Queensland Arrowroot/Achira, Canna edulis

Queensland Arrowroot or Achira: Canna edulis

You know when a plant has reached a peak of popularity when you starting finding discarded specimens at the rubbish tip. This is where I picked up a clump of Queensland Arrowroot, on the ground as a thick tangle of rhizomes, roots and tatty large leaves. In recent years it has been made popular by Permaculture gardeners who want to grow a starchy root vegetable or quick growing screen plant/windbreak or source of leaves to use as mulch. It is even tolerant of a light frost and is certainly ok in a boggy poorly drained site which is where I planted three small pieces of plant. Off it went like a rocket over summer and is now a thick mass of stems about 2.5 metres tall. I am not sure whether I want to harvest it and extract the starch. Arrowroot was always included in the 'Invalid Cooking' section of cookbooks in Australia, in between such delights as 'toast water' and 'gruel'. My copy of The Golden Wattle Cookbook, published as late as 1976, has the recipe for 'Milk Arrowroot' straight after lemonade. I know which I would prefer. If you grew up in Queensland you may even remember having a slice of 'sand cake' for afternoon tea which is made using arrowroot in equal quantities with butter and sugar plus 4 eggs. Cake was better than being offered a plain Arnott's Milk Arrowroot biscuit.

Australia's favourite biscuits

From around the 1870's onwards, Queensland arrowroot was grown commercially in the Pimpama district which is about 45 km south of Brisbane.

Kanaka slave labour was used to harvest rhizomes of arrowroot until the practise of 'blackbirding' was outlawed after Federation.

Imo: “Japanese Tubers”

 Sato-Imo, Japanese taro, Colocasia esculenta 

The small corms surrounding a central larger one are called Imonoko or child and grandchild. From September to November in Japan the harvest of various "Imo" is in full swing. It's an autumn thing. So why am I doing it now? because I put the task to the bottom of the 'to do list' and as a result many of the tubers or corms had rotted during the winter months. Though they can tolerate waterlogged soil they hate cold wet feet and stagnant conditions.

 

 Divided clump ready to be planted out.

Taro is not hugely popular in Australia, except in the Pacific Islander community, but in Japan various prefectures may grow different sorts with different shaped corms or textures in the cooked variety; with names such as Ishikawawase, the sticky Dodare to the elongated Kyo Imo.The link at the bottom of the page gives a photo description of the many types.

 The other sort I grow is Hasu-Imo or Zuiki which is harvested for the crisp stems .This is Colocasia gigantea.
Those brave enough to eat taro uncooked, as certain Japanese recipes attest, may well experience Egumi, a "mouth feel" consistent with having thousands of microscopic needles stuck into lips, mouth and throat due to the presence of oxalic acid in the raw stems ,leaves and tubers.
Bamboo shoots and Hange tubers (Pinellia ternata) pictured below, also give the sensation of Egumi due to the presence of homogenistic acid, a metabolite of tyrosine, and its 2-glucoside. Budding biochemists can read online the results of experiments by Hasegawa C., Y. Sakamoto and K. Ichihara from 1959  'On the relationship between homogenistic acid and the egumi taste of bamboo shoots and Hange' (Proceedings of the Japan Academy) Among the interesting findings were the observations that soil type and length of time before cooking may affect the presence of these chemicals. Does that apply to other vegetables we eat ? Sweetcorn picked and eaten straight away certainly makes its mark.

 'Hange', Pinellia ternata, in flower now

Imo: “Japanese Tubers”-The Varieties and Basic Knowledge | SHIZUOKA GOURMET

the tomato week

 'The Member Dr Sir Leslie Colin Patterson KCB AO'

Tim Storrier's entry in the 'Archibald'

Art Gallery of NSW

Tomato stains a plenty and a 'traveller's tool' to please all the ladies, this portrait won the 'Packing Room' prize at the start of the week.

 Having a yarn over the back fence during the week with a neighbour who speaks with a measured Tasmanian drawl, I was told of his on going soil preparation for his vegetables this summer. This involves dragging large bags of sea-grass/seaweed from the lake's edge and much composting and digging in. My input in the conversation was about tomato varieties and my desire to plant a large fruiting type. The reply came back that his parents in Tassie grow tomatoes so large that just one slice will cover a slice of bread and they weigh almost a kilo. "Yeah but there are no fruit flies in Tasmania" I replied "and here you have to have your crop all harvested by Christmas to avoid the fungal diseases of January and February......"

 Now I could be accused of being something of a dilettante when it comes to tomato growing. Last year I grew none but the year before I had a terrific crop of Romas. I used the Mildura method for growing the Romas, that is like a 'commercial crop' by letting them sprawl over the ground and giving them just appropriate fertilizers at fruit set etc. Too easy, no stakes, removing laterals or spraying.

