Organic Compost: Choosing the Best Trees to Grow in Containers
There are a lot of reasons to grow trees in containers. For urban gardens and those with little outside space, potted trees can make the surroundings feel cooler. A potted tree can make a terrace or patio feel like a garden, or they can make striking focal points when placed on either side of an entryway. After choosing the trees you like, you will need to choose containers with special considerations. Also, your trees will grow better if you mix organic compost with the soil.
Citrus
Any citrus fruit – tangerines, oranges, kumquats, limes, lemons – can be grown in large containers. Citrus trees make beautiful accents in any garden bed, herb garden, or patio. They can stand up to summer heat or winter cold.
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When is the Best Time to Add Organic Compost?
Healthy soil means a healthy garden. You don’t need to apply miracle chemicals or new-fangled fertilisers just to make your garden soil healthy. Adding organic compost to your garden soil is the best and least expensive thing you can do to produce beautiful garden flowers or a nice crop of vegetables.
For colder climates
Adding organic compost to your soil depends on your geographical location. If you live in cooler climates such as South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria, where there is only one major growing season, from late spring to early fall. Layer partially decomposed organic compost during the stated period, before the ground freezes and let it decompose through the winter. In the next spring, your soil will be ready for planting.
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Preparing Your Garden Soil and Using Organic Compost for Growing Roses
Some people like a decorative garden rather than growing a vegetable garden. This is a quick guide on preparing your garden soil and using organic compost for planting and growing roses. After all, roses can be successfully grown in every Australian state and territory. This means roses will survive and thrive in almost any soil in any garden on the continent.
Have the ideal pH
The acidity or alkalinity of the soil’s pH will affect how roses can get nutrients from the soil. If your soil has a very high pH, your roses will become stressed and not grow well. Roses grow better in typical natural garden soil, which is only slightly acidic to neutral (6.0 to 7.0). If you’re not sure about your soil, have it tested so you can make adjustments to your soil or just grow the roses in containers. (Labrador Landscape Supplies can test your soil and has adequate soil and organic compost for soil adjustments or container planting)
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Organic Compost: The Best Fruits to Grow in Your Garden
You don’t need an orchard to grow your own fruit at home. All you need is your backyard, no matter what the size. And if space is limited, you can grow fruit in containers. You can even use hanging baskets. You can even do container gardening if you want to do some planting indoors. However, you need to know what fruits will grow in a container. You also need to make sure you get the right organic compost for your fruits.
Consider these examples
Strawberries can grow in ground soil, containers, or even hanging baskets
They love sunshine and well-drained soil. This is how versatile this fruit is, even growing in window boxes.
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Plants to Grow in the Autumn and What Organic Compost to Use
May is the month wherein most of the Australian continent is starting to get cold. And yet there are still loads to do in your garden because there are plants that can still thrive in the cold, if you didn’t know yet. Regardless of frost damage, many plants will thrive even if you start planting them in May. Their growth will also improve if you have the right soil and organic compost mixture.
Flowers and shrubs
If you’re just into decorative gardening, you can start planting flowering bulbs so they can grow and establish their roots deep in the soil. You can plant beauties like daffodil, jonquil, freesia, ranunculi, anemone, crocus, hyacinth, tulips, native calostemma, pansy, viola, polyanthus, primrose, chorea, bottlebrush, and gum tree. The autumn rains also mean that you don’t need to do much hand watering.
Herbs
You can add to your tasty plant collection with river mint, shallots, rosemary, mint, lemongrass, tarragon, thyme, parsley, oregano, garlic bulbs, and coriander. These grow well in autumn and during winter. Consider also planting more seeds, so you have a succession of plants to harvest.
Fruits
If space allows it on your property, you can plant these that thrive in autumn and winter: orange, lime, and lemon trees. These trees don’t like competing for space, so don’t allow lawn or grass to grow up close to the trunk. You can also plant strawberries, but in the shade. They grow more fruit and fewer leaves in the shade and don’t like sun exposure.
Balcony gardening
If you love gardening in containers, the autumn is perfect because the weather is pleasant enough outside, and you can watch over your plants or seeds much better. All herbs, strawberries, and dwarf citrus will grow well in containers. For decorative plants, try succulents and cacti. Always check if plants in containers need watering. These plants can be easily moved away from direct heat that can cause stress.
