Innholdsfortegnelse for 15.2 i Good Organic Gardening

It’s winter for most of us, and what do we think about planting in winter? Well, apart from the peas, brassicas, lettuces and root vegies, that is. Yes, fruit! Often, as food gardeners, we’re inclined to think about vegies and herbs a lot more of the time, which is understandable when you consider most of them are annuals. We’re always pondering on what we’ll put in for the coming season. But the thing about growing fruit is you get to watch it develop and mature, season after season. You form something akin to parent-child relationships with your fruit trees and vines. And there’s nothing like the pleasure you get from the first fig or apple or lemon appearing on a young tree. So this is a very fruity issue. Jennifer…

PHONE APP LOGS A MILLION FROGS A Spalding’s rocket frog recorded in northwest Queensland has become the millionth frog call documented by FrogID, the Australian Museum (AM) app behind the world’s largest citizen-science project about amphibians. Dr Jodi Rowley, curator of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Biology at the AM and University of NSW and the lead scientist behind FrogID, verified the rare frog’s call, which she likened to a chicken combined with a lawnmower. The millionth frog was digitally captured by volunteer citizen scientist Dr Elliot Leach, an ecologist and newcomer to FrogID. He recorded the Spalding’s rocket frog (Litoria spaldingi) while working near Cloncurry. “I heard the frog calling from over 100 metres away,” he said. “It’s such a distinctive sound, I knew immediately it was a new species…

No matter what you’ve been told, bananas don’t grow on trees. The lush, leafy plants that produce the popular tropical fruit are actually perennial herbs. Wait, there’s more! Botanically speaking, a banana is in fact a berry: a fleshy fruit, without a stone or pit, produced from a single flower containing one ovary. But back to the tree — or, more exactly, the world’s largest herbaceous flowering plant. How does it achieve its upright habit? Layers of leaves emerge from the crown of a rhizome or corm beneath the ground and grow into an upright trunk-like form or pseudostem. As new leaves emerge from the crown, they push up the centre of the existing leaves, adding height to the “tree”. The fruits grow upwards in clusters near the top of…

Queensland’s largest inland city, Toowoomba occupies a commanding position atop the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, 700m above sea level. It’s one of my favourite places in the state’s southeast, not least because of its world-renowned Carnival of Flowers. But it’s not all about flowers up here on the Darling Downs, where vegetables, herbs and fruiting trees also thrive in Toowoomba’s iron-rich red soil. A case in point is this relatively small block in suburban Newtown belonging to Kushla Gale and partner Neil. At just 280m2, their garden is bursting with edibles: cherries, bananas, mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, cherry guavas, sweet potato, lettuce, eggplant, rainbow chard and more. Even their flowers are edible, including alyssum, sunflowers, fennel, violas and pansies as well as alliums and brassicas. Kushla doesn’t plant…

Even if you don’t grow them for their fruits, long-lived pistachios make beautiful feature trees. These small- to medium-sized deciduous trees do best in areas where winter is cool to cold and summers hot and dry. In fact, if you don’t have a cold enough winter, they won’t receive enough chill to flower properly. Even if your pistachio tree never fruits, the changing colour of its autumnal leaves before they fall and the thick canopy of large dark green leaves through spring and summer are reason enough to grow one. If you do want your tree to produce fruit you’ll need both a male and a female, as pistachio is dioecious and one male can pollinate up to 15 female trees. There is a space-saving technique called duo planting —…

Among fresh-fruit sales, grapes have proved a surprise star. The humble table grape has shown huge growth in volume in recent years due to the increase in numbers of new varieties, particularly seedless ones. There’s also been an expansion in regions where grapes are grown to include the subtropics and cold temperate zones, which has broadened their availability as fresh fruit. According to the annual report on Australia’s horticultural crops by industry body Hort Innovation, the grape season now extends from midsummer into winter. Research published in the scientific journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and promoted by the California Table Grape Commission in the US suggests that grapes could help in the ongoing fight against COVID. Grapes aren’t a cure and won’t prevent the disease but researchers have found their high…

