Home Composting Programme

July is the month for pruning and feeding, and also the month when we mow the lawns short at the end of the month. The temperatures of the winter days and nights are higher than usual, which means we can start pruning any day from 13 – 25 July in the frost areas. The Capetonians can prune later.

ACID-LOVING PLANTS
These plants mostly bloom in the winter months and now require extra attention with feeding, especially with Trelmix foliar feeding to prevent the flowers from dropping. This includes azaleas, camellias, magnolias, Christmas roses, and also your citrus trees. Don’t forget to feed your blueberries with Acid Plant Mix. I also now spread old tea bags and coffee grounds over their soil.

ROSES
Roses should be pruned in July and then receive fresh compost with ROSE MIX as feeding. No water for 3 days after the pruning period to prevent fungal diseases on the pruning wounds. Early feeding will not force the rose to bud faster, as the nitrogen is not immediately available, but the Rose Mix focuses on strong root growth first. This is also the time of year when I pour 5ml Trelmix in 1 litre of water over each rose’s root system, after the rose has already been thoroughly watered.

VEGETABLE BEDS
Now is the time to prepare your new beds for summer with compost and vegetable mix so that the minerals are available when you transplant the seedlings from August. The winter vegetables now need to be sprayed regularly with Trelmix and Kelpak alternately, especially as the Brassicas start forming heads, as this is the period when aphids attack the new fruit. Remember to pour compost extract water over your vegetable beds monthly, as the soil organisms become lazy in the cold winter months.

FRUIT TREES
Prune your trees from mid-July and feed the soil with compost and fruit tree mix. There are several videos available on how to prune fruit trees. Order from Tessa. A new video will be released on 10 July, titled INCREASE YOUR FRUIT TREE YIELD WITH THE CORRECT PRUNING AND FEEDING METHODS.

LAWNS
If you have a lot of dead grass in the root system, it would be good to mow the lawn short at the end of July and rake out the dead patches, as this causes mole crickets and fungal diseases. Then spread compost or worm compost over the grass to improve the root system. If there are bare spots on the ground, pour COMPOST EXTRACT WATER there after aerating the soil with a fork. Do not apply any grass energiser if frost is still occurring or if you are not going to water regularly for 2 weeks.

DECIDUOUS TREES AND SHRUBS
These plants will bud early this year and need extra attention to the root zone. Spread compost and PLANT MIX as feeding to strengthen the root system. Water them deeply when watering.

POT PLANTS
The winter months are the time to give extra attention to pot plants and decide whether to transplant them into new potting soil or just let them stand in compost extract water for 30 minutes so that the soil organisms can move into the dead potting soil via the water. I also feed the soil organisms with KELPAK WATER, which I pour over the soil so that the organisms can multiply in the pots again, and thus you do not need to replace the old potting soil with new potting soil. Even my orchids are treated this way.

SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL 10 JULY
There are special prices on the following products, even if not shown on our product lists. This offer is only for products ordered and paid for before 10 July.

  • VEGETABLE MIX R120
  • TOMATO AND PUMPKIN MIX R80
  • FIG TREE MIX R40
  • FRUIT TREE MIX R80
  • ROSE MIX R80
  • CLIVIA AND PERENNIAL PLANT MIX R80
  • ACID PLANT MIX R80
  • PLANT FOOD MIX R120
  • AEROBIC COMPOST BUY 4 BAGS FOR THE PRICE OF 3 (R180)