They mustard done this before…

October 10, 2012 at 11:32 am (Botanic Gardens, Gardening - Basics, Pests and problems)
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I was in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne over the weekend and spotted this under-planting of Mustard (Brassica juncea) in their species rose garden.

Mustard growing in the rose garden, but why?

I am not exactly sure why they have planted the mustard here. I am not a huge believer in “companion planting” which is the idea that certain plants somehow influence each others’ growth by means other than direct competition for nutrients, water and sunlight. There are a few plants that can exude chemicals into the soil from their roots, or through their leaves that runs off when it rains, but they are few and far between.

But there are reasons to include mixed planting, such as to increase the number of plants in a limited space. In this case, nobody benefits directly from the delicious looking vegies growing here, as visitors are not allowed to remove plant material from the gardens. They have planted more than one type of mustard here, too, so the decision could have been purely ornamental, and they do look quite attractive, even though they have now gone to flower.

Red Mustard in with the species Roses at RBGM, possibly to attract predator insects.

But the most likely reason, especially as they have been left to flower, is to attract predatory insects that will feed on pests of the Roses and other ornamental plants . Other Brassicas left to flower will do the same thing, but other families do too, including the Apiaceae family, which includes Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), Carrots (Daucus carota) and Coriander (Coriandrum sativum); and the Daisy family (Asteraceae), which includes Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), Chicory (Chicorium intybus) and Sunflowers (Helianthus anuum).

Some interpretive signs around the beds to explain this to curious visitors would be helpful. Maybe next year.

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Gloves will tear us apart

June 10, 2012 at 12:54 pm (Container gardens, Featured plants, Gardening - Basics)
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I try to propagate my own plants as much as I can. It’s usually cheaper than buying plants and it’s endlessly fascinating to watch the plants develop from seed or cuttings, or watch a grafted bud shoot away in the spring.

But for whatever reason, it’s not always possible, and we do sometimes have to buy plants, even if only to give ourselves some paterial to propagate from. To be accurate, buying seeds is buying plants anyway, just in their most compact and easily stored form!

French Sorrel in a pot: but there’s more than one plant in here.

I bought some herbs from a stall at a garden show some time ago, but I looked for pots that had multiple plants in them, so I got better value. You can see from the photos,the pot of French Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) I bought has more than a single plant in it,  leaves are emerging from more than one point.

French Sorrel divided showing numerous individual plants

I tipped out the pot and split the contents in half just by pulling them apart. I did break a few leaves, but that doesn’t really matter, they can be fed to the worms or thrown in a salad, depending on your preference. The important part is the individual stems, and as long as the roots are intact, the leaves will grow back.

Sorrel plants divided up

It’s a good idea when transplanting nursery grown or potted plants to remove all the potting mix from the roots, it forces the plant to grow roots into the surrounding soil and seek out nutrients and water, rather than staying in the comfortable surrounds of the potting mix with it’s ready supply of food, air and water. In this case I had to remove the potting mix to separate out the individual little plants.

Newly potted sorrel x17

There were more than 20 individual plants in the original pot I bought, but some were tiny, so I put them in the same container, and ended up with 17 pots of Sorrel from my initial purchase.

Sorrel is a perennial herb, which means it will naturally divide and continue to grow year after year. If clumps get too big, I can dig them up and divide them, and after a couple of weeks, I can plant these out in a row, or just share them around. It is quite happy in a container, too, just divide again when it gets too big. Sorrel is used all over the world as a fresh or cooked green, and has a delicious, slightly sour flavour. It is much used in French provincial cooking. Why not give it a try!

While you’re out there, see what joy division can give you. Look for plants with multiple stems emerging from the pot, especially herbaceous perennials like Sorrel, Globe Artichoke, Mint, Lovage and so many more. You are unlikely to harm the plant, just make sure each new section has roots and shoots or buds, and they will come good. Have fun!

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I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden

November 18, 2011 at 2:06 pm (Container gardens, Gardening - Basics, Pests and problems)
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The following post is adapted from a workshop given at the Green Renters Expo in association with the City of Yarra, May 17th, 2011

I was challenged by my friends at Green Renters to put together a short talk about food gardening for people with limited access to an established garden. Trying to squeeze in as much as possible into such a short presentation (I really only had about half an hour) was pretty difficult, so I had to pare down the volumes of information about growing plants to the bare bones. This is what i came up with.

Gardening without a garden

Getting by with what you’ve got

Not everyone has a garden, and in the past, only the extremely wealthy could afford lavish gardens. Landed gentry had teams of gardeners on their estates tending to exotic plants collected from all around the world. As the middle class grew, smaller versions of these elaborate status symbols replaced the purely utilitarian vegie plots and orchards in suburban private gardens, and even in government owned properties. Status is fine, if you actually can afford it as the old fashioned lords could: they had their own productive land as well as the extensive show gardens. The average person does not have that luxury. In some cases, a patch of soil is not even available for any kind of garden.

The front yard of a nearby neighbour, every year it's full of vegies.

