Gardening in North Otago January 27th 2015

What great holiday weather North Otago has been experiencing again during this last week of January, a summer to remember for holiday makers there are probably more of than Gardeners at this time of the year. As a Gardener I have been loving the warmth and keeping the fitness up by dragging hoses around to keep plants and grass alive and grateful to be able to do because I have heard in some districts further north it is hand held hoses only.

This week I have been keeping on top of the weeds with the hoe and spray. Gravel walkways and drives are great germinating areas for weed seeds. I use round up on the established weeds as have found that organic weed spray works well on weeds at the early stage of growth but I have little success on bigger weeds.

Hedges can have a light trim to tidy them up, overcast days are the best time to do this so that the growth beneath is not stressed by the hot sun. 

All plants can do with a good feeding now because they have flowered well since the beginning of Summer, foliage feeding is great but if feeding with dry fertiliser around roots it should be watered in well, if left to sit on top it will burn exposed roots.

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Keep dead heading the roses but, to those new gardeners ( repeating myself I know) dead heading means more than just removing the spent bloom, you must cut down to a new strong bud, usually about 3 buds down from the spent bloom. Remove all old leaves with black spot and rust, don't leave them lying on the ground around the roses. Deep soak around roots often and spray fortnightly with a fungus and pesticide mix as well as liquid fertiliser, (all together is fine) There are some organic options available but the fortnightly ritual must be kept up, continuous hot dry weather really stresses roses.

Large clumps of daffodils and bluebells can be broken up now and planted in areas where needed, it is safe to do this once the green has been used up by the bulbs, but a job made easier if the ground has been softened by rain!

Lawns:

I fed the lawns during that last rain it kept them green but the ground did'nt take long to bake hard again. Don't cut lawns too low, I have found if they are encouraged to make top growth grass will develop deeper stronger roots to sustain it, a little sprinkle of water now and then on dry grass will produce weak growth, a good soak and the natural rain will do the job but do not be tempted to scalp once it greens up they still have a long hot Autumn to tolerate yet.

Vegatables:

Plenty to be had from vegetable gardens right now, new potatoes are still being dug, and later crops being put in and tomatoes ripening perfectly. I have just sown a third lot of peas because my little Grandies are so put out when a crop is finished. Carrots and parsnip planted now will be up in no time and there should be bumper crops of corn and pumpkins later on in the season. 

If spaces are left after veg has been dug sow with wheat or or mustard rather than letting weeds grow then dig in while soft and green, this will add humus to the soil and keep it covered until ready to plant a winter crop of veg.

Fruit:

My apple trees are laden, the late ripening peach tree is the same and I see local cherries still on sale, what a difference continuous sunny days make to fruit ripening compared to those overcast summer days in past years.

Nip back the growth on grapes to let the sun in and to stunt leaf growth, the fruit needs all the vine can give now to ripen. 

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago January 20th 2015

Happy New year to all enjoying such lovely summer days, not a cloud in the sky at times and gentle warm breezes following me around the garden as I work, and how about that much needed rain just when it was needed. After spending the last two months dragging hoses around I was so relieved when the heavens opened. I am still in holiday mode here with many little ones needing Nana time and the garden is taking advantage of my absences!! 

Keep cutting back all early summer perennials and shrubs before they make seed. cutting will promote a new lot of blooms, but remember to feed what you cut back because they will need help to make the new growth required of them. I am still filling the wheelbarrow time and time again with all the cutting back then filling the gaps with summer annuals. 

I have just harvested sweet peas which I let go to seed after a wonderful blooming, then replenished the soil with manured compost and planted this seasons seeds for hopefully another show before winter. Sweet peas need a rich soil to grow in the same place year after year, if no compost or manure is added they will come up but struggle.

Roses are budding up again from the pruning after the first flowering, it takes about six weeks from cut to new bud. I neglected the spraying this summer so finding many rust effected leaves to remove and destroy, I have been lucky enough to acquire another trailer load of donkey manure so spread a little around the drip line of most roses before that day of heavy rain, food after the first heavy flowering is a must to keep them healthy until the end of growing season.

