DFB's Greenthumb Project

[DFB FGXR6]

When you go to buy garden soil, ALWAYS pH test it before you pay for it. If the business refuses, take your money elsewhere.

This sample below is from a newly created garden with soil sold by a local landscape supply yard. The plants have started going backwards and look very unwell.



That reading is far, far too high for any plant to grow in and no amount of Seasol or fertilizer will fix it.

For the most part, plants require a slightly acid, neutral or slightly alkaline soil pH. Gardenia's, Magnolia's and Camellia's require slight acidity. Lavender's, Lilac's and Buddleia's will tolerate some alkalinity.



When the soil is so far out of range like above, plants can no longer make use of the nutrients available to them. As the roots attempt to move beyond the potting mix they were grown in, they become stunted and impacting how they absorb water.

Both extremes can be remedied, lime increases soil pH and Alum or Sulphur decreases it. Alum is very aggressive so should be used with care, but it will give the fastest drop. From there, fine tune with Sulphur.

The reasons for frustration regarding this topic are this -

-A customer will come to us wondering why their plants, which may or may not have been purchased from us, are not growing and/or looking very sick. Our first response is to bring us a sample of the soil to pH test. Nine times out of ten, the pH level will be highly alkaline.

This then leads to the question if the fresh topsoil was added at the time of planting, again the response mostly yes. It's then up to use to explain why it's not poor quality plants they have bought, rather the soil they planted it into.

-The customer then has to spend more money to make the soil actually suitable for growing plants. Topsoil is not a cheap purchase anyway, and often customers will be angry for buying something so unusable and then having to spend more on top of that.

-There about four landscape supply yards in my area. Three of those sell soil highly alkaline and one completely ignorant of what they are selling.

I have managed to find out what the induvial components are in what they call "Premium Garden Soil". The basic ingredient is from a company that uses household green waste and turns it into compost. The second element is cow manure, the third is sand. Well rotted cow manure is generally pH neutral, so either the sand or compost, if not both, is likely to be alkaline.

Despite this soil looking and smelling good, the stuff is completely not fit for purpose. And yet, these suppliers continue to sell this stuff and turn a blind eye to what it is doing.

As mentioned, prior to planting it's best to do some pH testing of your existing soil and any soil brought in. Effective pH test kits are not too expensive, if you don't have access to one then take samples to your local nursery (not Bunning's) (Also avoid those cheap pH meters that are available, they are not very accurate). Doing this prior to spending money on plants will make it easier to remedy a pH imbalance.

[Rallye Sport]

Good advice there mate.

This chart, for me, puts it into perspective.



As the pH grows you can see a drop off in the ability to pick up Nitrogen aswell as Iron and Manganese which also aid Nitrogen absorption. Molybdenum also spikes which is quite toxic to plants.

We battle lime alkaline soils in WA and to make things worse ground and scheme water are also quite alkaline.
Its funny dealing with some otherwise knowledgeable turf guys over here that want plantings of azaleas "just like at Augusta" then are dumbfounded when you tell them its not possible
To me theres no point fighting the conditions I have so I'll only use local plants, which not only work, but provide a sense of place and set us apart from all the other 'Augusta' copycats.

[Tonz]

If buying by the bag are the standards (number of ticks) still relevant or just a safety net, How does a business get their bags ticked ...if they care.
I recently say mitre 10 selling compost 4 bags $20. couple were looking at them and as I walked passed, quietly mentioned buy that and your plant will be dead in few weeks.

[Citroënbender]

Is it possible the sand used in this Premium mix, includes a portion of envirosand? That would explain the alkalinity, being from mortar.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Is it possible the sand used in this Premium mix, includes a portion of envirosand? That would explain the alkalinity, being from mortar.

That's something I forgot to expand on in my previous post.

Three components make up this soil, which is blended and then sold to the general public -

Sand - this can be either range from alkaline to acidic, most often alkaline though.

Cow Manure - when aged and composted, this is pH neutral.

Composted Green Waste - unknown pH.

As I alluded to, it's either the sand or compost that is causing this alkalinity. Obviously these companies, both the blenders and retail level suppliers, don't like being told their product is not fit for purpose, finding the actual culprit would be very difficult.

