Good Organic Gardening

Yes, we’re fatter. We usually pack it on over winter preparing extra pages for spring and summer but now there’s a new section drawn from our sister publication WellBeing, Australia’s foremost natural health magazine. We believe caring about personal

The plant: A compact, mounding plant with small silver-grey foliage and clusters of deep-red flower buds that open into pink papery daisy-like flowers in spring and early summer. A perfect edging or border plant in frost-free gardens (in areas with h

Papaya is best known as a delicious and refreshing orange-coloured tropical fruit with black seeds. Also called pawpaw, it can be pricy to buy at the shops so, if you live in a warm climate and enjoy papaya for breakfast or in a fruit salad, it’s wor

This is a plant with lots of common names — one person’s Lagos spinach is another’s feather cockscomb — and the name you use depends on why you’re growing the plant. As the multitude of names suggests, this can be an edible plant or one that’s grown

Some like it hot — do you? If you eat chilli every day, then you’re not alone; one quarter of the world’s population eat chilli at least once a day Despite its current world domination, until 1492 chilli wasn’t grown or eaten outside of Central and S

A mainstay of French cuisine and the basis of the classic omelette, fines herbes traditionally comprise parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil, a relative of parsley. The delicately balanced combination was first identified in 1903 by famed chef Augus

Hamlyn Heights perches on a windy ridge overlooking Geelong’s Corio Bay. Named after 1940s resident Sidney Hamlyn, the suburb is noted as the childhood home of actor Guy Pearce, whose international career began in the cast of Neighbours. How appropri

When Kylie and Steve Stapleton decided to turn their garden in Brisbane’s northern suburbs into an edible forest, one of the first trees they planted was carambola, also known as starfruit — so naturally they named their little piece of paradise The

Dalyellup Beach, where the Indian Ocean meets the Tuart Forest just south of Bunbury and two-and-a-half hours southwest of Perth, is that rare Australian location that experiences four seasons a year. Living so close to the beach, Joyce Jordan says t

Spring is the season everyone loves, gardeners and non-gardeners alike. It seems like the whole world is coming to life with new growth and profusions of flowers. It’s high spring and everything is growing its socks off. Regular feeding, consistent w

Have you ever seen a yellow, grey or brown mass of slimy, frothy or powdery material suddenly appear on your soil, lawn or mulch? Chances are it could be a slime mould. Slime moulds are generally found in moist areas where they feed on bacteria, fung

Amaranth, artichoke (globe), Asian greens, asparagus, beetroot, broccoli, broad beans, cabbage, carrot, chilli, endive, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard greens, onion, parsnip, peas, potato, radish, rocket, silverbeet, sn

We live up the road from a vineyard. It was planted around six years ago on what was open pasture and enjoys a cracking view across Lake Barrington towards Black Bluff and Cradle Mountain in northwest Tasmania. The vines are now well established and

Plums are one of the easiest and most prolific fruit trees to grow in your garden. Don’t panic if you’ve missed the bare-rooted planting season — you can still find potted plum trees at your local garden centre or nursery. There are two types: Europe

I have a big bunch of homegrown parsnips. They were a gift from a gardening friend, Dean Sparrow, who has moved from his large garden of 18 years to a suburban rental (on the way to downsizing to a smaller property). The parsnips came with two hens a

Take a dive this spring and summer into the world of capsicums and you’ll realise their shapes and colours go well beyond the red, green and yellow “bell peppers” you’ll find at the supermarket. For some of the most unusual and heirloom varieties, lo

Although cucumbers grow on a vine, they can be planted in any size vegetable garden. These large climbers will even grow happily up a tripod in a large pot. Whether you plant in the garden or a container, manage their growth by training the vine up t

It may be part of permaculture ethos to have plants in your garden that have more than one purpose but, really, it’s just common sense and good, sustainable garden design to have such a planting palette. It’s good not only for a productive backyard b

