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Paul starts with ... Hi all, I'm not having much luck with my fruit trees, but I continue to try. But now even my bottlebrush (or whatever they are - you can tell i'm a pro) are looking horrible. The fuzzy bush has been patchy-yellow for a while now, and the bottle brush has gone past yellow, and is now red and crispy. They weren't this bad when I moved into this house, and I did cut them back a while ago, but look at them now! I have just started testing my soil, and yes its highly alkaline (8 to 10, I think thats typical for Perth). For a laugh, I tested my compost and it is also very alkaline, which was a surprise for me. You can see the location of my compost tumbler in the photo, could it be the reason why the three nearby trees are doing especially bad? How can I build a more pH-balanced compost? Am I killing my garden with my compost? thanks, Paul
| About the Author Paul21 Perth 5th September 2010 12:48am #UserID: 2685 Posts: 14 View All Paul21's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Paul - don't give the compost to the natives - it's far too much for them. What do put in your compost? Sounds like u need more acidifying ingredients. Composting is a big topic - if you google "Homemade compost" u will find heaps of info'. Some natives will suffer from iron deficiency in alkaline soil. With a pH as high as yours you will have a big job ahead of you to bring it down. Choose plants that can cope with the conditions in the meantime. Pine bark chips as mulch may be helpful for your natives as they are acidic. In the long run you will need to add organic matter to buffer the pH and add acidity (another huge topic!) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 5th September 2010 12:36pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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