It's Winter in Ipswich. The nights can drop below zero, the days have you stripping off your clothes. Then the next night you are throwing off the bedcovers and freezing in the rain during the day. Gardeners will get outside into the garden for any reason but if you need an excuse to get your hands dirty now is a great time to :
Mulch. If you think mulching is important in summer to help with water retention its just as important in winter to help keep ground temperature even and therefore your plants endure less cold stress.
Liquid Fertilise with Silica and Potash monthly. Silica helps plants naturally withstand cold damage.
If you have young plants that you want to protect from the frosts Envy is a fantastic frost protectant that can be applied monthly.
Have you thought about a herb garden? Herbs grow so much better when its cold. Did you know 100g of 'fresh' basil can cost over $20 from the supermarket. For nearly the same amount you could buy a punnet of basil, a pot and the potting mix! You'll be the basil pesto King/Queen in no time! Think you need a bit of Herb help? Read my top tips here. Trevallan has all the everyday herbs plus a few different varieties, like bergamot, chamomile and chia.
Plant Seed Potatoes. I love eating fresh potatoes. If you haven't had much success with seed potatoes in the past (a little too much care I believe). You could try the hay bale method. Trevallan has a great variety of seed potatoes in stock now
Enjoy Camellia japonicas and sasanquas. Now is the perfect time to be choosing camellias and azaleas for your garden.
Azaleas should be blooming or starting to bloom. Fertiliser now to keep the flowers going.
If you need more reasons to get outside check out this post I wrote many moons ago - Autumn Gardening. Still very relevant in today's times.