Autumn is a wonderful time to get busy in the veggie garden. Now is the time to plant, beetroot, broccoli, broad beans, carrots, cauliflower, celery, leeks, lettuce, cabbage, silverbeet, winter spinach and radish.

Leeks prefer a sunny spot in soil that is fertile and well drained. Leeks thrive in traditional garden beds and especially in raised beds. Spacing of your Leeks will determine the size of the stems, if you would like nice thick stems then thin your leeks allowing more room for them to grow. For thinner scallion-size leeks, follow tighter spacing setting seedlings 100mm apart. White-stemmed leeks are the most prized so, when transplanting be sure to plant seedlings at least 10cm deep.

• Add lime to lilac trees now...they love it!
• Spray pear and cherry slug with Yates Success a low toxic natural insecticide.
• Watch for caterpillars attacking leafy crops in the veggie garden, spray with Yates Dipel or treat with Cabbage dust.
• Treat lawns for corbie grubs and white curl grubs- Ask us how!
• Sweet peas are the most important flowers for Autumn sowing. Tall, medium or dwarf sweet peas all share the same desire for sun and good drainage.  Choose a well-drained site and alkaline soil is best. Sprinkle some powdered lime on the surface if your soil tends to be acidic.
• Prune spent Raspberry canes and mulch with pea-straw.
• Feed cymbidium orchids now with Orchid-A fertiliser. This is a specially blended quality fertiliser high in potassium to encourage flower spikes and larger flowers. Simply dissolve one measured spoonful in 7 litres of water and apply to the leaves and soil for the duration of the flowering period.
• Prepare soil for bare rooted fruit trees & rose bushes by adding Mushroom compost and Moo Poo to help condition your soil.
• New seasons Cyclamen, Primula, Polyanthus and Panises have arrived ready for autumn planting
• Control weeds in the lawn with Yates Bindii & Clover killer
• New Season grapes have just arrived ready for planting
• Mulch with Pea straw or sugar cane, new season straw has just arrived
• Control Mildew on roses and grape vines
• Prune annual plants as they start to finish flowering and feed with Bloom booster to promote more flowers
• Remove any stone fruit which have signs on brown rot, be sure to spray these trees in winter with Bordeaux - ask us how
• To control insects and disease on tomatoes, treat with Yates low toxic, dual action Tomato & vegetable dust
• In dry hot summer conditions Citrus require special treatment and the risk of disease, leaf drop or impact on fruit yield is high. Ask us about watering and fertilising your Citrus as we have specific information depending on your situation.
• Spray cherries, pears and hawthorns with Yates Success to control pear and cherry slug. If you don't want to spray, dust with flour or wood ash, or remove by hand.
• Roses pests can be controlled with 'Rose shield’, All in one fungicide, miticide and insecticide
• Harvest beans and other summer veggies regularly so they'll produce more crops.

Did you know?

Black spot is a fungal disease and it thrives in warm humid weather. Black spot on roses starts off as a black spot in the leaf and then turns yellow and eventually the leaf falls off, if untreated Black Spot will affect the growth, and in severe cases may kill the plant. Be sure not to water your roses by a sprinkler or other methods which wet the leaves. Ask our staff for advice on how best to treat this problem.