Florence fennel
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 31, 2010
Florence fennel
I was strolling around the vegetable patch today, checking the status of the plants (I was actually checking to see if the capsicums had decided to start growing yet, or not).
Several of the vegetables/herbs are going to seed already so back I went into the house to grab some paper bags, scissors and marking pens.
I had not harvested all of the Florence fennel (also known as finocchio), so what was left in the garden had flowered and set seed.
While flowering, beneficial insects are attracted to the yellow umbels of flowers, a bonus for other plants nearby.
I quite like harvesting fennel seed because they are large enough to see what you are doing. The seed, once dry, can be stored for planting next season or they can be used in cooking.
Traditionally, fennel seed is used when cooking cabbage, cauliflower and onions. That’s because it is believed to help aid digestion and prevent flatulence. (hmm.. must remember to give some to my friends).
If you are growing Florence fennel near other types of fennel, like roadside fennel for example, keep in mind that they can cross pollinate, so if you want to keep your seed source pure for the fennel bulbs, then you will need to de-flower any other nearby plants.
Once you have collected your ripe seed (not green ones), they will need to be dried before storage. If you don’t do this then there is a good chance the seed will go mouldy.
Spread the seed out on a flat surface, an old fly screen or fine mesh of some sort will do and let them dry at room temperature for a couple of weeks.
[I love the term 'room temperature'. It could mean anything from 15 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius.]
When you are certain the seed is dry, they can be stored in airtight containers for future use. If I am storing them for only a short period of time because I intend to re-plant some seed in autumn, then I keep them in a labelled brown paper bag – at room temperature!!
For the longer term storage I sometimes use those little silicon sachets that you get when you buy new shoe’s and I pop one in with the seed, just in case there is some moisture in the air. I am more inclined to do this with seed that is hard to get or in short supply. I don’t want to lose them.
If the seed have been dried and stored correctly they should last up to four years.
Parsley
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 30, 2010
Parsley
Have you ever been out for a meal at a nice restaurant and not received that little green sprig of plant matter on top of your food?
There is actually a reason for providing that sprig of parsley as a garnish with your meal.
Parsley has been used as a breath freshener for centuries and you are supposed to eat it after you have finished your meal, but there is no scientific proof of this claim. Next time you go out for a meal try it and let me know if it works.
In the Middle Ages it was thought that parsley was one of the Devil’s favourite plants, so if you wanted to grow it, the parsley had to be sown on Good Friday under a rising moon. It was also said that the seed went to the Devil and back several times before it would start to grow. This is because the seed are slow to germinate.
Parsley was fed to sheep to bring them into season and also fed to sick fish to cure them of whatever was ailing them. Chariot horses of ancient Greece were fed parsley because it was believed to increase their speed. hmmm
Nutritionally, parsley is rich in vitamins A and C, iron, potassium calcium, iodine, riboflavin and fibre(Small 1997), but if you leave it sitting on your plate, then it’s of no nutritional value to you whatsoever.
Parsley has little value in today’s medicine apart from stimulating urine flow and treating digestive problems, but in folklore it was used for treating insect bites, to dry up breast milk, as a cure for baldness, a kidney tonic, an aphrodisiac (really!!!),as a poultice for sore eyes, it was even used for jaundice, dysentery, warts, tumours, asthma, dropsy and fever. What a marvellous herb.
If that information has you running for the tabouli, perhaps you would like to try growing your own.
Parsley, whether curly leaf or flat leaf is a biennial plant. That means you will get a lot of leaf in the first year of it’s life cycle and in the second year it will flower and set seed. Sadly it will then die.
Parsley prefers to grow in moist, well drained soil and depending where you are in the world, plant it in full sun or light shade (hot climates). If you live in an area with heavy frosts the parsley may need some protection over winter. If you are gardening on sandy soil in a hot climate, mulch the parsley well.
The leaves are harvested before flowering and can be dried, frozen, juiced or used fresh.
Parsley can be used in bouquet garni, fines herbs, tussie mussies, Italian mixed herbs and chermoula spice mix. It complements savoury and egg dishes, pasta, soup and mashed potato.
It is good as a sauce for fish and poultry or mixed with butter as a tasty spread.
Dragonflies – cont.
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 27, 2010
Now that I have regained some composure, I will continue with the article.
Dragonflies have the ability to see stationary objects 1.8 m (6ft) away and if the object is moving, they can see that object up to 5 m away.
Their legs, six in all, are covered with spines and are used to capture prey in flight.
The dragonfly can also eat it’s prey while flying (true take away).
Their flying speed can reach 80 to 97 kmph (50 to 60 mph)
The adult dragonfly lives for only a few weeks to a few months, it’s main purpose to find a mate and produce offspring.
