Watering

Place leaf litter and mulch around your seedlings to prevent water loss and weeds. Plants should be watered to ensure that most of them survive their first Summer.

Unless there is a dry spell straight after planting (in which case water every few days), your seedlings can generally be left to themselves until it begins to warm up in early Summer.

Water your seedling once a week or as needed (i.e. if they are drooping, yellow leaves, generally looking stressed) over Summer until the weather cools in Autumn. Plants should not need to be hand watered after this point.

You may wish to set up a watering roster, especially over the Summer school holidays.

Weed competition is one of the most serious threats to the success of your planting site. The better weeds are controlled the better your seedlings will grow and get established.  As time goes on and more native plants get established, there will be less area for weeds to grow and less effort to control weeds.

It’s important to visit your planting site to check on weeds after planting. Your planting area should be kept free of weeds for at least the first few years after planting.

Some weeds can be removed easily by pulling them out by hand, but others (e.g. those with bulbs or long taproots) may need to be dug out.  Students can either use a spade or small gardening fork to remove them. It’s always easier to weed after rain when the soil is softer. Try not to disturb the soil too much while weeding.  Other weeds may require spraying with chemicals.  It’s best to contact a professional weed contractor for this.

Hand weeding is a great chance to learn some common weeds – you will soon start noticing them everywhere!