Gardening

October in Your Garden

October can be one of the most beautiful months!  Our gardens almost seem to springs to life, forgotten favourites pop up and show themselves, rose bushes are in bud, fruit are forming on the trees and here in Jozi, Our days of pondering on the patio are now over, and its time to put all those great ideas into practice.

Flower Gardens

•All flower seeds are available on our shelves at Tuingenoot and can be sown now that nights are warming up.

•Look at removing your winter and spring flowering annuals that have finished flowering and plant summer flowering annuals like Marigolds, Celosia, Dianthus, Verbena, sunflowers, Zinnias, Salvias, Portulaca, Petunias and Penstemons in your sunny spots and Begonias and Impatiens in your dappled shaded areas for a beautiful summer show. Pinch off all dead flowers regularly to promote those continuous blooms. Also look at feeding fortnightly with a water-soluble fertiliser like seagro, Nitrosol etc.

•Finish planting up all summer flowering bulbs now. Remove those spent flowers and water deeply and regularly. Don’t remove the leaves of the bulbs that have finished flowering as they will provide food for the bulbs for next season. Continue to water and feed with 3:1:5 or bulb food until the foliage dies down.

•Divide and transplant all your perennials that have finished flowering.

•The following perennial beauties are in flower now and waiting to grace your gardens: Aquilegia, Delphinium, Fuchsia, Scabiosa, Gaura and Alstroemeria.

•Feed all your Hydrangeas now with a suitable Hydrangea food to ensure a stunning show for Christmas, shake n gro is a great product and allows you to influence the colors.

Rose Month

•October traditionally is Rose Month. Yours roses should be in full bud now and ready to burst into color. Water them twice a week (± 10 liters per week), if rainfall is insufficient and remove faded flowers.

•Combat fungal diseases and encourage strong root systems by watering deeply, early in the morning. this allows for the water to dry on the the leaves throughout the day.

•Fertilise monthly with a balanced rose food or organic 3:1:5 fertilizer to promote healthy foliage and more flowers.

•Spray fortnightly with an organic fungicide/insecticide ‘cocktail’ or a ready-mixed product. If you don’t own a rose bush, now is the time to acquire one, even if it’s a pot rose for your sunny patio or balcony.  Tuingenoot stocks a dazzling range of roses, available for your picking.

General Garden Tasks

•Spread a generous layer of compost throughout the garden as well as areas where new plantings will be done. Compost acts as a soil conditioner as well as mulch, ensuring a nourishing, moist, weed-free environment to grow your happy, healthy plants.

•Now is the ideal time to sow or lay new lawn. Mow existing lawns regularly, but don’t mow the lawn too short at first, i.e. not more than a third off the length of the blade. This enables longer grass to produce food for a stronger growth.

•Mow regularly to keep weeds at bay and ensure compact growth. Look at fertilising monthly with an organic feed like fertilawn or specialized lawn fertilizer and water regularly.

• Our days are (slowly) heating up and the rain should start soon. Good for the plants, yes, but equally good for weeds. Look at weeding your garden regularly before weeds have a chance to take over or go into seed.  

•Mass plant spreading groundcovers like verbena, indigenous Geranium incanum, felicia, creeping foxglove, Asystasia gangetica, gazanias and ivy-leafed pelargoniums, which are hardy and drought-tolerant, in your beds and borders. They’ll require less feeding and watering than high-maintenance annuals.

•Mulch as much as possible;  it not only keeps the soil moist and cool, but also keeps those pesky weeds at bay.

•Clean up succulents like echeverias and Kalanchoe thyrsiflora which will have stopped flowering, and divide and replant the babies in other parts of the garden.  

•Keep a lookout for slugs and snails. Spread and organic snail bait or put out snail traps around and under plants in the early evening.

•Ensure that all your gutters and down pipes are cleaned and unblocked. Invest in a rainwater tank if possible and remember to always be water wise. Install a rain gauge to measure how much rain fell – a wet garden in the morning does not necessarily mean the soil is sufficiently drenched.

Seedling success relies on:

• Compost and enriched soil.

• Not being pulled out by their stems – push them gently out of their punnet from below, with a pencil or stick and firm them down gently in a planting hole that fits the size of their root balls.

• Regular watering afterwards.

• Pinching out their growth tips at the top of the plant as they go along, this will make them bushier.

• Dead-heading regularly as this will promote continual flowering.

• Look at putting out cutworm bait after planting young seedlings.

In the Veggie Patch 

•You can really get stuck into the vegetable and herb patch now.
All vegetable and herb seeds are available on our shelves and can be sown now that nights are warming up. Sow the fast growing veg that you use regularly, like beans, lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes and radish in succession and in small quantities look at three week intervals.

•Plant seedlings of fruit bearing vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, chillies, and aubergines as well as a range of ready-to-use, hardened-off vegetable and herb seedlings that are all available on the seedling tables at Tuingenoot.

•Continue planting seedlings of carrots, radishes, beans, beetroot, spring onions, squashes and baby marrows (zucchini) in small quantities every fortnight. Sow seeds of cabbages, tomatoes and basil in seed trays. All can be found at Tuingenoot.

•Keep an eye for aphids and white fly and spray with a suitable organic pesticide, things like organized or neem oil are great choices. Snails and slugs will be watching your scrumptious veggie garden with a beady eye! Put out an organic snail bait or snail traps.

