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Mark's Corner
The March Garden
Mark Morrison - Saturday, March 12, 2011
Balmain High Veggie Garden III
Mark Morrison - Tuesday, August 10, 2010
As a result of threat from onion weeds and a couple of monster Strelitzia clumps in the way the veggie garden at the Support Unit is now considerably larger than originally planned.
In view of the ever increasing size and population of onion weed in the veggie garden it seemed the only choice we had was to excavate the soil to a depth that would remove all the onion weed bulbs. After consulting with the school we agreed to excavate to a depth of approximately 150mm and we thought I may as well keep digging and take out some large clumps of Strelitzia as well. This would give us two long beds the whole length of the retaining wall and with one running alongside the retaining wall enabling students in wheel chairs better viewing and access to the garden.
1.5 cubic metres of 'Recarb Ultra' garden mix was delivered and the new veggie garden with two long rows was created. Cow manure was added, some lime and then lucerne mulch to finish off. The cow manure will add slow releasing nutrients to the soil and break down to be an excellent soil conditioner. The lucerne mulch will act as a green manure and add nutrients to the soil and also insulate and retain moisture.
The herbs from the original garden were able to be saved but we had to plant new veggies.
The following were chosen:
Rocket
Perpetual Lettuce
Perpetual Spinach
English Spinach
Silverbeet
Rainbow Chard
Carrots
Red Onions
Celery
Cavallo Nero
Rhubarb More
In view of the ever increasing size and population of onion weed in the veggie garden it seemed the only choice we had was to excavate the soil to a depth that would remove all the onion weed bulbs. After consulting with the school we agreed to excavate to a depth of approximately 150mm and we thought I may as well keep digging and take out some large clumps of Strelitzia as well. This would give us two long beds the whole length of the retaining wall and with one running alongside the retaining wall enabling students in wheel chairs better viewing and access to the garden.
1.5 cubic metres of 'Recarb Ultra' garden mix was delivered and the new veggie garden with two long rows was created. Cow manure was added, some lime and then lucerne mulch to finish off. The cow manure will add slow releasing nutrients to the soil and break down to be an excellent soil conditioner. The lucerne mulch will act as a green manure and add nutrients to the soil and also insulate and retain moisture.
The herbs from the original garden were able to be saved but we had to plant new veggies.
The following were chosen:
Rocket
Perpetual Lettuce
Perpetual Spinach
English Spinach
Silverbeet
Rainbow Chard
Carrots
Red Onions
Celery
Cavallo Nero
Rhubarb More
Balmain High Veggie Garden I
Mark Morrison - Saturday, April 17, 2010
Not far from me in Rozelle is Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus which has a Support Unit. I recently started to give them a hand in their garden with a new veggie plot.
We decided I would work on a raised bed to start with and plant the perimeter thus giving students in wheelchairs easy access. The site is roughly triangular and is raised with a brick retaining wall to about 1200mm. Existing plantings include Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae), several citrus, a few native shrubs and clumps of Dianella.
My first consideration was the removal of any unwanted plants, to remove weeds and to improve the soil.
We would keep the citrus and rather large clump of Strelitzia and try to relocate most of the other plants.
I hand weeded the garden initially and then started on soil improvement.
The existing soil is light and somewhat hydrophobic (water repellent). I added cow manure, organic soil improver and a soil wetting agent and after a good soaking covered the area with sugar cane mulch and watered it again.
I came back just over a week later to find a bumper crop of new weeds obviously vitalised by their new and improved conditions but with the addition of one of my favorites – onion weed. This will be an ongoing battle for a while because onion weed is difficult to eradicate and the only way to tackle it, short of removing a 150mm layer of soil, is persistence.
The kids are all on holidays now and when they come back their new veggie patch will be ready to plant out and our soil preparation should get the new plants off to a good start. More
We decided I would work on a raised bed to start with and plant the perimeter thus giving students in wheelchairs easy access. The site is roughly triangular and is raised with a brick retaining wall to about 1200mm. Existing plantings include Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae), several citrus, a few native shrubs and clumps of Dianella.
My first consideration was the removal of any unwanted plants, to remove weeds and to improve the soil.
We would keep the citrus and rather large clump of Strelitzia and try to relocate most of the other plants.
I hand weeded the garden initially and then started on soil improvement.
The existing soil is light and somewhat hydrophobic (water repellent). I added cow manure, organic soil improver and a soil wetting agent and after a good soaking covered the area with sugar cane mulch and watered it again.
I came back just over a week later to find a bumper crop of new weeds obviously vitalised by their new and improved conditions but with the addition of one of my favorites – onion weed. This will be an ongoing battle for a while because onion weed is difficult to eradicate and the only way to tackle it, short of removing a 150mm layer of soil, is persistence.
The kids are all on holidays now and when they come back their new veggie patch will be ready to plant out and our soil preparation should get the new plants off to a good start. More
Mulching Trees
Mark Morrison - Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Have you noticed in recent years the method of mulching trees in public places, especially parks? The mulch is deep and is spread right out to the drip tip of the tree (the ends of the branches).
This has two main effects. Firstly, and very importantly especially in traffic areas, the thick layer of mulch aids in preventing soil compaction. Soil compaction is responsible for poor drainage and aeration, definitely something to avoid around your trees. Secondly the thick layer of mulch insulates the soil against heat and wind, protecting the root area and keeping the soil underneath cool and moist. This in turn creates favourable conditions for ‘critters’ in the soil to do their thing and improve structure and fertility. It also means you will rely on irrigation less - if at all.
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