When you’re starting out in the garden it can be pretty demotivating when your carefully tended plants fail to flourish. We joined forces with Tui’s Facebook friends to provide some advice on succeeding in the garden this season so you can successfully 'grow your own'.
PLANNING
Key to success is planting plants suited to your environment:
- Where are the sunny, shady and windy spots? Some plants require more sun than others, and some more shade.
- What kind of soil do you have – rich dark brown, clay or sandy? Plants thrive in different kinds of soil, and by knowing what kind you have, you can add the right soil amendments to your garden before planting.
- What is growing well locally? Check out the neighbours to see what plants are thriving, that you like the look of.
- Head along to the garden centre and ask them what plants will suit your conditions.
PLANTING
To ensure your plants get off to the best start and grow successfully it is so important to make sure you are planting into nutrient rich soil. Add organic matter to your soil like sheep pellets or a layer of Tui Compost before planting, or plant into a planting mix designed for the type of plant – like Tui Vegetable Mix.
Plants that can thrive with less attention include:
- Veges & herbs: silverbeet, garlic, Miner’s lettuce, rocket, rhubarb, Jerusalem and globe artichokes, leeks, mint, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley.
- Fruit: raspberries and blackberries.
- Flowers: calendula, lavender, marigolds, sunflowers, salvia, yarrow, daylily, red hot poker.
For something different, succulents are a great option as they are easy to grow and low maintenance. They will thrive without water for weeks!
Tui’s Facebook friends had success with the following veges, with little effort: lettuce, peas, microgreens, silverbeet, radish, beetroot, basil and rhubarb.
FEED & WATER
Water is the lifeline of your garden and lack of water is a common cause for plants dying. Installing a watering system will help – you can easily create your own with a soak hose, or setting up sprinklers around your garden. Alternatively there are more sophisticated systems you can buy. A watering system will save you the time and effort of walking around the garden with the hose or watering can.
Layers of Tui Pea Straw Mulch around plants will conserve moisture, making your watering efforts last longer.
Like people, plants need food too, so make sure you feed your garden as required and give plants a dose of Seasol plant tonic every month or so to make them thrive.
