Selwyn Times: September 15, 2021

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Selwyn Times Wednesday September 15 2021 26 GARDENING Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Cosmos are bursting with hot colours THESE DAYS, garden design seems to be all about simple foliage and clean lines. If you like a contemporary look easy-to-grow cosmos comes in to play. Bursting with hot summer colours and growing to around 1m tall, cosmos are no shrinking violets, and they sway gently in any summer breeze. These devil-may-care flowers are easy to grow, thriving in the heat of summer and flourishing almost anywhere, as long as it’s hot, dry and sunny. Like all annuals, they germinate, flower and die within a season or a year. But don’t fret – they also pop up again each following year. Cosmos look best when grown en masse, creating a sea of country-cottage colour. Once you’ve found a good spot and you’re ready to plant these American natives, add a good general fertiliser, like nitrophoska blue, to the soil to encourage growth. Then simply dig a hole (approximately 3cm deep) and place your seedling inside. Plant each subsequent seedling about VIBRANT: Some cosmos grows to around 1m tall, they thrive in the heat of summer. 10cm apart, giving them space to grow but ensuring they’re close enough to support each other in strong winds. Next, layer newspaper around your plants, and then cover it with pea straw. This homemade mulch will prevent your plants drying out during the day and in between watering sessions. Voila – you’ll have a cosmos floral fiesta in no time, and get to enjoy an array of colour until the first frost hits, usually around June. And if you really want to bring the outside in, just a handful of these long-stemmed beauties look great in a tall vase (just don’t forget to put them in a cool place and change the water every two to three days). You’ll be thanking yourself for adding a bit of country colour at your place. FRESH: Endive has a mild bitter taste. Pick salad ingredients from your vege patch SPRING HAS arrived, which means salad season is just around the corner. And there’s nothing like picking fresh salad ingredients straight out of your garden. Endive is a great addition to any salad. With its fine curled, mid-green leaves it partners well with rocket. Endive is a bit bitter and rocket is a little peppery, together they’re a great combo. What’s equally important is it’s so easy and quick to grow. Unlike most lettuces, it doesn’t need to create a heart in the centre so it’s very quick to produce. Simply pick the leaves off as you need them. To plant, look for a welldrained spot in the garden. If the soil is still a bit wet and cold from winter, try growing endive in a pot. Just add some good quality potting mix, plant a couple of seedlings around 5cm apart and away you go. Depending on where you are in New Zealand and how warm the soil is yet, it will take around four to six weeks for your endive to be ready to harvest. Remember, you can tell the soil is warming up when you need to start mowing your lawns again. Are you ready to grow? For real Kiwi gardeners who like to get their hands dirty. Use your outdoor living areas all year round • Warm & dry in winter • UV protection for summer • Stylish & permanent • 5 year warranty “AS SEEN ON TV” growing with you Issue 506 | July 2021 | 100% Vege patch priorities Sprouting potatoes & starting strawberries Chris Thorndycroft Phone 0274 211 079 | www.archgola.co.nz 15 months INTEREST FREE Normal lending criteria apply SubScribe From $ 20 a plum job How the Russells fill our fruit bowls ExpEcT ThE unExpEcTEd Weirdly wonderful houseplants $8.00 incl. GST GardEn wadErS Plants that like wet feet 9 416770 121318 Subscriptions 0800 77 77 10 kiwigardenermagazine.co.nz Read local
NEITHER WINTER nor summer, September can be termed the ‘in-between’ month. Usually there is a hint of spring – a taste of better things to come, and it’s a very busy month preparing for the summer garden. Houseplant care Hopefully your houseplants have successfully survived winter. It is a difficult time for them as many originate from tropical countries. As tempting as it is, delay purchasing new houseplants for another month until indoor temperatures warm up consistently throughout the day. Continue to water plants sparingly and mist the foliage (leaves) regularly with lukewarm water and ensure they are positioned in a ‘high-light’ part of the house. With large “glossy” green-leaved houseplants such as fiddle leaf fig, clean the leaves regularly with a soft sponge. If you have any houseplants that are struggling, a few days in a steamy bathroom is an excellent way to revive them. In the vege patch It’s the very end for harvesting traditional winter vegetables; broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, rhubarb, silverbeet, spinach