•Interplant your vegetables with beneficial companion flowers and herbs to help deter pests. Marigolds, Nasturtiums, basil, thyme and most strong-scented plants are great for deterring pests while a groundcover like Yarrow will benefit and contribute to the health of all plants around it.

•Invest in a few fruit trees and berry bushes and experience the simple luxury of picking your own, organically grown fruit. Choose from a wide variety of fruit, trees and shrubs now available in our fruit section.

•Feed leafy veg and herbs with an organic 5:1:5 fertiliser and fruit-bearing veg with an organic 3:1:5 look at fertilising every 6 weeks.

•Liquid fertiliser can also be applied as foliar feed or drench every fortnight to supply essential micro-nutrients. Apply your foliar sprays in early morning or late afternoons to prevent scorching by the sun.

•Get the kids involved in gardening and plant some sunflower seeds – they germinate in no time and add cheer to any garden.

 

WHAT TO DO

September has arrived and spring is in the air! So much happens in the garden during this beautiful time of the year. It’s the season when gardeners plant with great conviction.

One can look at Pruning away all dead, weak and crossing stems from their roses.

Prune back spring flowering shrubs immediately after they have finished blooming the will encourage fresh new growth and a bushier plant overall.

Hopefully we have had the last of the late winter cold spell, so any frosted plant material can now be safely cut back or removed. Keep an eye on the topiaries as the quick spring growth can affect their shape, regular pruning helps with a dense crown.

As the lawn starts to look a little high, give it a mow with the blades set on high. Apply lawn fertiliser at the recommended rate. (Always check the instructions) It is also the ideal time to lay lawndressing down.

Water your spring flowering shrubs like azaleas and deutzias to ensure a good color show from them.

Deadhead your pansies and violas regularly, so that they will continue to bloom and give you that colorful show right through to November.

You can also look at staking your alstroemerias and other perennials that have a tendency to fall over. Allow your Daffodils and Narcissus to die down naturally and go brown; this allows for forming of next year’s flower bulb.

Repot any pot plants that look as if they could be ‘root bound’, ie the roots are growing out of the drainage holes. Either remove a little of the top soil and replace with new potting soil, or completely repot if necessary.

After doing this water the plant sparingly, so that the plants do not rot before they have started rooting. Never fill the pot plant up to the rim of the pot with soil, always leave a space at the top for watering.

WHAT TO PLANT

September is the ideal month to plant trees and shrubs in the garden. There is a large variety available from your local Tuingenoot garden centre that will not only bloom in spring, but will attract birds and butterflies to your garden too.

The trees that will add beautiful colour to your garden are the paperbark acacia, fever tree, blossom tree and the forest elder.

Plant new curry leaf trees when all danger of frost is over. They are a member of the citrus family and need to be looked after in a similar manner

Clivias commonly known as bush lilies bring spectacular colour to the shady areas of your garden during the month of September. They are not only indigenous but easy to care for and waterwise too. A great addition to any shady garden.

Popular shrubs to look out for are felicias, polygalas, carnations, argyranthemums and pelargoniums these shrubs are all in full bloom and add that punch of color to your garden.

Plant climbers as the soil warms up so that new roots are encouraged to grow and establish.

Most herbs can now be safely planted into the garden things like your, Dill, Origanum, borage mustard, water cress, caraway, coriander, mints, penny royal, rosemary, fennel, basil, anise and summer savoury.

Spring is the perfect time to Plant seedlings of cabbage, lettuce, capsicum (peppers), tomatoes, peppers and egg plants.

WHAT TO SOW

Sow early vegetable and salad crops in seed trays in a greenhouse or tunnel. When thinning out, use these for salads rather than discard. Plant new lawn grass seed or grass plugs. It’s the best time for establishing a new lawn.

You can also start sowing seeds of cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, anise, salad burnett, salad rocket and parsley.

Sow in situ: beans, swiss chard, pumpkin, gem squash, sweet corn, baby marrow, carrot, turnips, radish, beetroot.

WHAT TO SPRAY

As all the “re-growth” for the new season starts, you will notice an increase in insects (not the “gardener’s friend” type but rather the un-welcome ones) these will be feasting on the new tender shoots, so be aware while walking around your garden.

COMMON PEST TO WATCH OUT FOR

leaf gall on azaleas

thrips on gladioli

snails and slugs around newly planted seedlings

citrus psylla on lemons

Aphids on roses

Keep a look out for weed growth in your lawn and apply selective herbicides where applicable.

If you planted impatiens in August, be sure to keep an eye out for impatiens fungus.

There will also be an increase in the number of weeds in your garden, so a great deal of the gardener’s time will be spent on these two chores!

No problem though, just pop into your local Tuingenoot and pick up all the products you will need to protect your garden this spring!

WHAT TO FEED

Time and energy must be spent on feeding your garden during September as plants push out their new growth; attention must also be given to your lawn as this will be re-paid with improved and lush growth during the year.

Feed strawberries, raspberries, granadillas and grapes with a general fertiliser.

Add organic slow release fertiliser to fruit trees and shrubs – remove the mulch, feed and replace the mulch. Fertilise all fruit trees now with a general purpose fertiliser like 3.1.5 at the recommended application rates

. WATERWISE

Waterwise flowering plants are hardy and are exactly what the name says, waterwise!

