Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue #13.5 - 2022 i Good Organic Gardening

A four-week visit to Western Australia at the time of putting this issue together proved, among other things, a reminder of how incredibly beautiful our native plants are. Our timing was spot on. Swathes of pink everlasting daisies, clouds of white and pink wax flowers (more on them next issue) and masses of bright-yellow billy buttons with their soft grey foliage made every excursion a horticultural treat. Primed by the obligatory visit to Kings Park, Perth’s stunning botanic gardens, on the recommendation of natives guru Angus Stewart we embarked on a 200km road trip north, to Badgingarra. It turned out to be a highlight. The area is home to the Yuat traditional owners and Macropidia fuliginosa, the striking black kangaroo paw, found only in a narrow strip close to the…

A FRESH TAKE ON HOSPITAL FOOD! The Queensland Mater hospital group has been trialling edible gardens to boost the wellbeing of health workers as well as patients’ nutrition. Mater’s Director of Dietetics and Food Services Sally McCray says healthcare workers had been under increased pressure in recent years with the global pandemic and therapeutic horticulture was a way to “care for carers” and reduce burnout. “We are starting off with a small growers group of interested staff members who will maintain the outdoor gardens and be able to harvest the produce for their own use,” McCray says. In addition, Mater is partnering with Vegepod Australia and chef Luke Mangan to grow greens for the hospital kitchen. Luke and Mater Executive Chef Aman Marwah will use the microherbs in dishes designed…

It was 10 years ago that Ian Driver decided he and his family — wife Sharon, son Lachy, and Gypsy, the cutest spoodle in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Bulimba (pictured opposite with Lachy’s girlfriend, Kirsten) — needed to green up their lives. Concerned about the state of the world’s ecosystems and the continually growing population, he resolved they should do anything possible to reduce their impact on the planet. “I planted vegies, herbs and fruit trees, got chickens, started composting and recycling,” he says. “Anything I could do at home I was keen to learn — making bread, yoghurt, soap, candles, kombucha, beer … You name it, I was doing it.” Beekeeping seemed like a natural progression, only Sharon was allergic to honeybees. Then Ian stumbled onto an alternative: native…

If you want to tuck into stews and delicious bowls of soup next winter, it’s time to get busy sowing and planting root vegetables. Beetroot, carrot, daikon, radish, parsnip, turnip, swede and, in the subtropics, onion, can all be started in summer for autumn-to-winter harvest. Some, such as radish, will be ready before winter to be pulled from the ground and sliced for salads and sandwiches or just eaten washed and fresh from the garden. Turnip is another fast cropper, with small Japanese turnips ready to begin to pull in 8–10 weeks. There are many named varieties of root vegetables, the workhorses of the vegie garden. Make your selection based on colour, size and shape. THERE ARE MANY NAMED VARIETIES OF ROOT VEGETABLES, THE WORKHORSES OF THE VEGIE GARDEN. MAKE…

It’s neither a pine nor an apple. In fact, pineapples are members of the bromeliad family, a spiky-topped, yellow-fleshed tropical fruit that’s a summer favourite. Pineapples are easily grown in frost-free climates around Australia. Pineapples need a warm, humid environment to thrive, so you can grow them in large pots that can be moved as needed, position them in a glasshouse or place them against a north-facing wall for radiated warmth. Patience is the key to perfect pineapples. They can take two to three years from planting to produce their first fruits but, once established, these perennials will keep on producing for three to five years before they need replacing. GROWING Pineapples can be grown from established potted pineapple plants readily available from nurseries and garden centres if you live…

A beautifully framed garden can leave a lasting impression. With the right blend of landscaping elements, you can define borders with finesse and create bespoke spaces that are both functional and visually appealing. ORGANIC FRAMING Pretty-as-a-picture defined spaces can be created by the clever use of garden beds. Look at the heights of plants and the colour palettes you are choosing and ensure the plants will receive adequate sun or shade in the specific location. Repeat planting suits a minimalist vibe. Try a mix of different textured plants to create a sense of drama. Decide on a theme and select plants that will complement your home’s architecture. Or use your imagination and go bold to create something unique. And don’t rule out curved hedging to create a playful element in…

