Gardening in North Otago August 13th 2013

Another good rain here in North Otago this week but leaving the ground wet and soggy when it was just starting to dry out. I am sure nature knows what it is doing and the trees and plants are not complaining, however it is a pain for gardeners wanting to get on with early spring gardening. It is best to keep off wet ground, the last thing soil needs is compacting. To prepare for spring, treat your garden to a late-winter pep-up by digging in plenty of organic matter, such as compost and manure. then remove weeds and apply snail and slug control measures to reduce any winter population build up, slugs love wet conditions. I set to cutting back my wigelias and spirea's, these are lovely old fashioned deciduous shrubs with no center trunk, they send long canes up from the ground that cover themselves in small light & dark flowers in late spring. I remove all the old branches that have flowed long enough, you can tell which branches they are because the wood looks really old and spent compared to the new fresh wood there ready and waiting to take their place. My hypericum (St Johns Wort,green leafed evergreen shrub with large bright yellow flowers got a chop as well, right down to the ground. It had grown really big over a number of years with most of its new growth only on the top. After a couple of days after the chop it was pushing out new growth and will be a manageable bush again soon. Lift and divide perennials such as delphiniums, chrysanthemums, asters and astilbes. Sow seeds of: alyssum, begonia, californian poppy, carnation, celosia, chrysanthemum, cosmos, dahlia, delphinium, dianthus, gypsophila, honesty, nemesia, marigold, pansy, petunia, phlox, portulaca, salvia, snapdragon, sunflower, verbena, viola, viscaria, and zinnia,. Plant seedlings of: alyssum, aquilegia, canterbury bells, carnations, cornflower, cosmos, cineraria, delphinium, pansies, polyanthus, poppy, gypsophila, forget-me not, hollyhock, stock, and viola, .. Want a tree with stunning blooms the size of your hand? The New Zealand-bred Jury magnolia, ‘Felix’ has hot pink flowers up to 30cm wide and mass-blooms in early spring. Growing to 5m, it’s ideal for smaller gardens and needs little pruning. On a smaller scale the new fairy magnolia blush is proving to be a winner for a pretty hedge and looks great in a pot, this magnolia / michelia cross grows 4m high and 3m wide after 10 years, likes full sun or semi shade. Apply a dressing of Rose Food to establish Rose's and Water in well. Lawns: August can be a tricky time of the year for your lawn. This is because we don’t really know exactly what weather we are going to get Fertiliser now to for food to be available when needed. You may find the growth rate of grass increase from now on so it is important to keep on top of your mowing and because this is proving to be a mild August you may consider a broad leaf weed spray to take out any undesirable species that have come into your lawn during winter. Vegetables: With my raised gardens being in a sunny location I feel they have not had enough hard frosts this winter to break up the soil. I am still digging carrots and parsnips using silver beet, and the leeks are growing well, it is so good not to have to worry about the bugs and white butterflies at this time of the year. Onions: although onions prefer a sunny position with a rich but light soil, they will do well in most soils as long as it is firm. You can grow them in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Seeds should be sown at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. When planting, space plants 5-10 cm, seed trays don't have to be in a greenhouse, any sheltered spot will do to guard against rapid changes of temperature, especially at night. Downy mildew, neck rot and white rot are the most common diseases that attack onions. To avoid these, plant disease-resistant varieties and keep the garden clean of diseased debris. If your veg garden is further inland start adding some compost and a little lime now in readiness for when you plant out later this month. Fruit: I have finished pruning my wine grapes - this year I have had to remove some old leaders, replacing them with new growth leaders along wires. The result of this will be vertical budding and fruiting next year. To prune a fruiting leader remove all new long growth on the vine other than the fruiting leader, on the leaders prune each new growth back to the second bud. These fruiting buds should be around a hand space apart to ensure adequate sized fruit, this means removing some of the new bud growth along the top of the leader and all of the new bud growth growing underneath. Some of these new budding top growths will throw two lots of bud branch, remove the least stronger one leaving only one lot of double buds to produce fruit. This applies to domestic grown grapes as well. Citrus trees may need to be covered against late winter frosts in sheltered areas. New season’s fruit trees particularly pip and stone fruit can be planted out now. August can be a tricky time of the year for your lawn. This is because we don’t really know exactly what weather we are going to get. Fertiliser to keep your lawn thick and healthy You may find the growth rate of grass increase so it is important to keep on top of your mowing If we have a mild August you may consider a broad leaf weed spray to take out any undesirable species that may have come into your lawn during winter. I see a few bees at work already which is a good sign for the soon to be happening fruit blossom pollination. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 6th August 2013

