Winter gardening activity chart by Malcolm Campbell
Roses	Before pruning, spray with curpic hydroxide (Kocide) which is safe on earthworms.	Replace secateurs blade if worn or damaged, as clean sharp cuts reduce stem die-back.	Prune and collect all cutting materials then spray with Eco-Oil or PestOil	Top dress with Wormswork Composite into soil under of roses.	Top dress newly planted roses with 50 grams of Neutrog's Sudden Impact for Roses per plant and scarify soil.	Collect all rose leaves and compost them. Never use them as mulch.	Chip hoe the weeds or for large patches use black poly film over them to etiolate when exposed.	Locate any new roses in areas that have not had roses before, in full sun. If clay soil is poorly drained add gypsum at 300 grams per sq. metre to soil surface.
Deciduous fruit trees	Before pruning spray with curpic hydroxide (Kocide) which is safe on earthworms, unlike other copper compounds.	Replace secateurs blade if worn/damaged and soak tools in White King, between trees.	Prune and collect all cutting materials then spray with Eco-Oil (BFA registered) or PestOil.	Jet Wormswork Garden Solution into root zone of pruned fruit trees.	Dig a trench at the edge of the drip area and irrigate with 100 grams of granular Citrus food (N:P:K 10:3:7) per linear metre or metre in height if young trees.	Collect all fruit tree leaves and compost them. Never use them as mulch, as they transmit fungal diseases and the teliospores will over winter.	Keep weeds controlled under the trees and to the edge of the drip pattern by either chip hoeing them off and digging them under as green manure.	When digging to plant new trees never add potting media to planting hole as it will swamp tree roots. If clay soil is poorly drained add gypsum at 300 grams per sq. metre to soil surface. Add Wormswork Castings to the planting hole.
Citrus	Rake up all leaf litter under trees and compost, but do not leave it on the soil as it harbours insect pests and fungal diseases.	Prune new trees to shape them and on old trees, remove dead wood only. If trees are so large they need canopy reduction do that in June-July as they get sunburnt in spring and summer.	Foliar spray all citrus foliage with Wormswork Garden Solution in June and jet some into the soil, out to the limit of the canopy spread.	Spray all citrus with Eco-Oil, White Oil or PestOil in July to protect from scale and soft bodied insect attack.	Dig a trench at the edge of the drip area and irrigate with 100 grams of granular Citrus food (N:P:K 10:3:7) per linear metre or metre in height if young trees.	Control slugs and snails by spreading coffee grounds at 30 grams per square metre or even instant coffee works within 92 hours and both are safe if dogs consume it, unlike all snail baits!	Scarify soil under trees monthly to suppress weeds and aerate cold winter soils and top dress with Wormswork Castings at a depth of 2cm.	If planting new citrus trees best months are in August to October and never tease their roots or they drop all their leaves! They can however be dunked into Seasol and planted in that saturated state. Feed initially with Nutri-Phos Guana (Bio-Tech Organics) 50 grams per tree on surface only, no need to dig it in.
Bedding plants from seedlings	Plant Pansies & Viola, Primula, Polyanthus, Nemesia, Antirrhinum, Carnation, Iceland Poppies & Cineraria.	Add 2cm of Wormswork Composite to bedding area to be planted and then dig it in. This provides nutrient and a rich micro-flora for healthy seedlings.	Soak all new seedlings to be planted in Seasol to make sure they suffer no transplanting shock.	Foliar spray with water soluble Dynamic Lifter concentrate fertilizer (N:P:K 10:4:6) every three weeks, while soils are cold.	Foliar spray seedlings with Wormswork Garden Solution three weeks after transplanting to increase soil micro-organism activity, even in winter. This also provides resistance to fungal diseases.	Control slugs and snails by spreading coffee grounds at 30 grams per square metre works within 92 hours.	Scarify soil every three weeks to suppress weeds and aerate cold winter soils. Chipped weeds make excellent green manure when dug in.	When plants have a well developed rosette, switch fertilizer to water soluble Nitrosol fertilizer (N:P:K 12.2:2.9:8.5 ) every three weeks, to induce healthy succession of flowers. Cold soils in winter need more nitrogen than in spring!
