Gardening in North Otago February 23rd 2021

How good has this growing season been and now colours are changing as they should be after such a warm summer. Our garden was really tired and dry before that last rain but has now perked up and with the cutting back smartening things up things up and plants and shrubs pushing new growth and colour out before the first frosts. Petunias, begonias and roses get knocked back after rain but if you have the time to deadhead and cut back to new growth they will recover in the warm early autumn sun. While cutting back seeds can be collected and left to dry in paper bags and seedlings that have popped up among plants can be removed and potted if in the wrong place. .Stock, statice, snapdragon, wall flower, and Iceland poppies are good fillers and if planted now would flower through a mild winter. Roses: Keep the rose dead heading up to encourage the last blooms of summer, it is 6 weeks from a prune to another bud which will take us into April, after that flowering it is best to not deadhead, leave blooms to make seed which will help to harden wood for the winter ahead. Pruning and feeding then will encourage new soft growth so no feeding from now on either. Compost: I got a bit desperate for potting mix while potting up so have been adding compost to the peat mix, my ready heap needs to be emptied to make room for all the leaves to come. The other heaps are breaking down well with the heat and rain, I need to add manure and a little lime now while they are cooking. March is definitely a great planting month with the soil warm and the nights and mornings cooler, newly planted trees and shrubs settle in well. There are a lot of well grown trees, shrubs and plants on offer right now in Garden centers ready and waiting to be planted. Gardner's further inland will need to read the labels to establish frost ratings before buying, if in doubt wait until spring.  Spring bulbs are on offer now in garden outlets. Break up really large clumps already in your garden as they tend to double in size without you noticing and in no time a garden bed can become choked, looking attractive only in spring and dull for the rest of the year. I have often been asked the reason for spring bulbs not flowering after the first couple of years from planting, the most common problem is bulbs may not have not been planted deep enough. Spring bulbs need to be planted 4 to 6 inches deep, that is 4 to 6 inches on top of the bulb, if not planted deeply eventually when they do come into leaf and experience a dry patch during this time they won't take up enough moisture to come into bud.Rake mulch off bearded iris rhizomes they need to exposed to the sun for a baking now.Lawns.  After those baking hot days and a lot of mowing lawn growth starts to slow down from now, catchers will still be filling for a while yet but don't feel you need to cut lower than usual because growth has slowed, a scalped lawn dries out faster and encourages weeds. Going into autumn is the best time to sow new lawns while weed growth is slowing. The flat weeds I do come across now I pop out with the blade of secateurs before they seed and spread.  Fruit: Late peaches, nectorenes, apricots, quince and apples will be in abundance and birds will be feasting so pick and get the jam, pickle  and freezing done before they get the lot. Vegetable  Gardens will be overflowing with produce and corn and pumpkins ripening, leaf veg should not bolt so readily now and will not mind the days getting shorter and cooling. and root veg seeds will germinate well in the warm ground. Second sowings of peas will be up in no time, onions can be lifted once leaves have bent over, don't bend or damage leaves before they are ready to bend naturally if you want them to store and keep well.  Once dug lay them out in a warm place to fully ripen then store in a cool place. Cheers Linda

