By Bruce Molloy & Elisabeth Fekonia - Working in the garden in July and August

Work to do in the garden at this time of the year

July and August is still a busy time of the year after the initial input of March and April. If you’ve just begun your vegetable garden, don’t despair, there is still time to plant all the favourite winter veggies except for the broad beans, Brussel sprouts, onions and garlic. If you are in a frost prone area then you will need to strategically plant trees around your gardens so that the frost won’t settle down on the plants and kill them. Make sure you don’t block out the northerly aspect as the winter sun is easily lost on the garden beds. Another way to save your garden from frost bite is to water the garden before the sun comes up. This will go a long way to saving you from heart break.
The ground has really cooled down now and all growth is noticeably slowing. The rampant weed madness from summer is left behind and if you like a well manicured garden you can now easily achieve it. There is nothing like admiring a garden that is looking productive and orderly. You are allowed to stand back and enjoy your efforts and even show it of to your friends.

If the weeds are too much of a chore to remove from the garden bed, then you can take some wet newspapers and lay them over the weeds in the garden and then cover them with some mulch hay. Make a hollow in the mulch and place some compost in the hole and plant a seedling into it making sure not to break open the newspaper. Your garden will be instantly weed free and it will look civilized and productive at the same time.
What is sheet mulching?

Sheet mulching is the no dig method of gardening and it is very successful if it is done properly. By soaking newspapers in water and laying them on the ground, you will create a smothering blanket that will keep the soil damp and kill off all the weeds and grass underneath. The newspapers will need to be covered with mulch hay so that the papers will stay damp and to stop them from blowing away in the wind. It’s as simple as that! It is important to generously overlap the wet newspapers and to have them thick enough to create that smothering blanket over the ground. Any gaps will allow the existing weeds to find a toe hold and continue to grow over the newspapers so it is important that the job be done properly. Using newspapers this way will directly recycle them back into the ground and will make you feel good.

• Wait until good rain has fallen so that the soil is wet to begin with. This will help to break down the weeds and soil underneath as it attracts the worms and other creatures.
• Soak the newspapers thoroughly for at least ½ hour before using them. You can use wheelbarrows, wheelibins or anything that will hold water to soak the papers in.
• Use them in half newspaper thickness for larger areas (I just open them up) so that the weeds will be kept at bay for many months.
• Use a generous amount of straw in ‘biscuit’ form not fluffy mulching. You will see that the layers in a bale of mulch hay will come off in sections. Use mainly these biscuits as this will keep a secure covering for a long time.
• You can scatter blood and bone and any kind of manure down on the ground before laying down the newspapers. This will encourage the worms and microbes to break down the roots of the weeds and grass and also break open the hard soil underneath the sheet mulched area. You can lay down lucerne mulch on top of the paper as long as that is covered well with mulch hay.

Happy gardening!

What to plant now:

Seed to sow now:

What to harvest now: