Winter seems a bit chilly this year! We are hoping you are all keeping warm and cosy. This might be the time to slow down a bit in the garden and brainstorm on new plants (& companions), new DIY ideas for garden maintenance etc. We have compiled some winter gardening tips that hopefully will help ensure a continuous supply of vegetables.
General Maintenance
Keep plants warm with mulch.
Add a layer of compost into the vegetable garden and around trees.
Prune fruit trees and roses (mid-winter) to stimulate growth.
Make sure gardens are well-draining.
Start planning for spring.
July is a good time to plant your garlic, lettuce, spinach and onion seedlings. For relatively warmer areas, you may already start planting some seed potatoes. We have agria, cliffs kidney, ilam hardy, rocket and desiree seed potatoes now on www.awapuni.co.nz We've also just added jersey bennes, purple heart and Maori potato Waiporoporo in our potato collection. There will be some exciting harvests in a few months.
Wintry weather inhibits growth so many gardeners usually choose to plant fast-growing beet, silverbeet, rainbow beet and pak choy to ensure continuous supply. Pak Choy are fast-growing and very generous. They also don't mind the cold. Like silverbeet, pak choy seedlings and brassicas can be planted all year round. Spinach and lettuce are good space fillers to maximise your gardening space.
It's also a great time to plant onions. At the moment, we have pukekohe onions (longkeeper), California red onions and spring onions available online.
If you are thinking of planting garlic this season, make sure you use rich, well-draining soil. Plant garlic seedlings in a sunny spot. For colder areas in NZ, prepare to mulch around your garlic seedlings for insulation. Dig in some compost and Nitrophoska Blue Fertiliser to make the garlic seedlings grow stronger.
After a long wait, many gardeners have started planting our camarosa strawberries (now available) in June. We are looking to release the ventana variety this July. To improve strawberry harvest, you may want to consider using Tui Strawberry Food. You may also plant herbs and alliums (onions/spring onions) close to your strawberries to deter pests. Sage, Dill, Chives, Thyme are herbs that are great to plant next to strawberries. You may allow some herbs to flower as well, in order to attract pollinators.
Flower Garden
Start preparing for spring! Brighten up your garden with cornflower, wallflower, antirrhinum and dianthus. Sweet peas, pansies and polyanthus can thrive in cold weather. All these varieties can grow beautifully in pots as well. If you like to have various poppies in your garden, we have the following varieties available this season: Anzac (deep red), Californian Mix (multi-colour semi-double fluted), Iceland (salmon), Shirley Mix (multi-colour, double blooms).
Natives
Natives love the crispy, cool weather so you may still want to consider planting your hedges at this time. Native trees may be planted any time of the year. Take advantage of this season to mass plant native flaxes like Cookianum Mountain Flax and Carex grasses. You may also like to consider planting native flowering hebes at this time as feature plants in your garden. We now also have very tall native trees like Matai and Rewarewa available on our website.
