Good Organic Gardening

It’s winter for most of us, and what do we think about planting in winter? Well, apart from the peas, brassicas, lettuces and root vegies, that is. Yes, fruit! Often, as food gardeners, we’re inclined to think about vegies and herbs a lot more of the

Aptly named for their sweet, dark and juicy taste, these cherry tomatoes actually resemble cherries. Once completely ripened, the fruit has a delicious smoky-sweet flavour and the plant is strong and vigorous with excellent disease resistance. Cherry

The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 is well underway, recognising seven flagship initiatives with big goals to restore and protect vital ecosystems and communities all over the planet. Five Andean countries under the banner A

A Spalding’s rocket frog recorded in northwest Queensland has become the millionth frog call documented by FrogID, the Australian Museum (AM) app behind the world’s largest citizen-science project about amphibians. Dr Jodi Rowley, curator of Amphibia

Growers and breeders are very interested in an unusual species of tomato because of its resistance to disease, its imperviousness to humid climates and, not least, its round shape. The species, Solanum cheesmaniae, is long bearing with small round or

Sloes are old-fashioned, almost forgotten plants that have seen a resurgence in popularity due to the revived interest in spiced alcoholic drinks. Sloe is perhaps best known for its contribution to sloe gin, a delicious pink plum-flavoured liqueur. I

No matter what you’ve been told, bananas don’t grow on trees. The lush, leafy plants that produce the popular tropical fruit are actually perennial herbs. Wait, there’s more! Botanically speaking, a banana is in fact a berry: a fleshy fruit, without

I normally start these family heirloom pieces by going back to many moons ago when the plant grew wild — so I was shocked to discover in my research that the orange tree was never in fact a wild plant. Thanks to genome sequencing, scientists today kn

Ash Burke’s garden in suburban Geelong takes up a mere 70m2 but on Facebook it has 36,000 followers and his posts regularly attract a thousand likes or more. His Instagram has 161,000 followers. It’s an impressive level of engagement for someone who

Winter is the time for growing nourishing, warming brassicas and root vegies, along with broad beans, bright snowpeas, sugar snaps and leafy greens. The end of winter is more like the start of spring in many parts, so it’s time to prepare your beds f

Queensland’s largest inland city, Toowoomba occupies a commanding position atop the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, 700m above sea level. It’s one of my favourite places in the state’s southeast, not least because of its world-renowned Ca

Brothers Jacob and Daniel work a one-hectare property in the Perth Hills that contains 1000m2 of vegetable gardens and an aquaponics glasshouse, all of which accounts for the dazzling array of food they grow for their family. It’s a full range of veg

These maps are simplified versions adapted from climate maps by the Bureau of Meteorology and are only a rough guide. Microclimates can be formed anywhere. ■

Even if you don’t grow them for their fruits, long-lived pistachios make beautiful feature trees. These small- to medium-sized deciduous trees do best in areas where winter is cool to cold and summers hot and dry. In fact, if you don’t have a cold en

There are many pear varieties that ripen at different times, have various shapes and colours and differ in flavour and length of time they can be stored. Broadly, pears are split into European or Asian varieties (known as nashi). Most varieties need

The pear isn’t the sexiest of fruit but, in terms of being good for you, it’s up there with the best. Along with apples, pears are one of the earliest fruits offered to babies as they start to eat solids. This is because they’re low risk for allergic

Asparagus may be an indicator of climate change. This year, Northern Hemisphere growers picked their earliest-ever crops with fresh spears in late winter — though green shoots are generally associated with early spring. The spears that are harvested

Among fresh-fruit sales, grapes have proved a surprise star. The humble table grape has shown huge growth in volume in recent years due to the increase in numbers of new varieties, particularly seedless ones. There’s also been an expansion in regions

The ginkgo or maidenhair tree is an ancient and long-lived deciduous tree from the age of the dinosaurs. It can reach a height of more than 30m, though I’ve had one growing in a large 50cm pot for the past 12 years and it’s thriving — so don’t think

A herb is basically a plant that is useful, whether that use be culinary, cosmetic or medicinal — and there are many herbs that tick more than one of those boxes. Often they also bring flowers, colour and fragrance, attract beneficial insects and com

Whether plants can think, feel and talk to one another is a topic of debate in the world of botany — but some plants certainly react to outside stimuli. They also show how they are feeling. Perhaps the easiest to observe and understand are plants tha

If you’re looking to create colourful cottage garden displays for many months of the year as well as habitat for interesting insect pollinators, look no further than our native Scaevola or fan-flowers. This versatile group of groundcovers and shrubs

Stepover espaliering means exactly what it suggests: the fruit trees are trained in a single tier that is so low you can literally step over them. The height they are allowed to reach is roughly 50–60cm (sometimes higher) and the T-shaped spread is 1

Gardening is a wonderfully relaxing pastime and hand watering can be a peaceful, meditative practice. It also allows gardeners to observe each of their plants in turn, noticing how they’re growing and if they need any extra care. While such interacti

Fruit flies are the arch enemies of fruit and vegie growers around the world. Though active by day, they’re often hard to spot — but you can just about always see where they’ve been. Bruising or other skin blemishes may indicate that fruit or vegetab

Paludariums have many advantages over terrariums. Terrariums often have poor airflow, encouraging the presence of destructive moulds which affect plant health, as well as insufficient light, lack of humidity or too much humidity. Conversely, paludari

A sheet of aquarium-safe filter foam (available at Clark Rubber) will hold clay balls at the base of the tank, allowing plants to grow directly in water. I used the foam and clay balls so I could place more plants at the base of my paludarium, seen o

If your preference is for buying Australian made whenever possible, what’s your policy on purchasing fowls? Interesting and sensational-looking breeds abound but there are two with Aussie roots that have lots more to offer. The Australorp and Austral

• In cool zones it’s still unpredictable — a cold snap is not off the menu, so hold off on sowing the warm-season crops such as tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, capsicums, pumpkins, potatoes and zucchini.• In temperate zones, the frosts are hopefully

• Yes, it’s cold all right, but pull on your gumboots and get out there — those greens aren’t going to sow themselves. Keep them coming by planting seeds or seedlings every few weeks: some brassicas, say, as well as broad beans, carrots, peas, silver

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

Images and text from Healthy Slow Cooker by Ross Dobson, photography by Jeremy Simons. Murdoch Books RRP $36.99. SERVES 4 Preparation 20 minutes | Cooking about 4 hours Gluten-free Rather like an exotic bubble and squeak, but starting with raw vegies

The team at Aussie Gardener has made it really easy to grow your own vegetable seedlings at home and put an end to all the plastic waste that happens when buying punnets at the nursery. This complete kit contains a year’s worth of seed, large propaga

Edited by Annabelle Hickson, Murdoch Books, $66.99 Just over a decade after moving to regional New South Wales, journalist Annabelle Hickson shocked herself by deciding to start a magazine. She wanted to show city slickers there was more to country l

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Become a Diggers member for inspiration, savings and all the advice and support you need to grow your own at home. Amaranth ‘Red Garnet’ S0013 Artichoke ‘Imperial Star’ (PVP) S0011 Basil ‘Cinnamon’ S332 Bean ‘Australian Butter’ S0112 Bean ‘Frost’ S01