Planting Out Hardy Annuals and Hostas
Hello friends,
The glasshouse is super full at the moment with all the seedlings growing in preparation for planting out into the garden. I recently began planting out some of the hardier annuals when I ran out of potting containers to grow more seeds.
First up was my collection of different Keith Hammett sweet peas. I basically planted them wherever I found vertical growing space for them.
Next up was to plant out my three Calendula varieties, Calendula officinalis, Calendula Sunset Tones, and Calendula Strawberry Blonde. I already have a lot of Calendula officinalis growing in the front garden, so I planted those out in the back garden that has just been redesigned. I then planted the Sunset Tones and Strawberry Blonde varieties in both the front and back gardens. Eventually they'll all breed with one another and set seed, and I'll have heaps of different coloured Calendula everywhere.
And lastly, I went to a local garden center and bought two hostas that were in the back garden redesign plan. I bought the varieties Purple Heart and Sleeping Beauty for underneath the deciduous magnolia tree.
It's already been a couple of weeks, and both hostas are already growing strongly after some protection from slugs and snails.
We've had a frost already this week, and one more is possible, so the rest of the seedlings will have to wait until next week at least.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Sowing Seed Potatoes
Hello friends,
I've recently sown two of our potato varieties into the vegetable garden. At this time of the year I plant Rocket and Jersey Benne potato varieties, and that way we'll have new potatoes ready for Christmas day eating.
I dug two deep trenches side by side, with the Rocket on the right,and the Jersey Benne on the left. This way the Rocket and Jersey Benny potatoes both get good light, and don't fight for sunlight. Rocket potatoes only need 60 days before they're ready to harvest, and they grow quite fast. Jersey Benne on the other hand require 60 - 90 days before they are ready to harvest.
In a couple of week's I'll plant the rest of my potato varieties into the garden, Ilam Hardy and Haylo. They have longer days until harvest, and will be ready to be dug up in January. We use these varieties for roast potatoes, and for making gnocchi.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Floret Dahlia and Zinnia Sowing
Hello friends,
A couple of weeks ago I sowed my zinnia and dahlia seeds from Floret, that I purchased from Emerden in New Zealand. And yes, if you may have noticed, I ended up ordering a third zinnia variety from Floret, their Unicorn Mix.
I sowed all the seeds in dome propagating trays, along with dahlia varieties including seeds from my favorite Lucky Number dahlia growing in my garden, and also two Keith Hammett dahlia varieties (NZ dahlia breeder), NZ Gardener mix (from the NZ gardener magazine), and also Dahlia Beeline II. I'm considering crossing the Keith Hammett and Floret dahlias to see if I can come up with a new amazing variety.
The seedlings all popped up super quick while living in our warm dining room, and within a couple of weeks they were ready to be potted on into bigger individual pots with potting mix. The seed sowing strike rate was higher than advertised on the packets, so I'm really happy with the investment.
They're now safely growing in my glass house, and are covered in frost cloth each night for protection. I can't wait for when they get big enough to plant out in the garden.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Mount Mera Botanical Dahlia Order
Hello friends,
My last dahlia order for the year, from Mount Mera Botanical in Dunedin, arrived recently. The three varieties I chose were Pink Perception, Islander, and Muchacha, and they'll be planted in our front and back gardens.
The box the dahlias arrived in was just so beautiful, that you know I just had to keep it.
All three varieties already had strong growing shoots, so I'm looking forward to seeing them growing later in spring.
And in other dahlia news, four dahlia plants, Totally Tangarine, Cafe Au Lait Twist, Misses Miley, and Arthur Hambley, have already sent up shoots above ground.
It's super stressful as I now have to make sure I protect them overnight in case there is a frost. I think it's happened because this past winter was the warmest winter for Dunedin since records began in the 1940s. It's certainly possible that other dahlias may now pop up early as well, so I need to check all my dahlias every day to see if they have sprouted too.
I've resorted to the bucket and firewood method of protecting the growing dahlias from frost, and it should be good enough until the last frost date, which hopefully is in early October.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Early Spring Vegetable Garden Update
Hello friends,
I just wanted to update you on what's been happening in the vegetable garden over winter.
The garlic I planted in late autumn has been growing well, and I even got a couple of surprise garlic plants after we forgot to harvest some bulbs last summer.
The onions and spring onions have also been growing well, and I've been harvesting our spring onions as we need to use them in recipes.
The sugar beet plants I'm growing to harvest for seed are also growing well, and I hope they'll soon send up flower buds.
And finally, I sowed peas seeds direct a couple of weeks ago as well. And as a bonus I finally have a use for the old wooden trellis I took down off the woodshed last autumn while we were painting it.
The next thing to direct plant into the ground is our seed potato varieties, but first I need to prep the garden bed they're going into.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky
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