Gardening in North Otago August 13th 2019

Magnolia buds just opening

What a good rain this week to set us up for spring growth. "Blossom by blossom the spring begins.”  Algernon Charles Swinburne  

Feeding plants:  Folia feeding is beneficial now as as the ground warms and plants are looking for nutrients. Worm tea, watered down horse or cow manure is a useful and inexpensive folia / root food especially around the roots of roses while they are pushing out new buds. Rose buds are swelling so if you still have them to prune get it done now.

At this time of the year I notice yellowing of some plants, the ground gets depleted of nitrogen during winter especially when plants are shallow rooted like camellias, azaleas and rhododendron, give them a feed with an acid fertiliser especially formulated for them( If powder water in)

Potted plants that make a lot of roots and have out grow their containers will soon show poor growth but these plants can be revived by either re-potting them into a larger pot or reducing the root mass by half then re-potting back into the same pot. I remove excess roots by removing the root bound plant from the pot, lay it on the ground then I use a sharp spade to chop the root ball in half. Once potted up again I apply slow release fertilizer the mix,  with all the slow release fertilisers on offer now it's makes it easy to choose the right one for all plants. rain will add more nutrients. 

Keep planting roses, peony roses and gladioli from now until September if dividing or planting lilies get them planted straight away, they never stop making roots and should never dry out.  

Cut back leggy,bush lavatera and they will bush up again in no time.

 Ornamental grass's  If you have not trimmed back ornamental grass's yet do it now, cut the old seeded ends well back and clean out the dead thatch around the base, its amazing how much you will need to cart away after this hair cut but they will grow back to their soft wafting shape in no time. Use what you have cut off as mulch around the garden, a cover for the compost or in the chook or calf pen  

Weeds: I imagine the weeds have started at your place as they have at ours and with the ground being so soft hand, and hoe weeding is really easy, get them out before they take off and seed everywhere, or dig them in before they seed. With temperatures  warming spraying weeds can soon begin.  

Lawns: Moss can be delt to in lawns, pathways and garden structures. There are a lot of products out there to deal with moss but killing the moss in lawns is simply a short term measure, it does not address the basic problem. If you really want to eradicate moss from your lawn, then you have to find the problem causing it. The reasons are varied, but not too difficult to isolate.

Things that would be causing moss in your lawn could be:

Water logging 

Poor feeding regime - usually shown by light green grass.

Soil too acid - carry out a test, lime may be needed.

Shaded Lawns - overhanging trees or large shrubs.

Mowing lawns too close is a very common cause, for it weakens the grass allowing moss to take hold.

Sandy - free-draining soils. This can weaken the grass and allow moss to take over. Some mosses are quite happy in these conditions. Add humus (compost or sieved soil) to add more body and rake in, this will encourage worms as well. 

Compaction - continued use by children and pets with no remedial attention by way of aeration in the Autumn.

Treating small areas of moss in lawns can be carried out with sulphate of iron watered on at the strength displayed on the pack per sq meter, moss will turn black and after a couple of weeks you can rake out the dead moss and re-seed. Generally, lawns that are well maintained which includes being well fed, cut properly, aerated and de-thatched  moss will have a problem competing with strong growing grass in lawns.  The first spring feeding can be done when the next rain is about to happen.

Vegetables: Pick winter crops while still at their best - Fold cauliflower leaves over and tie to protect from frost and keep florets tight.  Here on the coast get spring sowings off to an early start now. 

Asparagus is a vegetable that repays planting over many years. To prepare beds cultivate deeply and add generous amounts of compost. Existing asparagus beds should be cultivated carefully to avoid damaging the crowns that lie just below the surface, add a new layer of mulch. 

Sprouted Potatoes can go into the ground now for  an early crop, people have been telling me of the benefits gained from planting potatoes on a bed of pine needles, I lay them on comfrey leaves, they decompose fast in the soil making plant food quickly available.

Further inland soil will take a bit of thawing out before any planting but the garden can be prepare by digging in compost / humus.  

Fruit: My peach tree is just at bud burst right now so will spray with a copper spray for leaf curl, once in blossom it is too late to spray. If you have not already pruned your peach or nectarine tree I will run through how to go about it, recovery will be quicker now the sap has risen.

1. For the glass shape pick four main scaffold branches and simplify, cut larger branches needing removed close to the trunk, leave a collar, it will encourage tree borer.

