summer gardening plan

Time to plant

Herbs

Rocket, coriander, sage

Annuals

Portulaca, vinca, gazania

Vegies

Capsicum, chillies, spring onion

Perennials

Verbena, scaevola,Petunia ‘Million Bells’

Climbers

Bougainvillea, Trachelospermum tricolor, Pandorea jasminoides

Natives

Banksia, callistemon, grevillea

 

Action Plan

Vegie feed
Use a liquid fertiliser every two weeks on your vegie garden to keep them growing quickly and to help produce a healthy crop to eat.

Birds beware
Protect the juicy fruit hanging on the trees from hungry birds who want to eat them before you do by hanging strips of aluminium foil or old CDs in the trees, or cover them with an anti-bird net.

Summer prune
Prune your Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses back by one third the length of their stems to encourage a new crop of flowers and lush, healthy foliage.

Pot plants
Group your potted plants with the same watering requirements together. This will not only ensure they get the right amount of water but will help decrease evaporation.

Lawn care
Trim the edges of your lawn with a whipper snipper to stop grass growing into your paths.

Mulch for moisture
It is important to have all your garden beds well mulched to keep as much moisture in the soil as possible, it will also suppress weeds.

Thirsty food
Keep your fruit trees and crops well watered in summer to prevent the fruit from dropping off or being stunted. Regularly water tomatoes to stop them splitting.

Pick some winners
Harvest your beetroot, carrots and zucchinis when they are young and tender. They don’t taste as good if you leave them to get old and tired.

Dead head
Prune off dead flower heads from natives such as bottlebrush to promote more flowering and to keep the plant looking good.

Holidays
If you are going away over the summer season, get a neighbour or friend to water your plants. I’m sure they can call on you to return the favour at a later date.

Related articles:
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Plants In Flower In Summer
Top 10 Sun Loving Pot Plants