Better weather this week in North Otago, last week I mentioned leaving small grade plantings until spring but with moisture still in the ground from the last rain larger grade shrubs and conifers an be planted now to get their roots started. There is time for them to harden off in readiness to take them through the winter without too much damage.
Take the trouble to find out each plants preference for soil and shelter. Remember some shrubs grow really fast, pick the right spot that will allow for shrubs to grow full size horizontally and vertically . While shrubs are small gaps can be filled with annuals or perennials like lupines, hellebore's or forget-me-not. which can be dug out as shrubs need more space.
The cold snap we had reminds me that the frosts will not be far off, although I feel our seasons are getting later so I am hoping for a long warm autumn, as long as the night temperature is not less than 10 degrees at night things will continue growing and germinating so keep planting seeds and get them well under way before the colder nights.
I have had the weed spray out again this week, I like to zap them when they are small and I have dealt to the couch grass which is showing its self through the pea straw cover I have had my eye on it and was waiting until it became long enough to spray. This grass cannot be ignored because it spreads really fast under mulch and weed mat and will pop up all over the garden.
Most gladioli have have finished flowering now and can be lifted, although I have seen some still flowering. Remove leaves once they have dried off and store in paper bags (never plastic). in all but the coldest areas it is ok to leave them in the ground provided the site is well drained. if superior blooms are required for showing then it is best to lift them and dust them with protective powder. The blooms will always do better if lifted.
Keep collecting ripe seeds for sowing in spring, seeds like cosmos, sunflowers, lupins, marigold, poppies any flower you like which have gone to seed. Pot up seedlings you find around your garden, I have an amazing amount of young seedlings of lavender, pansies, primula, hollyhock and foxglove popping up.
Stop dis budding chrysanthemums now, they will be well budded up now bringing wonderful colour to gardens.
Pick apples and pears now, pears especially need to be picked while still firm and as soon as they come away easily when pulled, they ripen well inside.
Keep feeding & watering cropping trees and citrus, blood & bone is fine for this and mulching will help keep moisture there.
Grapes need to reach their full sweetness while on the vine, but they will need protection from birds.
Winter veg in cooler inland gardens should be encouraged to grow vigorously while the soil is still warm by mulching, generous watering and liquid feeding late beans can help them go on producing. Keep an eye on pumpkins which will need frost cloth at the first sign of frost if still not ready.
Gardening by the Moon early march
Prepare, compost and manure/fert beds as necessary for winter planting
A good time to collect seaweed and cow manure to use in the autumn compost heaps.
Tomato & pepper maintenance - mainly feeding and disease control. Stop delateraling tomatoes.
Plant seeds for the winter garden, such as cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broccoli, lettuce, celery, swedes, turnips, parsley, welsh bunching onions, radishes, daikon, silverbeet, chard, peas, Miners lettuce, endive and corn salad.plant a widerange of winter vege, choose secific winter varieties and a choose a widerange of maturing times for optimal food security.
Plant flowers for winter and spring colour, and for vege companions, such as calendula, heartsease, stocks, chamomile, hollyhocks, sweet william, forget-me-nots, columbine and viola
Plant sweet peas now for early flowering .
Orchard:
If you are planning on planting an orchard or improving your orchard this winter now is the time to do your planning. Read Design Your Own Orchard. If you fancy a Food Forest we recommend Martin Crawfords wonderful book Creating a Forest Garden to help you out with your planning.
Irrigate all trees as required.
Plan and organise your autumn orchard fertilsation program, Best to feed while soil is warm and moist for best results following season. It is critical to have the right minerals in right relationships for optimal tree health and crop set, do a little research. Compost and compost tea can be used on small or large areas.
A good time to cut trees in shelter or hedgerows for firewood or garden stakes, etc.
Make a list to help organise winter planting and order any trees you need
Shift hawk kites and nets to protect fruit from birds
Cheers, Linda
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Gardening in North Otago 28th February 2012
We are still wondering what the weather is going to do! it feels more like September than March. The plants are in a quandary as well along with the bumble bees who seem to be a little dopey with the lack of sun to give them energy, I have been picking many up of the ground to put in a safe place. Lets hope we get more sun and some drying winds soon.
I have been using the compost made from last winter and spring to mulch, I need the bins empty for all the leaves that will be falling soon. The compost being made from the summer cut backs have had the unseasonal rain we are getting to add the moisture needed to start the compost cooking during the hopefully hot autumn days, once the heat has built up the compost will hold the heat and go on breaking down the compost over the cold winter months, but it must start to heating up now and have the moisture needed to do that. This is the only time of the year I add hen manure, because of it's heating qualities and the long winter season ahead allows it time to break down.
From now on is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn, a lot of the annual seeds will not germinate as fast as the grass seed now with the cooler nights giving the grass seed a chance to grow quickly and smother new weeds.
Prepare the ground by raking and firming, fill any hollows. If you can not get hold of a roller use a sheet of hard board and get everyone to run over it. Once the ground is firm lightly rake it over, sow grass seed and lightly rake it into the soil then a light watering.Don't allow the ground to be too damp going into the night, dews are enough for the tiny new grass roots and if kept on the dry side they should put roots down looking for moisture.
Choose the right type of grass for the area, there is seed for high traffic and shady and sunny areas & fine grass for show lawns It is best to get fresh seed coated with bird protection. Birds will still begin to feast on this so if you have sown only a small area cover it with frost cloth. This will keep the birds off and still let the light in to allow the grass seed to germinate.
Oxalis, this has to be one of the most frustrating weeds in the garden. It spreads prolifically and is a real challenge to eradicate. The main problem is that you can pull out the weed but under the soil is a parent bulb with a number of little bulblets attached to it. If even one of these gets left behind it will soon grow into a parent bulb. Disturbing the soil only makes matters worse as the little bulblets spread and multiply in quantity. There is no quick fix solution for oxalis, in the past chooks were set to work on ground that grew it, they scratch out bulbs and ate. That could be the answer if new ground was being broken in for a veg plot but not so good for an already producing plot.
