Prep your garden for spring

It’s not long now – that magical time of growth in the garden when flowers unfurl and scents abound. But as the warmer weather of spring approaches, now is the perfect time to get your garden into shape.

Follow these seven simple steps and you will be rewarded for many months to come.

Unwanted weeds compete with plants for soil nutrition and leave them open to attack by insects and diseases. Pull them up as soon as you see them.

Take action

Remove weeds by hand, making sure that the roots are lifted as well. You can compost your weeds, but your compost heap must be working efficiently for the seeds to be killed.

Place hard-to-kill bulbous, perennial and seeded weeds in a plastic bag and tie the top. Leave it in the sun for a couple of months to rot and then toss the rotted weeds on the compost heap.

Get rid of weeds as soon as they appear, as one weed can quickly turn into hundreds once it goes to seed.

Check for weeds in lawns and top-dress if necessary with compost to repair any bare patches.

Place annual weeds that have not gone to seed directly back onto the soil surface, where they will eventually break down and condition the soil. Leaving them in situ adds mulch and saves you the trouble of taking them to the compost heap.

Be organic and spray vinegar onto weeds on pathways and between pavers. Take care that the spray doesn’t drift onto plants you don’t want to kill. Boiling water also kills weeds on pathways.

Discover 16 ways to kill garden weeds. 

Not only is healthy soil the key to good gardening and thriving plants, it also holds water for longer periods.

Soil needs to be conditioned regularly, and the end or beginning of each season is an ideal time.

Organic matter is the best conditioner. As it disintegrates in the soil, it helps to build soil structure and supplies beneficial nutrients.

Conditioners also encourage earthworm activity, which breaks down root mats and opens up

tunnels for oxygen and water to penetrate the soil. These tunnels are coated with nitrate-rich mucus, and the plant roots rapidly take advantage of this nutrition.

Take action

Add a layer of compost to your soil. Compost is full of goodness and nourishes the soil while increasing its water-holding capacity by at least 30%. And by recycling organic waste, you’re ensuring that less rubbish ends up in landfill.

Try mushroom compost, or cow or chicken manure, for an effective alternative conditioner if you don’t have compost.

Use a seaweed product, such as Seasol, to help promote valuable microorganisms in the soil that are beneficial to plant health.

Learn how to aerate soil.

Mulch is essential as it helps to retain moisture in the soil, keeps the ground cool and helps suppress weeds. The mulch also eventually breaks down, adding structure and beneficial organic matter.

Take action

Water the soil thoroughly before applying mulch, or mulch after it has rained. Water again after the mulch has been laid.

Add a 5-8cm layer of lucerne hay, pea straw or sugar cane mulch to flower and vegetable gardens. Make sure that it is clear of tree trunks or stems to prevent fungus or rot developing.

Use coarse woody materials, such as cypress pine bark or eucalyptus mulch, on shrub beds. Add some manure or Yates Dynamic Lifter under the mulch as these materials actually draw nutrients out of the soil as they break down, to the detriment of plants.

Lay inorganic mulches such as gravel, scoria and pebbles on gardens and succulent beds in fire-prone areas.

Follow this guide for planting in tricky areas. 

Winter is a great time to move shrubs that are growing in the wrong position, whether they have outgrown their situation or become shaded by taller plants.

Take action

Prepare the new planting hole before you dig up the shrub to transplant. Make sure it is wider and deeper than the expected root ball.

Use a spade to cut a trench around the outside perimeter of the shrub.

Dig down about 30-40cm around the plant, then in under the root ball. If it won’t budge easily, rock it gently to see where it is clinging. Try to take as much of the root ball as possible when lifting the shrub and then trim any broken roots with secateurs. Slide strong plastic or a hessian sack underneath to move it to

its new home.

Mix some compost with the soil that was removed from the new hole.

Place enough mix in the bottom of the hole so that the shrub, once planted, will sit at the same depth it was originally. Backfill around the shrub, forming a saucer-shaped depression so that water is directed to the roots. Apply Seasol to prevent transplant shock, and mulch with lucerne hay or sugar cane.

Give the shrub an all-over light prune, as removing some of the foliage will compensate for the loss of roots.

Water well for the first few weeks. Weekly applications of Seasol, which is not a fertiliser but a soil conditioner, will encourage root growth.

Prepare the vegetable garden now to enjoy a spring harvest of delicious edible crops.

Take action

Harvest remaining winter crops.

Pull up any weeds, then turn the whole patch with a fork or spade, incorporating any remaining mulch into the soil. Break up clods until you have a nice crumbly soil.

Test your soil with a pH testing kit. Most vegetables like a pH of around 6.5. If it is too acidic, rectify it with dolomite or liquid lime.

Dig compost, mushroom compost, or cow or chicken manure into the soil.

Water well as this helps the compost to break down and settle before you plant seeds or seedlings.

Follow these tips to grow the perfect vegetable garden. 

After a few years, potting mix starts to degenerate and repels water, causing plants to lose vigour. Even if the plants haven’t outgrown their containers, it’s a good idea to replace the mix so that potted plants will spring to life before the warm weather arrives.

Take action

Feed indoor and outdoor plants with a controlled-release plant food such as Osmocote Pots, Planters & Indoors, which will nourish them for about six months.

Inspect indoor plants for mealy bug and scale. Spray with Yates PestOil if they are infested.

Wash large-leaved indoor plants with a clean, damp sponge or soft cloth, or put them in the bathtub and shower them with cool water. Dusty leaves make it difficult for indoor plants to absorb carbon dioxide.

Mulch potted plants with lucerne hay, coir or pea straw.

Remove yellowed leaves.

Here’s how to repot an indoor plant. 

Many perennial herbs grow slowly during winter but bolt forward in spring, providing leaves for your culinary delights, if given some attention now.

Take action

Condition the soil with compost or cow manure.

Divide chives by digging up the clump with a trowel or fork and carefully separating the plants. Replant in small clumps and water until established.

Plant coriander and rocket so you can harvest spring leaves.

Replace woody thyme with a new plant.

Add some dolomite around rosemary, as it loves alkaline soil.

Feed parsley to encourage more leaves for spring.

Re-pot older potted herbs into fresh potting mix.

Here are 10 essential cooking herbs to grow.