As I pull up the last of my carrots, deplete a bed or two of lettuce, remove one of my original tomato patches and mourn the loss of my basil (well for ten seconds, then pulled it out and got excited about what seeds to put in next), I looked at my soil.
Soil is the foundation of my vegetable garden (well my entire garden). Over time I have built up a loose, light soil that fungi and bacteria, worms and other ground dwelling insects are thriving in. So how is that achieved and what is the soil made up of?
A healthy growing medium has tiny air pockets that allows for root penetration, water filtration and give worms a space they can move through. Much of our Whitsunday soil is clay and rock, so building up your soil is essential.
Compost, mulch, compost, mulch and more compost and mulch is my secret weapon. Whether it be compost you have made yourself from gardening pruning’s, grass clippings, kitchen scraps and manure and your worm farm castings or you use bagged mushroom compost (I love this product), poultry manure and aged tip mulch, you need to add organic matter to your soil. Please note, I said aged tip mulch. Freshly ground mulch must be put aside, left to heat up and be turned regularly. This is for two reasons, firstly (and I would argue most importantly) because you do not want to introduce weed seeds into your garden beds, these need to be cooked (at least 55 degrees, 63 degrees is ideal) and secondly, while your mulch is initially breaking down, soil bacteria will use nitrogen to breakdown the woody matter, therefore leaving the soil temporarily. Complicated? OK just don’t do it.
If that all sounds too hard, then come into the Whitpro yard and purchase our ready-made garden soil. Erect raised beds (out of anything – tree logs, concrete blocks, straw bales, stacked rocks or garden bed kits) and build your soil up – on top of your hard Whitsunday clay soil. (We did not benefit from the Glacier melt down – we were above it!).
Before I pop in my new seeds (this time I am sowing – spinach, parsley, yes more basil, zucchinis because we eat a lot of those, melons and cucumbers), I am adding a layer of compost and very lightly mixing it through. Don’t over dig your soil, you will only disturb the microbes and insects. Let your worms do the digging for you! Then straight on with the sugarcane mulch. Don’t leave your soil exposed to the elements for too long. Letting it dry out is not a good practice as it will see worms and insects vacate and kill off those beneficial micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi and algae) that contribute so much to the health of your soil (so look after them).
Interesting Fact:
Australian soil is considered some of the oldest on the planet, although that sounds impressive, most Australian soils are composed of weathered rock and are quite infertile. Here in the Whitsundays the land is built on volcanic activity from well over 100 million years ago. In more recent years, Thomas Abell decided to grow (wait for it) FRUIT AND VEGETABLES in 1904! Hence “misspellt” Abel Point – x2 “L’s” not x1. Can someone correct that please.