Here are a few other ideas you can try but remember, you will have to continue to keep on top of it to get a really good result. They all work on the principle that the leaves take energy from the sun so if you keep killing the foliage the bulb will eventually weaken and die.
· Pour boiling water over the leaves. Continue to do this every time new shoots come through
· Cut off the foliage, new leaves will appear and you will need to cut these immediately, before they can get energy from the sun.
· Mix up 2 tablespoons baking soda, a squirt of dishwashing liquid, 500ml water and squirt on oxalis area, preferably on a hot day. Repeat to weaken re-growth until it disappears.
Vegetables & fruit
Disappointing is how I describe what is happening above the ground, root veg are still making progress but tomatoes, corn and pumpkins need a lot more sun before the days get shorter.
If you have bunches of grapes the birds are waiting so cover them with old pantyhose until they are ripe enough to pick.
Passion fruit needs to be well watered and feed now as this helps improve the fruit.
Harvest herbs now for drying, they will soon put on another lot of fresh growth before the frosts make them dormant.
Gardening by the moon
March 3rd /4th
Flower Gemini
Waxing gibbous
Biodynamic:
Moon in Gemini: This is a Air sign. This is a good time to sow Flowering plants like Broccoli, but it would not be a good time to sow Rooting plants like Carrots, Chives, First Early Potatoes,Garlic, Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Leeks, Onions,Parsnips, Shallots, Spring Onions,
Cheers, Linda
I have been using the compost made from last winter and spring to mulch, I need the bins empty for all the leaves that will be falling soon. The compost being made from the summer cut backs have had the unseasonal rain we are getting to add the moisture needed to start the compost cooking during the hopefully hot autumn days, once the heat has built up the compost will hold the heat and go on breaking down the compost over the cold winter months, but it must start to heating up now and have the moisture needed to do that. This is the only time of the year I add hen manure, because of it's heating qualities and the long winter season ahead allows it time to break down.
From now on is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn, a lot of the annual seeds will not germinate as fast as the grass seed now with the cooler nights giving the grass seed a chance to grow quickly and smother new weeds.
Prepare the ground by raking and firming, fill any hollows. If you can not get hold of a roller use a sheet of hard board and get everyone to run over it. Once the ground is firm lightly rake it over, sow grass seed and lightly rake it into the soil then a light watering.Don't allow the ground to be too damp going into the night, dews are enough for the tiny new grass roots and if kept on the dry side they should put roots down looking for moisture.
Choose the right type of grass for the area, there is seed for high traffic and shady and sunny areas & fine grass for show lawns It is best to get fresh seed coated with bird protection. Birds will still begin to feast on this so if you have sown only a small area cover it with frost cloth. This will keep the birds off and still let the light in to allow the grass seed to germinate.
Oxalis, this has to be one of the most frustrating weeds in the garden. It spreads prolifically and is a real challenge to eradicate. The main problem is that you can pull out the weed but under the soil is a parent bulb with a number of little bulblets attached to it. If even one of these gets left behind it will soon grow into a parent bulb. Disturbing the soil only makes matters worse as the little bulblets spread and multiply in quantity. There is no quick fix solution for oxalis, in the past chooks were set to work on ground that grew it, they scratch out bulbs and ate. That could be the answer if new ground was being broken in for a veg plot but not so good for an already producing plot.
Here are a few other ideas you can try but remember, you will have to continue to keep on top of it to get a really good result. They all work on the principle that the leaves take energy from the sun so if you keep killing the foliage the bulb will eventually weaken and die.
· Pour boiling water over the leaves. Continue to do this every time new shoots come through
· Cut off the foliage, new leaves will appear and you will need to cut these immediately, before they can get energy from the sun.
· Mix up 2 tablespoons baking soda, a squirt of dishwashing liquid, 500ml water and squirt on oxalis area, preferably on a hot day. Repeat to weaken re-growth until it disappears.
Vegetables & fruit
Disappointing is how I describe what is happening above the ground, root veg are still making progress but tomatoes, corn and pumpkins need a lot more sun before the days get shorter.
If you have bunches of grapes the birds are waiting so cover them with old pantyhose until they are ripe enough to pick.
Passion fruit needs to be well watered and feed now as this helps improve the fruit.
Harvest herbs now for drying, they will soon put on another lot of fresh growth before the frosts make them dormant.
Gardening by the moon
March 3rd /4th
Flower Gemini
Waxing gibbous
Biodynamic:
Moon in Gemini: This is a Air sign. This is a good time to sow Flowering plants like Broccoli, but it would not be a good time to sow Rooting plants like Carrots, Chives, First Early Potatoes,Garlic, Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Leeks, Onions,Parsnips, Shallots, Spring Onions,
Cheers, Linda
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Gardening in North Otago 22nd February 2012
What a mixed basket of weather during February! The days are beginning to shorten with temperatures dropping at night, I think now of the cooler days ahead as we move towards autumn. There is plenty to do in the flower and vegetable garden right now, I am making a start on the end of season clean-up as plants begin to look tatty and die down. It's much easier to do what you can now while it is still mild than face a huge job later in cold weather.
Seed collecting time has started as flowering plants finish and pods ripen.Sweet peas,alstroemeria's, Poppy's, English abutilon and lupin to name only a few there should be flower seeds popping in every garden along with all the weed seeds!!!! I am doing the rounds of the garden with a four year old this year both of us armed with small brown paper bags and a felt pen, I write the name and she draws the flower......this is not a five minute job! but will hopefully plant a seed ( excuse the pun) in a small inquisitive head.
I mentioned bulbs last week because this is the time to start planting for spring flowering, they are so worth planting clumps form in no time and your display gets bigger & better with each year.
When planting Spring bulbs, it pays to mix bulb food or bone meal thoroughly into the soil prior to planting and don't plant too closely - bulbs need nutrients and space!. As a general rule, plant bulbs so their tops are as far below the soil as the diameter of the bulb. Most spring bulbs are planted now but for tulips you will need to wait until May.
