grow naturally, eat fresh, live sustainably

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
JENNIFER STACKHOUSE
the flowery issue Clever crops: daylily & Lebanese cress
Ornamentals: salvias
MELISSA KING + The summer staples to plant now
Heritage cider apples
Bird-attracting blooms CLAIRE BICKLE
Vibrant perennials Feeding your food:
what, when &
how much?

HOW TO
Create an instant
garden-in-a-bag

MEGG MILLER
Vol. 78 No. 6
3 Hatching with an incubator
MAR/APR
SEP/OCT 2017
AUS $7.95*
NZ $7.90
(Both incl. GST)

EDIBLE FLOWERS

Pretty on the plate

The eco-wise garden | The power of bitter melon | Cash-saving crops
Flemings Pick of the Crop is the perfect guide to buying
the most suitable fruit trees for the home garden.
Flemings tree experts have hand picked the very best fruiting trees
based on almost a century of growing fruit trees. Pick of the Crop
offers wonderful solutions for small gardens, courtyards, balconies,
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For more information visit

emings.com.au

THIS ISSUE
Flowers always make people better,
happier and more helpful; they are
sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.
Luther Burbank, botanist
W
elcome to our owery
spring issue!
For many of us,
our earliest gardening
experiences involved growing owers.
That was true for me. Almost from the
time I left home, I would plant owers in
rental properties even one tiny terrace
backyard that was just a small patch of
bare concrete became a little oasis with
some tubs of petunias and a mini pond.
Happily, we can enjoy owers all year,
but theres no time like spring for a oral
explosion, so we couldnt help but focus on
owers this issue. Melissa King has some
new releases for the ornamental garden,
while Jo Immig proles edible owers.
Melissa also looks at two bird-attracting
native owers and Jennifer Stackhouse
has chosen daylily as a Clever Crop not
only can you cook and eat the buds but
the stamens stand in for saffron. That
is clever. Jennifer also debuts our new
section proling an ornamental every issue,
featuring salvias in all their colourful glory.
Theres also more solid stuff for your
table. Jennifer covers those summer
vegie favourites to plant now: capsicum,
eggplant and zucchini, as well as Warrigal
greens. She also has some great advice on
how to make your food gardening a real
money-saving undertaking.
For anyone with only the smallest of
spaces or no time to work in the garden,
/GoodOrganicGardeningMagazine
6 | Good Organic Gardening
Nasturtium owers and leaves add colour
and light spiciness to a salad, page 20
Linda Brennan shows how to make an
instant garden-in-a-bag with its own
timber base. You can throw it together in
less than an hour.
If youre in the throes of spring cleaning,
dont forget the garden. Carrol Baker offers
a checklist for doing an eco-audit of your
patch to get it up to scratch.
Springtime is growing time, which
also means feeding time. If youre a little
confused about what you should give
your plants liquid or dry? manure or
seaweed? slow-release, foliar, drip zone?
check out to Claire Bickles comprehensive
roundup of what, when and how to feed
your food and have abundant crops.
As the days are lengthening and food
is becoming more abundant, spring is
also the season when newborn birds and
animals make their appearance all over
the countryside. In our Feathered Friends
feature, Megg Miller explains everything
you need to know about using an
incubator to hatch chicks.
Our food pages this issue have recipes
from The Good Carbs Cookbook, which
brings carbs out of the doghouse and
focuses on the good, health-giving ones.
Finally, as with every issue, we
showcase everyday gardeners in their
real gardens doing their inspired bit for
the planet, the local environment and
their families.
Until late spring/early summer,
Happy gardening and cooking!
Kerry
infoGOG@universalmagazines.com.au
grow naturally, eat fresh, live sustainably
Editor Kerry Boyne
Designer Connie Leung
Contributors Carrol Baker, Claire Bickle,
Linda Brennan, Jana Holmer, Jo Immig,
Melissa King, Megg Miller, Chris Stafford,
Jennifer Stackhouse, Sandra Tuszynska
Sub-editor Anastasia Casey
National Advertising Manager
Miriam Keen
Ph: (02) 9887 0604 | Fax: (02) 9878 5553
Mob: 0414 969 693
Email: mkeen@universalmagazines.com.au
Advertising Production Co-ordinator
Ian Cassel
Cover Photo Getty Images
Chairman/CEO Prema Perera
Publisher Janice Williams
Chief Financial Officer Vicky Mahadeva
Associate Publisher Emma Perera
Finance & Administration Manager
James Perera
Circulation Director Mark Darton
Creative Director Kate Podger
Editorial & Production Manager
Anastasia Casey
Marketing & Acquisitions Manager
Chelsea Peters
Subscription enquiries: 1300 303 414
Circulation enquiries to our Sydney head office: (02) 9805 0399
Good Organic Gardening Vol. 8 No. 3 is published by Universal
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 64 32

CO
C ON
N TEN
T ENTS
TS
REGULARS 72 THINGS TO DO 18 PLANT PROFILE 44 TIME TO PLANT
6 EDITORS NOTE Jennifer Stackhouse goes Specially for our owery In the vegie bed: capsicum,
A quick roundup of whats over what needs doing in issue: edible owers by eggplant, zucchini, warrigal
in the issue our gardens right now Jo Immig greens; for the native
garden: bird-attracting
10 THE GRAPEVINE 86 IN SEASON 22 POWER PLANT Banksia Birthday Candles
Jo Immig reports on issues The seasonal fruit and Known for centuries for and callistemons, by
of interest to all of us veg youre likely to nd in its therapeutic powers Jennifer & Melissa
shops and gardens in the against diabetes:
12 WHATS HOT spring months bitter melon 56 ORNAMENTALS
Melissa King proles some (NEW REGULAR
stunning-looking plants 93 BOOKS 24 FAMILY HEIRLOOMS SECTION!)
for your seasonal garden New books for gardeners Melissa King proles Jennifer kicks off the rst
and cooks the most popular apple of our regular pages on
42 MOON CALENDAR varieties for cider making ornamentals with salvias
A basic guide to planting 96 PICK OF THE CROP
according to the moon Products and services
phases over the months of from our advertisers page 50
September and October
PLANTS
43 PLANT NOW 14 CLEVER CROPS
What to plant in September Two clever crops from
and October thats right for Jennifer: daylily and
your climate zone Lebanese cress

8 | Good Organic Gardening

18
PEOPLE ANIMALS 64
28 LULI FABER 78 FEATHERED FRIENDS
Luli aims to have her Megg Miller tells us
south-east Queensland everything we need
garden productive all year to know about using
an incubator to
32 DORIS ROSENKRANZ hatch chicks 68
& CHRIS BEAVER
This husband-and-wife team FOOD
have developed LillyPilly 88 GARDEN TO TABLE
Farm in Tasmanias centre Four delicious dishes
featuring health
36 DEB PARSONS carbohydrates from 76
Deb has built a busy the newly published The
ve-acre market garden Good Carbs Cookbook
in the northwest Geelong
suburb of Lovely Banks PLOT PROJECTS
& PLANNING
40 RICK HUTTON 60 ECO WISE 81
Announcing the winner Carrol Baker draws up
(and runners-up) of a checklist of things
the ICAW competition you can do to make
for Greenest & Most sure your patch is
Sustainable Garden up to scratch
24
74
CASH-SAVING CROPS
Jennifer has all the
clues for planning your
plot to save money in
the long run
15-MINUTE GARDEN
Linda Brennan
shows how to make
an instant mini food
garden in a bag
SHORT SHOOTS
Innovative, imaginative
and fun ideas for your
garden, from Chris
Stafford
FEEDING YOUR FOOD
Claire Bickle explains
when, what and how
to provide your plants
with the sustained
nutrition they need paggee 91
Good Organic Gardening | 9
THE GRAPEVINE | NEWS
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS AND UPDATES COMPILED BY JO IMMIG
JO IMMIG
Jo is an environmental
scientist, photographer and
writer. She has worked in the
environment movement for
decades and is co-ordinator
of the National Toxics
Network, an organisation
dedicated to creating a toxic-
free future. She has written
many articles for magazines
and is the author of two
books: Toxic Playground and
Safer Solutions.
10 | Good Organic Gardening
TH E
Grapevine
Hovery: regenerative agriculture
encourages biodiversity
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
AN URGENT NEW PARADIGM
With the threat of the worlds topsoil
disappearing in 60 years and the urgent need
to draw down greenhouse gases, many are
now calling for a widespread conversion from
depleting industrial agricultural practices to a
regenerative agricultural model.
The Regenerative Agriculture Initiative at
California State University has put together
a diverse group of farmers, food companies,
scientists and non-prot advocacy groups
to come up with a working denition of
regenerative agriculture with a vision to
rebuild soils, produce nutritious food and help
deal with climate change.
Their working denition for regenerative
agriculture is: A holistic land management
practice that leverages the power of
photosynthesis in plants to close the carbon
cycle and build soil health, crop resilience and
nutrient density.
Regenerative agriculture improves soil
health, primarily through the practices that
increase soil organic matter. This not only aids
in increasing soil biota diversity and health,
but also increases biodiversity both above
and below the soil surface. Additionally, it
helps increase both water-holding capacity
and sequestering carbon at greater depths,
thus drawing down climate-damaging levels
of atmospheric carbon dioxide and improving
soil structure to reverse civilisation-threatening
human-caused soil loss.
Research continues to reveal the damaging
effects to soil from tillage, applications
of agricultural chemicals and salt-based
fertilisers, and carbon mining. Regenerative
agriculture reverses this paradigm to build for
the future.
Regenerative agriculture practices are
those that:
Contribute to generating/building soils and
soil fertility and health
Increase water percolation, water retention
and clean and safe water runoff
Increase biodiversity and ecosystem health
and resiliency
Invert the carbon emissions of our current
agriculture to one of remarkably signicant
carbon sequestration, thereby cleansing the
Bigstock
atmosphere of legacy levels of carbon dioxide
See: csuchico.edu/sustainablefuture/
aginitiative/

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
FIRE ANTS
The rst detection of re ants in Australia
occurred in Brisbane in 2001. Its believed
they arrived in a shipping container from
the US but its not known when. There
have been at least six incursions since
then, mostly around Brisbane, but also in
Botany Bay, NSW.
Concern has been expressed by those
in the know that not enough is being
done to eradicate re ants and only a
small window of opportunity is available
to ensure they dont spread across
Australia. If they do spread, its estimated
re ants could inict more damage on
the landscape than all other invasive
species put together.
Fire ants spread naturally through
mating ights (up to 2km), but humans
also spread them via shipments of
infested nursery stock, soil, mulch, baled
hay, turf, manure or other restricted items.
Fire ant workers range in size from
2mm to 6mm and are copper in colour
with a darker abdomen. They inict
painful bites that itch and burn, making
you feel like youre on re. In the
USA where re ants have established
themselves, there have been deaths due
to allergic reactions to the bites. Fire ants
move quickly and go undetected until
theyre on you in large numbers.
According to the Queensland
Department of Agriculture and
Fisheries, Fire ants have the potential
to inhabit most of the major coastal
areas of Australia and extensive areas
of the tropical north. Vast areas of the
continents natural environment, including
Malaria-carrying Anopheles
mosquitoes: on the move
world heritage areas and national parks,
are prone to re ant invasion.
Fire ants are very aggressive and are
voracious feeders on small ground fauna,
including insects, spiders, lizards, frogs,
birds and mammals. Consequently, re
ants may displace or eliminate some
of Australias unique native species.
The ants habit of eating or damaging
seeds can cause major changes in an
ecosystem over time. Fire ants are also
predatory, attacking insects and animals
that pollinate native plants.
Fire ant biosecurity zones have been
established in Queensland. There are
NEWS | THE GRAPEVINE
Imported re ants: aggressive,
voracious feeders
online tools to help identify re ants,
treat bites and report any sightings.
See: daf.qld.gov.au/plants/weeds-pest-
animals-ants/invasive-ants/re-ants/
general-information-about-re-ants/
frequently-asked-questions
HALF OF ALL SPECIES ARE
ON THE MOVE DUE TO
CLIMATE CHANGE
A redistribution of the entire planets
species is already underway in response
to climate change. These shifts are
leading to new ecosystems and
ecological communities, changes that
will affect human society.
For marine, freshwater and terrestrial
species, the rst response to the
changing climate is often a shift in
location, to stay within their preferred
environmental conditions. At the cooler
extremes of their distributions, species
are moving pole-ward, whereas range
limits are contracting at the warmer
range edge, where temperatures are no
longer tolerable.
On land, species are also moving to
cooler, higher elevations; in the ocean,
they are moving to colder water at
greater depths. Germs and pests are
also on the march with malaria now
appearing higher up mountain slopes in
Colombia and Ethiopia.
See: news.nationalgeographic.
com/2017/04/climate-change-species-
migration-disease/
Good Organic Gardening | 11
THE SEASONAL GARDEN | WITH MELISSA KING

W hats hot
R IGHT NOW
PRESENTING SOME STUNNING-LOOKING PLANTS THAT WILL MAKE
EXCELLENT ADDITIONS TO YOUR GARDEN AT THIS TIME OF YEAR

MELISSA KING
Melissa is a horticulturist, TV
presenter and writer. She has
been a regular on Gardening
Australia, Melbourne
Weekender, Garden Angels
and The Circle. She currently
appears on The Garden
Gurus and has launched
an online show, The
Gardenettes. She has written
for top magazines and
newspapers and is author of
the book, Garden Feast.
ACHILLEA CERISE QUEEN
The plant: Achillea Cerise Queen is one of
those invaluable perennials that is both tough
and beautiful with attractive clumps of fern-like
foliage and vibrant cerise owers from late spring
through to the end of summer. As a bonus, the
showy owers are a magnet for bees, butteries
and other benecial insects.
Growing: Its a wonderfully hardy herbaceous
perennial that grows well in virtually any sunny spot,
even in the poorest of soils. It will cope with a little bit
of shade but full sun is best. Remove spent owers to
encourage more blooms and cut the foliage back hard
during winter to promote fresh new growth and an
abundance of owers. Established clumps can be dug
and divided during the winter months.
Design: Achillea Cerise Queen is the perfect
complement to other brightly coloured owers
in the perennial border or use it to add a vibrant
burst of colour to ower or shrub beds. I like to
team achilleas with gorgeous roses, which ower
at the same time. The owers can also be cut and
used in fresh or dried arrangements.
antiqueperennials.com, diggers.com.au

12 | Good Organic Gardening


LIGULARIA MIDNIGHT LADY
The plant: Ligularia Midnight Lady is a
statement-making perennial with big,
bold, shiny purple-black foliage. Through
summer, it displays contrasting bright-
yellow daisy owers on stems up to 1m
tall, which attract butteries to the garden.
Its sometimes called elephant ears for its
distinctive rounded leaves.
Growing: It likes wet spots so is the perfect
choice for a boggy position in your garden.
GRANDESSA DAISIES
The plant: Grandessa daisies have big, bold
owers and come in a collection of bright,
happy colours, including sunset, red, white
and yellow, so they are the perfect choice for a
lively splash of colour on the patio or balcony.
They are a superior form of Argyranthemum
daisy bred in Australia for impressive ower
size and enhanced vigour, so plants are full
and bushy and covered in masses of owers
from late spring right through to autumn.
They have an attractive mounded habit and
compact form to just 4560cm tall.
Growing: Grandessa daisies love a sunny
spot in the garden with good drainage,
or grow them in a quality potting mix in
decorative containers. Liquid-feed every
fortnight for strong, healthy growth and an
abundance of blooms. Deadhead regularly
to prolong owering.
Design: Plant them en masse in garden beds
for dramatic impact, use them to add a pop
of colour to the ower border or let them
take centre stage in window boxes and pots
around outdoor entertaining areas.
oasishorticulture.com.au
WITH MELISSA KING | THE SEASONAL GARDEN
It grows beautifully in full sun in most areas.
Having said that, it will benet from a bit of
shade in regions with hot summers. Divide
and rejuvenate clumps every few years in
early spring.
Design: Midnight Lady shines at the
back of the perennial or ower border and
makes a striking pond-side feature. It also
makes an interesting and unusual potted
plant for the patio or balcony.
diggers.com.au
MULTI-TIER
WEEPING CHERRY
The plant: A traditional standard weeping
cheery is a stunning addition to any garden,
but now theres a whole new way to grow
and enjoy them. Multi-tiered weeping
cherries arent grafted onto a tall or short
standard like we are used to. Instead, the
trees are allowed to grow au naturel so you
get multiple layers of weeping branches
from top to bottom, resulting in a truly
elegant feature tree.
Growing: For an abundance of blooms, grow
multi-tiered weeping cherries in full sun with
good drainage. Add plenty of compost and
organic matter to the soil before planting
and feed in early spring with a complete
ower and fruit fertiliser.
Design: With striking form, gorgeous spring
blossoms and colourful autumn foliage,
they make a superb feature tree for the
garden. Create a really pretty spring picture
by underplanting your multi-tier weeping
cherry with winterspring blooming bulbs
such as daffodils, tulips and bluebells.
emings.com.au
Good Organic Gardening | 13
CLEVER CROP | DAYLILY

PRETTY ENOUGH TO EAT

HERES A PLANT YOU SEE OFTEN
IN ORNAMENTAL GARDENS, BUT
DID YOU KNOW ITS EDIBLE?

Daylily label
Words Jennifer Stackhouse lilies, especially liliums, are not. Its also Common name: Daylil
y

D
aylilies their name says important to consume owers or tubers Botanical name: Heme
rocallis fulva
it all. They are attractive only from plants that have been grown Family: Hemerocallida
ceae
ornamentals grown for their organically and whose edible parts are (daylily family)
abundance of yellow or free of pests. Requires: Full sun; we
ll-drained soil
orange blooms from spring to autumn. Dislikes: Snails and slu
gs
Daylily owers do last for just a day HOW TO GROW DAYLILIES Suitable for: Cool to
temperate
and, while they may be short-lived, they Daylilies grow in any sunny to partly Habit: Perennial
can last longer if treated as a food. shaded spot and are not fussy about soil Propagation: Division
of
Yes, these yellow owers are edible or even demanding of regular watering. clump, seed
but better known in Chinese or Japanese However, for abundant owering, sun, Difficulty: Easy
cuisine than in our own. Daylilies are well-nourished soil and regular water
native to parts of Asia where their use as produce a better plant. In cold winter
a snack goes back centuries. zones, select herbaceous varieties, which
Buds as well as owers are eaten, used die down in winter to avoid the cold. BUDS AS WELL AS
S
as a garnish, steamed or even battered
and fried. The buds can also be pickled, AVAILABILITY
FLOWERS ARE EATEN,
while the owers can be dried and added Potted daylilies are widely available at USED AS A GARNISH,
to a clear soup such as miso. The owers garden centres or by dividing a clump in
are mostly eaten for their colour but they a friend or neighbours garden. They are
STEAMED OR EVEN
are also rich in vitamin A. also available by mail order. BATTERED AND FRIED.
Actually, theres more to it than
edible owers when it comes to
making a meal out of the clever daylily.
The tubers and new shoots are also
good eating. The tubers can be cooked
and eaten like boiled potato, while the
new shoots can be stir-fried.
Harvest the tubers in spring when they
are plump and full of starch. If the daylilies
are herbaceous that is, they die down
in winter harvest the tubers before the
plants start to regrow. To do this, dig up DID YOU KNOW?
a clump, remove some of the tubers and The golden stamens can
replant the rest. They will soon regrow. be used as a substitute
Bigstock

As with all edible plants, its vital to for saffron.

identify precisely what youre eating.
Daylilies are edible but many other

14 | Good Organic Gardening

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CLEVER CROP | LEBANESE CRESS
UP-AND-COMER
IF YOU HAVENT HEARD OF THIS
PLANT YET, ITS WELL WORTH YOUR
WHILE TO MAKE ITS ACQUAINTANCE
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
I
t smells like a carrot and tastes like
a carrot but its green and leafy, not
orange and crunchy. Thats a surprise!
This strange taste sensation comes from
the leaves of a pretty and rather clever
herb that forms a mound of glossy, almost
fern-like leaves that taste like fresh carrot.
This herb is a type of cress often
called Lebanese cress and, like
watercress, enjoys growing in or
near water but can be grown in drier
situations in soil with plenty of regular
watering. As these cress-like plants come
from areas that are rich in limestone, they
prefer a soil with a neutral to alkaline pH.
It can also be grown in a pot, which
Above Close relative Aethionema grandiorum (Persian stonecress)
16 | Good Organic Gardening
Lebanese cress label
Common name: Lebane
se cress,
carrot herb, stonecres
s
Botanical name: Aethi
is one way to keep on top of its water onema
cordifolium
needs and contain its naturally spreading
Family: Brassicaceae
growth. As it grows, it spreads by putting
(cabbage family)
down roots at its nodes.
Requires: Full sun to sha
Although it isnt yet widely grown in de;
moist soil
Australia, thats set to change as several
Dislikes: Drying out
wholesale nurseries are releasing this
Suitable for: Cool to tem
plant under the name of carrot herb. perate
Habit: Evergreen peren
Just why it smells and tastes like nial
Propagation: Seed, cut
carrot is hard to know, but that ting
Difficulty: Easy
makes it a brilliant addition to a salad,
sandwich or wrap. Despite its taste, its
part of the large cabbage family and is
unrelated to the carrot. Aethionema grandiorum (Persian
Aethionema cordifolium blooms in stonecress) is grown as an ornamental
summer with pretty pink owers. It can plant in cool climates and favoured for its
self-seed after owering. Its close relative large white to pink owers.
AVAILABILITY
This herb should be widely available as
a potted plant at garden centres from
spring or by mail order from Daleys Fruit
Tree Nursery (daleysfruit.com.au) or
other herb suppliers.
OTHER ODD-TASTING
PLANTS
Lebanese cress isnt the only plant
to fool the tastebuds. Miracle fruit
Claire Bickle, Getty Images
(Synsepalum dulcicum) is a small
fruit that tricks us into thinking
sour avours taste sweet. There are
also varieties of mint that come in
a huge range of avours, including
chocolate, citrus and pineapple.
PLANT PROFILE | EDIBLE FLOWERS

