November is the prime planting time for your summer vegetable garden. Now we should be safe from devastating frosts as we had at the beginning of October.
Many of us suffered losses and damage. Replace anything that cannot be saved, trim frost-burnt leaves and feed liquid seaweed to help rejuvenate your plants.
Tomatoes, cucumber, pumpkin, courgette, basil, capsicum, chillies, eggplant, kumara and sweet corn can all be planted now. Hold off until near the end of the month for rock melon and water melon, these will thrive in more consistent warmth. Melons need regular feeding to achieve best results. With the rising cost of food a burden on families, have a go at growing some vegetables. You don’t need to have much space nor experience to harvest your own food. Grow vegetables in pots or incorporate them in your flower garden, it is fun and rewarding.
With last summer’s prolonged drought conditions still in mind, get your garden water wise. Use a quality mulch to help retain moisture and suppress weeds. Our choice is Tui Mulch and Feed. Add Saturaid to your garden and pots to ensure your plants get full benefit from watering. Capture any rain water you can when it does rain. Water deeply every few days rather than a little bit often. Make use of your grey water adding Yates Grey Water Fertiliser to remove bacteria and balance soap residue, use this recycled water on your flower beds and pots not on your food crops.
Encourage bees into your garden to pollinate your food crops. Hebes, Grevillea and Lavender are excellent for attracting bees. They are all hardy shrubs that have stunning flower displays over an extended period. Hebe ‘Catherine’ is easy to grow and always looks good, just like the Princess of Wales herself.
The glossy deep green foliage stays clean and compact all year round. The new leaf shoots are burgundy-red in colour maturing to deep olive green. Masses of brilliant purple flowers will appear across the top branches through the summer months, making a very attractive garden display.
November is Garden Ramble month. Starting with Ngatea Garden Ramble on Saturday, November 5, with 10 gardens, cost of $20, a fundraiser for Hauraki Plains Co-operating Parish. Waihi Lions Ramble is November 12-13, cost of $30, proceeds to the Waihi Beach Lifeguard Services and Waihi College Waka Ama. Finally the Rotary Paeroa Ramble is on November 19, cost $25, proceeds to Rotary funded projects in Paeroa community.
Take a day out and enjoy an array of different gardens at your leisure.
November is also Country Dog Garden Centre’s birthday. Come along and help us celebrate on November 2 from 9am to 5:30pm. Grab a bargain, eat some birthday cake, you might even win a prize.
– Supplied by Country Dog Garden Centre, Paeroa
Tomatoes, cucumber, pumpkin and capsicums can all be planted in November. File Photo: PIXABAY
