1. business and industrial
2. agriculture and forestry
3. organic farming

Going Organic
march-may ’13
Becoming
a
can make TROPO member
you as ha
ppy as La
rry
Jerry Brunetti
is in town again p 8
How to assert your right
to clean air ... you can
you know p 7
$3.50 inc. GST
printed on recycled paper
Clearing the chemical mist
— part one p18
www . tropo . org . au
Issue No 91Official journal of Tweed Richmond Organic Producers’ Organisation, TROPO
Buying Organic on the North Coast
What is TROPO?
To help promote the sale of organic produce in the Tweed Richmond
region, Going Organic has compiled the following list of businesses,
markets and box order schemes selling organic foods. If you would like
your business added to this list, contact the editor.
TROPO, the Tweed Richmond
Organic Producers Organisation,
was established in 1989 as a
grassroots local action group
dedicated to fostering organic
agriculture and gardening on the
NSW North Coast.
Organic Fruit and Vegetable outlets
Town
Shop
Ballina
Go Vita
Ballina
Nourish
Bangalow
Bangalow Basics
Brunswick Heads Brunswick Health Foods
Brunswick Heads The Village Greens
Byron Bay
Life’s a Beech
Byron Bay
Fundamental Foods
Byron Bay
Ozigo
Byron Bay
Santos
Byron Bay
Santos Warehouse
Lismore
Fundamental Foods
Lismore
Goanna Bakery
Lismore (Nth)Rainbow Wholefoods
Mullumbimby
Santos
Murwillumbah
Fresh Wholefoods
Nimbin
Nimbin Emporium
Nimbin
Nimbin Organics
Address
19 Ballina Fair, Kerr St
2/28 Cherry St
29 Byron St
2/20 Fingal St
23 Old Pacific Hwy
44 Beech Drv
69 Jonson St
BP Service Bayshore Dr
105 Jonson St
7 Brigantine St
140 Keen St
171 Keen St
49 Terania St
51 Burringbar St
43 Wollumbin St
58 Cullen St
50 Cullen St
Box Deliveries
Byron Organic Boxes
Fiona O’Connor
0432 579 506
Nourish
Anna and Ray
6686 8955
Organics for Everyone Munch Crunch Organics
Coomera to Coolangata Northern Rivers and Gold
Eloise 0433 707 469
Coast Region
W: munchcrunchorganics.
com.au
T: 02 8005 6275
If you would like your box deliver service listed or removed from Going Organic
please contact the editor, see the back for contact details.
Markets
(Rainbow Region) Lismore Organic Market — Tuesdays 7.30-11 am (rain
or shine), Lismore Showground. Contact Dave Roby 6628 1084
Gold Coast Organic Farmers’ Market — Sunday 6-11.30 am (rain, hail
or shine), Oval, Miami High School. www.gcorganicmarket.com
Byron Farmers’ Market — Thursdays 8-11 am, Butler Street Reserve.
Contact Vicki Rix 6629 1666
New Brighton Farmers Market — Tuesdays 8-11 am, 6684 5390
Grafton — Every second Thursday
Lismore Twilight Market — Every Thursday, 3.30-6.30 pm
Lismore Farmers’ Market — Saturday, 8 am-12 noon,
Lismore Showground
2
Since then, membership has
grown to over 150. Members
include commercial organic
producers, part-time farmers, home
gardeners, conventional farmers
considering converting to organic
methods, and many others with an
interest in supporting the kind of
agriculture that does not poison
people or the environment.
TROPO activities include
meetings and field days covering
practical organic farming and
gardening techniques and looking
at wider issues in sustainable
agriculture.
In the struggle for a cleaner,
healthier and more sustainable
world, your views count, and
TROPO helps make your voice
heard. TROPO members provide
input to a number of influential
institutions including NSW
Agriculture, OFA, organic
certification groups like NASAA
and BFA. The group also liaises
with produce wholesalers and
retailers.
Annual membership costs only
$28 and includes regular meetings,
field days and four editions
of the Going Organic Journal.
Membership also provides access
to experienced organic growers
interested in sharing their expertise.
See our membership form on page
23 and a full list of contacts on the
back cover.
You can also find us at
www.tropo.org.au.
Visit our forum page,
www.wiserearth.org/group/TROPO
and we’ve joined facebook.
Going Organic #87, March-May 2012
Contents
Farmwalk
3
Biochar in action
12
Affairs of TROPO
President’s Report
4
Fair dinkum Australians
14
Classifieds
5
Organic share farming
16
Meet our organic farmers On the farm with Maureen
6
Clearing the chemical mist
18
Asserting your right to clean water - CSG
7
Healthy Cubans — but why?
20
Soilcare presents Jerry Brunetti
8
In Sue’s garden
22
Farmwalk report - TAFE summer 2012
9
What to plant this quarter
22
TROPO membership form
23
Contact details
24
So you want to be an Organic farmer
11
Organic Tuesdays
11
Front Cover Photo - Happy TROPO member
Farmwalk
Date to be announced
Weeds as food and medicine
Neville and Julie Stroud-Watts Farm,
A colleague of Neville’s will take us for a walk around his
farm with an eye on their weeds rather than their crops. He gained
his knowledge out of necessity in his home country, the Ukraine,
when the iron curtain was down and food was scarce. He will
show us which foods he grew up eating and using medicinally.
This will undoubtedly be a fascinating look at a resource that no
farm should be without ... our dynamic accumulators ... and we
will learn that they can do more than just feed the soil.
The day of the walk is not yet finalised, I hope it will be
in April or May (no earlier). So please keep your eye on our
facebook page, TROPO emailing list or at the Lismore Organic
Market.
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
PS Yes, I don’t know his name either ...
and tried to write this without making it look
like I didn’t ... failed now haven’t I!
3
Affairs of TRopo
W
President’s Report
e have a
multiple role
in improving
people’s food
choices, alerting
them to the fallacies of industrial
farming and reminding them of the
close link our broader planetary
environment has on the potential
future. This is able to be influenced
by current activity — or not. All of
us, TROPO members included, are
required to get active to achieve the
future we want for our selves and
our childrens’ children.
The World Health Organisation
has recently changed its considered
message from ‘not enough
information’ in year 2000, to state
that, ‘chemicals are a real threat to
our future’ this year. Why do we
now have these peak representative
bodies making clear statements but
there is no subsequent change in
availability of the causative agents?
Because it’s bad for business! The
US National Academy of Science
reported 14 years ago ‘pesticides
are a cancer threat — despite
regulation’. Little has changed and
the 90% of fungicides, 60% of
insecticides and 30% of herbicides
they reviewed, and which required
this statement, are still in use here
and there.
While I have supported all
farmers, only some make the effort
to actively work towards non
chemical production systems. The
removal of the systemic insecticide
Fenthion is imminent and users
are shouting about how they have
no alternative and as a result their
business is finished. I suggest they
ask questions of their industry
4
David Forrest
leadership as this chemical has been
under review for SEVEN years and
nothing was done with their levy
monies to provide alternatives with
its inevitable removal.
