Good Organic Gardening Issue#6.6 - 2016

Have you ever eavesdropped on a cat-owning couple arguing in the pet food aisle over what kitty will and won’t eat? If you’ve ever owned a cat, you’ll know that just when you’re confident of their likes and dislikes they decide they won’t eat this or that any more, turning up their pretty little nose and stalking off , the tail making a very pointed exclamation mark. Dog owners, of course, have no such problem. Dogs will wolf down just about anything you put in front of them, especially if it’s dog food. Food is their favourite thing ... along with their humans, going for a walk, car trips, a swim in the dam, or a run on the beach. Fish, too, eat their fish food without making a fuss and…

HIGH HOPES FOR MEDICINAL CANNABIS The legalisation of medicinal cannabis is one of those issues we’ll look back on and wonder why on earth we didn’t do it sooner. How did it become illegal in the first place? Why did we let people suff er needlessly? A recent Australian poll suggests overwhelming support for medicinal cannabis with only 3 per cent opposed. It’s now permitted in numerous countries, including Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Israel, Finland, the Netherlands and most US states. Australia is on the verge of legalising it. It often takes a profound personal experience to become open to an idea that, on the face of it, doesn’t accord with usual beliefs. So it was for Lucy Haslem, whose terminally ill son, Dan, found relief from his cancer symptoms using medicinal cannabis;…

SALVIA ‘LOVE AND WISHES’ The plant: A stunning long-flowering salvia with striking deep-purple flowers and even deeper plumcoloured bracts. It flowers throughout the warmer months, producing a magnificent display of colour well into autumn. It has a lovely dome-shaped growth habit to 80cm tall and wide. Proceeds from the sale of every plant go to Make-A-Wish Australia to help grant wishes for children with lifethreatening medical conditions. Growing: It’s an easy-care, drytolerant plant that can be grown in full sun or part shade. Cut it back by one-third after flowering to promote compact, bushy growth and a prolific display of flowers the following year. Design: Plant it in groups or drifts for a mass of vibrant colour or use it to mingle with other flowering plants in the cottage garden. It also makes…

Cats that love catnip roll in it, eat it, rub their faces on it and sometimes run around playing, apparently “high” on its volatile scent and essential oil. The chemical these cats are reacting to is nepetalactone, an essential oil thought to have a hallucinogenic eff ect. For cats that like catnip, one whiff is all they need, whether it’s fresh or dried. Dried catnip is used in toys to make them more appealing to felines. Although only around half to two-thirds of cats respond to catnip, it’s not only domestic cats that enjoy its smell. Other members of the cat family, including lions, also respond. Even if you don’t have cats to enjoy catnip, it makes a pretty groundcover or edging plant about 100cm high and wide. It has small, scalloped grey-green leaves…

Seeing is believing And the range of hanging baskets from Bloom Master Australia, has everything you ever wanted in a hanging basket and more. It’s just so simple Plant the side holes and the top with your choice of seedlings and before you know it, the basket is covered in a cascade of colour, giving you months of blooming pleasure. Your options are endless, Herbs, Strawberries, flowers, all are showcased brilliantly with these baskets and planter boxes. The Unique Design Means potting mix won’t wash out of the holes when watered. Due to the volume and depth of the containers they stay moist longer and the foliage becomes insulating whilst still allowing aeration through the side holes. The product range is made of high quality poly-propylene and is UV treated. Available in various sizes and come…

This is one of the more productive and palatable of the bush-tucker foods and can be planted now. It is also a useful garden plant as it’s compact and evergreen with colourful new growth, making it an attractive low hedge or screen. It can be clipped or left to form a compact informal hedge to around one metre high. Small, whitish-mauve berries form in summer or autumn following the small white flowers. The fruit is sweet to eat straight from the bush (seed and all) or can be harvested for jams, preserves or as a pie filling (often combined with apples). GROWING TIPS Midyim, or midgen berry as it’s also known, is native to rainforest gullies along Australia’s east coast. Seeing the plant in its native habitat gives clues about the best way…