Gardening in Waitaki March 17th 2926

Comfrey plant tea.

The autumn change is with us some days and not others, and it is hard to determine what season it is right now. Warm, lingering days still feel like summer, yet cooler mornings and the occasional rain remind us that autumn is quietly settling in. The garden reflects this uncertainty too, growth continues strongly, weeds are thriving, but many plants are looking tired after a long growing season. At this time of year, weed seeds are ripe and falling or popping to settle in to germinate during spring, so be one step ahead by hoeing out or removing the ripened heads if time is limited.  Cutting back will be full on now. Once I start, there is no stopping me from leaving destruction in my wake. Cut back, lift and divide summer flowering perennials and shrubs, remove seed heads from ornamental grass if you have not already done so, and the clumps will look a lot tidier.  This is a good time to cut the leaves from comfrey plants while plump, before they disappear for winter. Comfrey leaves chopped and packed into a container with a lid, weigh leaves down, and just cover with water. The leaves will break down to a black tar-like substance packed with nutrients that plants love once diluted down into a comfrey tea. As sap in trees and shrubs declines to harden stems and trunks to cope with winter's chill, watering, then mulching from now on, will set your garden up for its long winter rest while at the same time building up my ornamental gardens and keeping weeds down. Also spread mulch around established plants in the veg garden and as layers on compost heaps.  I have been collecting seed and putting down cuttings daily. So many plants, trees and shrubs can be grown by you for your garden or shared by doing this now. Ponds will not have overheated this summer, so fish will have multiplied amongst oxygen weed where fish lay their eggs. I used to remove all the big fish into a bucket of pond water during early summer to protect eggs from being eaten. Small gold fish are light brown when hatched and hard to see, but they turn orange as they grow. Replace the big fish once the small fish are big enough not to be eaten.If ducks have visited your pond and introduced duckweed, it will increase rapidly. Once fish eggs had hatched, I used to remove duckweed and oxygen weed with a leaf rake and apply it all as mulch onto gardens. Topping ponds up often during hot weather helps to cool the water and keep ponds cleaner. Lawns Get new lawns sown now, the cooler nights and mornings are allowing moisture to remain longer after watering, and a strike will happen pretty fast in the warm ground. For established lawns, dry weather encourages thatch to build up around grass roots, and lawns can become thick with it, killing off good grass. If you feel your lawn is being choked by thatch, this is the time to address the problem; a de-thatcher can be hired from our local garden hire business. Once a good portion of thatch is removed, good grass gets a chance to grow strongly again. Scarification will also help remove moss, and a bonus is that thatch can be used to mulch gardens and added to compost heaps. Grass grubs are on the go, munching grass roots and leaving dead patches. Treat lawns with grass grub granuals from now until May. Vegetables. March is an important month for planting winter veg. Prepare the soil before planting with compost, general garden fertiliser and lime (only if needed to bring the pH up), I add lime to my compost. Keep planting all veg seedlings on offer, cover from birds and white butterflies. Prepare garlic beds with compost/ manure worked in, then left to settle until planting out in June. Heartease (small wild pansy) is a companion plant to garlic and onions. Fruit: Share your harvest if you are loaded with fruit. When picking is over, weed, manure, mulch/compost around fruit trees. Citrus have been producing flowers and fruit well this season, give them citrus food as a reward, or allow the dropped fruit to add the acid needed by breaking down over the tree roots. Cheers, Linda.

Lawn dethatcher.

March 17th 2026

Another up and down time with the weather in the past week, weeding, raking and planting will be full on in some gardens, so rewards will be real. Leaves are turning, and some have begun to fall with the weather in the past week. Silver birch is always the first, along with prolific flowering bougainvillea, dropping a crimson carpet. Cutting back and deadheading has stepped up with me as there is still a lot of flowering ahead before things come to an end before winter's chill. Now is a good time to repot pots and baskets that have been flowering and filling containers with roots. At this time of the year, everything planted will settle in well and put on growth before the colder months slow growth down. It is best to pull all out to see how root-bound a pot or basket is; then, a spade is usually needed to chop through two-thirds of the root ball. Soak potted shrubs with reduced roots in a bucket of water until bubbles stop before replanting them into a new mix. I water plants at this time of the year with comfrey tea. A brewed fertiliser with more potash and nitrogen than commercial feeds, and comfrey leaves are plentiful right now for picking and making plant tea. Comfrey as a Fertilizer has three major nutrients plus high levels of calcium applied as a liquid soil drench or as a foliar spray. Making comfrey tea: A generous bundle of comfrey leaves, A bucket of water. Place chopped comfrey leaves at the bottom of a bucket. Weigh down with a brick, fill the bucket with water, and cover for three weeks before diluting, one part 'tea' to 10 parts water. Keep deadheading roses in the hope of more blooms to make a last vibrant show before they will be left to harden for winter. Rust is always a problem on roses in autumn. Try to eradicate affected leaves from the bushes as well as those on the ground and burn them to reduce this problem for next year. Don't feed roses now; soft growth needs to make a start at hardening. Lawns. As days become cooler and heavy dew is happening again, grass will start to recover from dryness, and if lawns have no spring in them, there will probably be a high content of clay restricting roots. Gypsum applied before a good shower of rain will help, and if applied at intervals over a couple of years, there will be a spring in your lawn. Fruit: Late peaches, walnuts, quince and apple trees are dripping with fruit. If you need to store a small amount of apples, the refrigerator is a good option. Place them in the crisper drawer in a plastic bag with holes, or cover the apples with a damp paper towel. Keep boxes of apples in a cool, dark place, and they should stay crisp. Make sure there are no bruised or damaged apples among the stored boxes. Vegetable Gardens will be growing new crops for the cooler seasons. Leaf veg should not bolt so readily now, and will not mind days getting shorter and cooler, and root veg seeds will germinate well while the ground is still warm. Second sowing of peas should be up, corn picked, and the pumpkins outgrown their space. Onions can be lifted once leaves have bent over. Don't bend or damage leaves before they are ready to bend naturally, if you want them to store and keep well. Once dug, lay them out in a warm place to fully ripen, then store in a cool place. Cheers Linda.