These plants survive on minimal water and tolerate hot dry conditions. One of the easiest ways to save water is to go indigenous.

Plant gazanias, wild garlic, wild irises and of course the bright and beautiful vygies.

HAPPY GARDENING FELLOW GREEN FINGER ENTHUSIASTS

 

August is not the favourite month for gardeners, but the promise of spring is already in the air with the sweet scent of jasmine. If you tackle the mundane but necessary tasks now, you will have time for lots of really enjoyable planting later.

Things to consider doing in the garden for now is looking at clearing the garden of weeds, down to the very last seedling growing between the cracks of the paving, also to get the soil into prime planting conditions by adding copious amounts of compost to new and planted beds. Do not dig it in as this will just encourage new weeds to germinate. Just leave it on top of the soil!

Look at going on the colour run in your garden with annuals: Trays of pretty flowering snapdragon seedlings, both the tall and dwarf varieties, are available now in seedling trays. Also remember that you can still plant pansies and violas, which will flower till late summer if set out in cooler areas of the garden with morning sun and afternoon shade – they are in full flower at your favourite garden centre Tuingenoot, so you will be able to choose the colours you love!

Other colour bursts that are available now include dianthus and petunias, lobelias, begonias, gazanias, and marigolds.

Petunias, whether purchased in trays, hanging baskets or small pots, are always a winner at this time of year. They are not fussy plants and simply require a sunny spot with regular removal of the spent flowers. Feed them regularly with a liquid plant food like Nitrosol, and they will go on for months in your garden, providing splashes of colour!

Look at Giving your lawns the spring treatment they need, which means a sharp cut (scarifying); severe raking to remove the old, dead mat; spiking with a garden fork to allow air, food and water to reach the root system; generous feeding with a lawn fertiliser and, finally, a bit of levelling out and covering with an organic blanket, called lawn dressing. This type of treatment should only be applied to runner-type lawns like Kikuyu and some of the tougher Cynodon grasses. Do not scarify cool-season lawns like Kentucky Blue, tuft-type perennial grasses or blended mixes like All Season’s Evergreen or Shade Over, as this will be devastating to your lawn areas.

Tie all standard roses and young plants securely to their stakes to prevent wind damage. Do not throttle them though. A relaxed tieback in the form of a figure eight around the stake and the main stems, which allows some movement, works just fine.

You can also look at Applying fertiliser with a high potassium content to your bulbs that have completed their flowering. This will induce the development of next year’s embryo flower within the bulb. Do not cut off their dying leaves as they still feed the bulb after the flowering which helps the bulb to sort food during its dormant season.

Look at Dividing clumps of overgrown perennials, replant them with compost and feed with 3:1:5 fertiliser. As the weather warms up, cut back fuchsias by a third, mulch with compost and feed with a high-nitrogen fertiliser to encourage new growth.

Repot your container-grown plants into a pot one size bigger. Towards the end of August, start pinching out the growing tips of shoots as soon as they develop two pairs of leaves, as this will result in a bushier and more dense looking plant.

Your Hydrangeas can be pruned now and you can start feeding them towards the end of August. For intense blue flowers, sprinkle 25g of aluminium sulphate or shake ‘n grow around the root zone of the bush and water very well.

All your fruit bearing trees like, Peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines, apples and pears will be coming into flower this month. Feed with 3:1:5, apply an amount of 100g for your younger trees and 200g for the more established ones. Give a dose of Epson salts to any citrus trees with yellowing leaves, along with a general feed. Also look at feeding your pineapples, pawpaw’s, granadillas, figs, mangoes and strawberries with 3:1:5 granular fertiliser. Seeds of Cape gooseberries can be sown now, and asparagus crowns planted.

For the vegetable garden you can sow beans and a row or two of carrots. Leeks, beetroot, radish, parsnips and turnips can also be sown in the latter part of August. When the main flower head of broccoli has been harvested, feed the plants with a high-nitrogen food to force production of secondary shoots.

Happy Gardening from Tuingenoot

 

Ensure that all tender plants are covered against the frost, either with sheets of frost cover or frost bags. Frost cover will protect your tender plants, while still letting in light, air and water, so it can be left on your plants during the daytime. Remember to also cover any tender climbers and your bonsai you may have.

Apply a general garden feed like 2:3:2 fertiliser or worm castings throughout all your garden beds now. Use the same for new plantings and when transplanting. It is high in Phosphorus, which is essential for healthy, strong root formation. It also stimulates general, strong growth with flower, fruit and seed formation. Perfect to give you a great spring show!

Look at spreading a thick layer of mulch in all beds or top up the existing layer to protect roots against the cold.

Look at reducing on your watering and if you have an irrigation system, ensure that it is programmed for reduced watering now, along with the watering to only take place in mid morning which allows the leaves to dry and soil to warm up before nightfall. Most larger shrubs, trees, perennials, climbers and the lawn will only need a good watering every 2 to 3 weeks. However your rose bushes as well as spring flowering Camellias, Azaleas and Magnolias need to be watered weekly to prevent bud-drop.

Feed all your winter annuals fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser. Water weekly and regularly deadhead and pick flowers to prolong their flowering time.

Feed bulbs fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser or bulb food and water deeply once a week. Check plants for aphids and treat with an organic aphicide, for example Bio neem.

