What to do in the garden this weekend

Weather forecast is for warm sunny winter days this weekend, making it the perfect time to get out in the garden. 

Living Smart (Council's sustainability program) has teamed up with 'The Micro Gardener' to bring you monthly planting, gardening and harvesting tips especially for the Sunshine Coast. 

Enjoy a speed read or head over to Living Smart for the full article PLUS how to's, events and resources to help you on your sustainability journey.

Whether you've got a balcony or acres of space, with a little know how, you can grow an abundance of food. 

What to Plant in July

Veggies

This is an ideal time for sowing 

• asian greens, beans, beetroot, all brassicas (broccoli, kale, rocket, tatsoi, cauliflower, cabbages), broad beans 
• capsicum, carrots, celery, chard, chia, cool-season green manures
• eggplant, garlic, leek, lettuce, mizuna, mustard, peas, potato, perpetual spinach
• radish, silverbeet, spring onions and cherry tomatoes.

Fruits

• tropical apples, black sapote, blueberry
• carambola, citrus, coffee
• feijoa, grape, guava, kiwifruit
• mulberry, nectarine, olive, papaya, passionfruit, peach (try tropical and dwarf varieties), pomegranate
• strawberry runners - strawberries will be flowering and fruiting now. if your ‘mother’ strawberry plants are throwing runners, separate them and feed up well with compost and liquid seaweed to boost new root and shoot growth.

Herbs

• american upland or land cress, angelica, borage
• calendula, catnip, chamomile, chervil, chicory, chives, coriander (slow bolt), dill
• fennel, herb robert, hyssop, lavender, lemon balm, lovage, marjoram, mint, nasturtium
• oregano, parsley, perennial 'sawtooth' or mexican coriander, rocket, rosemary
• sage, salad burnet, thyme, watercress, winter savory and winter tarragon. 

Flowers

• calendula, cornflower, dianthus
• marigold, lobelia, nemesia, pansy, petunia
• sweet alyssum, phlox, snapdragon, statice, strawflower, sweet pea and viola.

Garden tasks for July

• replant strawberry runners and fertilise berries
• prune old asparagus ferns, feed and mulch
• divide and transplant arrowroot, garlic chives and other clumping plants
• prune grape and passionfruit vines to remove dead stems and any deciduous fruit trees
• feed, weed and mulch around fruit trees if you haven’t already done so
• maintain your tools, build garden beds while it’s cool and get vertical structures ready for spring planting
• grow sprouts or microgreens from sprouting seeds
• harvest turmeric and ginger. chop and drop leaves as mulch. grate and freeze in ice cube portions. leave the ‘mother’ plant in-situ and harvest what you need. there will be a bigger harvest next season and you can just use a sharp knife to cut what you need during the year.

Thanks to Anne Gibson from The Micro Gardener for her expertise