The Star: June 04, 2020

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The Star Thursday June 4 2020 22 GARDENING NOW IT’S officially winter, don’t abandon those lovely gardens that enjoyed your attention during lockdown. Keep reaping the benefits of your hard work through a few monthly tasks. This month’s jobs include pruning of pip, stone fruit and roses, harvesting of winter vegetables and planting new strawberry plants, shrubs and trees, as well as general maintenance in the garden. Vegetable patch Continue planting seedlings of vegetables that you want to harvest in late winter/early spring. Seeds of broad beans, onions, peas, radish and spinach can still be sown. Prepare the soil thoroughly with the addition of fresh compost before planting. June is the month for dividing old rhubarb plants and this should be done every three to four years. Plant new divisions 600mm apart. Rhubarb thrives in a ‘rich’ soil ie fresh compost enriched with blood and bone. Winter flowering annuals Winter flowering annuals planted in autumn should be in in full flower. They include alyssum, calendulas, aurelia, nemesias, pansies, poppies, primulas, snapdragons, stock and sweet peas. Dead head finished flowers to encourage continuous blooming. Pruning fruit trees June is the main month for pruning existing fruit trees and purchasing new ones. Garden centres have the most comprehensive selection of new season fruit trees now. When pruning young pip and stone fruit trees, aim to create a strong structure that will support the weight of fruiting wood in future years. Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Don’t let that lockdown work disappear TASKS: Mass displays of winter annuals will brighten up your deck. Plant rhubarb this month. With older, mature fruit trees, remove inward growing branches, reduce the height of trees (for harvesting and maintenance) and remove any overgrown branches. Where there are signs of damage or disease, remove these branches. Pruning berry fruit All these berry fruit (raspberries, boysenberries, loganberries, gooseberries) are very vigorous growers requiring the removal of all old growth and some of the same seasons canes where they are not required. Tie new canes to the existing wires or framework. Be careful to remove any diseased plant material. Planting strawberries It’s the last month for planting strawberries. Space new plants 120-200mm apart into mounded soil 200mm above the existing soil level. This ensures adequate drainage and most importantly, enhances the early warming of the soil in spring. Rose pruning commences Apart from the odd late flowering rose such as iceberg, most roses have now shed their leaves and can be pruned. Remove all dead or diseased wood, remember most rose bushes, even though quite healthy, will have some dead wood. Prune to outward facing buds and remove any wood that is thinner than pencil thickness. If some plants have a lot of dead/ diseased wood, it is advisable to remove the specimens and replace with new rose bushes. With climbing roses, train the main leaders (growing up from ground) on a horizontal axis as this encourages the production of flowers. With all roses, a spray with copper compound after the completion of pruning helps minimise reinfection of fungal disease in spring. Ornamental trees and shrubs Garden centres have the best range of plants in June and July so an excellent time to buy. Always be fussy when selecting new plants. Ensure they are new, healthy, and not root-bound, and are the right plant for the position you are going to plant them in. Try to avoid overcrowding in your garden as trees and shrubs can often grow a lot bigger than what is written on the label. Container gardens Especially useful over the winter months for growing salad vegetables and herbs close to the kitchen. Mass displays of winter annuals in containers can brighten up winter decks and balconies. Always plant into fresh container mix that has sufficient nutrients for healthy, vigorous growth. Are you ready to grow? Kiwi Gardener is your practical guide to gardening in New Zealand. SUBSCRIBE FROM $ 20 Daltons Premium Houseplant Mix and Houseplant Tabs contain a blend of high quality ingredients and fertilisers designed specifically for houseplants. SUBSCRIPTIONS FREEPHONE 0800 77 77 10 WWW.GARDENER.KIWI NZ OWNED & OPERATED www.daltons.co.nz
• By Allan Batt THE SPEEDWAY season may have come to an abrupt end with the Covid-19 situation, but Ruapuna-contracted sprintcar racer Matt Leversedge had the biggest win of his career without needing to climb behind the wheel of his 800hp car. Leversedge has, for several years, been a strong advocate and user of the American J&J chassis, so when the Tennesseebased company decided to run a social media competition to win a new chassis, Leversedge and his team were in their element. “Basically we had to create a 1-3min video explaining why we choose J&J to be our chassis provider. Our video made the finals, in which we were competing against seven others, all American. We were the only international entry,” he said. “It was super-cool to end up winning the frame, the response from our fans and the speedway community in general was unreal and certainly helped us get the win. “I think it’s a credit to what we’ve been doing for the past two years on social media and we’ve gained a really loyal following, which is what you need to win a competition like this that was worth around $15,000. “It’s a massive boost for our small team after blowing a motor at the nationals earlier in the year, we certainly aren’t a ‘big’ budget team like a lot of fans assume. “We make a lot of our own parts and always try to shop second-hand. So hopefully this will help propel our team to a new level this coming summer.” Leversedge and his team are still piecing together plans for the coming season, ever so mindful that the Covid situation could impact on it, but he is very mindful that the 2020/21 season is Ruapuna’s 60th. “I’ve heard that there will be some big races, and being a third generation racer at Ruapuna that’s exciting. Although we do Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz SPORT 23 Off-track win fuels excitement for next speedway season WINNER: Ruapuna-contracted sprintcar racer Matt Leversedge pictured racing at Western Springs last season. Winning a recent online competition will see Leversedge and his team compete in a new car next summer. race up north a lot, I’m still a proud member of the club and happy to have a ‘C’ on the tail tank,” he said. “With the new J&J chassis coming our way due to our fans loyalty and support, we really are going to go all out to thank everyone for helping us realise a dream, and upgrade in a fashion that otherwise may have been out of our reach.” Last season, Leversedge became the first Christchurch registered driver to record a sprintcar feature race win at the iconic Western Springs track in Auckland, and the win will certainly help level up the ‘playing field’ for him. “Some of those teams up there have really big backers. We are grateful for all of the support that we have, but hitting the track next summer in a brand new car will certainly be a huge boost to our aspirations,” he said. Thursday June 4 2020 The Star Ransley gets help going in to Bathurst finale • By Jacob Page JADEN RANSLEY will have a V8 Supercars driver on his side as he pursues the Esports Cup title tonight. The Canterbury 18-year-old sits second in the points standings heading into the two hour endurance race finale at the famed Bathurst track. With each competitor needing a co-driver, Ransley has called in Kiwi V8 Supercars driver Andre Heimgartner to help him in his championship push. Ransley was able to maintain his spot in the standings in round nine thanks to two fourth place finishes in each race at Imola, Italy last night. “We probably didn’t have the speed to win both races but we stayed clean and got good points. “I was really happy with how everything turned out.” Ransley will try to chase down competition leader Harley Haber to take the crown. Haber has a 30 point advantage on him. The Bathurst enduro race will see the 40 regular competitors choose their own co-drivers for the event that, with double points on offer, will ultimately determine the champion. Ransley said Heimgartner’s experience would prove invaluable. OUR PYRAMIDS WEREN’T BUILT 4,000 YEARS AGO. THEY’RE MUCH OLDER THAN THAT. OKIA
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The Star: June 04, 2020

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