Frequently Asked Questions

Are the gardens hard to put together?

The small and standard Pop-up are easily assembled using a screw driver and a knife to trim the liner. Any garden over 130 cm long has a centre strut to avoid bowing common to gardens purchased from the chains. While a screw driver would be ok a cordless drill (or cordless screw driver) makes fastening the centre strut a lot easier. The easy to follow instructions come with photos. No one has reported a problem building a watersaver garden to date. See the blog 'Elaine's a happy customer'

Where do I get the wood chip and soil?

The gardens are designed to take standard size quantities from landscaping supply outlets. Buying from the chains is a lot more expensive. There is a photo of the wood chip in the instructions so you know exactly what to purchase. Don't skimp on the soil quality. Buy a quality soil with plenty of organic matter.

I live in Toowoomba can I get someone to install it for me?

If you live in or around Toowoomba we can install the garden. Installation price includes putting the kit together and building the garden with organic soil, enriched compost and a bag per square metre of our own mix with worms and micro-organisms to innoculate the commercial soil/compost mix. Contact Alan for a quote.

Any handy person can instal one, in fact one seventy year old I know did it herself (see the blog 'Elaine's a happy customer')

How long will the garden last?

We can't give an exact figure but the oldest garden we have installed is still going after five years.

How much water does it approximately hold?

Herb:100litres   Standard, Spacesaver, Large Slim:200 litres   Extra Large:350 litres  Jumbo:440 litres

Remember none of this goes to waste, it all goes to the plants over time. The other advantage of such a large storage area is that when it rains the garden collects water for you for free! 

How do I know when to add water?

The kit comes with a dip stick to check the water level. It is not critical, the level can vary markedly and the garden will keep working.

Will it get waterlogged in wet weather?

No, there are vents to let the water out. So rain will fill your reservoir for nothing and any excess will drain away.

I would love a garden but have trouble with possums/scrub turkeys. 

We sell a canopy frame purpose-built for the gardens. Buy some fine nylon bird mesh from the chains or a landscape supplier to throw over the frame and all will be ok.

Do I have to replace the soil over time?

You may have to add soil every couple of years. I recommend adding organic matter/compost after each harvest to keep the soil healthy. Other than that some potash and rock minerals occasionally is all your garden should need. We sell 'wormpost', a half-baked compost containing worms which keeps the gardens healthy. We also sell Earthlife rock minerals and Veggie Mate in 15kg bags.