Orchard Alert : Lightbrown apple moth (LBAM) numbers increasing
The reported numbers of LBAM caught in traps in the Perth Hills have increased since last week. The numbers in the Donnybrook and Manjimup regions remained low. For more info see Orchard Alert at www.agric.wa.gov.au

Organic Weed Management
Most organic farmers use an average of six weed management strategies, while most conventional farmers use one (herbicides).
Source: Rodale Institute survey, cited in "Seeking sustainable weed control alternatives," www.aglinenews.com/news-3.html,

Insights from the USA...
State of the Organic Union
Maria Rodale addresses three major issues that could affect every single person on this planet for better or for worse. And rallies a cry for everyone to work together to build a road to a future of which we want to be a part.
Source: Rodale Institute

Organic food brands vs. private labels
Some argue that large food retailers are taking advantage of the ‘organic' brand without making any of the associated investment. Indeed, the industry has been built by certification agencies and pioneering brands; the very same logos and brands that are slowly disappearing in supermarkets and mainstream retailers. The full research article can be read here.
Source: Organic Monitor

Organic Standards
The latest revision to the following Standards Australia publication has been published.
Publication Number: MP 100-2009/Amd 1:2010
Title: Procedures for certification of organic and biodynamic products
Publishing Date: 2010-11-09
Project Committee: FT-032 Organic and Biodynamic Products
The revisions include changes to the requirements for an organic certification body to conduct audits and the creation of a mechanism for maintaining a list of international organic standards that are deemed equally reliable to the Australian Standard AS 6000 2009 Organic and Biodynamic Products.
Source: Standards Australia

Posts shift for organic growers exporting to USA
Wooden fence posts and timber structures for kiwifruit and grape vines have been part of New Zealand's landscape for decades but changes in the US could see those on organic farms and orchards replaced with something completely different.
Over the Fencepost outlines potential alternatives to copper chromium arsenate (CCA) treated timber which is no longer able to be used on properties exporting organic products to the US."Over the Fencepost: Alternatives to CCA-treated timber" is a new resource from OANZ
Sources: Fresh Plaza, OANZ

Steven McCoy
Development Officer, Organic Food and Farming
Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia
Ph 08 9368 3960
Mb 0424 147 408
Fax 08 9368 3355

Alun was like Santa Claus, with oodles of Driwater packs to give away. These are designed to water pots and inground plants whilst away on holiday, and contain 98% water and 2% 'food grade ingredients', being Alum. There was some discussion about whether Alum was suitable for organic growing, and the consensus seemed to be that if in doubt about such things, use them only on the non-edible plants. Alun said he had around 500 to give away, and they are cluttering up his carport, so I kindly relieved him of some. I am moving house and many of my precious plants are in pots until they can be planted in my new home, so these will be very handy, especially with the hot weather upon us already. If interested, the website is www.driwater.com. 
Michelle talked about growing the 3 sisters, a Native American traditional form of companion planting. Michelle is growing beans, corn and melon together, while on the internet I found that the Native Americans used squash - I suppose any melon family plant would suffice. The corn supplies the support for the beans to grow on. The beans fix nitrogen from the air, enriching the soil for the corn, which likes a nitrogen rich soil. Squash is a ground covering vine with very large leaves, providing shade for the shallow roots of the corn, helping to keep the ground moist for the beans and keeping weeds down. Now if we humans follow suit, being helpful to one another like this, we will have world peace!
 Lothar also has bee hives, and we were informed that while the Stirling shire allows bee keeping, the Joondalup shire does not.
 Growing close to the coast was discussed, with Haydn and Chris saying they had replaced their soil with 30 cubic metres of soil from Greenlife soil company. They only grow citrus in pots, other fruit trees would maybe not survive due to their roots hitting the limestone. Possibly dwarf fruit trees would have shallower root systems. Vegies still grow well close to the coast in the replaced soil.
Haydn also regaled us with stories of compost tea to enthrall the uninitiated. His compost tea is made according to the principles of Elaine Ingham, which involves aeration as an essential ingredient. It is rather like probiotics for the soil Haydn uses it both as a soil drench and as a foliar feed. He has found the foliar feed to remove both aphids and white flies. Haydn used to rotate his crops, as per the common wisdom, but now will try Elaine's principle of this being unnecessary using her techniques and intermixing varieties as is done in Permaculture. Haydn recommended Elaine's DVD, available online, and also the book “Teeming with Microbes”. He has experimented with silverbeet, growing one plant using basic organic techniques, and another with the aerated compost tea. The latter plant is still cropping after a year, and has much stronger cell walls, as evidenced by stronger more upright leaves, and is much taller than the organic one. Haydn aims to have only one big compost making day a year, putting cardboard, fish guts etc through his mulcher and then into the aerated compost tea brewing machine. These can be purchased online from $4-500, or you can DIY from around $130. Haydn is looking for crayfish shells as they contain chitin, as do crabs and clams. Chitin helps prevent plant disease, increases yields and gives tolerance to extremes of temperature. The fermenting compost apparently does not cause a smell that would bother the neighbours. Chris leaves the compost making to Haydn and concentrates on food preparation and worm farming.
 I think it was Alun or Haydn that was saying that black soldier flies can be bred and are better at breaking down compost than worms. They make excellent food for chooks, and self harvest themselves by climbing up a 45 degree incline! Again details are available online. Very interesting.
 Jaylon has 30% shadecloth, and can use 50-70% in summer for vegies.
 Pam and John's broad bean crops were disappointing this year, and some of mine have a black fungal disease, which I am dealing with simply by removing infested bean pods. We discussed storing potatoes. John hardens them in the shade for 3 days, then puts them in a hessian sack in the walk in pantry. Chris has tried dry black sand but found it messy, so now is trialling geofabric (also good in worm farms), and not washing them. Both check them regularly to remove any damaged or rotting taters. Chris has had a lot of mole crickets putting holes in hers.
 My experiment growing potatoes in pots and putting straw on them as they grew failed miserably. I had very different growth rates in each pot, and they died back way too early. Not many 'taters, and very small but still tasty. Others said they had found that straw alone did not work well, and they have added compost and blood & bone as well and found that works better.
My beetroot were all leaves, and I suspected the straw mulch and not enough fertiliser had caused too much nitrogen, but Haydn had read that planting depth of seedlings also is a factor.
The next meeting will 29th Jan ring for details.
For address or more about Gwelup Gardening Group contact: Charles Otway on 92044629

