Winter Gardening Guide Taranaki NZ

Are you feeling sad about the arrival of winter, especially in the Taranaki region? We’ve had a very hot and dry summer, which has been great for getting out to the beach and cycling the Coastal Walkway, but not so good for the garden. However, now the clocks have turned back, and we are still getting glorious sunny days, it’s the perfect time to get out into the garden and start renourishing your plants and soil. There are many plants that you can sow, grow and enjoy in winter. However, timing is everything, and you should know what will grow best in what season. Otherwise, your gardening efforts will be wasted if your plants won’t produce any food or take longer to grow.

This winter gardening guide is for you if you are worried about your winter garden and want to learn what fruits, veggies, and flowers you can plant. Read this winter growing guide till the end to become a pro winter gardener.

Pre-Winter Gardening Preparations

Before winter sets in, it is crucial to make some pre-winter gardening preparation. Let’s have a look at the list you have to do this winter in your garden;

Garden Tools maintenance: Keep your gardening tools ready and finish the sharpening, cleaning, oiling, repairing, and replacing tasks. Also, keep frost cloth and tunnels handy for cold days and nights.

Mulch around plants: Add a 5cm thick layer of mulch around plants to protect them from cold weather and conserve moisture.

Place Bird Feeders: Natural food sources for birds are insufficient during cold weather. Therefore, you should place bird feeders in the garden to provide them with a regular food source.

Feed the soil: All plants need extra strength to cope with winter extremes. Apply organic seaweed tonic once a month to boost root growth, increase immunity and resistance to pests and diseases, and strengthen cell walls.

Winter Vegetables Growing Guide For Taranaki NZ

You can grow a wide range of fruits, veggies, and nuts in the Taranaki region due to this region's lush volcanic loam and unique topography. If you have an established garden, harvest your spring or summer veggies and prepare the planting beds for winter crops. If frost is a problem for your veggie garden, use pots for planting and move them around to receive the midday sun. Snails and slugs can also cause trouble for your vegetables. So, don’t forget to control them from damaging seedlings.

The vegetables you can plant in this region during autumn and winter include; 

●     Broccoli

●     Cabbage

●     Cauliflower

●     Kale

●     Pak Choy

●     Mustard greens

●     Onions

●     Turnip

●     Broad beans

●     Garlic

●     Shallots

●     Carrots

Below are some tips for growing veggies in your winter garden.

Root Veggies: Cooler weather keeps the soil moist for longer. That’s why it is ideal for growing root veggies such as carrots. Root veggies need well-worked soil without lumps to grow nice and straight. Follow these tips for growing carrots;

●     Select a location in your garden that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.

●     Dig the soil, break up the clumps and remove hard pieces.

●     Carrot seeds are tiny and are prone to drying if you sow them close to the soil surface. Sow seeds at least 6mm deep and cover the soil with shade cloth or cardboard to retain moisture.

●     Carrot seeds may take three weeks to germinate. Remove the cover as soon as seedlings emerge.

●     Thin out seedlings when they are four weeks old and plant them 5 cm apart. Carrots may take 16 to 20 weeks to mature after sowing seeds.

Cruciferous Veggies: If you want to grow cauliflower, cabbage, and lettuce in the warmer areas of New Zealand, plant them in sheltered areas of your garden to avoid the afternoon sun. Also, add compost and sheep pellets before planting to refill the nutrients used by previous crops.

Garlic: Garlic is one of the must-grow veggies in the winter gardens in the Taranaki region. Dig the soil before sowing the cloves and add compost. Garlic cloves should be planted with pointed tips upwards. You can harvest garlic in mid-late summer.

Potatoes: Sprout seed potatoes in July to get ready-to-grow potato plants in August and September.

Winter Fruit Growing Guide For Taranaki NZ

You can enjoy subtropicals and temperate fruits in the Taranaki region. Winter is the time to harvest many fruits such as oranges, kiwifruit, lemons, mandarins, grapefruit, and tamarillos. In short, winter is ideal for planting new season deciduous fruit trees.

