Larry Smith and the Riverside Gardens team talk all things pots, plants and pruning in their weekly gardening column.

A big part of operating a Garden Centre is helping people to have success with their gardens, whether it is choosing the right plants for their situation, identifying plants that they have seen growing in other gardens that they wish to use, or just how to look after the plants they have growing at home.

It can also involve helping them with their garden design or how to achieve the garden they envisage, or a reality check on what can and can’t be grown in our region.

Another big one is identifying and solving customers’ gardening problems such as pests and diseases, plant maintenance and general growing problems.

But by far though the most common problems can be traced back to the soil they are trying to grow their plants in.

It makes little difference whether they are growing plants in pots or the ground, if the growing media is poor so will be the results they achieve.

A lot of development goes into the structure of a good potting mix: the air space between the different ingredients, its ability to hold moisture yet drain freely, the ability to retain nutrients, the pH level, and the speed which it will breakdown and lose its structure.

This is particularly important for long-term, pot-grown plants.

By using a quality mix, the results will speak for themselves.

This is so often confirmed by customers who have switched to a good premium quality mix.

When it comes to growing plants in the ground, there are so many soil types across the Goulburn Valley that gardeners are dealing with.

These include sand, sandy loam, reactive clay, sub soil clay and shaly rocky soils, but all are capable of growing a great garden if given the right treatment and suitable plant selection.

When starting a garden, put groundwork into the existing soil before you go carting truckloads of loam and topsoil in to cover it all over.

It is a chance to contour the subsoil to enhance drainage, open it up and work on the soil structure.

To clay base soils, apply a good dressing of gypsum or even lime if the soil pH allows.

Both of these gradually combine the clay particles together to improve the soil’s porosity in the months to come, giving the plants a better depth of soil to work with.

Gypsum and liquid clay breaker products can continue to be added over the top of any soil brought in to form the garden, as they will work their way down to further enhance the soil’s improvement.

Sandy soils can be improved with good quantities of organic matter to help them hold moisture and increase their nutrient levels.

Heavily compacted or overly worked soil can often become hydrophobic, so, the addition of products like Penetraide along with the organic matter will help remedy this.

Check the pH of the existing soil and all the soil that is brought on to site, and correct it as required.

At the Garden Centre we offer free soil pH testing and can advise you how to go about correcting any issues that show up.

Soil pH plays an indirect but major part in how plants grow, affecting leaf growth, root development, flowering, fruiting and plant vigour.

It is also one of the most common problems customers present at the Garden Centre.

This is because it controls the solubility of the various nutrients in the soil that the plants absorb to survive and grow.

As the soil becomes more alkaline, nitrogen, iron, manganese, zinc, copper and boron become decreasingly available and plants will start to show deficiency symptoms.

Alternatively, it can also cause other elements to become too readily available and cause toxic quantities in the soil.

As the soil pH moves to more acidic, other elements will become more soluble or locked up in the soil.

The preferred soil pH for most plants is between six and seven where it strikes a happy balance of nutrients for good plant growth.

Garden soil should be alive with microbes and worms that will work the soil, breaking down compost and leaf litter.

Probiotics for your soil such as GOGO Juice or Popul8 will increase the availability of nutrients and neutralise toxic compounds in the soil, enhancing plant root growth.

Once you have healthy soil, the earthworms will soon move in and start adding to this process.

You should then continue to feed your soil with manure and compost to help maintain its health, structure and nutrient levels.

Once everything is in balance and the soil is working, you will soon start seeing the benefits in plant growth, vigour and resistance to insect and diseases.

So, when starting a new garden, pay close attention to the soil, including the soil you buy in.

It will speed up your garden’s establishment and save you a lot of heartache and money.

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Sunday, 12th December 2027

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