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Easter Planting
30 Mar, 2021
Easter weekend is perfect for spending some quality time in the garden. Also known as ‘Nature’s best planting time’, autumn is still warm enough to be outside and getting stuck into planning, tidying and planting.
What to plant in Autumn
Well-seasoned gardeners know that autumn is the best time to plant trees, hedges and shrubs. Plants can get their roots established in the soil before winter arrives, and you don’t need to spend a lot of time watering, as the temperature cools down and rain becomes a regularity once more.
Autumn Maintenance
Lawns
Have a patchy lawn after the summer heat? Now is the perfect time to start filling those unsightly holes or start growing a whole new lawn now.
Pruning
Prune off any broken or dead branches and clean up woody shrubs and trees before the wet winter weather hits. This will prevent complications later in the autumn season.
Veggies
Auckland’s climate is perfect for growing veggies all year round. To get the most out of your winter veggie garden and ensure you have a ready supply of fresh veggies, it’s important to start planting now. Don’t forget to plant your favourites including beetroot, brassicas (kale, cabbage, pak choi, broccoli, etc), broad beans, carrots, lettuce, leeks, onion, silverbeet and spinach.
Flowers and Colour
Dead-head spent flowers and take away browning foliage. Plant cyclamen, pansies, calendula, primrose, viola and chrysanthemums in the garden or in pots for instant colour. Plant spring bulbs in pots or free-draining soil for a brilliant display come spring.
Green Crops
A great way to improve soil structure and add nutrients, is to grow green crops in your empty garden beds. Green crops are basically cover crops that are grown when the soil would otherwise be empty. In Auckland where we have mild winters, we can grow these crops, and then dig them in while they are still young and green, before planting back into the beds in spring. The benefits of greens crops include preventing soil erosion, suppress weeds, fertilise the soil and help beneficial microbes thrive.
Compost
Autumn is a fantastic time to start a compost pile or bin. Collect those fallen leaves up and put in your compost, as leaf mould is a wonderful source of nutrients that will help condition your soil when added when planting or as mulch.
Fertilise
Don’t forget to fertilise your citrus and fruit trees this autumn with Kings Citrus and Fruit Tree Fertiliser, and your acid loving plants including azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons with Kings Camellia, Azalea and Rhododendron fertiliser.
