Gardening tips: How to prepare for spring

While you might be retreating from the August westerlies and not feeling particularly outdoorsy, your garden is enthusiastically heading for its most productive season and needs you to lend a hand… so grab those gloves, dust off the tools, we’ve got work to do!

Lawns

It’s time to prepare for the growing and mowing season. Eradicate the enemy of bare feet, bindii before they set to prickly seed by using a suitable bindii spray or pulling them out by hand. Get tough on perennial weeds ensuring the entire root system is removed. De-thatch and aerate your soil if it’s had heavy compacting from cars parked across it or it’s overgrown. It may look a little tired and bare, so give it a boost with a top dressing of sieved garden soil or top dressing mix. This will even out the ground too. A spray of Seasol for Lawns will boost the root system, strengthening it for the warmer months ahead. Follow up with a dose of lawn food and a good water and watch the green shoots emerge.

Fruit trees

Reports of bumper citrus crops this year means your plants will be famished, so treat them with a complete tailored fertiliser such as Black Marvel Fruit & Citrus or Searles 5in1 Organic Fruit & Flower. Both offer a slow-release feed while Flourish Fruit, Citrus & Berry will give an instant boost as a liquid fertiliser. Trim any dead, diseased or dry-looking branches. Look out for leaf minor (the leaves will have a traffic jam of lines through them and curl slightly) and gall wasp, which display as unsightly lumps in the stem wood. Mulch (keep it away from the trunk or graft line) and give your trees a deep water, as the winds will dry them out quickly. Liquid fertilise your strawberries every two weeks and refresh mulch around the plants.

Veggie Patch

Dig it! Soil improver, compost, cow manure, blood & bone, 5in1 ... all of these will add much needed organic matter to reinvigorate tired and depleted soil. Always aim for ‘organic’ products for your edibles as you and your family are ingesting the final results – delicious homegrown produce! Old clumps of herbs can be tidied up or replaced with fresh seedlings or plants.

Flowers

The spring favourites will be bursting into bloom, so be selective with insecticide use as the bees, birds and butterflies will be feasting on the abundance of flowering varieties. Plant alyssum, cosmos, snapdragons, gerbera, sunflowers and petunias for an ongoing supply of colour as the weather warms. Roses will be sprouting new growth, so keep a protective eye on tender shoots for aphids.

Trees, hedges and shrubs

Clean off the secateurs because a trim and tidy are required before the next round of growth occurs. Shape hedges and cut back plants or trees that have finished flowering. A slow-release fertiliser will provide the nutrients necessary for spring growth and a deep water, weekly, will keep the roots content in the windy weather.

Garden tools

Don’t forget to give these hardworking items a bit of attention too. Wash off old dirt and dry. Sterilize metal tools using a solution of bleach, isopropyl alcohol, or vinegar. Use turpentine for sap-coated tools. Linseed oil rubbed into wooden handles will help prevent cracking and splitting. Sharpen any blunt or damaged edges on cutting and digging tools.

Happy Gardening!

TOP TIPS FOR SPRING

• Prune

• Fertilise

• Deep watering

• Pick a few flowers to enjoy inside too