Hello and welcome to November!

I find it gets pretty crazy from here on - like a toboggan going down hill, we seem to increase speed all the way down to Christmas!  But hopefully you've got some work done in your garden so you can enjoy the results of your effort later.  No?  Still on the To-Do list?  Well - time to get cracking ~ but the good news is you can still plant LOTS of great things to harvest over the coming weeks & months.

It's been pretty busy down at GLSC too!  THANK YOU to all of you lovely folk who helped make our 'Do It In A Dress' weekend such a success!  We had lots of fun (as our Facebook friends will know) - here's one of the pictures -  and managed to raise $900  - that's enough to provide an education for 3 girls.  Imagine for each of them what a life changing opportunity they now have.  It's exciting to think of the future potential that will unfurl as they grow and learn.   (http://www.doitinadress.com/green-life-soil-co)  Australia wide the charity has raised over $400k - enough to educate 1,370 girls.  Fantastic!

And THANK YOU to those who voted for us in the Organic Consumers Choice Awards - voting has now closed; so we eagerly await the results.  Winners will be announced early December (we'll keep you posted).  But speaking of awards...

This year Green Life Soil Co entered the Swan Chamber of Commerce Business Awards; and we were thrilled to have made it as finalists in the following categories:  Retail, Manufacturing, Outstanding Customer Service, Business of the Year.  We were competing against some really fantastic local companies, so it was an honour to have been chosen among them.  But the BIGGEST NEWS is...  The Green Life Soil Co WON the 2015 Award for Best Website & Online Services!  The presentation was made at a black tie event at Mandoon Estate Winery in the Swan Valley.  We took the team along and they helped us celebrate a great night.  Special thanks to Uplift Design for all their hard work on our website.

So while all these shenanigans have been going on, in the background we've still been busy this Spring, making the best Certified Organic Soils in town - just for you.  Why not come out and visit us soon?  We'd love to have a chat and show off our shiny trophy!

Nick Bell will be back in store Saturday, 7th November and Leesa Caldwell on Saturday, 14th November - save the dates.

And in other news - as of NOW - Green Life Soil Co is open 7 DAYS!!  That's right!  We're re-opening Wednesdays now that we have more team members on board...  Exciting times!  So come on down any day of the week.   (I know, we still have to change our website graphics - the news is so 'hot-off-the-press' we haven't had a chance!)  

Until next time,
Linda & The Team

In this Newsletter

Jobs to do in the garden this November
What to Plant Now
Caterpillars...  What to do about them!
Soil Profile - Bassendean Sand
VIP Offer & Christmas Specials

Jobs to Do in November

• Mulch, Mulch & Mulch!  It's time to make sure your garden can survive summer and you can be efficient with your water usage. Depending on what type of garden you have, we carry Lucerne, Pea Hay (pictured here), & Straw, as well as woodier/heavier mulches and feeder mulches for your ornamentals.  Check out our free downloadable Mulch Guide for more details.  Before you mulch, it's a good idea to treat the soil with a wetting agent (if it's water repellent) or dig in a mineral mix like our Sand Remedy.  Once you have treated the soil, water well before laying your mulch on top. 
• Check your Retic.  Get someone in to fix problems, leaks and to help you with your automatic timer if necessary.  You need to make sure you are compliant with the Water Corporation watering regulations; although remember you are still permitted to hand water.  It's always best to water early in the morning if possible, and to water the base of the plant directly into the soil, rather than by overhead watering.
• Watch for pests & diseases.  We've got a piece below about dealing with caterpillars; but keep an eye out for other pests, as insect numbers increase with the warmer weather.  Ensure good airflow around plants; Curcurbits (pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini & melons) are particularly susceptible to powdery mildew (pictured here) - a fungal disease that can be an issue in humid conditions.  Check out our pest & disease recipes here for more info.  If your vegies are suffering, consider insect netting - we sell packs of it  5m x 2.87m.
• Clean up & Compost!  Get rid of leaves, long grass etc - especially in fire prone areas.  This "waste" is a great resource for composting.  The added bonus is your garden will be looking great for Christmas (when you'll be entertaining outdoors).
• Go potty!  There is still time (just) to grab some nice pots and plant up some flower seedlings or herbs to make lovely living gifts for Christmas,  or to add some beauty to your verandah or patio.  Give them a WEAK liquid feed weekly to encourage fast growth.
• Check your worm farm.  I have noticed already my worms are going deeper into their bedding now that temperatures are warming up.  Move your worm farms under the eaves on the shady side of the house, or provide some shade so they don't cook.
• Shadecloth for your garden.  As summer is almost upon us, it's time to think of shade for your plants.  Either move pots/planters to more protected spots under trees, or think about setting up shade structures.  We carry white horticultural grade shadecloth (white is the best colour for plant growth) if you need it. Currently we have 50% and 70% (perfect for areas which receive FULL SUN all day long) available.

