Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #12.5 - 2021 i Good Organic Gardening

I once knew someone who was seriously bothered by the sound of frogs. It’s the thing I remember most about this person. He claimed he couldn’t sleep through the noise of even one frog in his neighbourhood — and the problem was a few of the close neighbours had ponds in their gardens. By the way, this man lived under the main Sydney flight path! I love the croaking of frogs. I find it a happy sound; it can even be romantic if you’re a girl frog at night in summer. Mind you, our frogs don’t just croak — they also chirp, ribbit, peep, bark and whistle. We even have a frog that sounds like a motorbike roaring around, changing gears and all. Unsurprisingly, its common name is the motorbike…

If you’re struggling to clear land of this persistent native fern you may never have thought of it as having any value. Certainly, bracken has many downsides, particularly for agriculture and horticulture, as it’s poisonous to livestock and also competes with pasture growth, harbours other pests such as rabbits and ticks and is a fire risk, particularly when the fronds die back. Although a native plant, it’s on the weed list in all parts of Australia. Bracken is one of those universal plants clever enough to grow across most of the world’s temperate and subtropical zones. Until recently, all brackens were listed as the same species — Pteridium aquilinum — but the genus has now been subdivided into many species with the native one classified as P. esculentum. Due to…

One of my favourite childhood memories is Sunday night pie made with rhubarb straight from the garden. While we may think this plant has a European origin, it actually came from Asia over 5000 years ago and then found its way to the Middle East and on to the Roman Empire. The Chinese long recognised its medicinal value. These days, it’s said to contribute to lowering LDLs (so-called “bad” cholesterol), reversing artery wall damage and helping to prevent heart attacks while cleaning the blood. With its unique set of minerals, it has many other health applications, from alleviating diarrhoea to inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. But, above all, it’s a delicious treat. From the genus Rheum in the family Polygonaceae, this herbaceous perennial grows from short, thick rhizomes and…

Why not accompany those second crops of tomatoes with their natural flavour companion, basil? This fast-growing summer herb grows well while temperatures are warm and the days are long and sunny. It thrives in any warm garden, in a raised vegetable garden or in a pot on a sunny windowsill or the back steps. It’s a must-have herb for summer eating, easy to grow from seed or seedling (a faster option for this time of the year) or by taking cuttings, which strike readily in the warmth of summer. At this time of the year, basil starts to reach maturity, which means it will form handsome spires of white flowers. To keep the plant leafy for longer, remove any early signs of flower stalks and plan to harvest the leafy…

A promising crop of figs is starting to swell on my huge backyard fig tree. It’s a ‘Brown Turkey’ and it has already had one crop. Sadly, in my cold Tasmanian climate, this developing crop will come to nothing as the long hot days of summer give way to the cooler days of autumn. Despite knowing that this is the outcome, I look longingly at the figs hoping this season it will be different. In most climates, figs produce two crops a year. The main crop, which is forming now in summer, ripens in autumn. That long, slow ripening period produces sweet, juicy fruit. The sweetest figs are those bursting out of their skins — they’re the ones that don’t make into shops and the main reason to grow your…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES • While it’s still warm, put in some lettuce, spinach and silverbeet. Asian greens can go in at the end of the month as can broccoli, leeks and spring onions as nights start to cool down. The same with garlic, but best hold off on herbs for now — though you could try parsley and basil.• Stay on top of pests like 28-spotted ladybirds and pumpkin beetles, which can skeletonise the leaves of cucurbits like pumpkin and zucchini. Squash adults, larvae and eggs. Also check potted plants and pet bowls for water that mozzies will breed in.• Edibles need daily watering while it’s hot, dry or windy. Leafy crops may bolt to flower and seed if they dry out while tomatoes can develop blossom end rot.•…

