Sweet Peas and All Things Purple

What’s On The Show Today?

What to grow in tight spaces part 1 in the Backyard Biodynamic segment, purple veggies, but why? in. Vegetable Heroes, and plants that suppress weeds in Design Elements, plus the sweetest of flowers in Talking Flowers.

BACKYARD BIODYNAMICS

Gardening in Tight Spaces.
More and more gardeners across Australia have downsized and only have only a very small patch of dirt, or just a balcony.

You might only have a window ledge or a couple of steps but you still want some sort of garden.
Pity that apartments weren’t designed to follow the sun, can you imagine if they did?

You might have a beautiful sunny balcony in warm weather but it's dark, and cold in the cooler months. The reverse is true of course.
So what can the hungry gardener do to grow a few plants on their balcony?
Let’s find out. I'm talking with Diane Watkin, Principle founder and member of Bioydnamics Sydney.

Diane shifts her pots from one side of the garden to the other every 6 months so she can catch 4-5 hours of sunlight to grow her herbs and veggies in pots.

It’s up to you really as to whether or not you choose plastic pots, some garden centres do accept plastic pots, but I’m not sure what they do with them. 

To keep the heat off your terracotta pots, before planting them up, soak them in water for about twenty minutes.

After potting, wrap an old tea towel or piece of hessian that you have wetted.

Spray the outer material every day when it has dried to keep up the moisture.

Diane has a particular recipe for filling garden pots, however, this may not be feasible, and too heavy for your particular situation. 

Remember, find out the weight bearing load of your balcony before you start filling tip with terracotta pots and garden soil. 

If you have any questions either for me or Diane you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Purple Vegetables are Go!

Today it’s about growing purple veggies.
What veggie can you think of that’s purple?
Did you say eggplants and then were a bit stumped? 

• What about purple carrots and beetroot?
• Ok beetroot is sort of a reddish purple, but it can be considered purple, I’ll tell you why in a minute.
• There’s also purple cauliflower and purple sweet potato not to mention purple chilli peppers.
• Let’s not forget purple podded peas and purple king beans, red/purple mizuna, red Russian Kale, Red/purple cabbages. Need I go on?
• So there are a few purple veggies out there.

Why should we grow purple veggies and why are they purple in the first place?
They’re purple is because purple vegetables contain pigments called anthocyanins, the same antioxidants found in red wine.
Think blueberries that are marketed as a superfood.
They also contain other health-promoting pigments such as betacyanins and carotenes.
Those anthocyanins and other pigments are good for our health.
Did you know though that anthocyanins are not the only cause of red colour in fruit and vegetables.
Betacyanins, members of the betalain family, are distinct from anthocyanins and the two pigments are not found in the same plants together.
Betacyanins also have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which contribute to health.
Here are some growing information for some of these purple veggies.

Purple cauliflower
In Arid zones, plant direct into the garden from April until June.

In cool temperate and temperate zones, February was the recommended time to sow seeds but you can sow seedlings until the end of May.
If your district is sub-tropical, transplant seedlings until the end of June also.
Purple caulie is a lovely coloured vegetable that contains all of the health properties of white cauliflower with the added bonus of extra anthocyanin (that lovely antioxidant that's so great for you!).
Just don't be surprised when it turns green once cooked. You can use purple cauliflower in any recipe that calls for cauliflower.

Purple Cabbage.
To sow cabbage, in temperate, sub-tropical and arid districts, March until June is the best time, but temperate and sub tropical districts can have another go from August until November,
In cool temperate areas March until May is best then again in August.
Purple cabbages are not only lovely in colour, but extra good for you with more than double the amount polyphenols than green cabbage.

Purple Vegetables: Shutterstock

Purple Carrots.
Purple carrots can grow year round in subtropical and arid climates.
In Temperate zones, you have from September through to May,.
In Cool temperate districts, September through to February, and in the tropics you can grow carrots from April to June.
Different-coloured carrots carry different health properties. The purple carrot specifically has 28 percent more of the antioxidant anthocyanin than orange carrots.

Eggplant.
Eggplant seeds/seedlings can be planted in spring to autumn in tropical areas, spring to early summer in temperate zones and during late spring in cool climates.
This pretty, purple-skinned vegetable also contains some of the most potent antioxidants: phytonutrients found in the skin.
Eggplant is also a good source of iron, calcium and a host of other vitamins.

Purple Potatoes.
Purple Potatoes can be planted August to October, in temperate and sub-tropical districts.
Arid areas August until December is your best time.
In cool temperate zones, September through to January.

