Gardening in North Otago July 22nd 2014

I see the days are drawing out a little since the shortest day, yes, true not wishful thinking, I notice the daily pattern because I am out there freezing at one with nature most day's, but
must admit my starts are not as early as in the other seasons!

This week I have spent another good percentage of my time raking up old leaves, will autumn ever be a distant memory? it is important to get leaves out of every nook and cranny during winter because bugs are looking for places like this to winter over. Once leaves have been removed from the base of roses, hydrangea's and other deciduous plants I am applying manure enriched compost to be there in readiness for spring feeding.

I continue to re-sawdust rough pathways, freshening these areas up is allowing me to find a lot of self sown plants in the old saw dust topping which I delight in potting up.

My hellebore's are up and looking lovely on their own after having all last years leaves removed, blue bells and tulips are pushing through, and the leucodendrons and erica's are standing out beautifully amongst the majestic winter starkness of deciduous trees and shrubs.

As there is not a lot happening right now with lawns and in gardens, I thought I would write about the benefits of raised gardens.
With life being so busy today for most young families I can see how gardening time becomes limited but I am sure most would love to grow their own fresh produce.
Raised gardens may be the answer rather than a great patch of ground level veg garden, why not build a couple of easily constructed raised gardens.

Advantages of a Raised Bed Garden
Raised beds warm more quickly in spring, allowing you to work the soil and plant earlier.
Raised beds drain better than ground level gardens.
The soil in raised beds doesn't get compacted, because they are constructed with accessibility in mind and it's easy to tailor the soil for your raised bed to the plants you plan to plant.
Contained raised beds are not difficult to construct using wood or Oamaru stone seconds as a surround.
If you need time to think about a permanent position for raised beds you could make some using straw bales as surrounds for a year.
A sunny location is a must for growing vegetables and herbs, and access around all sides with a wheel barrow is recommended for ease of maintenance.
Restrict the width to four feet, this way you can access the middle.
Access to water is essential,with drainage being greater in raised gardens, they need good soakings.
Even a raised bed of six inches above the soil is enough to grow leaf vegetables and herbs and at least ten inches for root veg but I don't see the sense in not raising it to a height that will benefit the amount of digging and bending you do.
Once in place to the size required fill them with compost enriched soil and plant out.

keep an eye on what is on offer for planting now, this is the very best time for choice when buying deciduous tree's and shrubs.
Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago 16th July 2014

Another good weather week for North Otago, still not the consistent hard frosts needed so far but I am sure we will get them so I covered exposed Margarette daisy bushes and all seedlings with frost cloth over night.

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 centers.

This time last year 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, then they got compost and straw. In spring they soon pushed out fresh new growth and this year I see even the odd small bud but it will take a another couple of years before they bush up.

Tulips planted in May should be through the ground now, don't give them any fertilizer as this will only promote leaf growth which will take away from the bloom. Tulips store the food needed in their bulb.

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, rips on a rose prune will not allow the cut to seal which will result in die back and can sometimes claim a whole branch. Because roses should ideally be planted during dormancy new varieties are available now from garden centers.

If winter has left your garden looking a little too bleak, Garden centers will also have nice potted colour to brighten things up. I have noticed on offer pansy's, wall flower, pollyanthas and primula malacoydies which look fresh and bright planted in groups or as a border before bulbs bloom.

Vegetables

This week I planted some more garlic cloves, the list of facts, benefits and legends surrounding Garlic are many and 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 them now by separating cloves  and planting pointed end up in well prepared soil with plenty of organic matter. Plant five to seven cm below the soil surface about 10 to 15 cm apart in a sunny, well drained location.  Garlic will also grow well in containers or pots.

Time to start preparing the soil for spring planting. Cultivate vacant spaces, digging in green crops if 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, they are 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 to attract male grubs because the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone which will attract 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 2014

Some good frost this week to harden wood off but 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 I am picking Christmas cheer rhodo here and spring bulbs are well on which may mean we are in for an early spring. Daphne bholua is in flower now also wafting lovely fragrance around this garden, this daphne will never let you down and has the bonus of winter flowering. Daphne bholua is a must for cold inland gardens having derived from Nepal's high altitude regions but unfortunately resents exposed coastal conditions.

Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies are in 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. 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 pelegoniums and small seedlings from frosts with frost cloth if in severe frost area.  If like me you are still finding leaves to Rake up why not fill large black rubbish bags,add a little water then leave to rot. Leaf mulch is such natural benefit to soil, we tend to remove them all at leaf fall stage because they look untidy, rotting leaves down in this way when put back on the garden they will not be noticed, the worms will take leaf mulch down onto the soil. 

Pruning of trees is still going on here in my garden, as well as some older roses and sheltered hydrangeas cut back hydrangea canes that have flowered at the second bud from the bottom, leave all canes that did not flower because these will be the new seasons flowers. In colder areas I would leave hydrangeas until they really start bursting bud. 

This is a good time to reduce the width of gardens, I find 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. 

At this time of the year I make a few trips 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 and help 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,  I 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 (away from ornamential gardens) and send it's roots very deep down into the soil to 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

I so enjoyed the lovely days this week, especially after a good frost last weekend.  These warmer than usual days have encouraged early flowering of

of hellebore's, daphne, jonquils, primula and pollyanthas, but no bee's about to take advantage of all the early pollen just yet.

With all the compost and pea straw in place now it will not be long before bulbs and perennials will be using what is offered and pushing up through it all, then I will know where the gaps are for filling with all the small plants coming on from the seedlings and cuttings I have been nursing since last summer. Plants like viola Maggie mott, pansy, carnation, primula and dianthus can be planted now but the others will stay under the frost cloth until early spring.

Rose pruning of the tough old varieties can be done now but I am leaving my more modern type until the end of this month in the hope that they will get a good continual freezing before then to harden the wood and kill the bugs. 

How I prune:

Bush roses: concentrate on clearing the center of the bush, remove all inward facing branches at an outward facing bud, prune height back by two thirds always at an outward facing bud and remove any really old and damaged branches. Brush old gnarly rose centers with a wire brush to stimulate and encourage new budding.

Floribunda bush roses like iceberg need a few older branches taken right back each year to encourage new strong branching and newer branches taken back by two thirds.

Hybrid tea roses: These are the roses that can grow exhibition single blooms, these bushes can be pruned back quite hard to an outward facing bud.

Standard bush roses: Same as bush roses.

Climbing roses: These roses flower at their best when the branches are trained horizontally along a fence or wall, they develop small branches along the length of the trained branch and give a brilliant show. After a number of years the long horizontal branches will need to be removed and replace by a softer new branch, being careful not to damage this soft wood train gently out to take the place of the removed old wood. The new branch will bud up quickly sending out small outward growing branches and harden off in a couple of years. Prune the outward growing branches growing along established horizontal branch's back to the second outward facing bud. It's the new bud growth from this pruning that will develop into flowers. 

Pillar roses; These are the best type to climb up and be trained over an arch or pergola. I cut the old growth back off these with a hedge trimmer.

Fairy rose and flower carpet roses: These, I also cut back with a hedge trimmer but open them up by removing branches from the middle with secateurs. 

Compost heaps are working much more slowly now than in the summer and autumn but the worms will be still working as long as there is adequate moisture. Once wet right through heaps can be kept warmer by being covered, Straw is perfect for this as it still lets the rain in.

Boost bedding plants with fish based fertiliser or a little dried blood.to encourage buds during sunny winter days.

Veg: This mild winter weather has been kind to producing vegetable gardens, I planted peas in Autumn as a trial and so far so good, they will sit over winter, flower and pod up for early summer peas . 

Once I have used all carrots, parsnip and silver beet I will dig the raised gardens over and work in some compost in readiness for spring planting.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Fruit:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

If your strawberry patch is manured and ready, plant new strawberry runner plants in now while the ground is soft and moist.

