Gardening in North Otago September 3rd 2019

Early spring at Rockvale Gardens Weston

Some beautiful early spring days experienced here in North Otago over the last week things are really moving in gardens now.

I have been re potting cuttings that made roots during winter, fresh potting mix to sustain the explosion of new leaf growth and flowers will ensure good results. Liquid fertilizer once a week can start now as well, I use a watering can, when leaves are dry of dew. Pansies, primulas, pollyanthus, sweet peas, lupins, all new seasons bedding plants respond daily to being feed now.

I am sure every gardener enjoys trying new plants and colour combinations, now is the perfect time to sow seeds for summer flowering, germination is fast when days are bright, warm and lengthening so we are off to a good start this spring. I have sown seeds under glass and some just under frost cloth, better still if you have a glass or tunnel house. 

Baskets and pots will need freshening up with new potting mix, slow release fertilizer and water crystals,  use only shallow rooted plants for baskets, pansy, lobelia, small type petunias, nemesia, and trailers like Virginia stock and dwarf sweet pea. To get best results the roots of what you want to plant will determine the size and depth of a pot or basket, they have a long growing season so depth is needed for roots.

Old woolen blankets cut to size and slit where plants are to be poked in are an economical alternative to bought basket liners, also I am experimenting with using disposable nappies in my hanging baskets, the water crystals for absorbing moisture are the same as what you buy for hanging baskets and pots. Place the nappy on top of the liner, slit the plastic cover over the crystals then add potting mix, plant out and water. The water crystals will absorb moisture for roots to grow into.

Too much garden to fill? the width of a flower garden can be cut down by planting a spreading front boarder, a boarder of the same plant will also formalize a busy mixed garden and cut down on weeding. Some boarder plants to consider are lambs ear, purple sage, aubretia, dwarf agapantha, catmint and ground cover

erica's will cover like a carpet not allowing weeds to grow and also prevent birds from scratching. A large clump of lambs ear can be divided into single plants. Silver is a perfect shade to use as a break between strong and soft shades and will grow in sun or semi shade.

Roses are pushing out new shoots, if you haven't pruned yet do it now before they leaf up and give them a dressing of rose food or manure / compost if you have some, well fed roses will stay healthy.

Dahlias, too early for planting tubers yet but the addition of dolomite lime where they are to be planted will sweeten the ground ready for planting next month.

Lawns:

Prepare ground for sowing new lawns, here on the coast ground will soon be warm enough to get a strike, sow seed thickly in spring to beat the annual weeds. Once spring mowing starts keep the mower blades up to allow grass to thicken and feed lawns just before or during rain and they will stay lush.

Vegetables:

Here on the coast sow lettuce seed and plant lettuce plants at two week intervals, my board beans are flowering, I was once told to plant each bean with a little pot ash to help with rust problems, they still get a little rust but I think that's probably due to them getting too dry between watering's. I will need to secure them with wire stakes before the strong winds arrive.

New potatoes: Prepare ground for planting sprouted early seed potatoes and they will be on time for Christmas dinner.

Strawberries: still haven't  prepared the strawberry bed yet, maybe this weekend.! when strawberry plants start moving they flower up quickly and need to be hooking into plenty of organic matter / food to support continual fruiting.

Fruit: keep an eye on peach / nectarine bud burst, if you need to deal to leaf curl. Leaf curl is a fungal disease which over winters in tree bark and around buds, leaves become curled and deformed with warty growths. Just before bud burst spray with Champion copper or liquid copper and once again after petal fall. 

If looking to fill gaps in your flower garden pop down to the Resource recovery park in Chelmer Street where a Garden corner has been introduced, annuals, perennials, shrubs, potted bulbs and natives are on offer along with second hand garden equipment and pots and sound garden advice.

Cheers, Linda.

Front boarder of lambs ear

Gardening in North Otago August 27th 2019

Magnolias shed their fury bud covers.

It's here! I can feel the throb of springs pulse fattening buds, pushing out bulbs, shedding magnolia's fury bud covers , birds nesting and bees humming in blossom trees.

