Autumn Top 5 with Manawee Garden Centre
A change of season brings good reason to get your garden in good order. Alison Smith discovers the Top 5 tasks for autumn gardeners from the expert at Manawee Garden Centre, Simon Van Roy.
1. Prune and Tidy
The best time to prune any flowering or fruit producing tree is generally after they have produced flowers or fruit– so now is the time to get in, remove any dead or damaged stems, old flower stems and prune back to nice healthy growth. Think about the long term shape of your tree and prune with this in mind. It may be to limit the overall height of shrubs, or to open up a fruit tree to maximise sunlight and healthy growth for next seasons fruit. Whatever shape you are trying to make, getting things pruned up before winter is key.
2. Love your lawn
Your lawn has probably taken a beating over summer with backyard cricket, garden parties, kids play and parking the caravan on it over Christmas – so now it’s time to start the repair phase. While it’s still warm, manage any weeds which may have gotten hold. You might need to hand pull some, or get a selective herbicide, to stop them getting worse. Anything you don’t manage now will be much worse next season! Once you have these managed, it’s time to fertilise and top dress, fill up those divots and worn patches. Our lawns get a lot less sun over winter, so get the recovery and growth happening now while you still can.
3. Prepare soil for winter planting
It may sound pre-emptive, but many of our favourites to plant in the cooler seasons require special soil preparation and often by the time winter comes along, it’s too late! If you have plans for new roses, deciduous trees like crepe myrtles or maples, even strawberry runners, raspberry canes, grapes, rhubarb crowns or asparagus, all need a well composted soil and this doesn’t happen overnight. So now is the time or add well rotted manure, compost and slow release fertilisers into the soil. Even the veggie patch needs attention if you are planning to plant broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage or spinach for the winter season.
4. Fertilise
This is one of the last few chances to do a good general organic slow release fertilise around the garden. Once the temperature gets too cool, a lot of fertilisers slow down, and your plants are slower to uptake the nutrient. If you can get a good application in now, you can support strong growth which will be much more resistant to any issues over winter. This also means if you have plans for some cheeky winter flowers, your soil will be alive with microbes, ready to go!
5. Monitor your watering systems
As the days become shorter, nights cooler and our gardens slow down, it also means that water requirements change. You still want to be applying water in the mornings, using a slow and deep application – but check how often your sprinklers are coming on and how often you need to water. Wet soil is cold soil, so it will be more prone to disease. Check your soil and if it’s still damp when you plan to water, then consider if you can wait another day – you can enjoy the savings, and your plants will actually be better off.
A little preparation now will go a long way to winter growth. Happy gardening!
DIG IT!
Family-owned and plant-passionate Manawee Garden Centre at Buderim offers friendly, expert advice and a wide range of plants, pots, garden supplies and gifts. Visit www.manawee.com.au to find out more and sign up to the Plant News enewsletter
