IN DECEMBER Keep those salad greens growing fast
Keep planting salad greens.
Punnet lettuces, if of reasonable size will be ready three or four weeks after planting. mesclun mixes can add a bit of variety.
It is a difficult year for the warmer lovers such as melons, capsicums and eggplants. A bit of shelter with some plastic is a smart move this year.
Nipping the first crown fruit out of capsicums is a must. This stops the bush from putting all its energy into one lot of fruit, a greater number of branches, all fruit bearing result and the productivity enhanced.
Keep tomato bushes tidy by nipping out excess laterals. A few can be left but be careful not overtax the root system and ask too much of your bush by leaving them all on. Spray with copper to keep rust away. The humid conditions at the moment suit rust and moulds.
Beans and corn can now be planted. Plant corn as a block rather than a row, as it is wind pollinated and complete cobs result from this practice.
Spray fruit trees with Yates Success Ultra if troubled by grass grub beetles.
These fly at night and munch their way through leaves doing considerable damage. Pear and plum trees should also be watched from now on for pear slugs — small black slugs that eat the green of leaves leaving a skeleton behind.
Flower garden
Mulch the garden beds as much as possible and keep topping up the peastraw as birds steal it, to keep the weeds at bay and the watering manageable.
Deadhead roses and spray regularly with copper to keep rust and black spot under control.
As annuals finish a flowering, deadhead, feed and water to get a second display or interplant with fresh new ones to takeover the display into the mid summer.
Keep watering and take the time to enjoy your garden.