Spring is here, the cherry blossoms are blooming and September is a big month for gardening. We can start to get those summer crops in, sow a new lawn and prep the garden beds for veggies, herbs and flowers.
Key Garden & Landscaping Products for August: Aquaticus Garden Booster. Blood & Bone. Dave’s Magic Mix pellets, Pea Straw, Mulch. Premium Garden Mix. ProLawn All Purpose fertiliser. Premium Lawn Mix. Prolawn Lawn Booster. Nutra Soil. Premium Compost. Trustwood Sleepers. Macrocarpa Sleepers.
The Fruit and Vegetable Garden
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Coriander
Most summer crops can be planted now – unless temperatures are still cold.
Herbs such as coriander, dill, sage and Italian parsley will grow well, but basil is fragile and cold tender – best to wait a month.
What to Plant
Seed or plant early spring vegetables like carrots, radishes, and herbs (parsley, coriander, oregano).
Get some diversity going: sweet Florence fennel, coloured carrots, coloured stem chard and celeriac.
Best bee attracting flowers: annuals such as borage, honeywort, phacelia, and alyssum; perennials such as lavender and salvias. Plant close to your vegetable seedlings for pollination.
Heirloom tomato seedlings can be found at local markets. Often with interesting names like tomato “Mortgage Lifter’, Brandywine Pink, or ‘Bloody Butcher’.
Grow tumbling tomato varieties in a hanging basket or pot – it's a space saving way to grow cocktail size tomatoes.
It’s early to plant out tomatoes, capsicum or zucchini, but you can place tender young seedlings under cloches (cut off plastic drink bottles will do).
Throw a pack of mesclun mix or rocket through the vegetable bed to ensure there are always some salad greens for picking. Marigolds in the vegetable area have the benefit of deterring pests and looking bright and cheery.
Fertilising and Soil Prep
Crank up the fertilising of vegetables and other plants from now on. Young seedlings establish well when fed with liquid fertiliser at planting time. For an organic solution, we recommend Aquaticus Garden Booster.
Mound soil around potato tops as they grow to encourage a bumper Christmas harvest. Fertilize blueberries and strawberries. We recommend our Dave’s Magic Mix pellets.
Place pea straw around developing strawberries, to keep the fruit off the soil and cover them with bird netting.
Spring temperatures a bit chilly? Liquid feed all seedlings at planting – it gives nourishment at the root area and helps get the plants off to a good start, even if it’s not that warm yet.
What to Harvest
It’s edible flower time too: calendulas, heartsease, carnations, nasturtiums are just a few of the prettiest flowers that you can harvest and put in salads this summer. Plus, they’ll attract bees to pollinate the vegetables.
The Ornamental Garden
Planting shrubs and annuals can be done now. Use top quality mixes and liquid feed straight after planting. Larger plants and trees in exposed areas need to be staked.
Early spring is when we can take plants for a ‘walk on the wheelbarrow’, so if something is in the wrong place, transplant it now taking a good size root section and replanting with Premium Garden Mix. Using your boot, stamp around newly planted trees and shrubs to anchor the roots.
What to Plant
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Viburnum
Plant viburnum shrubs and other decorative plants.
Transplant plants if needed and protect perennials from slugs/snails.
Clematis varieties are in garden centres now. Expensive and beautiful, they need to be planted with care: use Premium Garden Mix or dig plenty of compost through existing soil. Plant the rootball deeply, a couple of centimetres below its surface in the pot. Mulch well, or place large river stones on top to maintain cool roots. Sometimes the plant wilts through transplant shock, but leave it in the ground as it will probably re-shoot from the ground.
Pretty spring-flowering shrubs enhance the seasonal change. Plant the Californian lilac (ceanothus), Mexican orange blossom (choisyas), lavender and the petite NZ kowhai, Dragon’s Gold.
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Lavender
Flowers for summer: Lavender hedges, daisies in pots and gardenias at the door – these flowers are stalwarts of summer and available in garden centres from now on.
If you lack bees in the garden, plant arthropodiums (known as the renga renga lily)– Its flowers are a honey bee ‘magnet’.
What to Prune/Mulch/Weed
Trim and fertilise topiaries, hedges, and hibiscus.
Check rose leaves for disease such as black spot or mildew. Spraying with Aquaticus Organic Booster promotes healthy leaves. Don’t spray when the sun is on the bushes.
Stake new trees and shrubs against spring wind. Train climbing plants, rambling roses and grapevines along fences or against walls to keep them under control.
Mulch to keep roots cool and protect from pests like slugs/snails.
Do lots of hand weeding while the soil’s still moist – it creates room for all the plants to spread out.
General Garden Care
First signs of aphids can be apparent now – spray with an organic remedy or, if they’re low in numbers try squashing them by hand. Combat slugs/snails using organic remedies or - beer traps.
Fertilise the garden - either with ProLawn All Purpose fertiliser or if you prefer go organic with our certified pellets from our Dave’s range.
Lawn Care
Now is the best time to start a new lawn – apply Premium Lawn Mix on top of a good topsoil base and then spread your lawn seed. Applying ProLawn Lawn Starter at seeding is beneficial. Water daily until the grass has established. To learn more about sowing a lawn, have a look at our video.
Now is a great time to control weeds emerging in your lawn – options include spraying with Prolawn Broadsword or, if the lawn is small, drop a teaspoon of Ammonium Sulphate in the middle of every weed. And it’s even satisfying to spend an hour or two gently digging them out. Sprinkle a bit of lawn mix and seed into the empty patches as you go.
Fertilise the lawn with Prolawn Lawn Booster. Developed by our turf experts, it keeps releasing fertiliser gently through the growing period to ensure a healthy lawn.
Landscaping Tips for September
Build some raised vegetable beds for easier gardening. With a raised garden bed, there’s less bending, the soil remains warmer and free-draining. We stock a selection of sleeper options, including Trustwood, Macrocarpa and NZ Pine.
Plant trees and shrubs, ensuring proper soil preparation. Dig holes at least the depth of the pot or planter bag and twice as wide. If there’s clay in the soil, place a handful of gypsum in the hole then fill with a mixture of existing soil and compost or Nutra Soil. Mulch around the plants.
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Jakmat driveway installation
Build a path or driveway with Jakmat. We have everything you need including GAP 7, GAP 20 and GAP 40 for the base, Jakmats (made from recycled plastic) and plenty of options for the top layer, from our decorative pebble range.