Did you know that the tiny roundworms known as nematodes are the most abundant animal on the planet? And did you know that, due to their role in maintaining soil fertility, without them we could not survive? These interesting but often maligned critters live in all environments including oceans, extreme soil depths of 3.6km and even in our bodies. There are over 40,000 species of nematodes that represent 90 per cent of the species on the ocean floor. There are 60 billion individuals in the soil for every human that exists. They vary in size between 0.1 and 2.5cm and some sport a triangular snout used to snare their prey and dissolve their meal with powerful enzymes, outside of their bodies! Some nematodes don’t have an internal stomach — hence…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES ∙ This is probably as hot as it gets. While it’s still warm, why not put in some lettuce, spinach and silverbeet? Towards the end of the month, as nights start to cool, Asian greens, broccoli, leeks and spring onions can go in. Don’t consider garlic till things really have cooled down. ∙ In temperate zones you could add bush beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and celery to the list. Lettuce is good to go as long as you shelter the seedlings from the sun. ∙ Best hold off on herbs for now — though, having said that, you could try parsley, basil and some tough-asboots lemongrass. ∙ While it’s hot, dry or windy, edibles need daily watering. Leafy crops may bolt to flower and seed if…

Let’s deal with the colour question first. Why is it white if it comes from the same plant as green and black tea, Camellia sinensis? Indeed, it does, but it’s made from the unopened buds, which are clothed in a fuzz of fine, silvery “hairs”, giving it a whitish colour. When made into a tea, however, it has a pale-yellow, straw colour and a delicate, slightly sweet flavour, lacking the grassy after-taste of green tea. White tea is grown mainly in China’s mountainous Fujian Province, tea heartland, though some is also grown in Sri Lanka, India and Japan. It is handpicked in early spring and only within a very small window, making it more precious than its green and black cousins. It’s also processed differently, in only two steps: steaming…

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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. LEAD POLLUTION AND THE URBAN CHICKEN With an increasing number of people turning to home food production and backyard chickens it’s important to consider whether your soil might be contaminated. A recent study found that backyard hens’ eggs may contain, on average, 40 times the levels of lead than commercially produced eggs. It’s a real blow for backyard sustainability but an issue that can’t be ignored, since even low levels of lead exposure are harmful to human health,…

When a plant has lots of common names, especially across many languages and cultures, it’s a sure sign that it’s both very useful and widespread. Egyptian spinach has a plethora of names. Grown throughout Africa, Asia and into the Middle East, it’s also naturalised in parts of Australia and known as a weed in Far North Queensland. It is considered the national vegetable of Egypt. Leaves, seedpods and stems are harvested from this versatile plant. The young leaves are eaten like spinach and used as a thickener in soups, for example. A traditional dish is molokhia, a meat broth flavoured with onion, garlic, coriander, bay leaves and cardamom. Finely chopped jute leaves (also called molokhia or mulukhiya) are added and cooked for a few minutes before serving. The leaves are…

A bad day at work and a lucky find on the internet led Ina Ansmann and Timothy Noonan to a completely new life in Tasmania. “We were living and working in Brisbane and we’d both come home after a bad day at work and just thought there had to be more to life,” Timo explains. The Truffledore in Lower Barrington popped up on the computer to lure them from subtropical Brisbane to the red soil and cold weather of northwest Tasmania. THE TRUFFLEDORE HAS A SMALL TASTING ROOM AND FARM KITCHEN AND OFFERS FARMSTAYS AND TRUFFLE HUNTS. The real estate ad promised a small farm with established truffles, tasting room and farmstay accommodation. Says Timo, “We weren’t farmers and knew nothing about truffles but the lifestyle and opportunity that the…

For some, a visit to the cinema just isn’t right without a tub of buttery, freshly popped corn. As I’m sure you already know, fresh popcorn is made by heating dried corn kernels until they become crunchy white corn blobs — and lashings of butter and salt make the puffy popcorn clouds even tastier, if you ask me. If you want to make the best homemade (and homegrown) popcorn, you need to choose the right variety. There are four different types of corn (Zea mays) commonly grown, but only one of them is best suited to popping. Popcorn (Z. mays var. everta) is a type of flint corn with a distinct size and shape to its cobs. The kernels have a unique, very starchy centre, high moisture content and hard…

When flowers are brought indoors it’s usually to put them in a vase — but don’t stop there. Flowers are also good to eat (well, some are) and edible flowers are all the rage at restaurants and cafes. Turn your next salad or dessert into a gourmet affair by adding a few flowers or tossing in some colourful petals. Before you go wild there are guidelines for picking flowers to ensure they’re safe to eat. Pick only flowers that have been grown organically — without the use of chemicals including insecticides and fungicides. Avoid roadside flowers as these will be polluted by passing traffic and may have been sprayed with herbicides. Always check for insects such as ants, spiders and aphids and always give flowers a good shake and a…

The Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) is one of Australia’s most destructive pests, attacking almost every known fruit, berry and fruiting vegetable through all stages of growth and ripening — and even after harvest. These pests are native to eastern Queensland and north-eastern NSW but, due to transportation of infected fruit, the planting of exotic host crops and the effects of climate change, they can now be found throughout the east coast and the Northern Territory. During hot weather they can multiply very quickly, going from egg to adult in as little as five weeks and producing multiple generations. The female needs to mate just once to produce several hundred eggs in her lifetime and can lay up to 100 eggs a day. When pest numbers are high, crop losses…

Rock minerals — also known as volcanic rock dust, rock powder, stone dust and stonemeal — are the secret, essential ingredients often lacking in conventional plant fertilisers. While the manures and organic fertilisers many gardeners use are big on macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, they often pull up short when it comes to trace elements vital for healthy plants. In fact, eight of the 17 elements essential for plant growth are micronutrients: boron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. As plants grow, they take up what minerals are present in the soil and when we eat the plants we benefit from those minerals. Eventually, however, soil can become quite severely depleted of these nutrients. Conventional fertilisers are only half the story and, if they’re used on…

MICROBIOME OF AN ATHLETE In a new study, researchers analysed the performance and gut health of a group of well-matched, highly trained endurance runners. The aim was to see the impact of both high-protein and high-carbohydrate diets. The results showed that those on a high-protein diet had a disturbed stability in their gut microbiome. There was less diversity in their gut microbes and there were also higher levels of some adverse microbes. All this microbiome instability was accompanied by a 23 per cent reduction in time trial results. Those whose gut microbiomes were more stable did better in the time trials, and a high-carbohydrate diet, with a variety of grains, fruit and vegetables, improved performance by an average 6.5 per cent. According to the researchers, it might be that an…

Matcha tea is grown in the shade, resulting in a higher percentage of chlorophyll than other green teas, and is the centrepiece of ancient Japanese tea rituals. Before it can be used, matcha is forced through a sieve to remove lumps. For the Japanese tea ceremony, it’s placed in a small tea caddy or used straight from the sieve. Two to four grams of matcha is scooped into a bowl then 60–80mL of hot (70–85°C), but not boiling, water is added. The mixture is then whipped to a uniform consistency with a small bamboo whisk and traditionally served with a small sweet to balance the bitterness. There are two main ways of preparing matcha: thick (koicha) and thin (usucha). With twice the amount of matcha and about half the water…

98 Mushroom Shakshuka on Toast with Spiced Labneh 99 Mushroom French Toast with Poached Egg & Parmesan 100 Balsamic Mushrooms on Sourdough Toast with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, Feta & Basil Oil 101 Thyme Mushroom on Wholemeal Toast with Cashew Butter MULTIPLY YOUR MUSHROOMS’ VITAMIN D Whether they are store bought or homegrown, boost the vitamin D levels in your mushrooms by leaving them in the sun for about 15 minutes. MUSHROOM SHAKSHUKA ON TOAST WITH SPICED LABNEH SERVES: 1 PREPARATION: 15 MINUTES COOKS IN: 10 MINUTES INGREDIENTS • 1 tbsp olive oil• ½ onion, finely diced• 1 clove garlic, crushed• 1 tsp smoked paprika• ½ tsp ground cumin• ½ tsp chilli flakes• ¼ cup roasted capsicum, chopped• 200g tomato puree or tinned diced tomatoes• Salt & pepper, to taste• 100g…

A horticulturist, writer, presenter and passionate organic gardener, Chloe uses her social media profile Bean There Dug That to educate and inform likeminded gardeners, using fun, creative videos and posts. Find her on Facebook and Instagram @beantheredugthat PETUNIA ‘CRAZY CORAL’ PETUNIA × HYBRIDA The plant: A new and improved petunia that flowers earlier in the season than others — up to six weeks earlier, in fact! This variety has a more compact habit, but each individual plant will grow up to 80cm wide. This spreading growth habit is perfect for hanging baskets or filling garden beds with colour quickly. Growing: ‘Crazy Coral’ prefers a full-sun position in a rich free-draining soil or premium potting mix. This petunia will happily grow in pots or in garden beds and it looks extra-special…

Many native plants have commercial potential. With much to offer gardeners in warm, frost-free areas, the native currant deserves a closer look. Evergreen, handsome and productive, it’s also adaptable as it grows in both sun and shade. It’s quick to produce a crop, setting fruit after just a year of growing. It has male and female flowers on separate plants. The flowers are white and appear in spring. This large shrub — it can reach 2–4m in height and 2m wide — can be grown as a hedge or screen, which allows a mixed planting of male and female plants. The female plants produce clusters of small fruit which are almost like long bunches of small grapes. Fruit ripens in late summer to autumn as the berries become sweet and…

