Earlier this week, ‘Today’ program on Channel 9 aired a segment about new research showing a link between organophosphate pesticides and ADHD. The research involved 1,139 children between 8 and 15 years and found high levels of organophosphate metabolites in urine of children with ADHD. This link is not surprising as organophosphates (and carbamates) are [...]

The following planting guide is an abbreviated list for vegetables, fruit trees and some culinary herbs that can be planted in May in Australia and New Zealand. A comprehensive monthly guide that includes planting times for the entire garden, as well as when to fertilise, prune, weed, take cuttings or divide plants, can be found [...]

As soon as asparagus foliage has dried off, cut off stems to a few centimetres above soil level. The yellowish-brown colour of asparagus stems means that the plants have withdrawn nutrients and carbon compounds into their crowns to provide energy for new spring growth. Cutting back the stems while they are still green will gradually [...]

Last Saturday’s ‘Gardening Australia’ program made the claim that you won’t find the tip to use Epsom Salts to assist germination in any gardening books. That’s not true!
You will find that tip and lots of other tips for getting the best germination and growth from young seedlings in ‘Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting’ pages [...]

Soils for garlic need plenty of mature compost added, and they should have a a soil pH close to neutral for good growth and a rich supply of antioxidants.
The health benefits of garlic have been known for thousands of years, and this humble herb has been immortalised in carvings in Egyptian pyramids. We grow our [...]

The following planting guide is an abbreviated list for vegetables, fruit trees and some culinary herbs that can be planted in April in Australia and New Zealand. A comprehensive monthly guide that includes planting times for the entire garden, as well as when to fertilise, prune, weed, take cuttings or divide plants, can be found [...]

If it appears to readers that I have been neglecting my blog lately, I apologise. My absence has been due to helping the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) prepare an organic gardening program for school children.
Although it is a very interesting project to be involved in, we have a deadline to meet, and it is [...]

Annie recently e-mailed me her mother’s method of selecting fruits and pods for saving seed, and I thought it might be of interest to other readers.
“My mother grew upon a farm in the south of Italy and she has always told me little gardening tips which I don’t always see written about. This summer that [...]

March is a good time to plant evergreen trees, shrubs, and vines in all areas except those that experience heavy frosts, as soil is still warm enough to allow plants to settle in before winter. Incidentally, as there are two Full Moons this month, the Full Moon on 30th March is known as a ‘blue [...]

Before purchasing mulches or manures for your garden, ensure that they don’t come from pastures treated with a broad-leaf weed killer.
A relatively new herbicide (weed killer) ingredient, aminopyralid kills broad-leaf plants by disrupting plant cell growth. It does not affect grasses, but can remain active in them, and manures from animals that eat sprayed grasses, [...]