2. Remove small weak upright branches on trunk or main branches.

3. Leave 50 to 75% pencil thick shooting wood per tree.

Both peach and nectarine fruit on wood developed last summer. Inspect the buds on newer wood, single buds are leaf buds, double buds are immature fruit buds and triple buds are mature fruit buds. Cut to an outward facing double bud, leave triples.

Cheers, Linda  

Potatoes on comfrey leaves 

Gardening in North Otago August 7th 2019

Lavender dentata hedge.

Brrrr the cold arrived this

week but very tame compared to other places,  which seems to be North Otago's way.

Much is beginning to awake in the garden, I feel spring in the air with swelling of buds and  birds are beginning to nest also I see blossom starting , jonquils and daffodils gracing fence lines about the town. We are coming to the end of pruning with cold, rose prickled fingers, wheel barrows of rose and hydrangea pruning. I have also been dealing to couch grass while the soil is damp, right now couch is dormant and easy to pull but getting right down and scratching out roots is the answer, it is so satisfying to pull a root runner right to it's and know that that will be the end of it.

 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 and comfrey tea, adding at the strength of black tea to a full watering can, then applied generously to all new leaf, budding and flowering plants.  Any new plantings can be Helped along along by feeding now to get 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. Spread old stable manure around the drip line of hydrangeas and a dressing of lime for pink flowers and aluminum sulphate for blue, White never changes, but are best planted in light shade, the flowers will tinge pink in the full sun. It is easy to control the colour of hydrangea's 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 really want to grow blue hydrangeas in large pots use a acid tree and shrub mix. The use of coffee grinds, grass clippings or pine needles spread around the drip line can help to lower the PH of pink hydrangeas in the garden to encourage shades of purple. I have found pulling rooted branches from the base of big old gnarly hydrangea bush can become a new bush of a special variety.  

Geranium ccuttings from the hardened steams 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. Take short cuttings, semi hard wood, (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). 

Lavender: Trim dentata lavender now if you haven't already, and it is looking untidy. Dentata is the tall growing one with the pale lavender bumblebee flower and serrated leaf.They will recover quickly from a cut back because they are budding up now, but Leave trimming other lavenders right back until it is warmer. Lavenders, clematis and all herbs like sweetening up with a dressing of lime now. 

Lavatera, English abutilon and buddleia bushes can be cut back now  to encourage fresh new growth ready for butterflies. 

Roses:  with roses making a move to bud up they will be needing food to draw on, powdered rose food needs watered in around the drip line, slow release fertiliser will work each time it rains. 

New seasons trees and Roses are still available in Garden Centers and  masses of bedding plants on offer now ground temperature warming up. 

Vegetables: The vegetable garden enjoyed the last 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. 

Fruit: Lets hope the dull overcast days are over by the time the fruit trees blossom so the bee's 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. 

Cheers, Linda  

Peach trees: spray with copper at bud burst to help with leaf curl

Peach and nectarine leaf curl

Gardening in North Otago 1st August 2019

Ballerina apple trees

North Otago is becoming more spring like every week with camellias blooming everywhere, magnolia buds beginning to burst and spring bulbs thinking it is mild enough to bloom. Going by my past notes we still have proper winter weather ahead this month before we can leap fully into spring and soil along with plants need this to perform during the growing seasons. However, Spring is the one time that gardens bursts forth with an abundance of hidden splendor without us having to do a lot of pre planning, nature pretty much takes care of things once they are in place, so at this time I like to create and dress the garden by planting out, shifting and feeding. Liquid feeding annuals and perennials that have been nursed through winter, roots are starting to take in nutrients to plump up buds.  

Seeds can be sown for the cottage annuals like cosmos, cornflowers, love in the mist, snapdragon and alyssum, all can be sown under glass in a warm area but more tender annuals can wait until it is a little warmer unless you have a heated glass house. Perennials and annuals already putting out growth need to be protected from any sudden freezing and pots and hanging baskets will be waiting for attention. It does not take long for roots to fill a pot and exhaust what planting mix is left, best to remove the shrub or plant to investigate. If completely root bound take a sharp spade or knife and cut half the root ball away, fill pots with new mix, replant and water in.

A few more hydrangeas have been pruned here as nice fat buds are swelling on the stems, cuttings can be taken and bedded in river sand from the hardened stems that flowered last season.  

Almost finished pruning roses here, only the flower carpet and fairy roses to go, both these varieties bush up with small non hard wood branching, if they are large, trim with a hedge trimmer, if newly planted prune back to hard wood at an outward facing bud. Feeding and spraying roses is next, copper oxychloride and winter oil, can be mixed and applied together, the oil helps the copper to stick and copper helps protect new growth from frosts that occur in late spring. Best not to be applied to fresh new growth as burning may occur.

