The Star: September 15, 2016

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Thursday September 15 2016 35
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Time to plant
cold-tolerant veges
ALTHOUGH hints of
spring are occurring
regularly, late frosts can
still occur and cold winds
are often a feature of
September.
Even though it may feel
warmer, soil temperatures
rise at a slower rate than air
temperatures.
It’s time for final preparation
of your vege garden
before planting starts in
earnest in October. If the
soil is still wet, delay digging
as there is no advantage
working with very wet
soil.
Plant out veges that can
withstand late cold conditions
while still maturing
in the warmer summer
month’s including; beetroot,
cabbage, cauliflower,
carrots, lettuces, onions,
peas radish, silver-beet and
spinach.
Winter flowing annuals
such as primulas are
now coming to the end of
their flowering. You can
plant out some of the more
robust summer flowering
annuals in September
like alyssum, calendula,
cornflower, nemesia, snapdragons,
strawflowers and
sweetpeas.
In many areas, roses
have burst into new growth
at the first indication of
warmer weather. Early
season is the best time for
roses, bushes are usually
clean of fungal diseases
and flowers will soon be
abundant. Mulch now with
fresh compost then apply
rose and flower fertiliser in
• By Tod Palenski
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.
I’ve talked a lot about
the different salad plants
(typically lettuces) – iceberg,
baby cos, red, triumph,
just to name a few.
But for some reason I’ve
never mentioned endive in
one of these articles. And
I’m not really sure why.
Endive is a great addition
to any salad. I like
to partner its fine curled,
mid-green leaves with
rocket.
To my mind, endive is
a bit bitter and rocket is
a little peppery, together
GET BUSY: With longer hours of daylight there are
more jobs to be done in the garden.
early October.
Bulbs are blooming
and adding fragrance
and colour to the garden.
Newer plantings can be left
in the ground to naturalise
in permanent positions so
don’t lift them.
Winter flowering trees
and shrubs will be nearing
the end of their flowering
period so it’s time for
remedial pruning before
the new seasons growth
begins.
Prune to establish a natural
form and shape of your
trees and shrubs. With
smaller gardens, you may
wish to prune to maintain
trees at a smaller size.
Apply a copper fungicide
as a preventer to summer
fungal diseases on berry
fruit including raspberries,
boysenberries, blackcurrants
and gooseberries,
As the soil temperatures
rise, this is an ideal time
to sow a new lawn, or
renovate an existing lawn.
Check the drainage and
improve any permanently
TASTY: Pick the leaves
as you need them.
they’re a great combo.
What’s equally important,
and another reason
why I’m surprised I
haven’t mentioned endive
in the past, 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
wet areas before sowing.
Leave fertilising your lawn
until late September/early
October.
With smaller sections,
and more people downsizing,
containers can be a
very useful way for growing
veggies and flowering
annuals. Always renew
with fresh container mix
before planting new season
flowers and veggies. During
the growing season apply
slow release fertiliser to
help plants remain healthy
and grow vigorously.
It’s still a little cool for
planting out your new
season herbs into the
garden; however planting
in large containers can
provide an early start for
chervil, coriander, dill,
parsley, rosemary, sage and
thyme.
Check your existing
herb garden; some plants
may need to be cut back severely
while others should
be replaced when temperatures
rise. Leave planting
basil until October.
Easy to grow endive
to produce. Simply pick
the leaves off as you need
them.
To plant, look for a
well-drained 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.
Take a chance on endive.
You might just like what
you grow.
GARDENING GUIDE
Strawberries
I love strawberries in summer, but my
advice is don’t wait until then to plant them.
Spring and autumn are the ideal times to
plant strawberries to ensure you get bigger
crops in summer.
Strawberries are one of the quickest of all
the berry fruits to produce a crop. The plant
is usually only retained for one or two years
before it is replaced with a new one. This is
because they produce at their best on their
first and second year and decline each year
thereafter.
Strawberry Varieties
Strawberry Aromas offers consistently large
to very large fruit which is red with pale flesh. It
has a great flavour with a firm texture. Best of
all it is heavy yielding, and is especially suited
to the Christchurch climate. Strawberry
Camarosa has large to very large dark red
fruit which are firm with a medium red flesh
and excellent flavour and a high resistance to
wet weather. It has a vigorous growth habit so
needs plenty of space between plants.
Soil Preparation
They need a sunny, warm, well-drained
position that is humus rich and slightly acidic.
Dig in plenty of compost or Oderings ‘Fruit
& Veggie’ mix at the time of planting. Plant
strawberries in mounded rows or ridges; this
helps with drainage, prevents root disease
and keeps the roots warmer, increasing
growth and production. Plant 15cm apart with
the crown above ground level.
Growing together since 1929
Evergreen Azaleas
Dwarf evergreen shrubs, with masses of
spring flowers. Great range of colours
available. Good in pots or the garden.
Lobelias 8 Border Varieties
Vibrant mixture of bright flowers on
compact plants. Good for pots, baskets or
as a garden border.
Glass House Tomatoes
Be the first to grow and crop your own
tasty tomatoes this year. Only suitable for
a warm, frost free area.
Head in-store or visit oderings.co.nz
Barrington
92 Stourbridge St
(03) 332 9099
4.59
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Cashmere
205 Cashmere Rd
(03) 338 5193
12.99
9 .99
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Specials valid until 21.09.2016 or while stocks last.
We cannot sell or redeem Go Gardening gift vouchers. Other vouchers – Yes.
Mulching
The main reason black polythene is used
when planting strawberries is to keep the
plants and the fruit clean. It is also good
for keeping a high soil temperature for
better fruit production. The disadvantage
is that polythene doesn’t breathe so the
soil deteriorates faster. The alternative to
polythene is newspaper, weed mat or mulch;
these let the soil breathe and help keep
moisture in during summer.
My Top Tasty Tip
If you want flavour, flavour and more flavour
from your strawberries there are two tips
that are a must. The first is to fertilise your
plant with potash, this has two jobs; the first
being it adds the nutrients needed to help
the plants flower and fruit, and the second
is potash also helps makes the fruit sweeter
and juicier. Yates have a product called ‘Liquid
Potash’, the reason I love this product is it
works so much faster than the traditional
powder potash. My second tip is to reduce
the watering of the plants one week prior
to harvest; this will also help retain the juicy
sweet flavour of the fruit.
To see more top tips on how to grow
strawberries in the garden, pot and containers
then read more at www.oderings.co.nz
Linwood
485 Linwood Ave
(03) 982 3498
Nemesia Nebula Mixed
Very bright vibrant flowers over a long period
give a great display in any garden or pot. Eye
catching.
4.59
3 .99
6 PACK
Strawberries
Camarosa and Aromas produce large
and juicy, great flavoured fruit from early in
the season.
Open 7 Days, 8am – 5.30pm
Philpotts Road
116 Philpotts Rd
(03) 385 2386
4.59
2 .99
9 PACK
Yaldhurst
20 West Coast Rd
(03) 342 9198
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