If you like your fruit then you'll be a happy shopper at the moment. We've got plenty of sweet juicy peaches and nectarines. We've had the first cherries hit the shelves (that's when we know summer is really here). There's a lull between the Broome mangoes which have now finished and the Carnarvon season which is due to start any week now. There's also plenty of plump sweet strawberries and even some mulberries (I'm sure most of us have happy childhood memories of mulberries).

The vegetables are also in pretty good supply at the moment with the new season of Queensland carrots now in. We've had some local fennel (great in salads or even green smoothies) and the tomatoes are really flavoursome at the moment. There's now plenty of cucumbers around and really all that is missing for those gorgeous summer salads is capsicum.

Enjoy! Lyndon McMath

Here we are again - summer about to officially start but it feels like it's been here a while already! I'm sure you have all got your summer veggies in by now; if not, it's not too late to plant but you'll need to really nurse tender young plants through the hot days, with plenty of water, wind protection and shadecloth. It's still time to plant: Beetroot, Capsicum, Cucumber, Beans, Eggplant, Lettuce, Okra, Pumpkin, Melons, Sweet Corn, Sweet potato, Tomato and Zucchini.
Does anybody out there have excess Snake Bean seeds they've saved? We are no longer able to bring them into WA so trust me; they're like gold! Speaking of saving seeds, there is a good article on seed saving in the latest Organic Gardener magazine with some great tips.

Keep an eye on your worm farm at this time of year.  Ensure it is in adequate shade, and keep the moisture equivalent to a wrung out sponge damp - but not dripping wet.  Liquid castings can be harvested weekly pour through a bucket of water, ensuring the drainage tap is open, and collect the liquid as it percolates through.  (Worms can handle this just fine, as long as the moisture drains through and they can't drown.)  Dilute it down until it is the colour of very weak tea and use it as a foliar or liquid feed.
Remember at The Green Life Soil Co. through the Member Discount Scheme, OGAWA members can get 10% off our veggie mix picked up from our yard.  You may be interested to know that we are undertaking a 6 month trial on our veggie soil with the Soil Food Web Institute, testing not only the nutrients in the soil, but looking at quantities of beneficial microbes and bacteria.  We'll keep you posted, but we are sure the experiment will be fascinating!

No events advertised for this month due to Christmas commitments.

FOR SALE
biodynamic hay, conditioned and new season
$10 bale from farm gate - ph 96287042

FOR SALE
173 acres organic/biodynamic farm
No chemicals for 12 yrs, 3 dams, 3 large sheds, new house 4X2
Solar powder, all set ready for livestock, growing or broad acre cropping.
Will sell with machinery as ongoing business
tel 96287042 for more details

OGAWA Member Discount Scheme - Supporting businesses that promote organic food and farming
WA organic food and farming businesses offering discounts to members of OGAWA continues to grow. We thank these participating businesses for supporting the OGAWA and encourage all members to tell your friends about these great organic products and services available.
Click this link for the list of participating organic businesses.

The MDS is only available to current OGAWA members as shown by a valid membership card.
OGAWA Member Discount Scheme – Ask for your member discount from these participating businesses.  
Simply display your member discount card with some ID to verify your OGAWA membership.

Membership Renewals    Download Ordinary Membership Forms $30    
Download Commercial Membership Application $60

Welcome to the Organic Association of Western Australia's December 2010 edition of our paper– free electronic newsletter. We will be publishing a newsletter monthly and welcome articles, contributions and advertising from members and friends. (Please send to Leesa) Please ensure that we have your updated email address as our database has many invalid addresses where people have changed their details and not advised us. To subscribe or unsubscribe please contact Sue enews_editor@ogawa.org.au

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