Tue, 08 May 2012 21:08:27 -0800WeeblyWed, 18 Apr 2012 00:46:14 -0800http://www.naturesedge.co.za/1/post/2012/04/may-2012.html Your to do list for May

Annuals:
Remove summer-flowering plants.
Prepare beds for spring-flowering varieties. Plant seedlings out.
Fertilize with liquid manure and mulch well.
Water in dry weather.

Bulbs:
Plant tulips on arrival.
Browning lillium stalks can be cut down to ground level. Mark their position.
Divide where necessary.

Perennials:
Mark the position of dormant perennials.
Cut back Japanese anemones after flowering.

Roses:
  Fertilizeonly in warm areas with organic matter or compost, but avoid the stems.
Deadhead and DE-bud or replant when/if necessary.
Spray black spot, boll worm and beetles.
Water once a week.

Lawns:
Water and mow where needed.

Pruning:
Wait for shrubs and trees to finish flowering.

Hydrangea:
Keep blue flowers blue by applying a mulch layer of bark, old teabags and anything acidic.
Keep pink pink by applying chalk.

Azaleas and Camelias:
Apply acidic mulching to these plants and water well. Wait for flowers to fall before fertilizing.

Autumn foliage:
Do not throw away, but sprinkle underneath shrubs and trees. Over this sprinkle a little chicken manure.

Vegetables:
Prepare deep grooves for asparagus planting thoroughly.
Store potatoes in cool, dry places.
Sow 'sugarsnap' peas.
Support developing giant beans and pinch out the growing tips when in full bloom.

Fruit:
Harvest the last apples and fertilise.
Water citrus trees in dry areas.
Water mango trees less for better flowering.
Mulch, fertilise and water avos well.
Remove all runners from strawberry mother plants. Plant little rooted ones out.
Fertilise granadillas with 3:1:5



]]>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:41:59 -0800http://www.naturesedge.co.za/1/post/2012/03/april-2012.html Your April to do list
Annuals:
Plant seedlings of winter and spring flowering varieties.

Bulbs:
Plant winter and spring flowering bulbs to the depth of 2 - 3 times the bulb's diameter.
Remove dahlias, shake free from soil, label and store underneath wood shavings.
Divide where necessary.
Sow seeds of indigenous bulbous plants.

Perennials:
Cut plants back that have finished flowering.
Divide where necessary and replant in prepared beds.

Roses:
  Fertilizeonly in warm areas with organic matter or compost, but avoid the stems.
Deadhead and de-bud or replant when/if necessary.
Spray for black spot, boll worm and beetles.

Irrigation:
On a weekly basis or as needed

Lawns:
  Fertilizewith 2:3:4, aerate and apply super-phosphate.

Propagation:
Make cuttings of lavender, Hebe, Heliotrope and daisies.
Make hardwood cuttings of Hydrangeas, Fuchsias, Philadelphus and Viburnum.

Pruning:
Wait until early spring in frosty areas.
Cut back Plectranthus that have finished flowering.

Herbs:
Harvest the foliage of lemon scented verbena.

Vegetables:
Fertilise veggies.
Store pumpkins in a cool, dry place.
Plant giant beans in rows from north to south.
Plant garlic bulbs.
Harvest the last potatoes after the first frost.

Fruit:
Provide enough water and mulch.
Cut all dead or scraggly branches of citrus trees and remove suckers.
  Fertilizeand water mango's well before flowering.
Harvest guavas and fertilize afterwards. Pick all fallen fruit up and burn.
  Fertilize granadillas.
Plant strawberries out in prepared beds.



]]>Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:35:17 -0800http://www.naturesedge.co.za/1/post/2012/02/march-2012.htmlYour gardening to do list for March

Annuals:
Prepare beds for autumn planting. Work in 30cm of compost. Add hoof and horn a couple of weeks prior.
Plant out seedlings and water.

Bulbs:
Buy bulbs as soon as available and store in a cool, dry place.
Order treated tulip bulbs.
Divide Inca lilies and agapanthus where necessary.

Perennials:
Cut spent plants back.

Roses:
Fertilize with organic matter or compost, but avoid the stems.
Deadhead and de-bud, prune lightly towards the end of the month. Keep the centre open.
Spray black spot, bollworm and beetles.

Irrigation:
Less watering now.

Lawns:
Fertilize.

Propagation:
Make 5cm hardwood cuttings of fast-growing shrubs.
Catch the seed of summer annuals like cosmos and Cleome. Dry seed thoroughly and store in paper bags or bottles. Label.

Pruning:
Prune shrubs that are finished flowering.
Remove suckers from Bougainvilleae.

Houseplants:
Need less water now.

Sweet peas:
Soak the seed in warm water or over night before sowing. Plant in well prepared grooves. Those living in areas with frost must wait until May.

Herbs:
Catch the seed of coriander, dill and anise seed.
Deadhead oreganum, sage and marjorum.

Vegetables:
Water and fertilise.
Fertilise broccoli and Brussel sprouts with hoof and horn.
Sow onion seed in prepared soil.
Harvest all mature pumpkins.
Cut asparagus back.
Dry and/or preserve excess tomatoes.

Fruit:
Deciduous trees: Fertilise trees that have just been harvested.
Fertilise trees that show weak foliage production again.
Prune peach-, nectarine- and apricot trees.
Harvest apples and pears and fertilise trees afterwards.
Keep citrus well watered and mulch, but well away from trunk. Fertilise with 3:1:5.
Apply KAN and Epson salts to grapes.
Pin strawberry runners to encourage rooting.
Fertilise bananas, pawpaws, litchies, mangos and avos with general fertiliser, mulch and water well.