Winter doesn’t need to be a drab affair. Look at introducing instant colour with winter seedlings and colour bags. Ornamental kale in purple, pink, green and cream are striking if planted en masse along borders. Bring in yellow and orange for warmth with hardy Gazanias, Pansies, and Primroses.

Tie sweet peas to trellises or obelisks at regular intervals. Nip side shoots and pick blooms frequently to encourage more flowers. Water copiously. You can now cut back your deciduous ornamental grasses like Pennisetum, Miscanthus and Aristida.

Plant new rose bushes or transplant existing roses now if necessary this is the perfect time which will allow them to settle in with minimal strain on the plant. Deadhead and water once a week.

Continue feeding the birds and providing fresh water. June is one of the coldest months and food is hard to find, especially in the city. Birdseed and suet will provide fuel to keep our feathered friends going and warm their bodies. It’s easy to attract more birds to your garden with the bird food and feeders we offer at Tuingenoot.

Indoor Plants

Cut down on watering of indoor plants in the cooler weather.

Feed flowering indoor plants fortnightly with a liquid fertilizer such as seagro or Nitrosol and water when needed.

Cyclamens are flowering now. In shades of pinks, red and white, it will add colour and warmth to your indoors or outside on a well-protected patio.

Fruit and Veg

Start pruning deciduous fruit trees and vines from late June while they are dormant to ensure a good crop in the coming season. Also water thoroughly.

Cover your young citrus trees with frost cover, giving your juvenile plants the protection they need.

Water winter veg once a week and feed monthly with an organic fertiliser like flower power, gwano pellets or liquid fertiliser.

Brassicas are heavy feeders and needs a fortnightly application of a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. They tend to be prone to aphids, so check them regularly and spray immediately, if needed, with an organic aphicide, it neem oil. Also look at interplanting with sage to repel white fly and caterpillars.

Continue planting seedlings of Brassica, Swiss chard, peas, chives, leeks, onions, rocket and spring onions. Globe Artichokes can also be planted now and are stunning structural plants to add to the garden.

Plant seedlings of mustard and winter lettuces in window boxes, pots and planters near the kitchen or on a sunny windowsill for a constant supply of fresh greens for your salads.

Don’t be afraid to interplant your vegetables with winter annuals like Calendula, Violas, Pansies, Petunias and Dianthus. Not only will they add colour and interest to the patch, pots and planter boxes, but they will also help to repel insect pests and attract beneficial insects.

Cut back your overgrown evergreen herbs like rosemary and thyme.

If you have a worm farm, move it to a warmer, protected space as the worms are sensitive to cold.

June is the perfect time to do garden maintenance and hard landscaping:

Install birdbaths, water features and statues or drain and fix leaky water features and faulty pumps.

Repair damaged garden tools and service and sharpen pruning tools in preparation for the big prune!

Construct the paths and lay the paving you’ve been meaning to do.

Happy Gardening from all of us at Tuingenoot

 

Continue planting your spring-flowering bulbs. Water the bulbs deeply and be sure that they never dry out completely, as this will stunt and or damage the growth, be sure to feed fortnightly with a bulb food or organic 3:1:5. Keep feeding fading bulbs to boost them for the next season.

Water shrubs and plants with shallow root systems, like annuals and bulbs as well as azaleas and camellias, during the dry months that lie ahead.Be sure to Dead-head winter-flowering annuals to encourage further flowering. Continue planting winter-flowering seedlings like Pansies, Violas, Poppies, Primulas, Calendula, Stocks, Sweet Peas, Cineraria, Primulas and Primroses, to offer that winter color spray. Also feed them fortnightly with seedling food or liquid fertiliser, allowing them to put on there best show. Be sure to Mulch well.

May is still the perfect month for planting roses. Come spring they will have settled and you will be rewarded with strong growth and beautifl blooms. Come visit us here at Tuingenoot and pick your favourites from our wide variety.

If you are planning on planting and transplant trees, vines, shrubs and hedging this is the best month to look at doing so.

Take cuttings of plants like fuchsias, heliotrope and daisy bushes and soft sappy plants like impatiens and plectranthus which are intolerant to the cold weather, that lies.

Prune back your plectranthus after flowering, and use the clippings as cutting material to grow more plants (but be sure to put them in a protected area, as they are tender to frost)

Aloes will add warmth and vibrancy to your winter garden, plus they’re waterwise and very easy to maintain. The added bonus is that they’re on promotion at Tuingenoot right now, waiting to be planted into your beds, rockeries and containers. The added bonus is that they will attract your nectar loving birds ie our beautiful sunbirds.

Bring colour indoors with flowering indoor plants like Cyclamen, Chrysanthemum and beautiful Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium orchids. Feed once a month with a liquid plant food for indoor plants. Feed orchids in flower with a specially formulated orchid food that is available at Tuingenoot.In the Vegetable Garden

Remove all the last of your spent summer veg and plant Swiss chard, leeks, brassicas, peas, winter lettuce and oriental greens.

Thin out your seedlings that were sown and feed them with an organic seedling food or a water-soluble fertiliser. Mulch well to keep their little roots warm.

May is a good time to lift, divide and replant your perennial vegetables like lemongrass, chives and artichokes.

Look at planting strawberries they are a great addition to have in the veg garden and are going into their fruiting season be sure to mulch them well.

Feed vegetables with an organic fertiliser, look at either flower power or gwano pellets. You can also use a liquid feed like seagro.

