Watering must be regular

Press, 8 December 1987, Page 42

Watering must be regular

Keen gardeners will be aware by now that this summer is another where “textbook” tending of plots may be a mistake.

Until relatively recently the full heat of summer has been an elusive event.

Slight snowfalls on the mountains towards the end of November were a reminder that there have been some days more common in early spring than summer.

; The sporadic spells of rain have also created some confusion in gardens, especially with vegetables that in some areas are reaching full maturity earlier than normally. It is especially important that novice gardeners take care to monitor the water content of their soil. Unless rainfalls have been sustained enough to penetrate deeply into the soil attention- to watering is still vital. If the soil nutrients have .not been spread deep by watering plant roots will sometimes start to grow upward to the richer feeding towards the surface.

This poses the risk that plants with strong upward growth above the surface are at risk of toppling through lack of support below ground. Vegetable patches in exposed positions are particularly prone to this risk in winds such as the blust-

ery nor’westers around Christmas time.

Early crops of potatoes have often flowered by now while a slow demand at market, gardens for cabbage is evidence that leafy vegetables have also prospered this year. One vexing result of the late rainfalls has been in a boom year for weeds. Both floral and vegetable patches are hosting regular uprisings of univited guests that require frequent eviction with hoe and hand. With the festive season looming on the social calendar the weeks pret ceding Christmas are an ideal time for a midseason cleaning of the garden. Applications of plant nutrients such as compost and growth aids should be followed by the addition of a good thick mulch.

This will aid in moisture retention, slow down weed growth and provide plants with a nutrient base while Christmas preparations are to the fore. Floral beds are displaying a similar set bf symptoms. Gross feeders such as roses should be given regular doses of nutrients. Annuals may be at the stage where a tidying up is required.

Once again regular watering is vital.

Flower beds tend to show the lack of sufficient moisture more rapidly than harvest crops.