Arrowroot
Posted by Phytopath on Mar 11, 2010
Canna edulis
Canna edulis , known in Australia as Arrowroot and elsewhere as Achira.
The plant can be described as a soft wooded perennial or an herbaceous perennial, depending where it is grown. Growth is approximately 2.5 metres (around 8ft) high and the width depends on the spread of the underground rhizomes. The soft fleshy leaves arise from the somewhat soft, easily bent stems.
The general appearance of the plant is that of the ornamental canna (Canna indica), to which it is related. The flowers of arrowroot are red to orange/gold and smaller than those of the decorative variety.
The plant is thought to have originated in the Andean region because of archaeological remains from Peru. Commercially, plants are grown in Queensland Australia, Hawaii, Central and South America and the Pacific Islands.
I have found Arrowroot to be exceptionally hardy in the garden and easy to grow in my climate. They will grow in most soil types as long as the drainage is good. Poor drainage will lead to rotting of the rhizomes. Most gardening books advise that the plants need full sun for growth and will not tolerate shade but in my garden they are happily growing in the shade of mature Eucalyptus trees (see photo).
During the growing season make sure the plants have adequate moisture (don’t you love that term, ‘adequate’, what does it actually mean?). For me, I make sure the plants don’t get to the wilting stage. During winter, I do not water the plants at all.
Give them a sheltered spot otherwise the leaves can be shredded by strong winds which looks unsightly but has no affect on the goodness of the root. (It’s an aesthetic thing).
The leaves, root and seed are edible. The young shoots are cooked and eaten as a green vegetable and the immature seed are used in tortillas.
The root is used raw or cooked and is the source of Arrowroot. It is rasped to a pulp then washed and strained to get rid of the fibres. The starch easily separates from the fibre of the root and is easily digested.
In Peru the roots are baked for several hours until they become a translucent white colour and slimy or mucilaginous (sounds divine…) and sweet. In Vietnam Arrowroot is grown commercially to produce transparent noodles.
The dried root is high in starch, containing as much as 80%. It also contains 10% sugar and 1% to 3% protein.
I have grown up with ‘Milk Arrowroot’ biscuits available from the supermarket, so I am loath to dig up my beautiful Arrowroot plants that are growing in the garden. Besides, it sounds like too much mucking about to get the actual starch, before you even think about baking biscuits.
Potager garden
Posted by Phytopath on Mar 8, 2010
The Potager, or kitchen garden uses plants – vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers to create a geometric, formal, aesthetically pleasing functional garden. The name potager is a derivative of potage, a French term for soup.
The plot can be small or grand, depending on your needs and requirements. You may be feeding a family of two or cooking for a local restaurant.
The design can be a simple pattern, like a square or diamond, or a complex Parterre with circles within squares, or Celtic knots and intricate designs, creating a tapestry of shapes and colour.
Try growing vegetables with coloured foliage (other than green), like purple oak leaf lettuce, kale or rainbow chard.
The flowers grown in a potager garden do not necessarily have to be edible. They can be grown for colour, or for picking and using indoors.
The formality and symmetry of the potager presents a functional vegetable plot as a decorative garden feature.
The mixing of vegetables with herbs and flowers creates an area full of biodiversity, rather than the usual monoculture found in many vegetable gardens. Because of this ‘mixing’ of plants, there are usually less problems with insect pests and soil borne diseases. A plus for the gardener. Some of the plants could be considered as beneficial companions – companion planting.
Some parts of the potager garden, may have perennial plants, like small fruit trees, berries or roses. These are usually planted in the centre of the beds as the tallest plants and the smaller perennials like strawberries, or annuals like lettuce, are planted closer to the paths. Small perennials like thyme can be used to hedge the beds. If you create a potager within a walled garden, the fruit trees can be espaliered against the wall.
As the annual vegetables, like lettuce, are harvested the now vacant spot will need to be filled with something to maintain the pattern. To keep the visual appeal, replacement plants will need to be the same or similar. For example, a harvested cos lettuce could be replaced with another cos, or a different variety of lettuce.
The potager garden is certainly not low maintenance, but if you have the time and the creative flair, why not experiment with plant form, texture and colour to create an in-ground work of art.
