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By gum, it's perfect

Susan Parsons

A view from Acton Peninsula.
A view from Acton Peninsula.Graham Tidy

To celebrate Canberra Day, I am sharing a picnic location that is new to me. There is also the chance to win a books to read on your outing.

Wandering around the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies building on Acton Peninsula, I came across a pair of magnificent eucalypts and a red bridge. Dr Matthew Parker, of the National Capital Authority, confirms that the trees are apple box (Eucalyptus bridgesiana) and they are significant as the only two remnant indigenous trees in the area. The National Trust of Australia believes these eucalypts are 150 to 250 years old.

ARM Architects designed the site, and although visitors to the National Museum admire the bogong moth sculptures, architect Howard Raggatt says not many people get to see the AIATSIS courtyard behind. The red bridge is the work of landscape architect Tom Sitta, of Room 4.1.3 and Terragram. The bridge spans a small gully and towards the lake, there is a rise and views across the water to Attunga Point.

So, with the picnic place chosen, where are the tomatoes to take? A number of readers have told me their crops, or in some cases the larger tomatoes, have not grown well this year. A stranger from O'Malley, who had a chat in the street, said birds had eaten his entire crop. Which birds eat tomatoes?

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This season, I tried an apollo improved grafted F1 hybrid tomato seedling from Oasis. Planted into a large tub with premium potting mix, the leaves started browning off and curling. The nursery advised that, with grafted tomatoes, the graft should be buried 20 millimetres into the soil (this method is the same with grafted zucchini and grafted eggplants), and after replanting, my tomato took off. It is more than two metres tall, well staked and drinks litres of water. The crop of bright red, globe-shaped unblemished tomatoes has been huge, the fruit having an excellent taste and tender skin.

The yellow tommy toe variety, a plant from Gundaroo bought at the Southside Farmers' Market, has done well with its three-centimetre, non-acidic fruit. My third tomato, sungold, was raised in a pot from seed that I had saved. A Canberra friend returning from a recent trip to England with a packet of sungold seeds, declared them at Sydney Customs where they were seized.

Books to win

We have three books to give away: Yates Month by Month, by Sydney horticulturist Judy Horton (Collins, $30), which tells you what vegies to sow according to climatic zone and ways to solve tomato problems. It comes with packets of mortgage lifter tomato and mixed pansy seeds.

Outside the Magic Square, by Lolo Houbein (Wakefield Press, $45), which has an emphasis on food security and kitchen gardens. It comes with a set of four olive-green French table napkins from Le Jacquard Francais.

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Rosa's Farm, (Murdoch Books, $50), by chef and member of Slow Food Victoria, Rosa Mitchell, includes recipes for panzanella, roast tomato soup, tomato and fennel ragu and tomato cake.

To win, tell me which varieties of tomato you are growing, whether the crop has been bountiful or a disaster; and your favourite local picnic spot. Email bodenparsons@bigpond.com by Monday, March 11, subject: autumn picnic.

>>Susan Parsons is a Canberra writer.

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