Gardening – Spring into action

Spring is a busy time in the garden, with pretty much every veggie crop able to be sown or planted out now. One trap many gardeners (including myself) fall into at this time of year is planting cold-sensitive crops, such as tomatoes, capsicum, eggplant, melons, corn and cucumbers too early. Although it’s unlikely we will get frosts now, we can still get quite cold nights and these cold-sensitive plants will just sulk. I have planted early crops many times, only for later planted crops to overtake these in growth, disease resistance and production. Rein in your enthusiasm. Pot your cold-sensitive seedlings into larger pots and keep them in a warm, sunny spot indoors until the end of October or even early November.

Keen gardeners may also find their spring calendars full of interesting gardening events. These are a great way to learn new techniques, see the latest in plants and tools, chat with fellow gardening enthusiasts and enjoy the wonderful garden bounty of spring. It all kicks off with National Gardening Week, which runs from October 6-13. This is all about getting everyone into the garden. People are encouraged to help in their community garden, lend a hand in a neighbour’s garden or get stuck in to their own. Yates will be giving a free packet of seeds to everyone who registers online at yates.co.nz/nationalgardeningweek.

There are several community gardens in our area – perfect for people who are learning to garden or don’t have the resources or space to have their own garden. Also they can provide a great social occasion for elderly folk wanting to keep their hand in and pass their invaluable skills on to the next generation of gardeners. Alternatively, they provide just a lovely morning out gardening with like-minded people. To find the nearest community garden a handy website is  compostcollective.org/auckland-community-gardens/

Garden clubs are also valuable for the same reasons. Although less hands-on than a community garden, there are often interesting speakers and opportunities to go on group tours to gorgeous private and public gardens around the upper North Island. Several villages in the area have a club and members can come from far and wide. Go to one of these websites for more info and contact details: warkworthgardenclub.org; ptwellsvillage.org/garden-club.html; snellsbeach.co.nz/5gardencircle.html; kaiparaflats.tastybytes.co.nz/welcome-gardening-club.

A major event for anyone interested in high quality garden design is the Auckland Garden DesignFest, held on November 25 and 26. This provides an opportunity to visit up to 20 private gardens that have been designed by some of Auckland’s best professional garden designers. Info: gardendesignfest.co.nz

Andrew Steens