Some soft rain and dull damp days start this week but still much is beginning to awake in the garden, I feel spring in the air with swelling of buds, fragrance from winter sweet, witch hazel, Daphne, boronia, and violets wafting to the music I am lucky enough to have playing around our garden. The birds are beginning to nest and I see the first blossom, jonquils, and daffodils gracing fence lines in our garden and about the town. We are coming to the end of pruning with cold, rose-prickled fingers, humping straw bales and barrows of gravel, muddy clothes, and gumboots. It is now time for me to create and dress the garden by planting out, shifting, and feeding. I have been liquid feeding with worm tea from my worm farm, adding at the strength of black tea to a full watering can, then applying generously to all new leaf, budding and flowering plants like polyanthus, forget-me-nots, dianthus, sweet peas, pansy, viola. Any new plantings can be Helped along by feeding now to get their roots going and keep them green and strong through any cold snaps yet to come. Slow-release fertiliser is a great idea now as well, sprinkle around established ornamental and newly planted trees and shrubs to be there ready when the plants need food as they awaken. This week I noticed nice fat buds swelling on the stems of my hydrangeas, I started pruning the more sheltered bushes a couple of weeks back but still left the more exposed a little longer. Prune only those stems that have flowered, cut at the second bud from the bottom, and leave all other stems because these are the flowers for this year. Spread old stable manure around the drip line and a dressing of lime for pink flowers and aluminum sulphate for blue, White never changes, but is best planted in light shade – the flowers will tinge pink in the full sun. It is much easier to control the colour of hydrangeas in a pot, if the PH of your soil is high blue hydrangeas will always revert to pink no matter how often you add aluminum to the soil. If your PH is too high and you want to grow blue hydrangeas in large pots, it would be best to use an acid tree and shrub mix. Using coffee grinds, grass clippings or pine needles spread around the drip line can help lower the PH of pink hydrangeas in the garden and encourage shade into shades of purple. I have found I can pull rooted branches from the base of big old gnarly hydrangea bushes, these take a few years to bush up but it is a sure way to replicate a special variety that has become too large and old for the spot it is planted in. cuttings taken from the hardened geranium stems can be taken now, fresh grown geraniums give amazing colour to a warm sunny garden for all of the growing season and even into the winter, they are so easy to grow from cuttings. Take shortcuttings, semi-hardwood, (not a new green steam), and let them dry out a little before planting, this means you don't have to deal with them straight away. Plant them firmly into a soil and river sand mix, Potting mix is too light to get a tight seal around the cutting. I am forever taking cuttings from geraniums. I like it when I come across them in friends' gardens and give cuttings from mine. Trim dentata lavender now if you haven't already, and it is looking untidy. Dentata is a tall growing one with pale lavender bumblebee flowers and serrated leaves.They will recover quickly from a cutback because they are budding up now, but Leave trimming other lavenders until it is warmer. Lavenders like sweetening up with a dressing of lime now. Time to cut back leggy, straggly bush lavatera now also, they get very woody if left. Keep planting dahlias and gladioli, from now until September. With roses making a move to budding up they will need food to draw on, powdered rose food needs watered in around the drip line, slow slow-release fertiliser will work each time it rains. Trees and Roses are still available in Garden Centres. If you think your garden is too small for trees, I have seen dwarf Peach and Nectarine Trees on offer, what better if you need a little tree to add height in a part of your garden why not have one that blossoms beautifully and then gives you fruit?They are perfect for the smaller garden as they only grow to a width and height of 1.5 meters. They can also be grown in a tub and require very little pruning. There are masses of bedding plants on offer now and the ground temperature is warming up now to get them growing. Vegetables The vegetable garden has been enjoying the rain, it is so good not to have to worry about the bugs during these colder months when planting out leaf veg. Cold and frosty areas inland can make a start now by adding some compost and a little lime in readiness for when you plant out later this month. Let's hope the dull overcast days are over by the time the fruit trees blossom so the bees will come out and set to work pollinating. Keep an eye on peach and nectarine trees, if they are just at bud burst it will be time to spray a copper fungicide to prevent leaf curl. When they are in flower it is too late to spray. The Waireka Valley Lions Club are having trouble locating wool sheds to bag sheep manure for their stalls, I for one would be disappointed if I was unable to fill the boot of my car when needed. If there are Farms in the district that can help keep up the supply please ring Alistair Mavor ph: 03 4371976Cheers, Chers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago July 30 2013

