Permaculture Living

The pulp from the tamarind pods is used for a sour flavour in Asian food. It’s also a sweet snack in Thailand - just watch out for the hard black seeds.

This was a customer question that I couldn’t answer on the day, as I’ve never had to try and grow vegies in less than subtropical temperatures.

Question: Do broccoli plants grow in a very cold and snowy winter?

Answer: Plants will tolerate frosts and can survive below freezing temperatures (online sources say from -1 to -6C) but may be stunted and/or set broccoli heads earlier than normal. For best crops, they should be covered with insulation (mulch for small plants, cardboard boxes or plastic buckets for larger ones) to protect them from the worst of the cold.

Another customer question from my time working in the nursery.

Question: What tomatoes can you grow in winter? Is fruit fly a problem?

Answer: Winter is a good time to grow larger tomatoes (Beefsteak, Roma, etc) in Brisbane. These would normally be susceptible to fruit fly and hard to grow to full size without being stung, but in winter pests like fruit fly are less numerous. The plants and fruit do grow more slowly but on the upside there are fewer pests around.

In summer, cherry tomatoes are the best choice for vegie gardens in Brisbane, as they’re less susceptible to fruit fly. There’s also a bigger harvest of cherry tomatoes, so if a couple of fruit do get stung, there’s still plenty left to harvest.

I worked in the Edible Landscapes nursery for a few days and answered (or tried to answer) a lot of customer questions. The following question about sooty mould on citrus trees was pretty common.

Question: My mandarin tree has a black mould on the leaves and is not bearing as much as usual. How do I fix this?

Answer: It has sooty mould, a fungus growing on the leaves, which means there is a sap-sucking insect problem like aphids, scale, white fly or mealy bugs. The insects suck the sap from the leaves and exude honeydew, which drips back onto the leaves, and the mould grows on the sweet substance.

Spray it with white oil to kill the sap-suckers and thus get rid of the mould. To make white oil, mix together:

- 1 cup of cooking oil
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tsp of dishwashing liquid
- Dilute the mixture at 3 teaspoons per half a litre of water and spray on the affected leaves.

Make sure to use it in the cool of the day so it doesn’t burn the leaves. The mould should then wash off in the next rain (or hose it if you’re impatient and then reapply).

A time lapse video of a morning glory vine. I’d wondered how beans and vining plants found their supports as they grow - this shows it in action.

Time Lapse: Morning Glory Vine

A little about the invasive weed, the Singapore Daisy.

Singapore Daisy
sphagneticola trilobata

Family: Asteraceae
Other Names: Wedelia Trilobata

Origin: Native to Central and South America from Mexico to Argentina

Description: Mat-forming groundcover to 70cm high, with stems 2m or more in length. Dark green glossy toothed leaves, yellow daisy-like flowers.

Habitat: Common in coastal and tropical Queensland, coastal New South Wales and the Northern Territory. Grows in many areas, both dry and wet soil areas – on roadsides, bushland, disturbed rainforest, wetlands, river areas and wasteland.

Introduction: Introduced as an ornamental and planted as a roadway embankment stabilizer in Queensland, also promoted by nurseries in the 1970s.

Dispersal: Able to spread by seed but most often spread by shoots from stem nodes. Regrows easily from stem pieces so is most often spread by dumping of garden clippings and prunings, as well as by birds and water.

Problem: Invasive and fast-growing groundcover that forms a dense mat, and prevents native species from sprouting and growing due to lack of space, sunlight and water. Climbs over and shades out low-growing existing vegetation. Reshoots very easily from pieces left in the ground or dumped.

Removal: Reshoots from tiny stem pieces so needs to be carefully dug out from the ground and destroyed in liquid weed teas, or killed via herbicide.

Weeds.org.au is a great resource if you’re trying to identify a particular weed.

An animal research assignment from 2007.

Geese

Family: Anatidae (includes ducks and swans)
Subfamily: Anserinae

Main Varieties: Embden, Toulouse and Chinese.

Lifespan: Longer lived than other poultry, 20 – 22 years is the average and there are many stories of them living up to 80 years.

Eats: Geese are mostly grass grazers but will happily eat insects and small creatures like snails, mice, snails, etc, as well as vegetable waste (no citrus), small amounts of bread, and soft or soggy fruit. They prefer grass 10cm or shorter, rather than long or tough grass, and are selective feeders, picking out preferred forages. They need grit to digest their food.

