Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #13.2 - 2022 i Good Organic Gardening

As the passenger on a drive around the north side of Lake Macquarie one Saturday, I was captivated by something I’d never noticed before. I really don’t know how I missed it the other times we’ve driven this road. A corner block opposite the lake was a riot of colour — not from flowers and fruit, though there were plenty of both as it turned out, but from garden gnomes. Dozens and dozens, possibly hundreds, of brightly coloured gnomes. I scared the life out of my partner by calling out, “Stop the car!” Poor Chris thought there must be an animal or small child about to run into our path, so he expertly and safely braked and pulled over, saying, “What is it? What is it?” All I could do…

Calendula is one of the most overlooked plants in the garden yet one of the most useful. It is traditionally seen as a cheery winter-flowering annual but it grows and flowers throughout the year in many areas. As a bonus, it self-seeds and needs little care or attention. In return for letting it do its own thing, it gives back manyfold. It’s a useful source of winter nectar for bees and other beneficial insects including wasps, ladybirds, flies and many others. Many of these place other insects such as caterpillars in their nesting chambers as food for their young while others feed on insects as well as nectar. Including plants that produce nectar and pollen, such as calendula, is a good way to build up predator numbers in the garden.…

The Mills family — Vicky and Mike, their two sons, Reuben, 17, and Neo, 15, together with Roman the kelpie — live on 4½ acres in Karana Downs, an outer western suburb of Brisbane. The property, mainly protected vegetation with a small house and yard, has been Land for Wildlife registered since 2017. The Millses’ piece of subtropical paradise, formerly cleared for grazing land, now incorporates a certain amount of food self-sufficiency while rehabilitating and preserving the surrounding natural bushland. And it’s all been done on a shoestring. Vicky’s love of gardening comes from a childhood in the care of her grandparents in Yorkshire. “My nanna tasked me with dead-heading marigolds,” she says, “and I learnt to count by being told how many runner beans to snip off for dinner.…

My husband has a childhood memory of a vast apple tree that grew near his family home in Shropshire in England. Its gigantic branches loomed above his head and the tree had to be climbed to pick the ripe fruit. He can’t reconcile the small, neatly pruned trees in our backyard or in the commercial orchards in our part of north-west Tasmania with that childhood memory. In part, it’s that he’s reliving a childsize view of the tree — but also he’s remembering a tree that wasn’t grafted onto dwarf rooting stock. Wild or ungrafted apples grow into huge trees around 6–8m high and 4–5m wide. Dwarf rooting stock, along with rootstocks resistant to apple pests such as woolly aphids, came about from work done at the East Malling Research…

Ornamental gingers are stunning additions to any garden with varieties to suit a range of climates, from the many showy tropical examples such as torch ginger to the eye-catching Costus varieties suited to temperate regions. As cut flowers, gingers have few rivals: their exceptional visual appeal and colours light up a room and they last for many weeks. Both ornamental and edible varieties abound in the warm climates of the world. As we all know, edible gingers are essential ingredients in many Asian dishes and can blend ornamentally in your garden. CAN I GROW GINGERS WHERE I LIVE? Gingers generally thrive with minimal care but selecting the right species for your garden will ensure they flourish and flower well. Although many tropical varieties do best in areas such as Queensland,…

Keeping your own worm farm is easy and perfect for large or small spaces. Essentially a form of organic recycling, vermicomposting is a composting system using worms in a confined space. Along with recycling your waste, there’s the benefit of free natural nutrient-rich fertiliser. WORMERY VS COMPOST According to Blake Hight of the Blue Mountains City Council Waste and Sustainability Team, while composting relies on micro-organisms to break down organic matter, in a worm farm it’s worms that do the job. Worms do the job faster, typically converting decaying material into fertiliser in about two to three months. This compares with four months (or longer) for the average compost system. Compared to compost, a worm farm is a relatively cool environment. And, instead of compost, a wormery produces vermicompost or…

PETS FOR YOUR BRAIN This study looked at cognitive data from 1369 older adults with an average age of 65 who had normal cognitive skills at the start of the study. A total of 53 per cent owned pets, and 32 per cent were long-term pet owners, defined as those who owned pets for five years or more. Researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study, in which people were given multiple cognitive tests. Those cognitive tests were used to develop a composite cognitive score for each person, ranging from 0 to 27. The composite score included common tests of subtraction, numeric counting and word recall. After allowing for other factors known to affect cognitive function, the study showed that long-term pet owners, on average, had a cognitive composite…

