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Articles by William Hansby
How to turn your dim backyard corners into fresh salad greens
Shady spots in the garden often go unplanted, but leafy vegetables, stems, and root crops can do remarkably well without blazing all-day sun. In high summer, partial shade keeps the ground cooler and delays plants from racing straight to seed. Hot sun wilts tender leaves and triggers bitter seed heads. Morning light followed by afternoon shelter keeps loose-leaf varieties producing for weeks.
7 steps to a picture-perfect lawn for Christmas
Grass needs time to germinate, establish roots and thicken before it can handle summer foot traffic, so don’t leave repairs until December. Clear weeds, dead grass and debris, then loosen the top few centimetres of soil with a rake or hand fork. Add fine lawn mix if needed to make a level seedbed. Choose seed that matches your lawn and suits your climate. Scatter at the recommended rate, lightly rake it in and gently firm it for good seed-to-soil contact.
7 steps to a picture-perfect lawn for Christmas
Follow the one-third rule: never remove more than a third of the grass blade in a single mow. Cutting too short stresses the lawn and leaves it vulnerable to heat and drought.Photo: KURHAN/123RF / NZ Gardener Just In 12:37 am Oct 28 With Christmas just eight weeks away, there's still time to repair bare patches, tackle weeds and get your lawn ready for the festive season. Here's your seven-step plan.
The tomato varieties Kiwi gardeners swear by Original
Growing a variety of tomato types brings flavour and colour diversity, with 70 plants providing a year’s worth of bottled tomatoes and plenty for snacking.
New Zealand gardeners share their favourite basil varieties
As it turns out, there's a lot more to basil than pesto. Lemon basil received plenty of praise, particularly from Jeff Sole of Freemans Bay, Auckland, who uses it to make pesto with a difference. "I use it for pesto since it achieves that same citrus tang you get from adding lemon juice," he says. Jeff finds the flavour lighter than traditional basil pesto, and it's particularly popular when he gives it away.
New Zealand gardeners share their favourite basil varieties
Four flavours of basil, from left: ruffled, sweet, purple and Thai.RACHEL OLDHAM / NZ Gardener Last week, NZ Gardener Editor Jo McCarroll confessed to loving basil so much that she even wears it as perfume. Well, Jo Malone's Lime Basil & Mandarin, to be precise, although she wasn't ruling out rubbing herself with freshly crushed basil leaves. But when it comes to growing the real thing, she's a little more particular.
Three tomato myths worth busting before Labour Weekend Original
Three quick tips for great tomatoes: Pinch out side shoots (laterals) on tall-growing tomatoes trained to a single stem, but leave bush varieties alone. Give flowering stems a gentle shake around midday to help release pollen and improve fruit set.
NZ-bred potato is challenging the status quo of the global french fry market Original
Lincoln-based Dr Samantha Baldwin, Science Group Leader of Annual Crops.Photo: Supplied / NZ Gardener Just In 12:45 pm 11:00 am 11:00 am 11:00 am Next time you crunch on a hot golden chip it might be made of Crop78, a New Zealand-bred potato challenging the status quo of the global french fry market. Why are french fries called french fries? Apparently in Belgium’s Meuse Valley, villagers use to fry potatoes when rivers froze and fish were scarce.
Get your garden popping this October with these top 10 spring veges
October is less about the date and more about what the soil temperature is, and a soil themometer takes away much of the guesswork. Take a reading in the morning before the sun has warmed up the soil, generally at seed depth, or about 5–10cm down. Once the ground is warm enough, here is how to get your garden pumping with 10 delicious vegetables. Check that soil temperatures are warm and frost risks have passed before moving windowsill seedlings outdoors.
10 edible flowers to sow and plant now
From peppery nasturtiums to cucumber-flavoured borage and colourful petals for cakes and salads, these 10 edible flowers are as useful in the kitchen as they are decorative in the garden. 1. Nasturtiums Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus).PIXABAY / NZ Gardener If there's one edible flower that deserves a place in every vege garden, it's the nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus). Its cheerful orange, yellow and red flowers have a peppery flavour, rather like watercress.
10 herbs to sow and plant now
Spring is a great time to propagate herbs. Divide established clumps of chives, oregano, lemon balm, tarragon and thyme, or take 10–15cm cuttings from healthy rosemary stems, removing the soft tips and lower leaves before potting up. Mint is even easier– pop a few stem cuttings into a jar of water on a bright windowsill and watch the roots develop.
