How to do gardening in spring

Get to know what to plant, what to prune, what to feed in Spring.

Even though it’s officially spring, the weather all around the country is taking its time to warm up.

Here are some great tips for making the best use of this opportunity to get your garden ready for when spring really kicks in – and on into summer.

In September

September is a good month to plant and sow vegetables for a bumper crop.

Seedlings to plant include:

For a summer harvest, sow the seeds for:

Colour

Plant some indigenous flowering plants now for a rush of spring colour when the warm weather arrives.

Now is also the ideal time for planting dahlia bulbs and tubers.

Trees

Arbour week may be over for this year, but it’s never too late to plant a beautiful tree.

Choose an indigenous tree, such as:

If you don’t have enough space in your garden, you can sponsor a tree to be planted by an organisation such as Greenpop or Food & Trees for Africa.

Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) is a leading Section 21 non-profit organisation that addresses food security, natural resource management, environmental sustainability, and greening.

Greenpop is an award-winning registered non-profit organisation based in Cape Town. This inspirational organisation puts its energy into restoring ecosystems and empowering environmental stewards through forest restoration, urban greening, food gardening, and environmental awareness projects across sub-Saharan Africa. Greenpop was founded in 2010 and has planted more than 150 000 trees. They have inspired over 132 000 active citizens across South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania.

Feed

It’s very important to make sure your plants get the nutrients they need before the hot summer months.

Feed your plants with the following:

Prepare beds with compost and pots with a rich potting soil and plant summer bulbs like gladiolus and dahlias.

Start feeding citrus and other fruit trees with 3:1:5 fertiliser to encourage fruit production and ensure a good crop for next season.

Treat gardenias that have yellowing leaves with iron chelate, and water well.

Mulch azaleas and camellias with well-rotted pine needles or bark chips once the flowers have faded, then feed with a high-nitrogen fertiliser.

To help protect your roses against pests and fungal diseases, spray them with a rose cocktail made from:

Prune

Many gardeners are hesitant to prune shrubs and flowers, for fear of killing the plant. But most plants thrive on having deadwood cut away to allow fresh new growth and blooms.

Drought-resistant Garden

Most regions of South Africa experience periodic droughts, so waterwise planting is a good safeguard for the future. It also helps you do your bit to save a precious and limited resource.

Stodels recommends planning a drought-resistant garden with a colourful array of waterwise plants, such as air plants, aloes, buchu, clivias, fynbos, lavender and succulents.

Buchu belongs to the Rutaceae family, as do citrus fruits. It is native to South Africa, with a natural distribution restricted to the Western Cape Mountain regions, although it can be grown in most other regions. Buchu is an edible low shrub, about 1.5m high, with white, mauve or pink flowers that bloom in spring. They release an aromatic scent through oil glands in their bright green leaves, and are used medicinally, in teas and cooking. Buchu is best grown in coarse, well-drained and deep soil, and needs sufficient sunshine and a frost-free climate.

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