Saying that children would have
to eat an inordinate amount of
stonefruit to be at risk denies the
fact that it is used on a large range
of fruit and vegetables, poisoning
every cell so anything which
feeds on it dies. It also adds to the
effect of other Organophosphate
chemicals used in chemical
production systems, which are all
anticholinesterase active nerve
poisons. Reference the contribution
to increases in ADD, ADHD, Motor
Neurone, MRS et al.
TROPO’s efforts, including
the Lismore Organic (Farmers’)
Market (aka Rainbow Region
Organic Market), have been to
provide an alternative opportunity
to globalisation and to poisoning
our food supply and local region.
Get on down there Tuesday morning
and allow it to exist, because
without your decision to do that,
it can’t be there in the future. If
our money is spent on produce
transported into our district we
all lose as a community, whether
from food miles oil consumption,
petro-chemical use in production,
corporate retailers profiting or the
goods and services not purchased
because of lack of local income.
Our region can currently produce
far more than is able to be sold
here. This message to farmers is,
‘grow large scale monoculture
so you can join in the globalised
food system’. If localisation is
the sustainable option, why are
farmers being driven to sell produce
out of the region due to lack of
demand? Which recent Foodlinks
project didn’t address the need for
food hubs like this market - where
consumers, retailers, wholesalers
and marketers can meet in one
place?
If everyone who claims to be
an environmentalist supported
local Organic production, then the
environment wouldn’t have to put
up with the onslaught of chemical
production practises. Not only
that, young people could have an
opportunity to live and work on
local farms, because they could
become profitable, enabling that
employment. As farmers average
age rises, an increasing number are
finding that there is no transition to
youth because of the poor economic
reality. Good Organic growers with
decades of experience, like Robin
and Helen Wolf, are testament to
this and they are only one example
of the many I am aware of in a
similar position. In fact 100,000
farmers have had to exit production
in the last 30 years! About 9 per
day, every day for 30 years!! This
doesn’t include the people that had
a go but couldn’t make it to tax
department criteria. One quarter
of vegetable growers on the books
have made a loss for the last 2 years!
We need to continue to develop
Organic supply to allow people to
choose to buy healthy food at a fair
price for the grower — all it would
take to reverse this trend.
We have the technical ability to
measure soil fertility changes by
guided observation and scientific
measurement. Soilcare made a
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
visiting Italian scientist available for a seminar on such
work recently. Flavio Fornasier has demonstrated a
technique he has developed which can indicate variable
populations of microbial activity through the enzymes
present that are specific to it. This is also very fast and
90% cheaper than current techniques used. Indications
are that the chemicals Nitrogen and Phosphorus deplete
activity of microbes which normally make these
minerals available. The rate of carbon cycling can also
be quickly and cheaply measured. Testing materials
potential and therefore their worth, may be cheaply
classifieds
wanted: Un-sprayed European Elderflower umbels (florettes) must be unwashed, clean and fresh
suitable for cordial making. Organic certified citrus
(all), watermelon (pref sugar baby), rhubarb (deep
crimson / red only), strawberries, mango, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, etc ... or any local fruit
that’s a good colour and taste, call to discuss. Fair
price paid. Spray free considered for some fruit. 04
0607 5266 John or Benna info@iceblocks.name
ascertained when this technique is commercialised.
All Welcome
All TROPO members are invited to attend
committee meetings which are now held on the
second Tuesday of each month after the LOM.
The Northern Branch meets on the same
Tuesday at the Imperial Hotel, Murwullimbah,
6.30pm.
All members of the public interested or
involved in organic gardening, farming and
food — and willing to be immediately forced
into slavery — are welcome to become
TROPO members (see membership form,
page 23).
Seriously, even if you are not a member but are
just interested in finding out more about organics
on the North Coast— or want to help see it spread
— call a committee member.
Landmark
Simply the best ...
• The best advice • The best service • The best prices
For a great deal, see the experts at the Landmark.
Pumps & Irrigation equipment
Polypipe & fittings
PVC pipe and drain coil
Irrigation design
Water filters
White oil
Dipel
Derris dust
Pyrethrum
Garlic spray
Soap spray
Sulphur
Yeast Autolysate
Wild May attractant
Organic XTRA
Symbex microbial spray
Blood and bone
Guano
Organic Booster
Soft Rock Phosphate
Reactive phosphate rock
Natrakelp
Fish emulsion
Humic acid
Trichoderma
Soil pH kits
Full soil & plant tissue analysis kits
Grafting & pruning equipment
Fruit picking sticks
Crates & cartons
Chipping hoes
Windbreak & weedmat
Seeds
Shadecloth & greenhouse film
Nursery equipment
Plant pots & planter bags
Work clothes & boots
Bee-keeping equipment
145 Casino St, South Lismore. Ph 6621 2853
Kays Lane, Alstonville. Ph 6628 5444
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
5
meet our farmers
M
On the farm with Maureen
aureen has been trading her farm
fresh vegetables and fruits at the
Lismore Organic Market since
2000, which definitely qualifies
her as being one of their earliest
stallholders. She provides a wide range of organically
certified produce including garlic, shallots, lemons,
peaches, zucchini, tomatoes, okra, eggplant, pumpkins,
watermelons, spinach and a range of culinary herbs.
With the surplus harvest she also prepares a range of
preserves such as sweet chilli sauce, tomato sauce,
eggplant pickle and pawpaw jam.
Her produce also sells at the Kyogle Produce market
and through Santos and Nimbin Organics.
Maureen and Scotts’ farm is situated 4km into
Roseberry Creek valley on the clay/loam creek flats.
There are 35 acres rising from the creek to the first shelf
where they have created a ¾ acre citrus orchard where
two different varieties of lemons, limes and oranges
are grown. The vegetable garden comprises 3 acres
where green manure crops are grown along with a range
of mixed vegetables, a pumpkin patch and the garlic
field. The growing areas are rotated with a fallow area,
complying with organic standards.
They have a water license that allows them to pump
from the creek that runs along one of the boundaries.
The water is pumped up the hill to a holding tank
where it is then gravity fed onto the growing areas to
provide irrigation. There is a 4 bay shed which includes
a preparation room and storage room and in the future,
they intend installing and enclosing a cool room.
Maureen and Scott rely on power provided by a stand
alone solar powered system that delivers to the house,
workshop area and several freezers.
Before moving from the Gold Coast to Roseberry
Creek, Maureen, like many current organic farmers
gained inspiration and motivation through the alternate
lifestyle publications, Earth Garden and Grass Roots,
and over the years developed her passion for growing
things until 20 years later, she and Scott bought their
property and began by first growing medicinal herbs,
then culinary herbs and now, the wide range of fruits
and vegetables that you can see each week at the
Lismore Organic Market.
