I have started to make available the iPhone Gardening Apps.
Beginners Gardening Guide volumes 1,2 & 3
More details on this page
I will post more information here soon
While most of your garden planting has probably been done by now, there are still things you can consider for later or do as summer marches on.
If you are in the southern hemisphere (winter-time) then keep these in mind when spring has sprung.
Consider the beauty of Lilacs and their perfume
Consider Daphnes, they are quite exquisite and worth the effort – more information here on the is site.
As summer gets hotter and the spring annuals finish, replant with hardy vincas and petunias – though Ithink they can be boring, they do survive heat and dry conditions reasonably well.
Fruit trees are hungry feeders – keep them well mulched, composted and fed.
Move delicate potted plants out of direct afternoon sun.
Do you need to feedand weed your lawn?
Renew mulch if needed – save water and keep the soil moisture in. Will also help keep weeds down.
Check your fruit trees – you can see sick or dead branches more easily as the leaves have sprouted to show the healthy ones. Prune away dead stuff – and if needed clear out the middle to encourage the airflow – most important with roses too.
Have seen our page of our FREE gardening Apps? CLICK HERE
These are for android smartphones – I will be making iPhone and iPad ones over the next few weeks
Knowing your garden’s climate zone is important as it is a guide for what plants will thrive in your area.
While you can have plants from other zones (e.g. roses in tropical areas) they will either not thrive as well as their best zone, or will require special care – e.g. roses are more prone to fungal diseases in tropical climates because of the higher humidity.
USA Climate Zones – more detailed tables – CLICK HERE
UK Climate Zones -CLICK HERE
This article in Wikipedia has quite extensive tables of weather averages in different regions/cities – CLICK HERE
Europe Climate Zones - CLICK HERE
Australia Climate Zones – CLICK HERE
South America Climate Zones – CLICK HERE
Africa Climate Zones – CLICK HERE
Asia Climate Zones (includes Russia) – CLICK HERE
Middle East – CLICK HERE
(Acknowledgement: information from http://www.climate-zone.com)
Your local nursery is usually the best guide what is suitable for your area as that is what they usually only supply.
And, of course, glass houses can improve your chances of growing favorite plants not native or suitable for your climate conditions.
There are many benefits to adding organic material to your garden so it is good to know the nutrient value of garden manures.
They are the great soil improver – and adding plant matter (compost) and manures enriches the soil and nourishes your plants. They aid in moisture retention, help reduce compaction and can buffer extremes in pH. They also helps maintain the structure and nutrient holding capacity of the soil.
It is important to remember that are not the ultimate fertilisers though. That is a different issue. They are need for soil care.
The nutrient level is lower than regular fertilisers. The rate of release is slower, and levels of minerals may vary and are not balanced.
Vegetable and fruits often have high nitrogen requirements, and it can be difficult to provide sufficient nitrogen alone from an organic source throughout the growing season of the crop.
What Manure Does
Manure conditions soils of all types, it does provide a level of nutrients, and, as it is more or less decomposed, it is teeming with bacteria and other beneficial organisms. Animal manures can either be dug into the soil, or they can be spread on the surface of the soil and used as a mulch.
You can dig it in or just spread it over the top of the garden bed. If it needs to age a bit more then dig it in, especially in the veggie patch. Do this a few weeks BEFORE planting. Chicken poo is probably too strong to dig in as there is a possibility it can burn the roots of your plants.
Animals that have a diet of grass or vegetable matter will produce manure that reflects the nutrient balance that plants need from the soil.
|
Type of Garden |
Best Type of Manure |
Best Time to Apply |
|
Flower |
cow, horse |
early spring |
|
Vegetable |
chicken, cow, horse |
fall, spring |
|
Potato or root crop |
chicken, cow, horse |
fall, spring |
|
Acid-loving plants |
cow, horse |
early fall or not at all |
Chicken Manure
always has a higher nitrogen level, making it great for fertilising lawns and for use in the veggie garden. Note, however, don’t over compensate when applying it – an excess of nitrogen will result in a lot of foliage growth at the expense of flowers and fruit.
