Spring gardening frenzy hits Wimmera

Lockdown has given people ample time to flex their green fingers.

Wimmera Aquatrail manager Luke O'Connor said he hadn't seen a surge in demand like this before.

"Ever since the weather has changed, people have been coming out in droves," Mr O'Connor said.

"It was an even bigger increase than last year."

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Mr O'Connor said spring and early summer were the busiest months of the year.

"From now until Christmas it's extremely busy," he said.

Nursery attendant Julie Marsh said that springtime was the best time of year to be gardening.

"You can plant anything in spring really, because the ground starting to warm up," Ms Marsh said.

"Through summer, it's too hard, and in winter, a lot of plants are dormant. They're not doing anything. Spring is the time you're trying to put stuff in.

Ms Marsh said vegetables are prevalent at the moment.

"People are putting all your veggies in, especially tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, squash, beetroot, capsicum; all those sorts of things are getting planted as people are getting their veggies in," she said.

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According to Ms Marsh, seedlings can be an easier option than planting straight from the seed.

"Seedlings have got a little bit of a head start because with seeds you've got to wait for it to germinate, and then where's your little plant already up and going," Ms Marsh said.

Spring is also an excellent time to plant different flowering annuals, such as petunias, marigolds and pansies.

In spring, fruit trees will also start to come out in bud and begin bearing fruit, so it's a good time to start protecting your plants from insects and other pests.

Ms Marsh said the best thing was to keep an eye on your plants.

"You've just keep an eye on them. There's lots of different insects of course, but, um, there's lots of different sprays as well," she said.

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"There's a lot of different insecticides on the market and there's fungicides as well."

It's also a great time to be pruning and keeping up with garden maintenance.

"You can prune anything at the moment because if you cut it back now, it's going to go in the next few weeks; it'll shoot out," Ms Marsh said.

The only thing that shouldn't be pruned in spring is roses, according to Ms Marsh.

"They would have been well and truly pruned by now, in June or July," she said.

Springtime is a great time to start preparing for how best to protect a garden from the heat of summer.

"Putting in mulch and a good reticulation system, with drippers on and even a timer," Ms Marsh said.

"Mulch on the top helps stop the heat getting down into the roots in summer."

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