Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue#6.6 - 2016 i Good Organic Gardening

Cats that love catnip roll in it, eat it, rub their faces on it and sometimes run around playing, apparently “high” on its volatile scent and essential oil. The chemical these cats are reacting to is nepetalactone, an essential oil thought to have a hallucinogenic eff ect. For cats that like catnip, one whiff is all they need, whether it’s fresh or dried. Dried catnip is used in toys to make them more appealing to felines. Although only around half to two-thirds of cats respond to catnip, it’s not only domestic cats that enjoy its smell. Other members of the cat family, including lions, also respond. Even if you don’t have cats to enjoy catnip, it makes a pretty groundcover or edging plant about 100cm high and wide. It has…

Whenever John Purtill smells a rose it instantly transports him back to his childhood home in Manchester, a terrace house with a side yard fragrant with the scent of roses and orange trees. Australia is a nation of immigrants, a fact we’re reminded of almost every time we do a Gardening Folk story. In John’s case, he comes from Chorlton-cum-Hardy, a Mancunian suburb known locally as Chorlton — as does his favourite celebrity gardener, Peter Cundall. “I met the bloke once,” says John, “and he said he’s a ‘fellow Manchurian’, so now I tell people I’m a Manchurian.” After the Purtills emigrated, John celebrated his fifth birthday on a farm in Meredith, about midway between Geelong and Ballarat. Later they moved closer to Geelong, to Portarlington on the Bellarine Peninsula,…

It’s a given that if we want food, we need bees. Bees pollinate most of our food crops and without them there would virtually be no harvest. Australia is their last safe haven as pesticides, diseases, habitat loss and the parasite verroa have combined to wipe out large numbers of honeybee colonies elsewhere in the world. The most common pollinator is the introduced European honeybee (Apis mellifera), but we also have over 150 native species, mostly solitary bees that collect nectar, but among them are 10 species of social stingless bees that make small amounts of honey. Tasmania also has the European bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) and Queensland the Asian honeybee (Apis cerana). Given what’s happening to bees elsewhere, we need to do what we can to contribute to the…

“Superfood” is a word that’s thrown around a lot these days, but super-healthy, easyto-grow kale sure lives up to the name. This crinkled, leafy vegetable is a member of the Brassica family, which among others includes broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. It’s high in vitamins K, A and C, calcium and fibre, and jam-packed with antioxidants that protect against cancer, so it’s no wonder it has risen to the top of the healthy food charts. In the garden kale is wonderfully productive and attractive, with textured, often beautifully coloured foliage that brings a bit of pizzazz to the plate, too. ‘Tuscan Kale’, also known as cavolo nero, is an Italian variety that has been grown and treasured for centuries. It’s a real winner in the kitchen and the garden, grown as…

Brussels sprouts are part of the vast cabbage family collectively referred to as brassicas. Of all the vegies in this family, it’s Brussels sprouts that polarise the population: people either love them or loathe them. While many blame their aversion to Brussels sprouts on eating overcooked sprouts in the past, recent research has shown that sprouts taste diff erent to diff erent palates and to some they do have a bitter and nasty flavour. If you’ve hated sprouts in the past but want to give these nutritious vegies one more chance, try sautéing them as suggested by Jo Rushton (see page 74) or toss a few in a stirfry. If you still don’t like them, label yourself a “supertaster”, the term coined in the 1990s for people who are more…

Seeing is believing And the range of hanging baskets from Bloom Master Australia, has everything you ever wanted in a hanging basket and more. It’s just so simple Plant the side holes and the top with your choice of seedlings and before you know it, the basket is covered in a cascade of colour, giving you months of blooming pleasure. Your options are endless, Herbs, Strawberries, flowers, all are showcased brilliantly with these baskets and planter boxes. The Unique Design Means potting mix won’t wash out of the holes when watered. Due to the volume and depth of the containers they stay moist longer and the foliage becomes insulating whilst still allowing aeration through the side holes. The product range is made of high quality poly-propylene and is UV treated.…

