6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

PICK OF THE CROP
Are weeds taking over your
garden and taking up too
much of your time?
Take charge by reducing the weed seed bank with this organic
enzymatic product, which degrades surface-deposited weed seeds
so there’s no next generation of the weed. Earthlife WeedLess
attacks the weed seed, rendering it unable to germinate, thereby
reducing weed populations. Preliminary trials conducted by TAFE
Toowoomba on the weed fleabane achieved more than 90 per
cent reduction in seed germination. Earthlife customers are seeing
similar results with other garden weeds, including cobbler’s pegs
(farmer’s friend), khaki weed, bindii, clover, wintergrass and oxalis,
to name a few. There’s always weed seed lying dormant waiting for
the opportunity to germinate and some are viable for seven years
or more. You can spray Earthlife WeedLess around your plants or
your lawn without any damage
or burning. Apply it over the
area to directly contact mature
deposited weed seed. Earthlife
WeedLess is completely safe
for use around humans and
animals and is available in 1L
or 2.5L containers. Mix 100mL
to 1L water to treat up to 20m².
Regular applications may be
needed to achieve best results.
Phone 1800 819 003 or visit
earthlife.com.au
Mulch for good looks
and garden goodness
There are many important reasons to mulch. First, mulch stops
the top of the soil drying out, keeps it moist and can reduce
watering by up to 75 per cent. Mulching also prevents weeds and
weed seed germination, which compete with plants for moisture
and nutrients. It keeps the soil temperature constant, and using
an organic mulch means you’re adding extra organic matter to
the soil, another fantastic benefit. Plus, mulch looks great. It can
create consistent colour and coverage to what was bare ground.
Feeder mulches, as the name suggests, add nutrition and improve
soil as they break down. They are generally organic sugar-cane,
lucerne and other straw mulches. These can be aesthetically
pleasing yet are lighter
coloured and absorb and
retain moisture. They add
beneficial organic matter to
the soil and promote active
biology such as earthworms.
Long-term use of these
mulches increases soil
fertility, markedly improves
soil composition and reduces
fertiliser dependence. Rocky
Point Mulching’s Sugar Cane,
Lucerne and Pea Straw
mulches are finely chopped,
dust extracted and come in
highly compressed packaging.
rpmulching.com.au
Pest-free the
organic way
Keep your vegetables
and garden plants pest-free and looking
good the natural way without using
harsh chemicals. Searles Ecofend
Vegetable & Garden is an organic soap-based
spray that makes it easy to control infestations
of insects and mites such as thrips, mealybugs,
whiteflies and those nasty plant-deforming
insects, aphids. Spray Searles Ecofend Vegetable
& Garden at the first sight of insects on
your vegetables, fruit trees, pot plants,
roses and ornamentals. This spray
contains an organic ingredient that
is safe to use on edible plants and is
available in 250mL, 500mL and 1L
easy-to-measure concentrate bottles
and a ready-to-use trigger spray. For
more information on this product
and other organic pest-control
sprays, phone 07 5422 3000 or visit
searlesgardening.com.au
News from the Organigrow
free-range organic egg farm
Now aged two weeks, our chicks are growing well. They were only
one day old when they arrived after safely travelling in specially
adapted cardboard boxes. Once on the farm, we immediately
released them into two separate enclosures where they feed on a
high-protein organic chick starter mash. They also have plenty of
fresh water, as the large brooder shed is kept at a constant 31°C
to keep them warm. As they get older, the temperature is lowered
gradually until they are at ambient temperature at around four
weeks. It’s a real treat to watch them grow from day to day and,
after the first week, release them from the enclosures to the full
playground of the shed. Recently we started mixing our own feed
for the chooks using high-quality organic grain. Two new silos
were added to the three already present to include a wider range
of cereals, thus ensuring a larger selection of nutrients for even
better eggs. It will also allow enough grain to be held on the farm
for almost a full year’s supply. organigrow.com.au
94 | Good Organic Gardening