Watering & Weeding Wednesday! Tidy-up Tuesday!

Transcription

1 OCTOBER 2018 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Saturday Srting! It s time t put the final tuches t yur summer garden preparatin. Planning is key! Dn t rush int yur garden and start planting withut prper planning first. WEEK 1 WEEK 2 Spray Sunday! Mulching Mnday! Tidy-up Tuesday! Check and spray yur existing plants/trees fr pests and diseases. Als have a clse lk at yur indr plants fr similar signs f infestatin and spray where necessary. With temperature n the rise, it s time t mulch garden beds and cntainers with bark chips r cmpst t help prevent weeds, heat stress and evapratin. Mulching rses is als vital t cnserve misture and t keep the rts cl. Clean-up fallen leaves frm lawn, driveway and ther paved areas. Remve any dead fliage frm beds, making sure they are neat and tidy. fr spraying. Feeding Friday! T keep yur plants in gd frm during the heat, remember t feed apprpriately, paying special attentin t yur rses! Check the Octber n feeding. It s time t plant yur summer flwers tday! Visit yur lcal garden centre t see what is available fr this mnth. Or check ur Octber gardening tips fr what t plant this mnth.

2 WEEK 3 Prepare t Prune! Mwing Mnday! Tidy-up Tuesday! Prune all yur spring flwering plants as sn as they have finished blming. Mst herbs grw rapidly nw and need t be pruned regularly t keep them in check. Trim and cutback ther vergrwn areas f the garden where apprpriate. If yur lawn is lking a little vergrwn, give it a mw! But be sure t set the level f the blades at the highest pint. Yu can lwer yur blades nce the lawn lks really healthy and vigrus, but never mw shrter than 5cm, especially in ht, dry If the new grwth has a yellw tinge, then fertilise it with sme 5:1:5 and water well after fertilising. Spring and early summer r autumn are the best times t split and divide vercrwded perennials, rnamental grasses and succulents, s if yu have nt dne s yet, d s nw. fr what t prune. It s time t plant yur spring/summer vegetables, fruit and herbs tday! Visit yur lcal garden centre t see what is available fr this mnth. Or check ur Octber gardening tips fr what t plant this mnth. See ur Octber fr mre inf. Spray Sunday! WEEK 4 Check and spray yur newly planted flwers, fruit, herbs, veggies and existing plants/trees fr pests and diseases. Als have a clse lk at yur indr plants fr similar signs f infestatin and spray where necessary. fr spraying. Maintenance Mnday! If yu haven t already dne s, prepare fr the heat by wind and fire prfing yur garden. als remve any material frm yur cmpst heap that has decmpsed sufficiently t be used in the garden. Tidy-up Tuesday! Clean-up fallen leaves frm lawn, driveway and ther paved areas. Remve any dead fliage frm beds, making sure they are neat and tidy. Feeding Friday! It s time t feed yur newly planted flwers, vegetables, fruit and herbs t keep them strng and healthy thrughut summer. Check the Octber n feeding.

3 Mwing Mnday! If yur lawn is lking a little vergrwn, give it a mw! But be sure t set the level f the blades at the highest pint. Yu can lwer yur blades nce the lawn lks really healthy and vigrus, but never mw shrter than 5cm, especially in ht, dry If the new grwth has a yellw tinge, then fertilise it with sme 5:1:5 and water well after fertilising. WEEK 5 See ur Octber fr mre inf. WEEK 6 Prepare t Prune! Mulching Mnday! Prune all yur spring flwering plants as sn as they have finished blming. Mst herbs grw rapidly nw and need t be pruned regularly t keep them in check. Trim and cutback ther vergrwn areas f the garden where apprpriate. With temperature n the rise, it s time t mulch garden beds and cntainers with bark chips r cmpst t help prevent weeds, heat stress and evapratin. Mulching rses is als vital t cnserve misture and t keep the rts cl. fr what t prune.

