Fertile Minds archives 

August 2012

• The Loam Ranger – Cation exchange versus ammonium sorption in zeolites
• Cut high to help turfgrass establish
• Water quality monitoring guidelines
• Sign up now to earn carbon credits
• Crazy pavers – why pavers go white
• Did you know ... ? – Colour vision

July 2012

• The Loam Ranger – A rare case of boron toxicity
• Gypsum for improved growth in acidic soils
• What the BOD is biochemical oxygen demand?
• Groundwater assessment in western Sydney
• Recognition for new AS 4454 compost standard
• Did you know ... ? – This is all the water we’ve got

June 2012

• The Loam Ranger – “Organic matter” vs “compost”
• Soil fertility and turfgrass nutrition
• Fusarium wilt of Canary Island date palm
• Opportunities to benefit from waste recycling
• Groundwater essentials
• Did you know ... ? – Living in the Anthropocene

May 2012

• The Loam Ranger – Proximate and ultimate analyses
• Shade trees save road surfaces
• Cotton petiole testing
• Testing drinking water
• Did you know ... ? – Symphony of the Soil

April 2012

• SESL moves into social media
• The Loam Ranger – Olive soil pH
• Desertification video – Good Planet Foundation
• Monitor your turf runoff!
• Water-sensitive urban design
• Vineyard records link early grape ripening to climate change
• Clay moves upwards too
• Did you know ... ? – Running out of helium

March 2012

• Expanded soil health assessment service
• The Loam Ranger – Pumping out rainwater without copping a fine
• Don’t wash plant tissue samples!
• Water analysis must be done on site
• The role of soil microorganisms
• Soil permeability and how to measure it
• Did you know ... ? – Cubic watermelon

February 2012

• The Loam Ranger – Ashes to ashes
• New legislation in NSW: report pollution immediately
• The biology of soil compaction
• What is groundwater?
• Phosphorus-induced iron deficiency in Banksia
• Did you know ... ? – An apple a day may keep strokes away

December 2011

• Stop press! SESL Australia
• SESL Christmas break
• The Loam Ranger – Recreating Barangaroo soils
• SESL sponsorship of the People’s Truck
• Review of waste strategy and policy in NSW
• Feed your plants for human health
• Swinburne uni student wins award for irrigation design
• Did you know ... ? Jazz for cows
• Supercharged Food
• 2011 Mud Run

November 2011

• SESL Christmas break
• The Loam Ranger – Synergy
• Urban horticulture
• Updates to environment protection licences to allow soil recovery
• When neighbours go to war
• New automated water sampler
• Did you know ... ? – Remote-control round-up

October 2011

• Landscape Australia Expo
• The Loam Ranger – What is plant nutrition?
• Sampling soil effectively
• Improving the lot of the urban tree
• Ground glass solution for cleaner water
• Did you know ... ? – Genetic link to mesothelioma

September 2011

• New NATA accreditation
• New role for Ryan Jacka
• The Loam Ranger – Choosing the right fertiliser rate
• Annual Knowla livestock sale
• Compost industry is growing
• Friend and foe: nitrogen pollution’s little-known environmental and human health threats
• Irrigation scheduling
• Did you know ... ? – Anthroposols, or human-made soil

August 2011

• Daniel Saunders is leaving us
• The Loam Ranger – Why phosphorus is so tricky
• Avoid fines for contaminated runoff
• Which plant parts to analyse?
• When is a waste no longer a waste?
• Did you know ... ? – Five seasons

July 2011

• Reducing soil compaction with crumbed rubber
• Using soil analysis to plan mine rehabilitation
• Winter soil testing for turf
• Virtual water
• Did you know ... ? – Grasses that fix nitrogen

June 2011

• Fertiliser response
• Is compost cost effective?
• Soil biological health
• Agriculture is a dangerous business
• Glass sand for turf
• Waste as art
• Did you know ... ? – Dating by dung

May 2011

• Biosolids – cause for concern?
• Plants as indicators of salinity
• When pathogens attack
• Base cation saturation ratio
• Meet the staff – Cathy Chen
• Did you know ... ? – Mushrooms

April 2011

• The Loam Ranger – Community orchards and soil contamination
• Parkinson’s from paraquat and rotenone
• Soil carbon sequestration
• What is foliar fertilisation?

