Selwyn Times: October 04, 2016

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28 Tuesday October 4 2016 Gardening SELWYN TIMES Flowering powerhouses create colour More flowers anyone? Rachel Vogan says to create time and space for colour in between vegetable planting New double-flowered petunia ‘Surfinia Double Salmon’. When you are not up to your armpits in the vege patch, look to pots, baskets and tubs to add a blast of colour to the garden. These containers do for the garden what a scarf or a necklace does to a lady’s outfit; they punctuate and create focal points, soften hard edges and brighten anything dull and grey. This summer should be all about flowers, and the earlier your summer pots and tubs are planted the better. Hitting the shops now are new hybrids of petunia and calibrachoa; flowering powerhouses that take a bit of beating, with most of them delivering blooms continuously from late spring until the end of autumn. Look for this brand new double-flowered petunia ‘Surfinia Double Salmon’ – for six months of the year all it wants to do is flower. Just coming into bloom, the Bacopa Epic series will stay this way until May next year. Crop Protection Young seedlings and cuttings appreciate some TLC when young. If you don’t have room for a glasshouse, mock up something at home (Kristina Jensen shows us how on page 51). Maybe prop up an old window on some bricks to provide some shelter, or look at a mini propagating house, which is ideal for using indoors when sowing a few packets of seeds. The larger portable outdoor cold frames are brilliant, too. Just remember that once seedlings are starting to form their first sets of true leaves they need plenty of air movement. Make sure you can prop the door open or open a vent so the young plants don’t fry on a hot day. Vegetables Plant potatoes and yams now. Both need a well-dug soil in a warm sunny spot, and remember to blend in potato food prior to planting. Sow rows of carrots, radish, parsnip and beetroot; these are all best sown directly into the ground. In regards to lettuces, jam in as many as you can, and not just in the garden – they thrive in pots, tubs and baskets. Seeds can be sown, too, and will germinate readily uncovered outside, so save your precious room in the greenhouse or on the windowsill for frostsensitive seeds like tomato, chilli and basil. To make sure you get the biggest and juiciest asparagus spears this season, sprinkle round some vegetable fertiliser now and give beds a drench with a liquid fertiliser. Strawberries How is your patch looking? If you haven’t done so already, cut off all those dead leaves from any older plants and any rogue side runners. Add a generous handful of strawberry fertiliser around the base of each plant. For new patches, it’s vital you prepare the soil first by digging it over and adding strawberry mix, this give the roots the best possible chance to spring into action. The cold nights trigger the plants to produce flowers, so the earlier you plant them the better. No need to wrap this crop in cotton wool. In Flower: Bacopa Epic Series If you are after a plant that forms a neat dome, with a soft tumbling habit that will cascade over the edge of a basket, window box or tub, then look for these wee gems. Bacopas are making a comeback and this new Epic series look marvellous. With increased flowering ability and tolerance to hot weather, their colours appeal too, coming in a range of deep pink, blue and white. They look a picture in the shops now – hunt a few down. These perky wee numbers would help punctuate any summer wedding with a twinkle of colour. gardening without guesswork Question: I planted a lot of daffodil bulbs in winter but was disappointed to see mainly only leaves came up and no flower? I planted them with compost and just assumed I would have a brilliant display of flowers? Sorry to hear that. I can imagine you are Answer: very disappointed! Unfortunately there isn’t much we can do now to fix that, but here are some tips to help prevent it happening again. Daffodils make their flower buds straight after they have finished flowering in the spring. To help ensure they flower the following season, it is important to follow these practices: 1) Remove the spent flowers so they don’t set any seed 2) Give the daffodils plenty of water 3) Top dress with Potash fertiliser 4) Do not remove the leaves or tie them in a knot to make the garden look tidy. Leave them there as these will deliver nutrients to the bulb to prepare it for the next spring All the best with the next