November in the garden is still a busy month, but lets face it, the weather is so warm & inviting why wouldn’t we all like to do a little night time gardening. By watering first thing in the morning or late evening you will help to minimise wastage through evaporation; also mulching is essential around trees & shrubs to help preserve moisture.

Time to Plant...

Veggies...

Sow peas, dwarf & climbing beans now at intervlas of three weeks for dwarf & six weeks for climbing for a continual feast through summer.

Sow any of the following seeds directly into the garden or in seed trays; peas, pumpkin, courgettes, carrots, beetroot, parsnip, radish, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, eggplants, lettuce, gherkins, spinach, spring onions, watermelons, rockmelons, beetroot, celery, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, brocolli & cauliflower.

Bedding...

Have a summer garden full of colour with marigolds, petunias, impatiens, begonias, gazania, rudbeckia, nicotiana, osteospermum , ageratum, lobelia, verbena & geraniums. Try some old favourites like livingstone daisy, godetia & portulaca. For the best hanging baskets plant cascading lobelia, tuberous begonias, bacopa, rambling petunias, alyssum or our new release ivy geraniums.

Insects and Fungus Protection...

Spray Carbaryl or set pheromone traps for apple and pear trees to control codling moth.

Spray citrus with Copper to control diseases.

Regular spraying for insects & disease is required with the warmer weather.

Dust cabbages & cauliflowers with Derris Dust to prevent attack from the pesky white butterfly caterpillar.

Feeding...

It is important to dig in generous amounts of compost to condition your soil.

Feed vegetables with a good quality slow release fertiliser like Oderings Total Replenish.

As strawberries are starting to fruit cover with bird netting; a side dressing of Tui Strawberry Fertiliser is beneficial.

Apply another dressing of fertiliser to citrus plants once fruit has set & keep well watered.

Tomatoes are growing quickly & need lots of water. Feed with Tui Tomato Fertiliser or Wallys Secret Tomato Food once the plants reach 1m tall.

Also...

Waterlilies become available this month.

Lift spring flowering bulbs that have died off completely (allows essential nutrients back into the bulb) & dust with Tui Flowers of Sulphur then store in a cool dark place.

Tuberous begonias are in store now.

Tip of the month...

There are two easy things you can do to improve the flavour of your tomatoes...

1) Plant basil next to the tomatoes, this will also combat whitefly.

2) Water the plants a little less near harvest time as this makes the fruit sweeter.

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Here are some great gift ideas from Oderings!