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Beating the Heat

Beating the Heat

by | Nov 10, 2019 | Uncategorized

As I’m writing this, another searing hot and dry day rolls by, fires rage across the northern end of the Sunshine Coast and in the Hinterland and we cower in our air conditioned houses (for those of you that way inclined), on shady verandas and in pools. The thought of planting trees is perhaps as far from your mind, as is jogging up a volcano!

The hot dry weather is certainly having major effects on existing plantings and established native vegetation, let alone considering the undertaking of new revegetation or gardening work, but on a positive note use this time to remind you how important trees are not just for the wildlife but our own comfort in providing cool, shady retreats from the heat and moderating an increasingly warm dry environment.

One of the benefits of a long dry spell is that it keeps the weeds under control, so preparation for planting is a just that much easier. But when it comes to the actual planting what can you do to help your plants survive the heat?

Water is crucial to the survival of plants (sorry for such an obvious statement – bit of a no brainer really!) The key to survival is making sure your planted stock has access to moisture. You may notice that many of the plants in your revegetation projects (planted a few years ago) are still thriving in spite of the dry weather and that’s because their roots are deep in the soil and still have access to moisture. It’s mainly plants that have very shallow roots or are newly planted that are in danger of drying out and succumbing to heat stress.

Newly planted stock is especially vulnerable because they have just been taken from an environment where they were watered at least twice per day. Don’t plant stock in open conditions, that has just come out of a shade house, because in this heat it will be crisp and brown in no time at all. At the Brush Turkey Wholesale Nursery except for the shade loving plants all our revegetation and garden stock is grown in full sun to provide tough and resilient stock for planting.

Hot Weather Reveg Tips:

  • If you can’t water your stock at least once per week (1-2 litres per plant), then don’t plant and wait. Then plant when it’s raining or consistent rain (ideally at least 25mm per week) is predicted.
  • Pre-soak your tubestock in a bucket of water to make sure all air bubbles are expelled from the potting mix.
  • Dig a shallow swale on the lower slope of your planting, to help catch and hold water, make sure the top of the tubestock is covered with 10-20mm of soil.
  • My favourite new addition to planting is coir peat, this is used in a pre-moistened state and helps the soil hold additional moisture and gives your plants the reserves they need to survive.
  • Mulch, mulch, mulch!
  • Tree guards to provide shade and protection.
  • Ideally do all of the above.

And remember to keep planting for a cooler, greener future.

Coir Fibre / Peat is a great addittion to help improve soil moisture.

A Serious Threat to Our Fauna

A Serious Threat to Our Fauna

by | Sep 30, 2019 | Ecology, Fauna, Uncategorized

What is the most under-rated threat to Australia’s native wildlife? Sure, we know about foxes, cats, wild dogs, weeds, habitat fragmentation and even climate change … the list goes on and on, but a serious threat that we don’t consider for the significant threat that it is, is ourselves in a vehicle!

Just in the last month, 100’s of possums, bandicoots, wallabies and many more of our native wildlife’s lives have been cut short on the roads around the range, as our speedy convenience of getting from A to B meets the more easy going pace that the rest of nature follows, with often messy results…

Fortunately (not sure if that’s the right word) this level of carnage seems to only occur for a short period every year. Perhaps it’s because there’s tastier grass to be found on the roadside (late winter), perhaps it’s mating season and animals are travelling further and crossing more roads, perhaps it’s down to us driving a bit crazier in spring! A bit of speculation perhaps, but either way the result appears to be an increased death toll, as the weather warms up.

The problem for the driver like yourself is that the wildlife can appear to want to be hit… There you are, minding your own business, zooming along a picturesque country road and see a wallaby crossing the road, you may slow down a bit, but accelerate again as it jumps to leave the road. However at the last minute the wallaby hooks back across in front of you and hey presto, there’s a dint in your bumper and a dying wallaby on the road. Why? Put simply the dodge, weave and back track technique has worked well for the wallaby in evading predators for millions of years of evolution and worked perfectly fine against dingo (and before that the thylacine), however the speed , size and weight of our vehicles is something wild animals have little or no defence against.

The only way we can try and reduced the road carnage is through your awareness of where there may be wild animals on the roadside and also that they may irrationally jump out in front of you! I know there are some special individuals who swerve to hit animals on purpose, but for the rest of us, if we drive according to conditions and reduce our speed in bushland areas, we can try and reduce the road toll. However if you do hit an animal and it requires medical assistance, contact the Australia Zoo wildlife Hospital 1300 369 652.