6
Sue Mangan
Like many of the farmers who come into the market,
Maureen’s farm is a family farm where most of the
family play an important role on the farm. Maureen
takes care of the regular day to day tasks associated
with growing and providing for the market while Scott
does the ploughing, slashing, assists with building the
vegetable beds and helps Maureen with some planting
and picking.
Their daughter, Rose, also contributes with planting
and picking and helps to trim and clean the garlic.
Previously Rose also assisted Maureen at the markets
but now she is studying for her HSC and also holds
down a part time job.
Current weather conditions have certainly provided
challenges to all our local farmers and growers this year,
and as well as the almost constant need for capital for
infrastructure and development and the ability to see
approximately 4 months into the future, Maureen cites
the climate as one of the major issues; e.g. areas around
Kyogle, in February, received over 230 mls in rain!
Despite the challenges, however, Maureen really
enjoys the aspect of her work that allows her to be
outside with nature and provide high quality organic
food for local people. Selling at the markets is also
a great avenue for socialisation and teaching people
about the benefits of growing and enjoying organic
food. Maureen commented on the fact that people
are now more aware of their health and nutrition and
they are becoming more educated about the effects of
agricultural chemicals on people’s health. Shoppers can
see the point of being sustainable and ethical in their
food selection. Maureen believes that local organic
farmers, through our weekly market can contribute to
local food security by offering another venue to buy
fresh organic food and by doing so, take the dependence
on supermarkets away. At the same time, farmers like
Maureen can educate people on the seasonality of food,
preparation ideas and also, offer growing advice.
For people wanting to find out more about organic
food, growing and other related issues, Maureen
suggests using the local library, become a member
of organic organisations, (TROPO is a good place to
start) and consider finding out about the courses offered
through TAFE (Dave Forrest is a good place to start!).
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
affairs of tropo - CSG
Asserting your right to clean air,
clean water, clean soil…
“
We can survive total economic ruin with clean
air, clean water and clean soil, but we cannot
survive even an economic boom with foul air,
foul water and foul soil!” George Oxenbridge,
neighbour to the Glenugie Metgasco drill
site. The bank had just that day refused a loan because
of properties devalued by the neighbouring gas drilling
operation. The loan was to be used to complete a house
for which George was the builder.
It was blatant fascism. At 4am on the morning of
7 Feb 2013 I was awoken from my roadside camp
opposite Metgasco’s drill rig by bright lights, loud
noises and then on exiting was confronted by a black
clad line of 7 cops lead by Coffs commander Johanna
Reid who had again “closed the road for any reason”,
citing section 186 of the Law Enforcement (Powers
And Responsibilities) Act 2002. The actual wording
isn’t “any reason” but police can close a road “to traffic
during any temporary obstruction or danger to traffic
or for any temporary purpose”. So it’s for landslides
etc not because a corrupt govt wants the police to help
their crooked mates out. 18 police had confronted 4
people in the kitchen area then copped abuse from me
about fascism and that they ought to be too ashamed
to come back after their last effort, then continued to
sweep more unhappy people to a police block 2km up
the road.
However there is conflicting legislation that says that
police do not have the power to give move on orders
at an apparently genuine protest. Australia has signed
and ratified both the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International
Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
(ICSECR). Both these covenants derive from The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights which has less
convoluted wording and so is easier to get the gist from.
As ICCPR Article 21 states:
“The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized.
No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this
right other than those imposed in conformity with the
law and which are necessary in a democratic society in
the interests of national security or public safety, public
order, the protection of public health or morals or the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
Alan Roberts
Police when confronted with the illegality of giving
move on orders at a protest have resorted to claiming
that they are operating under different legislation,
namely the road rules. So now we come to the asserting
part. To fathom the genesis for the declaration of
Human Rights let’s go to the preamble:
“Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and
peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights
have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged
the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world
in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech
and belief and freedom from fear and want has been
proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common
people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled
to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against
tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be
protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of
friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have
in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental
human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person and in the equal rights of men and women and
have determined to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to
achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the
promotion of universal respect for and observance of
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights
and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full
realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human
Rights as a common standard of achievement for
7
Asserting your right to clean air ... continued
all peoples and all nations, to the end that every
individual and every organ of society, keeping this
Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching
and education to promote respect for these rights and
freedoms and by progressive measures, national and
international, to secure their universal and effective
recognition and observance, both among the peoples
of Member States themselves and among the peoples of
territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.” And on for 29 more articles.
In short these covenants were made in an attempt to
prevent a recurrence of the horrors of the 2nd world war
(unfortunately they haven’t). Clearly the right of people
to stop a truck taking people to a gas chamber overrides
petty road rules about blocking trucks.
Similarly here our right to clean air, clean water,
clean soil and a liveable climate overrides petty road
rules that facilitate foul air, foul water, foul soil and
an unliveable climate. As human beings and living
beings we have these rights, Australia is signatory to
these rights but for us to abolish the creeping systemic
fascism we must continually and vigorously assert these
rights.
I encourage people to google ICCPR, ICSECR and
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, be able to
quote them, then head out and assert the whole lot.
what’s not to be missed this quarter
I
Soilcare presents Jerry Brunetti
n 1979, Jerry Brunetti founded Agri-Dynamics
with a vision of providing a line of holistic
animal remedies for farm livestock, equine and
pets. After witnessing first-hand the results of
conventional, chemically dependent, grainbased rationed farming practices, Jerry embarked on a
crusade to educate and consult for farmers who made
the choice to transition to ecologically responsible and
sustainable farming. Jerry works towards improving
soil and crop quality, livestock performance and health
on certified organic farms.
Prior to launching Agri-Dynamics, Jerry studied
Animal Science at North Carolina State University
and then moved to western Virginia to run a cow/calf
operation. He served as Regional Dairy Director of the
National Farmers Organization in the Northeast for five
years. Amongst many other positions Jerry is currently
on the board of Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable
Agriculture.
His timetable this year is as
follows:
7 - 8 March 2013 Jerry will
appear at the North Coast Regional
Landcare Forum in Yamba
Eco Livestock Production
Saturday, 9 March 2013 1.00
PM to 5.00 PM North Coast TAFE
8
In 1999, Jerry was diagnosed with non- Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma and given as little as six months to live.
Rather than chemotherapy, he chose a holistic path of
nutrition, detoxification and immune modulation and
applied his vast experience with farming and animal
nutrition to his own health.
Jerry is an internationally recognised speaker on
topics that include soil fertility, animal nutrition and
livestock health. Jerry often speaks to audiences about
the relationship of “Food as Medicine” and “Farm as
Farmacy.”
The links between healthy soil, truly nutritious food
and profitable, sustainable farming are clearly evident
in Jerry’s personal and professional experiences. His
skill for communicating this to people has won him
extensive praise from farmers, sustainable farming
organizations and holistic health professionals.
Wollongbar Block B – Room B121
Corner Sneaths Rd and Bruxner
Highway (entry on Sneaths Rd.)