What a lovely winters week we are having in North Otago as I write this, warm sun and blue sky's. Trees and shrubs have been moving around our garden this week, now that trees are bare I can see where some trees and shrubs would be better in another place. If you have shrubs or trees that you feel would do better in another part of the garden, dig them up carefully and shift them now in winter while they are dormant. Doing this will Give them time to adjust to a new home before spring growth really starts. Once dug out, dig a hole twice the size of the root ball, cut back any damaged roots. Invest in some peat moss to put in the bottom of the planting hole, add water to wet the peat and new feeder roots will grow well. Each large transplant should to be staked well against the coming winds until new roots have established well enough to hold it. Best to get all your winter pruning done before the end of the month, with the many mild day's being experience spring bud burst could be early. Once roses are all pruned they can be sprayed with a copper spray mixed with winter oil to clean up disease and seal cuts. Follow directions printed on containers. Cut back potted chrysanthemums. and plant into garden if space permits. Well cooked compost can be spread around on the soil surface to suppress weed growth and allow the worms to work it into the soil, I intend to do this soon having had the hose out this week. The sunny areas of my garden were looking very dry on top, I am sure there is moisture further down but the shallow rooted plants were very much in need of a drink. The moist compost added to the top of planted gardens will encourage new feeder roots, enabling plants to thrive and keep growing well on those warmer winter days. Watering at this time of the year should be done early in the day allowing time for the plants to dry before the cold evenings. Vegetable garden It's time to start tidying up the garden in preparation for spring planting. Clear weeds and give a dressing of manure, compost and a little lime to the soil where you have recently grown crops, this will prepare for the next round of planting. However not all crops like lime – potatoes and tomatoes don't, but peas, beans and capsicums love it as do the worms. Plant Cauliflowers and Cabbage seedlings and sow early Peas. In warmer areas you can also plant butter crunch Lettuce, Silver beet and Broccoli seedlings and Onions. Lay seed Potatoes out in a tray and get them sprouting. Asparagus crowns are now available and can be planted out in a well composted and fertilised bed. (no animal manure ) If you planted a green crop, cut down and dig in crops such as mustard, lupin and oats. These add humus and help improve soil fertility. They need to becut down before they flower and dug into the soil shallowly. It will take at least a month to six weeks for them rot down before replanting new veges. Fruit Blackcurrants and Gooseberries – Prune out the dead canes, and old growth, leaving the healthy new growth. Raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and loganberries - Complete pruning them this month, by removing dead and weak growth and the old canes that flowered and fruited last season. Leave the strong healthy canes and tie them to a support. Strawberries - Weed and fertilise. Spray with copper oxychloride to prevent fungus diseases. Citrus and tamarillo will be ripening and colouring up with the odd frosty days we have had. Prune citrus shrubs as you pick the fruit by cutting stems out to open up the bush to the sun so as to encourage new growth and flowers in spring. If your lemons are dry and pithy this winter it will be most probably due to a lack of nitrogen last summer when the fruit was developing. Give your bushes plenty of nitrogen next summer, nitrophoska blue would do the trick. I have seen tamarillo growing here in North Otago on the coast, the cheerful bright red fruit are wonderful to see in a winter garden and will withstand coastal frosts. For best flavour let them fall, rather than picking them off the tree. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 24th July

