Garden tips: shade your vegies; sandy soils; pigweed; Shirley poppies

Shade sensitive plants and improve those sandy coastal soils for a better result in the garden.

An old favourite, the Shirley poppy.

Are there easily installed products to shade vegie patches? And how can we improve our sandy, coastal soil? - Sally Jones, Sydney

Gardenware.com.au has a range of igloo-like Easy Tunnels. Greenharvest.com.au sells Vege Net, a white, lightweight fabric, plus push-in hoops for support. Make your own tall tunnel by joining pairs of tall stakes across the top with 19mm irrigation tube, fitted over each stake. Cover with shadecloth or Vege Net, secured with large pegs.

For Perth’s pure sand they have highly effective Sand Remedy, which is bentonite clay and minerals, and Soil Saver, with kaolin clay and rock dust.

Elsewhere you can cheaply use packaged cat litter that contains sodium bentonite clay. Mix about 5 litres per square metre, plus a tablespoon of gypsum to counteract the sodium, into the top 10cm of soil. If using soiled cat litter, allow two weeks before planting seedlings for ammonium to break down, and don’t use near edible plants. Other ingredients to improve sandy soil are vermiculite, biochar, rock dust and high-carbon Naked Farmer Organic Soil Activator. Compost is beneficial and must be constantly replenished. Saturaid granular soil wetter helps water penetrate and hold.

For the love of all things nature, how do I eradicate common purslane? - Sam Rankine, Adelaide

Pigweed or purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a great survivor because: it grows almost anywhere; regrows from tiny remnants; the seeds are cast a long distance; and they survive for years. Purslane contains many vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, so it’s a useful food and herbal medicine. If you don’t want to eat your enemy, try smothering it with newspaper (about eight sheets thoroughly wetted) under mulch.

Fifty years ago we grew prolific, many-petalled pink flowers with leaves such as milk thistle that our neighbour said were Shirley poppies. They self-sowed every year. I’ve never been able to find these charming plants again. - Kelvyn Peters, by email

A cottage garden favourite, Shirley poppies can be singles or doubles, in pinks, rose-reds and salmon. Yates has seeds of ‘Shirley Mixed’, as does Diggers Club (diggers.com.au). ‘Double Mixed’ are available at theseedcollection.com.au and mrfothergills-seeds-bulbs.com.au. Sow them direct where they are to grow, from autumn to winter, in a sunny, well-drained soil.

Send your questions to: [e-mail] or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. Website: helenyoung.com.au. The best question for November wins the indispensable, new 44th edition of Yates Garden Guide ($40) plus $40 worth of Yates organic seeds and garden products. October’s winner is Helen Williams of Canberra for her question about reusing pea straw mulch.