Now is a good time to prepare for a long, hot and dry summer. The Green Gardener Steve Kite has some simple techniques to help your plants reach autumn with a minimum of stress.
The return of the El Nino weather pattern has been confirmed and unfortunately this means low rainfall. All gardeners have recently learnt a valuable lesson and we only need to look around to see what plants, shrubs and trees have survived in drought areas. Luckily most lawns will turn from brown to green very quickly after rain.
Planting
You should spend an equal amount of money on the planting hole as you spend on the plant. Replacing plants is an unnecessary cost and can be avoided. First, dig a hole three times as big as the root ball, back fill with a premium-blend potting mix or work in large amounts of well-rotted manures or compost. Add water crystals as these are a fantastic product for holding moisture. Stake if needed and sprinkle blood ‘n’ bone on the surface, away from the stem. Then water deeply, adding kelp to your watering can at the recommended rate.
You should also spray all foliage. This will avoid transplant stress by slowing leaf-moisture evaporation and it fertilises at the same time. The water pushes out any air pockets. Finally, mulch approximately 60-80mm deep, forming a water well. Keep the mulch away from the stem to prevent fungal diseases, mainly collar rot. If you have chosen a great position your plant will survive.
Check before you next water by placing your finger in the soil. If the surface is dry but 60mm down (not mulch height) it is damp, your plant does not need water and the root system will grow deeper. The roots know water is there. This creates a larger, stronger root system (bio mass) and thus a stronger, healthier and happier plant. It is important to note that pests will attack a stressed plant rather than a healthy one.
Drought proofing your garden
Healthy, friable, moisture-retaining soil, full of compost or well-rotted manures is the key. It is very important to note that high carbon levels in your soil will produce nitrogen naturally, which gives lush, green foliage and you don’t have to use high-nitrogen-based fertilisers such as urea.
Check to see if your soil is retaining water by spot watering, then check moisture levels – if the soil stays damp you don’t have a problem. Should your soil be dry it has become hydrophobic and the water has either run off the surface or has gone straight through. A good wetting agent applied according to the directions will start to solve the problem for you.
As far as general soil health is concerned, if you have healthy soil full of organic matter or have earthworms you need to do nothing. If you don’t, fork or rotary hoe composts, rotted manures and good old blood ‘n’ bone into your soil, making sure you avoid damaging any root systems. Adding green composts or lawn clippings will draw nitrogen from the soil and put stress on your plantings, so let it rot down first, prior to use. Once you have the soil right it’s time for the next step.
Mulching
A good thick layer of mulch is very important to stop moisture evaporating from the soil and to keep valuable moisture near the plants’ root systems where it is needed. Weeds are also suppressed as seeds can’t germinate. Prior to mulching, remove or spray any existing weeds or lay newspaper over them. Never use plastic as it will stop carbon, oxygen and water from penetrating the soil. Microbial activity will cease, and quite simply, your soil will die along with your plants. I have removed much plastic or weed mat from gardens over the years and what is left is hard, dry, hydrophobic soil that is unworkable and hard as a rock to penetrate.
A vast number of fantastic gardens have died this way, on the false premise that weeds won’t grow. In fact there will always be weeds blown in by the wind and they will germinate in the mulch. Some weeds grow in paving. We have all seen that so we know how persistent they can be.
Most mulches – as long as they aren’t green – are fine, although I tend not to use large bark chips or rock. This does cut down on moisture penetration as water from a light shower will run off. Sugarcane, lucerne or fibrous tea tree or cypress mulches or composts are excellent. Mulch 40-60mm deep and pull away from stems – you can form a bowl to direct moisture to the root systems.
Fertilising
Most good-quality general blends or specific blends that have an established brand name are fine to use. Read the label to make sure they suit your conditions and follow the directions. All certified nurseries will be able to help you.
In a dry period plants find it very difficult to take up nutrients from the soil and this is where I recommend foliar spraying with kelp. I call it “giving your garden a kelp tonic”.
This works a treat in any situation and there are many reasons why. Try and purchase cold processed kelp (seaweed) as this contains valuable nutrients that would have been boiled out if heat processed. Kelp is premium food for microbes and will revitalise soil and foliage. It acts as an anti-stress agent, cutting down on evaporation from leaves.
Some of the major benefits are:
- Bio protection through root-zone stimulation
- Root stimulation, as the larger the roots (bio mass) the better the yield, the health and the disease resistance
- Frost protection – kelp is a recognised anti-freezing agent
- Improved flowering and fruit as a result of Cytokinin stimulation
- A rescue measure to assist seedlings or stressed plants after drought or transplant
- Disease-controlling antibiotics which reduce mould, mildew fungi and red spider mite
- Enhanced photosynthesis by releasing locked-up minerals
- Dramatic resistance to heat as it reduces wilting due to water evaporation in hot and dry conditions
Mix at a rate of 10ml to the litre and drench your foliage and bark every couple of months. If you are watering by bucket or watering can add 10ml, and all the plants will love it – even your lawn.
A little, often, will make a big difference.
Everything I have written about works – it’s all tried and true, so enjoy your garden, get out there and seize the moment and you will be sure to have a great day.
Steve Kite has been a gardener for over 30 years and runs his business, “Steve the Green Gardener” in Toowoomba, Queensland. If you have any gardening questions please log on to the web page www.thegreengardener.com.au where there is a free question and answer service.
Source: The Retiree Magazine