1. Can I plant my tomatoes now?
Of course! No laws forbid you from planting tomatoes whenever you like. The tomato plants may die in a late frost, of course, or stay stunted from being plonked into cold soil, and new tomato seed in the garden bed may rot or be carried off by ants. But you can bung in your tomatoes whenever you want to.
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ContinuePlant your favourite annuals in the next few weeks for blooms all summer. Picture Shutterstock
2. Should I plant my tomatoes now?
No. Wait till Melbourne Cup Day, or when the apple blossom petals have fallen, or when you can comfortably sit on the ground during a spot of nude gardening. Or you can plant them in pots, leave them out in the sunlight or rain when you head off to work, then take them indoors at night.
Ants seem to avoid the seeds left by last year’s fallen tomatoes, which may give you self-sown tomato plants. If you see tomato seedlings emerge, then it’s the perfect time to plant new bushes.
3. Will we get a late frost?
Dunno. If history is a guide, then ‘probably yes’, but as Canberra acquires more bitumen roads and home air-conditioning each year, the city slowly warms. This means there’s a chance we won’t get a late frost, with probably about the same odds as picking the Melbourne Cup winner. Melbourne Cup winners tend to be fast. Most summer veg grow slowly in chilly soil, and keep growing slowly even when the soil warms up.
4. How do I tell if there’s going to be a frost?
If the stars twinkle brightly and you need a jacket to go outside then a frost is likely. If the jacket needs to be a raincoat there probably won’t be a frost, as long as it keeps raining most of the night. Better still, check the weather forecast. The Bureau of Meteorology may not be too reliable about predicting rain – their frequent forecast of ‘possible showers about the ranges’ is about as useful as asking a five-year-old to clean up their bed room. But they do an excellent job of predicting frost.
5. Should I mow the lawn yet?
Yes. Mowing the grass will knock back the weeds that grow faster than grass, and encourage the grass to thicken. Grass evolved to be eaten, and a lawn mower is a great substitute for sheep or kangaroo teeth.
6. Have you mown your lawn yet?
Not personally, but my husband has mown the tiny strip in front of the house. I’m hoping another 30 or so kangaroos, wallabies and grass eaters will move in and make more mowing redundant. But even roos don’t eat the weeds, which is one reason why they are ‘weeds’.
7. What should I plant in the next few weeks for flowers all summer?
Choose your favourite annuals, from spreading petunias to Californian poppies or the dozens of other annuals the garden centres have now got in stock. Feed them weakly and weekly.
8. Will perennials give me year-long flowers?
Yes, but you need at least four species, as each will flower only during it’s season. There are hundreds to choose from and years of happy reading of nursery catalogues so you can decide which ones to plant.. The longest bloomers in our garden are the Federation daisies which bloom spring to autumn or even into early winter, and any of the grevilleas that have Grevillea robusta as their great grandmother. Read the label or catalogue description for flowering times.
9. How can I get roses to bloom all summer and autumn?
First buy your rose bushes. Look for ones that say ‘long blooming’ or similar encouraging words. Many floribundas like Iceberg will flower most of the year, as will many of the recently bred ‘patio roses’ and ‘carpet roses’. None of those make good cut flowers except as tiny posies. Hybrid tea roses – the ones with tall, thorny legs – have long stems to provide excellent cut flowers. Cut hybrid teas back by about a third now, unless they are already forming buds or blooming. In this case, cut stems at least 30cm each time you pick the roses. Feed weekly, mulch well, come to an arrangement with your possums, prune off every rose as soon as it drops its petals, and you should have roses galore. The more feeding and pruning and watering, the more generous the roses will become.
PS: Coming to an agreement with possums in regards to who get your roses is neither simple nor easy. See previous and future columns.
10. How can I have lots of flowers for the holidays around Christmas?
Cosset you annuals, water your dahlias (they take about eight weeks from planting to picking) or plant gladioli within the next month. Prune your roses HARD after their November first blush is over then feed and water the rose bushes rigorously and hope the weather is kind.
11. How do I know if the seedlings and other plants I’ve just bought need sun or shade?
12. How do I get rid of spring weeds?
Dig, poison (even the ‘best’ herbicide will kill frogs and other non-target species) or whipper snip them to ground level, then mulch at least 60cm deep and wait three months for the weeds to rot. Or get a goat, but don’t blame me when it escapes and eats the rest of your garden and the neighbours’ too. Also check that none of your weeds are poisonous to goats.
13. When should I put in all the other summer veg?
See answer to number 2, ie ‘not yet’.
14. What should I plant now?
Spring onions, masses of potatoes, peas, snow peas, radish, rocket, chicory, fruit trees, potted herbs, asparagus and rhubarb roots, potted artichoke seedlings
15. What else should I be doing in the garden?
Do a bit of weeding, a little lawn mowing, plant a fruit tree or six, and don’t mulch your veg and flowers till the soil warms up. The most important job in the garden now is to sit in the sun with a long glass of something delicious, and enjoy the short season when it’s not too hot, too cold, and the mozzies (mostly) aren’t biting yet.
Discovering the red currant bushes that weren’t quite smothered by last summer’s choko vine. This spring’s resolution: keep the choko vine trimmed back.Picking the last of the Tahitian limes and navel oranges, and leaving the lemons on the trees to pick through summer.Thanking the red-browed finches for warning me that the first brown snake of summer is slithering through the rock garden.Putting out European wasp traps, so we don’t get stung and the wasps don’t prevent the bees from pollinating the fruit trees.Beginning the spring feeding of fruit, veg and flowers, a job that will continue for several months.Filling vases with the last of the rich red camellias.Watching the first mulberries form on the semi-dwarf black mulberry tree, and dreaming of feasts to come.
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