Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Mar 06, 2011 12:15 pm After a journey renting around Australia to figure out where we would like to live we have decided on the Central Coast NSW. We hope to settle on a property next week. Even though I should be thinking of packing my head is just in the garden. The home has a long abandoned garden which I will be redoing from scratch. Can anyone point me in the right direction to find out what soil I'll be working with? - I didn't have any luck with a search here or via a search engine. I also have a couple of other random questions. There are some weird drip water systems on the shelves of Aussie gardening centres. Things which in California would not have been allowed to exist. I've done a search on this forum and there are some strong opinions on this issue (thank heavens). Is there a thread here or anywhere dedicated to a good ecologically friendly home drip system and how to install it? Last topic: It took me years to get to the Central coast because I'm terrified of the thought of funnel web spiders. What precautions do gardeners take in dealing with these monsters and do you think that if I designed a garden attractive to birds that the spiders may not feel quite so welcome? Many thanks - I've spent hours spelunking in the caves of this site - one thread just leads to another until I've forgotten where I started. Jane Re: Finding information on soil types in Central Coast NSW 3Mar 10, 2011 8:13 pm OK, well for soils, I go way out on a limb and say that no matter what type of soil you have, the more organic humic content you put in it, the better off you will be. That will be greatly different to the usual rubbish (IMO) of fluffinga round working out pH and then using the usual verbatim to create an environmentally problematic landscape. Hey and guess what, you will find "mysteriously" that your garden just bloody works. Overall it is the cumulative effects of new landscapes and new homes that has the greatest environmental impact in and surrounding urban areas. Soil amendments are essential to make sure an urban landscape has a reduced environmental impact. Oh and guess what, your new landscape will just work. It will actually be a real low maintenance garden unlike the perceived low care landscapes that I see being created. It does my head in! All this crap in books, garden centres and in soil places about, well for lawn you need a special soil, and for this plant you need special this s hit and for that plant, it must have this soil and absolutely needs this type of fertiliser. Its S*!T Organic compost that has a beautiful sweet smell and forms a ball in your hand when you squeeze it. Certified organic if possible. That is what soil you need, no matter where or for what. Zeolite, spongolite, perlite all added to that. Rock minerals too if you can find them. Done Re: Finding information on soil types in Central Coast NSW 4Mar 10, 2011 8:22 pm Mulch, there are loads of my posts on mulch and of all the rubbish I read about mulches I never see anything about what mulches actually do. What mulch really does is make new soil. They sustain your garden for the foreseeable future. They provide the very nutrients that will sustain your plants healthy growth. Now find that in a book It is how forests work and live. we just do the same concept on a more intensive level. Not all mulches are good though and not all are waterwise. Even if they say it on the bag or are just what we have always used. Avoid black mulches which intensive studies have found to be a burden on the garden. Straws do a great job. Best is the mulches you get from your local tree lopper contractor, arborist or tree surgeon. Straight off the truck and onto the garden. No fertiliser, no urea. Just chuck it on and let nature do it thing for you Oh and they are also the most effective for keeping water in the subsoil. Re: Finding information on soil types in Central Coast NSW 5Mar 10, 2011 8:31 pm As for retic, you are dead right. You see some abominations of devices and products that distribute water ina garden. Most of which are commonly used should not be. In fact they should not be sold. weeper hoses sold as being waterwise are far from it and are among one of the biggest water wasters, let alone the dioxins and chemicals they leach. Micro sprays should be banned, nozzles should meet some sort of yet to be devised Australian standard. Most popup sprinklers are wasteful and inefficient. Good irrigation for lawn areas should be the MP rotators or gear driven sprinklers. subsurface on lawn areas needs to be approached carefully and with significant investment to protect the integrity of scheme water. In garden beds it is fine. In fact submulch/surface irrigation is the bench mark irrigation for garden beds. Of the brands. It doesn't get any easier or simpler than Netafim. Yes I am very aware of the other brands and other elaborate versions of these systems. Netafim is what I suggest to use having used many types over a great many years. I in no way get any money from Netafim for this endorsement. My time here is purely voluntary. Netafim Australia have a great website. Youtube also has some good info on Netafim and MP rotators. Re: Finding information on soil types in Central Coast NSW 6Mar 10, 2011 8:31 pm Oh and there are many threads and posts about netafim and subsurface irrigation. Re: Finding information on soil types in Central Coast NSW 8Mar 10, 2011 10:14 pm Oh forgot to mention to add sand through clay soils as well. Just not as much as is suggested in many books. More compost than sand. Avoid layering soils, all the goodies need to be turned through the top 300mm or so of existing soil. That is the layer nearly all life on earth gets its nutrients from. Anybody know any good and reasonably priced Air conditioning contractors/companies that could install a ducted air conditioning system in the Central Coast NSW for a small… 0 3243 0 2181 We are at the stage on our build in Kilcoy, Queensland where we need to get our fencing installed but we cant get any contact details for our neighbours to give them… 0 2795 |