Thursday 8 December 2011

Doon Gardening society monthly News Letter - NOVEMBER

Doon Gardening society monthly News Letter - NOVEMBER

Dear Gardeners,

Welcome.

The winters are in. The day temperature in Dehra Dun is now around 24° C and the night comes down to 13° C.

Many of us gardeners consider November to be a flowerless world but in Dehra Dun with it mild climate and a clear fogless sky quite a number of flowering plants can be grown and their beauty enjoyed.

Some of the flowers which add colour to the garden right into the next spring are:

Marigold (African Giant) Yellow, Orange and White
Hybrid Marigold
Yellow, Orange and White
French Marigold Bi-Colour (Yellow Red)
Cosmos in numerious colours
Impatient (Lizy-Bizzy) Pink, Red, Mixed and Blue
Hybrid Petunia
Periwinkle (Sadabahar Bhar) Red, White, Violet, Purple and Blue
 Bougainvillea – Miniture in Pots – Red, Orange, White, Purple, Yellow and variegated

Garden Activities

Deciduous trees and vines: If your garden has trees like the mulberry, fig, peach, plum and pear and Grape vines, you would observe that these are shedding their leaves and becoming dormant. Stop applying water to these plants after the first week of November as this will assist these plants to shed their leaves and go to sleep for the winters. The winter rains supply these plants the required moisture, but ensure that the roots do not dry. If they do application of water will be necessary. Come January and these plants will sprout new leaves indicating the arrival of spring.

Flowers: The weather is cooling down but this year the days are still on the warmer side. If you have not sown the flower and vegetable seeds for the coming spring and summer months you still have a few more days at hand to do so. to transfer the nursery grown perennials - Anemone, Chrysanthemums, Asters and ornamental grasses.  

This is the last chance for planting your nurseries for the following flower plants:

Agerantum
Alyssum
Antirrhium
Aster
Calendula
Candytuff
Carnation
Cinararia
Cornflower
Daisy
Dianthus
Gerbera
Gazania
Gillardia
Hollyhock
Larkspur
Lobelia
Pansy
Petunia
Phlox
Poppy
Verbania



Bulbs and Tubers: This is the right time to take out your saved bulbs and tubers and plant these. Some of these are:

Begonia
Daffodils
Dahlia
Freesia
Galadious
Iris
Lillium
lilies
Ornithogolum
Oxalis
Ranunculuas
Tulips

Summer Bulbs: The summer bulbs like Caladiums, Gladiolus, Football Lily, Spider Lily and Tiger lily if already not dug up and preserved for the next season, their top foliage should be removed and allowed to dry for two weeks. These should then be dusted with Sulfur and stored in dry peat moss or vermiculite at room temperature.

Feeding the plants: This is also the time to feed your plants with a good quality slow release plant food like 19:19:19 (NPK). Fertilising perennials and flowering shrubs and trees with fertilisers made for flowering plants. These products contain slow-release nitrogen, sulfate of potash, iron and other micro-nutrients for overall plant growth and development.

Lawns: If you had failed to apply the lime to your lawn in October you can still do it till mid November. It is also the last chance for the application of fertilizer to your lawn. Apply a good quality, slow-release fertiliser, with at least two feedings between the months of October, November and December. We recommend using a 26-4-12 (NPK) in November. Aerate and/or dethatch the lawn.

Fruit and Vegetable Gardens:  November is the last month when you could still take advantage of keeping the summer vegetables going by restoring to Drying and Cold storage which is an easy and inexpensive ways to preserve these vegetables. Onions, garlic, and hot peppers are usually dried. Tomatoes could be made into a puree or sauces. Cucumber pickled in saline. Pears, Plums and peaches and mulberry preserved as jam or slices.

Composting: With the approaching fall the leaves of a number of your tree family will be changing colour --- yellow to brown and finally they will fall. These can be collected and added to your composite bin. It is the time to clean up your garden and get ready for the next spring.

What to sow
it is time to sow the winter vegetables. To enjoy garden fresh time this is the last chance to put is a few vegetables in your kitchen garden. The suggested few are:

Vegetables

Early Winter
Brinjal
Broccoli
Brussels
Cabbage
Capsicum
Carrot
Cauliflower
Chili
Lettuce
Peas
Potato
Tomato
Radish
Turnip
Spinach



Regards and happy gardening

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