Not much watering had to be done this week after the rain, and then Fridays wind soon had the hoses out again.
I have had the hedge trimmer on the go again and yes the plants and shrubs did shudder to their roots when I come their way!
If it needs it, it gets it! Trimming with secateurs is not practical with such a large garden and at this time of the year you can not do too much damage, the grow back rate is pretty quick.
This time last year I was lucky enough to find a young Man who loves trimming hedges, the box hedges have had a go over and what a great job he has done they are looking wonderful. It has been the perfect overcast weather for them to recover without the sun scorching them.
.
My buddleia's are out in flower now attracting the butterflies, They are a great fill in bush, I cut them back by half, when they have finished flowering and again at the end of Winter. They push up new growth very quickly and look attractive with their blue green foliage even without the flowers. There are blues, pinks & white shades to choose from, Plant at the back of a border and you will not be sorry.
Catmint can be trimmed back now, I know it is still showing heaps of colour but trim the long growth back by half and in no time at all it will re-grow into a neater clump and continue to flower.
The same applies to aubrietia, it will stay in a neater clump after a trim back, lavatera's and English abutilon need cut back now as well and they will bush right back up and flower. Most people pull out forget-me-not when it has finished flowering, I cut it right back to almost nothing and it returns in nice green clumps stronger than ever and becomes a perennial which will flower for years every spring. As a woodland plant you can't go past forget-me-not as a pretty sea of blue in the spring.
.
Anemones for winter flowering can be planted in the next two weeks, you will need to put a stick in where they are planted at this time of the year it's so easy to forget the spot and dig them up.Pop some in pots to replace all the Summer & autumn pots when finished flowering.
Lilies are flowering now, large clumps can be divided up and shifted straight after flowering and planted into good compost but they must never dry out so keep an eye on them through the dryer months. I have had clumps of Christmas lilies completely disappear and have not noticed until I miss them flowering at this time of the year. It takes ages for lilies to grow from little pup bulbs and seed so they are worth looking after.
It is time to shorten back fruiting leaders on grape vines, the growth is needed for the grapes that have started to form. If a leader has produced too many bunches remove some with shortening back.
I was told years ago that offal or a dead animal is what a domestic grape vine likes to have buried down around it's roots, too much nitrate fertiliser will produce leaves and leaders. like most fruiting plants a little pot ash to encourage fruiting is beneficial in spring.
If you don't like using sprays and you have a few flat weeds in the lawn try spot spraying them with vinegar, Most people would have vinegar in the kitchen. I was told about this recently and it works! I used white vinegar. It is also great for pathways and drives and leaves no dangerous residue to leach into nearby plants..
I am pretty sure it dose not kill clover, browns it off a little, but I am still watching to see how much it knocks it. The vinegar needs to be applied in dry sunny weather.
Keep mounding up potato rows to encourage bigger shores, corn likes to be mounded up also when it gets to about knee high. They have a shallow rooting system and the mounding helps to keep them upright in strong winds.
I have been faced with a great crop of weeds in the vegetable garden, like most other gardeners I am sure.
How fast they appear and grow, one thing is for sure you can put off doing what you should do but you cannot put off what nature wants to do when it comes to weeds, and ripening of fruit and veg, Nature will have it's way and if you are too late to respond the weed seeds pop, the fruit over ripens and the veg bolts.
Cheers, Linda.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Gardening in North Otago NZ December 5th 2009
Well this week we were back to a winter chill, no wonder the night beetle has not made an appearance yet, they are usually dive bombing around now along with the big fat moths, long may they both stay away. I have only just started to notice green fly about, and I am hoping this recent bout of cold weather will have given a few a short shift as it did a month or two back. I am keeping up the fish emulsion but have had to use a nasty on the underside of my hellebore leaves. This is where they love to hide and breed ready to make a bee line to roses and other ornamentals so zap them before they do.
If you have orchids it is the time to repot them now, use the orchid mix for the best results, it takes the guess work out wondering what to feed them.
The wind has been cool since the rain so the ground is still holding some moisture, scatter grass clippings around if your lawns have not been sprayed, they become good humus but don't pile them on to thickly because they are inclined to form a shield that stops the rain reaching the soil beneath. I throw them on to empty the catcher and the rake them out later.
It is probably a good time to attend to the vegetable garden as things are growing so fast and needing food we need to keep the food up to tomatoes, currants an berries, lemons and fruit trees... it takes a lot out of a plant to fruit.
Now day's there are specially prepared fertilisers for most things with instructions for how much to apply and when. Blood and bone is a good all rounder but can attract fly's at this time of the year so water it in well.
All fruiting trees and plants need lots of water now to create juicy plump fruit, that small amount of rain we had this week will have been perfect for them but it's the winds that have followed that do the damage so keep the water up.
