Botanical Name

Rumex crispus, Rumex acetosella, Rumex obtusifolius

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

As you can see from my names, I cover a range of weeds that are variously known as Dock, Sheep Sorrel, broad leaf Dock and Curly Dock. As the name suggests I am related to sorrel and I am edible. I have a deep taproot, which keeps me well grounded. My leaves are edible, but if you want to eat me, its best to pick my leaves when they’re young. Older leaves can be eaten lightly steamed as a spinach alternative.

WHAT I’M TELLING YOU

As a weed, I am great in taking advantage of the poor condition of your soil. I like to grow in soils that are acidic with a pH below 6.5. And I really love soils that are deficient in phosphorous and calcium, although my broadleaf variety can be telling you that your soils are high in nutrients. I have a really deep tap root, which makes it hard to dig me out of your lawn. This makes Dock, Curly Dock and Sheep’s sorrel a much despised weed, despite the good I am doing for your soil and the good I can do in your diet. I have tiny yellow coloured flowers and set lots of seeds from each flower, which I happily disperse throughout your lawn.

BENEFITS

I am a beneficial weed, as I am highly nutritious. I have good levels of vitamin A, C and E as well as protein and iron. And I’m high in anti-oxidants, so I’m good for your health. My deep root may annoy you, but I’m actually working on breaking up the compaction in your soil.

CONTROLLING DOCK

I am best controlled by listening to what I’m telling you about your soil condition! I love growing in soils that are acidic and that are deficient in calcium and phosphorous, Try adding dolomite or lime to increase the pH of the soil and I won’t be so happy. Otherwise try hand weeding. Just make sure you do this after it has rained, otherwise my deep root will be difficult to dig out. Another method is to use a sharp knife and cut my leaves from my root. This allows the roots to keep working on your impacted soil. However, you are better off harvesting my leaves and adding them to your diet. If you pick my leaves often enough you’ll weaken me so I’ll leave you alone

I can also be controlled by using a biodynamic pepper ( see Biodynamic Peppers) However, weed peppers work best when combined with a weed tea. Weed teas take the nutrients I have accumulated in my leaves and feed them back to the soil.

If you must spray, use an organic weed killer comprised of vinegar, salt and soap. Other ways of controlling me include using organic herbicides like Slasher and Iron Sulphate which is good for broadleaf weeds. I can also be boiled alive by pouring boiling water on my leaves.

The post Dock appeared first on Delectable Garden.

Botanical Name

Hypochoeris radicata

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

Most people confuse me with the true Dandelion! I also have a seed head that you can blow, but its not as big as the true dandelion. As the main imitator of the Dandelion, I am also a broad leaf flatweed. I can grow a dense centre that smothers any plants around me. I also have a deep taproot which keeps me well grounded. My leaves are thicker and hairier than Dandelion leaves but they are still edible. If you want to eat me, pick my leaves when they’re young. Older leaves can be eaten lightly steamed as a spinach alternative.

WHAT I’M TELLING YOU

As a weed, I am great in taking advantage of the poor condition of your soil. I like to grow in soils that are acidic with a pH below 6.5. And I really love soils that are deficient in phosphorous, potassium, calcium and iron. I have a really deep tap root, which makes it hard to dig me out of your lawn. This makes Cats Ears or False Dandelion a much despised weed, despite the good I am doing for your soil and the good I can do in your diet. I have yellow coloured flowers and set lots of seeds from each flower, which I happily disperse throughout your lawn.

BENEFITS

I am a beneficial weed, particularly in pastures as sheep and cows love to eat me and I am highly nutritious. I have good levels of vitamin A, C and E as well as the B vitamins. And I’m high in anti-oxidants so I’m good for your health. My deep root may annoy you, but I’m actually working on breaking up the compaction in your soil.

CONTROLLING CATS EARS

I am best controlled by listening to what I’m telling you about your soil condition! I love growing in soils that are acidic and that are deficient in potassium, calcium, iron and phosphorous, Try adding dolomite or lime to increase the pH of the soil and I won’t be happy. Otherwise try hand weeding. Just make sure you do this after it has rained, otherwise my deep root will be difficult to dig out. Another method is to use a sharp knife and cut my leaves from my root. This allows the roots to keep working on your impacted soil. Add the leaves, minus flower-heads to your compost heap.

I can also be controlled by using a biodynamic pepper ( see Biodynamic Peppers) However, weed peppers work best when combined with a weed tea. Weed teas take the nutrients I have accumulated in my leaves and feed them back to the soil.

