Hortus Christmas and New Years holidays

It’s that time of year again! Our office will be closed for the Christmas and New Years holidays; please check the following dates to ensure your samples and tests don’t get lost!

Thursday, December 14th – final cutoff for Soil samples.
Wednesday, December 20th – final cutoff for ALL other samples; including Water, Sap, Microbial, Chem Residue etc.

Monday, December 25th to Friday, January 5th – office and lab closed

Samples received before this cutoff date will be tested, but we may not be able to release results until the office reopens January 8^th. For time-sensitive results, we encourage you to get samples into a prior week cutoff or notify us when you lodge the sample to request an urgent release.

Samples received after this date may be discarded (microbial or plant samples) as they are likely to degrade and be unsuitable for testing in January.

The Hortus office will reopen January 8th to collect samples, and will resume testing the week after.

We wish all our customers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Pricelist update (1st June 2023) – no price increases!

We’re updating the Hortus Analytical sample and service pricelist to come into effect 1st June 2023. Cost of living and doing business has increased for everyone in Australia in recent months; but we’re doing our best to keep prices under control for our valued customers – the new pricelist has no price increases for any…

The benefits of sap testing flowers

Sap testing tells you what nutrients are mobile within that tissue at the time of sampling. There are several nutrients vital for pollination, fruit set, fruit development and fruit quality or marketability. Two nutrients of worthy mention are Calcium and Boron.

Reef Safe fertilising with biologicals

Commercially viable options for reef safe fertilising are vital as regulatory restrictions are rolled out in Central and Northern Queensland reef zones. There is also plenty to be learned for farmers across the nation, as similar regulatory overview is likely to be applied to all waterways in the future…

Preventing frost damage with bacterial help

A large portion of damage noted to be caused by frost, is actually not icing or the cold temperatures itself causing the damage but bacteria living on the plants’ surface. These bacteria release a protein and it is this protein that is causing the damage to the plant during periods where the temperature drops drastically….

Is beneficial bacteria the key to managing soil-borne diseases?

Soil-borne diseases cost farmers millions of dollars in lost yield every year. Chemical pesticides and fungicides may be effective but they can also deplete the soil biology and be difficult to manage with strict criteria for handling and use, as well as withholding periods and residue considerations. So could the use of beneficial bacteria be an alternative?

Hortus – December 2023 test schedule and turnaround

Due to staff annual leave in the leadup to Christmas, we are temporarily adjusting our testing schedule and expected turnaround: Quicksoil:Due to increased turnaround, we cannot offer Quicksoil testing during this period. We recommend a standard SOIL1 or SOIL2 instead. Water (Irrigation and Potable) and Sap: Cutoff is 9am Wednesday. Test results may not ready…

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