Soil and Fertilising

I use a variety of soil additives: Lena nursery planting mix, organic potting and veggie mix, aussie organics manures, home made compost and worm castings. Garden straw and Pea straw used as mulch. Every few months I throw handfulls of Blood & Bone meal over the straw and around plant bases, then water in.

Every two weeks I liquid fertilise using Powerfeed and sometimes I add some Seasol into the mix.  I use either a watering can, 1L spray bottle, or the Powerfeed container with hose adapter. Every few months I do a pH soil test and use Sulphur to lower the pH or Dolomit Lime to raise the pH.

Perth has a dry Mediterranean climate with very sandy soils.  The soil here is naturally high in alkaline, dry, powdery and grey.  I do pH tests 2 or 3 times a year and sometimes need to lower my alkaline levels using iron sulphates or sulphate powder. The correct pH level means that the tasty nutrients become available to the my plants.