Vegetables

• Plant out brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, leeks, garden kale (borecoli) and broccoli.
• Liquid fertilise young seedlings with Black Magic Seedling Fertiliser.
• Apply a side dressing of General Fertiliser.
• Sow onions, swedes, cabbages, spinach and broccoli.
• Sow carrots, dwarf beans, lettuces, peas, radishes and silver beet successively.
• Summer insects can be a problem and should be sprayed with Yates Target.
• Control caterpillars by dusting with Derris Dust.
• Blights are best controlled with Bravo or Champion Copper.
• Use Greenguard for powdery mildew on cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins. Remember to water plants at the roots and avoid wetting the foliage
  

Fruit

• The main autumn harvest of fruits begins. Keep all trees well watered to swell fruit size.
• Prune raspberries and brambles to remove fruited cane.
• Grapes may need further trimming of vine growth before harvest. Spray with Bravo to prevent mildew forming. If mealy bug and leafroller caterpillar are a problem, spray with organic Kiwicare No Caterpillars.
• Citrus trees should be sprayed with Champion Copper to control verrucosis plus Target for insect problems.

Stone fruit

• Stonefruit need to be summer pruned as soon as harvest over. Prune out overcrowded branches, dead or diseased wood to open the framework and allow light to penetrate the lower portions of the tree. All diseased wood should be destroyed. Space out current season’s growth along the main fruiting laterals and remove about two thirds of new growth on vigorous trees.
• Trees can be trained at this time using a system on nicking and notching which will alter growth patterns and give you the shape of tree that you want. It will also encourage better sized fruit with better colour the following season.
• Nicking – take out a small wedge-shaped piece of bark just below a shoot or bud. This will cause the bud to slow down and stop growing.
• Notching - take a wedge out of the bark just above a shoot or bud. This directs the energy and sap into the bud which will then develop more strongly.
  

• Lightly prune roses and cut off dead heads to encourage more flowers.
• Continue spraying roses at 10-14 day intervals (weather permitting).
• Deadhead perennials to lengthen flowering season.
• Fill spaces with new season’s pansies in cooler areas of the garden.
• Dust cabbage trees with Derris Dust to control the Cabbage Tree Caterpillar making sure the you get right into the middle of the leaves.
• On larger plants, spray with Kiwicare Organic No Caterpillars or Yates Success.
• The caterpillar of the Kowhai Moth will be stripping the leaves off kowhai trees. Treat as above.
• Yates Target will control leafminer on Kaka beak.
  

LAWNS

• Main lawn sowing season is coming up - autumn.
• Treat lawns for porina caterpillar with Diazanon. At this time of the year you may see holes in the lawn. This is evidence of the porina pupae burrowing down into your soil where they will spend months feeding on grass roots causing the bare muddy patches in late winter/spring.
• Keep lawns watered and mown regularly.