So, where can we put a garden? As one version of things goes, before all else: Let there be light! A successful, productive garden needs at least 6 hours a day of direct sunlight. There are plants that can grow in less light, but as our focus is on food for people, the less light there is, the fewer meals you will get from the space. Light is essential for plant growth, plants take energy fromsunlight and convert it into chemical energy which we can eat. The light should be preferably in the morning, as the afternoon sun is generally hotter, and will tend to stress the plants a bit more, but in the end, any light is good, as long as there’s enough of it.

If a garden bed already exists, choose it to start with. It’s easier to dig out old plants you dan’t want, and replace them than start a whole new garden. Sometimes, anyway. There are problems, especially with established woody plants, which can cause problems, but in most cases, an existing garden is a good place to begin. The next best place is a lawn area. Lawns require a lot of sun, so a healthy patch is a good indication that there is enough light and water to grow most other plants, including food!

But what if there’s no soil at all? Any open space can be used as a growing area. In the inner cities, large areas have been paved, conreted or covered with hard surfacing like asphalt to reduce maintenance. These places are perfect, if they get enough sun, we just have to consider options for growing in containers, which I will come back to. In actual fact, the ground may not be the only place to put containers, and anywhere there is close-to-level space, such as balconies, roof tops, or even stairways can be considered, taking safety and access into account, of course.

Containers don't have to be "plant pots"

Another thing to consider is access to water. Is there a tap nearby the area you are going to use? It makes it so much easier to keep things going if you aren’t having to lug heavy watering cans up and down stairs or hoist them on to roofs to alleviate the thirst of your garden, and they are thirsty. In summer you may have to water every other day, in containers, maybe every day. There are automated ways of doing this, but a hose and trigger spray nozzle are the easiest.

There are other advantages of inner city gardens such as a potential lack of frost, due to being off the ground, or surrounding bricks and paving keeping things war at night. There are also often lower populations of weeds and pests, due to the absence of other gardens nearby for them to migrate from.

What can you grow? Anything you like, really, the number of plants that can be grown are limited by climate, but in any location, there are hundreds of species of plant that can be grown productively. the first thing to consider is what do you like to eat? There’s not much point growing things that you don’t like, it takes just as much work to grow them, but you don’t get anything out of it. Everything is seasonal, too. Some things will grow all year, but most plants have an optimum time of year in a particular area. This usually means they are in season when they are also cheapest in the shops, so find unusual or expensive things, or things that don’t transport well for starters. Soft fruits, fresh herbs, tomatoes and salad vegies are my first thoughts, but it’s really up to you.

You can grow whatever you want in your space

So how can we grow a garden without garden beds? The first option is raised beds. These can work on lawns, if you don’t want to dig them up, but they can work on concrete or other paved surfaces, they behave just like large containers. Basically, you build a wall around the area you want to use, and fill it with “soil”, but I will come back to this. Of course you can use plant pots, or any other kind of container, polystyrene fruit boxes are easily obtained, usually for nothing, from local grocers, or markets (if you can find one). But really, you can use anything as a container, with a few important provisions.

Firstly, it has to hold “soil”, and I keep using scare quotes, because bringing in actual soil from somewhere else is expensive, and basically unsustainable in most cases, but we can work around that. Cheap potting mix is a good option. Supermarkets and big variety stores have potting mix for less than $5/25 litres. The one thing to note is the Australian Standrad logo. There are two standards for potting mix, Regular, which does not have to contain any fertiliser, and Premium, which contains enough for a few months. The standard means you are sure the mix contains no toxic chemicals, retains water and nutrients, drains okay, allows air down to the plant roots: all the things you need from a potting mix. The container itself must also have holes at the bottom to allow water to drain away, or roots become waterlogged.

Logo for the Australian standard (regular grade) potting mix. Premium grade is the same in red.

You need to fill up the container almost to the top, but not quite, as there needs to be some space, a “reservoir” for water to collect so it can filter into the potting mix. Don’t squash it down too much, either, it will settle when it’s watered in., and too much pressure will squash out all the air spaces in the mix, and suffocate your plants.

But where do we get our plants? If you’re buying plants, seeds are the cheapest way to do it. You’ll get more plants than you know what to do with from most packets of seeds. It’s best to buy things that are “open pollinated” if you can find them, which means you will be able to save this year’s seeds again for next year. But there are plenty of other ways to get plants. Division is one way, there are a lot of plants, like Mint and Oregano, and Thyme, where you can just dig a little bit of the plant from an existing one, and plant it where you want it to grow. A bit more complicated it taking cuttings, where you cut a small stem from an established plant, strip most of the lower leaves off and stick it in some potting mix. Eventually, if the cuttings are kept moist, and out of direct sun in a warm spot, like the top of the fridge, new roots will grow from the base, and you can plant the cuttings out. Rosemary and Sage work well this way.

Not too little, not too much, this Apple seedling finds things just right. Maybe I'll call it Goldilocks.

