In The Garden – with Brownie
DOING all my preparations for Tropical Cyclone Alfred highlighted a couple of things I’ll need to see to around my backyard in April.
Moving pots down off stands and railings so that they didn’t topple over highlighted that I really need to repot most of them. They were way too light for their size – which means that the potting mix is old and has lost its water holding abilities. I also noticed that the level of the potting mix had dropped in some of them. This is due to the organic components (bark and compost mostly) breaking down over time.
So, it’ll mean buying a few bags of quality potting mix (one with the red ticks on the side), laying out a tarp on the grass, pulling out the plant, loosening the potting mix from around the roots, refilling the pot and replanting them. Plus, I’ll add some slow-release fertiliser before giving them a good soaking and replacing them where they came from.
April is also when I get active in the veggie garden, planting my winter crops of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, snow pea, kohl rabi and tomatoes.
Here’s a few other jobs you could think about.
• 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 also 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.
• 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.
• Lightly trim back lavender and rosemary.
• If you didn’t do it last month, you should fertilise the lawn with a complete fertiliser right away.
• As the sun gets lower, move indoor plants further away from windows and glass doors to prevent them from burning.
• Hearting lettuce, such as Iceberg, can be grown from now on.
• Lift corms of finished gladiolus, discard shrivelled parts and store plump corms in a cool dry place.
• Garlic can be planted until the end of April – planting after this date reduces the size of the bulbs.
• Try not to be tempted by displays in supermarkets of tulips and hyacinths, as they are very unlikely to do well.
