Growing Gardens

with Anita Morton

A few pHacts

The simplest and cheapest way of improving the health and productivity of your garden is by adjusting the pH of the soil. The pH (or potential of Hydrogen) scale indicates the acidity or alkalinity of soil, with anything below 7 being acid, and anything above 7 alkaline. Pure water measures 7 on the pH scale, and is perfectly neutral.

On the North Coast our garden soils tend to be acid. This means that camellias, azaleas, gardenias and Japanese maples will all grow happily, but most vegetables and many favourite flowering annuals and shrubs will be less satisfactory. This problem is easily remedied.

Go out and purchase one of the simple kits for measuring pH. These will generally provide enough chemicals for a number of tests, and are good value. Follow the instructions, taking samples from throughout your garden.

In the vegetable and flower garden, an ideal pH is around 6 to 6.5. If your readings are much below this, you will need to apply lime - a 40kg bag of Aglime bought from your agricultural supplier is by far the most economical way to get it.

Spread the lime over the soil at the rate of about 300g per square metre and lightly rake it in. Water well after the application. It will take a while to neutralise the excess acidity, so don't test it again for a week or two.

If your soil is extremely acid (below pH 5.5), it may take several applications to bring it up to the desirable range. Be patient, and let each dose take effect before adding more lime.

Never apply lime around acid-loving plants - your camellias, azaleas, blueberries, tomatoes, ferns and azaleas won't thank you for it. Grow these plants in separate beds, and keep the lime for those plants that need it.

Lismore Garden Club News

Garden Club members are reminded of the exciting social outing on Tuesday, February 15. Visitors most welcome. For further details please phone Ron on 6624 7422.

Bromeliads are unusual and attractive plants that are easy to grow. Most bromeliads have their origins in tropical America. Best known of the bromeliads is the Pineapple and Spanish moss, or 'Old Man's Beard'. Many species are grown outdoors in the tropics and sub-tropics (including north eastern NSW). They can also be grown indoors in well-lit areas.

Most bromeliads are epephytes, growing on trees, rocks and cliff faces - although they are not parasites. Some are ground dwellers. Most have leaves arranged in a rosette that spirals downward into a central 'tank'. Leaves may be green, silver, pink, maroon or red. Some have multi-toned leaves. Many have the most spectacular blooms on a flower spike from the centre of the plant. Plants that have flowered will slowly die off over the next year or two, but by that time they will have produced offsets known as "pups".

These lovely plants can be cultivated in several ways, but free drainage is their prime requisite. Whether grown in containers or in the ground, the growing medium must be very coarse. Growing media could include gravel, bark, charcoal, leaf mould or aged compost.

When growing bromeliads in the ground, it is best to build up the bed to allow free drainage (Yates Garden Guide, page 405).

Anyone wanting more information on bromeliads should make contact with the Lismore Garden Club on the above phone number.

Happy gardening
Ron Burns