Gardening in North Otago June 9th 2022

We are almost at the shortest day and only a few frosts behind us as I write this, now it's rain we hope to get  some time soon.  There is still time to put gardens to bed for winter by spreading leaf mulch around then topping with pea straw, even grass clippings will do the job of suppressing weeds and insulating soil. Any store bought fertilisers would be wasted if used while the garden is resting but compost and well rotted manure will work as a mulch for plant roots when taken down by worms to be there when needed in early spring.  The clean mulch on offer by our local Pukeuri ( Alliance  Group)  meat works is ideal for this, dry ground will need a wetting if rain hasn't done this before applying. Contact for this mulch is Gregg 0272293215   Special blooms to look forward to soon in winter gardens will be winter sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) fragile, papery sweet fragrant flowers are a treat along with hellebores, (winter rose), early camellias ( Sasanquas), daphne bholua, snowdrops and violets. Virginia stock and wall flowers are good annual winter bloomers if in bud before the coldest months. While the ground is damp and workable a small sharp edged hoe works well on weeds that persist. Where the ground is clear of weeds I fill gaps with perennial sections taken from clumps that need broken up. Perennial primulas and violas should be well clumped up now after an autumn cut back and because they multiply well these plants make good front borders. First dig out a clump and pull apart, each section with roots will become a new plant to clump up. Trim ragged perennials like catmint back to the new growth you should be able to see coming through, then dig around or mulch to encourage the new roots.  Sowing seeds: It is too early for seeds to germinate in the soil however I have sown cottage flower seeds like poppies, cornflower and cosmos in seed trays which are sitting in a sheltered tunnel house, I protect the trays with frost cloth during the cold nights and fingers crossed I hope for a strike. Vegetables: The mild Autumn rain was wonderful for producing vegetable gardens here on the coast, soups will be on the go with the abundance of silver beet, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, kale, tomatoes and all those lovely pumpkins stored before the frosts arrived.  When areas of the veg garden become vacant, plant a green crop to be dug in or spread some compost on to let frost and worms work on to get soil ready for an early spring plant out. Rule of thumb is that garlic is planted around the shortest day, in cold areas where ground is frozen, start garlic off in containers and plant out later when the ground begins to thaw. Fruit: If your strawberry patch is cleared and manured, pot up runners if needed to establish strong roots before being planted. Choose runners closest to the Mother plant. A three or four year fruiting is long enough for a mature fruiting strawberry plant. Major pruning on older out of control fruit trees, Winter has, in the past been the time to do major pruning and still can be if this time is right for you and your fruit trees are tended annually. However as I have mentioned in previous notes, new upward growing growths on apples and espaliered fruit trees should be done in summer when cuts will heal over and not send more new growth up around that pruned area. Early to Late Spring is best for Peach trees if they need size reduced or centers opened. This will allow the wounds to close faster as growth begins and in early spring you should also be able to see how many flower buds have survived the cold weather. Leave young fruit trees to blossom and fruit only removing any damaged wood or crossing branches to establish good shape. Mulch all fruit trees now as they have a lot of work ahead of them. Cheers, Linda