Monthly Tips & Tasks – May
May is the middle of the Autumn and we now see the trees dropping their leaves. The days are shorter and noticeably cooler so much of the garden work is controlled by the weather.
Resources
Great tips and suggestions from our fruit & vegetable growers!
Report on the March Meeting of the Fruit & Vegetable Circle Speaker: Richard Smith Topic: Pip & Stone Fruit Richard originally worked for the Railways at Tower Junction, then spent some time fruit picking and ended up as their orchard manager. Now he works in management for Countdown logistics – they buy 450,000 cartons of … Read More
Herb of the Month – Dandelion Taraxacum officinale
A member of the Asteraceae family, this plant has a variety of descriptive names around the world, eg Blow ball, Lion’s Tooth, Cankerwort, Priest’s Snout.
Monthly Tips & Tasks – April
April is when Autumn really gets going, the days are noticeably shorter and night temperatures cooler. The trees are starting to colour up and drop so we need to be preparing the garden for Winter.
Monthly Tips & Tasks – March
We are now in Summer with plenty of hot weather and the usual periods of wind and little rain, all of which puts stress on plants and gives us the problem of keeping them growing and healthy.
Most of the berry fruits are finishing and the stone fruits are reaching their main production now, then to follow is the pip fruit.
The fruit crops that we are harvesting now are the results of the cultivation that we gave them over the last Winter and Spring so if the results are not up to expectations then review what was done to identify what needs to be done to improve the next crop.
Although winter is still a long way off we do need to be prepared. Spring bulbs will soon be in the garden centres but it is still too soon to plant most of them so choose the best quality bulbs and keep them until the time is right in the Autumn.
Most of the tasks around the garden at this time of the year is what I call maintenance gardening; weeding, watering, pest and disease control and of course, harvesting.
Herb of the Month – Five Season Herb
Five Season Herb Plectranthus (Coleus) ambionicus – family lamiaceae (mint) A member of the well known, ornamental Coleus, widely grown as a decorative garden plant for its attractive variegated red leaves. Cream bordered This plant is becoming popular and sought after. There have recently been several enquiries about it. There are two varieties now available … Read More
Monthly Tips & Tasks – February
We are now in Summer with plenty of hot weather and the usual periods of wind and little rain, all of which puts stress on plants and gives us the problem of keeping them growing and healthy.
Most of the berry fruits are finishing and the stone fruits are reaching their main production now, then to follow is the pip fruit.
The fruit crops that we are harvesting now are the results of the cultivation that we gave them over the last Winter and Spring so if the results are not up to expectations then review what was done to identify what needs to be done to improve the next crop.
Although winter is still a long way off we do need to be prepared. Spring bulbs will soon be in the garden centres but it is still too soon to plant most of them so choose the best quality bulbs and keep them until the time is right in the Autumn.
Most of the tasks around the garden at this time of the year is what I call maintenance gardening; weeding, watering, pest and disease control and of course, harvesting.
Herbs for Pest & Disease Control
from Canterbury Herb Society [one_half] Basil is good for tomato fly Borage is good for tomatoes & attracts bees. Calendula tomatoes and attracts bees Camomile cabbage and onions Caraway peas Chervil radishes Dill cabbage Fennel green aphid Garlic silver blight, aphid, codlin moth Horseradish potatoes Hyssop cabbage-butterfy, grapes [/one_half] [one_half_last] Marjoram tomatoes, cucumbers Nasturtim woolly … Read More
News from the Fruit & Vege growers
For the last meeting of the year Elaine Alexander attended as the guest speaker. She demonstrated how to create some wonderful centre-pieces for the Christmas table, incorporating fruit and vegetables.
Herb of the Month – Briar Rose Rosa rubiginosa
Common names –Sweet Briar, Eglantine Rose The species is native to Europe, Western Asia and South America. It is a deciduous, thorny, woody, hardy shrub. It is branched from the ground to 3 – 4 metres and does well in arid conditions. It was brought to New Zealand early on as a deciduous ornamental for its … Read More