Tips for success
Your project site will require ongoing maintenance for the next few years. This includes regular watering, weed and pest control, and replacing any plant losses.
Watering
Place leaf litter and mulch around your seedlings to prevent water loss and weeds. Plants should be watered to ensure that most of them survive their first Summer. Unless there is a dry spell straight after planting (in which case water every few days), your seedlings can generally be left to themselves until it begins to warm up in early Summer. Water your seedling once a week or as needed (ie. if they are drooping, yellow leaves, generally looking stressed) over Summer until the weather cools in Autumn. Plants should not need to be hand watered after this point. You may wish to set up a watering roster, especially over the Summer school holidays.
Weeding
Weed competition is one of the most serious threats to planting success. The better weeds are controlled the better your seedlings will grow and reproduce. As time goes on and more native plants get established, there will be less area for weeds to grow and less effort to control weeds.
It’s important to visit the site to check on weeds after planting. Your project area should be kept free of weeds for at least the first few years after planting. Students can hand-weed smaller areas. This is a great chance for students to learn some common weeds – they will soon start noticing them everywhere! Starting out, they can focus on removing one type of weed from the project area at a time until they learn to recognise which plants are weeds.
Some weeds can be removed easily by pulling them out by hand, but other (eg. with bulbs or long taproots) may need to be dug out. Students can wither use a spade or small gardening fork to remove them. It’s always easier to weed after rain when the soil is softer. Try not to disturb the soil too much while weeding.
Pest animals
Animals like rabbits will enjoy eating tender young seedlings. Biodegradable tree guards should stop your seedlings from becoming a tasty snack.
Replacement plantings
You can continue to collect and grow seeds and cuttings from your site to use as replacement plantings at your project site for as long as needed.
