by Wally Richards
LABOUR WEEKEND GARDENING
Labour Weekend puts us about bang in the middle of spring, which is the ideal time to get your gardens planted out for the summer and autumn.
Keen gardeners will have already made significant progress in their gardens and likely are into the final touches and daily care patterns of watering and nipping out those odd weed seedlings that pop up.
Even people who do not normally do much gardening other than mowing the lawn and spraying some herbicide around tend to become more motivated about now.
Spring is the time for renewal and all around us birds are sitting on their nests of hatchlings and causing a bit of havoc in gardens as they search for tidbits to feed the young.
In fact I had a call from a gardener who had the problem of blackbirds chucking around his garden mulch in their quest for food.
There are two things to do to solve this problem and the first is to supply the birds with ample food for their young.
This is best done by obtaining a bit of liver and chopping it up into small bits. Place these in a pot with 3 cups of rice and sufficient water to cook.
Stir occasionally till the rice is cooked.
Place spoonfuls of the mix out in suitable spots for the birds to eat.
Do this 2-3 times a day and again after dark so the birds who wake up before most people in the morning, have the food for breakfast.
The rice mix keeps well in the fridge for a few days.
To keep the birds off the areas where you don’t want them you can string some Bird Repeller Ribbon which is available from most independent garden centres or on line from www.gardenews.co.nz
The birds’ desire to nurture their young is so great that the ribbon will be of little use unless you supply a good amount of food.
Besides the rice, you can feed them bird seed, bread etc, but protein is what the birds want for their young and that comes from the liver and rice mix.
Planting out of seedlings is one of the main tasks at this time along with germinating seeds for planting out later.
Seedlings face three dangers that can decimate the young plants.
- Birds, which we have already mentioned.
- Cats, which just love freshly prepared soils as toilets.
- Slugs and snails that like seedlings.
To keep cats away from your new gardens use ‘Wallys Cat Repellent,’ sprinkle some of the crystals around the area to protect, and over 95% of the local cats will stay away.
As the crystals evaporate sprinkle a few more till the cats have formed new habits.
Do not put crystals on areas where you are growing food crops, instead take a 2 litre plastic milk bottle, cut off the base and place on its side, with the handle up place a rock inside to prevent it being blown around and put a tablespoon of the naphthalene flakes inside the container.
Place in the middle of where you want to protect. (As the flakes are sheltered in the container from rain or watering they will last for several days or weeks slowly evaporating. If crystals get wet they disappear quickly and need replacing.)
Slugs and snails also can attack seedlings and the best method of dealing with them is to spray Liquid Copper with Raingard added over the seedlings and surrounding soil.
The slugs and snails cannot go over copper without being affected so they stay away from treated areas. Repeat the treatment about every 10 to 14 days.
This method is far better than using poison baits which can kill pets and birds and are also dangerous to have around with small children.
Slugs and snails are an advantage in the garden as they aid in the breakdown of decomposing organic material and are an important part of the soil food web. We just need to keep them off our living plants.
Germinating seedlings is a frustrating experience for many gardeners because they do not provide sufficient natural light for the new seedlings.
The seeds sown in trays or punnets can be started off indoors but as soon as the first show of germination takes place they must be moved to a place where they have full light but not strong direct sunlight. In a glasshouse with a bit of shade cloth is perfect.
Alternatively, take an old drawer and place it in a morning or late in the day, sunny situation. Place your seedling trays in the drawer with panes of glass over the drawer to protect the young seedlings from the elements. Raise the glass slightly for ventilation.
Seedlings on a windowsill will stretch to the window and become weak and dampen off. When the seedlings have natural light from above they do not stretch, growing as natural, stocky plants.
Use a good potting mix for germinating seedlings as it is better and cheaper than special seed raising mixes.
Fill the tray two thirds full of the potting mix, sieve some more mix over this to obtain a layer of the finer particles.
Sprinkle the seeds over the fine particles and sieve some more mix to slightly cover the seeds.
With a fine rose watering can or a mist sprayer, moisten down the sowing with Magic Botanic Liquid (MBL) mixed with water at 10 ml per litre. This aids the germination.
Keep the seeds moist but not overly wet.
Once the seedlings have reached the second true leaf stage the tray should be soaked in the MBL and water mix and then the seedlings are pricked out into cell trays or small pots for later planting into the gardens.
When planting out a garden plot, remove all the weeds by hand and hoe up the soil to loosen it if compacted.
Cover the area with a layer of compost which can be obtained these days from garden centres in bags or by the trailer load.
Before spreading the compost over the prepared ground, you can enhance the mineral content of the soil by sprinkling Wallys Rok Solid, Ocean Solids, Sheep Manure pellets, Wallys Real Blood & Bone; dolomite & gypsum can also be applied at the suggested rates on the containers.
Then an inch (25 mm) or two of the compost is used to cover these goodies. Now the seedlings can be planted into the compost and watered in with MBL and Mycorrcin. The latter along with the MBL will start assisting the microbe populations to build up making for better healthier plants and gardens.
You may like to spray your seedlings with Vaporgard a few hours before transplanting.
This reduces moisture loss and makes a big difference in reducing transplant shock. The seedlings not only stand up quicker and start growing faster, but it also protects them against cold snaps and late frosts.
Once planted and watered in, you can sprinkle the Cat Repellent around if need be and spray the seedlings and mulch with Liquid Copper and Raingard to keep the slugs and snails at bay.
It is important that you water your new plantings lightly and frequently such as every day while they are establishing.
I have used the new Wallys Real Blood & Bone on a crop of brassicas I planted a few weeks ago. I am very impressed at how great the plants are looking as they head towards maturity, they are the best looking brassicas I have grown in a long time, thanks to Real Blood & Bone.
The last gardening session Rodney Hide and myself did a week ago you can hear/see here:-
https://rcr.media/episodes/gardening-with-wally-spring-gardening-and-the-return-to-healthy-soil
Phone 0800 466464
Garden Pages and News at www.gardenews.co.nz
Shar Pei pages at www.sharpei.co.nz
Mail Order products at www.0800466464.co.nz