August
August is the most difficult month with unpredictable frosts and strong cold winds, but also some warm sunny spells. Except for sandy soils the ground is still wet and cold so only a limited range of seeds and plants can be put in.
Ornamental Garden
Edible Garden
Glasshouse and Conservatory
Lawns
Fruit
Spray Programme.
General
Ornamental Garden
- Plant out pansies, sweet peas and other late spring bedding plants
- Plant out new shrubs and roses in permanent positions
- Train up climbing roses after pruning.
- Take care and look out for spring bulbs coming through the ground
- Take cuttings of chrysanthemums
- Watch out for slug damage on tender plants and new shoots, apply slug bait.
- Set out tuberous begonias under cover if growing these from corms
- Sow sweet peas.
Edible Garden
- Prepare soil for vegetable planting and dig in green crops
- Sow seeds of lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage, silver beet, onions, leeks, early carrots, radish, early peas, spinach, parsnips and parsley in warm places
- Set out potatoes in a tray for sprouting (chitting)
- Plant early potatoes in warmer areas and shallots
- Plant out a new bed of Asparagus which will last 20 years.
Glasshouse and Conservatory
- Spring clean the glasshouse. Wash it down with disinfectant to control pests and diseases
- Sow tomato and capsicum seeds in a warm place
- Pot up early tomato plants.
- Repot pot bound plants and those starved of nutrients. Fertilise pot plants grown for display.
- Tuberous begonias should be cleaned and set out in trays to start growth.
- Pot up spring bulbs for forcing into early flowering
- Bring in shrubs for flowering indoors - azaleas, lilacs, rhododendrons.
- Check for pests and diseases and apply preventative sprays.
- Cymbidium orchids remove old flower spikes and place outside when frost finished
- Sow seeds of early summer flowering annuals
Lawns
- Rake lawns and then aerate with a fork 50-75mm deep
- Apply fertiliser of 3 parts sulphate of ammonia and 1 part Superphosphate
- Top dress lawns with sieved soil to level out hollows, sow seed if necessary
- Cut grass at least one notch higher than summer
- Lawns on clay are greatly improved by a top dressing of river sand
- Lawns on poor soils can be top dressed with rich soil
- Trim lawn edges to get the garden edge into its correct shape
Fruit
- Complete all pruning urgently
- Spray all fruit trees with all seasons spraying oil and copper oxychloride
- Plant new fruit trees
- Plant new blueberries
- Mulch with good compost
Spray Programme.
- Spray peaches, nectarines, citrus, almonds, apricots, with copper oxychloride to prevent curly leaf. Repeat at bud-burst and after petal fall.
- Spray all trees for scale insects with all seasons spraying oil
- Spray evergreens spray with a systemic insecticide for scale and thrips
- Spray grapes for fungus diseases with all purpose fungicide.
- In late August spray raspberries, boysenberries, strawberries for fungus diseases.
General
- Repair paths and drives and complete garden alterations.
- Check over all spraying equipment.
- Check over your gardening tools and motor mower – oil change