ASK AN EXPERT Fertilising gardens can also hurt Reef

A LOT of the attention on Great Barrier Reef water quality has focused on farmers and graziers because of the large scale of their operations in reef catchment areas ( thousands of farms and tens of thousands of hectares of farmland).

While an individual urban garden probably doesn’t produce huge water quality problems, collectively their environmental footprint may not be insignificant, and like farmers, gardeners also have the opportunity to do their bit in minimising water quality degradation.

The municipal storm water drainage systems in urban areas can actually very efficiently and rapidly transport excessive nutrients from homes and gardens into natural waterways and marine environments.

Urban gardeners can follow the same principles that most farmers are adopting to deal with environmental issues; applying the right fertiliser products in the right place at the right time, and maintaining healthy soils.

Ensuring you understand the fertiliser needs of your garden helps avoid over- fertilising, which can damage or even kill your lawn and garden plants, as well as harm the environment.

Ensuring correct use of any synthetic fertilisers and following labelling instructions is probably a useful first step for urban gardeners.

Alternative strategies for nutrient and soil improvement and pest control such as homemade compost, organic fertiliser, worm castings, companion planting, planting in season and climate, and crop rotation are also increasingly popular choices.

There are resources online to provide detailed advice.