If you are looking for a plant which can survive with minimal water (for that difficult area) try Catmint (Nepeta mussini ). This perennial thrives on poverty and neglect tolerating a wide range of soils. It should not be fertilised and enjoys a well drained site. An excellent edging plant, it should be cut back to new growth after the initial flush of flowers to prolong flowering.
For most plants but especially roses watering deeply twice weekly is preferable. A thin mulch of lawn clippings kept away from the stem retains moisture and keeps the weeds down. Try seaweed or fish fertilisers and combine with half-and-half trim milk and water with soda bicarbonate for a good environmental spray that feeds and keeps the mildew (and possums) at bay.
If you are planing to plant out a lot of small grade trees & shrubs in an exposed area, consider leaving this until mid to late spring when frosts and the air chill are less severe. New plantings need a long warm settling in season and then time to harden off before winter. It is so disappointing when plants are lost during winter because they were not tough enough to survive. Plants in pots can be carried over in a sheltered place until the right time to plant, plants in root trainers are better being in contact with the ground not left in trays, even better pot them up in a pot that will allow root development until it is time to plant them out.
Vegetables & Fruit
I am finding the over cast cooler days are holding leafy veg back from bolting which is a change for this time of the year, how ever we need those hot sunny days to ripen fruit and tomatoes and get the corn and pumpkins well on before the first frost.
Keep planting root vegetables and fill spaces with a green crop to dig in before the flowering stage your soil will love it.
Gardening by the moon ( koanga institute)
Saturday 25th February 2012
Prick out seedlings, transplant and weed
Harvest, dry and store seeds from your favourite vegetables and flowers, choose the largest heaviest seeds, they are the best.!
Harvest seed from Austrian Hulless pumpkins when they have a yellow stripe on them. Dry until the seed breaks when bent
Harvest shellout or dry beans and peas
Make sure all garlic, onions and shallots are harvested and well stored.
Plan winter garden and make sure you know which beds your strawberries, garlic, early peas and broadbeans will be in.
Foliar feed roses, and water roots well
Sow anemones and daffodils, flowering bulbs
Lift gladioli when foliage turns yellow
Water and feed dahlias for long strong flowering
Take geranium cuttings
Layer carnations
Prepare beds for planting Autumn / Winter flowers
Orchard:
Summer prune apricots, peaches and plums after the fruit has been picked. This makes Winter pruning easier and there is less chance of disease.
Cheers, Linda
Seed collecting time has started as flowering plants finish and pods ripen.Sweet peas,alstroemeria's, Poppy's, English abutilon and lupin to name only a few there should be flower seeds popping in every garden along with all the weed seeds!!!! I am doing the rounds of the garden with a four year old this year both of us armed with small brown paper bags and a felt pen, I write the name and she draws the flower......this is not a five minute job! but will hopefully plant a seed ( excuse the pun) in a small inquisitive head.
I mentioned bulbs last week because this is the time to start planting for spring flowering, they are so worth planting clumps form in no time and your display gets bigger & better with each year.
When planting Spring bulbs, it pays to mix bulb food or bone meal thoroughly into the soil prior to planting and don't plant too closely - bulbs need nutrients and space!. As a general rule, plant bulbs so their tops are as far below the soil as the diameter of the bulb. Most spring bulbs are planted now but for tulips you will need to wait until May.
If you are looking for a plant which can survive with minimal water (for that difficult area) try Catmint (Nepeta mussini ). This perennial thrives on poverty and neglect tolerating a wide range of soils. It should not be fertilised and enjoys a well drained site. An excellent edging plant, it should be cut back to new growth after the initial flush of flowers to prolong flowering.
For most plants but especially roses watering deeply twice weekly is preferable. A thin mulch of lawn clippings kept away from the stem retains moisture and keeps the weeds down. Try seaweed or fish fertilisers and combine with half-and-half trim milk and water with soda bicarbonate for a good environmental spray that feeds and keeps the mildew (and possums) at bay.
If you are planing to plant out a lot of small grade trees & shrubs in an exposed area, consider leaving this until mid to late spring when frosts and the air chill are less severe. New plantings need a long warm settling in season and then time to harden off before winter. It is so disappointing when plants are lost during winter because they were not tough enough to survive. Plants in pots can be carried over in a sheltered place until the right time to plant, plants in root trainers are better being in contact with the ground not left in trays, even better pot them up in a pot that will allow root development until it is time to plant them out.
Vegetables & Fruit
I am finding the over cast cooler days are holding leafy veg back from bolting which is a change for this time of the year, how ever we need those hot sunny days to ripen fruit and tomatoes and get the corn and pumpkins well on before the first frost.
Keep planting root vegetables and fill spaces with a green crop to dig in before the flowering stage your soil will love it.
Gardening by the moon ( koanga institute)
Saturday 25th February 2012
Prick out seedlings, transplant and weed
Harvest, dry and store seeds from your favourite vegetables and flowers, choose the largest heaviest seeds, they are the best.!
Harvest seed from Austrian Hulless pumpkins when they have a yellow stripe on them. Dry until the seed breaks when bent
Harvest shellout or dry beans and peas
Make sure all garlic, onions and shallots are harvested and well stored.
Plan winter garden and make sure you know which beds your strawberries, garlic, early peas and broadbeans will be in.
Foliar feed roses, and water roots well
Sow anemones and daffodils, flowering bulbs
Lift gladioli when foliage turns yellow
Water and feed dahlias for long strong flowering
Take geranium cuttings
Layer carnations
Prepare beds for planting Autumn / Winter flowers
Orchard:
Summer prune apricots, peaches and plums after the fruit has been picked. This makes Winter pruning easier and there is less chance of disease.
Cheers, Linda
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Gardening in North Otago 14th February 2012
What dull drab weather we have been subjected to during the last three weeks, but I hear the sun will be back this weekend, hallelujah!
Plants are really needing sunshine now, dry ground and dull days, this is all wrong for the stage plants are at this time of the year especially fruit and grain crops. There is so much to do right now, dead heading roses, cutting back just about anything that has flowered, getting rid of weeds before they run to seed and yes watering and more watering. The one thing we can hold off from at this time of the year is planting trees & shrubs, unless you are able to water new plantings daily.