Wollongbar, NSW
Eco Farming
Tuesday, 12 March 2013 1.00
PM to 5.00 PM North Coast TAFE
Wollongbar Corner Sneaths Rd and
Bruxner Highway (entry on Sneaths
Rd.) Wollongbar, NSW
He will also be talking at Robina
Auditorium, Robina on March
11th, 5-9 pm. Call Jess Ferruccio at
The Sancturay Byron Bay for more
information.
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
TROPO farmwalk report
S
Wollongbar TAFE Open Day October 2012
haron, Chloe and I left home
late to get over to Wollongbar
for the open day. In the rush
to get out the door I only gave
a cursory glance at the Where
Is directions on the computer. Yep easy!
Just turn off the highway a bit south of
Bangalow and we’re there. In reality 45
minutes later we were lost somewhere
near Wollongbar. Wherever we were was
picturesque and we meandered through
rolling hill after rolling hill. After some
trial and error we found Wollongbar
TAFE. Of course, we parked in the
car park most removed from where
the action was taking place. The place
appeared silent and deserted except
for an all mighty commotion in the
trees above where noisy miners angrily
disputed the presence of a small hawk.
I must be honest, as we walked through
the campus I was wondering whether it
was worth all the trouble.
We found Dave Forrest and the open day
participants. The first thing that struck me was the
soil. My mouth watered as before me was a friable
Ferrosol soil which is a volcanic red clay loam. This
is great soil for growing food, although soil mineral
John Hillcoat
levels do need regular attention due to high rainfall and
subsequent loss through very good drainage. My eyes
moved from the soil and surveyed the bigger picture.
In front of where I was standing were rows of young
cow peas and sunflowers which had been sown as a
cover crop. Adjacent to the cover crop were rows of
vegetables, including potatoes, silverbeet, beetroot,
English spinach, various brassicas, beans and
rocket. It was immediately apparent that these were
healthy plants. While a large population of cabbage
butterflies were flitting around the field having
what appeared to be a wonderful time, there was
nonetheless little evidence of insect damage.
The colour of the leafy greens was good. This
sounds a bit lame but it is the best descriptor I can
think of. I have seen leafy green vegetables that
get that dark green/bluish look which I understand
come about through plant overindulgence in simple
nitrates. These are typically plentiful in artificial
fertilisers.
These vegetables and the cover crop are rotated
around the field to help keep disease in check and
nurture the soil. I did not get the opportunity to ask
Dave what system of rotation they use. However,
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
9
I did make some notes of a few pertinent points Dave
made about growing vegetables. Remember that the
following list of points should be considered
within the context of your particular growing
conditions.
staked or trellised to get the fruit
off the ground. This minimises
fungal diseases and the like.
Further protection against fungal
diseases can be provided with
dressings of potassium as this
mineral is necessary for tomatoes
to develop strong cell walls.
After the vegetable section of
the open day finished everyone
moved to the composting
area. Unfortunately we had
commitments in Lismore and I
could not stay for this component
of the field day. The doubts that
had plagued me as we walked
through the campus earlier
had long been banished. It was
an informative and enjoyable
experience. Thank you to Dave
Forrest for taking the time to run the open day.
When planting vegetables such as zucchinis
and tomatoes do not use a big dressing of
compost and minerals as the plants starts
vigorously but can then run out of steam. It
is best to leave most of these applications to
the fruiting stage, which is actually the time
in the plant life cycle when most nutrition is
required.
Take care when leaving plants in the ground
to seed. These old plants can be susceptible to
disease. In cases of saving seed just keep one
or two of your best plants.
Snails and slugs can become a serious
problem when using grass based mulches as
these provide a wonderful habitat for the little
critters. The use of compost as a mulch seems
to circumvent this problem.
Green manures are best used with inoculants.
These provide nitrogen fixing bacteria that
live symbiotically with the plant. These
bacteria tend to hang around in a patch of soil
for about three years, after which it is best to
reinoculate. Left over inoculants store well in
the fridge.
Small amounts of side dressings applied
to zucchini can double the yield. Every
few weeks in the fruiting period apply
approximately 10g of potassium sulphate and
50g of compost.
Except during a dry spring, tomatoes are best
10
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
S
So you want to be a farmer
Rita Oort,
organic grower since, 1980
ome acreage to grow your own organic
Maybe I should do something about fencing, it’d
veggies? Nothing to it, thousands of people
only costs around $600 plus. But it’s all worth it, we’ll
do it, can’t be that hard, just put some
each have an egg a day. I think the others have gone
seedlings in the ground and there you are,
broody. Just think of a whole new clutch of spritely
the rain will do the rest. Oh, don’t forget the
chicks running around. Ah ah, I think I just saw a
chooks for some easy excess eggs for breakfast. Bob’s
snake, it’s OK dear, only a carpet snake, you know, boa
your uncle. And plant some fruit trees near the patio and constrictor, non poisonous.
hey, presto, instant orange juice with your breakfast.
Hey you know what, the feral pest control only
Mangoes and Champagne on New Year’s Day, how
charges $150 and they’ll set out some traps, you pay
cool is that, why didn’t I do this years ago. I can see it
only $200 for every dog they catch, dead or alive. Or
all now, my vegetables are growing nicely...
alternatively they’ll spread some poison around the
place for dingoes, feral and neighbour’s dogs to die,
What was that, a caterpillar? Oh, cute little fellow.
agonizingly painful, but over in 30 to 60 minutes.
Hey, did you see this magnificent goanna? Why did
Wildlife? Let’s not worry about that, it’s wild after all,
we not get any eggs today? What was that, a real live
isn’t it?
dingo? I must be wrong, there are no dingoes around
here. Hey Martha, did we have 10 or 8 chickens?
So there you are, it’s all “too easy”.
Fencing? Why, the chooks are happy, you know, our 6
fat hens?
H
Organic Tuesdays
ailing from a heavily
forested portion of
Northern Michigan,
back in the USA,
I’ve yet to have the
pleasure of enjoying many markets
in my time. Having the chance to
check one out was an opportunity I
happily accepted. As we pulled into
the market it immediately became
apparent that, what the market may
lack for in size, it makes up for in
enthusiastic cliental. There’s a buzz
of happy conversation that greets
you as soon as you open your door
to step out, smiling faces all around
create quite the cheery vibe.
The word “organic” is plastered
everywhere and all the food looks
fresh and delicious. The vendors
are friendly and eagerly answer
any questions you may have about
their products or just anything that
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
Vincent Hagen
happens to cross your mind.
Everyone seemed to know each
other which created a lovely small
town feel. You’re offered to try a
bite and it’s immediately apparent
why the market is thriving, the food
is as delicious as it looks. As you
wander through the stalls, bouncing
from conversation to conversation,
a lovely smell begins to overpower
the freshness that the fruit brings.
The origin of the smell is a
mixture of organic coffee and an
Indian snack that, I was informed, is
made in a very traditional way. Both
are delicious. No, really. Delicious.
