Visit Russell and Bronwyn Lindisfarne 19 January 2020

January’s garden visit was held on a lovely day with plenty of sunshine but no oppressive heat. You couldn’t wish for a better day for wandering a garden – nor could you have a better setting than right on the water in Lindisfarne.

The visit was one that required an RSVP and apparently there was a lot of interest that couldn't be squeezed in. We’re a growing and keen group and these visits are always fantastic. Russell and Bronwyn’s didn’t disappoint.

Russell explaining his and Bronwyn's garden

Two and a half years ago, Russell and Bronwyn moved from a 1-hectare property in Acton Park to their 653 sqm lot in Lindisfarne. Obviously the garden is much smaller, yet they managed to pack so much in that it's hard to imagine what they've left out. In such a short time they’ve turned their near-empty plot into a verdant garden of edibles and ornamentals that don’t just put food on the table but provide a beautiful environment to relax after a hard day of weeding!

Seedling beds

One of many potted tomato plants

There is almost no space left unproductive in this garden, especially on the food garden side of the property. In this small area there are vegetables in beds, fruit trees in the ground, berries along a trellis, planters with more food plants and the list goes on. It would be impossible to list it all in a blog post so I’ll just focus on a few of the highlights that you might not find in many gardens.

Trellis for berries, hanging planters, pots, all with a structure for netting the lot

Fruit trees with veggies in pots and hoops to hold bird netting

Rat Defence: The Cage 

Rat-proof garden cage

Several of us were keen to hear about how Russell and Bronwyn dealt with the local hungry rodents. Russell told us how they’d lost a crop of peas followed by a crop of broad beans to rats. Simple netting wouldn’t work so they built a serious cage to tackle the problem once and for all. The cage is made of a wire mesh which is small and strong enough to keep out most pests including rats, but big enough to allow in insects (unfortunately that includes cabbage moths). 

Extra "fencing" to deter cabbage moths

The cage is actually more of a cube because the wire mesh goes underneath most of the cage as well. Except where there’s a raised bed, the ground is covered with the same mesh as the walls and roof. And the raised beds have rubble in the bottom so it’s unlikely even the most zealous rat would get in. The outside of the cage is lined either with concrete pathways or large pavers adding the final security to Russell and Bronwyn’s veggie patch. 

Wire mesh defence

Strawberry Tower 

Very productive strawberry tower

After one failed attempt at growing strawberries in a tower, Russell explained their current method that obviously is working really well. A normal plastic rubbish bin was modified by putting wheels on the bottom, drilling holes in the sides to hold the plants and adding a watering tube down the centre (a normal PVC tube with holes drilled in the sides allowing water to reach all levels of the tower when filled). Perlite was mixed with the soil to avoid the issue of waterlogging and the results speak for themselves. 

Watering tube hiding amongst the leaves

Not-so-thornless Youngberry 

Thornless Youngberry

Russell explained how his Youngberry (a cross between blackberries, raspberries and dewberries), a thornless plant, has recently produced a cane with thorns. One of our club members is familiar with this tendency and explained that this can happen with Youngberries as they can be a periclinal chimera – a plant which is made up of layers of tissues with different genes. This is not the same as grafting, but rather a complex hybrid. This sometimes results in a cane coming from the wrong layer and bearing thorns. In this situation it is best to remove the entire cane with the thorns. Other canes will hopefully continue to be thornless.

Raised Pumpkin Bed 

Rooftop pumpkins

Raising a pumpkin bed is nothing particularly unique but this bed was raised so that the vines could ramble over the top of the garage making use of the space that had been unused before then. Russell and Bronwyn have covered the garage with a mesh to give the vines something to hang on to. A passionfruit coming up the other side of the garage also likes this warm, sturdy structure. A bonus of this planting is it shields the plants from the wind which comes off the nearby Lindisfarne bay.

Peter Cundall Pumpkins 

Growing across the roof of the garage are Peter Cundall pumpkins. Russell offered all of us seeds from these pumpkins which he sourced (with the help from some friends in Launceston and the ABC studios) after a long search. Peter named this pumpkin variety “Superskin” because of the dark olive skins that set hard and resist rot making them excellent for long term storage. And they're worth storing because they are great eating with flesh that is butter smooth, bright orange and has a fantastic taste. Peter chanced upon this pumpkin in his own garden as a result of other varieties cross-pollinating and saved the seeds to plant again finding all the good qualities remained. Time will tell how the Food Garden Group members fare with the seeds that are now the great-grandchildren of Peter’s. 

Though this club and blog are focused on food gardening, it would be impossible to spend time in Russell and Bronwyn’s garden without appreciating the gorgeous flowers and the quiet refuge in the back courtyard of (almost) purely ornamental plants. It’s worth being reminded how ornamentals can be the icing on the cake of a great food garden. 

As with all garden visits, the morning tea table was well stocked with goodies brought by our generous members (look out for the recipe in this blog for the gluten free corn fritters). The produce table and seed box were overflowing with the surplus brought to share. Despite the cold and windy spring and a few hot days this summer, its obvious our members are on top of their gardens, reaping the rewards and, hopefully, enjoying every minute of it.

A special thanks to Russell and Bronwyn for being the perfect hosts and sharing their garden and time with us this month.

Bumblebee attracted into the garden by the lavender bushes