Jun 14, 2010
What to Do in the Garden in July
Written by Living Earth and Auckland Landscape Supplies
The Winter Garden
Jobs that are achievable and, come spring will make a difference to your garden:
Here’s some things that will keep you occupied but warm this winter – jobs that are achievable and, come spring will make a difference to your garden:
The Flower Garden
Liquid feed flowering winter annuals to keep them performing; add a teaspoon of dried blood and bone around primula and polyanthus to increase flower production. Check out our special on Living Earth Liquid Compost this month on the homepage.
When planting rhododendrons and daphnes into heavier soils dig in Living Earth Black Gold to lighten the texture, then add a dose of Trichopel in the planting hole to deter the dreaded phytophthora from attacking the new roots.
Divide up clumps of dormant perennials such as hostas and delphiniums to increase your plant numbers.
The Lawn
Dig out any unwanted weeds which are surfacing in your lawn. Remember to get the bulbs and whole root structure where possible.
While you are using "Moss Away" on your decks, roof and paths you can also use it to rid your lawn of any moss, mold or fungus that is growing. You just dilute further to a ratio of 20 to 1.
Your lawn probably doesn' t need much mowing at the moment, but when the weather does dry out enough, remember not to mow too low. You may think that you are going to have to mow less often if you mow short, but you are more likely to damage your precious lawn. Aim to leave about 3-4 cm of growth at this time of the year.
The Vegetable Garden
Strawberry plants, garlic and shallots are all available at the local Garden Centre and, now that this latest weather has chilled the soil, planting conditions are perfect! Or grow them in containers in our fabulous big value Living Earth Organic Veggie Mix, available from Auckland Landscape Supplies.
Vegetable seedlings that can still be planted out now include cabbages, broccoli and silver beet, including the very attractive ‘Rainbow Chard’ with the brightly coloured stems. Go for our Organic Veggie Mix again!
The General Garden
Soil conditioning – if your soil is too wet to stand on and dig, just layer Living Earth Black Gold over it and around plants. The compost will start interacting with your soil anyway and support microbial life to help suppress diseases, bring earthworms and enhance soil texture.
Treat areas that are affected by moss, mould and lichen with a product such as our Moss Away. This will ensure that you have no dangerous slips during the wet months and this product will continue to work throughout the rest of the year to reduce slippery stuff and inhibit further growth.
Dig out pest plants – onion weeds, various oxalis species and any other over-zealous unwanted bulbs. Try to get the bulbous root system to prevent plants multiplying. (It’s amazing how therapeutic it is, filling a bucket with these blighters and knowing there’s now room in the garden for more desirable things....)
School Holiday Project
Food for the Birds: This is a great project to do with the kids these school holidays, make a bird pudding – melt dripping, a dash of honey and
mix in some seed mix from the supermarket. When set, place it in one of those
netting bags that mandarins come in. Hang it high on a bare branch and enjoy
the visitors to your garden.
Collecting Greenwaste : Greenwaste from your garden can be deposited at our St Johns Site located at 88A Merton Road in St Johns. For more information phone 09 521 3412
We Cover Auckland
88a Merton Road, St Johns, Ph 09 521 3412, Fax 09 521
3912 or 0508 TO LANDSCAPE
337 Lincoln Road, Henderson, Ph 838 6654, Fax 838 6659
or 0508 TO LANDSCAPE
Website : www.aucklandlandscapesupplies.co.nz
