March Gardening Update Canterbury Gardens in Autumn March is ideal for harvesting fruit and vegetables. Surplus produce is common, and freezing remains the most popular preservation method—it’s quick, easy, and cost-effective. Clean, blanch, cool, dry, and pack vegetables into freezer bags before freezing. Bottling fruit and beetroot, while more time-consuming, adds colour to your pantry … Read More
February Gardening Update Canterbury Gardens in Summer The weather over the Christmas period was not very summer-like. Below-average temperatures, dull, cloudy days, and double the usual rainfall made gardening quite a challenge. The silver lining for me was the excellent crops of raspberries, strawberries, and blackcurrants. Tomatoes have been slow to ripen, and my stone … Read More
Site Plan Creating a site plan for your fruit tree orchard is essential for effective management. A straightforward layout that indicates the location and type of each tree—such as apple, peach, pear, and plum—provides a clear reference for future care.The next step is to track harvest times and annotate this information on your plan. This … Read More
Summer Gardening Update Canterbury Gardens in Summer Summer has arrived, bringing the annual battle with blackbirds over ripening berries. Strawberries and raspberries are their favourites, often pecked before they’re fully ripe. Not this year! With netting in place, the berries are safe, ready to enjoy with ice cream. This is a busy month in the … Read More
When is the right time to harvest? Picking too early or too late can result in underdeveloped or overly ripe fruit. Check out the information below to help you determine when your fruit is ready to be picked. Signs of Ripeness Colour Apples, pears, nectarines – full colour has developed for the variety. Peaches, plums, apricots … Read More
Spring Gardening Tips in Canterbury This Spring is following a typical weather pattern with warm westerlies and brief cold southerlies, which have not yet provided enough rain to meet the annual average. The cold North-Easterlies typical of Christchurch Spring have not been prevalent so far, which may indicate a milder season. Now is the time … Read More
Many thanks to Portstone Garden Centre for this update. CHS Members enjoy a 15% discount at Portstone Garden Centre www.portstone.co.nz Plant of the Month Who likes nothing better than to pick and taste their home-grown tomatoes? Full of flavour and so many varieties to choose from. From cherry tomatoes to beef steak; … Read More
Spring Gardening Tips in Canterbury Has Spring arrived? It certainly seems so, with some of my fruit trees already in bloom (perhaps a bit early for some), daffodils in full flower, and the grass growing steadily. All the signs point to an early start to Spring, but as we know, the weather is fickle and … Read More
Winter gardening Tips in Canterbury This month we will notice that the days are getting longer, so we hope that the weather will also begin to get warmer. July has been a month with many dull and cold days, with single-digit temperatures, so I have spent very few hours in the garden or greenhouse. I … Read More
This year, Winter has arrived earlier than usual with frosty days and snow in May. Although we haven’t had the usual amount of rain, it remains to be seen what the rest of the Winter will bring. I’ve prepared my chrysanthemums, begonias, and dahlias for Winter by either lifting them or moving their pots into … Read More