Gardening in Waitaki November 1st 2024

And now it is almost November and this spring weather is proving to be a challenge with all the rain but here in North Otago we cannot turn down spring rain.  The spring blossom is still lasting without the usual strong October winds.  Roses are ready to take over from the camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, Iris's are also pushing through fat buds. Remove mulch from iris rhizomes, they push themselves out of the ground now to be exposed to the sun,  I love to see iris planted in large drifts to make an impact but most town gardens do not have the room for this. If you have a display of forget-me-nots putting on a show now, don't pull them out when finished but cut them back, they will soon green up for summer and then flower again next spring.Some suggestions for planting garden colour are cosmos, marigolds, petunias, bedding dahlia, and blue salvia. Cat-mint edging is starting to show colour,  cat-mint is such a pretty edging that can be cut back after the first flowering to flower again. While this is happening sections with roots can be pulled from the main clump and potted up to grow a root ball, then planted out as edging in another part of the garden. Trim spent blooms from flowering perennials and daisy bushes often to keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody.Chrysanthemums and tall perennial asters flowering time is not until the end of summer, if cut back now they will grow up a second time but hopefully not so tall and fall all over the place.  Chrysanthemum tips can be put into river sand to make roots for new plants.  Planting on a slope: Spring is a good time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the dreaded winds arrive. Spray out all competing weeds. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around the roots. If this cannot be done try not to disturb soil/clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering.  Planting; Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water. Make sure it dips down at the back for water to pool. Use stones around each plant, this will help prevent wind from blowing soil away from the roots. Choose plants that grow in dry conditions. South African plants grevillea, leucadendron, and Proteas would work.  Ask at a Garden center what survives well in a pot without a lot of watering,  plants that can be left for a while without water and they still look good.    Lawns:  Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If like me you have not had to spray lawn weeds you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden as humus but not in thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Your garden can take as much fresh green growth as you throw at it now the warmth is here. Resown patches left from grass grub and moss removal damage will repair fast now if birds are kept off, try covering them with shade cloth until the seed has germinated, works for me.  Fruit bushes and trees are responding to spring as they should, the bees have done a wonderful pollinating job and we should all get bumper crops with the right amount of sun and moisture. Mulch around the drip line of all fruiting trees and shrubs to keep moisture from evaporating while the fruit is forming.....it's all on now for growing our own food.  Veg Garden Growth is amazing this spring with the warmth and moisture, potatoes are up for mounding, root veg is ready for thinning, leaf veg is heartening up and no white butterflies here to annoy them yet, young broad beans are ready for picking, no rust nor an aphid to be seen yet! Corn, runner and French beans have popped through and the snails were waiting so they have been covered and it is warm enough to plant tomatoes, cucumber, and all from the pumpkin family.  Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in Waitaki October 23rd 2024