Gardening in North Otago February 18th 2020

The first sign of a chill in the air last week which means Autumn is just around the corner. I am still cutting back plants that looked stunning through summer but are now just tied and straggly like most cottage plants, bush lavatera, mignonette, lavender tops and geraniums, they will all leaf up again to go through winter. Seed collecting, there are so many ready now, dianthus, delphinium, annual lavatera, salvias, hollyhock, sweet peas plus many more. I plant a few now but save most to sow in early spring. This is the perfect planting time for trees, shrubs, spring bulbs, perennials and annuals. As I have mentioned before buying punnets of annual and perennial seedling now to pot on into individual pots and nurse over winter will give you a head start for early planting and flowering, some will bud up and flower others will grow strong roots through winter and flower when the ground warms in spring. Try this with pollyanthas, Iceland poppy, lupin, primula, wall flower, stock, snapdragon and if sweet peas are planted in late Autumn they will pop up and sit through winter to flower in August. This month is also the best time to plant conifers, there are such a lot of different types, I consider conifers to be a component in creating the bones of a garden. Tall narrow conifers planted in groups give larger gardens a vertical push and formality. Conifer labels need to be read carefully they give the height and width for the first ten years, after that they do keep growing and should be removed if they start to look untidy. Most ornamental and ground cover conifers look wonderful for years and years. A web site with a comprehensive selection is ttp://www.conifers.co.nz , a good contact for those who like to bonsai. Bulbs:It's difficult to think about Spring when Autumn has just begun but if you want that beautiful spring splendor in your garden after the chill of winter it is now that spring bulbs are on offer, all that beauty dormant in bags waiting to be planted. Daffodils along a roadside fence line, grouped in a vacant paddock, under deciduous trees with bluebells, best of all they can be forgotten about and happily multiply year after year. Tulips are planted last in the month of May. Compost:This is an excellent time to start building a new compost heap and get it heating up before winter. The heating process stops during the coldest months so get one started when leaves fall and lawns still need mowing. Hen manure becomes too hot for heaps during other months but it is ok to add now. If you have no time or space for making compost ring Gregg, 0272293215 for a delivery of ready made from our local meat works which is wonderful for feeding plants and suppressing weeds. Not recommended for the sowing of seeds. Lawns. Autumn is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn because perennial weed growth is slowing and the ground is warm with dew adding moisture, grass seed will be up in no time. Water your new lawn early in the morning instead of during the day, between 6am and 10am, this will ensure that the moisture actually gets down into the soil and to grass roots before the suns evaporation. Mature lawns may need aeration with a fork or a push along spikier, or if a lawn is chocked with thatch then hiring a detaching machine will solve that problem. Vegetables: That last rain was a benefit to dry gardens but evaporation is great right now so watering is important for all new plantings. Keep planting in rotation, leaf veg where root veg has been, it is a good time to sow Root plants like Beetroot , Carrots and Parsnips also Chives, Leeks ,Onions , Shallots , Spring Onions. and Asparagus. When potatoes are dug they need to be kept in the dark or they will go green, when storing there are products which will inhibit sprouting, but many gardeners avoid chemicals near food so I will once again mention a natural alternative with you. Layer the stored potatoes with sprigs of rosemary, sage and lavender, the essential oils given off by these herbs not only inhibit sprouting, they will also help to keep the tubers free from bacterial soft rots. Fruit: Apples, quince, plums, walnuts and late peaches so much at once! the birds must be overjoyed by their feasting and the rats / mice will be munching sunflower seeds and waiting patiently for walnuts to ripen, I am sure they are pleased with the work we have put in to feed them! Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago February 9th 2021

