October is a fantastic month of regeneration, renewal, and revival as plants of all sizes, shapes, and textures produce wonderful displays of fresh new foliage and flowers.

As the days begin to stretch out and the temperature warms up, our edible and vegetable garden selection comes to life. A great time to pop in and be spoilt for choice with our range of Heirloom edibles to sow and plant now. Tomatoes are the highlight of October planting and this season you'll be pleased to find a resurgence of your old favourites, alongside with some new and exciting varieties. Bite sized cherry tomatoes are perfect picked straight from the vine, as they are bursting with flavour they literally explode in your mouth. It's still however very early for tomato planting unless you have a hot house or a very protected area. I like to wait until Hobart Show day, however you could start a few plants off in pots ready to plant out as the weather warms up.

Time to get cracking in the veggie plot, this is probably the most important month for sowing or planting vegetables including Asian greens, beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum ,carrot, cauliflower, celery, cress, cucumber (careful not to over water) eggplant, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, okra, onions, parsnip, peas, pumpkins ,squash, radish, spinach , swede, potato, strawberries, sweet potato, tomato,turnip zuchini and sweetcorn.

Peas are best sown directly into the garden from seed (rather than seedlings).  Peas love a soil which has been limed and enriched  with organic matter (they often fail to grow in acid soils).  Dig your trench about 30-40 cm deep and roughly as wide then top up with our pre-made veggie mix . Add a few handfuls of blood and bone along with a generous application of lime. Peas require loose and airy soil that drains well and  a full sun position ( 6-8 hours of direct sunlight everyday)  so be sure to choose an appropriate location or create a raised garden bed for extra drainage

Tomato Time
The planting of tomato plants is a highlight of Spring gardening. Tomatoes love the warmth and grow best outside when planted after Hobart showday. The plants are fast-growing and fruits form and develop quickly once the conditions are favourable. Tomato plants are available in seedling punnets, cell packs, or in single pots. These single pots are very popular as they allow a selection of different varieties to be made without ending up with too many plants. Whichever variety you select, the fruits are all filled with nutrients, antioxidants and home-grown tomatoes are fresh, flavoursome, and fun to grow

Spring brings enormous activity in the garden, keep an eye for aphids already being reported on Geranium, Peaches ,Cherry trees and Roses. Aphids can be controlled by Pyrethrum however we use Yates confidor as it offers longer protection and generally better results

• Use Powerfeed soil conditioner to increase drainage in clay soil and improve plant performance.
• If Azaleas are looking sick check for leafminer and treat .
• Camellia ,Azalea and Rhododendron can be fed with acid loving plant 'Flourish' fertiliser as they complete flowering
• Keep on top of weeds! Be wary if you let them go to seed the problem will worsen. If spraying any weeds with herbicide then consider the new Biodegradable Easy See Dye we have available at Harmony, it helps identify missed areas and over application whilst saving money on wasting your herbicide.
• Set codling moth traps and replace old ones with refill as apples, quinces and pears start to flower.
• Feed citrus and spray with Scale Gun to control sooty mould.
• Now is the perfect time to start a herb garden! Use our herb and veggie growing mix!
• Apply saturaid to lawns and garden beds ,this will improve the waters efficiency by up to 50%
• Mulch fruit trees with sugar cane mulch,lucerne or pea straw
• Re-pot aquatic plants and feed.
• As spring flowering bulbs finish, do not cut leaves or tie in knots as they are developing next years flowers. Instead let  them die down.
• Feed fushcias with a high potassium enriched fertiliser.
• Lawn grubs numbers will be starting to ramp up now feeding on your lawn creating brown patches and unhealthy green grass, ask us how to treat
• Prune old flowers off Proteas to encourage bushy growth and more flowers next year.

Lawn Time
Lawns are the ultimate living carpet. The warmer temperatures and increasing daylight hours of Spring is the green light for lawns to grow. Now is the perfect time to rejuvenate your lawn. Now is the time to control weeds, top dress, and fertilise with a premium specialised lawn food. Lift the mower blades now for a longer lawn and a stronger, deeper root system. As well as seeing great results now, these actions now will help to prepare your lawn for the summer months

Did you know?

If you see little bumps forming on your lilly pilly or bottle brush this is actually caused by an insect called Jumping plant lice or psyllids,growth often has dimpling and leaves can be distorted. Prune off the effect foliage and spray with Yates Mavrik