Water and mulch is the task this month

We were sure happy to get the rain at our wilting property this week.

My tomato plants in particular are scorched, despite regular and consistent watering. And it’s only going to get hotter as we move into February.

Water in the morning or late afternoon to reduce loss of moisture through evaporation. I like to soak the ground with a hose and try to avoid using a sprinkler, because water droplets on leaves can act like a magnifying glass and burn foliage. If you’re in a humid area like Auckland, moisture on the leaves will promote and help spread fungal diseases such as powdery mildew.

Get mulch on the ground. In spring and summer, when plants are growing rapidly and conditions are heating up, it’s particularly important to mulch your garden because it prevents the soil from drying out.

It also allows plants to put their roots down deeply so you don’t need to water as often.

Plants that are stressed by a lack of water are less productive and more likely to be mauled by sucking bugs like aphids and green shield beetles. By acting like an insulating blanket, mulch ensures that moisture levels are consistent, which is important for crops like tomatoes that are susceptible to conditions like blossom-end rot or develop split skins with too many extremes of wet and dry.

Mulch can also extend the growing season by trapping warmth around crops in the cooler months.

Mulch also suppresses weeds. If you add a good thick layer, say 10cm deep, weeds tend to put their energy into growing long and spindly as they try to reach the light rather than putting down strong roots, which makes them easier to pull out.

Mulch also provides a home for many types of soil life, such as worms, which feed on decaying matter to produce humus, which is like gold dust for your soil because it retains water and makes your soil loose and friable.

I use newspaper, cardboard, grass clippings, weeds, hay and straw.

GARDENING BY THE MOON

January 19-25: This is the most prolific time for sowing and planting aboveground crops. Sow and transplant dwarf beans, lettuces, parsley, silverbeet. Take cuttings. Feed vege plants.

January 25-26: Don’t sow or plant anything. Harvest crops. Work soil. Pickle and preserve. Turn your compost heap. Deal to weeds.

GARDENING BY THE MARAMATAKA

Mihi atu mō te tau hou. Welcome to the new year and to raumati or summer – almost midsummer, the driest time for most of us. The flowering of the pōhutukawa and rātā are the progenitors of this summer period known as matiti muramura. As we leave behind 2023, the new year brings us directly to the Tangaroa phase on January 4 which reminds us of the importance of wai or water to our māra.

This is a good period for late planting but where we can let the māra look after itself in many ways.

Aphids prefer to feed on young, softer leaves, stems and buds, and will target plants stressed by a lack of water.