Remember to cover your strawberries to keep the birds from eating them as soon as they show any sign of red. Strawberry netting stretches out to cover a large area and does the job well, the birds are helping themselves to my gooseberries so I have thrown some frost cloth over them until I get a chance to pick them.
As tomatoes grow be sure to remove laterals of the taller growing variety and stake them to keep them upright as the fruit gets heaver. They should be flowering now waiting for the bee's to pollinate them, if they are in a glass house and you do not see many bee's you can spray with a product call tomset.
Early morning soaking on the vegetable garden keeps moisture up to them all through the day and helps with the germination of seeds and successive planting can be kept up right through the Summer.
If you must use spray's on your vegetables make sure you read on the container to know how long the with holding period is before you can eat the vegetables. Why not try an organic option there are more on offer every year, or try companion planting.
Some plants have been proven to help and enhance others so I will list what has worked.
Carrots and onions together, the onions help keep the carrot fly at bay and carrots the onion fly.
Celery and the brassica family, i.e.: cabbage, caulis, and broccoli. the celery will confuse the white butterfly when wanting to land and lay it's larvae eggs.
Marigolds and beans/brassicas, the marigold emits a natural gas which protects surrounding plants from insects like aphids and white fly.
Make your own natural sprays: The following plant leaves can be boiled in water and the resulting liquid used on plants.
Basil will eliminate aphids
Chives prevent mildew occurring on cucumbers, squash and pumpkins.
Coriander also for aphids and spider mite.
Eucalyptus is a good general purpose insecticide.
Rhubarb has been found to help prevent black spot.
These may be only plants but in liquid form they can be harmful to children so keep marked bottles high up.
I found out that it is not a good idea to breath in fumes when bringing to the boil, and to keep doors and window open. the fumes from some of them can certainly make you feel really off colour.
Get corn and pumpkins in as soon as possible because they need a long growing and ripening season Cheers Linda
If you have orchids it is the time to repot them now, use the orchid mix for the best results, it takes the guess work out wondering what to feed them.
The wind has been cool since the rain so the ground is still holding some moisture, scatter grass clippings around if your lawns have not been sprayed, they become good humus but don't pile them on to thickly because they are inclined to form a shield that stops the rain reaching the soil beneath. I throw them on to empty the catcher and the rake them out later.
It is probably a good time to attend to the vegetable garden as things are growing so fast and needing food we need to keep the food up to tomatoes, currants an berries, lemons and fruit trees... it takes a lot out of a plant to fruit.
Now day's there are specially prepared fertilisers for most things with instructions for how much to apply and when. Blood and bone is a good all rounder but can attract fly's at this time of the year so water it in well.
All fruiting trees and plants need lots of water now to create juicy plump fruit, that small amount of rain we had this week will have been perfect for them but it's the winds that have followed that do the damage so keep the water up.
Remember to cover your strawberries to keep the birds from eating them as soon as they show any sign of red. Strawberry netting stretches out to cover a large area and does the job well, the birds are helping themselves to my gooseberries so I have thrown some frost cloth over them until I get a chance to pick them.
As tomatoes grow be sure to remove laterals of the taller growing variety and stake them to keep them upright as the fruit gets heaver. They should be flowering now waiting for the bee's to pollinate them, if they are in a glass house and you do not see many bee's you can spray with a product call tomset.
Early morning soaking on the vegetable garden keeps moisture up to them all through the day and helps with the germination of seeds and successive planting can be kept up right through the Summer.
If you must use spray's on your vegetables make sure you read on the container to know how long the with holding period is before you can eat the vegetables. Why not try an organic option there are more on offer every year, or try companion planting.
Some plants have been proven to help and enhance others so I will list what has worked.
Carrots and onions together, the onions help keep the carrot fly at bay and carrots the onion fly.
Celery and the brassica family, i.e.: cabbage, caulis, and broccoli. the celery will confuse the white butterfly when wanting to land and lay it's larvae eggs.
Marigolds and beans/brassicas, the marigold emits a natural gas which protects surrounding plants from insects like aphids and white fly.
Make your own natural sprays: The following plant leaves can be boiled in water and the resulting liquid used on plants.
Basil will eliminate aphids
Chives prevent mildew occurring on cucumbers, squash and pumpkins.
Coriander also for aphids and spider mite.
Eucalyptus is a good general purpose insecticide.
Rhubarb has been found to help prevent black spot.
These may be only plants but in liquid form they can be harmful to children so keep marked bottles high up.
I found out that it is not a good idea to breath in fumes when bringing to the boil, and to keep doors and window open. the fumes from some of them can certainly make you feel really off colour.
Get corn and pumpkins in as soon as possible because they need a long growing and ripening season Cheers Linda
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Gardening in North Otago 26th November 2009
Well this week has been all about weeding, cutting back, cutting box hedges and planting.