Bulbs that shot up during warmer winter days will continue to head for an early spring display, if temperatures drop now buds will be held and the cold will have a noticeable effect on soft new growth. However prunus autumnalis are in full flower and the fragrance from winter sweet, witch hazel, Daphne,boronia and violets wafting through gardens make spring seem closer so onward in readiness for the spring explosion. 

Vegetable  gardens are enjoying the mild weather with the odd frost helping to break down soil. Birds are nesting so cover leaf veg with shade or frost cloth to keep them off. Time for sowing seeds to germinate in a warm well lit place to be ready for pricking out into punnets then planted out in a warm spring garden. 

Fruit Trees are still available in Garden Centres, if you would like an apple tree but feel your garden is too small why not look at apple ballerina, a very slim non branching variety of apple with Medium, red skin, Crisp, juicy, nice eating and cooking apples, Ballerina  grows to 3-4m tall by 30cm wide perfect for adding height, blossom and fruit to a small garden.

Grape pruning needs to finish soon before sap rises, 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.

Keep an eye on peach bud burst which will most likely be early this year, a copper spray right at bud burst will help with leaf curl.

 
Cheers, Linda.

Seedlings ready to pot on.

Gardening in North Otago July 22nd 2019

Dust has now settled here in North Otago after the few days of lovely soft rain setting us up well for new spring growth.

Pruning and composting and pea strawing is still going on here around this large, never ending garden! so rain is a bonus taking the compost down to the roots of the plants. It may look as if growth has stopped but here on the coast with the warmer ground there is plenty of feeding going on.  Bulbs are starting to make an appearance and will benefit from a dressing of compost as will hellebore (winter roses) which are looking wonderful right now and pansy's, pollyanthas, and violas are brightening up the gardens, all these plants respond really well to dried blood sprinkled around them. Dried blood is also a good tonic for yellowing camellias and rhododendrons, mix it with camellia and rhododendron fertiliser and apply now while there is rain about and they will reward you well come spring.
Garden shops are full of colourful sesanqua camellias in flower, different varieties of flowering hellebore's and cyclamen to brighten up indoors and porches.These plants will have been grown under protection to get them looking so good so don't be too quick to plant out in the garden, let them harden off gradually first.
Take saucers out from under tubs and planters, frozen saucers will freeze the roots of your plants.
Because we have had it mild here on the coast this rain will have saturated foliage of tender plants like geranium and pelagonium plants, it would be best to put a cover of frost cloth over those planted in the garden and move potted ones in under cover.
Roses:
Mulch, mulch and more mulch. Apply a thick layer of mulch on and around your roses to keep moisture there, this also protects the root zone and enables the plant to concentrate on root movement and getting ready for the up coming growing season. Un-sprayed Pea or barley straw and well cooked compost are all ideal for mulching. I will mention again the wonderful compost available from our meat works at Pukurie, this is weed free, easy to use and looks good on the garden. Contact Gregg on 0272293215 for a load or get it bagged from the Humber street stall.  Sheep manure, old stable manure are also a good sauce of food for roses and new spring growth and on compost heaps. Use sawdust on gardens that stay wet and pathways. The Waireka Lions manure and saw dust stall is always stocked up.

In early spring an application of Rose Fertiliser will enhance the establishment and growth of healthy roses as it has an excellent level of potassium, which is the nutrient responsible for promoting large, vibrant, healthy blooms. For established roses apply 200 g (1 cup) per square metre and water in well. An application just before the end of winter is a good idea, if buds are swelling they are using food. Apply again in mid December for an autumn flush of blooms.  
Vegetable garden:
To have Christmas new potatoes you need to start thinking about them from now on, all varieties are available in shops now. There are early and late varieties so ask about the variety you choose, a potato is not just a potato any more! Lay your seed potatoes out on a tray in a dark dry place and get them sprouting and ready to plant out when the frosts have past.
There will never be a better time to choose and plant ornamental and fruiting trees than right now! Each tree will have an informative label to tell you exactly what you will be buying with instructions on how and where to plant. All fruit trees need to grow in an open sunny position. 
Keep sowing vegetable seeds in trays for planting out later, plant Cauliflowers and Cabbage seedlings and sow early Peas. In warmer areas you can also plant Lettuce, Silver beet and Broccoli seedlings and Onions
Asparagus crowns are now available and can be planted out in a well composted and fertilised bed. (no animal manure though)
Cheers, Linda.  

