Gardening in July

Take a look at these gardening hints and tips from the experts at Starke Ayres, West Coast Village.

• Prune roses and seal larger cuts with Steriseal and spray the plants and the surrounding soil with Lime Sulphur or Efekto Kumulus to kill fungal spores. It is also the time to prune Hydrangeas and deciduous fruit trees. With Lime Sulphur you cannot use old product as it is ineffective, purchase a fresh bottle each season and mix if applied in winter at 1:10 ratio to water.

• Do not forget to add some winter-flowering Aloes to your garden. The best time to shop for them is now when they are in flower and they attract sugarbirds and sunbirds to your garden. Use Koinor for the control of aphids, scale and other sucking insects for season long lasting protection. Feed your Aloes with Talborne 6:3:4 replacing valuable minerals and nutrients lost due to leaching by seasonal rainfall.

• Azaleas and Camellias are coming into bloom now and need to be fed with Starke Ayres Hydrangea Food. An application of Starke Ayres Acid Loving Plant Food as an acidification treatment should be applied in Spring and before Winter annually to all Azaleas, Camelias, Gardenias and Hydrangea flower beds.

• Get beds ready – Diminishing yields, disease, compacted or heavy soils and poor drainage are indicators that the soil needs regenerating. Vegetables do best in fertile, friable soil that allows the roots to draw up oxygen and water. Double dig beds adding generous amounts of Compost, Gold Dust, Bonemeal, Zeoplant and Talborne Organic 2:3:2 in the soil to a depth of 40 cm.

• Winter weeds are problematic in lawn. As lawn growth slows down as the cold sets in, some weeds grow on unabated. It’s at this time of the year that certain perennial weeds can be tackled and removed with relative ease. Treat lawns with a selective herbicide like Kombat Weeds on days no rain is expected. Winter grass (Identified as the little clumps of grass with white seed heads) growing in damp, shady areas of the lawn can be treated with Lawntyl. Not only does Lawntyl treat the post emergence weeds, but it also treats the pre-emergence of seeds.

• Snail season is around the corner – protect newly planted seedlings by sprinkling some Biogro Ferramol Eco- friendly Slug and Snail pellets which are non-toxic to children and pets.

• Grow herbs indoors this winter. Some herbs grow happily on the window sill and will supply fresh leaves over several weeks, especially if picked or cut regularly. The most successful are those with soft leaves, such as parsley, Chives, Basil, Rocket and Coriander. Choose a good quality seedling mix and feed with Starke Ayres Nutrifeed. Keep an eye out in our stores for the NEW Culterra Healthy Living Herb mix which we now have in store.

Starke Ayres, West Coast Village


Tel: 021 554 8450