• Meet the staff – Tiffany and Gus
• Did you know ... ? – What are heavy metals?

March 2011

• Recent NATA accreditation
• The Loam Ranger – Domestic effluent treatment
• Structural soil for urban tree planting
• Identifying plant nutrient deficiencies

• Tighter fertiliser regulations
• Did you know ... ? – Recycling at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre

February 2011

• The Loam Ranger – Hydroxyls, hydrogens and pH
• Myrtle rust – new devastating plant disease in Australia
• Rain
• In hot water

• Cattle can restore soil fertility
• Did you know ... ? – Spices in India

December 2010

• The Loam Ranger – What good is manure?
• 2010 Mud Run
• The myth of P-sensitive natives
• Improving tree rootzones

• The role of moisture in plant nutrition
• A behind-the-scenes tour of the lab
• Did you know ... ? – Mistletoe

November 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Insinkerators
• Time to perform a grape petiole analysis
• Vineyard soil management
• New facilities at SESL

• New water flow probe
• Excavated sand – traps for the unwary
• Inter-laboratory proficiency testing at SESL
• Meet the staff – Carmen Galarreta
• Did you know ... ? – Where did all the sand come from?

October 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Use of gypsum in soil stabilisation
• Expansion of contaminated site legislation
• Peak phosphorus postponed?
• SESL supports science at school
• Meet the staff – environmental consultants
• Did you know ... ? – Worms

September 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Homoeostasis, or why plant tissue testing can fool you
• SESL turns 25 this month
• Thrills and spills in Willoughby
• Soils of the Sydney Basin – the Quaternary alluvium deposits
• Did you know ... ? – Fossil soils

August 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Irrigating with effluent
• Combating herbicide resistance in Australia
• Environmental monitoring in Woollahra
• Soils of the shale landscapes of Sydney
• Did you know ... ? – Who needs oxygen?

July 2010

• The Loam Ranger – “Clean fill”
• New plant pathology service!
• Turf scarifying – you may be breaking the law
• Sodicity, salinity – which is which?
• Did you know ... ? Nike jerseys: 100% recycled plastic bottles

June 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Is silicon a plant nutrient?
• Glyphosate can increase plant disease
• Acid sulphate soils
• What’s wrong with the Base Cation Saturation Ratio concept?
• Soils of Sydney – Sandstone soils
• Did you know ... ? – Ten things you probably didn’t know about domain names

May 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Salinity classes of irrigation water – how can they be used?
• Glyphosate – over-reliance leads to nutrient deficiencies
• Plant disease stages
• Soil formation and the soils of Sydney
• Did you know ... ? – Tea

April 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Testing water from rainwater tanks
• Potassium for winter resilience
• New disease ID service at SESL
• New C and S analyser
• NATA accreditation getting close
• Did you know ... ? – Alumin[i]um

March 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Shotgun pellets and wet soils
• GPS + GIS = amazingly accurate mapping at SESL
• Asbestos certification at SESL
• Compost for orchard soil management
• The secret life of roots. 1: Grasses
• Did you know ... ? – Order aerial photos in NSW

February 2010

• The Loam Ranger – Reducing soil pH
• A looming phosphorus crisis
• Topdressing turf
• Benzo[a]pyrene – a carcinogen in smoke
• Did you know ... ? – Parafield Stormwater Harvesting Facility, SA

December 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Soil remediation
• Loss of prime agricultural land in Sydney Basin to urban sprawl
• Contaminated fill – don’t risk a fine!
• Recycling irrigation runoff
• Hilton Hotel “green wall” reinvigorated
• Did you know ... ? – Perlite

November 2009

• The Loam Ranger – SESL in the community: Narrabeen Sports High School
• Sampling pastures for nutrient analysis
• Composting
• The nitrogen cycle in soil
• Did you know ... ? – Gene for drought resistance found

October 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Cadmium
• Allelopathy – biological warfare
• Soil horizons
• Another new gizmo!
• Star lab technician
• Did you know ... ? – E. coli

September 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Glyphosate
• Understanding P fertilisers
• Plant-directed bioaccumulation of limiting elements
• New water quality instrument
• Did you know ... ? – World’s oldest houses in Victoria

