December Gardening

What to do, this Month

Things can be a bit of a juggle in December, between holiday season preparations and squeezing in everything that needs to be done before the end of the year. Fortunately, most of the hard work in the garden has been done and the main harvest is still to come; so this month your garden's a welcome respite from the frantic busyness of the World outside. Take your time, unwind and de-stress as you water the garden, check for strawberries and early tomatoes...and just smell the roses.

• If you're flat-out busy, schedule intentional time for the garden in your calendar, so it doesn't get overlooked in the rush. It'll be growing quickly; if it needs timely watering, weeding, feeding or spraying you can tick it off promptly and easily.

• Adding a water feature like a fountain or pond to your garden can create a cooling effect over the long hot summer to come, as well as adding the soothing sound of running water.

• A water timer or an irrigation system will take care of the watering when you can’t be there.

• Pay close attention to your indoor plants, they may need to be moved to adjust to summer light levels and they'll need increased watering.

• If you're hosting festivities or heading away for the holidays, give the garden a good tidy-up. It'll look its best for your guests, plus it's less likely to be wildly out of control when you arrive back home.

• Take inspiration from your garden for your Christmas gift giving. How about gifting seeds to a keen grower, new gloves or a shiny new tool? You can't really go wrong...you could even gift a stinky bag of Dynamic Lifter and bring delight to a gardener; as soon as they smell the fragrance they'll be dreaming about the amazing things it'll do for their garden!

Vegie Tasks

• It isn’t too late to start off your edible patch from seed in early summer. Seeds will germinate quickly in the warmth, although they'll need your attention to make sure they don’t dry out.

• Direct sow seeds straight into the garden for beans, sweetcorn, beetroot, carrots, parsnip, radish, lettuce, and silverbeet.

• Your favourite garden centre will have a wide range of summer seedlings that can be planted into your garden, right now. You should be able to find almost anything you want to grow.

• For everyday crops like salad leaves, radishes, beetroot, carrot, coriander and spring onions, keep sowing and planting new seeds and seedlings every few weeks, so you'll always have some that are ready to eat.

• Insect pest numbers will be on the increase as temperatures rise. Protect your crops with butterfly netting or insect mesh, but don’t exclude pollinators if they're needed for the harvest.

• Remove larger pests manually, or spray the tiny ones (especially the more challenging pests, to keep their populations from exploding). Yates Nature’s Way Natrasoap Vegie Insect Gun will take care of soft bodied insects like aphids and mites and Yates Nature’s Way Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Insect Spray will take care of a wide range of pests, including caterpillars and passionvine hoppers.

• For healthy tomatoes feed regularly with Yates Thrive Tomato Liquid Plant Food at least once a week. Stake the plants as they grow and remove the laterals for good airflow. Water frequently and deeply.

• As potato plants grow, mound up the soil for a bigger, better harvest and to protect the young potatoes from sun exposure.

• Before going on holiday, give the crops a liquid feed, weed thoroughly, water deeply and harvest as much as you can to give the garden the best chance of thriving while you're away.

Fruit Trees and Berries

• Support developing fruit by giving fruit trees a side dressing of slow release fertiliser for a bountiful harvest. Reduce the risk of fruit drop with consistent, deep watering.

• If your peaches and nectarines are at risk of Brown Rot, protect the crop with a preventative spray of Yates Nature's Way Fungus Spray.

• Protect strawberries, blueberries, cherries and early stonefruit from birds with a well-fitting net (to avoid birds becoming entangled). Feeding and watering regularly will keep these plants healthy throughout the growing season.

• Keep an eye out for the Pear & Cherry Slug eating the leaves of plum, pear, apple and quince trees. Treat with Yates Success Ultra before they get out of control and defoliate the whole tree.

• Keep passionfruit vines well-watered, lock in moisture with a good mulch and feed regularly for a healthy plant. Be vigilant for any pests or diseases that can ruin the crop and treat immediately.

Flowers Everywhere

• Continue to plant colour for Christmas and summer. There are a vast array of blooming plants at the Garden Centre to add colour to your garden, right now, in hues to suit your garden style.

• In the middle of a busy season, sowing seeds and caring for seedlings can be a calming, Zen pursuit. There are plenty of flower seeds that can be started now, to give you peaceful pauses (with a vibrant payoff). Try sowing alyssum, cosmos, nasturtium, petunia, phlox, portulaca, rudbeckia, sunflowers, verbena and zinnia.

• It isn’t too late to plant roses and perennials to enhance your garden, just be sure to keep them well watered over the summer months while they establish.

• Invite butterflies into the garden for a delightful summer with swan plants, asclepias and Butterfly Field Beneficial Insect Mix.

• Clear away the foliage from spring flowering bulbs once it's naturally died down completely. Lift bulbs now, if you want to check their health after a poor season, or divide and move them to 'spread the joy'. Replant immediately, or store in a cool dry place until next autumn.

• Regularly remove old, spent flowers to encourage new blooms for an extended display.

• Plants in pots and containers will need more frequent feeding and watering, as they will dry out faster and can use up their resources quicker than you expect.

Love Your Lawn

• For a greener healthier lawn, increase the height of the lawn mower cut to help conserve moisture. Very short grass allows the lawn soil to dry out quicker and invites weeds to get an easier foothold.

• Increase mowing frequency to weekly, to keep the verdant summer growth in check. Leave the clippings to fall back on the lawn to return the nitrogen and other nutrients back into the soil.

• Remove weeds as they appear, for a crisp looking lawn. Don’t allow them to hang around long enough to set seed, to prevent them annoying you again next season.

Trees and Shrubs

• Check mulch levels under your trees, to ensure they're deep enough to lock moisture into the soil, heading into the hot part of summer.

• Keep an eye out for insect pests that can cause extensive damage if left unchecked, like scale, spider mites and thrips.

• Keep watering young trees regularly and deeply, as they settle in for their first summer.

• Most hedges can be trimmed in December; when combined with a good feed this encourages strong, dense foliage.

• Take care when doing summer pruning, to avoid sun scorch to the newly exposed foliage.