• Look at giving your summer flowering shrubs a light pruning to tidy them up – and if you’ve experienced any hail damage, cut away damaged leaves and flowers to allow for fresh new blooms to be produced.
• Remove all dead flowers from summer flowering perennials like Agapanthus, Liliums tulbaghia etc. Wait for the cooler days of March and April to lift and divide these if you are needing to spread them out.
• Dead head flowering bulbs, like Dahlias, to extend their flowering time. Feeding your bulbs that have finished flowering with a good quality bulb food is always beneficial – now is the time that they store these nutrients in their little bulbs for the winter dormancy and to ensure beautiful blooms in the season to come.
• Deadhead summer annuals regularly and feed fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser ie Nitrosol or seagro. You can also start sowing winter-flowering annuals from seed.
• Check and spray all susceptible plants for aphids, powdery mildew, black spot, rust and redspidermite – our friendly staff can assist with suggestions on what products to use, that will best combat the pests and diseases.
• Check your garden for snails and slugs as they are out in full force and put out an organic bait of your choice ie eco snail.
• Water plants deeply when it’s not raining in order to encourage roots to grow deeper in search of water; this keeps roots cooler and improves the plants’ ability to withstand drought when it comes to winter months. Always remember to adhere to the water restrictions for your area, if there are any.
• Water your rose bushes deeply 3 times per week and maintain a thick layer of mulch around them, but try keep the area around stems free of mulch. Fertilise with a balanced rose food to boost the plants into their last flush of flowers.
• Feeding of your Azaleas and Camellias by adding a “Mulch” layer with acid compost and water well to give them a yearly growth boost and to help them set full buds.
• Feed all your plants in containers and hanging baskets with a liquid fertiliser every fortnight this will ensure healthy plants that will give a show of colour.
• Top up your mulch in garden beds where needed to keep the soil cool and retain moisture during the hotter months, also helps as a weed barrier.
• Mow your lawns regularly on a higher setting to protect roots from the heat. Water well if needed and feed with an organic, slow-release lawn fertiliser ie fertilawn or gro green. Also keep an eye out for lawn caterpillars, mole crickets and lawn fungus and treat appropriately.
In the Food Garden
• Water your vegetables and herbs more frequently during hot weather, especially those planted in containers. Feed fortnightly with an organic, seaweed -based fertiliser.
• Pests like aphids, redspidermite and white fly thrive in this hot weather. Check your plants regularly especially on the under sides of the leaves spray with an organic pesticide if they cannot be controlled manually. Poisons that offer such are things like Organiced or Organiced Plus
• Remove your spent summer veg that have finished bearing. A final planting of tomato, brinjal and green pepper seedlings can still be made. Prepare your soil for winter vegetable sowing and planting. Work a generous amount of good quality compost into the soil in preparation.
• Do your last planting of fast-growing annual herbs, like basil, dill and coriander now.
• Start sowing your choice of winter vegetable and herb seeds available in the seed section at Tuingenoot now. Rather sow in seed trays while the weather is still so hot and keep the young seedlings under 30-40% shade cloth or in the dappled shade of a tree in your garden.
• Top up the mulch layer around your citrus trees and water twice a week, if needed. Feed with an organic fertiliser like flower power or gwano pellets along the drip line of the tree. Check for aphids and psylla and treat appropriately.
• Once your deciduous fruits have stopped producing, shape the tree lightly and remove any diseased branches. Ensure that all fallen fruit is removed from around the tree as this will become a breeding ground for fruit flies. Feed your trees with a general 2:3:2 fertiliser and water well.
• Prepare the beds for strawberries in late summer by digging a layer of compost, bone meal and a organic fertiliser into the soil.
• Pick the last of your granadillas then also look at feeding them with an organic fertiliser.
• Water all your berries well if it has not rained in your area, this will ensure a good autumn crop.
• Harvest your garlic and onions when the flower heads topple over and the leaves start yellowing, but before they dry out completely.
For the Love of Bees and Bugs…
Look after our beneficial insects in the garden – they help to keep your garden pest free. Only spray pesticides if really needed and then spray during the late afternoon when they are less active. We encourage to first try to get rid of the pests manually if that fails try using an organic pesticide as a second option, before going to chemicals. Also have some fun building them a bug hotels where they can find a safe haven and perhaps a bite to eat –free board and lodging for all their hard work! We also stock a wide range of bee hotels for your solitary bees, they are peaceful cousins of the honey bee and are great fun to watch when it comes to them building their tiny home for their larve.