Another good weather week for Oamaru I have heard. I am lucky enough to be in Tauranga this week and notice that North Otago temperatures are sometimes higher than here, what a great place to call home. Up here gardens are at least a month ahead of us, magnolias and michelia doltsopa are flowering and camellias look like they have been flowering for some time. The native bush is lush and plentiful and what a glorious display the pohutukawa and rata must give when all in flower later in the year. If I were battling away in my garden I would be pruning roses and feeding plants with manure rich compost to give them plenty to draw on when growing starts again. Keep planting seeds: In warmer areas sow cornflowers, pansies, violas and columbines (aqualegia) In very cold areas wait until next month to sow flowers. I have just been reading about taking root cuttings from oriental poppies, I have done this with perennial phlox, Japanese anemones, acanthus, verbascum, Shasta daisy, and many other clump forming perennials, now I will try taking root sections from oriental poppies because these are a favorite of mine. I like to see them planted in groups,as they are this year in the town plot surrounding the war memorial. Lift plants carefully out of the ground and use a clean sharp knife to cut the roots into sections, remove two thirds of stalk and leaves then replant where a mid to tall display is needed, I will let you know how they take. Still lots of time left to prepare soil for spring planting, as I have mentioned before add manure enriched compost and lime if you think the ground is sour. Cheers. Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 16th July 2013

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013 Gardening in North Otago 16th July 2013 Another good weather week for North Otago and a good productive week again in the garden for me. We are getting the good hard frosts we need now so I covered plants like bougainvillea, hibiscus, pelargonium and young daisy bushes. The first hard frost took the front of my large bougainvillea but hopefully it is still protected further in by the damaged outer growth and I don't lose it all together. Established Margarette daisy bushes will take a knock from the frosts but just leave them here on the coast if they have frosted on outside growth, this will protect the new growth beneath. In land towards Kurow gardeners will need to take cuttings of daisy bushes, geranium and pelargonium and protect them until spring because the frosts are too harsh for that soft growth. I have decided to leave most of my hydrangeas until buds show signs of shooting, as I mentioned last week I did prune some very protected hydrangea bushes but need to stop myself from being tempted to start on any others until nearer spring. But you can give pink hydrangeas a dressing of lime now to keep them pink and blue hydrangeas a dressing of sulphate of allium or the specially prepared blue hydrangea mix that can be bought from the garden centres. This week I attacked a group of large leggy rhododendrons that had leaves, buds and blooms only on the top of long woody branches taller than myself. I was only going to cut the woody non productive wood off because the bushes were beginning to flower, however once I started I ended up cutting them all right back to a healthy bulging nodule and then they got compost and straw, they should push out new bushy growth in the spring. More rose pruning this week as well, I had to invest in some new secateurs as the pair I have been using were not cutting clean and rips on a rose prune will not allow the cut to seal this which will result in die back and can sometimes claim a whole branch. Because roses should ideally be planted during dormancy, new varieties will be available from garden centres this month. If winter has left your garden looking a little too bleak, the local garden centres will also have nice potted colour to brighten things up. I have noticed pansy's, wall flower, polyanthus and primula malacoides which look fresh and bright planted in groups or as a border. Vegetables This week I planted some more garlic cloves, the list of facts, benefits and legends surrounding Garlic are so many and so varied, garlic has been a staple in both the pantry and the medicine cupboard for century's. The shortest day is traditionally garlic planting time but it is still ok to plant it now. Plants can be grown from the small, separate cloves which need to be planted pointed end up, five to seven cm below the soil surface and about 10 to 15 cm apart in a sunny, well drained location and well prepared soil with plenty of organic matter worked through. Garlic will also grow well in containers or pots. Plants grow to about 60-90cm tall during winter and spring, and flower before the top growth dies off over summer. Water regularly during summer when bulbs are forming and add liquid fertiliser to encourage bulb growth. Before planting source bulbs from a garden centre as garlic bought form a supermarket may have been sprayed to inhibit sprouting. Time to start preparing the soil for spring planting. Cultivate vacant spaces, digging in green crops sown earlier. Add compost, and lime if you feel the garden needs humus and sweetening. Fruit Winter is the time you will find the best selection of fruit trees in garden centres. It may be cold and miserable outside but it's the best time to buy your trees for planning. They are usually grafted and tall growing so plant up to where they were planted in the bag and stake well to protect against the wind. A tip I read the other day that could work to eradicate codling moth attacking apple trees. quarter fill a tin or plastic milk container with treacle and hang in the tree it is said to attract male grubs because the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone attracting the male grub into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago July 9th 013