I have divided clumps of violas because they have finished flowering now; I just dig up part of a large clump and pull it to bits basically. You can gently pull masses of new young plants out of the clump and plant them out separately in a cool shady part of the garden. they will soon form their own small cluster which can be planted out next year to flower where you want it.
The same for polly type primulas, break up clumps; plant out only fresh new growth and throw away knotted old spent growth.
There is still time to divide agapanthus, large and dwarf varieties. they can get a bit clump bound which reduces their flowering.
Dig out the whole clump (if it is still manageable enough to do this), then pull off smaller root balls and plant out on their own using fresh compost to get the roots going again. Agapanthus are great gap fillers in new gardens, they can always be removed as you fill your garden with permanent plants.
The weeds are starting to mature and make seeds, get them out before they do, and most are easy to pull when they have grown a bit. I am still battling with biddy bid and convolvulus, I have resorted to spraying the convolvulus with round up which should travel right back to the root of the long runners and kill them. If it is tangled up through plants and bushes I have been pulling the runners until they break and then waiting till the new shoots pop up to zap them with round up. It's going to be a long battle because it seems to be growing everywhere this year.
If you have some aged compost that has finished working and is ready to put on your garden then you are able to make some economical compost tea.
Compost Tea is a nutritionally rich, well-balanced, organic plant food made by steeping aged compost in water. The water is then diluted and used as a root and/or foliar feed. It is also noted for its ability to control various plant diseases (blights, molds, wilts, etc. when used as a foliar spray), to repel and control insect pests and their damage when used on a regular basis, and to encourage the growth of beneficial soil bacteria which results in healthier, more stress-tolerant plants. The basic recipe most often recommended is as follows:
1 large container with lid (plastic rubbish bin works well) enough aged, completed compost to fill an old pillow case 1/2-3/4 full. Fill the container with water, place the compost into an old pillowcase (cheese cloth bag or pantyhose also work well), tie off the top and submerge in the container of water. Cover (to prevent odor and insect problems) and let steep for a MINIMUM of 2 weeks. This steeping time is crucial to the formation of beneficial bacteria and the required fermentation process. When finished, dip out the tea and dilute it (3 parts water to 1 part tea) and use as root food for any and all plants on a weekly or as-needed basis.
To use as a foliar spray or on young seedlings dilute it a little more. The remaining tea can continue to steep until needed. The following factors will determine the quality of the finished tea: Use well-aged, finished compost - Fresh compost can burn the plants or contain harmful pathogens and compost past its best will be nutritionally deficient. The contents of the compost should be balanced. If using purchased compost it should contain a portion of aged animal manure which apparently remains active longer than composed made up only of plant matter.
(It is important to note that COMPOST TEA AND MANURE TEA ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Manure tea can be made in the same way but is not generally recommended as foliar spray and is not as nutritionally well-balanced.) Never apply as a folia spray in the heat of the day but apply to the roots any time.
Next week I will write about companion planting in the vegetable garden.
I have divided clumps of violas because they have finished flowering now; I just dig up part of a large clump and pull it to bits basically. You can gently pull masses of new young plants out of the clump and plant them out separately in a cool shady part of the garden. they will soon form their own small cluster which can be planted out next year to flower where you want it.
The same for polly type primulas, break up clumps; plant out only fresh new growth and throw away knotted old spent growth.
There is still time to divide agapanthus, large and dwarf varieties. they can get a bit clump bound which reduces their flowering.
Dig out the whole clump (if it is still manageable enough to do this), then pull off smaller root balls and plant out on their own using fresh compost to get the roots going again. Agapanthus are great gap fillers in new gardens, they can always be removed as you fill your garden with permanent plants.
The weeds are starting to mature and make seeds, get them out before they do, and most are easy to pull when they have grown a bit. I am still battling with biddy bid and convolvulus, I have resorted to spraying the convolvulus with round up which should travel right back to the root of the long runners and kill them. If it is tangled up through plants and bushes I have been pulling the runners until they break and then waiting till the new shoots pop up to zap them with round up. It's going to be a long battle because it seems to be growing everywhere this year.
If you have some aged compost that has finished working and is ready to put on your garden then you are able to make some economical compost tea.
Compost Tea is a nutritionally rich, well-balanced, organic plant food made by steeping aged compost in water. The water is then diluted and used as a root and/or foliar feed. It is also noted for its ability to control various plant diseases (blights, molds, wilts, etc. when used as a foliar spray), to repel and control insect pests and their damage when used on a regular basis, and to encourage the growth of beneficial soil bacteria which results in healthier, more stress-tolerant plants. The basic recipe most often recommended is as follows:
1 large container with lid (plastic rubbish bin works well) enough aged, completed compost to fill an old pillow case 1/2-3/4 full. Fill the container with water, place the compost into an old pillowcase (cheese cloth bag or pantyhose also work well), tie off the top and submerge in the container of water. Cover (to prevent odor and insect problems) and let steep for a MINIMUM of 2 weeks. This steeping time is crucial to the formation of beneficial bacteria and the required fermentation process. When finished, dip out the tea and dilute it (3 parts water to 1 part tea) and use as root food for any and all plants on a weekly or as-needed basis.
