Story Title: Garden Bed Trials
Episode: Three
Broadcast Date: 29th September 2012
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane

Trevor wanted to know what soil would produce the best vegies for his family, so he created the garden bed trials experiment. He planted the same varieties of vegies on the same day in different soil environments and the results are very informative.

Trevor's Discovery

• Trevor used 10 different soil compositions with the same types of plants grown in each one. They were planted the same day and received the same care.
• The two worst performing soils were Gingin loam, which is effectively a sand-based mix, and the typical landscapers mix you'd buy in a soil yard. The seedlings in these beds are struggling primarily because of a lack of nutrients.
• The best beds had a mix of 78 per cent organic matter-based soil conditioner made up of recycled organics and Western Australian local kaolin clay, sold as Soil Solver. The combination of clay particles, organic humus and the minerals and nutrients available to plants through this mix have created amazing results.