Hello & welcome to 2025!  
Amazing how quick the years seem to roll around; it's now 5 years since we moved to Wilson Road, and - can you believe - 25 years since the turn of the century and the Y2K drama.  Life goes by so quickly - make sure you take some time for YOU and do the things you love in 2025. Hopefully - that means spending some time in nature and enjoying your garden.

How was your Christmas?  GLSC was closed for a week and the team enjoyed having some time to relax.  Lesley has recently moved to acreage in Gidgegannup so she loved the chance to get a bit more settled into her new home and I'm sure will be making lots of garden plans for Autumn.  Paul and I had a relaxing break at home - a friend joked we were having a 'staycation' at home; I quite liked that idea!!! One of the things I like to do at New Year is to have a look back through my photo roll on my phone for the past year - it's amazing how much you forget about little things you've done, and it's great to see progress of things like your garden projects.  We know our place has seen some changes/improvements this year and it's quite rewarding to remind yourself of what you've achieved.

Summer so far has been kind to us - yes, some hot days; but also some very mild ones (like Christmas day!).  I'm sure there's more hot days to come, so we've got some advice for you in this newsletter to help your garden get through January & February.

Green Life Soil Co will be CLOSED on Monday, 27th January - the public holiday for Australia Day.  We'll be open Saturday 25th (if you have projects planned for the long weekend) and then again on Tuesday 28th.  

This month, I have included an update about the Queensland Fruit Fly outbreak - if you're in the red zone (see DPIRD's website) all of us gardeners THANK YOU and feel your anguish at having to strip your fruiting plants...  we really appreciate your sacrifice!  Let's hope this pest can be eradicated once again; it is a worse pest than the existing fruit fly (Mediterranean Fruit Fly) that we already deal with - so home gardeners AND commercial growers are counting on people to do the right thing.  If you have friends or family in the affected area, please make sure they're aware of the problem and ask that they spread the word amongst neighbours.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2025 - may your gardens flourish; and nourish your body and soul this year!

From all of us @ The Green Life Soil Co

Oh, another thing... in December we took delivery of a new loader; which we hope will add to our production capacity in Autumn.  That means we are selling our Mustang 1650R skid steer loader - if anybody is in the market for a machine - please let us know, and we can supply more information.

In this newsletter:

Jobs for the January garden
What to plant now
Queensland Fruit Fly update
Sandy soil?  We have the solution!
VIP special offer
Newsletter competition
Retailer update