The best time of the year to prune fruit trees.

Early to Late Spring for Peaches Peach trees should be pruned yearly to maintain an open center, prune off the damaged wood in the early spring. This will allow the wounds to close faster as growth begins. In the early spring you should also be able to see how many flower buds have survived the cold weather. 

Prune apricot trees in late winter or early spring as the new leaves and flowers begin to open because the tree is actively growing and the pruning cuts heal quickly. Remove all branches with a narrow crotch—(those that grow up more than out.) on  newly planted trees remove all branches that are within 18 inches of the ground. Remove additional branches as necessary to space them at least 6 inches apart. Shorten the remaining lateral branches to 2 to 4 inches in length. Each stub should have at least one bud. In older trees thin out the canopy so that sunlight reaches the interior and air circulates freely. 

Early Spring for Plums, Plum trees should be pruned to maintain an open center, don't let your plum tree branch too close to the ground. The best fruit often grows at the top of the trees. Keep the tops of trees low, so they are easily accessible. 

Winter for Apples and pears The best time to prune your apple and pear tree is when it is dormant, during the late Autumn and winter. During the dormant season, you will want to cut away any overly vigorous stems, which are usually high in the trees. 

Scruff our pup graduated from doggy School this week, gaining success in disciplining us, but I feel he would benefit from higher tertiary learning!! he was rewarded for his attendance and effort with a very handy pink ball thrower, a bag of dog food, and our promise that we will continue to jump through hoops for him.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago June 26th 2014

Monday bought the first really hard frost here on the coast, so the woollies came out for me.  The brilliant days that follow a hard frost allow at least half a day to work in the garden after the thaw. No such luck further inland with frozen ground, the perfect garden planning time to be a step ahead before spring.

I have started pruning some large rambling roses here in my garden, the time by which rose pruning should be completed varies by several weeks from the warmest to coldest gardens. It should be done and dusted by the time of bud burst so we have a good two months to get rose  pruning out of the way here on the coast and a little longer further inland. There are still new seasons roses on offer and this is the time to get them planted and settled in for summer flowering. If planting new standard roses they will need staked to keep them secure until enough roots to hold them have grown. Newly bought roses also need pruned, growers just lop them back before sending them off to Garden centers so cross over branches need cut out and all others cut back to an outward facing bud.

The bulk of new seasons bare rooted deciduous trees are arriving into retail shops now and the ground is perfect for planting but avoid times when the ground is frozen or excessively wet, no roots like sitting in water especially new young roots which have not made a root ball of feeder roots. Young deciduous trees and shrubs can also be moved at this time, trim any damaged roots and cut back any that are inconveniently long.

Evergreen trees and shrubs are on offer as well, but don't be in a hurry to plant them. Keep in bags outside in a sheltered place to harden off, they can sit like this and be planted out at the end of winter. Choose now and plant later to give them a good start. I am enjoying digging out shrubs and plants that have not worked where they are planted and filling the gaps with a new look. Erica's I planted 30 + years ago are still looking wonderful, I managed to get hold of  a number of small gradeerica's to plant that will in time give drifts of bright clear colour through future winter months. Erica's are low maintenance plants, most are winter flowering, they look great planted around and among conifers. 

Fruit & Veg.

Keep planting deciduous fruit trees and bushes in a sunny site, avoid frosty hollows for early starters such as plums and pears.

Frosty sites are no disadvantage for soft fruits as winter chills will stimulate fruit buds.

Continue to shelter citrus in frosty gardens, they should be offering a lot of fruit to pick now.