If you must spray, use an organic weed killer comprised of vinegar, salt and soap. Other ways of controlling me include using organic herbicides like Slasher and Iron Sulphate which is good for broadleaf weeds. I can also be boiled alive by pouring boiling water on my leaves.

The post Cats Ears appeared first on Delectable Garden.

Growing potatoes in the Redlands can be tricky, as potatoes are a cool climate crop. This means they grow well in Australia’s the southern states, but don’t like our coastal humidity!

Potatoes starting to grow

In southern states potatoes are a summer crop because they are frost tender. If you want to grow potatoes in the Redlands, you need to plant them in autumn so that they grow through our winter. Any time from April to June is best as they take around 90 plus days to grow, multiply and produce a crop.

Which Variety?

First you have to decide which variety of potato that you want to grow. And this is where it starts to get interesting.

The great thing about growing your own potatoes is that you get to choose different varieties from those you buy in the supermarket. There are actually hundreds of different varieties of potatoes you can grow, providing you can get the seed potatoes!

I didn’t realise potatoes had suffered a similar fate to tomatoes. As you know, there is a huge difference in taste between the tomatoes you buy in the supermarket and the tomatoes you grow at home. Well the same thing can be said of potatoes and it kinda makes sense, if you think about it!

Potatoes we buy in the supermarket are chosen because they travel well, have thicker skin and can last a long time on the supermarket shelf while they are waiting to be bought! This can mean they are not the best from a flavour perspective, or even from a eating perspective.

While we get to choose between washed potatoes and brushed potatoes and maybe a few named varieties like Desiree or Kipfler, in the UK they have around 20 different named varieties available in their supermarkets!

And these varieties differ considerably in taste, colour and thickness of skin. They also suggest what recipes they enhance the most.

How do you want to use them?

You should choose your potato variety by what you want to do with them. For example if you want to make a great potato salad then you want a waxy potato like Bintje, Kipfler or Nicola. These potatoes hold their shape when they’re cooked, so they don’t crumble and become a watery mess!

If you want to make mashed spuds then you should choose a variety like Yukon gold, red rascal, Dutch cream or golden delight. These are “floury” and easily fall apart, making for a great mash. For a real difference why not try purple Congo, which gives you purple coloured mash. It’s great for an unusual coloured gnocchi.

Floury potatoes also make great baked spuds and potato chips, because they crisp up nicely on the outside but are soft and fluffy when you bite into them.

Seed potatoes

When you start learning about growing your own spuds, you will find a lot of advice about not using supermarket potatoes and how you need to use “seed” potatoes.

You can’t actually grow potatoes from a traditional seed, like carrots or beetroot and other root crops. Seed potatoes look just like little potatoes and that’s what they are! You can eat seed potatoes just like you eat normal potatoes. However, they are a bit more expensive at between $6 to $8 per kilo.

The big selling point for seed potatoes is they are guaranteed to be free of disease. Potatoes can suffer from a number of diseases which you don’t want to introduce into the soil in your garden. As I grow my potatoes in large buckets this is not a major concern. The only other benefit from using seed potatoes seems to be the different and more unusual varieties.

A big downside is that although we can buy more than 20 different varieties of potato to grow in our veggie patch, the potato growing industry is customized to the southern market. When I went online to find what potatoes I wanted to experiment with, all the seed companies say the seed potatoes aren’t available until the end of July!

There were some really interesting varieties, but planting them in August means you are looking at late November for harvesting and that’s really too late. If we get spring rains or a heat wave in August as happened in 2019 and 2020, there goes your crop!

Supermarket potatoes

You can also try growing potatoes from those that you buy in the supermarket or at the fruit and vegetable store.

When we get away from producers and supermarkets not wanting us to grow our own veggies, the main downside of using supermarket potatoes seems to be the potential disease.

Lots of websites claim that store-bought potatoes are sprayed with a chemical to deter sprouting. However I found very few references to this spraying happening in Australia, so I’m not sure how widespread this practice is. I’ve certainly had my share of potatoes sprout in the cupboard!

The general advice seems to be that if you can get it to sprout, then try growing it! The main problem to me is the lack of different varieties.

Buying seed potatoes

As I said, the seed potato business in geared toward the southern market and they don’t plant their potatoes until spring.

I was really looking forward to trying purple congo or royal blue or even Japanese sweet but these aren’t available until late July.

Growing Potatoes – the How?

The good news is that you don’t actually need a huge amount of space!

