Plant…. but prepare first
“Get any new garden areas ready for planting by working through organic matter such as compost and aged manures. This turns your soil into a sponge, improves your soils’ structure, and encourages earthworm and microbial activity. Then you can have fun planting, and whether it is bare rooted fruit or ornamental trees, roses or vines, crowns of strawberries, rhubarb or asparagus, natives or potted perennials and shrubs, get them in as soon as you can so that their root systems get established. The only exception to this is when planting subtropical plants like citrus, passionfruit, frangipani or hibiscus in Southern Australia. As these plants don’t like being planted into cool soil, you are best to wait till the ground warms up in spring.”
Rose tip
“Repeat flowering roses produce more and better-quality roses if they are pruned, so get pruning this winter, ideally in July. It’s not just about aesthetics, it’s also good to remove dead wood and crossing branches, to clean the plant up, and reduce tendency to get fungal diseases next season. I find the 50/50 method the easiest. Firstly, tidy up by cutting out any dead wood. Then simply reduce the height of the bush by 50% and then completely cut out 50% of the canes at the base of the plant, removing crossing branches, weak growth, and choose to remove the older darker wood over the younger, fresh-looking wood.”
Fruit tree planting tip
“Bare rooted fruit trees, ornamental trees, roses, and other deciduous fruiting plants are available in garden centres. The term ‘bare rooted’ refers to the fact that all the soil is washed off the roots and they are stored temporarily in damp sawdust. They are great value and easy to handle. The bare roots must be kept moist until the moment of planting, so this is why the roots are wrapped up with damp sawdust, however this should be discarded during planting. Use a seaweed-based plant tonic to help the plant overcome any transplant shock and get their root system established in its new home. Be sure to follow the pruning instructions on the bag and label at planting time.”
Winter vege tip
“Growing vegies over the cooler weather is a ‘no brainer’ as the weather is cooler and we don’t need to water at all, or at least as much. Remember though that the quality of your crop is determined by the quality of your soil, so be sure to prepare well before planting with compost and organic fertiliser before planting, and use seaweed-based plant tonics to help young seedlings to overcome transplant shock. Longer term crops that were planted several months ago may also appreciate regular applications of soluble fertiliser and seaweed-based plant tonics. You can keep planting all the way through the cooler weather, however growth rate certainly slows down. By late winter, we can also start raising seeds of our summer crops ready for planting in mid spring, but this is best done in a warm sheltered position such as a sunny windowsill, verandah or mini greenhouse.”
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