With much of the country getting a significant amount of rainfall over the weekend, there will be lots of activity in newly-dampened soil in your garden – and not all of it good!
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Watch out for the following:
Slugs and snails
Will be hard at work seeking out juicy seedlings and leafy greens. Protect seedlings with a cloche (you can make a DIY one out of a plastic milk bottle cut in half) and sprinkle Tui Quash around to stop the little creatures!
Powdery mildew
(see image below) Strikes when the weather is humid, and will affect many plants such as newly planted polyanthus, pansies and violas and vegetables such as silver beet. Pull out diseased plants and put them in the rubbish or burn them, if the plant has finished fruiting.
Fallen Leaves
The wind which accompanied the rain will have blown many leaves onto lawns. Collect the leaves off the lawn, so they don’t rot the lawn.
Weeds
Not only will your plants be thriving with the rainfall, weeds will also be going through a growth spurt. It is important to pluck out weeds from around your plants, as they use up valuable nutrients as well as looking untidy.
Scale
(See image below) Not related to the rainfall, but still common at this time of year particularly on citrus. Scale exudes a sticky honeydew that attracts ants and other insects. A scale attack will debilitate and eventually kill a plant by sucking the sap. Check at your local garden centre for a suitable spray.
Powdery Mildew Scale
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Garden Watch Comments
Just made some gardens 2 mts long 1 mtr wide please tell me what a have to fill them with to make a great garen this is for veg/we live in greytown south wairarapa, Car Sayer.Many thanks
Carl Sayer
Hi Carl, that's great you have built a garden. We recommend using Tui Vegetable Mix if you are looking to grow veges. Thanks! Gemma (Tui Team)
gemma