Good Organic Gardening Issue #12.1 - 2021

Everything old is new again. The future of farming just might be the way it was done in the past: on small holdings with a variety of crops aimed at feeding a local community. These days, the buzzword is microfarming. For a century or more, farming has meant big agriculture, a business model that relies on a monoculture across a large acreage with all its attendant problems such as soil depletion, wasteful irrigation and the proliferation of bugs attracted by that single crop on such a scale they can only be controlled with synthetic pesticides. Microfarming, by contrast, is smallscale, high-yield, sustainable agriculture, requiring little capital outlay, not much land and minimal staff. Among its sustainable practices are companion planting to maximise pollination and head off pest infestations as well as crop…

There are more than 30 species of paper wasps in Australia but the native paper wasp is the only one that builds its nest in plain sight. And what a grand design it is: a combo of plant fibres mixed with saliva and chewed to the consistency of papier-mâché, usually in the shape of a small inverted crumpet, and fixed in place via a single attachment point. Paper wasps are distributed all around the southern mainland coast from Queensland to Western Australia and are generally not aggressive, though they can deliver a painful sting if their nests are disturbed. In fact, they are beneficial insects, important for pollination and pest control as they feed on nectar and caterpillars. Just don’t assume they want you anywhere near their nest. Look but don’t…

JO IMMIG 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. NATIVE EDIBLES CAN FEED THE WORLD There is so much we don’t know about nutritious edible native plants that we could literally starve with food all around us. Tasmanian agricultural scientist Bruce French is on a mission to address this situation for the millions of people who are malnourished and go hungry. For decades, French has been cataloguing edible plants from around the world, creating a database of over 30,000 entries, which includes plant identification and growing tips. As an agronomist…

CHLOE THOMSON A horticulturist, writer and passionate organic gardener, Chloe is co-owner and presenter of the web-based series The Gardenettes and has been a regular presenter on The Garden Gurus. The mother of two little boys, she has a great following of Australian gardeners on her social media profile Bean There Dug That. IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO PLANT GARLIC! There’s still time to get some garlic in. Artichoke and Creole varieties can be planted right up to the shortest day of the year and Diggers Club has a few great varieties that will work across multiple climates, as long as humidity is not too high. Their new ‘California Late’ garlic is a popular breed highly prized for its culinary qualities and many Australian cultivars were derived from this late-season variety. ‘Rojo de…

Arnica is one of those well-known remedies that many keep in the medicine cupboard. If you sustain a bad bruise, you might reach for a tube of arnica — but have you ever stopped to wonder just what it is? Before it gets into that useful tube of ointment, arnica is a plant and a very clever plant at that. Part of the large daisy family, it forms a green leafy rosette punctuated with stout stems of golden daisy flowers. The leaves are soft and slightly furry. Arnica grows naturally in the mountain regions of Europe and has long been known as a medicinal plant. It is now considered rare even in its natural habitat. All parts of the plant are used medicinally. Extracts from the flowers and leaves are applied externally to bruises, swellings…

Every year the National Trust of South Australia holds a national competition to find the country’s best marmalade. The winning marmalade then gains entry to the world stage via a competition known as the World’s Original Marmalade Awards, held at Dalemain Mansion in England’s Lake District. This year’s Marmalade Awards are scheduled for mid-year to be followed in late November by a Festival of Marmalade at Stangate House in Adelaide. (Check marmalade.net.au for details as events may change due to COVID restrictions.) While many different flavours of marmalade have made it into the championships, most of the winners have featured the Seville, favoured for its sour but rich orange taste and thick skin. Last year’s winner Julie Rubenhold claimed victory with a marmalade made from Seville orange and yuzu, a type of lemon. GROWING If…