As far as mulching is concerned, I believe that pine tree or she oak needles form an excellent mulch. They have an acidic quality; a slow rate of decay makes them a good surface cover especially in gardens where the native plants are dominant.
On the hot days in February it is a good idea to water the citrus trees from overhead. Spraying over the leaves and soaking around the tree and beneath the canopy regularly is a proven method of keeping these fruit trees healthy at this time of year. Stone fruit should not be watered in this way as it may damage ripening fruit.
I started levelling out part of the garden for another try at paving. However, the hot weather caught up with me and I have put that job off until cooler times arrive. A gardener around the corner has made a wonderful job of his large block by planting a lot of native trees and building walls and a small bridge at the front of the house. He has used a mixture of local red stones and granite stones from a little further into the Darling Range. The effect is certainly startling and I may do a more detailed article on the garden in a month or so.
It is still advisable to keep on mulching around all plants to keep the need for watering down to a very minimum. As a matter of fact mulching is always an ongoing chore at this time of year.
There would be no doubt that gardeners will be looking forward to the cooler weather this year. Although this summer has not been very hot, it's always pleasant to get a good fall of rain and a few cool days. We have had a system that has allowed watering to be done on certain days according to the number of your house. Seems to have worked fairly well. Don't know what's going to happen if there are not decent falls of rain in the autumn and the winter. There are still hopes that there might be plans ahead for a pipeline from the North West of the State where the rainfall is very heavy over the summer months. Apparently most of the water either goes out to sea or evaporates after the rainy season is over.
Go To Page: 1 2
