06/09/2026
A change of season “Sprummer” garden update, and a project to keep the gardens low maintenance here at Our Misty Valley.
As we prep our gardens for the growing season here’s what we do.
Trim but don’t till: remove finished plants by cutting off at ground level, but don’t disturb the soil by pulling out the roots. Leaving roots and stems helps the soil to retain moisture, leaves microbes and worms with a food source and increases the carbon content of our soil.
Feed microbial life: A dose of molasses boosts the microbes, as does topping up with decomposed leaf litter and mature compost. Finish off with some worm castings and a good drink and your microscopic garden friends will flourish and get to work feeding worms, and plants alike.
Re-mineralize: Australian soils tend to be alkaline which can lock up many essential minerals; so we make sure there’s plenty available. We add rock mineral, wood ash, epsom salts, diatomaceous earth and boron. Strong plants deter pests, strong plants start with healthy soil.
Cover your soil: The earth is modest, if you don’t cover her, she will cover herself-with w**ds. Sunshine is fabulous but it can bake, sterilise and dehydrate the soil. To “heal” bare soil lots of unwelcome ground covers and w**ds will compensate. After prepping beds and giving them a good deep drink, and before sowing or transplanting add a good thick cover of mulch, at least 10cm. We use spent feed raked from the cattle yards, sugar cane and wood chip bedding from our brooders.
Deter pests: Before they even arrive, know what pests are attracted to what you’re planting and make the environment inhospitable to them. High oligosacharides (sugars) are hard to digest for many pests, especially in their juvenile stages. Watering diluted molasses is one strategy that works well for us. Nets are a must for brassicas, as are dusting with diatomaceous earth, daily visual inspection and if you see cabbage moths treat the plants with Bacillus Thuringiensis an organic bacteria which if ingested by caterpillars, blocks digestion and prevents them repeating the life cycle.
Another useful strategy is trap or sacrifice crops. These attract known pests and allow you to get to them before they get to your crops. I rely heavily on nasturtiums, which also attract pollinators and also mint, grasshopper love mint, I spray the plant with diluted molasses, this disrupts digestion in the nymphs. Also they are slower and easier to catch in the cool if the morning.
The final pest management strategy is companion planting, we’ve struggled with broad mites on our chilli and capsicum plants. Planting them with garlic, spring onion and chives has helped a lot.
Tell us what’s happening in your food gardens, maybe we can help you troubleshoot a challenge?
