In article ,
"Petesin" wh@tthe**** wrote:

I have only just this year decided to try growing some plants. Didn't
really know what I was doing and now I think I need some help!

The garden beds are new (never had gardens there before) I dug up the
existing soil added horse manure and more soil from a big hole I dug behind
the shed to raise it up a little. Got the soil tested and I was told to add
sulphur (found that interesting as around here we have a big red and white
stack that pumps sulphur into the air all day long). I added the sulphur and
the resulting tests seemed to show it did the trick.

I went and bought myself some plants from the local nursery that seemed to
match the shade/sun exposure for my gardens and planted them along with some
"5 in 1". He said it was good stuff and would help them along nicely.

I put in a basic watering system that gives them plenty of water (very
little watering restrictions here) and let them go. The results were very
poor. I lost one and the others didn't grow much at all. Some of the leaves
were turning yellow but I was willing to give them the benifit of the doubt
as it was coming into autumn and I thought their growing season was taking a
break. During winter I dug in some blood and bone and watered them with
'trace elements' and they started to pick up a bit. Now spring has sprung
and the geisha's have started to come good after a light pruning but the
leaves on the gardenias and 'sweet love' out the back are starting to turn
yellow again and the leaves on the other plants seem to be browning off too.

2 weeks ago while fertilising the lawn with grow force 303 I decided to
throw some around the base of the plants too. Was this a mistake? It's
only since then that the plants have started to turn on me. Should I give
them another hit of blood and bone and the trace elements that seemed to
work last time? The bloke on ABC radio always talks about sulphate of
potash. Can that stuff help me out? I really have no idea and just want
some plants to grow.

I'm sorry this was so long but I just wanted to give you a good idea of what
I have done so far.
Also I live in NW QLD and it's starting to get very hot very quickly so I
want to use this spring and summer to really get my gardens going.

Ok, in the last 6 months you have added the following to your soil:

horse manure
sulphur (It wasn't sulphate of ammonia, was it?)
5 in 1 (it's a mix of blood & bone, animal manures and mushroom compost)
blood & bone
trace elements
grow force 303

I think you have probably just overdone the fertiliser, particularly the
nitrogen. Did you add all the fertilisers at the recommended rate on the
packet? Even if you did, I'm inclined to think you've been killing them with
the plant equivalent of too much rich food. Have a look at the information on
the packets and see if you can spot something like "re-apply after X weeks".
Generally, you add fertilisers once or twice a year. (Don't feel too bad --
most of us have over-fertilised soemthing at least once!)

Unfortunately, you'll just have to wait for the excess nutrient to leach out
of the soil. Regular watering will help. Note that most plants don't like
boggy wet soil -- too much water is as bad as too little, so be judicious.
You could also try sprinkling a thin layer of dry lawn clippings (NOT fresh --
they contain nitrogen then!) or using pine bark as a mulch. It should take up
some nitrogen from the soil as part of decomposition. You could even try
planting sweet corn as it likes lots of nitrogen!

I'd also suggest testing your soil pH again. It might have become quite
acidic. Anything below about 5 or 6 is a problem for most plants, but if your
soil was very alkaline to start with (over 8) I wouldn't add any lime -- it
will even itself out.

I like the Global Garden site and it has some handy stuff for beginners (usual
disclaimers apply). This section might help you:

http://www.global-garden.com.au/gardenbegin.htm

Good luck and welcome to the great obsession!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue