Innehållsförteckning för Issue 17 från Homegrown

Tomatoes are the most widely grown vegetable by home gardeners around the world. In recent years the interest in home grown tomatoes seems to have reached new heights because many of the tomatoes available through stores can be insipid and bland tasting. But many home grown heirloom species still pack the delicious taste of yesteryear. Although tomatoes don’t last through the colder autumn months in temperate climates, in some tropical parts of Australia they can be grown throughout the year. In temperate to cool regions you can start to sow tomato seeds now. They are best grown in pots to begin with so they can be moved under cover at night. If this is not possible you can move them to a more sheltered position instead. Another option is to…

Crossbreed egg production When we think about desirable egg production in backyard chickens, we can’t look past crossbreeds. They tend to be the most fruitful layers over the longest length of time. Some crossbreeds will even lay through winter. Also, they tend to be less clucky which means they are less likely to ‘go off the lay’ than other breeds. In other words they don’t want to sit on a clutch of eggs waiting for chicks that will never hatch and so their laying continues. Pullets, chickens from around 4.5 months to 15 months of age, are the most productive egg layers. After that time, the pullet will experience her first moult. This is the time when she’ll drop feathers and will stop laying temporarily, after which she is then…

You know that recycling is important, but do you ever wonder what happens to the items that you diligently recycle into the appropriate bins? The interesting and useful website Zero Waste SA (www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au) gives us the lowdown on what happens in South Australia: The materials go to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF or ‘murf’), where recyclable materials are sorted into their own types. Most are sorted by hand. Individual products are baled and transported to reprocessing factories. Glass Clear, green and amber (brown) glass bottles and jars are melted down to make new glass bottles and jars, and other innovative products such as: abrasives for removing rust, barnacles and coatings; sand replacement in pool filters; and sand substitute in concrete used to make footpaths, kerbing and guttering. Metal From cans…

Hands that do dishes – and gardening, and sewing, and everything else – need a bit of love, care and attention, especially when age becomes a factor, as your skin dries out quicker as it loses some of its natural elasticity. It is also important if you’re working a lot outdoors, open to all the extreme elements the Australian climate can throw at you. The recipes in this article are for soothing creams rather than healing creams, and any actual healing is yet to be proven – research for white willow bark puts it at anything between 0% and 15% effective – but the act of rubbing a soothing cream into your hands is, at the very least, therapeutic, and it also helps the circulation, if only by the gentle…

Have you ever checked the amount of fat in most store bought sausages? Most on the market today have the full recommended daily allowance of fat in just a single sausage! Even so called low-fat versions contain a lot of fat. However all sausages do need a certain amount of fat in order to be juicy rather than dry, but if you make them yourself, you can certainly reduce the amount of fat you and your family ingest from commercial sausages. Most store bought sausages also have preservatives in them; you don’t need to add preservatives to homemade sausages if you use them the same day (or if refrigerated, within a day or two), or freeze them as soon as you have made them. When you make your own sausages…

Like tomatoes, you can begin to grow cucumbers under cover now in temperate parts of Australia. In warmer climes they can be sown out directly into vegie beds or planters. Once soil temperatures begin to warm above 16°C they can be planted out elsewhere. Usually this is from September onwards. For those started in pots, cucumbers are best grown by sowing the seed singly in individual pots. Peat pots are good because you won’t have to disturb the roots when you transplant the seedlings. Use rich seed compost and plant them to three times the seed length. They’ll need a fairly stable temperature of 18°C or over to germinate. You can expect the seedlings to emerge after about four or five days. In areas where average temperatures exceed about 27°C,…

With the mantra: a space for reflection, a space for friendship, a space for community; dig, plant, nuture, grow, harvest, eat, Salisbury Community Garden promotes a philosophy of environmentally sustainable food production and organic gardening practices, where reusing, recycling, waste-minimisation and water-wise attitudes are encouraged. Sam Franklin, President of Salisbury Community Garden, which is located in Brisbane, Queensland, shares this amazing story of perseverance and tenacity, explaining how their members were forced to abandon their beloved existing garden and create a new one. Community Garden Number One Beryl Roberts, Jill Ridgway and Jeff were the founding members of the Salisbury Community Garden (formerly Nyanda Community Garden) at the grounds of Nyanda High School in Queensland when Beryl, who was already running a nursery there for the Oxley Creek Catchment Association…