 So this year I have decided to put a bit of effort into growing a descent sized one and have been doing the appropriate 'homework' as preparation. In frost free areas like here on the coast, the 'early varieties' such as 'Rouge de Marmande' can be started off from seed now. 

 One of the books I referred to about early tomatoes was this one by Percy Joseph Hurley (1893-1983). Originally published in 1951, this edition dates from 1962 and is full of good tips week by week even though the sub-title of 'young poisoner's handbook' may be appropriate given the litany of chemicals on offer. His pen name of 'Waratah' refers to his work as horticultural correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald from 1937 to 1969. He gardened at Lindfield in Sydney at a time when gardening was taken more seriously than it is today. Rouge de Marmande is described as the 'North Coast Winter-cropper','setting fruit in mid-winter in frost free areas'. I assume this means you can plant seed now for a late spring early summer crop or in March for a winter crop. Given the above average temperatures this June I imagine it would be quite successful at either planting time.
The other varieties he recommends for sowing seed of now are the perennial favourite 'Grosse Lisse', 'Break o Day' and 'Rumsey Cross'. All of which are still available today from specialist suppliers. 'Break o Day' was released in 1931 and Rumsey Cross from the 1950's bred by local seed merchant Eric Rumsey who sold his business to Yates in the 1960's.
So for now I am sticking with Rouge de Marmande and am hoping for some nice big fruit by early summer to pass over the fence to my neighbour with a big smile.

Orange-Peel Thyme, Thymus richardii spp. nitidus

Thymus richardii spp. nitidus 
 Orange Peel Thyme

If you bury your face in a pot of this prostrate thyme your senses are assaulted by a fragrance of bitter oranges and pine, not a combination which endears it for use in the kitchen in a culinary foray, but more a scent one would expect to find in a men's cologne.

I grow this in a pot because the closely packed leaves and dense habit make it susceptible to fungal rot in late summer humid days. It perhaps needs to clamber through some rocks or across paving so as to avoid this habit of up and dieing for no apparent reason in a mild coastal climate. It also fails to flower for me so maybe needs a cold winter trigger to implement this though no matter as the it is worth growing for the unique scent alone.

 'What time the mighty moon

Was gathering light

Love placed the thymy plot

of Paradise'

Alfred Tennyson

Nasturtiums in pots

 While the garden bed Nasturtiums have long gone, shrivelled in the heat and dropping a load of seed, I have had more success in keeping them going in pots. One thing I did not realize is that they can be pruned back in a reasonably hard manner and they will regrow in a more compact and floriferous way. Container growing also makes it easier to control the amount of fertilizer they get as it is well known that excessive nitrogenous fertilizer will produce a mass of leaves with hidden flowers. Removing spent flowers stops them going to seed and thus shortening their life and though this takes a bit of extra effort there is no reason why these Nasturtiums will not keep on going all through summer and into autumn.
These 'Christmas red' ones will make a nice addition to the festive table in the coming days.

Golden Lemon Balm,Melissa officinalis 'All Gold'

Melissa officinalis 'All Gold'

Lemon in colour and flavour and a great plant for a shady corner, this variety differs from the closely related Melisa officinalis 'Aurea' (syn.'Variegata') , the variegated lemon balm, which has leaves splashed and speckled with yellow. The interesting thing about 'All Gold' is that it can spend quite a bit of the year with green leaves, at least from autumn till late spring, though some say this is a response to overly rich soil which favours the green leaves. This year when I trimmed back my plant in late winter I took cuttings which I just layered into the soil in the vegetable garden .These soon struck and turned golden while the mother plant sat with a dull green face. Given too much sun the leaves can quickly bleach white then scorch brown. Overall this variety is less vigorous than the common green lemon balm and is a very worthy addition to an ornamental shady garden or herb patch.

The lemon balms are good bee plants and the name 'Melisa' is synonymous with the Greek word for bee and they are kept happy within a hive from the use of this plant growing thereabouts. It also has a long history of culinary use and can be used in any way where a zesty lemon flavour is required. As it grows wild in the southern parts of France, the French were inventive in using it in all manner of ways. The celebrated Eau de Carmes or Carmelite water was a popular tipple in the seventeenth century. You can make a modern version by adding the flowering tops of balm to a litre of brandy along with a few twists of lemon peel and aromatics such as angelica root, cloves, nutmeg, coriander seeds and cinnamon sticks.Left for a week or so to let the flavours infuse and then strained, you have yourselves a cordial tonic to uplift the spirits.

Ammi majus 'bon ami'

Ammi majus under-planted with Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)

A good friend for the garden by attracting beneficial insects and helping get the biodiversity right, Ammi majus is in flower now along with its equally useful friend Alyssum. These two are often combined in seed mixtures of 'all white flowers' or in special 'good bug' mixed packs. Seed planted in autumn or during winter can be given any odd spot in the garden or simply grown in pots. They are not fussy about soil and will still flower even if the conditions are not particularly good such as with variable weather conditions or low soil fertility. This is a polite way of saying they can be a little on the weedy side and will come up in the cracks of pavement given half the chance.

