Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #10.2 - 2019 i Good Organic Gardening

Last issue we featured frogs in our Garden Life series. This issue it’s the cutest of the cute, possibly our most adorable native animals: gliders. Steve McGrane profiles the most common species and the accompanying images will have you wanting some in your life. These tiny creatures certainly are lovely to have in your part of Earth. Any part of Earth! Unfortunately, you’ll rarely get the chance to see them as they’re nocturnal, but you may be able to find evidence of their presence — especially if you encourage them to move in by providing nesting boxes, which are essential to their survival. We had some fun making nests from bits of a hollow dead tree and whatever we had in the shed to make roofs and floors. Of course,…

When the weather turns cool and the trees are bare, my thoughts always turn to planting deciduous trees and shrubs. Of all of the deciduous fruit trees, I have a real fondness for plums. As a small tree they are delightfully pretty with glossy green leaves, attractive autumn foliage colour and beautiful spring blossom. Combine these qualities with a hefty crop of plump, sweet fruit and it’s clear why the humble plum is a backyard staple. Many plum crops also linger into autumn, when we are desperately trying to hold on to the rich palette of summer fruits. A plum’s sweetness and intensity of flavour seems to double when picked and eaten ripe from the tree but they can also be cooked into delicious pies, cakes, pastries, jams and sauces.…

An hour’s drive north of Brisbane, Queensland’s Sunshine Coast spans 60km from Caloundra to Noosa. Once a subtropical swamp and tea-tree wilderness, this string of coastal towns is now Queensland’s third most populous region and one of the fastest-growing in the country. But in the hinterland behind Peregian Beach, just south of Noosa, you’d never know it. Though the bush around Peregian is threaded with new housing estates, a shopping centre and a golf course around the vast waterway of Lake Weyba, Mark (aka ‘Puff’) Dragan and partner Alexi Cox’s nine acres of heaven are at once close to everything but also beautifully secluded in their bushland setting. You enter the Dragans’ property past a long row of beehives into a rural vista of rolling green pasture dotted with stands…

JULY 2019 Winter is all about nourishing, warming brassicas and root vegetables, along with rich herbed tomato sauces. Lighten up your dishes with peas and winter greens. AUGUST 2019 Moving towards the end of our official winter, it’s time to start thinking about preparing your soil for your spring plantings and starting them from seed. 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…

Amaranth is a flamboyant and far from mainstream crop. Its flamboyance comes from its tall, robust growth, red stems and dark leaves and its crowning glory of blood-red feathery flowers that form drooping tassels as the seeds mature. Indeed, this plant is best known to gardeners as an ornamental but it is a dual-purpose edible offering both edible leaves and, once the flowers mature, grain. The best species to grow for grain is Amaranthus hypochondriacus, which can also be eaten as a leafy vegetable. ‘Green Thumb’ is a compact grain variety with green flowers while ‘Pygmy Torch’ has dark red flowers and bright green leaves. Both grow to around 60cm high. ‘Golden’ has beautiful heads of golden flowers and golden grain with green leaves. It is a tall grower that…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES As the days lengthen and soils begin to warm, there’s an urge that comes over most gardeners to plant! If all threat of frost has passed, plant away, but if there’s still the chance of a sneaky late frost, hold off planting out cold-sensitive summer crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, basil and pumpkin. Late winter is a changeable time. It can be the coldest month, but one that’s peppered with bursts of warm, spring-like weather. Whatever the weather, it’s safe in all areas to plant perennial vegetable crops such as globe artichoke and asparagus. Dig well-rotted manure and compost into the planting bed then plant the crowns. These sound impressive, but crown is just the name for the dormant roots of perennial plants. It’s also…

In last edition’s article on permaculture’s energy-efficient planning, we looked at the concept of zone planning, which was concerned with managing energies within our systems. This article will explore the second aspect of energy-efficient planning, termed sector planning, which is concerned with elements and forces of nature that come from outside our systems and pass through them. Nature’s forces can be a mix of good and bad and in permaculture sector planning we seek to harness the positive while minimising the negative through careful planning and clever ecological design, rather than expending valuable resources or energy to manage them. TAMING WILD NATURE In permaculture sector planning the first thing we need to do is identify which forces of nature interact with our sites, the directions they come from and how…

Nobody admires the blue berries of Dianella more than the satin bowerbird. Before blue milk bottle tops and plastic pegs became common in the environment, the satin bowerbird used the berries to decorate his bower and attract females. A large bird with satin-like, blue-black feathers and blue eyes, the satin bowerbird is native to the east coast of Australia and occasionally builds bowers in gardens. The bower isn’t a nest but the male’s display area where he collects and displays blue objects and also performs an energetic dance routine to impress the ladies. THESE NATIVE LILIES ARE IDEAL AS A LOW INFORMAL BORDER, A TALL GROUNDCOVER OR AN UNDERSTOREY BENEATH TREES SUCH AS GUMS. Dianella berries follow stems of blue flowers that arise from clumps of tough, narrow, strappy leaves.…

