Good Organic Gardening

What a great time of year! Everything is growing fast, the silly season is upon us and, importantly, the chooks are back in full lay. Which is why, this issue, instead of featuring recipes starring different seasonal fruit and veg, we decided to go e

Traditional Ecological Knowledge, or TEK, is an invaluable aspect of an interdisciplinary approach to Earth stewardship. TEK is a system of understanding the environment, built over generations, as people depend on the land and sea for their food, ma

Words & photos Jana Holmer Many of the best gardeners start early. Mark Hoffmann was just three years old when he sowed his first carrot in his father’s big vegetable garden in the historic Geelong suburb of Belmont. Originally from Silesia — then in

Words Jennifer Stackhouse Lovage looks like a cross between parsley and celery with its tall, hollow stems topped with large, flat parsley-like leaves. It can reach 2m high and every part is edible. This herb is native to Europe and western Asia and

Words Claire Bickle “IF YOU KILL ALL THE CATERPILLARS YOU WON’T HAVE ANY BUTTERFLIES. IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE IN YOUR GARDEN ECOLOGY.” Two acres in idyllic, subtropical Tallebudgera in the Gold Coast hinterland: sounds like paradise, doesn’t it? Espec

Words Jennifer Stackhouse Mistletoe is one of those odd-bod plants. Mistletoes are found around the world and there are many different plants known as mistletoe. All are parasitic plants that can only grow on another species. In Australia, the most c

Words Melissa King As garden plants, nasturtiums often fall into the love-or-hate category. Where they become wildly weedy, they are a real nuisance. In other places, these fast-growing annuals are a welcome addition to the garden with lush, rounded

Technically it’s still spring but in most parts of Australia it’s definitely very warm, which means it’s time for staggered planting to extend the summer harvest. Summer has officially arrived and there’s still time for more staggered plantings of al

Words Jennifer Stackhouse When winter rolls around you can never have too many pumpkins — so get planting now to make the most of this delicious, easygoing crop. Pumpkin vines grow readily from seed but the large, spreading plants take many months to

Words Melissa King Photos Fleming’s Nurseries IN AREAS WITH HIGH SUMMER RAINFALL, FRUIT CAN BE PRONE TO CRACKING, SO LOOK OUT FOR TYPES THAT ARE MORE SPLIT-RESISTANT. When it comes to cherries, I don’t have a stop button; I could eat a whole bowlful

Words Jennifer Stackhouse True to their name, snake beans are long, thin and snakelike. These giants of the legume world are also known as yardlong beans as they can grow to a metre or more in length. Snake beans are native to parts of Asia (possibly

Words Jennifer Stackhouse MATURE MELONS CAN WEIGH UP TO 5KG BUT MAY BE A LOT SMALLER. HARVEST JAM MELONS WHEN THEY ARE HEAVY AND SOUND “DRUMMY” WHEN TAPPED. My friend Liz Gower, aka The Jam Lady, who makes lots of jams and preserves to sell at local

Words Kerry Boyne Sunflowers are often a symbol of happiness, and lovely plants to have in the garden. In the vegie patch, a bank of them on the western side can provide shade to heat-sensitive crops in the harsh afternoon sun of midsummer, and in th

Spices are mentioned in our earliest historical records. Some 2000 years ago, the spice trading routes extended from the west coast of Japan through the islands of Indonesia, around India to the Middle East and then across the Mediterranean to Europe

Words Jennifer Stackhouse ALTHOUGH THE FLOWERS ARE PRETTY, CUTTING THEM OFF AS THE FLOWER BUD FORMS ENCOURAGES LARGER TUBERS AND MAKES THE PLANT A LITTLE STURDIER. All right, let’s get the artichoke jokes out of the way. Mention these tubers even in

By Jennifer Stackhouse Check the vegie garden once or twice a day as the weather warms up. Look for pests and weeds and crops that are ready to harvest. Take the hose or watering can with you. If a hot day is forecast, water plants early in the morni