[Citroënbender]

Surely compost is likely to be acidic-to-neutral?

The more I consider it the more I reckon they’re using sand with a blend from crushed recycled masonry. See if the crushers will tell you who buys it.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Surely compost is likely to be acidic-to-neutral?

The more I consider it the more I reckon they’re using sand with a blend from crushed recycled masonry. See if the crushers will tell you who buys it.

Generally, yes.

I wonder if the composting method could be a factor as well, as in have they been adding something speed up the process.

This is the compost supplier -
https://www.westerncompost.com.au/

Myself, I have always tended to suspect it was the sand they use in the blend. Either way, these companies have shown no indication they intend to fix the issue, knowing for sure what is causing the alkalinity is not going to solve the problem. Important to note this has been going on for over 10 years now.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Tonz

If buying by the bag are the standards (number of ticks) still relevant or just a safety net, How does a business get their bags ticked ...if they care.
I recently say mitre 10 selling compost 4 bags $20. couple were looking at them and as I walked passed, quietly mentioned buy that and your plant will be dead in few weeks.

Garden soils don't get graded like potting mixes do. The composition of soil and potting mix is also different.

Bulk garden soils obtained by a landscape supply yard are a blend of various components including raw soil, sand, compost and manure.

Potting Mix is made from composted bark chips.

There is a two-tier system for grading potting mix in Australia, Standard and Premium. Each potting mix must be tested and approved to display those logos. If a bag of potting mix does not have either logo, it is not considered to meet Australian Standards.

"Standard" potting mix will have the black logo and generally contains no added fertiliser or wetting agents. These mixes are of course cheaper and are best suited to short term plants, say for flowering annuals. It's then up to the buyer to add fertiliser if using the mix for more than 6 - 8 months.

"Premium" potting mix will have the red logo and are suited to longer term plantings. Think a lemon tree or perhaps a potted feature tree. These mixes contain slow-release fertiliser and wetting agents.

Each mix, standard or premium, will offer different properties to tailor to application. For example, there are specific mix's for natives or even one best suited to Camellia's. However, I tend to just buy a general-purpose mix with the premium logo and then tailor the feed to a plants requirements.

It's also important to note that potting mixes are just that, for using in pots. Don't use potting mix when planting in the ground, they do nothing for the soil and encourage a plants root system to stay in that "happiness" zone and not develop deeply.

Also never add other elements to a potting unless otherwise required. Each mix is designed to offer a balance of water and nutrient holding ability and at the same time, drain correctly. Adding garden soil or compost alters that fine balance and, in some cases, block the drainage holes as the soil and potting mix settle. The only time this would differ would be adding something like Perlite or Vermiculite to increase drainage for sensitive plants, think African Violets.

In terms of price, you get what you pay for. A cheap mix will last months and will often become hydrophobic, an expensive mix will last 5 - 7 years. Always consider how long a plant will be in the pot and choose a potting mix to suit.

For context, we only sell Debco premium potting mixes as we believe it's money well spent, especially if the plant will be a feature or indoors.

Our base line mix is this, suitable for shorter term plantings. (12-18 months) -

https://www.lovethegarden.com/au-en/...otting-mix-25l

Our ultra premium mix is Pot Power. This is expensive but by far the best available. Use this for longer term or indoor plants. (Up to 7 years) -

https://www.lovethegarden.com/au-en/...otting-mix-25l

[FTE217]

Love doing the same type of gurney work - so satisfying when done looks great DFB.

Well you got to do what you got to when living in a bush environment like us and this motha has concerned us being not even 10mtrs from the house and the bedrooms being first point of contact.
Been a challenge getting loppers not just for the amount of work they have today but also the access doing this job another so we were ghosted as I’m told nowadays a few times but finally got a crowd willing to get on with it + 3 other medium size ones being another gum and 2 turps.
Massive job as you can see and I commend the climbers for needed 2 being the large tree really tested his stamina and by the end they suffer muscle cramping as expected.
Dropping the large limbs watching was a work of art - a inexperienced crew surely would have damaged the house and likely our pathways - pretty impressive overall.