Fertiliser = Plant Food. Plants produce their own energy, but they need certain elements to build the machinery to do it. These come from the nutrients found in fertilisers. The most important are Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, or “NPK” in their chemical symbols. These can be found in both synthetic chemical fertilisers, or in organic fertilisers. Chemical fertilisers are easy to apply in small amounts to deliver large doses of appropriate nutrients, while organic fertilisers, mostly animal manures, require much larger quantities to be applied for the same result. For this reason, along with the issue of odour, some people choose to use chemical fertilisers. It’s a personal decision, really, it makes little difference to the plants, though organic fertilisers increase soil organic matter and microbial activity, which is a good thing, while chemical fertilisers are much easier to overdose on and produce undesirable effects.

Pests and Diseases are often the cause of much discouragement. Grubs and slugs and bugs can eat away plants literally overnight, but there are simple solutions. Firstly, the best defence is healthy plants, healthy plants seem to be attacked less by pest and disease, so keep them growing strong. Growing many different plants together, mixed up rather than in neat rows, seems to confuse any critters looking for a free feed. Lastly, there are plenty of low toxicity sprays that will knock back the baddies. Just remember they will also knock out any beneficial bugs as well, like ladybugs and hoverflies.

Grow as many different plants as you can in the space you've got, it helps confuse the pests, keep out weeds, and produce more food!

Weeds take up empty space in the garden. If you have weeds, it means you could have more plants you like. Pulling weeds makes more weeds! By ripping them out, you are bringing more weed seeds to the surface, and allowing more sunlight to warm the soil, and more water to germinate more seeds. Mulch reduces weeding and watering, by shielding the soil from the sun, evaporation is reduced, so more water stays in the soil for plant roots. Organic mulches provide some nutrients as they break down, but very woody mulches can use up some nitrogen if you are not careful. Any mulch is better than nothing, even stones or plastic could help stop weeds and hang on to water.

Many plants produce more when harvested, like beans, peas, salad greens, even broccoli, so keep picking! Keep sowing seeds, too, on a regular basis, so plants can be replaced when they are slowing down. Most of all, keep trying, take notes so you can look back on what works and what doesn’t, and don’t get discouraged. No one is good at something the first time they try. Remember learning to cook?

The golden garden rules

  • Light
  • Water
  • Healthy roots = healthy shoots
  • Mulch
  • Plant what you like
  • Keep planting
  • Keep picking
  • Learn from mistakes
  • Have fun!

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The way things are goin’, they’re gonna crucifer me

July 27, 2011 at 12:18 pm (Featured plants, Gardening - Basics, Pests and problems, Planting calendar, Seed Saving)
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Someone asked me the other day if they could eat Broccolini leaves. They wanted to use them in a recipe, some kind of quiche-like tart which called for Kale to add some greenery. The answer was “Of course you can, they are the same thing”. Because ultimately, they are the same plant species. In south-western Europe, sometime in prehistory, people began to eat a plant now known as Brassica oleracea, a tough plant, tolerant of limestone soils and salt laden winds, which stores water in its fleshy leaves to cope with its harsh native habitat. The plant is a good source of vitamins, including vitamin C, and minerals, containing the highest levels of calcium among vegetable sources. The plant used to belong to the family Cruciferae, so called because of the cross-shaped flowers they all possess. The family name was changed relatively recently to Brassicaceae, and includes many edible plants, including Mustard, Turnips & Swedes, and Radishes, to name a few obvious examples.

A browse through the bounty of the Brassicaceae family, Choi Sum, Cauliflower and Daikon radish

But most surprising to me is the variety of “different” vegetables that are all contained within the species B. oleracea. The list includes many favourite, and commonly grown vegies, at least one of which most people would eat weekly, if not daily. Things like Kale, Collard Greens, Borecole, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, the misinterpreted Kohl Rabi, and the unfairly maligned Brussels Sprouts all spring from the same source. You can track the origin through their names, which mostly contain a variant of “Cole”. This also gives us the name of the ubiquitous coleslaw, derived from the name for cabbage salad: No cole, no coleslaw. Let me elaborate further by discussing each in detail.

Kale, Collards and Borecole

These plants are probably the most closely related to the original wild species, and are grown for their leaves. They are collectively grouped as B. oleracea var. Acephala, the varietal name indicating they have no head, as a cabbage does. Borecole comes from a  Dutch name, Boerenkool, meaning peasant’s cabbage, but genetically these plants are very closely related. This biennial plant (meaning it flowers in its second year of growth) is resistant to frost, and can grow to nearly two metres if left alone.

The currently fashionable Cavallo Nero is really just a variety of Kale. Once regarded as peasant food, now a gourmet vegetable. Some peasant labour is clearly needed in this community garden plot at the Collingwood Children's Farm.

The appearance of some varieties is quite ornamental, and they can easily be hidden amongst flowers in a more ornamental garden, though I am not sure who can justify the time, water, space and effort to grow plants purely for appearance. Some Kales are grown purely for ornamental purposes, and can be found more often in the florist than the greengrocer’s. They have frilly, feathered, brightly coloured purple and white leaves – almost forming Cabbage-like heads in some cases. These are still edible, though the flavour is not great. I suppose like most things, it depends how hungry you are.

One of the most common colour variations in Kale varieties, as well as the other Brassicas, is a purple hue, like this Purple Kale. It usually changes to a blueish colour when cooked.