To use as a foliar spray or on young seedlings dilute it a little more. The remaining tea can continue to steep until needed. The following factors will determine the quality of the finished tea: Use well-aged, finished compost - Fresh compost can burn the plants or contain harmful pathogens and compost past its best will be nutritionally deficient. The contents of the compost should be balanced. If using purchased compost it should contain a portion of aged animal manure which apparently remains active longer than composed made up only of plant matter.
(It is important to note that COMPOST TEA AND MANURE TEA ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Manure tea can be made in the same way but is not generally recommended as foliar spray and is not as nutritionally well-balanced.) Never apply as a folia spray in the heat of the day but apply to the roots any time.
Next week I will write about companion planting in the vegetable garden.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Gardening in North Otago 20th November 2009
This was a better week,apart from the wind. it was good to get some warmth yesterday.
I have been weeding, weeding,!! and cutting back heaps of stuff that has finished flowering, alyssum, ground cover phlox, aubrietia and aquilegias, if you cut them back now they will green up again and look good over summer. same goes for Erica's, cut all the brown spent flower stems off and they will green up again in no time.
I have also been changing the flower beds from Spring to summer, all the forget-me-not is gone along with the died down bulb tops.
I spread my compost on the cleared ground and then covered that with some pig and sawdust manure and mushroom compost because it is clean with no weed seeds, I have started filling every gap with flower seedlings like cosmos, static, blue salvia, natushims, lavatera and lobelia not leaving any room for weeds to grow.
All trees have leafed up now, don't be afraid to cut out over crowding branches to let light in to what is planted underneath. If there are two branches filling the same spot take the lower one out. Maple trees tend to grow thick canopies so I have been thinning mine out. I remove heaps but when I stand back and look it is not noticeable and now there is ice dappled light coming through.
Dahlias can be pinched out like chrysanthemums to encourage bushiness' but they will still get tall so put stakes in now before they begin to bend and fall.
There are autumn flowering bulbs in now, like belladonnas, crocuses, nerines, plant in full sun where they will not be disturbed.
Lift tulips now. Store in paper bags in a cool place to be replanted in the autumn.
If your daffodils did not flower so well this spring, It's a good time to break up large clumps while you can still see where they have been, flowering can be restricted when the clumps get over crowded. Plant out in small groups in about 20cm of compost...plant to a depth of double their height then feed with blood and bone and mulch so they don't dry out over summer.
Lawn mowers need to be lifted a notch now, try mowing without the catcher now and then, and rake the clippings out over the lawn to add humus to the lawn. Lawns need fed regularly through the growing and cutting seasons but never feed a dry lawn, if you do you are in danger of burning it. Have some fertiliser on hand for the next rain or feed each area when watering. I sprayed the daisies and weeds two weeks ago, then fed them in the rain and already the gaps where the weeds died have almost filled in with grass.
Water lilies can be added to ponds now that the water is warmer, if buying one it should be in leaf now so plant into a plastic pot using thick news paper first then rich manure and garden soil. Manure first with soil on top plant the lily and top with a thick layer of stones or gravel. It is important not to let any fertiliser or manure leach out into the pond water because it will encourage the water to go green with slime which is harmful to fish when caught in their gills.
If your pond is stagnating it means that it is not working ... try putting in some old unsprayed straw or hay, weigh it down with a rock so it does not float around on the surface of the water. At first the pond water will not look too healthy but soon you will be amazed at how fast it will clear and stay clear once things start working naturally. To work naturally the bottom of the pond can and should be a little muddy, but the top should be clear, you can easily tell when it is.
A way to fill your pond with fish now the water is warmer is to put oxygen weed in from a pond already filled with fish, the fish blow their eggs into the weed so there is sure to be eggs that will hatch out in your pond and no big fish around to eat them.
If the pond is working well you will not have to feed fish in the warmer months, they will get plenty of bugs from now on.
Check your fruit trees now for over crowded bunches, thin the bunches out by snipping small fruits off with sharp scissors. Give each fruiting tree and bush a good root soak now and then in this dry weather.
Keep planting all vegetables but not too many of the same at one time.
I have been weeding, weeding,!! and cutting back heaps of stuff that has finished flowering, alyssum, ground cover phlox, aubrietia and aquilegias, if you cut them back now they will green up again and look good over summer. same goes for Erica's, cut all the brown spent flower stems off and they will green up again in no time.
I have also been changing the flower beds from Spring to summer, all the forget-me-not is gone along with the died down bulb tops.