I hesitate to use the common name Queen Anne's Lace for this plant as it can be easily confused with the other plant of that name Daucus carota which has more ferny foliage and more cream coloured flowers. Both these plants belong to the Apiaceae family which includes the vegetables carrots and celery.

Cooking with Michael Pollan

This is the time of year when all the new books hit the shelves in time for the Christmas market and when you start to think about the relaxing days of summer ahead with reading or dozing in the shade of a tree during the hottest time of the day high on the list of the day's agenda. Earlier this year the thought proving American author Michael Pollan released a book called 'Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation' It is on my must read list having sampled the PDF introduction available online. The quote I always remember from Pollan  is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.", and in this new book he deals with the philosophy behind four elements which have shaped culture through cooking and food, namely fire, water, air and earth. In fire he writes about cooking whole animals over an open fire. In water he deals with cooking in a vessel by boiling or braising. Air is about baking and earth is about fermenting, the process used for cheese making and brewing.

So my humble poached chicken from the other night has taken on a whole new meaning when it is described thus :"The pot dish, lidded and turbid has none of the Apollonian clarity of a recognizable animal on a spit but is a primordial Dionysian soup" as the "marriage of plant and animal foods in a liquid medium is preferable to cooking either food over direct fire" with the added "onions, garlic and herbs containing powerful antimicrobial components  which are able to survive the cooking process" and which are therefore very beneficial to health and well being. While I am on the right track here and enjoy cooking I am also an eater of the microwavable frozen convenience meal, the very thing Pollan rallies against in his books, because they have been made by a huge corporation and you have absolutely no idea what is in them and where those ingredients come from, for, in the long run "You are what you eat eats".

Neem tree, Azadirachta indica

I have been using Neem oil as an insecticide on and off for years.

It sticks to the leaves and continues to work for some time after spraying. It is especially good to repel white fly which congregate on the underside of cabbage or broccoli leaves.

 Recently I came across this book, Neem: A tree for solving global problems which was published in the early 1990's by The National Academy Press in Washington D.C. It is a comprehensive guide to the use of Neem worldwide up to the date of publication. 

 Now it seems that the current opinion is that the Neem tree has serious weed potential in most regions of the dry tropics where it has been planted, including Australia. Birds find its fruit desirable and thus spread the seed far and wide.

 Pest plant risk assessment:Neem tree—Azadirachta indica - IPA-Neem-Tree-Risk-Assessment.pdf

Insect pests: Flea Beetle and 26 Spotted Ladybird

 Every second year or so I grow a small crop of potatoes, last time it was 'Red Pontiac' , as above, and this year it is 'Dutch Cream'.

 They are just coming into flower but as it has been a hot dry spring a couple of insect pests are starting to make their presence felt.

 The 3mm metallic flea beetle (Xenidia picticornis ,Halticinae) pictured here, has very stout femora of the hind legs which means it is able to jump out of the way when disturbed. They leave tiny shot holes in the leaves but do not reduce crop yields. Other edible plants which are more seriously affected by flea beetles include beans, basil, mint and rhubarb as well as ornamentals such as Plectranthus species. They lay their eggs on the stems of plants and the resulting larvae may bore into the stem when feeding resulting in wilting of the affected parts. They require a systemic insecticide for adequate control and to break the life cycle.

The twenty-six spotted ladybird (Henosepilachna sparsa vigintisexpunctata) and the closely related twenty-eight spotted ladybird (Henosepilachna virgintiopunctata) are garden villains active from October to April. They relish the leaves of potatoes, cucumbers and rockmelons as well as ornamentals such as Brugmansia or members of the family Solanaceae. These beetles are oval in shape and about 6mm long making them larger and  easily distinguishable from the small 'good guy' ladybirds which feed on aphids.Their larvae feed on the underside of leaves and they are covered in burr like spines.They may be present at the same time as the adult beetles feeding on the upper surface and if the infestation is severe the leaves may appear as if burned and collapse.

If your crop is small, as is mine, they are easy to remove by hand as they don't budge when

approached. Too busy producing the next lot of offspring as is the case in the middle photo above.

Le Fraisier des bois, woodland strawberry

 Woodland or alpine strawberry 
Fragaria vesca (Rosaceae)

I have been after the white fruited strawberry for years as it was once readily available at herb nurseries and then it disappeared from the garden scene. Now it has been included in a mixed strawberry seed packet in the Mr Fothergill's range of products. The white fruited variety is said to be less attractive to birds though I have had no trouble with birds pecking at the red ones as the fruit is often hidden under a leaf canopy and not easy to spot. The perfect forage fruit really as there is the thrill of the hunt involved in finding these tasty snacks.