The fruits you can plant during winter in Taranaki are;

●     Strawberries

●     Peaches

●     Plums

●     Nectarines

●     Pears

●     Persimmons

●     Hazels

●     Gooseberry

●     Raspberries

Follow these tips in your winter fruit garden.

Mulch for weed control: Mulch around the fruiting trees and shrubs to maintain moisture and keep the weeds at bay.

Cure Leaf Curl: Leaf curl can be a problem in your winter garden since it overwinters in the buds of affected trees. Use copper-based sprays such as copper fungicides and oils to treat leaf curl. Spray every 10 to 14 days until the bud bursts in spring.

Prune Vines: If you have planted raspberries in autumn, prune them to the ground level. Also, prune other vines such as grapefruit and kiwi vines.

Frost Protection: Strawberries do their best in winters in New Plymouth. However, strawberry flowers are prone to frost damage. Therefore, you should wait until the risk of frost is gone or give frost protection to the plants.

Winter Flower Planting Guide Taranaki NZ

Don’t allow winter to stop you from enjoying different shades and colours. The following flowers will be ready to pick in your winter garden.

●     Daphne

●     Camellias

●     Protea

●     Orchids

●     Polyanthus

●     Azaleas

●     Camellias

●     Gerberas

The flowering plants that you can grow in your garden in winters include;

●     Poppy

●     Pansies

●     Polyanthus

●     Snapdragon’

●     Stock

●     Nemesia

●     Calendula

Follow these tips in your winter flower garden.

Frost Protection: Place the flowering plants prone to frost damage at a sheltered location.

Mulch: Apply mulch to prevent weeds. Otherwise, your plants won’t grow at full potential and fight for nutrients. Mulching is also crucial in maintaining soil temperature.

Feed the garden bed: Add compost or sheep pallets to refill nutrients to the garden beds and prepare them for new plantings. Liquid feeding encourages a longer blooming season in winter flowers.

Plant Roses: Plant new season roses in your winter garden and enjoy different colors and fragrances throughout the season.

Pruning and deadheading: Pruning is crucial to tidy-up flowering plants. Remove dead flower heads from plants to encourage new growths.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this winter gardening guide will help you if you want to plant new flowers, vegetables, and fruits in your winter garden. Mulching is crucial in maintaining soil temperature, preventing weeds, and protecting plants in winter. Ensure to grow the right plant at the right spot and right time. Soon, you’ll have pretty flowers and fresh greens to enjoy in late winter or spring.

Soil Health For Gardening and Lawn Care In Taranaki

Are you planning to start gardening on the North Island of New Zealand? Have you any idea about soil health ideal for gardening and lawn care in this specific area? If not, you are at the right place. Read the post and discover the soil health needed for gardening. In addition, you’ll learn how to improve soil quality in Taranaki.

Generally, all plants need water, air and healthy soil to grow. For maintaining a healthy lawn or a garden, the soil should contain microbes, soil fungi, earthworms and organic matter. However, there should be a check and balance of these essential factors responsible for soil health. Too much air helps organic matter decompose quickly, but too much water can rot the plant roots and prevent respiration. In short, some soils are more suitable for growing plants and establishing a lawn than others.

Type Of Soil You Need For Gardening in North Island NZ

If you don’t consider the health of garden soil before planting, your efforts will be at risk of going to waste.

The soil in Taranaki is formed from volcanic pumice showers since it’s located in the volcanic plateau. Until the early 1900s, farming was impossible on this land due to cobalt deficiency. Later the problem was solved, and the larger areas of this land were converted to pastures. Pumice soil has well-developed organic topsoil over the sandy subsoil.

Residential soils differ from commercial soil, and it depends on the parent rock from which it is formed. It also depends on your area’s climate and previous owners' work on the soil. Some soils are fertile, while you can improve others with proper knowledge and effort.  

Here’s the type of soil you need for gardening in North Island in NZ:

Acidic Soil: The soil in most areas of New Zealand is slightly acidic. Most plants prefer acidic soil with an optimum pH ranging between 5.5 to 6.5. At the same time, worms avoid strongly acidic soils, but microorganisms love acidic soils.  However, if you want to grow plants that prefer alkaline soil, adding lime can raise the soil pH.

