Anni Brownjohn (OZGANICS), Steve Falcioni (OCP), Therese Kerr & Costa Georgiadis
Organic Crop Protectants (OCP) who sell the Eco-organic garden range of garden products has been voted the Best Organic Input Supplier at the 2013 Organic Consumer Choice Awards. The awards are run by The Centre for Organic Research & Education (CORE) as part of National Organic Week which is designed to increase awareness of the benefits of organic products.
It caps off a big year for OCP having won three other major awards earlier in the year. OCP is an Australian firm who work hard to produce organically certified products for the home gardener. I have used, like and recommend their HIPPO enhanced pest oil called Eco-oil (it not only kills pests but the natural oils included in the spray attract beneficial insects) and Eco-fungicide (made from activated potassium bicarbonate). I like the way they are open about their products and provide plenty of information and MSDS’s on their website.
I asked Steve Falconi, the General Manager of OCP why he sees organic approaches to gardening and farming as crucial to our world? Read more
I have hundreds of gardening books in my library but only 20 or so on the ‘can’t manage without’ shelf. Organic Fruit Growing is going straight onto that shelf (Annette’s earlier book Organic Vegetable Gardening is already there). There are sections on getting started, easy fruits to start with and preparation, planting, pruning, pests, pollination and propagation. Then the A-Z with all the common fruit but also babaco, carambola, chocolate pudding fruit (tantalising?), granadilla, ice-cream bean, native limes, longan, pepino and vitamin C tree. How can you resist? Many of those I’ve just listed do best in regions with warm wet summers, but with strange things happening to our climate, who knows what we may soon be able to grow further south. I love Annette’s books because there is so much original material, written from personal experience. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced garden, this is a must have gardening book. Borrow it from your library, buy it from your local independent bookshop or go to Annette’s website to link to other Australian websites that sell the book.
Organic Fruit Growing by Annette McFarlane, ABC Books, HarperCollins, Softcover, 223pages, $35
Organic Gardener Essential Guide: Fruit
This mook (a cross between a magazine and a book) is the second in the series produced by Organic Gardener Magazine. It is made up of articles by well-known garden writers from across Australia. Some articles have been previously published by Organic Gardener, others are written specifically for this mook. There is everything from pruning (an article I keep going back to, to check how it should be done) by Peter Cundall to pest control by Jerry Coleby-Williams and planning the orchard by Phil Dudman. It also looks at harvesting and storing the produce. The fruits covered include apples, avocado, bananas, berries, citrus, grapes, mangoes, melons, nuts, olives, passionfruit, stone fruit and strawberries. Comprehensive and cheap at only $10.
Borrow a copy from your library, buy one from your local newsagent or go to the store on this website and buy a copy online
Organic Gardener’s Essential Guide: Vegies A – Z
Rising costs have combined with anxiety about food security to create a critical moment for people considering growing their own food. Right on cue is “Vegies A-Z”. It’s the third OG special (after Getting Started, $10.00, and Fruit, $10.00). Vegies A-Z combines new material with recent OG articles from reliable writers. My quibble with this third volume is that there is not more on soil preparation, which is crucial. Perhaps that’s in Getting Started? Perhaps the three volumes need to be read seriatum, and would make a great gift, possibly to yourself. PW is a major contributor. — AMS.
Note: There is more on soil preparation in Getting Started which is unfortunately currently out of print. A reprint is planned for later this year
Borrow a copy from your library, buy one from your local newsagent or go to the store on this website and buy a copy online