Cabbages are prone to aphids. Spray preventatively with an organic aphicide, neem oil is a great choice. look at interplanting with Sage to deter white fly and Calendula, pennyroyal or chives to repel aphids.

Keep a close eye for signs of cutworm especially around your young vegetable seedlings and place bait if necessary.

Sowing Guide

Flowers look at planting the following: African Daisy, Calendula, Diascia, Namaqualand Daisy, Nemesia, Pansies and Sweet Peas.

Vegetables look at plating the following: Broad Beans, Onions, Peas, Chinese Cabbage, Winter Lettuce, Mustard, Oriental Greens, Radish, Swiss Chard and Parsnips

Herbs you can look at: Rocket and Coriander

Although it is a little too late to look at sowing as many varieties of flowers, herbs and vegetables at this time of year, hardened-off winter seedlings are available in the nurseries to be planted now.

In General

Change the settings on your irrigation system to suit the temperature and rainfall for autumn.

When to water: You should look at watering between 9:00 and 13:00. If you have automated irrigation, set the times accordingly.

Keep Deadheading your rose bushes and spray fortnightly with a fungicide to combat black spot.

Our average first date for heavy frost in Gauteng is the 19th of May so be sure to stock up on frost protection fleece or hessian in time to protect tender plants. Move sensitive potted plants to your more protected spots.

Water the garden early in the day and mulch generously around all plants to protect their roots. Always leave some space around the stems of plants when mulching to prevent disease, and potentially stem rot. Feed with an organic 3:1:5 fertiliser to strengthen cell walls and control evaporation.

Be sure to Spread a layer of acid compost around Camellias and Azaleas and keep them moist to prevent bud drop.

Mow your lawns on a higher setting this allows your lawn to still supply itself with enough food during the winter months as the growth has started slowing down. be sure to water if dry. Do a last overseeding with evergreen, cold tolerant lawn seed.

Start collecting all the fallen autumn leaves and use as a mulch or add to the compost heap. Alternatively collect all your leaves in black plastic bags and leave to decompose into wonderful compost. Be sure that you don’t use diseased leaves though.

Clean up under hedges also loosen the soil to expose insect amd or pests which may be sheltering there.

Indoor Plants

As days cool down, indoor plants will need less watering and can very easily become waterlogged. Keep an eye on them and allow the surface of the soil to dry out slightly before you look at watering them again. Do the finger test: stick your finger in the soil up to the first joint and if it feels moist, wait a bit longer with watering.

Oh Happy Happy Gardening

 

April, the month where we can all see and feel the start of autumn where plants put on their autumn colours and refreshingly cooler days, packed with lovely, leisurely long weekends and public holidays…so much more time to go gardening!

Get ready for Winter and plant for Spring

• Look at Planting winter and spring-flowering bulbs this month as they are available here at Tuingenoot. Prepare your soil by mixing in compost and bone meal or vermicastings before planting. Feed with a flower bulb food immediately after planting and continue on monthly intervals throughout the growing season. Be sure to also water deeply every 4 days.

• Remove all your spent summer annuals and plant winter and spring- flowering annuals like Poppies, Pansies, Petunias, Primulas, Cineraria and Violas. Choose from the wonderful colour and variety available on the seedling tables now – which are all ready to be planted in your well prepared beds, pots and hanging baskets. Be sure to look out for cutworm and snails around your seedlings and place bait near all the seedlings. Feed them with an organic Seedling Food.  Deadhead regularly to encourage continuous flowering.

• Keep your Gardenias well-watered now to prevent bud drop. Gardenias form their buds until late autumn and they open when temperatures start rising in late spring. If there is a Lack of water it will cause the buds to drop before they open.

• Lift and divide summer- flowering perennials such as Agapanthus, Hemerocallis, Iris, Arums and Cannas. Cut their foliage back to about one third and add a generous amount of compost to the planting holes. Keep the divided clumps to a fair size to enable the plant to recover in time for next season dont forget water well.

• Give your roses a final feed of 3:1:5 and water twice a week if the rainfall is low. Spray preventatively every fortnight against fungal disease and insect infestation Rosecare plus is a great choice for this, keep an eye out for redspidermite.

• You can give all your acid-loving plants like Hydrangeas, Azaleas and Camellias a dressing of acid-compost.

• This is an ideal time to plant any new rose bushes, shrubs and trees as their roots will be well established and they will burst forth with new foliage in spring, most plants will also be in a dormant phase which gives less stress to the plant when planting.

• New hedges should also ideally be planned and planted now. Good options for a hedge include Buxus, Abelia, Duranta, Camelia, Cuphea, Freylinia, Westringia, Viburnum, Nandina and Pittosporum.  ‘Edible’ hedges like Bay Laurel, Rosemary, Num-num and Pomegranates are very popular and trendy.

• Look at pruning your evergreen and hardy summer-and autumn-flowering hedges and shrubs once they have finished flowering.

• Over-sow deciduous lawn, like Kikuyu and LM Lawn with cool season lawn seed and water well.

• Autumn is the perfect time to start a compost heap or to invest in a compost bin and use all disease-free prunings, old spent plants and leaves to make your own wholesome compost. Speed up the process by adding compost activator.

• Start collecting all the fallen autumn leaves and use as a mulch or add to the compost heap. Alternatively collect ypur leaves in black plastic bags and leave them to decompose into wonderful leaf mold.  Mind that you don’t use diseased leaves though. 

