As the December holiday season winds down, it is the perfect time to shift our attention back to our gardens. Embracing the new year with a revitalised outdoor space not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also contributes to the overall well-being of ourselves and our plants.
The following essential post-holiday tasks will breathe life into our gardens, ensuring it thrives throughout the upcoming months. From pruning to pest control, these steps will set the stage for a flourishing outdoor space.
- Pruning
One can prune various plants to promote healthy growth. Trim back any overgrown or damaged branches on trees and shrubs to encourage healthy growth. Trim back summer flowering shrubs and remove dead or diseased wood. Consider pruning fruit trees to enhance structure and remove dead branches. Remove debris, dead plants or fallen leaves to maintain a neat and organised space. Be cautious not to over-prune, especially during hot weather, as it may stress the plants. Always use sharp, clean pruning shears to make a clean cut.
- Weeding
Remove any weeds that may have sprouted during the holiday period to keep your garden beds tidy. Using herbicides in existing garden beds can harm desirable plants along with the weeds. Herbicides can’t distinguish between weeds and the plants you want to keep. This can lead to unintended damage to your garden plants. Hand weed or use mulch to suppress weed growth in your garden beds.
- Mulching
Mulching is beneficial to your garden. It helps retain soil moisture by reducing evaporation, regulates soil temperature, suppresses weed growth and prevents soil erosion. Additionally, mulch provides a protective layer that insulates plant roots from extreme hot and cold temperatures. Over time organic mulches break down, enriching soil with nutrients. It is a practical and effective way to promote plant health, conserve water and maintain soil quality in your garden.
4. Watering
Ensure that your plants receive adequate water, especially during warmer days, to keep them healthy and thriving. Water is a scarce resource for many reasons, for example, demand for water may be exceeding supply, water infrastructure may be inadequate, the institutions are not equipped and do not have the experience to manage water supply, maladministration, etc. Your action is required to utilise this scarce resource wisely: water during cooler times of the day to avoid evaporation, invest in a rainwater tank to harvest the rainwater for your garden, re-use water, install a drip irrigation system and look after your soil by adding organic matter such as Protek’s Coco Peat and Peat Moss to the soil. Protek provides the highest quality, sustainably obtained products for home garden use – Peat Moss Universal for general use in your garden and Peat Moss Acidic for acid loving plants.
5. Planting
Consider planting new additions to your garden. As January is typically a warm month, it is suitable for sowing various flowers such as marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, petunias, etc. Consider planting the following vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, carrots, radishes, etc. Always check specific guidelines for the flowers and vegetables you choose. Make sure to provide the appropriate soil, sunlight and water conditions for successful germination and growth.
6. Fertilising
Fertilising is essential in gardening because it provides plants with important nutrients needed for growth and development. Soil naturally contains certain nutrients but can become depleted over time due to plant uptake, leaching and certain environmental factors. Fertilisers supplement the soil with key elements like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, promoting healthy root development, robust foliage as well as flowering and fruiting.
Where nitrogen is lacking, the leaves have a light green colour and can even be yellow in extreme cases. Protek’s Nitrogreen KAN/LAN (17 %) provides nitrogen which promotes active vegetative growth of shrubs, vegetables, lawns and fruit trees.
Protek’s Lawn & Foliage Fertiliser 7:1:3 (15 %) or for an organic option, NutriGreen Go Green, is the appropriate option to promote a lush, healthy green lawn. It is high in nitrogen which promotes healthy, green top growth. It will also feed any other leafy plants in your garden.
If you need a general fertiliser to feed the whole garden, go for Protek’s General Fertiliser 2:3:2 (14 %) or for an organic option NutriGreen Gwano Pellets. It provides balanced, general nutrition for trees, shrubs, lawns, flower beds, flowering shrubs and vegetables.
Potassium (k) improves the quality and flavour of flowers and fruits and encourages healthy plant growth. Additionally, it assists plants to resist temperature extremes and drought. A potassium deficiency causes scorching of plant leaf edges and tasteless vegetables and fruits. Protek’s Rose and Flower Fertiliser 8:1:5 (17) or for an organic option, NutriGreen Flower Power will provide the necessary nutrients for an abundance of flowers and fruits.
Lawn care:
Attend to your lawn by mowing it at the appropriate height and address any bare patches with new grass. Do not cut your lawn too short, but rather cut regularly. Keeping the blades slightly longer will protect the roots against heat and dry winds.
Water early in the morning to avoid evaporation.
Get rid of weeds on your lawn with Protek’s Pure Lawn, Versus or Scatterkill for Weeds. These are selective herbicides and will kill broadleaf weeds without killing your lawn.