You can grow potatoes in pots, old garbage bins, plastic paint buckets with drainage holes added or specific grow-bags. I’m growing mine in some recycled paint buckets.

Paint bucket repurposed for growing potatoes

One thing that’s not recommended is to grow them in old tyres. This used to be quite trendy. However, research has shown heavy metals such as lead and zinc can leach out of the tyres into your potatoes.

The actual growing is quite easy although there is some preparation.

Chitting

It is recommended that you do a process called “chitting” for your spuds. All this means is to start the potato sprouting before you plant it. This makes sense to me as then you know that they are viable and going to grow!

To chit potatoes, place them in a warm, moist location for a couple of weeks and they should start to sprout. The sprouts grow from the “eyes” of the potato. You only need a few eyes on each potato to sprout, so remove the others and keep only the strong sprouts.

Chitted Golden Dream potatoes

Keep the potatoes separated while they are sprouting. An old egg container is great for this as you can use the lid to keep the potatoes warm and dark.

While your potatoes are Chitting, choose your container.

Also, at this point, choose your location. Potatoes like full sun in our winter.

Planting

When your potatoes have started to sprout (sprout formation can take 2 – 3 weeks). Grab your container or grow bag and put a several centimetres of compost in the bottom. If you don’t have home-made compost, you can use a premium potting mix. Want to know how to make your own compost? Check this link Compost Bins: Composting Tips for your garden

Place two to three of the sprouted potatoes on top of the compost. You need to take care when handling the potatoes, being careful not to damage the sprouts.

Place the potatoes so the sprout is pointing upward. If you have several sprouts that have grown either carefully remove the excess or else carefully cut the potato into pieces and plant each piece. Plant the cut side down and it should heal and not rot out.

Carefully cover the potato and sprout with around 10 centimetres of compost or potting mix.

As the potato shoots grow, you keep adding compost until the container is full. It’s this continual heaping up that encourages the plant to grow more potatoes. You should get around 10 potatoes for each sprouted potato you plant.

Make sure that you only use really well composted compost or potting mix. Potatoes hate coming into contact with green manures as this can encourage disease.

Water and fertilising potatoes

Potatoes require quite a lot of water to grow big, juicy spuds, so remember to water regularly. For the first week or so go a bit light in the watering, but as the plants grow they need a fair amount of water.

If you want to fertilise, use composted chook poo as this has all the nutrients your growing potatoes will need.

Pests

Potatoes can attract pests so keep an eye out for any leaf damage.

You need to check your potatoes for any of these pests regularly, as they can do significant damage almost overnight. This will seriously impact how many potatoes you get to harvest. The main pests to look out for are the black beetle, potato/peach aphid, potato tuber moth, cluster caterpillar and nematodes.

The best method of treatment is to remove any beetles or caterpillars you find and spray the plants with eco pest oil. Even better, encourage beneficial insects to do the work for you. Want to know more? Good Bugs for the Vegetable Garden

There is also a new pest called the tomato/potato psyllids. These are sap sucking insects and you need to control these using eco pest oil.

Harvesting potatoes

After about 3 months the leaves of your potato plant will go yellow and start to die back. At this point your potatoes are ready to harvest.

By growing them in a bucket or grow bag you can harvest them just by tipping the container on its side and dumping out the contents.

Store in a cool dark place. If potatoes are exposed to sunlight they will develop green patches under the skin. This is caused by a glycoalkaloid called Solanine which can make you sick in large doses.

Potatoes just harvested

Sweet potatoes

You can grow sweet potatoes, particularly the orange kumara using a similar technique, except you don’t need to heap up the compost. I would recommend confining them to a bucket or large bin though as they can become quite invasive.

The post The How-to of Growing Potatoes appeared first on Delectable Garden.

I had a query recently asking what a white powdery substance was on a grape leaf? They actually said “it looks like powdery mildew, but it’s not on zucchini”! It looked like powdery mildew because it was powdery mildew.

It got me wondering “how many other gardeners consider powdery mildew a disease restricted to plants of the cucurbit family?”

Most gardeners will have struck powdery mildew on their cucurbits (i.e. cucumbers, cantaloupes, pumpkins etc). It shows up as a white or grey powder on the leaves. While it generally doesn’t kill your plant, it can significantly impact your crop as the plant can’t produce lots of fruit while its energy is being drained off and the plant is trying to fight the disease.