Dry again in North Otago as we go into the ripening season,and then it rained to relieve parched ground.. The hedge trimmer has been on the go again here Trimming with secateurs is not practical for us with such a large garden and at this time of the year you can not do too much damage so if hedges need height and width taken well back the regrowth time is pretty quick. Buddleia's have been flowering for a while now attracting butterflies, when flowers die off they need to be cut well back to encourage new fresh growth to take through autumn and winter. Buddleia's are a great fill in bush and look attractive with their blue green foliage even without the blue, pink or white flowers, plant at the back of a border and you will not be sorry. Begonias, petunias and Lilly's are taking center stage now begonias are tropical perennials and like partial shade. Strong sunlight will burn leaves and blooms, if growing in dense shade they will grow more leaves than flowers, wind protection is needed because stems are damaged by strong wind. Let the top inch of soil dry out before watering. Petunias need dead heading often, cutting back and feeding petunias will keep them flowering for ages. Lillies: should be in good draining soil but never be allowed to dry out, mulching helps with this. Lilies do not re bloom, remove faded flowers so plants don't waste energy making seeds. Leave foliage until it turns brown storing energy for next years flower, cut dead stalks in late autumn. large lily clumps can be divided up and shifted straight after flowering.Dividing bulbs: Time is limited now for lifting and dividing congested bulb clumps while they are still dormant. Anemones and ranunculus: will be in Garden centers now I pop them in the fridge for a month in paper bags (not plastic) then soak them overnight in tepid water before planting (stratification), this simulates the winter chill then they are stimulated into growth with the water warmth before planting. Staggering the planting over several weeks will extend the flowering. Lawns continue to stay green with the odd rain shower and warmth which means no slowing down in growth. I spot sprayed lawn weeds again this week, clover really takes off if left and daisies like the continual rain watering, then there is that creeping the tiny leafed weed with yellow flowers that forms a mat in lawns. Every little plant off this needs to be zapped because it flowers and seeds very quickly and spreads from lawn to lawn when mowing. Fruit: 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 while shortening back. Veg Garden: Get seeds in the garden now for autumn veg, lettuce, carrots, beetroot, dwarf beans, parsley, parsnip, silver beet. Keep mounding up late potato rows to encourage bigger shores, keep water up to corn, which is growing well with warm days,  Corn have a shallow rooting system, mulching helps to keep them upright in strong winds and adds needed nitrogen. Pea straw is being baled again, order bales now then pick up from the paddock Ph: Sue 03 4326844. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago February 2nd 2021

Sun day after day, this real kiwi summer is such a treat and watering is once more a daily happening and with evaporation so great I spend time deep watering around plant roots rather than using sprinklers. Cutting back is full on now,  it all has to go if it has died back to encourage new fresh growth.February: is a good month for taking cuttings and propagating your own plants. Why? Because by late summer the soft new spring growth has hardened and the cutting is less likely to lose moisture from leaves. Plants like geraniums (Pelargoniums) or impatiens are easiest for beginners, but many common shrubs such as abelia, buxus, lavenders,camellias, azaleas, fuchsias and hebe's have a relatively high success rate. The trick when growing plants from cuttings lies in keeping the cut pieces alive while they develop their own new roots. Professional nurserymen do this by growing cuttings in glasshouses where they’re regularly misted with fine sprays of water. But there are lots of techniques that can help a home gardener to achieve success. Try the following: Take cuttings early in the morning, while it’s still cool. Choose tip pieces that are about 100- 150 mm long then drop into a bucket with enough water for cuttings to stand up in, cuttings can remain there for a couple of days if you are short of time. Work in the shade. Fill a deepish container with river sand or crusher dust  and water well and allow to drain. Trim the base of the cuttings below a leaf node (which is where the leaf is, or has been, attached to the stem). Remove bottom leaves, leaving a few at the top. Large leaves can be cut in half (with scissors or sharp secateurs) to further reduce water loss. Dip the base of the cuttings into hormone Gel or powder. Use a pencil to poke holes in the top of the mix a 150 mm pot can hold about six cuttings. Insert the bottom of each cutting into a hole and gently move the mix back to hold it in place.When the pot is full of cuttings, water carefully and place the pot in a lightly shaded spot, out of direct sunlight, no plastic cover is required at this time of the year but check regularly to make sure the mix stays moist. After a couple of months, look to see if buds are swelling and gently gently move the stems to feel if they’re firm and roots have started. When roots are established the rooted cuttings can be moved into individual pots filled with good quality potting mix and fed with a weak liquid fertiliser. Plant these cuttings out in spring or pot on when roots fill the pot. Bulbs: I will mention planting bulbs again because they are coming into plant shops now wanting to be in the ground. A bulb comes ready-equipped with the promise of a flower and in its previous growing season bulbs do all the work of flowering then creating an embryo flower safely stored within the bulbs waiting for the right moisture and temperature to trigger growing. In all but the wettest areas, bulbs can be left in the ground from one year to the next but If soil stays wet for long periods (especially during cold weather) your bulbs will rot, feeding once they make an appearance is the secret to ongoing success. Lawns are showing heat stress now, keeping lawn mower blades higher will help with shade and moisture retention for lawn roots. Fruit: Such a busy fruit picking time now, plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines all ripening. It is recommended to prune stone fruit trees in late summer after fruiting has finished, however it can be done in early-mid autumn if time is against you. if you do wait and prune in autumn protect cut wounds with a water based paint or pruning paint to seal the wound and prevent disease entering. Feed citrus trees with citrus food and spray any scale you notice with winter oil.  If your lemon bush has become crowded with branches and leaves, remove a few branches to let light and bees in. Vegetables: Keep sowing veg seeds, carrot, beetroot, parsnip, spring onion, and lettuce because there is plenty of growing time left for seeds to germinate and grow.  I planted another couple of rows of peas, in a different place to where I pulled the last crop out. Veg  seedlings being planted now will need bird protection while small.