Fertilise your lawn regularly to encourage healthy green growth. Apply a fertiliser with a high nitrogen content such as Lawn and Foliage Fertilizer 7:1:3 and for a greener option, NutriGreen Gro Green. Apply this every four to six weeks and alternate between the granular and organic fertiliser. Always follow instructions as too much Nitrogen can burn the lawn, so, remember to water well after application. Keep in mind: lawn in shady spots, like underneath trees, require more nutrition as the lawn must compete with the trees and shrubs for food.
Check your lawn for army worm and lawn caterpillar infestations and apply Knox Worm or Kemprin (cypermethrin) for effective control of these. Scatterkill for Insects is ready to use and very easy to apply. It controls a wide variety of insects on your lawn like ants, crickets, caterpillars and harvester termites. Keep an eye out for mole crickets and apply systemic Imidor for fast control.
Brown Spot and Dollar Spot are fungi that thrive under humid conditions on lawns. Brown Spot cause large brown patches on your lawn and can be up to several meters in diameter, while Dollar Spot is about the size of a R5 coin. Fairy ring causes dark green circles on lawn. To prevent and eradicate fungal infections, a systemic fungicide such as Protek’s Tenazole can be applied. Mycoguard or Copper-Flow-Plus can be applied as a preventative treatment.
7. Pest control
Keep an eye out for pests and take the preventative measures to protect your plants.
Aphids can infest crops and suck the plant’s sap, weakening it and spreading viruses. They can be controlled with an insecticide such as Protek’s Knox Worm, Kemprin or AviGard. These have short withholding periods between application and harvest.
White fly is a sap-sucking insect that is often found on the undersides of leaves. When infested plants are disturbed, great clouds of the winged adults fly into the air. To get rid of white fly, treat your tomato plants by soil drenching with Complete at the drip area.
Slugs and snails destroy seedlings and fresh new growth all year round. To control them, distribute ready to use, easy to apply Scatterkill for Snails. Scatterkill for Snails is made from bran which is very palatable to snails and contains a pet repellent.
Cutworms are soil dwelling caterpillars that feed on the roots and stem bases of many crops, causing sudden wilt and death. Destroy cutworms by sprinkling Cutworm Bait around your seedlings and plants after dark when these worms are active in your garden.
Fruit flies and codling moths lay their eggs in fruit and can ruin the entire crop. When fruit reach the size of a marble, treat with Kemprin or Knox Worm every 2 weeks and alternate with Avigard Mercaptothion.
Treat your citrus trees against psylla with Complete, but make sure that you first remove the fruit from the tree. As lemon trees bear fruit all year round, it is important to pick the ripe as well as unripe lemons from the tree when treating with Complete.
Leaf spot may occur on older leaves and cause round, brown spots and the affected leaf tissue may disintegrate to leave bare holes. The disease worsens when crops are overcrowded, so thin out and do not replant the same crop in the same place the following year. Treat with a systemic fungicide like Protek’s Tenazole.
Envision the rewarding results of your efforts manifesting in the beautiful garden you desire. By dedicating time to pruning, weeding and nourishing your soil, you have laid the groundwork for a garden that will withstand the challenges of the upcoming months. Remember, gardening is a journey and each task is a step towards the flourishing paradise you aim to create.
Happy gardening.
Act 36 of 1947
Gwano Pellets: B4904, N 21 g/kg, P 32.5 g/kg, K 27.6 g/kg, Zn 2000 mg/kg, Cu 70 mg/kg, Mo 4500 mg/kg, Fe 2200 mg/kg, B 1200 mg/kg, Mn 1000 mg/kg C 350 g/kg, Group 2 fertiliser, registration holder: Farmworx (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2012/092415/07, PO Box 645, Heidelberg, 1439, telephone number: 011 812 9800
Gro Green: B4665, N 39 g/kg, P 10 g/kg, K 40 g/kg, Zn 61 mg/kg, Cu 17 mg/kg, Mo 22 mg/kg, Fe 869 mg/kg, B 256 mg/kg, Mn 212 mg/kg, C 315 g/kg, Group 2 fertiliser, registration holder: Farmworx (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2012/092415/07, PO Box 645, Heidelberg, 1439, telephone number: 011 812 9800
Flower Power: B4655, N 48 g/kg, P 10 g/kg, K 36 g/kg, Zn 61 mg/kg, Cu 17 mg/kg, Mo 22 mg/kg, Fe 869 mg/kg, B 256 mg/kg, Mn 212 mg/kg, C 296 g/kg, B4652, Group 2 fertiliser, registration holder: Farmworx (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2012/092415/07, PO Box 645, Heidelberg, 1439, telephone number: 011 812 9800
