Good day Greener Tidings Gardeners,

September in the Garden

Spring is here! The quote “We’re so excited, we wet our plants!” is really appropriate to how we feel right now!  Time to create a rainbow of early spring colour with lots of exciting plants which are in flower now, and to start working on your summer veggie harvest. 

Trees for Africa!

National Arbor Week is from 1 – 7 September which gives you seven official days to plant trees. The following 

are recommended : 

    
Buffalo Thorn (Ziziphus mucronata) – this is an attractive, small to medium size deciduous tree, reaching up to 9m in height and is the official tree of the year for 2017. It produces a fairly dense spreading canopy. The young trees have sharp, paired and dissimilar thorns, one being straight and the other hooked. The flowers and fruit of these trees are sought out by birds and bees. This pleasing little shade tree withstands drought, is moderately frost resistant, and succeeds in most soils and conditions.

Pomegranate ‘Wonderful’ (Punica granatum) is a leading cultivar with a resistance to adverse conditions and a high yield potential of huge blush red fruits. It is a small deciduous tree (2,5 m high), for climates with cool winters and hot summers.

Olive varieties – these hardy, but beautiful trees with their dull green leaves with the silver reverse, can tolerate very cold (and hot) temperatures and wind. Good varieties are ‘Manzanilla’, ‘Spanish Queen’ and ‘Mission’. Olive trees are not only functional, but become really pretty shade trees that blend well within any planting scheme or garden design.

Smart planting

September bush (Polygala myrtifolia) covers itself with blue to purple flowers in spring. This fast-growing indigenous shrub grows up to 2m high and 2m wide and is semi-hardy to cold and frost. Plant in full sun to light shade.

Lampranthus – Other wise known as vygies. Amongst the many species with upright or trailing growth habits, there is a colour range which includes white, cream, pink, salmon, red, yellow, mauve and purple. Smother your dry zones or rock garden with vygies – few other plants can beat their brightness and economical water usage! 

Clivias for you! One is reassured that winter is finally over and that spring has arrived when the vivid orange blooms of clivias appear. These evergreen shade-loving plants with their glossy strap-like leaves and huge flower heads will liven up the dullest shady corner if planted en masse. They are equally impressive in large containers on a shady patio.

Sunny side up with Marigolds

Marigolds might not be regarded as glamorous by some, but they are undisputed midsummer performers. No other annual delivers such a blaze of yellow and gold, while looking fresh and vigorous during the hottest months of the year. Marigolds range in height from tall cut flower varieties, to dwarf edging and border marigolds with medium-high cultivars in-between for beds and mixed borders. Their flower shapes and sizes also vary and they do not like to be overwatered or to grow in shade.

Rose care for September

Fine tune roses for a spectacular flower flush next month. Pinch-prune about a third of the shoots, start increasing watering to at least twice a week. Fertilise again at the end of the month and spray fortnightly against pests and disease. A great fert to use is Vigorosa!

Compost and feed all

Remove weeds (they compete for moisture in established garden beds), build up the soil with lots of organic matter like compost, feed with a well-balanced fertilize like 6:1:5, then water, and add a final layer of mulch. Commercial mulches in store include coarse compost, bark, macadamia shells, wood chip mulch, pebbles and stone.

Pest control

Powdery mildew needs to be treated preventatively with a fungicide like Orius or Dithane. Once there, it can only be controlled so as not to spread further. If the fungal infection is serious, remove all infected plant parts and destroy them. Do not compost any infected plant parts.
Eradicate sucking insects such as aphids by a seasonal soil drench with a systemic insecticide like Koinor or Cypermethrin.

Care for lawns

Train your lawn to be water wise by watering it well only once a week – this will encourage deeper root growth. Never mow too short (unless you are dressing your lawn) as this keeps the roots near the surface where they are more likely to dry out.
Our Garden Tech Organic lawn dressing is perfect for levelling and smoothing out a lawn, and to encourage new growth. This will improve drainage and water holding capacity. Apply it no thicker than a 3cm layer to a fairly dried off lawn.

Gardening in small doses

Balconies and containers allow one to garden really intensely in small spaces.
• Fill pots with bright, spring-flowering azaleas, plant them with a 50/50 mix of potting soil and acid compost.

• Paint old pots in colourful shades and plant them up with annuals like lobelias and dianthus and petunias.

• Fill your worn out gum boots with all kinds of pretty succulents or herbs.

• Vertical gardening on a patio is a lot of fun – recycle old wooden pallets, or planks, and fill them with succulents, herbs, or colourful annuals.

• Remember to MULCH the top of all your pots to keep the roots cool and retain moisture

• TIP : Mix Vermiculite into all your potted plants to keep them moist!

Sow with savvy

Do not go overboard when you start sowing your summer veggies. Here is a quick guideline to ensure a sustainable harvest:

Leafy veggies: Sow these in every two-three weeks.

Root veggies: Sow four weeks apart.

Legumes like beans: Sow every three weeks. 

Fruit-bearing veggies: Sow between six and twelve weeks apart.

Feed young seedlings every two weeks with a water soluble fertiliser at half strength (Multisol 3:1:6). Keep an eye out for aphids and combat with an organic insecticide like Ludwigs Insecticide. Using this as a drench also helps for ants in the soil.

General Gardening To do list:

• If you’ve been dreaming about a new herb garden and have already prepared the soil or pots, go out now and buy the plants.
Recommended and easy to grow summer herbs include thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, basil, rocket, parsley and mint.

• Start planting begonias and impatiens in the shade and Sunpatiens in the sun.

• As soon as the winter and spring flowering shrubs like Cape Mayflower have finished flowering, prune them back. This simple rule allows the longest possible re-growth time before the next flowering season.

• If you do not have a good garden hose sprayer, invest in one. Hose sprayers with gun nozzles that shut off automatically, save a lot of water and reduce wastage.

• Start spraying fruit trees against fruit fly and codling moth once about 75% of the blossoms have dropped off. Spray every 10 – 14 days with Kombat Fruit Fly.

Happy Spring Gardening!