Plenty to do in the garden for spring
There is plenty to do out in the garden before spring arrives. Late winter is an ideal time for spring preparations, so get your gardening gloves on everyone!
Mangoes
Mangoes are a divine, sweet and juicy fruit that grow best in warm temperate to tropical climates, though some varieties will tolerate cooler zones in the warmest spots in New Zealand, that are protected from frost.
Mango trees are self-fertile, so don’t need another tree to produce fruit. However, mango addicts could consider growing several different varieties to extend the harvest season over several months.
Mangoes do best in moist but well drained soil. They can be planted during spring, after any chance of frost has passed, in temperate areas. When planting a new mango tree, enrich the soil in the planting hole with some Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food and keep the new tree well-watered while it establishes.
Navel oranges
Navel oranges are so named because they have what looks like a strange little belly-button on the base of the fruit. There are a few varieties of navel oranges, including Washington, Lane’s Late, Cara Cara and Navelina, and different varieties ripen during different months, predominantly in winter and spring.
Brightly coloured Washington Navel oranges are dripping from trees during winter. They’re sweet, juicy, easy to peel and seedless and make a fantastic citrus to grow at home. Dwarf varieties of navels grow to around 1.5 m tall, so they’re easy to maintain (and you don’t need a ladder to harvest!) as well as being perfect for growing in a container.
To get the best out of home grown navel oranges, find a sunny spot that receives at least six hours of sunshine a day with well-drained soil. Navel oranges prefer growing in a temperate or subtropical climate, though will also handle cooler locations.
If you’re growing a navel orange in a container, choose a dwarf variety, use a pot that’s at least 40cm in diameter and fill with good quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix.
Feeding citrus regularly is the key to promoting the best possible harvest. Citrus are very hungry plants! Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food is a complete plant food that has been specially formulated to provide citrus with the nutrients they need. Apply Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food every week while oranges are still on the tree and then start feeding again in early spring when new foliage and flower buds start to emerge.
Planting tip: when planting a new navel orange tree into the ground, mix some Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone into the bottom of the planting hole. Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone improves the quality of the soil and supplies the newly planted orange with gentle, organic nutrients as it establishes.