Minerals for Perth soils.

Yesterday we went to the Gardening Australia expo. I found another source of minerals to improve sandy soils..
Sand remedy is made by the company that has taken over the Swan Garden (permaculture) garden centre in Midvale.
They are The Green Life Soil Co. at Lot 40, Farrall Road, Midvale. (9250 4575).
Eco-growth also produces a mineral mix which is sold through their own website or from Gardeners Direct.
Dawson's Garden World may be selling it soon, too.

Useful weeds discovery of the day.

Nettle, comfrey and nasturtium are a great combination of weeds to add to compost. Between them they access all the nutrients in the ground that plants need. They are all great plants in their own right and grow readily in the cooler seasons in this climate.

Nettles: good indicator of plenty of nitrogen in the ground. Highly nutritious edible leaves - after wearing gloves to pick them they are not prickly once cooked.

Comfrey - brilliant for compost and 'poo tea' for gardens. It has a long root system so it can bring up nutrients that are a bit below others range. The leaves can then be used for the above applications. It also has medicinal uses, which are controversial. It is also edible in small doses. Comfrey is probably a weed in some wetter areas than Perth.

Nasturtium: common nasturtium is quite rampant in the cooler rainy season but is easily controlled by pulling up. The flowers are edible and look good in salads. There are other varieties of nasturtium that behave a bit better and stay where you plant them. The Alaska nasturtium (pictured above) is a variegated variety that stays put.

Of course, always check before foraging for weeds that no one has sprayed or its not getting road run-off or some nastiness on it.

Waterwise gardener training.

Yesterday I did the professional Waterwise training at the Water Corporation building in Leederville.
I am pleased to say I actually did learn a few things, some of which were really reminders of why I prefer organic gardening in the first place.

One piece of news that I was glad to hear is that soluble chemical fertilisers are being taken off the market in coming years. These are the sort of products that quickly leach through our degraded sands and get into the river or the aquifer.
A rather shocking thing to learn though, is that in some areas around Perth, there is enough fertiliser in the bore water to feed everything, and in some areas there is even a toxic amount of nitrogen. All these excess nutrients leach quickly through the sand into the water table.

While there is more and more bore use the aquifer is getting less fresh water recharge from rain fall. What rain does fall is often diverted from roads and paving into the sea, instead of soaking into the ground.

Having the correct (chunky) mulch and groundcover plants will allow rain to soak into the ground, where it can sustain your garden between showers and help recharge the aquifer.