Glorious spring

Pink and blue hydrangeas

MID-SPRING is the time to apply fertiliser to everything in the garden to keep plants healthy and productive by supplying the nutrients they need.

Fungal disease controlAs humidity and temperatures increase, so do fungal problems such as anthracnose on sub-tropical fruits like avocado. Black spots occur on the foliage and new twigs and can spread to the fruit, causing black sunken patches and fruit fall. Used regularly, liquid copper fungicide can help prevent fungal anthracnose on avocadoes. Spraying is necessary from the end of flowering to harvesting the fruit. Spray every four weeks, and during extended periods of wet weather, spray fortnightly. Liquid copper has ultrafine copper particles which readily mix with water to create an ‘aquagel’ that spreads readily over leaves and stems and sticks in place.

Being a liquid, it is much easier to measure out and mix than traditional powdered copper fungicides and has just a one day withholding period, meaning fruit can be harvested 24 hours after spraying.

WeedsSpring is when everything grows rapidly, including pesky weeds. Getting on top of weeds whilst they are in active growth and before they take hold is quick and easy using Yates Zero Rapid Weedkiller, which controls weeds and grasses fast. Tip: Zero contains glyphosate which is non-selective and could kill wanted plants. For weed control around ornamental plants, try Yates Zero Rapid Gel. The gel format helps you target exactly the right plant.

VegetablesIt’s all go in the vegie patch during mid spring, so it’s important to keep up regular watering and liquid feeding to ensure plentiful late spring and summer crops. In cooler areas the soil has warmed up so it’s time to plant out summer salad vegetable seedlings and sow pumpkins and melons.

Plenty of summer vegies can go in now from seed, including beetroot, capsicum, tomatoes, cucumber, eggplant, salad greens, zucchini and quick crops like Asian Greens, radish and beans. Head to www.yates.co.nz for a handy seed planting calendar which has a full list of vegies that can be sown now.

To get summer vegies off to a great start water seedlings in with Yates Thrive Natural Seaweed. It is an excellent plant starter tonic and helps to reduce transplant shock.

Don’t forget to protect young seedlings from snails and slugs with Blitzem Snail and Slug pellets, as they can rapidly devour entire seedlings.

Hydrangeas – pink or blue?You can influence the colour of your hydrangea flowers. Yates Hydrangea Pinking Liquid Lime and Dolomite helps change flowers to pink and Yates Hydrangea Blueing Liquid Aluminium Sulfate helps change flowers to blue. Hydrangeas need plenty of moisture as the weather warms up, so remember to water these well in the cool of early mornings or evenings.

RosesRoses are at their spring blooming peak during October, and are looking fabulous in gardens all across New Zealand. It’s a great time to visit rose gardens and choose your favourite varieties whilst they are blooming.

It’s important to keep up regular deep soakings at the base of rose plants and remember to deadhead spent flowers as they fade. This will keep the plants tidy and promote more flowers. Towards the end of the month feed roses with Yates Dynamic Lifter Plus Flower Food to encourage another flush of growth and new blooms in around six weeks time.

Control sap-sucking aphids on roses using Yates Rose Gun Advanced. Aphids can multiply rapidly on new rose leaves and flower buds, causing flowers to distort and shoots to wilt. It also contains a systemic fungicide to control common rose diseases like black spot and powdery mildew. For best results, ensure good coverage, both over and under the leaves. — Courtesy of Yates

Echinacea Cone FlowerLong flowering from summer right through to autumn, coneflowers are held on tall straight stems which are fabulous for garden colour, and great for picking. The daisy-like magenta coloured flowers attract bees and beneficial insects into the garden, and the leaves, roots and flowers have therapeutic properties for gardeners too. Echinacea loves full sun and well drained soil and plants reach 60 cm tall. Sow seeds directly into the garden bed, and cover lightly with seed raising mix.

