Then I will put in weed mat and plant away !!!! Any suggestion for the soil before planting. The soil is obviously damp and that is the reason I want to get planting so they get a good start. The soil is only average, typical central vic soil!!!! Guess natives as a rule grow in all conditions, so possibly will have nothing to add to the soil.

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Then add plenty of nitrogen to get everything going and wait 3 months.

That's my recipe.

(Of course, if you want to grow plants that are native to your area, you probably don't need to do anything, although organic matter is always helpful in my experience)

Im from the Bendigo region and planting idegenous natives, so the soil may then just be good enough. I got told if I could plant stuff now while their is moisture in the soil, they will get a little established before summer hits. I am rushing to plant within a month without any soil preparation?

You have not explained what condition your soil is in at present. It may well be just fine for planting as it is, as Navy Blue has suggested. What is its history (ie. has it been fertilised much, as this will effect any Proteaceae plants etc), does it receive much water runoff? Is your top soil very deep before you hit clay or shale?

I know those soils around Castlemaine and they can be quite variable depending on where you are. A lot of those ridgelines are very shaley and rocky while the lower areas can be produce quite good soils. You can have very shallow soil, sitting on hard clay or shale there. But it can also be very dry.

If you are going to plant local species then what you already have could be quite okay.

Have you given up on a lawn as you could use a native grass for a lawn? I imagine red grass and wallaby grass (or a mixture) will do well in Bendigo. Just a thought.

I concur with POS02, lose the weed mat. I'm am not a fan of the rotary hoe. Conventional hoes leave a flat pan underneath causing water to pool at that level running the risk of drowning plants that don't like wet feet.

Cheers
Danili

To summarise the area was covered totally with lawn, well sort of lawn and weed. The soil is Bendigo soil, clayish, not alot of sand, some stone and generally not the best at all !!! That is why I am planting indegenous plants, should grow OK in my soil.

Concerned the lawn will reshoot and some of the roots on the lawn were long and winding. That is why I want to go the weedmat. So do u all think weedmat is going to be a waste of money? Just that I am putting bark and stones/pebbles over that, just hate to see weeds and lawn come up again !!!

Thinking of planting grasses and smaller shrubs no trees as the area is quite small.

Thanks.

the soil really probably needs some mixing with organic matter
I used a native mix low in phos and had the beneficial microflora to help kickstart my garden along

finally excellent choice to remove your lawn I am a native garden extremist and think that maintaining lawns are un-australian and enviromental terrorism
(just kidding)
congrats on seeing the light

well I dont disagree with you, I think we do rely too much on large ornamental lawns, but a small patch can have it's place in a garden. mine is in a central area that wouldnt be practical to plant shrubs, it keeps the sandy soil in tact and it's already surrounded by paving which reflects a lot of heat in summer and the lawn is much cooler (my dogs can even go outside without burning their feet on the ground now). :)

one thing I can say in it's favour is that the birds love this little patch, the magpie larks seem to find lots of worms in there and visit this area every day, and the willy wagtails and honeyeaters seem to find bugs floating around so they like this area too, I cant believe it's all that bad if the birds are giving it the "thumbs up".

I think it can be done responsibly in moderation though, and sometimes it's the only thing that works in a particular situation. just my thoughts

Don Burke is adamant that you should use the soil that you have, but I've had good results with mounding over my clay beds. I guess it all comes down to plant choice - if you want prima-donnas, you are going to need the soil and aspect that goes with that territory. The hardier natives (most wattles, eucalypts and myrtles) will adapt to the soil you have, assuming its neither hugely acidic nor particularly alkaline.

In my world view, there is no place for anything that doesnt earn its keep : lawns, roses, ludicrously small dogs ...

When you consider the range of groundcovers which would thrive on far less than the average lawn consumes (in time, water, fertiliser etc), its a no-brainer. I even consider paving preferable to lawn, and the bush seems to get by just fine without it. Nothing beats a clearing strewn with the mulch from a large gum and underplanted with dense shrubs and native grasses.

Cheers

yes wazcrazy, the ornamental lawn is making a comeback in my area unfortunately, it's an old suburb so theyre not destroying any bushland, but they are bulldozing old houses and every single tree in sight, so birds are still losing their homes, and when the new houses go up, out comes the roll on lawn for an instant garden. there is such a difference between the old gardens and the new ones, most of the older houses have dead unwatered lawns out the front over the summer now but the new houses have these lush well watered lawns. I get a bit dismayed by it but hopefully in time people will learn it's not the way to go.

"When you consider the range of groundcovers which would thrive on far less than the average lawn consumes (in time, water, fertiliser etc), its a no-brainer. "

artie, I dont use artificial fertilisers, I give the lawn chook poo so it helps improve the sandy soil as well as feeding, probably why the worms are attracted to this spot. as far as time goes, it takes a couple of minutes to mow this area and I catch water from the gutter into a tank over winter and use this to water it in summer, so I dont feel like Im creating any crime here.

"I even consider paving preferable to lawn, and the bush seems to get by just fine without it. Nothing beats a clearing strewn with the mulch from a large gum and underplanted with dense shrubs and native grasses."

I have plenty of paving, about 60% of my backyard is paving and it's hotter than hell in the summer ;) Even when this suburb was bush all those years ago, it was still sandy bushland but I dont have the room in my small backyard to put any trees in to stop the wind from carrying away the soil, and like I said, shrubs arent suitable here because it will create an obstacle course.

I could go on about how I first tried dichondra repens but found it needed much more water than a lawn to survive here (but I wont :) ), but to me this lawn does earn its keep, and if it provides conditions for the birds to find food it's just as worthy as any native plant that does the same thing in my garden (to me anyway).

- a sprinkler blasting away in the midday sun
- painstakingly manicured edges
- top-dressing / fertiliser / whatever to keep it 'looking good'
- my mower blades set to their lowest setting

You might laugh, but how many times have we all seen homes that have nothing but an expanse of super-short lawn around them ? Their owners probably consider such an approach to be 'hassle-free' : just mow it, water it and fertilise it ...

Broad expanses of lawn are fine in public parks, but I question their validity for the homeowner. Artificial surfaces like paving are hotter, but thats where trees and climbers come into their own.

1 more question, if i dont use weedmat, what about using newspaper instead?

They're often the only sort that fit practicably on the increasingly ludicrously small housing blocks, and they go a long way toward keeping the nation's mental health bill down. A few of them can be a bit ugly and obnoxious, but that isn't restricted only to the little ones.

Navy blue, if there's a way to avoid the roundup, you'd be doing yourself a favour there too. It's proving to be nowhere near as harmless as has been claimed.

Maltese Terrier and other yapping white menaces
Chihuaha or anything hairless
Corgis
Minitaure Poodle

In the 'OK' class:
Australian/Scottish/Jack Russell terriers
King Charles Spaniel

I'm sure there are exceptions, but those little yappers annoy the proverbial out of me ...