Blessed
blossoms
NOTHING MAKES A FRESH
SALAD OR LUSCIOUS DESSERT
EVEN MORE INVITING THAN THE
ADDITION OF EDIBLE BLOOMS

18 | Good Organic Gardening


Words Jo Immig
...Since the thing perhaps is to eat
owers and not to be afraid.
e.e. cummings, Complete Poems
Y
ouve probably already been
eating owers and havent even
realised it. Broccoli, cauliower,
globe artichokes and capers
are all ower buds we commonly
consume. Once you delve into the
bewitching world of owers, they reveal
themselves as an enduring part of our
lives and diet.
Where would Middle Eastern cooking
be without rose and orange water?
Imagine a food world without the
highly prized petals of saffron that
bring such earthy avour and colour to
food? Or French cuisine without herbs
de Provence? And that cool beer you
enjoy at the end of a hot summers day
wouldnt exist without hops owers.
1 1 Flowers can be used in savoury dishes such as stuffed
3
Bigstock
We also eat the seeds of owers
such as poppies and sunowers. You
may have enjoyed a cup of steaming
jasmine tea or taken a medicinal tincture
with healing petals of calendula or
chrysanthemum without stopping to
think you were imbibing owers.
It was the Chinese who introduced
the chrysanthemum ower to
European culture in the 17th century,
but the tradition of eating owers
can be traced back to nearly every
ancient culture. The Romans reportedly
feasted on meals with owers of
mallow, violets and roses. Dandelions
were mentioned as one of the bitter
herbs in the Bible and are still prized
by naturopaths as a liver tonic today.
During the Medieval era of English
history, monks renamed calendula as
pot marigold due to its common
use in soups.
zucchini owers 2 Lavender is lovely in sweets and desserts,
like these macarons 3 Dandelions have therapeutic uses
EDIBLE FLOWERS | PLANT PROFILE
During the Victorian era, an intense
interest in owers developed into
an entire language of owers called
oriography. Flowers were sent between
people as coded emotional messages.
A red rose given by a gentleman to a
lady was a declaration of love, while a
purple pansy in reply expressed she was
at least interested in him. Violets and
borage owers preserved and encrusted
with sugar commonly adorned cakes
and desserts of the era.
Our ancestors knew the owers of
culinary herbs such as sage, lavender and
oregano contained lower levels of the
same constituents as the foliage and were
safe to eat. But our appreciation of owers
changed with the onset of industrialisation
in agriculture and ower production.
Although red roses still signify love, much
of the local knowledge about which
owers were safe to eat was lost.
COMMON EDIBLE
BLOSSOMS
Basil, borage, calendula,
chrysanthemum, chamomile,
chives, cornower, daylilies,
dandelions, fennel, forget-me-
nots, geraniums, garlic, impatiens,
lavender, lilacs, marigolds,
nasturtiums, onion, oregano,
pansies, phlox, roses, rosemary,
sage, squash blossoms, thyme,
tulips, violets, yarrow
Good Organic Gardening | 19
PLANT PROFILE | EDIBLE FLOWERS

With an emphasis on mass production,
hybrids and the extensive use of
pesticides, eating commercially sourced
owers is dangerous. Pity the poor bees!
Likewise, owers bought from nurseries
or garden centres are usually treated
with pesticides and should not be eaten.
Happily, with the growth in local organic
agriculture and homegrown food, as well
as a return to eating seasonally, edible
owers are safely nding their way back
onto our plates. Its not uncommon to nd
an assortment of owers tossed in salads
or as part of the garnish. Some say you
havent lived until youve eaten a deep-
fried stuffed zucchini ower. Flowers are
also turning up in sauces, jellies, syrups,
vinegars, honey, oil, teas, ower-scented
sugars, wine and avoured liquors.
(see page 14 for more information), and steamed dandelions go well in
marigolds and dandelions. Nasturtiums salads and omelettes.
are very hardy and you can eat both the With so many avourful owers to
leaf and the blossom, plus they come choose from, all you need to do is start
in a range of sunny reds and oranges nibbling away at some edible petals and
that brighten up any dish. Daylilies have nd ways to introduce them into your
the avor of chestnuts and are tasty in cooking. Its like having a whole new
soups, stuffing and stir-fries. Marigold palette of avours, textures and colours
petals can be added to soft cheeses, to play with in the kitchen.
WHILE FLOWERS BRING BEAUTY, COLOUR,
TEXTURE AND FLAVOUR TO FOOD, THEYRE
ALSO A USEFUL SOURCE OF NUTRITION.
1 Hibiscus tea is a Middle Eastern favourite and the preserved owers can be dropped
into champagne 2 Nasturtium owers and leaves add colour and light spiciness to a
salad 3 A green salad of cucumber and sunower sprouts is made pretty by pansies

USING FLOWERS
2
While owers bring beauty, colour,
texture and avour to food, theyre also
a useful source of nutrition. Many owers
are high in antioxidants and avonoids
and are a good source of vitamins C and
A, along with other essential nutrients
including calcium, iron and potassium.
Some of the most easily grown edible
owers include nasturtiums, daylilies

REMINDERS Pick owers early in the morning

The rst rule of eating owers is
to only eat owers you know are
edible. If unsure, dont eat them.
Avoid owers picked from
roadsides, unknown gardens,
nurseries and garden centres
where pesticides are likely to
have been used.
before the heat wilts them and
store them between layers of
damp paper towel in the fridge.
Taller-stemmed owers can stand
up in a vase.
Gently wash owers and check
for insects and soil.
Remove stamens, pistils and
Bigstock

Be cautious if you suffer from hay leaf-like sepals at the base of the
fever, asthma or allergies. ower before eating.

20 | Good Organic Gardening

POWER PLANT | BITTER MELON
LO V E IT
WA RTS AND ALL
ITS FUNNY HOW SOME THINGS THAT ARE VERY
GOOD FOR YOU CAN AT FIRST SEEM LESS THAN
APPEALING, BOTH IN APPEARANCE AND TASTE
E
Words Kerry Boyne
D
espite its prosaic name and
warty appearance, bitter melon is
ubiquitous in Asian cuisines and
the curries of the Subcontinent.
Originating in India and embraced in China
from the 14th century onwards, its now
cultivated extensively in Bangladesh, India,
China and Korea as well as in the Amazon
region, East Africa and the Caribbean.
Known in Hindi as karela, along with
common names bitter gourd and wild
cucumber, it is grown commercially in
Australia as well, though its not always
easy to buy in shops. Thats just another
reason to grow your own.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Bitter melon and some of its extracts have
been studied extensively by scientists to
determine the effectiveness of its long-
known medicinal properties. In fact, it has
been found to possess more than 225
medicinal constituents.
Bitter melon contains high amounts of
vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B9, C and E and is rich
in potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium,
phosphorus and iron. Its antioxidant
properties, and bitter taste, come from
phenols, avonoids, isoavones, terpenes,
anthraquinones and glucosinolate.
It contains a substance thats
similar to insulin and behaves like it in
regulating blood sugar. This, in turn,
22 | Good Organic Gardening
helps with weight loss. One study Bitter melon label
concluded, M. charantia (bitter melon) Common names: Bitter
melon,
may be a feasible option for ethnic karela, balsam pear, bit
ter gourd
minorities who have a high prevalence Botanical name: Momo
rdica
of diabetes but prefer treatment based charantia
on natural products according to their Family: Cucurbitae
cultural beliefs. Requires: Sun and ligh
t shade
Its also said to lower the occurrence Dislikes: Cold
of kidney stones as well as assist in liver Suitable for: Temperat
e to
and digestive health. Plus, if youd like a tropical areas
more radiant complexion or help with skin Habit: Annual vine
conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and Propagation: Seed
acne, M. charantia is your vegie, especially Difficulty: Easy
if consumed as a juice.
GROWING EATING
Sow seed from September to December in This vegie can be lightly stir-fried
f i d with
ith
subtropical and tropical areas and October garlic and chilli, boiled, steamed or roasted.
to December in temperate zones. A trellis It can also be pickled, added to curries and
will keep the fruit off the ground. soups or stuffed with meat. The young
Grow in a sunny spot in fertile, well- leaves, shoots and owers are also edible.
drained soil. Germination takes 12 weeks; Reduce bitterness by blanching for a
harvest at 1012 weeks when still immature. few minutes or by salting before cooking.
Like other cucurbits, it has both male The cucumber-like fruit is eaten at an
and female owers, so if pollinators are immature stage when its less bitter and
scarce, try doing it by hand. If the soil still tender enough to eat skin-on and the
is well prepared with organic matter at seeds have not yet turned pink. However, if
planting, the vines will need only light left to mature too long and the seeds have
feeding once they start to ower and will turned pink, you can eat raw the bright-red
reward with plenty of fruit. pith around them, which is quite sweet
Pests arent a problem but, as with other and often put in Asian salads.
Bigstock
cucurbits, fungal diseases such as powdery Given its superior health benets, its
mildew can attack the foliage in humid and clearly worthwhile growing bitter melon
wet conditions. and cooking it in a way youll enjoy.
FAMILY HEIRLOOMS | CIDER APPLES

Drinking
apples
THE BEST APPLES FOR CIDER MAKING
ARE GENERALLY NOT GOOD EATING BUT
ARE, OF COURSE, EXCELLENT DRINKING!

24 | Good Organic Gardening


Words Melissa King
I
n bars and at parties around the
country, the cider revival is alive and
kicking. So much so that youd be
forgiven for thinking that alcoholic
cider is relatively new to our drinks
menu. It might surprise you to know
that when the Romans arrived in
England in 55 BCE, the locals had
already mastered the craft of making
cider from apples. And remember
Johnny Appleseed? Well, the orchards
he sowed across the United States were
originally grown for cider, not pies.
Make no mistake about it, cider
making is still a craft and, like home beer
brewers, cider lovers are taking to their
own backyards and microbreweries to
produce the perfect bevvy.
Cider is rarely made from one single
apple but rather a blend of cider varieties
to get the perfect balance of sugar, acid,
1
3
Bigstock, Two Thirsty Gardeners, Anne Dirkse CC, SKreach Cider
CIDER APPLES | FAMILY HEIRLOOMS
tannin and aroma. Delve into the world of Improved Foxwhelp is another
heritage apples and youll nd a wealth English variety famous for its cider-
of cider varieties that you can grow and making qualities. It was also grown in
harvest at home. Herefordshire, sometime before 1920, and
Cider apples dont often make good makes a scrumptious bitter, sharp cider.
eating but if youre after one that can You can also use it to give your morning
also be eaten straight from the tree, try juice a bit of extra sharpness or kick.
growing Grimes Golden, thought to
be a parent of Golden Delicious. Its a
top choice among cider makers for its
sweet, aromatic, spicy avour and high
sugar content. The sweet juice ferments
Cider apple tr
t ee label
into a hard cider with a boozy kick. Its Common name: Apple
also a good choice for making brandy or Botanical name: Malus
domestica
delicious apple butter. Requires: Full sun; ric
h, fertile soil;
Golden Harvey doubles as a good- chill period
eating and cider apple. It dates back to Likes: Well-cultivated
,
the 1600s in Herefordshire, England, and well-drained soil
is known for its crisp yellow esh and Suitable for: Garden,
orchard,
sweet aromatic avour. The fruit ripens espalier, pots (dwarf var
ieties)
through AprilMay and makes a strong, Difficulty: Moderate
deliciously sweet cider.
2
1 Yarlington Mill 2 Dabinett
3 Kingston Black 4 Mixed apples for cider pressing
Good Organic Gardening | 25
FAMILY HEIRLOOMS | CIDER APPLES
CIDER IS RARELY MADE
FROM ONE SINGLE APPLE
BUT RATHER A BLEND OF
CIDER VARIETIES TO GET
THE PERFECT BALANCE
OF SUGAR, ACID, TANNIN
AND AROMA.
If youre after another bittersweet
cider-making variety, look out for
Tremletts Bitter. Its a self-fertile cider
apple that originates from Devon,
England. The small-to-medium-sized
fruit ripens midlate season and makes
a delicious batch of cider with a sharp
kick. The downside is it can tend to be a
biennial cropper.
Or you might like to try growing
Apple Sweet Coppin, another
traditional cider variety from Devon,
which dates back to the early 18th
century. It produces a heavy crop of
fruit late in the season, which makes a
pure, sweet cider.
Kingston Black is a top-shelf
English cider apple and one of the
few that make a delicious single-
varietal cider. Its a pretty apple, too,
with deep crimson fruit and yellowish
esh. As good as it is to look at,
though, it doesnt make good fresh
eating, so this is denitely one for the
diehard cider makers.
WHATS IN A NAME?
While we think of cider as an
alcoholic drink made from fruit
most often apples but also pears
or berries in the US, apple
cider is a non-alcoholic apple
drink. The alcoholic variety is
known as hard cider.
26 | Good Organic Gardening
Another variety that has stood the test
of time is Bulmers Norman. This French fruit tastes good straight off the tree.
cider apple dates back to the 1800s
with large light-green fruit and sweet-
astringent esh that makes a bittersweet
cider. It juices extremely well, so you get
a lot out of your crop.
Belle Cacheuse is an old French variety
that makes a lovely sweet cider, with big
sweet fruit that ripens through MarchApril.
TIP
Try adding crab apples to your
cider for complexity and bite.
Its also a traditional cooking apple and the
Other good cider apples include
Brown Snout, Dabinett, Michelin,
Yarlington Mill, Breakwells Seedling,
Stoke Red and Sweet Alford.
GROWING CIDER APPLES
Cider apples like to be grown in a
sunny spot with fertile, well-drained
soil, ideally with protection from
strong winds. Because of their origins,
most cider varieties have high chill
requirements so they perform best in
cool and temperate areas. In general,
apple trees require a pollinating partner
to produce a good crop, so read the
label carefully for compatible cider or
eating varieties. To get the best out of
your trees, top-dress with compost and
mulch and give them a good dose of
complete plant food in spring.
If youre short on space, keep an
eye out for dwarf cider varieties that
only grow to around 23m tall. You
might also like to try growing them in
large pots or espaliering them against
a courtyard wall. For cider making, its
best to use apples that are fully ripe, so
Shutterstock, Bigstock
harvest them when the pips turn black.
Online nurseries are likely the best
places to hunt for heritage cider apples.
Visit heritagefruittrees.com.au,
yalcafruittrees.com.au and
diggers.com.au
 $
98
#FATHERSDAY

/holmanindustries.com.au

/holmanindustries

/holmangarden

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Get ahead of the weather and plan your day with a

Holman iWeather station. The iWeather station features:

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HOLMAN - Still proudly Australian Owned for over 50 Years.

GARDENING FOLK | LULI FABER

THE SCIEN CE
TO HAVE A GARDEN THATS NOT JUST
PRODUCTIVE BUT ALSO PRETTY YEAR-ROUND
IS THE AIM OF THIS QUEENSLANDER

28 | Good Organic Gardening

 LULI FABER | GARDENING FOLK

Words & photos Sandra Tuszynska Duboisia, or Australian corkwood, problem with sugarcane mulch or other

L
uli Faber is a neuroscientist and is grown for its pharmaceutically woodchip because the soil dries out
passionate gardener who loves viable alkaloids. Rich soil is used, underneath the mulch and it takes a lot
to have owers on her property incorporating many of those nutrients of rain or watering to penetrate it again.
year-round. Her 16ha block into the plants, thus providing fertility She also suggests that if the soil isnt
borders the Stuart River in Wilkesdale when used as mulch. any good when you start, layer some
in the South Burnett region of south- Luli loves to mulch with Duboisia and aged cow manure under the mulch.
east Queensland. says, Mulch a lot, to about 100mm, Otherwise, just mulch on top. Good soil
My main requirement is to nd with woodchip or Duboisia. Duboisia is quality is the most important thing for
perennial varieties of bushes and bulbs best because it doesnt pack down and growing plants, but this can often be
that are frost and drought hardy, making create a barrier to water, which can be a achieved just by mulching.
them compatible with the prevalent
temperate climatic conditions, where
the temperature can fall to -6C in
Pumpkins proliferate
winter, she says.
The glorious buttery bush in front of
her home attracts hummingbird moths,
butteries and countless species of
native bees and wasps. Luli has planted
oleanders, hibiscus, which die back in
frost but regenerate, kangaroo paws,
star jasmine, drought- and frost-tolerant
daisies, geraniums, daylilies, a climbing
honeysuckle and marigolds, which are
annual but self-seeding.
I try to reduce work by going for
owering perennials rather than annuals,
or alternatively use annuals that will
self-seed each year, like marigolds or
nasturtiums, Luli shares.
I once heard some great advice on a
gardening show: to have gardens that
look good all year, go to a nursery during
each season to buy something in ower
and that way there will be something
pretty in the garden all year-round.

NOT MUCH ADO ABOUT MULCH

Luli is a busy bee, constantly learning
and designing experiments. Her latest
project is learning how to use high-tech
brain and heart monitors to evaluate
bodily responses to our emotions in
order to demonstrate the importance
of connecting to and releasing our
emotional trauma. For this reason, Luli
prefers gardening that isnt labour and
time intensive.
I dont ever fertilise anything, she
says. I just apply Duboisia mulch, which
reduces the need to water since it
absorbs and holds a lot of moisture and
prevents evaporation from the soil.
It improves the quality of the soil,
minimises the need to weed, massively
increasing the micro-organisms
and worms in the soil, and after a
while eradicates the need to fertilise
the plants as well, providing a low-
maintenance gardening option as it
suppresses weeds.

Good Organic Gardening | 29

GARDENING FOLK | LULI FABER

BOUNTIFUL HARVEST
Luli is celebrating her second olive
harvest this year. The tree is watered by
grey water from the kitchen sink and is
growing an abundant crop of olives.
Her g trees produce loads and
loads of gs. She also has pecan, Pink
Lady apple, guava, orange, lemon and
mandarin trees, a couple of bananas,
grapevines and a prolic blackberry bush.
The previous owners of the property
had a market garden, one of the reasons
Luli bought the land. Its quite a large
area, protected by shade-cloth, and
the soil is red, rich and has good water-
holding capacity.
The advantage of having a large garden
space is that I can let things go to seed so
the garden is self-seeding, meaning less
work and more food. She laughs, The
tomatoes and pumpkins have gone mental
this year, partly because I planted what
I thought were zucchini seeds but turned
out to be pumpkin seeds.
Other plants growing in her garden
include rocket, silverbeet, basil, ginger,
potatoes, comfrey, spring onions,
leeks, yacon, rhubarb, celery, garlic
and strawberries.
Water is not an issue for Luli, as she
receives one megalitre per year of
pressurised water from the Tarong Power
Station and Boondooma Dam. She also
has a bore and a dam but has no need to
use them.
Recently, Luli acquired a tool shes
absolutely mad about: a gadget called
the Power Planter. Ive planted 100
ower bulbs in an hour, compared to
what would usually take me a few days
to accomplish the job.
The tool is essentially a large drill bit
that helps dig holes for planting. Luli
loves to nd efficient ways to surround
herself with beauty and an abundant
food supply, to free up time for her
great aspirations in contributing to
advancements in neuroscience.

I DONT EVER FERTILISE ANYTHING. I JUST

1
APPLY DUBOISIA MULCH, WHICH REDUCES
THE NEED TO WATER SINCE IT ABSORBS
AND HOLDS A LOT OF MOISTURE AND
PREVENTS EVAPORATION FROM THE SOIL.
IT IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF THE SOIL.

1 Pumpkins have been good this year 2 Delicious pecans 3 Tomatoes reseed each year
4 Plump pomegranates 5 Carpenter bee pollinating a buttery bush
6 Delicious gs are plentiful 7 Hummingbird moth on the same buttery bush

30 | Good Organic Gardening

 LULI FABER | GARDENING FOLK

LULIS TIPS
5 1 Mulch a lot, to about 100mm.
This reduces the need to
water, improves the quality
of the soil, minimises the
need to weed, increases
the micro-organisms and
worms in the soil and after
a while eradicates the need
to fertilise.
2 To improve your soil quality,
layer some aged cow manure
and just mulch on top. Good
soil quality is the most
important thing for growing
plants but this can often be
achieved just by mulching.
3 It takes a while to nd the
right plants for the right spot,
6 especially if they need to
tolerate weather extremes.
So be patient. Ive found that
7 it takes ve to six years to
establish a good garden.
4 Reduce your workload by
going for owering perennials
rather than annuals or
alternatively use annuals that
will self-seed each year such
as marigolds or nasturtiums.
5 For a year-round good-
looking garden, go to a
nursery during each season
to buy something in ower so
there will be beautiful blooms
in the garden all year.