A  couple of lovely summer days snuck in last weekend to give us a taste of what is to come, followed by a soft drizzle, perfect growing weather.Weeds are in full growing force now! but the soft damp ground makes them easy to hoe and pull out. Weeds need to be removed before they make seed or, you will be chasing them through the months to come. I have been potting up seedlings I have grown from seed, lupins, Oriental poppies, delphiniums, penstemons, and nasturtiums. To give small seedlings the best chance to survive chewing pests it i best to pot seedlings into punnets or individual pots for roots to become established and top growth to become less tasty before planting out. Strong growing plants like sunflowers and delphinium seeds need to be planted straight into peat pots and once the pot is filled with new roots plant pot and all into the ground, the strong roots will grow out through the pot as it breaks down. Planting wildflowers can be a waste of time if the patch of ground becomes full of weeds before the wildflower seeds germinate. This year I am using the method of clearing the soil of weeds, then laying out sheets of newspaper soaked with a hose before piling potting mix on top to sow a wildflower mix into. The wet newspaper should suppress weed seeds from germinating, giving the wildflowers a chance to grow thickly. Hostas are pushing fresh new leaves up for waiting slugs! put sharp gravel under hostas and spray with fish emulsion to deter them. In our past garden I had 6 little Pekin bantams who took care of snails and slugs, they are very short in the leg and their scratching is minimal compared to long-legged hens Compost: The compost I have been cultivating over winter has lately been getting the heat needed to start working again, I was able to use bottom layers for adding to pots and the garden, it was full of worms and beneficial invertebrates. Start now to layer on the ground so worms can be drawn up (not on concrete). Layer soft growth, seedless weeds and brown stalky growth, aged manure, kitchen scraps (no meat) soil and old compost. Keep water up to the layers as you build and you will have ready compost for autumn. Lawns: Gypsum went on my lawn this week to help break down the clay, so far I have aerated, spread fine compost and fed with lawn fertiliser during rain and popped out many weeds with the blade of my secateurs, now I wait to see how it performs during summer. Vegetables: This is a good time to consider companion planting in the veg garden now all herbs are clumping up again. Nasturtium attracts caterpillars, so planting it alongside or around vegetables such as lettuces, broccoli, and cabbages should mean the nasturtium will get attacked rather than your edible crop. Marigolds have a scent that repels aphids and attracts hoverflies, which are predator insects, the lovely little tagetes, or French marigolds, are invaluable in companion planting. Cabbage white butterflies are attracted to their host plant by smell and planting rows of targets is effective in masking the smell and reducing cabbage moth damage. Secretion from the roots of Mexican tagetes deters eelworms and your potatoes and tomatoes are left alone. Tagetes and calendula marigolds planted near tomatoes will attract hoverflies to feast on pests. Basil and tomatoes are a well-known combination. Dill is popular with bees so attracts them into the garden,  dill planted with corn will ensure a bumper crop with more bees to pollinate the corn strings. Sage is a herb to plant around a celery crop, Hyssop repels white butterflies from all brassica crops. Carrots and leeks work well planted together, they both have strong aromas, which repel pests. Fruit: With all fruit trees in blossom, it's sunny days we need to keep the bees busy working along with the help of windy days for pollination.  Keep the water up to them and mulch with un-sprayed grass clippings right out to their drip line, they have a lot of work ahead of them growing plump, juicy fruit. Cheers, Linda.

Wonderful Hostas.

Gardening in Waitaki October 15th 2024

Flamboyant begonias.

A chill in the air this week which keeps spring fresh and crisp as it should be. Town gardens are filled with spring prettiness which I enjoy viewing as I walk Scruff each morning.  I have been weeding and composting my small town gardens and watching as they fill with perennials that have been waiting to come back from the winter dieback. Hydrangeas are also pushing out new growth with buds forming, hydrangeas have a long blooming season so will benefit from a good thick layer of manure-enriched compost and moisture to keep strong growth up.  I see shoots on my flamboyant Begonias now and some tubers have become big enough to cut into several shooting sections to become plants on their own. Flamboyant begonias make a wonderful show as a boarder or in pots and hanging baskets and they flower on and on through the summer. Once they send up leaves I start feeding them fish fertilisers to keep them going strong, all begonias do well when fed with fish fertiliser.Keep the food up to your roses now, they are making their buds and it's hungry roses that get diseased. Nitrophosca is good right now on any summer flowering plants and shrubs for a quick result, used every fortnight to keep the food supply up, especially in pots & hanging baskets. Geraniums and pelargoniums are available now and should be planted in sunny positions. Fuchsias are also on offer, they benefit from afternoon shade. If you are concerned about a hot dry Summer having a disastrous effect on your garden? Plenty of Mulch breaking down in your soil will help retain water as well as improve the structure of your soil While suppressing weed growth. Mulch as straw, grass clippings, and weed-free compost are also excellent for breaking down clay or poor-draining soil. I do not like using sprays but found I needed to spot spray in my past large garden to keep those tough weeds convolvulus, couch grass, biddy- bid and clover under control but here in my smaller garden, I pull or dig them out before any seeds ripen and fall. Seeds are forming now on plants and weeds that have flowered so whack them off if you don't want them to spread. I planted Cosmos, larkspur, nasturtium, and marigold seeds that are now up and ready to prick out into punnets along with sunflower seeds I planted into trays a few weeks ago which are now large enough to plant out. With summer just around the corner, I look forward to the show of those huge sunny flower heads following the sun around the garden. Sunflowers are a perfect fast-growing plant for Children to grow and be amazed by the height they reach.    Lawns:So much lawn growth after that heavy rain, my lawn is struggling having been sown on clay soil so for the last 3 mows I have left the catcher off and raked the clippings over as mulch and spread gypsum to help with the clay compaction. Vegetables: Keep an eye on potatoes that are through the ground, mound the soil up around them, and frost cloth may be needed at night just to be sure if your garden is inland or low-lying. Seeds are popping up in no time now so get veg seeds in for them to be ready for salad time. Because of the cold snap, I have started Pumpkin, squash, corn, and courgette seeds in a glasshouse, if buying plants, be sure to harden them outside in a protected place for a while before planting out.The cold snaps have been good for keeping the white butterfly and aphids away but aphids will no doubt soon start to become a problem so keep an eye out for infestation and if necessary wash off with a forceful hose.  Cheers, Linda

