Autumn in the garden is a busy time; cool nights and lovely crisp clear days, making it much easier to spend more time in the garden. It is also a perfect time to finish those gardening jobs while the ground and the weather is still dry enough. The warmth of the autumn weather will help germinate any weed seeds that have fallen during the summer, act now before the weeds get to big.
For a general spray use McGregor’s Weed Out this is effective on annual and perennial weeds like, Couch, Peplum, Kikuyu and thistles.
Use Kiwicare’s spray and stick it will increase the efficiency of the spray with better foliage coverage and penetration. The dye part of the product is a reddish pink (depending on how much you use) this dye is a saviour when it comes to those of us with large properties as it marks exactly where you have been. The dye only last for a couple of days then it fades but wear old clothes.
Give the spray a chance to work, the weed killer will need at least 5 hours of dry weather to work properly, rain reduces the effectiveness.
Watch out for frosts, better to be safe than sorry, when in doubt, cover, a cold, windless night usually means a frost. If you do get hit by the frost, leave the frosted parts on the plant; remove when all danger of frosts are over, then you won’t risk any new growth.
HOME GROWN
Continue planting out seedlings of winter crops like Cabbage, Cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, Broccoli, Leeks and Celery. Protect from slugs and snails with Slug and Snail Bait. Apply directly around the base of each plant rather than scattering randomly.
Lettuce can be planted all year round in our climate.
Onions can go in the ground now and they are happy in the same spot year after year.
Broad beans seeds can be planted, no need to start them off in pots the seed is large enough to go straight in the ground. If you already have them started then mulch around the roots and give them a side dressing of fertiliser. Avoiding fertiliser’s that are too high in nitrogen as this will encourage more leaves than flowers.
If you are going to leave your vegetable garden empty for the winter months then consider planting a cover crop it will keep those weeds down over winter. Lupins are the best for adding nitrogen back in to the soil as a green manure.
FRUIT
As your pip and stone fruit are now coming to a close, rake away any fallen fruit from the ground around your trees. Codlin and Guava moth larvae that are in the fallen fruit will burrow in to the ground ready to infect your trees next spring and begin the cycle all over again. If you are lucky enough to have chicken, let them loose in the orchard to clean up. Spraying and Pruning all your fruit trees will begin in June once all the leaves have fallen.
GARDEN COLOUR
Divide any perennials once all the foliage has died down, replant straight away.
Winter annuals can go in the ground, add a small handful of blood and bone to the soil before you plant.
Sweet peas can still be planted, as the first flowers appear pinch them out use your thumb and fore finger, this lets the plant become stronger before it supports flowers.
LAWN
Autumn is often the best time to re-sow your lawn even better than spring; there is still warmth and water, two necessary ingredients for good seed germination.
Sow the seed in small sections rather than the whole area as you will be able to keep track of where you have been. Broadcasting the seed rather than dropping on the ground.
When you have finished sowing all the seed, lightly rake over the ground again. This will cover most of the seed with topsoil to improve their germination. Use a leaf rake for this it will give you a lighter touch.