Larapinta Trail, NT Location: West MacDonnell Range, Northern Territory Length: 16–20 days (including rest days) Distance: 223 km Difficulty: Hard Access: One-way walk; good road access along track, including at ends Info: Walking during the cooler months, from April–September, is recommended. Food drops required. Thorsborne Trail, Qld Location: Hinchinbrook Island, Far North Queensland Length: 4–5 days Distance: 32 km Difficulty: Moderate Access: One-way; boat transport required at both ends Info: Walking during the cooler months, from April–September, is recommended Permits required; need to be booked well in advance Australian Alps Walking Track, Vic/NSW/ACT Location: High Country of ACT, NSW and Victoria Length: 45–60 days (including rest days) Distance: 655 km Difficulty: Hard Access: One-way; road access at both ends Info: Best done in the warmer months. Food drops required. Fraser…

Don’t delay, plant today! Many people worry about planting vegetables at the tail end of winter because it can still be very cold. The thing is though, many vegies will benefit from planting now. The weather can warm up very quickly over the first few weeks of spring and if you haven’t started some of your crops off, they’ll miss the chance of an early growth spurt. In colder areas you can start seedlings off in pots and move them in indoors at night. The wonderful thing about growing vegetables is that you can grow them in so many different ways. If you don’t have any garden beds, you can use troughs or pots. Or you could easily construct simple raised beds using railway sleepers, or make no-dig mounds. You…

There are many different types of melon, so choosing a variety to grow is your first decision. Cantaloupes, honeydews, muskmelons and watermelons are amongst the most popular. They need at least three months of continuous warm weather to produce fruit, but if you’re willing to persist they are well worth the effort. You’ll notice that home grown melons are much sweeter than those found in the greengrocers. This is because farmed ones have to be harvested before they are fully mature so that they’ll last in storage. Often this means they have not reached their maximum sugar content, and the quality of a melon is directly related the sugar inside it. So many melons The fruits can be quite variable, especially those of the heirloom varieties. Watermelon flesh may be…

“Will our wild and passionate growth continue unabated; spreading roots into new territory, planting new seeds in fertile ground and fertile minds? Will we consolidate and grow upwards towards a shared purpose – like a mighty tree - that cannot go unheeded on the world stage? Will we become something else; a new system; a new society? (‘Next Big Step – Permaculture Association UK’). These are the big questions being asked by the current leaders of the global permaculture movement, although, historically, permaculture has never been afraid of asking questions of such magnitude. But what are the manifestations of this wild and passionate growth? And where lies this fertile ground waiting and ready to foster something as magnificent as a new way of being? Firstly, what even is permaculture? At…

If your idea of a perfect holiday encompasses a resort lounge, pool bar, spa and gourmet room service, perhaps this holiday trend is not for you. But there are plenty of other people who are discovering that breathtaking views, impossibly fresh air and a sense of oneness with nature that is provided by walking tours make them some of the best holidays of all. And with a growing awareness of the need to break away from our addictive technology-driven lives, walking treks deliver an all-encompassing experience that invigorates the mind, body and the spirit. Australia is blessed with an ancient and magical landscape that begs to be explored. From Tasmania’s world heritage-listed wilderness to the Northern Territory’s West MacDonnell Ranges, or the Gondwanan rainforest on the Gold Coast, Victoria’s Wilsons…

Herbs are exciting plants! They are scented, flavourful, are easy to grow and look great in the garden too. They are wonderful, diverse plants that may appear monotone or boring when you gauge them by those green bunches of herbs that you buy in the supermarket. Herbs don’t need to be just ‘shades of green’ though, they can bring amazing colour into your garden and onto your dinner plate. All you need to do is get to know them a little better - open up to their diversity and possibilities as a garden plant, cut flower, garnish, pot-plants for your patio, hanging baskets and as an exciting culinary addition to your favourite recipes. Which herbs add colour? Different cultivars have different leaves: there are colourful cultivars (cultivated varieties) of many…