The above stump is left to do in the morning……
Next pics are the baby’s being cut



As you can tell a bit of culling won’t take away from the amount of trees around us…..
And some left overs that they put on FB and pretty much all gone by tonight to many homes with fireplaces


DFB I have enough work ahead of me now with rebuilding 2 small sandstone retaining walls and re do the garden bed - looking forward to it but I wish roKwiz was close by to quote on some of his Great Wall work


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[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by FTE217

Love doing the same type of gurney work - so satisfying when done looks great DFB.

Well you got to do what you got to when living in a bush environment like us and this motha has concerned us being not even 10mtrs from the house and the bedrooms being first point of contact.
Been a challenge getting loppers not just for the amount of work they have today but also the access doing this job another so we were ghosted as I’m told nowadays a few times but finally got a crowd willing to get on with it + 3 other medium size ones being another gum and 2 turps.
Massive job as you can see and I commend the climbers for needed 2 being the large tree really tested his stamina and by the end they suffer muscle cramping as expected.
Dropping the large limbs watching was a work of art - a inexperienced crew surely would have damaged the house and likely our pathways - pretty impressive overall.
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The above stump is left to do in the morning……
Next pics are the baby’s being cut
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As you can tell a bit of culling won’t take away from the amount of trees around us…..
And some left overs that they put on FB and pretty much all gone by tonight to many homes with fireplaces
image

DFB I have enough work ahead of me now with rebuilding 2 small sandstone retaining walls and re do the garden bed - looking forward to it but I wish roKwiz was close by to quote on some of his Great Wall work


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I get scared being on the third step of a ladder let alone being up a tree like that, better them than me!

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by FTE217

DFB I have enough work ahead of me now with rebuilding 2 small sandstone retaining walls and re do the garden bed - looking forward to it but I wish roKwiz was close by to quote on some of his Great Wall work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks like Avalon ? Always fixing stuff there.

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Looks like Avalon ? Always fixing stuff there.

nah not far from Terry Hills.
Yep always doing repairs be it rain hail shine in these parts.

[FTE217]

Agreed - they are a breed and a half, no fear !


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[Tonz]

dang some nice timber in that lot for sealing up, letting it dry then wood turning...fireplaces what a waste

[FTE217]

Not wasted one bit Tonz......
Apart from me keeping a tonne or so, my brother taking a tonne the rest on the nature strip has all been picked up by hungry fireplace owners.
Every single piece might I add - gone.
Loppers post it on FB markplace - I had to fend off people now and then looking to take my bro's stash lol......unbelieveable but so glad all gone to good use for next winter.

I'm sure some people will not use it all for firewood.
I have kept pieces to make some stools, my wife likes me to screw on coasters on some, decent size out door table tops etc, I'll rub them down and varnish or oil pieces.
She even didn't want to take the trunk to ground, its left standing around 3mtrs, she wants to make a feature. Well more like get me to work on her "vision"

[Citroënbender]

A feature? Are you going to farm white ants?

[prydey]

I've had 3 palm trees removed and watched the same crew take out a gum tree the next street over. Definitely not for the faint hearted and amazing to watch them work, especially how they tie off branches to give them a controlled fall. Impressive stuff. Great pics FTE.

[DFB FGXR6]

Cleaning up leaves from 13 ornamental Pear tree's, a three-hour job with two trips to the green waste tip.











This will be the last time I do this job as the property has just been sold. I was quietly hoping it would be sold and settled before having to this clean up.

[DFB FGXR6]

The result of two adolescent Golden Retrievers............





This chewed up one only lasted a week! Was not impressed!

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

A feature? Are you going to farm white ants?

......
Mate already here long ago and obviously typical bush areas, that trunk centre they been at it about a qrtr of it worked on from the centre, hence why glad to get it down before one of those mad storm nights again - been a lottery tbh.

[Tonz]

Originally Posted by FTE217

I'm sure some people will not use it all for firewood.
I have kept pieces to make some stools, my wife likes me to screw on coasters on some, decent size out door table tops etc, I'll rub them down and varnish or oil pieces.
She even didn't want to take the trunk to ground, its left standing around 3mtrs, she wants to make a feature. Well more like get me to work on her "vision"

dont varnish them, unless you want to strip it off and redo every couple of years.