Fruit flies are the arch enemies of fruit and vegie growers around the world. Though active by day, they’re often hard to spot — but you can just about always see where they’ve been. Bruising or other skin blemishes may indicate that fruit or vegetables have been stung by a fruit fly. It’s the larvae that do the real damage. Flies lay their eggs in fruit and when the larvae hatch they consume the fruit, causing decay and fruit drop. So how can we protect our beautiful fruit and veg from being spoilt by these insects? VARIETIES OF FRUIT FLY Of the hundreds of varieties of fruit fly in Australia, two — possibly three if you include the compost gnat — are considered significantly destructive. • Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera…

Filter foam and clay balls A sheet of aquarium-safe filter foam (available at Clark Rubber) will hold clay balls at the base of the tank, allowing plants to grow directly in water. I used the foam and clay balls so I could place more plants at the base of my paludarium, seen on the opposite page. I created a layer of filter foam with cut-outs to house the clay balls. I later painted the foam with non-toxic black paint to blend it with my rock wall. I let the paint dry thoroughly then washed the foam until the colour stopped running. Cost: around $20 for a 50×20cm block (enough for a 100cm tank). Expanded clay balls used in hydroponic systems are a practical medium for the bottom of the paludarium…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES • In cool zones it’s still unpredictable — a cold snap is not off the menu, so hold off on sowing the warm-season crops such as tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, capsicums, pumpkins, potatoes and zucchini.• In temperate zones, the frosts are hopefully gone for the year so now is the time to plant Asian greens, beetroot, broccoli, celery, leeks, parsnip, peas, radish, rocket and spinach. You could also consider potatoes.• Weather-hardy seeds and seedlings include snow peas, lettuce, spring onions, silverbeet and most herbs. Broad beans are best planted in cool temperate areas.• Other plants to consider at this time include parsley, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. If you’re trying out Jerusalem artichokes, it’s best to put them in a pot or they could take over.• To get…

OPERATION RESTORATION The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 is well underway, recognising seven flagship initiatives with big goals to restore and protect vital ecosystems and communities all over the planet. Five Andean countries under the banner Acción Andina are working to restore forest ecosystems, home to more than 45,000 plant species and numerous birds, reptiles and amphibians. Their ambitious goal is to protect one million hectares. Regreening Africa is a multi-nation project tackling creeping desertification, which affects 45 per cent of Africa’s landmass. The aim is to restore 5 million acres, boosting biodiversity and supporting local communities by identifying successful scalable solutions appropriate to those communities. Another African initiative, Trees for the Future, is helping hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers learn a regenerative agroforestry technique called the…

Growers and breeders are very interested in an unusual species of tomato because of its resistance to disease, its imperviousness to humid climates and, not least, its round shape. The species, Solanum cheesmaniae, is long bearing with small round orange fruit and grows wild on the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. This is of course the island group visited by Charles Darwin on his epic five-year voyage on The Beagle. His studies of finches on the Galapagos led him to develop his theory of evolution. Darwin collected specimens of the tomato during his visit to Chatham Island in 1835. The pressed herbarium specimens are held by London’s Kew Herbarium and show foliage and fruit. Interestingly, Sarah Darwin, who continues her great-grandfather’s work as a botanist, wrote…

The pear isn’t the sexiest of fruit but, in terms of being good for you, it’s up there with the best. Along with apples, pears are one of the earliest fruits offered to babies as they start to eat solids. This is because they’re low risk for allergic reactions, available year round as they store well and are sweet and easy to prepare. Harvest begins in midsummer with early varieties and continues through autumn into winter. Pear crops are often large with plenty to share. I vividly remember our neighbour arriving with a gift of fruit from his towering tree, a crop so abundant he brought them in the trailer of his ride-on mower. We ate a lot of fresh pears that summer but they were also bottled, stewed, made…

The ginkgo or maidenhair tree is an ancient and long-lived deciduous tree from the age of the dinosaurs. It can reach a height of more than 30m, though I’ve had one growing in a large 50cm pot for the past 12 years and it’s thriving — so don’t think you haven’t the space for a ginkgo in your garden. My favourite thing about ginkgo trees is the buttery golden colour of their leaves in autumn. In spring and summer, the lobed, fan-shaped leaves that flutter beautifully in the breeze are a bright lime-green colour. It’s often one of the last trees to change in late autumn and, even when the leaves fall, the colour display isn’t finished — the yellow leaves create a golden carpet that’s so pretty I’m always…

