Easy organic gardening and moon planting

Mantesh Scribe Publications EASY ORGANIC GARDENING AND MOON PLANTING Lyn Bagnall has been actively involved in professional horticulture and garden design for more than 30 years, including working for two major retail nurseries in Sydney Lyn and her husband are certified-organic farmers on a small property in the mid-north coast of New South Wales, where they grow fresh culinary herbs for market, wine grapes, and fruit and vegetables Lyn has also written the Biological Farmers of Australia’s Organic School Gardens program for Australian primary schools, and regular articles on gardening and moon planting for a range of Australian magazines Her magazine articles, as well as her blog at www.aussieorganicgardening.com, have been popular with both amateur gardeners and commercial growers Mantesh Mantesh Scribe Publications Pty Ltd 18–20 Edward St, Brunswick, Victoria, Australia 3056 Email: info@scribepub.com.au First published by Scribe 2006 New edition (with revisions) published 2009 This updated edition published 2012 Text and illustrations copyright © Lyn Bagnall 2006, 2009, 2012 All rights reserved Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher of this book National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data Bagnall, Lyn Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting: updated edition with moon-planting notes from 2012 to 2017 New ed 9781921942563 (e-book.) Includes bibliographical references Organic gardening–Australia Organic gardening–New Zealand Astrology and gardening–Calendars Planting time 635.0484 Mantesh www.scribepublications.com.au Contents Preface THE LOWDOWN ON DIRT Why is your soil so important? Soils and soil pH Earthworms Green manure and cover crops Crop rotation Companion planting KEEPING SOIL HEALTHY What not to use in your garden Soil nutrients Organic fertilisers Making a compost factory Compost worm farming YOUR GARDENING DIARY Gardening zones in Australia and New Zealand Moon planting Month-by-month planting and garden activity diary BEDS, BOXES AND POTS Planning or renovating your garden Mantesh Making an instant garden Growing plants from seed Planting shrubs, trees, vines, and herbaceous perennials Container gardening DROUGHT-PROOF YOUR GARDEN Efficient watering Drought conditions and water restrictions Mulching your garden Drought-tolerant plants THE FOOD GARDEN Summer sun protection Shared or separate beds? Culinary herbs Popular fruits and vegetables GARDEN FAVOURITES Native trees and shrubs Popular native plants Foreign favourites Plants for shady, dry areas PRUNING AND PROPAGATION Types of pruning Pruning fruiting plants Mantesh Pruning shrubs and trees Pruning roses Propagating plants Taking cuttings Saving seed SOLVING PROBLEMS NATURALLY The organic approach Friend or foe? Organic pest control Bushfire season Protecting plants from frost Repairing hail-damaged plants Organic weed control Summer and winter projects 10 MOON PHASES AND BEST GARDENING DAYS TO 2017 Glossary Bibliography Mantesh Preface are particularly suited to Australia because our soils are fragile and our climate can be harsh Australia has also been labelled ‘the driest continent on earth’ Organic cultivation repairs damaged soils by making them biologically active As a result, soils become more moisture-retentive, resistant to erosion, able to eliminate organisms that cause plant disease, and provide, in natural form, all the nutrient minerals that plants, animals and humans require Where soils are rich in minerals, as in New Zealand, biologically active soil gently releases essential nutrients that become locked up in soil when synthetic fertilisers have been used ORGANIC GARDENING AND FARMING Organic cultivation is just as suitable for large and small gardens, with or without vegetable patches, and for growing plants in pots as it is for farming because all plants respond positively when grown as nature intended Your organic garden will require less watering, be stronger and healthier, more adaptable to climate change, and more resistant to pests and disease As you will see in this book, it is easy to convert a conventional garden to organic cultivation by starting with the most important element: your soil Step-by-step guides will show you how to make your soil biologically active, and detailed information on growing pure foods and keeping decorative parts of your garden looking beautiful have been included The gardening diary provides an easy-to-follow routine for all aspects of organic gardening Although written for Australia, the organic cultivation methods and gardening diary are suitable for all parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where our growing seasons are entirely different to those in the Northern Hemisphere Organic gardeners and farmers not use synthetic fertilisers or chemical pesticides, fungicides or herbicides because these chemicals destroy or inhibit beneficial organisms in soil Research has shown that some popular pesticides increase the incidence of asthma, while others are neurotoxins, which affect humans and animals, and can accumulate in our bodies The neurotoxic, systemic organophosphates are of particular concern, because these pesticides cannot be removed from produce Eliminating the use of poisons will make your entire garden a healthier place for your family, pets, soil and the birds and other beneficial wildlife that visit Far from being old-fashioned or quaint, organic cultivation is gaining worldwide momentum as more people realise the effects that chemicals used in farming and gardening are having on our health, the quality of our food, and the environment Although our demand for pure food has resulted in the growth of the Australian organic industry at the steady rate of 25 per cent per annum, Australia still lags far behind most developed countries in its adoption of organic cultivation It saddens me to think that our children or grandchildren will not be able to choose pure food in future because inadequate separation distances determined by our governments for genetically engineered (GE) food crops will undoubtedly result in organic farmers losing their certification