Hi guys,

I need some help/advice. I am a bit of a novice when it comes to soil
composition and all of that technical stuff but I do love to garden and have
just left a really wonderful one in Perth to start again in the Pilbara.
The soil here is what they call Pindan it is like a very red heavy clay when
wet and concrete when dry. Our water is full of calcium and leaves
everywhere white (you may need to know this). I would like to give my
plants the best possible opportunity to grow but there is limited access to
manure etc due to our remote location, I can only really buy bags of manure
in the local supermarket!! Would say cow manure be better than chook or
Dynamic Lifter? I intent to plant a heap of palms since they appear to be
the plant of choice up here.

A few more things that might help.

Rainfall - under 300mm per year.
Temp Ave. Summer 35 + Winter 25 - Summer is about 8 months or
more long!!
Access only to what the Kmart sells.
Possible access to some mulch from the tip.
At the moment the garden is in a new home with absolutely no
existing shade.

Positive type advice appreciated, as I am really trying to make the most of
what I have here and I know its going to be hard going!!

Happy New year all.

Sue
Karratha Western Australia.

"Sue" wrote in message
.. .
Hi guys,

I need some help/advice. I am a bit of a novice when it comes to soil
composition and all of that technical stuff but I do love to garden and
have
just left a really wonderful one in Perth to start again in the Pilbara.
The soil here is what they call Pindan it is like a very red heavy clay
when
wet and concrete when dry. Our water is full of calcium and leaves
everywhere white (you may need to know this).

Being a clay soil, a lot of gypsum (aka clay breaker) dug into the gardens,
then watered in.
This will be a start.
Not sure on the calcium factor, and how that will affect plants.

I would like to give my
plants the best possible opportunity to grow but there is limited access
to
manure etc due to our remote location, I can only really buy bags of
manure
in the local supermarket!! Would say cow manure be better than chook or
Dynamic Lifter? I intent to plant a heap of palms since they appear to be
the plant of choice up here.

Dynamic lifter is only a fertiliser, and won't add bulk to the soil.
Cow manure would be better. I remember my father used to collect cow pats
(or pads??) from the property that weren't fresh, but not too old either,
enough to stay together when picked up, and moist inside. He would place
them all over the top off his Camellia gardens, so they acted as a mulch and
fertiliser. After a while he would dig them into the soil, and it would make
the soil very rich. But being able to only buy it from a supermarket, that
could get quite costly for you. Some would be good though..
Another alternative would be to buy the cheapest bags of potting mix
available. Dig/mix this in with the clay soil, and it will make it better
and more aerated.


A few more things that might help.

Rainfall - under 300mm per year.
Temp Ave. Summer 35 + Winter 25 - Summer is about 8 months or
more long!!
Access only to what the Kmart sells.
Possible access to some mulch from the tip.

The mulch will definitely be a help in holding moisutre in the soil. Also it
will keep the roots of the plants cool.

At the moment the garden is in a new home with absolutely no
existing shade.

Plant some trees around, to give the garden and house some shade. This will
allow a wider range of plants to be planted in the future. That of course is
if that's what you want.

Probably the best option is to take a look around at other houses/gardens,
and see what they have planted. See what catches your eye, and give it a go.
Even ask people with plants you like.
Do you have a local Nursery. They would also be of great help.


Good luck with it all.
Positive type advice appreciated, as I am really trying to make the most
of
what I have here and I know its going to be hard going!!

Happy New year all.

Sue
Karratha Western Australia.

Hi i dont claim to be a top gardener but i try.Are u in Karratha?? if u are
there is a few things u can do.One is organic matter.Leaves mulched tree
trunks,anything like that....Even sea weed ( i cant remember much of it
maybe sea grass.)Anything like that.Under trees and shrubs u can "plant" a
fish carcass.There is heaps of them up there.Or a dead roo but people kinda
complain!!!! dont know why......um look at others gardens and dont be scared
to ask them how they did it.I almost envy you,i love Karratha ( dampier
actually) after working up there but had to come home for the family.All the
best and let us know how u go.PS plant a mango tree, they do grow up
there!!!!!!
"Andrew G" wrote in message
...
"Sue" wrote in message
.. .
Hi guys,

I need some help/advice. I am a bit of a novice when it comes to
soil
composition and all of that technical stuff but I do love to garden and
have
just left a really wonderful one in Perth to start again in the Pilbara.
The soil here is what they call Pindan it is like a very red heavy clay
when
wet and concrete when dry. Our water is full of calcium and leaves
everywhere white (you may need to know this).

Being a clay soil, a lot of gypsum (aka clay breaker) dug into the
gardens,
then watered in.
This will be a start.
Not sure on the calcium factor, and how that will affect plants.

