Mulching your garden provides an aesthetic improvement to the presentation or your property as well as protecting your plants from moisture loss and weed infestation. Brookies stocks a variety of mulches, with sugar cane the most cost effective and versatile form for the acreage and suburban gardens alike.

For larger applications we have 2.4m and 1.8m long bulk cans bales which will cover approximately 50 square metres and 30 square metres respectively. Because these bales are more tightly compacted than round bales, there is more mulch to spread on your garden.

We also stock the smaller square bales, which are more appropriate to use when gardens are more difficult to access. Both the larger, bulk bales and the smaller squares comprise of cane thrash and will, depending on rainfall conditions, provide 12 to 18 months protection for your plants.

Wrapped cane mulch, lucerne, pea straw and pine bark are also available for those customers who need a finer cover for pot plants and other small applications. While all mulches eventually decompose they still provide benefit to your soil and plants in the form of humus, better soil structure and also as a source of food for soil microbes.

Despite the increasing availability of mechanically powered garden tools, nothing feels more comforting than a well made and balanced hand tool.

At Brookies, we stock a comprehensive range of the CYCLONE brand of gardening tools including post hole shovels, fencing bars, digging forks, garden spades, mulch forks, hoes and mattocks.

Also stocked are quality FELCO secateurs and loppers. Oska small hand tools, wipper snipper line, chain saw bar oil, four stroke oil, jerry cans and lanolin based sprays.

Replacement handles for shovels, mattocks, axes, block splitters and brush hooks are also stocked.

As the only accredited ABOUT THE GARDEN retailer in the Samford Valley, Brookies stocks a comprehensive range of premium SEARLES potting mixes.

The Searles range of potting mixes caters for the diverse spectrum of garden in both suburban and acreage applications.

Stocked lines include:

• Premium potting mix ( 30ltr and 50ltr)
• 5 in 1 (30ltr and 50ltr)
• Peat 80 plus
• Certified organic herb and vegetable
• Compost and mushroom mixes
• Azalea, camellia and gardenia
• Dendrodumcycbidum bromeliad and orchid
• Seed Raising speciality mix
• Native plants
• Pots and tubs
• Rose and citrus
• Mulch and pine bark chips

We also stock a select range of ROCKY POINT mulching and potting mixes.

• Cow manure
• Active 8 (30ltr and 60ltr)
• Eco blend 60ltr
• Coco plus

Also in stock is the AMGROW 60ltr premium potting mixes, lawn, ornamental, citrus and posture fertilizers.

While mulches perform a passive form of weed control, unfortunately there are times and circumstances when only chemical herbicides will perform the job required.

Herbicides can be segmented into two categories: Non Selective and Selective

Non selective herbicides such as glyphosate (ie Round Up) control most forms of grasses and weeds.

Used mainly for fence lines, driveways and occasional spot spraying. Glyphosate products help the acreage and suburban gardener alike in reducing the weed load on their property.

At Brookies we stock the standard formulation Glyphosate 360 in 1 litre and 5 litre packs and the stronger 450 concentration in 1 litre and 20 litre containers.

Selective herbicides are formulation designed to eradicate a number of specific weeds within your lawn or garden without comprising the grass or plants.

Here at Brookies we recommend and stock the following herbicides:

• Kamba M/ie Kamba, suitable for controlling a wide range of broadleaf weeds in couch lawns, including bindi, purple top and thistles and is available in 1 ltr, 5 ltr and 20 ltr sizes.
• Buffalo Weed Killer, similar to Kamba in the variety of weeds controlled but can be used on broad leaf grasses such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Kikuyu, Buffalo and Carpet grass – available in 1 ltr containers
• Amicide 24D – similar to Kamba and Buffalo week killer, Amicide helps control broadleaf weeds in pasture grasses. This product is more suited to acreage applications/paddocks. In addition to the variety of broadleaf weeds covered by Kamba etc, Amicide also controls rubber vine, billy goat weed, common and spriny head sida, siratro and khaki weeds.
• Sempra – a specialty herbicide that is most effective for control of nutgrass and mullimbimby couch. This product come in 25gm, 100gm and 250 gm packets.
• Brush Off/Metsulfuron – Methyl is another specialty product that controls woody weeds ie: blackberry, gorse, asparagus fern/bracken and young eucalyptus regrowth, as well as Singapore daisy, parthenium and rubber vine. Available in 40gm and 200gm.
• Starane – A broad leaf week killer that covers many of the weeds Kamba, Amicide and Brush off control, as well as maderia vine, mother of millions, ochna, sida, snakeweed and wandering jew. Starane is available in 1 litre, 5 litre and 20 litre containers.
• Taskforce – Primary control of Rats Tail and Giant Rats Tail grass, Taskforce will also control Paspalum, Couch, Johnson, Kikuyu and Colombus grasses. Consequently this product should be limited to spot spraying those particular problem weeds. Taskforce is available in 1ltr, 5ltr and 20 ltr drums.
• Raizon – Grazon, Raizon and similar Triclofsyi /Pieloram products are used for woody weed control – ie: lantana, cockspur, black wattle, wild tobacco tree, eucalypt regrowth. Available in 1ltr, 5ltr and 20ltr drums. Raizon can be used as a cut stump or folia srpay application.
• Use of Grazon/Raizon in some areas is restricted and it is best to check instore for further information.