Always enquire from your local landscape supplies on the right mixture of soil and organic compost (in the Gold Coast and Brisbane area, you can enquire from Labrador Landscape Supplies). Loamy soil is best for autumn planting. If your natural soil is heavy on clay or sand, mix it up with organic compost as well as fallen leaves, kitchen vegetable waste, and even manure. Organic matter also aids in aeration, drainage, and encourages good microbes in the soil.
Labrador Landscape Supplies
The right kind of soil and organic compost mixture in your container garden or adding better soil or compost in your natural soil can make all the difference when growing your plants in the autumn. Labrador Landscape Supplies provides high-quality soil and compost for any garden. We also have the best landscape materials for all your landscaping and gardening projects. Call 07 5537 2841.
- Published in Garden Landscaping
Preparing Your Soil for Laying Turf (While also using organic compost)
If you want your new lawn to look magnificent and eye-pleasing, you need to lay turf as professionally as possible. Before you even apply one single blade of turf, you need to prepare your garden’s soil accordingly. It’s no secret that a good lawn means good preparation. You need to allow plenty of time to get the soil ready for your turf laying, and sometimes it will even mean adding organic compost to improve the soil’s nutrients.
Clear the Area
Every last bit of plant scrap needs to be removed from the lawn area. This means every pinch of wild grass, plants, leaves, roots, twigs, stones, etc. In short, everything. If there is a carpet of old grass before, this can be composted down and made into organic compost. If you use a systemic weed killer, wait at least 3 weeks after application before cleaning out the soil.
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It’s All About the Potting Mix and Organic Compost
The pandemic has created a huge following for container gardening. Urban and small-space gardening is still on the rise, houseplants and even vegetables are filling up social media posts. However, some beginners seem to get confused between potting mix, topsoil, and organic compost.
Potting mix and topsoil
A potting mix contains inorganic and organic materials and may also include mineral soil and a little sand. Bags of potting mix marked as “sterilised” means that the mix can kill weed seeds and pests. Some potting mixes are marked as “soilless.” Instead, they contain peat moss and organic compost for moisture retention, and vermiculite or perlite for drainage. Some potting mixes are specially made to accommodate the needs of specific plants. These will usually be labelled as orchid mix, flower potting mix, etc.
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Four Tips to Continue Gardening with an Extended Pandemic (Don’t Forget the Organic Compost)
These are troubling times as most of Australia is in lockdown again as a “second wave” is hitting the country. But, for many, they see a silver lining as they continue to tend to their gardens. For those who now want to start their gardens, we offer these four tips for you. And yes, do prepare to get some organic compost from your local landscape supply (In South East Queensland and Brisbane, that would be Labrador Landscape Supply).
Embrace the opportunity
Firstly, before you even start, get to know what’s around your garden-to-be and how much area you want to cultivate. Time will seem to move slowly during lockdowns so embrace the time to garden. So, go into the area where you intend to garden and observe what’s going on.
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The Basics and Benefits of Mushroom Organic Compost
Organic compost, which is basically decomposed organic matter, is used as a fertiliser, soil conditioner, and natural soil pesticide. In maintaining a healthy and chemical-free garden, landscape, or organic farm, make sure to add compost to your soil as it is packed with nutrients. There are a plethora of organic materials you can use to make your compost. In this article, we will focus on mushroom compost, specifically. Let’s start with the basics.
What is mushroom compost?
Mushroom compost is a kind of slow-release, organic plant fertiliser also known as mushroom soil. To the unfamiliar, they would assume that it is an organic compost made solely out of mushrooms—it is not. To make this compost, you must use soil that has been used to grow the mushrooms. It is comprised of various materials, including:
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Types of Organic Compost Sold by Labrador Landscape Supplies
The Importance of Composting
Composting is the process of turning organic matter that is ready for disposal into something beneficial. It is important because it converts organic materials (except anything animal-based) such as vegetable matter, eggshells, coffee grinds, tea bags, paper products, trimmed grasses, twigs/leaves, and the like by allowing them to decompose into a rich form of soil. This organic compost matter is chock-full of vitamins and helps in growing plants in any space. Compost is also crucial because it wards off harmful pests.
At Labrador Landscape Supplies, we understand that the right type of organic compost can make all the difference in a garden. Thus, Labrador Landscape provides only high-quality compost and soil combinations for any garden across the Brisbane and Gold Coast regions. Take a look at our unique soil and compost mixes.
(more…)- Published in Garden Landscaping