Whilst warm fires & cosy days tend to keep us inside for most of the winter, your garden & lawn still need some TLC! In todays blog post we are going to have a look at winter gardening. Everything suggested here is by no means required but it will give your plants & lawn the best chance at surviving winter & staying healthy.
Winter Gardening : Garden Care
Top up mulch around your garden. Not only will it protect the soil in general, but it will keep the soil insulated, roots protected from freezing.
Winter is a great time to break the life cycle of any pests or diseases. Don’t let weeds sneak up on you! Use products like Yates Lime Sulphur or Yates Natures Way Organic Weed Killer.
Yates Lime Sulphur
Controls a range of fungal diseases and pests on fruit trees, tomatoes, grapes, roses & ornamentals.
Ensure your plants are protected from damaging frosts. Move pot plants to a protected area, drape frost blanket over sensitive plants & spray foliage with Yates Drought Shield before frosts are predicted.Â
Yates Drought Shield
Yates Drought Shield forms a protective, flexible film over leaves to help reduce frost damage. RTU size also available.
Frost Blanket
Plants are easily damaged by frost because the water in their leaf cells freeze and expand in the cold air. The best way to avoid frost damage all winter long is to be proactive and use frost blanket to hold warm air around the plant to protect it.
Winter rose pruning is a must to ensure your plant stays healthy throughout the season and is ready for blooming next season. Pruning helps reduce disease, encourages air circulation and lets more light in. The best time to prune is June/July but if you live in a colder area of Australia wait until early August so frosts don’t affect new shoots. Aim to cut at a 45 degree angle, ensuring the cut slopes away from the bud. This is so rain & dew don’t collect in the area where the bus forms to the stem- which will help stop fungal diseases. once pruning is completed, apply a seaweed based product to help condition the soil so help with drought tolerance, resistance from frosts, pests & diseases.
Rose Secatuers
The GARDENA Rose Gatherer comprises four functions in one pair of scissors: it can be used to cut, hold, strip thorns and crush stem ends. The blades of the scissors are made of rust-free stainless steel
It is a great time to prune trees; and without the leaves, it is easier to see the form of the trees. Any problems such as crossing wood can be identified early. Prune any branches/foliage that may shadow your lawn from sunlight.
Cyclone Compound Bypass Lopper
The Cyclone Compound Bypass Lopper is ideal for cutting living, green branches. The compound action provides additional cutting force with each cut which drastically reduces user fatigue.
Handy Bypass Pruner
The Cyclone Handy Bypass Pruner is ideal for pruning live & green stems. Its’ handy design makes this pruner perfect for small/medium sized hands.
If your soil has been dry for a long time (over a hot, Australian summer), it can become water repellent which is obviously not good for your grass/plants. Keep an eye out for water pooling on the surface. This can be fixed with a soil wetting product. Remove heavy layers of autumn leaves that can stop rain from reaching the soil. Check out how to create your own compost from fallen leaves here.
Seasol Soil Wetter & Conditoner
Seasol Super Soil Wetter and Conditioner is a wetting agent, soil conditioner and plant health treatment all in one.
Eco-Hydrate Soil Wetter & Moisture Attractant
eco-hydrate is an organic soil wetter and water saving product that draws extra moisture into the root zone of plants.
Amgrow Wettasoil Concentrate
Wettasoil with Seaweed Concentrate is an easy to use soil wetter in an economical concentrated form.
If you have clay soil, winter is a great time to treat it. If you aren’t sure what soil type you have Burkes Backyard has a great article here. Use gypsum to bind particles, allowing air to get into the spaces in between.Â
Healthy Earth Instant Clay Breaker
Soil Builder & Instant Clay Breaker is twice as strong as gypsum! Fertilizes, sweetens and improves soil structure all at the same time!
Here is the fun part: planning for the next few seasons! Is there a certain plant you want to grow before summer? Want to try your hand at cloning? Now is the time. Need to install a surface water drain? Want a pool for the summer? Winter is the best time to plan & start these jobs so you can enjoy yourself in the summer.
Dynamic Lifter
Use Yates Dynamic Lifter to create organic nutrient rich soil for better root growth, stronger plants and more flowers and fruit.