Growing strawberries from seed is in the medium difficulty range. The seed is as fine as dust and just needs to be surface sown and kept evenly moist. Germination is usually very good but the little plants just sit there for ages with hardly any leaves while they put down long fine roots. Often you end up with a mass of young plants growing together. However they are actually fairly tough and I have separated tiny plants from a tangle of fine roots and they all survive and develop quite quickly. Once on their own in a pot or garden bed, they make a big spurt of growth and before you know it they are producing fruit. it is just in the initial month after germination that you think they are never likely to come to much.

Plants benefit from a bit of shade in the hottest months and towards the end of summer they can be sheared off at ground lever to refresh the plants and leaves quickly return with autumn rain. Regular applications of liquid organic fertilizer keeps them producing lots of fruit for many months. Of course it takes a lot of patience to harvest a lot of fruit to use in a dessert and they tend to be eaten in the garden and not make it inside to the table. These seeds are available from: Mr. Fothergill's Seeds & Bulbs

Microgreens & edible flowers:Art on a plate.

Edible flowers(clockwise from top): Dianthus, Star flower, Calendula, Rose, Viola, scented Geranium, Rosemary, Nasturtium, and Borage in centre
A quick walk around the garden and it is easy to find a selection of flowers which can be used for special occasion meals or for using day to day in a salad or vegetable dish. My tip is to use whole flowers as decoration and just petals if they are going to be eaten. Some flower flavours are quite strong. Nasturiums are hot and peppery, Star flowers taste strongly of garlic, while Borage can be coarse and bristly if you leave any stem in place. Moderation is the way to go and if you are uncertain about whether a flower is edible best avoid it , however pretty and decorative it may look. I'm thinking of the very poisonous Oleander flower as an example.

Microgreens have finally gone mainstream after years of being the exclusive preserve of fine dining chefs. A few weeks back I was reading Gardening Australia magazine in the newsagent, as you do, and noticed a small pack of Mr Fothergill's Microgreens Seed attached to the cover. I didn't have time to find out whether there was a story in the mag on them as I was given one of those 'this-is-not-a-library-mate' looks from the guy behind the counter. "Yeah OK mate I'm just a ten cents a dance nurseryman" I thought as I put the mag back.
I have to admit to being a bit sceptical about the taste of Microgreens given that they have been marketed as a newer and better version of sprouts and originate from their spiritual home of southern California. I have never been a huge fan of sprouts having eaten too many takeaway salad sandwiches crammed full of sour tasting ones of the alfalfa or mung bean variety.(Snowpea sprouts are OK) However once you try Microgreens with their clean fresh taste and crunchy texture you are hooked. If they have not been given the tag of 'superfood ' then they certainly deserve it.
Mr Fothergills have several different packs available including 'Mediterranean Flavours' of Italian Basil ,Rocket and Sunflower and 'Flavours of Western Europe' which includes Cress, Pea 'Morgan' and Red Amaranth. They also offer a tray kit so you don't need to muck around with soil to grow them in.

The kit consists of a plastic tray which sits on top of a reservoir which is filled with water. You need to place the seeds on a damp piece of tissue paper and as the seeds germinate the roots grow down through the tray into the water. The seeds need to be sprayed with a fine mist of water to keep them moist until they germinate. Now this is where I came unstuck and got it wrong. My horticultural "expertise" went out the window and I tried growing three different types of seeds at the same time, forgetting the basics about different rates and times of seed germination. So in this case the cress was up and running after a couple of days followed by the peas by which time I had already snipped off the growing cress, while it is not really warm enough yet to grow the Amaranth as it is a true summer plant.

Don't be alarmed if the tissue on which the seeds germinate turns brown. This is just stain from the tannins in the seed coat as it is cast aside when the first 'cotyledon' leaves emerge.
The tray growing kit is ideal for apartment dwellers who don't want to muck around with soil and it also has the advantage of being able to be placed directly on a meal table allowing guests to snip off the fresh leaves if they so desire. It would certainly be a real talking point.
So my microgreens education has only just begun and I hope to perfect the art of growing them over the coming months with more photos to add to this post.
The link to the Mr Fothergills web page is below.

Seeds, Vegetable Seeds, Flower Seeds and Herb Seeds

Scarecrows

There is a long tradition of scarecrow making across the world and it was interesting to see some in the Wollongong Botanic Gardens yesterday. Not only do they help scare birds away from edible crops, they are are also very decorative and are a great way to get children involved in gardening.

'Our Backyard Festival'

Wollongong Botanic Garden played host today to the second annual 'Our Backyard Festival' on what was a perfect sunny warm day. It was a terrific event with lots of fun stuff aimed at young visitors and stalls promoting everything for developing a sustainable productive organic garden.