I hope this email finds you well and safe. I mentioned in my last email that things were starting to become almost too wet. Well, now they are!! We usually love getting rain, but we’ve had too much lately.
We’ve had times when the yard has been inundated on our property. We’re very grateful for the coir fibre placed around the trees and other garden sections. For the areas not undercover, I couldn’t believe it when I found worms that had been washed out of their homes, and many had drowned.
Generally, I’m selling coir-fibre to protect your gardens from extended dry periods by this time of the year. This year it’s a very different situation. The coir-fibre in wet conditions protects the soil and stops the nutrients from washing away. It also keeps the little residents, like the worms, safe.
Despite all the rain, October was a busy month for us. Lionel and I enjoyed being out and about, meeting and talking to you all. We were especially busy cutting coir fibre basket liners at the Elmore Field Days. We love that we can offer coir-fibre to suit your pots and baskets. This weekend we were planning to be at the farmers market, but due to the current flooding situation the farmers market has been cancelled. I am available by appointment if you'd like to visit my shop this weekend.
How to get your strawberries off to a flying start
For me, summer and fresh strawberries go hand in hand. Now is a great time to be planting them. Here’s what I do to get my strawberries off to a great start.
The recent weather events have destroyed so much, and my heart goes out to anyone who has faced these floods. Mother nature is powerful; she often reminds us that we don't control everything. But we can do our best to protect our gardens!
When I put the coir-fibre around the trees and plants in my garden, I was doing it mainly to protect them from the elements like heat, wind, and low rainfall. But it turns out coir-fibre works well in the wet periods too!
When our yard was flooded about three weeks ago, I wondered what was ahead. Three weeks on, and although the trees out the front of our property are still sitting in water, they appear to be under no stress, and I believe this is thanks to the coir-fibre matting I have laid.
The coir-fibre mats have stood up well during all this extended rain event. They have held their shape and have assisted with protecting valuable nutrients in the soil from being leached. When I've lifted the mats, I've also been happy to see the worms happily working away.
As a result of all the recent rain, I'm currently experimenting with adding an extra layer of newspaper underneath the coir fibre to give further protection. So far, it is working well.
One of the things I love the most about coir fibre is that its low maintenance! When it is time to renew the mats, it's a matter of putting a new mat over the top. There's no need to remove the hay, straw or old mats.
Reach out to me if you want to discuss things you can do to either salvage plants in your garden from the last rain or how you can protect your garden from the next deluge.
Guard n Grow is now proudly is association with Sustainable Gardening Australia
I'm delighted to inform you that we're now in association with Sustainable Gardening Australia. This not-for-profit social organisation is all about inspiring, empowering and educating individuals, communities and organisations to contribute to sustainablity through gardens.
