In the garden this week, November 27

Try planting up simple pots as Christmas gifts, but get them done now to have them peak at the right time. Punnets of annuals are ridiculously cheap to buy. Planted now, three small plants (plugs, they are called) will fill a pot that measures around 20 to 25cm across. I still remember my splendid summer combination years ago of blue ageratum and cerise petunias. Or you can find cheap herb plants if you want to give an instant herb garden. Ceramic and terracotta pots are inexpensive these days, especially the classic terracotta type, despite the fact they still seem to be imported from Italy. This is a good activity to carry out with children and will go down well with grandparents, as it shows thought and effort. The cheapest potting mix is fine for annuals, but keep the pots well watered and protected from slugs and snails while the plants settle in.

With summer coming, set the level on the lawnmower a notch higher. Cutting the lawn very short does not mean you reduce mowing. Instead, it tends to stress the grass, so the weeds move in.

If you have onehunga weed in your lawn, you have left it late to spray it, but it is the one really bad weed we think justifies a chemical assault. It is the weed that puts tiny prickles into any bare feet that dare tread upon it. There is a targeted spray called, we understand, Prickleweed Killer, which doesn't kill off the desirable grasses. If there are any children in your life, your first task this weekend should be to deal to it. Do not let this weed go to seed.

Apples will have set their fruit for the year, which means that if you have had a codling moth problem that you have done nothing about, odds on the larvae are scaling the trunk now to reach the fruit. It is too late for pheromone traps, which are designed to catch the moth before it lays eggs. You will either have to put up with motheaten fruit or resort to some insecticide spray. Apparently, lavender bushes or nasturtiums planted below will discourage infestations, but we have yet to see proof of this. It may be worth a try, but I would keep to lavender, because rampant nasturtiums could engulf your entire apple tree. Tipping new growth by hand will largely deal to the leaf-curling midge, which attacks the very ends. Unroll the leaves and you may find a small pink creature inside. You either nip them off or spray them.

You are running out of time to plant kumara, yams and any other type of sweet potato. Give these priority, along with tomatoes. Potatoes planted now will be a late crop, so you don't want to delay on these, either.

It is four weeks until Christmas, so get quick-maturing salad vegetables in this week for harvesting at that time. It is nicer to head out and pick your own mesclun, rocket, microgreens and radishes than to eat store- bought.

If you are a fan of monarch butterflies, you will need to get swan plant seed in urgently to get the autumn crop through to feed the late caterpillars. Real enthusiasts will also be sowing seed trays of zinnias, marigolds and other autumn annuals to feed the butterflies.

Abbie and Mark Jury

Tikorangi -The Jury Garden

www.jury.co.nz