I would like to give my
plants the best possible opportunity to grow but there is limited access
to
manure etc due to our remote location, I can only really buy bags of
manure
in the local supermarket!! Would say cow manure be better than chook
or
Dynamic Lifter? I intent to plant a heap of palms since they appear to
be
the plant of choice up here.

Dynamic lifter is only a fertiliser, and won't add bulk to the soil.
Cow manure would be better. I remember my father used to collect cow pats
(or pads??) from the property that weren't fresh, but not too old either,
enough to stay together when picked up, and moist inside. He would place
them all over the top off his Camellia gardens, so they acted as a mulch
and
fertiliser. After a while he would dig them into the soil, and it would
make
the soil very rich. But being able to only buy it from a supermarket, that
could get quite costly for you. Some would be good though..
Another alternative would be to buy the cheapest bags of potting mix
available. Dig/mix this in with the clay soil, and it will make it better
and more aerated.


A few more things that might help.

Rainfall - under 300mm per year.
Temp Ave. Summer 35 + Winter 25 - Summer is about 8 months
or
more long!!
Access only to what the Kmart sells.
Possible access to some mulch from the tip.

The mulch will definitely be a help in holding moisutre in the soil. Also
it
will keep the roots of the plants cool.

At the moment the garden is in a new home with absolutely no
existing shade.

Plant some trees around, to give the garden and house some shade. This
will
allow a wider range of plants to be planted in the future. That of course
is
if that's what you want.

Probably the best option is to take a look around at other houses/gardens,
and see what they have planted. See what catches your eye, and give it a
go.
Even ask people with plants you like.
Do you have a local Nursery. They would also be of great help.


Good luck with it all.
Positive type advice appreciated, as I am really trying to make the most
of
what I have here and I know its going to be hard going!!

Happy New year all.

Sue
Karratha Western Australia.

Hi Sue

Gosh, half your luck.. I love karratha, we spent quite a few years there and
all three of my kids were born at the hospital there, holds alot of fond
memories. We lived out in the Millars Well area, Shadwick Drive in fact...
my ex used to work on the pipeline there.

Its been about 8 years since I have been there but you will have seen that
most people plant lipia instead of lawn. Its a ground cover that grows with
very little maintenance and it can be mowed like a regular lawn. But other
than that I cant give you much advice as we too planted palms instead of
'mainstream' plants.

By the way, in regards to the calcium in the water...I dont know how it
affects your garden but it sure as hell plays havoc with your kettle
element. I used to boil a diluted vinegar solution, let it cool and the
calcium would come off...but you probably already know that. Another
trick... I never used this but I have a friend who swears by it.... buy a
piece of unsoaped steel wool (about the size of a steelo) and place it in
the kettle permanently... she said is didnt alter the taste of the water but
the calcium would stick to that instead of the element.... and every few
weeks she would discard it and replace with a clean one. I dont know if it
works.. but its worth thinking about.

Also... half way between Karratha and Roeburn there is a little gravel track
off to your left called "Cleaverville"...magnificent fishing spot if you are
into that.

I hope you have a wonderful time there...and I also hope those 747 sized
cockaroaches dont bother you too much!

Happy New Year to you!

Leanne




"Sue" wrote in message
.. .
Hi guys,

I need some help/advice. I am a bit of a novice when it comes to soil
composition and all of that technical stuff but I do love to garden and
have
just left a really wonderful one in Perth to start again in the Pilbara.
The soil here is what they call Pindan it is like a very red heavy clay
when
wet and concrete when dry. Our water is full of calcium and leaves
everywhere white (you may need to know this). I would like to give my
plants the best possible opportunity to grow but there is limited access
to
manure etc due to our remote location, I can only really buy bags of
manure
in the local supermarket!! Would say cow manure be better than chook or
Dynamic Lifter? I intent to plant a heap of palms since they appear to be
the plant of choice up here.

A few more things that might help.

Rainfall - under 300mm per year.
Temp Ave. Summer 35 + Winter 25 - Summer is about 8 months or
more long!!
Access only to what the Kmart sells.
Possible access to some mulch from the tip.
At the moment the garden is in a new home with absolutely no
existing shade.

Positive type advice appreciated, as I am really trying to make the most
of
what I have here and I know its going to be hard going!!

Happy New year all.

Sue
Karratha Western Australia.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your advice, I have had a few ideas now one of which I don't
know why I didn't think of before. I shall have to take a sack or two when
I go down to Miaree Pool, I noticed some cattle on the station the other day
and I can surely get some cow dung from there!! I have found out that
occasionally I should be able to get bulk mulch from the tip which will be a
big plus. AND, yesterday got a bargain in the supermarket when the were
putting out cow manure at $3 for a 25 litre bag!! I managed to get my hands
on a whole 5 bags before others got in to it, not much I know but it is a
start.

