How to get the best from your mid-summer garden

January is the month to put everything in place for a colourful and productive midsummer garden that can keep on going until the end of autumn.

Take out the flowering plants that are looking tired and fill the gaps with new plants or sow seed. There are still four to five months of flowering left, until the first frost.

Hot summer survivors

Cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, and portulaca are all quick growing annuals from seed. They are sun lovers and are water wise, especially gazania, which is a low growing groundcover with dazzling flowers.

Gazania 'Caledon Giants Mixed' offers an array of glowing colours and very large flowers ranging from sulphur-yellow to mahogany red.

The dwarf Lemon Drop marigold is another popular flower for scatter sowing to fill gaps in the garden. It is even quicker to flower, producing a mass of canary yellow flowers on tiny plants.

If sown now, Cosmos will be in bloom for Easter. Its worth clearing some space for these graceful plants at the back of a border or where they can grow en-masse.

The mix of pink, white, purple, and burgundy flowers attract butterflies and bees, and birds enjoy the seed heads. They tolerate poor soil and hot, humid conditions.

Another tough and tall grower is Zinnia Lucky Day Mixed which produces extra-large flowers on strong sturdy stems. Its quick to germinate and reaches a garden height of 60cm.

Vegetables second time around

There are still lots of summer vegetables that can be sown or planted out as seedlings. In most areas and especially in sheltered gardens that don't receive early frost, there is still a four to five growing period before winter starts to slow everything down.

According to Kirchhoffs Marlaen Straathof, quick summer crops that can still be sown are bush beans, beetroot, carrots, cucumber, Swiss, chard, baby spinach leaves, tomatoes and even lettuce in cooler parts of the veggie garden that get afternoon shade.

Tomatoes take about four months to harvest and that should help you calculate whether to go the seed or seedling route.

Cherry tomatoes like Red Cherry Sweetie or Cherry Yellow Pear are quicker to harvest.

The second season of tomatoes always seems to be less affected by pests as the fruit starts developing in March and April when there are fewer pests around.

Fungal diseases are more of a problem, but this can generally be prevented by watering the plants from the bottom to keep the leaves dry. A copper-based fungicide like Coppercount N will also help.

Herbs for summer and autumn

Sow basil, dill, nasturtiums, Italian parsley, and chives for an ongoing supply of annual herbs until the end of the season.

If you already have basil in the garden, prolong its edible life by removing the flowers. Prune the other herbs to keep them in shape.

If you have an abundant supply of basil, cut one or two bushes back by about two thirds and use the harvested leaves for pesto, which can be frozen.

Coriander will tend to send up mature leaves. Discard the bushes and rather sow again, as the next batch will mature when it is cooler.

Tip top lawn

Fertilise the lawn to replace nutrients leeched out by the December rain. Use a 5:1:5 fertiliser or Vigorosa (5:1:5) and water in well afterwards. Vigorosa can also be used to feed the flowers and shrubs.

Article Courtesy Caxton CTP Printers and Publishers Ltd