There’s a set of tables to enjoy
these tasty treats and again, you’re
surrounded by happy conversations
and smiling faces. Small children
running around aid to the small town
feel and sometimes it’s hard to tell
the difference between the vendors
and the patrons, everyone seems to
mingle freely and cheerfully.
A passing shower overpowers
the buzz of talk and soon thereafter,
people begin to disperse. Vendors
sell the last of their products as they
pack away their gear for another
week. Goodbyes are said, happily,
as everyone goes on their way
and soon the showground loses its
cheery glow that the market seemed
to create. It was a great experience
and it seemed to be as much a social
gathering as a market. Whenever my
travels bring me back to Australia
I plan on making a special stop in
Lismore, for that lovely organic
market.
11
Biochar in action
Gibbo and Don work on Pheonix mark 3 and make biochar at the Djunbung Gardens.
12
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
13
Comment
‘Fair Dinkum’ Australians
working together for a decent future!
Enough is enough – it’s time
we all began to view the reality
of this world we live in through
honest eyes.
Enough is enough! The wider
population is being hoodwinked
into thinking that honest, decent
and proper Australians with a
deep concern for the future and a
thorough understanding of social
and environmental issues are out
of touch. The ‘truth’ is, that the
only ones that are out of touch with
reality are the corporations and their
political and media allies who have
fooled themselves into believing
that we can go on disregarding
our environment without serious
consequences.
By viewing the world through
honest eyes we can move on
from this period of negative and
unhealthy division to form a clear
and united vision for a healthy
future.
It’s time to get ‘fair dinkum’ –
fair dinkum in deciding what sort of
future we are personally going to be
responsible for creating, for future
generations of Australians.
We need to find the strength to
make our own decisions for the
future based on the reality of our
dependence on a healthy natural
resource base.
We need to trust in our own
values, morality and hopes for the
future, and rise above the short
sighted attitude being displayed by
our federal and state politicians.
The time has come where we
must start to acknowledge the
reality of the biological world we
14
live in.
The time has arrived where we
need to open both eyes and develop
a smarter more respectful society
which integrates the growth of
business and energy needs with the
enhanced health of ecosystems and
all life on earth.
The need for fertile soils, a
healthy water cycle and a stable
climate are not the imaginations
of some sort of optional marketing
gimmick.
We need to realise that the
health of our own lives is totally
interdependent and interwoven with
the health of the soils, water cycle
and biodiversity that surrounds us.
We need to realise that the
highest value any area of land can
have, is in being able to supply our
most important needs; - nutritious
food, clean water and clean air.
These ecological services
provided by healthy landscapes
encompass the very ‘foundations of
life’.
These are some of the undeniable
facts which we have turned a blind
eye to in the past one hundred years
of industrial expansion.
The current ignorance to the
reality of the world we live in,
which is being displayed by certain
political, media, and mining
individuals is very calculated,
divisive and selfish.
The reality is most decent
people want a healthy future for
themselves and their descendants
without the threat of a deteriorating
environment, threats such as an
Glenn David Morris
increasing frequency of extreme
storms, floods or fires and an
increasing risk of chronic disease.
It is very interesting to observe
how willing we are to accept that
nature is responsible for all disasters
connected to the climate, and how
unwilling we are to accept our
own responsibility for altering
the climate. For example how
could the destroying of millions
of acres of healthy functioning
ecosystems with billions of forms
of life through mining, housing
development or chemical farming,
not register as detrimental to the
biological processes responsible for
a healthy water cycle.
The time has come when every
thinking adult must stand up and
show a responsibility to shape the
future of the world we live in and
will pass on to future generations.
The responsibility for a secure
sustainable future should not
be based on the views of past
generations, radio announcers or
politicians, all of which have most
likely had limited opportunity
to study or understand the latest
knowledge on the fundamental
processes of a healthy eco-system
connected society.
We need to ignore the politics,
ignore the shock jocks and put aside
past positions and start reflecting on
our own consciences as to what sort
of future we want to be remembered
for leaving to our descendants.
Developing a greater
understanding and respect for
our environment should not be
viewed as a threat to an advanced
intelligent society; rather it should
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
be looked upon as an opportunity for enhancing our
lives, our work and our environment, and not just for
the immediate needs of the present generation but for all
generations to follow.
Individually I will make no difference to the future
of the planet, collectively though this generation can
aspire to become the most important and ecologically
progressive generation of adults that have ever existed.
With both of my eyes open to the reality of a living
world, I see a brighter healthier future, where people
show respect and care for a society which is carefully
designed to be connected with the ecosystems that
support us.
Hopefully with both eyes open to reality we can all
start to get a ‘fair dinkum’ handle on the future.
nutritious food grown in healthy soils.
Fair dinkum about enhancing the water cycle through
greater care of the humus sponge in soils and the cloud
seeding biology associated with healthy vegetation.
Fair dinkum about a stable climate through support
for alternative energy sources and initiatives to improve
efficiency of resource use.
Fair dinkum about enhancing biodiversity by
regenerating habitats through wiser decision making.
Fair dinkum about supporting decent political leaders
and not allowing ourselves to be conned by the negative
marketing of the mining industry.
Glenn David Morris is a Property Manager with a
Masters in Sustainable Agriculture, July 11th, 2012.
Fair dinkum about restoring human health through
We have a choice of TWO DIRECTIONS for the future
Direction 1
or Direction 2
A positive cycle of enhancing life.
A negative cycle of collapse.
ACTIONS WHICH CREATE
ACTIONS WHICH CAUSE
healthy life enhancing eco-systems
a breakdown in the water cycle and constant water
shortages
intelligent redesign of buildings
silent and clean cities of unprecedented beauty
wealth from eco-regenerative industries
re-charged water cycles and rivers
a restored stable and safe climate
reduced diseases through good nutrition
life building organic soils
abundant nutritious food
happy, peaceful and loving societies
constant heat waves and drought
continued water and land degradation
millions of people to be left homeless from flooding and
fires
constant crop losses from severe storms
rising sea levels and loss of property
impacts on wilderness areas and bio-diversity
increased disease outbreaks
increasing conflicts and wars
collapsing eco-systems with a limited ability to recover
Let’s get ‘fair dinkum’ about the sort of future we want to be remembered for creating.
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
15
Community
Opportunities for future farmers
on an organic share farm
I
Alana Danne
t’s obvious that Australia
needs to come up with novel
ideas to encourage young
people to want to become
farmers, more specifically
on organic polyculture farms. The
way I see it, if we don’t begin soon
we are in for a major food and
health crisis.
I’m 30 years old and I’ve always
wanted to be a farmer. I’d love if
this was a common goal for people
of my age but I’m definitely in the
minority. But you can’t blame us.
Here are three very good reasons
to dispel anyone from becoming a
farmer, especially a small organic
farmer:
• There is no money in it
• It is often a lonely life laden with
frustrations and stresses
• You usually need to have a large
amount of capital money for
16
land and equipment
I’ve been told these things
repeatedly all my life and despite
this my dream to be a farmer
has remained strong. And I am
extremely excited because I start
work as a farmer on my own sharefarm this coming July, yeeehaa!
