Landscape and Open Spaces

The productivity and strength of any soil or plant based enterprise is closely linked to the health of the soil eco system, which is dependent on the balance, diversity and health of a complex, interdependent and mutually beneficial group of organisms.
 
Rebuilding the vitality of your soil and repairing biological decline, no matter what soil based enterprise you are associated with, involves either the re-establishment of a beneficial biological community, or the rejuvenation and balancing of the same.
 
To successfully change and improve the soil biomass, biological products must have a diversity and balance of organisms. Ultimately success is linked to diversity and balance -- nature is built on it — so we have developed a range of products, testing methods and programs that have a broad bio-diversity based around indigenous Australian biological species which are suited to our climatic and soil conditions.
 
As the various enterprises which rely on the soil for their success vary widely, we have summarised our thoughts and recommendations within various end use streams, simply refer to the one which best describe your particular interest.     


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Landscape and Open Spaces

Landscapes, trees & shrubs and sportsfields can all be affected to some degree by a lack of adequate soil biomass or an imbalance in the same. Unlike other areas of soil management many landscapes involve the introduction of plant species to a soil, or to an environment which is foreign and quite often contains the wrong balance of soil organisms.
 
Over a number of years we have conducted numerous tests for soil biology in a wide range of landscapes and open spaces, typically we have noted that many of these sites have become biologically weak or unbalanced, either because of soil management practices, including the use of fungicides and pesticides, or by virtue of the materials used in their construction.
 
This is particularly pronounced when dealing with the transplant of trees and shrubs into environments that have previously been dominated by grass species, because trees and shrubs require a completely different set of soil organisms to grow at their best. If the biological balance isn’t right it will result in the plants being prone to disease and stress factors.
 
Similarly when soils become compacted, Oxygen in the soil will be limiting and under these conditions anaerobic organisms will tend to flourish. Unfortunately most beneficial biology is aerobic so they quickly lose ground to pathogens, which are favoured by these conditions.  
   
We can’t escape the fact however, that the engine room of plant health is the root system and the biological soil ecosystem in which it exists. Plant species, including those used in landscaping have all evolved over many centuries to live in a biologically rich, soil environment.
 
Soilsmart products will help you to build a strong and balanced biological soil eco-system, maintain aerobic soil conditions and developing a disease suppressive environment in the root zone.
 
It’s not a question of completely changing your management approach, even small changes to existing programs can improve biology and quickly translate into improved aerobic soil conditions and healthier and more resilient plants.
 
These advances also result in more extensive and vigorous root systems and an increase in water use efficiency. Maintaining bio-diversity and balance also encourages the conversion and retention of minerals - increasing fertilizer efficiency and minimising the need for repeated applications. 
 
Soilsmart products and programs allow you to stay ahead of pests and disease and offer a truly preventative approach to managing soil and plant health.
 
 
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Guide to product selection.

The following is a guide to product selection only - Please refer to our Products & Services page for more detailed information
 
General Soil & Plant Managament:
 
To build and maintain an aerobic soil structure, and provide competition against pathogens;

Soil & Plant Tonic– a powerful biological product containing a diverse array of required beneficial soil organisms.
OziVerm– contains beneficial soil organisms and stable organic Carbon.
GranoVerm– contains beneficial soil organisms and stable organic Carbon in a granular form.
BioGrow– a carefully constructed stimulant to encourage beneficial biology.
 
To build biological strength and stimulate beneficial biology;

BioGrow– a carefully constructed stimulant to encourage beneficial biology.
K Kelp– will stimulate root growth but also feed soil biomass.
Pura Fish– a source of nutrients and a favourite food for biology.
Humi-k Liquid– will help stimulate soil organisms.
 
To relieve soil compaction and improve the efficiency of irrigation, drainage and moisture retention;

Soil & Plant Tonic– improves soil aggregation and opens up channels to allow air and water to move more efficiently.
Nature Wet – a powerful natural soil wetter and root stimulant.
OziVerm- improves soil aggregation and opens up channels to allow air and water to move more efficiently.
 
To provide on going protection from leaf diseases;

Soil & Plant Tonic– the beneficial biology contained in Soil & Plant Tonic will help prevent infection from pathogens
 
To improve root health and assist with plant stress and tolerance to climatic conditions;

Root Max– combines the root stimulation effects of kelp with the steroidal benefits of Saponin.
K Kelp– a natural stress reliever, contains plant growth stimulation with an range of important nutrients. 
Deep Sea Kelp- a powdered form also containing plant growth stimulation with an range of important nutrients.
 
To adjust nutrient deficiencies and reduce plant stress;

Mega Kel-P– a complete liquid feed including necessary trace elements
Amino-Cal– chelated Calcium with Nitrogen and Boron
Nitro-Carb– provides Nitrogen for fast response but with added humic materials to slow down leaching.
Citri-K– a super available form of Potassium in a high pH form.
OC Trace Elements– a range of ultra-efficient organically chelated products.
 
To assist with the breakdown of organic matter and black layer;

Soil & Plant Tonic– contains organisms to assist in the breakdown and conversion of organic residues into stable humic compounds
OziVerm – also contains organisms to assist in the breakdown and conversion of organic residues into stable humic compounds
 
To provide relief from insect and disease attack;

BiSect– contains Neem a powerful/natural insect deterrent.
NemaGo Plus– combines the insect deterring properties of Steroid Saponins with Neem.
TriGuard– utilises the insect deterring benefits of Eucalyptus, Tea Tree and Neem oils.
BioPhos– a Phosphorous acid extract which has fungicidal properties.
 
