Gardening in Waitaki November 23rd 2022

What great rain last week to push spring growth on, then sun shine on Sunday for the wonderful Victorian market day, perfect. Right now conditions are just right for planting, the soil is warm and moist, weeds are easy to pull and hoe out which brings me to mention mulching again, bare soil will always grow weeds and weeds are starting to mature and make seeds so get them out before they do. If time is limited just cut seed heads off to avoid spreading. Fill your gardens with annual and perennial flowering plants, all gaps will be filled with beauty plus bees and insects will be encouraged for pollinating berry and fruit trees growing close by. 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 and lots of annual seedlings, flowers and veg which germinated during the last two weeks.....this sure is seed planting time. Dahlia supports put in now will reduce damaging plants by adding when growth is well on. Roses are well on now, if you have not fed rose bushes around roots do it now to keep them healthy. Aged manure or slow release fertiliser will keep them happy. The Recycling center offers bagged pig manure, no smell and clean to handle, it is a stressed hungry rose that will succumb to disease. If aphid and fungus or black spot have taken hold, feed and spray with an insecticide/ fungicide product. Pond water will be heating now, one of the easiest ways to keep your pond water cool is by shading the pond. You can install a shade sail over the pond or use a small tarp to cover a part of the pond if there are no plants to create shade for fish. Pond plants with large leaves or shrubbery planted to block strong afternoon sun are the natural way to provide pond shade. Top water levels up, evaporation is greater from now on. Fruits are forming well, reducing apple clusters will achieve good sized fruit. Mulch around all fruit trees to retain moisture from the last rain. Unsprayed grass clippings mixed with compost will do the trick. Vegetables: Keep mounding the potatoes to keep them producing more and more new potatoes for Christmas, consistent watering is important for potatoes now, this goes for all root veg. Carrot fly is on the wing now, thinning young carrots can attract carrot fly with smell if thinnings are left lying about. Delaying sowing until early summer, you can sidestep the first generation of the pest. I have planted early so have covered rows with frost cloth which still allows light in and keeps the low flying carrot fly off. Growing varieties of pungent Rosemary, Alliums, Sage or Marigold provides a deterrent by confusing smells. Wind has been hard on my broad beans, stems break very easily, I have created a string web with stakes through the bean stalks which seems to do the trick and have already started picking young tender beans. Tomatoes are zooming up stakes and needing attention almost daily now to control growth. Flowers are looking for pollination which is encouraged by flowers being included around tomato plants, marigolds, basil, sage thyme, plants to attract pollinators. As mentioned last week, keep pumpkin, squash and courgette plants mulched, their roots are fragile until large leaves grow to create the root shade needed. All new small plants can be over watered to the point where their roots cannot cope and they collapse, the soil should be dry on top between watering's and good drainage is essential . Cheers, Linda