However I must say I enjoy working on these overcast less hot days and have been getting a lot done. I am still filling gaps in my garden with annual seedlings I find around our garden.
I plan to trim the photinias bushes we have around the garden to reward me with bright red new foliage in April / May and into the winter.
If you think something in your garden needs a cut back do it now, at this time of the year you cannot do damage the grow back rate is pretty quick. Even if the plant is still producing flowers, but you notice there are more seed heads than flowers it's a good indication the plant or bush is ready for a trim
If you have a buddleia ( the butterfly bush) tall thin arching branches with grey/blue leaves and lavender, purple or pink long narrow flower heads at the end, cut them back almost to the ground when they have finished flowering then again at the end of winter. They grow back very quickly and are best grown at the back of a border.
Lavenders can be topped now to encourage new flowers, its just a matter of cutting off the old flowers unless the bush has gone ugly and woody in which case take it out and replace with a new lavender plant.
With roses delivering us their second batch of blooms right now and the overcast days and dry ground conditions my roses are not the healthy specimens they were at the start of the new flowering season. I have been removing rust and black spot diseased leaves because I decided not to spray again this year. My trial was to foliar feed as much as possible to keep the roses healthy but with all the overcast weather the leaves needed to be kept dry to not encourage mildew and fungus. Deep root watering only and keeping the leaves dry has worked so for me, there is no sign of the usual mildew and I don't mind having to remove the black spot and rust leaves by not spraying in the hope the roses will build up a stronger resistance.
Bulbs are arriving in Garden centers now as late summer is the traditional time to plant winter and spring flowering bulbs.
Providing a well drained soil or potting mix (if putting in pots) will ensure success with most bulbs. Drainage in heavy soils can be improved by working in a generous layer of gravel prior to planting. The general rule when planting bulbs is that the depth of the soil above the bulb should be about twice the length of the bulb. Now days planting instructions and where to plant are offered on bulb packets. If it says full sun, shade or semi shade then that is where they must be planted to preform at their best.
I have been removing masses of oxygen and duck weed from my ponds and using it to mulch around plants, it is wonderful as a mulch and should add a lot of goodness to the ground as it breaks down. Ponds can get a bit murky at this time of the year, if you think your pond is stagnant and producing lots of green slime flood it then add some non sprayed straw and weigh it down with rocks. This will soon neutralise the water and get the pond working the way it should.
Lawn clippings should be still filling catchers, keep the food up to them when it rains and keep the blades up a notch to what you usually have them set from now on to give needed shade to roots. Spray lawn weeds out before they spread but do not use the clippings in the compost or around the garden. I scatter mine along fence lines which need to be kept wed free.
Vegetables
Keep water up to the vegetables especially raised gardens where drainage is greater. Don't leave veg past it's best along side healthy vegetables and always rotate plantings of leafy veg with root veg to eliminate disease being passed on.
Mound soil up around the roots of corn not ready yet, and keep an eye on the pumpkin patch, their leaves soon let you know when they need water to help them grow a prize winning crop.
Any spaces you have vacant fill with a green crop, wheat, barley, oats, blue lupin or mustard seed. Dig into the soil before it flowers. The humus created from a green crop is about the very best thing you can do for tied soil.
FULL MOON
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Garden:
Plant root vegetables such as carrots, beetroot, parsnips, turnips and swedes
Liquid feed tomatoes, peppers with liquid comfrey, adding vermicast or some other source of humates/carbon to hold the minerals where the plant roots need them.
Continue making liquid comfrey to feed tomatoes and peppers
Foliar feed three days after the full moon
Spray any tomatoes or potatoes with signs of blight or pumpkins showing signs of powdery mildew with raw milk (1 litre to 10 litres)
Cover seed crops from birds
Harvest seeds and dry and process as fast as possible
Cheers, Linda
Plants are really needing sunshine now, dry ground and dull days, this is all wrong for the stage plants are at this time of the year especially fruit and grain crops. There is so much to do right now, dead heading roses, cutting back just about anything that has flowered, getting rid of weeds before they run to seed and yes watering and more watering. The one thing we can hold off from at this time of the year is planting trees & shrubs, unless you are able to water new plantings daily.
However I must say I enjoy working on these overcast less hot days and have been getting a lot done. I am still filling gaps in my garden with annual seedlings I find around our garden.
I plan to trim the photinias bushes we have around the garden to reward me with bright red new foliage in April / May and into the winter.
If you think something in your garden needs a cut back do it now, at this time of the year you cannot do damage the grow back rate is pretty quick. Even if the plant is still producing flowers, but you notice there are more seed heads than flowers it's a good indication the plant or bush is ready for a trim
If you have a buddleia ( the butterfly bush) tall thin arching branches with grey/blue leaves and lavender, purple or pink long narrow flower heads at the end, cut them back almost to the ground when they have finished flowering then again at the end of winter. They grow back very quickly and are best grown at the back of a border.
Lavenders can be topped now to encourage new flowers, its just a matter of cutting off the old flowers unless the bush has gone ugly and woody in which case take it out and replace with a new lavender plant.
With roses delivering us their second batch of blooms right now and the overcast days and dry ground conditions my roses are not the healthy specimens they were at the start of the new flowering season. I have been removing rust and black spot diseased leaves because I decided not to spray again this year. My trial was to foliar feed as much as possible to keep the roses healthy but with all the overcast weather the leaves needed to be kept dry to not encourage mildew and fungus. Deep root watering only and keeping the leaves dry has worked so for me, there is no sign of the usual mildew and I don't mind having to remove the black spot and rust leaves by not spraying in the hope the roses will build up a stronger resistance.
Bulbs are arriving in Garden centers now as late summer is the traditional time to plant winter and spring flowering bulbs.
Providing a well drained soil or potting mix (if putting in pots) will ensure success with most bulbs. Drainage in heavy soils can be improved by working in a generous layer of gravel prior to planting. The general rule when planting bulbs is that the depth of the soil above the bulb should be about twice the length of the bulb. Now days planting instructions and where to plant are offered on bulb packets. If it says full sun, shade or semi shade then that is where they must be planted to preform at their best.
