Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #9.6 - 2019 i Good Organic Gardening

CHLOE THOMSON A horticulturist, presenter and passionate organic gardener, Chloe is co-owner and presenter of the web-based series The Gardenettes and she has been a regular presenter on The Garden Gurus. A mum of two little boys, she has a great following of Australian gardeners on her social media profile Bean There Dug That. STRAWBERRY ‘RUBY ANN’ The plant: Everyone knows strawberries produce white flowers, which become the ruby red fruit we love so much. But hold onto your hats… this new variety ‘Ruby Ann’ is a stunner with its ruby red flowers that develop into tasty ruby-red fruit. This abundant cropper produces strawberries throughout summer and autumn on a compact plant with glossy green foliage. Growing: Like all strawberries, ‘Ruby Ann’ loves a full-sun position, in a rich but…

Quince label Common name: Quince Botanical name: Cydonia oblonga Family: Rosaceae Aspect and soil: Full sun; fertile, well-drained soil Best climate: Cool to temperate Habit: Deciduous fruit tree Difficulty: Moderate Like figs or plums, quinces conjure up images of warm, sunny days and good old-fashioned autumn far e. Quite unflatteringly referred to as the fatter, uglier sister of the pear, the quince is experiencing a revival in kitchens and homes all over the country, appreciated for its timeless qualities in the garden and on the table. The common quince (Cydonia oblonga) is thought to have originated in Asia Minor and spread to Turkey and the Mediterranean. In fact, in ancient Greece the quince was a symbol of love and fertility. Quinces have been grown for centuries for their unique, tart-flavoured fruit…

The first thing Maree McCarthy tells me about her garden is that she has had a recent visit by an echidna. How wonderful. That’s just one indication of how Maree has managed, over 30-odd years, to get her suburban Newcastle backyard in harmony with the reserve and habitat corridor it backs onto, which itself runs into Glenrock State Conservation Area. “Supporting Earth to sing her songs” is the mission statement of Maree’s garden design business, Nature’s Magic Garden Designs. A horticulturist with qualifications in environmental science, conservation and land management, Maree is also secretary of the Australian Plants Society — Newcastle Group. In fact, she says, “I think I was born with soil in my blood.” As well as her garden design business, grandmother-of-two Maree also runs workshops on backyard…

MARCH 2019 It may officially be mid-autumn but there are still plenty of high temperatures and lots to plant in your vegie patch and herb garden. APRIL 2019 This month we’ll see more autumn-type weather as the days get shorter and the nights cooler, and the end of the wet season in tropical areas. When the moon is waxing from new moon to full moon, it is increasing light and drawing sap flow upwards. During the waning from full moon back to new moon, light decreases and sap is drawn downwards. This movement of sap flow has an influence on how well new plants will grow. There are four phases, each lasting seven to eight days. Sowing, planting and taking cuttings should not be done in the 12 hours before…

Mangetout label Common names: Snow pea, sugarsnap Botanical name: Pisum sativum var. saccharatum Family: Fabaceae Aspect & soil: Sun to light shade; well-drained soil Best climate: All areas Habit: Annual climber Propagation: Seed, seedling Difficulty: Easy Mangetout is the French word for peas that are eaten in the pod. The word translates as “eat everything” and that’s what you do with sugarsnap and snow peas, which are the Australian names for peas eaten in the pod. As these peas are immature they are tender and, with little fibrous material in their skins, they are sweet and easy to eat with little preparation. Peas that look a little large may need to have their stalk and string (side edge) removed, but otherwise just steam mangetout peas lightly then eat. They are also…

Pansy label Common name: Pansy, viola, heartsease Botanical name: Viola × wittrockiana Family: Violaceae Aspect & soil: Full sun to part shade; fertile, well-drained soil Best climate: All Habit: Flowering annual Propagation: Seed, seedling Difficulty: Easy What’s not to love about a flower that looks to be smiling back at you! Pansies are a delightful annual to brighten dull corners of any garden during autumn and winter. And what’s more, their cheery and edible flowers can be used to bring pops of colour to cakes and salads. Pansies, heartsease or violas, as they are sometimes called, are easy to grow. They will tolerate a full-sun to part-shade spot and their low-growing, almost spreading habit makes them ideal to bring colour and life to garden beds while many other plants are dormant.…

