November 2015

andNEWS Viewswww.daltons.co.nz

DAY NIGHT TRILLER mountain bike event

A systemic insecticide that works both on contact with target pests and systemically through root and leaf uptake.

DALTONS: 0800 808 150 sales@daltons.co.nz

Advantages Completely systemic through root and leaf uptake Also works on contact with the target pests 100% knockdown within 50 minutes on many target pests Provides effective control even at low application rates Can combine with older insecticides to prevent resistance build-up

Targeted insect control, soft on many beneficial insects

On Saturday 8th October Daltons entered two mountain bike teams to

take part in the Day Night Thriller held at the Cougar Mountain Bike Park in Tokoroa.

Daltons had a mixed team in the 12 hour event (30 laps) and a men’s team in the 6 hour event (15 laps), riding a 7km circuit. The course offered a mix of forestry roads, single trails, uphill, downhill and plenty of sweet, sweet berms, all amongst a mature pine forest.

It was a fantastic weekend with a great team of people made up of – from Daltons: Scott Bromwich, Geoff Bone, Greg Tulett; Advanced Trees: Cam Fraser; PF Olsen: Kevin Haine; Ardmore Nursery: Richard Beaumont, Dervla Hayes, Lou Gibson; Bunnings Botany: Ian Boult; Heb Tauranga: Terry McDowell – Terry did not ride due to a last minute back injury.

Officially we finished 4th (out of 25) in the 12 hour mixed event and 8th (out of 19) in the 6 hour men’s event.

Well done team!

DALTONSKEEPING

NZ GROWING

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TECH TALK

GROW GARDEN COLOUR

GARDENING WITH XANTHE

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PLANTATION OVERVIEW

NGINZ REPORT

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CongratulationsTHE ALL BLACKS!

Seed mix trials and the application of seasol for cutting production

Every year, usually in August and September, we set up product trials with seed mixes. This is important, as with all of our baseline products, to ensure continuity of expected performance and quality. We use the same plants in the seed mix trial if we can and sow six different sorts of vegetables in cell trays so we can easily determine germination rates and resultant growth.

This year we sowed bean, basil, lettuce, pumpkin, sweet corn and tomato into HerkuPlast plug trays in mid August. In the trials we included Daltons Premium Seed Mix, Daltons Organic Seed Mix and other seed mixes that could be purchased across New Zealand.

Both our Bio-Gro Certified Seed Mix and Premium Seed Mix topped the performance results and were significantly better than the other seed mixes we trialled against. The inclusion of coco fibre as a raw material component and careful selection of fertilisers are strong contributory factors to the outcome of these trials.

In 2014 we took on the distribution of Seasol products for the commercial market in New Zealand and the feedback from our customers who have used the product has been so favorable that we decided to trial Seasol Concentrate for the propagation of Fuchsia cuttings. We applied the product as a drench onto the growing media at a rate of 1:300 after the cuttings were inserted.

The results we had were impressive with an increase of 54% in wet and dry weights six weeks after the Seasol was applied. Photographs on the right visually show the differences between the control (no Seasol) vs the application of Seasol.

During this spring we are going to scale up the trial and try different applications and methods to confirm and optimise the application rates for this product which will also include seed sowing.

We can highly recommend the Seasol range to add to your crop management programme to help and assist growing a faster and healthier crop.

GEOFF BONE Technical & Quality Manager

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Fuchsia cuttings 9.8.15 Daltons Cutting Mix WITH SEASOL

Fuchsia cuttings 9.8.15 Daltons Cutting Mix NO SEASOL

PHOTO 22.9.15

of transition from a man-made form to wildness. There are no flowers or vegetables so it won’t be everyones cup of tea but we’re all feeling excited.

Meanwhile back at the Plantation Judith is starting another project but this one has plenty of flowers. Zealandia Nursery surprised us with a delivery of beautiful flowers and when I received the call from Judith saying “help” where should they go I was delighted. I’ve had in my mind a colour block garden that I’ve wanted to draw up for the last couple of years for Jude but the time had not arisen. So we sat down at the drawing board and sent the plans away! Judith received them on Friday night and by the Wednesday the lawn was skimmed and the beds laid out. It has to be a record for us!