It is probably best composted with other organic matter and left to break down over a six week period before being added to the soil.
Sheep poo is a gentler soil conditioner and while is has less nutrients it is easy to dig in or be spread liberally over the garden. It has a low nitrogen level.
Similarly with cow poo. It is very good for the structure of the soil.
PROBLEMS
The smell of manures can be off-putting, to say the least, however if you water it in well it will pretty much be gone by the next day.
Fresh stable manure is also too strong to dig directly into the soil. The salts of the urine contained in the manure and straw will burn plants if dug into, or spread onto, the soil.
Can you use dog poo or kitty litter in the garden? Unfortunately it’s not a good idea – particularly in the vegetable garden – because their droppings often contain pathogens harmful to humans.
Composition of Manure from Samples Reported in Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers
………………………………..Moisture (%) Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium
Cattle 86 11 4 10
Sheep 70 20 15 21
Chicken 73 22 22 10
Horse 80 13 5 13
Other manures (e.g. goose) and the dried commercial ones can be seen on a larger chart at
Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers. Second edit. Pg. 75-76
In the northern hemisphere as summer starts it is good to check how well you are garden is prepared for the heat, less rainfall and so on.
MULCH
Of course, the first thing to check is how well you have mulched – this saves both water and conserves moisture. This also keeps the soil temperature at tolerable levels for the more delicate plants.
Before I forget – I have published two more volumes of the Beginners Gardening Android App
Beginners Gardening Guide Volume 2
Beginners Gardening Guide Volume3
Help yourself – they are free – more are on this page
YOUR ROSES
Have you sprayed for blackspot on your roses? Keeping this disease under control will ensure healthier plants and better blooming. Feed as buds start to reappear (presuming you have had a spring blooming.
CAMELLIAS AND AZALEAS
These plants initiate their buds during summer for the autumn/winter blooming. They should have been fed by now. Keep the roots cool with good mulching. More on Camellias, more on Azaleas on this site
PLANTS IN POTS
As summer really gets a hold, it pays to make sure you are keeping the pots cool – especially terracotta ones as they soak up the sun’s heat and radiated heat from hard surfaces (paving etc.) Just placing them in saucers rwally doesn’t work, but is more likely to encourage root rot and be a place for mozzies to breed. You can try and use damp sand in the saucers instead.
NEW PLANTS
While it preferable to have planted your new seedlings before summer gets a grip, if you are only doing them now, sun harden them first – cover with 50% shade cloth or an equivalent until their roots are well established – in some regions you may just need to keep the shade cloth on all summer.
PLANT NUTRITION
Watering, especially winter rains, can leach away nutrients in the soil – so consider a boost of trace elements for your garden plants.
Gardenias and roses in particular benefit from supplementary magnesium in summer.
See this page for information on the basics: Phosphorus (flowering and fruiting and root growth), Potassium (boosts the plants immune system) and Nitrogen (leaf and stem growth
If you have had a habit of mulching, you shouldn’t need to dig over the garden – mulch should keep the weeds down and the soil friable – that is, well aerated too.
WORM FARMS
These are a great idea – they don’t take up much room and give you loads of fertiliser, chew up kitchen and green waste and provide the worms for your garden and the occasional bird who gets lucky. Keep the worm farm in a shady cool area.
For those who love growing their own tomatoes, nematodes can be the ultimate enemy!
Planting disease and nematode resistant tomato varieties is especially important when gardening space is limited.
Under these conditions, while it may be necessary to plant tomatoes within a few rows of where they were grown in previous seasons, this often leads to disease and nematode buildup, and production of a healthy tomato crop can become a real gardening challenge.
The immediate solution is to buy disease resistant plants with a VFN tag – this indicates resistance to Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt (generally both races of the Fusarium wilt fungus), and root-knot nematodes.
