Gardening in Waitaki January 28th 2025

Nothing like a good heavy summer rain like we received last week to freshen lawns and gardens. Geraniums are doing well this year, an old but reliable plant that gives heaps of colour all through summer & autumn. Some very pretty and different varieties are on offer nowadays, they are a wonderful plant for pots and the ivy type is lovely in hanging baskets. This is one plant that will not fail to root when cuttings are planted. Geraniums are so easy to grow in full sun and they do not mind if you forget to water them for a while because they like to be a little dryer than most other plants. Tree peonies will need old stems that flowered cut out, this will reduce their size by half and stop the seed pods from popping everywhere. Don't let tree peonies get away and swamp other plants, they can also send out runners from the mother plant that pop up all over the place. Cut them out if they are not wanted. Same for euphorbia plants, there are many different types of euphorbia and they are all worthy of having a spot in the flower garden or just planted grouped to make an impact but seed heads must be cut back to stop them spreading. I recommend wearing gloves when deadheading euphorbia because the white milky sap can result in redness of exposed skin, swelling and sometimes blistering and should not come in contact with eyes. If this happens gently wash the exposed skin with soap and water. Rinsing with water alone will not be enough to remove the sap from the skin. Don't let this put you off introducing these lovely plants into your garden. After a wet overcast period, snails will be about. I came across a method of dealing with them that I have put into place and thought I would share with you. Scientists have discovered that slugs and snails detest caffeine. Pouring the dregs of your morning coffee on the ground will drive them away. Even better, add coffee grounds to your mulch or potting mix. Ask your local coffee shop if you can recycle their leftovers and mulch your hostas, lettuce seedlings, and more. Now is a great time to give this a try.I pulled all the eaten leaves off hostas, cineraria and lettuce plants and the first lot of coffee grounds have been spread around, I will let you know the outcome. Slug bait is poisonous to birds and dangerous for children. Plants in pots can be protected with a thick band of Vaseline applied right around the rim of the pot - impossible for slugs and snails to cross. Healthy plants will resist pests better than struggling, spindly specimens. Feed your plants well and ensure that they get adequate water. Encouraging birds into your garden to control pest populations, not spraying allows insect predators to get to work. Roses: Spray or not to Spray is a big question when it comes to pests on your roses. When you spray you also eliminate the predators, predators take longer to restore their population than the fast-breeding pests, so the problem seems to worsen when we spray and it becomes an endless cycle. I opted not to spray in my past large garden and it took only a couple of growing seasons for pests and predators to take care of things. I removed the rust and black spot-affected leaves and destroyed them and kept a good supply of food up to the roses keeping them strong and healthy. >earwigs can eat great holes in your flowers overnight, an earwig trap made from an upturned plant pot filled with scrunched-up newspaper resting on top of a bamboo stake pushed into the ground makes an ideal hiding place for these nocturnal pests - you can tip them into rubbish or leave the bodies on the bird table. Spittlebugs, hidden in a foamy 'spittle' like substance, can be removed with a strong jet of water from the hose, or even by hand. If you are looking for non-toxic solutions to keeping those bugs down, try the following sprays. Garlic garden spray: 3 large cloves of crushed garlic, 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, 1 tsp of liquid soap, and 1 litre of water. Combine the garlic and vegetable oil and leave to soak overnight. Strain and add to the water along with the liquid soap. Spray regularly. Rhubarb spray: Aphids can also be eliminated with Rhubarb spray. Boil 5 rhubarb leaves in a large pot of water for approximately 10 mins. When cooled add a squirt of dishwashing detergent to fix the spray to the leaves. Rhubarb leaves contain toxic oxalic acid. Lawns:Spot spray weeds during warm days, use the right product that kills the weeds and not the grass. There are a few on offer, even some that weed and feed at the same time. Apply lawn fertiliser when we next get rain. Vegetables: where to plant from now & when to harvest, Basil (herb) Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvesting from March - April Beetroot Sow in garden. Harvesting from February - April. Cabbage Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Harvesting from March-May Carrot Sow seed in the garden, water well and harvest from March - April. Chives Sow seed in the garden, harvest from February - April Dwarf beans: (also French beans, Bush beans) Sow in the garden, harvest from February - April Fruit: Those with fruit bushes and trees may be disappointed with low crops due to the many overcast days that kept bees and pollinating insects away. Apples will be well on now with some cooking varieties almost ready and attracting wasps, if this is happening on your tree remove all wasp-damaged fruit away from the tree, even those on the ground because it will be these bringing the wasps. Hopefully, later crops will get the sun needed for ripening. Cheers, Linda.