Mulching is one way to improve soil

Good Organic Gardening | 31

GARDENING FOLK | LILLYPILLY FARM
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
Photos Jennifer Stackhouse &
Doris Rosenkranz
I
n Youngtown, on the outskirts of
Launceston in northern Tasmania,
husband-and-wife team Doris
Rosenkranz and Chris Beaver have
created a large, productive organic
garden called LillyPilly Farm.
Its 2.2ha of organic paradise: fruit trees,
raised vegetable beds, alpacas and ve
rescue dogs. Doris says this is just the
beginning. She plans to enlarge the food
garden and open a cat-boarding facility.
32 | Good Organic Gardening
URBAN
A TREE CHANGE FROM BRISBANE TO
TASMANIA LEADS TO A NEW LIFE
AND A THRIVING ORGANIC GARDEN
Six years ago, Doris and Chris
were living busy lives in Brisbane.
Tired of city pressures and with Doriss
mother and sister in Launceston, they
decided to make the move south.
Doris says she too had lived in the
area some 30 years ago, so northern
Tasmania seemed a natural spot to
build a new life.
While looking at acreages, she
received the call every parent dreads:
her son was ghting for his life in
hospital. Nathan had been king-hit while
celebrating his bucks night.
She ew home, all thoughts of a new
life in Tasmania banished. As their son
gradually recovered, Doris and Chris
returned to the idea of a quieter life.
We realised how fragile life is and
our sons trauma reinforced our desire
to leave our frenetic corporate lifestyle
behind and live a life thats more in touch
with nature, says Doris.
The pair returned to Launceston,
found the property theyd been looking
at was still on the market and bought it,
then began the process of relocating and
changing their lives.
 LILLYPILLY FARM | GARDENING FOLK

STARTING A GARDEN
Doris is building a cattery
The garden, which is fully organic, has
in the garden to launch
raised vegetable beds intermingled with her pet boarding business
cottagey ower plantings for the bees.
Doris and Chris have built protective
structures around fruiting plants to
ensure theyre able to harvest a crop
without the birds getting there rst.
Apricots, cherries, peaches and
blueberries now grow in a big wire fruit
cage beside a netted raspberry and large
strawberry patch.
Rows of citrus are enclosed in a
temporary polyhouse over winter to
protect them from the cold. There are
some apples as well and Doris plans to
add more to the orchard, along with
chooks to help with organic pest control.
After just a few years, the plants are
all growing and bearing well in tip-top
condition. The secret, says Doris, is worm
wee from their huge worm farm and
regular applications of liquid seaweed. The pair are harvesting far more through winter, says Doris.
They also use alpaca poo. produce than they can eat so a lot Were concentrating on getting the
The garden is heavily mulched, says of what they pick is bartered with right mix of bacteria and nutrients as
Doris, as mulch helps turn bad soil into neighbours and friends. well as continuing to add nutrients from
good. I mulch constantly with mulch the worm farm and manure from the
from tree loppers, straw, cardboard, GARDEN IMPROVEMENTS alpacas as the crops grow.
paper; every scrap from the kitchen goes Despite these achievements, Doris and Another priority is to get a watering
to the garden in fact, anything I can Chris have more to do. The focus this system into the garden by the time
lay my hands on. past autumn and winter has been the soil. summer comes around again.
After almost three years of intense Were adding minerals to the soil to As planting gets underway after
mulching, weeds have diminished and correct deciencies we noticed in our winter, Doris is concentrating on growing
the soil has improved so now it stays vegetables this past summer and digging heirloom and heritage varieties to see
moist even after weeks without rain. in the green manure crops we grew how they perform.

Doris and Chris

picking fruit in their
purpose-built fruit
cage that protects
the familys crop

Good Organic Gardening | 33

GARDENING FOLK | LILLYPILLY FARM

Growing these old varieties just feels

right and ts with my complete change
of lifestyle, she explains. In my busy
corporate life in Queensland, it was
all about the latest of everything: new
house, new gadgets, new everything.
Truth be told, I was very wasteful.
But since moving here, I have become
mad on recycling, using old, retro and
salvaged materials as much as possible,
she says.
Around 15 different heritage tomatoes
have been planted this spring and eight
varieties of garlic are up and growing.
The seed-grown tomatoes are going into
beds prepared last autumn with manure,
paper and a bale of hay on top to keep
the weeds at bay and encourage the 3
army of worms that help prepare the soil.
Most of the vegetables are grown in
raised beds enriched with compost,
alpaca poo and worm wee

34 | Good Organic Gardening

 LILLYPILLY FARM | GARDENING FOLK

WE REALISED HOW
4
FRAGILE LIFE IS AND
OUR SONS TRAUMA
REINFORCED OUR DESIRE
TO LEAVE OUR FRENETIC
CORPORATE LIFESTYLE
BEHIND AND LIVE A LIFE
THATS MORE IN TOUCH
WITH NATURE.

6
1 The garden has an ornamental area where the family can relax
2 Netting and wire fruit cages are necessary to protect the
summer harvest from the birds 3 A bumper lemon crop is the
reward for lots of care and nourishment of the soil 4 The three
rescue alpacas, Lilly, Lucy and Levi, are enjoying life at LillyPilly
Farm 5 Doris with Lilly and Basil while Nelson sits on the bench
and Crystal, the 10-year-old Labrador, relaxes on the grass
6 The rescue alpacas enjoy a cooling hose on a hot day

HERITAGE RASPBERRIES
Its not only heritage vegetables that
have caught Doriss attention. Shes
also planting heritage fruit varieties,
particularly berries.
They are extending the raspberry beds
as they love to eat raspberries and had a
huge demand for organic raspberries last
season. Raspberries do well in Tasmanias
cool climate, which is also free of fruit y.
Weve planted Williamette raspberry
canes, which last century were the most
widely planted raspberry variety in the
world, and Im also trying Lloyd George,
which was introduced in 1919, says Doris.
Doris has also tracked down a purple
raspberry, which is an intriguing hybrid
between the European red and North
American black raspberries. She has
also planted Pink Neika. These join
the very productive Chilliwack,
Autumn Bliss and Heritage varieties.
Husband Chris, who is passionate
about strawberries, has another 60
runners in pots ready to plant out into
the garden soon. Excess strawberries are
sold to their local organic grocer.
LIFE CHANGE
Building an organic garden from a
paddock has been hard work, says Doris,
but as she wanders in the garden with
bees busy among the cottage plants,
looks at the alpacas grazing in the
paddock, picks a g and sees the cat
boarding facility nearing completion, she
says its all been worth it.
I have a life many people would
do anything to have. Five years ago, I
dreamed about what we have created
now a return to a more authentic
lifestyle and, though it has been a
tonne of work, particularly in the past
two years, challenging and stressful,
its amazing to me that from an idea
something has been created and now
exists in the real world.
Despite lifes challenges, we count our
blessings every day on so many different
levels and Im excited to get going on the
next edible experiment!
OPEN GARDEN
Doris and Chris are keen to share what
theyve achieved. LillyPilly Farm at 28
Redwood Crescent, Youngtown, is open
January 1011, 2018, from 10am to 3pm.
Entry is $8, supporting Brightside Farm
Sanctuary in the Huon Valley (brightside.
org.au). For more details on the garden
and to conrm open garden details,
call 0408 018 066. facebook.com/
lillypillycatboarding

Good Organic Gardening | 35

GARDENING FOLK | DEB PARSONS

B LO O M I N G
THERES SOMETHING MAGICAL
ABOUT THIS PROLIFIC MARKET
GARDEN IN SUBURBAN GEELONG

36 | Good Organic Gardening


Words & photos Jana Holmer
M
agic Meadow, Lovely Banks:
it all sounds a bit Rebecca of
Sunnybrook Farm but theres
no trace of Shirley Temple
in Deb Parsons busy ve-acre (two-
hectare) market garden in the north-
west Geelong suburb of Lovely Banks.
Once mainly farmland, Lovely Banks
Citrus and other fruit
trees at good prices
is fast becoming a residential area
thanks to its handy position close to
the Princes Highway and overlooking
Geelong. But the Parsons farm,
Magic Meadow, run along organic and
sustainable lines, has little to do with
the encroaching suburbanisation.
Besides managing the property
and its vegetable gardens, Deb
mentors the would-be farmers among
her neighbours in growing their
own produce, runs bread-making
workshops traditional wood-red
sourdough, to be exact and makes
her own gourmet feta and preserves.
She also harvests honey from her own
beehives (her bees source some of their
pollen from a neighbours olive orchard)
while her cattle provide milk for the
family as well as beef, from which Deb
makes her own sausages.
Deb puts her farming instincts down
to her Maltese grandparents. We
always had a garden and we always
DEB PARSONS | GARDENING FOLK
did something in the garden, she says.
Gardening has always been in my blood
from generation to generation.
The local clay soil needed a couple
of years treatment with manure and
lime before Deb could plant anything.
Now, Magic Meadow uses a combination
of raised beds and aquaponic tanks
fertilised by the manure of rainbow trout,
which are harvested every November.
Herbs including parsley, dill, basil and
mint are grown in the aquaponics tanks
while the main seasonal vegie crops
are tomatoes, eggplants, capsicum and
spring onions in summer, and cauliower,
kale, cabbage and broccoli in winter.
Particularly abundant are kale
and silverbeet, thanks to local soil
conditions, and they require little care. In
fact, Deb likes to keep it simple: Dig the
ground, add manure, lime and gypsum
(but not every year) and sometimes put
in barley straw to break down the soil
and help keep it moist.
Good Organic Gardening | 37
GARDENING FOLK | DEB PARSONS

CARING FOR THE SOIL

Deb doesnt compost The cows are 1
our compost bins, she laughs nor
does she have a worm farm. She uses
few deterrents but, rather, advocates
companion planting and growing the
right varieties at the right time. Its
OK to share a little bit with the insects.
Shes equally down to earth about
organic farming, which to her means
simply treating the soil properly and
reducing the use of pesticides. The
soil is there for generations to come;
if we keep damaging the soil, then we
eventually have no produce.
The propertys on town water but
harvests rainwater in an 80,000L tank
for irrigation and recycles grey water to
the orchard.
There are lots of different ways you
2
can be responsible [and] sustainable,
says Deb. First, you use the resources
around you. We run on solar power.
Look at what you do and dont eat; and
look at what you denitely dont use.
3
Use little to no processed foods and
keep away from packaging.
Recycling is very important. Poly
boxes and strawberry punnets are not
throwaway items and can be reused at
least once as mini greenhouses.
For Deb, Eating your own vegetables
means youre going from paddock to
plate in a short period of time to ensure
freshness. Excess can be blanched or
frozen. We freeze strawberries and
blueberries in winter. We dont have to
freeze dairy as we have an ample supply
of milk, and cheese is readily available.

1 Seedlings ready for planting out 2 Excess produce goes into preserves or to a local
charity 3 Fat, fresh red onions 4 Preserves in the storeroom 5 A typical vegie box
5

38 | Good Organic Gardening


Deb also freezes her broad beans, corn
and peas and dries gs, apricots and
mushrooms. She dehydrates tomatoes
until crispy and blends them to a powder
to make a concentrated tomato paste for
recipes year-round.
Debs partner, Kevin, built a multi-
purpose undercover area, which soon
became our storeroom. The shelves are
stacked with vegetables, sauces, fruit,
crates of watermelons, pears, apples. We
MAGIC MEADOW USES A COMBINATION OF
RAISED BEDS AND AQUAPONIC TANKS FERTILISED
BY THE MANURE OF RAINBOW TROUT, WHICH
ARE HARVESTED EVERY NOVEMBER.
Cattle are not the only
animals on this property
Its not their only charitable project.
Deb and Kevin are volunteers for Aussie
Helpers, which aids farmers in need.
Sometimes its about making food
hampers; sometimes we organise hay or
fencing work for farmers in need.
Over the coming 12 months, Deb is
running a campaign called Aussie Helpers
Breakfast in a Bag to give farming families
a good healthy breakfast for a week and
encourage locals to come and purchase
natural organic foods. It changes with
the seasons. The products we sell are
complete meals and buyers need to
spend little time in the supermarket.
SHARING THE BOUNTY
Besides honey, vegies, beef and milk,
the property also produces eggs, bacon
and, once a year, trout. Debs particularly
proud of her watermelon crop, grown
hopes the public will get behind it. You can
nd out more at aussiehelpers.org.au
Magic Meadow, 144148 Emmersons
Road, Lovely Banks, Vic 3213. Opening
hours: Friday 2pm until dark; Saturday
8am2pm. Contact Deb Parsons on
0418 148 997. Facebook & Instagram
magicmeadowproduce;
website magicmeadow.com.au
DEB PARSONS | GARDENING FOLK
from open-pollinated seeds. The melons,
50 in total, came in at 1520kg apiece.
Daughters Brooke and Stephanie play
an integral part in the farm, helping Deb
to run workshops and making their own
sauces and preserves. A family favourite
is Debs famous roasted tomato with
garlic and choice of herb, a great base
for pasta, curries and casseroles.
Tomatoes are a versatile fruit, she
says. You can do almost anything with
them and use them in so many different
ways. She also makes a u remedy from
beetroot juice with turmeric, garlic, lemon
and ginger. Its a great liver tonic as well.
Excess produce goes to Spare Meals
in Geelong: They make it up into meals
and give them to people in need.
DEBS TOP TIPS
1 Keep things simple: try
to grow just a few things
really well.
2 Practise companion
planting.
3 Use green manure.
4 Rotate your crops.
5 Watch your garden grow
and enjoy it.
Good Organic Gardening | 39
INTERNATIONAL COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK (ICAW) COMPETITION RESULTS

g re e n e s t & mos t
sustainable gard en
ANNOUNCING THE WINNER AND RUNNERS-UP
IN THE GREEN GARDEN COMPETITION!
Presented by the Centre for Organic Research & Education (C.O.R.E.)

WINNER: RICK HUTTON
BINGARA CENTRAL SCHOOL
CIVICS CLASSES
The Living Classroom is a centre
dedicated to regeneration. Regeneration
means the reinvigoration of the land
and the passing-on of knowledge and
inspiration to the next generation. On
150 hectares, we have designed, mapped
and are building a range of storyboards
showcasing food systems from across
the globe. Recycling is a key theme and
with our raised mandala kitchen gardens,
we have reused sheets of corrugated
iron to form six-sided mandala beds
lled [see opposite] with compost over
shredded paper and activated to provide
a healthy living soil.
Our student participants are active
in building the garden beds and
planting them with seasonal vegetables.
They have created compost heaps,
collected seeds, formed good soil
tilth and have prepared the seed beds
for planting. Progressively, they have
selected plants to provide a cover
crop and a green manure, considered
seasonal opportunities and planted,
mulched and watered the beds through
to harvest.

40 | Good Organic Gardening

 INTERNATIONAL COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK (ICAW) COMPETITION RESULTS
2ND RUNNER-UP:
NEVIN SWEENEY
Our garden is built around permaculture
principles and we grow fruit, veg and
herbs and produce eggs on our 600m2
block in Western Sydney. In the backyard,
we have 14 veg patches, 2m or 3m long
by 1.2m wide. We fertilse, till and remove
weeds and trash from the beds with
our chook tractor. We also use some
compost and liquid comfrey. We grow
vegetables, fruit and herbs in the front
yard using tank water where possible.
I have installed efficient irrigation such
as ollas, buried pipe, buried capsule and
deep pipe waterers. We save seed and
grow our own seedlings with seed-raising
mix I make from sand, worm castings and
coco peat. We use grey water to water
our banana circle. We have two Aerobin
composters, a worm bath and a worm
tower in the front yard fruit tree circle.
Nevin has a website that has an
abundance of information for other
gardeners. The garden is usually open to
the public on Sustainable House day in
September. underthechokotree.com
EQUAL 3RD RUNNER-UP:
LYNETTE KEIR
My gardens are on a three-acre
(1.2-hectare) block. Our native gardens
help with erosion control on our creek
behind the home. Our sensory herb
garden is a classic zone-one permaculture
garden that integrates our childrens
playground. All the materials used were
found on the property apart from the
sand in the sandpit. We use balancing logs
and rocks. This garden is in a direct path
to the kitchen for quick and easy picking.
Some natives are also integrated. The
children love to pick and smell the herbs.
Our food gardens have a traditional
garden bed, wicking beds and a
permaculture food forest where the
chickens roam. We grow most of our food
and use natural fertilisers made on-site.
We compost everything. We have a worm
farm and a soldier y farm as well as three
large composting bays. We also have our
own nursery where we propagate our
vegetable seedlings. We have a native
beehive and miniature goats to help weed
and provide manure.
EQUAL 3RD RUNNER-UP:
JOHN BOLAND
The garden was designed on
permaculture principles, integrating
food production, native plant areas
for habitat, climate control for the
house, and aesthetics. Over a year, we
produce approximately one-third of
our food from the garden. We have
swales for water retention, a partial
root-zone drying water scheme for
water conservation, and a multitude
of waste-management systems with
compost bins and worm farms. The
water-retention systems mean we
harvest all water that falls on the block.
No green waste leaves the site, all
being composted. More than 60 fruit
and nut trees, intermingled with native
plants, have encouraged numerous
birds, small mammals, blue-tongued
lizards and frogs to make their home
in the garden. We have beehives for
honey and to enhance pollination.
We have also constructed native bee
hotels and left some dead limbs with
holes for them.
Good Organic Gardening | 41
MOON PLANTING | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

MOON
PLANTING
SEPTEMBER 2017  New moon Full moon
Spring is the season most gardeners love the most. All that beautiful new growth  First quarter  Last quarter
and owering makes it feel like the world has awakened fresh and happy.
When the moon is waxing from new
MON TUES WED THU FRI SAT SUN moon to full moon, it is increasing
1 2 3 light and drawing sap ow upwards.
During the waning from full moon
back to new moon, light decreases
and sap is drawn downwards.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 This movement of sap ow has an
inuence on how well new plants will
grow. There are four phases, each
5:02pm lasting seven to eight days. Sowing,
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 planting and taking cuttings should
not be done in the 12 hours before
and after each phase. If you want
 4:24pm to work in the garden at that time,
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 carry out general tasks and improve
your soil for planting.

 3:29pm FRUITING ANNUALS

25 26 27 28 29 30 Sow or plant annuals grown
for their fruits or seeds. This is best
done during the rst quarter phase
 12:53pm
between rst quarter and full moon,
when sap is being drawn upwards.
OCTOBER 2017
Its high spring and everything is growing its socks off. Regular feeding, ROOT CROPS
consistent watering and staggered plantings are the keys to a good harvest. Sow or plant crops that
produce below the ground, and also
MON TUES WED THU FRI SAT SUN perennials. This is best done between
30 31 1 full moon and last quarter when sap
ow is being drawn downwards.

LEAFY GREENS
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sow or plant crops that are
grown for their foliage. This is best
done during the new moon phase
5:40am between new moon and rst quarter
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 when sap is being drawn upwards.

AVOID PLANTING
 11:25pm The last quarter phase is
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 not a good period for sowing or
planting, so is best used working
on improving soil, weeding, making
 6:12am compost and other general chores.
23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Times are Australian Eastern Standard Time

(AEST). Add 1 hour during daylight saving.
 9:22am
WA, SA & NT will need to adjust.

42 | Good Organic Gardening


TIME PLANT
SPRING IS A HUGE PLANTING TIME IN MOST CLIMATE ZONES,
GUARANTEEING PLENTY ON THE TABLE IN THE MONTHS TO COME
NDS
C O O L & H IG H LA
SEPTEMBER
Amaranth, artichoke (globe), Asian greens,
asparagus, beetroot, broccoli, broad beans,
cabbage, carrot, chilli, endive, fennel, Jerusalem
artichoke, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard greens,
onion, parsnip, peas, potato, radish, rocket,
silverbeet, snow peas, spinach, spring onion, sugar
snap peas, swede, turnip
T E M PE R AT E
Amaranth, artichoke (globe), Asian greens, asparagus,
asparagus pea (winged bean), beans, beetroot,
broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, celeriac, celery,
chicory, corn salad, cucumber, eggplant, endive,
fennel, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, kale,
kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, marrow, mustard greens, onion,
parsnip, peas, potato, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb,
rocket, salsify, silverbeet, snow peas, spring onions,
sunower, sweet corn, taro, tomato, turnip, warrigal
greens, zucchini
S U B T R O PI C AL Amaranth, artichoke (globe), Asian greens, asparagus,
asparagus pea (winged bean), beans, beetroot,
cabbage, capsicum, carrot, celeriac, celery, chilli,
Chinese cabbage, choko, cucumber, eggplant, fennel,
horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, leek, lettuce,
marrow, mustard greens, okra, parsnip, potato,
pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rocket, salsify, silverbeet,
spring onion, squash, sunower, sweet corn, sweet
potato (kumara), tomato, turnip, warrigal greens,
yam/oka (oca), zucchini
T R O PI C AL
Asian greens, beans, capsicum, carrot, chilli, choko,
cucumber, eggplant, ginger, mustard greens, okra,
pumpkin, spring onion, sweet corn, sweet potato
(kumara), taro, tomato
AR ID
Amaranth, artichoke (globe), Asian greens,
asparagus, asparagus pea (winged bean), beans,
beetroot, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, celeriac, celery,
chilli, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, ginger, Jerusalem
artichoke, kale, leek, lettuce, marrow, mizuna, okra,
onion, peas, potato, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rocket,
salsify, shallots (eschalots), silverbeet, spinach, spring
onion, squash, sunower, sweet corn, sweet potato
(kumara), tomato, turnip, warrigal greens, zucchini
These maps are simplied versions adapted from climate maps by the Bureau of Meteorology and are only a rough guide. Microclimates can be formed anywhere.
VEGETABLES | PLANT NOW
OCTOBER
Amaranth, artichoke, Asian greens, asparagus,
asparagus pea (winged bean), beans, beetroot,
broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicum,
carrot, celeriac, celery, chicory, cucumber, daikon,
eggplant, endive, fennel, horseradish, kohlrabi, leek,
lettuce, marrow, mustard greens, onion, parsnip,
peas, potato, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rocket,
salsify, silverbeet, snow peas, spring onion, sugar
snap peas, sunower, swede, sweet corn, tomato,
turnip, warrigal greens, zucchini
Amaranth, artichoke (globe), Asian greens,
asparagus, asparagus pea, beans, beetroot,
broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, celeriac, celery,
Chinese cabbage, cucumber, eggplant, endive,
fennel, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, kale,
kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, marrow, mustard greens,
okra, parsnip, potato, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb,
rocket, salsify, silverbeet, spring onion, sunower,
sweet corn, sweet potato (kumara), taro, tomato,
turnip, warrigal greens, yam/oka (oca), zucchini
Amaranth, Asian greens, asparagus, asparagus
pea (winged bean), beans, beetroot, capsicum,
carrot, chilli, choko, cucumber, eggplant, ginger,
horseradish, lettuce, marrow, mustard greens,
okra, potato, pumpkin, radish, rocket, salsify,
spring onion, squash, sunower, sweet corn, sweet
potato (kumara), tomato, warrigal greens, yam/
oka (oca), zucchini
Asian greens, beans, capsicum, chilli, choko,
cucumber, eggplant, ginger, mustard greens,
okra, pumpkin, spring onion, sweet corn, sweet
potato (kumara), tomato
Amaranth, Asian greens, asparagus pea (winged
bean), beans, beetroot, capsicum, carrot, chilli,
choko, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, ginger,
leek, lettuce, marrow, okra, onion, potato,
pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rocket, salsify, shallots
(eschalots), silverbeet, spinach, spring onion,
squash, sunower, sweet corn, sweet potato
(kumara), tomato, zucchini
Good Organic Gardening | 43
TIME TO PLANT | CAPSICUM

Words Jennifer Stackhouse

I
had always enjoyed eating capsicum
but the rst time I tasted roasted
capsicum, I absolutely fell in love
with it: that tasty morsel heated over
a ame or in the oven until the skin is
charred so its easy to remove. Its so
sweet and luscious and nothing at all
like chilli, its ery near-relative.
Technically, capsicum like its fellow
nightshade, the tomato is a fruit but
is broadly classied as a vegetable.
Having access to inexpensive,
homegrown capsicum is a good
reason to grow your own as this is one
vegetable that can be expensive to buy
at certain times of the year.