Delectable dahliasIf you lifted dahlia tubers in winter, or would like to start some new plantings, now is the time to plant out dahlia tubers. There’s a myriad of varieties to choose from including tall large flowered types and there are compact varieties too. Flower forms range from singles to doubles, cactus to spider and pom pom, and all are perfect for picking. Dahlias provide masses of glorious long lasting summer colour in gardens, borders and pots. Feed dahlias regularly with liquid plant food to encourage healthy leaves and lots of flowers. Choose a sunny position and protect taller growers from wind by staking at planting time.

Chatham Island Forget–me-Not KopakopaChatham Island Forget-me-Not is a favourite among New Zealand gardeners for its striking blue and white spring flowers and fantastic textural foliage.

Sow seed in trays of seed raising mix. Once seedlings are 3-5cm high, transplant into small individual pots. Grow on until a root ball establishes and then transplant into the garden or containers. It prefers a full sun to partly shaded areas in cool climates and grows to 60cm tall. It looks fantastic as a mass planting.

CuttingsTaking cuttings is a great way to increase numbers of your favourite plants and share them with friends. During spring many perennials and spring and summer flowering shrubs put on soft new growth which is perfect for making soft tip cuttings.

Select healthy growth from the tops or sides of the plant, take lengths of stems 8-10 cm long, trim the base of the cutting just below a node (where leaves join the stem) and remove the lower leaves. Dip the cut ends into rooting hormone gel which helps promote better root development. Fill trays or pots with seed raising mix, moisten, and then dibble some holes for the cuttings using a chop stick. Insert the cuttings, water in well and place in a semi shaded protected position. Cuttings take anywhere from three to eight weeks to form roots.

Lavender Garden LuxuryWhen you don’t have a lot of space to play with it’s important that what you do plant really performs and looks sensational.

When it comes to spring lavenders, there’s a striking one that is practically fluorescent pink, peak flowering in October with large bracts on a nice compact lavender plant.

The ‘Princess’ Lavender’ was specially bred for unusual colour and large impressive flowers — it is lavender royalty.

These lavenders are good for hedges in narrow spaces and are sun lovers.

‘The Princess’ is a very strong flower producer and with all that energy put into the plant it will need a good feed with Yates Thrive Flower & Fruit to get the nutrition back for the next flower season

Trim lightly to shape after flowering. Suitable for pots too as a lovely entrance display and so easy to grow.

Purple carrots!Did you know that the first carrots that were cultivated more than 5000 years ago were purple and red? Orange carrots are relatively modern and started to be grown in about 1600.

Yates Carrot Purple produces 20cm roots with smooth, purple coloured skin and orange flesh. The purple colour remains through cooking, so the end result is not only tasty, it’s colourful as well.

Carrots need a deep, well drained soil. To help the soil stay moist during germination, lay a plank of wood or some hessian over the garden bed. It’s important to check daily and remove the covering as soon as seedlings begin to appear.

RhubarbRhubarb is a hungry plant, needing lots of organics and nutrients to produce its tasty stems. Regular applications of Yates Dynamic Lifter Plus Fruit Food, plenty of water and a good mulch to help retain soil moisture are the keys to success.

Sweet AsSweet Corn is an easy crop to grow at home and fresh picked corn is sweet and delicious. Corn needs a sunny spot in the garden and the tall plants are best grown in blocks of short rows which ensure better pollination. Prepare the soil by digging over and adding handfuls of Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food. Sow the corn seeds 25 mm deep, directly into moist soil, and then don’t water again until seedlings emerge.

Honeysweet is an early maturing variety with large even cobs and sweet golden kernels. Early Chief has large cobs and sweet golden yellow kernels in even rows.

Pumpkin successOctober is the optimum time to time to sow pumpkins from seed. All pumpkins are fascinating for kids to grow, and even better if they get to eat the vegies at the end of the growing season. Pumpkins need a position in full sun and lots of space (over 1m square) for the vigorous vines to spread. Prepare and improve the soil with a few handfuls of Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food. Form a slightly raised mound in the prepared soil to encourage good drainage and sow 3 or 4 pumpkin seeds on top of the mound. Water in well and keep the soil moist.

