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Daily gardening tip · Southern hemisphere · Sunday 18 October 2026 · mid spring

Put Supports in Place Before Plants Grow Fast

Installing stakes and trellises now prevents root damage and keeps fast-growing spring crops supported as they explode with growth.

Put Supports in Place Before Plants Grow Fast
20 minuteseasyplanning
  1. Decide which bed will hold tall crops like tomatoes and climbing beans.
  2. Push sturdy wooden stakes or metal trellises deep into the soil before planting or while seedlings are still small.
  3. Ensure the support is sunk at least 30 centimetres deep so it will not topple under the weight of mature plants.
  4. Guide young main stems gently toward the frame using soft plant ties or cloth strips.
A garden in mid spring

Why it works

Placing supports into the soil early avoids hammering stakes through established root systems later in the season. Installing trellises ahead of time also ensures heavy fruiting vines have immediate support during rapid mid-spring growth spurts, preventing bent stems and broken branches.

Caribbean Thoroughwort

Plant of the day

Caribbean Thoroughwort

Chromolaena corymbosa

An evergreen shrub native to the Caribbean. It produces dense, flat-topped clusters (corymbs) of white to pale blue flowers and has aromatic, textured foliage.

Read about it →

Gardening news

Gardening news

Brookwood calls for support to take its Reflective Garden to the top

Brookwood train station is asking the public to vote for its garden so it can win a station contest after reaching the final five.

The Dirt · 2026-10-17
New research

Protective fabric cover tripling strawberry harvests

Scientists created a protective mesh cover that shields crops from pests while allowing rain, air, and sunlight to reach the plants. In trials, strawberry plants under this breathable fabric produced more than three times as much fruit as unprotected plants. The new material could help growers cut down on chemical spray use.

sciencedaily.com
On this day

Botanist Philipp Franz von Siebold died in 1866

German physician and botanist Philipp Franz von Siebold died on 18 October 1866. He introduced hundreds of Japanese plant species to European gardens, including popular varieties of hydrangeas and hostas. His detailed botanical recordings helped document Asian flora for future gardeners and researchers.

lindahall.org

Written for the southern hemisphere. Gardening north of the equator? See the northern edition

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