Organics, baking soda and cooking oils

Over the counter organics or out of the kitchen cupboard

Over the counter organics or out of the kitchen cupboard

Organics are hot these days. More like the new religion, perhaps, which attracts converts who are often long on passion and conviction but at times distinctly short on logic and reason. This is not to say that there is not a great deal that is good and beneficial about organics. But we do not subscribe to the mantra that just because something is organic it is necessarily superior. A bit of rigour and enquiry never goes astray.

Regular readers will know that we have been advocating moving away from the use of chemical fertilisers and sprays in the home garden situation. The chemical arsenal that many people used routinely in the relatively recent past (the age of the 1960s to the 1990s) should be a cause of some shame in terms of what home gardeners inflicted on the planet, and still do with lawns. Such practices have been substantially tamed by modern advancements with safer chemicals and hugely increased controls on what is available over the counter. Inconvenient this may seem to some, but we regard it as a jolly good thing.

For those who prefer to avoid routine application of chemicals, there are two approaches. One is to try and continue gardening in exactly the same manner but substituting organic sprays to control pests and diseases previously managed with chemicals. The second approach is to take a much broader view (wholistic, the crystal gazers may call it) and to try and select plants which are more resistant to such problems and to manage their growing conditions so that they are less vulnerable. It is this latter approach to gardening which we have been advising as preferable and implementing ourselves (without the crystal gazing). But for those who wish to keep doing things the same way as previously, Tui have just brought out a range of certified organic products – an insecticide, a fungicide and a liquid fertiliser. They kindly sent me samples which had me whooping with delight. I notice that the wine writer for this paper has written about receiving samples and I am sure other writers must see samples but they are a bit lacking in the garden department.

Ours is an establishment which has more respect for science than many. While my own background is a little sparse, not for nothing am I the daughter of one scientist, the mother of another and married to someone who took science to a considerably higher level than I managed. So we tend to be a little analytical.

I looked at the label information on Tui’s Organic Eco-Fungicide. It is potassium bicarbonate. This necessitated a quick Google search followed by an email to scientist daughter to try and unravel the difference between potassium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate. The short answer is that the bicarbonated bit is the important part and that the potassium and sodium are generally interchangeable. Some of you will have already deduced what this means – Tui’s eco fungicide is 95% baking soda and the label does not say what the other 5% is. I did not do a price comparison between Tui’s product and the supermarket option. If you are serious, you can do it yourself. Baking soda is a bit of cure-all product and its anti fungal properties have long been acknowledged. The important information to know is that the recommended dosage is a level teaspoon per litre. The only downside is that to be effective, you will likely have to spray considerably more frequently than with the horticultural chemical alternative.

On to Tui’s Organic Eco-Pest to treat insect infestations. It sounds good – for the control of two-spotted mite, aphids, whitefly and scale and for helping control powdery mildew. I tried it out on whitefly which were infesting a container plant and it dealt to them. What is it? Canola oil, mainly. It is just over 85% canola oil in the form of an emulsifiable concentrate. I do not think you can concentrate the canola oil so the concentrated reference must be to the unspecified surfactant which enables the canola oil to be mixed with water. The label claims that Eco-Pest contains three powerful plant oils but the other two must be in very minor traces because they are not mentioned by name.

Purists may question the choice of canola – it is of course the food oil most likely to be the result of some genetic modification (lots of GE work done on rape seed production). As with the Eco-Fungicide, this product works but will need more frequent application than heavier duty non-organic sprays. It is not a magic bullet or a great new find. You can substitute with a home kitchen mix of a light cooking oil (there is no reason why rice bran or soya oil will not work just as well) with a squirt of dish washing detergent. Tui recommend diluting at 5ml per litre (that is about a teaspoon) for insects and 10ml per litre for scale.

Eco-Fert came as a little 100gram pot of concentrated seaweed extract which is mixed with water to make a massive 200 litres of liquid fertiliser. Recommended application is weekly or fortnightly. I haven’t tried this yet because liquid feeding is not part of our regular routine here so I will have to think what to experiment on. Liquid feed is the plant equivalent of human fast food. It does nothing to alter the soil structure but it will give plants an immediate boost. Seaweed has long been recognised as a good all round fertiliser. I can’t recommend a cheap alternative from the kitchen cupboard for this product but logically it sits alongside compost teas and worm farm liquids.

Tui’s products are marked as being registered with BFA Organic. Organic certification is a bit of shaky territory internationally (not all certifying bodies are of equal credibility). I had to Google BFA Organic. I had been guessing British Food Authority or similar, but no. It is Biological Farmers of Australia and I can not comment on credibility beyond noting that some might think that all farming is, by definition, a biological activity.

So Tui’s products are tried and true natural remedies packaged to meet the modern convenience market. There is nothing wrong with that but you are paying for convenience, not for extensive research or exciting new discoveries which are kind to the planet. The interesting aspect is the recognition by Tui of an important market which has emerged and the extent to which organics is becoming mainstream.

