I cant use the syphon mixer as my taps are too close to the ground. The seasol bottles just end up leaking all over me. Has done wonders for my leg hair...
Feed the soil, Never feed the plant
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Has anyone got any advice on what to use to spray seasol/molasses on my grass?
I cant use the syphon mixer as my taps are too close to the ground. The seasol bottles just end up leaking all over me. Has done wonders for my leg hair...
I cant use the syphon mixer as my taps are too close to the ground. The seasol bottles just end up leaking all over me. Has done wonders for my leg hair...
Just use one of the Seasol/Powerfeed hose on containers. I find that works a lot better than the syphon in any case
Just want to endorse Fu's advice. We are big fans of green mulch and agree with Fu and StrawLizzy 100% on their value- our garden is proof. Price wise and nutrient wise, it wins hands down. The differing sizes of materials in the mulch allow water and oxygen to penetrate to the roots of the plants. We had never gardened in gravelly clay before, and were lent a dvd called "Back to Eden" about setting up a garden and basically followed it. We did add gypsum to help break down the clay. One year on, we have very healthy plants which are well established. We also found out that cape weed (which we thought would be the bane of our lives) makes brilliant compost too!
Just want to endorse Fu's advice. We are big fans of green mulch and agree with Fu and StrawLizzy 100% on their value- our garden is proof. Price wise and nutrient wise, it wins hands down. The differing sizes of materials in the mulch allow water and oxygen to penetrate to the roots of the plants. We had never gardened in gravelly clay before, and were lent a dvd called "Back to Eden" about setting up a garden and basically followed it. We did add gypsum to help break down the clay. One year on, we have very healthy plants which are well established. We also found out that cape weed (which we thought would be the bane of our lives) makes brilliant compost too!
I watched Back to Eden the other day, and I LOVED it. A brilliant documentary that gave me so much hope and confidence in battling infertile soils, and I cant wait to implement the concept !! Basically brings home the notion of looking to nature for our answers and letting nature do its thing and having complete faith that it will work...because its been proven since the beginning of time.
Available to view for free on vimeo.com by the way
Mulch is fantastic to use and also helps to cut down weeds and moisture retention. Love the way it gives back to the soil as well.
Thought I'd share this with you.
Fungal 'feng shui' designs healthy soils
Wed 07 Dec 11, 11:14am AEDT
By Anna Salleh
Fungi and other microbes can reorganise the structure of soil so it is able to absorb more water and carbon say researchers.
Biophysicist, Professor Iain Young, of the University of New England, and colleagues, report their findings today in the Royal Society journal Interface.
"If you just look at soil without life, the structure is pretty random but life actually makes order within the soil," says Young.
"Bacteria and fungi take on a little feng shui and they can rearrange the soil particles."
Young describes soil as "the most complex biomaterial on the planet".
"In a handful of fertile soil there are more individual organisms than the total number of human beings that have ever lived on the planet," he says.
"The life in soil defines the soil and its function and properties."
Scientists have long known that soil microbes exude glue-like chemicals that bind the soil and change its structure.
Young and colleagues hypothesised that microbes could improve the porosity of the soil, helping the flow of water and gasses, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide.
The researchers first confirmed this hypothesis with a computer model of soil and biology.
Then they tested it with a sample of agricultural soil.
Using high-resolution microtomography, which uses x-rays to visualise the soil in 3D, the researchers compared the pores in sterilised soil with those in soil that had microbes added to it.
"Hey presto, what we found was that the biology was doing a remarkable thing. It was actually increasing the porosity in the soil, particularly fungi," says Young.
The researchers found the soil with microbes had more pores, which were more ordered and connected.
Young says fungal hyphae (filaments) also stabilise the structure of soil, while bacteria exude surfactants that reduce surface tension, making it easier for plants to suck up water from the soil.
"Really microbes are the architects and plumbers of the soil," he says, adding that greater biological activity also increases the amount of carbon sequestered by soils.
Young says the new knowledge could be used to rehabilitate compacted soils and to create 'designer soils' with specific porosity and ability to sequester carbon.
"We've got the beginnings of a new science that allows us to try and manipulate the microbial activity to actually design the soils for the purposes we wish," he says.
Young is also involved with the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers in designing synthetic biopolymers that mimic biology's ability to improve aeration and water retention of soils.
Wed 07 Dec 11, 11:14am AEDT
By Anna Salleh
Fungi and other microbes can reorganise the structure of soil so it is able to absorb more water and carbon say researchers.
Biophysicist, Professor Iain Young, of the University of New England, and colleagues, report their findings today in the Royal Society journal Interface.
"If you just look at soil without life, the structure is pretty random but life actually makes order within the soil," says Young.
"Bacteria and fungi take on a little feng shui and they can rearrange the soil particles."
Young describes soil as "the most complex biomaterial on the planet".
"In a handful of fertile soil there are more individual organisms than the total number of human beings that have ever lived on the planet," he says.
"The life in soil defines the soil and its function and properties."
Scientists have long known that soil microbes exude glue-like chemicals that bind the soil and change its structure.
Young and colleagues hypothesised that microbes could improve the porosity of the soil, helping the flow of water and gasses, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide.
The researchers first confirmed this hypothesis with a computer model of soil and biology.
Then they tested it with a sample of agricultural soil.
Using high-resolution microtomography, which uses x-rays to visualise the soil in 3D, the researchers compared the pores in sterilised soil with those in soil that had microbes added to it.
"Hey presto, what we found was that the biology was doing a remarkable thing. It was actually increasing the porosity in the soil, particularly fungi," says Young.
The researchers found the soil with microbes had more pores, which were more ordered and connected.
Young says fungal hyphae (filaments) also stabilise the structure of soil, while bacteria exude surfactants that reduce surface tension, making it easier for plants to suck up water from the soil.
"Really microbes are the architects and plumbers of the soil," he says, adding that greater biological activity also increases the amount of carbon sequestered by soils.
Young says the new knowledge could be used to rehabilitate compacted soils and to create 'designer soils' with specific porosity and ability to sequester carbon.
"We've got the beginnings of a new science that allows us to try and manipulate the microbial activity to actually design the soils for the purposes we wish," he says.
Young is also involved with the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers in designing synthetic biopolymers that mimic biology's ability to improve aeration and water retention of soils.
Thank you for sharing this. Being new in floristry field, I really need this kind of information when maintaining flowers.
That's quite interesting. Normally I just put ferts and water directly into the soil, because some indoor plants don't like having their leaves wet, which can lead to rotting/browning spots of the leaves.
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