With the mild weather we had been getting there are definite signs of spring around coastal gardens, once plants have moved into the first stages of budding they should continue to bud up during the sunny winter days, camellias and rhododendrons are getting a head start and spring bulbs are well on which may mean we are in for an early spring. Daphne’s are in flower now along with hellebore's, primroses and polyanthus. Primroses are so pretty and clump up well and in time can be broken up spread around to add colour to a winter garden. If you are at the stage to break up clumps remove quite a few leaves on transplanting, they will soon grow more along with new roots to support them. Polyanthus and primulas will benefit from an application of Dried Blood to increase plant vigour and flowering. Under glass sow seeds of antirrhinum (snapdragon), carnation, calendula (common marigold) sweet peas, verbena and viola for planting out in Spring. Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies are also coming into Garden centres this month and can be planted now in good draining soil, if you think there is a chance they would sit in wet soggy soil over winter they may rot, planting can continue until September. As I mentioned last week, If young trees or shrubs need transplanting now is a good time to do it whilst they are at their most dormant stage. Remember to continue protecting plants like Margarete daisies and pelargoniums from frosts with Frost Cloth if in severe frost area. Turn over compost now if you have not already done so and add some moisture if the pile is dry. Cover with plastic or straw to hold any heat which will be accumulateing in the center. If you still have leaves to Rake up why not fill large black rubbish bags,add a little water and leave to rot. Leaf mulch is such natural benefit to soil which we tend to remove at leaf fall stage because it looks untidy.Rotting it down in this way you can then add it to the soil and it will not be noticed. pruning is still going on here in my garden, as well as roses I have made an early start on some of the more sheltered hydrangeas by cutting back canes that have flowered at the second bud from the bottom, leave all canes without a spent flower on top because these will support the new seasons flowers. In colder areas I would leave hydrangeas until they really start bursting bud, the spent flowers on top are protecting the new forming buds. This is a good time to reduce the width of gardens, I find with trimming grass edges with a line trimmer gardens tend to increase in width slightly each year, to the point where after a number of years I need to reduce width by filling in back to the original line with sifted soil, then resowing grass. Garden borders do not need to be wide to give a colourful display, wide borders mean digging and unnecessary work and expense filling them. If you have borders getting choked with clumps of bulbs leaving not a lot of room for other plantings put a sharp spade through the clumps now and remove half before the bulbs put on too much growth. Bulbs are always sort after by gardeners so you will have no trouble giving them away if you have no room for them yourself. At this time of the year I make a few trips to the Waireaka sale yards to the Waireaka Valley Lions Club sawdust and sheep manure stand, volunteers clean out calving sheds and under shearing sheds to keep the stand topped up for keen gardeners. I use the sawdust on some garden pathways. Sawdust can also be used on wet gardens as a weed suppressant, it helps to absorb excess moisture, but never on dry gardens. I use sheep manure on the compost heaps, the vegetable garden and around the roses when horse manure is not at hand. Vegetables: In cold areas start raising vegetable seeds for spring planting in glass houses or under glass or plastic with ventilation spaces to circulate air and stop seeds going mouldy. On the coast plant seedling plants that are now on offer along with garlic cloves. Gardeners I have long known the advantages of growing comfrey but have lately been reading up on it again, it is such a useful plant and if you can get your hands on some I suggest you plant some root sections in an area of your garden where it can spread, it needs to be planted where it can send it's roots very deep down into the soil so it can tap into much needed nutrients. Comfrey is fast growing, high in potassium and can be cut back again and again. I have listed below some uses for comfrey around the garden. 1. Compost activator, add to your compost bin to heat up the decomposing materials and enriches the compost. 2. Put a handful of comfrey leaves into a bucket of rainwater and let them rot down for around 6 weeks to give you a rich liquid fertilizer for plants. 3. Lay comfrey leaves in a potato trench and leave for 3 days prior to planting seed potatoes to give them a potassium rich boost of fertiliser. 4. Use as a Comfrey leaf mulch around plants, by layering leaves around the stems of plants, potassium will slowly be released to the plants as the leaves break down – Great for tomatoes, beans and fruit bushes. 5. Use wilted leaves as a nutrient rich Chicken feed. Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 23rd May 2013

