Tag Archives: gardening

Grow it Yourself: gherkins and cucumbers

Gherkins are a pickling cucumber. Cucumbers are actually a tropical plant so are not going to want to be planted out until temperatures have risen. By all means start them from seed now but keep the babies under cover for a few more weeks. But is it worth growing gherkins at home? Fresh, home pickled gherkins should always taste much better than those commercially produced but you have to be pretty passionate about them to want to grow them yourself. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking you will put in one plant because then you will get a few baby gherkins every few days whereas what you want is plenty of them all at once so you can start the pickling process. You probably need about five plants, each of which will take up a square metre, and then pull them out and compost them as soon as you have harvested sufficient quantities.

All the cucurbits are gross feeders (hungry plants) so they need rich, fertile soil in full sun with plenty of depth to get their roots well down. They also need plenty of water during the heat of summer but as they are prone to mildew and all sorts of nasty diseases including Fusarium wilt, you are best to direct water to the root zone and avoid wetting the foliage. Keep the sprinkler well away. You can train the runners over a frame or structure to reduce the amount of ground space required or you can just leave them to sprawl over the ground like pumpkins. Personally, I think it is worth making more effort with a few cucumber plants which will gently crop from January to early April, when salad veg are most in demand. I am particularly keen on the little Lebanese cucumber. But then I would say that because we have neighbours who adore pickled gherkins. We make land available, they grow them and pickle them and give us a jar or two.

Tikorangi Notes: Friday October 14, 2011

Feeding from both the veltheimia and the agapetes

Feeding from both the veltheimia and the agapetes

Latest Posts:

1) ‘Tis spring – must be rhododendron time. R. johnstoneanum “Ken Burns” in Plant Collector this week.
2) A call for more rigour and less fervour in Abbie’s column this week – what used to be called The Good Life (courtesy of Felicity Kendall and whover Briars – was it Richard?) but is now styled Green Urban Living.
3) Grow it Yourself – beetroot this week.
4) Tikorangi Diary and notes about half price clearance special on most magnolias.

Tikorangi Notes:
I was delighted by the sight of the little waxeye gathering nectar from the veltheimia flowers outside my office window. We often see them working the Agapetes serpens (which I describe as the waxeye bush, for its ability to feed the birds) but this is the first time I have seen one feeding on the veltheimia which looks better suited to humming birds because of its very long, tubular flowers. We do not have humming birds in this country which has always seemed a bit of a pity to me. We would gladly trade blackbirds and sparrows for humming birds.

Rain has not helped the garden preparation this week – our annual festival (now styled the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular) starts in a fortnight so the pressure is on. I did feel sorry for the tour group here on Wednesday when it was hosing down but at least it wasn’t windy or cold! The magnolia season is drawing to a close with only Serene looking picture perfect now. But the michelias (now also reclassified as magnolias) have a longer season. The first of Mark’s new series, Fairy Magnolia Blush, is looking particularly pink this year. Indubitably pink which, in the world of white michelias, is pretty remarkable. More rhododendrons open every day though the maddenii and nuttallii types are generally later flowering and won’t be doing much for another fortnight. The garden is open every day now and we are generally around for plant sales – sound the car horn if we do not appear because we will be in the garden.

Indubitably very pink this season - Fairy Magnolia Blush

Indubitably very pink this season - Fairy Magnolia Blush

Grow it Yourself – beetroot

Beetroot is enjoying something of a renaissance these days. It has gone beyond the large tinned slices which made sandwiches and hamburgers soggy, as it has progressed past being grated and set in vinegar flavoured jelly. These days you are more likely to find baby beet, golf ball sized, served with fresh curd cheese and toasted fresh walnuts in upmarket lunch dishes or flavoured with balsamic vinegar and roasted. The good news is that it is a root crop which is dead easy to grow at home and fresh young beet will always taste sweeter and more delicious than woody old things you may have tried in the past.

