6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

SHORT SHOOTS | Earthy ideas
10
Top Tips
Clever ideas for your garden
Words Erina Starkey
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Grilled onions
If you’ve pulled your barbecue
out of the shed to find it caked in
grime from last year’s feasting, it’s probably
time for a heavy-duty scrub-down. Instead
of using harsh chemicals, which can end up
on your lawn and in your steak sandwich, try
rubbing it down with half an onion. Simply
turn your barbecue onto the highest setting,
then spear the onion with a fork and rub it
over the grill plates. Not only will it shift your
grease and grime, it will also leave a delicious
taste and smell next time you fire up.
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Inside out
If you’re stuck for garden space,
there are plenty of fruits and
vegetables that will happily grow indoors.
Consider moving your carrots, chillies,
radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries,
sprouts, ginger and spring onions out of the
garden and onto your windowsills. If you
intend to grow these plants from seed, cover
the containers in plastic wrap to create a cosy
climate for germination.
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Get swapping
Saving seeds allows you to develop
plant varieties that are better
adapted to your climate, soil conditions and
growing practices and which resist local pests
and disease. If you live in a community of avid
gardeners, consider hosting a seed-swapping
event where everyone trades their extra
seeds from the previous season. A seed swap
is a great excuse to get together with fellow
gardeners and glean some local wisdom on
what works and what doesn’t in your shared
gardening microclimate.
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Busy bees
Backyard beekeeping makes
a fantastic hobby. As well as
securing yourself a fresh supply of honey,
you’ll also enhance your fruit and vegetable
production and support pollination in your
local community. By-products from beehives
such as beeswax, propolis, royal jelly and
pollen can be used in organic crafts to make
candles, soap, lip balm, skincare products
and furniture polish. If you’re worried about
bee stings, consider the many native
stingless varieties.
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A third wheel
Make a portable garden in minutes
by attaching caster wheels to
the bottom of your planters. This allows you
to shift your plants around based on their
sunlight and shade needs and create little
microclimates. Also, it gives you the flexibility
to move plants out of the way if you plan on
entertaining, or simply to rearrange them
whenever you feel inspired.
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Bottled up
No need to ask your neighbour for
a favour; create your own water
bottle irrigator to look after the garden in
your absence. Simply fill an empty wine bottle
with water up to the three-quarter mark and
overturn it quickly, plunging the neck of the
bottle deep into the soil. Your wine bottle will
gradually release water as the soil regains the
capacity to take in more.
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The waiting
game
While you may be excited to try
your first home-grown orange, it pays to hold
out a little while longer. As painful as it may
be, it’s important to systematically pinch off
your citrus fruit for the first three years. This
will direct energy into producing lots of strong
branches so your citrus tree will be able to
support an abundant crop down the track.
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Shelling out
Oyster shells contain around
95 per cent calcium carbonate,
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Hang in there
Keep cherry tomatoes off the
ground and away from pests with
an upside-down hanging planter. To make
your own, cut away the bottom from a 2L
soft-drink bottle. Gently push a cherry tomato
seedling through the neck of the bottle,
leaving the root ball still inside. Carefully fill
the bottle with soil. Punch a few holes around
the plastic rim and string it up like a hanging
planter. You can also add a second plant,
such as strawberry or herb, to the top. For a
sturdier version, simply drill a 3cm hole in the
bottom of a bucket, tin or planter.
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Kathy Kimpel, Canstockphoto
76 | Good Organic Gardening