Resilient Soils - Make Soil Great Again

29/05/2025

16/05/2025

This has been in development for some time, and the first step for the educational programs is finally here. Starting today, it will move forward under the name EcoSprouts, with posts on its own Facebook and Instagram page.

https://www.instagram.com/ecosproutsau?igsh=MWNybHZibm1taXo2MQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

09/10/2024

In June we started an observation worm farm Immanuel Early Learning Centre which generated a lot of interest from kids, educators and parents in the kind of foods worms like to eat. In the last few weeks however, we started seeing some of these flying bugs inside which caused some concern to people. Whilst it is fascinating how they got inside, they are not to be worried about at all. These flies are known as Black Soldier Flies (BSF) and they are probably the most veracious composting insect. Unlike the regular housefly, these flies are not annoying trying to ‘bug’ you nor are they interested in your food (at least not until it starts to decompose…).
We’ll post some more interesting facts about the BSF after we investigate them with the kids next week 😃

19/06/2024

Read here about the results of the observation worm farm that was set up at Immanuel Early Learning Centre last week.
Definitely a very unexpected result!!

07/06/2024

This is an amazing paper. Read the highlights below.

https://www.facebook.com/100057106224745/posts/976882020891996/?app=fbl

Many times growers observe field outcomes we don't have an immediate explanation for. Why did that one section of the field with that early root disease not have any insect pressure later in the season? Why does our crop not have any disease where we foliar fed last years cover crop, but disease is....

04/06/2024

Today we set up an observation worm farm in the foyer of Immanuel Early Learning Centre. After adding some vermicompost, worms and a whole range of macro arthropods each of the rooms were quizzed on what they thought the worms and their friends would consume first (see pictures).
Some of the kids helped to put some kitchen ‘waste’ in each of the corners of the habitat whilst others made drawings of it which were stuck on the outside of the habitat.
The choices were; banana peel, watermelon peel/rind, teabags & citrus peels (orange and mandarin).
This was then covered with a layer of damp mulch to mimic mother nature’s soils, as she never leaves any soil surface bare.
Next week we will see in which corner the most worms have migrated. Then we’ll keep on checking to see which food source they eventually finish first.

13/11/2023

At Immanuel Early Learning Centre we've been doing various methods of propagation. The method used in the pictures below is called "air layering".
It works particularly well in creating 'new' citrus trees. You basically grow a new tree from one of the branches of an existing tree.

1. Find a branch that is about 2 years old.
2. With a very sharp and clean knife we cut away the bark of about a 5cm section to expose the cambium layer.
3. Apply a bit of rooting hormone to the 'wound'.
4. Wrap very moist coconut coir around the spot where you cut away the bark of the branch or shoot.
5. Secure the coir with a bit of rope or plant twine.
6. Cover the coir with a plastic wrap, best to use plastic that won't allow much light to shine through and wrap it around a number of times. If exposed to sun, you can then wrap some aluminium foil around it as well.
7. Be patient, it can take a while. We left ours on for 2 months.
8. Carefully remove the the rope/twine and plastic wrap to expose the coir. If all has gone well you should see roots in the coir!!
9. Plant into a pot and keep moist for about 1-2 months for more roots to develop before planting into the ground or larger pot. Be sure to remove any fruit or flowers on the plant so the plant can focus on root development rather than fruit development.
All 4 air layers were successful!

07/11/2023

Final post - Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant Immanuel Early Learning Centre
One of the outdoor garden beds has been raised with a new border of untreated hardwood. This garden bed has then been planted with a range of edible native/bushtucker plants (see photos for details).
And Bumblebee room has received a new worm bin that is more suitable to the height of the children as now they can actually see inside the worm bin 😆

31/10/2023

Post 2 - Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant Immanuel Early Learning Centre.
The outdoor sitting area at the entrance of the centre has been spruced up with a trellis to create a green wall.
As there isn’t a great deal of sun, which would make it hard for most plants to flower, we’ve chosen for a variegated plant (meaning the leaves have 2 colours) to add a bit colour. The 2 plants are still a little small but are already eagerly climbing up the trellis 😃

23/10/2023

Earlier this year I helped Immanuel Early Learning Centre with an application for the Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant.
We were very stoked to be awarded $1000 for upgrades to the veggie garden and a few other 'upgrades'.
In the photos below you can see how we have now included a variety of native, edible, plants.
In the raised garden beds we are now growing 3 different types of mint (one of which is not native, the spearmint) as the kids love to stop by this area and munch a bit on the mint leaves. The other raised bed has a Viola, which the kids refer to as the salad plant 😊
More to follow...

15/05/2023

On average, healthy plants let out less than one pop per hour, but the stressed plants emitted about 11 to 35, depending on the plant species and stressor. Drought-stressed tomato plants were noisiest, with some plants emitting more than 40 pops per hour. https://www.livescience.com/stressed-plants-scream-and-it-sounds-like-popping-bubble-wrap?fbclid=IwAR0WD8qA9VUgY0N-XnMrgoyzXdYenOal3E-3Y428bExEsAIk3Sh6ur4DayE

A study of tomato and to***co plants suggests they emit ultrasonic popping sounds when dehydrated or physically damaged.