There’s always work to be done in the garden to keep fingers green and busy, even in winter. The Stodels June Gardening Guide is packed with tips, from keeping one’s garden healthy to which vegetables to grow in winter.
To-do-list for the month
Plant and sow
- Plant cool-season bedding plants such as alyssum, calendula, dianthus, lobelia, nemesia, pansies, sweet peas and violas.
- Azaleas, camellias and liliums can be planted in dappled shade.
- Add Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks, onions, radishes, turnips and members of the cabbage family (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and spinach) to your vegetable garden.
Feed
- Feed lemon trees with a 2:3:2 general fertiliser.
- Remedy yellowing leaves with a micro-element mixture.
- Feed bulbs with bulb food once every two weeks and water well.
- Winter- and spring-flowering seedlings require an organic fertiliser every two weeks with a weekly watering.
- Check the edges of sweet peas. If they’re brown and papery, feed with a 3:1:5 fertiliser.
- Feed indoor plants with Nitrosol weekly.
Prune and trim
- Remove side shoots on sweet peas to encourage strong upward growth.
- Trim autumn-flowering shrubs such as barleria, pride of India, ribbon bush and wild dagga.
- Prune fruit trees such as apricot, peach and plum.
- Prune roses after transplanting.
Pests
- Keep an eye out for leaf miner on cinerarias and spray with Bioneem.
- Use Bioneem on conifers to ward off aphids or dissolve insecticide granules in water to pour at the base of the tree.
- Use organic snail bait on clivias, daffodils and young seedlings.
Other fresh ideas
Create an indoor garden haven
As the weather cools down, you wouldn’t be blamed for heading indoors and spending less time in the garden. Get your daily dose of gardening and keep your green fingers busy by building up your collection of indoor plants, instead. Not only are they air-purifying (some varieties more than others), but they’re certain to make your winter home that much more cosy.
Indoor projects for kids
Keep your children busy these winter holidays with fun indoor-garden projects!
Eggshell succulent gardens
We love this eggshell succulent garden and so will your kids. They’re easy to make and an effective way to teach the basics of gardening.
You will need:
- Empty egg shells
- Cacti/succulent soil mix
- Small cacti or succulents (4-8 cm)
What to do:
1. Rinse and dry egg shells. Pierce a small hole at the bottom of each to allow for drainage.
2. Fill with soil mix and then carefully plant the succulents in the shells.
3. Keep on a windowsill in egg boxes and plant in a bigger pot once succulents have grown.
Succulents and cacti are perfect starter gardening plants for kids. Here’s why: They’re low-maintenance and are happy in a spot that receives plenty of sun, they’re water-wise and need to be watered sparingly, and they’re available in a variety of shapes, textures and colours, so kids can pick their favourites.
Gumboot garden
Unlock your little ones’ creativity with a little garden fun.
To get started, you will need:
- A pair of short gumboots
- 2 x flower terracotta pots (that fit snugly within the gumboots)
- Hand garden trowel
- Potting soil
- Pebbles or stones to support the pots
- Your favourite combination of potted flowering plants
Here’s how:
1. Using your hand garden trowel, scoop potting soil into the pots.
2. Plant your flower combination into the pots.
3. Add pebbles or stones to fill the foot section of each gumboot.
4. Carefully place the pot plants inside the gumboots.
5. Have your kids show off their completed project on the patio or let it brighten up your garden space as a quirky feature.