WHATS IN A NAME?
What you call Capsicum annuum
(Grossum Group) is a pointer to your
origins. In Australia and India theyre
capsicums but in many other parts of the
world they are peppers (bell or sweet),
pimientos, chillies or paprika. Despite the
common name pepper, they are not
related to black pepper or peppercorn,
which is the seed of a tropical vine, but
they are related to chillies both are in
the same genus in the Solanaceae family.
Just as there are lots of different
chillies, so too are there many types
of sweet capsicums. As well as the
commonly seen green or red (often sold
as California Wonder or Giant Bell),
there are varieties that turn yellow,
orange or chocolate in colour as they
ripen. The sweetest capsicums are those
that have been allowed to fully ripen and
colour on the plant.

THE
IN

VEGIE
Capsicum label
PATCH Common name: Capsicu
m, (bell)
pepper, sweet chilli, pap
rika
Botanical name: Capsicu

C OOL
m annuum
Grossum Group
Family: Solanaceae
Aspect and soil: Sun to
light

PEP PERS
afternoon shade (warm
climates
only); well-drained soil
Best climate: All
Habit: Annual to perenn
Bigstock, Shutterstock

ial
CALL IT PAPRIKA, PIMIENTO small shrub
Propagation: Sow seed
or plant
OR PEPPER, THE CAPSICUM seedlings in spring and
summer
Difficulty: Easy to moder
IS CHILLIS SWEET COUSIN ate

44 | Good Organic Gardening

 CAPSICUM | TIME TO PLANT

HOW TO GROW
Capsicums need warmth so wait until DID YOU KNOW?
winter is well and truly over before The heat in chillies comes from
planting them out into a warm, sunny the chemical capsaicin, which
part of the vegetable garden. Capsicums produces a burning sensation if
are best grown as a summer-to-autumn it is eaten or touched, but this
crop planted in spring or early summer chemical is absent in capsicums.
after the soil warms and all threat of frost
has passed. They are related to tomatoes
and grown in the same way with rich,
well-drained soil and reliable moisture.
The need for warmth means theres
a wide variation in planting times.
In subtropical and tropical zones,
capsicums are planted and grown almost
year-round but in cool and temperate
climates they grow in the warmest parts
of the year. In very cold areas, they may
be best grown in a glasshouse.
AboveThey come
In cool and temperate zones, sow seed in different
from mid to late winter and onwards. In shapes and sizes
areas with cold springs, sow seed into Left ... and colours
seed trays or punnets and keep them in a
warm spot.
Seedlings take around 10 to 14 days to
emerge. Plant out when they are large
enough to handle, or transfer to a small
pot until its warm enough to transplant
them into the vegie garden or move into
larger containers.
In warm temperate areas, it is usually
safe to plant capsicums into the vegie
patch from August onwards, but wait until
October, or better still November (after
Melbourne Cup Day), in cold climates just
as you would with tomatoes. IN AUSTRALIA AND INDIA THEYRE CAPSICUMS BUT IN
Space seedlings about 5060cm
apart and give them a good start MANY OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD THEY ARE PEPPERS
by watering them in with a seaweed (BELL OR SWEET), PIMIENTOS, CHILLIES OR PAPRIKA.
solution. If planting the seedlings
into containers, select a pot thats at
least 40cm in diameter and plant one old. As capsicums respond to warm while its still green and less likely to be
capsicum per pot. days, they often continue cropping well stung by fruit y. Fruit that has been
If the weather turns cold after planting into autumn. The plants can survive affected by the pest may rot and the
out the seedlings, cover them overnight over winter in sheltered spots (or in a esh may contain maggots.
with a homemade cloche to protect pot moved into a sheltered, frost-free
them from frost. Cut down milk, juice location), to regrow, ower and fruit in HARVEST AND STORAGE
or soft drink bottles can be used as a spring when the warm conditions return. Pick capsicum at any stage once the fruit
temporary cloche. Give them a light prune as regrowth is a reasonable size even if still green. While
Liquid-feed fortnightly or apply extra begins in spring. conditions are warm, theyll keep owering
fertiliser once the plants have begun to and producing fruit. Capsicums become
ower. As they grow, they form a small PESTS riper and sweeter over time, which is when
bush with white or yellow owers, which Although capsicums are tomato relatives, they show their mature tones of red, yellow,
produces fruit that ripens over summer they dont suffer as many problems, orange or brown (chocolate).
from green to usually red. Extremely except fruit y. In fruit y zones, they are Capsicums keep in a fruit bowl but for
hot, overly wet or dry conditions or cool susceptible to attack. To protect against longer storage put them into a plastic
cloudy days will slow ripening. Keep this pest, use organic fruit y baits as the bag in the crisper section of the fridge.
plants well watered throughout their fruit ripens. Exclusion bags can also be They can be preserved as salsa or added
growing season. tted over the fruit to keep out fruit y to pickles to give colour and avour.
Fruit should be ready to pick when the and other pests. They are rich in minerals and vitamins,
plants are around three to four months Another option is to harvest the fruit particularly vitamin C.

Good Organic Gardening | 45

TIME TO PLANT | EGGPLANT
THE
IN
VEGIE
PATCH
C OL OUR ME PURP LE
FRESH, FLESHY AND A LITTLE BIT
FLASHY, EGGPLANT IS EASY TO LIKE
AND EVEN EASIER TO GROW
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
T
he name eggplant seems
something of a misnomer when
you look at this large, glossy,
purple-skinned vegetable. Thats
because the eggplants we favour today
are different from those grown centuries
ago when the name was coined.
Early cultivars that were given the
name eggplant had yellow or white skins
and were thought to resemble a large
egg such as a goose egg.
Those keen to grow an eggplant with
fruit that looks like an egg should seek
out White Star or the long-fruited
Casper. Rosa Bianca has round white
fruit with purple blushes.
There are also varieties with striped
purple and white colouration and
others with long, thin, almost nger-
like fruit rather than the typical large
egg-shaped offerings.
Slim Jim has small and narrow fruit.
Adding to its garden appeal, it grows on
a bush that has purple leaves. Listada de
Gandia is an old variety with attractive
narrow white and purple-striped fruit.
FAMILY RESEMBLANCE
The fruit may not look the same but the
eggplant is closely related to tomato,
46 | Good Organic Gardening
capsicum and potato and is a member of
the Asian branch of the Solanaceae.
The family resemblance is clearest in
the owers. All members of Solanaceae
have ve-petalled, often star- or bell-
shaped owers. In eggplant, these
are violet-coloured. The clusters of
violet owers and large, lobed leaves
combine to produce a handsome small
shrub that looks striking in a vegie
garden or when a single plant is grown
in a pot or tub.
GETTING STARTED AND
GROWING
Eggplants are surprisingly easy to grow directly into the soil), space seeds
and much less of a headache than
tomatoes. Its important not to plant
eggplants where other members of the
Solanaceae family have been grown
recently (including potato and tomato).
This is called crop rotation and is done to
reduce soil-borne disease.
Seeds are sown in spring and planted
out when theres no chance of frost and
the soils have warmed in mid to late spring.
In a warm, frost-free climate, its safe to
sow seeds directly into the vegie patch,
placing each seed around 6mm deep in the
ground. Otherwise, sow into punnets or a
seed tray with seed-raising mix.
Eggplant label
Common name: Eggplant,
aubergine
Botanical name: Solanu
m
melongena
Family: Solanaceae
Aspect and soil: Full-su
n to light
shade; well-drained soil
Best climate: All
Habit: Small annual bus
h
Propagation: Seed, seedlin
g
Difficulty: Easy
When direct sowing (planting
about 30cm apart to allow room for
the plant to grow. In small spaces, grow
one plant in a pot thats at least 30cm
across with a good depth of soil.
Eggplants prefer a neutral to slightly
alkaline soil. In areas with acidic soil (pH of
around 5.5 or less), add a sprinkling of lime
to the soil when preparing for planting.
Also dig in compost or well-rotted manure
and add a few handfuls of organic blood
and bone to the soil to provide a good
supply of nutrients and help improve the
Bigstock
soils ability to hold moisture.
Adding lime may also help avoid
blossom end rot, a condition that occurs
 EGGPLANT | TIME TO PLANT

in many vegetables, including tomatoes
and eggplant, when the plant doesnt
have enough calcium. The fruit may
drop early or form a telltale brown patch
where the ower was attached.
With regular watering, eggplants grow
rapidly through the warmer months and
the fruit forms very quickly once the
plants begin to ower. To keep the soil
moist around eggplants, apply a layer of
organic mulch such as sugar cane mulch.
Try a little hand pollination if fruit is
slow to form. Plants dont require cross-
pollinating but do need bees buzzing
around to get pollination happening. If
theres too much fruit forming, thin out the
clusters to produce fewer but larger fruits.
PEST WATCH
Eggplants are very robust vegies but
there is one insect that can cause a lot
of damage: the 28-spotted ladybird.
Eggplant leaves are its particular
favourite. Keep an eye out for the insect
and its spiky larvae and squash any you
see. An early sign that the insect has
arrived is leaf damage and leaves can be
completely skeletonised.
Also examine the undersides of leaves
for clusters of yellow eggs. If found, they
can be squashed before they hatch to
reduce the damage caused by this leaf-
eating pest.
HARVEST, STORAGE
AND PRESERVING
Harvest eggplant through summer into
autumn. In warm climates, its possible to
grow and harvest well into autumn. Most
varieties take around 1416 weeks from
planting to harvesting but some heirlooms
are ready to harvest in just 10 weeks.
Once cropping begins, pick the fruit
regularly and keep liquid-feeding and
watering well to encourage the plant to
continue owering and fruiting.
Harvest eggplants when the fruit is
large and heavy and has its best avour.
Immature fruit may be bitter while over-
mature fruit can contain seeds. Cut the
fruit from the plant, leaving a small piece of
stem attached to avoid damaging the esh.
Stored in a plastic bag in the fridge,
eggplants keep for several weeks. Fresh-
picked eggplants are rich in vitamins C
and B6 and are high in bre.
No other vegie has quite the spongy
esh of the eggplant. When cooked,
eggplants soak up avour, which is
why they are the basic ingredient
of such delicious baked dishes as
moussaka and ratatouille.
When eggplants are sliced and
prepared for cooking the esh may
turn brown. To avoid this and to remove
excess liquid from the fruit, sprinkle slices
with salt then rinse and dry thoroughly.
Eggplant can be preserved in chutney
and relish, or grilled in slices and placed
in oil. Whole roasted eggplant can also
be turned into the delicious dip known as
baba ganoush.

1 1 How they got their name 2 Eggplant

may need staking now to produce like this
3 They come in different colours and shapes

THOSE KEEN TO GROW AN

EGGPLANT WITH FRUIT THAT
LOOKS LIKE AN EGG SHOULD
SEEK OUT WHITE STAR OR THE
LONG-FRUITED CASPER. ROSA
BIANCA HAS ROUND WHITE
FRUIT WITH PURPLE BLUSHES.

Good Organic Gardening | 47

TIME TO PLANT | ZUCCHINI
THE
IN
VEGIE
PATCH
FR U IT AND FLOWE RS
PROLIFIC AND VERSATILE, ZUCCHINIS A
TASTY VEG THAT, IF YOU TAKE YOUR EYE
OFF IT, SWIFTLY TURNS INTO A MARROW
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
Z
ucchinis are one of the most
bountiful of all the summer
crops, so think carefully about
how many plants you grow. Two
will provide more than enough for most
families. If you plant more, youll be looking
for ways to use them in every meal.
Luckily, they can be sliced, diced,
grated or spiralised, stuffed and eaten in
a huge range of savoury and sweet ways,
from fritters to chocolate cakes. The
owers, too, can be eaten, giving even
more recipe options. To eat the owers,
select a female ower with an immature
fruit, lightly batter and fry. Delicious!
VARIETIES
The zucchini is part of the pumpkin
and squash tribe and, like those prolic
vegetables, came from the Americas.
But it was in Europe, particularly in Italy,
where it reached its true potential. Many
garden varieties we grow evolved there.
Most zucchinis are narrow, dark green,
slightly ridged vegetables such as the
popular Black Jack and Black Beauty
varieties, but there are variations. Striped
grey and green forms include Greyzini
or Costata and theres a golden variety
simply called Golden.
48 | Good Organic Gardening
Ive had great success with Lebanese, a
small, roundish, pale grey-green zucchini.
There are also patio varieties that are the
best choices for small spaces or containers.
Whatever the variety, if zucchinis are
left too long on the vine, they become
large, swollen marrows. While they are
still edible (try them baked, grated in a
pasta sauce, or in soup or chutney), they
are full of water and seeds when they
reach this stage. If you cant face eating
them, the chooks will love them.
FLOWERS & FRUIT
Unless youre growing a patio variety, the
zucchini forms a leafy vine with a slightly
prickly stem that sprawls out across the
garden through summer. While it takes
up space, its growth has the bonus of
deterring weeds.
As it grows through summer,
handsome yellow owers peek out from
among the large leaves. Those owers
are either male or female and both are
needed to form a zucchini.
Although male and female owers
look alike at rst glance, they can be as bees to pollinate that days crop of
distinguished as the centre of the male
ower is lled with pollen-coated stamens generally only open for a day, timing is
and held on a narrow stem while the
female has a single sticky pistil inside the
Zucchini label
Common name: Zucchini,
courgette
Botanical name: Cucurbita
pepo
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Aspect and soil: Sun to
light
afternoon shade (warm
climates
only); well-drained soil
Best climate: All
Habit: Annual vegetable
,
100cm high and wide
Propagation: Sow seed
or plant
seedlings in spring and
summer
Difficulty: Easy
ower and a small swollen base below. It is
this swollen base, once fertilised by pollen
from the male ower, that forms into the
fruit. Bees and other pollinating insects
carry pollen from one ower to another.
Fresh owers open each day and
Bigstock, Nadiatalent CC
usually nature gets it right so there are
enough male owers around as well
females. However, as the owers are
critical. If a female ower isnt fertilised, it
may begin to form a zucchini, which then
 ZUCCHINI | TIME TO PLANT

turns brown and aborts when just a few are ready to be removed and may be fertilised (as mentioned above) or
centimetres in length. kept under control by a natural predator, affected by blossom end rot, a nutritional
If nature doesnt get it right and theres a ladybird that feeds on powdery mildew. problem caused by a lack of calcium,
a lack of male owers on the day the This particular ladybird is yellow with black which is brought on by inconsistent
female ower blooms, its possible to get spots and can be seen devouring mildew. watering. To overcome the problem,
the owers cropping by hand-pollinating Dont confuse it with the leaf-eating water more frequently and try hand
using pollen saved from the previous day. ladybird called the 28-spotted (or pollinating female owers. Add lime to
If the problem is a dearth of bees rather 26-spotted) ladybird, a round, orange the soil before planting next season.
than a lack of male owers, try transferring insect with lots of dark spots. The
pollen from a boy bloom to a female one pumpkin beetle also feeds on zucchini HARVESTING & STORAGE
on a small paintbrush or cotton bud. leaves. This is a small, elongated orange Pick zucchinis daily while the fruit is small
However, these pollinating setbacks beetle with several black spots. (10cm or so) and tender. Search through
generally only occur early in the season Both insects skeletonise the foliage the leaves for fruit, as any left even a day
and, as summer progresses, owering and can leave plants looking tatty. To deal or two quickly turn into marrow.
sorts itself out, bees discover the owers with the pest insects, remove any adults Zucchini can be stored in a plastic bag
and the fruit is abundant. or their eggs and larvae by hand and keep in the crisper section of the fridge for
the plant growing strongly to outcompete a week or more. Alternatively, preserve
GETTING STARTED the insects. Remove badly affected leaves excess as pickles (zucchini makes a good
Zucchini plants are grown from seed by cutting at the base of the stem. substitute for cucumber), chutneys or
planted in late spring to summer as Fruit that fails to mature and rots while relishes or cut into slices or sticks, and
temperatures warm or year-round in it is still tiny may have been incorrectly blanch and freeze.
tropical and subtropical zones that are
warm and frost free. Seed can be direct
AS IT GROWS THROUGH SUMMER, HANDSOME
sown into the vegetable garden or
started in punnets if the soil is still cold or YELLOW FLOWERS PEEK OUT FROM AMONG THE
there is a likelihood of a late spring frost.
LARGE LEAVES. THOSE FLOWERS ARE EITHER MALE OR
As the plant grows to be more than 1m
across, plant seeds or seedlings with an FEMALE AND BOTH ARE NEEDED TO FORM A ZUCCHINI.
eye to their mature size, spacing them
at least 70-80cm apart and 20mm deep.
Use the space between the small plants
for a quick crop of lettuce or rocket, or
2
mulch to reduce weeds.
Zucchini seed can also be sown in a
1
mound of soil enriched with compost
and well-rotted manure with several
plants per mound.
For container growing, use a pot thats
at least 40-50cm across with one plant
per container or give over one end of a
raised vegetable bed.
All that leafy growth and plentiful
fruiting means these are plants that like a
rich growing bed that contains plenty of
organic matter such as compost. Scatter
extra organic fertiliser around the plants
as they grow or liquid-feed plants each
week. Regular watering is vital, with water
3
applied at least daily as temperatures rise
or when there are hot winds.
Expect owering within six to nine
weeks from seedling stage and then
watch for fruit to form soon after the
owers appear. Each plant can crop for
six weeks or more.

TROUBLESHOOTING 1 The colour of the sun

Apart from a susceptibility to mildew, a
2 Tromboncino 3 The owers
are stuffed and deep-fried
family failing among cucurbits, zucchinis Opposite Cocozelle
are disease free. Mildew usually occurs
late in the growing season when plants

Good Organic Gardening | 49

TIME TO PLANT | WARRIGAL GREENS

Words Jennifer Stackhouse

W
arrigal greens grow naturally
along the Australian and
New Zealand coastlines.
You may have seen the
plant as you walked along the beachfront
scrambling among the rocks and sand. It
has small, dull green, triangular, slightly
hairy leaves and succulent stems.
THE While it looks rather uninteresting,
IN
this nondescript native vegetable has
VEGIE a big, interesting story to tell. It has
PATCH played an important role in the history
of the European discovery of Australia
as the only cultivated vegetable to have

NA T IVE originated from this part of the world and

is surprisingly rich in nutrients.

HISTORY LESSON

GR EENS Warrigal greens rst attracted interest

HARDY, TASTY AND OFTEN MISTAKEN
FOR SPINACH, THIS LEAFY GREEN IS
A POWERHOUSE OF NUTRIENTS
when Captain Cook had his crew harvest
the plant at Queen Charlotte Sound in
New Zealand in 1769. Botanist Joseph
Banks, who accompanied Cooks voyage,
collected seed and on his return to
England in 1772 sent it to Kew Gardens
where it was propagated. By 1835,
records show seed was sold in England
as New Zealand spinach.
When the First Fleet arrived in Sydney
Cove in 1788, the plant was recognised as
edible and resembling spinach. In these
early years, the plant was referred to
as Botany Bay greens, tetragon or New
Zealand spinach.
As the plant grows in so many areas
and has been known for centuries, it has
a many common names. Warrigal greens
is now the name most often used for this
vegetable when it appears on restaurant
menus. (Warrigal refers to the Indigenous
people of the Sydney region.) Although the
leaves look a little like English spinach, the
two plants are not related.