Kale can be grown pretty much any time of year, and harvested throughout its life cycle. The plants will love a high nitrogen supply, and will probably do better if some liquid fertiliser is applied as they grow. Just remember that the leaves give the plant energy, so if you take them all, recovery will probably be slow, and you may shock the plant into flowering. But you can always cut back the flower heads and keep on gutsing the leaves.

Cabbage

The name Cabbage is possibly a corruption of the Latin for head, caput, referring to the growth of a large ball of leaves in the centre of the plant. This head has been selected over centuries, and is an important food in many parts of the world. In fact, despite being relatively low in energy content, they are high in vitamins and minerals, and remain one of the most grown vegetables. Highest production annually is in China, followed somewhat unsurprisingly by India then the Russian Federation. I have to admit the true Cabbages are among my least favourite of the species. I rarely buy them except with specific recipes in mind, while others I grow all the time or buy routinely, when in season.

The humble Cabbage, growing at the Collingwood Childrens' Farm community garden

There are a huge number of cultivated varieties of cabbage, in numerous shapes, colours and textures, but these are not to be confused with the Asian Cabbages which have often been bred from the related Turnip, or from Mustard. European Cabbages are commonly pickled, such as in sauerkraut, as well as being eaten fresh or cooked in a huge variety of dishes. There are varieties that may be grown all year round, and cut plants will often resprout smaller heads after the main head is removed. The most commonly eaten part is the tightly bound “head” of young, immature leaves, which make the plants compact compared with their close relatives. If left until their second year, a flower stalk will burst through the head, which by this time will be less than palatable, but still technically edible.

Keep sowing a few at a time to avoid a harvest season glut.

Cabbages grow in most places, they will tolerate frost, and grow best at cooler times of year. They like fertile soil in full sun, with plenty of compost and organic fertiliser. They may bolt in hot weather, so harvest as soon as they ready, and plant successively for a continuous supply. This applies to all the Brassicas mentioned here. A few every week is better than a dozen at once come harvest time.  They are ready to harvest in 7-14 weeks depending on the variety.

Broccoli

Broccoli, or more specifically B. oleracea var. Italica has been selected, initially in Italy about two thousand years ago, for the flowering stems of the plant. There are numerous varieties, as one would expect, the most common producing large branching flower heads that look like little trees. This similarity may make it easier to get little people to consume this vegetable, and is worth a try if you have trouble in that department. Sing the Lumberjack song while you eat, if it helps. The generally bluish plants are best grown through the winter as hot weather can make them bolt to seed. They will flower eventually if the heads are not harvested, though again most of the plant is edible anyway, including the flowering stems. They will handle frost, and to get the largest possible heads should be planted 40 – 60cm apart, though closer plants will produce smaller heads.

Broccoli can produce very large heads, like this 40cm monster at the Collingwood Children's Farm gardens. Closer planting means smaller heads, which is more useful for smaller households.

It is thought by some to be a cross between heading Cabbage and the Cauliflower, originally, and has been known in Southern Europe since before the Medicis, who took the plant from Italy to France in the 1500s. By the early 1600s it had made its way to England, and it was planted at Norfolk island as early as 1788, making it among the first vegetables from Europe to be grown in the colonies. There are Green and Purple Sprouting Calabrese varieties, which give a continuous supply of shoots after the main harvest, and there are Perennial varieties which can be kept going for months at a time by continuous harvesting of the side shoots.

Broccoflower like this example at the Queen Victoria Market, is an actual cross between Broccoli and Cauliflower, and has the same growing preferences as Broccoli.

Broccoli is probably my personal favourite of this species, and in the garden, they are not only easy to grow, but many varities produce side shoots after the main “head” is removed, providing ongoing broccoli feasts. Most people are aware the stalks are edible, though the larger they are, the tougher they get. I still use the thick main stalks in the kitchen, peeling away the fibrous outer layers of skin and chopping up the softer insides to use in soups and stews. I have even chopped and then frozen the stalks if I didn’t need them straight away. Delicious.

There's some debate about whether the fractal-patterned Romanesco Broccoli is a Cauliflower or a Broccoli, but it can be treated as either.

The vegetable known as Broccolini, Brocoletti or Baby Broccoli is generally the side shoots, developed after the main head is harvested, though some varieties of Broccoli have been selected specifically to provide these smaller shoots.

Cauliflower

The curds of the Cauliflower are the most eaten part of the plant, they grow much the same as for Cabbages, but tolerate less heat and frost. Heat particularly will break up the compact heads and induce flowering quickly, though of course they are still edible beyond this point. Again, a continuous planting will result in a  continuous supply at harvest. Despite being known in ancient times in the Middle East and North Africa, the Cauliflower didn’t make it to England until the 18th century. Though they were well known in Australia by the early 19th century. There are white, green and purple headed varieties available, so you can be creative with their planting, and they mature in 12-20 weeks, again doing best through the cooler part of the year.

Call me old fashioned, but sometimes I crave Cauliflower in Cheese sauce. Pakora are pretty good, too.

