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<strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong> Wednesday <strong>May</strong> 1 <strong>2024</strong><br />
24<br />
GARDENING<br />
AUTUMN IS a great time to<br />
tackle jobs in the garden that<br />
the heavy summer heat doesn’t<br />
permit, like getting your lawn<br />
back into shape.<br />
Plus it’s an ideal time to sow<br />
winter crops if you haven’t<br />
already.<br />
Here are five tasks to get you<br />
started:<br />
1. The beauty of growing fruit<br />
trees at home means harvesting<br />
fruit when they are at their best.<br />
Tree ripening enhances flavour<br />
and results in juicy, delicious<br />
fruit picked right at their peak.<br />
The last of summer fruit crops<br />
like peaches, nectarines, grapes<br />
and passion fruit are now nearing<br />
an end. Use bird netting to<br />
ensure our feathered friends<br />
don’t steal the last of the harvest.<br />
2. Harvest remaining summer<br />
crops as they come to an end<br />
and start sowing and planting<br />
winter veges. This will allow the<br />
roots of plants time to establish<br />
before temperatures drop<br />
much further and growth slows.<br />
Winter crops include beetroot,<br />
broccoli, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower,<br />
silver beet, spinach,<br />
swedes and turnips<br />
3. It is important to ensure<br />
plants enter their dormant season<br />
in the best health. Give them<br />
a final application of fertiliser<br />
so they’re in good condition<br />
to withstand cooler and wetter<br />
winter months and are ready for<br />
growth in spring. In cooler areas<br />
apply fertiliser to fruit trees,<br />
ornamental plants, shrubs and<br />
roses, but don’t let that task run<br />
into next week, the end of April<br />
is generally the cut-off point.<br />
4. Summer flowering annuals<br />
will be at the end of their growing<br />
season. It’s time to remove<br />
old plants and prepare beds<br />
for winter flowering displays.<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Time running out to plant winter veges<br />
MAINTENANCE: Sprinkle<br />
bare lawn with grass seed<br />
to encourage growth over<br />
the winter. Plant cornflowers<br />
now for a display in early<br />
spring.<br />
MUST-HAVE: Onions are a staple in every kitchen. They are<br />
easy to grow and enjoy having companions.<br />
Prepare soil by adding in plenty<br />
of compost and mix in well with<br />
existing soil to a spade depth.<br />
Some favourite winter annuals<br />
to grow are; alyssum, calendulas,<br />
cinerarias, cornflowers, larkspur,<br />
pansies, poppies, primular,<br />
stocks, sweet william and violas.<br />
Grow them in the garden or<br />
containers to brighten up the<br />
ONIONS ARE one of must-have<br />
vegetables to grow in your own<br />
garden.<br />
The problem is, once you start<br />
growing and enjoying homegrown<br />
food, the list of must-haves<br />
seems to grow too. But onions are<br />
at the top of that list and should be<br />
grown in every vegetable garden,<br />
and don’t stop there plant red<br />
onions as well<br />
Stagger-plant with spring onions,<br />
regular brown pukekohe long<br />
keeper onions, pearl drop onions<br />
and red bunching spring onions.<br />
For the newbie gardeners<br />
out there, stagger planting (or<br />
staggering) is when you plant a<br />
few seedlings of the same varieties<br />
(ie broccoli or onions) every<br />
few weeks to ensure you have a<br />
constant supply of produce ready<br />
to harvest.<br />
You can grow onions pretty<br />
much anywhere in the garden –<br />
they also grow well in pots. But<br />
make sure the soil is friable (goes<br />
crumbly when you touch it). If<br />
it’s not, simply give it a good dig<br />
over and add a bit of compost and<br />
fertiliser.<br />
Red and pukekohe long keeper<br />
onions need to be planted 10cm<br />
apart. And if you’re growing them<br />
in rows, make the rows 20cm<br />
apart.<br />
Companion plant spinach in between<br />
the rows. Or you could try<br />
growing spring onions in-between.<br />
They will be ready to harvest<br />
winter months. If planting in<br />
containers, toss out old potting<br />
mix and use new mix prior to<br />
planting. Old mix will be lacking<br />
nutrients and over time can<br />
break down and cause poor<br />
drainage.<br />
5. Early <strong>May</strong> is an excellent<br />
time for lawn renovation or the<br />
laying of new lawn as this coincides<br />
with the cooler temperatures<br />
and more consistent rainfall.<br />
Use a lawn patch for tidying<br />
up smaller areas. Lawn<br />
fertiliser can now be safely<br />
applied in cooler regions where<br />
there is reasonable rainfall. If<br />
there is a dry spell, water regularly<br />
to ensure the fertilisers are<br />
washed into the lawn.<br />
Getting to know your onions<br />
much earlier at around six to eight<br />
weeks, so will be out of the rows<br />
before the larger onions need the<br />
space. Simply, plant your spring<br />
onions around 4cm apart from the<br />
next.<br />
You can harvest your spring<br />
onions at any time. But the longer<br />
you leave them the bigger they will<br />
get until they go to seed.<br />
Your larger onions will take<br />
around 20-24 weeks to get ready,<br />
you can tell when they are because<br />
they start to pop right out of the<br />
ground.<br />
If they start to flower, harvest<br />
them as onions that have started to<br />
bolt or go to seed don’t store very<br />
well. Don’t worry if they’re green,<br />
you can still eat them.<br />
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