 It's been a dry summer for rhododendrons, camellias, azalea's and hydrangeas, they all do best in moist soil so have given them all a dressing of blood and bone watered in when giving them a good soak when needed. 

Already because of this dry Summer I have lost a couple of well grown conifers and a good sized maple, I just did not realise  they were suffering until it was too late, so keep an eye on established tree's and shrubs as well as the newly planted during hot months.

English lavenders ( The tall straight single flower head type) can be cut now and bunched for drying, the fragrance is fantastic and once hung and dried will give off this fragrance through the winter months to remind us of the hot summer days. Picking must be done when the flowers are fully out and completely dry. If you have very woody lavenders, it's a good time now to cut them back by two thirds. They will regrow fresh and bushy and make hard wood again before winter. If they are too old and woody dig them out and replace with new. 

Lawn weeds can be sprayed out during dry days, use product at the suggested strength and consider spot spraying for the sake of the worms, if too heavy handed even the grass will be affected. There are a few different lawn weed sprays on offer, even some that weeds and feeds at the same time. All lawns should be back to growing after that down pour and with a feed on the next rainy day from they will remain green and lush. I have been having great success with Nitrophoska on the lawns. 

Fruit and Veg: It's proving to be a bumper year for both fruit and veg if the water has been kept up, corn and pumpkins have really taken off now after a slowish start, and gardeners are telling me their tomato plants are producing and ripening really well this year so pollination has been good with the sunny days bringing the bees and insects out. Plums are plentiful as well, because I am still picking black currents I added them to my plum sauce this year which got the thumbs up: The colour is deeper and I feel the currants improved the vinegary flavour that is usual for plum sauce. Looking back through my notes the growing pattern of dull days over the last five .years may have been broken, lets hope so. Keep rotating root and leaf vegetables to get the best results, i.e where carrots have been growing, plant lettuce. I have just sown carrots and parsnips, picked all the board beans and replaced the spot with lettuce plants, and planted another row of peas.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago December 10th 2014

With the Christmas lead up gardening will be on the back burner for most I am sure, including me,Ya! 

Heaps of watering had to be done this week even though we had a shower or two.

I had a couple of days in Darfield this week having Nana time with youngest Grandchild sweet Tahlia, to let her know I don't live in the computer!Then back to the garden again on Thursday with the hope of rain in my absence, Trimming with secateurs is not practical for me with such a large garden so the hedge trimmer has been out again, the grow back rate is pretty quick in summer. The newly trimmed box hedges are suffering from sun scorch, scorching of newly cut box in early summer sun is unavoidable but they soon grow through it and harden off.

If your catmint has been flowering for a while and it is looking a bit tired, 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.

Many winter damaged and dead branches need removed on trees here, I hire chain saw which is small on the end of a very long handle, just perfect for reaching up and removing dead branches and thinning out to let light onto gardens below. 

Anemones for winter flowering will be in shops now, Pop some in pots to have ready to put on show when all the summer & autumn pots finish flowering.

Large clumps of lilies 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. It takes ages for lilies to grow from seed and little pup bulbs so they are worth looking after. 

Another recipe!! 

Comfrey liquid fertiliser. 

With its deep taproot, and large root system, comfrey pulls its nutrients from way down in the subsoil, where most other plants can't reach. Comfrey is high in just about every nutrient a plant needs, including the big 3, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium and many trace elements. Its high carbon to nitrogen value means that it does not deplete nitrogen from the soil, as it decomposes. In fact, it becomes a good source of nitrogen. And it has more potassium than composted manure.

Comfrey leaves decompose down to a black liquid over a 6 week period. Pick and break up as many leaves as you can harvest, place in the bottom of a large container, weigh down with a rock and within 6 weeks the leaves will have decomposed into a thick  black liquid. Dilute to 1 part comfrey liquid to 15 parts water, dilute more when using on seedlings. ( let me know if you would like comfrey to start a patch)

 Lawns: If you don't like using sprays and have a few flat weeds in the lawn try spot spraying them with vinegar,

I use white vinegar and it works! great on pathways and drives and leaves no dangerous residue to leach into nearby plants . For best results apply in the heat of the day, however clover is a toughie, vinegar browns the leaf off and knocks it a bit but it soon recovers.

