March planting guide
JUSTIN RUSSELL has ideas for what you can plant now, no matter if your place is hot, cool or somewhere in between.
Time to start planting your summer vegies
Welcome spring! Get outside and plant your hands in the dirt writes JUSTIN RUSSELL.
Creating a wicking bed
Spring is almost sprung so now’s the perfect time to make a wicking bed to keep your plants well watered.
How to understand your site
As autumn shadows lengthen, JUSTIN RUSSELL says that it's important to analyse the way light falls across your garden.
Natural timber is best
Should organic gardeners use treated timber when building structures in the garden? JUSTIN RUSSELL shares his experience.
Winners and losers
JUSTIN RUSSELL wonders why, despite a summer of extreme weather, his garden managed to produce an abundance of food. The answer is diversity.
Chaffed to Bits
It is possible to grow a backyard wheat crop. In these two articles from previous issues of OG Nick Romanowski discusses elements you need to think about when looking at what you can do in your own space.
Putting Down Roots
The best time to sow winter veg is now, in mid-summer. JUSTIN RUSSELL shares his tips for sowing carrots and parsnips.
Away with the birds
JUSTIN RUSSELL writes that wildlife is an essential element of an organic garden, and birds in particular can play an important role in helping to control pests.
The story of a herb garden
PENNY WOODWARD witnesses the transformation of old trial planting beds into a beautiful big herb garden. A large herb garden was established at Heronswood – the home of the Diggers Club in Dromana, Victoria – designed by gardeners Simon Dodd and Clive Blazey.
Know Your Climate
A trip to the New England region in NSW gets JUSTIN RUSSELL thinking about the importance of getting to know your climate.
A Killing Frost
It's been a frosty winter so far in many parts of Australia, but JUSTIN RUSSELL suggests that cold temperatures can be an organic gardener's best friend.
Phil’s Tomato Hothouse
What do you do when your organic tomato crops constantly fall victim to rain and cold? You bang up a ‘fancy’ hothouse to protect them, says PHIL DUDMAN.
How much shade can your vegies take?
We’ve heard it all before. Plant your vegies in a spot that gets at least 6-8 hours direct sun a day. But for many of us with small backyards, it’s just not practical. Shady PHIL DUDMAN takes a good look at his own shady reality and suggests some crops that are ‘made in the shade’.