is over.
Runner and French beans can be started under cover for planting out when the soil is warm.
Cheers, Linda.
Layering a shrub branch.
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