May 8 2009 In the Garden

• Well, we did warn about the imminent probability of cold weather but Wednesday’s decided drop in temperatures had Mark out with a cloche to cover his crop of late beans. We will hover between autumn and winter for a while longer but do not delay on getting into the autumn clean-up while you can.
• If you are planning to cut the foliage off your helleborus orientalis (the common ones) then do it now because the triggers to encourage them into fresh growth and flowers are all on. If you leave it any longer, you have to carefully cut around all the fresh growth which takes a great deal longer. If the foliage is not infested with aphids, you can leave it lying as mulch though it takes a while to rot down.
• Lift and divide polyanthus. These are gentle performers in the garden but with a modicum of TLC, they will flower for months. If you had one plant and it seems to have morphed into a clump of 10 smaller rosettes of leaves, that is a sign that it will respond well to being lifted and thinned. Till the soil before you replant individual divisions and if you add some compost, the polys will be even more responsive.
• Garlic and broad beans are the main crops to be planted in the vegetable garden over winter. Besides some fiddle-faddle with winter lettuce, spinach, silver beet and brassicas on an ongoing basis, many gardens will have some bare areas left. Clean up now. Get rid of diseased tomato plants. These can be composted if you add lawn clippings and do a hot mix. Otherwise burn them or put them out with the rubbish to avoid spreading fungal diseases. Dig potatoes. If you leave them in the ground, bugs and slugs tend to eat holes in them. Break down old sweet corn plants and either compost them or leave them to rot on the top of the ground. Hoe and rake off weeds. Sow green crops in any bare areas.
• As you do the autumn clean up in the ornamental garden, continue the dig and divide routine on clumping perennials.
• If you are keen to try some cuttings, taking fuchsia and vireya rhododendron cuttings is a bit of an insurance policy against winter deaths. You can try some early rose cuttings but if there are any leaves left, remove them.
• Mark is sure that Taranaki ducks do go to the safe haven of the lakes at Pukekura. He is of the view that a panic response to the sound of a gunshot is learned behaviour, not genetically programmed (in ducks at least). He recalls looking at a crowded lake in Pukekura one morning in duck shooting season and provocatively popping a paper bag. The entire lake erupted with an instant and mass evacuation of ducks which was a bit of a surprise to him, matched only by the very dirty looks he received from the parents with their little kiddies feeding out bread.

May 1, 2009 In the Garden

* It is great to see the NPDC hort staff offering practical workshops on technical gardening skills. First up tomorrow (Saturday) and again on Monday is a free demonstration on pruning stone fruit trees. For absolute novices, they are the fruit which have large seeds called stones (rather than small pips) – in other words plums, peaches and apricots. Whoever is taking it will know what they are doing and if you are have fruit trees at home, here is an ideal opportunity to learn more. Just turn up tomorrow or Monday at 11am at the orchard in Brois St.

* It is autumn clean-up time with a vengeance in the ornamental garden. Try not to keep putting it off because when winter really bites and the ground gets cold, it can be much harder to motivate yourself. Cut back leggy perennials, rake up (or rake out and disperse) large patches of fallen leaves which can get blown into one area, cut back plants which flop onto the lawn or path at this time of the year and generally get right through the garden, even if you do much of it with the ever useful leaf rake.

* Look out for spring bulbs, many of which are just pushing through the surface. Stomping on them does not do them any good and can break off the one flowering shoot on some varieties.

* Mark disappearing plants which you want to lift and divide. Some plants are what are known as deciduous perennials – in other words they go underground entirely in winter. It can be very difficult to remember their exact location later.

* Don’t delay any longer on sowing lawns and if you are in a cold spot you may already have missed the boat. You want enough warmth to germinate the seeds and get the growth started before the cold of winter.

* If you followed our advice a couple of weeks ago about making the first cuts to wrench a larger plant that you wish to move, you can follow up now with the second cuts to the other two sides of the roots.

* Veg gardeners have pretty well harvested everything harvestable, bar late potatoes and have long ago sown and planted their winter veg. It is now planning time for spring. While some advocate fertilising and mulching the bare ground now as part of preparation, we don’t see any logic to doing this until there are plants in the ground to benefit. We subscribe to the sow it down in a green crop brigade. You can however be preparing the garlic patch which will be planted soon. Sow broad beans and in mild areas you can get a crop of carrots in for the spring. Rocket and micro greens can be sown in favoured spots, under a cloche, in a glasshouse and in seed trays for a quick out of season green harvest.

* The quote this week comes from British story teller and author Sam Llewelyn: In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death.

Avocados and figs in Taranaki

As I prepared guacamole this week, I realised I have never written about growing avocado trees in Taranaki, despite this fruit being one of our own mainstays. With a lull in the vegetable garden, we are relying on avocado and parsley to give the daily green intake. So herewith the short introduction to growing your own avocados.

1) Avos are frost tender and don’t like the cold so you need to live in a warmer, coastal area to grow them successfully in Taranaki (apologies to all those of you who live inland).

2) Buy a grafted, named variety. While it is easy to grow the seed, it is unlikely that a seedling will fruit satisfactorily, if at all. We have by far the most success with Hass.

