Preparing Your Garden for Spring: August Gardening Tasks

With spring only a month away, there’s plenty to do in the garden! Now is the time to prepare and plan for spring planting, including sprouting your seed potatoes to ensure a Christmas harvest. August is also the perfect opportunity for a winter tidy-up—clip the hedges, edges, and prune a selection of fruit trees.

In the Vegetable Garden

As we approach spring, the vegetable garden requires several key tasks:

Soil Preparation

It's essential to prepare your soil for the coming season. If the soil becomes compacted, air and water struggle to move through it, limiting root growth and hindering plant establishment. Blend in compost and organic amendments to enhance soil structure.

If you’ve planted cover crops like mustard and lupin, now is the time to dig them in. These plants will break down in a matter of weeks, enriching the soil with nutrients and organic matter.

Cold-Hardy Vegetables

Now is a great time to plant cold-hardy vegetables such as:

• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Peas
• Mesclun
• Onions
• Silverbeet
• Spinach
• Coriander
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme

Harvesting

In August, you can also harvest Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, celery, kale, leeks, winter lettuces, mizuna, parsnips, rocket, silverbeet, and spinach.

Early-Season Lettuces

Consider planting early-season lettuces and other salad crops. In colder areas, using poly tunnels or protective cloches can help them thrive.

Potatoes

Start sprouting seed potatoes now. Most potato crops take about three months to mature, so they should be planted in September for a Christmas harvest. Always choose certified seed potatoes, as these are specifically selected to thrive in home gardens and are free of viruses and pests. Mix in a balanced fertiliser into the garden beds before planting.

Pest Control

Lay down slug and snail control measures to prevent these pests from munching on your seedlings.

In the Fruit Garden

As the days start to lengthen and temperatures rise, buds on fruit trees may begin to swell in preparation for bloom.

Harvesting Fruits

You can still pick tamarillos, persimmons, avocados, and citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, and mandarins.

Planting Deciduous Trees

Now is a good time to plant deciduous fruit trees while they are still dormant. Ensure these trees are positioned in full sun, with shelter from prevailing winds for optimal growth.

Staking Young Trees

Stake all young fruit trees to help their roots anchor into the soil during their first few seasons.

Strawberry Planting

August is ideal for planting strawberries. These plants benefit from a period of winter chilling, which helps stimulate flower buds that produce fruit. Prepare the beds by working the soil over with a fork, blending in compost to enhance fertility.

Protecting Sensitive Plants

In frost-prone areas, protect tender fruit trees with frost cloth to safeguard them against cold snaps.

Pruning for Growth

Pruning contributes to new growth, leading to more fruit production and better light penetration. Always remove dead and diseased wood. Prune apples, pears, and apricots after the fruiting season. Feijoa should be pruned once it has finished fruiting. Avoid pruning peaches, plums, and almonds in winter, as this can spread the silver leaf virus; those should be pruned in summer.

In the Flower Garden

With spring on the horizon, the garden starts to come alive with blossoms. Magnolias, blossom trees, daffodils, tulips, and many other flowers are beginning to provide a beautiful floral display.

Flowers to Pick

You can pick flowers such as daphne, warratah, protea, azaleas, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, camellias, viburnum, wallflowers, winter roses, hellebores, and dianthus.

Planting New Flowers

Consider planting roses, gladiolus, paper daisies, and dahlias in frost-free areas. While dahlias are hardy once established, new plants are not always frost-tolerant. Other options include hebes, lavender, lavatera, nemesia, azaleas, rhododendrons, violas, kale, bellis, calendula, and clematis.

Feeding Bulbs

Apply bulb food to existing bulb plantings and side dress pots and planters with a balanced fertiliser.

Pruning and Tidying

Now is your last chance to tidy up the garden before new growth emerges in spring. If you’re unsure about your plants, a general rule of thumb is to prune after flowering rather than before. For roses and hydrangeas, prune now as they start to bud, focusing on removing any dead or unproductive wood.

Weed Management

Stay on top of weeds to prevent significant issues come spring. Weed empty garden beds as soon as anything appears. Applying a thick layer of mulch can help control weeds and even kill some small weed plants.

August is a busy month in the garden as we prepare for the arrival of spring. With focused efforts in the vegetable, fruit, and flower gardens, you can set the stage for a fruitful and vibrant growing season. Embrace the opportunities this month provides, and look forward to a flourishing garden as the warmer months approach!