Gardening in Waitaki August 13th 2024

Even though it is not officially spring, here on the coast nature is saying it is as blossom buds burst and spring bulbs flower.  Unpredictable days will continue with heat in the still-low sun while gardeners pay full attention to forecasts. Keep an eye on trees and shrubs shifted over the winter, they will need the water kept up and stakes firmed to allow new roots to take hold. Folia feeding is beneficial now as the ground warms and plants are looking for nutrients. I have worm and comfrey tea as an inexpensive folia or root food but there are plenty of chemically formulated products on offer for specific plants and now is the time to start using them. At this time of the year, I notice the yellowing of some plants, the ground gets depleted of nitrogen during winter especially are shallow-rooted plants like camellias, azaleas, and rhododendrons, giving them a feed with an acid fertilizer specially formulated for them. ( If powder water in) Outdoor potted plants that make a lot of roots and have outgrown their containers will soon show poor growth if not repotted into a larger pot or the root mass reduced by half then re-potting back into the same pot. I remove excess roots by removing the root-bound plant from the pot, and laying it on the ground I use a sharp spade to chop the root ball in half. Once potted up again I apply slow-release fertilizer and compost to either soil or a heavy tree and shrub mix and hope for rain to add more nutrients.With all the slow-release fertilisers on offer now it makes it easy to choose the right one for all plants I have been sowing seeds in trays with clear covering to let maximum light and warmth in, sitting trays up off the cold ground helps with germination as well.  Lawns Start the new growing season with fertilizing lawns to help them recover from winter dormancy, I have that noted for the next time it rains to wash it in. Generally, lawns that are well maintained - which includes being well fed, cut properly, aerated, and de-thatched (if needed) problems that result in moss will not occur.  Treating small areas of moss in lawns can be carried out with sulphate of iron watered on at the strength displayed on the pack per sq meter, the moss will turn black, and after a couple of weeks, you can rake out the dead moss, and re-seed. Vegetables: Pick winter crops while still at their best, Asparagus should be available for planting now, asparagus is a vegetable that repays you the planting of it over many years. To prepare beds cultivate deeply and add generous amounts of compost. Existing asparagus beds should be cultivated carefully to avoid damaging the crowns that lie just below the surface, add a new layer of mulch. Here on the coast get spring sowings off to an early start now, use a row of cloches to protect from late frosts, or a stretch of clear polythene to warm and dry the soil in colder gardens to prepare for early plantings as further inland soil will take a bit of thawing before any planting Can be done but the garden can be prepared by spreading compost/humus for rain and worms to take in. Early sprouted potatoes can go in now for an early crop, people have been telling me of the benefits gained from planting potatoes on a bed of pine needles, I lay them on comfrey leaves but will use some pine needles as well this year. Fruit Peach trees should be bud burst in about now so spray with a copper spray for leaf curl, once in blossom it is too late. If you have not already pruned your peach or nectarine tree I will run through how to go about it, recovery will be quicker now the sap has risen.Peach trees need to be pruned into an open “V” or vase shape for the optimum outcome. Early spring is the best time to prune backyard peach trees.1. For the v shape pick four main scaffold branches and simplify, cut larger branches needing to be removed close to the trunk but leave a collar.  2. Remove small weak upright branches on the trunk or main branches. 3. Leave 50 to 75% pencil-thick shooting wood per tree. Both peach and nectarine fruit on wood developed last summer. Inspect the buds on newer wood, single buds are leaf buds, double buds are immature fruit buds and triple buds are mature fruit buds. Cut to an outward-facing double bud, and leave triples. Cheers, Linda