Needs: Geese are hardy and don’t mind the cold (though they need shade in hot weather) and are not susceptible to most poultry diseases. They like occasional swimming which helps prevent sore feet, though a water trough is sufficient as they don’t need as much water as ducks do.

Features: Geese are territorial and will hiss at intruders and attack foxes or small dogs if threatened. They can also be very noisy, so they’re not recommended for small blocks or acreages. Geese also like routine and familiar keepers. Said to be good companions with horses, as they have won’t share intestinal flora (i.e. worms).

Uses: Eggs, meat, feathers and down, liquid fertiliser, grass grazing, weed and pest control, and as a guard animal. They are very good for orchards as they eat grass, weeds and small pests and turn them into high volumes of liquid fertiliser for the trees.

“Geese have been used to weed a variety of crops (for example, cotton and strawberries) and to keep fence rows, irrigation ditches and other inaccessible areas, clean. They are also considered to be effective in controlling the pond weeds, para grass, water-lily and water hyacinth. Raising geese in orchards may be a profitable method of controlling grass growth.”

Egg-laying Capabilities: Will usually lay 30 - 50 eggs a year (or less) and are seasonal. In the southern hemisphere usually start to lay in July or August, for about four months. Eggs are bigger, have higher fat content and richer yolks than chicken eggs.

Breeding: Geese will choose a partner and stay with them for years unless broken up or death occurs. Most breeds of geese can hatch their eggs successfully though they don’t often go broody. Incubation of the eggs takes 29 - 31 days.

Housing Requirements: While geese are large birds, they should be kept in a shed at night for protection from dogs, foxes and feral cats. A shed should be 1m2 per bird, and the yard at least 2m2 per bird. Sheds need frequent cleaning as geese foul their sleeping quarters. Sheds should have nesting boxes, though geese often just lay on the floor anyway. Fencing one metre high (or two strand electric fencing at 10cm and 30cm) is sufficient to keep them in an outdoor yard or pasture.

Stocking Rate: An acre of pasture will support 20 - 40 birds (depending on the size of the geese and pasture quality).

Banana
Musa spp.

Origin: Native to tropical South-east Asia.

Description: The banana is a perennial tall and upright herb - not a tree - that grows from a corm to 2 - 4 metres in height, and has large soft, flat leaves growing from the central stem.

Varieties: Ladyfinger, Goldfinger, Blue Java, Ducasse and Dwarf Ducasse, Bluggoe (a cooking banana or plantain), and Pisang Ceylan are the only varieties that are permitted to be grown in home gardens in Queensland. Cavendish is commercially grown.

Propagation: Suckers, the offshoot from a parent plant, are usually used to grow a new banana. Suckers should be taken from vigorous banana plants, have small, sword shaped leaves and be around four feet high. A ‘bit’ or piece of the underground parent plant rhizome with a mature bud can also be planted. Permission from the DPI is required to plant bananas in residential areas.

Cultivation:
Soil: Prefers deep, well-drained soils, very rich in organic matter. Likes plenty of water but does not tolerate waterlogged roots. Mounding is a good idea to improve drainage.
Climate: Best in tropical climates but will also grow in the warm sub-tropics. Ideal temperate range is 26 – 30 degrees C.
Spacing: 3 - 5 metres. Planting in a block rather than alone is recommended.
Mulching: Thick mulch is recommended.
Fertilising: Needs lots of fertiliser. DPI recommends a complete fertiliser with an analysis of approximately 10% nitrogen, 2% phosphorus and 22% potassium.
Pruning: Dead leaves should be removed regularly. Unwanted suckers should be removed for bigger fruit.

Flowering and pollination: The plant usually flowers at 6 - 12 months. Flowers are purple and conical, and grow from the middle of the plant. No pollination required.

Harvest Period: All year round in warmer climates.

Pests and Diseases: Banana bunch top which is spread by aphids; Panama disease (or fusarium wilt); and black Sigatoka, a leaf spot diseases are major diseases in Queensland. Planting disease-free suckers is a major way of preventing these diseases, and removing affected leaves helps control leaf spot. Birds and possums can also be predators on ripening fruit.

Edible Parts: The fruit has thick outer (inedible) skin with creamy, soft, edible flesh with no seeds, and grows in hanging clusters of up to 20 fruit to a hand and up to 20 hands in a bunch.

Other Uses: Leaves can be used as food plates or wrapping; leaves and shoot are a source of fibre for textiles or paper.

Nutrition: Nutritious fruit contains vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. Low in fat, rich in fibre and low in calories.