Apart from cooking with them, one of the best ways to get the health benefits from the herbs you grow is to make teas. Some are instantly palatable while others are acquired tastes. You probably immediately think of steaming hot drinks, too, but some are pleasant to drink chilled or at room temperature, especially those from lemon-scented herbs (see box). Your own homegrown herbs are always the best basis for your teas because you can rest assured they have been grown organically. What you grow will depend on which flavours and aromas you are drawn to and what health benefits you seek from your herbs. For example, do you want clearer skin? Then consider calendula-based infusions. Do you want anti-inflammatory action? Look to ginger, turmeric and gotu kola. There are…

Eva and Marek Klimek live in Cushnie, in southeast Queensland, on a 40-acre block with an abundant garden that supplies most of their food needs. They originally came from Poland in 1982 and moved from the Gold Coast five years ago. Allotment gardening in Polish cities has been practised for 120 years. It was especially useful during the communist regime, allowing people to grow their own food, which was often in short supply. Allotment gardening continues in today’s Poland, covering 42,397ha, city-dwellers using their gardens as private nature havens. Marek and Eva have continued their families’ gardening traditions. Visitors never leave empty-handed, despite the great physical eff ort required, as the couple love to share their produce. The fruits of their labour are the results of a daily devotion to…

The small Surrey market town of Epsom, 24km south-west of London, is world famous for two reasons: for its racecourse, where The Derby and The Oaks have been run for more than two centuries; and for giving its name to a form of magnesium sulphate commonly known as Epsom salts. During the Georgian period, towards the end of the 18th century, Epsom was a fashionable spa resort. Its mineral waters, when boiled down, yielded magnesium sulphate, traditionally used as bath salts but with many other medicinal uses, which have secured it a place on the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines (see box on page 43 for health benefits). While Epsom’s springs now trickle beneath a modern housing estate, Epsom salts are very much with us, whether as…

March 2016 March is technically the first month of autumn, though still hot, and a good month for planting leafy greens and brassicas Times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (AESTD). WA, SA and NT will need to adjust. During daylight saving add 1 hour. Fruiting annuals Sow or plant annuals that are grown for their fruits or seeds. This is best done during the first quarter phase between first quarter and full moon, when sap is being drawn upwards. Root crops Sow or plant crops that produce below the ground, and also plant perennials. This is best done in the full moon phase between full moon and last quarter when sap flow is being drawn downwards. Leafy greens Sow or plant crops that are grown for their foliage. This is…

Did you know? Nasturtium seeds may be pickled and substituted for true capers as they have a similar look and taste when pickled. It’s likely you’ve spooned salty, shrivelled olive-green capers out of a jar to add to tartare sauce, garnish salmon or a pizza or to spice up a salad, and never wondered what they were. Their true identity might surprise you, as capers are preserved flower buds. They are the buds of an attractive white-flowered shrub called capparis or caper bush and are harvested in spring or early summer before the flowers open. If the buds are not picked and pickled, the flowers open as large, white blooms with a mass of violetpurple stamens in their centre. These flowers go on to produce swollen, slightly ribbed green fruit…

This is one of the more productive and palatable of the bush-tucker foods and can be planted now. It is also a useful garden plant as it’s compact and evergreen with colourful new growth, making it an attractive low hedge or screen. It can be clipped or left to form a compact informal hedge to around one metre high. Small, whitish-mauve berries form in summer or autumn following the small white flowers. The fruit is sweet to eat straight from the bush (seed and all) or can be harvested for jams, preserves or as a pie filling (often combined with apples). GROWING TIPS Midyim, or midgen berry as it’s also known, is native to rainforest gullies along Australia’s east coast. Seeing the plant in its native habitat gives clues about…

Crab apples are cherished for their glorious spring blossoms, but don’t overlook their gorgeous jewel-like fruit, which can be made into delicious jams or jellies. Crab apples are members of the Rosaceae or rose family and are related to domestic apples. All crab apples are edible, but most are bitter-tasting and can only really be eaten cooked, so they are generally made into jellies and jams or apple butter, which tastes delicious on scones or freshly baked bread. They can even be juiced to bring a nice tang to sweeter apple or pear juice, or added to cider to give it an extra kick. If I had to pick a tree for a small garden, a crab apple would be top of the list. Most varieties grow to only 4–6…