Another recipe!! 

Comfrey liquid fertiliser. 

With its deep taproot, and large root system, comfrey pulls its nutrients from way down in the subsoil, where most other plants can't reach. Comfrey is high in just about every nutrient a plant needs, including the big 3, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium and many trace elements. Its high carbon to nitrogen value means that it does not deplete nitrogen from the soil, as it decomposes. In fact, it becomes a good source of nitrogen. And it has more potassium than composted manure.

Comfrey leaves decompose down to a black liquid over a 6 week period. Pick and break up as many leaves as you can harvest, place in the bottom of a large container, weigh down with a rock and within 6 weeks the leaves will have decomposed into a thick  black liquid. Dilute to 1 partcomfrey liquid to 15 parts water, dilute more when using on seedlings. 

Vegetables:

Sow late crops of cucumbers, courgettes, beans and basil, peas, rocket and corriander,

Keep mounding up potato rows to encourage bigger shores, corn also, having a shallow rooting system mounding helps to keep them upright in strong winds, planting in groups rather than a row also helps with wind support.

Nature will have its way if we turn a blind eye, weed seeds pop, fruit over ripens and the veg bolts. 

Fruit: Shorten back fruiting leaders on grape vines, If a leader has produced too many bunches remove some when shortening back leaders. Nitrate fertiliser will produce more leaves and leaders, like most fruiting plants a little pot ash to encourage fruiting is beneficial in spring.

Harvest garlic and onions, if ready. 

All of the above can wait until the New year, Christmas is time for thinking of others and for Gardeners to enjoy the produce bounty from a busy year past.

For you all I wish a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a safe and prosperous 2015,  from Linda, family & Scruff.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago December 2nd 2014

Still cleaning up after more hedge trimming here, things are looking a little too neat and tidy now but nature will do it's best to soften things up again in a couple of weeks.

Most of my roses have started flowering after what seems like a long wait so have been keeping the water up to them because it is still so dry. If you are at the stage of dead heading roses, don't just cut the flower off, cut at an outward facing bud on a lower section of the branch strong enough to support a new flower.

Begonias are really pushing through now and I see that I have lost a few that I left in the ground from last year. The food begonias most appreciate is any fish based fertiliser, as a folia spray or watered in around roots. 

Hydrangeas are producing flower heads now so it is important to keep the water and food up to them, old stable manure, blood and bone, dry, liquid or slow release fertiliser will keep them happy and flowering well. Remember it's lime for pink and Epsom salts or aluminum sulphate to keep them blue. Fuchsias are making a lot of growth now as well, if you missed cutting any back do it now, they will flower later but will soon catch up. Fuchsias are on sale right now and are wonderful in pots for a shady spot, they will soon become bushy and to fill a pot. Tip cuttings can be taken from fuchsias now, if you spot some you like in a friends garden ask for some cuttings. I break a cutting off at a heel or a nodule section, remove some of the top growth and push into firm wet river sand.Tip cuttings from Hebe's will also root with no trouble in river sand . Abutilon (Chinese lantern: If you are looking for something non invasive to make a show of colour against a wall why not try Abutilon (Chinese lantern, they come in three strong colours, yellow, orange, burgundy and white. I planted yellow, burgundy and white together in a large container with nice lime green grass's below them, abutilon being a rather spindly plant I intertwined them and they now look like one bush. If trained against a wall leave some longer branches and shorten back others to get a good cover of flowers. Peony roses: What a wonderful addition to the flower garden peony roses are, they look fantastic this year and I am seeing more in peoples gardens. Peony rose's come in brilliant shades and the very large blooms will fill many vases I am sure. Remove seed pods once blooms have finished to stop plants putting energy into making seed. 

Low hanging tree branches: With the weight of the last rain I could see which branches need lifting on large deciduous trees, if left they will cast too much shade over surrounding plants. Lower branches can be removed and the upper branches will hide the cuts. Any branch growing downwards with a canopy branch directly above it can be cut back or removed altogether. 

