Tips for monthly garden's maintenance.

September is a wonderful time of year in our country to create a new garden or update an existing one.

This is the season to prepare the soil, adding compost and other fertilizers, and to replace or treat plants in pots and containers.

Designing and creating your own garden can be an interesting and exciting process. You can even grow not only fruit trees in the garden but also your own organic vegetables. What a pleasure it will be for you and your children to watch the growth process of the plants and then taste their first fruits.

The first step in this project is planning the garden.

It is advisable to divide the garden areas by types of plants, irrigation requirements, lighting, and other practical needs when planning.

Next, it is necessary to install a computerized drip irrigation system, which will help save significantly and also distribute water correctly and precisely.

It is recommended not to plant a lawn, but if possible, replace it with ground cover plants or artificial grass; you can even use river pebbles.

Grass consumes the most water; in addition, small lawns are easily trampled and require frequent maintenance.

Planting plants on the balcony can decorate it extraordinarily and create a corner of nature in our urban jungle. If the balcony is large and you plan to use many pots and containers, you can also install a computerized drip irrigation system. This will create the conditions for proper and timely watering and significantly ease your life.

(To be continued...)

 April is a month loaded with gardening work, opening the curtain to the upcoming summer. Most of our country is in breathtaking bloom, with predominant yellow and red flowers of the "field traffic light."

Spring can turn into summer so quickly that there will simply be no time for planting seeds and plants! Seeds at higher temperatures will simply die.

April is a good time of year to dig and aerate the soil in your garden. In March, the soil may have been too wet, but now it has dried enough, and you can, armed with tools, start to "plow" the ground.

It’s also a good idea to add compost, one-third of a 10-liter bag per square meter, and then aerate well.

If you have pots and containers on your balcony, it’s the perfect time to plant new plants. It is still quite possible to plant tubers of dahlias and other aster family plants (דליה, נץ החלב).

In addition to the above, special attention should be paid to rose bushes if you have them in your garden. You need to try to protect them from seasonal fungal diseases and mold (חילדון, כתם שחור).

If you do not want to use chemical preparations, try making a garlic extract at home. (They say it even helps against COVID-19:))) Otherwise, use Flash, Malathion, Confidor, phosphate treatments are also important.

If you have a lawn, you need to use plastic rakes to clear it of stones, leaves, and debris. If weeds have grown on the grass, you need to pull out the perennial ones. They are easy to identify by their larger and deeper roots. Be sure to fertilize the grass before turning on automatic watering, using granular fertilizer, which is widely available in plant nurseries. (I recommend Wendy, professional service, they send orders to your address in our difficult time.)

And it’s time to turn on automatic watering. Check the batteries in your irrigation timers and you can already set the program for twice a week for the lawn (30-40 minutes) and two to three times a week for bushes and flowers (30 minutes). Trees should be watered at less frequent intervals and with a larger amount of water.

The weather in April can be very capricious, so depending on its changes, as well as the characteristics of the region of the country, you should increase the amount of watering. More accurate information about watering can be obtained by personal consultation or in a plant nursery (משתלה).

Happy spring holiday, Passover!

In May, nature will reward you for the long hours of hard work in the garden, as May is one of the most beautiful months in the Land of Israel.

Perhaps you will want not only to continue caring for the plants and soil but also to simply rest and enjoy the beautiful blooming, the birds' singing, and the rustling of the leaves.

However, May is also a time when certain tasks need to be performed in your garden.

It's time to mow the lawns more frequently. If you have a watering system, set the timer for 30 minutes twice a week for the lawn. Trees should also be watered more.

May is the time for planting various seedlings, which fill the Israeli market.

Many plantings need to be done in March and April, but May is also a good time, for example, to plant various vegetables, either from seeds or directly from containers.

Below is a list of suitable plants that can be bought at the nursery:

 - Ageratum - אגראטום

- Amaranthus - אמרנתוס

- Aster - אסתר

- Celosia - צלוסיה

- Cosmos - קוסמוס

- Dahlia - דליה

- Lobelia - לובליה

- Portulaka - פורטולקה

 - Tagetes - טגטס (או ציפורני חתול)

It is a time for a high pest control and also paying attention to drying plants. You should cut all faded flowers from roses, annuals and perennials.  When you cut dry rose flowers make sure to cut them to the five-leaf junction, also important to remove all blind shoots that grow from the ground. It will be very efficient to additionally fertilize rose bushes.

The lawns should mowed very frequently during June.  

July is the hottest month in Israel and especially during this year. The average temperatures can reach 28-35 C (82-95 F). It is extremely hot and nobody wants to come out to take care of the garden. (So, you'd rather hire the landscaper:))

Your garden may look boring and dry. So how can you improve its look? By planting seasonal flowering annuals into your empty flowerbeds. 

The best advice: do not plant during the afternoon hours. The best time both for the plants and for yourself would be after 5-6 PM ant till the sunset.

It will be also good and beneficial for the plants if you cover them  with a sun-protecting net or even with an empty tin right after the planting. You can lift it  for some time during the morning hours. The plants will require everyday frequent and short watering for the first month. You need to water the lawn at least twice a month and the grass should be mowed taller than in spring. Do not forget to fertilize your lawn.

Maintenance does not include only watering the garden. Though it is very important. During the summer you need to fertilize the garden better by liquid fertilizer. Or you can use any chemical or organic fertilizer. Weeding should not be neglected, preferably manual. I mean  you can use a hoe or any hand tool to weed.

It is also essential to turn up the soil in order to provide air access to the roots. 

If you have roses, do not forget to fertilize them too.