1. Good Organic Gardening - January-February 2016

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Passionfruit| GROWING Passionfruit label Common name: Passionfruit Botanical name: Passiflora edulis Family: Passifloraceae Aspect & soil: Sun, well-drained soil Best climate: Tropics, subtropics, temperate, Mediterranean Habit: Perennial vine Propagation: Seed, cutting, grafting Difficulty: Moderate dry and when plants are flowering and crops are maturing. Watch for suckers (look for the distinctive five-fingered, blue-green leaf as well as its blue flower) and remove suckers or seedlings promptly. If a vine dies, carefully dig up the root system to avoid future problems. Varieties ‘Nellie Kelly’, a large-fruited black passionfruit, is the most popular backyard variety as it is self-fertile and tolerates a wide climate range. Other popular varieties are ‘Panama Red’, ‘Panama Gold’ and ‘Pandora’. The latter three do best in warm or coastal climates and perform better with cross-pollination (requiring two separate vines). Popular in days gone by was the banana passionfruit (Passiflora mollissima), now considered a weed. This species was popular as it’s easy to grow and is self-fertile, producing lots of elongated, yellow, banana-shaped fruit. Passionfruit is one of Australia’s favourite backyard crops and a useful plant to grow as a living screen for shade or privacy. Pest insects can also lead to fruit drop. The passionvine hopper, which resembles a lacy-winged moth, is a major pest of passionfruit. These insects feed on the vine. When young, they appear as “fluffy bums” — that’s the name given to the cute-looking nymphs. Organic control is to deter them with a spray of the hose or to use a registered organic insecticide on the fluffy bums. Fruit that forms but contains little pulp may have been poorly pollinated or exposed to stress from insect pests, cold or lack of regular water. Lots of flowers but no fruit may be due to poor pollination. If the weather is cool, wet, windy or even overcast during flowering, pollination and fruit set may be poor. A lack of pollinating insects (often made worse by bad or cloudy weather) can also affect cropping. Hand pollination — using a dry paintbrush to transfer pollen to the female part of flowers — can overcome some pollinating problems and is most successful when done early in the morning. To overcome pollination problems, encourage bees and other pollinating insects by planting flowering herbs such as borage near the vines. Harvesting & preserving Fruit colour at ripening can be variable, but green fruit usually ripens to purple or black. However, ripe fruit may not be highly coloured. If green fruit drops to the ground it’s always worth cutting it open to taste for ripeness. Ripe fruit left on the ground may become sunburnt, so regularly collect fallen fruit. To make this easier, keep the ground around vines clear of weeds or long grass. Passionfruit can be eaten fresh straight from the skin with a spoon, or used to top fruit salad or a creamy dessert such as pavlova. Excess pulp can be frozen or turned into jam, sauce or cordial. The skins can also be used in some jam recipes.. Passionvine hopper nymph, aka “fluffy bum” Andy Murray CC Fruiting clinic Until the vine is fully mature (6–18 months, depending on your climate), passionfruit may not flower or fruit. However, not getting fruit isn’t always due to immaturity of the vine. Lack of regular water, lack of pollinators or even sudden cold winds can all take their toll on fruit production. Too much shade slows ripening. To open up established plants to more sun for better fruiting and faster ripening, prune them in late winter or early spring. To do this, carefully remove a few of the tangle of stems so that fruit and flowers, when they appear, are better exposed to the light. Don’t cut the vine back hard. Good Organic Gardening | 73
COOKING WITH JOANNA RUSHTON | Passionfruit Star ingredient: Passionfruit Passionfruit & Peach Dairy-Free Cheesecake The paleo way! Ingredients Base • ½ cup almonds • ½ cup pecans • 3 medjool dates, seeds removed Filling • Pulp of 10 passionfruits (approx 1 cup pulp) • 4 peaches, skin & stones removed & roughly chopped • 1 cup coconut flakes • 1 tbsp melted coconut oil • 2 cups cashews, soaked in water for at least 4 hours • 2 tsp vanilla extract • 200mL coconut cream Method 1. To make base, combine almonds, pecans, dates and coconut in food processor and blend until crumbly. 2. Gradually add coconut oil. 3. Transfer to 20cm spring-form cake pan and press with back of spoon to even out base. Place base in freezer. 4. To make filling, strain ½ cup of passionfruit pulp (reserving remainder) over medium-sized saucepan and discard seeds. 5. Add peach flesh to saucepan. Stir over low–medium heat until simmering. Continue stirring for about 2 mins, then turn off heat and allow to cool. 6. Combine peach and strained passionfruit with cashews, vanilla and coconut cream in food processor until smooth (depending on size, you may have to blend in 2 batches). 7. Pour onto cheesecake base, cover with clingwrap and place in freezer overnight. 8. To serve, remove from freezer and allow to sit for 5–10 mins. Remove sides of springform pan and top with reserved passionfruit and coconut flakes. Slice into wedges. 74 | Good Organic Gardening
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grow naturally, eat fresh, live sus
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CONTENTS 8 22 40 Things to Do Heat
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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
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PLANT PROFILE | Basil Small-leaf Gr
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A plant with attitude Stinging nett
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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 36 and 37: 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: GROWING | Passionfruit Passionfruit
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
Page 83 and 84: COOKING WITH JOANNA RUSHTON | Beetr
Page 85 and 86: GROWING | Sweet corn Sweet corn Zey
Page 87 and 88: COOKING WITH JOANNA RUSHTON | Sweet
Page 89 and 90: PRESERVING WITH JOANNA RUSHTON | SW
Page 91 and 92: Wild Olive Chardonnay — perfect f
Page 93 and 94: PICK OF THE CROP Yates Nature’s W
Page 95 and 96: WHAT’S ON A tiny sample of events
Page 97 and 98: Artichoke Heart. DIGITAL HEAD. Get
Page 99 and 100: WHAT’S GROWING ON IN 2016? BONUS
Page 101 and 102: SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH INSPIRATIO
Page 103 and 104: Directory Robinvale Wines is a fami
Page 105 and 106: Directory It’s no surprise that T
Page 107 and 108: Join us at one of our nutrition and
Page 109: Your Complete Steel Edging Solution
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1. Good Organic Gardening - January-February 2016

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