Gardening in North Otago February 27th 2021

February almost here already and summer as it should be. February almost here already and summer as it should be.  The first of the seeds I left to fall from spring flowering plants are up, I will wait until perennials are stronger, another week or two and then transplant them into trays to sit in the shade and keep growing ready to plant out at the end of next winter. Have a look around plants that have dropped seed in your garden, I have found nice little seedlings of pansies, viola, marigolds, hellebore's, sweet William, aquilegias, foxglove, and hollyhock to name a few.  Seeded annuals can be planted out as soon as they are big enough ,they should flower over autumn.Heaps of cutting back still going on here, early summer flowering plants like bush lavateras, buddleia, geranium, astrantha and lupins, they will bush up again in no time and refill gaps.I planted out a number of geranium seedlings before Christmas and with this hot summer they have grown into bushy flowering plants ready to fill some of the gaps. If you see any geranium seedlings on offer grab them, they are such great flowering plants for sunny gardens and need little attention.  Remove the seed heads off anything that you do not want to spread, that goes for weeds as well, make sure you whack the seed heads off even if you don't pull them out there and then .  Keep trimming hedges as the soft new growth will have matured now and either compost the trimmings or scatter them around the garden, they will be still soft enough to break down fast at this time of the year. Hydrangeas are looking lovely right now, very vivid shades this year, probably had something to do with all that rain we received as they were budding up. I have been taking hardwood cuttings of one or two. Select a stem that has flowered and cut at a node just before a new shoot. Push the cuttings into some firm, damp shady ground where they will not be disturbed and place a pot with enlarged drainage holes over the top of them ( to let rain in). Forget about them until they start to shoot in late spring, then pot them up and get them big enough to plant out the following year in early summer.  Roses will need a dressing of manure or blood and bone now as they will be ready for a boost after their first long flowering and keep the dead heading up to encourage flowering.  Peony roses will be making large seed pods which need to be removed so the energy from leaf die back can go into the tuber which means leaving leaves until they have dried back. Planting peonies is best done in Autumn, they prefer a cold over winter and don't like shade, being close to trees and shrubs or being planted too deep. If splitting and shifting it is best to wait until autumn.  lavenders can have a hair cut now before they make seed, the bumblebee type will flower again, same for catnip, Mine has been cut back twice during their flowering season.   Lawns Its grass grub time again, they are most active from February to May. I use a product that can be shaken on and watered /rained in well like powdered fertiliser. The grubs feed on the grass roots and leave dead patches on lawns, once a dead patch is visible they will have moved on to another area of the lawn so concentrate on the unaffected areas  Vegetables: There is a lot of growing time ahead so keep sowing root veg seed and plants. If planted now: carrots (harvest April / may) parsnips (harvest June)board beans (harvest May / July) cabbage sow in seed tray,plant out in 4 weeks (harvest April May ) cauliflower sow in seed tray, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / July) leeks grow in seed tray plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / June) lettuce I sow butter crunch now and stagger it right into winter onions grow in seed trays, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest July - October) silver beet (harvest March / April Cheers, Linda  