Gardening is a wonderfully relaxing pastime and hand watering can be a peaceful, meditative practice. It also allows gardeners to observe each of their plants in turn, noticing how they’re growing and if they need any extra care. While such interaction keeps us in touch with our gardens, if we’re regularly watering large numbers of plant pots it can all get fiddly and time-consuming. Smaller garden beds are relatively quick and easy to water — if the soil’s sufficiently rich in organic matter, it tends to hold sufficient moisture for longer. Pots and containers, on the other hand, have limited water-holding capacity. They tend to dry out much faster, requiring more frequent watering and attention. For gardeners with a large collection of pots and planters, it’s possible to install a…

VEGETABLE SEEDLING NURSERY KIT The team at Aussie Gardener has made it really easy to grow your own vegetable seedlings at home and put an end to all the plastic waste that happens when buying punnets at the nursery. This complete kit contains a year’s worth of seed, large propagator, soil, seedling tonic, plant labels, seed dispenser, fertiliser and more! We also recommend you grab the optional Veggie Sowing Planner, which shows you what seeds to sow throughout the year based on your climate zone. Head to aussiegardener.com.au/nurserykit to find this kit or give them a call on 1800 222 800. DWARF PEAR COLLECTION For homegrown fruit enthusiasts, 2023 brought exciting news with the launch of PlantNet’s Summer Crunch® Pear collection. This innovative range offers four new dwarf pear varieties:…

Become a Diggers member for inspiration, savings and all the advice and support you need to grow your own at home. Shop our organically cer tified seed selections Members $4.25 Non-members $5.50 Seed packet Code Amaranth ‘Red Garnet’ S0013 Artichoke ‘Imperial Star’ (PVP) S0011 Basil ‘Cinnamon’ S332 Bean ‘Australian Butter’ S0112 Bean ‘Frost’ S0181 Bean ‘Northeaster’ S0282 Bean ‘Purple King’ Climbing S021 Bean ‘Speckled Cranberry’ S0172 Beetroot ‘Bull’s Blood’ S037 Beetroot ‘Burpee’s Golden’ S039 Beetroot ‘Chioggia’ S033 Beetroot ‘Cylindra’ S034 Beetroot ‘Globe’ S036 Broccoli ‘De Cicco’ S044 Broccoli ‘Green Sprouting’ S045 Broccoli ‘Waltham’ S049 Cabbage ‘Early Jersey Wakefield’ S0592 Capsicum ‘Cubanelle’ S0647 Capsicum ‘Jimmy Nardello’ S0671 Chickpea S395 Chilli ‘Joe’s Long Cayenne’ S070 Chilli ‘Maui Purple’ S0702 Comfrey S310 Coriander S308 Cucumber ‘Double Yield’ S0961 Cucumber ‘Japanese Climbing’ S097 Cucumber…

Sloes are old-fashioned, almost forgotten plants that have seen a resurgence in popularity due to the revived interest in spiced alcoholic drinks. Sloe is perhaps best known for its contribution to sloe gin, a delicious pink plum-flavoured liqueur. It is a very ancient tree widespread through Europe as a tree of woods, meadows and hedgerows. It can be found naturalised in the cooler parts of Australia. Trees are very bushy and grow to around 3–5m high and 2m wide. As the species name spinosa suggests, the tree is very thorny. Due to their thorns, sloes were used to create stock-proof fencing much like hawthorns and are still planted as hedges or barrier plants. They can also be grown as standalone trees or as espaliers. The trees have masses of single…

Ash Burke’s garden in suburban Geelong takes up a mere 70m2 but on Facebook it has 36,000 followers and his posts regularly attract a thousand likes or more. His Instagram has 161,000 followers. It’s an impressive level of engagement for someone who started his first real vegie garden in 2019 and established this one just over two years ago when he moved in with wife Nikita and their young boys Hudson (6) and Sullivan (2) and baby daughter Quinn (1). “I LOVE THAT WE’RE BUILDING A DIVERSE LITTLE ECOSYSTEM IN OUR BACKYARD AND IT’S OK IF THE BUGS EAT SOMETHING NOW AND THEN.” That was late in 2021, “and over the summer I began planning the garden and commenced the build in autumn”. Ash has always loved being outside in…

