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Linda's Harvest Basket
E-Magazine
Creating an edible garden that doesn't cost the earth
Heritage beetroot 'Chioggia' from my garden
Mt Coot-tha gardens even more productive!
Twenty keen vegie gardeners have prepared, planted and this Sunday will harvest vegies at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens in the Vegies series in October.
We have learnt about soil fertility improvement, checked out plants especially suited to our sub-tropical climate, explored pest and disease control and will harvest the best from the garden. Due to the popularity of the vegies workshops, I will be starting them again in February. Keep an eye on the next newsletter for dates and bookings.
Eco-friendly gardening workshops
coming up in November:
Fabulous Fruit Workshop
Do you have problems keeping bats, birds, possums and flying insects away from your fruit trees? Find out how to control these hungry ones on your garden. The Organic Fruit Doctor workshop is coming up Thursday 5 November 10-1pm. We have just 2 spaces left. Ring me soon if you would like to join in!
Herb Garden series at Roma Street Parkland.
Have you always wanted your own herb garden? Join in our series to design, plant and harvest your own seductively special herb garden. I show you how to design your herb garden; learn what grows well so you avoid costly failures and find out how easy it is to care for your beautiful new herb garden.
Easy Grow Gardens series at Roma Street Parkland.
Cooks – do you love fresh herbs and vegies, but don’t have time to grow them? Let me show you how. Each workshop in this series has an international food focus that’s just a bit gourmet and especially good for busy cooks! We will create a small Thai garden, an Italian kitchen harvest garden and a mesclun salad mix garden so you never have to buy greens again. Of course we will have to sample some of the produce too! Eggplant flowers in an Italian garden
Kids Christmas workshop Create a planet friendly wreath. Stories, music and and eco-friendly gardening activity will keep your pre and primary school children active.
Thursday 3 Dec 10-1pm $15 per child includes materials. Please book!
Book or enquire now. 3349 2962
Three Simple Ingredients
My recipe for success Part 3
In the last two newsletters I have talked about two essential ingredients for a successful productive garden. Here is the third ingredient in my garden recipe:
Go natural. Adding factory-direct (man-made) chemicals to the soil and leaves to stimulate growth or kill off all bugs may give you instant gratification, but is it good for the soil or you? - Not necessarily so.
We have been exposed to a good dose of these biocides and chemical fertilisers for many decades now since we started the war on weeds, insects, bugs and well, lots of living things! Unfortunately, we learnt how to use chemicals very effectively, but our understanding of how they affect the body and the environment still developing.
For example, some of the ‘wonder weed killers’ like Simazine and Triazine used in the home garden, have recently been connected with cancers and reproductive and hormone-related issues. (Study result released by the Dept. Primary Ind. and Water, Tasmania, 2009).
Malathion, another common chemical used for many years to kill aphids on vegies and fruit is also rather dangerous to humans. Its product information warns that poisoning affects our nervous systems with serious effects. (http://www.davidgray.com.au/files/MSDS)
I prefer to use none of these chemicals as I reckon that I’ve had a lifetime of exposure and don’t need any more. Hence, I choose to garden using natural organic methods that do not include harmful chemicals.
A fact sheet containing the Allowable Organic Inputs for your garden can be found on the BFA website: www.bfa.com.au
Come along to a workshop and find the very best alternatives for a healthy garden. You will learn so much and have the chance to get answers to the questions that are important to you. Oh yes, we also have products to try and of course attention to your needs from an expert.
We find easy-to-do solutions and inspire you to save money by growing your own luscious garden, no matter how big or small.
SLIP, SLOP, SLAP AND SLURP YOUR GARDEN!
I have noticed we are getting days with a UV index of 11. Even plants can get sunburn, so SLIP on the shadecloth. I suggest scrounging around garage sales for cast-off scraps of shade cloth. Use these to best effect slung over stakes, old umbrella frames and irrigation tubing tunnels to provide some shade from the relentless sun.
Deliciously good rains have drenched our garden this last week. I hope you got some rain too. It’s a good time to mulch while the soil is still wet so SLOP on some Mulch about 5 cm deep. Mulch will cool the soil, prevent erosion and encourage worm activity.
SLAP over the fruit protection bags to prevent fruit flies getting your harvest! Do it as soon as the fruit has started to fatten up and well before it begins to ripen.
SLURP on some of your tank water especially to young seedlings. Never allow them to dry out. Lettuce will shoot to seed if they get hot and dry.
Book me for a garden visit to your garden, an informative talk or why not have a garden harvest workshop at your workplace, club or event. Email me on linda@ecobotanica.com.au
Would you like you like to book some garden advice?
Sometimes it's just what you need.
Your own garden advisor who can sort out a few tricky issues.
ECOBOTANICA WEBSITE
My website is now fully functional. Chris and the team at Excite Media have been simply wonderful. If you need a website developed, be sure to check them out.
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Eco Tip:
When we provide a reliable supply of fresh water in our garden, we are providing a much-needed resource for beneficial insects and other wild creatures. We have bees sucking water from a wet sack in summer (They pollinate our vegies and macadamia as a thank-you), water dragons lazing (our two eat as many insects as they can find – no need for chemical snail killers) the native miner birds have a drink and polish up the caterpillars when they visit and dragon flies and damsel flies visit and join the throng of beneficial visitors.
To avoid growing toads, check your water regularly for strings of black toad eggs. Scoop them out to dry in the sun before they hatch out.
Handy garden hint:
Growing herbs and vegies in pots near the door or on your balcony is great. But…let the pots dry out even once and the potting mix becomes water repellent.
Keep potting mix moist by using an organic water holding product like Eco Hydrate.
Saturate your soil with it to help retain moisture when you forget to water. Then water regularly thereafter. The Eco Hydrate will continue to work for several months before needing a repeat application.
In the garden in November
Sweet corn is great to plant now. Feed the soil well before you plant. It is a hungry plant. Plant it in blocks of at least 12 plants and grow it from seed rather than seedlings. I have put in Golden Bantam Heritage seed from Eden Seeds this time around with 2 cobs per plant and staggered planting we will have plenty!
Citrus
New growth on citrus is looking delicious to the leaf curl insect. It burrows under the leaf, leaving silvery tracks and distorting the leaves.
Regular foliar feeds with liquid fish products do help to repel the insect as it is smothered by the fish oil.
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