Bowelling, a rural community in southwest WA on the edge of what is now the Muja State Forest, began as a junction and signals exchange for the state railway. Two sawmills cut jarrah for sleepers well into the 20th century. It’s not an unlikely place for Robert Turner to retire to. He grew up around engineering and woodwork shops and became a coachbuilder, working on buses and, later, caravans. These days he pursues hobbies that reflect his upbringing and working life: vintage cars and old radios. He and daughter Karen produce artworks made from antique machinery sourced from Kalgoorlie’s historic Goldfields pipeline. Their latest work is a plant holder that upcycles materials from the 1800s. Among their other pieces, which they exhibit in various local galleries, are bee and wildlife…

JANUARY 2023 Mid-summer is a time of high productivity but the heat can be very harsh. Keep the watering consistent if the weather is dry and look out for fungal diseases if it’s wet. FEBRUARY 2023 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. 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…

There isn’t just one plant known as a gourd. The term takes in lots of vegetables from pumpkins, cucumbers and squash to vines that produce hard ornamental fruits that rattle when shaken. Many bean-like vegetables are also known as gourds. The vegetable luffa or vegetable sponge (Luffa acutangula) is also known as a gourd — but more about that later (see box, page 45). This article, however, focuses on ornamental gourds (Cucurbita pepo) grown and harvested for their hard-skinned ornamental fruit. These are grouped into the Cucurbitaceae family and grow as large, vigorous, warm-season vines. Ornamental gourds are grown not to be eaten but crafted into musical instruments including maracas, drums and Indian sitars as well as utensils such as bowls. They can even be made into dolls. Some are…

GOOD NEWS! As well as composting your newspaper you can also fashion the pages into homemade eco-friendly pots, which can then be planted straight in the ground. Using a wine bottle or glass as a mould, tightly wrap newspaper around the base, tucking-in at the bottom. Continue to layer the newspaper around the bottle until the shape of a pot is formed. Spray lightly with water to help define the shape. When dry, remove from the bottle or glass and it’s ready to fill with a plant of your choice. The paper will break down in the soil over time Used paper coffee cups also to make excellent express versions. FOOD FOR THOUGHT Consider sharing any gluts of fruit or vegetables with local charity organisations. It’s a great way to…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES ∙ It can still be cool in the shade but things are warmer out in the garden. That’s your cue to put in some leeks, lettuce, spring onions and zucchini. If cucurbits are failing to form fruit, hand pollination can work. ∙ Heat stress can be a thing at this time so consider shade screens, which also act as shelter from hot winds. In the event of a heatwave, move sun-sensitive potted plants into shady spots well away from reflective walls. ∙ If it’s not too hot, you could try some some herbs such as basil, parsley, sage and dill. Coriander will tend to bolt straight to flower, however, while mint, unless potted, can easily take over. ∙ Feeding, weeding and watering are the watchwords at…

The olive tree is indigenous to the Levant, in the Eastern Mediterranean, but is now grown and used extensively throughout the world. The first Spanish settlers introduced the tree to America and, since ancient times, it has been used for its many medicinal properties. It’s the first botanical medicine mentioned in the Bible, being described in Ezekiel 47:12: “The fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” Ancient Egyptians used it for mummifying royalty and the ancient Greeks used it to relieve fevers. In 1843, Englishman Daniel Hanbury reported the use of the leaf for healing malaria and fevers. ACTIVE INGREDIENTS The primary constituents of the leaf are the secoiridoids — oleuropein mainly — plus polyphenols, triterpenes, including oleanolic acid, and the flavonoids rutin, quercetin and…

ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR ONE! Flower Blend is used by professional growers, commercial nurseries and award-winning gardeners. This secret to gardening success is as simple as throwing a handful or two around any plants in pots or in the ground. Formulated with minerals, microbes and just a pinch of fertiliser, Flower Blend is the best all-round plant food and conditioner while also being vegan friendly and safe for both pets and children. It not only boosts flowering but also keeps soil and potting mix conditioned, enhances root growth, helps plants defend themselves against insect and fungal attack and at the same time helps reduce the need to water. Ideal for roses, orchids, natives, azaleas, herbs and vegetables — in fact, all plants. earthlife.com.au HOW’S IT GROWING? Feed the…