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As the weather starts to warm, garden pests and diseases begin their rampage. There used to be a tendency to rush out and buy chemicals at the first sign of disease, but with so many organic methods available there are environmentally friendly solutions.

Many fungal diseases are most prevalent in warm humid conditions. They not only affect the aesthetic quality of plants, but also their health and vigour. Once a fungal disease becomes established it can be difficult to eradicate. Prevention in an organic way is much better than having to deal with an established problem.

Black Spot
Black Spot is a fungal disease that commonly attacks roses, reducing the vigour of plants and may eventually produce dieback in susceptible varieties. It first appears as a small black spot on the leaves. Affected leaves turn yellow and generally fall early.

Powdery Mildew
Powdery Mildew is another fungal disease that affects leaves, stems, buds and fruit, covering them with a dusty white fungal growth that looks a bit, like talcum powder. The first sign is often faint white patches on the leaves. Young affected leaves may also become distorted.

Recipe for preventing Black Spot and Powdery Mildew: The basic ingredient is Casuarina needles from any species. These are easy to obtain as they grow widely throughout Australia. 10 grams of needles are added to 2 litres of water and brought to the boil and simmered for 20 mins. When this tea has cooled a further 8 litres of water can be added and stirred for about 10 mins. Make the mixture up to 10 litres, which is enough to cover 100 square metres. It is important to get good coverage on both the top and underneath of the leaves and onto the soil around and under plants, to help clean up any fungal disease and spores that that may be hiding in the soil and plants. Spraying timetable: Spray at 10 – 14 day intervals starting early in the season, just as the temperature is starting to rise. Continue applying the spray until the risk is over.

Leaf Curl
Leaf Curl commonly affects peaches and nectarines, but can also be seen on apricots and almonds. It is a fungus that causes the leaves to twist and distort. Leaves are generally thicker than usual and they develop a pink or purplish colouring. Unfortunately by the time the leaves show signs of damage in spring and early summer it is too late to spray.

Recipe for Bordeaux spray: This is a spray that is based on copper sulphate and lime. You can buy commercial preparations or you can mix your own because it is very simple. Add 10 to 15 litres of water to 1 cup of copper sulphate and 1 dessertspoon of lime, and stir well. The mixture actually prevents fungus from entering the plant, so again good coverage is necessary. If you get the timing right you should only need to do it twice. Try spraying in mid winter and then again at pink bud stage, which is a critical time.

Stinging Nettle Tonic: This plant is high in nitrogen so it promotes good leafy growth. Roughly chop up 1.5 kgs of stinging nettle and then add 4.5 litres of water. In a week or so this mixture will have started to ferment. The liquid can then be used diluted or undiluted as a foliar spray.

The healthier a plant is the less susceptible it is to disease, which means choosing the right plants for the right position, and feeding not only the plants but also the soil with organic fertilisers or aged manures and compost.

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The key to successful organic gardening in sand is all about building up humus in the soil as well as facilitating nutrient cycling. This is basically recycling nutrients in the same spot rather bringing them in from another source. Another tip is to group plants together based on their common soil fertility and water needs. This makes managing the garden and your soil improvement program a lot easier. One of the easiest types of plants, and the most natural to grow in sandy soil, are Australian natives. They do well because they have evolved to cope with low soil fertility, but they can still be helped along. A small amount of organic fertiliser will get them off to a good start, after that all they need is regular mulching, which gets converted to plant food with the help of local soil microbes and fungi.

Planting and growing fruit and feature trees in sandy soil involves a bit more work. Start by building up the soil around the tree’s roots when they are small, but keep it away from the stem. Straw and compost are best for doing this. Follow this up with an application of organic fertiliser and rock minerals. A useful tip: when you plant a fruit or feature tree, also plant a nearby pioneer or nurse tree, which will provide protection in the short term and help to build the soil in the long term. Quick growing trees like acacia, casuarina and tagasaste can be used to find deep nutrients as well as to fix nitrogen. When they are cut back their roots are self-pruned, which then makes the nitrogen available to fruit trees. When you thin the nurse tree out, all the excess root biomass is left to rot under the ground. This of course feeds the soil life, which in turn provides plenty of good nutrients for your fruit or feature tree.