Warrigal greens label

Common names: Warrig
al greens,
New Zealand spinach, sea
spinach
Botanical name: Tetrag
onia
tetragonioides
Family: Aizoaceae (ice pla
nt family)
Aspect and soil: Sun; ada
ptable to
a range of soil types
Getty Images, Ixitixel

Climate: All
Habit: Groundcover
Propagation: Seed, see
dling
Difficulty: Easy

50 | Good Organic Gardening


In southern areas another species of
Tetragonia (T. implexicoma) grows along
the coast. Called bower spinach or ice
plant, its also edible and nutritious.
NUTRIENTS
The leaves of this plant contain vitamin C
(which is why it has been recommended to
combat the vitamin C deciency scurvy)
along with all forms of vitamin B, vitamin
E and vitamin K. Minerals include calcium,
iron, magnesium and manganese.
HOW TO GROW
Warrigal greens is grown from seed direct
sown into garden beds or containers. As
it is naturally a sprawling plant, it can be
allowed to trail over the edge of a raised
bed. Plant seeds 510mm deep and around
60cm apart in the garden or place several
in a container. Soaking the large seeds in
hot water several hours before planting (or
overnight) can help germination.
Sow seeds from spring to summer in
cool areas or anytime during the year in
warm, frost-free locations. In southern
areas, it may die back once the cold,
frosty weather arrives.
While this leafy veg grows best with
WARRIGAL GREENS | TIME TO PLANT
full sun and regular water, it tolerates light
shade and once established is drought-
tolerant. It also needs little extra fertiliser.
Due to its native coastal habitat, the
plant is tolerant of salt and sea spray
and can grow in saline soils. Keep plants
growing strongly with a fortnightly
application of liquid organic fertiliser thats
high in nitrogen.
This versatile vegetable has few
pest or disease problems even snails
and slugs seem to avoid it. Once the plants
are growing, theyll ower and set seed,
allowing the plant to self-sow.
HARVEST, USE AND STORAGE
Plants take around 10 weeks to be large
enough for harvest. New shoots will be
formed through the warm months. Harvest Insignicant ower
small leaves and shoots as needed. As
the leaves contain oxalates, they must be
blanched or cooked before eating. thoroughly, place in a bag or container and
Blanched leaves can be used to make a keep in the fridge crisper. To store longer,
wilted salad. Cooked, they can be used like blanch in boiling water and freeze.
spinach in pastries, mixed with pasta or as
a green vegetable. Large leaves tend to be AVAILABILITY
tough but can be cooked in a soup or stew. Warrigal greens (sometimes sold as New
Leaves are best cooked or blanched Zealand spinach) is available from garden
freshly picked but to store, dry them centres and mail-order suppliers.
Good Organic Gardening | 51
TIME TO PLANT | BANKSIA BIRTHDAY CANDLES
THE
IN
NATIVE
GARDEN
ONE TO CELEBRAT E
HERES A LOW-GROWING, HARDY, FROST-
RESISTANT SHRUB THAT HONEY-EATING
VISITORS WILL FIND IRRESISTIBLE
Words Melissa King
Photos Proteaora Nursery
I
f youre looking for a compact, bird-
attracting beauty for your garden,
youll love Banksia Birthday Candles.
Its a spectacular dwarf form of
Banksia spinulosa boasting big golden-
orange owers on a small evergreen
shrub just 0.6m tall and 1.5m wide.
The owers stand upright like candles
on a cake and have a commanding
presence in the garden from late
summer through autumn and into
winter. The nectar-rich blooms are so
enticing to our feathered friends that
hungry honeyeaters are frequent visitors
to the garden. The owers are also a
good food source for bees.
GROWING
Banksia Birthday Candles thrives in
full sun with good drainage. Plants
are naturally compact and low
maintenance. Prune spent ower
heads to promote fresh new growth
and keep plants neat. Potted plants
will benet from a dose of low-
phosphorus native plant food once
a year in spring.
52 | Good Organic Gardening
DESIGN TIP
Banksia Birthday Candles is the perfect
Banksia Birthday
Candles label
choice for rockeries and smaller spaces
and makes a decorative feature in pots
Common name: Banksia
on a patio or balcony. It also makes a
Birthday Candles
lovely miniature hedge or border.
Botanical name: Banksia
If youve got space, it looks spinulosa
Family: Proteaceae
outstanding planted en masse and ts
Requires: Well-drained soi
neatly into coastal, Mediterranean-style l;
full sun all day for best
or modern Australian garden designs. results
Watering: Water well to
establish
for rst year in garden;
HISTORY will be
needed more often in pot
Banksia spinulosa is often called Hairpin s
Suitable for: Most climate
Banksia and is native to the eastern states s;
moderate tolerance to fros
of Australia. In the wild, its a variable t and high
tolerance to coastal winds;
shrub growing 13m tall but Birthday all soils
Habit: Evergreen dwarf
Candles is a specially selected dwarf form cultivar;
owers late summer to
with a neat compact shape that makes it late autumn
Propagation: Seeds or cut
an excellent choice for the garden. It was tings
Difficulty: Easy
selected and developed by Australian
Proteaora.com.au, Melburnian CC
horticulturalist Bill Molyneux in 1985 at
Austraora Nurseries in Victoria.
THE FLOWERS STAND UPRIGHT LIKE CANDLES
ON A CAKE AND HAVE A COMMANDING
PRESENCE IN THE GARDEN FROM LATE SUMMER
THROUGH AUTUMN AND INTO WINTER.
 BANKSIA BIRTHDAY CANDLES | TIME TO PLANT

Opposite page A perfect low-growing edging plant

This page The upright owers are attractive to birds and pollinators
TIME TO PLANT | CALLISTEMONS
THE
IN
NATIVE
GARDEN
C OL OUR AND NECTAR
THOSE TOUGH, VERSATILE AND
COLOURFUL NATIVES WE ALL KNOW
AND LOVE AS BOTTLEBRUSHES
Words Melissa King
W
hen it comes to
beautiful, versatile
Aussie plants,
callistemons are up there
with the best of them. Commonly
called bottlebrushes because of
their uniquely shaped owers, they
are a popular plant in many gardens
and very attractive to birds so its
not uncommon to see honeyeaters
hanging off the branches, feeding on
the nectar-rich blooms.
The showy owers are followed by
clusters of small woody fruit, which can
hang around for ages, but plants are
best pruned after owering to maintain
good shape. The young growth on some
varieties is also attractive with ushes of
pink, red or bronze new leaves.
These versatile plants come in all
different shapes and sizes, from low-
growing varieties such as Callistemon
54 | Good Organic Gardening
Little John, which grows to just 1m tall
and forms a beautiful low border or
owering hedge with lovely blue-green
leaves and masses of red owers, to
ground-covering varieties including
Callistemon Candle Glow, with
attractive bright lemon-coloured owers
through spring, summer and autumn.
Then there are mid-sized shrubs
such as Genoa Glory, with vibrant
pink-purple owers in spring, which
will have birds ocking to your
garden, or Callistemon Cherry Time,
which grows to around 1.8m tall with
rich cherry-coloured blooms and a
gorgeous weeping habit.
Taller-growing varieties such as
Kings Park Special make wonderful
owering screens or feature plants
and light up the garden with their
big blazing red blooms during spring
and summer. One of my favourite
memories is seeing the breathtaking
display in Adelaide streets where
callistemons are common street trees.
GROWING
Bottlebrushes can often be found
growing wild along creek beds or in
wet areas, so they are adapted to damp
conditions. They are often surprisingly
dry-tolerant, too, which makes them
versatile garden plants.
Grow them in full sun and feed with
a low-phosphorous native fertiliser and
youll be rewarded with an abundance of
blooms. Mulch to conserve moisture and
suppress weeds. Most varieties are frost
tolerant as well.
HISTORY
The Crimson Bottlebrush (Callistemon
citrinus) caught the eye of HMS
Bigstock
Endeavours botanist and naturalist
Joseph Banks who introduced the plant
to Britain in the late 18th century.
 CALLISTEMONS | TIME TO PLANT

Left Rainbow
lorikeet feasting
Below A pretty show
Callistemon label
Common name: Bottlebru
sh
Botanical name: Callistem
on
Family: Myrtaceae
Requires: Sun and light
shade
Dislikes: Cold
Suitable for: Most climatic
conditions and soils, we
t or dry
Habit: Shrub
Propagation: Seeds or cut
tings
Difficulty: Easy

TALLER-GROWING VARIETIES
... LIGHT UP THE GARDEN WITH
THEIR BIG BLAZING RED BLOOMS
DURING SPRING AND SUMMER.

RESULTS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!

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for Australian gardeners. The unique, specifically selected strains of
beneficial soil microbes in Troforte ensure that soils are at their
optimum health and this is crucial to plants growing healthy too! After
all, it took us 15 years researching these good microbes and working
out which strains work best together. Troforte has up to 24 strains of
beneficial microbes and also 60 minerals and controlled release fertiliser
that will ensure fruits and vegetables will be packed full of nutrients!
Troforte is safe for our environment and does not leach and therefore
does not add to the pollution of our rivers and waterways. Troforte is
also safe for pets and wont burn your plants and prolonged use will also
help inhibit many soil and plant diseases. Thats great news as the use
of harmful chemical pesticides can be minimized or eliminated altogether.
novation that
Troforte is a proudly Aussie innovation
ooots Literally!
tackles plant health from the roots
You will taste the difference in yyour
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Good Organic Gardening | 55

ORNAMENTAL | SALVIA

The manifold mint

FLOWERS HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ORGANIC GARDENS.
AS WELL AS LOOKING PRETTY, THEY ATTRACT BENEFICIAL
POLLINATING INSECTS, INCLUDING BEES AND BUTTERFLIES. SOME
ALSO ATTRACT BIRDS. WE PROFILE ONE OF THE BEST: SALVIA

56 | Good Organic Gardening


Words Jennifer Stackhouse
Photos Sue Tapping
W
ith hundreds of species
and varieties, its possible
to enjoy salvias in bloom
almost all year, especially in
warm, frost-free climates.
Salvias are easy to grow and very
generous with their blue, purple, red,
pink, white or occasionally yellow tubular
owers. Once planted, theyll quickly
become a garden favourite.
The Salvia genus includes one plant
well known to productive gardeners.
Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a perennial
culinary herb grown for its edible
leaves. This tough evergreen survives
even through cold winters and is a
good choice to link the ornamental and
productive gardens.
Beyond sage, theres a host of salvia
varieties grown for their attractive, long-
lasting spires of owers. In many, the
ower and its calyx are contrasting in
colour and often borne on colourful stems.
Among the most popular salvias
grown for their contrasting and colourful
owers are Phylliss Fancy, which has
1
DID YOU KNOW?
The stamens in salvia owers are
triggered to deposit pollen on
visiting insects and birds by a
Bigstock, Plants Management Australia, pma.com.au
special lever within each ower.
1 Mexican bush sage
2 Salvia Love and
Wishes 3 Salvia
Wendys Wish
SALVIA | ORNAMENTAL
white- and blue-tinged owers with a There are also salvias grown as
purple calyx; Hot Lips, which has bright spring- and summer-owering annuals.
pink and white owers; and Waverly, Bonre, which is compact with bright
which has white owers with a purple red owers, is often featured in summer
calyx. Released in Australia this year is planting schemes in parks and public
Black & Bloom, which has a vivid blue gardens. For a more subdued annual
ower and almost black calyx and stem. planting, look for mealy sage (S.
Popular in gardens, too, is the long- farinacea) in either blue or white. This
blooming, purple-owered Mexican bush salvia is available in punnets ready to
sage (Salvia leucantha), which has white plant in gardens in late winter and spring
or purple owers emerging from a purple and is usually grown as an annual.
calyx and soft green-grey leaves. It grows
to around 1m high and wide and forms a
naturally round shrub.
Many salvias also have highly fragrant
foliage that adds another dimension to
Salvia label
the garden. Pineapple sage (S. elegans) Common name: Salvia
, sage, clary
has red owers much loved by tiny birds Botanical name: Salvia
spp.
and insects, while its small green leaves Family: Lamiaceae (m
int family)
have a pineapple scent. Aspect & soil: Full sun
to light
Salvias are mostly herbaceous perennials shade; most soils
or small shrubs with square stems and a Best climate: All
loose structure. They grow quickly from Habit: Perennial
a small plant or cutting and can form Propagation: Cutting,
division,
a clump 80cm to 2m high and wide potted plants
depending on the variety. Some are even Difficulty: Easy
taller: S. wagneriana, which owers from
autumn to winter, can reach 3m in height.
3
2
Good Organic Gardening | 57
ORNAMENTAL | SALVIA

AUSTRALIAN VARIETIES
Salvia is not native to Australia but there 1 Salvia Tavistock 2 Salvia Hot DID YOU KNOW?
are varieties that originated in this part Lips 3 Salvia leucantha Salvias are the largest genus of
of the world and were discovered in plants within the mint family with
Australian gardens. nearly 1000 different species.
Wendys Wish is magenta pink with
1
a darker calyx and stem. It was found in
the garden of Wendy Smith in Rosebud,
Victoria. Wendy, a salvia enthusiast,
2
recognised its garden potential,
propagated it and her variety is now
grown in gardens across Australia. A
portion of its sale goes to support the
childrens charity Make-a-Wish Australia,
which grants wishes to children with
terminal illnesses.
There are now two other Australian
salvias helping to raise money for Make-
a-Wish, both also incorporating the word
wish in their variety name. Embers
Wish has coral and red owers and was
named in memory of siblings Emma
and Brett Shegog, who died from a rare
genetic condition. Love and Wishes
is the most recent release of the three
wish salvias and has deep purple
3
owers. All three grow well if planted
together. Each grows to around 80cm
high and wide.

GET GROWING
Salvias love heat and warmth so grow best
with warm summers and autumns and mild
winters and springs. They thrive in warm,
humid zones as well as in drier climates.
They are an ideal choice for hot, sunny
spots and once established need little
additional watering, although plants
grow better with a deep soak during dry
times. In warm, sunny climates, salvias
tolerate light shade, especially in the
afternoon. In cold winter climates, salvias
BEYOND SAGE, THERES A HOST OF SALVIA
need frost protection. VARIETIES GROWN FOR THEIR ATTRACTIVE,
Although most salvias thrive in a dry
spot, S. uliginosa, which has spires of
LONG-LASTING SPIRES OF FLOWERS.
bright blue owers, loves wet soil. Known
as bog sage, it grows in a damp spot, cuttings taken from spring to autumn in winter or as owering nishes.
spreads via underground runners and is or by dividing established clumps in Evergreen varieties can be pruned
tolerant of both hot and cold conditions. early spring. They grow best in garden by about a third in early spring before
As salvias are highly attractive to beds rather than in containers. However, growth and owering resumes. All salvias
bees and other insects, it is vital they are compact forms of mealy sage including can also be pruned during summer to
grown without the use of pesticides. Even Victoria Blue are suited to pots or keep the plants compact or to encourage
organic pesticides can damage benecial troughs. They can also be used to edge a new ush of owers. Fertilise in spring
insects, so they should be avoided on owerbeds or can be planted in the with organic plant food.
plants that attract such insects. The good vegetable garden or orchard to attract Salvias suit cottage gardens or mixed-
news is that, as salvias are usually free of benecial insects. ower borders and look striking massed
pests and diseases, theres little need to Most salvias can be managed by together or planted with ornamental
reach for any chemical. pruning to control size and encourage grasses, dahlias and roses. As they are
Salvias are sold as potted plants ushes of owers. Cut back herbaceous fast-growing and trouble-free, they are
at garden centres through most of forms those that die back, usually ideal plants for new gardens. They are
the year but can also be grown from through winter to near ground level also excellent in water-wise gardens.

58 | Good Organic Gardening

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WEEKEND GARDENING | ECO AUDIT

e c o
WISE
HERES A SIMPLE SUSTAINABILITY
CHECKLIST TO MAKE SURE YOUR
PATCH IS UP TO SCRATCH

60 | Good Organic Gardening


Words Carrol Baker
W
ater-wise plants: tick.
Companion planting to
reduce bugs: tick. Solar
garden lights: tick. Creating
a biologically diverse and ecologically
sustainable garden nurtures our world,
which of course benets everyone. We
all know to conserve precious resources,
but there are plenty of other ways to
green up our gardens.
For starters, there are some things that
are easy to overlook, such as repurposing
that pile of cracked plastic pots sitting in
the corner. There are also things we could
be doing a little better, such as saving the
starchy water from cooked pasta to pour
on the vegetable garden.
Pop on your gumboots, grab a cuppa,
pen and paper, and take a stroll around
the garden to do an eco-friendly audit.
1
CALLING ALL
EARTHWORMS
If these little guys arent one of
your best buddies in the garden, they
should be. Earthworms aerate the
soil, which helps roots grow deeper
and improves soil drainage. Worms
nutrient-dense castings (or worm poo)
improve soil structure.
Ideally, worms will ourish naturally in
a rich no-dig garden but in a vegie patch,
its a different story. If you dont already
have one, create a worm farm.
Bigstock
2
DONT SKIMP ON QUALITY
The mulch you bought in bulk at
a discount might have saved you
cash initially, but was it false economy?
Purchasing cheap (and sometimes
inferior) products can mean youll need
more of them and they wont go the
distance, so youll be looking at replacing
them a whole lot sooner.
Dont skimp on things such as soil
preparation (the more you boost your
soil, the greater the returns) or watering
systems (an inferior system that springs
a leak will cost you a bundle).
It also pays to buy natural materials
that will break down, not end up in landll
like that cute and quirky plastic garden
gnome. If you do need to buy plastic
bottles and containers, use the bases
ECO AUDIT | WEEKEND GARDENING
for beer traps for slugs or get crafty and
turn them into bird feeders, self-watering
seedling pots or mini herb gardens.
3
POWER UP WITH ECO-
FRIENDLY GARDEN TOOLS
Its time to retire that old petrol-
guzzling mower. Every time you turn it
on, it splutters, coughs and pumps out
toxic fumes. If youve only got a small
patch to mow, consider a push mower.
Theyre pollution and noise free, easy
to store and care for and you get a free
workout to boot.
Keep your lawn weed free, as weeds
compete for nutrients and water. When
you mow, never take off more than one-
third of the leaf tip or the lawn will get
patchy and dry.
4
GO NATIVE
Planting exotics often
equates to more: more
expense to buy, more watering,
more ongoing care. Switching
to native plant varieties usually
means less: less to buy, less water,
less to care for and less impact on
the environment overall.
Natives also attract wildlife
into your garden, along with birds
and bees to pollinate plants and
reduce the numbers of garden
pests and mosquitoes.
Above Natives can be pretty, too
Left Plant a whole native garden
Good Organic Gardening | 61
WEEKEND GARDENING | ECO AUDIT

5
SHADES OF GREEN
Planting trees improves air quality
and generates passive cooling
for the home, thereby reducing energy
consumption. Plant something fruity with a
shallow root system, such as lemon citrus,
or trees such as a beautiful deciduous
Golden Robinia or Chinese pistache to
provide summer shade and winter warmth
when they lose their leaves.
Trellised vines provide cooling shade
for pergolas: try an ornamental grape or
bower vine. Around entertaining spaces,
plant herbs in pots on a timber screening
wall for shade.

6
GROW MORE, BUY LESS
The more food you grow, the
less you need to buy elsewhere,
reducing your food miles.
If you dont have the space for a bigger
vegie patch, rethink what youre growing
and how youre growing it. Raise your
garden beds you wont need pathways
so theres more room to plant. Go vertical
to increase your grow space with crops
such as tomatoes, beans and peas.
Supercharge your soil with rich
organic compost. Make the most of your
vegie patch with high-yield vegetables
such as zucchini and salad greens.
Freeze, dry or pickle excess produce
and swap your more abundant crops
with neighbours.

62 | Good Organic Gardening

 ECO AUDIT | WEEKEND GARDENING

Use an old wheelbarrow as

a mobile compost heap

7
COOL COMPOSTING
No matter where you live
or how big your patch of
dirt is, you can have a compost
bin or pile. There are ample
commercially viable bins, buckets
and compost makers constructed
from a range of materials you can
purchase, or create your own with
pre-loved materials from around
the home. Composting bins are
best located close to the kitchen
garden in a shady area.
Repurpose some timber pallets
and make a compost bay by nailing
three sides together and attaching
a hinged door as a fourth side. The
air ows freely through the open Make compost bays using pallets
slatted sides and the hinged door
keeps the chickens out.

8
Use an old wheelbarrow as a
compost bin. Make a few airholes
for the compost to breathe and
Colin CC, Reggaeman CC, Bigstock
WORK WITH YOUR SITE necessary to position plants where they
You wouldnt shove a square peg should be and pass on to other green
in a round hole, so why try to thumbs any that just wont grow on your

you can wheel it around the
garden to where its needed.
Give a new lease of life to a
plastic laundry basket: turn it upside
down in the garden and cut a ap
out at the top to add materials for
composting plus a ap at the base
to collect your compost.
grow a shade-loving plant in full sun? Its
human nature to want what we want and
sometimes it just doesnt jibe with whats
practical or, in this case, eco-friendly.
If you do try to grow things in the
wrong areas, youll waste precious
resources trying to prop up the plants
and end up adding them to the compost
anyway. So, rework your garden if
shady/sunny site.
Embrace the areas you have plant
your vegies in areas with good drainage,
or build a pond or plant water-loving
species in boggy areas.
By following these simple tips, your
garden will work in harmony with
Mother Nature and be much happier and
healthier for it.

Good Organic Gardening | 63

ORGANIC LIVING | THRIFTY GROWING

cash-saving
C R O P S
DOES HOMEGROWN SAVE MONEY? HERE ARE
SOME FRUIT AND VEG THAT DO, PLUS HOW
TO PLAN YOUR PLOT TO SAVE MORE DOSH

64 | Good Organic Gardening


Organic produce can be expensive
to buy but cheap to grow
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
S
aving money isnt uppermost
in our minds when we plant
vegetables, but the canny
gardener can not only harvest
a delicious crop but also save money
along the way.
General wisdom is that growing at
home doesnt necessarily save money
and this may be true for some crops,
but growing organic produce at home
rather than buying it from the market or
supermarket makes nancial as well as
nutritional sense.
Where time and space are at a
premium, concentrating on growing
crops you enjoy eating but are
expensive to buy will set you on the
money-saving path. Look for crops
that turn over quickly without taking
up lots of room for the amount of food
they generate.
Surprisingly, the cheapest vegetables
to buy are often the ones that take the
Bigstock
longest to crop and occupy the most
space. Potatoes, carrots, onions and
cabbage are cheap at the store, but
growing them at home means giving
over a large part of the garden for four
to six months. In a small plot, that may
mean theres no room to grow much else.
Crops that cost more to buy tend to
be those that are costly for the farmer to
harvest. Often these take up little room
in a garden compared with the amount
they produce.
Most vegetables and fruit vary in price
as they move in and out of season. We
pay more when the crop rst hits the
market than later in the season when its
abundant. Producing an early crop will
save money compared with buying the
same produce at that time, whether its
cherries or tomatoes.
INPUTS AND HIDDEN COSTS
Working out what a crop actually costs
depends on whats included in your
equation. Any accountant will explain there
are two kinds of costs: xed and variable.
In the case of the backyard vegie
patch, gardeners overlook the main
xed cost, which is the cost of the land.
However, gardeners often buy or rent the
THRIFTY GROWING | ORGANIC LIVING
more expensive option of a house on a
large block rather than an apartment so
they can have a garden.
Variable costs include water, fertiliser,
soil, pest and disease control and labour.
Most of us dont include the value of
our labour when we tot up the cost of
growing vegetables at home.
Growing organically helps reduce
the other variable costs of production.
Growing from seed, using locally sourced
organic fertilisers and mulches, including
homemade composts, worm wee and
weed teas, and growing in the local soil
rather than in imported garden mix are
also cost savers. Regularly growing a
green manure crop is a great money-
saving way of improving soil.
Pests, diseases and weeds can be
expensive to control, even with organic
pesticides. Ways to reduce these costs
are to grow crops or varieties that
are resistant to disease or are rarely
troubled by pests, practise good garden
hygiene, be vigilant by regularly looking
for early signs of problems and do lots
of hand weeding.
Good Organic Gardening | 65
ORGANIC LIVING | THRIFTY GROWING
Growing culinary herbs
is an absolute
no-brainer
MONEY-SAVING HERBS
One group of plants to grow to save
money is the herbs you use regularly. If
youve thrown away sludgy herbs from
the bottom of the fridge, youll know
the savings to be made by plucking
Preserve excess to
enjoy year round
66 | Good Organic Gardening
12 MONEY-SAVING IDEAS
Saving money is a combination
of smart varietal selection and
keeping costs down.
fresh sprigs from the garden rather than Concentrate on early- and late-
investing in a bunch from the supermarket. cropping varieties.
Herbs are easy to grow in either a Grow crops that are hard to
garden or pot and some live happily harvest or transport, making
on a sunny kitchen windowsill. Good them expensive to buy.
starters are basil, chives and parsley. Plant fruit and vegetables your
family enjoys so theres no waste.
Reduce inputs by using
homemade or free organic
fertilisers and mulch.
Select varieties that crop over a
long period.
Look for unusual and
heritage varieties.
Grow fast-cropping plants
among slower producers.
Make the most of microclimates
to extend seasons.
Plant herbs.
Save seeds for replanting.
Barter with friends and
neighbours.
Reduce waste by freezing,
bottling and preserving
excess crops.