To share the love of gardening with young and old is a wonderful thing: a gift to those receiving and an inspiration to the curious of mind, young and old. One woman delivers all these things to many on a daily basis through her business and workshops, The Beez Neez Creative Gardening: For Garden Therapy. Horticulturist Ann-Marie Andrews has forged a career in bringing the joys of gardening to not only the many keen gardeners at a neighbouring garden centre but also kids via creative gardening workshops as well as elderly people in aged-care facilities. She takes immense pleasure in her own small garden, too, as well as the plants inside her house in the subtropical western suburbs of Brisbane where she lives with her daughter Lucy, 19, and a…

Variously known as mountain pepper, pepperberry and Tasmanian pepper, Tasmannia lanceolata is a temperate rainforest tree — more exactly, a large shrub — native to south-eastern Australia. Its spicy, aromatic leaves and berries can be used to flavour foods and for centuries were used by Aboriginal people as a traditional medicine. In colonial times, it was prescribed for scurvy. In his 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia, Joseph Maiden described the use of “pepper tree” as a condiment, “being a fair substitute for pepper or rather allspice. The leaves and bark also have a hot, biting, cinnamon-like taste.” Though similar in taste to common black pepper, mountain pepper packs quite a bit more heat and a sharper, spicier flavour. It’s rich in antioxidants and the dried leaves and…

Chooks are the new backyard pet and you can enjoy their company whether you live in the city or the back of Bourke. They’re adaptable, very smart and live for seven to 14 years. Provided your hens have safe, comfy housing, they’ll be low-maintenance pets. You will never be short of chook sitters, your garden will benefit from the poop and the fresh eggs are a wonderful bonus. Chooks don’t bark all night; nor do they engage in catfights or pee everywhere. There are some negatives: they’re capable of totally re-landscaping your garden if left alone in it, may suffer from lice and mites and can be totally mean to new additions or even existing flock mates. CHECK OFF REQUIREMENTS Familiarise yourself with the local council’s requirements for poultry. Most…

In season JULY FRUITS Apples, avocados, bananas, cumquats, custard apples, dates, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarins, nashi, olives, oranges (Navel), papayas, pineapples, pomelos, quinces, rhubarb, strawberries, tangelos VEGIES Asian greens, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, onions, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkins, shallots (eschalots), silverbeet, spinach, swedes, sweet potato, turnips, witlof In season AUGUST FRUITS Apples, avocados, bananas, cumquats, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarins, olives, oranges (blood, Navel), pawpaw, pineapples, pomelos, rhubarb, strawberries, tangelos VEGIES Asian greens, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, onions, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkins, silverbeet, spinach, swedes, sweet potato, turnips, witlof SEASONAL TIP As a healthy alternative to potato crisps, Jerusalem artichoke chips are low in carbs…

With two or three hours of cooking, chicken thighs are rendered melt-in-your-mouth tender. Because of this lengthy cooking time, I always use a firm potato variety here, as floury potatoes would just fall apart. If you are super-organised, you could make this luscious chicken casserole the day before and refrigerate it, then reheat just before serving; the flavours will only improve with an overnight rest. Serves 4 Preparation 25 minutes Cooking 3 hours Gluten-free INGREDIENTS • 8 chicken thigh fillets• 1 tbsp olive oil• 2 large brown onions, cut into thin wedges• 2 tsp ground cumin• 1 tsp ground cinnamon• 1 tsp ground ginger• 1 tsp ras el hanout• 1½ cups (375mL) chicken stock• 1 tbsp cornflour• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses• Pinch saffron strands• 6 small waxy potatoes, skin on,…

CHANGING CLIMATE AND HEATWAVES We used to talk as if we had time to stop climate change but the reality is we are already living with a rapidly changing climate. Temperatures have risen, the ice is melting and things are going to get a lot worse unless we act decisively to stop them. The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed December 2018 was the hottest month since records began in 1910 in Australia — only to be topped by January 2019. Scientists are reporting extreme weather events such as heatwaves are causing untold damage to native animals and plants in Australia, much of it going unnoticed until things literally start dropping out of trees. During the January heatwave, 4000 already-threatened spectacled fruit bats died in northern Queensland. Wildlife ecologists were stunned because…

