2. Good Organic Gardening - March-April 2016

grow naturally, eat fresh, live sustainably
Editor Kerry Boyne
Designer Jess Middleton
Contributors Claire Bickle, Jana Holmer,
Jo Immig, Melissa King, Megg Miller,
Joanna Rushton, Chris Stafford,
Erina Starkey, Jennifer Stackhouse,
Sandra Tuszynska
Food Photography
Kerry Boyne
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Miriam Keen
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Cover Photo Getty Images
Chairman/CEO Prema Perera
Publisher Janice Williams
Chief Financial Officer Vicky Mahadeva
Associate Publisher Karen Day
Associate Publisher Emma Perera
Circulation Director Mark Darton
Creative Director Kate Podger
Editorial & Production Manager
Anastasia Casey
Marketing & Acquisitions Manager
Chelsea Peters
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Welcome
to the issue
Have you ever eavesdropped on a
cat-owning couple arguing in the
pet food aisle over what kitty will and
won’t eat? If you’ve ever owned a cat,
you’ll know that just when you’re confident of
their likes and dislikes they decide they won’t
eat this or that any more, turning up their pretty
little nose and stalking off, the tail making a very
pointed exclamation mark.
Dog owners, of course, have no such problem.
Dogs will wolf down just about anything you
put in front of them, especially if it’s dog food.
Food is their favourite thing ... along with their
humans, going for a walk, car trips, a swim in the
dam, or a run on the beach. Fish, too, eat their
fish food without making a fuss and budgies
cheerfully peck away at their bird seed.
You’d expect chooks to be like that, too,
wouldn’t you? Not mine. Recently a breeder told
me he’d switched from grain to pellets because
there was less waste, so I thought I’d do the
same. Well, the carry-on! The girls expressed
their displeasure in no uncertain terms, every
last one of them. What’s that about!? Are their
palates so refined?
If you’re worried about giving your chickens
the right nutrition, Megg Miller has a full
rundown on their food and drink needs. These
days the options are quite a bit better than they
were in Grandma’s time, but don’t be surprised if
your feathered femmes don’t always appreciate
your efforts to please them.
We also thought about what bees like to eat
and drink — give them what they need and
they will come! So we have a small showcase of
flowering plants that are especially appealing to
both native bees and honeybees for their pollen
and nectar outputs. Plus, more flowers in the
garden will make you happier, too.
Claire Bickle has more on fungal diseases to
look out for and Claire has also put together
part one of an introduction to the fascinating
philosophy and practice of biodynamics — with
a basic moon-planting calendar for the next
two months to go with it. Meanwhile, regular
contributor Sandra Tuszynska offers a how-to
on making comfrey manure tea along with some
other uses for this most giving of plants.
Fruit and vegie crops covered by Jennifer
Stackhouse include Brussels sprouts, grapes,
capers and mandarins, along with Clever Crops
native midyim berry and catnip (maybe that
will please your kitty), while Melissa King does
a roundup of heirloom crab apples as well as
English spinach and kale. She also introduces
some lovely new cultivars to consider for
your patch. Plus, we profile “the Italian
vegetable” — broccoli.
We’ve heard a lot about Epsom salts
being great for the garden, especially roses,
gardenias, tomatoes and capsicums, so we did
our research and it turns out it’s true. We also
looked into the health benefits of Epsom salts
for our own bodies, which are impressive.
As usual, we’ve found some inspiring gardens
to show you, along with their hard-working
owners, and the Garden to Table section as
always has some great recipes from Joanna
Rushton. If you’re even a bit less picky than my
chickens, you’ll love them.
Hope you enjoy the issue and the
lovely weather as we head into autumn,
Kerry
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