August: Late-Winter Jobs for a Productive Veggie Patch

Put in the hard yards now for a pumping spring season.

As August rolls in, we’re saying farewell to Jerusalem artichoke soups and black truffle pastas. The fleece blankets and slippers are being swapped for beanies and gloves, and the garden is calling. There’s plenty to do before spring bursts onto the scene in September.

Last chance to treat leaf curl

If you haven’t treated your nectarine and peach trees for leaf curl, now is the time to act. Watch the buds closely:

• If buds haven’t burst yet, spray with copper or lime sulphur immediately.
• If leaves have already begun to unfurl, it’s too late to spray but not too late for damage control.

Remove and dispose of all diseased leaves as soon as symptoms appear. Avoid composting them. Once warmer weather arrives in November, trees will likely recover and produce healthy new foliage. Set a reminder to spray again next winter for prevention.

Protect new growth from wildlife and pests

Gardeners are not the only ones eagerly waiting for spring growth. Watch for wallabies, possums, and aphids, who cannot resist the sweet new growth on plants, such as roses. Roses still in flower and leaf should be denuded and pruned now. A dose of slow-release fertiliser and sulphate of potash would also help your roses repeat flower through to next autumn. 

If you’re in a rabbit-prone area, cover vegetable plantings with barriers and plant more than you think you’ll need. Rabbits will eat garlic and onions when hungry. Net citrus trees now to protect developing fruit from possums and rats.

Replenish your vegetable beds

Now is the perfect time to enrich your soil in preparation for spring planting. Rejuvenate veggie beds with:

• Organic matter, such as blood and bone, biochar, and compost
• Complete organic fertilisers and trace minerals
• Tassie Naturals All-In-One Soil Conditioner, a blend of moo poo, chook poo, mushroom compost, biochar, and seaweed.

Finish by mulching with WhoFlungDung and watch the worms thank you for it. Healthy soil now means strong spring crops ahead.

Start your spring and summer seedlings

Get a head start on the growing season by sowing spring and summer vegetable seeds indoors by a sunny windowsill.

• Warm-weather crops, such as tomatoes, capsicums, eggplants, and chillies, can be sown on a heat mat or placed somewhere warm like on top of the fridge or hot water cylinder
• Peas and broad beans can be chitted (pre-sprouted) before planting to improve germination and ensure a harvest by late October
• If you have a greenhouse, warm-weather crops can be transplanted as early as late August.

Come in to the Nursery and talk to one of our friendly garden experts today!