4 Tips for Summer Gardening |
Posted: June 21, 2016 |
Your garden requires ample care to survive the withering effects of the hot summer. Gardeners all over the world resort to different activities during summer. Keeping busy in the garden to keep it groomed in good condition is also a worthy way of enjoying summer holidays. Here are some summer-specific gardening activities that will keep you occupied and help get through the summer, while also improving the wellbeing of your beloved garden. Be Ready For Watering Watering is the most obvious activity gardeners take up in the summer. First of all, check your irrigation system including the hoses and make sure they are free of leaks. Check the sprinkler nozzles and clear blockages, if any found. Also, check your rain water tank and clean debris from the gutters and shower funnels. Do not overlook to cover your rain water tank with a mosquito mesh as mosquitos look for open water bodies during summer time to inhabit. Enrich The Water With Nutrients Whether you intend to water the garden regularly or occasionally, you can simultaneously use that opportunity to correct mineral deficiencies and feed the plants by adding essential nutrients to the water. If you have fruit trees like lychee, banana or citrus, add potash and water around the bases. This will significantly improve the juiciness and flavour of the yield. Potassium contained in potash also helps control anthracnose disease and improve the vigour of plants. Additionally, potash has been known to impart plants the resistance to foliar fungi. Water In The Morning Or Early Afternoon The best time to water the plants in summer is the morning. But if you want to do it in the afternoon, make sure that you give ample time for the foliage to dry out before sunset. This will reduce the risk of fungal attacks and mildew growth. Watering in the morning is also ideal because it saves you from getting caught in the evening shift of sand flies and mosquitoes. In the summer, mildew attack is frequently observed on roses. Adding one part of cow’s milk to 10 parts of water and spraying it on susceptible plants once a week will prevent damages from mildew attack. Do this after watering or after a heavy rain. Though this is a good precaution to effectively prevent mildew attack, it won’t reverse the damages, if already caused. Keep Lawn Mowing To A Minimum It is a misleading notion that mowing the lawn as low as possible will reduce the frequency of mowing. While mowing your lawn, always try to mow as little as possible. The trick is to set the mower to the maximum height permitted so that your lawn stays full and lush. The advantage of having a thick lawn is that it will help subdue harmful weeds like bindii and oxalis. Frequent mowing also produces adequate grass clippings for composting that will in turn compliment your garden. Feeding the lawn with seaweed tonic once a month will help keep the lawn lush in the summer. You may also add poultry manure at a rate of one fistful per square meter, but this has to be done before watering. Please note that it will take about two weeks for the odour to recede. So, if you are planning to throw a garden party, plan accordingly.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|