This farm is an organic,
polyculture/permaculture-style farm
near Woodenbong/Kyogle. It is a
novel idea for transitioning societies
towards locally driven communities.
It will feed local people who own a
share in the farm; the 265Ha block
of land already has approximately
350 owner-members. People who
become owner-members must
live within 200km of the farm,
although they don’t have to work
for even one day on the farm in
their entire life. For the majority
of owner-members this organic
farm will provide them with food
security, something that most of
us cannot guarantee for our own
future. A small group of farmers
will be paid a salary to grow food
for the owner members. The ownermembers simply pay for their food
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
food production. It is a model that has potential to
rejuvenate the health and happiness of the ecosystems
including that of all humans involved. If you would
like to learn more about organic farm-share go to www.
organicfarmshare.com.au
that is delivered by bus to locations near the ownermembers. Livestock, fruit, nuts, vegetables and grains
are being grown on the farm, and co-producers make an
assortment of products such as bread, cheese, yoghurt,
biscuits, cakes, preserves etc. to sell to owner members.
In terms of the farmers, you must be an ownermember to be a farmer. But even a young person on
a basic wage can afford this as a share costs $4000
and can be made in part payments; this farm-share
is designed to be inclusive of everyone. A full-time
wage itself for a farmer on this farm is between $40K
and $65K per annum. The only thing that is required
of a potential farmer a passion for farming, an open
mind and a willingness to work as part of a team and
community. Young people need not have any experience
in farming; this is a job where skills can be learnt as you
go.
I am thrilled to be a part of this farm-share, and
not as a martyr for the planet but as a contributor
of a realistically achievable model for modern
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
17
We are what we eat
M
Clearing the Chemical Mist - Part 1
y name is
Claire. In 1994
I was diagnosed
with bi Polar
disorder or manic
depression as it is otherwise known.
I was prescribed medication and
told it was for life as there is no
cure.
It is now 2013 and for twelve
years I have been living drug free,
a life that is better than it ever was
on drugs or before. My friend Susie,
who is editor of Going Organic,
was interested in how I did this and
thought that her readers would be
too.
It has been a long process and
is ongoing. I still receive disability
support and continue to suffer from
anxiety. I am prone to depressive
thinking but I have not had a manic
episode in all that time, which puts
me outside the medical definition
for the disease1.
I have suffered from depression
off and on since my teens: I
had been sent to a psychiatrist at
age twenty, who told me I was
clinically depressed but did not
prescribe drugs. I was suspicious
of pharmaceuticals and rarely took
a headache tablet and so I was
grateful for this.
In 1990 I was committed against
my will to Melbourne’s Royal
Park hospital2 for five weeks.
1 Bipolar Disorder: Australian
Treatment Guide For Consumers
And Carers, The Royal College
Of Australian And New Zealand
Psychiatrists, August 2009
2 A psychiatric hospital that no
longer exists since the introduction
18
Claire Chatfield
There I was given a diagnosis of
Shizophreniform Psychosis3 and
heavily medicated. I experienced
severe and distressing side effects
to the drugs and was eventually
allowed off them by the psychiatrist
I was compelled to see after my
release.
growing number of symptoms I
was experiencing, despite being
warned by one doctor of the highly
addictive nature of Benzos. My
moods became increasingly erratic
and disturbed and every time I tried
to stop taking them I experienced
frightening psychotic episodes.
I preferred counsellors after
that but continued to experience
disturbing mental states that
would take over for months: either
depression or manic highs that
would leave me exhausted and back
in the depressive part of the cycle I
so feared.
After one more attempt, I
managed to call the doctor at a point
when my brain was shutting down
all my bodily functions one by one.
I found out that sudden withdrawal
from Clonazipam can cause
potentially fatal seizures5. I was put
back on the drug and told that what
I thought of as psychotic episodes
were in fact withdrawal symptoms
and that I was addicted and would
now have to withdraw gradually.
In 1993 I finally agreed to see the
psychiatrist who made the initial
diagnosis of Bi polar Disorder and
who prescribed Lithium.4 On its
own it was not sufficient to relieve
my symptoms. A long series of
trials on medications followed but
I was not able to tolerate the side
effects. Eventually I was given
Clonazepam: a drug from the
Benzodiazepine family (Benzos)
of which Valium is a member,
although I was not aware of this at
the time.
By 1995 I was on the disability
pension and had stopped seeing
the psychiatrist, relying instead
on doctors for prescriptions. I
continued taking both drugs and a
cocktail of others, to manage the
of community based care for the
mentally ill.
3 A psychotic episode of less than six
months duration
4 A mood stabilizer used in the
treatment of Manic depression
It took six months, slowly
reducing the dose every few weeks
and by this stage I had developed a
deep distrust of doctors. I felt they
had been using me in an experiment
that had gone wrong. By this stage
I had only one friend who I was
still in contact with. I had become
increasingly socially withdrawn
during my time on the drugs and
I let her know I would not be in
contact for a month as I wanted
time for myself.
I started to go for long walks
every day while I was withdrawing,
as it was the only thing that gave
me relief. I had also been in contact
with a Benzo support group. They
recommended drinking lots of water
to help flush the drug out of my
5 Treatment of Benzodiazepine
Dependence; K. Jean Lennane,
FRACP, DPM: The Medical journal
of Australia Vol. 144, May 26,1986
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
We are what we eat
body, a low salt diet and plenty of
fresh fruit and vegetables. However
I was still taking lithium6and new
problems developed because of the
dramatic reduction in my sodium
levels.
Lithium is a mood stabilizer
which has a very narrow therapeutic
range, below which it is ineffective
and above is toxic, so it has to
be very closely monitored with
regular blood tests7. This balance
can also be affected by a number
of things, one of which is salt
intake. Ironically, reducing my
salt consumption to healthy levels
had sent my lithium levels into the
danger zone.
I later met an ex psychiatric
nurse, who had the view that
excessive salt consumption is a
major contributor to the mood
swings. She suggested that if
doctors recommended a reduction
in salt intake, healthy diet and
moderate levels of exercise, the
Lithium would not be needed in the
first place.
I had chronic insomnia and would
lie awake reading all night and was
heavily overweight, which I later
found out are side effects of the
drug. I developed painful swelling
in my joints, hands and feet and had
constant ringing in my ears. I saw
a doctor who suggested the latter
symptom could indicate lithium
poisoning and suggested I trial
coming off the drug.
He was not aware of my medical
history and if he had been, it is
unlikely he would have suggested
such a step. I said nothing and
6 Lithium Carbonate in salt form
7 Monitoring Lithium Levels; Parker,
G: Australian and New Zealand
Journal of Psychiatry, 2008;
42(7):643-45
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
decided to give it a try. I had been
increasingly unwilling to get out of
bed each morning, I later realised,
unconsciously putting off taking my
next dose. I decided to experiment
but after only a few days the descent
into what felt like another psychosis
was swift and frightening.