Words Melissa King Pick, crush and sniffa lemon verbena leaf and you’ll want to savour it all day, so intoxicating is the lemony scent that gives it its species name, citriodora. It’s one of those invaluable plants that give you double the joy — in b

Words Jennifer Stackhouse Photos Angus Stewart Kangaroo paw is aptly named: its small, slightly furry flowers indeed look and even feel like a tiny marsupial’s paws. The flowers come in a huge range of sizes and colours — including red, pink, orange,

Words & photos Chris Stafford The historic Hunter Valley town of Dungog takes its name from a word in the local Gringrai language meaning “place of thinly wooded hills”. Drive a short distance through flat dairy country and into the rolling foothills

Photos GAP Photos There are any number of fake table decorations available in shops, but it’s not hard to make your own using natural materials instead of plastic. Here’s is a simple guide to making an arrangement using a few materials from a craft s

Words & photos Jo Immig Are you somebody who loves a bouquet of cut flowers but have some niggling doubts about their provenance? Do you wonder what you’re breathing in when you bury your nose into a bunch of flowers? While they look the part, they o

Words Carrol Baker WOODEN TOOL HANDLES CAN CRACK, SPLINTER AND DISINTEGRATE OVER TIME. GIVE THEM A LIGHT SANDING IF THERE ARE ROUGH EDGES, THEN APPLY A COATING OF COCONUT OIL Have you ever done a shonky repair on a broken rake handle with electrical

Words & photos Angelo Eliades Nature by design is functional. Her forms all serve a distinct purpose and they do so very efficiently and sustainably. With hundreds of millions of years of constant evolution and refinement, that should be no surprise.

Words Megg Miller A SURPRISING NUMBER OF GRAINS, SEEDS, VEGETABLES AND EVEN GREEN FEED CARRY WHAT ARE CALLED ANTINUTRITIONAL FACTORS (ANFS). Chooks are conservative about what they will eat and may be loath to try items unfamiliar to them. Visual app

By Jennifer Stackhouse Pumpkin vines cause lots of stress for gardeners about now. They appear to be covered in large yellow male flowers without a pumpkin-producing female bloom to be seen. Like all plants in the cucurbit family, pumpkins produce bo

Serves 4 • ½ cauliflower, cut into florets • 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil • ½ tsp ground cumin • ½ tsp ground coriander • Salt and pepper, to taste • 1 cup bourghal wheat (cracked wheat) • Juice 1 lemon • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • ½ red onion,

Words & photos Claire Bickle Gardening isn’t only about growing our own food and making things look pretty. There are other dimensions to explore when designing and choosing your planting palette. What about selecting plants that benefit your pets an

Words Jennifer Stackhouse Many studies of the benefits of gardening have shown that the activity of gardening, along with merely being in a green, leafy environment, has huge benefits to human health and wellbeing. For those with physical disabilitie

Words Megg Miller Brrr..! It might be getting cold, wet and windy, but we’re lucky in Australia that our winters are not extreme. We don’t need to close up henhouses to keep the snow out, nor do we need to run a heater to control condensation resulti

Words Jennifer Stackhouse If you are searching for something a little different to grow through the months ahead, celtuce is a clever crop that could fit the bill. It looks like a leafy cos lettuce mounted on a long, thick, fleshy stem. This vegetabl

Words Erina Starkey Terrariums are the ultimate lowmaintenance houseplants. When made correctly, they are completely self-sufficient, using photosynthesis to recycle nutrients. Rather than spend money on a fish bowl, there are many other inspired gla

Words Jennifer Stackhouse Licorice sticks, licorice allsorts, licorice straps, salty Dutch licorice … whatever form it comes in, we know it as a black, often-chewy confectionery. But what is licorice? The back of a packet of chocolate licorice sticks