My journey started on the afternoon of Sunday May 18th and ended 30+ hours later landing me here in Brighton, UK to take full, first hand advantage of the fresh spring growth....very surreal it is coming from a late Kiwi South island Autumn. On my way from the airport I passed English tree woods sporting new lush green growth, some still in blossom rising up from carpets of blue bells, clematis scrambling here and there, hanging baskets and window boxes bursting with colour from pansies, ivy and primula plus mass planted tulips in all their spring splendor made this all seem very premature for me after just having planted out so many tulip bulbs a day or two before I left Oamaru. I received the biggest welcome from Daughter Lara, Son in law Sam and my three excited Grandies all now one year older since my visit last year. Nana is well and truly now on board with the promise of fun filled School holidays starting next week! If at home I would be continuing to cut all old leaves off the hellebore's and dahlias then giving each a dressing of manure enriched compost before adding a warming layer of pea straw to bed them down for winter. Summer & autumn flowering Plants and trees are shutting down to rest over the colder months and will be looking tired and messy, plants such as dahlia, perennial phlox, alstroemeria, Japanese anemone and salvia, along with annuals that flowered over summer and autumn. Don't wait around to see how much more flowering they will do, chop perennials back and remove annuals before they exhaust themselves making unwanted seed. I always leave one or two for seed collection but once that is done they are gone and the annuals replaced with plants for the new season colour after compost has been added. Rain is is a bonus in North Otago at this time of the year as plants, trees & lawns go into winter hibernation but we do not need too much rain as roots will soon stop taking in excess moisture leaving it to sit and make soil cold and sour. If much rain is experienced it will then allow a chance to see where water is pooling and better drainage can be put in place. If drainage is a problem in planting areas before replanting, soil can be dug out to well below the root level and a thick layer of sharp gravel or river stone can be placed there to act as a sump, then replace the soil on top and plant out. This is really effective when planting new trees in a suspected wet spot. Young trees do not have a enough root mass to deal with excess moisture but will cope once the tap root is well down and more large roots have develop. However there are trees, shrubs and plants that will never cope well with excess moisture so it pays to read labels carefully. Plants that can be planted in wet areas arehosta, astilbies, arum lilly, willow and many New Zealand native plants & trees can tolerate wet conditions. Aninternet search or tapping into Garden center staff knowledge will save wrong choices. keep an on any delicate plants leading up to frosty nights and have frost cloth at the ready. Frost cloth needs to be draped over a frame or raised sticks pushed firmly into the ground, the cloth should not be touching not touching plants to make it effective. Lawns Those who have had a good autumn lawn strike will probably have given the first cut, don't be too hard on new grass it is still very soft and roots will not be far down. An autumn sow needs to winter over to harden off, don't worry about the annual weeds that came up with the grass the first mowing and frosts will take care of most of them. Leave spraying until spring because you will not gain anything by doing it now and very new grass could be effected by harsh sprays Vegetables We have had a bumper vegetable growing season and some gardens will still be producing summer veg I am sure with freezers playing a big part in storing the excess crops. If tomatoes are still producing it will not be for much longer now, but vines can be taken out of the ground and hung in a frost protected place for tomatoes to ripen naturally on the vine. Hoe or work up soil in vegetable beds if they have become compacted to aerate before heavy winter rains arrive. This will encourage worms to the surface to condition the soil for spring and green crops, such as lupin or mustard could be sown and raked into vacant aerated ground to be dug in as humus once sprouted. If seedlings, such as turnips or carrots, have taken hold it's important to thin them out to give them room to develop under ground, if you don't it is likely you will end up with a good crop of green tops only. I put some butter crunch lettuce seed in a couple of weeks ago which I noticed had just germinated before I left, i am sure they will be ready for me to prick out and grow on when I am back. I find butter crunch copes with cold conditions very well especially in raised beds which stay slightly warmer than ground level gardens. I have also planted out a lot of NZ raised garlic cloves, I grew enough by planting in May last year to keep me going for months. Fruit Pick apples, pears, quince and other pip and stone fruits as they ripen, they should store well from now on, I notice the birds have had a good go at what is remaining on my fruit trees, white plastic shopping bags fluttering in the wind can be enough to make birds think twice before landing. May is the month to plant citrus trees, blueberry bushes I will take a break from moon planting info now until the new planting season in spring, which is what I am enjoying already. Cheers, Linda