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By Vickey Taylor
Well what a wet summer we have had! As Autumn approaches and we are all spending more time at home, one of the upsides of not being able to go anywhere is more time to enjoy the fruits of our labour in the garden. Make sure you get out there and show some love to your backyard, courtyard or balcony.
For the most part, this summer has been pretty mild, with only a few hot days. Our gardens have been loving it so hopefully the la niña weather continues to help the gardens.
Autumn is a great time of the year to be in the garden as the soil temperature drops. We can start planting our Autumn crops and planting our spring bulbs.
Things to do for an Autumn garden
- Autumn flowering plants like Camellias, Azaleas and Correas are forming flowers now and need a high potash fertiliser to sustain and encourage their flower development.
- Citrus plants are forming fruit currently. Encourage fruit quantity and quality with a suitable high potash fertiliser.
- Sow seeds for parsnips, turnips, carrots and onions and plant lettuce, parsley, silverbeet and spinach seedlings as well as all brassicas including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. This will give them plenty of time to get established over autumn.
- Watch out for Citrus Leaf Minor on new growth on your citrus trees. It is recognisable by the telltale squiggly lines on the leaves. Treat it with pest oil weekly.
- Cymbidium orchids need a high potash fertiliser now to push them into a new flower forming phase. Use either a good liquid fertiliser fortnightly or a generous dose of Osmocote every six months.
- Dead patches in your lawn may indicate Lawn Grub while silvered foliage on Azaleas and Viburnums could be a sign of Azalea Lace Bug. We recommend the systemic Bug Killa.