As seedlings germinate, thin to the two strongest seedlings. Water well as vines grow and liquid feed every two weeks using Yates Thrive Natural Fish & Seaweed +. It’s a complete all purpose plant food combining natural fish and seaweed and added fast acting NPK nutrients. Pinching the tips out of the vines helps control the spread and promotes more flowers and hence more fruit.

Perfect partnersBasil is a perfect flavour partner for vine-ripe tomatoes, but it can also be beneficial grown together with tomatoes in the garden. This tasty herb is an effective companion plant for tomatoes, repelling whitefly and other insect pests.

Sow some basil seedlings at the base of your tomato crops or combine them together in pots on the balcony. Yates Basil Gourmet Mix is a collection of basil varieties including Thai, Lemon, Cinnamon and Purple Basil for great colour. Yates Black Krim Tomato is an heirloom variety of tomato that has flattened dark red-purple juicy fruit with green shoulders. It’s one of Yates’ organic seeds, which have been grown under strictly controlled, organic, chemical free conditions.

SoilSoil is the engine room of the garden and healthy soil will help the garden perform at its best. One of the most important things that gardeners can add to their soil is organic matter. Organic matter provides some fantastic benefits:

* Absorbs moisture like a sponge so helps to increase the water holding capacity of soil.

* Helps improve soil structure by binding mineral particles together and creating additional spaces for air and water and allowing easier root growth.

* Encourages earthworms and beneficial microorganisms which enrich the soil and help create plant available nutrients.

Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food is pelletised composted manure so is an easy to use, concentrated source of organic matter. Dynamic Lifter is rich in organic nutrients to gently feed plants over several weeks and is also boosted with the goodness of blood and bone, fishmeal and seaweed.

Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food can be mixed into the soil when planting new trees, shrubs and plants and also dug into garden beds before planting. To provide plants with a continuous source of organic nutrients, apply Dynamic Lifter each 6 - 12 weeks as a top dressing and water in well.

Sow some organic seeds!Yates has a range of organic herb and vegie seeds, which have been grown under strictly controlled, organic, chemical-free conditions.

Start your organic vegie patch with Yates Radish Cherry Bell. It’s a plump, cherry red radish with crisp white flesh, and it’s not too hot! Now is the perfect time to sow radish seeds. Radishes are quick to mature, so you can be adding radish to your salads in only 6 to 8 weeks.

To give your radishes the best start, enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food before planting the seeds.

Have some fun with the kids with Yates seed tape! Kids can ‘write’ their name with pieces of seed tape, cover over with potting mix and then watch as their name comes to life.

Try some fast growing radish or tasty baby carrots.

A lush green lawn really sets off your house and garden, and can keep your home cooler in the hotter months. Here’s how to keep your lawn looking good:

* Use available water wisely, watering deeply but less frequently to encourage grass roots to grow deeper into the soil - making the lawn more drought tolerant.

* Raise the mower blades to a higher setting – this allows the grass to continue to absorb energy from the sun, and the longer grass shades the root zone on hot days.

* Fertilise your lawn with professional grade Yates Lawn Master, which feeds continuously for up to 12 weeks. It will give you a strong, green and healthy lawn.

The Yates Garden Club is ideal for first time and experienced gardeners. Whether you’re interested in growing your own fruit and vegetables, love roses and flowers or want a beautiful lawn, as a Yates Garden Club member you’ll receive a monthly email that contains fantastic gardening information, advice and inspiration for your garden. It’s completely FREE TO JOIN the Yates Garden Club! Head to the Yates website at www.yates.co.nz/garden-club to join and enter the promotion code OCT2015 to receive a free packet of Yates seeds for your garden.

Over recent weeks, the Yates New Zealand gardening community has been interested in:

* The scientific benefits of getting your hands dirty!

* Live question time with Sarah the Gardener.

* The Yates Spring Vegie Growing Challenge.