In cold wet areas start garlic off in containers and plant out later when the ground warms up.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago 11th June 2014

More rain this week keeping us out of gardens and off soggy lawns, I have noticed a lot of spring blossom, ( mostly pretty  prunus autumnalis which flowers four times a year) and jonquils blooming around the town and we have only just come into this mild winter, I guess tree's and bulbs feel it is already spring.
Because rain has kept me out of the garden this week, time has allowed me to really look at deciduous trees and shrubs now they are bare, inspection is a must to spot any sprouting of new growth beneath the graft on a grafted tree. All large deciduous trees such as flowering cherries, magnolia, silver birch, ashes, oaks any large well grown specimen tree bought today will have been grafted onto strong growing root stock different to the top growth. From time to time the root stock will push growth out and up and because it is strong growing it will always overtake the wanted specimen. This root stock growth must be cut out before it becomes established. I have seen a few mature flowering cherry trees left to grow this way and the result is not good, a display of  beautiful pink blossom on one side and insipid root stock white blossom on the other side spoils the originally chosen tree.
Thinning out of branches on trees can be done now, if branches are crossing over each other or if there are too many in the centre  don't just shorten a branch back because it will regrow from that point, take it right out, cut on a slant leaving a short collar against the trunk.Prunus  and crab apple trees are bad for producing over crowding branches which tend to rub together encouraging disease if not removed,  But wait until spring before pruning flowering cherry trees because winter is when they can become infected with silver leaf, which will eventually kill even a large tree. Always make sure your pruning equipment is cleaned from one tree to the next, methylated spirits is good for doing this.

With the help of an arborist I have been tidying up established trees, Rowan, hoheria, silver birch, ash and oak. Tree's that really need attention each year are standard kilmarnock willows, these small ornamental willows are a ground cover willow species grafted onto a willow standard becoming a Man made, upright small weeping tree that in this form nature had no plan for. Growing along the ground as it should the dead undergrowth would rot and break down. In the upright form each seasons growth dies and builds up under new growth. The dead branches are small and brittle and easily removed by working under the new growth canopy and cutting away the past growth. If the old growth has built up over a few years a small chain saw will do the trick. Attending to this annually is best, unwanted build will make the tree top heavy, two of mine fell over in overly wet ground but have now been pulled back upright and given permanent stakes for support. Robinia mop tops need the same annual cut back, they have also been grafted onto a standard but these trees put out fresh new growth each spring so all past growth needs to be cut right back to retain the round growth habit.

Leucodendrons are taking center stage now here on the coast, they are wonderful for picking once fully hardened and will last for months picked and put in a vase, just the thing when there is not lot else to pick. Leucodendrons are easy to grow in the conditions they prefer, being full sun, good draining acid soil and staked and protected from strong winds until established. They will grow on dry banks and rough area's as long as they do not have to compete with grass and weeds. Leucodendrons resent any type of fertiliser, will not cope with hard frosts and once established will die if shifted. There are leucodendrons which grow very large, low spreaders which look great spilling over walls, low bushy types, they all add wonderful colour to a dull winter garden.

Vegetables and Fruit

Keep planting out seedling veg plants, board beans and garlic here on the coast.
Winter is also the time for planting rhubarb and asparagus crowns so prepare the ground with rich composted now, get them planted and established and in no time you will be making rhubarb crumble and asparagus rolls.

Black current bushes should have as much of the old dark shoot removed now, leaving only the light coloured smooth vigorous young growth.

Red currents don't fruit on new wood so older wood should be kept for 3 years just cut out the odd old branch yearly to encourage a few new replacements.
Give all current bushes a good two hand fulls of bone meal or blood and bone in spring to ensure a good crop of fruit.

The continuing saga of Scruff our pup who at last has had his first doggy school lesson, he went in as a mighty  ball of energy and after only 20 mins he was sitting and much quieter. It's all about the treats he receives, and the right way of giving those treats once he has done what is needed of him. I will need to remember not to apply this method to my busy Grandchildren! I don't think it would go down well with the Mum's and Dad's!!

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago June 4th 2014

Into another month! and what a fantastic Queens Birthday weekend weather wise, and so much happening in North Otago. And a busy weekend locally, Oamaru is certainly a town with an abundance of creative energy giving locals the opportunity to take part in or just enjoy from the sidelines.

This week the pea straw went on with some energetic help, so good to get it on while the ground is still wet, the straw will keep that moisture in for Spring growth.