Gardening in Waitaki October 1st 2024

October already and Waitaki gardens are in full spring bloom. This month is when chasing weeds becomes a full-time job - Hoeing and hand pulling weeds is still the best option while weeds are new and small in planted areas especially if you are clearing a garden to plant out for a summer show. Couch grass and convolvulus need to be taken right out if you can, remove each long runner under the ground and any little pieces that may have been chopped with the spade because they will grow and spread very fast if left. I spot-sprayed couch grass and convolvulus in badly affected areas, trying hard not to bring the spray into contact with plants. Once all obvious weeds are gone, cover the area with compost /mulch, thick enough to keep the light from allowing any weed seeds left behind to germinate. NOW plant, plant, plant! as many annuals and perennials as you can get into the prepared areas, they will grow fast from now on to beat the weeds. If you have not fed plants, roses, or shrubs do it now, powered plant food should always be watered in, If you have homemade compost ready to use add blood & bone; and some sulphate of potash this will add food and a flowering/fruiting component. Watering and liquid feeding for new plantings is the key to success as plants settle in and make new feeding roots. First thing in the morning is the best time to water, giving plants and dirt time to dry before night as fungus thrives in damp ground on mild nights. Roses: Old stable manure along with compost can be spread around the drip line of rose bushes to keep them going over their long flowering period, watering & rain will take it to the roots as required. Once rose leaves have hardened a little green fly can be removed with a finger and thumb on new growth or left for birds to remove. If too infested why not try a homemade organic spray as a deterrent once aphids have been blasted off with a hose? My homemade deterrent spray is as follows. 3 or 4 rhubarb leaves roughly chopped, into 4 cups of boiling water, simmer for 20 mins then allow to cool. Strain, pressing rhubarb leaves in the strainer to get full leaf infusion. Spray: mix 1 teaspoon of detergent or (baby shampoo if you have) to 2 1/2 cups of cold water, then add the leaf infusion into a spray bottle. Spray onto roses and any other ornamental plants that succumb to green flies. Store leftover leaf infusion by freezing as each application works best when fresh. ( but do not use on edible plants.) Hostas are starting to leaf now, so watch when working around them in the garden, it will not take much to knock the point off the new leaves, keep them well watered, and give them a dressing of compost and blood & bone. Slugs come in droves if they get a sniff of hostas, they slide down into the center of clumps to lay eggs, and the young then feast. Slugs can’t cross copper, so copper tape acts as a barrier. Lillies have pushed up, put in stakes to support them before they get higher, and never let them dry out, same for peony roses they do so much better growing up through holding stakes. Lawns are going for it now which means the ground has warmed enough to sow grass seed, sow thickly to beat weeds and birds, keep moist and you should have a strike in no time. Don't fertilise newly struck grass, all fertilisers will be too strong. Fruit: Raspberry canes and gooseberry bushes are flowering along with all fruiting trees so now we need sun to bring the bees and pollinating insects out. Herbs: If it's a Herb garden you are keen to make and have chosen a sunny spot, dig in some old stable manure and lime before planting, all herbs like both. Why not plant up some mixed herb pots now and they will be ready to give as Christmas presents. Vegetables: It is so easy to grow your food and from this month garden centers are full of veg, herbs, tomato plants, and seed potatoes. If you do not have an existing vegetable garden but you do have a patch of vacant ground, clear it, dig or rotary hoe it, and edge it with whatever you have on hand, limestone, bricks, tree branches, sleepers or wood lengths. Spray weeds around the outside of your edging so they will not encroach on your planting space then go for it, get planting at this time of the year everything will grow fast and well as long as you keep water up and hoe the weeds away. Corn and pumpkin seeds need to be planted now and plants planted out when all threats of frost have passed to ensure a long growing season. Carrot seeds planted now. If carrot fly has been a problem for you in the past I would cover rows with an insect net once seeds have germinated, from October until April as this period includes the three generational life cycle of the carrot fly. I have been told that Resistafly F1 hybrid Egmont seeds are less likely to be infested. Carrot flies are attracted to the carrot smell while flying low to lay her eggs so thinning carrots is almost like calling the flies. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in Waitaki October 8th 2024

