Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Environmentality 15 April 2015, Jodi Jackson with Everyday In The Garden

Jodi didn’t disappoint this week, in fact, Jodi has never disappointed us with her light hearted, energetic, information packed shows. This week we discussed green manure, planting in punnets vs planting direct into ground and Brussels sprouts, yep that’s right, the good old Brussels sprout. If you missed the show then you must have a listen to the podcast…MUST.

If you have a highly clayey or a highly sandy soil then you’ll be a big winner from using green manure. Green manure is the planting of a fast growing species such as wheat, rye, barley, corn etc. that you use to generate large amounts of biomass in a short period of time before turning into the soil to add some new rich organic matter ready for the planting of your actual vegie crop. The green manure crop should be left to grow to about knee height before turning into the soil. What a great little tip for those of us in sand or clay rich soils!

A green manure crop
Nematodes, anyone for nematodes? Well before I knew what one was I had a feeling it wasn’t a good thing to have and turns out I was right. A parasitic roundworm living in the soil that can significantly reduce or destroy your crop is not something you want in your garden. Jodi has the tre
atment… Fumigate them with a totally natural, organic method using mustard plants. All you need to do is spread mustard plant (from the Brassica family) seeds when sowing your green manure crop such that you have some mustard amongst your fast growing grass species. When the mustard plant is turned in with the rest of your green manure, the leaves will break down in the soil releasing a chemical that acts as a fumigant for nematodes, EASY!
Plant mustard among your green manure crop
Sowing in a punnet vs sowing direct in the soil? Well, one thing is for sure, the answer to this is not black and white and you could spend hours reading about which species do better in one or the other.  Jodi took us through some the type of seeds that prefer punnets and some that prefer direct into the ground and why! For all the details you’ll have to listen to the show ;)

Brussels sprouts have copped a bad rap in the past for being unappetising but I think we managed to identify the main culprits for this false charge this week. I remember as a kid that despite having never tried brussel sprouts, I thought that they were yuk! I must have picked up this impression from someone and I bet that someone had only ever had OVERCOOKED Brussels sprouts. Jodi believes it is time that our listeners know the truth and that is ‘Brussels sprouts are delicious AND a great source of minerals and nutrients’. There you go, you’ve heard it now so go out and give them another go but this time without overcooking them. Yum! Listen to the show to hear tips on how to train your Brussels sprouts to grow taller and with more sprouts.

To see and hear more of Jodi’s work, head to her website everydayinthegarden.com and you may as well sign up for Jodi’s newsletter while you’re there.

This week is the last show for at least the next 4 weeks so make sure you follow us on twitter @enviro_pod and keep checking this blog to keep updated on what is happening with the show and when we are returning.

Music from this week:
Messages by Xavier Rudd
Island of Oceans by John Williamson
Wild Animals by The Cat Empire
Wonder by Emeli Sande

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