ABC Organic Gardener Magazine Issue 131 - Early Autumn 2022

I’m going to keep this editorial short and sweet – I’d prefer you to read the exquisite poem by nature writer and teacher Peter Shepherd, which says everything about our connection to nature, and the impossibility of ever really comprehending the full majesty of our world and love. Or that’s how I read it … We lost a majestic person in December last year with the death of environmentalist, organic gardener, and ABC TV Gardening Australia presenter Peter Cundall at the age of 94. Peter was also a regular contributor to this magazine. He wrote like he spoke, fluent and vital and inspirational, whether telling how to grow potatoes, or why we needed to stop native forest logging. I will miss him dearly. I’d love to say more but it was…

Because love has so many waysEven Buddha couldn’t count themHe left thatto the trees Who, in the meantime, toohad given up counting(The wind through each leaf,the sun in each moment of the day)There was always another butterfly, alwaysanother antIt was sillyall this counting,when there was one trunkand youwere sitting beneath itwith the wind,and the sun Smiling in your face.and every butterfly waitingto drink from your lips. Peter Shepherd is a poet, nature writer and teacher based on the NSW Central Coast.…

BUMPER AVOCADOES I read with interest the article ‘Smooth Operators’ about avocados (OG 130), especially the comment that ‘home gardeners can expect 50–100 fruit per mature tree per year’. I live on the Mid Coast of NSW, retired, in my grandfather’s house. About 45 years ago my uncle planted an avocado seed in the backyard so it is certainly a mature tree. This year the crop looked ‘special’ so I kept an accurate tally as I picked fruit from March till September. In total, I picked 1208 avocados, so many friends and neighbours have benefitted from my uncle's foresight. Next year’s crop will be much smaller, but it shows what is possible in a good season. By the way, the quality was generally excellent. There were some smaller ones, but still ripened nicely, but…

“IT IS PROBABLY THE WORST TIME FOR ACTIVISM IN RUSSIA RIGHT NOW…” DO YOU FEAR FOR YOUR LIFE? “THERE ARE VERY IMPORTANT THINGS WE WORK ON – MUCH BIGGER THINGS THAN OUR FEAR.”Russian environmentalist Vladimir Slivyak, 2021 Right Livelihood Awards RELENTLESS FIGHTERS FOR CHANGE Vladimir Slivyak, one of Russia’s most committed environmentalists fighting for renewable energy, is among the winners of the 2021 Right Livelihood Award. Slivyak received the award for: “His defence of the environment and for helping to ignite grassroots opposition to the coal and nuclear industries in Russia.” The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to ‘honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today’ and build a ‘courage-powered community for social change committed to peace, justice and sustainability for all’. The…

MELBOURNE ON SHOW The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show is returning to the heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens at the end of March. For five days, the grounds will be filled with activity, including the best landscape and floral talent from Australia and overseas, alongside an extensive array of garden products, food and wine. It’s a premier event where horticultural experts share their knowledge through talks and workshops, alongside the latest in gardening technology and know-how. There are Show Gardens with horticultural creations from some of the world’s best landscape designers, along with boutique gardens to inspire urban dwellers, featuring a collection of 5m x 5m designs from the nation’s top architects, landscapers and students. ABC Organic Gardener magazine plans to have a stall with a show bag…

Listen to the birds Buy this album for a chance to hear a chorus of cockatoos, the buzzing of bowerbirds, a bizarre symphony of seabirds, and the haunting call of one of the last remaining night parrots. A collection of birdsongs, Songs of Disapperance, has recorded the songs of 53 of our most threatened species, celebrating the diversity of the Australian soundscape while highlighting what we stand to lose if we don’t protect our planet. Available from songsofdisappearance.com; $9.99 (digital download); $12 (CD). Native plants grow here Looking to add some native ingredients to your garden and your plate? Karen Sutherland of Edible Eden Designs has chosen a selection of bushfood plants to grow, cook and make tea with. You’ll find a variety of plants, such as Bulbine lily (Bulbine bulbosa), native violet…