Kohl Rabi

Something of an oddity, the Kohl Rabi is sometimes known as the Turnip Rooted Cabbage, due to the swollen base of the plant. It is in fact the stem that swell, rather than the root, but the Kohl Rabi is treated as a root vegetable nonetheless. It is grown in cooler climates from Spring to Autumn, opposite seasons in warm places. But as it’s mid-winter here, it’s the only type of B. oleracea I could find neither growing nor in the market. The varietal name Gongylodes refers specifically to the “Cabbage Turnip”, if the common name is translated from the original German. Plants must be grown quickly to avoid the swollen stems becoming tough. Several purple tinged varieties are available, but only the skin is pigmented, the edible flesh inside the stem is white or yellowish. The vegetable has a mild cabbage flavour, not unlike Broccoli stems or cauliflower, and is commonly used in stews and soups similar to Turnips, though in North Africa and other places the leaves are commonly eaten also. These cultivars have only been known for a bit over five hundred years.

Brussels Sprouts

Possibly the most hated of Cabbages, the Brussels Sprout has a bad reputation especially among children. I say GOOD, that leaves more for me. The Brussels Sprout, or Choux de Bruxelles, was developed some time before the 13th century when the first records appear in Belgian market records. It didn’t make much headway in the English speaking world until a few centuries later later, and probably arrived in Australia late in the 19th century, but remaining obscure until after the Second World War. The plants do best in a cold climate, so are not really suited north of Sydney or along the coast, but are quite happy in Victoria and Tasmania. They were often included in traditional English Christmas dinners, mainly because they, along with Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum) are one of the few things left standing in the garden at that time of year. Many gardeners will insist that a good frost (or a snowfall) will improve their flavour, but in the cities of Australia, that occurrence is increasingly unlikely. They are planted in late Summer or Autumn, and harvested 12 – 20 weeks later, depending on the variety and the season. The plants need a fair amount of space, and grow quite tall, the sprouts themselves forming along the leaf axils, and may need staking especially in shallow or loose soils. Some popular old varieties to look for are Long Island Improved, an old standard non-hybrid variety, and Ruby Red, which as the name suggests will add some colour to the already interesting looking plants.

Not all that popular among inner city growers, probably because they take up a lot of space for a relatively long time. People still want to eat them, though, Brussels Sprouts for sale at the Richmond market with Broccolini

A particular pest: The Cabbage White Butterfly

I’ve already written about the major pest of this species, the prolific and devastating Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae). They can wipe out a crop of Brassicas in a couple of days, especially when young, and seem to be more of an issue than the other big garden pest snails and slugs.

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Green-age wasteland

May 19, 2011 at 11:09 am (Container gardens, Featured plants, Fruit trees, Gardening - Basics, Seed Saving)
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A lot of people probably don’t realise, or at least don’t stop to consider, that when they buy fresh fruit and vegetables, they are often buying the means to generate more fresh fruit and vegetables. Every time you spit out pips of any fruit you eat, you are probably throwing away the means to grow whatever fruit is your fancy. Of course, most commercial fruit comes from carefully selected varieties, nursery propagated by grafting a well known variety on to disease resistant rootstock to grow in a large plantation which will produce uniform fruit of consistent quality under well known conditions at a predictable time of year. Any seed grown from such fruit will not be exactly the same, due to the wonders of sexual reproduction, and resulting natural genetic recombination. But then, why does that matter?

If you want a well known variety of fruit, and you can grow it in your garden, chances are it will be cheapest in the shops when your tree is laden with fruit. That’s how the market works. But if you have a tree in your garden that has different fruit to any other tree in the world, which is quite conceivable, then nobody else will have it for sale. Sure, it won’t be much different; after all, if you save a seed from an orchard grown fruit which was surrounded by genetically identical trees when it flowered, the gene pool is  small to begin with. But every now and then, random recombination combined with natural variation means something new and unusual will spring forth. It may have a different flavour, or colour, or more disease resistance, or better nutritional content, or prettier flowers, or larger fruit, or any other possible variation. The world renowned Granny Smith apple, for example, came from a seedling out of a compost heap in country New South Wales. And if you do get something worth spreading around, you obviously have the right to immortalise yourself, though I don’t think Maria Anne Smith referred to herself as “Granny”.

Some sorely neglected Citrus seedlings. You know how mechanics' cars are always falling apart?

Some fruit produce seeds that are poly-embryonic, meaning they are capable of growing more than one plant from each seed. In the case of Citrus species, one of the embryos is asexual, meaning it’s a clone of the parent plant, along with one or two “normal” embryos. I used to peel the seed coat off citrus pips and stick them in my mum’s indoor plants. They usually grew, but I never took it further than germinating them as a kid. There’s no way of knowing which of the seedlings is the clone, obviously, until they fruit, or you have a genetics lab handy. And seedling trees take longer to fruit than grafted, nursery propagated fruit trees, possibly up to seven years, as compared to two or three. But seedlings are free, and if after a few years waiting the fruit turns out to be not to your liking, you can always graft on something you do like. Even commercial trees have this done as consumer tastes change.

Sprouting Garlic cloves, ready for planting (pic courtesy of shonky photo, inc.)

