Gardening with

Garden tasks for February

Feed dahlias and chrysanthemums and keep well staked and tied.

Lift early gladioli when foliage turns yellow, and start planting spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, freesias, anemones, ranunculus, sparaxis, ixias, grape hyacinths, tritonia and lachenalia.

Water your roses by thoroughly soaking once a week, and spray for mildew.

Dead head perennials, flowering annuals and roses as flowers finish.

Prepare autumn flower beds prior to planting by digging in compost and a general garden fertiliser.

Sweet corn, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, courgettes, garlic, early carrots, peas and beans are all ready for harvest – pick sweet corn when the tassels have begun to dry, and harvest cucumber and courgettes as they come ready (pretty much every day), to encourage steady fruiting.

Powdery mildew on cucumbers and pumpkins can be controlled by spraying with Yates Nature’s Way fungus spray.

Use Derris Dust to prevent white butterfly caterpillars on cabbages and cauliflowers.

Hibiscus rosa sinensis

Fijian – Cooperi

Hibiscus are great for pots, or they do well in coastal gardens. Require a sunny, well-drained, frostfree position, or close to a warm wall. Easy care and gorgeous flowers. We have a lovely range of colours available.

Gift vouchers, giftware, tools, pots, garden and pest products available all year round

Monday - Saturday 9am - 5pm closed Sundays and public holidays.

17 Bell Street Ōtaki (06) 364 8758 www.watsonsgarden.co.nz

Sow seeds of wallflower, bellis, candytuft, godetia, arcotis, delphinium, honesty, larkspur, snapdragon, pansy, lupin, nigelia, nemesia, polyanthus, stock, alyssum, scabiosa, linaria, aquilega and lobelia.

Plant out annuals in the garden and in containers: alyssum, viola, sweet pea, lupin, cornflower, linaria, primula, stock and wallflower.

Fruit and vegetable garden

This is the time to plant your winter garden – plant seedlings of cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, silver beet, Brussel sprouts, celery and spinach.

To get veggies for late autumn and winter crops off to an excellent start, feed the soil at planting time with compost or use it as mulch in early autumn.

Lift and dry shallots, onions and early crops of potatoes, and start to earth up early planted celery.

Keep your summer salad supply going and plant lettuce seedlings as you harvest.

Sow seeds of beetroot, parsnip, swedes, spring onion, cabbage, broccoli, celery, leeks, cress, carrots, spinach, radish, kohl rabi, Brussels sprouts and silver beet. Prepare ground for strawberry planting and watch out for mildew on apples and botrytis on grapes.

Prune stone fruit immediately after harvest and cut out old canes of raspberries and similar fruit.

Your citrus trees will appreciate an application of fertiliser this month – sprinkle around the drip line and water in.

Trim away leaves covering grapes to expose fruit to ripen in the sun, and use bird netting to protect from birds.

Lawns

Autumn is the time for lawn maintenance but continue to keep your lawn well watered and use Butlers Feed and Weed to control weeds in preparation for autumn re-sowing.

Second thoughts

This can be the hottest month and many insect pests will reach their most active phase – regular checking and watering will almost certainly be essential.

Focus on growing figs

Ease into TE HORO GARDEN CENTRE for INDOOR & OUTDOOR PLANTS HIBISCUS

Tropical

Magnificent flowers. Various colours to choose from ranging from white, pink, red, yellow and orange.

TIBOUCHINA Peace Baby

Stunning compact variety with beautiful white flowers with pink stamens.

Figs are one of the most delicious fruits, deserving top marks for versatility – sweet as candy, and suitable for eating raw, cooked or dried.

They are native to an area stretching from Northern India to Turkey – stolen tablets from the now Southern Iraq, dating back to 2500BC, record the use of figs.

The trees are not difficult to grow (and can live to a ripe old age) but produce the best crops in a warm, Mediterranean-type, relatively dry climate. Ideally, plant in a sheltered position with full sun, preferably on warmer north to north-east facing slopes (the best climate is one closest to that of the Middle East). They are frost tender until mature and require protection from winter’s colder temperatures.

MONSTERA Adansonii

Swiss Cheese Vine

Easy-care indoor pot plant. Can be trained upwards on a support or left to trail in a hanging basket.

Long flowering throughout the year. Great for pots. 1x1m

TE HORO GARDEN CENTRE

Cnr old SH1 & Te Horo Beach Rd

TE HORO

Ph 364 2142

Shopping made easier with access from old State Highway!

Although figs can tolerate dry conditions, they need plenty of water during the growing season to produce large, succulent fruit, and young trees should be watered regularly until established. In drier areas, mature trees will require to be watered every two weeks – you’ll know if your trees need more water as leaves will begin to turn yellow.

Figs will not tolerate waterlogged soil and should be planted in well-aerated and well-drained soils. These deciduous trees are extremely vigorous and perform well in deep soils – heavy clay soils are great for figs as these don’t stimulate too much growth.

If your soil is too high in nitrogen (figs love compost) they will grow and grow, but not produce good crops. In fact, trees can grow quite large and need pruning to prevent shading of fruit, which delays ripening. Figs adapt well to being grown in pots however, they will need watering daily during summer and re-potting with fresh soil every three years. You will also need to keep the plant pruned to a manageable size.

Your tree will produce two crops during the fruit season.

The first of these grows on old wood, so it’s important not to prune trees back severely – the second crop will grow on new growth.

Be sure not to pick your fruit before it has ripened – figs will not ripen once they have been removed from the tree. When fully ripe the fruit will be slightly soft and start to bend from the neck – picked fruit will keep for 2-3 days in your fridge.

Figs are rich in complex carbohydrates, fibre and minerals, including potassium, copper, magnesium and calcium – it is reported that half a cup of figs has the equivalent amount of calcium as half a cup of milk. ‘Black Beauty’ is a good fig to try – vigorous and producing lots of fruit – the tasty, juicy flesh is a rich, dark colour.

A late variety, ‘Adriatic’ is also prolific, bearing bright green, medium to large fruit with a yellow tinge – the sweet flesh is strawberry-red in colour.

An early season variety to try is ‘Genoa,’ which produces medium sized fruit with green to white skin. The flesh is yellow amber in colour and is sweetly good either fresh or dried.