Your April sowing guide

Ensure a continuous harvest and beautiful winter colour by sowing your favourites of the following now:

Vegetables:  Asian greens, Beetroot, Broad Beans, Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Kale, Celery, Chinese Cabbage, Carrots, Leeks, Lettuce, Onions, Parsnips, Peas, Radish, Spinach, Swiss Chard and Turnips.

Herbs:  Parsley, Chives, Garlic chives, Coriander, Caraway and Rocket

Flowers:  African Daisy, Alyssum, Aquilegia, Antirrhinum, Bellis, Calendula, Cineraria, Dianthus, Diascia, Gazania, Linaria, Nemesia, Pansy, Phlox, Fairy Primulas, Petunias, Poppies, Stocks, and Viola.

Plant your Sweet Peas seeds now in a sunny spot in the garden for some spring fragrance and joy!

In the food garden

• Look at planting your winter vegetables and herb seedlings out into your prepared beds when they are strong enough – as a rule of thumb when they have four true leaves. Plant with bone meal and feed with seedling food to give them a good start. Mulch well and keep moist.

• Feed your vegetables and herbs that are actively growing now with an organic fertiliser like flower power or gwano pellets.

• Do your final harvesting of annual herbs. Dig up what’s left and add to the compost heap.  Some herb plants like comfrey, borage and yarrow will speed up the decomposing process and add precious nutrients to the compost.

• This is a good month to also look at planting your deciduous fruit trees like peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots. If space is a problem, why not try your hand at the art of espalier a great way to maximize on your limited space.

• Keep your citrus trees moist and replenish the mulch layer around the trees if needed.

• Garlic bulbs can still be planted in April. Plant in full sun in beds or containers with well-draining soil.

• You can Also divide and re-plant new strawberries and rhubarb plants.

• Harvest the last of your potato crop and summer veg now and pull out the spent plants, add to the compost heap.

Indoor plants

• Now is a great time to create your own indoor haven with the lush foliage and textures of the wide range of indoor plants and ferns that are available at our nursery.

• Bring colour indoors and onto the patio with Cyclamens or Chrysanthemums available in striking colours. Add a dash of fun with the all new, zany Polka Dot Begonia!

• As the temperatures start to drop, so should your watering of indoor plants look at decreasing the amountofwateryou give them.

Think ahead and plant the following now for colour during the drab winter months:

• Hypoestes aristata (Ribbon Bush)

• Aloe spp (Aloes) – some of the new hybrid Aloes have a longer or different flowering time and can, if planned and grouped properly, ensure colour from autumn right through winter.

• Leptospermum scoparium ‘Cherry Brandy’ (Australian Tea bush)

• Camellia japonica (Common Camellia)

• Azalea spp (Azalea)

• Your choice of our beautiful Fynbos selection of Protea spp (Sugarbush), Erica spp (Heather), Leucospermum (Pincushion), Leucadendron (Cone bush) and many more.

• Kniphofia praecox (Red-hot poker)

MAKE A DATE TO REFLECT:  Thursday, the 22nd of April, is EARTH DAY – a perfect time to consider how far we’ve come, the challenges we face and the vast opportunities available to all of us as a global family to commit to the care of our beautiful, and only, planet Earth.

 

We can start to feel that autumn has announced itself with sudden cooler temperatures making themselves present, with a drop in morning temperatures as we slowly start to swing towards the winter months.  

March can be a busy time in the garden with loads of sowing, planting and planning to be done in preparation for winter and spring.

General March Garden Tasks

• Look at Lifting and dividing your summer – flowering perennials such as Agapanthus, Hemerocallis and Iris. Replenish planting holes with compost and cut plants back. Keep the divided clumps to a fair size, so that the plant can recover in time for next season. And be sure to water the newly divided plants well.

• There will loads of weeds after the abundant rains we have recieved. Pull them up regularly and before they go to seed as they compete with your garden plants for nutrients and water.

• Feed your garden and the lawns with a potassium rich fertilizer like 3:1:5. This will help to strengthen the cell walls before winter and its frost arrives.

• Your shrubs like Azaleas, Camellias and Gardenias will start forming their buds now. Keep them moist to avoid bud drop before they open in spring.
• Be sure to regularly deadhead your summer annuals that are still in flower and remove the spent ones. Prepare beds for winter annuals by spreading a thick layer of compost and 2:3:2 fertiliser according to instructions.

• Fertilise your rose bushes with a balanced rose fertilizer and water twice a week if needed. Continue checking and treating for fungal and insect infestations, a good product to use is rose care plus.

The Food Garden

• Divide and plant strawberries towards the end of the month in well composted beds or pots be sure to add plenty organic foods like bonemeal and flower power to ensure great fruit production.

• If you have a dedicated vegetable patch and enough space to rotate crops, plant a green manure like Lucerne, clover, mustard or buckwheat. Dig the whole plant into the soil before they go to seed – they will release nutrients, especially nitrogen, into the soil, enriching and improving it for summer crops.

• Ensure that cabbages are kept moist and feed them fortnightly with an organic, liquid seaweed- or fish- based fertiliser or once a month with a balanced organic fertiliser, like 6:3:4.