Jobs for the January Garden

• Make sure YOU take care in the heat - slip, slop slap, and work in the cool of the morning or evening to avoid over-doing it in the heat of the day. Stay hydrated and take regular breaks.
• Don't over feed your plants with too much nitrogen (which will give you weaker, leggy green growth that will just wilt!) - use a balanced fertliser (a low-dose is best). Seaweed/kelp fertlisers are great to help plants cope with heat stress.  Water the roots, not the leaves - any water droplets can act like a magnifying glass and cause localised burn spots on the leaf surface.  Any fertiliser that's slightly oily will be worse.  (If plants have suffered from the heat, avoid the temptation to fertilise.  Trying to force feed the plant at this time is like if you're recovering from a tummy bug and a well meaning friend puts a rich, 3 course meal in front of you.  It just isn't helpful!  Plants need to recover before they can put out new growth.)
• Check your pot plants from time to time. Some that are more exposed than others will tend to dry out more - you may need to provide them with extra water or dunk the whole pot into a tub of water to allow soil to re-wet.  You'll see bubbles of air escaping initially which is perfectly normal.  Once this has stopped, the soil is full to capacity of water.  It's fine to leave them there for a few hours, but don't leave them sitting permanently in water (unless it's something that can cope with wet feet - like mint).  Plants need air in the soil, too!
• Mulch, Mulch, Mulch. Of course, you applied mulch in Spring, right? But it pays to check - particularly if you use straw mulches in your vegie garden - have they broken down and are they still being effective? Sometimes you may need to apply a little bit more for best results. If you have areas of the garden where no plants are growing, it is still wise to mulch the bare soil. This will help protect soil biology and aid with water repellency problems.
• Use a soil wetter.  These are a temporary fix - it's better to incorporate clay and/or biochar or Mineral Magic into the soil for a permanent solution.  But in the height of summer, particularly in existing garden beds where you don't want to disturb roots, a soil wetter will help in the short term and be a lifeline for your plants.  Use a good quality soil wetter (we like Eco-Wet) that isn't just detergent based; it will help build the soil structure.  In autumn, think about building soil health so that next summer it's easier for you (and your plants).
• Preserve the harvest. If you're overwhelmed with zucchini, tomato, squash, corn, cucumbers - experiment with drying, pickling, freezing or preserving them! There are so many excellent tutorials online to look at. Harvest your cucumbers and zucchinis when they are small. This will make sure they're sweet and tender, and will keep them producing longer. If lettuce and cucumber are bitter tasting - they need MORE WATER.
• Overhead watering and humid conditions can lead to increased fungal problems; watch out for powdery mildew in particular. It can be treated very early on (or even prevented) by a foliar spray of 1 part milk to 10 parts water. Spray all over the leaves (underside too) and repeat maybe twice a week and definitely after rain - and if possible, avoid overhead watering which can exacerbate the problem, and if you do have an overhead watering system, run it in the morning rather than evenings. You'll need to act early - once the disease has really taken hold it is hard to eradicate.  
• Check out your seed stock of autumn/winter growing vegies. Make a list of what is still viable, and what you will need to buy in fresh. Make a note of what crops you are growing now and read up on Crop Rotation - where are you going to plant your next round of vegies?
• Grab your 2024 Moon Planting Calendar - now in stock.  Check out our VIP special this month (see below!)

What to Plant NOW

It's the hottest time of the year in Perth making gardening extra challenging. Remember we've got 50% and 70% white horticultural shadecloth in stock - so get some protection up for your vegie patch and with a daily hand water you'll still be able to have a productive garden. Now's the time of year for some succession planting, time to think about starting winter brassicas from seed* (well, almost!), and time to think about your Autumn/Winter garden and what is going to follow on from your summer crops when they run out of steam.

Plants to consider growing now include: Basil, Beans (snake beans highly recommended for summer), Beetroot, Capsicum, Chilli, Carrots, Chokos, Cucumber, Eggplant, Ginger, Leeks, Lettuce, Malabar Spinach, Okra, Parsnips, Pumpkin, Radish, Rockmelon, Rosella, Silverbeet, Spring Onions, Squash, Strawberries, Sweet corn, Sweet potato, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Zucchini. (Pictured right - yellow or golden zucchini)

* Remember that Brassica vegetables (Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, kohl rabi) are best grown as Winter crops here in Perth. While they will grow in Summer, they are more susceptible to pests like Cabbage Moth & Cabbage Butterfly, so it's best to keep them under insect netting at this time of year. Keep up the water as stressed plants will bolt to seed, and ensure seeds & seedlings aren't allowed to dry out.  Brussel Sprouts are borderline in Perth - they thrive in cold weather; and usually our Perth Winters are too mild for them. Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower are slow to produce - so for your best chance of success, start off seeds early so that once conditions cool down in Autumn you have advanced seedlings ready to go in the ground... I think it's a little too early YET - but check on your seed stocks so you're ready in a few weeks, if you want to try.  Of course - here's where it get's really tricky - you need to predict WHEN it's going to get cool enough; so starting a few seeds off every couple of weeks will be helpful.  Remember to stock up on Green Life's great Certified Organic Seed Raising Mix, so you're ready to go!

Check out our FREE downloadable 'When to Plant Guide' here - we've got one for vegies and another for herbs, in a handy month-by-month list.  (You'll need to sign in as a member to access our FREE downloads.)

Remember our Kids Luffa Growing Competition?  Time's running out to get these plants going - they'll take about 3 months to fruit - so come on in (or send in a stamped, self addressed envelope) to collect free seeds for your kids (or grand kits) and get them growing!

