Maggie wrote in news:wYOh
:

. I plan to plant NZ natives to keep
it fairly low maintenance. So I thought I'd do all this in preparation
for planting in spring, but now I've read that I shouldn't till a
sloping site in autumn, I guess due to erosion.

What's my best course of action? I wanted to have the area cleared by
spring (or earlier) for planting, and with a young baby, don't have huge
amounts of time, so hoped to spend a few hours each weekend working away
on it, but do it properly. I'm keen, but very much a novice, so all and
any suggestions most welcome!


You should be fine if you are only going to have it bare for one season,
I'd have thought. If you were going to prepare the earth every year you'd
be more likely to have problems, and would probably need to do things in
terraces. My garden is steep, and I do find I sometimes have to heap soil
back onto the beds, but it's not a huge problem - a little spadework is all
that is needed.

Sarah's suggestion of covering the soil with plastic or black garden fabric
till you are ready to plant is a good idea - not only will this prevent the
soil washing downhill, but it will also suppress any weed seedlings that
come popping up in mild periods, and leave cleaner soil for planting in in
spring.

Having said that, I don't know what NZ natives you are planning to plant -
round here it's usually recommended to plant trees and shrubs in autumn, or
winter for bare root plants - that way they get plenty of damp weather to
settle in before the summer arrives and the ground starts to dry out.

If you are planting seeds, you might want to check if they need a colder
period to get them germinating, as many UK wildflowers do - in that case,
they might also need planting in the autumn.

Victoria

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gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
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