The best snail trap ever!

As national online garden expert for Palmers, I am free to answer your garden questions.

Keep any gardening queries coming to the Facebook page called Palmers or their web site www.palmers.co.nz and I will answer in detail all of your queries.  

Eden Living is still running in full swing as I work alongside NZ's largest garden retailer.  If you prefer you can contact me directly through my web site www.edenliving.co.nz

Wherever you are in the country you have a Palmers near by and everything I talk about here is available at a store near you. 



IT'S FINALLY SPRING!!

Why did it feel like winter was so long but now that it is finally spring it seems time has flown and it was only a short time ago Autumn had just set in.  I can certainly tell things are heating up around my garden and the biggest thing to watch now that the weather is warmer is the slugs and snails.  I made some easy bait traps today that will protect my soil from the chemicals in the bait and provide a dry place for the pests to slither into and feed rather than desiccating my young seedlings.  Just cut both ends off a milk or soda bottle and on the base of the bottle sprinkle your bait and slide this in the 'tunnel' resting like a dish on the plastic. This tricky little tip is also great for keeping the pellets away from the dog too.





In the edible garden

My fruit trees are budding up with blossom and before the tree is in full bloom I will continue to prune and shape the trees to get the most amount of light and air amongst the branches.  Be careful to only do this task when there is no rain on the horizon.  This is essential to reduce disease and like a good hair cut, any brittle and dying branches should go to promote great overall tree health.  Always paint pruning paint available at your local store on to the cuts to protect the tree like a plaster; this action will stop bugs and moisture getting into the new wound.  Before pruning give your tools a good once over sharpen and oil to ensure clean cut.  Use a pruning saw, secateurs, and loppers to complete the task.
This time of year is fun to garden; everything that goes in grows quickly which is so encouraging.  Planting spring onions and lettuce can see you picking from both of these in as little at two weeks.  Home grown food is not only better for you because it is fresh and nutrient packed, it is far tastier harvesting from the garden than being left with a part used bag of lettuce from the grocery store to throw out to the compost at the end of the week.  

The ornamental garden 

 











My clivia and bursting to bloom and give a real tropical look to the garden.  The nice thing about clivia is it grows almost everywhere in NZ.  When planted under a tree (as they like dry shade) they give a vibrant show of colour to a potentially bare patch of the garden.  My camellia with its deep green leaves is covered in rich red flowers and is a welcome show of flower outside my office window.
  
  Top Task For the Garden 

 Mulch!  Keep mulch pouring on as with spring we also get wind that is very drying to your garden.  One of the benefits of mulch is that it keeps the soil moist (along with the weeds at bay, always a plus in my house!)  Mulch that breaks down and feeds the soil is the way to go and only needs topping up once or twice a year.  In Autumn I collected a sack of leaves and added a bit of water and blood and bone and now I have a beautiful rich leaf mulch to add to the gardens.  If you missed out on doing this you can buy leaf mulch from your garden retailer.  Before laying it, I recommend mixing in 25% of compost to the mulch and then applying it around your ornamental and edible garden 10cm thick.  Just be aware of keeping the mulch away from stems of all plants, be it edible, shrubs, annuals and trees.  This will allow air to the base of your plants and prevent rot of the stems.

Enjoy the longer days, in the garden - Yay!

Happy gardening everyone

Maria Quayle-Guppy