KEY POINTS:
Labour Weekend is finally here and that means two things:
1) The weather won't be settled!
2) It's time to start gardening.
Firstly the weather. This low that's moving in is very large but not particularly intense. It is dragging plenty of
sub-tropical air down so that means heavy rain. MetService has issued several rain warnings so be sure to read them if you're planning on heading outdoors this weekend - especially in western regions.
I've just updated our independent Labour Weekend weather forecast and it'll be updated throughout the weekend.
We've also updated our travel forecast, which will also be updated again before you head home on Monday.
Finally - if you do get outdoors this holiday weekend, take some photos of you and your family enjoying the long weekend and send them through to the NZ Herald! We'd love to see them!
So, yes it's time to start gardening. In fact, many people consider Labour Weekend to be the official start to Summer gardening. It's time to plant the seeds and seedlings with little threat of frosts or weeks of bitterly cold weather wiping them out. A risk of frost does remain over the South Island and possibly Central Plateau but as each week passes so too does that threat.
I come from a family of gardeners. My parents garden every second they can and my Grandmother who lives in the Hawkes Bay town of Wairoa still gardens at age 93. My great grandparents on the Duncan side were also very keen gardeners and used to own much of the area that is now Tawa in Wellington. If you've heard of Fyvie Street that's named after the town in Scotland they emigrated from. I believe there's also a Duncan street there - which I think's pretty cool!
Gardening is in my blood - and so Labour Weekend is a time that I get out and plant as much as possible. The weather in Auckland has been amazing lately - the hot sun mixed with damp grounds has created small tropical climates within some gardens - high humidity + wet ground + hot sun = everything growing like crazy! My puppy, a 12-week-old golden retriever, is also enjoying gardening. He rips up anything I've just put in!
With plenty of heavy rain this weekend it might be worth fertilising your garden too - and your lawn if you're a lawn nut. You want to make the most of that heavy rain and this will help the fertiliser get absorbed into the ground quickly. You'll have to get out there early through - the heaviest rain should be Friday night and into Saturday across much of the North Island as that rain band tracks eastwards.
Onehunga Weed (for those who don't know, that's those annoying prickles you always stood on as a kid!) well they're ready to spray now too. If you're unsure what they look like just Google "Onehunga Weed". It's best to spray on a hot, sunny, day so you may want to wait until early next week - when hopefully the sun comes out. Labour Day Monday might be ok in some areas. You want to spray them now before the prickles comes out.
So while the weather might not be great if you're wanting to get outdoors, it will be great for gardening - at least across northern regions where the cold weather won't be as bad.
Philip Duncan
Pictured above: Viv Jerschke and baby Stella in their vegetable garden, Mt. Albert, Auckland. Photo / Doug Sherring
For the latest weather news keep up to date with The Radio Network's new Weather Watch Centre or the NZ Herald weather section.