It’s been a few months since our last update, and although summer has officially finished we still wanted to share with you what we’ve been up to.

Like most of us on the east coast, we’ve worn our welly’s most days and trudged through mud and very wet ground as we’ve tended the stock and tried to keep all our plants happy and healthy. Although there were a few patches of great weather sprinkled here and there, it has been an incredibly wet start to the year. We’ve recorded over 800mm of rain since January, which is nearly the total yearly rainfall for such places as Melbourne and Canberra! We’re expecting a lot more to come for the first half of this year, with news released by the Bureau of Meteorology that La Niña has stalled in the Pacific over the last few days and will continue well into the autumn months¹.

So what does that mean for the average gardener moving into autumn? It means that your garden will likely continue its summer growth patterns, largely due to the abundance of rainwater. What’s the difference between tap water and rainwater? Rainwater contains converted ammonium and nitrates, which fall onto the ground and seep into the soil that plants use to convert nutrients. Typical tap water in metro areas has been formulated for your consumption and can contain higher amounts of salts. these can buildup over longer periods of time and affect your soil pH and the micronutrient balance available to plants. This is why rainwater tanks are a great and cheap way to keep your gardens watered and your plants healthy and strong.  The extra rain will keep gardens looking vibrant as the weather cools and with plenty of moisture locked up in the soil for spring growth. Autumn colours will abound in crimson, amber and golden hues and will provide a stunning backdrop to our lives in the months ahead.

On the flip side, an extended La Niña guarantees higher humidity, which grass and weeds love. Lawnmowers and line trimmers will get an extra workout over the coming months and will compound our already full autumn gardening schedules. Those of us with heavy clay soils are feeling the pinch, with drainage problems popping up in and around our properties.

So what can we do?

Here are some tips to get you through the next few months:

• Assess your garden beds. See where problems are occurring, such as weeds, pests or drainage, and prioritise tasks to get this under control. Removing weeds and mulching, controlling pests and directing water where it’s needed will help prep your garden for the spring season
• Prioritise what you can do now and what’s most important, and work around what you can weather-wise. With cooler and wetter conditions ahead, planning can go a long way. Know your windows of opportunity, and plan accordingly. A great example of this is knowing when to repot cool temperateCool Temperate Cool temperate can refer to climactic conditions or a specific biome that hosts plant kingdoms typically associated with cool temperate rainforests. Climate areas correspond with Australian climate zones 6 and 7 and include cities such as Hobart, Melbourne and Canberra. Regional areas include most of the southern half of Victoria, Tasmania, southeastern New South Wales and the highland / Great Dividing Range extending into northern NSW and southern Queensland. Cool temperate regions experience high amounts of rainfall throughout the year, have a cold to cool winter and summers that are mild to warm. Snowfall in some of these localities is not uncommon. plants. Timing and prioritising this task works best when the warmest days have passed, the weather is cool, wet and not too coldCold Cold in this context is defined as areas of Tasmania and the highlands of Australia, usually at elevations 650m above sea level, with annual mean temperatures between 8 and 13C. Examples include localities such as Hobart, Launceston, Canberra, Orange and Lithgow that experience cold to cool winters and mild to moderate summers. Townships such as Goulburn, Bowral and Bathurst represent transitional areas between cold and cool temperate locations..
• If you’re lucky enough to have a larger garden with trees or live on a streetscape with larger ornamentals, it’s a good idea to check them out for signs of decay, stress and disease. Winter for most of the southern half of the continent is windy and stormy, and with an already record amount of moisture in the soil, the risk of downed trees and branches is very high. Contact your local council or a tree specialist to come and assess your site as this could save you time, money and hassle in the long run. It’s good practice to trim back bushes and trees and to clear obstructions away from property before they become an issue. Those of us on larger properties do this regularly as part of our ongoing maintenance. Time to get those chainsaws (safely) buzzing away – just don’t forget to wear proper protection.