if you have…

Whether you have 15 minutes or an hour to spare, these timed tasks from PHIL DUDMAN will help you keep on top of things in your productive garden

FEED YOUR CITRUS

Citrus trees are arguably the hardest working plants on the planet! No sooner have you harvested one crop, than they push out a flush of flowers for the next one. Once the new season’s fruit is set, citrus will be calling out for a little help in the form of feed. So give the root zone a good soaking – from the trunk to just beyond canopy – sprinkle some citrus and fruit tree fertiliser over the area (according to product directions) and water in well.

PLANT SWEET POTATO

Sweet potato is easy to grow over the warmer months. It’s a trailing vine and all you need is a few cuttings to get started. If you know someone with a crop, ask them for some cutting material, or get hold of your favourite sweet potato variety and plant it upright in a pot – it will quickly shoot out lots of leafy stems. This crop likes a deep soil for the tubers to develop unimpeded, so mound your soil in planting rows, or pile compost on the surface, and plant your cuttings in that. The tubers will develop where roots form.

SET UP SOME SHADE FOR HEAT SENSITIVE VEGIES

From tender lettuces to fruiting capsicum, many vegies suffer in extreme heat. Make simple frames over your vulnerable crops, then when temperatures soar, toss over some shadecloth or an old sheet to protect them. For low-growing plants, use poly pipe or PVC conduit to make arches. For taller ones, knock in 2–3 stakes around each plant, or make a simple tent frame by spacing uprights along a row to support a horizontal rod at the top.