30 November, 2011 2:12PM AEST

Don's do's for summer

It's almost summer, and the garden just isn't going anywhere. There's always work that needs to be done.

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So if you're pulling on the gardening gloves, where is the best place to start at this time of year?

"The big one at the moment which no one seems to be focusing on is the horrific damage that was done to trees during the drought," said Don Burke, gardening expert and TV personality.

"Their way of living is much slower than ours and the onset of disease or a problem can take ten years or more. If you put a driveway over a tree it's usually 15 years before they start to get sick."

Don said that the trees are going through a 'drought hangover', as they used all of their reserves to survive the drought, and that now is the time nurture the garden.

"All of your garden, from little grasses through to big trees, need nurturing.

"There are wonderful seaweed products you can buy, and what they do after a drought is promote recovery of diseased roots.

"Virtually no plants would have come through the ten year drought without a fair bit of damage to their roots, so I would get something like those seaweed products onto your plants."

As for the veggie patch, Don said that the thing to do now is to protect them from pests and diseases. His suggestion to do that is an interesting one, and it involves cooking oil.

"Would it be a perfect world if you could control pests with sprays that were as edible as the crops you're spraying them on?

"There now exists a bunch of products that are basically canola oil, there is a little bit of eucalyptus oil added to it, to control aphids and mites and all those sorts of things.

"There is one product that will basically stop black spot on your roses, and stops a lot of fungus disease on your veggies, that is pretty much baking powder."

Things to watch for in the Wide Bay are fungal diseases on your veggies, particularly in places prone to high humidity. Don also said that it's not too late to plant tomatoes, but not to bother with herbs like coriander if you're after the leaves, as they will go straight to seed.

So in the immediate future, what jobs should you be doing in the garden?

"Where ever you are in the Wide Bay, if the spring flowering is finished on a lot of plants, a light haircut is always good. It tidies them up, forces them to branch out a bit more and gives you better flowering.

"If the relatives are coming around for Christmas, I would suggest waiting another 2 weeks, and then go to your local nursery and look for potted bloomers.

"You can plant these little flowering things in the last week or two prior to Christmas just to spruce the garden up. It will look stunning when all the relatives arrive for Christmas, and it just makes everybody feel a bit happier."

Don't forget the lawn as well, with the key point being don't cut it too low.

"The ideal height, and I hate to admit it, but the girls are right. Men want to mow it close and they think that's better; no that's wrong. A lawn should be about 3cm high.

"Be careful with your lawn foods as you don't want to pollute the area too much. Use slow release lawn food if you are doing it.

"Over 85 per cent of fertilisers we put on lawns washes away and damages the environment. The slow release lawn food is far more effective.

"The thing about a lawn is that it makes you feel good about the world. You relax, something inside you starts whistling tunes, and the world feels right when the lawn is green."