Of course this is relatively short lived. When the season changes and the annuals have been harvested or gone to seed, you will have to start again with another batch of plants.
More Bush Tucker…
Posted by Phytopath on Mar 4, 2010
The Australian continent is vast and because of this, the climate is also vast.
The northern regions of Australia experience tropical conditions, then heading south you pass through desert until finally at the southern portion of the continent (the island of Tasmania) you will find cool temperate conditions.
Because of this vastness, there is a huge variety of plants that Australians call ‘Bush Tucker’.
From tropical fruit and tubers, to desert seeds and temperate greens. Today I will cover a plant from each region.
Lilly Pilly Flowers
Syzygium spp. and Acmena spp. known collectively as Lilly Pillies. There are over 50 species of Lilly Pilly in Australia and all of them have edible fruit. They range in height from 30 m in their rainforest habitat, to about 50 cm for a miniature garden variety. They are found growing along watercourses so if you wish to grow one in your garden, make sure it has plenty of water in the growing season. The tree is covered with white fluffy flowers over the summer months and then followed by berries that are purple, red, pink or white, depending on variety. These berries can be eaten fresh, made into cordial, jam or jellies. Yummy. A word of warning – do not park your clean white car beneath a Lilly Pilly when it is in fruit. You will be hard pressed to get the stains out.
Lilly Pilly Jelly
Lilly Pilly fruit
Sugar
Tartaric acid
Water
Wash the fruit and remove stalks. Place in saucepan and just cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook until the fruit is tender then strain through a jelly bag overnight. Next day measure the liquid and add one cup of sugar for every cup of liquid and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly until setting point is reached (test this by placing some liquid on a cold saucer).Tartaric acid will help the liquid to set. Add one teaspoon per six cups of liquid. Bottle in sterilized jars and enjoy.
Portulaca
Portulaca oleracea, some of its common names are pigweed, purslane and munyeroo. Pigweed can be found worldwide, mostly as a garden or farm weed. Early European explorers to Australia ate it almost daily commenting that it was a substitute for spinach and uncooked, taste like lettuce (I am sure they had serious problems with their taste buds – or perhaps spinach and lettuce have improved in taste since then). Aborigines used the seed, which is 18-20% protein, to make ‘cakes’ which were then traded among the clans. The seeds were collected by placing the uprooted plant, upside down on a piece of kangaroo skin or bark. The seed was then ground between flat stones into a type of flour, then made into a paste and cooked. The thick root was also eaten, apparently having a taste similar to potato.
Tasmannia lanceolata or Mountain Pepper is a cool temperate tree found in moist gullies. All parts of this plant have a hot and spicy flavour but it is the berries that are mainly used as a condiment. The berries are dried then ground and sprinkled over food much the same way as white or black pepper (Piper nigrum) is used, but apparently the heat of Mountain Pepper is stronger and more aromatic. The tree is quite small, only three metres high with a spread of about two metres. The leaves can be harvested all year and the berries harvested in autumn from female trees. Add whole leaves to casseroles or stews but only near the end of the cooking time and remove before serving. The leaves can also be dried and stored in an airtight container. Now I would love to place a photo of Mountain Pepper here for you but I have tried to grow it several times in my garden but as soon as the hot weather of summer arrives, they turn their toes up and die. I have tried three plants over three years but have now decided to give up. I will buy the leaves or berries from the specialty shop instead.
Bush Tucker
Posted by Phytopath on Mar 2, 2010
Australian bush foods hold the interest of many visitors and locals alike.
Some have become known worldwide, like the Macadamia nut for example, others just remain an oddity. I will briefly list a few of the more commonly found bush foods – common that is, in gardens.
Silky Oak
Grevillea robusta, common name Silky Oak, is a stately rainforest tree grown in many parts of the Australian continent as an ornamental. The Aborigines soaked the nectar filled flowers in water to make a sweet drink. This tree has one of the richest sources of nectar.
Tea Tree
Leptospermum spp. known locally as tea-tree. These shrubs were used as a tea substitute by botanist David Nelson and gardener William Brown of the HMS Bounty in 1788. They are beautiful plants commonly grown in many gardens for the profusion of white flowers.