[DFB FGXR6]

New Mower Day!!!!



I’m very lucky that I can write off my mower addiction as a business expense. The “reason” for this machine is to have a reliable light duty mower for the cooler months of the year. The un-official "reason"? I just wanted a mower with electric start. However, this was not a straightforward purchase.

As always, I am king of the spec’s, I have no problem cross checking multiple models in an attempt to make a well-informed purchase. When I go to buy, I know EXACTLY what I want and usually know more than the salesman. I looked at Masport, Bushranger and Victa’s offering for electric start lawn mowers.

Bushrangers offering is a smaller 18’’ cut with the 150cc Briggs engine. This chassis is the old Rover deck, one I have had before and did not like. It’s smaller cut reduces efficiency too.

https://bushrangerpe.com.au/browse-p...ey-start-mower



Masport offered both 140cc 18” and 150cc 19” steel chassis models. I have had a 19’’ Masport before and was less than impressed with the lack of durability. The 190cc 850-Series Briggs engine was transplanted to another mower in the end and the deck was basically scrap after less than a year. As such, I did not feel very confident about another Masport.

https://masport.com.au/outdoor-garde...rated-instart-
https://masport.com.au/outdoor-garde...combo-instart-





12-18 months ago, Victa offered several models with electric start, however they now only sell a 140cc 18’’ model. I could probably deal with the smaller cut, but not the small engine……. I like a big donk!

https://www.victa.com/au/en_au/produ...ter-mower.html



I’m a Victa boy to the core though, they just seem to have given me the best results over the years. This then led me to searching for those now discontinued models, in particular the Corvette 500 with the 150cc engine, and the Mustang 750iS with the larger 163cc engine.





My local dealer who I have purchased many, many machines from over the years could not get me one, nor was there any future models in the pipeline according to the Victa rep. I then started trawling the internet and found a dealer offering both for sale. Knowing these were discontinued lines, I emailed the seller asking if these were in stock and was told yes, both were in stock. Great! I placed my order for a Corvette 500 with In-Start and waited. And waited, and waited…………………

I ended up phoning the seller a week later asking what was the statis of my order, only to be told that the mower was on back order. To me, that sounded very strange, how can a product be on back order when it’s been discontinued? More to the point, I was told hours earlier that it was in stock! An email or phone call would have been helpful. I then changed my order to the Mustang 750iS and was told an updated invoice would be emailed to me so I could pay the balance and organise shipping. Again, I waited, and waited and waited. Five days after that, I phoned and asked what is going on with my order, only to be told that he forgot to send out the email, and that he would get right on it. Another day passed, where I finally received a phone call and an updated invoice. I paid the balance and the dam thing arrived today, 23 days after the order was placed.

I can’t understand how a business can set up a very comprehensive website for the sale of high dollar items and not have appropriate inventory systems or provide adequate communication to customers. Just not good enough. It's also against consumer law to represent a product for sale when it's not in stock or will never be in stock. I would name and shame, but I want to make sure my new mower is running correctly before that, so if you want to know what business sold me this machine, shoot me a PM.

So, the machine itself. Because this was an online sale, I needed to do the final assembly which included putting the catcher together, attaching the throttle lever and adding oil and fuel.













As mentioned, this is a 19’’ cut Victa Mustang 750 with In-Start. The Mustang name has generally referred to alloy chassis models and represents the upper end of the Victa line-up. This is the fifth one of these I have had, all with varying engines- 190cc B&S Quantum XTS 60, 161cc B&S DOV, 190cc B&S OHV 850-Series, 160cc Powertorque 2-Stroke and now this 163cc B&S 750iS.

This is the first new-generation OHV Briggs and Stratton engine I have owned. This series is different to the 190cc 850 OHV engines, think of those as “Big Blocks”, and different again to the 161cc DOV engines. These newer OHV models are made in 125cc, 140cc, 150cc and 163cc and replaced the ancient side-valve engines in 148cc, 158cc and 190cc capacities.



