Ashburton Courier: February 13, 2020

Page 12, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday February 13, 2020
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz
HOME &GARDEN
Important to keep on top of weeds
Vegetables
Garden maintenance
is important at this time
of the year.
Hoe regularly
between rows tocontrol
weeds and maintain a
good texture (tilth) of
thesoil. Small weedscan
be leftonthe groundbut
any with flower heads
should be put in the
compostbin as manywill
make a last­ditch
attempt and produce
seeds on severed stems.
Clear away remnants
of cabbages, lettuces
and other crops. Left in
the ground, stems keep
drawing nourishment
from the soil, which is
wasteful, but in the compost
bin they add an
important green element.
Broccoli, which can
take up to four months
from planting out to
maturity, can be sown
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now for late winter and
spring use.
Spinach, turnips and
onions can be sown.
Brown onions generally
do better in the
South if sowninautumn,
then left to stand over
the winter. Perfect
Keeper and Pukekohe
Long Keeper are recommended
varieties. When
thinned in October,
discards can be used like
spring onions.
Late­sown beetroot,
carrots and turnips will
need thinning.
Leeks need to be kept
thoroughly watered. If
rotted poultry manure is
mulched around the
plants first, liquid
manure will be created,
acting asastimulant.
A light sprinkling of
salt on sandy soils will
also stimulate growth
but, as always, salt
should be treated with
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some caution. Excessive
potash fertiliser can
increase the salt content
in soil, so if in doubt,
leave it out.
Parsley sown now
should be ready for
spring and next summer.
Soaking the seed for a
few hours in warm water
will help germination.
As seedlings appear,
thin them ruthlessly to
prevent overcrowding.
Keep making small sowings
ofmesclun mix for
salads, and Oriental
vegetables such as pak
choi and tatsoi for stirfries
to ensure aregular
supply. Mesclun mixes,
which are eaten at the
leaf stage, include up to
eight vegetables and are
ideal for small households
that find fullgrown
lettuces too big.
Rhubarb flower stems
must beremoved toprevent
them sapping the
strength of the plants.
The same is true of
seakale. Unless they are
being saved for seed,
trim seedheads from
herbs such assage, parsley
and thyme.
Flowers
Plan now for next
summer’s flowers by
sowing alyssum, Iceland
poppies, cornflower,
larkspur, scabious, antirrhinum
and clarkia.
Sow in well­prepared,
permanent positions,
thintoafew centimetres
apart when seedlings
appearand lookforward
to afine show between
2255655
Garden maintenance is important at this time of the year.
spring­flowering bulbs
and the later summer
annuals.
Carnations can be
increased bylayering, a
good way of getting
more plants of favourite
colours. Layering is a
method by which new
roots are developed
before a cutting is
removed from a plant,
so the shock of transplanting
is reduced.
Ground layering is
done bybringing astem
down to soil level and
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holding it in place with a
wire looporheavystone.
Before putting the stem
in position, make acut
about 1cm long and a
third ofthe way through
the stem.
The soil under and
over the cut stem should
be rich, with some fine
graveladded. Patienceis
the secret of success
with layering, especially
if shrubs such asrhododendrons
are layered, as
they can take ayear or
more to form good root
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systems.
Spring bulbs will be
appearing in garden
centres, so buy early to
get the best selection.
Daffodils should be
the first to go into the
ground. Any bulbs that
have been in the same
spot for three or more
years may need to be
lifted, divided and
replanted inreplenished
soil. Compost dug in
well and added bone
dust helps. Although the
usual advice istoplant
bulbs in twice their
depth of soil, infact, soil
type should be the
guide. In light, sandy
soil, plant bulbs atthree
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times their depth and
half that in heavier
ground. Tulips like lime
in the soil, whereas daffodils
prefer a slightly
acid soil.
Fruit
Strawberries should
be flowering for their
second crop next month.
Although the autumn
crop is generally smaller,
these berries are
often the better flavoured.
Old varieties,
unsuitable for commercial
growers because the
fruit is too soft to travel
well, can be sought out
by gardenersmore interested
in taste than size.
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