Horticulture Consultant to Yates Angie Thomas says autumn is a popular time for gardening with conditions conducive to planting because the soil is still warm enough for plants to establish and grow before winter.
“There are lots of wonderful things for gardeners to do in autumn from growing delicious herbs and veggies, planting new trees and shrubs and preparing the garden for winter,” says Thomas.
Thomas is part of a team of qualified horticulturalists who provide free gardening advice through the Yates app and online chat. She says March to May is the busiest time for questions on planting whereas three years ago those questions were most common during spring.
“We have seen a spike of 14.35 per cent in gardening questions over autumn in the past two years. One of the most common questions we receive are how to improve soil quality, and what to plant in autumn,” says Thomas.
To answer some of the most common autumn gardening questions, Thomas has shared her top tips for this upcoming planting season:
1. Brighten up your space
Autumn is the perfect time to plan for colour in outdoor spaces. The best flowers to plant for floral colour include winter viola, pansies, lobelia, carnations, sweet peas, alyssum and calendula.
2. Improve your soil’s health
To give your flower beds and veggie patches the best chance for growth, enrich your soil with an organic soil improver, such as Yates Dynamic Lifter. Yates Dynamic Lifter will improve overall garden bed health by increasing water and nutrient retention while encouraging earthworms and micro-organisms.
3. Plant veggies to enjoy
There are lots of veggies that grow well in autumn. Try planting some cool season veggies such as baby leaf spinach, silverbeet, baby beetroot, onions, spring onions, kale, broad beans, cauliflower or lettuce and regularly feed with fertiliser such as Yates Thrive Natural Vegie & Herb every six weeks.
4. Prepare your lawn
Early autumn is a great time of year to make some lawn improvements. You can start a new lawn from seed or rolls of turf. It’s also important to get lawn weeds under control and give the lawn a feed to promote healthy green growth before the cold winter weather arrives.
5. Prepare for guests
Dress up your backyard with new shrubs and trees in autumn shades of red and orange and plant fragrant and versatile herbs such as coriander, rocket and Italian parsley that can be used in their salads, stir fries and soups.
To chat with the team of horticulturists at Yates, go to the free chat section of www.yates.com.au or download the app.
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