Use of surfactants helps the herbicide stick more readily to the targeted weeds. This is particularly important when spraying weeds with glossy leaves or if rainfall is anticipated within the next 4 to 5 hours. Surfactant is available in 1ltr and 5 ltr containers.

Spray Marker Dye as the name suggests is a colouring added to your herbicide mix and enables the operator to accurately assess which area has been sprayed and which areas are remaining. Marker Dye is conveniently packaged in 1ltr and 5 ltr containers.

Ensuring your property is weed free requires both passive and active measures. Passive measures include mulching, usually to a minimum of 100mm, use of ground covers and promoting vigorous lawn growth. Active measures entail the use of appropriate herbicides spread via a spray unit.

Spray equipment for most urban and small acreage applications involves pressure units ( knapsack or bottle) or 12volt powered tanks.Depending on the application, Brookies has a variety of pump units ranging from 2 litre to 150 litre tank size.

SOLO, German made with warranties and spare parts for every model manufactured is the ideal choice for most spraying applications.

Bottle sprayers in 5 and 7.5 litre are fine for small yard applications or spraying insect/fungicide infestation of plants. Larger 15litre knapsacks in piston and diaphram pump varieties offer higher pressure rates for better direct and indirect spraying.

Battery powered units sourced from RAPID SPRAY, TRANKS TANK INTERNATIONAL & SILVAN are designed to be carried on quad bikes or towed. The larger capacity 12 volt spray units, which vary from 55 litre to 400 litre offer greater convenience and ease of spraying for larger acreage properties.

One of the added bonuses of these larger units is that, provided the pumps are sized correctly, a range of boom sprayers can be attached to give greater coverage of spray and subsequently save on the time required to complete a job.

• Only make up the mix you need for the job and use all the mix
• Don’t leave chemical mixes to sit in your spray unit for extended periods of time
• Service the sprayer regularly, double wash the tank and run clean water through the lance after spraying applications
• Don’t spray in windy conditions and to minimise spray drift use a spray guard/shroud to reduce overspray on non-targeted areas
• Always wear and use appropriate clothing, chemical gloves and respirators when operating spray equipment
• Ensure wettable powder mixes are agitated/stirred regularly when spraying
• Keep nozzle tips and filters clean to ensure constant pressure and even spray pattern.

Gardens of all sizes are subject to periodic infestations by insects, caterpillar moths and other pests.

Brookies has a range of traditional pesticides as well as newer bio-insecticides such as dipel, spinosad, spinetoram and natrasoap.

Chemical based insecticides stocked include: Confidor, Malathon, Carbaryl, Pyrethrim, termicides such as Fortune 500, Befinthrin as well as residual insecticides suitable for indoor applications like Solfac, Ficam W, Coopers and Demand.

Queensland’s hot and humid summers can mean more problems for gardeners with the outbreak of black spot and powdery mildew. Control methods include Mancozeb and Mancozeb Plus, Fongarid, Triforine, liquid copper, wettable sulphur and white oil.

Fertilizing lawns, pastures, gardens and trees reinvigorates the plant making it healthier and stronger. Fertilizers are available in chemical form or organic and come in liquid, pellet, powder or prilled varieties. Organic fertilizers such as Queensland Organic Extra and Organic Booster are pelletized forms of composed chicken manure.

These fertilizers provide a low cost complete feed and the pelletized form ensures slow release of the fertilizer over time. Liquid varieties such as the Seasol range, includes Powerfish, Powerfeed, Organic Humate and Seasol extra provide a more direct form of targeted feeding for plants.

Both the Queensland Organic and Seasol range of fertilizers are certified organic and are available as 25kg bags for the pellets and 5 litre and 20 litre drums for liquid.

Chemical fertilizers such as CK88 and Prolific Blue are prilled, complete feeds and offer much higher N.P.K. values than the organic alternatives. Using these fertilizers will provide a more immediate result for the same quantity of fertilizer applied. These bags are available in 25kg and 20kg bags respectively.

However, unlike the organic varities, prilled fertilizers require watering in to ensure the plant/vegetation is not burned. Other fertilizers available at Brookies include Blood and Bone, Citrus, Azalea and Gardenia, general flowering plants, herb and vegetable mixes.

We also stock aglime, dolomite, gypsum and sulphur to help establish the correct PH value in soils.