SABdrain Drainage Systems
Check out our range of SABdrain surface drainage channes & grates. Whether you need a drain to handle a plane or a car; or if you need it for your driveway or pool - SABdrain will have what you need.
Clonex Hormone Gel
Clonex Red contains a concentrated plant hormone that helps promote root development as well as helping to seal and protect the cutting.
Winter Gardening : Lawn Care
Don’t cut your grass too short. You risk ‘scalping it’ which exposes roots & runners to cold conditions, and can cause brown patches. Rise your cutting height and think of the extra grass as insulation. Longer grass gives your lawn the best chance to absorb sunlight and nutrients; and helps create a thicker canopy to retain colour and help block out weeds.Â
Feeding your lawn early or even mid winter is extremely beneficial. It will give your lawn & soil extra reserves to help them survive cold conditions. Whilst grass grows super slowly, it will still take up nutrients to build strength to survive & repair any damage after a cold snap.
Seasol Concentrate
Seasol Seaweed concentrate is a complete garden health treatment that contains plant nutrients, trace elements, alginic acids and other bioactive compounds.
Weed n Feed
Fewer weeds, greener grass, minimal effort. Liquid hose-on weedkiller with added fertiliser for healthy green lawns. Controls large areas of broadleaf weeds, such as clover, dandelions and bindii within days.
Gardena Fertiliser & Seed Spreader
The GARDENA Handspreader L is optimally designed to spread different-sized material – fertilisers, seeds, granulate, sand and road salt depending on the requirement.
Keep grass well fed with a product like Dynamic Lifter. It will give your lawn potassium which gives it strength to resist disease.Â
Keep an eye on your lawns health- look for bindii, diseases, winter grass & lawn grubs. Lawn grubs and adult lawn beetles begin to emerge in winter. Control them before their damage appears in the lawn.
Winter Grass Killer
A selective pre and post-emergent weedkiller to control Winter Grass in common Couch and Buffalo lawns.
Yates Grub Kill & Protect Granular
Yates Grub Kill & Protect for Lawns delivers excellent preventative performance against a large range of common lawn pests and has up to 6 months protection against Curl Grub.
Prep for spring/summer – ensure your soil/lawn is in shape for backyard parties, cricket games & BBQ’s. Spread some Munns Golf Course Green fertilizer which provides 10 essential nutrients & trace elements for encouraging thick, lush green lawn growth. Nurture & improve soil and encourage strong root development
Munns Golf Course Green Fertiliser
Golf Course Green Lawn Fertiliser is an organic based quality lawn fertiliser that is used and recommended by professionals. It promotes healthy growth without extra mowing and can be used on all lawn varieties.
Winter Gardening : Handy Tips & Tricks
Don’t forget to clean your gutters! Overhanging deciduous trees would have dropped leaves onto the roof and thus into gutters. These become wet and can block the flow of water, potentially causing water to overflow & cause damage. Also, keep in mind, you should clean them out before summer so if you do it now it’ll be easier by the time bushfire prep time comes around!
Gardena Gutter Cleaner
The GARDENA combisystem Gutter Cleaner is especially designed for cleaning gutters and clearing them of unwanted leaves and debris . It has sturdy bristles on one side and two powerful top-grade plastic scrapers on the other side suitable for all gutter cleaning tasks.
Cyclone Gutter Cleaner
Keeps gutters clean and free of leaves and dirt and can prolong gutter life, minimize rust action, remove fire hazards, prevent gutter overflow and keep downpipes clear.
Winter is a great time to clean & tend to tools. Clean & sharpen tools, spray moving parts with lubricant & use linseed oil on wooden handles. Ensure all handles are secure, particularly on any shovels, mallets & picks. Put the lawnmower in for service. Wash gardening gloves & check PPE. Dispose expired chemicals/chemicals with damaged packaging. Discard old poisons or those that are unlabelled. (Check with your local council to see how to dispose of them safely)
Linseed Oil
Raw Linseed Oil is 100% NATURAL oil obtained by pressing seeds of the flax plant. Creates a finish that is generally impervious to water, heat, scratches and most stains.
If you have a compost pile, it should be quite large after autumn cuttings have been added. Ensure it is not too wet, and if necessary place a tarp over it.
