Lionel wrote:
Hi guys,

My wife and I have just bought a house in Brisbane and we plan to fill
the yard with fruit trees and gardens.

The soil in the area tends to be a clay type soil on top of shale. It
takes a lot to get wet, but once wet stays that way for weeks.

I'm wondering two things:

1. For trees such as citrus, what is the best thing to do to give them
the best chance of a fruitful life? I noticed some people heap the dirt.

2. What plants/tees like poorly drained soil? I'm planning on putting
some taros in at the bottom and having a water tank overflow onto them,
maybe some mint in the same area.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

Lionel.

I don't know about fruit trees, but we had an extremely poorly-drained
block and opted to build our flower beds up above ground level. This
could work for you too? My beds are 60cm deep, mostly for ease of
access. There's a 'lip' on the front edge of each bed to provide seating
and the pathways between are just tamped-down soil with native violets
filling in the gaps.

--
Trish Brown {|:-}

Newcastle, NSW, Australia