THE CHEAPEST VEGETABLES TO BUY ARE
OFTEN THE ONES THAT TAKE THE LONGEST
TO CROP AND OCCUPY THE MOST SPACE.
3
MONEY-SAVING VEGETABLES
AND FRUIT
These vegetables are usually expensive to
buy, are eaten regularly by most families
but take up little space in the garden or a
container. All crop abundantly and over a
long period and include beans, capsicum,
cucumber, lettuce (soft-hearted varieties),
snow peas, spinach/silverbeet and tomato.
Once you move beyond apples, pears
and oranges, fruit is very expensive to
Kerry Boyne, Bigstock
buy. However, fruiting plants are also
harder to grow successfully than most
vegetables and take up more space. Many
are also climate dependent and most are
highly seasonal and need some form of
protection from birds and possums.
THRIFTY GROWING | ORGANIC LIVING
2
1 Lettuce are easy to grow and quick to crop why buy them?
2 Take your excess to the neighbourhood produce swap
3 Potatoes take up a lot of space and take quite a while to crop
4 Blueberries are expensive to buy and may have been sprayed
unless organic better to grow your own 5 A quick cropper
4
The best way to save money on fruit is
to concentrate on varieties that crop early
or late so you have fruit at times when its
likely to be pricey. Also concentrate on
expensive soft fruits, such as berries.
In cool climates, grow blueberries,
currants, lemons, raspberries,
strawberries, thornless blackberries and
a nut tree such as walnut for a good
investment in your diet.
In warmer climates, make savings
by growing blueberries, citrus of all
kinds, gs, pawpaw, strawberries and
thornless blackberries. In a subtropical
or tropical area, consider planting
custard apples and other tropical fruits 5
if you like them.
Good Organic Gardening | 67
THE SHED | GARDEN IN A BAG

15-minute
garden
IF YOUVE BEEN LOOKING
FOR A WAY TO MAKE AN INSTANT
ORGANIC GARDEN, HERES HOW
TO CREATE A TINY FLOURISHING
GARDEN IN JUST 15 MINUTES

68 | Good Organic Gardening


Words & photos Linda Brennan
T
his is a simple way to make a
tiny herb or vegetable garden
for yourself, or create a green
and gorgeous gardening gift
for someone who has limited space.
This garden-in-a-bag will ourish for
12 months to two years.
MAKING YOUR TIMBER TRAY
1 3
1 Cut the timbers to length.
2 Screw or nail the 3 shorter pieces evenly
along the length of the two longer pieces
I have also created a recycled timber
tray on which to sit your garden-in-a-
bag. This gives the bag stability and
allows you to move it easily. If you are
unable to make a tray, you can always
use a timber bathroom mat or recycled
bread delivery tray to hold the potting
mix bag.
3 Ensure youve squared up
the edges and that no nails or
screws poke out to tear the
potting mix bag.
GARDEN IN A BAG | THE SHED
MATERIALS
FOR TIMBER TRAY
2 64cm lengths of timber
3 42cm lengths of timber
(I used old oorboards)
Drill and screws or hammer
and nails
Exterior timber varnish or
decking oil and brush
FOR GARDEN-IN-A-BAG
Scissors, trowel and watering can
1 bag of organic potting mix
5 herbs or vegetables
Organic liquid fertiliser such as
Searles Seamax or 5in1
4
4 Seal the timber with decking
oil or exterior varnish to prevent
it rotting. Allow it to dry before
putting the bag on top.
Good Organic Gardening | 69
THE SHED | GARDEN IN A BAG

MAKING YOUR GARDEN-IN-A-BAG MAINTAINING YOUR

GARDEN-IN-A-BAG
Water a few times a week to keep the
1 soil moist.
Fortnightly application of liquid feed to the
soil and a spray of the same fertiliser to the
foliage will promote luxurious growth.
Linda Brennan can be found at
ecobotanica.com.au

GARDEN-IN-A-BAG IDEAS
A herb garden like the one
shown has Lebanese cress, mint,
thyme, lemon balm and edible
nasturtiums.
1 Poke ve holes into one side of the bag. Turn the bag over An Asian herb garden could
and place it on the tray. include Vietnamese mint, chives,
Thai basil, chillies and coriander.
A Mediterranean herb garden could
2 include oregano, thyme, rosemary,
parsley and Greek basil.
A vegie garden could have a
selection of vegetables such as
cherry tomatoes, tatsoi, pak choy,
lettuce, broccolini, mini cauliower,
bush beans and fairy eggplant. The
bag can be replanted after each
vegetable is harvested. Simply
remove any remaining root ball
and add a little pelletised fertiliser
2 Cut ve crosses into the bag one in the middle and one towards each corner. to the holes before replanting.
Tuck the cut edges into the bag to make ve neat square holes.

3 4

3 Prevent inhalation of soil and risk for Legionnaires disease by 4 Remove enough soil from each hole to
watering before you work with it. I have watered in diluted liquid accommodate a plants root system comfortably.
fertiliser. Soak your plants to completely wet the root ball.

5 6 7

5 Firm in extra soil around the plant. 6 Water in each plant with diluted 7 Wipe the bag clean and your instant
Repeat with the other plants. fertiliser. This settles the potting mix garden-in-a-bag is ready to grow.
around the roots. Position in a sunny spot.

70 | Good Organic Gardening

GARDEN CALENDAR | EARLY SPRING
Things to do in
SEPTEMBER
HOW EXCITING IS SPRING! LONGER DAYS, WARMER
TEMPERATURES AND MORE STABLE WEATHER MEANS PLANTS
EVERYWHERE BEGIN TO GROW, FLOWER AND FORM FRUIT
R AT E
C O O L & T E M PE
VEGIES
Early spring can be a lean period as
winter crops nish and newly sown
crops grow, but there are some special
treats. One of the most delicious crops
to harvest in early spring is asparagus.
Look for fresh spears daily and harvest
quickly. As the spears mature, they
become woody and inedible.
Also productive in early spring
are peas, broad beans and English
spinach. Plant out summer crops
(direct-sow seeds or plant seedlings
of chilli, capsicum, tomato, eggplant,
cucumber, pumpkin, squash, zucchini
and beans), but hold off in cold regions
until frosts are over and the soil warms.
Be particularly careful with frost-tender
tomato, cucumber and pumpkin, but
instead sow broad beans, broccoli,
English spinach and rocket.
Potatoes, beetroot and carrots can be
planted now in all areas. When planting
potatoes, use certied disease-free
seed potatoes (tubers). The weeds also
start growing, so keep them at bay by
regularly hoeing weed seedlings as they
emerge. Also watch for pests such as
slugs and snails, especially after rain.
72 | Good Organic Gardening
By Jennifer Stackhouse
FRUIT
Finish planting bare-rooted deciduous
fruit plants into the garden or
containers before they start to grow
where theyve been left. Water
newly planted deciduous fruit trees
regularly as new growth appears and
temperatures increase.
Early September is the last chance
in cold zones to combat peach leaf
curl. This disease affects foliage on
stone fruit and can reduce crops.
Prevent it before leaves appear in
spring by applying a copper spray in
late winter or very early spring. If trees
have leafed up already, its too late to
spray as the copper can burn foliage.
As the disease progresses in spring,
affected leaves become distorted, red
or pink, swollen and then drop. Feed
and water affected trees well too as
the tree attempts to replace its lost
foliage with healthy leaves.
Prune overgrown passionfruit
vines to encourage vigorous growth.
Apply an organic fertiliser or manure
the length of the root system. Water
in well. Feed other fruiting plants
including citrus and avocado.
1
COMPOST & SOIL
Dig in green manure crops that have
been growing over winter before
they ower and set seed. Slash
and chop tall growth so it can be
incorporated into the soil. As green
manure crops break down, they
return nutrients to the soil.
Also get the compost heap
revved up as the weather warms.
Composting slows in the cold
weather but can be sped up again
by turning rotting material to let in
more air and adding a few spades of
manure. Use a fork or a special tool
called a compost worm to stir up and
aerate compost. Throwing a cover
over the heap helps it warm up on a
sunny day and will keep out excess
rain. Where compost is needed to
add to soil before planting of new
crops, look for well-rotted material at
the base of the heap.
Check bags of leaves stored for leaf
mould and use them in the garden
if theyve broken down into a rich
Bigstock
earthy material. Clean out the chook
shed after winter as a ready source of
manure and compost material.

T R O PI C AL
VEGIES
As the dry season nears its end, smart
gardeners switch to planting vegies
that can tolerate increased rain and
humidity. Top choices include beans,
especially snake beans, as well as
cucumbers and Chinese greens.
Switch over to growing cherry
tomato varieties instead of larger-
fruiting tomatoes, as cherries are
less vulnerable to pest and disease
problems than are the larger
varieties. Cherry tomatoes are
prolic, so pick them frequently.
Excess moisture can cause even
these small fruits to split.
To keep herbs growing well as
the humidity rises, plant them in
terracotta pots with free-draining
potting mix. Shelter the herbs from
excessive rain and keep them handy
by arranging the pots on a sunny
sheltered deck.
1 Cherry tomatoes are less prone to pest attack 2 Finish planting bare-root fruit trees
3 Dig in the green manure crop 4 Last chance to treat peach leaf curl 5 Look for spears daily
2 3
FRUIT
Feed citrus and other fruiting plants
with a complete citrus food. In hot
areas, fruiting trees such as citrus
and lychees appreciate light shade,
especially as they establish. If birds
and insects regularly destroy fruit
crops, grow fruiting trees and
shrubs in a large, netted area.
If space is tight, look for dwarf
varieties for a mini orchard, which
is also easier to protect. New on
the market is the dwarf Tahitian
lime called Sublime, which can be
grown in a large container. Tropic
Sun is a more compact variety
of custard apple to plant now. It
reaches 3-4m high.
Spring is also a good time to
start a crop of rosellas. These
small shrubs produce red hibiscus-
like owers that are used for jams
or preserves.
EARLY SPRING | GARDEN CALENDAR
COMPOST & SOIL
Spread compost under fruiting trees
and renew mulches to protect soils
from sun and rain and reduce weed
growth. Chop up pruned material
along with fallen palm fronds and
other leafy material to spread as mulch
around trees and shrubs. Mulches can
also be used to surface pathways,
which is a good way of using material
thats not fully decomposed.
Where soil drainage is poor during
the long wet summer, make raised
rows or beds, especially in the
vegie patch or orchard, to assist soil
drainage and reduce root rot diseases.
New gardeners who are unsure
where to start their garden can set
up a compost heap as a priority. To
reduce dirt being trekked into the
house, cover bare earth with lawn. It
can be removed later to make way for
permanent plantings.
5
Good Organic Gardening | 73
GARDEN CALENDAR | MID-SPRING

Things to do in
O C TOBER
BY THE MIDDLE OF SPRING EVERYTHING IS ERUPTING WITH
GREEN LEAVES AND GROWTH. CONTINUE PLANTING SUMMER
CROPS AND KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR WEEDS AND PESTS
By Jennifer Stackhouse

1
R AT E
C O O L & T E M PE

VEGIES FRUIT COMPOST & SOIL

In the warm parts of temperate zones,
gardeners will be planting second
crops but in the cool areas, where
frost is still a worry, its safer to wait
until the end of the month before
planting out cold-sensitive seedlings.
Keep cucumber, tomato, zucchini and
pumpkin seedlings under shelter.
Tomatoes that are planted out and
growing need to be trained. Tie them
to tall stakes or a screen, removing any
low growth thats touching the ground.
Use soft ties to avoid damaging the
soft stems. Also train climbing beans
and cucumbers on a tepee or trellis to
make them easier to maintain.
Make the most of the good growing
times ahead with succession planting.
Every few weeks, sow more seeds or
plant a few more seedlings of leafy
greens such as lettuce and English
spinach (best in cooler zones) to keep
Want a crop everyone will love? Plant
some blueberries. They can be grown
in containers or raised beds, or use
them as an edible hedge. Blueberries
grow anywhere azaleas grow. The
most versatile variety is Blueberry
Burst, which also has large fruit.
Elsewhere in the orchard, owers
on fruit trees suggest a bumper crop
but only if all is in place for pollination.
Many trees require another variety
for cross-pollination and fruiting to
occur. For a long-term solution, plant
pollinating varieties but for a short-
term option, bring in cut branches
of pollinator owers and place them
in buckets of water under fruit trees.
The bees will do the rest. Attract bees
with owering herbs such as basil and
borage along with owers including
daisies and lavender.
Also owering now are many citrus.
Use well-rotted compost to dig into
areas that are being prepared for
planting. Compost can also be applied
as mulch around established plantings,
including ornamentals and fruiting trees,
shrubs and vines. It can be laid on the
surface and not dug in.
Spring is a good time to get into
repotting established plants that have
been in the same container for several
years or to plant up pots with fast-
growing vegies or ornamentals. When
purchasing potting mix, check that the
mix you select meets the Australian
Standard (look for the ticks on the bag).
Premium mixes contain added fertiliser
to sustain plant growth for several
months without additional feeding.
Potting mixes are sold for general
purposes but may also be customised
for specic plants or garden use.
Specialised potting mixes include those
Bigstock, Kerry Boyne

a continuous harvest happening.
To help shade crops as the summer
heat intensies, sow a row or two of
sunowers along the western side of the
vegie patch, or use this space for a block
of corn or to set up trellises for beans.
As they form small fruits, shelter
the trees from wind and give deep,
regular watering to avoid fruit drop.
Start fruit-y control for early-
fruiting peaches and nectarines using
organic baits and traps.
for vegetables as well as for propagation
or seed raising. There are special mixes
available for raised garden beds, which
are sold in large bails or in bulk. To make
potting mix last longer in containers, add
around 10 per cent compost.

74 | Good Organic Gardening


T R O PI C AL
VEGIES
Keep on top of weeds with regular
hoeing. Cover disturbed soil with a thin
layer of mulch. Beans are a bountiful
crop to plant now and in the months
ahead. Snake beans do well in hot
climates. Borlotti beans have colourful
seeds, which can be eaten fresh or
stored as dried beans.
Also sow sweet corn, sowing seeds
directly into the soil in rows around
5060cm apart. For best results from
this wind-pollinated plant, sow corn in
blocks at least 1m rather than in long
rows. Cobs with uneven kernels are the
result of poor pollination.
For a quick crop of small tomatoes,
select a cherry variety such as Tiny
Tim, which is a dwarf grower (no
need for high stakes) but has copious
amounts of small, red, cherry-sized
fruit. They can also be grown in pots.
Small tomatoes are more resistant to
fruit y than larger tomatoes due to
their size and tough skins.
1 Plant a sunower screen 2 Use soft ties on tomatoes 3 Dragonfruit are worth growing
4 Attract bees with owers 5 Grow in beds or pots 5 Give beans something to climb on
2 3
4 5
FRUIT
Not all fruit is produced on trees. A
climbing cactus has colourful fruit
thats gaining popularity among chefs.
Dragonfruit has a bright-pink exterior
and a white interior dotted with black
seeds. Mostly its used to decorate
fruit platters, but it can also be added
to fruit salad or blended in a smoothie.
Fruit thats already ripening in the
orchard will be a target for birds,
bats and possums. Pick regularly to
try to beat the birds or use exclusion
bags around individual fruit clusters.
Bird netting (stretched tight) or fruit
cages protect crops from birds, bats,
possums and wallabies. Check bird
netting regularly for trapped animals
including bats and reptiles. Control
fruit y with eco-friendly fruit-y baits.
Renew them regularly.
If new plantings could become
water-logged through the summer
wet season, plant fruit trees into
slightly raised beds to allow drainage.
MID-SPRING | GARDEN CALENDAR
COMPOST & SOIL
An easy way to prepare hard-to-
dig soil is to cover it with mulch or
compost and allow the soil organisms
to do the rest. Raised beds lined with
weed mat or eece can also provide
growing space in areas that are hard
to cultivate or where soil isnt available.
Grow living groundcovers using
prostrate plants, including nasturtium,
to cover the soil with a green alternative
to organic mulch. Groundcover plants
also help keep soils cool and discourage
weed growth. Even grass or lawn helps
protect soils from the erosion caused
by heavy downpours and is an ideal
companion for orchards.
For a dense living cover over the
soil, select plants that form roots
as they grow such as sweet potato
(shoots or sprouted tubers can be
planted now). Sprawling vegetables
such as pumpkins and zucchini also
deter most weeds, although they can
be invaded by running grasses.
6
Good Organic Gardening | 75
SHORT SHOOTS | EARTHY IDEAS
CLEVER IDEAS FOR YOUR GARDEN
1
WATCH ROSES
GO BANANAS
Rose growers in the know swear
by banana skins: just dig some in
around the roots of your roses and
watch them thrive. Banana peel is
packed with goodies missing from
many soils phosphates, calcium,
sulphur and magnesium and your
blooms will thank you. Another
traditional gardening trick is to bury a
wedge of lard under the roots of new
roses, though cooking fat might be in
short supply in the modern kitchen.
2
DONT KEEP
MUSHROOMS
IN THE DARK
Exposing mushrooms to sunlight
can signicantly boost their levels
of benecial vitamin D. Though
more of a problem in long northern
winters, vitamin D deciency
blamed for many conditions
including diabetes, autism, psoriasis,
tuberculosis, osteoporosis and
MS can also result when people
minimise their time in the sun to
avoid skin damage. While the effects
of vitamin-enriched mushrooms
can last a year or more in fresh or
dried, homegrown or store-bought
varieties, medical authorities still
insist the best source of vitamin D is
direct exposure to the sun.
76 | Good Organic Gardening
Words Chris Stafford
3 5
SEED POTS WITH A PEEL
Weve probably all seen
seedlings raised in eggshells.
But what if the chooks arent laying?
You can also save citrus peels left over
from juicing and use them as starter
pots. Take the rind of half a lemon,
orange or grapefruit, poke a hole
in the bottom for drainage, ll with
potting mix, add a couple of seeds and
water and you have a biodegradable
seedling pot you can plant directly
into the garden where it will compost,
adding nutrients to the soil.
4 6
HERES THE SCOOP
Why recycle when you can
upcycle? Most households
nd it hard to avoid the 2L plastic
milk cartons. With a section cut out
(leaving the handle intact), a carton
becomes a handy scoop for digging
in compost or delivering mulch or
plant feed. Left intact but with small
holes punched in the lid, it can be
repurposed as a watering can or
dispenser for diatomaceous earth.
Bird feeder, seed starter, protective
cloche, mini greenhouse theres no
end of garden roles for the humble
milk carton.
STOP THE SPACE INVADERS
If youd like to grow invasive plants
such as lilies or black-eyed Susans
and not have them take over the rest of
your plot, heres a gardening hack that
will stop sprawling species in their tracks.
Cut the bottom out of a large plastic pot
at least 25cm deep and bury it with its
rim ush with the ground. Then relocate
your pushy plant to the pot where its
roots will be conned and unable to
escape. A layer of mulch around the pot
will stop the plant spreading through
dropping its seeds.
A FILTER TIP
How to stop dirt falling out of the
bottom of those big planter pots?
Many gardeners use pebbles, stones or
broken bricks, which keep most of the
dirt in but let water out. Another neat
trick is to line each pot with coffee lter
paper, which of course also lets the
water through but stops the dirt dead.
Bigstock
 EARTHY IDEAS | SHORT SHOOTS

8
REPURPOSED
FLOWER CADDY
When rust and grunge start to
disgure that old bathroom organiser,
dont throw it out. Instead, line the shelves
with felt and turn it into a hanging garden.
Likewise, a hanging shoe rack can be
repurposed as a vertical herb garden.

9
AUTO HERB DRIER
Heres a great way to dry herbs.
Spread a sheet of paper on the seat

7
A VODKA TONIC
FOR A POSY
Freshly cut owers dont last
forever but you can perk up those
drooping blooms with a shot of vodka.
According to Scientic American, diluted
alcohol preserves owers by inhibiting
the production of ethylene, which helps
of your car, lay your herbs out in a single
layer and close the car doors and windows.
Not only will the herbs dry perfectly, but
your car will have a heavenly scent. Its
got to be better than those chemical
deodorisers they sell at service stations.

plants mature. You can also zz up your
ower arrangement with a weak (3:1)
mix of water and a citrus softdrink such
as Solo. A little bleach will discourage
any bacterial growth from this sugary
mix. Florists also use aspirin to extend
the life of cut owers so you can relax
by drinking the vodka yourself while
admiring your bouquet.
10
HI-VIS TOOLS
Paint the handles of your
gardening tools a bright
colour so they stand out in the
garden, especially among the litter
when youre pruning and weeding.
Some manufacturers have already
cottoned on to this there are
shears with uorescent orange
handles, for example but a lick of
paint will help you spot that nasty
rake lying in wait under a pile of
fresh cuttings, tines up and ready
to ambush the unwary gardener.
Lets leave that pratfall to silent
movie comedians.