Okay, so fruits are all good, but what about vegetables? In some cases, they are fruit anyway. Tomato, Pumpkin, Melon, Capsicum and Chilli seeds are easy to identify for example, and Eggplant too, though the seeds are a little harder to extract. But often we actually buy whole or almost whole plants. The onion family is the best example of this. Onion and garlic bulbs are basically dormant plants. Each individual clove of garlic is capable of producing a whole bulb of garlic if you stick it back in the ground. Just look for clove that are already starting to push out a leaf, and bury them pointy end up, just below the soil surface. Onions will regrow if planted, though not as deeply, and they usually just flower, which gives you a seed supply at least. Onions that have divided into separate bulbs may be able to become multiplier onions, this is where Shallots originally came from.

Look ma! Growing Garlic!

Leeks are also a whole plant, though they are usually trimmed of excess leaves and roots before they arrive at the market. But you can use the leek as normal in the kitchen, and then replant just the base, which will re-grow. Again, you may only end up with a flowering stalk, but they do look attractive, like pink pom-poms, and again, you will be able to collect plenty of seeds. Pretty much anything that comes with a root attached, for example bunched herbs, can be replanted and grown again, though the shock of harvest and transport may mean they simply flower quickly and produce seeds. But you may get some foliage, which is what you want from herbs, and at the very least you will get seeds.

Three leeks and a celery. Not pictured: Ted Danson

Whole bunches of celery can also be a source of planting material. I usually pull off the large outside stalks of celery until the pale, tiny leave in the centre are all that’s left attached to the base of the plant. That base can be planted either in the garden or in a pot, and will grow new leaves and roots, which may either be harvested, or left to produce seed for next year.

The pale, sickly looking celery heart. This was indeed a dark day for flash-free photography. Happily, the celery made a miraculous recovery (see above)

These are just a few examples of how your grocery basket can be a way of filling up your food garden as well as your fridge. If something looks like it will grow, give it a try, you never know your luck. I am currently eyeing a pineapple top in my compost bin. I will get back to you…

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Wade in the water

April 29, 2011 at 1:26 pm (Container gardens, Featured plants, Gardening - Basics, Pests and problems, Water Gardens)
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I have often commented that one of the major reasons, if not the single biggest reason, for failure in growing plants is forgetting to water them. There are ways around it, putting in irrigation systems, for example, or having timely reminders from people like me. But ultimately, if plants don’t get water, they don’t grow, but equally, if they get too much water, many plants will die of waterlogged roots.

Of course there are plants quite at home completely submerged in water. Plants originally developed in the oceans of the world, where they had no concern about water supplies, and had a completely different set of problems. Most of the useful water plants you might wish to grow are actually land plants that appear to have re-adapted to the aquatic lifestyle, but they all tolerate, and even thrive, sitting in a body of water.

One of my favourites is Vietnamese or Hot Mint (Persicaria odorata) which I have been growing for years. I originally started growing from a stem I took home wrapped in a moistened serviette from a Vietnamese restaurant. It’s still going, and I have divided and given out dozens of plants from that original stem. But I learnt the trick to keeping it alive is to have its pot sitting in water all the time. I first kept it in pot, in a bucket, then graduated to a “pond” which is actually an old deep shower base I found on the side of the road.

The shower-base-pond in my backyard. Vietnamese Mint and Kang Kong are at the back, Taro and Fool's Watercress toward the front. That's Lemongrass on the edge in a pot.

I have grown other things in my shower pond, including Water Chestnuts (Eleocharis dulcis), which I had planted in a large, flat basket so they could be lifted out easily for harvest. At the moment I have Kang Kong (Ipomoea aquatica) a relative of the Morning Glory Vine, which is used for its abundant leaves, Taro (Colocasia esculenta) which is grown for its tubers, stems and leaves, and so-called Fool’s Watercress (Apium nodiflorum) which is a kind of perennial edible plant closely related to Celery (A. graveolens).

I have also thrown in Duckweed (Lemna minor) and the native water fern Azolla (Azolla pinnata) which help soak up excess nutrients in the water, as well as shade it. They float on the surface, grow really fast, and can be scooped out and used as mulch in other parts of the garden to keep the nutrients cycling. The only real drawback in having standing water is that you will attract mosquitoes to your garden, and they will lay eggs in the water, and while I don’t personally seem to get bitten much, it’s not the most pleasant of things if you wish to spend time out there.

Some people recommend putting oil or kerosene on your pond to counter the little wrigglers. I would never use anything like that, especially when growing food plants in the pond. The best thing to do is get a couple of fish who will eat he larvae. Goldfish are not that great, but better than nothing, ask a local aquarium what they suggest, it will depend on where you live. Also, they tend to like stagnant water, so a little fountain or waterfall pump might just do the trick, a solar powered one would be ideal.

While it may be starting to cool down, it might be worth thinking about planning for the spring time, and certainly while plans are dormant is the best time to set them up for next year. And don’t think the plants I have mentioned are the only options, there are a heap more plants that will grow in a small pond, and anything that can hold water is a suitable container. I just pot the plants in ordinary potting mix (regular grade Australian Standard, of course) and plonk them in the water. Simple as that!

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Garden Doctor Planting Calendar

April 7, 2011 at 2:17 pm (Gardening - Basics, Planting calendar)
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You know what I get asked most often?