Most people are familiar with the many health benefits of probiotics and prebiotics but not many have heard of postbiotics. Here’s a brief explanation of the differences between them. Your microbiome is the home to trillions of gut bacteria. Probiotics are the “friendly” bacteria that colonise the digestive tract. A healthy balance of these beneficial bacteria is vital for good health and wellbeing and is especially important for supporting the immune system and improving digestion. Prebiotics, on the other hand, are what feed the probiotics. Prebiotics help probiotics grow and thrive in the gut. You get prebiotics from certain fibre-rich foods such as legumes, whole grains and a variety of vegetables. These soluble dietary fibres aren’t digested in the small intestine; instead, they’re fermented by bacteria in the large intestine.…

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PLASTIC POLLUTION NEEDS DRASTIC SOLUTIONS Every part of the planet is polluted with plastics and urgent action is required to stop it. A declaration signed by leading scientists calls on UN member states to negotiate a legally binding global treaty to tackle the crisis. Plastic pollution has severe negative consequences for ecosystem health, biodiversity, human health (including fertility and cancers), climate, sustainable livelihoods and cultural diversity. Research shows the safe operating space for novel chemical pollution on the planet has already been exceeded. Efforts to date to curb plastic pollution have failed spectacularly because it has essentially been treated as a litter issue. The thinking behind this approach is, “If only we put plastic in the right place, it wouldn’t be a problem.” But that isn’t the case and that…

Scented plants add an extra dimension to gardens and particularly to winter gardens. In cool to temperate climates, one of the most reliable is osmanthus, an evergreen shrub of the olive family with very fragrant white flowers. The scent is often illusive, wafting through the garden on a cool winter’s day with a scent that reminds me of apricots. The dense growth and small leaves make osmanthus suitable for use as a hedge or screening plant as it can be clipped and shaped. As the flowers are small, tubular and fairly nondescript, the shrub relies on its fragrance to attract pollinators and for garden interest. Its flowers can also be used to make a fragrant tea or a dessert that is both tasty and healthy thanks to its antioxidants. Its…

TRAVIS’S UNCLE GREW TOMATOES, GARLIC AND ONIONS AS WELL AS VARIOUS FRUIT TREES. EVERY YEAR, LIKE ANY GOOD CALABRIAN, HE’D SHOOT A PIG AND SPEND A WHOLE DAY MAKING SAUSAGES. Millbridge, a suburb of Bunbury in Western Australia, is split north-south by Millars Creek. Julie and Travis Birch’s 1000m2 corner block backs on to this strip of bushland, a verdant profusion of proteas, bottlebrush, gum and peppermint trees, kangaroo paws, banksias and grass trees. Screened from neighbours, the backyard is so private it’s visited by all kinds of wildlife such as skinks, possums and native birds. Then there was the morning Travis heard splashing and found a kangaroo doing laps in the swimming pool. It wasn’t easy getting him to leave. Between the pool and the back fence is the…

JULY 2022 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 2022 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. New moon First quarter Full moon Last quarter When the moon is waxing from new 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…

There was a time when almost every suburban backyard had an outdoor dunny and a chook house — and one or the other was draped in a sprawling choko vine. If the yard had neither, there was likely a choko vine gracing the back fence. It was an abundant, tasteless but handy vegie that was often used during the Depression era to bulk up stewed apple when making desserts. These days, with our exposure to a magnificent diversity of the world’s cuisines, we encounter the humble choko in, for example, Vietnamese and Korean dishes, often pickled or marinated, and in Chinese stir-fries. It’s known in China as “Buddha’s palm”. In Central and South America as well as the Caribbean it is a staple veg prepared in a number of ways:…

Their branches well known as a symbol of peace, olive trees have long been enjoyed as attractive and productive garden trees. Olives are long-lived evergreens native to the Mediterranean region. As they age, the trees, which usually have multiple trunks, become gnarled like living sculptures. These ancient trees are in high demand for landscaping. Sadly, this has come at a cost with venerable trees — many more than 500 years old — transplanted from their original homes in the Italian or Spanish countryside to new gardens in other areas of Europe and in the UK. There is also another threat to olive trees across the Mediterranean. It comes in the form of a devastating bacterial disease known as xylella (Xylella fastidiosa spp. pauca), also called olive quick decline syndrome. Xylella…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES ∙ Winter doesn’t have to mean the cessation of all gardening activity. Even in the coldest climes, there are vegies you can still plant from seed: spinach, carrots, sweet peas, broad beans, silverbeet and peas. Keep the greens coming by sowing seeds or planting seedlings every few weeks. ∙ There’s still time to plant perennials like asparagus and rhubarb, which grow from crowns and do best in wellprepared beds with added organic matter dug in well. ∙ Watch winter crops carefully for snails and slugs, especially brassicas as well as other new plantings. Handpick pests daily, being sure to check for eggs and newly hatched caterpillars on the backs of leaves. ∙ Every week or so, apply organic liquid fertiliser to cabbages, rocket and lettuce to…

