1. Good Organic Gardening - January-February 2016

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GARDENING FOLK | Sandra & Mick Nanka There are many beautiful nooks and crannies Cuppa, anyone? The chickens of Mudbrick Cottage are happy with their daily dose of herbs mixed into their diet 36 | Good Organic Gardening
Sandra & Mick Nanka | GARDENING FOLK Prevention is better than cure is their philosophy, so they find growing a multitude of herbs around the vegetables and not planting them in blocks works really well to cause confusion for the would-be attackers. Calendulas galore: a plant with so many uses potentially harmful chemicals in them, says Sandra. “Nature finds a balance, and a few holes here and there in the leaves don’t really matter. That’s why we even limit our organic pest control methods — because we don’t want to harm any of the beneficial insects. It’s important to nourish the soil, and using organic methods will equate to healthy soil, leading to healthy plants, healthy humans and a healthy planet. Simple!” The fertilisers used include manure from their chooks, worm castings from their The Nankas’ top gardening tips Grow your own herbs and produce in mixed profusion to confuse insects. Plant crops in the right season. Use herbs in the compost heap to add minerals and help with breakdown. When planting new plants: – Soak seedlings in a seaweed solution before planting. – Add compost at the time of planting. – Always fill the planting holes with water first to ensure the soil is moist. Let the annual herbs go to seed to attract beneficial insects. “The feature vegetable garden is in the mandala style with bamboo used for edging. There are also tank beds and an area that’s a mix of vegies grown in rows with fruit trees dotted in between. two bathtub worm farms and compost and pelletised manure during the growing season. Compost production at Mudbrick Cottage comprises five heaps 1.5m by 1.5m each. In the main garden there’s a large black compost bin and, in the nursery, two further large heaps for all the plants classed as throw-outs. When it comes to bugs, organic controls are the only methods Sandra and Mick use: homemade white oil and Eco-oil on the fruit trees and certified organic pyrethrum on the odd occasion. If there are any red spider mite outbreaks they order in some predatory mites to control them. The abundance of the Nankas’ garden “I love that we can look out across our garden and think how wonderful that something so beautiful (well, I think it’s beautiful) can also be so useful,” says Sandra. She and Mick think the most unique feature of their garden is the vast number of herb species they have growing and I’d have to agree. When asked what they like to do with their harvests, both agree they love cooking and herbs are an integral part of every meal. Even the Mudbrick Cottage chickens have herbs mixed into their daily diet. Salads are at the top of the list in the meals department — Sandra says they often have up to 40 different plants in each salad. Then there are herbal teas, infused oils, ointments, tinctures, syrups and poultices made lovingly on a regular basis in the Nankas’ home. The dehydrator also gets a workout drying excess herbs and vegetables while pestos, herb butters, chutneys and jams are other ways they prolong their enjoyment of their harvest. You can find the Nankas’ online herb business at herbcottage.com.au Facebook: Mudbrick Cottage Herb Farm Salvia officinalis: both leaves and flowers are edible on the sage plant Good Organic Gardening | 37
Page 1: grow naturally, eat fresh, live sus
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS 8 22 40 Things to Do Heat
Page 7 and 8: Veggies picked ripe from your own g
Page 9 and 10: Australia’s largest and very best
Page 11 and 12: With Melissa King | THE SEASONAL GA
Page 14 and 15: CLEVER CROP | Dragon fruit Pretty i
Page 16 and 17: PLANT PROFILE | Basil 16 | Good Org
Page 18 and 19: PLANT PROFILE | Basil Small-leaf Gr
Page 20 and 21: A plant with attitude Stinging nett
Page 22 and 23: FAMILY HEIRLOOMS | Strawberries Alp
Page 24 and 25: FAMILY HEIRLOOMS | STRAWBERRIES Abo
Page 26 and 27: GARDENING FOLK | Farouk & Magda Kha
Page 28 and 29: GARDENING FOLK | Farouk & Magda Kha
Page 30 and 31: GARDENING FOLK | Danny Summers Dann
Page 32 and 33: GARDENING FOLK | Danny Summers Nati
Page 34 and 35: GARDENING FOLK | Sandra & Mick Nank
Page 38 and 39: TIME TO PLANT | Lettuce Lettuce Lac
Page 40 and 41: GARDEN DIARY | Mid-summer Things to
Page 42 and 43: GARDEN DIARY | Late summer Things t
Page 44 and 45: Earthy Tips | SHORT SHOOTS 10 Top T
Page 46 and 47: WEEKEND GARDENING | Kids in the gar
Page 48 and 49: WEEKEND GARDENING | Kids in the gar
Page 50 and 51: GARDENING CHALLENGE | Growing truff
Page 52 and 53: GARDENING CHALLENGE | Growing truff
Page 54 and 55: PLANT HEALTH | Disease distress Man
Page 56 and 57: PLANT HEALTH | Disease distress Soo
Page 58 and 59: SAFER SOLUTIONS | Dipel Rose budwor
Page 60 and 61: SAFER SOLUTIONS | Dipel Green loope
Page 62: THE SHED | Making BIM The cultured
Page 65 and 66: THE SHED | Making BIM Bury in at le
Page 67 and 68: FEATHERED FRIENDS | Bantam ducks Bu
Page 69 and 70: FEATHERED FRIENDS | Bantam ducks A
Page 71 and 72: GARDEN TO TABLE | Four Seasonal Edi
Page 73 and 74: GROWING | Passionfruit Passionfruit
Page 75 and 76: COOKING WITH JOANNA RUSHTON | Passi
Page 77 and 78: GROWING | Parsnip Parsnip Pastinaca
Page 79 and 80: COOKING WITH JOANNA RUSHTON | Parsn
Page 81 and 82: GROWING | Beetroot Beetroot Beta vu
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1. Good Organic Gardening - January-February 2016

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