Get Planting
“Autumn is the perfect time to plant most plants. With the worst of summer’s heat past, and while there is still warmth in the soil for root systems to grow, plants get six to nine months to get established before next summer. Your Garden Centre is filled with a wonderful selection of native and exotic plants perfect for every garden’s situation and need. Try to select varieties which will not only add colour and interest for your benefit, but also provide added rewards by creating food and habitat for other creatures which share your space, like birds, bees, butterflies and beneficial bugs. At a time when urban habitat for wildlife is under threat, adding native plants to your garden, and having some local indigenous species, turns every backyard into a biodiversity hotspot. As with every plant, find out what conditions the plants need and prepare the soil appropriately to get the best growth from your new plants.”
Nourish your garden
“Be sure to feed your whole garden, from ornamentals and roses to citrus, fruit trees and vegies, and don’t forget your pot plants too. Lawns also need a good feed now as the secret to having a good-looking lawn in winter as the weather cools, is to have it as happy and healthy in autumn before the temperature drops.”
“Top up mulch on garden beds too as a way of keeping moisture in the soil while it is still warm and we need to water, and as a way of reducing weeds. Leaving soil bare is no good for all the soil microbes we try to encourage by improving our soils with the addition of compost and other organic matter, and it also creates a void which Nature will try and fill with weeds. Not only do weeds look unsightly but they ultimately compete with our plants for nutrients, water, light and space.”
Grow your own
“Whether you have never had a go at growing your own vegies, or you are an experienced productive gardener, autumn is the perfect time to plant cool season crops like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, leeks and spinach, as well as the all-season crops like lettuces, rocket, spring onions and silver beet. Protect new plantings from snails and slugs which love the cooler, moist weather by using pet friendly snail baits, cooper-based snail deterrent sprays, or if you have raised beds, try a permanent installation of copper tape sold as Snail and Slug Barrier Tape which they hate to cross. The caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly love to dine on brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale, so protect them by spraying weekly with an organic bio-insecticide like Dipel or Success Ultra, or by using insect exclusion netting”
Grow Garlic
“Autumn is also garlic planting time so have a go at this highly productive, premium value super food. Garlic needs a sunny position and grows best in fertile, well-drained soil. Buy whole heads of untreated garlic from your garden centre and split them up to plant individual cloves, with each clove forming a new head. Garlic takes up to eight months before its ready for harvest, but it is an easy crop to grow.”
Plant Bulbs
“Bulbs are buried treasure for gardeners as they add seasonal colour and interest to gardens for very little effort, and while referred to as spring flowering bulbs, many start to bloom in winter. Choose from the huge range of varieties and colours, including daffodils, jonquils, Dutch iris, grape hyacinths, ranunculus and anemones, or scented wonders such as freesias and hyacinths. Ask about which bulbs are hardy in your area and those can be left in the ground for years, compared with ones need more TLC relating to their chilling requirements.”
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