Powdery mildew actually affects a wide range of plants, not just zucchini, pumpkins and squash. It can affect both edible and ornamental plants. Edibles that can be affected include carrots, apples, grapes, tomatoes, eggplants, peas and beans and capsicum to name a few. Ornamentals can include chrysanthemums, gerberas, dahlias and roses. In fact it’s probably quicker to write a list of plants that aren’t affected!

So what is powdery mildew? Powdery mildew is a fungal infection. The fungal spores attach to the leaves of the plant where they drive filaments or threads into the leaf structure to draw the nutrients away from the plant. The fungi then develop fruiting spores which can be transmitted by wind or water splashes. The fungus thrives in warm, dry conditions and warm, humid conditions.

Powdery mildew is actually caused by a range of different fungi, some of which are specific to a species of plant while others can affect a whole host of plant species.

Prevention

There are several things the organic gardener can do to prevent powdery mildew in their garden:

• Grow the plants in the conditions they need to thrive. With veggies this means plenty of sunlight. Struggling and weak plants are more susceptible to attack.
• Don’t crowd your plants. Allow plenty of room for air circulation.
• Encourage beneficial insects. The orange/yellow lady beetle actually eats the fungus!
• Good hygiene is essential, as it is with all gardening tasks.
• Clean tools with a weak bleach or hydrogen peroxide solution between tasks,
• Remove infected plant material and put it in the bin.
• Do not compost as the spores will hibernate and can then infect other plants.
• Crop rotation assists by removing susceptible plants from the soil for several seasons.
• Don’t over-fertilise as lush new growth is more susceptible to the fungi
• Morning watering is best. Some say to not wet the leaves, although scientific evidence shows that water can interrupt the sporing cycle.

If you find that you continually battle with powdery mildew then you may need to investigate the range of crops that have been developed to be resistant to the fungus.

Lady beetle feasting on powdery mildew

Treatment

If you find that you have an attack of powdery mildew, there are several organic treatments. These include:

• Spraying with milk. This is the number one organic solution and, surprisingly, it works better than many commercial treatments. The standard spray is 1 part milk full-cream milk to 10 parts water, but I find a 25 percent solution works better. For severe infections you may need a 50 percent solution. Milk can also help to prevent infections if you spray your plants weekly;
• Spray with a sodium or potassium bicarbonate solution. I find you need to add a soap to help the bicarb adhere to the leaves;
• Spray with Neem oil. Again a small amount of soap or white oil will assist it to stick to the leaves;
• Dust with wettable sulphur or spray with lime sulphur;
• Use a commercial biofungicide.

The post Powdery Mildew appeared first on Delectable Garden.

Botanical Name

Taraxacum Officinale

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

Everyone knows me from childhood when they blew my dandelion seed heads to make a wish! Although as a gardener you wish I wasn’t in your garden! I am the original broad leaf flatweed, although I have several imitators. I can grow a dense centre that smothers any plants around me. My bright yellow daisy-like flowers turn into a puffball of seeds, and kids love blowing me, helping to disperse my seeds far and wide. I also have a deep taproot which keeps me well grounded. My young leaves can be eaten fresh in salads or lightly steamed as a spinach alternative.

WHAT I’M TELLING YOU

As a weed, I am great in taking advantage of the poor condition of your soil. I like to grow in soils that are acidic with a pH below 6.5. And I really love soils that are deficient in phosphorous, potassium, calcium and iron. I have a really deep tap root, which makes it hard to dig me out of your lawn. This makes Dandelion a much despised weed, despite the good I am doing for your soil and the good I can do in your diet. I have yellow coloured flowers and set lots of seeds from each flower, which I happily disperse throughout your lawn.

BENEFITS

I am a medicinal plant and should really be considered a herb. I have high levels of vitamin A, C and E as well as the B vitamins. And I’m high in anti-oxidants so I’m good for your health. My deep root may annoy you, but I’m actually working on breaking up the compaction in your soil.

CONTROLLING DANDELION

I am best controlled by listening to what I’m telling you about your soil condition! I love growing in soils that are acidic and that are deficient in potassium, calcium, iron and phosphorous, Try adding dolomite or lime to increase the pH of the soil and I won’t be happy. Otherwise try hand weeding. Just make sure you do this after it has rained, otherwise my deep root will be difficult to dig out. Another method is to use a sharp knife and cut my leaves from my root. This allows the roots to keep working on your impacted soil. Add the leaves, minus flower-heads to your compost heap.

I can also be controlled by using a biodynamic pepper ( see Biodynamic Peppers) However, weed peppers work best when combined with a weed tea. Weed teas take the nutrients I have accumulated in my leaves and feed them back to the soil.