Gardening in North Otago July 16th 2019

Holiday fun with Nana.

A good weather week for Oamaru with a little much needed rain early on, with it being the School holidays I have been Nana on the job with 5 small people  looking for action. As I write this there are huts being built with tables, chairs and as much of my linen they can get their hands on.....then another meal for all to agree to is next!!!
Good hard frosts now so it's frost cloth on plants like bougainvillea, hibiscus, pelargonium and young daisy bushes, established Margarette daisy bushes will take a knock from the frosts but just leave them, if they do as that frosting on the outside will protect the new growth beneath. In land up the valley gardeners will need to take cuttings of daisy bushes, geranium and paligoniums and protect them until spring.
I have been pruning back hydrangea's now they have hardened, prune just before spring by cutting each flower stem off at the second bud from the bottom, leave the stalks that did not flower because these are your flowering stems for this year. 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 week I attacked a group of large leggy rhododendrons with leaves, buds and blooms on the top of long woody branches. 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, fingers crossed they will push out new bushy growth in the spring.
More rose pruning this week, I had to invest in some new secateurs as the pair I have been using did not cut clean and rips on a rose prune will not allow the cut to seal well which will then result in die back, this can sometimes claim the whole branch.
I feel very fortunate to have help from Gardener Stan once a week to spread compost and then pea straw on our sleeping garden. Although not all plants sleep, bulbs are pushing through, pansies, pollyanthus, violas, poppies and primulas are tough little plants that stand up to frosts.
Winter is the time you will find the best selection of deciduous and fruit trees in garden centres. It may be cold and miserable outside but it's the time to buy these trees for planting. They arrive as grafted stock from growers, if you have bought bare rooted trees identify where the graft section is, if low down it should stay above the dirt line, uncovered by dirt. If the tree has been bagged plant up to where planted in the bag and remember to include a stake at planting time to protect against root movement by wind.
Fruit:
A tip I have been told works 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 grubs into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds. Tidy up fruit bushes now they are bare, black currants can be pruned now until late winter, they fruit best on younger wood so aim to remove older wood to retain a basic structure of 6 to 10 healthy shoots. For red and white currants cut out only diseased or very old branches in winter then prune new growth back to two buds in early summer, (pruning leaders to outward facing buds but if branches are bending cut to upward facing buds. )
Vegetable garden:
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 ground is sour. Dig compost mixed with sawdust into wet, boggy soils.
Sow seeds of broccoli, cabbage, broad beans, cauliflower, peas, (butter crunch) lettuce, onions, radish, spinach, silver beet, swede and turnips.

Cheers, Linda.

Pruning black currant bushes

Gardening in North Otago 9th July 2019

Deep root soaking means allowing water to be available to all roots of a tree or shrub. 

After being lulled into warm spring like weather Tuesday morning threw us back into reality with the a heavy frost confusing the gardens I had watered the day before. Winter is normally the time to store away hoses but NOT this year. Deep root watering for all evergreens that you notice looking a bit limp, camellias, rhododendrons, azalea's, hydrangea, lavender, Hebe, fuchsia. Shallow rooted perennials will let you know when water is needed, you will notice plumpness has gone from them. Deep root soaking is very important for maples of all sizes, dry ground puts these trees under huge stress which is shown instantly in the leaves and fine branching, now that my maples are bare I have been clearing out dead branches from past dry damage. After a soaking mulch will hold moisture from frost drawing it up, compost, pea straw, leaf mulch, old lawn clippings any organic matter that will not blow away you have at hand is better than nothing.

Dry winters are kind to bugs, I am still cutting leaves from my many hellebore's (winter rose) the back of each leaf is smothered in green fly, these go onto my burning pile. Lets hope we have a few frosts now on the coast to give bugs that thought they could just cruise into spring a hurry up.  

Sow seed under glass in a warm area sow seeds of antirrhinum (snap dragon), carnation, calendula (common marigold), sweet peas, verbena, cosmos and viola they should pop up and be ready to plant out in spring. 

Planting new roses: Plant to below the graft section, at bud union to root stock , fill planting hole with water and let seep away, plant and firm in.

Dahlias will need cutting back and mulching for protection if left in the ground. Clumps can be dug now and reduced or split up, dahlias tubers will hold in a dry place until planting out when frosts are over. Peonies are divided in autumn and on offer now to be planted 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.

If young trees or shrubs need transplanting now is a good time to do it whilst they are at their most dormant stage.