Five flowers to plant over October
If neat and sensible isn’t your style, October offers some more unusual choices for the ornamental garden. Tithonia, celosia, gomphrena, love-lies-bleeding and strawflowers bring flames, pompoms, tassels and long-lasting colour to the garden. In warmer districts, some can be sown direct now; where frosts still threaten, start them under cover. All are widely available from Kings Seeds or Egmont Seeds, and can often be found as seedlings too. 1.
7 edible crops you can grow in partial shade
Lettuce enjoys a bit of shade, especially as they sunlight and heat increases.Photo: 123rf / NZ Gardener Just In 11:00 am 11:00 am 11:00 am 11:00 am While edible crops generally need sun, there are some that can cope with partial shade. In fact, during the warmer months a little afternoon shade can help leafy vegetables stay tender for longer and slow down their rush to flower. The trick is choosing plants grown mainly for their leaves, stems or roots rather than fruit.
The simple guide to turning one kūmara into a whole summer crop
What: Growing kūmara runners (slips) from a tuber When: Start indoors in September; plant outside once soil warms Where: Warmer regions directly in gardens; cooler or inland areas in containers or sunny spots Need to know: Keep tubers warm (24–29C), don't overwater, and lift vines regularly to stop unwanted rooting September is the ideal time to raise your own kūmara slips indoors. Follow these basic steps to ensure a abundant backyard harvest this summer.
10 veges to get growing in October
Tomato seedlings transplant easily so repot seedlings and grow them on indoors until the weather is reliably warm and settled.Photo: PIXABAY / NZ Gardener Just In 11:00 am 11:00 am 11:00 am 11:00 am October is less about the date on the calendar and more about what the soil thermometer says. I picked one up from Bunnings for $12.98, and it takes much of the guesswork out of spring sowing.
5 tips on growing “just enough” fresh food for a small family
Use horticultural mesh or net curtains as a physical barrier to keep white butterfly caterpillar from eating broccoli seedlings, cabbages, cauliflowers and swedes as well as Asian greens such as bok choy, gai lan and tatsoi.NZ Gardener If you live by yourself, or with just one or two other people, as an increasingly number of New Zealanders do, it can be just as easy to produce more food than you need from your backyard than it is to not grow enough.
Fixing bare patches in your lawn
Nothing ruins the look of a garden quite like a patchy, damaged lawn. Spring is the ideal season to tackle repairs because grass naturally surges with growth energy and mild weather helps fresh seed take root fast. Dog urine: High concentrations of nitrogen and salts scorch grass, leaving dead brown centres surrounded by dark green rings. Dilute the spot with water right after your pet goes. Pests: Grass grubs and porina caterpillars chew through root systems, creating lifeless patches.
Plant these three flowers to help the bees
Bees are strongly attracted to yellow flowers because their unique vision makes the colour highly visible, and it frequently signals an abundant, accessible source of food123rf.com / NZ Gardener You don’t need a wildflower meadow to help bees and other beneficial insects. Start with three proven performers – alyssum, phacelia and buckwheat – tucked into the vege patch.
Nine flowers to sow and plant in September
Honeywort.Leilani Hatch/Manawatu Standard / Leilani Hatch As the days lengthen and soils slowly warm, there are plenty of flowers you can sow or plant for colour in spring and summer.
How to grow your own kūmara runners
Harvest of kumara grown in old Auckland Council recycling bins, in the Auckland garden of NZ Gardener deputy editor Mei Leng Wong.Mei Leng Wong / NZ Gardener With warmth, patience and a little know-how, one kūmara tuber can produce enough slips to start your own summer crop. Kūmara are propagated from slips – leafy shoots produced by a mature kūmara – and you can raise the slips (or runners, tupu or tipu) yourself from a healthy supermarket tuber.
Nine crops to sow right now for a bumper spring harvest
Spring has arrived, making it the ideal time to get out in the garden and start planting for the months ahead. Here are nine great crops to get into the ground now. Sow seeds straight into well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Make sure climbing types have a frame or trellis ready to climb. Greenfeast is a great traditional choice, while sugar snap and snow peas offer crunchy edible pods. Plant sprouted seed potatoes in rows about 10cm to 15cm deep.
When to plant potatoes if you want new spuds for Christmas
New potatoes with herbs and butter are a summer treat.PIXABAY / NZ Gardener If you want early potatoes for Christmas, now is the time to plant. Most early varieties take around 90–100 days to mature – although that’s a guide rather than a guarantee. It is 100 days until Christmas next Wednesday (really), so this week is the perfect time to get your festive spuds in the ground.
