Selwyn_Times: March 27, 2024

Selwyn Times Wednesday March 27 2024
24
GARDENING
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It’s time to get silverbeet planted
As autumn intensifies,
it’s time to get planting
hardy greens – as well
as colourful bulbs
Vegetables
CABBAGE, cauliflower and
silverbeet stalks should be
cleared from the ground once
the plants have been harvested.
Left in, they will deplete the
soil and, more seriously, make
excellent shelter for insect pests
such as grey aphids.
Spinach, lettuce and turnips
can still be sown – the latter in a
warm, sheltered place.
Onions need to be lifted soon.
If the foliage is still growing,
bend over the tops to hasten bulb
maturity. If onions are already
being used, dig those with thick,
soft stems first, as they will not
keep well.
Cabbage, cauliflower and leek
crops need to be kept cultivated
and weed-free. Control moth
and caterpillar attacks with
derris dust. A pesticide spray
may be needed to combat grey
aphid infestations.
Parsley can still be sown. The
hardy herb will stand the winter
without harm, but seed can be
slow to germinate. Soaking in
water overnight can help, but
more important is using fresh
seed to ensure good germination.
Young parsley plants respond to
good soil and an abundance of
nitrogen.
Silverbeet grows well in cool
conditions and, in most areas,
a late-March sowing still gives
enough time for plants to
become established before cold
weather stops growth.
Mixing lime (280g per sq m)
and a similar quantity of blood
and bone will help the crop.
Alternatively, apply a good
general fertiliser.
Sow silverbeet seed 1cm deep
in rows 0.5m apart. Water the
ground well if conditions are dry.
Being coastal in origin,
silverbeet also responds to
some salt in the soil. Place some
seaweed 30cm below where the
seeds are to be sown, cover with
NUTRITIOUS: A late March sowing still gives silverbeet plants time to become established
before winter.
PHOTO: GETTY
soil, then put in the seeds. This
leafy vegetable also responds
to a plentiful supply of organic
material.
Flowers
Carnation layers pegged down
in late January should now be
ready for separating from the
old plants. Scrape a little of the
soil away and see how rooting is
proceeding.
Carnation blooms can also be
improved if a quantity of manure
is added, 30cm or more below the
surface, and carnations also like
plenty
of lime and bone meal added
to the soil. If it is light and
sandy, improve it by mixing
in rotted turf, straw or garden
compost.
When planting rooted
carnation layers, set 40cm apart
and try not to disturb the ball
of young roots. Do not plant
too deeply. The upper roots
should be just below the
surface.
Lilies can be planted in rich,
well-drained, lime-free soil,
giving the bulbs a chance to
settle down before winter.
Lilium regale is popular in home
gardens, being easy to grow and
less sensitive to soils containing
lime.
Most tolerant of lime is the
Madonna (Lilium candidum).
The other main difference is
that Madonna lilies, which have
no dormant period, should be
planted in a hot, dry spot with
a-third of the bulb above the
soil.
Other lilies need plenty of leaf
mould or peat to maintain the
acidity in which they thrive.
Most lilies like to have shade
over their roots and look good
beside azaleas, rhododendrons
and kalmias.
In heavy soils, drainage can be
improved by sitting the bulb on a
layer of river sand.
Stem-rooting lilies should be
planted 8cm-10cm deep, basalrooting
15cm or more deep.
Fruit
Loganberries, boysenberries,
tayberries and cultivated
blackberries need to be pruned
after fruiting.
Cut from the base of the plant
all canes which have fruited and
train young canes in their place.
If there are not enough of those
to replace the fruit-bearing ones,
the plant has been starved.
Mulch with stable manure or
garden compost, at least half a
metre out, around all sides of the
stems.
Raspberry bushes can be
cleaned up by tying the canes
into place, removing all weeds
and any suckers that have
appeared.
Leave seven or eight newlygrown
canes to each plant and
remove old ones which bore fruit
this season.
A mulch of half-rotted manure
or compost will help the plants
develop. – ODT
READY: Raspberry canes
can be tied into place, while
lilies can be planted in rich,
well-drained soil.
PHOTOS: ODT
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