• Pick the last of your spent summer vegetables like tomatoes, brinjals and peppers and pull up the plants. Prepare beds for winter vegetables by digging in a thick layer of compost and some organic 2:3:2 or bone meal according to instructions, good soil prep is essential for healthy vegetables.

• Harvest annual and frost tender herbs now while they still have zest and flavor. That doesn’t mean you’re in for a bland winter. Preserve the harvested herbs by drying, freezing or making a pesto or things like herb butter.  They can also be preserved in thongs like oil or vinegar.

• Keep your citrus trees moist while the fruits are swelling and spray with a kelp solution to provide trace elements. Thin fruit out if the tree is overloaded, to help with a great fruit at the end of the day.

• Feed your fruit trees that have finished fruiting with an organic 8:1:5 fertiliser. Spread the fertiliser along the dripline of the tree and be sure to water thoroughly.

• Feed all berries with an organic fertiliser you can look at using things like flower power or gwano pellets.

March is the sowing month

It’s the start of seasonal change and seeds that are suitable for sowing now and in the coming cooler months are now available on our shelves.  Choose and sow your favourites from the following:

• Vegetables: Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce,  marog, onions, Oriental greens, parsnips, peas, radish, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips.

• Herbs: Dill, parsley, borage,  chives, garlic chives, rocket and chamomile.

• Flowers:  African daisies, Alyssum, Snapdragons, Calendula, Chrysanthemum paludosum, Dianthus, Bokbaai Vygies,  Hollyhocks, Pansies, Poppies, Primulas, Stocks, Violas and fragrant favourites, Sweet peas.

• The end of March is also a great time to look at Sowing your evergreen and shade over lawn seeds.

• Prepare beds for bulbs by adding a good helping of compost and bone meal, vermicast or organic 2:3:2. Good drainage is essential. The preferred position will be indicated on the packaging that the bulb comes in, as well as the plants’ suitability to being containerized. Cover planted bulbs with a layer of mulch. Water bulbs deeply every four days and if you planted them in pots look at watering them more regularly.

• Summer-flowering bulbs will be going dormant now – mark the spots in which you planted them to protect the bulbs from being dug up whilst doing garden maintenance. Start feeding summer bulbs as soon as they have finished flowering with a special bulb food or 3:1:5.  If you are thinking why now? It is because they will store this food in their little bulbs in preparation for their spectacular show next season.

Ornamental grasses are in their prime at the moment. These grasses are low maintenance, waterwise, extremely showy and definitely on trend.  Plant them in mass and in contrasting swathes of colours and textures to create a stunning show, especially when they sway in the breeze or catch the early morning light.

Grasses also provide nesting materials and seeds for birds. Assorted grasses are a sure-fire way to add dimension, drama and structure to any garden.

Happy Gardening!

• 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.

Bask in the glory of your garden in high summer with our Gauteng gardening guide for January. This month we have some seasonal gardening tips for you that have some water-saving suggestions to help your garden flourish.

Spotlight on: Watering responsibly
Since Gauteng is typically dry during the high summer season, it’s crucial that you adopt some water-saving techniques. These are some of our water-wise tips that you can adopt in your own household:

• Try to water your garden between 6pm and 6am to prevent any water wastage.

• Ensure you keep most of the watering happens only at the root zone of your plants, you can also look at installing a drip irrigation system to feed water directly where it’s needed.

• Look at collecting and harvest rainwater. Water tanks, inflatable pools and rain chains are all great tools for doing this.

• Replace patchy lawn with pebbles, gravel or low water-usage groundcovers. 

• Gradually replace thirsty plants with water-wise varieties, such as dianthus, vinca, petunia and gazania.

ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR JANUARY

Plant & Sow

• Fill empty pockets with colour by planting marigolds and vinca (both are heat-loving and water-wise plants).

• For those shady areas in the garden look at planting plants such as begonia, impatiens, lobelia and coleus varieties.

• Summer is a good time to refresh the vegetable garden. Plant new crops of radishes, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and sweet basil, coriander and other herbs. (Pro tip: Remember to rotate your crops, as this improves soil fertility.)

• You can also look at sowing Cape gooseberry in trays this month.

Feeding

• Feed your roses this month with rose 8:1:5 or flower power to encourage new summer growth.

• Also add compost to your roses to improve the condition of the soil and retain water and food.

• Water full-sun pot plants daily and feed weekly with either a foliarfeed or things like flower power to give the plants the food that they need.

• Shaded and semi-shaded pot plants should be watered every 2–3 days, and fed weekly with Multifeed Classic. (Note: Water requirements may differ depending on the temperature of your area.)

Prune & Trim

• Lightly trim your fuchsias, roses and hibiscus plants to ensure renewed growth and flowers for the next half of summer. 

• Once salvias have finished flowering, cut them back to encourage new growth in autumn.

• Adding compost to roses after a light pruning to encourage new flowers. Snap off any suckers ( these are the light green, thornless shoots) growing from the base of the bush.

• If your lawn is old, feels sponge-like and is difficult to mow without ‘scalping’, cut it as low as possible by crosscutting and lowering the blade after each cut. This will get rid of the layer of dead thatch hiding between the soil surface and the green top, you can then add fertilawn and watch it come back greener than ever.

In our testing times try and avoid the crowds by taking a ‘green’, more convenient & relaxed approach to your festive shopping this year. Visit your favourite garden centre Tuingenoot and be inspired by the practical, stunning and living options on offer!!