Varieties which carry a “T” designation are also resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, a disease which often causes problems for tomato gardeners.
NOTE: varieties with only a VF tag are resistant to Verticillium and Fusarium wilts but not resistant to root-knot nematodes.
If you are not sure whether the soil is infected get a soil test done
One Solution For Control
It has been suggested that companion planting rocket with your tomatoes can assist nematode prevention.
Also watering in raw sugar is considered a deterrent.
I haven’t tried these tactics yet – but will be when the new season occurs where I live. There certainly is plenty of anecdotal evidence foe these tactics.
Some Helpful ideas
BBQ Blues
For an easy clean, blend bi-carbonate soda with white vinegar and brush over the grill and leave for 24 hours 0 then hose off and use!
Sticky Situation
Are you left with residue on your windows after peeling off stickers? Next time sponge the area with vinegar, wait 15 minutes and then remove the sticker
Microwave Ovens
To make the microwave easier to clean, place damp paper towels inside and turn on high for 10 seconds,
Making Ice
Did you know warm water freezes faster than cold? Try it – it works!
Clever Carpet Trick
To remove the dents in your carpet left by furniture – drop an ice cube in the dent and leave over night and the carpet will absorb the water and the nap will fluff up. In the morning, pat dry and the dent will be gone.
If you have a new garden to build or simply want to revamp your existing garden it always an opportunity to make a garden that is interesting, eco-friendly and varied.
Remember as you start – that a garden can add value to the equity of your property.
Things you can do:
NOTE 1: Soil preparation is a critical need for growing healthy plants.
NOTE 2: Water conservation – to save costs and for being water-wise
Check on local botanical gardens for ideas of what can successfully be grown in your region and also look around your neighborhood for ideas.
Many botanical gardens also propagate plants for the public to buy – and often fairly cheaply as well.
Last, but not least – make sure the garden is a safe place – especially if you have little children – some plants (e.g. oleandars) are poisonous.
And, make it safe for native fauna – e.g. places for birds to settle, frogs to hide!
Would you like to build your own gardening blog? I have an excellent way for you to do this.
Having a blog is a great way to share your experience as a gardener – all your fellow gardeners love to hear about new ideas – whether it is about vegetable growing, labor saving devices, pest control and so on.
There are plenty of inventive gardeners out there who come up with simply brilliant ideas and methods relating to all aspects of gardening.
SEND ME YOUR IDEAS AND TIPS IF YOU DON’T HAVE A BLOG – I WILL PUBLISH THEM WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
However, if you do want a blog – then I recommend a program I am a member of:
LEARN HOW TO BLOG (LHTB)
It has a $1 month’s trial – and with that you get a website/blog – on a WordPress Platform (like this blog) which are extremely user-friendly.
LHTB has 12 modules that get you set up – with easy to understand details and all the info you will need to even monetise it. The support is swift and excellent.
I have heaps of information to also help you on my business site Premier Internet Solutions. I will always help anyone who joins LHTB through my links.
The temperatures are dropping and daylight is becoming less – so should we stop gardening? (Southern Hemisphere)
Not on your nelly – especially if you live in a moderate to hot climate – the soil will still be warm and this is an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs. Their roots will get a hold and be ready to really boom on come spring. This will give them a better chance of survival with next summer’s heat.
You can also plant your winter annuals – such as lobelia, pansies and violas. Depending where you are, it may also be suitable to plants bulbs – daffs, tulips and hyacinths etc.
Climate change – or whatever you want to call it – has altered or played havoc with some growing habits of a wide variety of plants. So take this into account – as plants flower when you don’t expect them to and others just won’t get going.
One exception I notice – are roses. They just keep on keeping on – with judicious pruning and fertilising, you can still get blooms well into autumn and early winter. The ones I picked today are the best of the year’s crops.
Check which of your fruit trees will need winter pruning and those that can be pruned now (e.g. peaches)
Also, it would be good to check out gutters and have them clean ready for winter rains.
