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 Perth's soils are some of the worst in the world for growing, and water repellency is an on going problem in our ancient, sandy soils.
What can you do about it?
To change sandy soil into good garden loam, you need to add clay. This is where Sand Remedy™ comes in. One of its active ingredients is bentonite - a naturally occurring clay mineral which can hold many times its own weight in water. More importantly, these bentonite particles bond with sand particles meaning this unique water holding ability stays locked into your soil and creates a ‘crumb structure’. These ‘crumbs’ hold nutrients, air and water in a structure that is ideally suited to plant roots.
Soil treated with Sand Remedy™ will grow plants that show a marked increase in drought tolerance and pest/disease resistance. Soil may still become dry over our long summers, but is much easier to re-wet, acting like a sponge.
How long does Sand Remedy™ last?
The natural minerals in Sand Remedy™ are not soluable and will not leach away. The minerals will be effective for many years. We always recommend mulching your soil in the warmer months and building soil health with regular applications of organic matter (eg. compost and well rotted manures).
Sand Remedy™ ensures water and nutrients remain in the root zone rather than leaching into the groundwater and river systems.
Where can I use Sand Remedy™?
Sand Remedy™ needs to be dug into the top 10cm of soil (the root zone) to be effective. Water it in well and re-cultivate. You can see the soil structure change immediately. It can be carefully dug in around existing plants, and mixed with soil improvers.
It can be used on existing lawns if they are aerated and the Sand Remedy™ is well watered in to ensure it gets into the soil. It is brilliant to use when laying new lawn.
Sand Remedy™ works well in planting holes when you are putting in new plants (and has successfully been used in revegetation programs where native seedlings receive little or no follow up watering). If using in planting holes, use Sand Remedy™ as approx. 10% of the soil volume.
5kg of Sand Remedy™ treats 16m2 (blanket coverage) in a once-off application and eliminates the need to use chemical wetting agents.
Why is Sand RemedyTM better than using bentonite on its own?
Bentonite can be used on it's own to improve soil water holding capacity (we sell it separately!) but it is much harder to apply (it sticks to itself and forms lumps in the soil, rather than forming a bond with sand particles). The mixture of minerals in Sand RemedyTM stop this clumping; plus they all have additional benefits for your soil. Sand Remedy™ has been designed for ease of use, and maximum efficiency.
Please note: Our quality soil mixes all contain Sand RemedyTM - there is no need to add it to soils purchased from us.
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