I have been removing masses of oxygen and duck weed from my ponds and using it to mulch around plants, it is wonderful as a mulch and should add a lot of goodness to the ground as it breaks down. Ponds can get a bit murky at this time of the year, if you think your pond is stagnant and producing lots of green slime flood it then add some non sprayed straw and weigh it down with rocks. This will soon neutralise the water and get the pond working the way it should.
Lawn clippings should be still filling catchers, keep the food up to them when it rains and keep the blades up a notch to what you usually have them set from now on to give needed shade to roots. Spray lawn weeds out before they spread but do not use the clippings in the compost or around the garden. I scatter mine along fence lines which need to be kept wed free.
Vegetables
Keep water up to the vegetables especially raised gardens where drainage is greater. Don't leave veg past it's best along side healthy vegetables and always rotate plantings of leafy veg with root veg to eliminate disease being passed on.
Mound soil up around the roots of corn not ready yet, and keep an eye on the pumpkin patch, their leaves soon let you know when they need water to help them grow a prize winning crop.
Any spaces you have vacant fill with a green crop, wheat, barley, oats, blue lupin or mustard seed. Dig into the soil before it flowers. The humus created from a green crop is about the very best thing you can do for tied soil.
FULL MOON
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Garden:
Plant root vegetables such as carrots, beetroot, parsnips, turnips and swedes
Liquid feed tomatoes, peppers with liquid comfrey, adding vermicast or some other source of humates/carbon to hold the minerals where the plant roots need them.
Continue making liquid comfrey to feed tomatoes and peppers
Foliar feed three days after the full moon
Spray any tomatoes or potatoes with signs of blight or pumpkins showing signs of powdery mildew with raw milk (1 litre to 10 litres)
Cover seed crops from birds
Harvest seeds and dry and process as fast as possible
Cheers, Linda
Gardening in North Otago 14th February 2012
It is great compost weather, plenty of moisture and heat to get compost heaps cooking. (get the sprinkler going if rain is not going to oblige where you are). I know we have a lot of grass clippings right now but don't pile these on to your compost heap on their own especially if they are wet, they will form a shield and not let the air and rain in and end up a musty smelly mess. A compost heap needs air to work well. When starting your compost heap roll up some wire netting and secure with stakes. place this in the center and build the heap up, around and over it. The wire can be removed when the heap is well cooked and ready to use. another way to aerate is to place thin planks of wood at different depths across the width of the pile as you are filling. When filled you can then move the planks up and down to let air in while decomposing.
Dahlias are making it into our flower borders again where they contribute bright clear colour over a long season. Mix them with other late flowering perennials, there is a dahlia style and colour for every sunny spot in the garden. Cacti, singles, pompom and more. A bright splash of candy pink, almost black, vivid red or sassy orange, dahlias bring vibrant colour into a summer garden and remain through until the frosts force them back into the ground. Dahlia tuba's are a good investment for the garden because they increase in size from year to year and in time can be broken up to plant as gap fillers. They can be left in well draining ground all year round but if left in ground that holds water they will rot. Take note of the colours and type that are taking center stage in gardens around you, then visualise them in your garden for next summer.
Don't feed bougainvilleas, feeding with fertilisers will only encourage leaf growth. A restricted root run encourages a more colourful display which is why they do well in containers. I started mine in a pot up against an Oamaru stone wall which holds the heat from the day. Some roots have will have escaped and headed off under the building I am sure but some will always remain restricted in the pot which I am sure is the reason it becomes so gloriously covered in blooms which hold until late autumn. I also have one planted in the house garden against a stone pillar which gives more leaf than blooms. I will cut it right down, dig out and replant it into a pot, or a bucket buried in the ground.
Most container plants will need a lot of watering at the moment. The smaller the container the quicker it will dry out. Soak right down deeply to the point where you can see water running from the soak hole. Just dampening the surface will not make the plant respond.
Keep water up to trees and shrubs which were newly planted in the spring, they will be busy establishing new feeder roots which will have no hold on the ground yet.
Plants that can go without watering are protea, leucodendron, banksia and leucospermums they are well adapted to dry summer conditions.
Plant annual seeds now to give colour in the winter like Iceland poppy, primula malacoidies, Virginian stock (a great plant for winter hanging baskets) wall flower, and flowering kale. have any of these at budding stage before the frosts arrive and they will push on and flower. This applies to coastal gardens only not further in land unless you have a frost free sheltered spot.
I mentioned last week about the number of useful flower seedlings I am finding all around our garden and because it is so dry I have been planting them into seed trays for them to make strong roots before planting planting into gaps.
Lawns have really benefited from that last lot of rain and the fertiliser I gave them, it is strange to see them so green at this time of the year. I will give another reminder about dealing to grass grub from now until May when they are most active. have some granualsready to apply during the next lot of rain.
Veg & fruit
Many edibles are peaking in production at the moment so enjoy – the more you harvest, the more some crops such as beans will crop.
Water in the morning or evening before or after the full heat of the sun, otherwise there’s too much evaporation for the plants to thrive.
Here is a tip I read, Deter cats from using your new veggie garden as a toilet: blend up 4tsp chilli powder, 3 garlic cloves and an onion and stand in 2 litres of water overnight. Strain then spray the soil – also use on plants to control caterpillars and aphids. Might be worth trying if you have cat problems.
Gardening by the moon
Now is a good time to sow root vegetables, berries, bulbs, onions, biennials, and perennials.
Moon in Virgo: This is a Earth sign. It is a good time to sow Root plants like Carrots, Chives, First Early Potatoes, Garlic,Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips,Shallots, Spring Onions, but it would not be a good time to sow Flower plants like Broccoli,
Dry and barren. Good time for garden maintenance.
