Liqueured Fruit
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 29, 2011
In the Southern Hemisphere we are in the middle of stone fruit harvesting.
Apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches: you can only eat so much fresh fruit before diarrhoea sets in.
You could always make jam, but if you’re anything like me, I don’t eat that much jam.
So you give it away.
How about liqueuring some fruit?
It is easy to do. Yummy to eat and makes a wonderful gift.
Many fruits, other than stone fruit, can also be liqueured.
Try grapes, apples, kumquats, figs, strawberries and pineapples.
Once you have several jars of liqueured fruit in the pantry, you will have ready access to instant desserts.
Serve with ice-cream, cream, yoghurt or custard.
Equipment needed to start liqueuring fruit is as follows:-
• Fresh fruit, in season
• Sterilized glass jars or containers
• Sugar
• Labels
• Alcohol
Once you have sterilized the containers, fill them with your chosen fruit, and then add sugar and alcohol.
Leave a gap of about 2-3cm at the top of the container (i.e. do not fill to the top), to get a better seal.
Label the jars with the date and the name of the fruit and alcohol.
Each day, turn the jar upside down and then back up the right way, to disperse the sugar which would have settled to the bottom of the jar.
Do this for two weeks until the sugar has dissolved.
Leave the jars or containers in a cool dark place for four weeks (if you can) before opening.
If prepared correctly, the liqueured fruit should last around 12 months, if it hasn’t all been eaten.
Once the fruit has been eaten, the remaining liquid can be drunk as a fruit liqueur or reduced and thickened to make a delightful sauce.
The sauce should also keep for twelve months.
Apricots in Brandy
1 cup firm apricots
1 cup sugar
Brandy – enough to cover fruit
Sterilized clip-top jar
Wash, dry and prick each apricot with a sterile needle about six times. Loosely pack the jar with apricots and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Cover with brandy, leaving a small gap at the top.
Label and store, remembering to shake the jar once per day. The apricots will be ready to eat in about two months.
Peaches in Brandy
1 kg peaches
2 cups sugar
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Brandy
1 large sterilized clip-top jar
The method is the same as above for apricots but add the spices to the jar with the peaches.
Cherries in Kirsch
1 kg cherries
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise (optional)
Kirsch
1 large sterilized clip-top jar
Wash and dry cherries, then prick each one about six times with a sterile needle. Layer the fruit and sugar in the jar, placing cinnamon stick and star anise about half way down. Cover with kirsch, leaving a small gap at the top and clip securely. Label and store, remembering to shake the jar daily for two to three months.
Soil pH
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 21, 2011
Soil pH. Why is it important?
Most gardeners are aware of soil pH and the corresponding pH scale of zero to 14.
Gardeners also know that certain plants like growing in soil at a particular pH.
For example, rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, blueberries and conifers have a preference for acidic soil while peas, beans and hardenbergia prefer to grow in slightly alkaline soil.
So what is acid soil and what is alkaline soil? And what affect does it have on plant growth?
An acidic soil is one that contains a high concentration of Hydrogen ions, H? (an ion is an atom with a charge, either positive or negative) and an alkaline, or base soil, is one which has a low concentration of Hydrogen ions (H?) but a high concentration of hydroxyl ions (OH?).
Without going into too much chemistry, this basically means that the soil pH will affect the health and growth of the plant, by limiting the availability of certain nutrients or by supplying too much of a nutrient, causing toxicity.
Soil contains nutrients that the plant needs to grow. Think of these nutrients as ‘food’.
If the soil pH is outside of the preferred range for a particular plant – it means that the plant cannot take up the nutrient, even though it is in the soil.
An analogy would be you going to the refrigerator for a late night snack and finding a padlock on the door.
You know there is food in there – but you can’t get at it.
Generally, most garden plants can exist in soil with a pH ranging from about 4.5 to 8.5 but some plants are fussy.
Most plants grow best in a soil pH around 5.5 to 6.5.
Within this range, plant nutrients are at optimum availability.
The acid loving plants previously mentioned, don’t actually love acid – they like the fact that iron (as opposed to ion) is in abundant supply in soils with a low pH (acidic).
These acid-lovers are not very good at extracting iron from the soil, so they like to grow in an environment where their roots are exposed to a plentiful supply.
So what would happen if you planted a lime-loving plant that prefers alkaline soil, into an acid soil?
If it is a legume, it would most likely die.
In acidic soils below pH 5, aluminium and manganese become soluble.
Legumes are very intolerant of soluble aluminium and would show signs of toxicity if grown in this soil.