Muntries
Kunzea pomifera, or Muntries to the locals. This unattractive ground cover is often found in coastal sand dunes or dry sandy desert areas. The plant fruits best in alkaline well-drained sandy soil. The fruit, a fleshy edible capsule, looks smells and tastes like a miniature apple. The berries can be eaten fresh, on their own, or in a fruit salad, or dried or frozen for later use. They are very nice stewed or made into jam. The Aboriginal people of the Coorong in South Australia dried the fruit and then pounded them into cakes for trading among the clans. Today Muntries are grown commercially in plantations.
Ruby Saltbush
Enchylaena tomentosa, common name, Ruby Saltbush. Many people consider this plant to be an annoying weed. It is a spreading groundcover with greyish coloured leaves and is found in arid regions and coastal locations. The plant is well adapted to saline soils. The fleshy leaves can be boiled and eaten as a vegetable and in the MacDonnell Ranges; the fruit were soaked in water to make a sweet tasting tea.
Nardoo
Marsilea drummondii, known as Nardoo. The leaves look somewhat like a four leaf clover but the plant is actually a fern. It is found in colonies on river flats and in swamps. When the plant is grown submerged in water, the leaves float, but when grown in the soil, the leaves and stalks stand upright. Nardoo is the infamous plant known in Australia as the food which Burke & Wills ate, when they starved to death.
Chinese Greens
Posted by Phytopath on Feb 8, 2010
I was talking to a friend on the phone today, who happened to mention that he experienced some confusion when it came to differentiating between Bok Choy and Pak Choi.
So – for my friend and any one else who experiences the same dilemma.
Pak Choi also known as Chinese white cabbage in the West, but also called bok choy by Cantonese. Now this does make it confusing, so luckily we can count on botanical names.
Pak choi, correctly known as Brassica rapa var.chinensis was originally from South China and has been cultivated there since the fifth century AD. It is a cool season crop preferring to grow at temperatures of 15-20 degrees Celsius (in the 60′s in F) and is a biennial (growth over two years) with a shallow root system.
The seeds are best sown in autumn with growth occurring over autumn and winter. If seeds are planted in spring with growth continuing into summer, the plant may ‘bolt’ to seed prematurely. The plant can also ‘bolt’ or run to seed in the first year of growth if there is insufficient water. Under good growing conditions the plant will mature in 35-55 days after sowing the seed.
The whole plant is edible, that is, the leaves, leaf stalks and young flowering shoots. It does not store well and is best used fresh although the Chinese traditionally dried the leaves for use in winter.
There are different forms and varieties, some having slightly different coloured leaves and/or stalks and growing anywhere from 8 cm (3″) to 60 cm (24″) in height. There are two main types available at the store, one has white leaf stalks and the other has green. The green stemmed types are more hardier, while the white stemmed varieties are juicier.
Young plants are tender but can become stringy if grown in very hot weather.
Pak choi has loose heads of about a dozen leaves with smooth margins and the leaf stalks are described as spoon shaped. There is a hint of mild mustard in the flavour and the leaves of pak choi are more nutritious than Chinese cabbage leaves (bok choy).
Bok Choy also called wong bok and Chinese cabbage.
Botanically it’s name is Brassica rapa var. pekinensis and it is believed to be a cross between pak choi and a turnip from northern China.
Bok choy is from southern China and is a biennial but it is grown as an annual. It likes to grow in cool weather, similar to pak choi, and dislikes temperatures above 35 degrees C (95F).
There are three main types. Hearted, loose-headed and cylindrical. The hearted and loose-headed are also known as barrel types.
The hearted type have large compact heads 20-25 cm (8-10″) high and 15-23 cm (6-9″) wide. They are quick to mature, taking about 55-70 days and are slow to bolt.
The loose-headed type are also slow to bolt, mature in 55-70 days but are more cold tolerant and disease resistant.
The cylindrical type is slow growing, taking 70-100 days to mature and is quick to bolt. It grows to 38-46 cm (15-18″) tall and 10-15 cm (4-6″) wide.
Leaves vary from smooth and roundish to frilly and wavy. It has a general likeness to cos lettuce and needs similar growing and nutritional requirements. Bok choy likes plenty of water while it is growing.
Bok choy stores well in the fridge and can be used as an iceberg lettuce substitute in sandwiches and hamburgers.
Hope that helps
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.
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 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.