Cheers, Linda
HTTP://NZSTYLEFOREVER.BLOGSPOT.CO.NZ
Dahlias are making it into our flower borders again where they contribute bright clear colour over a long season. Mix them with other late flowering perennials, there is a dahlia style and colour for every sunny spot in the garden. Cacti, singles, pompom and more. A bright splash of candy pink, almost black, vivid red or sassy orange, dahlias bring vibrant colour into a summer garden and remain through until the frosts force them back into the ground. Dahlia tuba's are a good investment for the garden because they increase in size from year to year and in time can be broken up to plant as gap fillers. They can be left in well draining ground all year round but if left in ground that holds water they will rot. Take note of the colours and type that are taking center stage in gardens around you, then visualise them in your garden for next summer.
Don't feed bougainvilleas, feeding with fertilisers will only encourage leaf growth. A restricted root run encourages a more colourful display which is why they do well in containers. I started mine in a pot up against an Oamaru stone wall which holds the heat from the day. Some roots have will have escaped and headed off under the building I am sure but some will always remain restricted in the pot which I am sure is the reason it becomes so gloriously covered in blooms which hold until late autumn. I also have one planted in the house garden against a stone pillar which gives more leaf than blooms. I will cut it right down, dig out and replant it into a pot, or a bucket buried in the ground.
Most container plants will need a lot of watering at the moment. The smaller the container the quicker it will dry out. Soak right down deeply to the point where you can see water running from the soak hole. Just dampening the surface will not make the plant respond.
Keep water up to trees and shrubs which were newly planted in the spring, they will be busy establishing new feeder roots which will have no hold on the ground yet.
Plants that can go without watering are protea, leucodendron, banksia and leucospermums they are well adapted to dry summer conditions.
Plant annual seeds now to give colour in the winter like Iceland poppy, primula malacoidies, Virginian stock (a great plant for winter hanging baskets) wall flower, and flowering kale. have any of these at budding stage before the frosts arrive and they will push on and flower. This applies to coastal gardens only not further in land unless you have a frost free sheltered spot.
I mentioned last week about the number of useful flower seedlings I am finding all around our garden and because it is so dry I have been planting them into seed trays for them to make strong roots before planting planting into gaps.
Lawns have really benefited from that last lot of rain and the fertiliser I gave them, it is strange to see them so green at this time of the year. I will give another reminder about dealing to grass grub from now until May when they are most active. have some granualsready to apply during the next lot of rain.
Veg & fruit
Many edibles are peaking in production at the moment so enjoy – the more you harvest, the more some crops such as beans will crop.
Water in the morning or evening before or after the full heat of the sun, otherwise there’s too much evaporation for the plants to thrive.
Here is a tip I read, Deter cats from using your new veggie garden as a toilet: blend up 4tsp chilli powder, 3 garlic cloves and an onion and stand in 2 litres of water overnight. Strain then spray the soil – also use on plants to control caterpillars and aphids. Might be worth trying if you have cat problems.
Gardening by the moon
Now is a good time to sow root vegetables, berries, bulbs, onions, biennials, and perennials.
Moon in Virgo: This is a Earth sign. It is a good time to sow Root plants like Carrots, Chives, First Early Potatoes, Garlic,Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips,Shallots, Spring Onions, but it would not be a good time to sow Flower plants like Broccoli,
Dry and barren. Good time for garden maintenance.
Cheers, Linda
HTTP://NZSTYLEFOREVER.BLOGSPOT.CO.NZ
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Gardening in North Otago 7th February 2012
It is great compost weather, plenty of moisture and heat to get compost heaps cooking. (get the sprinkler going if rain is not going to oblige where you are). I know we have a lot of grass clippings right now but don't pile these on to your compost heap on their own especially if they are wet, they will form a shield and not let the air and rain in and end up a musty smelly mess. A compost heap needs air to work well. When starting your compost heap roll up some wire netting and secure with stakes. place this in the center and build the heap up, around and over it. The wire can be removed when the heap is well cooked and ready to use. another way to aerate is to place thin planks of wood at different depths across the width of the pile as you are filling. When filled you can then move the planks up and down to let air in while decomposing.
Dahlias are making it into our flower borders again where they contribute bright clear colour over a long season. Mix them with other late flowering perennials, there is a dahlia style and colour for every sunny spot in the garden. Cacti, singles, pompom and more. A bright splash of candy pink, almost black, vivid red or sassy orange, dahlias bring vibrant colour into a summer garden and remain through until the frosts force them back into the ground. Dahlia tuba's are a good investment for the garden because they increase in size from year to year and in time can be broken up to plant as gap fillers. They can be left in well draining ground all year round but if left in ground that holds water they will rot. Take note of the colours and type that are taking center stage in gardens around you, then visualise them in your garden for next summer.
Don't feed bougainvilleas, feeding with fertilisers will only encourage leaf growth. A restricted root run encourages a more colourful display which is why they do well in containers. I started mine in a pot up against an Oamaru stone wall which holds the heat from the day. Some roots have will have escaped and headed off under the building I am sure but some will always remain restricted in the pot which I am sure is the reason it becomes so gloriously covered in blooms which hold until late autumn. I also have one planted in the house garden against a stone pillar which gives more leaf than blooms. I will cut it right down, dig out and replant it into a pot, or a bucket buried in the ground.
Most container plants will need a lot of watering at the moment. The smaller the container the quicker it will dry out. Soak right down deeply to the point where you can see water running from the soak hole. Just dampening the surface will not make the plant respond.
Keep water up to trees and shrubs which were newly planted in the spring, they will be busy establishing new feeder roots which will have no hold on the ground yet.
Plants that can go without watering areprotea, leucodendron, banksia and leucospermums they are well adapted to dry summer conditions.
Plant annual seeds now to give colour in the winter like Iceland poppy, primula malacoidies, Virginian stock (a great plant for winter hanging baskets) wall flower, and flowering kale. have any of these at budding stage before the frosts arrive and they will push on and flower. This applies to coastal gardens only not further in land unless you have a frost free sheltered spot.
I mentioned last week about the number of useful flower seedlings I am finding all around our garden and because it is so dry I have been planting them into seed trays for them to make strong roots before planting planting into gaps.