After the past rain we have had a chance to see areas in the garden not draining well, if you have plants that are still water logged dig them up and improve where they are growing by digging the hole deep down to the clay, which is probably the pan holding the water. Break up the clay as much as you can, put a layer of gypsum on top of the broken clay then add at least three shovels of gravel to create a sump for water to drain into. By doing this the plant of your choice can stay in that spot without drowning.

I have done the annual cutting of leaves from all my hellebore's, the under sides were infested with greenfly wintering over, wanting to pounce onto my roses come Spring. They will soon produce new fresh leaves after the beautiful flowers have popped up and flowered on their own, giving a wonderful show in the middle of Winter.

This week I have been taking root cuttings of hydrangea paniculata and a few other plants I have trouble striking cuttings from.

 Root cuttings: Taking root cuttings is one of the most reliable and economical ways to produce many perennial and woody plants. If you've ever had problems propagating some of your favorite plants, this may be the way for you to go, it is a straight forward process best done during the plant's dormant season between June and September.

For Woody Plants
Note: Many trees today have been grafted to a different root stock, only take cuttings from non grafted tree's & shrubs.

Carefully remove dirt around the roots on one side of the plant, dig fairly close to the base of the plant to make sure you find healthy roots that are pencil thick belonging to the plant you are working on, take 2 to 6 inch (2 to 15 cm) cuttings and cut into 2 to 3 inch (6 to 7.5 cm) sections. 

The best way to keep track of top end and bottom end of the cutting is to make a flat cut on top side, and a slanted cut on the bottom side. 

Plant in a deep pot, raised planter bed, or just in the soil somewhere,(frost free) put a little sand in the bottom of the hole and dust the bottom of each cutting with powdered sulfur to control fungi. making sure that the tops of the cuttings are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the soil and cover with a layer of  coarse river sand or small gravel, Water only when soil becomes dry.

For Perennial Plants.
It is usually easier to lift the entire parent plant, look for large fleshy roots, the thicker the better.Take 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cuttings the same way as above, then replant the parent plant and water in.
In three to four weeks your cuttings should be forming roots, and some even may start to push new growth.
When new shoots appear, give them some liquid fertilizer at half strength.
Once the plants are established, they can be transplanted to individual pots or moved into the garden.
List of Plants For Root Cuttings.
Crabapple, Figs, Hydrangeas, Lilacs, Mock oranges, Popler, Pussy willow, Red and yellow twig dogwoods, Old roses, Snowball bush, Weeping willow, Yucca, Aster, Bear’s breeches, tall phloxes, Gernaium, Globe,Thistle, Hollyhocks, Horseradish, aster, Oriental poppies,Primrose, Rhubarb, Sage, Sea hollies, perennial Statice Rhubarb, Sage Raspberry and Blackberry.

Roses: Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes before adding compost or mulch to prevent the spread of pests and disease. Roses can have a clean up spray with Lime Sulphur which will defoliate them and deal to scale, mites, moss & lichen, then later after pruning a Champion Copper and Conqueror Oil spray. This is the only spraying I do on my roses because at this time of the year there are no bee's, butterfly's or ladybirds around the bushes.

Keep planting lilium bulbs. These are best placed in raised beds. Don’t let the roots dry out at all.

Make early plantings of gladioli for November flowering.

Re-pot container grown buxus every second year or if they look pot bound, trim the outer roots and replace any loose soil with new potting mix. They make a huge amount of unneeded roots every year.

Plant polyanthus for a bright patch of colour a few poly's in a pot is all that's needed to brighten up any doorway.

Once wisterias have lost all leaves prune off all long and unruly canes because if you don't they will entwine themselves around established branches and keep growing thicker each year.

Veg & fruit

On the coast Sow broad beans, garlic, shallots and rhubarb in colder areas nothing much can be planted

Give fruit tree and any deciduous trees with lichen a clean up spray with lime sulphur but not apricot trees lime sulphur will burn the fruit buds.

Cheers, Linda