Time to get your HANDS DIRTY
Take advantage of the long weekend and get your garden sorted, suggests Ginny Clark
WITH A LONG WEEKEND just ahead of us, it’s a great time to get the vege and flower garden spruced up. Fingers crossed we might even get some good weather so you can really get stuck in for a bit of a revamp.
First of all get rid of the weeds and renew the soil with goodness to really get your garden growing. The key to any garden is good soil so add ‘magic’ compost sheep pellets when planting.
This will improve the structure and fertility of the soil and you’ll be well rewarded with much healthier and happier plants. Adding a ready-made vege or garden mix will beef up the soil, especially if you have been gardening in the same place for the last few years.
For the vege patch, there’s a huge range to select from at this time of year: Tomatoes are top sellers but ensure you go for the best — Grafted Tomatoes — these are hybrid varieties which will produce heaps of healthy delicious tomatoes.
Varieties include the all-time favourites like Money Maker Roma, Grosse Lisse and Big Beef, plus cherry tomatoes such Sweet 100.
Make sure you protect them from the wind and stake them securely as they grow.
If you want to plant seeds you can’t go wrong with ican Chef’s Choice premium vegetable seeds. These are the best in the country with superior taste, disease resistance and high yields.
Make sure there’s plenty of room in the vege patch for a variety of lettuces along with cucumbers, courgettes, capsicums, eggplants, pumpkins, beans, spring onions
. . . herbs are a must for the kitchen garden too — basil, parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, coriander . . . wow . . . the list goes on!
If you don’t have a vege garden, then start up a wee one in a pot or a series of pots — we grow all our tomatoes in big plastic pots with handles so you can move them around easily. My lettuces are planted in a trough. Or you could get yourself a vegepod! Hanging baskets are also perfect for growing the likes of Tumbling Tom tomatoes.
Add some colour to garden beds, pots and hanging baskets this weekend too.
Clear out any old tired plants and renew with fresh mass plantings of colour — like petunias, marigolds, salvias, lobelia, verbena for the sun and Busy Lizzies (impatiens) for the shade. We have a huge range of flowering punnets ready for planting out and this is a great way to quickly and inexpensively create a fresh colourful look. You’ll find everything you need at Decor to get you started and our friendly, knowledgeable team can point you in the right direction.
Enjoy the weekend and happy gardening!