A vegetable garden in sand needs a serious amount of work to give it the necessary amount of organic matter. Your best compost should be reserved for the vegetable garden, the finer and more mature the better. Once you think that there is enough organic matter in the soil, and then it can be topped up with soil conditioners and deluxe organic fertilisers. These include worm castings, blood and bone, pigeon manure and rock minerals. If you have chickens it is a good idea to rotate them with your vegetable crops. This will help speed up the soil building process. The chickens convert the crop waste into manure and they will even dig it in for you.

Never let the vegie patch be idle, particularly in winter, as the rain will leach the nutrients away. Sow a green manure crop, which keeps the nutrients at the surface. If you include legumes in your mix you will get nitrogen naturally. With a little bit of planning, effort and care there is no reason why you can’t enjoy the beaches as well as having a sandy soil based garden that thrives.

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There are an enormous variety of fruits in the citrus family, many not commonly grown by home gardeners, but they grow extremely well in all areas of Australia from the tropics to the cooler, more temperate areas. Not all are used for their juice, but some like the Bergamot Orange Citrus bergamia is only used for its fragrance. It contains a rich essential oil that is the basis of Eau de Cologne. Others like the Buddha’s Hand Citrus Medica is used specifically for its zest in cooking and confectionary.

It is the lemons, limes and cumquats that are most often grown. Lemons are the most popular citrus that is grown in home gardens from the tropical regions to cold areas. The Lisbon Lemon Citrus limon ‘Lisbon’ is a favourite cultivar in a Mediterranean climate for alkaline soils. They are mostly grafted onto the rootstock of a rough lemon, and will give three crops a year, with only a short gap in January/February where the tree won’t have any lemons at all. The blossoms have a very strong fragrance and will frequently be flowering and fruiting at the same time. This variety can’t always be grown in all areas. Meyer Lemon Citrus Limon ‘Meyer’ is easier to grow in the cooler regions and Eureka Lemon Citrus Limon ‘Eureka’ is a better variety for humid areas. Good drainage is essential no matter what region a lemon is grown. Growing them in a raised bed or on a slope can improve an otherwise poorly drained area. After 10 or 15 year the tree may be too high to pick the fruit comfortably, so it is a good practice to keep them pruned to a height where the top of the tree is easy to reach. A Variegated Lisbon Lemon has ornamental foliage and smaller fruit that is not quite as prolific.

The Caffre Lime Citrus hystrix has become the most popular lime in Australia over the last couple of years. It is grown exclusively for the leaf, which is used as flavouring in Thai cooking. The fruits are extremely sour and not edible, but the plant makes an excellent container plant. They are very easy to grow if they are kept trimmed and are fed twice a year in spring and summer with a slow-release fertiliser. The West Indian Lime Citrus aurantifolia is smaller than the Tahitian Lime. It has a fruit with seeds but it has the best lime flavour and is widely grown and consumed in the tropics, whereas the Tahitian lime has smaller, thin-skinned seedless, very juicy fruit. The West Indian Lime is grown here at the edge of its geographical tolerance, so it is grown on a compatible rootstock, which is rough lemon. The Rangpur Lime Citrus x limonia has a large juicy fruit, almost orange with green seeds. This fruit has an interesting aftertaste.

Nagami Cumquat Fortunella margarita can be eaten whole, including the skin, unlike the Calamondin Citrus madurensis, which is incredibly sour and not one that can be eaten fresh. Chinotto Citrus myrtifolia is one of the most ornamental species that has pendulous branches with very glossy leaves, with fruit that turns bright orange when ripe, but also with fruit too sour to be eaten fresh. These are all best grown in a warm protected area. For a colder climate the Limequat Citrus aurantifolia x Fortunella margarita is an ideal hybrid with delicious fruit.