Festive trees – choose a living tree! Many indoor trees are suited to this purpose – or opt for a ‘local is lekker’ indigenous tree for example the yellow wood or podocarpus that can be replanted into the garden after the holidays.

Add a living touch to festive gifts. Fact – plants make thoughtful inexpensive gifts and are typically well received! A simple pot of seasonal colour (seedlings or indoor plants) can easily be transformed into gifts for grannies, aunties and even teachers. Succulents (like the gorgeous green and red crassula), bonsai and trees are a safe option for grampa’s and uncles. Herb gifts are loved by ‘almost everyone’, as are bird feeders, trendy garden tools and DIY kits that get the kids stuck in. 

Roses are also long lasting and meaningful gifts. With a multitude of special names and colours that you can choose from, you can look at adding fragrance and colour with favourites like ‘Ambassador ’, ‘Charles mallerin’, ‘City of Pretoria ’ and many, many more.

Outdoor entertaining is at it’s best in South Africa! Garden furniture and hardware can make all the difference if you’re staying home for the holidays… from a small bird feeder to a large garden chair – all of which can be found at your chaos-free, calm local nursery!

Feed the lawn to turn it green fast

The key to greening up your lawn is nutrition. All lawn fertilisers are specifically blended for this purpose. Watering is essential after all fertiliser applications, so make sure you plan the monthly fertiliser application to co-incide with your watering schedule.

Tidying up the edges

Neaten the borders of your flower beds with edging materials such as cobblestones or wooden poles. Edging is available from leading garden centres in a range of different lengths, heights, colours and styles. It is ideal to keeping the shape of your beds and by almost framing the beds themselves.

Sparkling pool

Summertime is pool time and an inviting pool is a tired mom’s best friend! Maintain your pool program and nip algae in the bud at the first signs of infection. Busy kids are happy kids and when it comes to pools, the louder and more raucous the better… Add to the festivities and replenish flowering containers with bright  flowers around the pool area.

Ponds, water features and bird baths need to be replenished more regularly in the heat. Consider ‘aquaponics’ – water plants act as natural filters AND they look great! (PS. water lilies bloom from December!)

Take a moment to smell the roses

On a peaceful summer’s evening, with the crickets chirping in the background, sit down quietly in your entertainment area and admire your efforts. If you see anything that looks neglected, hide it away with trellis panels or bamboo screens – nurseries have many options in stock to hide any unsightly thing.

Weed the garden

Weeds are an absolute nightmare when it comes time of drought. They utilise unnecessary water and outcompete desirable plants and are quick to seed and spread. Control weeds manually (ie. dig them out) or treat with the appropriate herbicide. Mulching is highly recommended after weeding, and here’s why:

●Conserves moisture in the soil
●Maintains soil temperatures
●Reduces weed growth
●Prevents soil erosion
●Organic mulches (like bark chips, peach pips or macadamia shells) improve soil fertility
●Reduces garden maintenance
●Beautifies the garden

Colour your garden this December!

The quickest, easiest way to add colour to your garden is with annuals. Summer flowering annuals are available in all shapes, sizes, styles and colours… The options are endless and exciting. Visit your local Tuingenoot and choose your favourites from the selection on offer.  

Trends for Summer 2021 vary… single bold colours, in mass remain popular and red traditionally dominates over the holidays. For a colour display that extends into the new year, buy mixed trays of seedlings and opt for mixed plantings in containers, beds and borders.

Look at hanging baskets as they add cheer! If planting your own, remember to add water retention products to the potting soil ie vermiculite. Full sun during December and January can be really intense, so opt for hardy colour options such as zinnia, marigolds, portulacas and alyssum.

Go knock on your own front door to check if this important area makes you feel welcome! If not, clean it up and add some beautifully planted-up specimen pots at the door.

Go “Green” with real-life festive trees There is something very special about living trees being used for the festive season. The holiday season is all about that ‘feel good’ feeling… and opting to go ‘green’ somehow just makes you feel great! Plus, you can plant your tree in the garden after the holidays and use it in next year’s festivities! Some of the options for daring and different festive trees include: wild gardenia (Gardenia thunbergia),  Henkel’s Yellowwood (Podocarpus henkelii ), or a thorny number like a well-branched fever tree (Vachellia xanthophloea). If you are a traditionalist, trust on conifers like Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Gold Crest’, for that gorgeous green and gold touch.

The value of an edible garden is best appreciated during the holidays!

Somehow ‘cooking’ is more fun when the regular routines are forgotten. The holidays lend themselves to entertaining and we are more likely to experiment and to try ‘impress’ the guests when they are around.

The simplest, easiest way to enhance the appearance, flavour and nutritional value to any of your meals, is to incorporate fresh herbs. When planning your festive fair incorporate your homegrown:

Mint – Mint sauce perfect for pork
Rosemary – adds flavour to lamb
Thyme – the ideal companion for chicken & turkey dishes
Chives – as garnish for your starters
Rocket – add to the sandwiches made with your left overs!

Almost all your salad components can now be harvested fresh at this time from Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and celery. Butternut, spinach, carrots and sweetcorn loads for one to choose from.

Also remember to add a touch of ‘sweet’ to the home growing goodness. Strawberries, Watermelon & Sweetmelons are all at their best in summer!

PS: Strawberries should be ready for harvesting. Plant your own if you have not done so yet!

Happy festive season.