What to Plant Now

This is a great time to grow many summer & autumn producing crops.  While you still have time to get things growing from seed, selecting healthy seedlings will give you about a 6-8 week head start as somebody else has done the early work for you!  See our When to Plant guide on our website for more information on growing and germination; but some ideas are:

Beans (snake beans do well in summer), Beetroot, Capsicum, Chilli, Cucumber, Eggplant, Kale*, Leek, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Rockmelon, Silverbeet, Squash, Sweetcorn, Sweet potato, Tomato, Watermelon, Zucchini.  

*  Watch for insect pests - best grown under netting.

(Also salad greens like mizuna, mibuna, chickory, radichio - but like lettuce, these plants will need a shady spot and LOTS of water over summer to thrive.)

Many herbs also grow well at this time of year (like the favourite - Basil!)  Check out our new Herb Planting Guide on our website - click here.

Caterpillars (and what to do about them!)  -  Cabbage White Butterfly and Cabbage Moth

Many gardeners at this time of year are tearing their hair out over the damage these little green critters are doing to their plants.  Unfortunately, we aren't the only creatures that enjoy healthy, homegrown produce - if caterpillars are driving you crazy, here's some info to help:

Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris rapae, is a common pest in our gardens at this time of year. The adult white female is seen fluttering around your vegies, looking for a place to lay her eggs (usually on the underside of leaves). The eggs hatch into green caterpillars, which grow rapidly as they munch their way through your vegies - Brassicas like cabbage & broccoli are a particular favourite. They pupate either under outer leaves, or often in a sheltered spot nearby (eg. a fence, or garden edging). Their life cycle takes about a month. Adults can be found drinking nectar from flowers - they are attracted to yellow and blue flowers in particular.

The caterpillars are often found on the underside of leaves, along the leaf veins. Green and plump, growing to up to 3cms long. The are extremely well camouflaged - often the best hint of where to find them is the large black droppings, known as "frass" giving away their position.

Did you know that the Cabbage Moth is an altogether different pest?

The Cabbage MOTH, Plutella xylostella, is much smaller - only about a centimetre long, and is a rather non-descript greyish/brown colour. It is active at dusk - (being a moth) not during the day unless disturbed. As you would expect, their caterpillars are much smaller - only growing to about 12mm, and if disturbed often drop from leaves attached to a silken thread. They pupate in cocoons they build under leaves.   We seem to have the moths in plague proportions this year at our place.

Caterpillars of both moth & butterfly will start off in the outer leaves, and work their way towards the heart of the plant. Keeping an eye on your crops, and picking caterpillars off by hand is easier to do when the little beasties are on the outside leaves. 

What to do about them:

Hand picking is the most organic method of control.  Look for damaged leaves and flip them over - the culprit is often on the underside.  If you have chooks, feed the caterpillars to them - they will thank you for it!

For butterflies - an option is a tennis raquet. (A good way to practice your hand/eye co-ordination and get some exercise!)  Various styles of fly swats will do the same job.  A squirty bottle with water and soap will work to bring them down (they can't fly with wet wings) and they can be squished - but your aim must be pretty good. 

Fortunately, the caterpillars do have natural predators (like wasps).  Small birds also play a part in insect control; so encourage them with some native shrubs around your yard.  Access to water for birds, bees & wasps is also important.  Parasitic wasps lay their eggs directly inside the caterpillars, so the wasp larvae devour their 'host' from the inside out.  Gruesome, but effective control nonetheless.   So where possible - avoid broad spectrum pesticides which will wipe out everything - good and bad - in your garden.  

It is thought that female white butterflies are not keen on laying eggs where lots of other butterflies already have - so make a simple mobile from bits of white plastic (I've used bread bag tags here hung from fishing line on an old wire coat hanger).  People often use empty milk bottles and cut rough butterfly shapes (they don't have to be perfect!).  

Another method is to invert eggshell halves over sticks around your brassicas. They look a little like cabbage butterfly as they wobble in the breeze & this tricks the butterflies into going somewhere else!  

I have found that white fluttery flowers like petunias and pansies also seem to help - plus they look pretty among your vegies!

Netting is a very effective way to keep both moths & butterflies (and most other pests) off your crops. Use some stakes to put the netting over, and weigh it down on the ground with rocks or stones. Old net curtains from the op shop work well, or you can buy specialised insect netting. Just remember though if you are looking to save seed you will need to allow a pollinator inside to get to work!  Our Vegepod garden beds with inbuilt covers are perfect for foiling insect pests; definitely worth a look if you are expanding your growing area.

Garlic & chilli sprays are helpful against chewing insects like caterpillars, but require frequent applications to be effective.   They will be washed off with watering and/or rain so need to be applied every 2-3 days.  

The other option is Dipel - a product containing a bacteria ONLY effective against caterpillars. You mix the powder with water, and spray on your plants. It is safe for humans, mammals and beneficial insects. Once ingested, the bacteria will kill the caterpillar in 3-5 days.  The downside is that if any predatory wasps lay their eggs into these dipel affected caterpillars, once the caterpillar dies the wasp larvae will too - so you are impacting the next generation of good bugs in your garden.  Dipel is available at GLSC.