Queensland Fruit Fly 

Here in WA, we've been "lucky" to have (so far) only one type of fruit fly pest to contend with - the Mediterranean Fruit Fly.  For those of you who have grown citrus and soft fruits (apricots/peaches/plums/mango/guava/fig) - you're only too familiar with these pests and the control methods you need to follow in order to have any decent fruit harvests.

But there's a newcomer on the scene that is threatening even MORE of our crops.  The Queensland Fruit Fly (Qfly) can strike more than 300 species including but not limited to:

Apples, Avocados, Bananas, Berries (yes blueberries!), Capsicums, Chillis, Citrus (eg oranges, lemons, limes), Grapes, Mangoes, Olives, Passionfruit, Stone fruits (peaches, plums, nectarines), Tomatoes. 

Queensland fruit fly can also infest some ornamental plants like clivia, lilly pilly, and Indian hawthorn - so as you can see from this list, it's a pest we REALLY don't want over here. It could seriously devastate growers; leaving them little choice other than using more pesticides.  Queensland Fruit Fly pictured here (photo courtesy of Nillumbik Shire Council) - Mediterranean Fruit Fly pictured below for comparison (photo courtesy of the Ag Dept of WA)

Queensland fruit fly have been detected in Perth before - but each time, they've successfully been eradicated.  So let's hope our luck doesn't run out this time.  The current outbreak is in the southern suburbs around Palmyra/Coolbelup/Leeming...  see DPIRD's website to check your address.

If you are a resident in the red zone DPIRD's directive is to:-

Remove all fruit regardless of maturity from Qfly host plants, as well as fallen fruit. We understand that removing all host fruit from your garden is a sacrifice - it is a temporary measure but a powerful one that is designed at limiting the risk to your garden in the long term.

Treat or eat – All home grown or store-bought host must be treated using any of these methods

• Eat
• Cook – eg boil or microwave until thoroughly heated
• Freeze for at least 24 hours
• Process – slice or dice, blend/puree, juice, make jam, pickle or relish.
• Solarise – secure host fruit in a well-sealed or double bagged black plastic bag and place it on a hard surface in direct sunlight for at least seven days.
• Dispose – After treating, securely bag treated host fruit waste/scraps and put into your general waste – not green waste or FOGO.

Do not share or sell home grown host fruit. Stop the spread of Qfly by not sharing host fruit or fruiting vegetables with friends or relatives. This excludes fruit that has been cooked, frozen, processed or cut into bite-sized pieces.

Fruit fly lay their eggs inside your fruit as it matures.  These eggs hatch, the larvae inside the fruit eat it - causing the fruit to rot internally; the fruit is then spoiled.  Once fruit matures and drops to the ground, the larvae pupate in soil to emerge as adults to repeat the breeding cycle. This is why it's so important to remove your fruit/vegies from susceptible plants - to eliminate the potential for larvae to grow and develop, effectively breaking the cycle.

Reporting & Identifying Pests

Mediterranean Fruit Fly are about 3-5mm long, with a slightly mottled appearance, and patterned bands on their wings. Queensland Fruit fly are a little larger - about 7-8mm long. They are reddish-brown in colour, with no visible markings on the wings - see picture at top of article. (Mediterranean Fruit Fly pictured right)

If you think you have seen Qfly or other unusual pests or signs of disease in your garden, please report it to the department’s Pest and Disease Information Service on (08) 9368 3080 or email padis@dpird.wa.gov.au.

Alternatively, you can send photos via the department’s MyPestGuide® Reporter app - which is FREE and a super handy tool for gardeners!

Boosting Soil Health: Why Adding Clay to Sandy Soils is a Game-Changer  

In Western Australia, sandy soils dominate much of the landscape, presenting unique challenges for gardeners and growers alike. While sandy soils drain quickly, are easy to work with, and warm up faster in spring, they often struggle to retain moisture and nutrients. This can leave plants thirsty, hungry, and underperforming. But there's good news—adding clay to sandy soils is a simple and highly effective way to transform your soil into a thriving, fertile growing medium.  

