Baileys have just released a breakthrough soil conditioner, specifically formulated for Perth's sandy soils the least fertile soil on Planet Earth. By going back to basics and creating a new formula from the ground up the new conditioner addresses the needs of our unique soils

How does it work?

Our natural sandy soils lack carbon, humus, soil life and moisture reserves. Urban developers when creating new suburbs further degrade soil by removing tree cover and ploughing up the remaining sand so that a new garden is pretty much bereft of life - a new meaning to 'ground zero'. Existing gardens can also have similar problems if the soil is left bare, as the vital carbon supplies are readily lost into the atmosphere.

What do the ingredients of this new Clay & Compost bring to the garden and its plants?

Mature compost improves soil structure by bringing humus into contact with sand particles. This boosts moisture holding as well as nutrient holding capacity. It also improves soil structure by adding air spaces, which you can feel when walking as the soil is soft not compact and hard to the tread.

Adding a mere one per cent of humus to soil can increase moisture holding by as much as 17 litres per square metre, which is a massive result. Nutrient holding capacity is called Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) and it's a term that describes the soils ability to attract and hold electrically charged particles that make up the mineral nutrient elements that plants need in order to photosynthesis. Our sands have a very low CEC meaning that nutrients are rapidly leached through the soil. This makes fertiliser applications ineffective as the bulk of the nutrients, as much as 60% bypasses the root system of the plants we were aiming to fertilise.

Soil Solver is another major ingredient. This consists of Kaolin clay and mineral silts. The benefits of this combination include a permanent boost to Cation Exchange Capacity and moisture holding capacity of sandy soils. Mineral silts are fine particles rich in a range of minor and trace elements that plants can easily access. In other words, a boost to plant nutrition. Our modern Western diet fails to deliver many of the vital minerals we need. Growing food in soils that are replete with such minerals can deliver better health outcomes for our families and us.

Rock Minerals are also included in the mix beyond those found in the mineral silts mentioned above. These tend to act as slow breakdown plant foods and trace elements adding more goodies to the bundle.

How to Apply

Baileys Soil Matters Clay & Compost is the ideal soil preparation product for new lawns, gardens and vegetable beds based on sandy soil.

When preparing a soil for a new garden bed or lawn, make sure the area is free of weeds, rocks and debris. Each bag of Soil Matters Clay & Compost contains 10kg of Soil Solver Mineralised Clay, so to achieve the optimum soil clay content of 5%, distribute one bag evenly over 1m2. Work well into the top 100mm, then give it a good water and mix it again. Your soil is then ready!

When adding to an existing garden bed distribute one bag of Soil Matters Clay & Compost evenly over 2-4m2. Mix well into the surface, being careful of roots. Water in well and then repeat if necessary in the growing season. Don't forget to protect your new soil with a layer of Baileys Moisture Mulch.

This is no me too soil conditioner, its unique formulation is unlike any other product in the category in Western Australia. It is very much in line with one of the missions in life - to change the way we grow food by building soil fertility.

Extensive ground testing was done in the beach suburb of Kwinana, a pretty tough plant growing location. Results were outstanding. I hope you will give this breakthrough Soil Matters Clay & Compost a try at your home.

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Baileys new Soil Matters Clay & Compost