How will El Nino affect your garden: a regional guide
Mulch may become your garden’s best companion this spring and summer.123RF STOCK PHOTO / NZ Gardener El Nino is expected to put a strong stamp on the coming gardening season, bringing more wind, faster-drying soils and sharp temperature swings to many parts of the country, while some regions will face too much rain.
Dogs, kids, weeds, grubs, drainage - what’s causing your patchy lawn?
Now is the time to take care of any lawn repair jobs that may be necessary.Photo: 123rf During my time as a turf manager for Auckland City Council, I spent plenty of time diagnosing bare spots across city parks and sports grounds. There’s nothing as disappointing as a patchy lawn in an otherwise well-tended garden. The right approach – and the right grass seed – can restore your lawn to glory, and spring is the perfect time to tackle repairs.
10 plants to get growing for Dad this Sunday
Your possible future harvest basket.Photo: LYNDA HALLINAN / STUFF Father’s Day falls on Sunday (September 6) just as the spring sowing season starts to get interesting. So if Dad gardens, forget another novelty mug and sow a few seeds together instead. Here are 10 good things to get growing this September, including varieties you’re likely to find on garden-centre racks now. Error: We’re unable to display the article or subscription options because of your network settings.
Ditch the plastic: 22 smart hacks for a greener Kiwi garden
What: Reader-submitted tips to reduce plastic in the garden Where: Gardens across Aotearoa New Zealand When: Out now in NZ Gardener's Get Growing ezine Need to know: Easy upcycling ideas for labels, pots, plant ties, and weed mat replacements Got a shed full of cracked plastic pots or frayed black weed mat? You are not alone. Kiwi gardeners from Whakatāne to Dunedin have shared 22 clever ways to cut down on plastic using simple items already sitting around the house.
Be summer salad ready: 10 salad greens to start now
Lettuce forms the base of many salads.123rf Now is a great time to get the salad garden moving. Sow a mixture of mild, peppery, crunchy and slightly bitter leaves now and you could be harvesting your first homegrown salads within weeks. 1. Lettuce – the salad staple Lettuce 'Tennis Ball' is a compact butterhead-style lettuce. Its loose rosette of light green leaves is easy to pick and excellent for small gardens or growing in tubs.
This week is the perfect time to sow tomato, chilli and capsicum (literally, do it on Monday)
Fill your trays or pots with pre-moistened seed-raising mix until it feels like a damp sponge to help seeds germinate.PIXABAY / NZ Gardener I don’t want to alarm anyone but on Monday it is eight weeks until Labour Day: the traditional date on which Kiwi gardeners shift their solanceous summer seedlings (that’s tomatoes of course, but also chillies and capsicums) into the outdoor garden.
How a Tūrangi man transformed a ‘worn-out’ council berm into a blooming haven
Ian Ashmore has created a thriving garden on his berm.Lottie Hedley / Lottie Hedley Ian Ashmore has transformed his Tūrangi berm into a layered, flowering ecosystem glowing with seasonal colour. Here, fastigiate hornbeams rise above maples that blaze in autumn; roses weave through perennials; self-sown annuals soften the edges. Bees drift between the blooms and neighbours often pause to admire the sprawling garden. Originally, the berm was “a typical worn out council berm,” says Ian.
22 clever ways to reduce plastic use in the garden
Plastics are pervasive in the garden.Photo: Supplied / NZ Gardener Last week we asked readers of NZ Gardener’s weekly ezine Get Growing how they were reducing the use of plastic in their gardens. Answers and ideas flooded in from gardeners all over the country, many of them simple changes you could make today.
5 flowers to sow and plant in August
Sweet peas readily set seed and self-sow.Photo: SALLY TAGG / NZ GARDENER / NZ Gardener The first daffodils make gardeners feel like spring is around the corner, but when it comes to sowing flowers in August, soil temperature still matters more than the calendar. The days are getting longer, yes, and Earth Sciences New Zealand expects August–October temperatures to be near average in eastern North Island regions and near or above average elsewhere.
Are you growing a future weed?
What is a weed – and who decides that it is one? The word weed sounds simple, but in practice it is deeply contextual. Dr Trevor James, who works at the Bioeconomy Science Institute, defines a weed as “a plant growing where it is not wanted and causing harm – ecological, economic or social.” That harm they do may be obvious – choking waterways or smothering bush margins – or more subtle, such as suppressing native regeneration or driving up long-term management costs.
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