HOME GROWN
Stagger your salad crops, plant every two weeks to give you a continuous supply.
Courgettes are one of the first of the summer crops to go in the ground, they grow quick you need to pick often or you will end up with marrows!
Beans and pumpkin seeds these seeds can be planted straight in their permanent position.
Potatoes can still be planted, remember to mound up around existing potatoes to prevent them from going green. Fertilise potatoes already in the ground every 2-3 weeks with potato food.
Tomatoes can be planted in warm spot; tomatoes need a fresh place in the garden each year, to reduce the spread of diseases.
Peas – plant your first lot of seeds straight in to the ground and a second crop if you have room 3 weeks later.
Plant celery, beetroot, spinach, asparagus, peppers and cucumbers.
Onions are planted now for the autumn harvest they are happy in the same soil year after year.
Fruit trees will be in full flower check the Codlin moth traps and apply new ones for the season.
Plant tamarillo, passionfruit but watch for late frosts.
Feed all crops every 2 weeks with a liquid feed like Seasol or Nitrosol
Plant out your herb garden, hold off for the Basil until October
Watch for frosts and cover the most vulnerable parts of your garden with cloches or frost cloth – better to be safe than sorry!
GARDEN COLOUR
New season flowers are now in store, freshen your beds before planting with a little blood and bone and sheep pellets.
Remove the first flower buds from your annuals this it will benefit the plant and give you more flowers for longer.
Perennial Petunias are coming in to store, especially the popular Bubblegum which is the one we use for our roadside display
LAWN
Onehunga weed comes in to flower in spring so now is the time to spray, before it goes to seed and continues to spread through the lawn.
To repair bare patches, begin by raking the area over this will remove any dead foliage leaving bare soil. Prepare a seed bed to a depth of 10-15cm; if the soil is already loose then a garden rake scratched over the surface will often be enough. If not then you will need to dig over the area to avoid a hard pan forming. Sow the grass seed in to the prepare soil and lightly rake ensuring all the seed is covered with soil, water and keep watering until established. Rake the top layer of soil in to the surrounding grass to merge the patch better.