August Garden Problems
As we have seen in the last few weeks, the Irish Summer can be unreliable, with periods of heavy rain posing a risk to the garden you have worked hard on throughout the spring and early summer months. In this blog we are going to take you through some potential issues, and solutions for them to help keep your garden looking great despite the rain!
Waterlogged Gardens
Following heavy downpours, it is common for your garden to become a bit waterlogged, the grass and soil often being soggy underfoot. There are a few things to watch out for when this happens.
- Firstly, watch out for pests, such as slugs or snails, which tend to thrive in this type of environment and if not controlled, can cause lots of damage to your plants. See our full Pest Control blog for methods to avoid this issue.
- A great thing to do during a period of rain is to collect rainwater in a water butt. This water can then be used to water your plants when the sun returns!
- However, if you notice any standing bodies of water, in a wheelbarrow, or empty flower pots for example, dump these out to avoid attracting garden pests, such as insects as they love the humidity.
- Give your garden time to dry out before you begin working on it again to avoid causing further damage.
Weeds
- Now is a great time to remove weeds as the wet ground makes it easier to lift them, however do not use any pesticides or fertilisers at this time as the rainwater will wash them away.
- Another option here is to implement methods of natural weed control during dry spells to prevent the occurrence of weeds in the first place. Check out our How To Suppress Weeds video below.
Wind Damaged Plants
The Irish winds can cause major damage to the outdoor plants at any time of the year, so what better time to start implementing some preventative methods in your garden, particularly for taller perennial plants, which can be easily knocked over.
Our horticulturist, Charlie has given her top tips for staking perennials in order to help them survive windy spells, and also how to stake them to bring them back to life if the wind got to them before you did! See the full video from our How To youtube series for further detail.
- There are a few additional quick steps you can take if there has been a stormy spell to help your garden.
- Remove any fallen branches
- Rake up any leaves that have fallen
- Inspect your plants for any damage to the roots or stem, and where necessary remove these parts.
Harvesting Fruit and Veg
All your hard work will finally be beginning to pay off at this time of the year. Lots of fruit is ready to be collected and many vegetables are nearly ready to be harvested.
While it may be tempting to leave crops in the ground to pick as desired, it might be a good idea to start thinking about harvesting your crop and preserving what you aren’t using straight away, as if left too long, the inevitable rainfall could ruin your crops.
Refresh Your Hanging Baskets
As we enter the Autumn season, it is likely your beautiful summer hanging baskets have begun to wilt and lack colour. Now is a great opportunity to refresh the baskets, with some fresh, in season plants to keep them looking great. Look back to our blog if you need a reminder on perfecting your hanging basket! Additionally, if you would like some advice on what plants are in season and will give your hanging basket the best chance, pop in to any of our Tirlán CountryLife branches for some advice from our expert horticulturists.
GET IN TOUCH:
Gardens really are our second nature. So if you’d like help with something on this post, or anything else in your corner of second nature, please reach out to us on social media, or by email on hello@countrylife.ie. If the question is quite specific, it’s really helpful to include a photo. We’d love to help.