The soil pH is responsible for the solubility and availability of minerals to the plants. You can use a soil pH testing kit from garden centres to check it. If the pH ranges from 0-7, it’s acidic. It means acidic soils may be deficient in phosphorus. The soil pH of 7 to 14 indicates alkaline soil that may lack iron and manganese.

Loamy Soil: A good quality soil can drain excess water and retain nutrients and water for the plants. Basically, there are three types of soils; sandy, clay and loamy. Sandy soil drained water instantly and is not ideal for your garden. Clay soil has the smallest particles that stick together and block air supply to plants' roots. However, you can improve it by adding organic matter. Loamy soil is the best for gardening since it holds nutrients and allows air and water to pass through it.

Rich In Organic Matter: The fertility and success of your garden depend on the quantity of organic matter present in the soil. If you continuously cultivate annual flowers or vegetable beds, you have to add organic matter to the soil from time to time. Topsoil is ideal for planting and is already rich in organic matter.

Soil pH value will determine if your soil is high in acidity or alkalinity. You can take samples of your soil and get this assessed for free. Go to https://soilsafe.auckland.ac.nz/soil-testing/ for more information on how to collect and send off your sample. 

How Do You Know The Type Of Soil In Your Garden?

Most beginner gardeners have no idea about the type of soil in the garden. You can use the mentioned methods to find out your garden soil.

Hole Digging Method: Topsoil is the most healthy soil for plants to thrive. Unfortunately, erosion is a major issue with the lands in New Zealand that washes the topsoil.  If the topsoil is removed, you’ll need to replace it make amendments before planting. 

●     Dig a hole in your garden about twice the depth of a spade.

●     If you notice a darker layer on the top, it’s the topsoil.

●     The stiff layer underneath is the subsoil. Usually, subsoil is rich in organic matter but structurally poor.

●     If you notice a reddish-brown layer just below the surface, it’s the hardpan. Before gardening, you have to break it up using a digging fork since it will block the roots and prevent water drainage.

●     Grey or smelly soil is waterlogged soil. Plants can’t survive in such soil. Therefore, you should dig it to the level of hardpan and punch holes to allow air and water passage.

Glass Jar Method: This method is used to identify the soil type.

●     Fill a glass jar with water and add some soil to it from your garden.

●     Shake the jar and let it rest for 2 to 3 hours.

●     The sand and stones will settle down at the bottom.

●     The organic matter will settle at the top of the bottom layer.

●     The clear water on the top shows that you have sandy soil.

●     Clay soil shows muddy water on the top.

You can also identify the sandy or clay soil by holding it in your hand. Sandy soil feels gritty and falls apart. Clay soil becomes compact on holding. Loamy soil holds its shape on grabbing but falls if you poke it. It’s the best soil for planting.

How Do You Improve Soil Quality NZ?

Humus is the best soil improver that contains nutrients and feeds microorganisms. No matter what type of soil you have, layering on compost, organic matter, chopped seaweed, and aged animal manure can improve the soil quality.

Firstly, you should identify the soil type in your garden, then follow these tips to improve soil health for gardening in New Zealand.

Sandy Soil Improvement: Add organic matter and mulch heavily to increase sandy soil's water and nutrient holding capacity. You should use slow-release fertilisers such as bone or organic blood. Avoid digging the sandy soil. Dig only if necessary. Also, don’t walk over the wet sandy soil after incorporating organic matter.

Clay Soil Improvement: You should use grit or coarse sand to improve the water drainage properties of clay soil. Avoid using fine sand since it blocks the soil pores. You can also add gypsum or lime but not every year. Add a 10 to 20 cm layer of topsoil rich in organic matter and grow whatever you want.

Final Thoughts

If you are planning to start a garden in Taranaki, identify your garden's soil. Check the soil pH and make amendments accordingly. You can plant right away if the topsoil is rich in organic matter. However, clay and sandy soil need improvements before planting. Ensure that the soil has good water and nutrient holding capacity.