Lawns: keep lawn food on hand for the next good rain, lawns get really stressed from now on as the heat of the day intensifies, if your lawns are inclined to crack when dry they have probably been planted on clay soil. Apply gypsum ( soluble lime) and water in, after a couple of years of doing this your lawns will have a spring in them. Gypsum works it's way through the clay and makes it become more like soil. 

If lawn weeds are a problem spray before cutting or remove flat weeds with a knife when noticed. I spot spray with lawn weed spray because I don't want to upset the balance and the work going on in the soil by contaminating with chemicals. 

Vegetables: Dry weather puts a lot of stress on not only plants but also the soil, stressed plants attract pests so I have been keeping the water up but hosing will not give the same results as a good rain. I am amazed that the white butterfly is STILL not a problem in our garden yet, due I am sure to the very cold snaps we have been experiencing, long may it last. 

My runner beans have been slow to start but are away now and snails and slugs not a problem here this year because of drying winds. If you do have a problem with snails & slugs when beans first pop through the ground plant beans into trays to be transplanted when big enough to start climbing up the frame. But, yes I know with the water being kept up slugs & snails will be waiting so why not  make beer traps out of empty plastic fiz bottles by cutting the bottles with the lid in place through the middle, bury the lidded half in the ground then fill with beer, cut a door opening in the other half for snails & slugs to slide in, then force this half with door opening on top of the other beer filled half. The bottom of the bottle will be the roof to keep the rain out. 

Tomatoes will be getting taller and starting to fruit now, the removal of over half the leaves on a plant will benefit your plants by allowing more nutrients to the fruit along with more sun to encourage flowering and allowing flowers to become more visible for pollination, try it and see if you get a better crop. If you are noticing a lack of bee's to pollinate tomato flowers gardeners have been known to take a hair dryer into the glass house, turn on half speed then gently waft it among flowers to spread pollen.

The cooler nights tend to upset tomato plants, leaves become bluish and tend to curl causing plants to become susceptible to blight. One method of keeping them in good health I have been reading up on is the use of copper wire. 

Basic premise: The presence of copper (wire) would help the tomato plants be more resistant to "blight" related diseases during the course of the growing season. Material: 12" length of 18 gage (wall picture hanging wire). the main vine should be at least 1/4" in diameter and transplant shock over. Insert or force one end of the wire through the center of the main vine about 1" above ground level. Kink the protruding wire end so that it doesn't slip out of the vine. Force the remainder of the wire (9-10") into the root zone in the ground. That's all there is to it. The person who wrote the above also wrote that he used this method on half his crop and controlled the other half with sprays. Result, the copper prevention was as successful as his spraying programme. Any new idea is worth trying to avoid spraying what we eat!

 Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago November 26th 2014

Last Thursday & Friday I just had to tackle the box hedges before the very full on weekend, hence my walking about like a half shut pocket knife for days after!! box is sooooo low to the ground and mine need to have all the new spring growth removed to keep them the size required. However the box hedging up our long walk had snuck up higher than required over the years so I needed to cut the height down by a third. This left an obvious scaring on the top with sun burning the tender exposed new growth, in a couple of weeks new leaves will remedy this and the hedge will look as if it has always been the height it is now. 

Last Sunday our garden was one of six local gardens full of garden enthusiasts enjoying the " Inspirational garden tour" to raise funds for cancer here in North Otago, the day was beautiful and the fundraiser a great success, a real credit to the many busy people who put their time in to make it happen.

I have divided clumps of violas because they have finished flowering now; I just dig up part of a large clump and basically pull it to bits planting into pots sections with roots, by the start of next winter the small pots will be filled with roots, new leaves and buds ready to be planted out.

The same for pollyanthus  & primulas, break up clumps; plant out only fresh new growth and throw away knotted old spent roots.

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.

If you have, or can get hold of some aged compost that has finished working and is ready to put on the garden you will be able to make 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 / 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 filled 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 weekly as root food for all plants. 

