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SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Wednesday <strong>January</strong> 9 <strong>2019</strong> 21<br />
Gardening<br />
Editorial supplied by<br />
www.gardener.kiwi<br />
Time to plant summer herbs and flowers<br />
Some of the easiest plants to<br />
grow are herbs and flowers.<br />
Getting to know these<br />
garden staples is also a great<br />
way to learn about the basics<br />
of gardening. Shannon Hunt<br />
provides instructions for<br />
beginner gardeners<br />
•Step one: What mint likes<br />
Mint (common, chocolate,<br />
ginger, spearmint) makes a fresh<br />
and tasty addition to a green salad<br />
and a refreshingly healthy drink<br />
when bruised into a jug of iced<br />
water with lemon.<br />
Always plant mint in a big<br />
pot in quality media (potting<br />
mix) with a few water crystals to<br />
help keep the plant moist (not<br />
waterlogged) and make sure<br />
it gets a little shade during the<br />
hottest part of the day. Mint does<br />
not do well if it dries out for too<br />
long.<br />
•Step two: Which herbs like<br />
living with mint?<br />
You can plant parsley and<br />
coriander in the same pot as<br />
mint, because these herbs love<br />
moist soil too. Make sure you<br />
give each plant plenty of room<br />
to expand as they grow.<br />
•Step three: Which herbs<br />
like drier soil?<br />
Thyme (common, pizza,<br />
lemon), rosemary and fragrant<br />
oregano, prefer being more dry<br />
than moist and love soaking in<br />
all-day sun.<br />
These herbs won’t spread<br />
rampantly over your whole<br />
garden like mint, so plant them<br />
in your raised or open garden.<br />
•Step four: Basil is a loner<br />
Basil (common, purple, Thai,<br />
giant, tiny leafed) needs a little<br />
more care to produce a good<br />
harvest. It loves growing alone<br />
and thrives in sun, but also likes<br />
a little shade. I suggest you grow<br />
it in a big pot that can be moved<br />
around to catch the sunshine and<br />
removed from windy conditions.<br />
•Step five: Coriander<br />
stresses<br />
A lot of experienced gardeners<br />
suggest you get a better product<br />
when you grow your coriander<br />
from seed.<br />
It’s easy as long as you plant<br />
the seeds just below the surface<br />
and right where you want them<br />
to grow in your garden. Feed<br />
well and keep it watered. To slow<br />
down the ‘bolting’ of coriander<br />
(it stresses when the weather gets<br />
really hot and will go to seed)<br />
harvest it often.<br />
•Step six: Clip your herbs<br />
Always cut your herbs back<br />
because that’s how they bulk up.<br />
Removing the tips of basil will<br />
create new growth.<br />
Removing flowers from thyme,<br />
cutting back chives, oregano and<br />
parsley will redirect the nutrients<br />
into the new growth.<br />
Whether you can use the<br />
cuttings or not, always clip your<br />
herbs.<br />
•Step seven: Easy flower<br />
growing<br />
To start an easy flower<br />
garden, cultivate a small space<br />
or garden edge and turn some<br />
heat-treated sheep pellets into<br />
the soil.<br />
Then grab a mix of marigold<br />
and cornflower seeds and throw<br />
them across the garden.<br />
Place a thin layer of soil on<br />
top and water them. Now buy<br />
some flower seedlings<br />
of your choice and place<br />
them at regular (or irregular)<br />
spaces throughout the growing<br />
space.<br />
Make sure you water the<br />
garden daily and before too long<br />
little leaves will pop up through<br />
the soil and the seedlings you<br />
planted will grow bushier and<br />
begin to flower.<br />
You can add to the look by<br />
popping taller-growing flower<br />
plants along the back.<br />
HAPPY<br />
NEW<br />
YEAR!<br />
PATIOS - OUTDOOR AREAS - CAR PORTS<br />
T he team at Intelligro hope you had<br />
a wonderful Christmas and managed<br />
to successfully overindulge in delicious<br />
food, soak up some sun, and most<br />
importantly spend time with loved ones.<br />
We have some exciting things<br />
happening throughout <strong>2019</strong>, so stay<br />
tuned to find out what’s to come!<br />
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Sunday 9am – 4pm<br />
Public Holidays<br />
Labour Day 9am – 4pm<br />
Canterbury Anniversary Day<br />
9am – 4pm<br />
Closed all other Public Holidays<br />
Shadecraft is a locally owned company who specialise in shade and weather<br />
protection products to enhance your homes design and use of outdoor areas.<br />
SHADE SAILS – UMBRELLAS – ALL WEATHER CANOPIES<br />
ShadeCraft (SI) Ltd<br />
0800 742332 • Cell 0274 981239 • www.shadecraft.co.nz<br />
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