If you must spray, use an organic weed killer comprised of vinegar, salt and soap. Other ways of controlling me include using organic herbicides like Slasher and Iron Sulphate which is good for broadleaf weeds. I can also be boiled alive by pouring boiling water on my leaves. However, you are better off picking my leaves for your salad and, if you pick often enough, you’ll starve me!

The post Dandelion appeared first on Delectable Garden.

Botanical Name

Portulaca oleracea

DESCRIBE YOURSELF

I am actually a herb, with fleshy light green to golden leaves and stems. And I have lots of health-giving benefits if you’ll just try me! I am considered a weed because I grow easily in between cracks in cement paths. And I set lots of seeds, so Purslane can quickly become a nuisance in your garden,

WHAT I’M TELLING YOU

As a weed, I am great in taking advantage of the poor condition of your soil. As I am a succulent, known as Purslane, I will happily grow in sandy and deficient soils. And I even grow happily in the cracks between cement paths and pavers. I have small pinkish yellow flowers and set lots of seeds. If you can collect enough seeds you can grind them into a flour and make flatbread.

BENEFITS

I am a medicinal plant and should really be considered a herb. I have high levels of vitamin A, C and E as well as the omega 3 fatty acids. And I’m high in anti-oxidants so I’m good for your health. As the sap from my leaves can be used to alleviate pain and itch from insect bites, I am a valuable addition to your first aid kit. I am also edible. My leaves can be included in salads where they impart a cucumber-like flavour. Being very high in omega 3 fatty acids, you should feed me to your chickens. This will increase the omega 3 fatty acids in the yolks.

CONTROLLING PURSLANE

I don’t know why you would want to control me, as I can benefit your health and that of your family. However, if you decide to control me, try listening to what I’m telling you about your soil condition! I love growing in soils that are dry and deficient in potassium, calcium and phosphorous, I  can be controlled by hand weeding. However I break apart easily so each leaf and piece of stem can become a new plant. I also disperse my seed when you pull me up. Instead of controlling me with weed spray, use me in your salads or feed me to yours or your neighbours chickens.

I can also be controlled by using a biodynamic pepper ( see Biodynamic Peppers) However, weed peppers work best when combined with a weed tea. Weed teas take the nutrients I have accumulated in my leaves and feed them back to the soil.

If you must spray, use an organic weed killer comprised of vinegar, salt and soap. Other ways of controlling me include using organic herbicides like Slasher. I can also be boiled alive by pouring boiling water on my leaves. However, you are better off picking my leaves for your salad and, if you pick often enough, you’ll starve me!

I

The post Purslane appeared first on Delectable Garden.

I was giving a presentation to a Horticultural group the other day about Edible Gardening, and mentioned that my Tropical Apricot fruit tree has finally deigned to flower!

The group were very interested in an Apricot tree that would grow in the sub-tropics! Most Apricot trees need a certain amount of chill to flower and produce fruit. I had to explain that it wasn’t a traditional apricot, but a fruit tree named a tropical apricot because the fruit have a strong apricot taste!

The discussion got me thinking about what fruit trees grow easily in the sub-tropics. Which ones are productive and easy to grow.

So here is my list of the Top 10 Fruit trees you can grow in the sub-tropics.

The following list of fruit trees is in no particular order, and all of them are currently flourishing in my garden.

Number 1: Mango

Ripe mango

Mango is one of those fruits that just instantly say “tropical”. There was a time when nearly every backyard in Queensland had a mango tree, but with the suburban backyard shrinking this is no longer the case. However, if you have the space this is definitely a fruit tree to grow. There are now many dwarf varieties that give great value for the space they take up.

I currently have a Kensington Pride or Bowen Mango which I think have the best flavour. I also have a Nam Doc Mai which is the Thai or Asian mango. It is fantastic in Green Mango salad.

Mangoes are easy to grow in the tropics and sub-tropics. Just make sure they have plenty of sunlight, well drained soil, food and water.

Number 2: Davidson Plum

Davidson plum fruit

I had not even heard of the Davidson plum until a few years ago when I went to a native foods workshop. I was so taken with Davidson plums that I now have two fruit trees growing in my garden.

The Davidson plum fruit is very sour. Too sour to eat raw in my opinion, but it makes a delightful jam and chutney.

Davidson plum trees are easy to grow. However it can take a few years to bear fruits.

