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Whether you’re planting crops or bringing your dream flowerbed to life, healthy soil is the key to creating a flourishing garden all year long. But even the most experienced gardeners struggle to keep their soil thriving once summer rolls around.
So, how do you keep your garden soil healthy in scorching Aussie summers?
We’re here to help. In this blog, we’ll walk you through our five essential soil tips for maintaining healthy garden soil in summer. Read on!
#1. Get your soil ready in spring
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The best way to get your garden ready for summer is to build up healthy soil in spring. We recommend feeding your soil organic matter including compost and manure throughout the season to get a head start on summer. This will give your soil plenty of nutrients that will help it absorb moisture during hotter months.
Use homemade compost or apply a slow-release fertiliser with manure for a balanced feed that will reinvigorate your lawn before summer starts.
#2. Water, water and more water!
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While watering more often in summer may seem like a no-brainer, it’s important to ensure you water strategically to keep your soil healthy and happy throughout the hotter months.
The best way to keep your plants thriving and your soil healthy is for the water to reach the roots of your plants. Most plant roots reach around 15 cm beneath the surface. We recommend watering your plants slowly using a soaker hose on a low setting. This lets the water sink deeper into the soil and will give your roots the most amount of moisture.
Be sure to adjust your watering schedule once summer storms and heavy rains kick in. A good way to avoid overwatering is to add a rain gauge to your soil to see how much water it’s absorbing from the rain. This way, you can adjust your water levels and avoid flooding your soil after summer storms.
#3. Watch out for summer weeds
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Weeds grow much faster in spring and summer thanks to the warmer climate. That’s why it’s essential to stay on top of them as soon as the weather heats up.
We recommend checking your soil for weeds every morning before the weather heats up. However, stay away from herbicides and other weed killers as the chemicals in these solutions can cause long-lasting damage to your soil.
If you don’t feel like pulling weeds out of your soil every morning, try laying down a layer of mulch at the start of spring. Mulch acts as a natural weed-suppressant as it blocks off their light source, which stops them from germinating. The weeds will break down and get absorbed by your soil, giving it an extra nutrient boost!
#4. Avoid pesticides and other chemicals
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While pesticides and chemical treatments are sometimes necessary, it’s always best to avoid them unless absolutely essential. This is because they’re made with harsh chemicals and toxins that can affect your entire garden — including your soil.
Pesticides and chemicals can cause major damage to soil organisms. This can cause serious issues that can persist for years with a single spray, destroying the healthy garden soil you’ve spent months or years maintaining.
#5. Mulch your soil before summer
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Mulch is a fantastic way to prepare your soil for summer. Mulch is a layer of organic material spread across the surface of your soil and is made with a variety of ingredients including leaves, bark, wood chips or rubber! This works as a protective barrier for the top of your soil, but it has a range of other benefits that improve the soil’s long-term health.
Mulch is known for its excellent moisture retention and will hold onto a huge amount of moisture after watering. This provides a slow but steady supply of water to your soil at a regular rate. It also means you won’t have to water your soil as frequently – a huge plus on 40-degree summer days!
Mulch is also a great way to deter pests that thrive during summer. We recommend mulching your soil in spring and applying fresh mulch throughout summer to keep your healthy soil thriving well into the new year.
Maintain your healthy garden soil all year round with Oz Landscape Supplies
Need garden supplies you can rely on? At Oz Landscape Supplies, we use the best local ingredients to create our entire range of garden products, so you can trust us to keep your soil thriving all summer long.
If you need to improve your soil before summer starts, we’ve got a huge selection of locally-made soil, garden mixes and mulches that will help your garden survive the hot weather.
Not sure which mix is right for you? No problem! Our gardening wizards will help you find the right soil for your garden.
For budding gardeners, green-thumbed experts and everyone in between, we’ve got the right mulch, turf, soil and garden mixes for your yard. Place a quote online today!
