July Monthly Tips

The Flower Garden

  • Prune roses this month. Spray with ‘Grosafe Freeflo Copper’ and ‘Grosafe Enspray 99’ to keep any scale, mites, and fungus diseases under control. More on Rose pruning (video), or more on sprays or more on Organic sprays.
  • Fragrant Daphne and Boronia are a welcome addition to any garden and can be planted now.
  • Feed spring flowering bulbs with ‘Tui Bulb Food’ and liquid feed with ‘Ican Fast Food’ as the leaves appear through the ground.
  • Tuberous begonias, dahlias, gladioli, canna lilies will all appear in store this month. Prepare soil well with compost and general garden fertiliser and plant out the tubers and corms towards the end of the month.
  • Sow seedlings of sweet pea, lobelia, and pansies.
  • This is a good month to choose and plant camellias – they will be in flower making it easier to pick the colours you like. Buy online.
  • Spring flowering trees can be planted now – flowering cherries, crab apples, and maples for their gorgeous spring foliage.

The Edible Garden

  • Although we are in the middle of winter, it’s time to be thinking about spring! First thing to consider is getting the ground ready. Except in very wet or boggy soils you can now start to turn over any patches of garden that have left un-planted. This is a good time to dig any green manure crops such as lupins and mustard. Add some lime to the soil at the same time. If you don’t have green manure crops, dig in a good quantity of organic compost. More on green crops.
  • In warmer areas, start preparing potato tubers for planting. Spread seed potatoes in trays or boxes in a light sunny position and leave to sprout – 4-6 weeks. Once spouted rub off any small or weak sprouts before planting. More on potatoes.
  • Sow seeds in seed trays in a warm, light location – seeds sown now will develop into seedlings ready to plant into the ground in early spring – beetroot, lettuce, chinese cabbage, silver beet. More on sowing seeds (video) or see the Whanganui vegetable planting plan.
  • Some of the berry fruit plants will start appearing in store now and these can be planted out into the garden. More on blueberries.
  • You can still plant garlic and shallots this month. More on garlic and shallots.
  • A spray of Copper spray on winter crops such as cabbage, cauliflower and broad beans will help control any winter fungus diseases that may appear. More on sprays or more on Organic sprays.
  • Prune grapes.
  • In well drained soils, Asparagus crowns can now be planted. More on asparagus.
Months: July