Number 3: Tropical Peach

Tropical peaches

Most peaches need winter chill to produce fruit. However the tropical peach is a low chill variety that grows really well in the sub-tropics.

This is a great fruit tree as it will grow and produce fruit even in a large pot.

My tropical peach is growing in a large pot and this year the tree is covered in bright pink blossoms which have all set to fruit. I am hoping for a bumper crop of peaches.

The fruit have a lovely flavour and easily rival any of the traditional peaches in taste.

Number 4: Pawpaw

Male Pawpaw fruit

I did not used to be a fan of Pawpaw until I tried the fruit when it was home-grown, straight from the tree. It’s like being introduced to a totally different fruit! Thanks to my cousin Neil for the introduction else I would still turn up my nose at Pawpaws!

I have two Pawpaw fruit trees. The largest is actually a male Pawpaw tree, that I planted for the beautiful perfume that the flowers have. However, my male Pawpaw has transgender issues and regularly produces fruit.

Pawpaw trees can easily be grown in large pots, so are suitable for courtyard gardens or small backyards. I often use the fruit green in a Thai Green Pawpaw salad.

Number 5: Citrus

Lemon tree

There are soo many different varieties of citrus that you could almost make a list just of the top 10 citrus fruit trees. You can choose between traditional lemon trees, lime trees, grapefruit, mandarine and lemonade trees. All these citrus grow well in the subtropics.

Once established a citrus tree will just keep on providing fruit, as long as you meet its requirements of plenty of food, some compost and water!

Citrus trees grow well in large pots, so are suitable for small gardens and courtyards.

Number 6: Tropical Nectarine

Tropical Nectarine

Most nectarines need winter chill to produce fruit. However there are several tropical nectarine varieties available. These are low chill varieties that grow really well in the sub-tropics.

I have both the White Satin tropical nectarine and the dwarf red sunset fruit trees. The Dwarf sunset has rich deep crimson leaves.

Both my tropical nectarines are growing in the garden, but they will grow and produce fruit in a large pot. The dwarf red sunset only grows to around a metre high so it great for the small courtyard garden. The fruit have a lovely flavour, but you do need to be vigilant for fruit fly as it is a big attractant.

Number 7: Blueberry

Blueberries

Although not strictly a fruit tree, Blueberries are a great shrub to have in your edible garden. They are so easy to grow in the subtropics that I have about 7 different Blueberry plants.

They grow well both in pots and in the ground and will provide fruit all year round, although most fruit is provided in spring.

Blueberry plants are pretty hardy and very little attacks the fruit, although one client has complained that she has to fight her chickens for the fruit as they have developed a love of blueberries!

Number 8: Tropical Apricot

Tropical apricot in flower

The tropical apricot is not a traditional apricot as all true apricots need a winter chill to produce fruit. Rather the tropical apricot is a berry that was developed in Florida.

I have had a tropical apricot growing in a large pot for about 4 years now. However it has yet to give me any fruit.

Apparently the fruit has a strong apricot taste, hence the name, but is very sour and needs to be cooked to make it edible. My tropical apricot has been covered in blossom this year so I am hoping for my first crop!

Number 9: Pomegranate

Pomegranate

If more people knew how easy Pomegrante fruit trees were to grow I think there would be a lot more backyards growing pomegranates.

The tree is deciduous even in the sub-tropics, so you have bare branches over winter but this is more than made up for with the flush of spring growth and the vivid orange flowers.

Almost all the flowers seem to get pollinated and result in fruit. After the first year I decided that I needed to reduce the number of fruit on the tree as it nearly toppled under the weight! However, I regularly get a lovely crop of pomegranates.

I love pomegranates in a fresh dressing over summer salads.

Number 10: Jaboticaba

Jaboticaba

The Jaboticaba is probably the least known of the Fruit trees covered in this article.

It is a tropical plant and although it can grow as far south as the central coast.

The Jaboticaba is unusual in that the fruit are actually produced on the trunk of the tree. The fruit look like grapes so it is sometimes called the tropical grape tree.

It grows in full sun to semi to shade and has reasonable water water requirements.

These are my picks of the Top 10 Fruit trees to grow in the sub-tropics. Let us know in the comments area which fruits are your favourites to grow!

Happy Gardening from Rohanne, Your Personal Garden Expert 🙂

The post Top 10 Must Have Fruit Trees To Grow in the Sub-tropics appeared first on Delectable Garden.

I was down at my local farmers market on the weekend, and I noticed some Galangal root for sale.

