Summer is well and truly here so it’s important to prepare your garden for less attention and exposure to more heat.
MULCH
Un-mulched plants dry out four times faster than mulched plants: top up thin areas with pre-soaked mulch, topped onto a layer or two of newspaper if you need added weed suppressant. Head to the tip for a trailer load of fine composted mulch. Its seriously good stuff.
WATER
Ensure you water in the mornings. It reduces the opportunity for fungal disease to spread.
FEED
Feed the lawn during a rainstorm in early summer with Scotts Lawn Builder or Dynamic Lifter Advanced for lawns. Continue to apply seaweed solution to the whole garden (leaves and roots) to strengthen plants and make them better able to cope with summer’s heat stress and fungal attack.
PROTECT
On super-hot days, spray Yates Drought Shield on tender plants when weather is very hot and dry. Put up a beach umbrella on fragile plants like hydrangeas that could get scorched.
Spray ‘Envy’ on leaves on plants susceptible to drying out whilst your away. As the product dries it locks together to form a stretchy polymer barrier that slows down evaporation, protecting your plant from cell damage and sun stroke. One application can last three months so apply now and it will last all summer.
Move pot plants to the sheltered side of the house, and group together with saucers filled to help create a humid microclimate and reduce water loss.
PRUNE roses after flowering to bring on another flush. As the petals fade cut between the finished flower and a pair of leaves.
SPRAY roses with a mix of EcoOil, EcoFungicide, EcoNeem and seaweed solution – the best way to attack all pests and diseases on your roses.
PLANT a second round of summer vegetables. For a family of four add a tomato, one cucumber, two beans, one eggplant, sweet corn, and one zucchini to extend the bounty into autumn.
NOW it’s time enjoy– put up the beach umbrella, grab an Aperol Spritz, pop up the sprinkler for the kids or head to the beach… either way, put away your tools for a bit and enjoy our summer.
Here’s to a fun, healthy and happy summer of gardening.
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