Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 04, 2011 9:39 am Hi All, I am in Melbourne and was wondering whether now is a good time to prepare the soil for general planting and laying lawn or wait till it gets a bit cooler ? Have got clay and am going to rotary hoe gypsum and compost and leave it till the clay breaks up. Would it be a good idea to rotary hoe organic top soil at the same time or leave this for later ? Cheers Avish Re: Soil preparation in summer ? 2Jan 04, 2011 10:16 am Yep get into it, dig it all through at once and heavily mulch the garden beds so the soil starts improving while you wait to plant in autumn. You can plant now but you will need to expect some losses in exposed areas if we have a 40 degree day with a northerly wind. Turf is good to go now but you will need to water a lot more than in spring. I would wait till mid Feb and lay that way the 28 day new turf watering exemption runs out at the start of autumn when it cools off and there is a little bit more rain. If you have tanks or recycled water then laying in Jan is fine, the turf actually establishes way quicker when its warm. Re: Soil preparation in summer ? 4Jan 04, 2011 10:47 am After mixing in the garden beds give the soil a good soak then lay the mulch and then give the mulch a good soak as well, that way all the processes will start to improve the soil. You don't need to continually water the garden beds as the mulch will keep the soil moist,an occasional water to keep that way is ok IMO. For the turf areas i would only water it to keep the dust from blowing around then get it moist for the day when you want to lay the turf. Re: Soil preparation in summer ? 5Jan 04, 2011 11:00 am Might add too use a mulch that has different size pieces that way it binds together and its harder for the birds/wind to chuck around. Pine bark is crap IMO and ends up everywhere it shouldn't. Re: Soil preparation in summer ? 8Jan 11, 2011 8:20 am Check out this link - very helpful to work out what type of soil etc you're supposed to have in your area of Melbourne: http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/nreninf.nsf/childdocs/-2baf4d73531cd1544a2568b3000505af-57d1eb72f146450eca256bc80004e8dd-966d71ecf369b7c44a256dea0027b670-f0caf7265f1d9648ca256bcf000ad4fa?open It is quite accurate for me, but mine is an existing garden on the edge of the Dandenongs. We have mainly brown loam over clay, with areas of red loam (like the nature strip). The clay is red and yellow, but is only really in the way in the areas where the driveway was dug out and then, because people have done lots of walking on the garden when it's been wet, it's gotten quite compacted in areas and then dried hard. Re: Soil preparation in summer ? 9Jan 19, 2011 10:02 pm Thanks Kerry. Just an update. Due to the recent heavy rains I was able to dig out and churn about 15cms of clay with the good old garden fork. Used a metal rake to break down big clunks. Planning to mix in Powerfeed and Gypsum this weekend. Is it necessary to hire a rotary hoe or mixing with the rake and fork should be good enough. I want to avoid the hire cause its a hassle for me to get it. Cheers Avish Re: Soil preparation in summer ? 10Jan 20, 2011 2:34 am With the lawn you might want to add white sand into it. If so mulch it up first then place your sand over it all. This will keep it cool until the weather is more reliable. When that time comes mix the sand into what should be by then good soft damp soils and that will boost it considerably. You need about an inch or 20mm cover for sand to work. 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 13091 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 37139 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair I'm in WA and our sandy soils make drainage a bit easier but this is what I'd be doing. Dig down to your footings and let the wall dry out. Clean it all well by brushing… 1 5193 |