THE new year has arrived and you now have around 360 days to get your vegetable garden growing.
Flex your gardening muscles and give yourself a good workout in the privacy of your own backyard.
ALSO READ: 5 New Year’s resolutions you can keep
While you are getting fitter with pruning, weeding, composting, raking, digging, planting and mowing, your garden will reward you with lush growth and great harvests.
Another advantage is time spent in the sunshine and fresh air has a positive influence on your psychological health – relieving stress and aiding in depression.
Regular hours spent in the garden will also work the muscles in your legs, back, and stomach, giving you a cardiovascular workout while the festive season weight melts away.
For coastal areas, January is a great time to prune low branches of trees, allowing in more sunlight and taming overgrown shrubs.
Rotate indoor and shady patio plants, as well as hanging baskets regularly towards the light to ensure even leaf growth.
This is also the perfect time to plant more chives, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, coriander, and remember to plant your first crop of seed potatoes for an early winter harvest.
For those more interested in the aesthetics of gardening, here are some tips to care for your rose bushes:
Make the following resolutions to grow the best roses ever:
• Deadhead or lightly cut back the stems of the red roses in your garden early in the year so they flower on St Valentine’s Day
• Keep them foliated by not cutting long-stemmed blooms for the vase, and spray regularly against black spot, mildew and red spider mites to avoid leaf drop
• Study your roses. If the leaves are a bleak, light green colour, they need rose fertiliser. Bad performance can mean the roots are too dry or robbed of food and water by another plant’s roots
• Use water in a clever way. Roses need at least two or three deep waterings a week. If you have restrictions, water them with grey water. Mulch the soil around the base of your roses. This will keep them cool for the heat to come.
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