Author: Kevin Burness Date Posted:15 March 2022
Looking to get the gardens and lawns growing in Autumn? This blog has all the tips and tricks that you need!
Like with most of my blogs and my general approach to the gardens, it’s all about planning for the future. Currently, I’m looking to get the gardens growing hard to go into Autumn with strong vigorous growth. Thankfully, we still have plenty of warm days ahead and soil temps are peaking, so the earth should be full of life, as well as the gardens. For these reasons, I like to use February through to March as my biggest fertiliser and feeding times in the gardens.
Giving a large feed will top up nutrients after a robust growing season, giving a nice boost and also helping to ensure strong, hardy plants as the weather changes in the future. Strong plants mean less trouble. They deter pests and diseases and withstand critter attacks better. After all, we want to make our gardening as simple as possible, don’t we?
Let’s look at a few of my favourite inputs and fertilisers to keep the soil, plants and gardens growing hard. These products have served me well for years in most of my gardens, but it’s always important to investigate what your soil and plants might need.
The heavy hitters and bulk carriers: granular fertiliser and compost combo
I love my compost, but I especially enjoy boosting the nutrients, so over the years I’ve come up with a little combo that seems to do wonders – Champion Lawn & Fairway Fertiliser. Yes, it says lawn but is great for nearly everything! I use it generously at about a 3kgs per 100m2 rate on nearly all my gardens. Palms, gingers, heliconias and all the other tropical plants love it.
Here’s the combo part though – grab some compost and blend it through when applying the fertiliser. I buy mine in bulk for the sheer size of the Simple Gardens but if you make your own or buy some, it’s just magic.
This combo is awesome and mixed at about 50/50 and applied by the handful, it does all the heavy lifting in my gardens to really top up the soil and nutrients. If you have natives or sensitive plants, I find it’s still safe but use it lightly and take extra care around new plants.
Liquids with EZflo
Liquid fertilisers and amendments like Seaweed Secrets, humic and Fulvic Acids are the icing on the cake after the bulk fillers above. I use them as regularly as I can manage and they can be used in a few ways to really make the most of them.
Firstly, with the EZflo, I’ve found it’s super easy to simply hook up the hose and use them on everything. I run mine through sprinklers, irrigation and hose them onto soil, plants and pots. There’s always the clip-on sprayer, watering can or pressure sprayer options but once you get an EZflo, you’ll wonder why you ever used anything else. Yes, I’m plugging them hard and yes, you should buy an EZflo bundle and use Simple20 or Simple10 discount codes, but they are one of the best garden investments you will make. Like a sturdy shovel after a cheap flimsy one, you won’t ever look back.
Whether you use EZflo or are old school with a watering can, bucket or sprayer, liquid fertilisers should be in every gardener’s toolkit for a healthy, lush garden. The Plant Doctor guys have a great range but let’s keep it simple…
My favourite is the great allrounder, Activ8mate. It’s well balanced with a dash of NPKs, plus a solid base of organics. If you use only one liquid, this is the old reliable worker. I basically use it on everything! When I plant new plants, I soak the soil and water them in with a weak mix. If I have a hungry citrus that I want to perk back up, I’ll spray it over the foliage and plant, and then soak the drip line with a stronger blend. From lawns, to vegies and natives, I use it on everything!
The final stages
Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time for the liquids to really play to their strengths. It sounds like a lot, but the last part is really just the fine tuning or, to stick with the cake making analogy, this would be the decorations and squiggly writing of ‘Happy Birthday.’
Where I find liquids really useful is to dial in extra nutrients. When lawns or leafy green vegetables are struggling, I use a bit more Activ8Extra to boost the nitrogen. As the citrus set fruit, I give them a little Flowers, Fruits and Roots liquid to boost the potassium and phosphorus. These are very basic examples but, as I’ve learnt over the years, what plants like more of is to help them along with a dash of extra nutrients. All the while, feeding the soil and adding in Seaweed Secret and Stimulizer for even more of the micronutrients as well.
This is a really rough outline of my goals for late summer and early autumn to feed the garden up and keep it looking lush. As always, it will depend on your local conditions. With too much rain or scorching heat, it’s probably best to wait for better conditions. Work with the environment and try to make the most of what you put into it.
Kevin Burness.
@simplegardening
I’m just an experienced and awesome gardener sharing my own personal opinions. These are all my personal approaches and processes I use in my gardens. I’d like to help guide others to better gardening practices through my experience and encourage more successful gardening in our communities.
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First time owning lawn. Gave the team at plant doctor a ring and they supplied me with a wealth of information. Products turned up quickly.
Will definitely be getting more 8 weeks difference been using stimulizer, activ8mate, soil wetter, seaweed secrets and champion fertiliser. Was super fast delivery.
Only have great things to say about Plant Doctor. Organic products and a competitive price, fast shipping and easy to contact with questions. Have had great results with the special mix for lawns, and my plants (indoor and outdoor) love the seaweed secrets. I am excited to test out some of the animal products soon!
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