Soil biology basics
Soil biology basics is an information series describing basic concepts in soil biology. How to encorage soil organisms Soil organisms range from bacteria to giant tunnelling earthworms. They all play an essential role in decomposing organic ... [... more]
NSW Dept Primary Industries |
Adding Organic Matter to Soil
The worst problem facing gardeners in Australia today is that when soils dry out, they can become water repellent, or hydrophobic. When this happens, water just runs off instead of soaking into the soil. Don showed an example of a water repellent ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Biological Soil Crusts
ARTHROPOD - joint-legged animals, such as slaters, insects and spiders. The soil and leaf litter world is teeming with a great variety and number of living creatures. It rivals coral reefs as one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. It is a ... [... more]
Australian Museum |
Biodiversity in Soil and Leaf Litter
ARTHROPODS - joint-legged animals, such as slaters, insects and spiders. The most important soil arthropods that decompose organic matter are springtails and mites. While numerous, they are less obvious because they are small. Their food ... [... more]
Australian Museum |
Waterwise Soil Wetters
There has been some great developments over the years for us gardeners, and wetting agents are certainly a stand out. Wetting agents allow better water penetration by breaking down the hard water repellent layers of the soil surface and reduce ... [... more]
Garden Gurus |
Fertile Soil
The Bay of Plenty is one of the most fertile regions on the planet and the reason is in the soil. These are deep, rich, volcanic ash soils that receive incredible rainfall, between 1.2m to 1.8m per year. This is a great thing as far as kiwi fruit ... [... more]
Garden Gurus |
Soil Types
Adelaide has huge range of different soils, from the thin shaly crust at Belair, heavy clay in Salisbury, grey sand in North Haven and everything in between. No matter what soil type you have, spending time improving it will be the best ... [... more]
Garden Gurus |
Waterwise Granular Soil Wetter:
Gardeners are a tough and resilient bunch with most of Australia in some form of water restrictions. We are finding new and ingenious ways to grow our favourite plants and veggies. When your soil gets too dry it can become hydrophobic, which ... [... more]
Garden Gurus |
Water Repellent Soil
As temperatures climb, some gardeners find that some plants just don't seem to respond to well to regular watering and always seem to look crook. A common cause is water hating or "hydrophobic" soil or potting mix. Wetting agents are the answer [... more]
Garden Gurus |
Soil type intro
One factor not often considered when maintaining a garden is the soil type. Perth's soils range dramatically. You get deep gutless sands in Ellenbrook requiring considerable work to make them fertile enough to support exotic plant species ... [... more]
Garden Gurus |
Yates Waterwise Concentrated Soil Wetter
Ants are one of life's destructive little pests. They dig into your soil and create uneven, messy paving, not to mention if you get bitten by one of these little creatures it can give you a painful sting. If you want to rid your garden of ants ... [... more]
Garden Gurus |
Turning Soil
There are a lot of us living with a false sense of security that we are getting enough winter rainfall and therefore the garden is going to be okay. After a long hot dry summer the soil surface is not quite as wet as you would like to think. In ... [... more]
Garden Gurus |