“What can I plant right now in my garden?”

I can usually rattle off a few things to get people started, but I will always forget something, and that’s part of the reason I started this blog in the first place. You can look back for planting lists for every month of the year as posts, but I have made this Garden Doctor Planting Calendar using Google calendars and made it public. The idea is you can subscribe to this, and get reminders sent to your email address if you want them, which will keep you up to date as far as what you can be putting in the garden any time of the year.

I may expand it to include harvesting, too, so you can have an idea what you’re missing, hopefully to encourage you to get out and get ready for next season. Currently it has entries for Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart and Launceston, and Adelaide, but I will expand to other regions as time allows, so stay tuned. If you’re not covered yet and you’re in a hurry to get started, let me know! To use it, just click on the link, which will take you to the calendar, then click on “What to plant this week in [your city]” to get a pop-up list of everything you can put in at the moment. I’ll be updating the information over the next couple of weeks to include upcoming months, until I have covered the whole year.

Here’s the link again: Garden Doctor Planting Calendar

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For ev’rything, turn turn turn, there is a season, turn turn turn

February 11, 2011 at 3:44 pm (Gardening - Basics, Planting calendar, Seed Saving)
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What a year we have had, and it’s only six weeks old. In the late summer, the vegie garden should be in full production. Tomatoes should be ripening, zucchinis doubling size overnight, and all in such abundance your neighbours will be sick of them, if not you bringing more. And a lot of plants will be producing seeds.

The obvious seeds are those you can see directly, the little golden seeds in the tomato pulp, the slightly under ripe seeds in the beans to should be harvesting by the bucketful, the barely-there seeds in the tender squash and cucumbers that are ready for eating now. But there are other seeds coming on now, too. Some of the spring sown cabbages and greens will be flowering, the Apiaceae, including Carrots, and Parsnips, and a number of herbs. And right now my Mint is flowering and producing seeds, though whether that is a good thing for that hardened garden invader is a matter of opinion.

Carrot flowers in various stages of maturity

So it’s a good time to think about keeping some of those seeds. First of all, don’t worry if you don’t catch all of them. They will probably ripen over a period of time, some falling off before others on the same flower head have barely formed. That’s good for the plant’s survival, obviously, avoiding as far as possible having all its eggs in one basket, so to speak. And it’s not so bad for us, either, as it means you will have volunteers springing up in your garden, competing with other plants, let’s call them weeds, that we have no real use for.

Volunteers can pop up just about anywhere, like the Parsley on the right. I'm still not sure I'd be keen to eat it. Anyone have a rabbit?

Volunteers are plants that find their own place. Seedlings that pop up in odd places we’d have never thought to put them, like cracks in the concrete, and gaps in the garden beds. That’s fine, it means the plant likes it there, and has enough to keep it going. Such plants may provide an element of toughness to the garden gene pool, even if they are not the most productive of specimens. And anything is better than having those places filled with grass or other pest plants. Though even they are just showing there are niches we are not using to their full potential.

Parsnips in flower, some only just, some already forming seeds.

So, don’t worry about losing a few seeds here or there, but when the majority of a seed head is ripe, and even starting to dry, cut the stem as close to the base of the plant as you can, or at least, where it branches off the main stem. Stick the whole thing head first in a paper or cloth bag. Even an old pillow case will do, and hang it somewhere dry and shady if you can, but at least out of the rain. Then forget about it. All the remaining energy in the cut stem will go into the seeds, further ripening them.

Mature, ripe Parsnip seeds, ready to be collected

In a few weeks, go back and check, a lot of seeds will naturally drop off by themselves and collect in the bottom of the bag. The pods of the Brassicaceae family, the Cabbages, will split open and drop their seeds as they dry, as will beans and other things. Often all you will need to do is give the stems a shake and pull them out. There may be a few seeds left attached, but there should be more than enough seeds in the bottom for you to plant next season, and some to spare for swapping with friends.

Store the seeds in an airtight container. Commercially they sue plastic ziplock bags, which are perfect, but anything airtight will do, even old glass jars. You might want to put in a sachet of silica gel, which you may find in all sorts of packaged products, from food to shoes, labelled “do not eat”. This stuff helps keep the atmosphere dry, and prevents mould and bacteria as well as possible insect pests from spoiling the seeds. You should also label the seeds with what variety they are, and a date of collection, just so you don’t lose track.

These are the easiest seeds to collects, but next week I will tell you how to get seeds out of fleshy fruits, like Eggplants and Tomatoes. Happy seed gathering!

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Fear of a black plant: Getting started

January 4, 2011 at 11:51 am (Gardening - Basics, Pests and problems, Seed Saving)
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One of the most common things I hear from non-gardeners is that they have a “black thumb”. What they mean usually, is they tried to grow a plant once, and it died, so they gave up. If the first gardeners did the same, we’d still be foraging for food in the forest somewhere. I think gardening, like cooking, should be a natural part of any modern person’s skill set, because the principles are so basic. If someone can keep a cat or dog, they can grow plants, it’s that simple.