Did you know?

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Plastic toothbrushes (1000 tonnes)
into landfill each year. The plastic A better way to do the washing!
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Made from bamboo, they are biodegradable and environmentally
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Good Organic Gardening | 77

FEATHERED FRIENDS | INCUBATORS

Keeping them cosy

IF YOU FEEL READY TO TRY YOUR HAND AT HATCHING,
KNOW THE BASICS BEFORE YOU START

Words & photos Megg Miller INCUBATOR LORE Research the incubators that are in

N
ow that incubators are easy
to come by, lots of people
are trying their hands at
hatching chicks. For some, its
a successful project but for others, it
can end in disappointment. There are,
however, few experiences as magical as
There is an unwritten rule with
incubators: you get what you pay for.
Its worth paying a little extra to a
reputable seller because you also get
after-sales service.
Cheapies from China sound great,
but more stories report problems
your price bracket and talk to breeders;
by doing your homework well, you are
less likely to buy a lemon. And operating
instructions are a must.
Where to site the incubator?
The ideal spot is a well-ventilated,
clean room that maintains a stable
Bigstock

watching chicks hatch: a little tweaking than success. Follow-up enquiries are temperature. Extremes, as encountered
of the incubation process can result in worthless. Often, too, these incubators in sheds or on the verandah, undermine
uffy chicks for all. are resold, perpetuating the failure saga. successful incubation.

78 | Good Organic Gardening


External and internal cleanliness of
the incubator is critical. This is usually
only an issue if you borrow a machine.
Warmth and moisture encourage the
development of bacteria and fungi, so it
pays to scrub the inside and outside with
hot water and disinfectant.
If you buy or borrow a machine
specically to incubate expensive eggs,
do a trial run rst in case there are
problems with humidity or temperature.
Running some cheap fertile eggs through
beforehand will mean youre more
condent incubating the costly setting.
NOT JUST ANY EGG
Fertile eggs must be clean, regular in
shape and strong-shelled. Better results
occur when theyre all the same size.
Avoid mixing species as the duration of
incubation may vary and try not to hatch
bantam and standard eggs together.
Bantam eggs, being smaller, may hatch a
day or so earlier.
Can you wash soiled shells? Eggs have
a protective covering called the cuticle,
which stops contaminants entering the
shell. Choosing clean eggs with a fully
operative cuticle is more desirable because
washing not only removes it, but also must
be done at temperatures of 40C-plus and
even then contaminants may be absorbed
and cause breakdown of the contents.
Collection at least twice daily, along
with clean nest litter, usually provides
suitable eggs for hatching.
EGG STORAGE
Fertile eggs are safest stored in an egg
carton in a cool, odourless place until
ready to incubate. Best results come
from eggs three to seven days old but,
with diligent care, eggs can be stored for
two to three weeks. Hatching success
drops with length of storage.
Its essential to rotate the carton
two to three times daily. Alternating
ends of the carton are elevated every
few hours to prevent the contents
settling and adhering to the shell.
The alternating elevation also has a
positive effect on albumen quality and,
ultimately, hatchability.
Eggs kept for two to three weeks should
be stored pointed end up (blunt end up
is perfect for seven-day storage) for extra
protection of the yolk and blastoderm. In
warm weather, store the carton in a plastic
bag to minimise moisture loss.
Dont ever store your fertile eggs in
the refrigerator.
INCUBATORS | FEATHERED FRIENDS
Small modern incubator
INCUBATION incubating until day seven when eggs
Temperature and humidity should be should be candled. It will be apparent if
monitored daily. If manual turning of embryonic losses are considerable.
eggs is required, do this at least twice If the power cut occurs in the
daily. Regular turning is critical in the nal week, there will be a real risk of
rst 14 days, a little less important in overheating because by this time the
the nal week. embryos will be generating body heat
There are two periods when embryos and excreting waste gases. It may be
are most at risk: around the fourth to necessary to open the door frequently
fth day and then close to the 1819th to expel these.
day. Its during these periods that you After an hour or so, extra heat may be
dont want a power failure. required and the easiest solution is to ll a
Male embryos are more likely to die hot water bottle or plastic container and
early in incubation and females during place at the bottom of the machine so the
the nal week. warm air rises. Repeat when necessary.
It has been found that females hatch
earlier than male embryos. This can be
inuenced by breed and age of laying
Candling a
hen, with up to three hours difference one-week-
with eggs from slightly older hens. This old egg
difference disappears when eggs are
stored for 14-plus days.
POWER FAILURE
It feels like a nightmare when the power
fails during incubation, but all may not be
lost. Two problems develop: loss of heat
and build-up of heat.
Most incubators are well insulated
and this will help conserve heat. If the
surrounding temperature becomes low, a
warm blanket draped over the machine
will conserve heat. Do not open the door.
If the power cut occurs in the rst week
and is of considerable length, continue
Good Organic Gardening | 79
FEATHERED FRIENDS | INCUBATORS

Just hatched
CANDLING
This is done by passing an egg over the
concentrated beam from an LED torch in
a dark room (see previous page).
At day seven, expect to see a small,
dark blob and spider-like veins feeding
off it. A clear or infertile egg will have no
development and should be discarded.
The air cell at the blunt end of the egg
will get larger during the 21 days; expect
these changes to be consistent in all
fertile eggs and, if one air cell appears
different, you can anticipate a problem
with the embryo.

HATCH TIME
The eggs are not turned after day
19 and you should avoid opening
the machine unnecessarily. In some
incubators, eggs are taken from rotating
trays and put into a hatcher or hatching
tray. In digital machines, the turning is
programmed to cease.
While female embryos may be the rst
to hatch, keep in mind theres a rule that
an hour is added to hatching time for
each day of the eggs age/storage.
Your brooder should be set up and
ready when the rst egg pips. If the
temperature in the incubator is a fraction
hot, hatching may be early, but if it has
run a fraction cooler, the hatch may be
slow and late.
With minimal opening of the incubator,
take out the frisky uffy chicks and put
them in the warm brooder so theres
space for subsequent chicks to hatch.
Dip chicks beaks in water when placed
in the brooder so they drink and switch
their digestive systems on.
Work out what a fair period is for
the latecomers, then turn the machine
off and amalgamate your littlies. Really
late hatchlings do not keep up with
their peers and are easily squashed by
robust siblings.
Having weathered the worry and
excitement of incubation, you will have
your hands full meeting the needs of
the sturdy busybodies, and its these
strong chicks you will want for your
future layers.

Eggs are simply the best.

We give them the best certied organic grain no meat-meal (unlike others). We value the
welfare of our feathered friends; thats why we give them an idyllic habitat with plenty of space to
roam, lots of deep mulch to scratch through, shady trees and lush pasture so our eggs are nutrient
Bigstock

dense and rich in omega 3s. We run no more than 600 hens per hectare. Our hens are always For stockists and more details, go to our website:
occupied so we dont have to debeak.
www.organigrow.com.au
Happy hens lay sensational eggs.

80 | Good Organic Gardening

 FERTILISING | THE UNDERGROUND

FEEDING YOUR FO OD
ITS GROWING TIME AND THEREFORE
FEEDING TIME. ARE YOUR PLANTS
THRIVING OR JUST SURVIVING?

Words & photos Claire Bickle WHY FERTILISE? major nutrients plants need for

S
pring is upon us and there are
myriad tasks we gardeners
have on our busy spring
gardening to-do list: new
plantings, increased watering, mulching
and, of course, fertilising.
But there are many questions around
fertilising: which fertiliser does one
buy and apply to what plant? How is
it applied and when? With so many
choices, even the most seasoned
gardener can be easily confused.
Do you choose a dry fertiliser or a
Bigstock
As soil and air temperatures start to rise,
most plants are ready and wanting to
put out new growth and will continue to
do so throughout spring, summer and
autumn, depending on climate zone.
Adding fertilisers at this time will
ensure those much-needed nutrients for
growth and fruiting are there and ready
to be taken up by the plants.
Most fertiliser packaging will have a
breakdown of what is in it, such as the
percentages of macro-nutrients (N:P:K)
and possibly a range of micro-elements/
growth and productivity.
Micro-nutrients/trace elements include
calcium, sulphur, boron, iron, magnesium,
copper, manganese, zinc, silicon, selenium,
molybdenum, chloride and more. All are
important for plant growth but they are
needed in smaller quantities.
Good feeding leads to good plant
health, enabling plants to fend off
pest and disease attack, which can be
invariably linked to a nutritional imbalance.
Its important to take the time to read
and understand the information on

liquid fertiliser, or both? What is good trace elements, too. fertiliser packaging. The percentages of
value for money and, in fact, why bother N is nitrogen, P is phosphorus and nutrients needed will depend on what
fertilising in the rst place? K is potassium. These are the three you are fertilising.

Good Organic Gardening | 81

THE UNDERGROUND | FERTILISING

DRY VS LIQUID
Whats the difference between liquid
fertiliser and granular?
Dry fertilisers will generally slowly feed
your plants and can be added to the soil
by hand distribution, raking into the soil
and then watering in.
Liquid fertilisers, on the other hand, are
much quicker-acting, delivering nutrients
almost immediately. Most liquid fertilisers
come as a concentrate that you dilute
with water in a watering can or sprayer.
Liquid fertilisers can be added directly
to the soil where the plant roots are or as
a foliar application, where plants will take
in the nutrients via their leaves. Foliar
feeding is usually best done early in the
morning or late afternoon when leaves
are their most receptive.
Of course, plants that are prone to
fungal leaf issues should be foliar fed
in the morning so their foliage has
time to dry out during the day. Leaving
plants with damp foliage overnight will
encourage fungal issues. Tomatoes, roses,
cucurbits and peas are all susceptible.
AVOID ROOKIE MISTAKES
Most fruiting trees, especially
citrus, need time to establish
before being allowed to hit their
straps in owering and setting
fruit. For good establishment and
long-term success, pinch off the
owers and small developing fruit
for the rst two seasons. Then
they can put all their energy into
growing a good root system and
strong branches before producing
large crops short-term losses
for long-term gains.
When planting new fruiting trees,
its best to prepare the soil with
some well-rotted animal manure and
compost. If you want to use anything
in the way of fertiliser at planting,
avoid burning new roots by using a
small handful of blood and bone.
For the rst 12 months, feed your
fruiting trees with a high-nitrogen
fertiliser to encourage new growth.
Other nutrients such as potassium
and phosphorus and other trace
elements will be important, too,
during this establishment period,
but in smaller amounts.
When applying fertiliser to fruit
trees, dont place it at the base of
the trunk. Apply it around the root
zone and out where the drip line
is. This is where a lot of the new
feeder roots will be and where the
fertiliser will be most effective.
Know what to plant when in the
vegetable garden. Vegetables
grown out of their favoured
season will be unproductive and
more likely to succumb to pest
and disease attack.

KNOWING THE DIRT ON DIRT

Soil without organic matter becomes
lifeless and lifeless soil does not grow
good plants or produce good crops with
fertilisers alone.
Healthy soil is created over time
with the breaking down of organic
matter. You can help your soil become
more biologically active by adding
seaweed, compost, animal manures
and biodynamic preparations. These
days, you can even buy applications of
benecial mycorrhizal fungi or make
your own mycelium mats (see Good
Organic Gardening Vol. 7 No. 6). These
inoculants work with plants roots to
make them more effective at taking up
water and nutrients.
To nurture successful fruiting plants
and edibles, your soil needs to be friable,
free draining and full of organic matter.
This will ensure high levels of biological
activity and the best conditions for
plants to take up available nutrients.

WHY ORGANIC?
Commercial fertilisers are either
synthetic (man-made) or organic
(naturally occurring). The synthetic
types provide quick nutrients to plants
but do nothing to build soil structure
and health. Organic fertilisers, on the
Above Claires tropical low-chill peach has only been in the ground for just over six months. The good
other hand, increase the biodiversity in growth can be attributed to good soil preparation before planting and gentle applications of organic
your soil and, therefore, its structure. fertiliser over the six months along with adequate water and mulching

82 | Good Organic Gardening

 FERTILISING | THE UNDERGROUND

TOP ORGANIC FERTILISER CHOICES

FERTILISER BENEFITS DIRECTIONS

Rock dust minerals For trace elements Apply mixed with water or as dust and water
in well

Biodynamic For trace elements Apply as foliar feed, usually

preparations 502-507

Gypsum For calcium Apply as liquid gypsum for fast availability.

Improves soil structure and drainage

Poultry and other For nitrogen, phosphorus and some minor Dig into soil at planting and apply as side
animal manures, elements dressings throughout growing season. Steep in
manure-based fertilisers water to create liquid manure fertiliser

Blood and bone For nitrogen and slow-release phosphorus Apply as a powder or in liquid form at planting
and when plants are actively growing

Seaweed As a tonic to strengthen cell walls, making Apply fortnightly during the growing season
plants disease-resistant and hardy; to improve
plants capacity to take up nutrients and
water more effectively; to improve soil health

Fish emulsion For a range of nutrients Apply as a foliar or soil fertiliser as often
as fortnightly

Compost (mushroom, To add nutrients and humus, structure and Apply as a top dressing during the growing
homemade) water-holding capacity to soil season or dig through the soil at or before
planting

Zeolite For trace elements Apply to soil in late winter

Bentonite clay A good source of silica, magnesium and iron Apply as a tree paste or as foliar feed

Lucerne, pea straw and To suppress weeds, retain soil moisture and Spread on top of soil at a thickness of 57.5cm
sugarcane mulches deliver nutrients as it breaks down over time

Right Seaweed can be applied as a foliar

feed as well as directly to the roots
Far right Organic fertilisers that contain
rock dust minerals will deliver a good range
of nutrients, including trace elements
FRUIT TREE FERTILISER TIPS
Always pull back mulch before
fertilising and replace after
Using organic, particularly certied- watering in.
organic, fertilisers ensures you are Apply around the root zone and
keeping synthetic nutrients out of your drip line of the tree.
food cycle and allows you to build and Dont place fertiliser at the base
care for your soil by using a varied range of the trunk. Apply at least
of additives and fertilisers. 40cm away from the base.

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

The variables are many when it comes
to feeding. Location, climate, season,
soil type, water availability, plant type,
cultivar etc are all factors that have a
bearing on what fertiliser is best to use,
as well as when and how much.
Glean local information from qualied
horticulturists, garden centres, growers and
even garden clubs, which are a great way
to nd out what needs to be done in your
backyard throughout the seasons.

Good Organic Gardening | 83

THE UNDERGROUND | FERTILISING

Left Its best to feed young fruit trees with only organic-based
fertilisers for the rst six to 12 months. Anything too strong in this
early establishment period can do more harm than good
Below When applying fertiliser to your fruit trees, distribute it around
the root zone and out at the drip line. Applying strong fertilisers
within 40cm of the trunk can set trees back and even cause death

GOOD FEEDING LEADS TO GOOD PLANT HEALTH, ENABLING

PLANTS TO FEND OFF PEST AND DISEASE ATTACK, WHICH
CAN BE INVARIABLY LINKED TO A NUTRITIONAL IMBALANCE.

THE ORCHARD
As a general rule of thumb, you should
fertilise your fruit trees just before
owering, during fruiting and after harvest,
when new growth is usually occurring.
Every harvest equates to nutrients
taken from the soil, so you can see why
its important to replace those nutrients if
you want good seasonal cropping. If you
dont do so, your harvests will start to
diminish and tree health and productivity
will decline.
CITRUS
Citrus are heavy feeders and if not
fed adequately will sulk, become poor
producers and often be susceptible to
pest and disease attack.
Citrus in ower can trigger fertiliser-
crazy gardeners into action, which
unfortunately will cause owers to drop
and the trees to come into new growth
instead. Wait until the fruit is around
thumbnail size before fertilising. Even
then, be light-handed and choose a more
potassium-based fertiliser to support
fruit development.
Granular fertilisers are a no-no for
trees in pots they are too strong and
will often cause leaf drop and even death
from fertiliser burn. A pot is a conned
space and the concentrated fertiliser has
nowhere to go.
Citrus feeding regime
Poultry manure fertiliser every six
weeks, spring through to autumn,
quantity depending on age of tree
Iron sulphate three times a year,
spring, summer and autumn
Trace elements via rock dust minerals
once a year, early spring follow
directions on packaging
Calcium via liquid gypsum once or
twice a year
Seaweed throughout spring and
summer as a foliar feed and also
applied to the root zone
***Leaving out the iron sulphate, this
regime can be used as the backbone of a
feeding timetable for most fruiting trees
and plants.
DECIDUOUS FRUITING TREES
For just-planted dormant trees and
trees to the age of 12 months: Organic
fertilisers that are not too strong, such
as blood and bone, should be applied at
planting and after winter when growth
MAKE YOUR OWN!
Make compost tea, comfrey
tea, weed tea and liquid worm
castings. Start a Bokashi bucket to
recycle kitchen waste.

84 | Good Organic Gardening

 FERTILISING | THE UNDERGROUND

is due to commence. Applications are
best done often but in small amounts.
Every two weeks for that rst year is
ideal except during the coldest months
of June and July.
For established deciduous fruit trees:
Fertilisers applied at the end of winter for
spring owering and then fruit set should
be high in potassium and phosphorus.
Once fruit has been harvested, its time
to apply a nitrogen-based fertiliser for
optimal leaf growth throughout late
spring and summer.
SUBTROPICAL FRUITING TREES
In the subtropics and tropics, the
growing season is extended because
of the warmer winter air and soil
temperatures. Feeding of subtropical
fruiting plants in these warmer climate
zones can generally be done more often
and sometimes continually throughout
the year, including winter, because of the
lack of dormancy.
Remember that each fruit tree variety
will have its own individual needs,
though. Take time to research fertiliser
recommendations for your area when
planning an orchard.
Note: Each variety and even cultivar
may have slightly varying fertilising
requirements depending on the time
of cropping and age of tree. The older
the tree, the more fertiliser it will need.
Always follow directions on packaging
when applying fertiliser. Individual
fertilisers and brands have specic
guidelines on how much to apply and
when. They also have listed on the
packaging the percentages of each
nutrient. Its important to take the time
to read and understand this information.
THE VEGIE PATCH
Most vegetable crops are grown quickly
and harvested within one growing season,
so its important to prepare your soil well
at planting time with loads of organic
matter such as compost and well-rotted
animal manures, then mulch thickly with a
nutrient-rich product such as lucerne, pea
straw or sugarcane mulch.
When it comes to continued feeding,
fortnightly applications of liquid sh
emulsion fertilisers are ideal, as are foliar
and soil applications of liquid seaweed.
Every six weeks, side dressings of a
pelletised manure fertiliser can be applied.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Different vegetables have slightly different
nutrient needs:
Leafy vegetables lettuce, spinach,
silver beet, kale, Asian greens require
good levels of nitrogen.
Fruiting vegetables eggplant,
capsicum, zucchini, squash, corn, tomato,
pumpkin, gourds, melons, rosella, okra,
chilli require good levels of potassium
and phosphorus.
Root vegetables beetroot, carrot,
celeriac, parsnip, radish, potato, sweet
potato, turnip require good levels
of phosphorus.
POTTED FRUIT TREES
AND OTHER EDIBLES
Most potting mixes have fertiliser
in them but when it runs out,
then what? Its up to you to
apply more slow-release fertiliser
and regular liquid fertiliser
applications for optimal growth.
Granular fruit tree fertilisers are
generally too strong to apply to
potted specimens.

Seagold is a Soluble Seaweed Extract made from fresh
Seaweed (alga), such as Ascophyllum Nodosum,
Sargassum and Laminarials, which are rich in micro-
nutrient and natural hormones.
Seagold is a natural, non-toxic, harmless and non-polluting
soil conditioner which improves quality in all crops by
strengthening the cell walls and boosting the plants natural
resistance to disease and adverse conditions. It promotes the
development of vigorous root systems for the plant to access
nutrients and water which ultimately lead to increased yield.
Improved quality is readily evident in bolder foliage, improved
skin colour and texture, higher suger content and longer shelf
life. Additional applications can be made immediately prior to
or following stress periods such as frost and drought.
Available in 150g, 1kg, 5kg and 20kg sizes.

For more information call 0410 335 633 or email admin@seagold.com.au | www.seagold.com.au

Good Organic Gardening | 85

IN SEASON | FRUIT & VEG

F R ES H LOC AL
THESE
T FRUIT AND VEG ARE THE FRESHEST AND BEST IN OUR
SHOPS AND GARDENS DURING EARLY TO MID SPRING

In seaso n In sea son

SEP T E M B E R O C TO B E R
FRUITS VEGIES FRUITS VEGIES
Apple (Lady Williams), Artichoke (globe), Asian Avocado, banana, Artichoke (globe), Asian
blueberries, custard greens, asparagus, blueberries, dragonfruit, greens, asparagus, beans,
apple, grapefruit, lemon, beans, beetroot, broad gooseberries, grapefruit, beetroot, broad beans,
lime, mandarin (Imperial), beans, broccoli, cabbage, guava, kiwifruit, cabbage, cucumber,
rockmelon, orange carrot, cauliower, chilli, mango, melons, orange chilli, fennel, garlic, kale,
(blood, Navel), papaw, fennel, garlic, kale, leek, (Valencia), papaw, lettuce, mushrooms,
papaya, pineapple, lettuce, mushrooms, peas, papaya, passionfruit, peas, potato, silverbeet,
pomelo, strawberries, potatoes, silverbeet, pineapple, pomelo, spinach, spring onion,
tamarillo, tangelo spinach, spring onions strawberries, tangelo watercress, zucchini

Bigstock

SEASONAL TIP
The French have a ritual for eating
artichokes. You boil or steam them whole,
drain, then break off leaves one by one, dip
in vinaigrette and squeeze out the esh with
your teeth. The outer leaves are quite brous
with not much meat, but as you get further
in, the leaves get softer and meatier until
you reach the prize: the succulent heart.