Lawns have really benefited from that last lot of rain and the fertiliser I gave them, it is strange to see them so green at this time of the year. I will give another reminder about dealing to grass grub from now until May when they are most active. have some granualsready to apply during the next lot of rain.
Veg & fruit
Many edibles are peaking in production at the moment so enjoy – the more you harvest, the more some crops such as beans will crop.
Water in the morning or evening before or after the full heat of the sun, otherwise there’s too much evaporation for the plants to thrive.
Here is a tip I read, Deter cats from using your new veggie garden as a toilet: blend up 4tsp chilli powder, 3 garlic cloves and an onion and stand in 2 litres of water overnight. Strain then spray the soil – also use on plants to control caterpillars and aphids. Might be worth trying if you have cat problems.
I see this week Sandra at Breens has that new Flatto nectarine "Button bright" & Flatto peach "sweet bonnet" just arrive in, I have read good reviews about them being a fruiting sensation for the home gardener.
Gardening by the moon
Now is a good time to sow root vegetables, berries, bulbs, onions, biennials, and perennials.
Moon in Virgo: This is a Earth sign. It is a good time to sow Root plants like Carrots, Chives, First Early Potatoes, Garlic,Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips,Shallots, Spring Onions, but it would not be a good time to sow Flower plants like Broccoli,
Dry and barren. Good time for garden maintenance.
Cheers, Linda
HTTP://NZSTYLEFOREVER.BLOGSPOT.CO.NZ
Dahlias are making it into our flower borders again where they contribute bright clear colour over a long season. Mix them with other late flowering perennials, there is a dahlia style and colour for every sunny spot in the garden. Cacti, singles, pompom and more. A bright splash of candy pink, almost black, vivid red or sassy orange, dahlias bring vibrant colour into a summer garden and remain through until the frosts force them back into the ground. Dahlia tuba's are a good investment for the garden because they increase in size from year to year and in time can be broken up to plant as gap fillers. They can be left in well draining ground all year round but if left in ground that holds water they will rot. Take note of the colours and type that are taking center stage in gardens around you, then visualise them in your garden for next summer.
Don't feed bougainvilleas, feeding with fertilisers will only encourage leaf growth. A restricted root run encourages a more colourful display which is why they do well in containers. I started mine in a pot up against an Oamaru stone wall which holds the heat from the day. Some roots have will have escaped and headed off under the building I am sure but some will always remain restricted in the pot which I am sure is the reason it becomes so gloriously covered in blooms which hold until late autumn. I also have one planted in the house garden against a stone pillar which gives more leaf than blooms. I will cut it right down, dig out and replant it into a pot, or a bucket buried in the ground.
Most container plants will need a lot of watering at the moment. The smaller the container the quicker it will dry out. Soak right down deeply to the point where you can see water running from the soak hole. Just dampening the surface will not make the plant respond.
Keep water up to trees and shrubs which were newly planted in the spring, they will be busy establishing new feeder roots which will have no hold on the ground yet.
Plants that can go without watering areprotea, leucodendron, banksia and leucospermums they are well adapted to dry summer conditions.
Plant annual seeds now to give colour in the winter like Iceland poppy, primula malacoidies, Virginian stock (a great plant for winter hanging baskets) wall flower, and flowering kale. have any of these at budding stage before the frosts arrive and they will push on and flower. This applies to coastal gardens only not further in land unless you have a frost free sheltered spot.
I mentioned last week about the number of useful flower seedlings I am finding all around our garden and because it is so dry I have been planting them into seed trays for them to make strong roots before planting planting into gaps.
Lawns have really benefited from that last lot of rain and the fertiliser I gave them, it is strange to see them so green at this time of the year. I will give another reminder about dealing to grass grub from now until May when they are most active. have some granualsready to apply during the next lot of rain.
Veg & fruit
Many edibles are peaking in production at the moment so enjoy – the more you harvest, the more some crops such as beans will crop.
Water in the morning or evening before or after the full heat of the sun, otherwise there’s too much evaporation for the plants to thrive.
Here is a tip I read, Deter cats from using your new veggie garden as a toilet: blend up 4tsp chilli powder, 3 garlic cloves and an onion and stand in 2 litres of water overnight. Strain then spray the soil – also use on plants to control caterpillars and aphids. Might be worth trying if you have cat problems.
I see this week Sandra at Breens has that new Flatto nectarine "Button bright" & Flatto peach "sweet bonnet" just arrive in, I have read good reviews about them being a fruiting sensation for the home gardener.
Gardening by the moon
Now is a good time to sow root vegetables, berries, bulbs, onions, biennials, and perennials.
Moon in Virgo: This is a Earth sign. It is a good time to sow Root plants like Carrots, Chives, First Early Potatoes, Garlic,Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips,Shallots, Spring Onions, but it would not be a good time to sow Flower plants like Broccoli,
Dry and barren. Good time for garden maintenance.
Cheers, Linda
HTTP://NZSTYLEFOREVER.BLOGSPOT.CO.NZ
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Gardening in North Otago 1st February 2012
February already, where did January go?
The strong winds we have been experiencing here in North Otago
are what this area usually experiences in October, or later to blow the autumn leaves off. It has taken very little time to zap the moisture from that last good rain, but we have not had to get the hoses out a lot so far this growing season....we do now.
The first of the seeds I left to fall from spring flowering plants are up, I will wait until perennials are stronger, another week or two and then transplant them into trays and then sit them in the shade to keep growing then will plant them out at the end of next winter. Have a look around plants that have dropped seed in your garden and you will find nice little seedlings of pansies, viola, marigolds, hellebore's, sweet William and aquilegias to name a few.
Seeded annuals can be planted out as soon as they are big enough,they should flower over Autumn.
Stake dahlias to protect and support blooms and keep the liquid fertiliser up to them to ensure good plant development.
Feed Daphne and azaleas with acid plant fertiliser to ensure you get good root growth and bud development for the Spring.
Take the seed heads off anything that you do not want to spread, that goes for weeds as well, make sure you whack the seed heads off until you have time to deal with them.