Just like every living thing, plants need three basic things: Water, food and shelter. In addition, plants need light, vegies about 6-8 hours a day, and the vast majority of plants grow in a specific temperature range, about 10-30 degrees Celsius. They may survive outside that range, but they will not grow as efficiently. Water is probably where most disasters happen, and it’s mostly due to forgetting to water them. Plants may not need watering every day, but it’s probably worth checking them that often just be sure. Plants use more water on hot days, and when it’s windy, and less when it’s cold.

I forgot to water these Cossack Pineapples, and it almost killed them, but you can see some regrowth at the base, and they have at least produced a bunch of fruit, which is full of seeds to try again!

If you can see them visibly wilting, it’s obvious they need a drink, but it’s usually best not to let them get to that stage, as they do go into a kind of shock if they get too stressed. The easiest way to check is to stick your finger into the soil or potting mix and see if it’s damp. If it’s dry, apply water. I find it easier to have a built in watering system, even for containers, and it makes it as easy as turning on a tap. Plants usually do better if they’re in the ground with a longer watering infrequently, which encourages roots to grow deep in search of water, while frequent short watering encourages shallow roots.

Food for plants is not the same as for animals. They actually make their own chemical energy from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. We call that sugar, and most other life on earth depends on plants for energy. But plants do need other nutrients to build their physical structure. Things like animal manures contain most of the nutrients plants need, though they can tend to smell for a couple of days after applying, but there’s much less likelihood of over-fertilising, which can burn the plants. Commercially available fertilisers will have application rates on the packaging, and as potency can vary greatly in unlabelled manures, some caution may be necessary when spreading, especially with poultry manures, which tend to be a bit stronger than cow, sheep or horse sources.

Even professionals get it wrong sometimes. It's too late for these Tomatoes. Good thing I grew more than I needed. And yes, I have seeds left over, too.

And as far as shelter goes, in the case of plants, that generally means protection. Plants can’t run away from their predators, so they need looking after by us if we want to eat them instead of being feasted on by slugs and snails and insects. How you choose to control the pests is entirely up to personal choice, but for the most part, some form of snail control will be needed, especially after rain, and a reasonably regular inspection and spray for other insects as required. A Pyrethrum based will knock off most pests, and is relatively non toxic to us, naturally sourced as it is from a daisy, though it will kill most insects, even the beneficial ones like ladybirds.

Really, what I am trying to get across is that growing pants is not really a lot of work. The plants have much more of a vested interest in their own survival than us, and do most of the work. We just have to keep an eye on them and give them a helping hand once in a while. Just like any skill, we get better with practice, and need to take every plant death or failure as an instructional learning experience. Even the oldest gardeners mess it up from time to time, but the cost of a pack of seeds is so inexpensive, it’s easy enough to just have another go. Go on, get back on the horse, Black thumbs of the world, and give it another try!

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You say Tomato, I say Tomatillo

December 3, 2010 at 10:59 am (Edible weeds, Featured plants, Gardening - Basics)
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Tomatoes are the most widely home-grown vegetable, but as I have repeatedly pointed out, when something is in season locally, it’s also at its cheapest in the shops and at market. I also like growing things that are unusual and interesting, or rare, just because I am a contrary so-and-so. And that’s why I became interested in the genus Physalis.

Closely related to the Tomato in the family Solanaceae, Physalis species are found throughout the world, and include the ornamental Chinese Lanterns (Physalis alkengi) grown for it’s colourful red “fruit”. The entire genus produce their tomato-like fruit concealed in a papery husk, formed by expansion of the calyx, which tends to protect the fruit from insects and birds. The fruit predominantly ripen to an orange colour, though many are edible before then.

Cape Gooseberry plant that overwintered in a sheltered spot. Not the fruits alrady developing in their husks

The two most commonly grown species are the Tomatillo (Spanish for “little Tomato’) or Tomate verde (P. philadelphica) which is the primary ingredient in Mexican green salsa and mole. It is often replaced by green capsicum in countries where it’s less known. The fruit often swells and bursts out of the papery husk, and while it is used green, it does ripen to a darker yellow colour, but purple, red, and orange varieties my be found. The so called “Cape Gooseberry” (P. peruviana) has many common names, but is native to South America. Its widespread cultivation in South Africa in the 19th century gave rise to the most popular of these names. The fruit develops completely contained in the husk, and ripens to a rich golden colour, at which stage it is juicy and sweet. It is quite strongly flavoured, though I am sure it is a “love or hate” taste, which may need some acquiring.

The plants are varied in size, from prostrate forms, to tall plants to about 2 metres, though their brittle stems may require some support or protection, like tomatoes. The thrive when given sufficient water and fertiliser, but seem to be much tougher than their more cultivated cousins, and they will survive and produce some fruit with little attention. Once planted, they often self-seed and pop up year after year, and in many cases survive the mild winters of the urban environment, and may start producing again the following spring. They may even become a desirable weed, something you don’t plant every year, but have an abundance of.

Seeds of these were sold to me as "Cossack Pineapple" (P. pruinosa). It remains to be tasted if that description is accurate, but they look cool.

Definitely worth a try if you like unusual ingredients, and especially if you wish to replicate authentic Mexican cuisine, without resorting to imported canned ingredients.

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