I spread my compost on the cleared ground and then covered that with some pig and sawdust manure and mushroom compost because it is clean with no weed seeds, I have started filling every gap with flower seedlings like cosmos, static, blue salvia, natushims, lavatera and lobelia not leaving any room for weeds to grow.
All trees have leafed up now, don't be afraid to cut out over crowding branches to let light in to what is planted underneath. If there are two branches filling the same spot take the lower one out. Maple trees tend to grow thick canopies so I have been thinning mine out. I remove heaps but when I stand back and look it is not noticeable and now there is ice dappled light coming through.
Dahlias can be pinched out like chrysanthemums to encourage bushiness' but they will still get tall so put stakes in now before they begin to bend and fall.
There are autumn flowering bulbs in now, like belladonnas, crocuses, nerines, plant in full sun where they will not be disturbed.
Lift tulips now. Store in paper bags in a cool place to be replanted in the autumn.
If your daffodils did not flower so well this spring, It's a good time to break up large clumps while you can still see where they have been, flowering can be restricted when the clumps get over crowded. Plant out in small groups in about 20cm of compost...plant to a depth of double their height then feed with blood and bone and mulch so they don't dry out over summer.
Lawn mowers need to be lifted a notch now, try mowing without the catcher now and then, and rake the clippings out over the lawn to add humus to the lawn. Lawns need fed regularly through the growing and cutting seasons but never feed a dry lawn, if you do you are in danger of burning it. Have some fertiliser on hand for the next rain or feed each area when watering. I sprayed the daisies and weeds two weeks ago, then fed them in the rain and already the gaps where the weeds died have almost filled in with grass.
Water lilies can be added to ponds now that the water is warmer, if buying one it should be in leaf now so plant into a plastic pot using thick news paper first then rich manure and garden soil. Manure first with soil on top plant the lily and top with a thick layer of stones or gravel. It is important not to let any fertiliser or manure leach out into the pond water because it will encourage the water to go green with slime which is harmful to fish when caught in their gills.
If your pond is stagnating it means that it is not working ... try putting in some old unsprayed straw or hay, weigh it down with a rock so it does not float around on the surface of the water. At first the pond water will not look too healthy but soon you will be amazed at how fast it will clear and stay clear once things start working naturally. To work naturally the bottom of the pond can and should be a little muddy, but the top should be clear, you can easily tell when it is.
A way to fill your pond with fish now the water is warmer is to put oxygen weed in from a pond already filled with fish, the fish blow their eggs into the weed so there is sure to be eggs that will hatch out in your pond and no big fish around to eat them.
If the pond is working well you will not have to feed fish in the warmer months, they will get plenty of bugs from now on.
Check your fruit trees now for over crowded bunches, thin the bunches out by snipping small fruits off with sharp scissors. Give each fruiting tree and bush a good root soak now and then in this dry weather.
Keep planting all vegetables but not too many of the same at one time.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Grow Vegetables - PEPPERS
Peppers are fast becoming one of the most popular of all vegetables to grow, second only to tomatoes, why? Why not, there are hundreds of varieties available to the home gardener, especially if you grow them from seed. They come in all shapes and colors, and range from the sweetest to downright fiery. One final attribute, most are prolific producers.
Often, gardeners get addicted to growing peppers by chance. They buy a variety at the local nursery for fun and to experiment. It turned out to be such a success, next year they plant three. Because of the limited varieties offered at garden shops, they’re now buying seed and starting their own. With hundreds of varieties and all easy to grow it’s easy to become a real fan of peppers. Soon they have a dozen different cultivars thriving in their garden.
Peppers enjoy an well-amended soil that contains plenty of organic matter, supplemented with a balanced fertilizer or better yet, one with slightly higher nitrogen and phosphorous levels. Place in an area that will receive the most sun and plant 18 inches apart with rows 3 feet apart. Support with small tomato cages or a similar device to keep plants from splitting or falling over due to a heavy
crop.
Early spring is NOT the time to put your peppers in the garden. Wait until nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 50 degrees, which is late May to early June. To have a bountiful harvest, protect from wind and do not allow plants to be shocked by cold temperatures. If you’ve already set the plants out and you hear a discouraging forecast, protect with hot caps or other successful season extenders. For earlier planting, preheat the soil with plastic mulch, which will offer weed reduction and moisture control later in the season. Then use walls-o-water to protect against wind and low temperatures.
Peppers are relatively pest free which makes them a favorite among many gardeners. Perhaps you may want to protect the stem from cutworms by using a paper collar or a 6-inch plastic pot with the bottom cut out. Using the pot method will also allow protection from the wind for small seedlings.
When harvesting, using gloves, use a sharp knife or pruners to avoid damaging the plant. One word of caution, don’t rub your eyes while working with the fruit, oils will get on your hands and will definitely irritate the eyes. All peppers will turn red when ripe, but flavor is not influenced by maturity. Pick the fruit, no matter the color, when it achieves the size you need or want. Besides eating them fresh, try pickling, drying or marinating, you’re only limited by your imagination. So add spice to your lives, try growing peppers.
