The shortest day is behind us now, and July brings excitement to the garden as we see our veggies thriving and ready for harvest. It’s the perfect time to continue planting and preparing for the seasons ahead.
Kitchen Garden
Keep planting! The weather’s ideal for our cooler climate favorites, and there’s still plenty of the season left to enjoy fresh produce from your garden.
Plant seasonal vegetables like kale, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, radish, zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes, and carrots for a diverse kitchen garden.
Critters in the Garden
Pollinators and beneficial insects come in many shapes and forms. While a few chew marks are normal, it can be disappointing to find your newly planted seedlings or crops demolished just when they’re ready for harvest.
Here’s some simple tips for protecting your crops:
- Plant plenty of variety in your vege garden. Large single crops are a magnet for pest insects.
- Protect newly planted seedlings with a trusty toilet roll. Grubs and cutworms can destroying newly planted crops quickly by chewing stems. A toilet roll around your seedling will create a physical barrier, while your seedling still gets plenty of sun and water.
Use produce bags or nets to protect fruit and veg near harvest.- Check your garden regularly for caterpillars nibbling your greens. Remove by hand, or choose an organic treatment such as Dipel to keep them from destroying your crops, or harming beneficial insects.
Prepare your patch for a crop of sweetcorn!
Choose a 1m x 1m sunny patch in your garden. Planting corn socially will help cross-pollination, producing larger, fuller cobs of delicious, juicy corn.
Corn is a hungry plant, so boost your soil with a combination of ActivGrow and Searles 5 in 1 before sowing seeds. Sow direct, 20-30cm apart and about 5cm deep, 2 per hole and water in well. Once seedlings have reached about 5cm in height, thin out any weaker ones.
Water regularly until established, then weekly, and mulch for strong growth and stability. Shake plants gently as they flower to aid pollination; harvest cobs when silks turn brown.
Fruit trees
Expand your orchard with lunchbox favorites like mandarins, oranges, or bananas. They’ll give you plenty of choice for a tasty addition to your school or work lunches. Plant now to let them settle before the hot season.
Some citrus trees are beginning to flower, so hold off fertilising until fruit has set to avoid leaf drop.
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea are loving the clear sunny weather. Trim lightly after each flowering, and fertilise with Nitrophoska to bring on more bright, showy blooms.
Roses
Roses are now in the spotlight! In tropical climates, they thrive in sunny, well-drained spots in the garden or feature pots on sunny patios. You’ll start to see the new seasons hybrid tea and floribunda roses available in the next few weeks!
For best growing:
- Prepare your garden by digging ActivGrow down to a shovel depth. 1 bag per 2-3m2 will help boost your soil and get your roses off to a great start.
- Ensure there is plenty of air flow around your roses, they’ll thrive better with minimise fungal problems.
- Fertilise monthly, and prune after flowering to keep your rose looking best. Keep on top of pests and fungal problems with Trifend.
