Time to get busy in the garden

Doing this during autumn will also make sure your garden looks neat and tidy right through winter until the next flush of growth hits during spring.

However, the way in which you tackle pruning is important.

First up, cutting tools should have sharp and clean blades. This is vitally important as dirty blades covered in sap can transfer disease, and blunt blades can tear bark, opening wounds that can become infected with disease and fungal infections.

With manual loppers and pruners, using a grind stone with a lightly oiled surface will be perfect. Lay the blade down with the sharp side pointed towards you and push the blade away from you over the stone with it angled to the sharp cutting edge. This is the most effective and safe way to sharpen your hand tools.

When it comes to chainsaws and pole pruners, a sharp chain is vitally important. Keeping your chain sharp can be done at home, but if you’re unsure ask an expert.

When it comes to deciding what to prune, tree limbs that are dead, diseased or damaged are a good place to start. If you can make the branches more compact they will be sturdier.

For deciduous trees, winter is the time to look at the structure and shape of the tree canopy but for now, reducing length in limbs should be your main focus. Use a telescopic pole pruner to allow you to safely trim branches from trees.

Lawn care

After a busy few months of mowing, lawns across the country are just a few weeks away from moving into an almost dormant stage, so autumn is a great opportunity to set them up to look fantastic throughout the winter.

The first thing to remember is weed control, and trying to get bare patches covered.

As the first rains of the season set in across much of southern Australia, feed and mow the lawn more frequently to get the desired coverage across bare patches and smother any broadleaf weeds out before winter sets in as they can outcompete the lawn for sunlight and nutrients.

The best lawn fertiliser is a slow release lawn food — this will feed small amounts every day for three months, which is ideal for strong healthy lawn growth.

Mowing is best done in cross patterns, never mow the same pattern if you can help it. Mow on a low setting, particularly if you're keen enough to mow twice a week.

Or, if you feel like your lawn is in need of a complete makeover, autumn is the time to do it.

Aerating your lawn will allow it to breathe again. The process of aeration can be done manually with a metal stake, however a much easier alternative is using an aerating tool. This will be particularly handy for those with larger blocks and more ground to cover.

The next step is to remove the thatch. Lawn thatch is a mix of dead and living plant material which has built up over time. It’s a combination of leaf litter, lawn clippings and just general debris from your garden which builds up over time, forming a thin covering on your lawn.

While a little thatch isn’t necessarily harmful, too much can suffocate your lawn and if left alone, it can have the same impact as compacted soil, and prevent vital nutrients getting to the roots of your lawn.

You can remove the thatch manually with a rake or by using a de-thatching tool.

Tips courtesy of STIHL. Next week: Keeping on top of your wood stack, leaf litter and vegie garden.