Protect your Garden in a Heatwave
Here are some mighty helpful tips to help your garden get through, and dare I say it even thrive, in the extreme heat. Be prepared and protect your garden.
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If your plant is looking sad and not it's usual perky self, consider the last time you fed your plant. Plants need food to keep a balance of nutrition to maintain its wellbeing, commonly we speak to gardeners that have seen a decline in their plants health and this is commonly due to it not being fed with a fertiliser.
Fertilisers are materials, whether of organic or inorganic in origin, that supply nutrients to plants. The three major ingredients of a plant food are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Nitrogen is extremely important for leaf growth; phosphorus promotes development of roots, flowers and seeds or fruit; and potassium is necessary for the growth of strong stems and movement of water in plants, in addition to promoting flowering and fruiting.
Most inorganic garden fertilisers combine these three major elements with secondary nutrients and trace elements in a balanced form. They are known as N.P.K. mixtures. Some of the mixtures are higher in nitrogen while others contain a greater proportion of phosphorus or potassium, depending on the purpose for which they are intended. For example a fertiliser such as Thrive Complete with an N.P.K. mix of 5:7:4 is higher in phosphorus and therefore good for root vegetables, flowers, fruits, woody shrubs, roses, canes, citrus, sweet corn and legumes. A nitrogen-rich mixture of N.P.K. 10:4:6, is better for leaf and stem vegetables (cabbage, lettuce, celery, rhubarb, etc.), leafy shrubs and foliage plants.
Organic fertilisers include manures and animal and vegetable byproducts, such as blood and bone and cow manure. These contain smaller amounts of the major plant foods, so they need to be added to the soil in greater quantities. However, as they very often contain a large proportion of fibrous material they are good for build improving soil structure and texture, especially in sandy soils. Because organic manures have to be broken down by bacteria they release their nutrients slowly over a long period. As with inorganic fertilisers, some, such as chicken manure, are high in nitrogen while others, like blood and bone, contain more phosphorus. The best results in the garden come from using a mixture of both organic and inorganic fertilisers.
SOME DON’TS
Here are some mighty helpful tips to help your garden get through, and dare I say it even thrive, in the extreme heat. Be prepared and protect your garden.
If your plant is looking sad and not it's usual perky self, consider the last time you fed your plant.
Pesticide label directions should be followed at all times. They show what the product is and how to use it safely and effectively. They usually have the same sections arranged in a similar way.
We often hear from gardeners wondering if our seed products are ‘GM’ (genetically modified). The short answer is they are not, but we understand that some uncertainty remains.
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