In Perth, April marks the start of the Noongar season of Djeran. The heat begins to ease, the nights start to feel a little cooler and the mornings can be a little dewy. We start seeing more rainy days and gentle breezes.

Djeran is a wonderful time for the garden. The cooler weather means it’s the perfect time to plant your winter crops, and spring flowers. As rainy days become more frequent, we can ease back on our watering and listen out for the welcome sound of frogs.

Perth Planting Guide for April and May

Soil temperatures are still warm enough to suit a large range of seeds, especially brassicas like kale, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. Snow peas, sugarsnaps and sweet peas will also do well planted this time of year. Don’t forget to get your seed garlic and seed potatoes in the ground as well!

Check out our range of heirloom seeds sourced locally in WA as you plan what veggies, herbs and flowers to plant in Djeran.

Not sure what to plant? Explore our Seasonal Heirloom Seed packs.

 

Autumn Garden Jobs for Perth

Tidy Up Your Garden Beds

Now that the heat is wearing off, it’s a good time to clean up any summer growth that’s gotten out of hand. Some plants may have suffered from the heat, and will benefit from a gentle prune.

In the veggie patch, it’s time to clear your garden beds of spent annuals to make room for your winter crops. As you do so, it’s a good idea to reflect on what grew well and what didn’t, keeping a record to help you make decisions about what to plant and where in the coming seasons.

Save Summer Seeds for Next Season

Many summer annuals will have gone to seed by now. It’s often beneficial to let them go to seed, especially the plants that have performed particularly well in your garden. Pollinators and other beneficial insects will enjoy the flowers of summer annuals, and letting your favourite crops go to seed means you can harvest the seeds for next season. 

Different types of seeds have different seed-saving methods. Keep these tips in mind:

• Harvest seeds in pods (like beans and peas) when the pods are fully dry and brown. Simply snip off with secateurs, open the pods and check the seeds before storing.

• Most small seeds need to be harvested when brown and mature, but before the plant ‘spreads’ the seed. Alternatively, you can practice some wild gardening and let your plants drop their seeds where they will.

• For seeds from fleshy fruit like tomatoes, pick a delicious-looking, soft and ripe fruit. Scoop the seeds out and wash to remove the fleshy bits. Place on a tea towel or paper towel to dry.

• Save the seeds that germinate ‘true to type’ such as heirloom seeds. Seedlings you grow from hybrid seeds will be highly variable and not necessarily have the characteristics you liked in the parent plant. Keep in mind that some plants can cross-pollinate and produce seeds that aren’t true to the parent – especially plants in the cucurbit and brassica families.

• Store seeds only when fully dry to avoid rotting. Check out our gorgeous seed storage boxes handmade locally in Perth by the Vic Park Men’s Shed.

• Label your seeds when storing with the name and date so you can keep track.

 

A gorgeous way to store the seeds you save. Jo from Urban Revolution designed these seed storage boxes, and they're handmade in Perth by the Vic Park Men's Shed.

Compost Your Garden Prunings

As you’re tidying your gardens, hold onto all your prunings and dead annuals rather than putting them in the green waste bin. These make excellent compost material!

If you have a small amount, you can add them to an existing compost bin or worm farm. If you’ve got a larger pile of prunings, try making a hot compost pile in one go for a quicker process. If you do attempt a hot compost pile, we recommend having a compost thermometer on hand to help you monitor your progress.

Chop your prunings into small pieces using secateurs (or a mulcher if you have one) before adding to the pile. This will help the composting process speed up as well.

New to composting? Read our Beginner’s Guide to Composting or register for one of our upcoming workshops.

Give Your Soil Some Love

Now is a great time to replenish the soil in your garden beds in preparation for planting out new crops. Also pay particular attention to the soil around your heavy feeders like citrus and roses.

• Add a good quality compost to your garden beds – either some you made yourself or something like our Nutrarich Compost.

• Animal manures can be added now too. If adding animal manure to edible crops, ensure it is well aged and preferably hot composted.

• Give your heavy feeders like potatoes, garlic and brassicas a drink of liquid seaweed or fish emulsion to keep them growing healthy in the coming months.

• If parts of your garden didn’t perform well over summer, consider adding some soil amendments such as rock dust, blood and bone or spreadable microbes. Not sure what is right for your garden? Speak with one of our team about what soil amendments suit the conditions in your space.

 

Heavy feeding crops will benefit from a fortnightly dose of seaweed tonic to support healthy growth in the coming months.

 

Apply a Generous Layer of Mulch

Top up your garden beds and pots with a generous layer of organic mulch to help:

• Make your watering more efficient, preventing run off and quick evaporation.

• Regulate soil temperatures to protect your plants and the soil life.

• Add organic matter to the soil as it slowly breaks down, improving soil nutrients and texture.

• Suppress weeds as they begin cropping up in the cooler weather.

Keep Eyes Peeled for Signs of ‘Pests’

Manage any pests and diseases in your garden by first observing and then applying chemical-free solutions that don’t upset the rest of your garden eco-system.

• Place cabbage moth decoys in the garden, especially around your newly planted brassica crops, to deter white cabbage butterflies from laying their eggs.

• Check for signs of fruit fly on your late season fruit, using exclusion netting or fruit fly traps where needed. 

• Consider copper slug tape around pots if you notice the signs of slugs or snails.

• Keep planting flowers that attract beneficial insects, and look at ways to create more habitat for birds, lizards, ladybirds and other natural predators that will help keep pest populations in check.

Read our Natural Pest Management Guide for more ideas.

 

Deter White Cabbage Butterflies from laying eggs on your brassicas with these Cabbage Moth Decoys

 

What's Going in Your Garden this April and May?

Djeran is an exciting time for Perth gardeners. Enjoy the cooler change to the weather and take time to dream up what crops you want to be harvesting through the winter months and into spring. With the milder weather, it’s a great time to just get outside more, potter around and spend time in your garden.

Wishing you a ‘plantiful’ Djeran!