What to do in the garden in February
Late summer is a time of transition. It’s an exciting and busy time of the year as we continue to maintain our summer show and start to plan our winter gardens.
It’s a great excuse to get out with our gardening pals and visit the local garden centre to browse the many offerings.
Sarah Cates is the gardening expert at Tony and Sarah’s Section Care. Contact them for all your gardening needs. Call 0274 598 179 or find them on Facebook.
You will see early summer bulbs are now on sale. Beauties such as ranunculus, daffodils, tulips and anemone can be planted into pots and flower beds. The joy they bring as they poke up through the soil will bring light to the darkest winter morning.
Continue harvesting you summer vegetables and fruits. If your courgettes have grown into marrows, there are plenty of recipes available that will help you jazz them up into something special. Your tomatoes should all be turning red, or the green skins blushed with a reddish tone. It’s the perfect opportunity to make pasta sauce and you can throw your basil in for extra flavour.
Start planning your winter vegetable garden. Remember, rotate your crops to keep good soil fertility. This also aids in keeping plant specific pest and disease to a minimum. Take the opportunity and get some compost into the soil or apply a new layer if you build your garden up.
Sow seeds of cabbage, beetroot, winter lettuce, broccoli, silver beat, carrots, leeks and onions. If you find seeds too difficult to handle, many garden centres now have seedlings. Seedlings will require special care, as we will continue to experience hot, dry weather.
Autumn potted colour is beginning to make a show. You can keep planting many of our trusted varieties such as petunia’s, geranium’s and marigold’s. Again, you can sow seeds of pansies, violas, polyanthus, snapdragons, poppies, cineraria, lobelia, alyssum and calendula. I just popped some stocks into my vegetable garden. An all-time favourite of mine.
This is also the time of year where gardeners need to be vigilant, as the mixed weather provides the perfect conditions for pest and disease.
Gardeners, more than most folk, will notice the slight changes climatic variety is bringing. The only way to handle this, is to adapt. You need to be ready for all eventualities and create resilience in your garden.
Bark mulch.
Keeping your soil healthy will naturally benefit your plants. Incorporating a good layer of well-rotted compost, followed by mulching will provide nutrients and protection. Regularly feeding and a good watering regimen will also reap benefits.
Plant choice may also become an issue. Take note of what did well this season and what failed. Talk to fellow gardens about their successes and difficulties. This may impact plant choice in the future.
This summer we have experienced a very wet period followed by a hot, dry spell. This creates the perfect breeding ground for powdery mildew.
Powdery mildew is a host specific fungal disease that affects a number of plants. This includes fruit, and vegetable crops as well ornamentals. There are many species of powdery mildew which affect different plants. The type that affects your Roses will not affect your cucumbers.
The infected plants will be become covered in a distinctive greyish-white mould. Typically, this mould is found on the upper leaf surfaces.
Powdery mildrew on a dahlia leaf.
Powdery mildew thrives in dry conditions. We gardeners can use this to our advantage as we wage war on our fungal foe. Anything that has a detergent type action that wets the leaves is an effective control method. This includes dishwater!
The Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture recommends making sprays using baking soda, sulphur or milk. Follow the instructions carefully as an over concentrated form will damage your plants.
Baking soda
One particular method that works well, particularly for rose mildew, is baking soda. Mix up a solution of baking soda and water and spray onto the infected plant. About half a teaspoon of baking soda to one litre of water. Too much baking soda will burn the leaves.
Sulphur spray
A sulphur spray is also effective against powdery mildew. Spray fortnightly, beginning as soon as the very first sign of powdery mildew appears, or even earlier if you know that the particular plant gets powdery mildew every year.
Milk spray
A weekly spray of skim milk (1 part milk, 9 parts water — the low-fat content means there is less chance of odour) will reduce the severity of powdery mildew by up to 90%. Milk is believed to be a natural germicide; it contains a certain amount of salts and amino acids which powdery mildew is sensitive to, and also acts as a foliar fertiliser, boosting the plant's immune system.
Don’t forget about weeds.
Finally, keep on top of your weeds!
For more information on pest and disease visit the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture's website.