With autumn upon us we need to be thinking about helping our bees and other pollinators thrive over the cooler months. Researchers at Western Sydney University, with the support of Hort Innovation, are looking into the many pollination insects currently under threat — in particular, the European honeybee — and looking to help our own Australian native bees upskill to take over some of their important work! Australia has over 2000 types of native bees, and Professor James Cook, researcher in pollination at Western Sydney University, believes it’s important to understand the role native bees in particular play in pollinating and how each of us can help support our native bee population. “Everyone can help support a healthy pollinator population by planting all sorts of different flowers and plants that…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES Plan a harvest supper to celebrate the garden’s bounty as we go into autumn. Cook pumpkin, tomato, squash, zucchini and beans to eat now or to preserve. As crops ripen, leave some fruit to mature to collect seed. Open-pollinated varieties come true from seed and these are the best to grow to collect your own seed. Select seed from the most productive or tastiest plantings with an eye out for ones that have performed well in your climate and conditions. As plants reach maturity they begin to decline and may be affected by disease. Cucurbits are often attacked by powdery mildew as they reach the end of their lifespan. This fungal disease appears as a white powdery covering on leaves and stems. Affected leaves die back…

Kunzea label Common names: Kunzea, tick bush, white cloud bush Botanical name: Kunzea ambigua Family: Myrtaceae Aspect and soil: Aspect and soil: Full sun to part shade; well-drained soil Best climate: Subtropics, temperate, Mediterranean, cool Habit: Perennial shrub Propagation: Cutting (soft wood and semi-hardwood), seed Difficulty: Easy Move over lavender. Kunzea, a native shrub from eastern Australia, is being grown for its essential oils. It’s now farmed, harvested and distilled like lavender for its oil, which has antibacterial and other therapeutic properties, as well as fragrance. One of the active ingredients in kunzea is sesquiterpene, which is being researched for its therapeutic value. The highest concentrations of kunzea’s essential oils are found in its leaf tips. After several years of trials, kunzea has been planted as a crop at Bridestowe Lavender…

Sweet potato label Common name: Sweet potato Botanical name: Ipomoea batatas Family: Convolvulaceae (morning glory family) Aspect & soil: Full sun; deep, well-drained soil Best climate: All Suitable for: Vegie beds, groundcover Habit: Perennial groundcover Propagation: Tubers, cuttings Difficulty: Easy The gnarled sweet potato in the vegie section of the supermarket gives no hint of the plant that produced it. Sweet potatoes come from a dainty groundcover that has green, heart-shaped leaves and small white or pink flowers. It forms a lush vine that sprawls over the ground. Where it puts down roots, tubers we know as sweet potatoes grow beneath the soil surface. Even more surprising is to discover that sweet potato is an edible species of the familiar blue-flowered weed known as morning glory. Both vines are in the…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES Top of the list for April is harvesting pumpkins. Pumpkins are ready to pick when they are large, sound drummy when rapped with the knuckle and the vine is dying back. In cold zones, early frosts kill off the vine to reveal the large pumpkins, which were hidden beneath foliage. Where the vine is still rampant, tread carefully with an eye out for snakes! Pumpkins store well if picked with a piece of stem attached. Check each pumpkin carefully for damage such as cuts or bruises as these lead to rot and make the fruit unsuited to storage. Store pumpkins in dark, airy, cool spaces. Check them regularly while they are stored and use any that are showing signs of rot. In warmer zones, tomatoes continue…

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. WHAT WOULD NATURE DO? Biomimicry, the art and science of innovation inspired by nature, was recently named one of the top emerging trends in business. Nature has already solved so many problems, so why not learn from that? An example of technology inspired by nature is the Japanese shinkansen or “bullet train”. Engineers initially designed a very fast train but didn’t account for the massive amount of noise created by the displacement of air ahead of…