To remediate and assist with soil salinity;

Leach– flocculates the soil helping to disperse Sodium and reduce the build-up of bicarbonates
 
To build base fertility and biological regeneration;

SoilSafe Mend – combines the Carbon and biological benefits of GranoVerm in a complete but more natural fertilizer (10-2-8 + Trace)
SoilSafe Activated P – a mineral form of Phosphorous which resists ‘locking-up’ in the soil.
Cal-Phos– organic Calcium and Phosphorous complexed with Humic acids.
OziVerm– contains a light loading of nutrients including traces but has an ability to increase nutrient retention.
 
To build Organic Carbon and CEC levels in the soil;

OziVerm– contains extremely complex and hence stable Carbon molecules to genuinely build Carbon levels and CEC.
Soil & Plant Tonic– breaks down and stabilises organic materials into humic substances which add to CEC.
Liquid Humate– a stable form of humus which enhances soil organic matter and CEC.
Humi-K Powder– a stable granulated form of humus which enhances soil organic matter and CEC.
 
To assist with the breakdown and release of ‘tied-up’ Phosphorous;

Soil & Plant Tonic– contains beneficial biology to breakdown and released ‘tied-up’ Phosphorous.
OziVerm– contains beneficial biology to breakdown and released ‘tied-up’ Phosphorous.
SoilSafe Activated P– a mineral form of Phosphorous which resists ‘locking-up’ in the soil.
 
Preventative control of nematodes, cut worms/ army worms and other root feeders;

NemaGo Plus– combines the insect deterring properties of Steroid Saponins with Neem.
TriGuard– utilises the insect deterring benefits of Eucalyptus, Tea Tree and Neem oils.
BiSect– contains Neem a powerful/natural insect deterrent.
 
To help with the control of psyllids, aphids, moths and other leaf sucking insects;

BiSect– contains Neem a powerful/natural insect deterrent.
 
To increase the efficiency of foliar fertilizers;

Liquid Fulvate– a powerful and natural chelation agent, will increase the uptake of all fertilizer products.
 
Help with problem analysis;

Soilsmart Diagnostic Services – comprehensive Soil and Plant testing which includes both chemical and biological analysis.

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Frequently Asked Questions
 
Q. Are there any obvious symptoms that indicate when the soil biology has declined, or is out of balance?
 
A. There are a number of obvious symptoms to look out for.

- An increase infoliar and soil disease pressure
- A deterioration in soil structure and increased compaction
- A decrease in root activity and development
- Thatch accumulation, layering & dry patch in turf areas
- Lack of response to fertilizers and chemical treatments
- Increased impact from root feeding nematodes and other insect pests

Of course the plants themselves are naturally weaker when biological levels are low or unbalanced, in these circumstances they will lack the strength or recuperative ability to deal with these increased pressures. Ironically the more chemicals we use to overcome or mask the symptoms, the more damage we end up doing to the soil biomass.
 
 
Q. Doesn’t the soil biology become inactive during the winter - is there any purpose in applying products in this period?
 
A. Some of the organisms will slow down over the winter months however there are always some which will be active and performing important soil management tasks. In our experience winter is a good time to build beneficial numbers, particularly if you have had pressure from pathogenic organisms during the warmer months.
 
 
Q. When using Soil & Plant Tonic, how much water do I need to apply?
 
A. You can mix Soil & Plant Tonic with as much water as you need to cover the treatment area. Because Soil & Plant Tonic is a solution containing live organisms, we are using the water as a delivery vehicle only, so dilution doesn’t matter just ensure that the product is delivered with sufficient water to cover the leaves or wash the product into the soil.
 
Q. What happens if I need to spray fungicides or insecticides?
 
A. All fungicides and pesticides will have some impact on the soil biology. However we can now rejuvenate and rebuild the population on an ongoing basis. In fact the principal behind our programs is to build the populations to a benchmark level that can withstand some ill treatment, which will occur periodically. In practice most of our customers find that the need to apply chemicals diminishes within a relatively short time frame.
 
Q. Can I mix Biological products like Soil & Plant Tonic or OziVerm with other chemicals or fertilizers?
 
A. Soil & Plant Tonic should always be applied by itself, using clean spray equipment that doesn’t have any chemical residuals. It can however be mixed with biological stimulants such as BioGrow, K Kelp, Fulvik Liquid, HumiK Liquid without any problem.
 
OziVerm is an extremely stable product and mixing with fertilizers will not have any reactionary effect, however the effect of the increased exposure to salt (from the fertilizer) is likely to have a detrimental impact of the biology contained in OziVerm.
 
Q. How long does it take to see results?
 
A. This is a difficult question to answer because every soil and management program is unique, and response will vary depending on the condition of the biological population at the start, but it will also depend on what other management practices occur during the process. It really depends on how degraded the biology is , we have however had customers report responses after from a few days to a week a single application, but most would take 2 – 3 months to show visible signs of change.
 
Q. Will topdressing our Sportsfields help with soil compaction?
 
A. Many of the issues around biological imbalance exist on Sportsfields, soil compaction creates anaerobic conditions, an imbalance in biology which in turn leads to disease and insect attack. Annual topdressing, although providing short term stimulation to the surface, simply adds to the compaction layer which eventually stops the roots from getting to a reasonable depth, creating a situation where plants are weak and under moisture stress.
 
 
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