What to plant, mulch and maintain this spring to get your garden ready for summer
As temperatures begin to rise and cloudiness gives way to more sun, the garden is reacting with fresh growth - everything is becoming green again!
Vegetables and fruit trees now require regular watering; lawns should be mowed more often.
In the ornamental garden, clearing weeds, mulching and plant pest control set the garden up for summer.
Bug and fungus treatment is important to prevent plants from suffering stunted growth.
Did you catch the landscaped gardens full of Central Landscape Supplies’ products at the recent Auckland Home Show? We look at the key products used in them.
What to plant now in your edible garden
Seedlings of summer producing crops should be planted now in Premium Garden Mix, or our All Natural Vege Mix. The list is endless but some of the easier ones to grow are pumpkins, lettuces, courgettes, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, chillies and eggplants.
Do I need to plant more than one courgette or eggplant? It does help with pollination and more crops, but one plant will still produce. In the case of eggplants make sure they are near to flowering plants that attract bees – their lilac flowers are insipid and hang down so they are hard for bees to notice!
When to sow bean seeds? Beans grow well with plenty of heat in the soil. Waiting until Labour Weekend – or even later – is a better bet!
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Spring Bug & Fungus Treatment
The weather turned spring-like (less wind, cloud and rain) over the past week. But September delivered cool temperatures at times, so treat any soft leaves that have contracted powdery mildew.
With a spray bottle it’s easy to mix up 1 tsp of Baking Soda to 1 litre of water and spray the affected leaves. Aphids are on attack now it’s warmer: early small infestations can usually be hosed off or even squashed to prevent them multiplying.
Why daily watering is essential in Spring
Daily watering is a must for the vegetables and fruit from now on, particularly new plants.
While the soil may appear moist, it doesn’t take much for the upper layer to ‘crust’ and that is where the young roots of new seedlings can come under stress.
Spring tasks in the ornamental garden
The soft moist soil means weeding is easy and it’s a good time to clear the area around desirable plants and spread some mulch. If you’re resorting to weed spraying, do it early on a fine day, so the herbicide can take effect in the sun and don’t spray if it’s windy. Wind drift can spread the spray over garden plants.
Spraying fungicides and herbicides (weedkillers)? If you’re mixing up a concentrate spray in a sprayer rather than using a ready–to-spray bottle, it’s a good idea to have two sprayers in the garden shed. Mark each one clearly for their use. Many a garden disaster has occurred when fungicide is put in a sprayer that last contained herbicide.
Tip when spraying weedkiller: add Sprayfix to make it stick to the foliage being sprayed.
Take your nose for a walk – there’s a heady mix of perfume in the garden now, from scented viburnum, rose, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron flowers, and of course the sweet scent from citrus trees. Always nice to have a plant perfume in the garden.
Mow existing lawns high and often to encourage strong growth ahead of summer. For new or existing lawns in dry areas, apply Prolawn Aquaturf G, a granular wetting agent that will limit drought stress in lawns or gardens.
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Central Landscapes at the Auckland Home Show
Home Show photos by SGuevara Photography
We had such fun seeing all our products used in some truly exciting gardens at the Home Show Garden Showcase in September!
Head online to check out our products on display - here’s how to use some of the products from the gardens.
Shop our extensive range of garden and landscaping products here.
Our Bark & Mulch Range
Our top four mulches were all there! Apply your favourite to the garden now, because it’s forecast to be a dry summer season.
Premium Black Mulch remains a Central Landscape Supplies favourite with its designer black colour, dose of rich compost in the mix and its ability to highlight plants and light-coloured paving and pebbles.
Forest Floor Mulch and Arborist Mulch offer a more relaxed natural look to the garden. And Bark No.4 is a long-time favourite for gardeners with its chunkier chips and strong brown colour.
All our mulches lock in moisture to the soil as the seasons warm up.
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Our Decorative Pebbles, Stones, Rocks & Boulders
Our premium pebbles were a great hit with their rich shades accenting paving and garden features.
Uruti Pebble has established itself quickly amongst the landscaping fraternity because it has up to 15 stunning colours in the blend, in shades of cinnamon, rust, brown, cream, blue and jade green. As seen in the show, it has a wonderful ability to complement contemporary landscaping trends.
Waikato Fleck is our biggest seller with a wonderful range of cream, brown, gold and rust colours that will go with all aspects of outdoor landscaping.
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The structural aspects: Macrocarpa Sleepers and Ponga Logs
For decades these two products have been icons of New Zealand landscaping. But the expansive macrocarpa sleeper boardwalk and the ponga log tunnel took these two products to new heights!
Get planning your special garden feature using one or both!
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Spring Gardening FAQs
If I use All Natural Vege mix to grow food, do I need to add anything else?
All Natural Vege Mix is formulated for gardeners who don’t want to use chemical fertilisers. It contains bark, Pinegro and animal manures to create a growing mix that has nutrients to grow vegetables etc. However, when growing naturally it is advisable to top up with a dose of liquid fertiliser from time to time to boost nutrients.
Do mulches made from recycled wood pallets contain treated timber?
No, Central Landscape Supplies’ Premium Black Mulch, Black Decorative Mulch, Red Decorative Mulch, Cushionfall and Reharvest Natural Mulch are all made from the chipped-up wood of old wooden pallets, that were formerly used to transport products throughout New Zealand. Only untreated wood is used in this process, so you can safely lay these mulches around your garden, or as specified in playgrounds.
Which decorative pebbles and stones are suitable for walking on in bare feet?
Products that have ‘pebble’ in their name are generally of a size that is comfortable enough to walk on in bare feet. Bigger pebbles, often labelled stones or boulders are not so comfortable for this purpose. Any product labelled ‘chip’ or ‘metal’ or ‘GAP’ will have sharper edges – e.g. White Lime Chip. Where an area will be used for walking in bare feet, make a visit to your local yard to see what the best options are.
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