4 TIPS FOR OCTOBER Summer is here! This time f year, Mther Nature ges int verdrive and because it is getting warmer, there is a lt t d in the garden t get it lking its best! Yur garden shuld be in full blm nw and s there will be a lt f things n yur t-d list such as, feeding, pruning, picking, deadheading, watering, harvesting, keeping a watchful eye n pests and planting in earnest fr summer. This mnth is all abut digging deep, keeping yur head dwn and plughing thrugh everything that needs t get dne! - Planting/Swing: Althugh Octber is a busy mnth in the garden, take sme time t visit sme f the public gardens, garden centres and nurseries in yur area fr sme inspiratin and practical tips. They are als sure t be verflwing with the mst exciting prducts at this time f the year. But remember, planning is key! Dn t rush int yur garden and start planting withut prper planning first. Vegetables: - Plant/sw: It s time t sw yur summer veggies! Prepare yur beds t directly sw vegetables such as carrts, beetrt, beans, pumpkin, marrw, cucumber, rcket and radish. The fllwing vegetables will need t be swn int seed trays s that they can germinate befre being planted: tmates, eggplant, chillies, green peppers and lettuce. T make things easier yu can even buy already grwn seedlings frm yur lcal nursery r garden centre. If yu are swing yur wn seeds, try putting a thin layer f straw r mulch ver the swn seeds t help prevent the beds frm drying ut in the warm - Specific Areas: Summer rainfall regins: Plant amaranth, artichkes (Glbe), asparagus, asparagus pea, beans - climbing (als Ple beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) and dwarf (als French beans, Bush beans), beetrt, cabbage, Capsicum (als Bell peppers, Sweet peppers), carrts, celery, chicry, chilli peppers, crn salad, cw peas, cucumber, daikn, Jerusalem artichkes (als Sunchke), lettuce, luffa, marrw, mustard greens, NZ spinach (als Warrigal greens), kra, parsnip, peas, ptat, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rcket, salsify, spinach, squash, sunflwer, sweet crn, sweet ptat, tmatill, tmat, yacn, yam and zucchini. Start eggplant and NZ spinach (als Warrigal greens) undercver in seed trays and plant ut in 4-6 weeks. Transplant seedlings f shallts. Semi-arid regins: Plant amaranth, asparagus, asparagus pea, beans - climbing (als Ple beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) and dwarf (als French beans, Bush beans), beetrt, capsicum (als Bell peppers, Sweet peppers), carrts, celery, chicry, chk/chayte (als chayte squash, christphene, chuchu, mirlitn), crn salad, cw peas, cucumber, daikn, eggplant, lettuce, luffa, marrw, mustard greens, NZ spinach (als Warrigal greens), kra, ptat, pumpkin, radish, spinach, squash, sunflwer, sweet crn, sweet ptat, tmatill, tmat, yam and zucchini. Humid sub-trpical regins: Plant amaranth, asparagus, asparagus pea, capsicum (als Bell peppers, Sweet peppers), chilli peppers, chicry, chk/chayte (als chayte squash, christphene, chuchu, mirlitn), crn salad, cw peas, daikn, eggplant, luffa, mustard greens, NZ spinach (als Warrigal greens), kra, ptat, Rutabaga (als Swedes), spinach, sunflwer, sweet crn, sweet ptat, tmatill, turnip and yam. Plant ut (transplant) seedlings f leeks. Dry summer sub-trpical regins: Plant amaranth, asparagus, asparagus pea, beans - climbing (als Ple beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners) and dwarf (als French beans, Bush beans), beetrt, brccli, cabbage, capsicum (als Bell peppers, Sweet peppers), carrts, cauliflwer, celery, chicry, chk/chayte (als chayte squash, christphene, chuchu, mirlitn), crn salad, cw peas, cucumber, daikn, Jerusalem artichkes (als Sunchke), eggplant, lettuce, luffa, marrw, mustard greens, NZ spinach (als Warrigal greens), nin, ptat, parsnip, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rcket, rutabaga, salsify, spinach, spring nins, squash, sunflwer, sweet crn, sweet ptat, Swiss chard, tmatill, turnip, yam and zucchini. Plant ut (transplant) seedlings f leeks and tmat. Herbs: This is a gd time t plant annual herbs such as angelica, basil, brage, burdck, chives, criander, dill, fennel, Flrence fennel, French tarragn, ginger, lemn balm, regan, parsley, Rselle, rsemary, summer savry, winter savry, sweet marjram and thyme, Plant ut (transplant) seedlings f sage. Yu can als plant herbs that yur pets will lve, such as dg grass, catnip and brage. Fruit: Plant Cape gseberries, strawberries, strawberry plants, meln/cantalupe, rckmeln and watermeln. Flwers: Yur winter and spring flwering annuals will start dying dwn as the weather warms up, which signals that it is time t start planting yur summer beds. T make sure yur garden stays in full blm, sw seeds and plant seedlings f yur favurite summer flwers nw! - Sw: Save mney by swing flwer seeds directly int yur garden beds. Dig ver the bed, adding lts f cmpst and a handful f bne meal per square meter. Mix in the seeds and rake the bed very lightly, sprinkling extra cmpst ver any expsed seeds. Never plant yur seeds t deep and water the beds daily until they germinate; never allwing the sil t dry ut ttally. There are many easy t grw mixtures available fr bth sun and shade. Easy flwers t grw frm seeds include alyssum, asters, celsia, csms, lbelia mariglds, nasturtiums, zinnias and sunflwers. - Seedlings: Summer seedlings t plant nw include impatiens, begnias, bedding dahlias, dianthus, gazanias, petunias, salvias and verbena. pinch ut the yung grwth n newly planted seedlings t encurage bushy grwth. - Plant: Chse small plants and grundcvers t plant that have shallw rt systems like: Marguerite Daisy (Argyranthemum); Garden Verbena (Verbena); Summer Snapdragn (Angelnia); Alyssum (Lbularia); River Daisy (Brachyscme); Carpet Geranium (Geranium incanum); Snw in Summer (Cerastium tmentsum); Creeping Jenny(Lysimachia); False Heather (Cuphea); Seaside Daisy (Erigern) and Candytuft (Iberis). Summer bulbs that can als be planted this mnth include amaryllis, arum lily,