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. If using purchased compost it should contain a portion of aged animal manure which apparently remains active longer than compost made up only of plant matter. Dilute it a little more when using on young seedlings. The remaining tea can continue to steep until needed.

(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, I find roses do well when applied around roots.

Time to start spraying roses for green fly and disease if you have not already started. Shield takes care of both if you follow the instructions and spray at the suggested intervals. Keep the food up as they flower, it's hungry roses that are more susceptible to disease. Slow release rose fertiliser will feed each time you water.

 Weeds are starting to mature and make seeds, get them out before they do, most are easy to pull when they have grown a bit. I am still battling with convolvulus,so have resorted to pulling it off plants then searching for ground level regrowth to appear for me zap with round up which should travel right back along the root runners and kill them. I find it too risky spraying around the plants it is clambering over and a ground level zap on new growth is a much shorter distance for the spray to be effective. 

 Vegetables:

Keep mounding the potatoes to keep them producing more and more new potatoes for Christmas, consistent watering is important for potatoes now, this goes for all root vegetables. Leafy veg don't need any extra feeding at this time of the year it will just encourage them to bolt. Plant only as many seedling plants you think you would use when ready and hold back and keep in the shade other small seedling plants from the same batch until needed. 

Keep pumpkin and squash plants mulched, their roots are fragile until their large leaves grow to create the root shade needed. All new small plants can be over watered to the point where their roots cannot cope and they collapse, the soil should be dry on top between watering's and good drainage is essential .

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago November 18th 2014

Stop wind! North Otago has had enough. I am so tied of dragging hoses about but water must be kept up because growth is still soft and in need of a lot of moisture to develop and harden off enough to cope with the elements. So on I go as I am sure all other Gardeners are, dragging hoses from garden to garden....but I may be the only one who has a small dog named Scruff attached to the end of each hose pulling the other way!

I have been weeding and cutting back heaps of stuff that has finished flowering, alyssum, ground cover phlox, aubrietia, aquilegias and forgetmenot. 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 back and they will green up again in no time.
After spreading compost, I started filling every gap with flower seedlings like cosmos, petunias, static, blue salvia, natushims, lavatera and lobelia not leaving any room for weeds to grow, hence the need to water often.

All trees have leafed up now, don't be afraid to cut out over crowding branches to let light in to plantings underneath. If there are two branches filling the same spot take the lower one out. Maples and Oak 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 dappled light coming through, however the winds have made this happen without help from me!

This year my dahlias are slower to leaf up than past years, once in bud they can be pinched out like chrysanthemums to encourage bushiness' but they will still get tall so put stakes in now before they get up too far and begin to bend and fall.

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, feed with blood and bone and mulch so they don't dry out over summer.

There are autumn flowering bulbs in now, like belladonnas, crocuses, nerines, plant in full sun where they will not be disturbed.

Water lilies can be added to ponds now that the water is warmer, if buying one it should be in leaf, as I mentioned not long ago plant into a plastic pot using thick news paper first then some manure and garden soil. Manure first with soil on top, plant the lily in soil then 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.
Put some oxygen weed in from a pond already filled with fish, fish blow their eggs into the weed so there is sure to be eggs now that water is warmer, these will hatch out in your pond with no big fish around to eat them.You will not have to feed fish in the warmer months, they will get plenty of bugs from now on.

Lawns:  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 without moisture to follow to avoid grass burning. Have some fertiliser on hand for the next rain or feed each area when watering. I sprayed the daisies and weeds two weeks ago, and slowly the gaps where the weeds died are filling in with grass.
Being so dry makes it almost impossible for grass seed to germinate. Really good soakings will be needed but with the ground drying out as it is with wind it may be a wasted effort right now. However a patchy strike can be over sown in Autumn with new grass thick and well growing before winter.

Fruit: Check your fruit trees now for over crowded bunches, thin 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.

Vegetables:
The winds ruined my broad beans so I picked and froze the beans then pulled plants out and threw them to the sheep. I now have a space against a wall to plant peas once the ground has been built up again with compost and had a good soaking.
Keep planting all vegetables but not too many of the same at one time.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago November 4th 2014

November already, Spring almost over and weather still unsettled with those amazing stormy sky's and still a night chill to keep the garden fresh.