I resumed taking lithium but it
was not long before the depression
returned and I realised that what I
was told was the result of a chemical
imbalance in my brain was affected
by my values: I had never wanted to
be on drugs and I needed to listen to
that.
I stopped the Lithium again
and noticed that the exact same
progression of symptoms followed
in the same order and at the same
time over the next few days. I
started to suspect it was not just
the return of the original condition,
unchecked by drugs but something I
had not experienced before, except
when I was withdrawing from the
benzos. I felt neither able to tolerate
this or nor to go backwards.
I returned to the psychiatrist who
originally prescribed the lithium.
She confirmed that I did have signs
of poisoning but she could not
understand why, as I had told her I
was not doing anything different.
The diet and exercise routine from
the benzo withdrawals had long
been in place and I hadn’t made
the connection. For now at least I
had official sanction to stop taking
Lithium.
I recalled that a doctor I had
once seen who used complementary
therapies had told me that if I
avoided certain foods, I could go off
the drugs. If he was aware of benzo
withdrawal he had not informed me
and at the time it had been too much
for me but now I decided to try it.
I also chose to start eating organic
produce again; having gone back to
conventional produce over the time
that my health was declining for
financial reasons.
I started to keep a diary of
everything I ate and any adverse
reactions I had and soon got clear
enough to eliminate dairy, wheat,
sugar, most carbohydrates and
caffeine from my diet. These were
my favourite foods. A picture was
starting to form: I am what I eat.
What had been labelled a chemical
imbalance was in my case at least in
a large part determined by my food
choices.
Bibliography:
Aussie Kids eating too much sugar;
AAP: The Epoch Times, October
24-30th 2012
Benzodiazepines: Paradoxical Reactions
and Long Term Side Affects; www.
benzo.org.uk
Depression Set To Be the Top Global
Disease by 2030; Krumova, K: The
Epoch Times, October 24-30, 2012
Don’t Push Your Limits; Craven, L:
Nova, February 2013
Fructose, the Low Fat Fattener; McCoy,
L: The Epoch Times, June 20-26th
2012
More Than a Gut Feeling; Goodyer,
P: Sydney Morning Herald, p.29,
October 27-28th, 2012
Organic Food and Nutrition – The
Debate should be Over; Leu, a:
Living Now, issue 153, September
2012, QLD
Sweet White Death; Chisholm, B:
Informed Choice Magazine,
February 2006
Take Back Control; Evans, M: Nova,
May 2012
Next GO Claire will continue
to account her own
experiments and experiences
with food and mental health.
19
News from the world
“
Healthy Cubans — but why?
A true man does not look on
which side living is better,
but rather on which side duty
lies, and that is…the only
practical man, whose presentday dream will be the law of tomorrow,
because he who has set his eyes on the
core of the universe, and seen the peoples aflame and
bleeding, seething in the cauldron of the ages, knows
that, without exception, the future lies on the side of
duty.” Jose Marti 10/10/1890 in Obras Completas,
Havana: Editorial de CIencias Sociales, 1973.
Jose Marti is the inspirational ‘hero’ of the Cuban
revolution. He lead the people’s uprising against the
Spanish colonialists in the late 1800s … and Fidel
Castrol followed it through 150 years later.
Moira Kenny
Cubans are very proud of
their history, and it is their ability to adapt to changing
circumstances that have enabled this proud history.
During the “special period”, after the collapse
of Cuba’s main trading partners in the 1990s, Cuba
became an economic island where supply ships had
suddenly stopped…no wheat, rice, foods, oil etc, hence
bike riding replaced motor vehicles, minimal electricity
was used, and inability to transport goods from afar
meant people had to improvise.
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20
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
Food was grown in small private
farms, urban allotments, and road
verges. There were no chemicals and
fertilizers available, and not required in
easily managed smaller plots, thereby
Cuba became organic as a reaction to
the American trade embargo.
It worked … with food as plentiful
as it was before the Soviet Union
collapsed, and a lot healthier, the
people had abundant to share, even
with visitors — tourism now represents
an important source of foreign income.
Changing times have enabled better
access to oil now though.
Interestingly enough, when I interviewed doctors
working in different hospitals in Cuba, they reported
that the incidence of cancer and mental health issues
were still unusual. As opposed to Australia where
current statistics report that 1 in 3 will experience
cancer in their lives and 45% of adult Australians will
experience a mental illness. Now there are definite
reasons why I would consider Cubans more susceptible
to these health issues than Australians if I were to use
the environmental argument. You see, Cuba is famed
for its old cars with the arresting shapes and funky
colours from a bygone era. Unfortunately, more than
half of these vehicles still belch polluting fumes by the
visible load – made before clean air acts were invented.
Cigars and smoking are a constant past-time, along
with drinking rum and eating pork, and white bread.
Australia definitely hosts a ‘cleaner’ environment
visually – however, our farming methods is the telling
difference – monoculture production in large land lots
with heavy assistance from fertilizers and chemicals.
When one also considers the collapse Cuba
experienced, it makes the global financial crisis and
similar look ridiculously petty, yet levels of mental
health issues are minumal compared to Australia. It
has been stated that no modern economy has undergone
such a shock as Cuba experienced. Are we ready for the
same here?
Does the Cuban experiment mean anything for
the rest of the world? An agronomist would call the
country’s farming “low-input,” the reverse of the Green
Revolution model, with its reliance on irrigation, oil,
and chemistry. If we’re running out of water in lots
of places (the water table beneath China and India’s
grain-growing plains is reportedly dropping by metres
every year), and if the oil and natural gas used to
make fertilizer and run our megafarms are changing
the climate (or running out), and if the pesticides are
poisoning farmers and killing other organisms, and if
everything at the Stop & Shop has traveled across a
continent to get there and tastes pretty much like crap,
might there be some real future for low-input farming
for the rest of us? Or are its yields simply too low?
Would we all starve without the supermarket and the
corporate farm? Bill McKibben in Deep Economy, The
Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
The effects of climate change, the damage to water
and land through mining, terrorizing wars, could mark
our own ‘special period’. Are we equipped? Cuba
had to return to using oxen for farming and found
that firstly there were only a handful of farmers
who knew how to use them, and there were hardly
any animals left. Cuba used to have more tractors
per acre than California!
Remember, the essential question for all and
sundry is ‘what’s for dinner’? That question can’t
be asked without knowing where and how we are
going to access that food. Hopefully, we won’t
have to experience a “special period” such as the
Cubans had to, but it is sensible to learn from
their model, and comforting to know that it’s all
possible.
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
21
What to plant
the home gardener
T
March to May
In Sue's garden
he mid January sudden
flip from drought to
storm, tempest and
persistent rain has
tested many a garden
and gardener in this region! The
forecast of climate change seems
to be the new reality as these are
the exact conditions predicted and
now increasing in frequency in our
region. Elsewhere England is wet
and flooding, while the USA has a
warm winter again with less snow
to melt as a summer drought recur.
