Soil Preparation, Composting and pH

• Autumn is also a very good time to enrich vegetable garden soil. The ideal is to plant a vacant bed with seeds of a green manure crop of eg beans or peas. Let them grow for a couple of months, then dig the entire plant into the ground just before they flower. As they rot they add nitrogen to the soil. If soil is heavy clay, add gypsum and organic matter when working it over. *For those with less space/time, add cow manure and Blood and Bone, and also pH test your soil and adjust the acidity or alkalinity as required with either lime (to raise the soil pH and make it more alkaline) or Iron Sulphate (to lower the pH and make it more acid). If the pH is not right (ie around 6.5-7) then the plants won’t be able to take up any of the fertilizers you are adding, and in turn you will get deficiencies in the plants, and then wonder why.
• These soil additives should be applied in conjunction with cow manure and compost to further help with the soil structure and reduce the chemicals from leaching (washing) through the soil.

For those with even more time to get this just right, look into "crop rotations" to further improve your veggie garden's productivity.

Weeding

• Hand weed around newly planted annuals, bulbs and veggies, or as required for the garden. Use Roundup herbicide as per manufacturer’s instructions for boundaries and pavements.

Planting

• April is a great time for planting (less humid than March), particularly roses and citrus which both prefer sunny sheltered positions. Roses do best in fairly heavy loams, but add sand, coco-peat or cow manure if the soil requires loosening.
• Plant winter and flowering annuals. They will need regular watering and fertilizing.
• Spring-flowering bulbs are best planted in April at a depth of approximately 2.5 times the bulb’s diameter. Consider snowdrops; jonquils; ranunculus; daffodils, iris, Dutch iris, freesias and liliums in clumps or masses as garden understory or in pots. Remember that not all bulbs grow well in Sydney’s climate, and I have found that snowdrops and jonquils are probably the best performers. Tulips can be planted in late April when the weather is cooler, and in Sydney should be treated as an annual. Try keeping bulbs in the fridge for 4-6 weeks before planting to ensure good flowering (place in fridge in a paper bag to keep dry), Don’t leave bulbs in heavy wet soils or they will rot. Clay soils will need to be worked to improve drainage. There are specific bulb potting mix’s on the market to assist success.
• Remove summer vegies and plant with winter growing ones like winter lettuce varieties, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, shallots, broad beans, beetroot, silver beet, early and spring onions, turnips and peas. Regularly feed them to compensate for slower growth in cooler weather. Plant strawberries in April.
• Harvest autumn fruit and veggies like late tomatoes.

Also, it's a great time to transplant anything after rain has softened the ground, and repot pot plants – either into larger pots or into fresher soil and compost.

In fact, why not have a big 'workover' of pots? Empty the pots and install new drainage material 95mmof blue metal will do) and the best quality potting mix you can buy. Plant choice is overwhelming, but choose something you have the time to maintain, and finally, fertilize and mulch to retain moisture and reduce weeds.

Mulching

• Top up garden mulch with a mulch that matches what you already have. We often use either Horticultural Grade Pine Bark Mulch or native leaf litter for native gardens. Aside from helping with weed reduction and moisture retention, it is also good for the soils structure and pH.
• Keep your mulch topped up to 75 mm thick, remembering to keep it well back from the base of plant stems to avoid a fungus condition called “stem rot”.

Pruning

• It’s not a big pruning time, so just trim perennials / dead head as required.

Lawns

• Don’t mow your lawn too close because the growing season is slowing down and short grass encourages weed growth in bare areas, while the grass isn’t vigorous enough to compete.
• Look out for Army Worm which are still about in April while the weather can still be warm and humid. Spray accordingly with an appropriate pesticide.

Fertilising

• Lightly feed the garden (April) using a weak fortnightly watering of a balanced soluble fert such as Nitrosol or similar as the soil is still warm so plants can absorb fertilisers.
• You can also use an organically based product such as lucerne-coated Power Pellets, Blood and Bone or cow manure that also help build the soil. It is not until later in spring, that we apply chemical fertilisers that contain trace elements.

Don't forget to water before and after applying fertiliser so as not to burn plant roots.

Watering

• It tends to be wet on the coast in April and, with weather gradually cooling, gardens should consume less water. Shallow-rooted plants in wet soil may blow over if windy. Address poor drainage problems with addition of compost, ash, manure, gypsum treatment and a good drainage system.

Pets and Diseases

• While there should be fewer insect pests than in summer, fungal diseases and mildew are usually bad now due to increased shade and rainfall on the east coast, particularly on hydrangeas, roses, geraniums and lawns. You may see leaf spots, black spot, mildew and rot.
• Snails and slugs can be abundant on small seedlings after autumn rain – hand remove or apply Defender. For snails up in shrubs, spray with a product containing copper oxychloride.
• If there are too many caterpillars and aphids to pick off, spray with Folimat or Carbaryl or even Malathion for larger infestations.

Specific pests:

• Saw-flies on paperbarks, tea-trees and cypresses – spray with Malathion and inject trunks with Rogor
• White cedar moth on White Cedars – spray Malathion
• Citrus scale – spray with white oil
• Red spider mite on azaleas, fuchsias, lillypillies and giant mondo grass – spray with Keltane
• Rust – spray with Zineb or other fungicide
• Leaf-miner on daisies and cinerarias – spray with Chemspray or Rogor
• Aphids on roses, chrysanthemums, pansies and violas – spray pyrethrum, Malathion. Or try a home-made garlic spray, or soapy water at regular intervals.
• Dollar spot on lawns – water with a fungicide
• Fruit fly on vegies and fruit (particularly citrus, tomatoes and capsicum)– spray with Rogor or Folimat and burn diseased fruits at end of their season
• Cabbage caterpillars – dust with Derris

I recommend that if you have any of these pests in your garden, take samples of infected leaves and flowers to your local nursery for correct identification and advice on treatment, before you proceed.

As you are aware, Joanne Green Landscape Design has a garden maintenance service, and we would be happy to assist you with your garden's needs.

Please contact us 02.9979.5363 and we will make a site visit and provide
a free quote.

Happy gardening from all of us here at Joanne Green Landscape Design