5 - Feeding & Spraying: tuberus begnia hybrids, caladium, canna cultivars, dahlia, Pineapple Lily (Eucmis), Berg Lily (Galtnia), spider lily, Gay Feather (Liatris), lilium, tigridia and tuberse. Dahlia bulbs are als available nw and will take abut 10 weeks t flwer if planted frm a tuber; but if well-established plants are planted ut this mnth they will be in full blm by December. - Rses: Octber is undubtedly rse mnth in Suth Africa because nthing cmpares t the beautiful shw they pull ff this time f year. Water yur rses at least twice/ three times a week in the warm weather, trying t avid wetting rse leaves in the late afternn as wet leaves at this time f the day will encurage black spt and pwdery mildew. Plant living mulch between yur rses t cnserve water, and t keep their rts cl. Cmpanin planting will als help t keep yur rses healthy and reduce the need t spray. Lavender and Thyme deter aphids, snails and ants; and any plant in the nin family like Chives prtect against black spt, mildew and aphids. Sage prmtes healthy plant grwth and will attract bees. What t feed: Rses: Start feeding fr that beautiful Octber shw, using a balanced fertiliser that is high in nitrgen and ptassium like 8:1:6. Nitrgen and sufficient water are very imprtant at this time f the year because yu want t encurage nt nly beautiful blms but als lts f healthy green leaves t supprt the rts f yur plants, as well as t prtect the delicate stems frm sunburn during ht summer days. Other Flwers: T keep yur summer-flwering shrubs/plants in gd frm, it is a gd time t fertilise them nw with 3:1:5 f 5:1:5 fertiliser. : Fertilise yur Camellias and Azaleas with an rganic feeder that is high in nitrgen and mulch with acid cmpst. Cntinue feeding yur Hydrangeas with a general purpse fertiliser, r a special clur enhancing feeder and water regularly. Fertilise yur cycads and bnsais with an rganic fertiliser like bunce back. Herbs: T keep the herbs grwing well, pick them regularly and feed them twice a mnth with a liquid fertiliser at half the strength. Lawn: Fertilise the lawn with a lawn feed high in nitrgen. 7:1:3, What t spray: Pests: As the weather warms up, insects will suddenly turn up in all srts f places in yur garden, s keep an eye ut fr them! If yu spray the insects ff the leaves with a fairly strng jet f water every time yu water, it shuld be enugh t cntrl them naturally, therwise use an rganic insecticide. Specific insects t lk ut fr include, Aphids, mealybugs, snails and whitefly as they lve sft yung grwth. Check fr snails n bedding plants and put Snail ban ut straight after planting seedlings if necessary. Treat yur fruit trees fr fruit fly as sn as all the blms have fallen ff t avid the early stinging f yung fruit buds. Check fr cut wrms damaging yung seedlings and apply bait if necessary. Keep a lk ut fr lawn caterpillars and mle crickets because they will start being active nw until February. Apply Kinrt t yur rses t give yu seasn lng cntrl f aphids. Weeds: Weeds will be spreading like wildfire this mnth s be sure t keep spraying and weeding away t keep them in check. spray weeds n driveways and in paving n a dry, sunny day with n wind. - General Maintenance: Octber is a busy mnth, s make sure yu stay n tp f all the wrk yu have t d! The lawn: General Maintenance: Beautiful lawns need regular care thrughut the year but especially in spring and summer. If yu had laid dwn lawn dressing during the early spring mnths, yur lawn shuld be lking green and lush by the time Octber arrives. T cater fr the warmer weather, let yur lawn grw a little lnger, as the length will help shade the rts and this will reduce the amunt f water it will require. If yu d need t mw mre regularly, be sure t set the level f the blades at the highest pint. Yu can lwer yur blades nce the lawn lks really healthy and vigrus, but never mw shrter than 5cm, especially in ht, dry If the new grwth has a yellw tinge, then fertilise it with sme 5:1:5 and water well after fertilising. T help prevent fungal diseases water yur lawn in the mrning s that it is ttally dry by evening. Laying new lawn: Early summer is als a gd time t sw bth warm and cl seasn grasses and t lay instant lawn befre it gets t ht:. Kikuyu; Berea; Buffal and Cyndn grasses are all available as Instant lawn. If yu have areas in yur lawn that d nt grw well in summer because they are t shady, ver-sw thse areas with a shade lawn mix. Firstly, the entire area must be dug ver and all ld rts, weeds and stnes remved.

