Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Mar 04, 2009 3:17 pm I am about to start turning over a section 10metres x 1.5metres in preparation to plant a line of olives and lomandra along our back fence (makes me tired even thinking about it),
The soil is pretty hard, with a little clay under the top 20cm of soil. Do I work into the soil: Horse poo Powerfeed Seasol Gypsum or "E" all of the above??? : ) Re: Soil preparation. 2Mar 04, 2009 4:31 pm According to Gardening Australia (http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1676965.htm) Gypsum - read the link for more details on testing the soil/clay etc
And I spose then once that's worked dig through some good soil and fertlizers/manure etc and then water the plants once in with seasol 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Soil preparation. 3Mar 04, 2009 5:43 pm I'd be putting plenty of organic material in there - probably would swap to cow manure rather than horse - less weeds!
I have used gypsum on a similar bed I was putting sasanquas in. I don't think it did much, though. Eventually we removed small amounts of the clay around each hole where a plant was going & put in some home grown mulch. That seemed to work out OK. Good luck Re: Soil preparation. 4Mar 04, 2009 7:06 pm it is said that gypsum can take as long as 5 years to work 30cm into the soil.
That was something I picked up on from a CSIRO ag scientist. Powerfeed has humic acids and fulvic acids that will outperform gypsum. I would suggest not getting too caught up in what manures for most soils (this is not the case for coastal eastern SA and western WA.) Anything organic is great and better than nothing. This will not however be a permanent way of improving soil. It will take years of organic input to do that. Grab some soil improver or a certified organic soil improver/ conditioner. Dig it through with a mattock Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Mulch heavily with green mulches for maximum water efficiency and plant health. Don't use black mulches which encourage root growth very close to the surface and normally increase plant stress and water use. Olsens Green Bio is another thing I strongly suggest adding. Available from most good garden centres and big box hardware joints. It's all about feeding the soil have fun with it Re: Soil preparation. 5Mar 04, 2009 9:39 pm Wonderful! Thanks for all the speedy replies.
What is the diff. between green and black mulch - I usually buy the stuff the tip/council sells (cheap), they shred it and cook it to get rid of any potential seeds.... Re: Soil preparation. 6Mar 04, 2009 10:54 pm Once a mulch has begun to be composted in large amounts it is very good a number of things.
Yes the high temps reached in the council stuff kills seeds. It also starts to hold lots of moisture. not cool for a mulch and black mulches hold even more. Because so much moisture is held in the mulch, moisture stays close to the surface. it is also going to heat and evaporate more readily from the mulch. These mulches are well known for, in time, becoming water replant as they dry and compact on the surface of them. kind of get a crust. Don't get me wrong, they do serve a purpose. These supplies are often onsold to bulk soil places and potting mix mobs for development as other soils. This is a good thing. For the home gardener, not the best option. The water needs to go into the soil and not the chosen mulch. I have some pics somewhere showing how plant roots grow up into the mulch it self rather than going deeper into the soil where they will provide a stronger plant with water when it needs it. Those black mulches heat up and have plant roots in them, the plant wilts or becomes stressed and sick. It needs more water to stay alive. Green mulch is what you get from a treelopper mob. Give them a call because often they need to pay the council a fee to get rid of the mulched up tree (no weeds, just tree) They love it when they get rid of it. Some want a carton of beers or two, some may want $50-100 for fuel. Some are just happy to do it for free. either way you can get 4-8 cubes of mulch for next to nothing that will save money on water and give you healthier plants. All the nutrients that they have inside breakdown in time into your soil and feed your plants, saving money on fertiliser and being better for the environment. the compost more naturally and avoid the characteristics of council and black mulch. They smell really nice too The only thing you need to do is chuck down lots of blood and bone before or after laying the mulch to help the microbes and bacteria have enough nitrogen to start breaking it down. Just once is all you need then enough nitrogen is realeased to continue the process No weeds save water;) healthier plants;) easier gardening Re: Soil preparation. 7Mar 05, 2009 8:07 am Fantabulous!!!
Thanks once again, I shall let my fingers do the walking and find a treelopper mob. And go buy some... blood and bone powerfeed Olsens Green Bio Horse manure ... got the mattock It will get a good working out today. I used horse poo (lots of stables 'round here) on our front garden, didn't seem to get too many weeds from it which was good. - Cheers. Re: Soil preparation. 8Mar 05, 2009 9:03 am You are awesome Fu Manchu!! Getting it from a tree lopper is a great idea! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Soil preparation. 9Mar 06, 2009 4:57 pm Well, the new garden bed has now been dug, powerfed, manured and blood and boned - using a mattock and a rake. Phew. I now have arms that feel like .....
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ ...but I know in reality they are still just the spindly, girly, little arms I had yesterday morning! Can't wait to get the olives and lomandra's in!! Have an ace weekend everyone. Thanks for your reply. I will just wait and see I guess. Trying to get some more information from our builder. 9 11698 I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 8238 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 24701 |