Getting whiplash from the weather
I feel like I am mocking Ireland with my title there.. Sorry Ireland, your weather is worse than ours.
We all survived. Some were luckier than others, we are urged to have an animal rescue plan if we are at risk of flooding, supposedly we are not past it yet either.
Welcome to Spring! Spring, where it is very cold in the mornings and often very warm in the afternoons, where it rains a lot and in Wellington our wind kicks up.
What I'm obsessing over this week
Seeds!
Spring weather wakes seeds up- seeds will start to grow when triggered, and what the trigger is depends on the type of seed. Most need a cold spot and then warmth and water.
Some, like tulips, need to be cold, about fridge temperature, for 6-8 weeks before planting. They won’t grow, or they will struggle a lot, otherwise. (check out the bulb planting guide by NZ Bulbs if you want more info on bulbs, it’s a fantastic resource)
Garlic will grow regardless, but the bulbs won’t develop well without a cold snap of at least a fortnight. Another good resource here.
Lettuce seeds need to hit sunlight or they won’t germinate.
Peas and beans- they can go mouldy- I tend to put them in slightly damp soil in the sun and make sure they don’t get any water until they germinate.
Lots of thinking about seeds this week. The only other thing to consider is our zone. You will have seen zones on the back of seed packets, and they are pretty accurate, but if you are looking something up online it is easy to get confused- find your hardiness zone here with this cool map. Knowing your hardiness zone is a good tool for working out exactly how successful your planting will be, and when to put your seeds in the ground.
What staff learnt about this week
Our weekly focus was surviving the weather.
Wednesday lunch by the beach, in that gorgeous weather.
Highlights: Realising that gumboots have a really long shelf life- mine are 14 years old and just sprung a leak, Alex wears hers far more often and they are 4 years in. Compare this to our usual work boots/shoes which we are lucky to get a year out of…
Lowlights: You can’t wear gumboots for ages- they tend to slip up at the heel which causes blisters and sore skin, no one reads newspapers very much so we don’t have any paper to jam into our boots!
Really, the thing we spoke about the most was the jobs that are best done in the rain- I especially like to prune natives and tolerant exotics- you learn very quickly which plant is in the way when it’s raining. Walking down a path dragging our work gear takes up much of a pathway, so if we rub against a shrub, branch, flax or grass we know that they are too close to the path.
One thing about grasses and flax- they shouldn’t be trimmed for size, just shape. If you are regularly cutting back flax (or cutting back grass at all!), move it instead and put something smaller in its place. Both plants are perfectly happy shoved further up against a wall to keep them off a path, you don’t have to plant them in the middle of a bed.
Some garden tasks for this week
I’ve just started my kumara, which I put in either a box or big wide tray, with nice soil (compost mixed with whatever dirt I can find) and sandy soil (or old potting mix, in my case) on top, just covering it. Because of the rain I’ve put it under the eaves of the house in the sun. They will be planted up once the shoots are all big enough.
I’ve planted a bunch of leafy greens- lettuce, kale and silverbeet. I let these go to seed in my garden and at this time of year I just find the ones that have gone astray and put them in a better spot.
This is the last time of year that you should really be moving existing plants, so dig em up and move em around as the inclination takes you.
Stay dry, and don’t get blown away! Can I suggest perusing the Kings Seeds Catalogue?
Have a great week, everyone!