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August is here and spring's only a month away - hard to believe. Don't let that sunny last weekend of July lull you into a false sense of security though. There are still plenty of cold days and frosts to come.
August is the first month in which you can fairly safely plant potatoes but only in areas with low frost. If you think the spuds will shoot before the last frost, don't plant them. They'll be damaged before they get started.
Keep planting onions and garlic, broad beans, peas and English spinach. Also plant silver beet seedlings, early season cabbage seedlings and Swedes.
Again, it's a great time to plant bare rooted deciduous fruit trees. Also plant fruiting vines like grapes and kiwi fruit.
And don't forget the native plants. In Tasmania you can still plant native shrubs and trees.
Dig over vacant veggie patches (unless you use a no-dig method) and add lime or dolomite if necessary. Let the heavy winter frosts break up any clods of soil.
Again, if you haven't already pruned your deciduous fruit trees, do it now. Make sure you remove any shriveled up fruit remaining on the tree (potentially disease spreading), and either burn it or put it in the garbage. Prunings should be chipped and composted for use as mulch, or taken somewhere, where they can be recycled in a similar fashion.
Also rake up fallen autumn leaves and never stop weeding and making compost.