If you want to amend the soil and make an acidic soil less acidic, lime (calcium carbonate) or dolomite (calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate) can be added.
Note ; Gypsum will not change the soil pH
Seek advice on the rate of application according to your soil texture and current pH.
If your soil is alkaline and you would like to make it less alkaline, it may be possible to change the pH by adding agricultural sulphur or sulphate of iron. But if there is lime present in your soil, this will not work.
Nutrient deficiencies found in alkaline soil include phosphorus and most of the micronutrients (trace elements)
My current soil pH is around 8. When I first moved here 21 years ago the soil pH was 7. Can anyone guess why it has become more alkaline?
Rainfall also affects soil pH. It is usual for a soil to be more acidic in high rainfall areas, and more alkaline in arid conditions.
If you live in an area of high rainfall with acidic soil, you may need to apply lime to the soil on a regular basis, depending on the plants or crops grown.
So in summary, pH is very important and should be measured or checked regularly.
The home gardener can check the pH of a soil by using one or more of several methods.
Spike – these are useless, don’t waste your money
Colour metric chart – these are the most popular in Australia and are readily available from large plant nurseries and hardware stores.
A small sample of soil is taken and then a dye indicator (liquid) is added to the sample. Next, you sprinkle the sample with Barium sulphate (a powder) and wait for the colour to change.
The down side of using this method is that some people are colour blind and the rest of us have to try and match the soil sample to the colour card provided.
The colours on the card can differ between manufacturers depending on which printing company they use to print the colour cards.
If your interpretation of the colour is one pH unit out, this could be substantial considering that the pH scale is logarithmic. Meaning the difference between pH 7 and pH 8 is not one – but ten times more alkaline.
pH Electronic paper – these are nifty little gadgets that fit in your pocket. They provide an electronic reading of the soil pH sample and are used a lot by the viticulture and floriculture industries.
There are other methods of taking pH readings, some would be too expensive for the home gardener and others you can make yourself, but the results of self made pH testing devices would be similar to the spike.
If you are serious about gardening, don’t go there, but if you want to have fun with the kids just ask me for the recipe.
My final question to readers is this – “Why is pH always written with a lower case p and an upper case H?”
If you can answer this question correctly in the comments section below, I will send you a prize.
Hoya carnosa
Posted by Phytopath on Jan 15, 2011
Hoya is also known as wax flower and is a member of the Asclepiadaceae family.
Many of the Hoya species are root climbers and twiners with thick, fleshy succulent leaves.
The plants have a broad distribution from China to tropical Australia.
They generally inhabit rainforests but one species – Hoya australis (syn H. oligotricha), can be seen growing on rocks, close to the ocean and exposed to salt spray.
In the home garden, they are usually found growing under the patio or pergola, or in a bush house. The most commonly grown species in southern states of Australia is Hoya carnosa (see picture above).
This plant is a native of Southern China and Eastern India and has a twining habit and thick fleshy leaves to 9cm long. It is an evergreen plant and the leaves are dark green and ovate in shape. The overall length of the stem is around two metres long.
Bright light is a must for good growth and this species can tolerate some sun: early morning is best, but protect from too much sun, frost and wind.
Fibrous, humus-rich soil is best for growth but most plants are grown in hanging baskets using a good quality, standard potting mix. The essential requirement is good drainage.
Water the plant regularly during the growing season and greatly reduce the frequency and amount of water during the cooler winter months.
The flowers are thick and waxy in texture and appear in summer. The umbels of scented, pink, star-shaped flowers cascade in dense trusses along the length of the stem.
If the plant roots are confined and not disturbed, there is a good chance that the plant will produce more flowers.
These flowers are not for picking however.
The flowers arise from permanent stubs each year, much like spurs on a fruit tree. So if you remove the flower stalk with the flower attached, then you will be removing future flowers as well.
The seed pods of the Hoya are long and cylindrical, 
and the mechanism for distribution is the wind.
The actual seed and dispersal ‘fluff’ attached to it, look very much like dandelion (see photo).
Hoya can be propagated from seed or stem cuttings. If taking cuttings, do it in summer and include two nodes.
Fertilise the plant once or twice during the growing season, but do not overdo it.
There are variegated leaf forms of Hoya available, and also a form called ‘Compacta’ which has twisted, contorted leaves similar in appearance to the plant called snail creeper.
In conclusion, if you supply the plant with cramped growing conditions, forget to fertilise it, remember to water it only occasionally and don’t touch it – it will most likely reward you with a beautiful show of flowers.
