Did you know?

Jimmy says...
Perth gets more hours of sun in it's shoterest day that Tasmania get sin its longest day.

amanda says...
Lightning strikes put nitrogen into your soil...

Grant says...
I once poured milk on my cereal without spilling a drop!!!

amanda says...
Chicken farmers spray insecticides on the manure to keep the flies down....check with your supplier that yours doesn't contain dieldrin or something similar.

Speedy says...
If they were using Dieldrin and you asked them about it they wouldn't tell you.
Cause it's been banned in most of the world for many years.
....doesn't mean it's not still hangin around in soils in Aust. or that nobody uses it..
Maybe it's all been sent to developing countries with the DDT.
:-/

amanda says...
Speedy! what us backyard growers can get our hands on is quite different to what a primary producer can procure.... I have to fill in paperwork just to get my hands on the phosphoric "bombs" for the rabbits....

amanda says...
Yes - they even dig out their dead mated to get back into the burrows.. still haven't got your e-mail?
how about a picture of your garden in the meantime?

Dekka says...
Did you know that, despite the best of intentions, vermiculture (worm farming) has helped the spread of introduced worms throughout Australia and will most likely have an irreversible effect on our native ecosystems.
Studies in the USA are showing that entire forests are now in jeopardy as a result of feral worms.
In these forests the leaf litter would normally take three years to break down but this is now being accellerated to mere months. The result is that raised amounts of Nitrogen are being released quickly which is either being carried away by rainwater or utilised by plants that absorb Nitrogen quicker, such as weeds.
The thickness of the forest mulch is reduced and erosion is increasing as well as there being a reduction in the amount of creatures that would normally inhabit the leaf litter.
Tree germination has also been seriously effected. The topsoil pH in these forests is normally acid but this too is being raised by feral worms that excrete lime from calciferous glands.
Australia has already opened "pandora's box" on this one...Even in Tasmania there are thirty or so introduced worm species at large.
I don't wish to rain on the parade but there may come a time when we view the detrimental effects of canetoads as insignificant compared to that of these introduced worms. Food for thought.

Dekka says...
Hi Amanda,
I'm afraid the horse may have already bolted on this one but maybe awareness can be spread as well as exotic species.


http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/recognising_earthworms.htm

http://www.annelida.net/docs/Blakemore-eworms-Diversity-of-exotics.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0102_030102_earthworms.html

http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/essays/2004su_worms.html

http://www.nrri.umn.edu/worms/action/FAQ_sheet.pdf

amanda says...
I'd love to see that cast that comes out of one of those guys!!! Thanks for the links.

syd says...
I've tried it and not long afterwards I shared a vision of the Virgin

au0rey says...
Oh my goodness! Where in Victoria is that? I have seen earthworms in my vege patch and soil under pots but never one like that...

I also have a worm farm after reading so much about them in gardening books. They are so sought after in gardens and so 'trendy' nowadays...

Brendan says...
Hello amanda, Why would you move from Gods country (Cairns area), to Geraldton WA? The Keelback snake can eat canetoads no problem, and crows, kookaburras do the same trick with a roadkill toad, ie turn 'em over & eat the entrails.

amanda says...
That the distinct band u see around a mature earthworm is actually the egg sac and it works it's way down the body of the worm and when it somes off at the end it contains multiple eggs.

And - if u want to collect mass worms from your farm - put some watermelon in the day b4 - the worm equivalent of champagne and caviar...

amanda says...
Dekka?? where r u? I have run out of "did u knows"??? Still no word on the nail in the tree philosophy out there?

amanda says...
I always wondered what happened to my ladybirds after the spring aphid plague... I recently discovered that many hide in the mulch under my trees over winter..all set to go next spring! and boy do they go off! we get plagues of them too - it's the nicest kind of plague i have ever seen :)

amanda says...
I didn't know that about copper Grant! So if they iron nail works then the galvanised nail for Zinc should work too? I have alkaline soil so these 2 a problem for me.
I can't help myself - I think I will just have to test this theory.. !

Grant says...
Iron is generally unavailable to a plants "roots" unless in chelated form.Yes, plants can best absorb iron from the soil in its reduced form (Fe+2) or as iron chelate. Arborists often inoculate trees with iron into the trunk or stem. Regular foliar spraying with 2-3% ferrous sulfate solution is one of the most recommended ways to correct iron deficiency. Perhaps the best way to correct iron defficiency is to address the soil conditions.
Poor aeration.
Damage to plant roots by nematodes and other pathogens, which may aggravate iron deficiency.
Strongly acidic conditions (pH lower than 5) or strong alkalinity (pH higher than 8);
High levels of calcium carbonate in the soil;
High levels of bicarbonate in the soil or irrigation water;
High phosphate and nitrate levels;
High levels of manganese, copper and zinc.
Applying iron in any form can be detrimental to a plant if too much is used.Deficiency can be corrected by hammering iron nails into the trunk. Two two-inch iron nails are inserted into the trunk on opposite sides, about 0.5 m from the ground, leaving about 1/4 inch of the nail outside the bark.The reduced iron from the nail will correct the deficiency.

amanda says...
Hi Grant - just reading a soil science book that confirms the galvanised nail thing too - I was surprised it didn't say about the iron nail as the principle/chemistry would surely be the same?

I guess fertiliser companies wouldn't like us having such simple solutions!! ;)

amanda says...
Yea Kert - Fe anaemia leads to low IQ too....

amanda says...
Oh Kert.. life must be hard after all your hair fell out... try rubbing some iron chelates into your scalp love...

Anna says...
Good one Brendan.

amanda says...
He he - yea - then they chatter all the way thru it! Apparently Australia has bred the best eating pumpkin varieties in the world too.