Selwyn Times: August 15, 2018

30 Wednesday August 15 2018
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SELWYN TIMES
Fire rages, homes at risk
Things to do before the end of the month
• By Rachel Vogan
WITH THE days slowly starting
to lengthen it is comforting to
know the last month of winter is
drawing to a close.
The early bulbs add so much
magic to the garden at this time
of year, along with birds actively
foraging for food.
This month, prioritise getting
the last of the winter clean-up
jobs done like pruning, mulching,
cutting back, removing leaves,
clearing gutters and spraying
paths and driveways.
Be ready for the upcoming
invasion of weeds because, as
soon as the soils start to warm
up, any weed seeds that have
been lying dormant will quickly
germinate.
So be ready with your garden
gloves, weeding tools, hoes or
spray to deal with them.
Glasshouse clean up
How is the inside of your
glasshouse looking? Mine
certainly needs some TLC. Make
the most of this last cold month
to give your indoor growing
zone a clean out and tidy up.
Remove any old plants and pull
out any weeds. Over the previous
growing season, it is likely the
soil will be depleted of various
nutrients. In preparation for the
upcoming growing season, enrich
the soil with compost or wellrotted
manure now, then dig this
mixture through into the existing
ground. Vegetable fertiliser can
be added at planting time. Next,
water the soil to get the microbes
working ready for planting. Wash
down the glass and check that all
the vents are working. Replace
broken glass or panels now while
the beds are empty.
Tool kit checklist
Before the upcoming flurry of
action starts, take stock
of your tools and implements
now, fix broken handles
on forks and spades, and make
a list of what tools you may
need to acquire. Discard any old
sprays or canisters wisely. Now
is an excellent time to get the
lawnmower serviced and the
blades sharpened too.
Herbs
The herb garden could do with
a good haircut this month; cut
back leggy oregano, straggly
mint and top-heavy rosemary.
Leafy perennial herbs like
sorrel, salad burnet and fennel
can be cut back to ground level
to stimulate fresh new grunty
greens. Mint responds well to a
good short back and sides, plus
a side dressing of fertiliser about
now. Parsley, chervil, borage
and coriander can all be planted
out now too.
Citrus
Lemons, limes, mandarins,
oranges and kumquats are all
ripe for the picking now. Ripe
fruit will hold on the tree for a
couple of months and, as soon as
it starts to become overripe, will
fall from the tree. Add a layer of
mulch to the base of the plants
now and drench the plants with
a seaweed tonic to give the plants
a boost, hold off adding fertiliser
until around Labour Weekend.
Hydrangeas
Prune back established plants
now, you can remove anything
from 30 per cent to 70 per cent
of the length of the stem or limit
the size to what works best for
your garden. Cuttings can be
taken now too from hydrangeas
– merely insert the cutting into
the moist potting mix, so at
least half the stem is in the soil
and wait patiently until about
Christmas, when roots should
have appeared.
Vegetables
Early seeds can be sown indoors.
Kale, cauliflower, broccoli,
cabbage, bok choy, beetroot,
lettuce, silverbeet and spinach
are go-to crops for August
planting. Aim to sow the seed
thinly, so the germinating plants
are not overcrowded as they
grow. Last chance to get garlic
seed in the grounds. Peas, both
podding and the all-in-one
snap peas (sugar snaps), can be
sown outdoors now. Allow 5cm
between each seed and cover the
area with netting to prevent the
birds from digging up the seeds.
Dwarf peas do not need staking,
however, the taller types do.
It is almost Spring
LET’S GET
GARDENING
let’s get ready for the growing season.
Spring is just around the corner and before we know
it the daylight hours will be longer. As the weather
warms up and the sun shines a little brighter, we head
into the best time of year for gardening. Preparation
is vital as it sets the base for your plants to thrive.
Giving them the best growing environment will
help them to develop and reward you with beautiful
blooms and a bountiful crop.
Hang fire on planting the veggies! But what you can
do is get prepared for when it is time to plant out. Raised
beds can be refreshed, or filled if you are starting from
scratch. Intelligro Veggie Garden Mix is ideal for raised
beds as it is weed-free and comes pre-fertilised. If you
want to boost what is already there, our Organic Compost
is excellent. We also have a variety of fertilisers that will
add those vital and necessary nutrients to help get a
bumper crop.
Refresh your garden beds. Add organic compost and
sheep pellets to your garden to add a vital boost of organic
matter. This will help to promote worm activity, and give
the soil a freshen-up ready for any planting that is going
to occur. If you already have plants in there you can add a
fresh layer of bark mulch to the top too. If you are yet to
plant, then hold off on adding the bark until you have done
the planting.
As the weather
continues to
improve, the list of
things to do gets
bigger and bigger.
Stay tuned for more
tips and ideas!
INTELLIGRO
OFFERS:
✓ Expert gardening advice
✓ High quality products
✓ South-Hort growing
mixes
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✓ Buy in-store and online
✓ Handy delivery service
For more information,
check out our website:
www.igro.co.nz
or visit our facebook page:
www.facebook.com/igro.co.nz
261 Manion Road, Weedons
Access to Intelligro from Manion Road is now available from both the Weedons Ross Road end,
and Curraghs Road entrances.
www.igro.co.nz | Phone 03 347 9415