IN SEASON JANUARY FRUITS Apricot, avocado, banana, berries, carambola (starfruit), cherry (Morello sour), currants (red currant, black currant), grapes, lemon, limes, lychee, mango, melons, nectarine, passionfruit, peach, pear (Paradise, Williams), pineapple, plum, prickly pear, rambutan, tamarillo VEGIES Asparagus, beans (butter, flat, green, snake), capsicum, celery, choko, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onions (salad, spring), peas (green, snow, sugar snap), potato, radish, spinach, squash, sweet corn, tomato, zucchini IN SEASON FEBRUARY FRUITS Avocado, banana, berries, custard apple, fig, grapes (Cardinal, Muscat, Sultana, Waltham Cross), guava, kiwifruit, lemon, lime, lychee, mangosteen, melons, nectarine, orange (Valencia), passionfruit, peach, pears (Howell, Red Sensation, Williams), pineapple, plum, prickly pear, rambutan, rhubarb, starfruit, tamarillo VEGIES Beans (borlotti, butter, flat, green, snake), capsicum, celery, chilli, choko, cucumber, daikon, eggplant, leek, lettuce, okra, onions (brown, salad, spring), peas…

RESEEDING DRYLANDS IS VITAL FOR SURVIVAL The United Nations has declared a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration as an urgent rallying cry to heal the planet. It’s a monumental undertaking aimed at preventing further damage and halting or reversing the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. Under this umbrella the Global Arid Zone project aims to restore degraded drylands by reseeding them to help mitigate climate change, reverse desertification and secure livelihoods for the two billion people who live in these environments. Scientists leading the project recently examined the restoration seeding outcomes from 174 sites across six continents in order to learn lessons for ambitious future targets. Flinders University’s Dr Martin Breed is one of three Australian researchers who helped co-ordinate data collection for the live database.…

Kakadu plum is a bush food that’s showing lots of commercial promise. It is very high in vitamin C, possibly the highest known natural source of this important vitamin. One recent study showed it to have 900 times more vitamin C than blueberries. Its health benefits don’t stop there. It is also rich in antioxidants including phenolic compounds and anthocyanins. Researchers also believe it has potential to treat diseases and improve health. It has long been consumed and used as a bush medicine by First Nations people, who are now involved in its commercialisation. In parts of the Northern Territory it is being bush harvested to make jams, chutneys and pickles. To extend its commercial value, it is also freeze-dried and milled into a powder to be added to many…

JANUARY 2022 Mid-summer is a time of high productivity but the heat can be very harsh. Protect your plants with some shade and keep the watering consistent if the weather is dry. FEBRUARY 2022 This month you can start thinking about sowing some cooler-season crops, but you may need to keep them under cover until it’s time to plant them out in the garden. New moon First quarter Full moon Last quarter 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…

FRUITS FOR THOUGHT This study included 49,400 women and 27,800 men who were followed for more than 20 years. The subjects completed questionnaires about their intake of various foods as well as undertaking assessments of their cognitive abilities. Food intake allowed the researchers to calculate how many flavonoids each subject was consuming. Analysis found that people in the highest 20 per cent of flavonoid consumers had about 600mg in their diet each day compared to about 150mg daily in the lowest consumers. Those in the highest group had a 20 per cent reduction in risk of developing dementia. Strawberries have 180mg of flavonoids per 100 grams and apples around 110mg. Flavones are a particular type of flavonoid and were associated with a 38 per cent reduction in cognitive decline. Capsicums…

Before cosmetic products existed, people used herbs, oils, spices, mud and even insects in their beauty regimes. Cleopatra’s go to shade of lipstick was created from ground carmine beetles or mud mixed with water. Many of these beauty ingredients have stood the test of time and are still used in today’s cosmetics. Want to weave a few more natural products into your beauty routine? Why not start with these five? CHAMOMILE Chamomile is one of the most ancient medicinal herbs known to mankind, one you may have seen in the garden or sipped as tea. Chamomile contains terpenoids and flavonoids that contribute to its anti-inflammatory, wound-healing and digestive properties. Research has shown that chamomile’s anti-inflammatory action in the body is similar to that of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, making it the…

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Rubus, often collectively called bramble bushes, are distinguishable from other berries by their fruit composed of an aggregate of drupelets. In plain English, you’ll know a rubus berry because the small fruits look like shiny pearls clustered together to form one delicious mouthful of flavour. Blackberries and raspberries are the most widely known members of the Rubus genus but the list of relatives also includes marionberries, youngberries, loganberries, boysenberries, silvanberries and more. The Rubus genus likely originated from North America and Eastern Europe, where fossils have been found that date back several thousand years BCE. Raspberries and blackberries are referenced in ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian texts for various medicinal uses including wound treatment and childbirth. CHOOSE A FULL-SUN SPOT WITH A RICH AND SLIGHTLY ACIDIC SOIL; ADD PLENTY OF…

