Garden To-Do / August
August is the hinge month. It is still winter, often the wettest month of the year here, but the days are stretching, the light is changing, and the garden knows spring is coming. The smart gardener uses August to finish every last bit of winter pruning and get the soil fed and ready, because once September arrives, everything starts moving fast.
Still cool, with daytime highs around 19 to 20°C and overnight lows of about 11 to 13°C. Slightly warmer than July, especially towards the end of the month, when the odd mild day starts to feel like spring. The days are noticeably longer than a month ago.
Frontal activity continues and August can deliver some strong blows, particularly south-westerlies. Berg winds still appear ahead of the fronts, warm and dry and thirsty. As the month wears on, the worst of the winter wind starts to ease, though it varies year to year.
August is typically the wettest month of the year here, averaging around 66 mm. The rain comes in proper frontal soaks, which is excellent for the garden but can waterlog heavy pots and poorly drained beds. Make sure everything is draining freely.
Finish any fruit tree pruning early in the month before the sap starts rising. Feed citrus trees now with a balanced fertiliser so they are ready to flower and fruit in spring. Spray stone fruit with a copper-based fungicide before bud burst. Continue planting new trees while the soil is still cool and moist.
If you have not pruned your roses yet, do it now, this is the last call before new growth starts. Finish any hard pruning on summer-flowering shrubs. Divide and move perennials while they are still dormant. Feed established shrubs and hedges with a slow-release fertiliser so they are ready to push when spring arrives. Plant new indigenous shrubs and groundcovers, the wet soil makes establishment easy.
Start sowing summer annuals in seed trays towards the end of the month: cosmos, zinnias, sunflowers and petunias can all go in now under cover, ready to plant out once the last cold snaps are past. Continue feeding winter annuals to keep the colour going through September.
Start tomato, pepper and chilli seeds in trays indoors or in a warm, sheltered spot. In the beds, sow the last round of cool-season crops: peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes and beetroot. Prepare new beds for spring planting by digging in compost now so it has a month to settle. This is also a good month to start strawberry runners if you did not get them in during autumn.
Feed the lawn with a balanced fertiliser towards the end of the month to give it a head start on spring. Weed thoroughly while beds are still open and visible. Check and repair irrigation lines before the dry months arrive. Turn the compost heap. This is the last quiet month before everything speeds up, so use it well.
Indigenous plant of the month
In August, while most of the garden is still in its winter lull, the wild rosemary lights up. This soft, rounded shrub is covered in silver-grey leaves that gleam in the low winter light, and from July through to October it produces clusters of tiny white flowers with dark purple centres that look like little snowdrops scattered along every stem. After flowering, the seeds are wrapped in fluffy white hairs that drift in the breeze, giving the bush a second show and its Afrikaans name, kapokbos.
The silver sheen on the leaves comes from fine hairs that trap moisture, which is how the plant survives extended dry spells, so it is properly water-wise once established. It is at home in the sandy, well-drained soils and coastal conditions we have here, and it handles wind, exposure, clay and even moderate frost. Plant it in full sun in a rockery, on a dry bank, as a container plant or as part of a mixed fynbos border. It reaches about 1 to 1.5 m and needs very little besides an occasional trim to keep it bushy. The leaves are aromatic and have a long history of traditional use in cooking and herbal remedies, much like rosemary, which is how it got its common name.
See you at the nursery,
Clint
The Farmyard Nursery
Need a hand getting started? WhatsApp us or visit the nursery, and we will point you to the right plants for the season.
