Gardening in Waitaki September 21st 2022

Garden magic is now in full swing, Waitaki is looking so pretty right now with the help of some warmth and showers. The hum of bees is back and it's a joy to be planting out gardens again.   Seed sowing and planting to take us right through late spring and summer, happens now there is so much on offer, tubas, bulbs, bedding plants, shrubs and trees waiting to be chosen and planted.  When buying punnets of plants get them accustomed to changeable weather and cold nights before planting.  I absolutely love sweet peas, so I have had groups sitting over winter for an early flowering and today have planted more to scramble up behind lower plantings. Sweet peas are gross feeders so a trench filled with well rotted animal manure below the soil they are sown in is beneficial. Fuchsias: Here on the coast fuchsias can be cut back now that they are pushing out leaves, they flower on new growth so take them as far back as you need to for the height you would like them flowering. Fuchsias prefer afternoon shade, moist ground and food keep up to them during the growing season to get best results. Rose leaf tips may be targeted by greenfly during mild days, keep an eye out for hatchlings, usually right at the tip of new growth and squish them with a finger and thumb, I keep this up to eliminate the need to spray. As I mentioned last week, roses will be looking for food, old stable manure or the pig and sawdust mix at the Recycling centre  around the drip line (not up against branches) will keep them happy.  Lawns: Winter damage will be noticed in lawns now that grass is growing again, rake out damaged patches, rough up the soil then spread generous amounts of clean, sifted topsoil to sow grass seed on. If birds are a problem each patch can be covered with shade cloth until seed germinates.  Vegetables:  Here on the coast plant lettuce plants at two week intervals and any spare ground could be planted out in seed potatoes. I am now dealing with clodding, clay soil in my new raised gardens. During winter I planted them with a green crop which has since been dug in and managed to grow a few veg in amongst it. The soil is still heavy but I know that layering compost on top now for worms to take down will improve  it during spring and summer. Worms: I am often told that gardens are lacking in worms, especially those newly created like mine, I came across a way to encourage worms a few years ago that I now use. Half fill a fertiliser bag with fresh cow / horse manure and leave it sitting on top of grass or soil for a number of weeks, long enough for manure moisture to leach out into the ground. When the bag is lifted there should be a mass of garden worms there. Tiger worms from worm farms do not last long in gardens, they remain too close to the top of soil so are taken by birds.  Fruit: Strawberry plants are on the move towards flowering, they will be looking for compost mulch now to grow into. Bees are about to pollinate blossoms, too late now for any spraying, just let the bees do their work and look forward to bumper crops. Cheers, Linda.