Embrace the beauty of a warm spring garden!
By late spring, warm weather means strong growth. Use the cooler evening hours or crisp fresh mornings to tend the garden on hot days as we prepare for the stresses of summer.
Spend some time checking that water is getting down into the soil, topping up mulch, and ensuring plants are in their right location.
Get composting
Compost is good for the soil and the garden, it’s free if you can make your own, and a great way to recycle garden nutrients is by adding green weeds (without seeds or propagules such as tubers), lawn clippings, food scraps and other organic waste.
Filling the compost heap with compostables is only the start of composting. Keep compost heaps actively composting by turning the material so it is well aerated (use a fork to toss the materials together) and add water if the heap is dry.
If the material is too wet, cover it to stop excess rain from making the heap even wetter. Use the compost as it breaks down by spreading it around the garden.
If you don’t have a compost heap, recycle organic material including food scraps in your FOGO bin and buy compost to add to your garden.
Vegies to plant now
With the ever-rising cost of fresh food, it is time to get the garden producing. Plant tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, chillies, eggplant and repeat harvest lettuces and spinach in the vegie patch. Also, consider adding in some colour and smells with flowers and herbs.
Seeds are the cheapest way to get growing but seedlings from the hardware or garden centre are quicker and easier, especially for new gardeners.
When adding plants to your vegie space, water them in with Seasol to aid plant establishment and strong root growth. Continue to apply Seasol regularly every fortnight for healthy growth and enhanced flowering and fruiting.
If you don’t have space in the ground, grow compact vegies in large pots, foam boxes or invest in a raised garden bed. Use vertical spaces such as fences and tripods to make the most of limited space.
A vegie container around an outdoor entertaining area is a great idea as you can pick vegies and herbs to use in cooking.
Trouble-shooting containers
Plants in pots need good drainage so it is important to check drainage holes regularly. One way to do this quickly is to lift the pot and look at its base. If roots are coming out of the drainage holes and especially if the pot feels heavy, then investigate further – it may need to be repotted.
To help drainage, stand a large pot on pot feet (or bricks) so any growth coming from the pot’s drainage holes is easy to see. Water running from the drainage holes will also be easy to see to check that the pot is draining successfully.
Another sign of problems in pots is seen when water rushes out of the drainage hole without soaking into the potting mix. This can happen when the potting mix dries out so much that it becomes hydrophobic ‘allergic’ to water. A quick fix is to water with a soil wetting agent such as Seasol Super Soil Wetter & Conditioner which not only helps water to get to the plant’s root system, it also improves soil health with liquid compost.
Traps and barriers against pests
A smart way to control pests is to trap them. There are plenty of trap ideas that work well to catch common garden pests. Earwigs, which damage dahlia flowers and vegies including cauliflower, can be trapped in screwed up newspaper stuffed into a cover such as an upturned pot. Pesky millipedes are attracted to light. Use a light at night to attract the multi-legged black pests into a tray of water.
Slugs and snails are also attracted to traps. Many gardeners use beer traps (saucers of beer placed at ground level among plants), but the latest research suggests there’s a better option: bread dough. It is long lasting and highly attractive.
Where trapping isn’t an option, protect vegie crops with fine mesh which will stop possums, birds and cabbage white butterflies, which lay their eggs in brassica crops. Use bird-safe mesh and regularly check that animals are not caught. Alternatively, look for small mesh drawstring bags to put around fruit clusters to protect against fruit fly and birds.
Five important jobs for late spring
- Water gardens more frequently as the weather warms. New plantings, containers and vegetable gardens may need checking daily. Apply PowerFeed Controlled Release All Purpose including Natives to the potting mix and water it in.
- Keep mowing regularly but lightly to keep lawns long and lush. Deep water once or twice a week (water restrictions permitting) and feed regularly with Seasol for Lush Green Lawns.
- Take a pair of secateurs and a bucket with you on a garden walk. Use the secateurs to deadhead plants and put trimmings along with weeds straight into the bucket.
- Keep gutters clean and remove flammable debris around your property to maintain fire safety. Ensure you have your fire plan ready for summer.
- Check indoor plants are getting enough light, but not direct sun that can burn foliage. Liquid feed to the potting mix with PowerFeed Indoor & Potted Plants trigger spray.
Clematis in the garden
Clematis are having a wow moment in gardens right now and the large-flowered hybrids will keep blooming through summer and even into early autumn. Easiest to grow are Clematis montana which cover themselves with masses of small, white, pink or ruby red, star-like flowers.
Clematis are known to like cool feet and a warm head. This means planting them where the root system can be kept cool and well-watered especially as the weather warms but the plant can grow up into sunshine. Use a layer of mulch or several large flat stones to keep the roots cool through hot summers.
Apply organic manure, homemade compost and/or Seasol Super Compost when planting to give them a good home to flourish and flower.
The plant’s natural inclination is to scramble over other plants such as up and over apple trees or to intermingle with climbing or large shrub roses (often making an eye-catching combination). To keep these enthusiastic climbers under control, provide a tripod, trellis or fence as support.
Grow a floral arch
Plants trained over an arbour or arch add a wow factor to a garden, make good use of a sunny space and also provide a shaded spot to sit. In cool temperate gardens laburnums (Laburnum x waterii ‘Vossii’), which are slender trees with racemes of yellow flowers, can be trained to form a floral tunnel.
For a fast result, grow wisteria, star jasmine, clematis or mandevilla. Make sure the arbour or arch is strong enough to support a vigorous plant, accessible on all sides so it can be pruned, and high enough to walk beneath.
If you are unsure what to plant, speak to friendly horticultural staff at your local hardware or garden centre who can help you with planting ideas for your climate.
