Garden Advice › Garden Tips of the Month

November 2016 Garden Tips

Time to plant or sow beans, basil and corn. All three crops are very cold sensitive, so they're best planted as we head into summer. Beans need a supporting frame and corn is best planted in blocks for optimal pollination. Grow basil near tomatoes in the garden - they're great companions
Stake fast-growing tomatoes, place straw or weedmat under strawberry plants and clear soil to give space to fast-growing summer vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin and melons
Bee friendly - we lacked much sun in the early part of spring and so any seasonal disruption to plants, such as pollination, could be helped along by lots of bee attracting plants in or near the vegetable patch
Did you know - in Dan's garden the flowers of the NZ rengarenga lily (arthropodium) are brilliant for getting the honey bees in and they flower now!
Very important - feed all your fast-growing vegetable plants by either watering in liquid fertiliser at the roots or as a foliar spray

Trim hedges - yes, now is perfect and add a layer of mulch around the roots locks in moisture
Deadhead or rake up the spent flowers of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas - Collecting spent blooms limits the spread of disease. And, as these plants finish flowering, the fresh green foliage provides a green backdrop to your summer flowering plants.
Deal to weeds in the garden so that your chosen plants have room to grow over summer. One advantage of all this rain is that the weeds are easy to pull out! Spray paving and driveways to ensure tough weeds don't settle in for the summer
Mulching around the garden before the Christmas break saves watering costs and reduces stress in the dry weather ahead