A range of leafy vegetable crops in the garden means there’s always something tasty, fresh and packed with nourishment to harvest and add to a meal. Spinach and silver beet are good crops for leafy harvest but there are many others to add interest and colour to the garden and the plate. One of these is a relative of spinach known as red orach and, though it may seem unfamiliar, it’s a leafy plant you may want to grow — particularly through winter as it is not damaged by frost or cold. LOOKING GOOD Red orach is very handsome and fast growing. A relative of Australian native saltbush, it has vibrant ruby leaves and grows into a tall shrub up to 1.8m high and wide — smaller if regularly harvested.…

River mint is a rambling native herb found in moist forests and waterways across southeast Australia. A summer grower, it especially thrives after floods, often on riverbanks or in bogs. Also known as wild mint — in fact it’s one of a half-dozen native mints — it’s an aromatic if slightly subtler relative of more familiar exotic herbs like spearmint and peppermint and can be used in the same way. Indigenous people, who knew it as poang-gurk, used it not only as a flavoursome food but also as an insect repellant and medicine, inhaling its crushed leaves to treat colds and sore throats and to relieve headaches. The early settlers applied it liberally to their roast lamb and, of course, it can be used fresh or dried in sauces, salads,…

In the township of Lethbridge, northwest of Geelong on the Midland Highway, is Bert and Sue Moritz’ fiveacre property, of which a full acre is given over to vegetables. Sue, a retired nurse, and Bert, a former primary school teacher, were both born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands but have spent most of their lives in this area of Victoria. Bert hails from rural Lara, east of Lethbridge, and got interested in gardening when he was “knee-high to a grasshopper”. A family friend had a mini-market and used to discard carrots that were too long or skinny. “Why don’t you replant them?” Bert asked. Too many of them, was the reply. Besides, they didn’t sell. So Bert collected the rejected carrots, planted them in his own yard and they flourished.…

Spinach and silverbeet are often confused with each other — and these leafy green veggies do have similar tastes and appearances — but for the best growing success in your garden it’s worth taking note of their differences. We give the name silverbeet to Beta vulgaris plants grown for their leaves. But this botanical name includes myriad “cousins” such as beetroot, perpetual spinach, chard and Swiss chard, all of which share the same scientific moniker. Traditional silverbeet — the variety ‘Fordhook Giant’, for example — is green with white stems. However, the showy rainbow-stemmed silverbeet is commonly called Swiss or rainbow chard. All silverbeet is a powerhouse of nutrition, containing high levels of magnesium, calcium, vitamin K, iron, potassium, vitamin A, zinc, copper, vitamin C, dietary fibre and vitamin E.…

What’s a medlar, you may well ask. Indeed, after reading this you may well wonder why a medlar! The medlar is a fruit tree and it’s a bit of a curiosity, an edible from a bygone era that was once better known than apple. It’s a small tree (just 3m high and wide) and a member of the rose family (Rosaceae). Its family relationship gives a clue to how it looks: small single white rose-like flowers, thorns, small toothed leaves and fruit shaped like a rosehip or oversized hawthorn with distinct calyces around the base of the fruit. As a member of the rose family, medlar’s closest relatives are the hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) but it bears a similarity to wild roses, loquats, crabapples, Japanese flowering quince and the tough old…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIE PATCH Pests and diseases take a break over winter but the cabbage white butterfly is about, as are snails and slugs. Handpick and squash any green caterpillars on brassicas then cover these crops with insect exclusion netting to prevent the adults laying more eggs. In areas with wet winters also check for snails and slugs. Use traps such as saucers of beer to catch these slimy visitors. Also do a snail hunt by torchlight on wet evenings. Squash immediately, or dispose of snails and slugs of in a bucket of salty water. Follow up by scattering an organic snail bait based on iron. Iron-based baits are safe to use as they are not toxic to pets or wildlife. Glasshouses may be winter havens for pests, especially…

Khoresh is an exotic-sounding Iranian term for a stew, where a whole bunch of ingredients are gently cooked together in a pot to produce a delicious meal. For this one, I’ve made things even more exotic by including rhubarb, which is more often cooked with lots of sugar. But as a savoury ingredient, rhubarb is tangy and sour, with a citrusy tang that marries beautifully with the other Persian flavours here. Serves 4 Preparation 20 minutes Cooking 3½ hours Gluten-free INGREDIENTS • 4 lean lamb leg steaks, about 600g in total• 3 stalks rhubarb, cut into 2–3cm pieces• 400g can cherry tomatoes• Handful finely chopped flat-leaf parsley• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly smashed• ½ tsp ground turmeric• 2 tsp dried mint• 3cm piece ginger, coarsely grated• 2 cloves garlic, finely…