New Guinea bean label Common names: New Guinea bean, calabash gourd, cucuzini Botanical name: Lagenaria siceraria Family: Cucurbaceae Aspect & soil: Full sun; well-drained soil Best climate: Subtropics, temperate, Mediterranean Habit: Annual vine Propagation: Seed, cuttings Difficulty: Easy Whoever named this large vegetable New Guinea bean doesn’t get any prizes for accuracy as this curious vegetable isn’t from New Guinea and, although it’s long and green, it isn’t a bean. Its origins are a long way from New Guinea and lie in Africa and, if it isn’t a bean, what is it? New Guinea bean is a type of gourd, so is related to cucumber and zucchini with its flavour somewhere between the two, although whoever named it bean possibly thought it had a bean-like taste. It is a plant that…

In the rolling hills of the hinterland between the Tweed and Byron Bay lies a delightful small farm, the home of Julia, her partner Rod, Tex the black cat, Rosie the Staffy, Lewis the goose, 42 rescue chickens and 15 guinea fowl — not to mention the neighbours’ cattle and horses. Julia Rose, to use her full and thoroughly apt name, is a cutting-edge floral artist. When not zotting around the country or overseas speaking, teaching or creating breathtaking one-of-a-kind botanical delights, she can be found here enjoying the rural serenity. Though she and Rod both work the property’s paddocks and fruit orchard, Julia freely admits that Rod does more of the day-to-day graft than she does. She won’t be heard blowing her own trumpet, either, but Julia is an…

Autumn means it’s time to start propagating and planting what old-timers call the brassicas. They may sound Dickensian but these are trendy vegetables packed with nutrients and antioxidants. Even if you don’t know the term brassicas, you’ll know these vegetables. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard and that new old favourite, kale, are all brassicas. Asian vegetables including Chinese cabbage and mizuna are also in the group. Brassicas get their common name from their genus name, Brassica, and for being part of the large plant family called Brassicaceae. Before their classification as brassicas, these vegetables were widely known as crucifers and the genus was classified as Crucifera. They are still referred to as cruciferous vegetables in many gardening books. COMMON ANCESTOR Brassicas originated in Europe and the Mediterranean as well…

There are many approaches to garden design, each with different goals or outcomes in mind. In aesthetic garden design, the goal is to create gardens that look nice, often without regard for the energy, resources and other inputs required to maintain them, or their ecological impact. In functional garden design, the goal is to perform a specific function, such as the production of food, medicines, dyes, fibre or other construction materials. That’s basically what agriculture is all about. In permaculture design, the aim is to perform these specific functions in a sustainable, ethical and ecologically sound fashion, while incorporating clever design features to minimise the risk of production failure. A RESILIENT GARDEN WITH A PURPOSE Permaculture, often described as a system of ecological engineering, comprises 11 key design principles. The…

Most summer vegetables are heavy feeders and, once they’ve yielded their harvest, they often leave the soil somewhat lacking and depleted. Before replanting with cool-season crops, it’s important to replenish the soil to maintain productivity over the autumn-winter period. Healthy soil must contain organic matter and a reserve of nutrients for plant growth. It should hold enough water for plant requirements while still draining well. Last, but not least, it must have good structure to allow water, air and plant roots to move freely through it. These three factors are what we seek to maintain for good plant health and maximum productivity. A good soil care routine can work wonders for a garden and, when it comes to timing, the beginning of spring (September) and autumn (March) are the best…

Consumer choice is what drives organic sales and this is why the OCCA are a great opportunity for businesses to reach out to their customers. By encouraging participation in voting, companies raise awareness of their products, services and brands. This supports customer loyalty, encouraging the purchase of organic products for all participants. Congratulations to the winners in 2018 and all who participated! FAVOURITE ORGANIC BRAND Honest to Goodness “Both Karen and I remain committed to our dream of a sustainable, ethical food business and community, which all who are involved enjoy being a part of. One of the key understandings at Honest to Goodness is that we remain forever conscious that the products we sell become part of the families who eat or use them, and this is why we…