Vegetables
On the coast start raising vegetable seeds in glass houses or under glass or plastic with ventilation spaces to circulate air and stop seeds going mouldy.
Plant seedling plants that are now on offer along with garlic cloves. In colder areas sit back and let frosts work on the soil.
Start sprouting seed potatoes, early varieties like Jersey benne, Cliffs kidney, Rocket, Ilam hardy, Maris Anchor should be sprouting now for an early planting.
Fruit 
Look closely at the shape of your fruit trees and plan how pruning can improve them if needed. Pip fruit should be pruned during winter.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago July 3rd 2019

Brrrrrrr hard frosts I heard while I was lucky enough to be enjoying milder weather in the far north for 10 days, how ever on our return found we bought the same temperatures back with us!  The most urgent requirement right now is rain, with  parched ground trees and shrubs will be suffering. All shallow rooted shrubs like camellia, rhododendron, hydrangea, azalea, lavender, hebe, fuchsia and some perennials such as Ajuga Reptans and sedum need to be deep root watered when the ground is as dry as this winter. I notice my iris's are looking very thirsty as well so it was out with the hose again on my return. ( avoid watering late in the day, soil and foliage should not be wet going into the night.)
Polyanthus and primroses are starting to brighten little corners of our garden. Primroses are so pretty, they clump up well and in time can be broken up and spread to form a front boarder adding colour to drab winter gardens.

Breaking up primula clumps, on transplanting remove gnarly old growth and quite a few leaves, keep water up until they take hold. Polyanthus and primulas benefit from an application of dried blood.
Raising flowering annuals: under glass sow seeds of antirrhinum (snap dragon), carnation, calendula (common marigold), sweet peas, verbena and viola, they should pop up and grow a little during sunny winter days then really take off when soil warms again in Spring. I find carrying small protected seedlings through the colder months make strong rooted plants hardened to temperature changes in spring and early summer. (next new moon is a seed planting time.)
Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies will be on offer this month, plant in good draining soil in a sunny spot, if you think there is a chance they would sit in cold, wet soil over winter they may rot, planting can continue until September.
Remember to continue protecting plants like Margarete daisies and pelargoniums from frosts with frost cloth as a cover above them, not touching. If they frost on the top just leave the frosted tops to protect the new growth beneath. This would not work further inland, it would be best to start nursing cuttings to be planted out when the frosts are over.
Rose pruning is happening now,  just in case you need reminding on how to tackle pruning.... make a slanted cut just above a strong outward facing bud.
Standard roses should be pruned to about 25cm above the main stem and bush roses can be cut back about two-thirds, leaving 3-4 buds on each branch. Mature climbers will need old canes removed to be replaced with new strong canes tied horizontally against a wall or fence to encourage flowering buds. Secateurs must be sharp to avoid damage by ripping branches which will lead to die back. 
                                                                                

Compost: Turn over uncovered compost now, add moisture if the pile is dry. 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 a natural benefit to soil which we tend to remove at leaf fall stage because it looks untidy. Rotting it down this way you can then add it to the soil and it will not be noticed

Manure: At this time of the year I make a few trips to the Waireaka sale yards for the Waireaka Valley Lions Club sawdust and sheep manure, volunteers clean out calving sheds and under shearing sheds to keep the stand topped up for keen gardeners. I use the sawdust on garden pathways and the sheep manure on the compost heaps, the vegetable garden and around roses when horse manure is not at hand. Sawdust can be used on wet gardens as a weed suppressant as it helps to absorb excess moisture, but never on dry gardens. 
Vegetables:  Start raising vegetable seeds for spring planting 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.
Start sprouting seed potatoes, early varieties like Jersey Benne, Cliffs kidney, Rocket, Ilam hardy, Maris Anchor should be sprouting now for an early planting.
I must again sing the praises of comfrey, it is such a useful plant and if you can get your hands on some I suggest you plant root sections in an area of your garden where it can spread and send it's roots deep down into the soil to tap into much needed nutrients. It is fast growing, high in potassium and can be cut back again and again. I have listed some uses for comfrey around the garden.

1. Compost activator, add to your compost bin to heat up decomposing materials and enrich the compost. 
2. Put comfrey leaves into a bucket with a little rainwater and rot down for around 6 weeks to give you a rich liquid fertilizer. 
3. Lay comfrey leaves in a potato trench and leave for 3 days prior to planting the tubers to give them a potassium rich boost of fertiliser. 
4. Use as a Comfrey leaf mulch around plants, by layering leaves around ground stems. Potassium will be released slowly to 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