Warm rain brings new growth

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 23, 29 October 1985, Page 9

Warm rain brings new growth

How welcome was the rain of the last few days to our parched gardens. How fresh and green it all looks with the dust washed from the leaves and all the new growth appearing. It is always a thrill to walk round the garden and see the buds swelling on the roses ready to burst into the first flush of bloom. This warm, damp weather is perfect for aphids which flourish in such conditions. Roses — among other plants — should be sprayed regularly from now on with a good rose spray, about every two weeks, to keep under control pests and diseases which can spoil the flowering and debilitate the plant. POLYANTHUS • The polyanthus, which have been such a delight this year, can be divided when they have finished flowering. Dig the plant from the bed and remove the hard, woody growth from under the rooting system. The little rooted plants, once separated from this base, can be planted out for next year's flowering. Enrich the bed with plenty of humus and well-rotted animal manure, and be careful not to let the young plants dry out in summer weather. Polyanthus prefer a place in semi-shade, and like plenty of moisture. Now is the time we all rush to buy the summer bedding plants for a glorious display of summer colour.

Watch out for late frosts with frost-tender plants such as French and African marigolds and asters. Pansy, stock, nekesia, dianthus, poppy, carnation, wallflower and cornflower will all make light of a degree or two of frost, and even Livingstone daisy and petunia will come through as long as the frost is not too heavy. With the snow disappearing from the mountain let us hope the frosts will disappear with it and we can plant our marigolds, portulacca and lobelia for a good show of colour in the summer months. As long as the ground is thoroughly soaked around them camellias and rhododendrons will benefit from a good mulching now to conserve the moisture around the roots in the dry weather. Never put on a mulch when the ground is too dry as this will have the effect of preventing moisture from light rain and dew penetrating the ground. VEGETABLES In the vegetable garden main-crop peas can be sown now in a sunny, well-drained position. Peas like ground which has been previously limed, and will do very well in a situation which has previously grown a leaf crop such as cabbages. Make the rows about 80cms apart. Draw out a long, narrow furrow and* sow the seed at the base of this, covering with two to three cms of soil.

Keep the surface of the soil well stirred, and when the young plants are about twenty cms high, hill up the soil on either side of the row. If some support, in the form of wire netting or strings, is provided to keep the growing plants clear of the ground, a better crop of peas will result. BEETROOT Add a row or two of beetroot for summer salads. Choose a sunny, welldrained position and dig the soil thoroughly to the full depth of the spade. Add some well-rotted animal manure, if this is available, to provide the high nitrogen content which the plants favour. Make the rows about 45 cms apart, and form a shallow furrow about two cms deep. Firm the soil at the base of the furrow and set

the seed on this. Cover with soil and press well down. Keep moist after planting. Soaking the seed overnight before planting will help germination. Successive rows of carrot, parsnip and silver beet can be made now, along with a few more cabbages and cauliflowers to mature later. Find a corner for a clump of parsley. A favourite in any kitchen, parsley requires very little looking after and is usually disease free. Find a sunny corner with well-dug, loamy soil and plant the seed about two cms deep, covering with another centimetre of fine soil or leaf mould. As the plants mature cut the older leaves regularly to - encourage fresh young growth and to prevent the plant going to seed. Be careful when weeding, as the young seedlings can be mistaken for weeds.