The young nymphs remain in a watery environment for one to five years and molts about 12 times before leaving the water to shed it’s skin for the last time.very fortunate to have my interlude with the dragonfly in it’s very short time as an adult.
Dragonflies
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 25, 2010
As I was enjoying the garden yesterday, a rather large dragonfly ‘buzzed’ me.
A bit optimistic, I thought.
I am used to seeing those beautiful blue damselflies in and around the garden and fish pond, but I rarely see dragonflies.
So off I went inside the house to do some research on dragonflies.
It turns out that dragonflies have all-around vision, some having 28,000 single lenses in their large compound eyes, and they like to eat flies.
Oh, and the nymphs have gills inside the rectum. ewww, gross. The mind boggles.
But wait, there’s more.
If a dragonfly nymph is under attack from a predator, it can squirt water under high pressure, from said gill, out the end of the abdomen.
This jet propels the dragonfly nymph away from the attacker. OMG I have a mental picture now.
At that point I had to close the book so I could roll around on the floor laughing.
By now, I not only had a mental picture of jet propelled, water squirting, dragonfly nymphs but also a picture of my flatulent producing friends skimming around water holes.
It’s time to stop the pictures.
Dragonfly
Tea
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 24, 2010
After publishing a post on coffee recently, I thought it best to also post an article on tea.
The tea plant Camellia sinensis grows in tropical and subtropical climates. The plant grows quickly where the air is warm, and more slowly where the air is cool, adding to its flavour. The finest tea comes from elevations of 900m to 2100m. The plant matures in three to five years and workers, called ‘tea pluckers’ pick off the new shoots by hand. Mechanical harvesters are now common in countries with flat land. There are three main kinds of tea:
- black
- green
- oolong
The difference is in the method of processing.
Black tea. Harvested leaves are spread over racks and air is blown over them to remove moisture. The leaves are then crushed and placed in a fermenting room under controlled temperature and humidity. Finally the leaves are dried in ovens and become a brownish-black colour.
Green tea. The leaves are placed in large vats and steamed, which prevents them changing colour. They are then crushed and dried in ovens.
Oolong tea. The leaves are partially fermented which gives a greenish-brown colour.
Grades of tea, refers to the size of the leaves and not the quality of the tea. In order of size, starting with the largest, the grades are:-
- orange pekoe
- pekoe
- pekoe souchong
The smaller leaves generally used in tea bags are classified as:
- broken orange pekoe
- broken orange pekoe fannings
- fannings
Instant tea, (a powdered form) is made by brewing tea leaves on a large scale and then removing the water by a drying process.
Plants grown in different locations produce tea that can vary in taste and quality.
What is your preference?
My vegie patch
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 23, 2010
The vegetables are growing nicely but the only ones that I have been able to harvest are the greens.
The English spinach is healthy and producing wonderful tender young leaves, that taste great lightly tossed in oil until wilted and added to lightly cooked ginger and chilli, sprinkled with Garam Masala … yummy.
The lettuce is healthy enough but thinks that it is a miniature variety and refuses to grow any bigger.
Good to use on small sandwiches and salad for one.
The zucchini are playing hide and seek. The male flowers come out when the female flowers are closed and then the female flowers open after the male flowers have given up waiting.
Does this sound familiar?
It has been interesting watching the growth, or death, of the tomato plants this summer.
I planted ten different varieties to see which ones would perform well in my climate.
The three varieties that had not grown at all, died during the last hot spell. They were :- Black Russian, Walter and Burke’s Backyard Italian.
I now know not to plant them next year.
The best performer by far is Roma, and I am pleased because it is so versatile.
After harvest I will be drying, freezing and making sauce.
The sweet potato is doing exceptionally well but I cannot say the same for the ‘ordinary’ potatoes.
Chives, garlic chives, shallots, onions and leeks are all good performers. These will be joining the tomatoes on the stove.
The strawberries started off well but have now come to a grinding halt – or have they?
I bet the slugs, snails and lizards are all feasting while I am snoozing, so when I check during the day, there is no fruit.
The parsley has now gone to seed, as has the celeriac and Florence fennel. I will soon be able to harvest and store the seed.
The chillies and capsicums are waiting for summer to arrive to start growing. They haven’t realized that we are half way through summer already. Perhaps, like the lettuce, they think that they are supposed to be miniature varieties.
The good news is, the herbs are growing particularly well.
Oregano, thyme, sage, lemon balm, St John’s wort, salad Burnett, just to name a few, are making the most of the sunshine and growing very well and I am continually harvesting them.
The current weather forecast is for a week of hot days so I had best get off the computer and into the garden to erect temporary shade over the tomatoes.
The Truth and Nothing but the Truth
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 23, 2010
When I am researching a particular plant, I find it fascinating when reading all of my gardening books and magazines, that the information contained in them can be different and even sometimes conflicting.