The key feature for me is the electric start, or what Briggs and Stratton refer to as In-Start. Electric start mowers of old had bulky batteries sitting at the back of the deck, adding weight and were an inconvenience to charge. Briggs and Stratton’s solution is pretty clever, integrating a standard looking lithium-ion battery into the starter housing on top of the engine. A full charge takes an hour and will offer a claimed 75 starts, a ten-minute charge offering 20 starts. Each mower fitted with one of these In-Start engines comes with one 10.8V 1.45Ah battery and a matching charger. Starting is as simple as flipping the cover and pushing the button.











While my initial choice was for the Corvette with it’s lighter steel chassis, this Mustang has a more powerful engine and more rugged alloy base without much compromise in weight. It also comes with a mulching blade disk and plug, not that I will be using it as such.

Now the question is, do I go ahead and polish and wax it?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Now the question is, do I go ahead and polish and wax it?

We all know the answer.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by prydey

We all know the answer.

Collinte 845, P&S Bead Maker or perhaps some Carpro Reload?

[prydey]

As it happens, it was new mower day for me too today...



My old 2 stroke victa needs a new carby. I keep pulling it apart and getting it going and 3 uses later it's unreliable again. Got sick of it. It died part way through mowing yesterday so I got the sads and went shopping.

[FTE217]

hey prydey, purely on the looks department the makita's always get my eye when at Bunnings, very flashy they are.
Good your happy with it, hey tend to that clover invation please

[prydey]

Originally Posted by FTE217

hey tend to that clover invation please

Any recommendations on what to use? I don't have any gardening knowledge. I mow and pull a few weeds. My old man was a bit of a green thumb and I regret not showing more of an interest when younger.

[FTE217]

Clover is one of those legume plants, like beans and lucerne or alfalfa. It will draw nitrogen from the air and stores it in its roots. As the roots die back, the nitrogen is replenished into the soil but where there is sufficient nitrogen in your soil to keep your lawn healthy, the clover struggles to survive. In most cases when you see clover growing in your lawn it means that there isn’t enough nitrogen. Lawns love nitrogen, while clover hates it, so increasing the fertiliser on your lawn is a must.
Early spring I always spread Shirleys #17 on my lawns, healthy strong lawn keeps the weeds down.
The patchs now and then that I see clover or other weeds commence I get this kind of product - easy attach to the hose and spray where needed.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...WRLMuJ-OwKhLJW

[prydey]

Nice quick response, thanks. Very helpful.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by FTE217

Clover is one of those legume plants, like beans and lucerne or alfalfa. It will draw nitrogen from the air and stores it in its roots. As the roots die back, the nitrogen is replenished into the soil but where there is sufficient nitrogen in your soil to keep your lawn healthy, the clover struggles to survive. In most cases when you see clover growing in your lawn it means that there isn’t enough nitrogen. Lawns love nitrogen, while clover hates it, so increasing the fertiliser on your lawn is a must.
Early spring I always spread Shirleys #17 on my lawns, healthy strong lawn keeps the weeds down.
The patchs now and then that I see clover or other weeds commence I get this kind of product - easy attach to the hose and spray where needed.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...WRLMuJ-OwKhLJW

Very well explained. A couple of points I will add.

Clover is often also an indicator of too much moisture, something a bit hard to control during the cooler months.

As mentioned, feed the lawn in spring or once the days are consistently warmish. Don't bother feeding now as it won't offer much effect or benefit during winter.

Avoid "Weed-n-Feed" type products. These simply burn away broad leaf weeds (clover inc) and leave the root system behind, allowing the weed to recover and return. Good stratagy for selling more product, hey?

Using a broad-leaf weed killer will kill the whole plant. Which you use will be dependent on what type of lawn you have. For most situations Couch, Kikuyu and Fescue are treated differently to Buffalo. So, if you have a predominance of Buffalo, make sure to choose an appropriate product.

We sell Searls products, so that is what I know. For general lawn weed control, look at Bindi and Clover Killer or Lawnweeder.

https://www.searlesgardening.com.au/...or-lawns-500ml
https://www.searlesgardening.com.au/...n-weeder-200ml

For Buffalo, use Buffalo Master.

https://www.searlesgardening.com.au/...edkiller-200ml

Only trouble with that will be actually getting some. A lot of these have been on back-order for months now. Another Covid casualty.