Seasonal uprising
Raised beds
First things first: top up soil with compost and/or well-rotted animal manure. (Horse droppings are often readily available for sale on the outskirts of cities and towns.)
For new beds, place newspaper, cardboard and/or woollen carpet on the bottom, then pea straw, horse manure, seaweed, woodchips – whatever’s available – and top with compost mixed in with topsoil.
Ordinary garden soil is fine, rather than topsoil bought from a landscaping supplier, but may contain many weed seeds.
Landscape suppliers usually have a range of blends suitable for raised beds, and are usually knowledgeable about what may suit your needs.
Compost is often too rich to plant straight into. Newly planted seedlings will need to be watered regularly – more so than those growing in the garden proper, as raised beds tend to dry out quicker. For this reason, mulching raised beds in summer is important.
Edibles
Tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins, aubergines, and chilli peppers may be sown under cover, but should not be transplanted outside until late October or early November when all danger of frost is past and the soil and air temperatures have risen.
Between germination and transplanting, seedlings need to be kept somewhere sunny, or under cover, such as in a glasshouse, cold frame, on a verandah or a very sunny window sill. If kept on a sill, remember to turn them regularly to stop them stretching towards the sun.
Beetroot, carrot, lettuce, parsnip, peas, radish, rocket, silverbeet and spring onions may all be sown direct into the garden – as long as the soil is not too wet.
Feed established fruit trees with citrus food.
Ornamentals
Sow sweet peas in sunny spot with rich, free-draining soil and something to climb up, such as a trellis or wire netting.
Feed azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons as soon as they finish flowering.
Thrips
If thrips are a problem in your garden – most commonly evident in autumn by greenhouse thrips sucking leaves and causing distinctive silvering of them – act now. (Don’t be fooled by the name, greenhouse thrips attack many plants including shrubs such as photinia and viburnum, and trees including rhododendrons.)
Now spring is here, female thrips will be emerging from their winter homes in the soil and litter around plants ready to insert their eggs. These eggs become wingless larvae that feed on sap.
Start a spraying program. Organic options are available, usually an oil that suffocates the insects. With any spray, covering all the plant, including both upper and lower sides of leaves is essential. Insect bands are also touted as a good control option, especially on large plants.