Our lovely Botanical Gardens:

How pretty Waitaki is looking after all the rain, growth is rampant now and we should have moisture deep down for trees and plants to cope well during the strong winds that we wait for at this time of the year. Rhododendrons, tulips, and late blossoms are taking center stage now. Tulips are best left until all green has been absorbed by the bulb. A main display of tulips can take up garden space restricting room to get other plants in, they can be dug up with all still attached to the bulb and bedded into a spot in the garden where not noticed until the die back is finished then stored away where rats can not get at them. Deadhead all spring bulbs as they finish flowering, leaving them to make seed will weaken bulbs but as with tulips leaves are left on to die back into bulbs. Dressing the garden: At this time of year Gardeners get busy planning a summer display, the ground is damp and warm and just right for planting the abundance of plants on offer plus planting seeds to be ready for summer flowering and eating. Preparing the garden: The trick is to get rid of surface weeds and past flowering annuals, water the bed well then put a thick layer of compost on top of the wet soil, it must be a thick layer, don't dig it in leave it on top and plant your new season's plants into it. Bagged compost will have been heated to a temperature that destroyed any weed seeds it contained. Fill all spaces with plants you love leaving no room for introduced weeds. Seeds I planted in late winter are ready to be planted out or potted on, I see them out the corner of my eye beginning to climb out off trays as I rush past, I have even been known to comment SOON to them while keeping the water up when I really should be potting up!! Nitrophosca will work now on flowering plants and shrubs for a quick result, used every fortnight will keep the food supply up. Pansies and polyanthus will keep flowering if dead-headed, they will bud up again if fed but flowering will not be as strong as it has been, Polyanthus soon let you know when it is too hot for them if you feel they have done all they are going to do dig them out, cut back and plant in a cool shady place where they can be left until planted out again next year. Sunflower seeds can go in now, they do best being planted straight into the ground, Sunflowers are a quick result for Children to plant and watch grow taller than themselves. If you have room plant cosmos, larkspur, nasturtium, marigolds, delphiniums, and alyssum. I would love to attract monarch butterflies to the garden but can never get the swan plants to stay alive through the winter. Plant them now in the hope of attracting monarchs into your garden but keep young swan plants covered to allow them to become bushy before a monarch can lay eggs. Compost piles and bins will start heating up and working well with the layering of new grass clippings, soft hedge clippings, manure, soil, and seedless weeds. In closed compost bins watering will be needed from time to time to get warm moisture working right through the middle to create the heat needed. Too early yet to trim box hedges, wait until the new growth firms up a little. The perfect time to trim buxus in late spring is during overcast days, the hot sun burns new undergrowth, dull days give them time to recover. I notice that dreaded convolvulus, couch grass, and clover thriving once again as it pops through the ground, spot spraying where it will not affect other plants is the only way I can get on top of it. Fruit: Apple and crabapple blossoms are bursting from buds and with the sunny days bringing the bees out we should get good crops, black currants, strawberries, and raspberries are looking to crop well also. Keep the water up to all fruiting trees and plants, especially after strong winds. Vegetables Potatoes love warm ground, I put mine in later than I usually do so I am still waiting for leaves to show so mounding can begin but the broad beans are well up, corn seeds have popped through and pumpkin, squash, and courgette seeds can go in now. If you prefer to buy plants be sure to harden them outside in a protected place for a while before planting them out. Cheers, Linda

Bee in the apple blossom