when seed, or stock and poultry feed become contaminated with GE pollen Without certification, consumers will have no guarantee that their food is organic Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting has evolved from my observations as a horticulturist, working and gardening in different climate zones in Australia, and from my magazine and internet articles on gardening and moon 10 crucifer, cruciferous: A member of the family Cruciferae (named for the cross formation of their flower petals) that contain compounds beneficial to health This group includes the Brassica genus, horseradish, radish, rocket and watercress, as well as alyssum, sherpherd’s purse, stock and wallflower Cruciferous plants are susceptible to similar diseases and pests cucurbit: A group of plants that includes melons, squash, cucumber, pumpkin, and gourd From the Latin cucurbita ‘gourd’ cultivar: In horticulture, a cultivated plant with a distinguishing name A cultivar name is indicated in single inverted commas after the species or genus name dark-damp: Soil that contains enough moisture to darken soil particles but is not saturated with water dead-head: The removal of spent flowers, usually before seed sets drip-line: The area of soil directly below the outer edge of plant foliage where rain runs from the canopy Feeder roots that absorb water and nutrients lie beneath the drip-line because little, if any, rain falls closer to the trunk or main stem ecliptic: The apparent ‘annual path’ of the Sun as viewed from Earth Eclipses occur when the Moon’s orbit crosses or nears the ecliptic equinox: A semi-annual event when the Sun reaches the point where the ecliptic intersects with the celestial equator (a projection into space of the Earth’s equator) So called because day and night are of equal length at the equinoxes In 752 the Southern Hemisphere, the autumn equinox occurs on March 21 or 22, and the spring equinox occurs on September 23 or 24 ethylene: A hydrocarbon produced by some plants, mature fruit and wood smoke that accelerates maturity, flowering or ripening in other plants eye: Dormant beginning of a growth bud at a node on a stem or tuber Each tiny bud with a curved leaf scar underneath looks like an upside-down eye exotic: In horticulture, any plant that is not native to one’s own country Exotics may have evolved in different climate and soil conditions to those in the Southern Hemisphere and therefore require different treatment to native plants faba beans: An alternative name for broad beans, Vicia faba In Australia, this term is usually reserved for cultivars that are grown only as inoculated green manure crops Broad beans will be able to fix nitrogen efficiently once the rhizobium for faba beans has been introduced to soil These beans have a reputation for inhibiting the soil fungus that causes fusarium wilt fertile day: In horticulture, when the Moon is in the primary fertile signs of Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces, or the secondary fertile signs of Taurus, Libra or Capricorn First Quarter: At approximately seven days after New Moon, the Moon is at ninety degrees to the alignment of Sun and Earth and half of the sunlit surface of the Moon can be seen from Earth This is the equivalent of one quarter of the entire lunar surface, and is called First Quarter Over the 753 following six days, more of the sunlit surface becomes visible Full Moon: When Earth is between Sun and Moon the full area of the Moon’s sunlit surface can be seen from Earth When Earth is exactly between Sun and Moon, a lunar eclipse can occur as Earth prevents sunlight reaching the lunar surface Over the following six days, we can observe a decreasing area of the sunlit surface of the Moon genus (pl genera): In horticulture, a major division to distinguish a group of plants from other members of the same family that have certain characteristics A genus name forms the first part of a plant’s botanical name hardening-off: The gradual exposure to sunlight of seedlings grown under cover in preparation for planting in open ground The process will take several days hardwood: Perennial plant tissue that has stiffened, or matured herbaceous: A plant that is not woody, or one that has the texture of foliage Herbaceous perennials usually die back in winter humus: The end result of the decomposition of organic matter containing beneficial micro-organisms, including mycorrhiza hybrid: In horticulture, the progeny resulting from the cross-pollination of two related plants with different characteristics A hybrid plant will have different foliage, flowers or fruit to its parents Hybridisation is usually a deliberate breeding process but it can occur accidentally 754 inoculant: In horticulture, a compound containing a particular rhizobium bacteria that is used to coat legume seed before sowing Last Quarter: At approximately seven days after Full Moon, the Moon is at ninety degrees to the alignment of Sun and Earth and half the sunlit surface of the Moon can be seen from Earth This is called Last Quarter Over the following six days, less of the sunlit surface becomes visible until the lunation cycle starts again at New Moon lateral: In horticulture, a side growth from a thicker stem Side growths from laterals are called sub-laterals leader: In horticulture, a stem that will determine the framework of a young tree; also the outer end of a main stem on a mature tree or perennial plant leaf axil: The portion between the upper side of a leaf and a node on a plant stem; where new lateral growth can form lectin: A naturally occurring food toxin found in small quantities in beans and some other foods Not usually hazardous unless the particular food comprises a large part of a diet legume: Any plant belonging to the large family Leguminosae Many legumes are useful as food or for fixing nitrogen in soil lignin: Stiffening material in cell walls of woody tissue lunation cycle: The passage of the Moon from New Moon through First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter phases to New Moon 755 monoculture: The practice of concentrating agriculture on a single type of crop, such as cotton farming or rice farming moon phase: A period