 Sap is on the way up again so unwanted growth from prunus trees  (flowering cherry) can be removed, this is the time to make cuts in prunus to avoid the spread of silver leaf which can spread from tree to tree while in the dormant stage. Cut out  any weak growth and cross over branches before they grow thick. Kilmarnoch willows need old wood cut out as well, this is the ornamental pussy willow used so often now in small gardens. Each new branch grows out from the bud of last years growth. All subsequent years growth dies and builds up under the new growth. The grafted weeping tree is much nicer to look at with all those dead branches removed and it is easier to do this when bare of leaves. Another tree planted often today is robinia lace Lady, height and width can be taken of these now if becoming too big. To keep robinia lace Lady small they can be planted in a grow bag then bag and all planted into the soil, they make a very attractive dwarf tree for a small garden.

Sow seeds for late spring and summer flowering into seed trays, raise trays up off the cold ground and cover with glass or plastic to get good germination and water when dry with a mist spray early in the day.

Cuttings put into river sand in autumn should be pushing out roots soon as buds swell and burst,  once lifted and roots identified pot into small pots in a heavy potting mix then store in a warm location until roots fill pots. Only water when mix is dry on top as roots will be too small to take up moisture if over watered, once roots have pots have  either pot on into a larger pot or plant into the garden. 

Folia feed spring flowering plants (other than bulbs ) with liquid plant food to encourage strong growth and plant, plant,plant all the pretty spring seedlings on offer now. 

Cleaning out ponds is a must  in early spring before pond weed and plants  really take off,  if  oxygen weed is choking the pond reduce it now because as water looses it's chill fish begin notice each other again and eggs are blown into the weed. I over flow the ponds, clean out leaves and dead iris leaf leaving a good amount of sludge on the pond bottom. A couple of years ago a helper and I removed all the yellow bog iris's from the big pond, this was a much needed job because this common yellow iris was spreading so fast and took up a quarter of the pond with it's mat forming roots ( lesson learned, don't plant yellow bog iris in a domestic pond) The place for this iris is along the banks of a creek, the fibrous roots are fantastic at holding the sides back from erosion. Don't be tempted to add bull rushes to a domestic pond either, they also spread too quickly.

Lawns, 

Lawns benefit greatly from an early spring feed of lawn fertilizer,  this works best with rain to wash it in, if moss is a problem  sulphate of iron watered on from a watering can will deal to it. Rake it out once it has turned black.  Unfortunately too much soil is removed from new sections these days which means clay is not far down there for creating a solid moisture holding pan under soil. Gypsum ( soluble lime) will work on opening up clay without changing the ph of soil.

Vegetables:

Soil is warming with sun staying around longer so heaps to do in the veg garden as you ready it for planting. Spread old stable or pig manure and dig in while turning soil over, a metal rake will soon break up winter clods to fine soil down for direct seed sowing. Get pumpkin, butternut and squash and corn seeds started now under protection, they need a long warm growing season to grow and ripen. It's so good to be planting salad veg again especially while there are no white butterflies or aphids about. As an early season deterrent fish emulsion can be sprayed on both veg and flowering seedlings, this will feed the plants and repel pests by fooling them into thinking their favorite food is now protein not vegetable, repeat after rain.

Once seed potatoes have sprouted get them in the ground, when leaves appear start mounding soil up over most of the leaves to add soil depth which encourages plan

ts to make more potatoes.

Fruit: All deciduous fruit trees can still be planted in September, a wide selection will be available in garden centers now.  All fruits require a position in full sun, shelter from prevailing winds is preferable or a stake added for a couple of years until roots are well anchored. Spray stone fruit trees on bud burst with Super Copper to protect from leaf curl disease.

Strawberries: Delicious strawberries are easy to grow, in a home garden, as little as 25 plants can yield more than 50 pounds. Strawberries need at least six hours of direct sun daily and will do well with a dressing of fertilizer specifically formulated with extra potassium, regular irrigation and slightly acidic soil which can be achieved by adding coffee grinds and covering the bed in pine needles which also keep the weeds down and the fruit clean. All other berries on offer should be planted now to settle in to a season of fruiting

Cheers, Linda.

                    

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