Thanks, Bob.
Not only have you solved a puzzle for me but you have helped me to demonstrate what a dill I am! We have a newly-built house and I know that the soil is either our wonderful heavy yellow clay subsoil or wonderful heavy clay-and-mudstone fill from some nearby hills. I have put a lot of effort into improving the soil, but I have been really irritated by poor results.
I work in a different area now but I used to be a microbiologist so you would think that the obvious answer would have occurred to me. Inadequate microflora. I know it will improve with time but now I can kick it along with a bit of supplementation. Just in time too – here in Canberra March-April is planting time for spring bulbs.
BTW. In case the terminology is unfamiliar, here in the Land of Oz, a dill is not only a sort of pickled cucumber, but also a (friendly) synonym for a fool.
Thank you to those of you who have expressed concern re the bushfires. We have family who lost their home, but no injuries. Bushfires are a natural part of life, and we had a bad one here in Canberra in 2003 with four people dead, but 211 people dead and so much pain and misery and disrupted lives we hope is not something to happen again in our lifetime.
I can’t sign off on that less-than-cheerful note, so I’ll add thanks for having me on Daffnet.
Cheers
Ian Lester
— I & J Lester
6 Judith Wright Street
Franklin ACT 2913
02 6241 2080