32 | YOU Magazine
DALTONS TIPS
Keeping your garden cool in the heat With the warmer weather and sunshine, it’s a pleasure to be outside in the garden! But January can be a real challenge and you will need careful planning and proactive measures to ensure your garden survives the height of summer. Water and mulch are your top weapons to help keep your garden lush, healthy and productive. The best mulch is a form of organic matter that is applied as a layer on top of your soil in your garden, around plants, trees, and especially in pots. Organic mulches aid water retention by hindering water evaporation, keeping the moisture in the soil. Valuable nutrients are also added as mulch breaks down over time. It improves the soil quality and structure by encouraging micro-organisms and worm activity. A thick (50 to 100mm) layer of mulch around your plants will help suppress weeds. This means your plants are not competing for root space and nutrients. When mulching around trees, don’t apply it up to the trunk – think donut shape around the trunk instead. Make sure you mulch new planting areas too as soil left exposed to the hot summer sun will lessen in goodness and have reduced water content. When it comes to watering, regularly check irrigation systems if you have them and make sure all sprinkler heads are operating well and the timer has been set to suit the summer weather. Be regular when watering your garden, little and often is best, avoiding the hottest part of the day when plants are heat stressed. Once a day in the early morning or evening up to three times a week should be plenty, but increase this if the heat is extreme. Some plants, such as roses and trees, require deep watering to encourage deep root development, so apply extra water to those plant types in the early part of the day. Water until it begins to puddle on top of the soil which means the soil has
Mulching and appropriate watering are key to helping your garden flourish during the hot summer months.
PHOTOS DALTONS
reached its water-holding capacity. Avoid getting foliage wet as this can promote the spread of disease on plants like tomatoes and roses – aim for the root zone instead. Don’t over water – too much of anything is not good. If there has been plenty of rainfall you will not need to water as regularly. With many plants (trees and shrubs particularly) if they are not watered well and regularly over the hotter summer months, they will stop growing. Check your indoor plants. Increase watering and, if necessary, reposition plants by avoiding placing them too close to
sunny windows. Don’t forget about plants in pots or containers, keep them well watered and remove any weeds. If you apply mulch and maintain a consistent watering regime then you can expect excellent results with continued growth through the hot summer months. This is critical when establishing a new garden as you want plants to grow to maturity as soon as possible. For more gardening advice, check out our range of How To Grow guides on our website www.daltons.co.nz.