ALL ABOUT GETTING BUSY IN AUGUST
FRUIT
This is your last chance to grab bare-rooted fruit trees until next season as they begin to come out of dormancy. Established citrus trees need to be fertilized with a dedicated fruit and citrus fertilizer and also a great time to plant new trees ready for them to take off as the ground warms up. Treat any pest problems such as black sooty mould on leaves with pestoil, cut off any dead branches or clip to prune into shape, and fix any yellowing leaves with a dose of iron chelates.
Copper spray
Copper spray is a fungicide that breaks down fungal diseases such as leaf curl, fire blight, powdery mildew and brown rot in peaches and nectarines. While it doesn’t come with an iron-clad guarantee you can increase your chances of prevention by spraying every couple of weeks through August until bud burst in September. By doing this, the copper acts as a suppression technique and halts the development of bacteria and fungi. If you miss this regime and you have leaf curl, copper spray will not cure an already existing disease.
Apply it to every square inch of the tree, branches and trunk, until you have absolutely saturated it with the spray dripping off the branches. If it rains before it dries (4-6 hours) it will need to be re-applied.
VEGGIES
If you haven’t put them in already, potatoes are ready to be planted after letting them shoot over July.
Throw in the last round of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, parsnip and brown onion. Start off seeds such as peas, parsley, rocket, silver-beet, lettuce, Asian greens, radish and beetroot in seed trays. Place them under glass or in a warmer spot to help with germination.
If you’re planning a tomato patch, prepare the garden bed by digging in compost and pelletised chicken manure such as Rapid Raiser or Dynamic Lifter. Mulch the top so it’s all ready to dig your tomato plants straight in when the warmth starts in September.
IT’S MANURE BUT IT’S GREEN
If you have a garden bed that grew heavy feeders such as brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage etc.) over August you might want to plant a green manure crop to replenish the soil. Green manure crops are grown specifically to be dug back into the soil to add nutrients. A manure crop improves soil structure and water retention, as well as drawing up minerals through the soil profile making it available for the next hungry crop planted.
For crops to fix nitrogen, which most of your spring planted summer vegetables need, you can use peas, broad beans and lupins. While marigolds and mustards have soil fumigation process which works against nematodes and other pathogens in the soil.
PRUNING
If you haven’t already done so, August is a great time to prune and rejuvenate overgrown shrubs and trees. Branches cut back during winter will be able to recover quickly in spring with new growth. This way you dodge the destructive insects and pathogens that are around in the warmer months but don’t survive in the winter.
Larger cuts, leaving open wounds, are best treated afterwards with Steriprune. This is a plant wound sealing spray or paint which protects the exposed “flesh” from pests and disease.
LAWNS
Late August is the perfect time to fertilise your lawn as it starts to wake up from lying dormant all winter. This ensures there are enough readily available nutrients in the soil to help it start growing when spring arrives.
Stay off your grass in frost areas as the water in the grass freezes, resulting in grass blades being destroyed under your feet, initially seen as black marks and later brown dead patches.
Lawns with a thick layer of thatch and high nitrogen content in the soil could develop fungal diseases after heavy rains. If you notice fungal disease starting to show, treat with Mancozeb Plus Garden Fungicide and Miticide. Mancozeb Plus is a multi-purpose, dual-action formulation combining wettable Sulphur and Mancozeb. Mancozeb is a contact fungicide that stops the entry and spread of common fungal diseases, the wettable Sulphur content is not only a fungicide but also provides control of a wide range of mite species.
GARDEN BEDS
Prepare the garden beds for your vegetable or flower garden by removing spent winter vegetables and the weeds that have thrived and taken over some parts in winter. Dig in plenty of compost which naturally improves the fertility of the soil and enhances its ability to hold nutrients and water.
To take advantage of any late August rains another key task is to ensure that all garden beds have a healthy layer of mulch to lock in as much of that moisture as possible. Mulch also protects your plants from the extremes in temperature by acting as a barrier keeping the roots cooler in summer and creating an ideal environment for earthworm activity. The mulch available at Barossa Mitre10 is varied from straw to bark chips and should be applied to a depth of about 50mm, staff are more than happy to help you with your choice.