All of these varieties can be grown in containers, but should be given adequate amounts of fertiliser and they will provide tasty fruit as well as being a beautiful decorative feature.

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Ever since they came into cultivation thousands of years ago, strawberries have been in demand as an all-year-round available fruit because of their luscious flavour, as well as having high nutritional value. They are delicious eaten directly from the plant.

Strawberries are grown from the sub Polar Regions to the tropics, and belong to the Rosaceae family, which also includes roses, plums, apricots and apples. Although all the flowers are similar the fruit of the strawberry is quite different. The main difference is that the seeds are on the outside of the fruit, rather than being encased in flesh in the middle of the fruit. When it is the middle of winter in the south of Australia, it is harvest time in the north in Queensland.

Large sized strawberries are renowned for having no flavour. These varieties have now been replaced with new cultivars that have all the desirable qualities that are demanded of a strawberry – large fruit that is full of flavour are the two most important qualities that home gardeners and commercial growers are looking for. As well they want cultivars where the fruit is abundant and easy to find on the plant. Strawberry ‘Redlands Joy’ has red flesh all the way through to the middle, and is beautiful and sweet to taste. For those who live on the north coast the varieties ‘Kabarla’ and ‘Adina’ will grow well, while in the Sydney region ‘Sweetheart’, ‘Selekta’ and ‘Torrey’ are best. ‘Kunowase’ and ‘Cambridge Rival’ are two good cultivars that grow well in Victoria and Tasmania. ‘Alinta’ is an excellent, highly recommended variety for southern gardens.

To grow strawberries well soil preparation is essential. This requires copious amounts of a good organic fertiliser that has high levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potash dug in well. Plant the runners into raised beds 30 cm apart. As soon as the plants start to flower, spray them with high potash liquid fertiliser, which will help the fruit to develop a beautiful sweet flavour. By March in the following year these plants will have developed new runners. In warmer climates like Queensland the plants should be treated as an annual, as the plants get tired more quickly. The old plants should be taken out and new runners replanted.

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Winter is a busy and exciting time in the garden, with many activities that can be undertaken. It is the best season for planting bare rooted plants and deciduous trees as they are dormant.

When selecting the trees, it’s the size of the root system that is important, not the size of the tree. If the tree is big and has a small root system, the tree will need to be pruned back. Alternatively, if it is has a large, fibrous root system (like an apple tree) with big woody roots, the roots will probably need to be trimmed. The graft union may be fatter on top because it is grafted onto dwarfing stock.

When planting trees, always dig the hole wider than the roots, and about 400mm deep. If there are any roots protruding, cut these to make sure that they fit the hole. Don’t bend them as roots will spiral rather than spread into the surrounding soil. This will cause stunted development of the tree. Backfill with good quality soil, and shake the stem vigorously up and down to settle the soil. The tree will need to be secured with two stakes and a simple flexible plastic tie to hold it firm. The tie can be adjusted as the tree grows. Prune the branches by two-thirds into a pyramid shape and cut them to an outside pointing bud. Water to further settle the soil into the roots.

Gooseberries need to be pruned so that there is a single stem. The small buds at the base of the stem can be pulled off with your fingers. This will stimulate growth at the top of the plant and encourage an umbrella shape, making it easier to pick the fruit without pricking your fingers. These plants enjoy cold winters.

Bare rooted roses can be planted out in the middle of winter. A container-grown rose can be planted any time of the year, but may have developed a spiral root system whilst in the pot. Any suckers, found under the graft, should be removed. Dig a hole that is large enough to accommodate the spread of the roots, and make a mound of soil mixed with compost in the centre of the hole. Spread the roots over the mound, back fill with soil, and press down firmly. The soil should just cover the rootstock. A short stubby stake will provide the rose with plenty of movement. Pruning at this stage is vitally important, and the rose can be pruned back to an outside pointing bud to encourage a good shape for the plant.

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