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Garden Tips & Tasks - January 2012
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Thursday, 05 January 2012
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January
Happy New Year! Now that the celebrations are over it’s time to get back
to the garden where we all belong!
As gardeners we always need to think a season ahead; so here are a few
tips for maintaining the garden through summer whilst also preparing for
that all-too-inevitable autumn.
 General Gardening
Water gardens and ponds are hives of activity during warmer months; be
sure to clean these so your plants receive oxygenated water.
Check those sprinkler systems for leaks; there’s no sense in letting precious water go to waste.
While your mantra for summer should be ‘water, water everywhere’,
remember too much, too little, or too often and you could damage your
garden. Check Gardening Tips
next week when we will be featuring an informative article by Rachel Vogan regarding summer watering.
And don’t forget to hit the garden centres hunting for New Year specials.
 Vegetables & Fruit
Continue earthing and moling potatoes to encourage development and improve yields.
Kumara and yams should be mounded throughout summer until late March, ready for harvest late autumn and early winter.
Strawberry season is almost at an end; shortcuts will mean no more
shortcake for you! Keep up the care with regular watering and feeding
and you’ll be rewarded with strawberries right until the bitter end of
summer!
With the weather treating us well it’s hard to comprehend that,
invariably, it will become more than just a little ‘chilli’ and we will
soon enough ‘relish’ the warmth of winter veggies.
If you can’t eat them, purloin them away! Excess chillies can be dried and saved to warm up in winter.
Beat that beetroot! Left in the garden beetroot can turn sour. So it’s
time to spice things up in your... kitchen, by preparing relish to be
enjoyed throughout 2012.
Basil can be frozen in ice cubes for use later in the year.
Sow and grow (for autumn and winter): radishes, lettuces, onions,
broccoli, cauliflower, herbs (including coriander, basil and chervil)
and cabbage.
 Flowers
As one queen said: ‘off with their heads!’ Whether we’re running a large
country, or a small country garden, sometimes we have to be ruthless!
It’s time to deadhead those roses and rhododendrons to promote new
autumn blooms.
When deadheading climbing roses remember that a supportive structure will be needed for next season.
Trim perennial petunias to shape to encourage fresh, new flowers.
If you have delphiniums in your garden there’s a lot at... stake! These
plants should be staked by January to protect against wind and improve
flowering.
Sow and grow: cyclamen, petunia, sunflowers, dahlia, marigold and chrysanthemum.
 Indoor / Container Gardening
For those who have a greenhouse, remember to dampen down paths. This will keep moisture levels up and the temperature down.
Any remaining spring bulbs, such as daffs or tulips should be lifted,
divided and replanted in the garden, or into pots and containers.
Re-pot for peace! Re-pot peace lilies before their new flush of growth.
Use a good quality indoor potting mix, such as Tui All Purpose Potting
Mix, with pumice to ensure adequate drainage. Now that’s one ‘groovy’
manoeuvre for this month!
If you’re heading away on holiday consider using deeper saucers with
sand for container plants to ensure they receive the water they require.
Check out our recent article: A Wick that Works; regarding an innovative hydroponic system from a Garden-NZ reader.
Sow and grow: pansies, polyanthus and violas in trays with seed raising mix for winter colour.
 Lawn Care
Water... water... water! Need I say more?
It’s important to remember that nitrogen in fertiliser is more likely to
burn lawns during warmer months. Use a slow-release fertiliser with
stabilised nitrogen content, such as Tui NovaTec Premium, and read the
instructions. Yes; sometimes it can be OK for a bloke to read the
instructions first!
January is a wondrous time in the garden, with an enjoyable work-leisure
balance. While we may focus on essential projects, take some time to
sit back and appreciate the beauty of nature, bathed in the summer sun.
Happy summer everyone!
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Gardening Tips 
