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

The world’s most popular tropical fruit actually doesn’t come from a fruit tree at all. That’s right, bananas don’t grow on trees! The lush, leafy plants that produce bananas are actually perennial herbs. From the crown of a rhizome or corm beneath t

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, kanga

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 litt

The plant: With masses of pure-white winged flowers covering the whole plant throughout spring and again in summer, this princess is perfection! It’s neat and compact with grey-green foliage that can be clipped to shape as you’d like. Beautiful in fo

Once, on a walk over the arid hills that comprise the Greek island of Kalymnos, my partner and I became aware of a lovely fragrance in the air around us. We realised we were tramping over wild herbs and, as we crushed the plants with our footwear, th

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,

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. Moving towards the end of our official winter, it’s time to start thinking about preparin

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 ill

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 i

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 bus

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

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

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 pr

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 tru

The French poetically call them pommes de terre — literally, “apples of the earth” — but you’ll most likely know them as spuds or potatoes. Originating from the Andes region of Peru, Chile and Bolivia, this starchy veg is a staple around the world, l

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 h

If you only grow one vegetable it is probably a tomato. Everyone loves the challenge of growing a tomato — and, if you get it right, there’s nothing nicer. Not only is the flavour of homegrown ripe tomatoes picked on a warm summer’s day hard to beat;

Grevilleas are arguably Australia’s favourite native garden plant. There are roughly 300 species in the wild, with an incredible array of colour and texture in both foliage and flowers. They also create habitat for wildlife, particularly nectar-feedi

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

Healthy living soil and its micro-organisms — including beneficial bacteria and fungi — work with your plants’ roots to help make them more effective at drawing up soil moisture and nutrients. This creates healthier, stronger and more pest-and diseas

Mint plants are perennial aromatic herbs of the Mentha genus that are widely grown in temperate regions and have spread worldwide due to their culinary, medicinal and aromatic properties. In pots and in the garden, outdoors and indoors, in sun or sha

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 na

When small numbers of poultry are kept, recognition between them is strong. Introduce a stranger and fowls and turkeys turn aggressive, geese will try and drive them out and Japanese quail attack and scalp them. Ducks are more accepting, although Mus

∙ 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

∙ 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,

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 p

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

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. Probioti

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,

Honey is a gift from nature, a symbol of the sweet symbiotic connection between bees and flowering plants. Mankind has extolled the virtues of honey for more than 5000 years. Ancient Spanish cave paintings depict people gathering honey while in ancie

Apples, avocados, bananas, cumquats, custard apples, dates, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarins, nashi, olives, oranges (Navel), papayas, pineapples, pomelos, quinces, rhubarb, strawberries, tangelos Asian greens, beetroot, broccoli, Brus

98 Spinach, goat’s cheese & roasted tomato tarts 99 Creamy potato bake 100 Chicken stroganoff double-crust pie 101 Whisky & orange chocolate self-saucing pudding Images and text from The Comfort Bake by Sally Wise, photography by Samuel Shelley. Murd

MAKES 12 In these tarts the sharpness of the goat’s cheese is counterbalanced with the sweetness of baked and blistered cherry tomatoes. Served hot, warm or cold, these tasty tarts are a delightful snack. • 120g plain (all-purpose) flour• 20g self-ra

SERVES 6–8 This dish is full of oozy, creamy luxury with the flavours of onion, chives, bacon and mustard. It’s a special-occasion dish that encapsulates the spirit of comfort baking. • 3 garlic cloves, crushed• ¾ teaspoon sea salt• 600mL pouring cre

SERVES 6–8 In this warming winter dish, a luxurious creamy mushroom sauce blends with ovenbaked chicken. Baking the chicken first seals in its juices and enhances the flavour. • 1 egg yolk whisked with 20mL water, for glaze • 250g plain (all-purpose)

SERVES 4–6 While a chocolate self-saucing pudding is always a favourite, this recipe takes the concept to a whole new, supremely delicious, level. • 150g self-raising flour• pinch sea salt• 100g white (granulated) sugar• 25g cocoa• 2 teaspoons finely

By Sophie Steevens, Allen & Unwin, $44.99 When diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, New Zealand writer Sophie Steevens was faced with surgery, radioactive therapy and lifelong medication. Instead, she chose to remove all chemicals, gluten and proces

Common name: Head-stacking caterpillar Scientific name: Uraba lugens The gum-leaf skeletoniser moth is quite a deal more interesting as a juvenile than in its eucalypt-gobbling adult form. During its larval stage, as it grows, it sheds its exoskeleto

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