Laura Fox
Learn more about Organic Gardening here....
Peppers are fast becoming one of the most popular of all vegetables to grow, second only to tomatoes, why? Why not, there are hundreds of varieties available to the home gardener, especially if you grow them from seed. They come in all shapes and colors, and range from the sweetest to downright fiery. One final attribute, most are prolific producers.
Often, gardeners get addicted to growing peppers by chance. They buy a variety at the local nursery for fun and to experiment. It turned out to be such a success, next year they plant three. Because of the limited varieties offered at garden shops, they’re now buying seed and starting their own. With hundreds of varieties and all easy to grow it’s easy to become a real fan of peppers. Soon they have a dozen different cultivars thriving in their garden.
Peppers enjoy an well-amended soil that contains plenty of organic matter, supplemented with a balanced fertilizer or better yet, one with slightly higher nitrogen and phosphorous levels. Place in an area that will receive the most sun and plant 18 inches apart with rows 3 feet apart. Support with small tomato cages or a similar device to keep plants from splitting or falling over due to a heavy
crop.
Early spring is NOT the time to put your peppers in the garden. Wait until nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 50 degrees, which is late May to early June. To have a bountiful harvest, protect from wind and do not allow plants to be shocked by cold temperatures. If you’ve already set the plants out and you hear a discouraging forecast, protect with hot caps or other successful season extenders. For earlier planting, preheat the soil with plastic mulch, which will offer weed reduction and moisture control later in the season. Then use walls-o-water to protect against wind and low temperatures.
Peppers are relatively pest free which makes them a favorite among many gardeners. Perhaps you may want to protect the stem from cutworms by using a paper collar or a 6-inch plastic pot with the bottom cut out. Using the pot method will also allow protection from the wind for small seedlings.
When harvesting, using gloves, use a sharp knife or pruners to avoid damaging the plant. One word of caution, don’t rub your eyes while working with the fruit, oils will get on your hands and will definitely irritate the eyes. All peppers will turn red when ripe, but flavor is not influenced by maturity. Pick the fruit, no matter the color, when it achieves the size you need or want. Besides eating them fresh, try pickling, drying or marinating, you’re only limited by your imagination. So add spice to your lives, try growing peppers.
Laura Fox
Learn more about Organic Gardening here....
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Gardening in North Otago November 11 2009
Still a chill in the air and a little rain on Friday morning, it would be perfect growing weather without the dreaded wind drying things out so much
I have spent a lot of time watering this week, some of the rhododendrons were drooping they are the first to let me know the ground is dry because they are so shallow rooted. If the leaves are drooping they need a really good soak and the some mulch around the roots to keep the moisture there.
My roses started to flower this week, they are at their best right now with fresh new leaves. To keep them like this they need to be healthy and sprayed every 10 days. Keeping them healthy means keeping the food up to them at the roots and folia feeding.
I always add liquid fertiliser when I spray for bugs and fungus.
Most years I use only fish emulation but have noticed a few green fly and the changable weather is also hard on new growth so I have decided to use shield to give them a good start into what I feel will be a hot dry season.
Always spray on an overcast day, the hot sun can magnify through droplets and burn fresh new leaves. No problem to spray on brighter days once the leaves have toughened up. Remember not to let wet leaves go into the night, this will encourage mildew.
Deep watering around the roots in the early evening is fine.
French and Italian lavenders have finished their first flowering now so cut off the spent flowers to encourage new buds and feed with liquid fertiliser or liquid manure. The French and the Italian lavenders are the ones with flowers like a bumble bee. The English lavenders are not ready to flower just yet. All lavenders like lime.
The Peony roses are stunning right now in bud and flower, it pays to put supports under them to hold up the heavy flowers and because they are growing so fast, I have tall wire supports shaped like a u that are pushed into the ground with the rounded top in place to let them flop over and stay in place. They need lots of water and some liquid fertiliser. I have heaps of lovely fat buds ready to open on my larger bushes. I also have some crowns that were planted last season so I have let only one flower develop to see what it is like and removed any others. I will cut the one blooming flower off before it makes seed pods. The clump will form much faster if you do not let it flower for the first two years.
Peony roses need full sun and do not like to be smothered by other plants.
Some hybrid clematis are looking beautiful right now, you have to be quick to train them where you want them to go because they grow so fast from now on. Direct them while the trailers are still soft, they too like a lot of feeding to take them to great heights.
Manure is great for them, they can't get enough of it. Don't worry if you have one with no buds just yet they all have different flowering times, If you have just put one in this year, let it flower then cut it to the ground this will make it put up more shoots and you will have a much bushier and stronger climber.
