An essential resource for all Australian and New Zealand gardeners who care about their family’s health and the environment
Organic gardening leaves your patch of earth in a better condition than when you found it by working with nature rather than against it. A practicable and better alternative to chemical-dependent and environmentally unsustainable cultivation practices, organic gardening prevents soil damage, and results in more nutritious food, and fewer contaminated waterways and poison-resistant pests.
Written by a certified-organic farmer and gardener, Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting is an indispensable reference to organic cultivation methods. It also contains an easy-to-follow moon-planting guide to help gardeners to work with the cycles of nature, listing the best planting, harvesting, and pruning days from 2017 to 2022.
Full of common sense and wisdom, and written in a friendly, conversational voice, this book includes comprehensive information and advice about:
how to protect your garden from climate change and save water
how to revitalise garden soil and keep it healthy
how to use composting and worm-farming techniques to transform garden and kitchen waste into top-quality, organic fertiliser
how to grow your own fruit and vegetables in garden beds or pots
how to raise healthier, pest- and disease-resistant seedlings, shrubs, and trees — without using poisons.
This wide-ranging book also features an extensive listing of Australian native plants, and a month-by-month diary of what to plant when for all climate zones of Australia and New Zealand. For aspiring and experienced gardeners alike, Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting will make your whole garden more vigorous, and a healthier haven for your family, pets, and native fauna.
Lyn Bagnall has been actively involved in professional horticulture and garden design for more than 40 years, including working for two major retail nurseries in Sydney.
Lyn and her husband are organic farmers on a small property in the mid-north coast of New South Wales, where they grow fresh culinary herbs for market, and fruit and vegetables.
Lyn has also written regular articles on gardening and moon planting for a range of Australian magazines. Her magazine articles and gardening advice blog at www.aussieorganicgardening.com have been popular with both amateur gardeners and commercial growers.
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1 The Lowdown on Dirt 5
Why is your soil so important? 5
Soils and soil pH 8
Earthworms 10
Green manure and cover crops 11
Crop rotation 18
Companion planting 22
2 Keeping Soil Healthy 25
What not to use in your garden 26
Soil nutrients 28
Organic fertilisers 32
Making a compost factory 42
Compost worm farming 51
3 Your Gardening Dairy 55
Gardening zones in Australia and New Zealand 55
Moon planting 60
Month-by-month planting and garden activity diary 66
4 Beds, Boxes and Pots 123
Planning or renovating your garden 124
Making an instant garden 129
Growing plants from seed 131
Planting shrubs, trees, vines, and herbaceous perennials 141
Container gardening 145
5 Drought-Proof your Garden 159
Efficient watering 160
Drought conditions and water restrictions 164
Muching your garden 168
Drought-tolerant plants 172
6 The Food Garden 185
Summer sun protection 187
Shared or separate beds? 189
Popular fruits and vegetables 190
Culinary herbs 280
7 Garden Favourites 301
Native trees and shrubs 303
Popular native plants 307
Foreign favourites 326
Plants for shady, dry areas 366
8 Prunning and Propagation 373
Types of prunning 373
Pruning fruiting plants 381
Pruning shrubs and trees 387
Pruning roses 390
Propagating plants 394
Taking cuttings 396
Saving seed 404
9 Solving Problems Naturally 411
The organic approach 413
Friend or foe? 414
Organic pest controle 420
Bushfire season 434
Protecting plants from frost 436
Repairing hail-damaged plants 438
Organic weed control 439
Summer and winter projects 443
10 Moon Phases and Best Gardening Days to 2017 445