What a dilema this must be for the new gardener or student.
One book might tell me that a certain plant grows to five metres and is well behaved.
The next book has me believe that the same plant is a forest giant to thirty metres that drops loads of purple fruit on my white car and I will never be able to get the stains off.
Now I am confused. Do I plant it near the neighbours driveway or in my garden?
Often times, both authors are correct.
One author may be talking about the plant in it’s natural habitat and the other author may be describing the growth of the same plant in conditions that are not ideal for optimum growth.
So what can you do?
Look at where the author comes from. Does he or she live in a cold and wet climate or a veritable desert?
Then research the origins of the plant. What country does it naturally occur in and at what altitude. What is the annual rainfall and average temperature?
You would then have a rough idea of how the plant might behave in your garden.
And don’t be fooled by a cute 30 cm sapling in a small pot at the nursery begging “pick me, pick me.”
Lurking under that skinny floppy twiggy plant, could be your worst nightmare.
Research at the outset might cost you a small amount of time but could save you heartache and a lot of money in the future.
Is Your Garden a Mirror?
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 22, 2010
Is your garden formal or informal?
Is it orderly and rigid or relaxed and cottage like?
Do you have a structured garden at all?
Perhaps you have some occassionally mown weeds with a car nicely parked on top.
Do you have a lot of ornamentation?
It is said that dog owners often times look like their pets. Can the same be said of gardens and garden owners?
If indeed, our garden is a reflection of ourselves, then I’m not inviting anybody around for a garden party.
What is your garden like?
Coffee
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 22, 2010
The coffee plant Coffea arabica is an evergreen shrub growing four to six metres high. The plant originally grew wild in Ethiopia as an understorey plant, but is now cultivated in many tropical regions, and grows best at altitudes ranging from 13oom to 2800m. These areas are frost free, have a mean daily temperature of 20°C and an average annual rainfall of 1800mm to 2000mm. Most coffee plants are grown from seed and then transplanted into the field at around 12 months old.
The plant produces red or yellow berries, with each berry containing two seeds (beans). The average mature plant produces between 10-20kg of fruit annually, enough berries to make approximately 0.7kg of roasted coffee. The plant is usually five years old when considered mature and produces flowers and fruit once per year.
After the berries are harvested they are put through a sluice (a bath of running water) where sticks, leaves and unripe berries float on the top. The good berries sink to the bottom and then go to a pulping house where machinery removes the pulp. Following the pulping process, the beans are run through a series of fermenting and washing tanks. The beans are then dried in the sun and left to cure for several weeks.
The next phase, called milling, removes the parchment and the silver skin (a thin skin surrounding the seed). As the beans come from the machine, a fan blows off the loose skin, (a bit like exfoliation). The beans then go on to a separator, which removes sand, dust and broken beans, they are then sorted until only the largest beans remain.
The beans are then taken to a roasting plant where they are emptied into chutes and again cleaned of dust and foreign material. The coffee then goes to a blending machine, which can mix different types of coffee, and then to storage bins, before being roasted.
The beans are roasted at 482°C for 16 to 17 minutes where they lose about 1/6 of their weight. They are then cooled and cleaned, then stored until ground. After being ground to drip, regular or fine requirements, the coffee is packed in vacuum tins or paper bags.
Instant coffee can be either powdered or freeze-dried, and is often produced from the plant Coffea canaphora ‘Pierre’ known as ‘Robusta’, which is inferior in quality than Coffea arabica.
Powered instant coffee is made by brewing coffee in huge containers and evaporating the water from the brew, leaving powder crystals.
Freeze-dried instant coffee is made by converting freshly brewed coffee into an extract and freezing it in slabs. The slabs are ground into chunks and put in pressurized chambers. Moisture in the form of ice is drawn off, leaving dry coffee crystals.
Decaffeinated coffee, in most cases, is produced when the caffeine is removed by means of a cold water extraction, done with the aid of chemicals.
The Trouble with Tomatoes
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 21, 2010
Of all the vegetables grown in warm temperate climates, tomatoes seem to cause the most trouble with gardeners.
Pests that may attack your plants include tomato russet mite, tomato fruit caterpillar, cutworm, whitefly, potato tuber moth, eggplant borer and root knot nematode.
Then there are the diseases, fusarium and verticillium (wilt), botrytis, target spot, damping off, corky root, tobacco mosaic virus and bacterial speck.
Oh, but wait, there’s more. What about blossom end rot, leaf rolling, hollow fruits, growth cracks and sunscald. Really, why do we bother?
Because home grown tomatoes taste so much better than shop bought ones.
What has your experience been, growing tomatoes?
Do you grow them in pots or in the ground?
Do you have a favourite variety?
Let me know.
