Good Organic Gardening

... and what a gorgeous time of year this is. One of my favourite articles this edition is Claire Bickle’s showcase of edible hedging and screening plants. If you need to plant a hedge, why not make it bountiful as well as beautiful? This totally makes sense if the hedge is to grace the perimeter of the vegie garden. Claire also continues on with part 2 of her warm-climate fruits coverage. There are so many better options than apples and pears for gardeners who live in subtropical and tropical regions, many of them fruits you rarely see in the shops — if ever, in some cases. Meanwhile, Jennifer Stackhouse and Melissa King bring a great sel ection of edibles to plant around about now. Jennifer covers clever crops corn salad…

JO IMMIG Jo is an environmental scientist, photographer and writer. She has worked in the environment movement for decades and is co-ordinator of the National Toxics Network, an organisation dedicated to creating a toxicfree future. She has written many articles for magazines and is the author of two books: Toxic Playground and Safer Solutions. GLYPHOSATE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT The more we know about the world’s top-selling herbicide glyphosate, the more concern seems to grow about its continued use in our gardens, parks, playgrounds and agriculture. The international debate about glyphosate’s safety really hotted up after the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a scientific monograph in 2015 finding that glyphosate was “probably carcinogenic to humans”. The IARC found there was some evidence of carcinogenicity in…

Melissa is a horticulturist, TV presenter and writer. She has been a regular on Gardening Australia, Melbourne Weekender, Garden Angels and The Circle. She currently appears on The Garden Gurus and has launched an online show, The Gardenettes. She has written for top magazines and newspapers and is author of the book, Garden Feast. ALSTROEMERIA ‘ROCK AND ROLL’ The plant: Love or hate variegated foliage, this is one plant that’s guaranteed to make a statement in the garden. Alstroemeria ‘Rock and Roll’ has striking variegated foliage that emerges yellow and fades to white with a green edge. Add to that masses of contrasting vivid red flowers year-round and the combination is showstopping. It’s a compact plant, growing to around 80–100cm tall and 50–70cm wide. Growing: It grows best in full…

Corn salad isn’t what you are probably thinking it is: a colourful salad based around corn kernels. Corn salad is an old-fashioned leafy green that grows best through the cool months of the year, making it a clever and tasty addition to the winter and early spring menu. The dark-green leaves are also rich in vitamins — particularly vitamin C — and iron. It’s a popular crop in cool climates. In Europe, where it’s grown as an early spring green, it’s also found as a weed in cultivated land (hence the name corn salad as it’s found edging corn or wheat fields). PROPAGATION AND GROWING Corn salad grows easily from seed planted into prepared beds. There are named cultivars available, including ‘Large Dutch’. Dig in well-rotted manure, blood and bone…

There are two vegies called artichokes but we eat opposite ends of the plants. Jerusalem artichokes are the tubers of a sunflower relative, while the betterknown globe artichokes are buds of a thistle relative (see page 46). Even if you don’t want to eat Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), this is a tall, handsome plant to grow. It’s a close relative of the sunflower (H. annuus), which is revealed in autumn as it bears masses of yellow sunflowers. As it is tall — easily 2–3m — it’s also useful as a screening plant or to provide summer shelter to small vegetables. Some people turn up their noses at Jerusalem artichokes as the tubers have a dark reputation. They are said to cause “gas” when eaten and are sometimes referred to as…

There is something incredibly sensuous about figs. Maybe it’s because they are soft, plump and sweet with a luscious texture or perhaps it’s that the dishes they’re used to create are so yummy and decadent. Think honey-caramelised figs with yoghurt, grilled prosciutto-wrapped figs with blue cheese and pecans and comforting caramel fig pudding. Few trees are talked about as much in biblical symbolism as the fig tree and, of course, they feature most famously in the story of Adam and Eve who used fig leaves to cover themselves. In the modern garden, they are beautiful deciduous trees that provide summer shade, winter sun and an abundance of fruit, and add a touch of old-fashioned charm to the backyard. FIGS ARE UNUSUAL IN THAT THEY DON’T DISPLAY THEIR FLOWERS ON BRANCHES.…