If your hybrid is showing leaf then it is sure to flower but if you have one that looks dead with the ends wilting I am afraid it has the wilt and should be cut off at the ground. Don't remove it because I have known some to shoot away again the following year.
climatic also like lime.
I have been filling the gaps in the flower garden with old fashioned cottage flowers like cosmos, love in the mist, salvia blue bidder
clary sage, and lavatera. These are all taller flowering annuals so put a lot in close together so they hold each other up. The more plants I put in the less weeds will grow is the plan and all the plants I mentioned will be flowering at Christmas, and then for weeks after that.
The nor westers arrived and blew my board bean down stakes and all.... I should have been firmer with the stakes, I lost quite a few stalks. I notice that they have no rust this year, could it be the pinch of potash I put in with them when I planted them? or just a lot more sun this growing season than the last few.
keep planting veg seeds and plants, a few at a time so you can have the continuous thing happening. If you put too many in at one time they will all bolt at this time off the year if they are not used.
Our garden is open from now on through until winter, it is full and lush with fresh growth, a really lovely time before things start to look a little tired from the wind and hot days to come. We are getting lots of visitors, some bring a picnic and some just like to wander around and relax, plenty of tables, seating and toilets and a donation box as you walk into the round garden.
I have spent a lot of time watering this week, some of the rhododendrons were drooping they are the first to let me know the ground is dry because they are so shallow rooted. If the leaves are drooping they need a really good soak and the some mulch around the roots to keep the moisture there.
My roses started to flower this week, they are at their best right now with fresh new leaves. To keep them like this they need to be healthy and sprayed every 10 days. Keeping them healthy means keeping the food up to them at the roots and folia feeding.
I always add liquid fertiliser when I spray for bugs and fungus.
Most years I use only fish emulation but have noticed a few green fly and the changable weather is also hard on new growth so I have decided to use shield to give them a good start into what I feel will be a hot dry season.
Always spray on an overcast day, the hot sun can magnify through droplets and burn fresh new leaves. No problem to spray on brighter days once the leaves have toughened up. Remember not to let wet leaves go into the night, this will encourage mildew.
Deep watering around the roots in the early evening is fine.
French and Italian lavenders have finished their first flowering now so cut off the spent flowers to encourage new buds and feed with liquid fertiliser or liquid manure. The French and the Italian lavenders are the ones with flowers like a bumble bee. The English lavenders are not ready to flower just yet. All lavenders like lime.
The Peony roses are stunning right now in bud and flower, it pays to put supports under them to hold up the heavy flowers and because they are growing so fast, I have tall wire supports shaped like a u that are pushed into the ground with the rounded top in place to let them flop over and stay in place. They need lots of water and some liquid fertiliser. I have heaps of lovely fat buds ready to open on my larger bushes. I also have some crowns that were planted last season so I have let only one flower develop to see what it is like and removed any others. I will cut the one blooming flower off before it makes seed pods. The clump will form much faster if you do not let it flower for the first two years.
Peony roses need full sun and do not like to be smothered by other plants.
Some hybrid clematis are looking beautiful right now, you have to be quick to train them where you want them to go because they grow so fast from now on. Direct them while the trailers are still soft, they too like a lot of feeding to take them to great heights.
Manure is great for them, they can't get enough of it. Don't worry if you have one with no buds just yet they all have different flowering times, If you have just put one in this year, let it flower then cut it to the ground this will make it put up more shoots and you will have a much bushier and stronger climber.
If your hybrid is showing leaf then it is sure to flower but if you have one that looks dead with the ends wilting I am afraid it has the wilt and should be cut off at the ground. Don't remove it because I have known some to shoot away again the following year.
climatic also like lime.
I have been filling the gaps in the flower garden with old fashioned cottage flowers like cosmos, love in the mist, salvia blue bidder
clary sage, and lavatera. These are all taller flowering annuals so put a lot in close together so they hold each other up. The more plants I put in the less weeds will grow is the plan and all the plants I mentioned will be flowering at Christmas, and then for weeks after that.
The nor westers arrived and blew my board bean down stakes and all.... I should have been firmer with the stakes, I lost quite a few stalks. I notice that they have no rust this year, could it be the pinch of potash I put in with them when I planted them? or just a lot more sun this growing season than the last few.
keep planting veg seeds and plants, a few at a time so you can have the continuous thing happening. If you put too many in at one time they will all bolt at this time off the year if they are not used.
Our garden is open from now on through until winter, it is full and lush with fresh growth, a really lovely time before things start to look a little tired from the wind and hot days to come. We are getting lots of visitors, some bring a picnic and some just like to wander around and relax, plenty of tables, seating and toilets and a donation box as you walk into the round garden.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Gardening in North Otago November 6th 2009
My roses are just starting to flower, Phyllis Bide, Complicata and Fritz Nobis. the rest are full of fat buds waiting to burst open.