Keep trimming hedges as they put on soft new growth and either compost the trimmings or scatter them around the garden, they are soft enough to break down at this time of the year.
Hydrangeas are looking lovely right now, I have been taking hard wood cuttings of one or two that I need more of. Select a stem that has flowered and cut at a node just before a new shoot, this would be the flower for next year. Push the cuttings into some firm, damp shady ground where they will not be disturbed and place an up turned pot with drainage holes over the top of them. Forget about them until they start to shoot after the frosts then pot them up and get them big enough to plant out in the late spring, early summer.
Give roses a dressing of manure or blood and bone now as they will be ready for a boost after their first long flowering and keep the dead heading up to encourage flowering.
Give lavenders a hair cut now before they make seed, they will flower again, same for catnip I cut mine back twice during their flowering season.
Lawns
its grass grub time again, they are most active from February to May. There are products that can be shaken on and watered in on, both need watered in well like powdered fertiliser so when it is raining or about to rain is the best time. The grubs feed on the grass roots and leave dead patches of grass on lawns, once the dead grass patch is visible they will have moved on to another area of the lawn so concentrate on the unaffected areas
Vegetable / Fruit
February is the time to prepare for Winter crops and vegetable patches. Sow carrots, parsnips, beetroot, spinach, peas, cauliflower and cabbage. Build up the soil first with peat, compost and lime.
Continue taking laterals off your Tomatoes and harvesting ripe Tomatoes making sure to remove any fallen or diseased fruit to prevent disease spreading.
Trim back all leaders on grape vines, this will put the new growth into only the fruit which should be plumping up now.
The strong winds are hard on fruit trees and bushes, fruit is blown off before ready and needed moisture is sucked from the roots.
I have been watering in blood and bone, anything too rich in nitrogen will only encourage more leaf growth.
A lot of my leaf veg want to bolt before being used, the hens at least are happy!
Keep sowing root veg seed and peas, beans and lettuce there is heaps of growing time still ahead of us.
Gardening by the moon
Date: 04 & 05 February 2012
Flower Gemini
Waxing gibbous
Waxing gibbous
Synodic:
This is a good time to sow vegetables that produce internal seed bearing fruits. Tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, chillis, pumpkins, courgettes.
Biodynamic:
Moon in Gemini: This is a Air sign. This is a good time to sow Flowering plants like Broccoli, but it would not be a good time to sow Rooting plants like Garlic, Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Onions, Shallots, Spring Onions,
Sidereal:
Moon in Gemini: Barren and dry, and yet good for promoting flower growth.
Cheers, Linda
The strong winds we have been experiencing here in North Otago
are what this area usually experiences in October, or later to blow the autumn leaves off. It has taken very little time to zap the moisture from that last good rain, but we have not had to get the hoses out a lot so far this growing season....we do now.
The first of the seeds I left to fall from spring flowering plants are up, I will wait until perennials are stronger, another week or two and then transplant them into trays and then sit them in the shade to keep growing then will plant them out at the end of next winter. Have a look around plants that have dropped seed in your garden and you will find nice little seedlings of pansies, viola, marigolds, hellebore's, sweet William and aquilegias to name a few.
Seeded annuals can be planted out as soon as they are big enough,they should flower over Autumn.
Stake dahlias to protect and support blooms and keep the liquid fertiliser up to them to ensure good plant development.
Feed Daphne and azaleas with acid plant fertiliser to ensure you get good root growth and bud development for the Spring.
Take the seed heads off anything that you do not want to spread, that goes for weeds as well, make sure you whack the seed heads off until you have time to deal with them.
Keep trimming hedges as they put on soft new growth and either compost the trimmings or scatter them around the garden, they are soft enough to break down at this time of the year.
Hydrangeas are looking lovely right now, I have been taking hard wood cuttings of one or two that I need more of. Select a stem that has flowered and cut at a node just before a new shoot, this would be the flower for next year. Push the cuttings into some firm, damp shady ground where they will not be disturbed and place an up turned pot with drainage holes over the top of them. Forget about them until they start to shoot after the frosts then pot them up and get them big enough to plant out in the late spring, early summer.
Give roses a dressing of manure or blood and bone now as they will be ready for a boost after their first long flowering and keep the dead heading up to encourage flowering.
Give lavenders a hair cut now before they make seed, they will flower again, same for catnip I cut mine back twice during their flowering season.
Lawns
its grass grub time again, they are most active from February to May. There are products that can be shaken on and watered in on, both need watered in well like powdered fertiliser so when it is raining or about to rain is the best time. The grubs feed on the grass roots and leave dead patches of grass on lawns, once the dead grass patch is visible they will have moved on to another area of the lawn so concentrate on the unaffected areas
Vegetable / Fruit
February is the time to prepare for Winter crops and vegetable patches. Sow carrots, parsnips, beetroot, spinach, peas, cauliflower and cabbage. Build up the soil first with peat, compost and lime.
Continue taking laterals off your Tomatoes and harvesting ripe Tomatoes making sure to remove any fallen or diseased fruit to prevent disease spreading.
Trim back all leaders on grape vines, this will put the new growth into only the fruit which should be plumping up now.
The strong winds are hard on fruit trees and bushes, fruit is blown off before ready and needed moisture is sucked from the roots.
I have been watering in blood and bone, anything too rich in nitrogen will only encourage more leaf growth.
A lot of my leaf veg want to bolt before being used, the hens at least are happy!
Keep sowing root veg seed and peas, beans and lettuce there is heaps of growing time still ahead of us.
Gardening by the moon
Date: 04 & 05 February 2012
Flower Gemini
Waxing gibbous
Waxing gibbous
Synodic:
This is a good time to sow vegetables that produce internal seed bearing fruits. Tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, chillis, pumpkins, courgettes.
Biodynamic:
Moon in Gemini: This is a Air sign. This is a good time to sow Flowering plants like Broccoli, but it would not be a good time to sow Rooting plants like Garlic, Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichokes, Onions, Shallots, Spring Onions,
Sidereal:
Moon in Gemini: Barren and dry, and yet good for promoting flower growth.
Cheers, Linda
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