Soil Solarisation

Harnessing the Power of the Sun to Clean Soil of Weeds & Pathogens

Are there sections of your garden overwhelmed by weeds? Are there areas of soil that you're concerned may be contaminated with diseases, bacteria or pathogens?

At the Orchard of Flavours we use a chemical free method of cleaning and preparing areas of soil that we may be concerned about in regards to weed control or pathogens.

We use the following steps to complete a Soil Solarisation:

1. Prepare the soil by adding compost to the area. The compost adds nutrients to the soil which attracts and encourages growth of weeds, drawing them to the surface and encouraging weed seeds to begin to sprout.

2. Use a cultivator or a lot of manual labour to thoroughly incorporate the compost into the area.

3. Water the section to encourage growth of any organisms and weeds.

4. Place a large transparent plastic sheet over the area and weigh down the sheet.

5. Keep the sheet over the area for at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day.

6. Observe beneath the sheet to see when seeds have sprouted and are growing. Once weeds are seen to be burnt and completely dead, remove and repeat the process again. The entire process can take up at 2-3 months and should be done during the warmer months of spring and summer.

The sheet and water act as a kind of magnifying glass, burning any new growth of weeds and organisms within the soil. This creates a blank slate or clean soil for you to begin planting in without the use of chemicals.

There is some concern that beneficial bacteria may be destroyed through this process but research suggests that soil solarisation is still a relatively gentle method to treat soil which targets mainly the top layer of soil where most pathogens and weed seeds reside, leaving the deeper layers and microorganisms intact. From these deeper layers of soil, microorganisms can repopulate and restore balanced soil health. It's still a better option than Roundup...

**Tip from the garden: Invest in a high quality transparent plastic sheet that you are able to re-use for many years.**