Words & photos Carrol Baker If you’ve ever tried eating escargots and found the sensation a little like eating a sandwich at the beach, that’s probably because you’ve never tried the real deal: fresh garden snails. Snail farmers CliffWilson and Mary

By Jennifer Stackhouse If you are still harvesting pumpkins, pick them with a piece of stem intact to improve storage. For good keeping, store them in a cool, dry spot. Harvest the last of the tomatoes as well. Also collect seeds from spent summer an

Late autumn means it’s still a good time in most regions to get all those lovely health-giving brassicas and root vegetables into the garden Winter has officially arrived and, while it’s a quieter time for planting in cooler regions, there’s lots to

Words & photos Claire Bickle Many pelargoniums and geraniums are renowned worldwide for their blowsy blooms, but their lesserknown sisters with scented foliage are the true beauties in my eyes. I recently heard someone declare geraniums/pelargoniums

By Jennifer Stackhouse Plant dormant asparagus, artichoke and rhubarb crowns into beds enriched with compost or aged manure. All are long-lived, producing reliably for years. If these crops are already in the vegie garden, cover with a mulch of manur

Artichoke, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chives, coriander, daikon, dill, endive, eschalots, garlic, Jerusalen artichoke, kohlrabi, lettuce, mibuna, mizuna, mustard greens, onion, parsley, radish, rocket, snow peas, s

Words Kerry Boyne Of the 500-odd members of its sprawling genus, Passiflora incarnata is among the hardiest, undoubtedly one of the prettiest and, to top it off, possesses significant medicinal powers. Also known as maypop, this is the Passiflora we

Photos GAP Photos/Jonathan Need Braiding, or plaiting, garlic and onions is a beautiful way to have your homegrown produce on show for all to see. But it also has practical benefits, providing better air circulation around your bulbs than they would

Words & photos Centre for Organic Research & Education (CORE) Joe and Karen Bugeja have been vegetable farming in Western Sydney since 1989 and their family have been farming the same land since the 1970s. The farms are situated along Bents Basin Roa

Words Jennifer Stackhouse Kale has risen from relative obscurity to become a very trendy vegetable in recent years. It’s even sold by the bunch in supermarkets and turns up on many restaurant menus. Much of this renewed interest comes down to its rep

Words & photos Jana Holmer No matter how much they love their gardens, not many gardeners get to turn their passion into a career. In Kyrstie Barcak’s case, her life and that of her family are centred on her vegie patch. For her, the gardening bug in

Apples, avocado, banana, cumquat, custard apple, dates, feijoa, grapes, kiwifruit, lemon, lime, mandarin, nashi, nuts (chestnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts), orange (Navel), pears, persimmon, pomegranate, quince, rhubarb Apple cum d Asian greens, b

Words Jennifer Stackhouse Parsnip is not a very popular vegetable and isn’t eaten as much as it once was. Most of us would consume parsnip occasionally, often as part of a roasted meal. With our ready access to carrots, potato and other starchy crops

Words & photos Sandra Tuszynska Nestled in the heart of Brisbane in the inner-northern suburb of Windsor is the Northey Street City Farm (NSCF), an inspirational community project that began in 1994. Now occupying 2.5 acres, the NSCF’s original small

By Justin Calverley & CERES, ABC Books, $39.99 Sometimes, the only thing between a wouldbe city farmer and that dream garden is space. That’s no longer an excuse as horticulturist and broadcaster Justin Calverley, who teaches at CERES Environment Par

Words Jennifer Stackhouse I don’t need to grow a bay tree as my neighbour regularly appears with a branch from his tree, which he prunes each year and distributes to the neighbourhood’s cooks. I strip the leaves and dry them to use for flavouring sto

Words Melissa King You can spend hours sitting under a mulberry tree, devouring the ripe berries one by one. A garden-fresh feast is definitely one of the best ways to enjoy them, but mulberries also make delicious pies, sauces, jams and wine. They m