Organic advocates plant roots in Canberra

In a wild, sunny and productive corner of Sue Pavasaris's manicured back garden in Griffith, she keeps six pedigree chickens: a silver sussex, a sussex, three araucanas and a French maran. Though her partner does most of the cooking, Sue makes great sponge cakes, thanks to the fresh eggs. The eggs from the French maran are brown and look as though they have been dipped in chocolate and the pale blue araucana eggs have such viscous whites that they can be beaten to a perfect froth just using a fork. Sue's mother specialises in baking slices, while her twin sister bakes wonderful scones.

Sue's father is Lithuanian (hence Pavasaris which means spring), from a farm on the Belorussian border with Lithuania. The family house is still there and the couple visit it whenever they can. Her grandmother's apple orchard is still producing copious quantities of fruit and, out in the fields, geese weed the paddocks.

The couple are fish-eating vegetarians so they consume lots of fruit, vegetables and eggs and are keen to make a small environmental footprint. They have planted celery and kale seedlings for the coming season, fresh parsnip seeds are just germinating and they are planting garlic using stock from Diggers. Vines are still laden with ripening tomatoes, and a large tub is filled with cut-and-come-again salad greens, protected by a fine net to discourage the hens from eating the frilled and multi-coloured leaves.

Bright-red chillies have been dried and strung up in the kitchen. Just outside the kitchen door is a rack filled with gumboots and garden clogs, ready for outdoor action.

The pair moved to Canberra from Brisbane in 2013. There they had lived in an old Queenslander in Auchenflower, an inner-city area where there are still big blocks in the old suburbs. They kept 12 hens and won prizes for their eggs at a local annual fair. They also grew bananas and pawpaws. Sue also belonged to BOGI, Brisbane Organic Growers Incorporated.

After arriving in Canberra, Sue joined Canberra Organic Growers Society, which was established in 1977, so she could meet like-minded people and learn more about natural ways of growing edibles in the more southern climate. Sue's compost-making skills have been out to good use in Griffith through a random mix of kitchen scraps that the hens don't eat, like such as coffee grounds, citrus and onions, and also lawn clippings, chook poo, straw from the hen run, leaves and garden clippings. She mixes it with a big stick and makes sure it doesn't get too wet or too dry.

Sue Pavasaris edits Canberra Organic, the quarterly COGS magazine. It is a time-consuming role but she says the best thing is absorbing all the wisdom shared by Canberra growers and seeing how innovative people are in their gardens and plots. The magazine is sent out to 450 COGS members and there are contributions from convenors at the 12 local community gardens, sited from Charnwood in the north to Cotter and Holder in the west, and from Kambah to Mitchell and Oaks Estate.

The colour magazine has comprehensive information for local kitchen gardeners, with up-to-date tips on growing organic produce, pests on the season's crops and recycling hints. Members have contributed recipes for stinging nettle pesto, pickled cucumbers, zucchini, walnut and cranberry bread and for making verjuice from unripened grapes or, if you have bucket loads of sweet, ripe grapes, like many this season, for making vino cotto.

Kitchen garden giveaway

Because so many readers of Food & Wine have contributed to this particular column, which has entered its 20th year, we have a special book prize. In Matt's Kitchen Garden Cookbook (Penguin Australia. $49.95) executive chef Matt Moran includes 90 recipes featuring fresh, locally grown produce.

Canberra Organic Growers Society has given us three copies of the latest issue of Canberra Organic. It also has just released a planting guide which will form part of giveaway prizes. To win, send your name, address and best organic food tip, the livelier the better, to me by email at: boden parsons@bigpond.com.

Susan Parsons is a Canberra writer.