I am so enjoying the rhododendrons, azalea's, and peony roses putting on their show and the expectation of something new happening every day in the garden. My roses are late this year because I pruned them hard in late August instead July, they still have no green fly or black spot attacking them so hoping  if I  keep the water and food up to them things will stay that way. Once the leaves harden up I will spray with fish emulsion and a fungicide/pesticide combined spray only if needed. Always best to spray on a dull day when there are less bees around and never spray or wet leaves at dusk, rose leaves should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing. 

Spring is the best time for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like hellebore seedlings. ( Winter rose) last years hellebore seedlings should be nice strong, small plants now, I have been potting some up in root trainer pots, then once the little pots are full of roots I will plant out seedlings in groups under deciduous trees, and around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions. 

Trim spent flowers from perennials and daisy bushes as they finish the first flush of flowering, this will keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody. 

Daffodils and tulips have finished and look messy at this stage but don't be tempted to cut them back because the bulbs need green tops to die back naturally. twist them and push them out off site under shrubbery if you can until they have lost vigor before pulling them from the bulb.

Box hedge: I am waiting for the new growth to firm up a little before trimming the buxus hedging, If trimmed too soon it will be a wasted effort because while foliage is very soft they are still putting out growth. When you feel spring new growth is done choose an overcast day to trim, this allowing the under growth a little time to recover before being subjected to our harsh sun, however sunburn on new buxus growth is unavoidable and thankfully hedges will soon grow through the burning. However this week I have had the hedge trimmer on the go! some hedges like viburnum and lonicera have almost finished putting out spring growth so if a hedge has reached the height and width required trim back to the last cut, all soft trimmings can go on the garden or into the compost.

Planting on a slope: Spring is probably the best 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 heat of summer and while small the dreaded winds should not get a hold of them and whip them out of the ground. Prepare the bank  first by spraying out all weeds and grass compeating for moisture. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around plant 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. Use stones around each plant, this will help to prevent wind blowing soil away from the roots. Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African  Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant which plants survive 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 mass plant lupines to fill the gaps on a bank until all the other plants get bigger, they give a spectacular show in the second year of planting and have the added advantage of fixing nitrogen into the soil.

Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If you have not sprayed lawn weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus, but don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Now the ground is warm your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it. Leave the catcher off from time to time and rake cuttings evenly over the lawn. I am waiting for results from all the grass seed sown in bare patches left after moss removal to germinate. Moss grows  because off pour drainage or mowing grass too short either results in soil compacting. Keeping the ground firm (don't dig) just rough the top soil up before raking the seed in, covering well so the birds don't notice then keep the moisture up until seed germinates.

Vegetables/fruit

My no dig veg garden was turned into a strawberry patch last spring and this year the year old strawberry plants are doing well having been feed with pig manure and blood n bone then mulched with fresh grass clippings to keep the weeds out until I find the time to gather pine needles. All berry fruit need consistent watering to produce plump fruit.
A little potash around the drip line watered in will help with fruiting, with grapes advice given in the past was to bury road kill under a grapevine, I have made my grapes a burial ground for any of my bantams that come to a sad end. 

Making a no dig garden: Find a sunny spot on bare ground,( not concrete) surround with sleepers, logs, Oamaru stone or boards high enough to hold layers of manure, soil /compost and straw. Soak the ground before you start to get dampness deep down if working on bare dirt, spread a layer of manure straight on the damp ground, (this will bring the worms up). Then spread a thick layer of compost, old leaf mulch and dried grass clippings, (wet down.) add a layer of soil, clay soil is fine, water well after each layer leaving no dry spots. Next add a layer of straw, (wet down) then add more layers of compost and old leaf mulch and dried grass clippings, (wet down) then top more soil, (wet down), a little lime and an all purpose fertiliser can be added as you build the layers. Lastly add a top layer of straw which suppresses the weeds and is a great deterrent to slugs. When you think the garden is high enough start planting and you should be eating your own produce with in six weeks at this time of the year.

Cheers, Linda.