Getting started is so easy….
Have you been busy planning your gorgeous spring garden throughout the winter months? Coaxing colorful flowers and tasty vegetables out of the ground doesn’t happen overnight though. Before stunning displays of fresh cut flowers or deliciously fresh garden salads can happen your garden needs to be revitalised first. Like the old saying goes – you reap what you sow!
Here are some easy steps for getting your garden in top shape:
- Spray and pull out any weeds that have crept into the garden over winter.
- Start preparing your garden beds for planting by digging in some organic matter like Garden X Compost or Palmers Sheep Pellets. This will improve the condition and structure of your soil.
- As the soil warms up, plants burst into life and start growing at a rapid rate; this is when they need feeding with either a liquid fertiliser like Seasol which needs to be applied every 10 to 14 days or a long term slow release fertiliser like NovaTec.
- Before adding compost or fertiliser ensure the soil is damp and loosen up any hard compacted soil with a trowel or spade. Sprinkle compost and/or fertiliser evenly over the top and then mix into your soil with a trowel or cultivator.
- To choose the right fertiliser for your garden, check the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels (listed as NPK on the ingredients label). The N, P or K encourages growth of different parts of plants; Nitrogen encourages leaf growth so is great for lettuces, Phosphorus encourages root growth and development so is great for carrots and radish crops and Potassium encourages fruit and flower growth and also aids in resisting any diseases.
Liquid fertilisers are quickly and easily absorbed by plants so you will see instant results; you will need to apply more frequently though as one application doesn’t last long in the soil.