If your soil isn't balanced and healthy, nor will be the vegies, fruit and eggs that you grow in it.  As we rove around Melbourne  completing permaculture designs and setting up edible gardens, we're developing a good understanding of Melbourne's different soil types, and the most effective steps to getting them as healthy as possible.

Some soils are obviously shocking and need serious work, whereas others look and feel fine but need subtle rebalancing.  To paraphrase a soil-conscious farmer, it takes more than idealism and lots of animal manure to grow healthy, nutrient dense food.  If the basic balance between elements like calcium and magnesium is out of whack, many of the nutrients you add to the soil simply won't be accessible by your plants.

VEG now offers soil testing and remediation services in collaboration with Soil Doctor: a specialist soil testing and remediation service involving site visits to observe:

• soil types and profile
• water infiltration and drainage rates
• pH
• compaction
• biology

Then, depending on your situation and the state of your soil, we recommend and coordinate chemistry tests and biology tests.  This tells us what minerals and nutrients are present, what minerals and nutrients are actually available to plants, and what microbes are present to assist in making them available.  Once the state of your soil has been diagnosed, we can advise on or actually help remediate, using site-specific techniques to decompact your soil, aerate your soil, ensure adequate winter water drainage and summer water retention, and achieve critical mineral balances and nutrient levels.  We have seen good results in poor clay and silt soils within two months of remediation, and amazing results after a few years.

If necessary, we can also test for the presence of undesirables in your soil including dieldrin ($110) and lead ($66 alone or $22 on top of a soil chemistry test), which can be a problem in some Melbourne suburbs.

To learn more and to get a price for the services you might require, contact us and we'll let you know.  Our soil testing and remediation packages start at $160, though by far our most popular service is a consultancy visit, soil chemistry test, and follow up report which costs $240 (If we're coming to your place for a design or any other reason, this fee drops down to $185).

Note - with us, all prices always include GST.