3) Avocados are trees. Small trees up to five or six metres but definitely not shrubs or bushes. Give them space to grow and full sun.

4) Drainage is critical. Avocados are very sensitive in the roots and particularly vulnerable to phytopthera. Plant them in a position with brilliant drainage.

5) Be prepared for the fact that some years you will get a very poor harvest, or even no crop at all. The fruit takes around eighteen months to mature to picking stage but is most vulnerable at the time of fruit set when an untimely frost or spell of really bad weather can mean that no fruit is set.

There are brilliant years in between which make up for it when you have avocados for breakfast (a slice of Vogel’s toast spread with a thin layer of marmite and topped with avo), for lunch (sliced over leftovers or served with anything and everything) and for dinner (guacamole or in salads). The tree will pay for itself in one good season. Any surplus fruit, we notice, is gladly received by those around us, especially at this time of the year as the price is rising in the shops and the quality of the fruit is getting better. The oil content of the fruit rises over time and the current fruit was actually set in spring 2007. Be wary of fruit that is picked when immature. We harvest from our two Hass trees from Christmas to August or September. If it were not for the battle with the rats and the waxeyes, we could harvest for even longer.

So the bottom line on avocadoes is that it is well worth growing your own if you have the right position and conditions. Naturally that is predicated on the assumption that you enjoy eating them or giving them away.

There is still an open verdict on figs here. I adore fresh figs and I have never understood why you can buy them on every fruit stall in London but never see them for sale here. It wasn’t until I found some at the roadside stall where I buy my free range eggs that I had even thought of picking them green and letting them ripen off the bush. But of course you must be able to. All those figs I have bought in London can not have been tree ripened. They are not exactly a local crop there and as they become soft and squidgy when ripe, they must be shipped over from warmer climes in a firmer, green state.

I am looking at our Brown Turkey Fig with new eyes. It sets an early crop which reaches full size but the birds always beat me to the harvest. They are quite happy to eat the green fruit. And the second crop fails to mature. Now I am thinking that we need to manage the bush better and it should be manageable.

Most fruiting figs are large deciduous shrubs which clump and sucker. The leaves can be reasonable decorative, especially when they turn golden in autumn but overall they are not aesthetically pleasing plants. If you think about where they grow in the Med and North Africa, you will realize they want maximum warmth and sharp drainage but they don’t need high fertility soils and mollycoddling.

It being a shrub, rather than a tree, I think we should be able to net the fig next year to keep the birds at bay. And it seems to me that we need to actively thin out some of the foliage and the crop of fruit to encourage better ripening and more size to the figs. Added to that, I shall maybe sacrifice my belief in tree ripened fruit and experiment with picking earlier and ripening in the sunroom. Our fig is planted in full sun, up against a dark coloured water tank but you are likely to achieve more success if you have a warm concrete wall close to the sea.

Unlike avocados, you can grow figs easily from cuttings or suckers so you may not have to buy one. Over time, no doubt we will see more selection taking place in this country to choose cultivars better suited to our conditions but let’s face it: mild, humid, wet and fertile Taranaki is never going to emulate Mediterranean conditions so maybe we had better be grateful for any fresh figgy crops. Apparently fresh figs are absolutely divine served with Parma ham and blue cheese (I learned this from National Radio and the morning recipes) but I have not yet had sufficient to warrant laying in the Parma ham. I live in hope.

April 24, 2009 In the Garden

• The autumn rains made a brief appearance and then disappeared again so we are indeed dry here. But this is Taranaki, not Australia, so you can be positive that the rains will return with a vengeance and sooner rather than later. Saturday is the likely date at time of writing.
• There is considerably less evaporation at this time of the year with cooler temperatures so you should not be worrying too much about the dry spell. Container plants will need watering every few days but you should not be needing to water the garden or lawn. But if you are planting any trees and shrubs, you need to ensure that the roots are completely saturated before planting. Hosing down after planting will not do the trick.
• If you have bought dry spring bulbs from the garden centre, get them planted as soon as you can. If they are looking very dehydrated, you can soak the bulbs overnight in water. You have missed the boat on lifting and dividing bulbs already in the ground. They will be on the move.
• Pruning and shaping should be in full swing in the ornamental garden although if you are working on winter or spring flowering shrubs, you do not want to be cutting all the flower buds off. Think in terms of thinning and shaping rather than hacking back and trimming all over. Do not leave clipping hedges any longer past this weekend.
• Rhubarb can be lifted, divided and replanted. Think of it as a very hungry perennial (commonly referred to as a gross feeder). Rhubarb responds well to rich soils, well dug over and fed with humus. It also wants plenty of moisture and full sun. The rule of thumb is that a third of the rhubarb patch should be renovated each year.
• Strawberries need replanting on a two year cycle. If you have some growing, it is likely that they will have put out runners. These are what you lift and cut off, replanting into fresh ground with well cultivated soils.
• From the irrepressible Pollyanna School of Positive Thought comes the unattributed quote: “Don’t grumble that roses have thorns, be thankful that thorns have roses.”