KNOW YOUR SOIL

You will need to find out exactly what type of soil you have in your garden as this will let you understand what your soil needs and what plants you can grow in it. You have to determine whether the soil is heavy(clay) or light(sandy), description is in prepare your soil. If you have a plentiful source of gum leaves or bark, make good use of it!  If you have a mulcher, shred the leaves and bark, then you can use this material directly into your soil or in the compost heap. Gum Leaves may take time to break down, but they make good soil improver - so don't waste them. Pine needles mulched will be good in sandy soils as they are acidic, perhaps you use them once at the start, then about every 3 years, to maintain the right p.H.

Soils can be acid or alkaline and this will show in a pH test. A pH test is simple and it will tell you, on a scale of 1 to 14, what sort of soil you have. Acid soils have a pH below 7 whilst alkaline soils are higher. Neutral pH is 7. Drainage is also important as a plentiful supply of water, poor drainage can have a big impact on soil.

Bad drainage can be a disaster in clay soils, whereas sandy soils will drain away too quick if drainage is excessive!. If you are doing container growing, I recommend some form of crocking, it may be old fashioned, but it always worked!.