This is great, as it can be hard to find in the shops and local markets at this time of year. I grow my own Galangal and it will soon be in flower and after the leaves die down it is ready to harvest.

Galangal root

If you haven’t tried Galangal, it is a member of the ginger family ginger. And, like ginger, is used extensively in cooking.

Galangal is found primarily in Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines. It has a hotter, more peppery taste than ginger with under-notes of pine and citrus.

To use it, add it to soups such as Thai Chicken and Coconut soup. Its also an important ingredient in many Thai curry pastes.

Depending which recipes you read, some say if you don’t have Galangal you can substitute ginger. Other recipes say that it is different and that ginger and galangal cannot be used interchangeably. I am in the latter camp as to me they have different flavours to contribute.

Galangal is closely related to Ginger and, as such, has many of the healing and medicinal uses attributed to ginger. It is said that consuming Galangal on a regular basis can help with digestion, reducing bloating, constipation and vomiting.

Like ginger, Galangal helps reduce motion sickness and nausea. It has proven anti-inflammatory properties, which means that it can help treat arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Galangal has been shown to improve blood circulation, improving oxygen supply and nutrient supply to the extremities including the hands and feet. As such it has been credited as assisting with hair growth and to treat baldness, although this is not proven.

It can also help respiratory problems. A mixture of Galangal and lime juice can be used as a tonic for coughs and colds.

As Galangal is high in anti-oxidants it helps to minimise the damage caused by free radicals and other toxins in the body.

Galangal is a tropical plant, although it grows well in Brisbane, and can be grown as far south as Melbourne with a bit of care.

It is an attractive plant, very similar to ginger with quite narrow strappy green leaves. I prefer to grow my Galangal in a pot as it makes it easy to harvest, but this becomes more of a necessity if you are going to grow Galangal further south than the central coast.

This way you can start growing your Galangal under shelter and move it outside as the weather warms up.

Galangal plant

Galangal is really easy to grow and is seldom bothered by insects or disease.

All you need to do is get a piece of Galangal root from your local market and plant it in good quality potting mix. Keep it moist, but not wet in a warm, sheltered location.

I find mine does best with some shelter from the hot afternoon sun. It takes about 8 months to grow a crop. But in this time you will be probably find that it has pretty much filled the pot, depending on how big a pot you started with of course!

Yes, that may seem a while but at between $30 to $50 per kilo it’s worth it! So why not try growing some today?

Happy gardening

Rohanne, your Personal Garden Expert

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I can’t believe that my vanilla bean orchid is out in flower again. I mean I shouldn’t be surprised as it is September, and it flowers every September. It’s just that it seems to have come around sooo quickly!

Vanilla bean flower

For those not in the know, the Vanilla Bean is produced by the Vanilla Bean orchid.

It is the only edible fruit produced by an orchid anywhere in the world. I have read a lot of blogs that say that it’s difficult to grow, but I have found Vanilla Beans easy to grow in Brisbane.

They are very easy to strike and generally a trouble-free, pest-free plant.

Vanilla bean vine in flower

The only work involved is if you want to produce vanilla beans. And why wouldn’t you? They retail for about $400 a kilo, making them the second most expensive spice in the world!

Most of the work arises because the flowers need to be hand pollinated.

In Mexico, where the Vanilla Bean is native there is a little bee, the melipona bee, that pollinates the flower. Everywhere else the flowers have to be hand pollinated.

This isn’t really difficult, but it is onerous as you have a really small window of opportunity to do the pollination. And it takes some practice. The best method I have found uses a matchstick or toothpick to collect the pollen, and insert it into the stamen. I have also read that you should cross pollinate the flowers, ie use pollen from one flower to pollinate another flower. I don’t do this, but still get lots of healthy beans.

Flowers need to be pollinated early morning. The flower opens at 6 am and if I haven’t pollinated it by 9am then forget it, even though the flower will still be open until about 1pm.

fresh green vanilla beans

I find those flowers pollinated after 9am don’t seem to be successful. Even though I am fairly sure I did the pollination right!

You know you have been successful when the flower stays on the vine and slowly develops into a bean. Un-pollinated flowers drop off the vine within 2 days.

I average around 80-90 beans per year, which is around a 15 percent success.

Those beans that do form then hang on the vine for about 8-9 months (see photo). After this they can be harvested and cured, which is where the real work is!

I have harvested and cured the beans with mixed success. However, as I am mainly producing for my own use, I find it just as easy to leave the beans to ripen on the vine.

