Garden Advice › Garden Tips of the Month
Unseasonal Autumn heat
Traditional gardening work is being challenged, as the weather gurus confirm this unseasonal warm weather is here for all of April!
What this means:
Prioritise the following to deal with the extended 'summer' in the garden:
BLACKGOLD Mulch - this exclusive Central Landscapes product is perfect for combatting this hot weather - layer around the freshly weeded and watered areas of the garden to deliver moisture to the soil and the roots of plants. Plus, there is a gentle 'feed' of plants from the nutritional benefits of the compost that has been added to the product.
Watering - Newly planted shrubs, vegetables and perennials need to be well watered then mulched as suggested above. The soil is not retaining as much water as is normal for this time of the year. Fruit trees in full production mode - citrus, apples, feijoas and figs need plenty of water to produce juicy fruit.
Pots - Potted plants, especially those in small pots are particularly vulnerable. Unless you have a garden of potted succulents, then you need to soak pots to the rim.
Fertilising - Digger would advise sticking to liquid based fertilisers for pots so as not to 'burn' the roots and stems of plants. In the garden apply compost and sheep pellets and dig it into the soil.
Pest Management - Normally white butterfly and green looper caterpillar, aphid colonies, leaf roller caterpillar and other pests such as wasps and passion vine hoppers would be less active in April, but you may need to squash or spray to protect vegetables and prized plants, as there's plenty of 'life' in the garden due to the unseasonal warmth.
Work in the Vegetable Garden
- Beetroot - is best grown and harvested quickly and this season is a perfect one for crops of lovely baby beets.
- Broad Beans - best sown directly into the soil.
- Turnips - fashionable and easy to grow - sow seeds directly
- Kale - be fashion forward - the leaves of young kale actually taste really good in salads with a strong balsamic vinaigrette and yes - it's super healthy! Very easy to grow from now on.
- Fallow areas - sow green crops - lupins, mustard etc. for nitrogen enrichment and to enhance soils.
- Strawberry runners - Place a small stone on top of the runner beside the newly formed crown. This will help anchor roots to the soil and create new plants for next strawberry season!
- Asparagus beds - Apply a blanket of compost to beds - a good layer of at least 50mm will nourish the emerging crowns in winter.
- Removing summer vegetables - As you dig out finished crops, collect old tomatoes, melons and other vegetables containing seeds that may have fallen onto the soil. Although these may germinate in spring, where they have fallen, most modern vegetable plants are F1 hybrids - and may revert to one or other of the original parent plants - not what you grew last season.