The Science Behind Clay’s Magic  

Clay is made up of microscopic mineral particles with a flat, plate-like structure. These particles are densely packed, which enables clay to hold onto water and nutrients far better than sandy soil. When clay is added to sandy soils, it improves the soil's texture, creating a loamy mix that combines the best of both worlds. The result? Better water retention, improved nutrient availability, and healthier, more resilient plants.  

Key Benefits of Adding Clay to Sandy Soils  

1. Enhanced Water Retention  

Sandy soils are notorious for letting water drain away almost as fast as it’s applied. This not only wastes water but also means plants struggle to access consistent moisture. Clay particles act like tiny sponges, holding onto water and releasing it gradually. This ensures that plant roots stay hydrated for longer, reducing the frequency of watering—especially important during Perth’s hot, dry summers.  

2. Improved Nutrient Holding Capacity  

Nutrients in sandy soils often leach away with water, leaving plants deficient in vital minerals. Clay can bind to nutrients like potassium, calcium, and magnesium, keeping them in the root zone where plants can access them. By adding clay, you’re effectively creating a nutrient reservoir that supports healthy, vigorous plant growth.  

3. Better Soil Structure  

Sandy soils can lack cohesion, making them prone to erosion and compaction. When clay is incorporated, it helps bind the sandy particles together, creating a more stable structure. This promotes better root growth and makes the soil easier to work with over time.  

4. Reduced Fertiliser and Water Usage  

With clay improving the soil's ability to retain both water and nutrients, you’ll likely find yourself using less fertiliser and watering less frequently. This not only saves money but also supports a more sustainable approach to gardening.  

How to Add Clay to Your Soil  

Adding clay to your garden is straightforward but does require a bit of effort. Products like bentonite clay or kaolin clay are ideal for this purpose. These clays can be mixed into your sandy soil manually or applied as part of a soil improvement plan.  

At Green Life Soil Co., we offer specially formulated soil mixes containing clay and other organic matter to improve Perth’s sandy soils. We can also provide expert advice on how to incorporate clay into your existing soil, ensuring you get the best results for your garden.  

In our mixes, we use a high grade Kaolin clay blend "Cassies Clay".  We also sell Cassies in bulk, and in 15kg bags.  We were excited to receive our BRAND NEW printed bags just before Christmas, so we'll be rolling these out to our wholesale nursery customers very soon!

Cassies Clay is unique in that it has a LOW pH (around 5) - so if you're near the coast and struggle with high pH its a game changer.  And Cassies has one of the highest kaolin content percentages around - which means you'll need LESS of it to get effective results in your garden.  

A Sustainable, Long-Term Solution  

While the process of adding clay to sandy soils may take time, the benefits are long-lasting. Improved soil health not only supports better plant growth but also contributes to a more sustainable and water-wise garden. So, if you’ve been struggling with sandy soils, consider adding clay—it’s a small change that can yield big results!  

For more tips and advice on soil improvement, pop into our store. Bring in a small sample of your soil and we'll conduct a free pH test, and can show you the difference adding clay makes to the water absorbtion of your soil.  Let’s work together to create healthier, more productive gardens across Perth!  
The photos used here show a former kids sandpit (complete with white playground sand) converted to the lush garden pictured here by adding Cassies Clay, Charlie Charcoal and our Vegetable Concentrate.  It really does work!

VIP Special Offer

Have you got yourself a 2025 Moon Planting Calendar yet?  These arrived just before Christmas and we have stock available - so come on in and grab one while you can!

This month, our VIP special is the calendar on sale for $9.00 each (normally $12.00).

Available in store or online! 

The calendars have a key to help you determine the optimal time to plant leafy greens, fruiting & flowering plants, and root crops.  As well as times considered less fertile when jobs like composting & garden tidy ups should be on your list!  Produced in the Eastern States, it's very simple to deduct the 2 hour time difference (3 if daylight savings) should you want to get right down the the specifics of time of day the phase moves on.

The calendars also show the equinox & solstice dates, and always include astrological insights & interesting philosophy from the creator. Definitely a little quirky & decorative - I have a friend who says "no toilet door should be without one"...  so here's your chance!