and turnips. Keep Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz planting out year-round vegetables like celery, lettuce, silverbeet, beetroot and spinach. Many rush to plant out traditional summer vegetable seedlings in September such as, tomatoes and cucumbers, but it is still a little early. You are better to wait until mid-October when soils have warmed up. However, you can now sow summer vegetable seeds in seed trays or punnets and place them in a warm sheltered position indoors or in glass houses. Where areas of your vegetable garden not too wet, start preparing your summer garden by digging in fresh compost. When ‘cleaning up’ the winter vegetable garden, all the green material can go straight into the compost bin (so long as it is disease free). Blooming bulbs A wonderful month to enjoy the spring flowers of traditional bulbs. When they finish flowering, sadly sometimes too briefly, allow the foliage to ‘brown’ and die down before removing. This is how the bulbs obtain enough nutrients for the next seasons flowering. It can be worth marking in the areas of your major bulb plantings with some small stakes to avoid disturbing later in the season when planting possible trees and shrubs. GARDENING 27 Time to prepare for the summer garden HEALTHY: If any of your houseplants are struggling, a few days in the bathroom will revive them. Wednesday September 15 2021 Selwyn Times Flowering annuals Most winter annuals are now coming to the end of flowering. Begin preparing for planting summer flowering annuals by sowing varieties in seed trays ready to plant out later. In the meantime, for continuous flowers in your garden, plant annuals that flower all year round; alyssum, calendulas, cornflowers, lobelias, pansies and violas. Roses Many rose varieties will now be in full growth and the first flowers will appear towards the end of the month. Apply the first side dressing of rose fertiliser. Make sure your fertiliser is high in potash which promotes strong flowers. Compost can be spread around the base of the roses. This works as both a soil conditioner and mulch. Lawn care Grass will begin growing again in some warmer areas. Towards the end of the month the first dressing of fertiliser can be applied. Check the lawn for wet spots or areas that may require additional drainage to be installed over the summer months. Ornamental trees and shrubs Camellias and azaleas will be near the end of their flowering, while rhododendrons are in full bloom. Complete any additional planting of trees and shrubs in September, before soils dry out in early summer. with intelligro Spring is a time of growth and development, and the list of jobs to do is endless. With the weather warming up and daylight savings here, now is the perfect time to get stuck into the garden. Intelligro are trying to make small changes to help the environment and we’re here to help you and your family create a more sustainable future. Creating your own veggie garden is the perfect place to start. Growing vegetables is not only quite satisfying but very easy too! Growing some of your own food is a key part of a sustainable lifestyle. Here are a few tips to get you started: 1. Pick a sunny position for your veggie garden with shelter from the wind. 2. If you’re using timber, untreated is best. If using treated timber line with black plastic. 3. Having a good quality soil is key for growing a productive veggie garden! For leafy, above the ground produce choose Intelligro Vege Garden Mix, For root crops, (potatoes, radishes etc) choose Intelligro Garden Soil Mix. A soil blend is preferred by these plants. 4. Make sure you plant quality, in-season seedling (big is not always better). 5. For a successful veggie garden make sure you establish a regular watering routine! Some of what we have in stock: Certified Organic Compost • Vege Garden Mix • Potting Mixes • Lawn Mixes • House Plant Mix • Seed Raising Mix • Bark • Mulch • Stones • Chips • Pebbles • Sands • Fertilisers • Pavers • Raised Gardens • Seeds • Seedlings • Tools and so much more! Lawns... Spring is well known as lawn time. Lawns can be sown or repaired now, as long as you are sure the last of frosts have been and gone. We have a handy lawn guide on our website and our team would be happy to talk through any issues you may have, and point you in the right direction. It’s also a good time to fertilise your existing lawns, and repair any patches or holes. 261 Manion Road, Weedons 7677 | P: 03 347 9012 | E: info@igro.co.nz Spring & Summer Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday: 7.30am – 5.30pm Sunday and Public Holidays: 8.30am – 4.30pm www.igro.co.nz /igro.co.nz /intelligro_nz
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Selwyn Times: September 15, 2021

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