Monthly Tips & Tasks – September

Monthly Tips & Tasks – September

Blog, Fruit & Vegetables, Monthly Tips & Tasks, Spring Gardening, The Flower Garden

Spring has now arrived and in my garden plants are really moving into growth. The weather has been on the dry side with only 4mm of rain at the time of writing, for August we would expect 40mm so it is dry. The Spring bulbs will need to have some water if this dry spell continues so that they can grow well and be in good condition to produce flowers next year.

The apricot, peach and nectarine are in full flower now which is about 2 weeks earlier than usual so hopefully there will not be any hard frosts that can damage the flowers. The soil is now dry enough to dig over and work up to make a good friable soil ready for seed sowing or the transplanting of seedlings. read more…

Monthly Tips & Tasks – April

Monthly Tips & Tasks – April

Autumn Gardening, Fruit & Vegetables, Lawns, Monthly Tips & Tasks, Plant Forum, The Flower Garden

The corona virus has made much of what we do very uncertain in our every day lives but our gardens go on following the change of season into Autumn unaffected by this pandemic. This may be a good opportunity to spend more time in our gardens and catch up with projects we have wanted to do but other activities have not allowed us the time. Autumn is a busy time in the garden as harvesting fruit and Summer vegetables will be finished by the end of the month and preparations from the Winter must be well under way.

Monthly Tips & Tasks – March

Monthly Tips & Tasks – March

Autumn Gardening, Fruit & Vegetables, Lawns, Monthly Tips & Tasks, The Flower Garden, Uncategorized

As I write this we are still experiencing changeable Spring weather, but in spite of this there has been plenty of good plant growth. Although we have had some rain it has been intermittent and the warmer temperatures have meant that some watering is still required. The planting of Summer vegetables and bedding plants should be completed by Christmas to give the plants time to grow to maturity. read more…

Monthly Tips & Tasks – September

Monthly Tips & Tasks – September

Fruit & Vegetables, Lawns, Monthly Tips & Tasks, Spring Gardening, The Flower Garden, This Month in the Garden

September is the month in which Spring growth really gets going. The Spring bulbs are in full bloom and deciduous plants come into life.

The weather is still very changeable and there is always the danger of frosts that can damage new growth; this makes for a very busy time in the garden.

Ground preparation for sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings should be completed, old Winter crops removed to make way for Summer plantings and the last of Winter pruning completed.

Monthly Tips & Tasks – March

Monthly Tips & Tasks – March

Fruit & Vegetables, Garden Life, Monthly Tips & Tasks, Summer Gardening, The Flower Garden

We are now in Summer with plenty of hot weather and the usual periods of wind and little rain, all of which puts stress on plants and gives us the problem of keeping them growing and healthy.

Most of the berry fruits are finishing and the stone fruits are reaching their main production now, then to follow is the pip fruit.

The fruit crops that we are harvesting now are the results of the cultivation that we gave them over the last Winter and Spring so if the results are not up to expectations then review what was done to identify what needs to be done to improve the next crop.

Although winter is still a long way off we do need to be prepared. Spring bulbs will soon be in the garden centres but it is still too soon to plant most of them so choose the best quality bulbs and keep them until the time is right in the Autumn.

Most of the tasks around the garden at this time of the year is what I call maintenance gardening; weeding, watering, pest and disease control and of course, harvesting.

Monthly Tips & Tasks – February

Monthly Tips & Tasks – February

Fruit & Vegetables, Lawns, Monthly Tips & Tasks, Summer Gardening, The Flower Garden

We are now in Summer with plenty of hot weather and the usual periods of wind and little rain, all of which puts stress on plants and gives us the problem of keeping them growing and healthy.

Most of the berry fruits are finishing and the stone fruits are reaching their main production now, then to follow is the pip fruit.

The fruit crops that we are harvesting now are the results of the cultivation that we gave them over the last Winter and Spring so if the results are not up to expectations then review what was done to identify what needs to be done to improve the next crop.

Although winter is still a long way off we do need to be prepared. Spring bulbs will soon be in the garden centres but it is still too soon to plant most of them so choose the best quality bulbs and keep them until the time is right in the Autumn.

Most of the tasks around the garden at this time of the year is what I call maintenance gardening; weeding, watering, pest and disease control and of course, harvesting.

Monthly Tips & Tasks – December

Monthly Tips & Tasks – December

Fruit & Vegetables, Landscape Design Tips, Lawns, Monthly Tips & Tasks, Summer Gardening, The Flower Garden

December is the real start of Summer and after a very changeable Spring we look forward to a more settled and warmer time. Overall Spring has been a good growing season and as a result there has been a good set of both stone and pip. Because of this there is a need to thin out the developing fruit so that the size and quality of the crop is achieved.

The planting of Summer annuals needs to be completed and with the possibility of water restrictions mulching in as much of the garden areas as possible should be done to help retain soil moisture.

Monthly Tips & Tasks – May

Monthly Tips & Tasks – May

Autumn Gardening, Fruit & Vegetables, Lawns, Monthly Tips & Tasks, New Zealand Natives, Plant Forum, The Flower Garden

In May we are well into Autumn and Winter is about to start. This means that we will slow down on what we need to do around the garden.

Most of the work involves general maintenance and cleaning up, in and around the garden by removing weeds, crop residues, lifting Summer perennials and bulbs and preparing ground for new plantings later in the Spring.