Water-wise gardens are becoming more and more popular here in Western Australia. Along with WA’s dry climate and poor soils, people are becoming more concerned about our worlds precious resource – water. Hence, they are opting for water-wise solutions.

Water-wise gardens are low maintenance, and as this beautiful garden designed by Sue from Wild About Gardens demonstrates, they do not have to compromise on beauty.

Image courtesy of Wild About Gardens, wildaboutgardens.com.au

There are a few tips you can follow to ensure the success of a water-wise garden.

• Try choosing plants that are native to WA . These plants have been proven to grow well in WA soils and are therefore a no brainer. If not WA natives then Australian natives are the next best thing. Like all plants, drought tolerant plants will still require a watering-in period until established, usually 8-13 weeks.

Image courtesy of Wild About Gardens, wildaboutgardens.com.au

• Prepare the soil by adding organic matter and/or soil improver. The importance of soil preparation can never be underestimated for any garden. And although many drought tolerant plants will grow in less than ideal conditions, it is still important to give them the best start to life. Good soil is the foundation of a thriving water-wise garden. The better the soil, the more drought tolerant your plants will be. Preparing the soil will ensure your plants are getting the water and nutrients they need to thrive.

• Place plants with the same water requirements close together. This will allow for more efficient water use, ensuring that your plants are neither over or under watered.

• Mulch! Mulching retains water and keeps those thirsty water hogging weeds out.

Image courtesy of Wild About Gardens, wildaboutgardens.com.au

• Deliver water to the root zone. By using soaker hoses or irrigation drippers this will ensure water is getting right where it needs to be.

So, whether you’re looking to add a few new plants into your existing garden bed or designing a new garden bed from scratch, incorporating water-wise plants is always great choice. Low maintenance and low water – its a win win.

Why

Worm composting is hands down the best thing I have ever done for my garden. There are so many benefits of worm composting, where to begin!

Firstly, I just love knowing that my family’s green and brown waste isn’t wasted at all! Did you know that approximately 45% of household waste and 30% of all the waste we throw away is organic and compostable?

Secondly, it is an extremely cost-effective way to make a effective, non-chemical, all-natural fertiliser.

Thirdly, it is a very low maintenance system, requiring little effort and almost no on-going cost.

Fourthly, your garden will love you forever!

And lastly, it’s a great way to get the kids involved in the garden AND they can even sell the worm tea to make a buck.

Have I convinced you to start worm farming yet? Then read on….

Who

Worm farming is for anyone who has a spare 60 x 60cm space. Even if you don’t have a garden you can still be a proud composter and sell the worm tea/castings – your worm farm will pay for itself in no time!

What

Here is a list of things you will need to acquire to get started:

A worm farm. I personally love the brand Tumbleweed, they have a variety to choose from and their website has a wealth of knowledge to refer back to.

Worms! You’ll need Redworms (also known as Red Wigglers). Unfortunately, your standard earthworms will not do the trick. As beneficial as they are in aerating the soil and providing good drainage to your garden beds, they are burrowers who live and feed in the depth of the soil. Unlike their fellow friends, Redworms are surface dwellers, they like to live close to the surface eating all the matter that is added to the top of your worm bin.

Moving forward, to ensure you are keeping your farm at the preferred moisture level run a bit of water through your farm once a week. This also results in your power packed liquid fertiliser (also known as Worm tea, worm juice or worm wee)

When

Feed your worms as required, a quick lift of the lid will tell you if you need to add more food. Be careful not to overfeed your worms as the food will just go rotten before they can get to it, causing the pH to be thrown out. As a rule of thumb, I attend to my worm farm once a week. I add more food and also run 5lts of water through it at the same time. I then sprinkle some conditioner on (if needed), add a heap of bedding and close the lid until next week. I will then use up my liquid fertiliser within the next few days.

When the first tub is full, add your second tub and start adding your waste to the new tub. The worms will move up through the holes and start feeding from the top tub. When this tub is full add another tub and so forth.

So you have filled up all of your tubs, what next? Its time to harvest your worm castings. Take the bottom tub out. By this time, the bottom tub should consist of nothing but worm castings (and a few worms, but no waste). Worm castings: otherwise known as worm poo or as I like to call it “black gold” are a powerhouse of beneficial bacteria and nutrients. Remove the worm castings from the bottom tray, mix it into your soil, chuck a handful on your pot plants, or place at the bottom of a hole whenever you are planting something new and your plants will thrive. Don’t stress if a few worms make it into the garden or pots, you can’t save them all and in my experience they can go to live on.

You honestly cannot go wrong with this process and will have the hang of it in no time. But if you have any questions feel free to hit me up!