PAPAYA The papaya tree grows to around 8m tall, although some dispute that it is a tree at all since the stem is not woody but relatively soft. This line of argument suggests papaya is a herb, although a darn big one. Whether it is a tree or herb, the plant produces fruit in prolific quantities. Papayas continue to ripen once picked, but they are much tastier if ripened on the tree/herb/plant. According to Papaya Australia, one serve of the fruit (150g) will give you 100 per cent of your vitamin C, 33 per cent of your vitamin A and 25 per cent of your folate requirement. It contains both soluble and insoluble fibre, which are both required for a healthy gut. The sweet, flowery taste of papaya is best…

Jacko’s place is hard to miss. As you drive into the southern Newcastle suburb of Belmont on the shores of Lake Macquarie, his corner block comes into view in a riot of colour. Drawing nearer, you spot serried rows of brightly painted garden gnomes in what looks like their hundreds, perched on handmade shelves in his front yard. Look closer — and just about every passer-by does — and you see Disney dwarfs like Doc, Sneezy and Dopey, cartoony owls, ducks and mushrooms, one rotund gnome dressed in an Elvis jumpsuit, another in a Santa outfit and even little soldier gnomes in jungle green. There weren’t always so many. Until late last year, Jacko had a modest assemblage of gnomes he’d been collecting for nearly 50 years. But late at…

If you can grow tomatoes, then this coming spring and summer why not have a go at okra? Also known as lady’s fingers or gumbo, okra is an annual bush vegetable originating from tropical Africa. The elongated fruit/pods are produced on a 1–4m tall bush and can be used in stews, curries and stir-fries. Their highly mucilaginous flesh is often described as slimy but this gelatinous quality helps thicken sauces and bring a stew, soup or curry together. Okra’s spongy texture is also good at soaking up flavours and it holds its shape well once cooked. Okra dishes can be found in a number of cuisines, including Indian, African and South American. In the US, okra is a major ingredient in the hot and spicy Deep South soup known as…

COMFRE Y LEAVES CAN BE ADDED TO COMPOST HEAPS AND BINS TO ACT AS A COMPOST ACTIVATOR. Comfrey is a fascinating plant. It generally grows to around 1m in height and its leaves are large, mid-green in colour and hirsute. The habit of the plant is a rosette of foliage that will clump out over time and its flowers are borne as clusters of small bell-shaped blooms in white to pale pink or mauve. In subtropical and tropical climate zones, comfrey foliage remains visible and actively growing all year round. In cooler climates it can become dormant over winter, reshooting in spring. It is often called a dynamic accumulator plant because of the ability of its deep roots to draw up from the subsoil minerals such as silica, nitrogen, magnesium,…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES ∙ Hopefully, the frosts are well and truly gone, so now’s the time to put in beetroot, parsnip, peas, radish, leek, rocket, silverbeet and spinach. ∙ If it’s still too cold, hold off on herbs and vegetables such as basil, beans, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, capsicums, pumpkins and zucchinis. ∙ Seeds and seedlings that don’t mind changeable weather include snow peas, lettuce, spring onions, silverbeet and herbs. Broad beans can go in, too, but only in cool temperate areas. ∙ Other plants to consider at the moment are parsley, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. If you’re trying Jerusalem artichokes, put them in a pot or they could take over. ∙ To get a head-start with vegies in areas with short summer seasons, sow seeds in seed trays, punnets or…

Commonly called water hyssop or herb of grace, and often confused with gotu kola, Bacopa monnieri is a nonaromatic perennial creeping wetlands herb grown in many countries as an aquarium plant. In Ayurvedic medicine it’s known as brahmi after Brahma, the creator god in the Hindu pantheon. It’s considered a medhya rasayana, a nootropic herb that sharpens the mind and intellect, according to 1400 years of recorded studies, and was reportedly used by ancient Vedic scholars when they wanted to memorise sacred hymns and texts. Today, there’s significant research on bacopa, mainly in animals, as well as increasing clinical research on its healing and protective activity in human brains. Its major therapeutic ingredients are bacosides, part of a family of 12 known triterpenoid saponins. There are also alkaloids, d-mannitol and…

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 Kohlrabi: what do you do with it? This is a gorgeous vegie to grow —…