August is the month to Dream and Plan your Central Otago garden

Summer gardens are made in winter...but August can be a frustrating month in a Central Otago garden.

Sometimes the weather can lull you into a false sense of security. Some days are warm, some plants are looking like they are moving along, and at times the air has a warmth to it...

But don’t trust it. I can promise you that you can’t believe it either. However, there are things you can be doing to ease that itch that we all get at this time of year.

Make the most of the warm weather that’s passing through.

This is the time I like to get in and clean everything-the garden shed, the glasshouse, all my tools, and that collection of seedling pots you’ve collected.

Start the coming season right. Don’t bring any disease or pests into it. This is the easiest way to do it. Make sure you pay close attention to your tools.

Sharpen, clean, and oil them because they will soon be working hard for you, and you paid a lot of money for them.

Take stock of anything that needs to be replaced. I have a number of bamboo stakes that will need to be replaced this season, and some of my cloches for seedlings are looking a little worse for wear, and I’ll need to get the needle and thread out!

This is also the time I get out all my seeds and make a list of everything I have and need.

Now, I may make that list, but that doesn’t mean I stick to it. I am trying hard not to get any more tomato seeds, but until the new season catalogue comes out, my will is strong. However, once I open those pages, I’m done for.

Each season, I tell myself I won’t go too big, and I generally do.

I have also finished clearing the last of the beds and have begun the job of moving horse manure and compost into most of the beds. The glasshouse will need some attention as the soil is very dry and doesn’t have a heap of life in it, which may be a reason it didn’t flourish last season.

So, it’s time to give it a deep clean and give some love to the soil in there. I will sow a green crop first, which will begin to take off as the soil warms, and once I begin to plant into it in early October, I’ll dig it into the soil to give it an extra boost.

The other big job that we do over the winter period is pruning.

I will not give you any advice on this as we are still learning about what and how to do this, and each year we try something different.

Last summer saw a huge amount of growth on our apricot tree, so for the first time, I will leave the pruning till after it has fruited.

I’d read somewhere to leave stone fruit till then, as the tree will put in a huge amount of effort to produce growth after you’ve pruned, to the detriment of the fruit, so we’ll see how we go.

And other than a light trim to bring down the height in the trees to make it easier to pick, it was a fairly minimal prune this season.

Use this time to dream of warmer days and all the things you’d like to eat and enjoy in those summer months.

Summer gardens are made in the winter months.