Central’s Gardening Tips for July

July 2018

It’s time to plant and prune, new shrubs and fruit trees can go in the ground, roses can be pruned and deciduous trees can be cut and shaped.

Add compost to vege beds and harvest winter greens - it’s also a great time to prepare the potato patch for planting.

In the Veggie Patch

• Prepare the potato patch – dig in lots of compost and sheep pellets so the earth is perfect when you’ve sprouted the seed potatoes. If you’re not growing organically you can also add potato food, which is a specifically blended potato fertiliser

• Renovate the raised beds. Get them ready for spring growing by adding fresh Garden Mix or digging through organic compost. Time to fix any leaks or drippers in your irrigation systems

• Sharpen secateurs and loppers to get the cleanest cuts when pruning and shaping deciduous trees and shrubs

• Spray pip and stone fruit trees with copper and oil mixed together

• Harvest a winter salad: baby leaves of kale, beetroot, spinach and silver beet make colourful, yummy winter dishes

Flowering shrubs, ornamental and fruit trees can be planted now

Deciduous shrubs such as viburnums, philadelphus, star magnolia and mollis azaleas as well as ornamental and fruit trees can be planted now.

Prepare the potato patch ready for planting

Add compost and sheep pellets so your patch is all ready to go for your sprouting seed potatoes.

Lawns

• Control moss in the lawn by spraying with

Yates’ Surrender

• Spread gypsum over boggy areas of the lawn to break up clay and aid drainage

The rest of the Garden

• Forward planning - a variety of deciduous shrubs such as scented viburnum and philadelphus, the bush-like star magnolia and bright Mollis azaleas can be planted now

• Rose pruning can begin this month – for newbies at this, local garden centres often hold rose-pruning demonstrations – or there’s Youtube.

• Lift and divide favourite perennials now – free plants are often under your nose

• Plant new season’s fruit and ornamental trees – there’s a variety of great fruit trees being bred for small urban gardens – just check with your local garden centres. Stake them to two thirds of their height to keep the root area steady

Sharpen secateurs and loppers

This helps get the cleanest cuts when pruning shrubs, deciduous trees and roses.