THINGS TO DO IN THE VEGGIE PATCH

-Veges to plant:cabbage, cauliflower, silverbeet and spinach.

-Liquid feed: Established plant regularly.

-Spray: cucumbers, courgettes and buttercup to control powdery mildew.

-Continue to pinch out: tomato laterals and spray to control fungal infections.

-Harvest: cucumbers and courgettes. Courgettes grow quickly. Pick regularly for continuous cropping.

-Harvest: potatoes after flowering is complete, as needed.

-Garlic: is ready to harvest now. Dig up and leave to dry before storing.

-Onion stems will bend over before they need to be harvested. Once this happens, dig up and leave to dry 1-2weeks before storing in a dry place.

-Herbs:continue to enjoy your favourite summer herbs fresh from the garden. Delicious in salads. Basil will be producing well. If it is coming ready quicker than you can eat it, try making pesto.

-Tomatoes: will be repining now. Excess can be made into salsa and preserved.

THINGS TO DO IN THE FLOWER GARDEN:

-Flowers to plant: Marigolds, petunias, asters, Zinnias, livingstone daisies and salvia. Continue dead heading plants that have finished flowering. Avoid over-head watering of flowers as this can cause flowers to rot.

-Trees and shrubs: continue to spray roses to control insect pests and fungal disease. Prune back spent flower heads from shrubs and roses that have finished blooming.

Keep watering through dry spells. Liquid feed and apply mulch.

-Fruit garden: peaches, nectarines and kiwi fruit will be ready for summer pruning. Feed your citrus trees with Kings Citrus Fertiliser and spray with copper to prevent verrucosis.

-Spray pip fruit for coddling moth and fungal diseases. Stone-fruit for brown rot, black spot and insects. Grapes, tamarillos and tropical fruit for powdery mildew, whitefly, etc... Passion fruit for passion vine hopper. Use Yates Guardall to control all of these problems.

-Use bird-netting to protect ripening fruit. Trim and tie new seasons growth on grape vines. Make sure passion vines are well supported whilst in heavy fruit. Prune old canes on berry fruits and tie down new seasons growth.

-GENERAL INFORMATION:

Avoid cutting lawns too closely-leaving some length will prevent lawn from drying out.

Keep watering through dry spells. Use Mulches, water storage granules, re-wetting agents and irrigation systems to help you. See Kings friendly staff for advice.

SUMMER MULCH

Spread a thick layer of Kings Compost around the drip line of trees and shrubs, taking care not to cover the trunk of the tree. Alternatively you could try one of the Pea straw and/or lucerne mulches. These mulches have the added bonus of adding nitrogen to the soil. Mulching will dramatically improve your soil structure, increasing the soil's capacity for holding nutrients and water.

YATES TRUSTED PRODUCTS TO USE IN JANUARY

-Yates super shield: a combination of insecticide and fungicide for use on roses and ornamental shrubs. Controls most pests and diseases.

-Thrive Soluble Fertiliser: Economical and easy to use. A fast acting plant food for indoors or out. Just add water.

-Blitzem Pellets: Keep the slugs and snails off your plants.