Gardeners with a green thumb will tell you that your garden can only be as good as its soil. But even if your soil is heavy clay, full of rocks or too sandy you can improve it to benefit your plants.
There is a whole science devoted to soil testing and understanding the chemical make up of various soils. But you don’t need to know too much to improve the fertility of your garden.
Brisbane soil is composed of three main types:
- Alluvial soil - composed primarily of sediment deposited by flowing water, as in a riverbed or flood plain.
- Loam - a rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand and clay and decaying organic materials.
- Gravelly soil - comprises a large amount of rock fragments and pebbles.
Once you know your soil type, it is easier to choose plants that will grow without too much attention. Firstly, discover what type of soil you have in your suburb and what plants will grow well there.
Find out the most common soil type in your suburb, and which native plants best suit that soil type.
| Soil type | Suburbs |
|---|---|
|
suburbs with gravelly red and yellow loamy top soils over clay. |
Acacia Ridge, Alderley, Algester, Annerley, Anstead, Archerfield, Aspley, Auchenflower, Balmoral, Banks Ck, Banyo, Bardon, Bellbowrie, Belmont, Berrinba, Brighton, Burbank, Calamvale, Carindale, Carole Park, Chandler, Chapel Hill, Chermside, Chuwar, Coopers Plains, Coorparoo, Darra, Deagon, Doolandella, Drewvale, Durack, East Brisbane, Ellen Grove, England Ck, Enoggera Reservoir, Enoggera, Everton Park, Ferny Grove, Fitzgibbon, Forest Lake, Gaythorne, Geebung, Gordon Park, Grange, Greenslopes, Gumdale, Heathwood, Hemmant, Herston, Highgate Hill, Holland Park West, Holland Park, Inala, Indooroopilly, Jamboree Heights, Karana Downs, Karawatha, Kedron, Kelvin Grove, Kenmore Hills, Kenmore, Keperra, Kholo, Lake Manchester, Larapinta, Lytton, Mackenzie, Mansfield, McDowall, Middle Park, Milton, Mitchelton, Moorooka, Morningside, Mt Crosby, Mt Gravatt, Mt Ommaney, Murarrie, Newmarket, Norman Park, Northgate, Nudgee Beach, Nundah, Paddington, Pallara, Parkinson, Pinjarra Hills, Pinkenba, Pullenvale, Ransome, Red Hill, Richlands, Riverhills, Rocklea, Salisbury, Sandgate, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Shorncliffe, Sinnamon Park, South Brisbane, Spring Hill, St Lucia, Stafford Heights, Stafford, Stretton, Sumner, Taigum, Taringa, Tarragindi, Tingalpa, Toowong, Upper Brookfield, Upper Kedron, Upper Mt Gravatt, Virginia, Wacol, Wakerley, Wavell Heights, West End, Westlake, Willawong, Wilston, Wishart, Woolloongabba, Wooloowin, Wynnum West, Yeerongpilly, Yeronga, Zillmere |
|
suburbs with shallow gravelly soils |
Albion, Ascot, Ashgrove, Bowen Hills, Camp Hill, Cannon Hill, Carina, Carina Heights, Chermside West, City, Dutton Park, Fortitude Valley, Kangaroo Point, Lutwyche, Mt Coot-tha, Mt Gravatt East, Nathan, New Farm, Newstead, Seven Hills, The Gap, Windsor |
|
suburbs with deep red loamy soils |
Boondall, Bracken Ridge, Bridgeman Downs, Carseldine, Chelmer, Clayfield, Corinda, Eight Mile Plains, Graceville, Kuraby, Lota, Macgregor, Manly West, Manly, Moggill, Nudgee, Oxley, Robertson, Rochedale, Sherwood, Sunnybank Hills, Sunnybank, Wynnum |
|
suburbs with dark alluvial soils |
Bald Hills, Brookfield, Bulimba, Capalaba West, Eagle Farm, Fairfield, Fig Tree Pocket, Hamilton, Hawthorne, Hendra, Jindalee, Runcorn, Tennyson |
|
Moreton Island is a sand island, formed by prevailing winds, waves and sea level changes |
Moreton Island |
Regardless of soil type there are two simple things you can add to your garden for instant improvement: mulch and compost.
Mulch
Mulch goes on the top of the soil. Any type of mulch will prevent moisture evaporation from the soil and many types also suppress weeds. Plus, the organic mulches (such as tree chips, bark, hay etc) will break down and gradually add nutrients to the soil.
Buy mulch – most tree loppers sell mulch. They’ll deliver it too but they might have large minimum amounts (best for bigger gardens).
You can also buy mulch of various types in bags at nurseries and hardware stores or by the trailer load from landscape suppliers.
A simple recipe for mulch is to use grass clippings in combination with any leaves, small twigs and other decomposed plant material. If you’ve got a pile of leaves or cuttings, run over them with the lawnmower for a quick and cheap mulch. Or you can invest in a chipping machine that you feed your branches and twigs into for shredding. Once shredded, any plant material can become mulch (but beware of weeds with seeds as they will spread).
John Hawkins has a useful article about sustainability in gardens. (PDF format)