of approximately one week that commences from New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, or Last Quarter mycorrhiza: A beneficial fungus in humus that acts as root hairs for many perennial plants, enabling them to absorb nutrients and water from soil Mycorrhiza-dependent plants not thrive when soil is deficient in humus New Moon: When the Moon is between Sun and Earth, only the unlit half of its surface can be seen from Earth When Sun and Moon are exactly aligned in orbit, a solar eclipse can occur as the Moon blocks light from our Sun Over the following six days, we can observe an increasing amount of the sunlit lunar surface node: In horticulture, the junction of two stem sections Leaves or new growth can only occur on stems at nodes, within leaf axils on current growth, or from eyes in deciduous plants or mature wood pathogen: An organism that can cause disease perennial: A plant that normally lives for more than two years pH: A scale measurement that rates a substance from (extremely acid) to 14 (extremely alkaline), with being considered neutral (neither acid or alkaline) pheromone: A natural hormone exuded by animals, insects or plants to deter or attract other animals, insects or plants phytochemical: A natural chemical produced by plants 756 pistil: The female reproductive parts of a flower consisting of an ovary, style and stigma potting-on: Repotting a plant into a slightly larger pot instead of planting into open ground pup: In horticulture, a new growth shoot on a plant that will form roots and grow into a separate plant An equivalent new growth on an orchid is called a keiki rhizobium: One of a group of soil bacteria that improve germination and nitrogen fixation in particular legumes rhizome: A thickened, horizontal (usually underground) stem of some perennial plants that stores food in winter and produces roots and new growth semi-hardwood: Tissue of woody perennials in the current year’s growth that has started to stiffen sepal: An individual segment of the calyx Sepals cover and protect developing flower buds skirting: Pruning of lower branches that would touch the ground when laden with fruit solanum: Any plant or weed belonging to the family Solanaceae, including tomato, capsicum, chilli, aubergine, potato, nightshade, and farmer’s friends (cobbler’s pegs) Solanums are susceptible to the same diseases and pests solstice: A point on the ecliptic where the Sun is furthest north or south of the equator and appears to stand still The solstice positions are marked by the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn In the Southern Hemisphere, the summer solstice (longest day) occurs on December 21 or 22 when the Sun is at 757 degrees Capricorn, and the winter solstice (shortest day) occurs on June 21 or 22 when the Sun is at degrees Cancer species: In horticulture, divisions within a genus that show variations in growth compared to other members of the genus The species name forms the second part of a plant’s botanical name stamen: The pollen-bearing male reproductive part of a flower station: In horticulture, a position in gardens for sowing seed or planting seedlings, where close spacing would restrict the growth of plants stool: In horticulture, a clump of perennial plant crowns that produce new plants by division, or by taking cuttings of new growth from the crowns stopping: In horticulture, removing growing tips of small plants in one or more stages to produce multiple main stems sucker: In horticulture, a vigorous growth originating from damaged stems or roots that can overtake the growth of a grafted species or form a thicket Also used to refer to a new growth shoot on some plants that will form roots and grow into a separate plant These suckers are often called ‘pups’ to distinguish them from unwanted suckers surfactant: An ingredient that acts on the surface of another substance Commonly used to improve wetting properties synodic period: A period of 29.531 days which is the average time the Moon takes to move from New Moon to New Moon Also known as a synodic or lunar month 758 Tagetes: A genus of plants that all have pest-deterrent properties, including African, French and Mexican marigolds, and khaki weed Some species of this genus also have culinary or medicinal uses true leaf: Any leaf that forms on a seedling after the cotyledons (seed leaves) Stages for transplanting or thinning seedlings are calculated from the number of true leaves, ignoring the seed leaves tuber: A fleshy outgrowth from a subterranean stem that can store food manufactured by the plant, and produce roots and new growth vermicide: A product that kills worms vermifuge: A product that expels parasites from the intestine waning moon: The period between Full Moon and New Moon when the clearly visible surface of the Moon is gradually decreasing in size water shoot: A particularly vigorous stem growth originating near the base of a rose plant that will form a future cane watertable: In soil, the uppermost level of soil saturated with water waxing moon: The period between New Moon and Full Moon when the clearly visible surface of the Moon is gradually increasing in size zodiacal belt: A celestial band, extending 8.5 degrees either side of the ecliptic, that contains the orbits of all bodies in the solar system and the constellations of the zodiac The word ‘zodiac’ is derived from a Greek term meaning ‘circle of animals’ 759 Bibliography Abbott, T S & McKenzie, D C ‘Improving soil structure with 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Bagnall, Lyn Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting: updated edition with moon- planting notes from 2012 to 2017 New ed 9781921942563 (e-book.) Includes bibliographical references Organic gardening Australia... organic Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting has evolved from my observations as a horticulturist, working and gardening in different climate zones in Australia, and from my magazine and internet... factory Compost worm farming YOUR GARDENING DIARY Gardening zones in Australia and New Zealand Moon planting Month-by-month planting and garden activity diary BEDS, BOXES AND POTS Planning or renovating