The resilience to, recovery from
and solution to, this weather lies in
Organic farming transferring CO2
Dave Forrest
Beans, beetroot, all cabbage family,
carrots, endives, herb cuttings, kohl
rabi, lettuce, leeks, onions, garlic,
parsnip, peas, radish, rhubarb crowns,
silverbeet, strawberries, tomatoes.
back to the soil as humus. So in this
garden it was no problem to keep
up with moisture needed in the dry.
Beets and Kale hung in right over
summer. There has been no topsoil
erosion from the wet and crop roots
are able to withstand the persistent
leaching rain. Physically the heavy
raindrops bruised soft leaves such
as lettuce and made weed control
difficult as they grew roots again in
the saturated air. Growing seedlings
also were washed out of trays and
hammered during germination. A
protected growing structure proves
its worth in these conditions. Human
resilience is also tested, but as the
old hands know, the real secret to
success is not to give up – replant
asap and go again! Favourite stayers
which like the wet are snake beans,
kang kong, pumpkins, cucumbers,
bananas and rice seedlings
germinating out of the mulch. If
blown over at a younger stage corn
will stand itself up again and likes
lots of rain, except when tasselling
as pollen is carried down to earth
instead of a pubescent female
stigma. Pre-autumn plantings of
brassicas, beets, strawberries and
potatoes should continue to get
the most of the abundant cool.
Season variety listed in the seasonal
planting guide.
Protect-A-Fruit
Fruit Fly Exclusion Bags
Fruit flies are a common problem around most Australian gardens.
With the help of our reusable exclusion bags you can protect your fruit from
these pests without using any harmful chemicals.
Bag:
300 x 350 - Small - $2
600 x 500 - Large - $3
Sleeve:
600 x 300 - Small - $2
900 x 350 - Large - $3
(Reduced prices on orders of 10 or more)
Bigger orders better prices
*Commercial organic growers wanted for trial*
Contact David on: 0240327158 or 0419594697
chloerachelma@hotmail.com
22
Going Organic, Issue 91, March-May 2013
Get into organics — join TROPO now
TROPO Membership Form
To join the Tweed Richmond Organic Producers’
Organisation (ABN: 43 805 045 275), fill out the
following form and send cheque or money order for
$28 to: TROPO, PO Box 5076, East Lismore, NSW
2480. Please make cheques and money orders payable
to ‘TROPO’.
Name
Interests
Organic certification type
Total Land area (ha)
Producing now (ha)
To be developed (ha)
Would you like to be included in a list of members
available to other members? YES/NO
Address
Town
Postcode
Phone (wk)
Fax
Occupation
Phone (hm)
Email
Can you help in TROPO organisational activities?
YES/NO
Skills to share
Information/experience wanted
Signature
Date
STORES
Keen Street, Lismore
Old Post Office, Byron Bay
219 Given Tce, Paddington (Brisbane)
UÊ ÝÌi˜ÃˆÛiÊÀ>˜}iʜvʅi>Ì…Êvœœ`ÃÊ>˜`ÊÃÕ««i“i˜ÌÃ
UÊ "À}>˜ˆVÊvÀՈÌÊ>˜`ÊÛi}ˆiÃ]Ê>ÃœÊ˜œ˜‡…ÞLÀˆ`ÊÃii`ÃÊ>˜`ÊÃii`ˆ˜}Ã
UÊ 7iÊ>ÃœÊÃ̜VŽÊi˜ÛˆÀœ˜“i˜Ì>ÞÊÃ>viʈ˜ÃiVÌÊëÀ>ÞÃÊvœÀÊ̅iʅœÕÃi]Ê}>À`i˜Ê>˜`Ê«iÌÃ
UÊ ˆÃVœÕ˜ÌÊvœÀÊLՏŽÊLÕÞÃ
7iʘii`Ê}ÀœÜiÀÃÊvœÀʜÀ}>˜ˆVÊ«Àœ`ÕVi°Ê7iÊ«>ÞÊLiÃÌÊ
“>ÀŽiÌÊ«ÀˆViÃÊvœÀʵÕ>ˆÌÞÊ«Àœ`ÕVi°
˜µÕˆÀiÃ\
*…œ˜i\ʈӜÀiÊ>ˆ˜Ê"vwViÊpÊÈÈÓÓÊÓ£™™
“>ˆ\ÊŜ«Jv՘`ˆiðVœ“°>Õ
March-May 2013, Issue 91, Going Organic
7iL\ÊÜÜÜ°v՘`ˆiðVœ“°>Õ
23
Special Interests
Going Organic
Maureen Pedersen 6636 4307 roseberrygardens@yahoo.com
Dave Forrest 6688 4346 (ah) organicforrest@hotmail.com
Dave Roby 6628 1084 robyalst@nrg.com.au
Alan Dow possibly@exemail.com.au
Alan Roberts 6663 5224 alan_roberts@ozemail.com.au
Carol Boomsma 6689 9348 kboomsma@clearmail.com.au
Susie Godden 6689 9338 go@tropo.org.au
Northern Branch Secretary
Sue Beckinsale 07 55909468 suebeckinsale@gmail.com
Registered by Australia Post Print Post No.
PP225824/4031 or 100004956
TROPO Committee 2012-13
TROPO ABN 43 805 045 275
Those listed below generally give a lot of time to TROPO
and make their phone numbers available for contact by
members and other interested in organics. Please remember
all have ongoing commitments to their families, farms or jobs
so phone between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm.
If unclaimed please return to
Tweed Richmond Organic Producers’ Organisation
PO Box 5076, East Lismore, NSW 2480
Get in touch with TROPO
Alternative Technology — Paul Jessop 6621 2465
Avocados — David Roby 6628 1084
robyalst@nrg.com.au
Bananas — Tony Lattanzi 6676 4264
Citrus — Phil Buck 6677 1421
Coffee — Rod Bruin 6679 2012
Food Nutrition — Tony Stillone 6621 8007
Macadamias/Custard Apples — Dave Forrest 6688 4346
organicforrest@hotmail.com
Permaculture/Small Crops/Sheep — Hogan Gleeson
6689 9217
Poultry — Rita Oort 6688 8307
Organic Foods — Russell Scott 6689 1668
Climate Change Action Network — Alan Roberts
6663 5224 alan_roberts@ozemail.com.au
Going Organic Magazine
Editor — Susie Godden 6689 9338
go@tropo.org.au
Advertising — Carol Boomsma 6689 9348
advertising@goingorganic.organicproducers.org.au
TROPO on the Web
www.TROPO.org.au
Winter ’13 Contributions due: Mid May, 2013
24
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Organic may not be reproduced without permission. Please consult
the editor.
Opinions expressed by contributors to Going Organic are not
necessarily those of the editor or of other TROPO committee
members.
Every effort is made to publish accurate information and
stimulating opinion, but neither TROPO nor the editor accepts
responsibility for statements made or opinions expressed or implied
on these pages.
Such statements or opinions should not be taken as professional
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