Gardening over the Festive Season

• Going on holiday? Leave your pots on autopilot. Use the clever Smart Irrigator, Diffus’o and Blumat self-watering products to water and feed your indoor and patio plants while away, ensuring that your plants are happy when you return. Dilute Starke Ayres Nutrifeed or Nitrosol in the water reservoir attached to the watering device or insert some Nutristix next to the watering device and stake it in the pot.  

• Mulch is one of the best ways to retain moisture in the soil and can be incorporated into the design of your garden, no matter what the style. Choose from living mulches such as water-wise groundcovers, which come in an array of colours, textures and shapes, as well as options like pebbles, bark chips, mulch, compost or peach pips.

• Some crops, such as peas, have short growing seasons and the space they were using can be replanted with a later season crop, like eggplant. The best vegetables for succession plantings include basil, beans, beetroot, broccoli, carrots, coriander, kale, lettuce, mizuna, mustard, radish, spinach, swiss chard, tatsoi, and turnips.

• Algae control in ponds is a very important part of maintaining a healthy pond. In very high densities, algae blooms may discolour the water and out-compete, poison, or asphyxiate other life forms. Some algae are toxic to humans and dogs.  Water can become unsuitable for fish, swimming, and other animals. Rapidly improve the water quality with Clear Pond from Makhro Home and Garden, a natural product with microbes that will reduce nitrates, phosphates and sludge build-up. 

• The pungent smell we get from our artificial lawns once it warms up emanates from the high ammonia level in the dog urine. This ammonia sometimes gets trapped and crystalizes at the base of the plastic leaves and as the temperature rises in summer the smell will increase.  People with dogs and artificial grass should treat their grass with Turfpong, Smell Away Artificial Grass concentrate or Angel’s Choice Bio Turf now before summer really sets in. 

• Potted Hydrangeas are popular gifts during the festive season and must be kept well-watered as the lightweight peat/coir potting mix in which they’re planted can dry out rapidly. Place them where they get good light but no direct sunlight and feed fortnightly with Hydrangea Food. Once the flowers fade, plant them into beds or larger containers in the garden in a shady position. 

Here’s a lovely lemon star biscuit recipe to try out this festive season.