Garden Advice › Garden Tips of the Month
Garden Tips June 2016
Winter has begun so that changes the landscape…
In the Fruit & Vegetable Garden
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The 'nibbling' of brassicas is widespread in gardens, because the white butterfly colonies have been viable for longer in the warm temperatures. This latest drop in temperature will end their activity - any existing plants that have nice clean hearts and minimal leaf damage remain viable.
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Cold hardy vegetables - Giant Mustard, silver beet, red and green cabbages, kale and mibuna will grow on over winter. Iceberg-type lettuce varieties tend to be the strongest in the winter months. Radishes grow quickly and are tasty in a winter coleslaw.
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Garlic - great time to put a crop of garlic in. Gently separate out healthy cloves from a head of garlic and plant 10 - 15 cm apart with the 'pointy end' facing upward.
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Fruit tree clean-up - ahead of pruning, pick up fallen leaves and rotting fruit to eradicate risk of leaving diseased spores in the soil. Spray after leaf fall with copper and oil to further clean-up for spring growth.
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Liquid Frost Cloth - if you tend to get frost in winter, now's the time to protect passion fruit vines, citrus and other vulnerable bushes by spraying over liquid frost cloth, a heavy oil-based cover that helps lessen frost damage on leaves. This allows for the plant to recover more quickly in spring.
General Gardening
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Colour wheel - now more than ever before the cheap and cheerful tables of potted colour at the local garden centres are worthy of attention. On Queen's Birthday Weekend you can generally score 10 plants for $10 - and they're the right plants for the cold weather!
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Edible and ornamental, a rosemary hedge offers a crisp outline to the garden and blue flowers in the middle of winter when little else is flowering!
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Slippery Slope - Treat mossy, weedy paths and driveways to prevent accidental slips and falls. (Never plant flaxes close to the edge of walkways - leaves draped over ground are lethal to pedestrians)
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Indoors - reduce houseplant watering, to avoid botrytis growing on foliage, as rooms become cooler in winter
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More Indoors - feet up while it pours outside? Visit https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/2016/Articles for inspiration on international garden design/plant trends
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Fire Up - whether you've got an indoor fireplace starting its winter glow, or you're 'toughing it' over an outdoors brazier, Central Landscapes have the driest firewood for you - bags, trailer or truck-loads - we'll have you cozy in no time!
Lawn Care:
With winter here, the growth of your lawn will begin to slow, but it important that you still pay attention to it. Fertilise with Prolawn Garden Supreme to keep your lawn as strong and healthy as possible during this period. This will enable your lawn to compete against winter weeds and the cold and wet weather.
Keep your mower blades sharp so as to avoid tearing and damage to the leaf, and keep up your regular mowing.
Garden Thought of the Month:
"Your mind is a garden; your thoughts are the seeds.
The harvest can be either flowers or weeds." Author Unknown
