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The
early rains and overcast cool weather have been a blessing for the
garden. If you were able to water over this period, more got to
where it is needed by the plants and less evaporated by the usual
very high temperatures.
Many
gardeners stop watering as soon as a few drops of rain fall. But if
you carried on watering over the cool days that water has got down
to the deep root zone bank and is available to the plants.
The
weather has also been a good thing for the compost. These materials
just seem to collect up with a good moistening and turning. The heat
enters the heap and the compost is well on its way.
Try to
keep leaves from drying out. Chicken wire bins work well, but cover
the wire and top of the heap with old polypropylene mealie meal bags
– they allow air to enter, keep off too much rain, keep the wind out
and keep the heat in the heap.
The
gardens top-dressed and mulched with a heavy dose of compost are all
growing nicely; the yellowish leaves turning to bright green. The
rain has also helped to wash away the dust from the atmosphere and
off the leaves.
November is still a good time to plant out trees and shrubs. A
square hole of a decent size (60 cm x 60 cm or larger), backfilled
with good topsoil and compost will give a good start to the plants
and the roots should be able to break out at the corners and not
root-ball themselves.
For
those who have problems growing flowers for seed – mix sand,
preferably river sand, with the soil you are going to use for the
seeds. This should be done a day or so before planting. Then pour
boiling water over the soil. This will kill weed seeds and
soil-borne pathogens in the soil mix. Having a well-drained planting
medium will give much better results for seed sowing than a heavy
clay soil.
Compost and sand sterilized with boiling water or put into a cool
oven for thirty minutes will also do the job for small amounts, but
leave the soil for a few days after sterilizing and before planting
the seeds. This sterilized soil would also be useful for striking
cuttings.
The
author of our monthly column is a horticulturalist who can be
contacted on email through The Lowdown or by phone on 096 747-990
for your gardening queries. |
November 2004