My wife and I moved into our house at the beginning of September and I wanted to start a garden. I had arranged to collect a trailer load of top soil from my daughter's farm in Bombay. But she arranged for 2 cubic metres of Living Earth to be delivered to me for a birthday present.. I built a timber frame around the area that I wanted for the garden and simply put a 100 mm layer of Living Earth on top of it. I didn't even kill off the grass first. I just raked it level and planted corn, dwarf and broad bean seeds into it. Set out the seedling cauli, beetroot, courgettes, capsicums and silver beet plants that I had previously purchased or grown from seed. I have continued to plant further seeds and seedlings as the season progresses. I have not previously used Living Earth and was very surprised at the speed at which seeds germinated and seedlings became established and prospered. I have planted the rows very closely as an experiment and under-planted the sweet corn with potatoes. I have been surprised at the free draining nature of the Living Earth and also its moisture retention capacity to continue to keep the plants growing without having to keep watering in dry periods. Being weed free is a bonus that I hadn't experienced before. There is no competition from weeds for nutrients or moisture. My biggest surprise and delight were the huge cauliflowers that seemed to explode out of the ground. I have used some Living Earth as a mulch or other parts of our gardens and as potting and seed raising mix too. I am totally satisfied with the capability of the product to live up to its claim for "Growing the best gardens".
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Keith Wood Garden
Renowned Waikanae gardener Keith Wood has converted an unproductive section of ground into a beautiful garden using Living Earth products.
Mr Wood said he bought his home just on three years ago and purchased the adjacent section to create a garden.
“The ground was heavy clay, very stony and prone to flooding. Rather than try to eliminate the poor soil I decided to build up over the top.”
He initially attempted to cover the area with compost but after finding it unsatisfactory he had it tested and, based on the results, had it all stripped away.
Then it was back to the drawing board, this time with Living Earth products and the results have been outstanding. A superb green lawn has resulted from laying a base of three inches of lawn sand topped with Living Earth lawn mix.
“The lawn has very good drainage and responds well to an application of fertiliser, ” Mr Wood said
The garden beds with their massed plantings surrounding the manicured lawns are raised by six inches with Living Earth Garden Mix. A profusion of polyanthus have benefited from a heavy application of blood and bone and they will be replaced with geraniums in summer. Pruned now, but in readiness to provide a backdrop for the annuals, is a bed of hydrangeas.
Mr Wood is also well known for growing tuberous begonias and he says he finds the Living Earth potting mix an excellent starter.
He is also using Living Earth mixes to establish a fernery and for his many pots and planters.
Formerly a pharmacist by profession, Mr Wood takes a scientific approach to gardening.
“I’m a great believer in getting soil tests done from time to time, particularly for the pH value — the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. Living Earth mixes are pretty much neutral so I add the appropriate fertiliser for the plants.
He has been very impressed with the Living Earth Company’s standard of service.
“When I had a query about the garden, they came and took samples and had them tested. That’s more than any other outfit would do.”
The tranquil garden owes its beauty to much careful tending and, as all gardeners know, so much of the answer lies in the soil.
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Graham Booth Garden
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