You may find you have a decoy plant -  most recently I have had nearby nasturtiums severely chewed by caterpillars while nearby kale were untouched.  If you find something is working for you like this, don't remove the decoy but continue to hand pick off the caterpillars to prevent numbers breeding up.  Who knows if the next generation will be as kale-avoiding?

Gardening Australia last year also ran a story on a type of Cress - reputed to be favoured by caterpillars but deadly to them if ingested.  This cress,  Barbarea vulgaris, is unfortunately NOT the common Land Cress regularly sold in Perth, but seed can be sourced from the UK .  (I have a friend who did this and has given me a plant.  Interestingly it is a variegated variety - needless to say I will be saving seed!)  [I have been placing the odd hand picked caterpillar on it to test the theory but the jury is still out.  The caterpillars seem to disappear, so I'm not sure whether they're being picked off by birds.]  However, our common Land Cress (Barbarea verna) is supposed to be similar - so it would be interesting if it works too.  (Let me know if you've had experience with this!)

The good news is that with vigilance and a bit of effort, you CAN win the war against caterpillars.  Usually there is a seasonal spike in their activity, then the predatory insects move in and deal with it.  Hang in there - it will be worth the effort.

Soil Profile - Bassendean Sand

Most of Perth is built on an ancient sand dune systems - The Swan coastal plain is made up of three - the Quindalup Dune system, the Spearwood Dune System and the Bassendean Dune System, which is over 16kms wide, covering most of our suburban area.  Soils are highly leached and devoid of most nutrients.  Isn't it fantastic that most of us have this kind of soil to deal with if we want to grow a garden?

Bassendean sand tends to be grey and lifeless.  But there are things you can do to make a good garden grow; if you're prepared to spend some time (and money) on improving it.

As part of our on-going product development and research, we are accumulating unimproved samples from various regions of Perth and having them tested.  This way, we can get a basic idea of what YOU'RE dealing with, and help come up with strategies which work.  The first of these we are featuring is Bassendean Sand.   

Our sample was from an unimproved piece of land at the Lockridge Community Garden - and our thanks to co-ordinator, Kate Poll, for her co-operation.

Here is a graph representing the nutritional analysis:

While the deficiencies are fairly clear from these results, adjusting the balance of nutrients can be a little complex, and is often best done in stages.  Sometimes  excess of one nutrient can effect availability of another...  As a general rule a balanced, slow release fertiliser and rock dust (which provides micro nutrients and trace elements) is a good place to start.  Bassendean sand tends to leach nutrients very readily, so SMALL amounts of fertiliser more often are better than large once or twice a year big feeds.  

In addition, the physical soil texture, and amount of organic matter present and moisture content can have a bearing on nutrient availability.  Building soil structure will help minimise leaching over time.

We are happy to provide individual advice based on your own soil type/s.  While analysis like this are only obtainable through proper laboratory testing, we are able to do pH testing, and also look at your soil sample under a microscope to see what micro-organisms (if any) are present.  If you would like to take advantage of this free service, please email or call to arrange a time we can set this up for you.

For further reading, visit the Ag Department website:  https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-productivity/vegetable-crop-nutrition-sandy-soils-swan-coastal-plain?page=0%2C1

VIP offer & Christmas Specials

Our in-house gardening expert sessions have been well received, and why wouldn't they be?  Come along and get free garden advice from experienced professionals working in horticulture.

Nick Bell will be back in store on Saturday, 7th November (approx. 10.30 - 12.30).  His field of expertise is turf and lawns, and he is also passionate about growing food.  He's a qualified square foot gardening instructor, so has practical knowledge to help you get LOTS out of a small space.

Leesa Caldwell will be back in store on Saturday, 14th November (approx. 9.30- 11.30).  Leesa is the lady behind The Greenhouse Organic - the grower of our wonderful Certified Organic Seedlings.  She has a green thumb, and is happy to share her propagation tips & tricks with you.  Her passion is herbs - she's studying Western Herbal Medicine - and can explain the many uses of herbs around the world.

For our VIP members, both these Saturdays we have a special deal!  For these two SATURDAYS only, buy 5 bags, get 1 free!!!  (Please ASK for the VIP deal.)    

Remember too our birthday special for VIP customers ordering online - use the code 14years at checkout and receive $10 off your next online order; valid until 30th November 2015.  So if you can't make it in to our store, you can still grab a bargain!

And keep watching our VIP members section of our website, as we are also about to load up lots of our favourite products at REDUCED MEMBER ONLY PRICES - just in time for your Christmas shopping.  These are limited offers, so jump in quick.

Not yet a VIP member?  Sign up here - it's free!!

We appreciate your ongoing loyalty and want to reward you for it!

Happy Gardening!