They still have no green fly attacking them or black spot, no doubt they will arrive eventually. I have just sprayed with Winter oil and fish emulsion combined, the leaves are so soft and new it pays to do your spraying on a dull day so the sun will not burn through droplets and damage the leaves. No problem when the leaves have toughened up to spray in the sun. Never spray or water the leaves at dusk, they should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing.
This is the best Spring ever for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like last years hellebore seeds. ( Winter rose) they should be nice strong small plants now so plant them out in groups under deciduous trees, or around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions.
Trim spent flowers from perennials and daisy bushes often to keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody.
Cut chrysanthemums and perennial asters back now so they will grow up a second time but hopefully not so tall and fall all over the place. I cut some chrysanthemums back 3 times.... their flowering time is not until the end of Summer.
The tips from what you cut from the chrysanthemums can be put into river sand and every one will root and give you as many new plants as you need for new bushes.
Planting on a slope:
Spring is a good time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the dreaded winds arrive.
Spray out all weeds, they will compete with moisture that your plants will need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around the roots.
If this cannot be done try not to disturbed soil/clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering.
Planting;
Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water.
Make sure it dips down at the back for water to pool. Use stones around each plant, this will help in preventing wind blowing soil away from the roots.
Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant what survives well in a pot without a lot of watering. The plants they can leave for a while and they still look good when dried out.
I have massed lupines to fill the gaps on my bank until all the other plants get bigger.
I have been trimming the soft growth off some of my hedges this week, if a hedge has reached the height required best to take the soft growth off now before the foliage beneath gets too much protection from the top growth. The Winter hardened the under growth up and it should still be strong enough not to get sunburned.I am trying this with my box hedges this year because they have all reached the required height. If a hedge is not yet as tall and thick as required leave the new growth to harden off, if you have to trim just do enough to tidy it up. I put all my soft trimmings on the garden as mulch.
Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If like me you have not had to spray the weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus. Don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it now the warmth is here to break it down.
My no dig veg garden is still going strong, no weeds and the rough straw on top is a great deterrent to slugs. As I use a lettuce I put a new lettuce plant back in its place. The conventional flat veg garden we are converting into raised beds will be finished next week, I have seeds and plants lined up ready to plant once they have been filled with fresh soil and compost, can't wait.
I sowed mustard seed in some vacant areas 2 weeks ago and it is almost ready to dig in now.
Cheers linda.
They still have no green fly attacking them or black spot, no doubt they will arrive eventually. I have just sprayed with Winter oil and fish emulsion combined, the leaves are so soft and new it pays to do your spraying on a dull day so the sun will not burn through droplets and damage the leaves. No problem when the leaves have toughened up to spray in the sun. Never spray or water the leaves at dusk, they should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing.
This is the best Spring ever for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like last years hellebore seeds. ( Winter rose) they should be nice strong small plants now so plant them out in groups under deciduous trees, or around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions.
Trim spent flowers from perennials and daisy bushes often to keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody.
Cut chrysanthemums and perennial asters back now so they will grow up a second time but hopefully not so tall and fall all over the place. I cut some chrysanthemums back 3 times.... their flowering time is not until the end of Summer.
The tips from what you cut from the chrysanthemums can be put into river sand and every one will root and give you as many new plants as you need for new bushes.
Planting on a slope:
Spring is a good time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the dreaded winds arrive.
Spray out all weeds, they will compete with moisture that your plants will need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around the roots.
If this cannot be done try not to disturbed soil/clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering.
Planting;
Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water.
Make sure it dips down at the back for water to pool. Use stones around each plant, this will help in preventing wind blowing soil away from the roots.
Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant what survives well in a pot without a lot of watering. The plants they can leave for a while and they still look good when dried out.
I have massed lupines to fill the gaps on my bank until all the other plants get bigger.
I have been trimming the soft growth off some of my hedges this week, if a hedge has reached the height required best to take the soft growth off now before the foliage beneath gets too much protection from the top growth. The Winter hardened the under growth up and it should still be strong enough not to get sunburned.I am trying this with my box hedges this year because they have all reached the required height. If a hedge is not yet as tall and thick as required leave the new growth to harden off, if you have to trim just do enough to tidy it up. I put all my soft trimmings on the garden as mulch.
Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If like me you have not had to spray the weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus. Don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it now the warmth is here to break it down.
My no dig veg garden is still going strong, no weeds and the rough straw on top is a great deterrent to slugs. As I use a lettuce I put a new lettuce plant back in its place. The conventional flat veg garden we are converting into raised beds will be finished next week, I have seeds and plants lined up ready to plant once they have been filled with fresh soil and compost, can't wait.
I sowed mustard seed in some vacant areas 2 weeks ago and it is almost ready to dig in now.
Cheers linda.
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