Being a root crop, it likes well drained, friable soils which are not too rich in nitrogen. Usual practice is to sow it in a spot where you previously grew a green, leafy crop. The seed is usually sown directly into the ground. Cover them with about 2cm of soil. As they germinates, go through and thin the crop – these thinnings are delicious and often found in salad mixes. Essentially you want to reduce the crop to allow about 10cm spacings between each plant to give them room to develop the tubers. Do not expect good crops if you miss the thinning process. They take about two to three months to mature. This is not a time specific crop. You can sow any time between early spring to mid autumn (about September to April), though you may find the summer crops bolt to seed too readily, especially if the soils are dry. Chief Veg Grower here advises that he prefers to keep to spring and autumn sowing because there are plenty of other more time sensitive crops to fill the garden in summer. Root crops appreciate plenty of moisture to develop juicy roots. Left too long in the ground, they will become large, old and woody. It is better to harvest them, remove the leaves and store in cool conditions – this will probably have to be the fridge in summer. With the rise in popularity, there is now a whole range of different varieties available with variation in both shape and colour, even a cerise and white candy ringed version.

Tikorangi Diary Thursday 13 October, 2011

Mark's meconopsis available again

Mark's meconopsis available again

As we hurtle into spring, the pressure is on to get the garden all groomed up and ready for our annual garden festival at the end of the month. This means we are around most of the time so plant sales are not restricted to just Fridays and Saturdays. If you come in and can’t find anyone, please sound your car horn. We have Eftpos available (but not credit cards).

Half price on most magnolias (while stocks last). This includes Vulcan, Burgundy Star and Black Tulip but not Felix Jury (which is in short supply). It is nearing the end of the season – the plants would be happier in your garden than in our nursery. There are about a dozen Magnolia grandiflora “Little Gem” left at the bargain basement price of $12 (but the Camellia Jury’s Yellow have gone). Magnolias are listed under Plant Sales on our website but not with sale prices – halve them. This offer includes good plants of Fairy Magnolia Blush – if you have been planning a hedge of them, now is your chance to do it at a very reasonable price.

The very curious Arisaema sikkokianum

The very curious Arisaema sikkokianum

In the treasures line, we have some of Mark’s meconopis for sale – blue Himalayan poppies. These plants are already in their second year and show more perennial tendencies than usual in our climate (though not guaranteed perennial – it would pay to gather the seed this year as well). And we have good plants of Arisaema speciosum (great for woodland carpets) and the curious, showy but more difficult Arisaema sikkokianum.

No mail order, sorry. Personal customers only.

Tikorangi Notes: Tuesday 11 October, 2011

Notable, perhaps, for a total absence of any PC thinking here!

Notable, perhaps, for a total absence of any PC thinking here!

Tikorangi Notes: Tuesday 11 October, 2011

I am a little late with the links to latest posts this week. They were available on Friday as usual but I was in Hamilton speaking at the Waikato Home and Garden Show – where I found a wonderful example of absolute lack of any hint of political correctness. Golliwog scarecrows – gollycrows, perhaps. I am guessing that the creator had simply no concept whatever of the debate two decades ago about Little Black Sambo, the Black and White Minstrels and golliwogs which forever labelled these as monuments to racial stereotyping.

Latest posts:

1) Cyrtanthus falcatus – a first flowering for us of this interesting large bulb and member of the amaryllis family. We must have waited well over a decade for this event.
2) Kicking off the debate here on the difference between maintenance and sustainability in the garden – Abbie’s column.
3) Grow it Yourself looks at potatoes this week.

Rhododenrons Floral Sun and Rubicon

Rhododenrons Floral Sun and Rubicon

Tikorangi Notes: Tuesday 11 October, 2011

Arisaema sikkokianum

Arisaema sikkokianum

As the magnolias pass over, it is the time for rhododendrons and the mid season bulbs to come into their own. While the soft golden tones of Rhododendron Floral Sun and the pure red of Rubicon side by side may lack subtlety, they present an eye catching combination in our carpark. Rhododendrons often have a relatively short time in full bloom but the anticipation of fat buds showing colour and starting to open extends the flowering season substantially. It is also arisaema time for us. A. sikkokianum is not the easiest variety to keep going as a garden subject and it needs to be increased by seed as a rule, but it is one of showiest species in flower with its pure white spadix and its bloom held above the foliage. A. speciosum is not as showy but is trouble-free to grow and settles in most comfortably for the long haul. It has very curious burgundy snake’s head flowers held just below the tall, open foliage.

With our annual garden festival now just two and a half weeks away, the pressure is on the groom the garden to pristine standard for the 10 days which is our peak time for garden visitors. Formerly referred to Rhodo Festival, this year its full name is the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular (!). More details at www. gardenfestnz.co.nz.