Rhiwbina Living Issue 55

The Summer
Garden
38
Feed your plants
The summer months can
be tough on your plants as
they deal with both heat and
summer storms. Most plants
continue to grow throughout
summer, following on from their
initial development in spring.
Container plants especially
exhaust their nutrients quickly
and will need replenishing with
plant food.
A general purpose plant food
should be suitable for most
plants but if you are growing
fruit or vegetables, make
sure that your plant feed is
appropriate to your needs.
Feed little and often instead of
big, infrequent doses during
the growing season and stop
feeding at the end of summer.
Hydrate your
garden
Around the villages on dusty
summer mornings, you'll often
hear the soothing hiss of gardeners
watering their gardens. And they
do it at this time of day for a very
good reason - this is because it's
typically cooler at these times of
day, which allows the water to
soak down into the soil, keeping
it moist for longer. There is less
evaporation at night too, since the
temperatures are lower.
Water them slowly and at the
roots. New plants require less
water more frequently and older,
more mature plants do great with
heavier waterings at less frequent
intervals.
Maintain your
lawn
All lawns need sunlight,
good drainage and moisture.
Continuous hot weather
can affect the health and
appearance of your grass and
in conditions like this, consider
reducing your mowing schedule
to maintain at least some
moisture in your lawn.
Weeds are also often the bane
of most gardeners' lives and
the best way to keep on top of
these in your lawn is to mow. If
the weeds are more prevalent, it
might be worth using herbicide
on it to eradicate them.
Either way, keeping your lawn
watered will allow it to flourish
during the summer months.