Gardens and Unicorns

Did you make a New Year's resolution? Have you kept it?

I read a funny saying the other day about New Year's resolutions. It read "My New Years resolution is to become a unicorn". I think many of us tend to over exaggerate our expectations of ourselves. In doing this our New Years resolutions become a bit of a fantasy.

For this reason I don't make New Years resolutions anymore.

I like to say instead - I have set my intentions for the year ahead.

So if right now you had to set your intentions for year ahead, what would they be?

Would any of those intentions be green orientated?

Is this the year for that vegetable patch or to start landscaping the back yard. Maybe it's something really simple like this year I intend to start caring for my plants more.

Nothing too over the top - we don't want yards full of unicorns!

I think the first step is being honest with ourselves. So many of us don't like being wrong. I of course don't have a problem with being wrong because I'm always right......

I find my biggest hurdle in sharing gardening knowledge is asking people to be honest about their soil.

In theory we all water well and fertilise our plants. But how much of this water and fertiliser is really getting into our soils and how much is the plant really getting?

With this continued horrible heat we are experiencing our plants will dry out much sooner than we think. Plus this heat and wind has a tendency to suck any excess moisture out of the soil and foliage of the plants.

Soils can become hydrophobic so quickly and this hydrophobia can lead to unhealthy plants and sometimes even the death of a plant. Even if you think you are a great waterer - hydrophobic soil can strike anywhere, anytime. It can happen in gardens, lawns and pots.

The problem with hydrophobic soil is that it doesn't just stop water from getting to your plant it can also stop fertilisers from penetrating the soil.

While mulching and composts can help, I find the quickest and easiest way to combat hydrophobic soil is with a soil wetter.

I know I've mentioned this before but I see this being a common problem. I also know from experience what a difference soil wetters can make. I use Searles Penetraide at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre and at home. There is a granular and a liquid. I prefer the liquid, my mother and sister prefer the granules. Both do a fantastic job.

Another product I love to use in this heat is my liquid fertiliser 'Silica and Potash'.

Regular use of Silica and Potash Foliar Spray reduces heat and frost damage as well as wind burn. It improves plant growth, flowering and fruit count. It also makes plants physically tougher – tough plants are more resistant to pest and fungal attack.

This weekend get rid of the unicorns and get a healthy thriving garden instead.

Is Green Manure just really Green Poo?

Wonderful blistering hot days, humidity that feels like we should be living in tropics, rain and winds that blow your roof off then cool days that make us wonder if that 50 degree day was just in our imagination. 

This is what it feels like to live in Ipswich in the summer. 

How would you fare in this weather? Hot, bothered, quick tempered? 

I know I've been struggling, the smallest things bother me. 

If I had a vegetable patch right now, I know I'd be pulling most of it up. 

If the heat didn't kill everything off, the humidity probably would have. 

In years past when I have had a vegetable patch in summer I have suffered with burnt leaves, white mould all over my cucumbers, tomato blight and then to top it all off grubs in my fruit (from fruit fly stings).

Which is why at this time of year I always sow a summer green manure crop. 

Green manure crops are crops grown not to be harvested but instead to be incorporated into the soil before they reach maturity to contribute to the health of the soil. 

It is an old technique of soil management that seems to have been forgotten by many gardeners and farmers. I think it's because we are no longer aware of the proven benefits and cost effectiveness of green manure crops. 

Trevallan Lifestyle Centre stocks Eden Seeds, a seed company that only stocks old traditional open pollinated varieties of seed, preferably old Australian varieties and organically or bio-dynamically grown where possible.  The green manure seeds packs contain a mix of seeds.

Green manure crops contribute directly to the fertility of your vegetable patch through the supply of important plant nutrients. Legumes, for instance, supply nitrogen because their roots form an association with soil-borne bacteria that can transform nitrogen from the atmosphere into nitrogen compounds that can be used by plants. Isn't nature wonderful? It's also just saved you money as now you don't need to add as much fertiliser to your vegetable patch.

Green manure crops can also contribute indirectly to nutrient supply. Just the process of decomposition of the crop aids in making further nutrients available that are already present in the soil but in a form that cannot be used by plants.

 

After the plants have grown and you incorporate them back into the soil you are supplying vast amounts of organic matter that is usually supplied by organic mulches. Once again saving you money - no need to buy organic mulch. 

Drought resistance can also be improved as a lot of the crops are very deep rooted. Their roots can penetrate the subsoil and open it up. Next season's crops can also obtain plant nutrients from the subsoil once it is opened by deep rooted green manure crops.

So this weekend get dirty and take out all your hot weather anger on your vegetable patch by pulling everything up and planting some green manure crops. 

 

Your winter vegetables will thank you.