Eco brand spraybottle with groovy rotating nozzle.
Powerfeed and Seasol organic liquid fertilisers.
5mm Netafim drip line running off 13mm polypipe
Lysofoss natural bacteria for CLEAR pondwater
"Multigrow" soft pelletised chicken manure, made by The Green Life Soil Co
Seeds and peat pots bought from www.seed.com.au. Seeds germinated fine and they are very well priced (and they don’t charge postage!)
Mutligrow chicken manure, potting mix, mushroom compost, vegetable mix and other minerals (most are certified organic) bought from The Green Life Soil Co in Midvale. The potting and vegetable mix is their own blend and comes in 25K bags and bulk. Their potting mix is full of goodies but tends to dry out in the sun. Some of my pots dried out very quickly in the September sun but after topping them with some mushroom compost or pea straw the moisture was held in ok. During summer, I couldn’t use this potting mix by itself as I found the mix became hydrophobic (water runs off). I was able to aid this by stirring in about 25% or more of his Veggie Concentrate mix.
I have received many differing opinions on how to pot up plants. Some say to only use a premium potting mix and other say to always add extra organic matter such as manure or compost. This is what I’ve tried and it works for me:
Small pots (for temporary use to establish seedlings): premium potting mix with mushroom compost /sheep manure in the top 20-25% of the pot. I then scoop a little back out around the stem. Manure will break down over time and compost, so I use this method to strengthen seedlings before transplanting into the ground.
Large pots: Premium potting mixes with pine bark mulch/straw on the top 10%. This will last a few years before repotting is needed. My large pots need ‘topping up’ once or twice a year as the soil level drops.
If you're buying a commercially available potting mix, bags that have the four red ticks indicate compliance to the Australian Standard for potting mixes (AS 4454-2003)
Lena Organic Planting Mix (non-certified) bought from Lena Nursery, Wangara. Their own blend comes in 30K bags and 6x4 trailer loads at a good price. Contains manures and is good in the veggie patch. I've also tried it in pots but it doesn't drain to well causing the inside bottom of the pot to become very boggy. A lot of plants don’t like having wet feet so I'll stick to using this for the ground only.
RiverSafe Eco-Wetta Magic. Soil improver granules I add to pots and the ground Made in WA and sold at Bunnings. www.riversafe.com.au.
Lysofoss bought from www.woodvalefishandlilyfarm.com. Lysofoss is hard to find and they sell it at a good price and can post it to you.
Aussie Organics manures. These are very well priced 30K bags of quality manures, available from Trading Post on Canham Way Greenwood and some www.amazonsoils.com.au outlets around Perth. Made in Serpentine, 1 hour south of Perth. Last I checked Aussie Organics Garden Supplies don't have a website but their phone no is (08) 9525 2598 so you can call and ask where they supply to.
Some other commercially available additives I use:
Richgrow potting mix (certified to AS4454) This is well priced and made locally. This mix is a little on the dry side.
Richgro Blood & Bone meal with Potash and Trace Elements - a great all-round top dresser fertiliser for herbs and veggies.
Richgro Iron Sulphate - used to lower the pH in my soil, and correct yellowing leaves in my citrus (yellow leave with green veins)
Richgro Dolomite Lime - used to raise pH in my soil and worm farm.
Epson salts - used to correct magnesium deficiency (yellowing and curling leaves) and aids seed germination.
Yates Dipel - used to control green caterpillars that munch on leafy crops.
Fiskars garden tools - well priced, strong and lightweight.
Molasses - used to control cabbage aphids.
(Richgro is a WA company but there are many other brands that sell similar products at garden centres)
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