ABC Organic Gardener Magazine Nr. 119

You will find a rich mix of beautiful photographs and practical expert advice in the 2021 ABC Organic Gardener Diaries and Calendars that will inspire you to get out and get growing! Filled with colourful images of organic plants, produce and poultry, you’ll also find recipes, planting suggestions and expert seasonal advice for maintaining your patch by the magazine’s trusted horticultural writers. Keep track of your organic gardening journey with easy-to-read dates, public holidays and school terms and moon phases, with plenty of space to record notes, reminders and anniversaries, plus a 2022 annual planner. Available from newsagents, bookshops and abcmagazines.com.au for only $19.95 each.…

This issue, we continue our series on positive climate change actions with an article by Linda Cockburn on storing carbon in your garden (‘The Carbon Eaters’, page 40). Linda talks about the global movement to adopt regenerative agriculture, which not only sequesters carbon, it increases production and lowers costs, all the while building the resilience of farmlands to droughts, floods and other weather extremes. Linda says home gardeners can adopt similar strategies to build the carbon in their soil and the nutrients in their food. From no-dig to biochar, green manures, composting and basic organic principles, there’s an array of strategies to draw from. It is certainly good to know that while growing our own food and enjoying the wonders of gardening and being outdoors, we are also helping to tackle…

FEEDING THE FUTURE Leading food rescue organisation OzHarvest has launched a new education program for primary school students called FEAST (Food Education And Sustainability Training), which is aimed at inspiring them to eat healthy foods, waste less and become changemakers in their local community. The 10-week program can be easily implemented in any classroom (or online), with the aim of getting kids immersed in hands-on cooking activities with fully equipped kitchen kits (no kitchen required!). And with half of all the food we waste coming from our home, the program offers activities such as a food waste audit for homes and schools to engage all students in thinking about food as a circular system. The culmination of the program is the ‘School Cookbook’, which brings to life everything the students have learnt about…

GARDEN FROM THE DUST Four years ago, my husband and I bought a 100-year-old house in a very small country town. Fixing stone walls and painting was the easy bit, but the garden was barren and we had little idea. I was given some geraniums. I planted them and much to my surprise and delight, they grew. The delight was not just that they grew, but I loved the way they made me feel, like a gift every time a bud opened. I was hooked. I started asking family and friends and complete strangers for cuttings and after plenty of trial and error, we grew a garden around us. I still get a rush when I plant a seed or acquire a cutting and it grows into a life of its own. My…

Get buzzy with stingless bees Based in Queensland, Australian Stingless Native Bees (aka Russell and Janine Zabel) are a long-standing supplier of native bee colonies and boxes. You can get a colony of Tetragonula carbonaria (stingless and low maintenance: ideal for backyards) complete with honey box, hive lock, post mount and 5000-10,000 bees for $478.50 per colony. But do your research first to see if bees are for you. Russell is happy to chat and answer any questions. A good place to start is their website: zabel.com.au. Herb for all seasons With a spicy clove aroma, perennial basil can be harvested all year round and, like all basil, every part of the plant is edible – just chop or tear into pieces and add to sauces and soups. Easy to grow in the…

Our climate challenge War on Waste, presenter, prankster and positive planet promoter, Craig Reucassel is back with a new ABC show – Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Challenge. In the three-part series, Reucassel tackles perhaps humanity’s biggest threat, the climate change crisis – a crisis that most of us now accept is very real. Fight for Planet A will entertain, inform and challenge our thoughts on what is happening to our planet and how we can help. Reucassel looks at how individuals, families, schools and businesses can reduce their carbon footprint by making practical, day-to-day changes. The series will also delve into where our energy comes from, how transport and travel emissions affect our health, and what is the carbon footprint of the things we buy. The ultimate objective is to…