The smell of vanilla as I come in my front entrance at the moment is intoxicating! It smells like a lovely vanilla cookie after you’ve been baking or a vanilla scented candle.

Fermented Vanilla beans

Vanilla is actually a spice. I use mine a lot in cooking, both in sweet and savoury foods.

You can also store a whole vanilla bean in a jar of caster sugar and use the vanilla sugar in cakes, puddings, pies and ice-creams. Whole vanilla beans can be bruised and infused in milk or cream for making ice-cream and sweet puddings.

Growing Vanilla Beans

If you want to try to grow your own vanilla beans, you will need a warm sheltered position. I have three vines. Two are growing in diffuse light under a covered pergola (laserlight). And one in about 50 percent sun, climbing an old palm stump.

As I said above, they require little more than a wall, stump or trellis to grow up. However, they are a very vigorous vine once they get established! That cute little vine you get from the nursery will quickly grow into a thick, heavy vine. The leaves are quite fleshy and will easily grow to around 20cm long, and the stem will easily reach 1cm thick a diameter. What this means is that they need sturdy support to grow. They are not going to be happy growing on a metre high coir grow-pole for very long!

Don’t get fussy about the soil. They mostly feed from air roots, and none of mine are still rooted in the pots they started in! In fact the adult plant is epiphytic and won’t produce flowers until it has severed its roots from the soil. This means to feed them you have to give them an occasional foliar feed and spritz with water.

The vanilla grows easily from cuttings, with an almost 100 percent strike rate. It will take a few years before they produce flowers. I’ve read that it takes up to 4 years before flowering, but mine produced at around two and a half years. I watch for when they are happily growing and have lost their connection with soil. Then I know to expect flowers next September.

I haven’t tried growing them in cool or temperate regions, but have read several success stories. If you want to try, I recommend a greenhouse.

Happy gardening

Rohanne, Your Edible Garden Guru

Comment

Hi Rohanne,

I just read your article about vanilla beans.

You said you left some pods ripen on the vine.  I have few pods ripening on the vine at the moment but I can’t find any info whether I can use them for cooking /baking as is or I still have to cure them.

Their smell is strong, few split and one of them oozing oily aromatic substance. Thank you for your time and help.
Kind regards,
Kris V

________________________________________________________

Hi Kris

Thank you for your enquiry regarding vanilla beans.

In answer to your question, Yes, you can use the vanilla beans that have ripened on the vine without any further curing. The beans that have ripened on the vine have been cured naturally.

The only difference between vine-cured beans and beans that have been picked and hand-cured is in the amount of vanilla essence in the bean. If you want a really high quality bean, for selling then it is best to pick and cure the beans.

However, for personal use, I find the vine ripened beans just as good. After all that is what used to happen before “man” intervened and wanted to improve on nature!

I have had a few beans split, but none of them have oozed any liquid. I would assume that the liquid that is oozing is just vanilla essence. To be on the safe side I probably would not use this bean, but the others should be fine.

I wipe mine with a damp cloth to remove any dust and contaminants and use them normally in sweets, custards, jams etc. Congratulations on producing some beans. I have had a lot of gardeners tell them how disappointed they are that they have not been successful in producing vanilla beans.

Regards Rohanne

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I was talking with a client the other day about some of the more unusual fruit trees you can grow in the subtropics.

Brazilian Cherry

One of the fruit trees growing successfully in my garden at the moment is the Brazilian cherry, also known as Pitanga or Surinam cherry.

This fruit tree is really attractive with pinky bronze new growth, which changes to glossy green as it matures.

Fruit of the Brazilian cherry are a brilliant scarlet, and are shaped a bit like a miniature pumpkin (see photo). The fruit has a large seed.

They have a pleasant flavour similar to cherries but with a slight piney aftertaste. This is due to the high levels of resin in the fruit tree. This aftertaste disappears if the fruit is refrigerated or cooked.

Close-up of the Cherry fruit

The Brazilians use the fruit to make flavoured vinegars and liquours. I am hoping to get a big enough crop to try and make some jam this year.

The Brazilian cherry fruit tree is almost too easy to grow, and has the potential to become an environmental weed.

The seeds easily take root wherever they fall and grow into more fruit trees. To  stop this, ensure that you pick the fruit as it ripens so birds won’t carry the seeds away.

The Brazilian cherry grows quickly, and requires minimal care once established. It prefers full sun and well drained soil. And, it can make as attractive hedge if you are looking for a quick growing plant.

Happy gardening 🙂

Rohanne, Your Personal Garden Expert

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