Jetto’s Patch is Michele and Dario Franzinelli’s garden in Maida Vale, a suburb at the base of the foothills east of Perth. Home to every fruit, herb and vegetable you can imagine, it’s plainly the result of years of work. Both were introduced to gardening as children. Many of Michele’s extended family were gardeners, growing either ornamentals or edibles. Dario had grandparents who were farmers and it’s Michele’s belief that, if you ask them, most people can trace part of their family back to a farm. “Our collective history is rural,” she says. Michele recalls an aunt and uncle who had a self-sufficient property in Canada where, despite the harsh winters, they used only natural inputs. It’s probably not so far-fetched to imagine that’s where her own interest in sustainable…

Many people enjoy the tasty, salty and slightly floral flavour of capers without realising these tiny morsels are the edible unopened flower buds from the caper plant. From the same plant comes the caperberry, which is the fruit that arrives after flowering, larger than the caper but with the same flavour. Capers are often mixed through pasta sauces and other Mediterranean dishes while caperberries mostly appear on grazing platters or cheese boards as bite-sized pops of flavour — delicious, especially when eaten alongside cheeses and creamy dips. The caper bush is a low, deciduous, sprawling shrub that thrives in hot and dry Mediterranean climates. It can be grown in most states of Australia except Tasmania, which is too cold, and it won’t be happy in areas with high humidity like…

An easy and rewarding warm-season crop, sweet potato is not even remotely related to the potato but is a member of the morning glory family Convolvulaceae, originating in South America. It’s thought the perennial vine was domesticated around 2500 BCE and its popularity spread around the globe even as far as the Pacific Islands and New Zealand, which is why you’ll often hear it called by its Maori name kumara. Sweet potatoes need a long and warm growing season, with temperatures around 20–30°C to keep the vine growing strongly. They can be grown year round in warm regions of Australia, but in temperate and cool climates they need to be planted soon after the last frost so they can grow through spring and summer. Sweet potatoes take approximately 16–18 weeks…

Recently, after a night of gale-force winds, my friend Kaye sent me a photo of a cluster of ladybirds that had taken refuge under the loose bark on a gumtree but the bark had been dislodged by the wind. Kaye had no idea her garden was harbouring these lovely and very beneficial creatures. Ladybirds and their larvae feed on plant pests such as aphids and also become food themselves, so finding so many had survived winter and would soon be spreading out across the garden was an exciting discovery. Kaye had done nothing to attract this gathering of ladybirds except leave stands of mature native trees around her garden. She hadn’t made or invested in trendy insect hotels (aggregations of hollow sticks or wooden blocks). Her discovery shows how resourceful…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES • In cooler areas, where the sun isn’t too warm, try putting in some herbs (basil, parsely, sage, dill), though coriander will probably go straight to seed.• Vegies to consider as the weather heats up include spring onions, leeks, lettuce and zucchini.• Time to consider preparing for possible heat stress with shade screens, which will also act as shelter from hot winds. On heatwave days, move sun-sensitive potted plants into shady spots well away from reflective walls.• Weeding and watering are your watchwords at this time of year. Practise smart watering: an early-morning drink is the go and a couple of deep soaks a week will work better than a daily hit-and-runoff.• If some crops such as cucurbits are failing to form fruit, try hand pollination…

Native to Asian wetlands, gotu kola — also known as Indian or Asiatic pennywort, arthritis plant or centella (its botanical name is Centella asiatica) — is a member of the parsley family. In India it’s revered as the mother of all herbs and the most spiritual of herbs. It’s also considered the most rejuvenative herb in Ayurvedic medicine and is used as both a medicine and a vegetable. The name comes from Sri Lanka, where the plant thrives in the warm, humid climate and is in high demand as a green salad vegetable. ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS Medicinally, the whole plant, leaf and root, is used. As a food, the leaves are commonly eaten as a raw salad or drunk as fresh juice, sweet yet bitter in flavour. Gotu kola contains essential…