Gardening in Waitaki December 6th 2022

We Gardeners can start thinking about just enjoying the fruits of our labor now as flower and veg gardens fill with colour and produce, but unfortunately weeds and lawns don't stop growing so I guess we must soldier on. Mulch will be holding moisture in the soil on those very hot days, I learned over many years how beneficial mulch is on soil and around plants and trees. Exposed soil dries out very quickly during hot summer weather which means plant roots suffer, growth is stunted, worms dive deep and nutrients deplete as moisture is needed to get benefit. When gardens are mulched, less watering is needed and decomposing  mulch is a tonic to soil and plant growth, beneficial insect life is encouraged and weeds are limited with soil covered. Arborist mulch is great as a mulcher reduces live wood and green together into small particles readily able to break down faster than large chunks of bark which robs nitrogen from gardens. Fresh lawn cuttings scattered thick enough to keep light from soil  (not thickly laid) can become mulch, pine needles and compost will work, mulch becomes dry instead of soil and plant roots.  Buddleia can be cut back now as they finish flowering. When newly planted I cut them back by half after flowering and the mature buddleias right to the ground as they push up new growth very quickly and look attractive with new blue green foliage. Buddleias are a good fill-in shrub and come in shades of blue /purple, pink and white make this an ideal plant for a back border and can be grown from a cutting.  Forget-me-not,  most gardeners pull out forget-me-not when it has finished flowering, I cut it right back to almost nothing and it returns in nice green clumps stronger than ever and becomes a perennial which will flower for years every spring. Heaps of the seed heads stick to clothes while cutting back but as a woodland plant you can't go past forget-me-nots as a pretty sea of blue among rhododendrons. Branches lifted on large trees now will let light onto underplanting, I hired a small chainsaw on a long handle which I found perfect for reaching up to remove long branches growing naturally as a canopy to shade the tree roots but in a garden situation plantings beneath need light to survive.  Anemones and ranunculus for winter flowering can be planted in the next two weeks, I used to plant first into pots to make roots then transplant later when the summer clearing had been done. I liked them grouped and would forget where I had planted them and dig through them in my big garden. Lilies are flowering now, large clumps can be divided up and shifted straight after flowering and planted into good compost. Lily bulbs should never dry out, I have had clumps of Christmas lilies completely disappear and have not noticed until I miss them flowering at this time of the year,  so keep an eye on them through the dryer months. It takes years for lilies to grow from little pup bulbs and seeds so they are worth looking after.  Lawns: If you don't like using sprays and you have a few flat weeds in the lawn try painting them with vinegar, I was told about this recently and it works! I used white vinegar, also great for spot spraying pathways and drives. Clover browns off a little, I am watching to see how much it knocks it. Apply the vinegar in full sun, keep off needed plants. Vegetables Keep mounding up potato rows to encourage bigger shores, corn likes to be mounded up also when stalkes get to about knee high. Corn has a shallow rooting system and the mounding helps to keep them upright in strong winds. All leaf and root veg will be thriving this month, I am picking a lot from my veg plots then filling gaps with new seedlings. One thing is for sure you can put off doing what is needed but nature can not be put off when it comes to weeds and ripening of fruit and veg. If time is limited, cutting the flowers off weeds before they run to seed will reduce the spread until you can tackle them. Fruit: It is time to shorten back fruiting leaders on grape vines, growth is needed for the forming grapes. If a leader has produced too many bunches, remove some. I was told years ago that offal or a dead animal is what a domestic grape vine likes to have buried down around it's roots, too much nitrate fertiliser will produce too many leaves and leaders. Most fruiting plants like a little potash to encourage fruiting during spring. Pip and stone fruit should grow in abundance this season. Usually a tree will shead small forming fruits if too crowded, but I have found this reduction needs to be done by the gardener as well, now is the time to check the number of fruit to branch ratio.  Cheers, Linda