season! If you find your bulbs are planted in an area that isn’t getting much sun, and doesn’t have good drainage, you may need to rethink your chosen spot. If you need any other information, please let us know! for more information, check out our website: www.intelligro.co.nz or visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/igro.co.nz Thanks to Julia for her question QualITy prOducTs frOm ThE WEB TO ThE shEd! WIN! a $50 INTEllIgrO gIfT VOuchEr! pest patrol There is a narcissus bulb fly that sometimes attacks daffodils, which results in leaves and no flowers. If you have noticed flies around the daffodils, treat these with the same insect granules that you would for grass grub. These will be available at your local garden centre. Do the treatment after the leaves have died down, and make sure that the hole where the plant is, is covered so the insect cannot get to the bulb in the ground Send us your question and BE IN TO WIN! Email to: info@igro.co.nz or post your question on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/igro.co.nz New questions received by Tuesday 10th October
SELWYN TIMES Tuesday October 4 2016 29 Plants to give your summer meal flavour • By Tod Palenski EVERY MONTH I write a gardening article on a couple of plants. I typically try and come up with some kind of unique angle or theme to get things going. But this month I’m just going to get to the point. Chives, coriander and rocket are really handy (and tasty) plants to have in the garden. Individually, they’re just such great herbs to have accessible for fresh cooking. And what do you know? Your local nurseries are likely to have chives, coriander and rocket in a mixed bundle. Mixed bundles are fantastic because they provide you with a smaller number of seedlings per herb, which means you should end up with about the right amount of each, without any taking over your garden. Once you’ve got your rocket, chives and coriander plants you need to find somewhere to grow them. Chives are the easiest to grow. The only thing you need to remember – is where you planted them. Rocket is the next easiest to grow. It likes sun. At this time of the year it can be grown out in full sun. But when we hit summer it pays to choose an area that doesn’t get hit by the midday heat to avoid sending your plants to seed. Dig through some compost into the area you plan to plant. Or add some good quality potting mix, if you’re planning on planting in large containers (around 25cm or more deep). Then plant each rocket seedling around 20cm apart. Don’t forget to watch out for snails around your rocket. Lastly, coriander. We know that this fragrant herb can be a little tricky to grow. But it’s so worth it if you get it right. My top tip for growing coriander is to plant when the weather is steady. This will prevent it bolting from the change in temperature that can occur when we change seasons. Plant it where you would plant your rocket – full sun before summer and in partial sun during summer. Just make sure it’s in freedraining, aerated soil. Mound the soil up and plant the seedling on top – this will help ensure the soil is free-draining. Remember to water lightly all your coriander, chive and rocket TASTY: Chives (left) and rocket are easy to grow, but remember where you have planted them. seedlings once planted. And don’t let the soil dry out around your coriander as this could cause it to bolt. Water all the plants in the morning to allow the water to dry off during the day and prevent disease. Remove old or yellowed leaves from your rocket and coriander to help your plants continue to flourish. And harvest the leaves often to stop them going to seed too early and encourage new leaves to shoot up. And again, if you want a continuous supply, keep planting new seedlings every few weeks. Lastly, enjoy your herbs and let me know if you have a good recipe that combines all three. SPRING SALE WEEKDAYS 8:30–5PM OCTOBER 10 TH –24 TH FLAXES Black Rage, Golden were $9 .00 Ray, Dark Delight, Platts Black now $6 .00 ea SHRUBS & GROUNDCOVERS Large selection including Choisya, 15-30 % off Hebes, Mondo grass, Rhododendrons, Viburnums plus many more varieties LARGE GRADE TREES up to 50 % off GRISELINIA HEDGING 60cm plants $10 .00 ea 30cm plants $4 .00 ea NZ NATIVES 9 & 15cm from$2 .50 ea Pot Grade BONUS OFFER Buy 150 x 15cm plants and receive 150 green guard spray protector sleeves FREE! WWW.GREENLINC.CO.NZ
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Selwyn Times: October 04, 2016

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