Bedding plants sown as seed en situ.	Add 2cm of Wormswork Castings to bedding area to be planted and then dig it in three weeks before seeding. Cultivate prior to seeding to disturb weeds.	Sow seed directly where it is to flower after tillage; Linaria, Nolana, Cornflowers, Nigella, Hollyhocks, Sweet Pea 'Bijou' & Virginia Stocks.	When seedlings are 2cm tall foliar spray over them with Workswork Garden Solution to induce sturdy healthy seedlings with a deep root run.	Foliar spray with water soluble Dynamic Lifter concentrate fertilizer (N:P:K 10:4:6) every three weeks, while soils are cold.	Hand weed to thin seedlings if too dense and replant then in spots that are thinly covered and top dress with Wormswork Composite to induce micro-organisms in the soil, that aid good seedling health.	Control slugs and snails by spreading coffee grounds at 30 grams per square metre works within 92 hours and it's safe on your pets if they fancy a latte.	Scarify soil every three weeks to suppress weeds and aerate cold winter soils. Chipped weeds make excellent green manure when dug in.	When plants have a well developed rosette, switch fertilizer to water soluble Nitrosol fertilizer (N:P:K 12.2:2.9:8.5 ) every three weeks, to induce healthy succession of flowers. Cold soils in winter need more nitrogen than in spring!
Vegetables, herbs and condiments	Plant crowns of asparagus & rhubarb, corms of garlic, tubers of Jerusalem artichokes and root stools of horseradish.	Plant 'seed' potatoes in full sun and into raised mounds if heavy soil. On organic production areas, you may need to lime the soil with garden lime.	Sow seed where they are to grow of salad rocket, beetroot, peas, carrots, coriander, onions, shallots & daikon or Japanese radish.	Seedlings of non-bolting coriander, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, karlaan, kohl rabi & pak choy.	Top dress newly planted veggie beds with 50 grams of Nutri-Phos Guana (Bio-Tech Organics) per square metre, no need to dig it in. For row planted crops like onions only spread fertilizer along the row.	Control slugs and snails by spreading coffee grounds at 30 grams per square metre works within 92 hours.	Scarify soil every three weeks to suppress weeds and aerate cold winter soils. Chipped weeds make excellent green manure when dug in.	When seedlings are 2cm tall foliar spray over them with Workswork Garden Solution on a monthly rotation. The foliar spray gets nutrient uptake even on cold soils, where root activity may be dormant.
Lawns	Mow couch and kikuyu lawns down to dirt and then spread 2cm of Wormswork.	Do not fertilize Dichondra 'Tom Thumb' areas with water soluble fertilizers as the high nitrogen levels will kill them.	Winter cut Buffalo to 6cm tall and spread 1cm of Wormswork Composite, them rake it in to settle.	Top dress all lawn areas with gypsum at 300 grams per square metre.	Do not use organic pellets on lawns in winter as it fosters fungal activity.	Hire a lawn aerator to spike and improve drainage on lawns planted on heavy soils.	On lawns with a dense thatch, hire a lawn de-thatcher, which is much stronger than your rotary mower with a low cut.	The fine shademaster and Kentucky blue varieties can be seeded in late winter while soil moisture is high. Seed damp poorly drained areas with Agrostis palustrus.
Container plants and hanging baskets	Spray all pots and hanging baskets with Eco-hydrate (wetting agent) at least once a year as pine based potting mixes dry out and when rewet, often shed water.	Top dress all pots with 1cm of Wormswork Castings and scarify it into the surface. This is vital to keep a healthy micro-flora in what are usually inert and sterile potting media.	Move sun loving plants to get the maximum low angle winter sun. Use a hand truck to move very large pots. If growing dwarf nectarines or peaches in pots move them to the coldest part of the garden to get their maximum winter chill, which is vital for good fruit set.	Treat potted Gardenias & Azaleas with Epson Salts (Magnesium sulphate) to return healthy green foliage.	Winter flowering plants such as Pansies etc. need a foliar spray with water soluble Nitrosol (N:P:K 12.2:2.9:8.5) every three weeks to sustain flowering in winter and early spring.	Check drainage holes to see slugs are not being harboured and if they are spread coffee grounds at 30 grams per square metre around to control them. When repotting use a small section of shadecloth over the drainage hole to exclude insects & slugs.	Scratch around potting media every three weeks to suppress weeds and aerate cold winter media.	Move your indoor plant collection out to get some rain on mild nights that look like raining. Then spray with Eco-Oil or PestOil to protect foliage from fungal attack, mealy bugs, cottony cushion scale and psyllid scale. Never insert cigarette butts in potting media as the nicotine residues are deadly, even to plants!