Reading an old gardening magazine last night, and came across a letter from a lady who dissolved sugar in her watering can and applied it to wilting plants, with positive results. The reply was that sugar did have some value in the soil, but that it wasnt an adequate replacement for composting and fertilising, and continued application would eventually see the soil stripped of nutrients.

Given that we need to use compost/mulch and other organic matter anyway, is anyone aware of any downsides to using this approach with natives ? About the only thing that I can think of is that my existing ant colonies will be even bigger and more aggressive.