JULY 2024 Winter is the time for growing nourishing, warming brassicas and root vegies, along with broad beans, bright snowpeas, sugar snaps and leafy greens. AUGUST 2024 The end of winter is more like the start of spring in many parts, so it’s time to prepare your beds for spring plantings and to start crop from seed if you haven’t already. 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 not be…

Asparagus may be an indicator of climate change. This year, Northern Hemisphere growers picked their earliest-ever crops with fresh spears in late winter — though green shoots are generally associated with early spring. The spears that are harvested and eaten are the tender new shoots that appear like slender green fingers poking out of bare soil. If left even for a few days, the shoots form tall, woody stems called ferns. By then the spear is no longer edible, so leave it to add nourishment to the clump. This edible delicacy is native to much of Europe where it’s an important spring green widely sold in vegetable markets and supermarkets. Where asparagus grows wild, it’s a popular plant to forage. Asparagus was introduced to Australia as a vegetable crop in…

A herb is basically a plant that is useful, whether that use be culinary, cosmetic or medicinal — and there are many herbs that tick more than one of those boxes. Often they also bring flowers, colour and fragrance, attract beneficial insects and come loaded with folkloric significance. Yet so many old-fashioned herbs have been forgotten, at least where the everyday gardener is concerned. At the very beginning of my horticultural career, some 33 years ago, I was intrigued by these fascinating plants. For hours and hours, I’d pore over their fascinating history and the intriguing uses and meanings ascribed to them. In this article we look at another round of the herbs of yesteryear, some of which are still grown in gardens and others I feel are worthy of…

Stepover espaliering means exactly what it suggests: the fruit trees are trained in a single tier that is so low you can literally step over them. The height they are allowed to reach is roughly 50–60cm (sometimes higher) and the T-shaped spread is 1.2–1.5m. Traditionally, stepovers were often planted around kitchen gardens and on allotments where the blossoms would attract pollinators, but they also make impressive borders and a charming way to grow fruit in small spaces. While the fruit on the dwarf trees is normal size — perhaps even bigger and tastier due to better access to sun and light — stepovers are not quite as productive as regular apple trees, but they do have great ornamental value. Stepovers also need a bit of pruning to keep their shape…

Paludariums have many advantages over terrariums. Terrariums often have poor airflow, encouraging the presence of destructive moulds which affect plant health, as well as insufficient light, lack of humidity or too much humidity. Conversely, paludariums have open tops for airflow, a body of water and, optionally, a humidifying system to keep the moisture levels just right. If you’re lucky, the old aquarium you use may already have an overhead light; otherwise, buy one online for about $40 for a 90cm tank. If you want a more advanced project, a rainforest spray system designed for paludariums is recommended and easily installed. Then you’ll have the perfect aquatic and terrestrial eco system. Create a mini tropical jungle in your lounge room, kitchen or bedroom using mainly plants from your own garden. Here’s…

COOL & TEMPERATE VEGIES • Yes, it’s cold all right, but pull on your gumboots and get out there — those greens aren’t going to sow themselves. Keep them coming by planting seeds or seedlings every few weeks: some brassicas, say, as well as broad beans, carrots, peas, silverbeet, spinach and sweet peas. Try some coriander as well.• In more temperate areas, add lettuce, celery, potato, radish and garlic to the list. Also worthy of consideration are Jerusalem artichokes — but put them in a pot or they can take over. And it’s not too late to plant some perennials like asparagus and rhubarb.• As growth slows in the vegie beds, it’s a good time to catch up on weeding. Other maintenance should include a weekly application of organic liquid…

Images and text from Healthy Slow Cooker by Ross Dobson, photography by Jeremy Simons. Murdoch Books RRP $36.99. PUMPKIN INDIAN SPICED ROOT VEGETABLES SERVES 4 Preparation 20 minutes | Cooking about 4 hours Gluten-free Rather like an exotic bubble and squeak, but starting with raw vegies and giving them an Indian twist, there’s no need to wait until you have leftovers from a roast dinner to give this a try. As well as being a comforting supper, it makes an awesome brunch, topped with your favourite style of egg. I can never get enough boiled eggs, and I’m particularly partial to a roughly chopped hard-boiled egg. INGREDIENTS • 1 tablespoon olive oil• 1 red onion, thinly sliced• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped• 2cm piece ginger, finely chopped• 1 teaspoon ground…