Gardening in Waitaki March 3rd 2026

As the ripening season approaches, conditions across North Otago remain dry, despite having received summer rain, which soon evaporated with the wind. Making watering the top priority in the garden. Consistent deep watering is essential to prevent plants, shrubs, and trees from becoming dehydrated. Particular care should be given to Acer (Japanese maples), which can easily be lost if allowed to dry out during autumn. With nights cooling and days shortening, the major leaf drop is not far away. However, trees are holding their leaves green longer this year, likely due to the summer rain showers. As light levels begin to reduce, low branches on large trees may need lifting to allow more light onto lawns and underplantings. Seed Sowing and Collecting: My seed collecting is well underway. Summer annual seeds should be dried and stored safely until spring sowing, while many hardy spring-flowering plants can be sown now to establish before winter. Suitable varieties include pansy, viola, polyantha, delphinium, antirrhinum (snapdragon), wallflower, cyclamen, stock, sweet pea, primrose, and calendula. Keep an eye out for useful self-sown seedlings such as foxglove, lupin, cineraria, hollyhock, and primula malacoides — these can be transplanted now so they settle in before colder weather arrives. Cuttings: From now until late autumn is an ideal time to take semi-hardwood cuttings from shrubs and woody plants. Choose stems that are neither too hard nor too soft, as these contain the best energy for root development. Cuttings can be soaked overnight in water containing willow leaves and branches, a natural rooting stimulant similar to hormone powder. Plant cuttings into damp, sharp river sand or crusher dust mixed with a little compost to encourage rooting. Cuttings taken now must be protected through winter. A glasshouse or tunnel house is ideal, but a simple cold frame works well — a raised frame covered with heavy plastic, with frost cloth added during very cold periods. Rose cuttings also perform well at this time. Take a slanted cutting about 15 cm long from a flowering stem, ensuring at least three growth nodes, with two buried when planted. Place cuttings into water immediately after cutting, then plant closely together in free-draining river sand. Although most modern roses are grafted, many gardeners believe cutting-grown roses develop stronger root systems. Rose deadheading will soon finish for the season; allow the final blooms to set seed, so plants stop producing soft growth, and wood can harden before winter pruning. Planting and Garden Preparation: March is one of the best planting months for establishing a new garden. Garden centres are well stocked, and warm soil allows roots to grow, harden, and settle before winter. Remove spent summer annuals and prepare beds for winter and spring flowering plants such as primulas, wallflowers, polyanthas, pansies, and violas. Fork compost into the soil and water deeply before replanting. Peonies are available now and are well worth planting. Ensure roots have at least three eyes (buds), plant only 5–7 cm deep, and avoid disturbing new shoots. Peonies prefer sunny, well-drained, slightly acidic soil and, once established, can remain undisturbed for decades. Bulbs: Spring bulbs are already beginning to move beneath the soil, so take care when cultivating around them — even trilliums are showing new growth. Lift gladioli bulbs once flowering is finished and store them in a dry place to prevent pest damage. Climbers such as wisteria, jasmine, and honeysuckle can be lightly trimmed, along with hedges and shrubs, if required. Continue deadheading dahlias, petunias, and geraniums to keep colour going until the first frost. Lawns: Chemical-free lawn clippings make excellent mulch. Spread them thinly over moist garden beds to help retain soil moisture — applied too thickly, they can form a barrier that prevents water penetration. Autumn is also an excellent time to sow new lawns. Cooler nights allow moisture retention, while warm soil encourages rapid germination. Vegetable gardens remain productive with adequate watering. Pumpkins are ripening, corn is ready, and beans remain plentiful. White butterflies are active, laying eggs on brassica crops. Newly planted seedlings can be protected using shade cloth or grape netting stretched tightly over frames to prevent access while still allowing light and airflow. Plant leafy crops now, including lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. Green manure crops can also be sown to restore humus to tired soils. Fruit: Stone fruit, pip fruit, and grapes are being harvested, with sugars hopefully well developed after a hot and cold season. Grapes will not ripen further once picked, so always taste before harvesting. After fruiting, give trees autumn attention, deep water thoroughly — soak soil 5–7 cm deep rather than surface watering. Keep grass and debris clear from around trunks. Avoid fertiliser in autumn so trees can harden for winter. Leave major pruning until spring. Cheers, Linda