Gardening in North Otago December 21st 2020

This column will be short because Christmas is but a couple of days away and I am sure gardening will only come into play when it is time to dig the potatoes and carrots and pick the peas for Christmas dinner. What a treat to harvest your own produce, so worth all the work that goes into growing veg. In the flower gardens: Watering to keep gardens going will be needed over the festive season, a good deep soak will be kept longer in the soil if mulch is layered on top of bare damp soil. Mulch on hand could be compost mixed with grass clippings or Arborist mulched green waste, sometimes referred to as forest floor, even hedge trimmings or foliage cut back from plants or shrubs layered among plants will keep moister there longer and the hot sun from baking soil. This would be especially handy if going away for a break. Fruit trees are needing moisture to plump up fruit so a good soaking now and then and mulch if possible will ensure good crops. In the veg Garden: It is a shame that this very hot time of the year is when most head off for a break needing to leave produce at it's best behind in the veg garden. I grow a lot of stock plants in pot's and trays which I need to hold from drying out if I head off for a few days. I have found soaking them and then shading with shade cloth keeps them from drying out too soon. This could also work with veg plots, a good deep soak then shade created to stop that baking sun. Pumpkin plants are well on now so water needs kept up to them until enough large tough leaves have grown to shade roots. Corn should be putting on good growth as well, mulching around corn roots after a good soak will encourage good strong growth. Tomato plants will need supported, leaves removed to let light into over crowded plants and tunnel and glass house doors remain open to let insects in to fertilise flowers. Garlic will be ready to harvest if it was planted on the shortest day you will know garlic is ready to harvest when the bottom two leaves have died and a third is also showing signs of browning off, some green leaves will remain so once pulled from the ground leave the top green growth attached, tie into bunches and hang until all green tops have dried into the cloves. I wish you all a joy filled Christmas and a happy and safe 2021. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in north Otago December 9th 2020

Rain then wind, rain then wind!!! hoses are not put away.I had a couple of days in Wanaka this week having Nana time with grandies, then back to the garden again on Thursday.I know all gardeners will be finding there is so much to be cut back in the garden, plants like tree peony which doubles in size each growing season. Don't let tree peony swamp your garden and smother other plants. When finished flowering the older woody canes can be cut out. By doing this now seed pods will be cut off as well, if allowed to ripen they will pop all over your garden and grow. Other larger plants I have had to cut back are bush lavatera's, English abutilon, ornamental broom, and false Valerian. These will all grow back soon and look a lot nicer, some will flower again. Keep deadheading 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. I did dig and store some of them over the winter which I am now glad about. The food begonias most appreciate is any fish based fertiliser, as a folia spray or watered in around their 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 and they 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 bud section, remove some of the top growth and push into firm wet river sand.Tip cuttings 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 and burgundy and white together in a large container with nice lime green grass's below, 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 have been fantastic this year or am I just seeing more in peoples gardens? The brilliant shades and very large blooms fill many vases I am sure. Remove seed pods once blooms have finished to stop plants putting effort into making seed. Low hanging tree branches: With the weight of rain not so long ago I could see which branches need lifting on large deciduous trees, if left they will cast too much shade over surrounding plants. It's the lower branches that can be removed without making the tree look as though it has been cut. The upper branches will hide the cuts, so 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 back in them. Gypsum works it's way through the clay and makes it become more like soil. Vegetables: The days are warm and the nights a little cooler, just right for growing. I am amazed that the white butterfly is STILL not a problem in our garden, long may it last. I had bad luck with the runner beans planted directly into the ground before labor weekend, they popped up then were eaten off I am guessing by snails / slugs!. So more beans have been planted but this time into trays to be transplanted when big enough to make a start on climbing up the frame. But, yes I know the slugs & snails will be waiting so I will 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 and fill with beer, cut door opening in the other half for snails & slugs to slide in, then force the other half with door opening on top. 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. The cooler nights tend to upset tomato plants, leaves become bluish and tend to curl causing plants to become susceptible to blight. 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)   Cheers, Linda.