Innehållsförteckning för Issue 4 från Homegrown

Whether you are thinking of using a train to take you to your holiday destination, or whether the actual train journey is the focus of your holiday, there are plenty of trips and trains to suit. Many interstate and intra-state rail services connect our cities and major regional centres, while epic cross-country train trips offer an amazing opportunity to experience Australia’s huge size and landscape diversity. Countrylink trains connect New South Wales destinations and also travel along Australia’s east coast to Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. VLine trains link Melbourne with regional hubs in Victoria, Traveltrain covers Queensland and TransWA criss-crosses Western Australia. Rail is an environmentally friendly form of transport, especially when operated at capacity, with less pollution and traffic congestion than other vehicles. In fact, the Australian Rail Association…

Every culture has their own type of bread, be it a flat bread or raised bread, rye, multigrain or white. Each brings with it their unique aroma, which enlivens our taste buds and floods us with memories of times past. Bread is the staple food of many cultures around the world and comes in as many different forms and shapes as the people who make it. In some countries it doubles as an eating utensil. Take injera for example; it is a sour, spongy, flat bread eaten in Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea. It is used to scoop up food as well as doubling as an edible platter, where the sauce or juices from the stew are soaked up and ready to be eaten at the end of the meal. Around…

Becoming more and more popular, community gardens are popping up all over Australia. Community gardens are defined as plots of land cultivated by members of a community, and are most prevalent in urban areas. Created by environmentally-aware people, the gardens give everyone the opportunity to grow their own fruit, herbs and vegetables. In addition to providing environmental and educational benefits to residents, the gardens provide opportunities for community members of all ages and cultures to meet and socialise in a safe, relaxed and healthy environment. This issue we shine the spotlight on the fabulous community garden at Manly Vale, a suburb located on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, some 14km from the CBD. We spoke with the Garden Co-ordinator David Sawyer to find out why they decided to create the garden, how…

So, what makes a good garden fruit tree? Before you rush out and buy a fruit tree, there are a few points to think about: • Is it deciduous or evergreen? Deciduous trees provide shade in summer but allow light through in winter. • How tall and wide will it grow, and how dense is the foliage? • Does the fruit stain patios, pathways, or clothing? Mulberries are notoriously troublesome! • Does it require special pruning techniques? Pruning certainly improves cropping for many fruit trees, but some bear abundant fruit even when rarely pruned. • Does it need regular spraying? This may depend on where you live. Some varieties are more prone to fungal diseases in warm, humid climates than the same variety grown in a cooler area. The downside…

Ingredients • 100ml Australian cream• 1/2 cup honey• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice• 2 sprigs rosemary• 500g Australian ricotta• 200g Australian Greek style yoghurt• 3 eggs• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind• Icing sugar and Australian Greek style yoghurt, to serve Syrupy Oranges • 1 cup caster sugar, extra• 2 tablespoons honey• 1 cup water• 2 oranges, thinly sliced• 3 sprigs rosemary, extra, broken into clusters Method Bring cream, honey, orange juice and rosemary sprigs to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stand for 15 minutes, until cooled slightly. Remove rosemary sprigs. Process cooled mixture with ricotta, yogurt, eggs and orange rind. Pour into a baking paper lined 24cm springform pan. Bake at 180°C for 50 minutes or until set, cool in oven. For Syrupy Oranges,…

What you need: • Fresh fruit such as peaches, plums, berries, apples and grapes• Water• Lemon juice• Sugar (optional)• Spices - again optional: spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg add flavour. Method • Wash the fruit, peel those with skins, and remove seeds and stems. • Place food in a saucepan (preferably stainless steel). • Cover in water, simmer for 10-15 minutes or until fruit is cooked. • Mash up fruit. (You can use a food processor or do it by hand with a potato masher). • Taste. Add sugar, lemon juice or spices if needed. • Puree fruits with a blender until smooth. • Taste test again to check sweetness/spice – adjust if necessary. • Line a baking tray with lightly oiled greaseproof paper, pour fruit puree onto the…

Sales of all types of solar powered devices are continually increasing, from lights in gardens and courtyards to solar backpacks, which enable you to charge portable electronics such as your mobile phone, iPad and laptop while you are out walking in the sun! Whilst many of these new solar powered items are extremely useful, we’d like to suggest you put some thought into your purchases, as you won’t be saving money or the environment if you buy things that you don’t really need. The cost of lighting is a major component of most home electricity bills, and here are some suggestions to help you decide on the best lighting for your home. The following information comes from the website http://www.livinggreener.gov.au, and the Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Industry) is the…