August 2009

• Updated Waste classification guidelines
• New Contaminated Land Management Act amendments
• The Loam Ranger – Inter-laboratory proficiency testing
• Optimising nutrients for healthy spring growth
• Client profile: Knowla Livestock
• RailCorp RISI permit for SESL
• A toilet-led water saving
• Did you know ... ? – Rock wallaby update

July 2009

• The Loam Ranger – The benefits of subsoil testing
• Winter soil testing
• Lower North Shore Regional Water Quality Monitoring Program
• Phytophthora
• New graduate – Josh Shaw
• Did you know ... ? – Leeches

June 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Heavy metal content of fertilisers
• Carbon sequestration in activated carbon
• Plant tissue analysis – what’s your plant telling you?
• Turfgrass irrigation – principles and practices
• Meet the staff – Scott Fraser
• Did you know ... ? – Death by compost

May 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Soil carbon and carbon trading
• Irrigation in drought
• Protein content in pasture
• Soil acidity, lime requirement and aluminium toxicity
• Meet the staff – Environmental consultants
• Did you know ... ? – Vermiculite

April 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Using testing to improve management
• World-class lab manager
• New lab info management system
• Recovered fines – new exemptions
• Meet the staff – the Analytical Lab
• Did you know ... ? – Geophagy, or soil for lunch

March 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Regulated deficit irrigation
• Waste reduction and avoidance
• What is cation exchange?
• Meet the staff – the Prep Lab
• Did you know ... ? – Reducing methane emissions with kangaroo microbes

February 2009

• The Loam Ranger – Recycled plasterboard as gypsum
• SESL's new gizmo
• Lessons from Dubai
• Meet the staff – Issy Purwanto, sample receiving
• Did you know ... ? – Locust swarms, serotonin and obesity

December 2008

• The Loam Ranger – Plant poisoning
• The physics of mulches: how they work
• Waste regulation in NSW
• Drip irrigation may use more water, not less
• Did you know ... ? – Green sea slugs

November 2008

• The Loam Ranger – Soil for winegrapes
• Considerations in using recycled water on crops and turf
• Conserving biodiversity in landscaping
• When plant tissue analysis won't help
• Did you know ... ? – Mycorrhizae

October 2008

• The Loam Ranger – Mulches and soil improvers
• Plant tissue analysis – head off problems early
• Carbon burial
• Collecting irrigation water for testing
• Did you know ... ? – Oil and water do mix after all

September 2008

• The Loam Ranger – Kikuyu yellows
• Salinity and structures
• Is camphor laurel mulch toxic?
• Soils and tree roots: improving conditions for trees
• Did you know ... ? – Citrus originated in Australia

August 2008

• The Loam Ranger – Changes to the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act
• Corrosion, aggressiveness and scaling assessment
• Urban toxicity
• Soils and tree roots: key requirements for tree health
• Did you know ... ? – Maximum rooting depth

July 2008

• The Loam Ranger – Why perform a grape petiole analysis?
• Winter soil testing for turf
• New versus established turf
• Salinity
• Nitrogen behaviour in the environment
• Did you know ... ? – Saffron

April 2008

• The Loam Ranger – Micronutrients for dryland pastures
• What is cation exchange capacity?
• Moisture retention and CEC in sandy soils
• Managing irrigation water quality
• Weed invasion
• Did you know ... ? – Coconut

March 2008

• New price list available
• The Loam Ranger – Iron chemistry: Colours in the landscape
• Recycling waste products
• Water-repellent soil
• What is urea?
• Did you know ... ? – Saving endangered wallabies

February 2008

• New price list coming ...
• The Loam Ranger – Noxious weeds
• Gypsum – what is it good for?
• Interpreting a plant analysis
• How salinity is measured
• Did you know ... ? – Coffee

December 2007

• The Loam Ranger – GPS
• Star apprentice at SESL
• Day of the agapanthus (not triffids)
• Your own lightning detector
• Did you know ... ? – Doing nothing

November 2007

• The Loam Ranger - Water Quality Terms
• Are you improving drainage or just burying money?
• Plant tissue analysis for turf growers
• Contaminated fill - make sure it's legal
• Did you know ... ? – Toxic to dogs

October 2007

• The Loam Ranger – Trees and Traffic
• Make best use of recycled water
• Six reasons why you should have a plant tissue test done
• Asbestos
• Did you know ... ? – A single gram of soil contains ...