The Star: March 08, 2018

The Star 31
Gardening
Local
News
Now
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday March 8 2018
Time to prepare your garden for winter
Fire rages, homes at risk
MARCH IS a busy month in the
garden with the final harvesting
of summer crops and preparation
for your winter garden begins.
After the ‘bizarre’ months of
January and February’s weather
e.g. extremely high temperatures,
‘rain bombs’ and cyclones in
some areas, let’s hope March will
bring more settled conditions for
gardening, with milder temperatures
and regular rainfall.
The last of summer vegetable
crops are ready to harvest. Do a
general tidy up and remove any
finished or diseased crops and
weeds etc before you begin preparation
of your winter garden.
Soil plays an important part in
growing healthy strong plants, so
always prepare the soil that you
will grow your vegetables in well.
Enrich and aerate it by digging
in plenty of compost a week or
two before planting. Check drainage
is adequate for the wet winter
months and when planting out,
rotate the site for your vegetables.
By rotating where crops are
planted, you can manage the soil
nutrient balance. The benefit
of crop rotation is that as one
plant depletes the soil of certain
nutrients (e.g. summer crop), the
next plant will replenish the soil
as it grows.
PREPARATION: Soil plays an important part in growing healthy plants. Right – Feed in fertiliser
and water well to have a lush, healthy lawn.
Winter vegetables can now be Flowering annuals that flourish
planted – either with young seedlings
or by sowing seed directly mer are now nearing the end of
in the heat and long days of sum-
into the garden.
their season.
Vegetables such as beetroot, Some species will continue
broccoli, brussells sprouts, cabbage,
cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, general, it is time to remove old
flowering well into April, but in
onions, radish, silver beet, spinach,
swedes and turnips. Stag-
sites for your winter displays.
plants and thoroughly prepare
ger your plantings so you have Winter flowering annuals are
a steady supply over the season. a wonderful way to add colour
Apply side dressings of fertiliser to the garden during the colder
every four to six weeks throughout
the growing period (depend-
Some varieties are; aquilegias,
months.
ing on what you grow and how alyssum calendulas, cinerarias,
often you water your garden) cornflowers, lobelias, nemesia,
to help keep plants in optimum pansy, primulas, snapdragons,
health.
statice, stock, sweet william, wall
flower and violas.
Planting of bulbs should be
completed by the end of the
month in colder parts of New
Zealand. Their blooms will be a
welcome sight after a long dreary
winter.
Prepare the sites well for your
new bulbs by adding compost
and ensure there is enough drainage.
Think about the final effect
you want to achieve from your
bulbs come spring, for instance,
bulbs planted in clusters produce
a more dramatic display.
Bulbs to plant in March include
anemone, daffodil, hyacinth,
freesia, ranunculus, Ixia, lachenalia,
sparaxis, tritonia, tulip and
watsonias.
It’s a great month for apples and
pears with many varieties ripening.
Gold queen peach (the last
of the peaches to ripen) is mature
on trees now. In early March, in
warmer areas, passionfruit will
be ripening – pick from the vines
or collect off the ground as they
turn purple. Stone fruit trees that
have finished cropping can now
be pruned to remove old and
crowded branches, retaining wellspaced,
new season growth for
next year’s fruit.
Once the weather has settled
and regular autumn rains have
arrived, the laying of new lawns
and/or the renovation of existing
lawns can begin. As with most
tasks in the garden, preparation
is the key to success. Always
check the quality of the top soil
you bring on to your property to
avoid a new lawn full of seeds.
Use bagged products for
smaller spaces. One of the top tips
for getting a superior year-round
lawn is sowing a mixture of lawn
seed.
With existing lawns, feed with
fertiliser and water it in well.
Mow your lawn regularly to
encourage strong, healthy grass
growth.
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