86 | Good Organic Gardening

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GARDEN TO TABLE

89
90

91

92

Images and recipes from

G arden to table
G o o d Ca r b s
SEASONAL RECIPES TO MAKE NOW

89 POTATO Potato Salad with Green Beans,

Peas & Buttermilk-Herb Dressing

THE GOOD CARBS

90 BLOOD ORANGE Fregola & Blood Orange Salad
COOKBOOK with Fennel
By Dr. Alan Barclay, Kate
McGhie & Philippa Sandall 91 PAPAYA Charred Spiced Fish
with Chopped Papaya Salsa
Bigstock

Photography Alan Benson

Publisher Murdoch Books
RRP $39.99 92 BANANA Banana & Peanut Ice Cream

88 | Good Organic Gardening


Potato Salad with Green Beans,
Pe as & Buttermilk-Herb Dressing
The secret of any good potato salad is to
use a rm, waxy potato such as kiper or
pink r apple, as they keep their shape
much better than oury types. The latter
also fall apart when tossing and end up
as mush because they absorb too much
dressing. Adding a splash of vinegar to the
boiling water helps hydrate and tenderise
potatoes without them falling apart.
Preparation time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
6 large potatoes, scrubbed
300g green beans, cut into 3cm lengths
23 cup (100g) garden peas
23 cup (170mL) buttermilk
3 cup (85g) extra-light sour cream
1
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp nely chopped shallot
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional)
1 spring onion, white part only,
thinly sliced
12 tsp nely grated lemon zest
4 medium radishes, very thinly sliced
Sea salt akes & freshly ground pepper
METHOD
1 Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover
with cold water and bring to the boil.
Simmer for about 12 minutes, or until
tender to the point of a thin-bladed
knife. Remove with a slotted spoon,
POTATO | GARDEN TO TABLE
leaving the water in the pot. Cool
slightly, peel off the skins, if liked, and
then cut into chunks and put in a bowl.
2 Bring the pot of water used to cook
the potatoes to a simmer and drop
in the green beans. Cook for about
3 minutes, then add the peas and
simmer for a further 2 minutes, or until
the vegetables are just tender. Drain,
refresh under cold water and drain
again well. Tumble the vegetables into
a bowl with the potatoes.
3 Combine the buttermilk, sour cream,
herbs, shallot, vinegar, mustard, if using,
spring onion, lemon zest and radish.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the
dressing over the potatoes while they
are still warm, and toss gently to coat.
Serve at room temperature.
Good Organic Gardening | 89
GARDEN TO TABLE | BLOOD ORANGE
F re g ola & B lood Ora n ge S a l ad
with Fennel
Every ingredient in this lively salad
says Italy. Fregola is a type of Sardinian
semolina pasta, not dissimilar to
couscous. During processing, it is mixed
with water, rolled into tiny pebbles,
sun-dried and roasted, giving it a rustic
quality. Red-eshed blood oranges were
developed in Sicily, while subtly scented
aniseedy fennel is everywhere in Italy.
Preparation time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 12 mins
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
2 cups (400g) fregola
90 | Good Organic Gardening
4 blood oranges
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed &
thinly sliced
Freshly ground pepper
Anchovy-Lemon Dressing
4 anchovy llets, drained
1 garlic clove, peeled
12 tsp dried chilli akes
14 cup (60mL) lemon juice
14 cup (60mL) olive oil
METHOD
1 Bring a pot of salted water to
the boil and add the fregola. Boil
for about 1015 minutes, or until
cooked through. Drain, refresh under
cold water and set aside to drain
and dry.
2 Slice the peel and white pith from
the oranges and slice the esh into
thin rounds. Arrange in a circle on
a serving dish.
3 For the dressing, mash the anchovies
with the garlic and chilli akes and
then whisk in the lemon juice and oil.
4 Put the well-drained and cooled
fregola and fennel in a bowl, add
the dressing and toss lightly. Pile
the mixture on top of the oranges
and season generously with pepper.
Garnish with fennel fronds.
 PAPAYA | GARDEN TO TABLE

Ch ar re d S pice d F i sh Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme

popularised blackening at his
restaurant K-Pauls Louisiana Kitchen

with Chopped Papaya Salsa by dipping sh in milk before coating

with dried spices. The erce high heat
scorches the outer surface of the sh
while keeping the esh moist. This
recipe is a gentler approach that does
not demand cooking outdoors. Whats
more, papayas soothing coolness
tempers the spice.

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 8 mins
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
4 200g white sh llets, skin on
1
2 tsp dried thyme
1
2 tsp dried oregano
1
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice 1 lemon

Chopped Papaya Salsa

12 small rm papaya, peeled,
deseeded & diced
12 yellow capsicum, deseeded & diced
12 red capsicum, deseeded & diced
1 small Lebanese cucumber,
deseeded & diced
1 handful coriander leaves,
chopped
1 small red or green chilli,
nely chopped
Juice 1 lime

METHOD
1 Make the salsa before cooking the
sh by combining all the ingredients
in a bowl. Stir and set aside.
2 Pat the sh llets dry with paper
towel. Stir together the thyme,
oregano, pepper, paprika, garlic, oil
and lemon juice in a small bowl to
form a paste.
3 Make a couple of knife slash marks
on the skin side of the sh and, using
your ngers, smear the paste all over
the sh and into the cuts.
4 Heat a non-stick sturdy pan over high
heat and, when very hot, carefully
place the sh in the pan, skin side
down. Cook for 3 mins to blacken
the sh (it will be very smoky), turn
the heat down, then carefully turn
the sh over to cook for a further 3
minutes. Serve the sh topped with
the chopped papaya salsa.

Good Organic Gardening | 91

GARDEN TO TABLE | BANANA

Banana
& P e anut
Ice C re am
This is one of the easiest and tastiest
ice cream recipes. Frozen ripe
bananas are blitzed until creamy. For
this, a powerful blender produces a
better result than a food processor.
The bananas will go through various
transformations: crumbly, gooey,
looking like oatmeal and nally the
consistency of soft-serve ice cream.

Preparation time: 15 mins

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS
4 large ripe bananas, peeled, cut
into chunks & frozen
14 cup (70g) crunchy peanut butter
14 cup (60mL) runny honey
23 cup (190g) natural yoghurt
13 cup (50g) chopped
roasted peanuts

METHOD
1 Put the banana in a blender and
blitz until smooth and creamy.
(Because the bananas are frozen
solid this is a noisy process.) When
the mixture is smooth, add the
peanut butter, honey, yoghurt and
peanuts, then pulse-blend. Pour
the mixture into a freezer-proof
container, cover with lid and freeze.
This will keep for up to 2 months.
Tip: If you like, replace the chopped
roasted peanuts with 12 cup (80g)
of blueberries.

92 | Good Organic Gardening


COVER
TO
COVER
Leafing
through books
for gardeners
and cooks
THE GOOD CARBS COOKBOOK
By Dr Alan Barclay, Kate McGhie & Philippa
Sandall, Murdoch Books, $39.99
A dietician, a chef and an editor walk into a kitchen
... Seriously, folks, after years of bad press, carbs are
back. A good thing, too, as anyone with an interest
in evolution and cooking will tell you that carbs are
probably the reason we humans are still here, full
of beans and bursting with energy. Heres the low-
down on how to choose the best fruits, vegetables,
beans, peas, lentils, seeds, nuts and grains and
how to use them in 100 nourishing meals, snacks
and desserts. Each recipe comes with a nutritional
analysis and there are handy hints for the novice
cook. The recipes work so well our copys already
dog-eared the way a good cookbook should be.
(See page 8892 for a sample of the recipes.)
BACKYARD BOUNTY
Edited by Penny Woodward,
ABC Books, $35
Our readers will have no quarrel with Penny
Woodward when she writes, Why would
we poison ourselves with unnecessary
chemicals when there are proven ways
of gardening that are gentle on the
environment and safer for ourselves and our
families? To that end, she and other well-
known ABC gardening experts start with
the basics preparing the patch, making
compost then present an artichoke-
to-zucchini guide with month-by-month
planting and growing notes, plus natural
ways to combat diseases and pests and
preserve your harvest. A bountiful volume.
A DELICIOUS BUNCH
By Linda Brennan, Ecobotanica, $39.95
Some owers just look good enough to eat
and some really are delicious. To horticulturist
and regular contributor to Good Organic
Gardening Linda Brennan, theres more to
edible owers than brewing rosehip tea or
casting nasturtiums at your salad. In Lindas
case, shes likely to add broccoli owers to
soups or omelettes, or whip up some savoury
treats using calendula petals. Its all here, with
info on avours, fragrance, aesthetics and
growing notes for more than 30 owers, plus
how to use them in mouth-watering mains,
cakes and drinks. So get ready to cook up
a blooming feast. (See page 18 for more on
edible owers.)
BOOKS | REVIEWS
GROWING FOOD
THE ITALIAN WAY
By Fabian Capomolla,
Pan Macmillan, $44.99
In 2014, Fabian Capomolla did what any
passionate grower with an Italian name might
dream of doing: he packed up and moved
to the old country for a year to rediscover
his roots and learn the secret of the Italian
way with food. Actually, the Italian way is no
secret, best summed up as Keep it semplice,
stupido! This beautiful volume, equal parts
memoir, practical how-to, glossary and
cookbook, will have you growing seasonal
vegies like the nonno you never knew and
cooking them like the nonna you wish you
had, simply and with life-affirming gusto.
BREW IT YOURSELF
By Nick Moyle & Richard Hood,
Nourish, $32.99
When life gives you lemons, they say, make
lemonade. But surplus fruit can also be
turned into mead, cider, wines and liqueurs
and youll be amazed at what you can do
with lavender and nettles. Obviously, you can
trust a pair who call themselves Two Thirsty
Gardeners to give you the good oil on the
myriad varieties of booze you can make at
home. They take you step by step though
some 75 homebrew recipes, from beer to
more exotic tipples like Mexican pineapple
tepache and Scandinavian mulled glgg. Still
wondering what to do with all those lemons?
How about a Finnish lemon soda? Cheers.
Good Organic Gardening | 93
 LIFES SHORT
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EatWell is lled with regular tips from the chefs

and bloggers who help us put each issue together.
They share their rst-hand cooking experiences
and demonstrate their commitment to good food
and health. Too often our health and what we eat
are seen as separate entities, but in reality they
belong together. Chefs are busy people with busy
lives; like you they dont always have the time to
baste every potato with duck fat, but they
love a fresh coriander papaya barramundi
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PICK OF THE CROP

PICK OF
THE CROP
Our selection of products and services for gardeners and cooks
THE DISGRACE OF BEAK TRIMMING
A few customers have recently asked me about beak trimming: is it really so bad and does Organigrow
practise it? No, I do not and never have. Why dont I need to? I have no pecking problem due to the diversity of
my farm. The best deterrent is giving chooks space and keeping them occupied. Chooks love to forage, scratch
and eat pasture; my birds have things to do and places to go. At 600/ha, were well below stocking guidelines.
I also have a gentle breed: Lohmann. Their egg production is not as high as more aggressive birds like ISA
Browns and Hyline but my passion is their welfare and the quality of my product. Cage farms denitely debeak
and, sadly, its almost universal at free-range farms. Shockingly, there has even been a few organic farms that
engage in this painful practice, even though its against the rules. The beak, especially the tip, is the most
sensitive organ on the chook. Cutting off the end inicts pain and also limits foraging ability and therefore the
variety of food the chook can forage for itself, in turn impacting on egg quality. At Organigrow our chooks
are fed organic grain and spend their days scratching for grasses, worms, fruit and veg. This amazing diet
enhances the already superior taste and quality of our eggs. I believe beak trimming is torture but, until chook
densities are reduced by law and monitored, Im afraid this mutilation will continue. When you buy Organigrow
eggs you can enjoy them knowing our birds lead a happy, pain-free life. Simon, organigrow.com.au

YATES NATURES WAY

Looking for the certied-organic
way to control pests in your
home garden? Yates Natures
Way has you covered with a
range of products that are
approved for use in organic
gardening by ACO. Take Yates
Natures Way Vegie & Herb
Spray. This natural, soap-based
spray will control insects and
mites on your vegies so the only
thing enjoying your homegrown
produce will be your family. View
the full range at yates.com.au

WATER-EFFICIENT SPRINKLERS
Wobble-Tee Sprinklers is celebrating entering its 20th year of manufacturing
quality Australian-made water-efficient sprinklers and celebrating with colour!
The Wobble-Tee sprinkler is now available in orange, yellow, pink, blue and purple.
The award-winning Wobble-Tee sprinkler is well known for its efficiency, covering
large areas up to 15m in diameter, using low to medium pressure. The Wobble-Tee
sprinkler now has a little brother, the Clever Drop Sprinkler, boasting the same water
efficiency and covering a diameter up to 8m. As with the Wobble-Tee, its large
consistent droplets minimise wind drift and evaporation loss, allowing the water to
soak in, reaching the root zone. You can run multiple sprinklers from the same tap
as both sprinklers are made to allow add-on-ability and have a removable lter,
allowing the use of river, dam and recycled water. The Wobble-Tee and Clever Drop
sprinklers are both 100 per cent Australian-made and -owned products. The two
sprinklers were designed to suit our extreme Australian climate. Whether watering
large or small areas, Wobble-Tee can provide a clever, Australian-made solution to
suit your watering needs. Visit wobbletee.com.au for more information.

96 | Good Organic Gardening

PICK OF THE CROP

TRIXZIE MINIATURE FRUIT TREES

Tired of standing on ladders to prune, pick, shape or
spray fruit trees? Flemings Nurseries has the answer
with a quality range of truly miniature fruit trees. With
its Trixzie Miniature Fruit Trees range, Flemings has
handpicked the best true miniature fruit trees, ideal
for Aussie backyards. Including two apple varieties,
Pink Lady and Gala, as well as a peach, nectarine
and Pyvert pear, these little beauties will grow to
about 1.5m high and wide. The range also includes a
white and a black cherry that will grow a little larger:
to 2.5m high and wide. Trixzie Miniature Fruit Trees
are small in stature but grow full-sized fruit. They are
decorative enough to grow in large pots/tubs and
can be espaliered for even greater space savings.
The new genetic dwarf fruit trees can convert the
smallest backyard into a living fruit stand. If you want
a compact fruit tree, also check out Flemings range
of Columnar Ballerina Apples and Skinny Fruit Trees
that grow tight and upright. For more information on
these or to nd the best fruit tree for your home, head
to emings.com.au/products/pick-of-the-crop
BENEFICIAL NEMATODES:
NATURES ANSWER TO LAWN
PEST CONTROL
When it comes to controlling many lawn grubs
(below), a safe and effective control option is
available a natural predator that is the most
successful form of control. Much safer and
achieving better results than chemical solutions,
Ecogrow Benecial Nematodes are the best
choice for many garden pests. Benecial
Nematodes are completely safe to use with
edible plants and organic produce. Applied with
water, the nematodes seek out and enter the
pest, then release a bacteria that quickly kills FOR A BUMPER SPRING!
the grubs. They breed within the dead insect, Good soil is the foundation of a great
a new generation then emerging to actively garden and mild temperatures mean now
search for a new host. This process can continue is the best time to give your soil a great
across several generations and as such provides start for a bumper spring. Rocky Point
longer-term control. Benecial Nematodes: Mulchings Organic Active 8 is a well-
Are naturally occurring balanced soil improver and planting mix
Are harmless to humans and pets, non-target designed for the home gardener to plant
animals and other organisms directly into with no fuss. Active 8 contains
Have no negative impact on the environment a rich, earthy blend of organic compost,
Do not affect other benecial insects composted chicken manure, composted
There is no safer product to use for the control cow manure, blood and bone, gypsum, sh
of lawn grubs. ecogrow.com.au. meal, seaweed extract, iron, zeolite, trace
elements and humates. This ensures your
plants are healthier, producing brilliant
colour and increased yields. All these
ingredients combine to create a balanced,
nutrient-rich growing environment to
ensure spectacular growth. Rocky Point
Mulchings Active 8 is available in 30L and
50L bags from all good gardening retailers.
For more information on Active 8 or other
premium garden products in the range,
visit rpmulching.com.au.
GOODNESS FROM THE SEA
Seagold is a soluble seaweed extract
made from fresh seaweed (alga) such as
Ascophyllum nodosum, Sargassum and
Laminariales, which are rich in micro-
nutrients and natural hormones. Seagold is
a natural, non-toxic and non-polluting soil
conditioner that improves the quality of all
crops by strengthening the cell walls and
boosting plants natural resistance to disease
and adverse conditions. It promotes the
development of vigorous root systems for the
plants to access nutrients and water, which
ultimately leads to increased yield. Improved
quality is readily evident in bolder foliage,
improved skin colour and texture, higher
sugar content and longer shelf life. Additional
applications can be made immediately before
or after stress periods such as from frost and
drought. Product sizes are 150g, 1kg, 5kg and
20kg. Ph 0410 335 633. seagold.com.au
KUVINGS GREEK YOGURT &
CHEESE MAKER
Kuvings Healthy Kitchen introduces a new Image of lawn curl grub CSIRO, Creative Commons
product: the Kuvings Greek Yogurt and Cheese
Maker, featuring more than 100 fermentation
recipes for sauerkraut, tzatziki, pickles and
vinegar, as well as yogurt, cheese, amazake,
natto and more. Theres the option to preset
recipes for up to 72 hours, a manual +/- button
from 1 to 99 hours, 23 to 70, as well as a
2L container, BPA-free Tritan container and
LED display screen. All recipes are easy to
make and are just simply delicious. The Greek
yogurt tastes amazing and you cant stop
eating the goats cheese. RRP $199. For more
information, visit kuvings.net.au

98 | Good Organic Gardening

 PICK OF THE CROP

BRINGING TOGETHER
NATURES BEST
Grow tasty herbs and vegies, beautiful
owers and lush lawns from organic
goodness for a healthier choice this season.
5IN1 Organic Plant Food draws together
some of natures best organic ingredients
to enable you to grow better, healthier
vegetables, fruit, owering plants, trees,
shrubs and even lawns. This mix provides
both instant and sustained-release action to
POPES ICONIC RANGE improve the soil, deliver faster, better root
OF HOSES growth, maximise plant health, stimulate
Popes iconic range of garden hoses just got plant growth and boost owering and
better! The lineup has been refreshed with fruiting for up to six months. A family
durable new hose end ttings and new-look formula developed and researched to be a
packaging to help you choose the right hose superior organic fertiliser, 5IN1 is registered
for your situation. Keep a particular lookout fully organic. Available as dig-in soil, easy-to- AN INNOVATIVE GROWING
for the new brass ttings on Popes Brumby sprinkle pellets, water-in liquid and hose-on SYSTEM
and GroPro Storm hoses they look more forms. For more information, call (07) 5422 The Holman GreenWall provides an amazing
like works of art than gardening products! 3000 or visit searlesgardening.com.au opportunity to grow a wide variety of
One thing that has not changed in the vegetables, herbs and owers on vertical
Pope hose lineup is the patented Permat surfaces around the home. It is ideal to
Connection: the ttings are factory crimped transform areas around barbecues and
with brass sleeves, meaning they are securely near kitchens into walls of living food.
attached to the hose. This vastly reduces Leafy herbs can be snipped and cooked
the risk of tting blow-off, which can waste on demand, while owers can transform
thousands of litres of water. The Pope range the same space into a wall of colour. Salad
can be found in all good hardware stores. vegetables thrive in the GreenWall and Tiny
popeproducts.com.au Tim tomatoes and dwarf beans have been
grown with great success, too. The modular
design of the GreenWall allows each unit
PACKED WITH GOODNESS to be easily connected, providing complete
Its no surprise that Troforte is fast becoming the fertiliser of choice for Australian gardeners. exibility to cover pillars, fences or walls.
The unique, specically selected strains of benecial soil microbes in Troforte ensure that This design feature allows architecturally
soils are at their optimum health and this is crucial to plants growing healthy, too! After all, it inspired patterns to be brought to life in a
took 15 years to research these good microbes and work out which strains work best together. horizontal or vertical conguration. Another
Troforte has up to 24 strains of benecial microbes and also 60 minerals and controlled- key feature is the unique inbuilt watering
release fertiliser that will ensure fruits and vegetables are packed full of nutrients! Troforte system, which is moulded into the unit and
is safe for our environment and does not leach, so does not add to the delivers water through a dripper to each
pollution of our rivers and waterways. Troforte is also safe for pets individual pot. This system can be connected
and wont burn your plants. Prolonged use will also help inhibit many with a hose or set up with a programmable
soil and plant diseases. Thats great news as the use of digital tap timer. With a Holman professional
harmful chemical pesticides can be minimised or eliminated misting timer, each plant can receive water
altogether. Troforte is a proudly Aussie innovation that at chosen intervals throughout the day,
tackles plant health from the roots literally! Youll taste the keeping plants lush and healthy. The Holman
difference in your fruits and vegies as Troforte promotes GreenWall Vertical Planting Kit retails for $49
greater nutrient uptake and that means your homegrown in Bunnings and is available at other leading
produce will be packed full of goodness! troforte.com.au hardware stores. holmanindustries.com.au

THE LEADING EDGE

When you rst think of stunning outdoor areas, an assortment of plants and pavers may come to
mind; garden edging is rarely at the top of the list. Youll be surprised to know just how much clean
borders and raised garden beds can set your landscape apart from the average. FormBoss Metal
Garden Edging has been supplying designers, landscapers and weekend DIYers all over Australia
for almost 10 years now. What sets FormBoss apart is the fact that you can produce straight lines,
curves and garden beds onsite with unprecedented ease and with little to no experience. Having the
rolled top lip makes the edging completely safe as well as allowing you to connect easily. Anchoring
the edging into the ground will completely conceal all xings. Eight heights available ranging from
75mm to 580mm in both ZAM and Corten Steel. For more information, visit formboss.com.au.

Good Organic Gardening | 99

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Directory

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