General Fertilizer 2:3:2 (14): K9913, 40 g/kg N, 60 g/kg P, 40 g/kg K, Group 1 fertiliser, registration holder: FarmWorx (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2012/092415/07, P O Box 645, Heidelberg, 1438, telephone number: 011 812 9800
Lawn & Foliage Fertilizer 7:1:3 (15): K9915, 95 g/kg N, 13 g/kg P, 41 g/kg K, Group 1 fertiliser, registration holder: FarmWorx (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2012/092415/07, P O Box 645, Heidelberg, 1438, telephone number: 011 812 9800
Nitrogreen LAN 17 %: K9947, 170 g/kg N, Group 1 fertiliser, registration holder: FarmWorx (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2012/092415/07, P O Box 645, Heidelberg, 1438, telephone number: 011 812 9800
Rose & Flower Fertilizer 8:1:5 (17): K9914, 96 g/kg N, 12 g/kg P, 60 g/kg K, registration holder: FarmWorx (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2012/092415/07, P O Box 645, Heidelberg, 1438, telephone number: 011 812 9800
Copper-Flow-Plus: L6831, copper ammonium acetate 315 g/l, CAUTION, registration holder: Arysta LifeScience South Africa (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2009/019713/07, 7 Sunbury Office Park, Off Douglas Saunders Drive, La Lucia, 4019, telephone number: 031 514 5600
Mycoguard 720 SC: L8417, chlorothalonil (phthalonitrile), 720 g/l, CAUTION, registration holder: Arysta LifeScience South Africa (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2009/019713/07, 7 Sunbury Office Park, Off Douglas Saunders Drive, La Lucia, 4019, telephone number: 031 514 5600
Tenazole 250 EW: L8558, tebuconazole (triazole), 250 g/l, CAUTION, registration holder: Arysta LifeScience South Africa (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2009/019713/07, 7 Sunbury Office Park, Off Douglas Saunders Drive, La Lucia, 4019, telephone number: 031 514 5600
Pure Lawn: L7220, MCPA 400 g/l, CAUTION, registration holder: Arysta LifeScience South Africa (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2009/019713/07, 7 Sunbury Office Park, Off Douglas Saunders Drive, La Lucia, 4019, telephone number: 031 514 5600
Scatterkill for Weeds: L4182, dicamba (dimethyl amine salt) 10 g/kg, MCPA (dimethyl amine salt) 5 g/kg, CAUTION, registration holder: Effecticide (Pty) Ltd, company registration number 08/06493/07, Unit 5, King Court, Mineral Crescent, Crown Industrial, Johannesburg, 2001, telephone number: 011 839 1636
Versus: L8879, dicamba 120 g/l, 2.4-D 180 g/l a.e., MCPA 157.5 g/l, HARMFUL, registration holder: Arysta LifeScience South Africa (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2009/019713/07, 7 Sunbury Office Park, Off Douglas Saunders Drive, La Lucia, 4019, telephone number: 031 514 5600
Avi Gard: L216, mercaptothion (organophosphate) 500 g/l, CAUTION, registration holder: Avima (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 1961/001744/07, PO Box 3131, Kenmare, 1745, telephone number: 011 769 1300
Complete 350 SC: L7959, imidacloprid (chloro-nicotinyl) 350 g/l, HARMFUL, registration holder: Arysta LifeScience South Africa (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2009/019713/07, 7 Sunbury Office Park, Off Douglas Saunders Drive, La Lucia, 4019, telephone number: 031 5145600
Cutworm Bait: L8070, sodium fluosilicate 100 g/kg, CAUTION, registration holder: Avima (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 1961/001744/07, PO Box 3131, Kenmare, 1745, telephone number: 011 769 1300
Imidor 350 SC: L8019, imidacloprid (chloronicotynil) 350 g/l, HARMFUL, registration holder: Villa Crop Protection (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 1992/002472/07, PO Box 10413, Aston Manor, 1630, telephone number: 011 396 2233
Kemprin 200 EC, L3145, cypermethrin (pyrethroid) 200 g/l, HARMFUL, registration holder: Arysta LifeScience South Africa (Pty) Ltd, company registration number: 2009/019713/07, 7 Sunbury Office Park, Off Douglas Saunders Drive, La Lucia, 4019, telephone number: 031 514 5600
Scatterkill for Insects: L4118, cypermethrin 3 g/kg, piperonyl butoxide 15 g/kg, CAUTION, registration holder: Effecticide (Pty) Ltd, registration number: 08/06493/07, Unit 5, King Court, Mineral Crescent, Crown Industrial, Johannesburg, 2001, telephone number: (011) 839 1636
Scatterkill for Snails: L5058, metaldehyde 30 g/kg, CAUTION, registration holder: Effecticide (Pty) Ltd, registration number: 08/06493/07, Unit 5, King Court, Mineral Crescent, Crown Industrial, Johannesburg, 2001, telephone number: (011) 839 1636
Distributed by: Protek, a division of PE-BEE Agri (Pty) Ltd, PO Box 72, Heidelberg,1438, tel no (011) 812-9800 or 0861 PROTEK (0861 77 68 35), www.protek.co.za