I want to get the shade/canopy plants going as fast I as can so that I
can do the underplanting. I know that it is going to take a while and that
is why I am looking at how others give their plants the optimum starts. By
the way, I have been watering the plants (Kentia, golden cane, dracaenas,
happy plants and elephant ear) which I brought up from Perth with me with
seasol and powerfeed liquid fertilizers once a week they have really put on
a growth spurt since arriving here three weeks ago. I will grow most of
them on under the back patio until I get a bit of a canopy happening.

Just to let you know, I was living in Karratha for 4 years before we
went fly-in fly-out for 22 months. Last time we were here we had an
ex-managers home and so the gardens where fully landscaped and I didn't have
anything to do except maintain it. I was reluctant to change anything
because everything was so nice but at the same time really missed the sense
of achievement I get from having "done it myself". This time we have
purchased a brand new home and although the garden has already had some
basic landscaping, (it has only been in for 2 months), I now have the
opportunity to change things around to how I would like it to look. Believe
you me 40+ degrees hasn't stopped me getting out the trusty garden tools!!!

Leanne thanks for your Kettle and steel wool advice, I will have to give
that one a go. I had resigned myself to buying new kettles every few
months, ha ha. AND will kill the first person who doesn't use purified
water in my iron!! You know people used to say that we lived in paradise up
here and I used to laugh and think that something was wrong with them but
after having to live in Perth for a while know what they meant now. The
spirit of community was greatly missed when I left.

Thanks all for letting me ramble on here, I have a bit of a habit of
that!! Do please keep the advise coming and I will no doubt have many more
questions as I go along. Now out to the garden before it gets too warm!!

Happy gardening everyone,

Sue.

If you want really pure water get a reverse osmosis water filter. I
bought one through: freedrinkingwater.com



Leanne thanks for your Kettle and steel wool advice, I will have to give
that one a go. I had resigned myself to buying new kettles every few
months, ha ha. AND will kill the first person who doesn't use purified
water in my iron!! You know people used to say that we lived in paradise up
here and I used to laugh and think that something was wrong with them but
after having to live in Perth for a while know what they meant now. The
spirit of community was greatly missed when I left.

"Sue" wrote:

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your advice, I have had a few ideas now one of which I don't
know why I didn't think of before. I shall have to take a sack or two when
I go down to Miaree Pool, I noticed some cattle on the station the other day
and I can surely get some cow dung from there!! I have found out that
snip...

Hi Sue

Have you thought about looking at what grows naturally in the local
area? I'm sure there are many magnificent local plants including trees
for shade. We were over your way in Sept/Oct 2002 so I know a little
about the area.

I remember seeing a lot of Sturt's desert peas growing. They would
make a fabulous garden display. There are many other desert plants
that should handle the heavy soil. Also, use of native grasses
including spinifex can make a spectacular feature. Sure there will be
room for beds with improved soil and fussier plants but it would be
very rewarding to create a beautiful landscaped native garden. A good
starting point would be some books on plants of the Pilbara. CALM may
have something.

RE shade, I imagine a key consideration is cyclone resistance. You
want a tree that will withstand the winds. Best to get local advice on
that one. Maybe palms are best. I just don't know.

Best of luck.

Glenn

If you want really pure water get a reverse osmosis water filter. I
bought one through: freedrinkingwater.com

I had a look at these, Impressed, but the amount of waste water they produce
is a concern unless you pipe it to a tank outside for garden watering.......

"Sue" writes:
Rainfall - under 300mm per year.
Temp Ave. Summer 35 + Winter 25 - Summer is about 8 months or

I guess you are going to plant more than palms alone, e.g., annuals or
vegetables, too? Then when compost or manure is in short supply, rather
than spreading what little you have throughout the garden bed and having
it make very little improvement, as you plant each annual you can dig the
hole a little deeper and put a trowelful of compost in the bottom before
dropping the plant in. Add some of those polymer water crystals to the
hole, also, as they absorb water and release it slowly to the plant. The
roots of small annuals don't go very deep, so as far as the plant will
be concerned, it will be nearly as good as a well-composted garden bed.
Except it will dry out a lot faster. Would any of the hardier vegetables
do okay in Summer under shadecloth? Drip watering would be most efficient.

Four garden stakes with shade cloth wrapped around at least the upper half
and folded over to cover in the top should offer sun protection to seedling
trees.
--
John Savage (for email, replace "ks" with "k" and delete "n")

Hi Gerald

Diverting the waste water is very, very simple. Mine does indeed end up
on my garden and the taste of the filtered is such a delight I find
myself enjoying a glass of H20 where I used to have something out of a
package.

Marc



Geraed wrote:
If you want really pure water get a reverse osmosis water filter. I
bought one through: freedrinkingwater.com


I had a look at these, Impressed, but the amount of waste water they produce
is a concern unless you pipe it to a tank outside for garden watering.......