Mid Winter Garden Maintenance In July

The weather doesn't always co-operate but colder months are a good time to work in the garden

Vegetable Garden Maintenance In Mid Winter

• In very cold areas when the soil temperature falls below 15°C, among the few things that can be planted from seed are English spinach and two easy-to-grow vegetables, broad beans and spring onions. 
• Broad beans do best with a climbing trellis or stakes for support. 
• Also plant silverbeet and peas (podding and snow peas). 
• Keep greens coming by sowing seeds or planting seedlings every few weeks. 
• Every 7-10 days. apply organic liquid fertiliser to cabbages and tasty greens such as rocket and soft-hearted lettuce to stimulate growth. 
• There's still time to plant perennials like asparagus and rhubarb, which grow from crowns and do best in well-prepared beds with added organic matter dug in well. 
• Continue to inspect all brassicas for snails and slugs on winter crops, especially new plantings. Use an iron-based bait that's harmless to pets and wildlife. Handpick pests daily and check the backs of leaves for eggs and newly hatched green caterpillars.
• Keep planting regularly so there are always new crops coming along. How about some some winter treats like silverbeet, Chinese cabbage, rocket and mizuna? 
• Sow beetroot. carrot, tomato (including cherry tomatoes) and melon seeds and perhaps a block of sweet corn. 
• In warmer areas it's time to put in beans, leeks, spring onions and pumpkins. 
• Peas, particularly snow peas, provide a fast and easy harvest in winter. 
• Water all crops especially leafy crops and those in raised beds or containers, to encourage fast, tender growth. 
• Liquid-feed at least fortnightly. 
• Keep an eye out for cabbage white butterfly caterpillars and grasshoppers and squash any you see. 
• Dipel is an approved chemical treatment for a bad infestation of caterpillars. 
• Remove diseased leaves and cut off and dispose of branches affected by scale. 

Fruits Garden Maintenance In Mid Winter

• Strawberries can go in now. Cut down old stems of autumn-fruiting raspberries to ground level. 
• Now is a good time to feed citrus with an all-purose citrus fertiliser and apply a winter spray to protect trees from peach leaf curl and brown rot. 
• It's time to prune bare deciduous trees to encourage new growth, sort out broken or crossing branches and remove any diseased fruit or wood. 
• But don't compost diseased material: it should be buried or burned. 
• Through winter, bare-rooted fruit trees are available for planting. 
• Look for a well-shaped tree and avoid any with broken branches, poor branching or damage. 
• Only buy trees that have well-protected root systems as dry roots can lead to plant death or trees that are slow to reshoot in spring. 
• When planting new fruit trees, check cross-pollination needs. 
• Ideally select a tree that's already grafted with a pollinating variety. 
• Where space is at a premium, look for dwarf fruit trees for planting in raised beds or large containers.
• Time to plant watermelon as well as fruit trees such as figs and pistachios. 
• Harvest citrus as needed and keep them deeply watered, well mulched and free of weeds. 
• Spray trees with horticultural oil to reduce citrus bugs - but don't apply if sun is warm. 
• Combat other pests and diseases with a winter maintenance program of pruning, clearing and spraying. 
• Deeply water mango, avocado and custard apples. Lychees are ripening. so rebait fruit-fly traps to control early pest outbreaks. 
• If wind is knocking flowers from fruit trees, erect a windbreak of shadecloth or hessian. Plan a living windbreak with local native plants. 
• Liquid-feed flowering strawberries every 7-10 days and ensure there's plenty of organic mulch spread under foliage to keep developing fruit out of contact with the soil.

Compost & Soil Maintenance In July Garden

• Keep on top of winter weeds by lightly hoeing among rows of winter vegies. 
• As the weather cools, rates of composting slow. 
• To keep compost systems working through winter, regularly aerate the heap using a fork. 
• Dig in a few handfuls of lime if the heap seems smelly. 
• Balance large additions of autumn leaves with nitrogen-rich matter such as lawn clippings, manure and food scraps. 
• Keep rodents at bay with a lid on the compost bin. 
• Prevent animals burrowing in from the adjacent ground by burying a barrier in the soil around the heap. 
• Cover open heaps to keep them from becoming wet and soggy. 
• Keep worm farms in a warm, sheltered spot such as a verandah or carport as cold conditions kill worms. Use diluted worm wee to liquid-feed vegie crops. 
• If your soil is poorly draining clay, dig in gypsum and organic matter now to both improve drainage and raise the soil level. 
• Cover the worked areas with a good layer of mulch and leave until late winter or spring for planting.
• This cool, dry part of the year is the ideal time to work on improving soil fertility and moisture-holding capacity. 
• Dig in compost and manure in preparation for planting. 
• Turn compost heaps and add extra moisture if the heap is dry. 
• Material needs to be moist, not wet. 
• Keep adding a balance of wet and dry materials such as vegie scraps and lawn clippings layered with dry leaves and disease-free prunings. 
• Cover fallow areas with mulch or sow a green manure crop such as clover. which not only keeps the weeds away but can be dug into the soil to improve its nutrients for spring growth. 
• Mulches also prevent soils drying out. If an area is hard to dig due to clay, sprinkle gypsum or water with claybreaker. 
• A layer of organic mulch such as sugar cane over hard soils will encourage earthworm activity, which helps make soils more workable.