]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:55:12 -0800http://www.naturesedge.co.za/1/post/2012/01/february-2012-gardening-to-do-list.htmlAnnuals:
Deadhead annuals regularly.
Fertilise fortnightly with organic matter or with liquid compost.
Water in dry weather.
Sow for winter- and spring-flowering annuals in warm areas.
Plant out January-sown seedlings.

Bulbs:
Remove all dead agapanthus flower heads. Catch the seeds and plant when black (ripe).
Cut Lilium seed heads and leave as much of the leave stalks as possible.
Support dahlias, fertilise and pinch out buds for larger flowers.
Remove excess bulblets from Watsonias and plant out.

Roses:
Fertilise with organic matter or compost, but avoid the stems.
Deadhead and de-bud, prune lightly towards the end of the month. Keep the centre open.
Spray black spot, bollworm and beetles.

Lawns:
Mow regularly.
Fertilise.

Soil:
Aerate soil and mulch.

Fertilising:
Apply compost or organic matter to Helleborus, Asaleas, Bergenia and Hydrangea.

Pruning:
Cut Hydrangeas back.
Remove cannas by cutting the whole stem off.

Propagation:
Make cuttings after pruning shrubs that have finished flowering, like Pelargonium and lavender.
Make cuttings of silver-leaved plants.
Dianthus can be layered.
Catch seed of Verbascum and Anchusa.

Houseplants:
Fertilise, water and clean the foliage.

Herbs:
Make potpourri from lavender flowers, rose petals and lemon scented verbena.

Vegetables:
Fertilise cabbage, broccoli and Brussel sprouts with liquid compost.
Sow for lettuce in late afternoon.
Harvest ready potatoes.
Harvest garlic before the leaves start yellowing and the producing of new bulbs.
Cut artichokes off.

Fruit:
Deciduous trees: Regular watering in dry areas.
Prune branches growing in the centre.
Fertilise recently harvested trees.
Water citrus trees regularly, fertilise and mulch.
Protect grape bunches with cameo stocking around the bunch and also against beetles.
Prepare beds for strawberries with compost worked in.
Harvest figs and fertilise.
Fertilise pawpaws.
Fertilise granadillas and prune harvested plants back.
Protect guavas against fruit fly. ]]>Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:23:56 -0800http://www.naturesedge.co.za/1/post/2012/01/january-2012-gardening-to-do-list.htmlAnnuals:
Spray plants with a foliar spray every fortnight.
Fill empty spaces with fast-growing varieties like Alyssum, gazania's and cosmos to provide colour during autumn. Do the planting out during early evening to avoid sun scorch.
Protect all young seedlings against harsh weather and snails.
Cut petunias, Nicotiana and Salvia back, mulch and fertilise.
Place the seed of delphiniums in the fridge for a week prior to sowing.
Sow in colder areas for winter- and spring-flowering plants now.

Bulbs:
Divide and replant Arum lily clumps that need it.
Plant Amaryllis belladonna bulbs with the necks just protruding above the soil.
Look for Dietes and Day lilies and plant out.
Fertilise Lilium plants and deadhead.

Perennials:
Pinch out the growing tips of chrysanthemums.
Divide Irises that need it.
Cut back Acanthus and Delphinium stems.

Roses:
Fertilise with organic matter or compost, but avoid the stems.
Deadhead and de-bud, prune lightly towards the end of the month. Keep the centre open.
Spray black spot, bollworm and beetles.

Irrigation:
Keep the garden well-watered, especially those thirsty plants.

Lawns:
Mow the lawn regularly, keeping it at the height of 5cm.
Apply 3:1:5 in the middle of the month and water well.

Fertilising:
Fertilise shrubs and trees by applying on or two handfuls of a general fertiliser like 2:3:2. Water well in dry areas.
Fertilise autumn-flowering plants.

Pruning:
Remove the reddish brown suckers from Baougainvilleas.
Prune summer-flowering shrubs that haven't yet been.
Cut fuchsias back and make cuttings. Also pinch out growing tips.
Remove old and spent hydrangea flowers and cut to an outward facing bud.

Propagation:
Make 10cm long, semi-hardwood cuttings of evergreen plants. Remove all the foliage, leaving only the top 3, dip in rooting hormones and plant two thirds deep. Water well and keep in a shady place.

Herbs:
Sow for dill, parsley and basil.
Make cuttings of thyme, sage, dragon and rosemary.
Harvest and dry or freeze herbs for future use.

Vegetables:
Keep veggies moist and fertile.
Cultivate regularly between rows.
Plant the last beans, except in the subtropical areas, and harvest twice a week.
Mulch lettuce and keep well watered.
Lessen the amount of water given to onions.
If sowing for carrots in dry areas, water the planting area well prior. Apply a thin layer of mulching.
Fertilise seedlings of cabbage.
Support eggplants.


Fruit:
Prune deciduous trees by cutting back the top, heavy branches and thus opening the tree shape to let light in again.
Fertilise deciduous trees that weren't in December. Sprinkle organic matter or compost around the tree at the drip line. But lessen the amount if the tree start overproducing foliage.
Pick up all fallen fruit and remove them.
Treat and/or prevent the tree from fruit fly.
Lessen the watering on grapes towards the ripening of the fruit. Harvest grapes when ripe. Protect against birds and fertilise with organic matter.
Fertilise logan- and young berries and re-tie to support.
Thin the fruit of citrus out when necessary and water regularly in dry areas.
Fertilise strawberries, bananas, pawpaws and mangos.




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