6 Next, spread a gd layer f cmpst and a generus dressing f bne meal r superphsphate ver the area and rake it until smth. Then, water the entire area lightly but thrughly. Fill in any hllws where the water cllects and rake nce again. Allw the sil t dry ut befre starting t lay the sds. Lay the sds clsely tgether, filling any cracks between them well with cmpst r lawn dressing. Water thrughly and cntinue watering regularly, never allwing the sil t dry ut cmpletely until it is reasnably established; als restrict ft traffic until cmpletely established. Neatening up: Clean-up fallen leaves frm lawn, driveway and ther paved areas. Remve any dead fliage frm beds, making sure they are neat and tidy. Remve any material frm yur cmpst heap that has decmpsed sufficiently t be used in the garden. Spring and early summer r autumn are the best times t split and divide vercrwded perennials, rnamental grasses and succulents, s if yu have nt dne s yet, d s this mnth. Pruning: Prune all yur spring flwering plants as sn as they have finished blming, mulch their rts and feed with a balanced feeder. Azaleas flwer next spring n this summer s grwth and shuld nly be pruned nce a year, when they have finished flwering. D nt prune early summer flwering plants like Deutzia, Spiraea and Frsythia. Prune back spring flwering jasmine t prevent it frm becming a nuisance. Mst herbs grw rapidly nw and need t be pruned regularly t keep them in check. Heavy crps f peaches, plums, apricts and nectarines may need t be thinned ut t ensure fruit quality. Deadhead plants where the flwers are dne flwering as this ften results in the plants flwering mre instead f ging t seed. Trim azaleas that have gtten t big r that need t have dead flwers remved as this will encurage new grwth fr next year s blms. Rses: Gd leaf cverage is essential in summer s d nt cut ff t many leaves. Briar grwth must be remved frm yur bushes. This grws ut frm the rtstck f Hybrid Tea Rses frm just belw the graft and is a light green clur, with smaller leaves. D nt cut them ff r they will just grw again; rather tug them ff gently at grund level when they reach abut knee height. Briar grwth shuld nt be cnfused with new water shts which have thick reddish stems and will becme the new framewrk f the rse bush; when these reach abut knee height, nip ut the grwing tip t encurage branching. Prune yur banksia rses when they have finished flwering. : Cntinue checking fr weeds as they have a nasty habit f ppping ut all ver the place, especially this time f year! This includes all areas f the garden as well as the driveway and ther paved/bricked areas. Invading alien plants (IAPs) will als be making an appearance in the garden s try identifying and ruthlessly weed busting any lingering invaders. They may lk harmless but they really d damage t the lcal envirnment, taking away nutrients and water frm indigenus vegetatin. If yu are nt sure what t lk ut fr, ask at yur lcal garden centre fr a list f IAPs. Watering: Althugh there are still strict water-restrictins in place, try t water yur garden well with a hsepipe 2 t 3 times a week where apprpriate. On ht days, make sure yur shrubs and rses are well-watered. Rses are at their prime this mnth and shuld prvide an abundance f blms if watered deeply and regularly, as ften as 3 times per week if rainfall is scarce. If yu want t d yur extra bit when it cmes t being water-wise, yu can always check ut the range f drught tlerant plants available at yur lcal accredited garden centre. Mulching: With temperature n the rise, it s time t mulch garden beds and cntainers with bark chips r cmpst t help prevent weeds, heat stress and evapratin. Mulching rses is als vital t cnserve misture and t keep the rts cl. Wind prfing: Windbreaks, created by a gruping f large shrubs r a wden r bricked screen, reduce the amunt and intensity f airflw thrugh the garden which in turn, reduces the evapratin f misture frm the sil and the amunt f water needed in the garden. Fire prfing: Firescape yur garden with nn-flammable hard landscaping materials such as stne paving and inrganic mulches. Give preference t mre fire resistant plants like Milkwd trees, argyranthemum, gazania, gaura, diascia, statice, stespermums, hibiscus, rses, fuschias, pelargniums, plectranthus, indigenus salvias and f curse, all ales and succulents. If yu re in a high fire risk area, remve any alien invader vegetatin frm the perimeter f yur prperty as these specific plants tend t burn very fast and are highly cmbustible especially when the weather starts t warm up. Please nte that this planting guide has been put tgether frm many varius surces and thus, Lasher des nt take respnsibility fr the accuracy f the infrmatin cntained herein. This planting calendar is fr infrmatinal and educatinal purpses nly.