Summer bounty

I don’t think we have ever had a cover as summery as our January February issue, out on the newsstands today. It features a mouth-watering sweet corn cob, still on the plant, desperate to be picked. Better still, the never-tiring gardening legend Peter Cundall has a detailed article about how best to grow fantastic sweet corn with flavour, even with tips on his own version of adding biochar during planting.

As Peter points out, you don’t need a big patch to grow corn, but you do need to plant it in blocks rather than long, straight rows so you achieve efficient gravity and wind pollination. Get your corn sees in the ground now as they take around three months to mature. They are well worth the wait.

Also in this issue, Phil Dudman provides a summer action plan based around how to water efficiently, set up simple irrigation systems and protect crops from extreme heat. Phil also gets into juicy mangoes, with a rundown of the many varieties, as well as how to grow and care for them. 

Thinking more broadly, we have a special feature on permaculture and an inspiring story from Penny Woodward about Victorian community gardens established to help people in fire-ravaged areas recover. And lastly, Phil Dudman and Julie Ray have some delicious festive season recipes featuring berries, plus advice on what’s in season and how to harvest it.