Special available only until end January 2025 while stock lasts, so be quick!  To purchase online at the members price please log into the members section of the site.  (Note - calendars are supplied rolled; photo for illustration purposes shows my sample - folded for the mail!)

Newsletter Competition

Keep your photos coming in, people!  Send in a photo (or photos) from your garden with a few lines about what you're growing, or what your project is, and you could WIN a $50 store credit to spend with us - just like this month's winner, Bruce & Karen who are keen members of the Coogee Community Garden.

Bruce sent in some photos late last year and had this to say:

Hi Green Life Soil Co team,

I recently purchased a trailer of your veggie concentrate to mix with our new raised garden bed plot we have been allocated as new members of the Coogee Community Garden. We have been using your soils with great success for several years now in our small front courtyard veggie planters, and so it was an easy decision to again purchase a veggie concentrate mix from you to regenerate our community garden bed. Attached are some photos of our finished bed, including a trellis I made from bamboo. We have planted various types of black tomatoes, as well as several types of zucchini and then filled the gaps with our staple lettuce. Looking forward to a great harvest this summer!

For those of you who haven't got a lot of space at home, or would like to learn along with other gardeners around you, a plot in a community garden is a fantastic way to go.  Meet like minded people and and pool resources to help you get the most from your time & energy.  There are community gardens almost everywhere - check this website to find one in a suburb near you.  

Retailer Update

Please support your local independent retailer who supports us! The specialist retailers listed here will be happy to give you gardening advice and help you with our products - please call to check what lines they carry as they can't stock all of our products (but may be willing to get stock in for a custom order - if you ask nicely!). Some of these fabulous retailers also offer a home delivery service (marked with *) - so why not go local?  (Please contact the store directly for details.)

Aquaponics WA / Hydroponic Xpress - Canning Vale 9455 2133 (Living Soil only)
Bar Botanik - North Perth 9227 6758 (Indoor Potting Mix & Aroid Mix only)
Daisy Field Organics - Fremantle 0450 793 720
Garden Elegance - Subiaco 9381 2197 
Guildford Town Garden Centre* - Guildford 9279 8645
Harbour Plants*- South Fremantle 0439 967 034 (Sue pictured right - in the oasis that is Harbour Plants!)
Hydroponics Guru (Living Soil only) - Wangara 0430527575
Kambarang Garden Centre* - Bentley 9458 5944
Lighthouse Fruit Tree Nursery - Parkwood 0411 166 034
Miaflora - Inglewood 9343 6334
Newstead Outdoors* - Greenwood 9334 6334
Nibali Stockfeed* - Hamilton Hill 9433 2211
Richo's 4 Hydro - Joondalup 9301 4462
Stanbee Stockfeeds* - Barragup 9581 2390 
Supreme Plants - West Swan 0499 887 275
Swan Valley Station - Swan Valley 0427 371 001
Tass1 Trees - Middle Swan 0419 988 344
Urban Revolution* - Victoria Park 6102 1068
Utopia Nursery - Bullsbrook 0455 659 622
Waldecks Kingsley* - 9309 5088
Waldecks Melville* - 6317 0939
Waldecks Stirling* - 9254 6730
Zanthorrea Nursery - Maida Vale 9454 6260

All Things Stock (Muchea) 0480 740 638 
Ardess Nursery (Albany) 9842 9952
Australind Landscaping Supplies 9796 1720
Boyup Brook Co-op (Boyup Brook) 9765 1001
Great Northern Rural Services (Geraldton) 9964 1274
Handy Hands Nursery (Karratha) 9413 1801
Hillview Garden Centre (Bridgetown) 9761 1672
Margaret River - Nutrient Ag Solutions 9758 7677 (Premium Potting Mix & Compost)
Mitre 10 Margaret River 9757 2455 (Wicking Bed Mix & Veg Concentrate)
Naturaliste Landscape Supplies (Busselton) 9754 8081
Soils Ain't Soils (Busselton & Dunsborough) 9751 5322

THANK YOU for being part of our Green Life family!  We hope to see you in store soon.  Check out our newsletter next month & stay up to date with our Facebook and Instagram pages for announcements, stock arrivals and general good gardening vibes!