The Star: June 28, 2018

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday June 28 2018 39
Gardening
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Top tips for planting in winter
In the midst of
winter, Rachel
Vogan provides a
few top growing tips
COLD NIGHTS and clear days
are good for the garden. Plus,
the frosts that kill many insect
and bug problems are generally
followed by a sunny day, making
clean-up and pruning tasks
rather pleasant.
Over the next few weeks
pruning should be front of
mind; a good winter clean-up
now will pay dividends in the
upcoming season. The basics
of pruning and cutting back
is to limit the size of the plant,
which allows more light and
air movement into the plant’s
centre, and to always remove
any damaged or diseased limbs.
Don’t be afraid to use your
loppers liberally.
Another focus can be any
trees, shrubs or roses that are
in the wrong spot. These can be
moved now, just remember to
dig the new hole first or have any
pots ready and waiting.
Vegetables
Parsnips should be on the
menu now as a winter staple. Did
you know that you do not need
to harvest them all at once? Once
they mature they can be left in
the ground until mid-spring,
saving you room in the fridge.
This crop can only
be grown from seed sown in
October or November, while the
soil is still cool.
Keep planting garlic. Hunt
out the fattest cloves you can
find and aim to get them in the
ground this month. Seedlings
will appear in the shops soon as
well.
Spring onions, spinach, winter
lettuce and mustard can all be
transplanted into the ground
now too.
Crop cover
Just like humans, parts of the
garden like a little protection
from the cold elements. Frost
cloth is a good option to cover
up tender citrus and climbers,
and portable cloches and
vegetable frames take the chill off
the soil to speed up the growing
process of many winter edible
crops. Crop frames are easy to
make from materials you may
have at home. Net curtains work
well when stretched between
bamboo canes or if you have old
windows about the place, prop
these up on some bricks or slabs
to offer protection.
Water features
At this time of year, algae
can quickly build up in water
gardens, mostly because of fallen
leaves. Remove leaves
as soon as they fall to help
control the problem. Now is also
a good time to empty ponds and
features that are small enough to
do so.
Once empty, allow to fully
dry out and treat the area with a
pre-algae treatment, which you
will find in the garden centres.
In cold areas, float a ball in the
water to prevent small ponds and
features from freezing.
Fruit trees
Plant bare-rooted trees now.
July and August are some of
the best months of the year to
plant deciduous fruit trees like
apples, peaches, pears, apricots,
cherries, plums and nectarines.
They cope better with planting
out as the plants are in a state of
dormancy, limiting transplant
shock, which can happen if
planted in the warmer months.
For gardens where space is
limited, consider planting
double- or triple-grafted fruit
trees, this not only saves space
but allows you to enjoy a wider
variety of harvest.
Seeds, seeds & more
seeds
On those cold days when
venturing outdoors isn’t an
option, start thinking about
what crops you want to grow in
this upcoming season. All the
seed catalogues are out now, and
available online. It’s also a good
time to stock up on seed-sowing
essentials like seed-raising mix,
seedling trays and labels, etc.
A good idea is to share seeds
with friends – often I find there
are too many seeds for just my
garden so passing around excess
plants or seeds with others saves
space and time, and makes it
fun too.
The magazine for
gardeners who
like To geT Their
hands dirTy
www.gardener.kiwi
New Zealand Native Hedging and Trees
Fruiting and Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Perennials, Groundcovers, and Climbers
Ceramic Pots, Soil, and Plant Care
Succulents and More!
478 Marshland Rd, 9am-4:30pm Thurs.-Mon.
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