Meet Cheralyn Darcey, a talented artist and author who uses her gifts to honour all things botanical. In fact, so passionate is she about plants that Cheralyn is a plant rescuer in the way some people save battery hens, or wildlife or cats. She’s the crazy plant lady who buys the ailing specimens at the garden centre and takes them home to nurse them back to health. When Cheralyn and her husband Paul bought their new home on the NSW Central Coast, along with redecorating the interior with a touch of American Southwestern style (they lived in San Diego for a few years) — largely Paul’s work — Cheralyn set about building a beautiful vegie garden over what had been useless front lawn, Paul helping to construct the raised beds.…

In the garden, spinach is fast growing and provides a welcome supply of leafy greens throughout the cooler months. In the kitchen it’s invaluable for spinach and ricotta pastries, pastas, frittatas and salads. Spinach is a member of the Amaranthaceae family, which also includes beetroot and silverbeet, and like other dark leafy vegetables it’s good for your health. The leaves are packed with iron and a good source of vitamins K, A and C and folic acid, just to name a few. ‘Bloomsdale Long Standing’ is a good variety to look out for, with large, crumpled, bright-green leaves on a compact plant just 20cm tall. The heirloom variety ‘American Curled’ is another top choice with thick, crinkled, deep-green foliage that’s more heat- and drought-resistant than other varieties. English Spinach prefers…

VEGETABLES COOL & TEMPERATE Save seeds from your best-performing, openpollinated summer crops. Plants grown from F1 hybrids are unlikely to be the same as the original, so it’s not worth saving these. Make sure seed is clean and dry, then store it in an airtight container carefully labelled with name and date. Autumn means mushrooms and pumpkins are ready to pick, along with early crops of snow peas. To keep pumpkins over winter, pick with a piece of stem attached and store undamaged fruit in a cool, dark, airy spot. Check regularly and use up any that are becoming soft. Clear away summer crops, including green tomatoes (use in relish or chutney), to make way for plantings of broad beans, brassicas — including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale —…

There are more diseases than you could ever imagine that can ruin your crops of fruit, vegetables and herbs. But quick identification can help you remedy the problem swiftly and save your edibles from complete decimation. Having an understanding of what can go wrong in the way of pests and diseases means forewarned is forearmed, and prevention is always better than cure. Sometimes it’s the only option. So don’t despair if you’re having a bad run in the edible garden. It could just be a bad season for certain diseases. Poor rainfall, high humidity and varying temperatures can aff ect bug populations and allow diseases to get a foothold — and sometimes there’s not a lot you could’ve done about it. The things you can do are easy, though, and…

What do you feed your fowls? Most people are blind to the fact that nutritional knowhow has advanced and are feeding their hens like Grandma did: a handful or two of grains, household scraps and “Shoo, go forage for the rest!” The world has changed dramatically since Grandma’s day. For poultry, disease control, fine-tuned genetics and balanced nutrition have resulted in larger-bodied fowls, improved laying and elite strains for commercial production. Whether purebreds or commercial birds, they need a better food regime than Grandma provided. DIGESTIVE NUTS & BOLTS Extreme diets abound on the internet. Examples include the denial of grains because they’re “not natural” or reducing feeding to homegrown live food like grubs or earthworms in the belief that’s all chooks need. A peek at how fowl digest food…

Grapes are such giving plants. They provide bunches of delicious fresh fruit that can be transformed into wine. If the vine is trained over a pergola, they also give cool shade right through summer and autumn. If you’ve opted for an ornamental rather than fruiting variety you can also enjoy glorious autumn colour as its leaves colour brilliant red, burgundy and yellow before they drop. In return, all they ask for is a hard prune in winter. Grapes are very long lived and vines can survive for a century or more. They tolerate all sorts of soils and climates and are drought-hardy due to their deep roots. Although they get by with little care or attention, for a good harvest you need to put in some work to train, manage…