The Star: July 27, 2023

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The Star Thursday July 27 2023 20 GARDENING Brought to you by www.arvida.co.nz Spring dreaming: Winter a time to plan Winter’s a good time to think ahead – peruse catalogues, order new seeds and plants, and prepare the soil Vegetables Gardening at this time of the year is limited, as winter’s worst weather usually comes in July and August. Cold, wet days are an opportunity to look through garden catalogues and order new seeds or plants. This is also a good time to plan where next season’s vegetables will be sown or planted, using the practice of rotation outlined earlier this month. Although five-year garden diaries are valuable, an alternative is a sturdy indexed book. Record planting and other information under each alphabetically listed vegetable, noting the date when seeds were sown or plants put in. Note varieties and after harvesting, indicate how well each did. This gives a year-by-year record of the garden, one that is easier to cross-check than a series of diaries. Green manures oats, lupins and the like not yet dug in should be cut and turned into the ground. Soil cleared of crops such as winter cabbage, broccoli and parsnips benefits if it is turned over, too. Rough LOOK FORWARD: Take time over winter to consider what you’d like to plant in spring, and prepare accordingly. digging is the best treatment at this time of the year, with weeds placed under the surface and any spare compost thrown over the surface. Complete with a dressing of garden lime. The rate will vary depending on soil acidity but plan on 50g to 100g a square metre, the bigger amount for heavier soils. Hedges can be trimmed in warmer areas but should be left until later in the year in areas that experience hard frosts or snow. Soil can be prepared, conditions permitting, before cloches and cold frames are put in place for growing plants under shelter. If soil clings to tools or boots, the ground is too wet and any work should be postponed. When the soil has been dug, composted and worked to a fairly fine crumb-like consistency, position the cloches and leave them for three weeks before sowing seeds. This warms the soil under the cloches and the more that are used, the better the lift in soil temperature under the individual shelter. Cloche gardening is suitable for small gardens and strawberries give earlier crops grown in this way. Flowers Pruning roses this month can be risky, as early pruning can encourage roses to throw out fresh shoots that will be zapped by frost. Coastal areas can usually get away with winter pruning but in general, August is the preferred month for rose pruning. Garden centres have barerooted roses in stock now and buying early is recommended to obtain popular varieties. Cinerarias grown in a glasshouse will be pushing up their flower stems and will benefit from a liquid manure once a week, the day after they have been watered. Cyclamens (above) can also be started in the greenhouse and brought indoors as soon as the first buds appear. Tuberous begonias can be grown in pots in the glasshouse until almost ready to flower in summer, when they can be taken indoors or put on a sunny doorstep or deck. Carnations can also be treated in this way. Fruit If any new fruit trees are still to be ordered, do not delay or you may miss out on a chosen cultivar. Plant trees and soft-fruit bushes (currants, gooseberries, raspberries and brambles such as blackberries) in well-composted soil to get them off to a good start. Spending time getting the soil into good shape before planting pays dividends later. With young fruit trees, avoid letting them crop the first season. Let the trees’ sturdy trunks and branches develop for better fruiting as they mature. – ODT Try nemesia if you’re after vibrant colour IF YOU HAVE an area in your garden you’re thinking of blanketing with colour, then nemesia is the plant for you. Nemesias are colourful annuals and short-lived perennials, bearing wonderfully fragrant, colourful flowers from late spring through to autumn. A small bedding plant, they can be used for edging, in borders and as a ground cover and, in the right conditions, will produce so many flowers it’s hard to see the greenery. Growing to a height of around 20cm, nemesia is also lovely grown in pots or hanging planters. Nemesia seedlings come in mixed colours. Bi-colour bundles contain seedlings that will produce flowers with more than one colour on each flower. Some are a mix of white and lavender, yellow or pink and others are just a mix of different colours. A mixed bundle will produce all sorts of different coloured flowers. Nemesias make excellent partners with other summer flowering plants. Full sun and free draining soil are essential for them to flower well, as poorly drained soil can result in root and stem rot. Choose your spot then plant your seedlings about 15cm apart from each other in spring. Depending on the weather, in just five to six weeks you can expect a beautiful array of different coloured flowers in your pot or garden bed. BLOOMS: Brightcoloured nemesia can be used for edging or in hanging pots and planters.
Thursday July 27 2023 The Star 21 Recycle, Upcycle, Repurpose & SAVE In a throw away society it’s great to see the resurgence of recycling, upcycling and repurposing gaining momentum. Many of us out there see the value of preowned items whether it be clothing, furniture or a multitude of other goods that could have been destined for landfill. Preloved clothing has made a complete turn around in recent years with shops opening specifically to cater for this large market, the stigma of wearing second hand has gone and many people now search through these locations to find their next treasured clothing item. Op shops are a wonderful place to find all manner of items from kitchenware, toys, jewellery, ornaments, curtains and alike. If you’re looking for something specific for the home these shops are always a good starting point to save money rather than buying a new and more times than not you will find something else in there that you didn’t now you wanted. Maybe you are doing up an older house and need a replacement window catch or front door, the local demo yard is a good starting point to find something from the era of your home rather than something bright, shiny and new and totally out of character. Salvage yards are always a great place to look for items for the home or backyard. All manner of things can be recycled, upcycled or repurposed and it only takes a bit of imagination to transform one thing into another. Take for example bike chains made into a chandelier, or if you are thinking a little bigger try using an old bike, give it a coat of paint and string solar lights around the wheels and frame, hang it on a fence and you have a terrific piece of artwork that really comes to life at night. Grab some old wood (scrounged from the neighbour if necessary) and spend an hour or two with the kids making a bird house, the kids and the birds won’t mind what it looks like. You could amaze yourself by creating something bespoke and totally unique. Having no room for a swimming pool, a trip to an eco recycling store saw us come home with a really tidy nearly new bathtub for $20 for the back yard, the addition of a shower head over this attached to the garden hose made this the place for the kids to be on hot sunny days relaxing in the cool water. There is a multitude of ways to help save the environment and your back pocket by purchasing preowned items. Next time you have a clear out of the cupboards think about where you can take those items that can be onsold and the organisations you donate to in turn can do good for the community. Happy recycling everyone. Please donate your quality, pre-loved goods. Support our mission to give families in need a better life, here in Christchurch & around the globe. 189 Waltham Road, Sydenham 2/567 Wairakei Road, Burnside Open hours: Mon- Sat 9:30am-5pm (03) 420 4342 | habitat.org.nz/restore/christchurch facebook.com/habitatchch/ The Pumphouse Demolition Yard RECYCLING SPECIALISTS We buy & sell Bricks, timber, aluminium joinery, kitchens, doors, windows & more Donate Your Stuff. Moving house, downsizing, spring cleaning or upgrading and need to offload your stuff, then consider donating it to us! Our City Mission Op Shops accept good quality clothing, furniture, linen, electrical, books, tools, bric-a-brac, homeware, plants, toys, sporting goods & much more! If it’s not broken, and still usable then we can sell it! Donations can be dropped off to one of our Op Shops in the Central City, Sydenham, Bryndwr or Rangiora or contact us for FREE collection! All proceeds go to the Christchurch City Mission’s work. Weekdays 7.30am - 4.00pm Saturdays 9am - 1pm 544 Tuam St Phillipstown Phone 389 6638 Ph 03 365 0633 opshop@citymission.org.nz www.citymission.org.nz/op-shop Recycling helps save the planet.
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