What a great time of the year to be in the garden. The humidity has dropped away and the pest and diseases are slowing down their assaults. But there’s no time to be slack, as you need to have your garden spick and span for the Easter Bunny this coming weekend … if not there’s no eggs for you.
After Easter, you might be needing to work off some of those chocolates and hot cross buns – so here’s my list of some of the jobs that will need your attention.
• Plant sweet peas, snow peas, sugar snap peas, climbing peas and bush peas. Plant as either seed or seedlings into soil that has had some dolomite added. Maybe try asparagus peas
• Start to reduce the frequency you mow the lawn and start raising the blade height to allow the grass to keep a reasonable amount of leaf during the cooler months.
• Fertilise your roses, especially if you haven’t done it for a few years.
• It’s time to dig up, divide and replant your hippeastrum and lilium bulbs.
• Bougainvillea cuttings can be taken now and struck in a good propagation mix.
• Clean up the last of the summer vegetable crops. Use all the prunings, weeds and the remains of summer vegetables that have finished to start a compost heap.
• Plant new pawpaw trees, apply some boron to existing plants at a rate of 20 grams per tree and spray them with a copper spray if black spot is seen.
• Carefully cut off side shoots of bromeliads to create new plants. Plant these in the garden or in pots using a well-drained potting mix.
• Most vegetables can go in now – especially the brassica family (Asian greens, broccoli, kale and collards, mustard, cabbage)
• Lightly trim back lavender and rosemary, and other perennials that have finished flowering should be cut back hard.
• As the sun gets lower, move indoor plants further away from windows and glass doors to prevent them from burning.
• Remove runners forming on young strawberry plants, this will keep them tight and conserve their energy.
• Prune the passionfruit vines, cut the laterals back to two buds – that’s all you’ll need for the next growth spurt.