Continue to plant a succession of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnip, onions, peas, silverbeet and radish, and feed fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser to encourage as much growth as possible before the rains arrive and the soil becomes cold.
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As leaves fall from deciduous fruit trees, give them a clean up spray of copper oxychloride. Spray the ground around them as well.
Focus on flowers
Iceland poppies do well planted now in a sunny, light, well-draining soil that has had compost added and a little general fertiliser.
Young seedlings tend to be a little frail so handle them gently. Plant the crowns at soil level as they can rot if set too deep.
Violets can have a tidy up trim and some blood and bone meal applied to help promote new growth.
Scatter some snail bait around, otherwise any new leaves or flower buds can be damaged.
Pick dahlia stems for the vase in the early morning when the blooms are crisp and fresh. Once cut, stand the stems immediately in water.
Next month is lilium planting time so prepare a bed for new bulbs in a well-drained, sheltered position.
Building up the bulbs
Hyacinths like cool conditions so can be planted this month.
For quality flowers purchase firm, plump bulbs.
As with all bulbs good drainage is essential.
If the soil is too rich the stems may become limp.
Depth of planting varies from 10cms in heavy soil to 15cms in light soils.
Plant tulips 15 to 20cms deep.
Wigging out
If you find jagged holes in young leaves and flowers it could be caused by earwigs.
These small long, thin, dark brown insects with a pair of pointy pincers at the end of their bodies mainly feed on decaying matter, aphids, spiders and caterpillars, but they can also turn their attention to plants, and if there is a large population can do considerable damage.
They are active at night and hide during the day under leaves, pots and old rubbish.
To control, remove hiding places and trap them by putting down some damp newspaper rolled up into the shape of a tunnel or use pots filled with straw and they should seek these out for shelter.
Rosemary makes the cut
Rosemary grows easily from cuttings taken in autumn.
Choose tip pieces about 10cms long.
Remove some of the lower leaves and dip the base of the cutting into some striking powder.
Put a number of cuttings into a pot filled with seed-raising mix and seal in a zip-lock bag.