The colour blocks are a play on a classical garden but their layout is asymmetrical and perhaps a little modernist. What they mean is not only a new beautiful garden but it will be a place to put all sorts of treasures as long as they are blue, purple, white, green, yellow, orange or red. So if you have some new treasures we have the spot!

Anyway work is calling so I better stretch my back and get ready for a long day beside the sea! There are worse places to work.

XANTHE WHITE Xanthe White Design Principal Designer

GARDENING WITH Xanthe WhiteI’m writing this at six in the morning before we head to site to continue planting our installation on the waterfront in Taranaki. Our project is called Impermanence and it’s more sculpture than garden but it is of course not without plants.

We’ve worked with engineers to create giant cubes of cortex steel with sections of mesh lined with black felt. We have then filled them with planting mix and are turning the areas of mesh into a three dimensional garden. The idea is that it will look like the planting is growing out of the forms as the corrode.

I’ve always loved ruins particularly the life that reclaims the space. I remember walking through the old rugby ground beside the domain in Auckland with my husband before we were married. On the stands the soil had begun to build up and trees had started to grow. Walking beneath then the roots dangled down and above it was the beginnings of a forest. Its amazing how quickly nature will take hold of an opportunity once we abandon it.

This reminds me of how impermanent life is and yet within that there are moments of magic. This sculpture is an attempt to capture this point

The kindergarten children came back from the holidays and straight into planting their sunflower seedlings. As you can see from the photos there is a lot of teamwork going on in the garden which is fantastic, and the children are really enjoying the day to day care and responsibility of their plants.

Some kindergartens have been doing a few experiments as well. Central Kids Hazelmere in Te Awamutu did an experiment sowing sunflower seeds in an old fish tank so the children could see what happens underground when a seed germinates.

Not only does this project teach children about gardening, but it also helps them learn basic math skills. For instance, the children at Fairfield EEC in Hamilton got a lot of enjoyment learning mathematical skills like counting, extending their knowledge of larger numbers, measurement, fractions half, third, quarter and full and looking at ‘more’ or ‘less’ using their Daltons measuring tape.

DALTONS SUNFLOWERS IN KINDYS update

DALTONS LTD 266 Hinuera Road West, PO Box 397, Matamata 3440 P 0800 808 150 | E sales@daltons.co.nz | www.daltons.co.nz

REPORT

NGINZ’s Grower Sector is looking forward to the third in its series of its informative and successful Grower Technical Seminars. Attendance has grown each year and reflects the quality line up of topics and speakers. Among the presentations lined up so far for next year, 8 March in Wellington, are presentations on pest and disease control under cover (Horticentre), breeding techniques likely to give the most rapid gains in generating new ornamentals (Ed Morgan) and nursery automation (Alfred Boot from The Netherlands). There will be more!

In the meantime book travel for an early arrival into and a late afternoon departure out of Wellington. We’ll have registration details soon, email frances@nginz.co.nz to ensure you get updates.

JOHN LIDDLE NGINZ Chief Executive

NGINZ

Wander The Plantation’s peaceful gardens – enjoy croquet or petanque

on the lawn, treasure/scavenger hunt on request, great food,

awesome coffee, stunning gardens. Come on out, relax & enjoy.

SPRING TIME at the PlantationIsn’t this just the most awesome time of year in the garden? Extremely busy but very rewarding. The Spring Garden is lovely with all the pretty pastels showing off and the lilacs just exquisite; the Border Gardens are full and the roses are bursting out in their majestic red colour; the cherry blossoms are just so beautiful and such a picture when you are in the Bulb Walk with a canopy of blossom overhead, with irises, daffodils, jonquils and lilies amongst the long grasses either side of the bridge.

We have been busy on the edible garden side as well and trying something different with our strawberries – growing them straight in the Strawberry mix bags – so we will wait and see! We have also planted potatoes and have waited til now to plant our tomatoes out as the week before last we had some light frosts! The vege garden is in complete overhaul with Summer veges underway – yay! Buzzy Bee and the Mound is looking fantastic – so full of colour and so many interesting plants… and insects!

We are just embarking on a new garden – the Colour Block Garden which Xanthe has had in her mind for some time so thank you to Zealandia Nursery for their generous gift of beautiful perennials, this garden is becoming a reality… so watch this space next month!

280 Hinuera Road, Matamata P 07 888 8999

www.daltonsplantation.co.nz

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