Topping the list of easy-to-grow ornamental plants would have to be the common geranium, also called zonal geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum). This great beginner plant is also a good one to grow if you’re on a budget because it’s so easy to propagate

A wonderful way to create a good organic garden is to promote biodiversity across your landscape, whatever its size, and the best way to do this is to try and recreate what happens in a healthy, wild ecosystem. One of Australia’s most spectacular nat

One of the fastest ways to get rid of an insect pest that’s feeding on your plant is to squash it — but what if you can’t find the pest or there are just too many to squash? Most gardeners would opt for a safe, organic method to get rid of pest insec

What’s the best way to design a food garden? In the natural world, form follows function, so the way things appear reflects what they’re intended to do. Likewise, the optimal design of a garden should mirror its purpose and function — assuming there

Pumpkin patches are generally messy, sprawling areas where rats often find the fruit before you do. What’s more, the best ones always seem to pop up, inconveniently, in a compost heap with nightmare management issues such as rambling. We have the sol

We know it’s unwise to count chickens before they hatch but if you can get the fertile egg selection right, you may achieve a full hatch. Boost your chances with some effort. It’s not enough to aim for fertile eggs; you want a setting that’s chock-a-

In 2018, a David Attenborough internet fan page posted a picture, with the hashtag #savethebees, of an exhausted honey bee drinking a solution of sugar and water from a teaspoon. In the usual way of social media, the resulting viral wave of similar p

• The air may be warmer but the ground can still be cool. Hold off on mulching new plantings so they get the most from the early spring sun. • Alternatively, if sowing summer crops such as chilli, capsicum, tomato, eggplant, beans, cucumber, pumpkin,

• October is a top month for planting out all potted plants as well as starting seeds or seedlings of summer crops. • Summer crops to plant now include beans, corn, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, tomato and zucchini. In areas that experience late frost,

In a new study, researchers gave obese mice a diet supplemented with 80mg of cocoa powder per gram of food for eight weeks. Compared to controls, the mice given cocoa gained weight at a 21 per cent slower rate, and had less inflammation and less oxid

A delicious tropical fruit from South America, the pineapple is the most economically significant plant of the bromeliad family. When this herbaceous perennial blooms with up to 200 flowers per plant, the flowers join together to create the “multiple

Making your own drinks from organic ingredients picked fresh from the garden has multiple benefits. Along with the joy of self-sufficiency and saving money, you know exactly what’s in your glass. There’s less storage and zero food miles from harvest

Birdwatching is a great excuse to get outside and connect with nature. For me, birdwatching is an adventure, an exploration and a discovery. Birdwatching also does wonders for your mind because being in nature is calming and reduces stress. Just seei

Apple (Lady Williams), blueberries, custard apple, grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin (Imperial), rockmelon, orange (blood, Navel), pawpaw, papaya, pineapple, pomelo, strawberries, tamarillo, tangelo Artichoke (globe), Asian greens, asparagus, beans,

Potato-hash pancakes — or latkes in Yiddish — are known as a traditional part of Jewish cuisine. It’s not surprising, therefore, that they are also commonplace in Lithuanian cooking, since Lithuania (like many Eastern European countries) had a huge J

By Matthew Evans, Murdoh Books, $32.99 “Let’s face it,” writes Matthew Evans, “soil has an image problem.” It doesn’t speak, it doesn’t move, it lacks poetry and glamour, yet it teems with life that nurtures, sustains and feeds us: “There are more li

Though as common all over Australia as its common name suggests, the common grass blue is often overlooked. While its pale mauve-blue colouring is undeniably attractive, with a wingspan of just 20mm (around the diameter of a five-cent coin) the littl

Awaken your lawn and soil this spring with Seasol Lawn + Soil Booster. It’s the natural pelletised solution for your lawn’s health. It contains a rich source of natural ingredients, seaweed and compost to boost soil health and growth in all lawns, in

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