It all starts with the cleanest air, the best soil and the purest water. The farm is located in the Huon Valley, one of the most pure and untouched places on earth. The valley collects on average 700mm of rain each year which passes through some of the cleanest air in the world, originating in Antarctica. When required, additional water is available from the plentiful Mountain River which flows from the Sleeping Beauty mountain range. The air in Grim in Tasmania is officially recognised as the cleanest air in the world. William Smith and Sons’ air originates from the same location and travels over one of the largest expanses of virgin forest wilderness in Australia before reaching the valley. They choose organic because they believe that making things the traditional…

Owners Karen and David Borg started their venture 15 years ago, armed only with a “How To” book on making cheese and two goats. Their inspiration was to make their property work for them, raise their two daughters in a sustainable environment and, of course, be able to eat great cheese. They firmly believe in sustainable farming practices, and all of their goats are free to roam around the property, enjoying a natural low GI supplement along with their lucerne and chaff. Karen and David pasture improve their paddocks with the water from the cheese making process, ensuring the goats have beautiful green fodder all year round. They currently run 60 goats. The goats all have their own personalities, with the Queen firmly leading the pack and the others all…

Well-planted hanging baskets and pots can transform a garden. They brighten up even the gloomiest corners, and provide interest in small, awkward spaces. When suspended from a wall or fence, baskets add height in an otherwise flat area. In a new build, where the garden is still a mess of rubble and bare soil, pots and baskets are the garden. And for people who have only balconies or small terraces, especially in inner cities, pots and baskets become their essential ‘green space’. Herbs are superb plants. Evergreen herbs, and there are many to choose from, provide colour year-round. Annuals give us those fabulous hits of flavour that tells us summer is here! They are fragrant, colourful, an essential nectar source for beneficial insects, and of course we can eat them!…

At some stage of your growing journey you will be keen to try your hand at propagation. There are lots of reasons – perhaps someone you know has a lovely plant growing and you can’t find it in a nursery. Or perhaps you might be the one to have that lovely plant and would like to strike some cuttings to give away to a friend who has always admired it. Maybe you’d like to get a number of plants growing to save you money from buying them all – or – maybe you’re even just up for a challenge and want to try something new! There are a few basic elements of plant reproduction that we need to look at – so let’s talk about sex! Sexual reproduction of plants occurs…

Some flowers and flower buds can be eaten - but often we don’t even realise that is what we are eating! Have you ever noticed the splashes of colour in a fancy restaurant salad – these are sometimes flower petals, perhaps from nasturtiums or sunflowers. Did you know that cauliflower and broccoli are actually developing flowers and that artichokes and capers are flower buds too? Flowers are underused and are very useful additions to our daily diet. Take zucchini flowers – these can be stuffed or simply battered and deep fried. Flowers add interest to salads or can also be added to jellies (e.g. rose petals in apple jelly). Violet flowers are often candied and make great cake decorations. Lavender flowers can be used to flavour chocolate, biscuits, and desserts.…

Have you ever thought of farming your own fish? Do you also like the idea of growing your own vegetables, lowering food miles and eating fresh, organically grown food in season? What about if you could combine the two and produce fresh fish and vegetables for your family using hydroponics beds that are fertilised by the nutrients produced by fish? What is Aquaponics? Aquaponics integrates hydroponics with aquaculture: • In hydroponics you don’t use soil to grow plants – instead materials like gravel or gro-wool are used to anchor plants into specifically designed, channel-like beds, usually raised at a convenient height; and water (with dissolved nutrients added) constantly reticulates through the beds. • In aquaculture fish are farmed under controlled or partly controlled conditions. • In an aquaponics system the…

MAKE THE RIGHT SELECTION FOR EACH CHEESE STYLE: If you can, visit you deli or cheesemonger and ask for what’s local, ripe and ready for eating. Always ask for a taste, it’s all about what you like. Australian supermarkets also have a growing selection of gourmet cheeses to choose from, so wherever you’re buying from, here are some extra tips for selecting a winner! White mould cheese Look for some signs of breakdown to the white surface of the cheese as this will indicate a ripe cheese, however, it shouldn’t be sticky. If the cheese is cut, ensure it has a glossy interior that doesn’t show signs of browning. The cheese should be slightly soft to touch, test it like you would an avocado. In the supermarket, try and look…