July Gardening
Now that the temperatures are cooler and the humidity is low there is no excuse to keep those garden tasks you have been putting off on the backburner. With all this rain the soil is supple and willing so it is the ideal time to give your muscles a workout in a truly constructive way and give something to the earth so that you can reap your rewards in spring. Here are a few suggestions that may keep you going:
- Apply high phosphorus fertilizer to your bulbs to encourage spring flowering and high nitrogen fertilizer to your lettuce, cauliflower and cabbage to encourage vigorous growth.
- In the veggie patch its time to plant your peas, carrots, radish, beetroot, capsicum, cucumber and French beans.
- Borer appear to be rather active at the moment so check your citrus and ornamentals and if you notice any die back of branches they are the most likely culprits. If you can, simply remove the affected branches.
Now’s the time to give your mower a good service; check the belts and blades, change the oil and filters, check the battery and give it a run to make sure it’s humming ready for Spring.
Give your roses a good hard prune back but be sure to dip your secateurs in disinfectant after each cut to ensure you don’t infect them with black spot.
Fertilize your citrus and fruit trees with a good organic fertilizer or specialized citrus fertilizer.
Finally have a good walk around your yard and do any fence maintenance or structural work, there’s no time like the present so dig in. I guarantee it will make you feel great and the rewards will far outweigh the effort.