These potatoes add more than four times the antioxidants in comparison to regular potatoes, according to reasearch, and score as high as kale and Brussels sprouts in antioxidants.
Purple potatoes were once considered the "food of the gods,

Why are they good for you?
Did I mention the anthocyanins? Of course.
Why grow them? Let's take a look at Cabbages: contain 90% water and are really low in kilojoules.
Also high in vitamin C, you need only eat 100g to get your daily requirement.
They also have dietary fibre, folate, potassium and help balance fluids when you’ve eaten too much sodium-salty foods. 

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Plants That Suppress Weeds

We all lead busy lives and want a garden that not so much low maintenance, after all I’m not sure that exists, but want a garden that doesn’t need so much work.

Cyanotis somaliensis

Garden designer Peter Nixon suggests it’s all in the choice of our plants, but our heart often rules over our head and we end up buying plants that need plenty of maintenance.
So what can we do to make gardening tasks easier?
I'm talking withPeter Nixon Garden Designer and Director of Paradisus Garden Design.
Let’s find out.


Peter mentioned Diclipetera suberecta
Dicliptera sub-erecta syn. sericea – with sage green leaves and orange trumpet flowers;this plant takes sun or shade so it can grow in the hot west or the southern side of the house.
Cyanotis somaliensis-you may have heard it called furry kittens or pussy ears.
Polia cristata - Commelina relative

If you have a question either for me or Peter, why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

TALKING FLOWERS

Lathyrus odorota: Sweet Pea: 

Queen of annuals: Sweet pea's history can be traced back to 17th century Italy, when a Sicilian monk, Franciscus Cupani, sent its seeds to England. 

Sweet peas come in over 250 varieties. Annual varieties prefer full sun, regular watering and soil with plenty of humus.

Perennial sweet peas survive in average soils with moderate watering.

Sweet peas are wonderfully fragrant and were originally grown in the fields of Sicily.

Most types grow from 1-5' tall, though some may reach 2m+

Sweet peas are climbing plants that do well on supporting structures.

Growing Sweet PeasT

here are few pests or problems associated with sweet peas, but they are sensitive to too much heat. According to superstition, seeds sown before sunrise on Saint Patrick's day will have larger and more fragrant blossoms. Unlike their edible relatives, sweet peas can be toxic in large quantities.

I'm talking with florist Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au 

Recorded live during radio broadcast of Real World Gardener show on 2rrr  88.5 fm in Sydney

Chrysantheumums, Naughty White Birds and Perfumed Climbers

What’s On The Show Today?

Pesky white birds in Wildlife in Focus; what’s the difference between spinach and chard in. in Vegetable Heroes, and plants the hide the fence and climb in design elements; Lastly, beautiful flowers in Talking Flowers.

WILDLIFE IN FOCUS

Little Corella

Some people love them some people hate these mostly white birds that arrive in huge numbers.

They're one of those birds that like to skid to rooves of silos, or swing around telegraph wires or the blades of a windmill.

• When you see them in flight they do look like a few other similar birds.
• Can you tell the difference between a Little Corella, and a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo?
• Let’s find out about these naughty birds. 

I'm talking with Dr Holly Parsons Manager of www.birdsinbackyards.net



The Corellas are still a biggish bird, measuring around 42cm long and weighing just under 500 grams.

The distinction is the long beak and the pale pink section between the eye and the beak called the "laws."

The also have a bluey coloured eye ring.
The West Australian newspaper writes
“White corellas will soon outnumber seagulls and will be one of the State's most serious animal pests, causing damage to homes and many businesses, according to wildlife experts.
Department of Environment and Conservation chief zoologist Peter Mawson said the rapidly expanding numbers of the Eastern States native, introduced in WA after pets were released into the wild, more than doubled in the Perth area each year and would continue to do so.”

Rather dramatic and perhaps overstated.
The beak is the dead giveaway if you’re looking up at a flock.
If you have any questions either for me or Holly, you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Perpetual Spinach

Beta vulgaris supbs. vulgaris

Not just Spinach but Perpetual spinach
Did you know that Spinach and silverbeet seed was sent out from England in 1787 with the First Fleet but in the new colony they found spinach difficult to grow?

They found growing silverbeet much easier, which is why Silverbeet is sometimes called spinach in Australia, but true spinach has smaller leaves and a much sweeter, milder flavour.

I was asked recently about why perpetual spinach seeds looked more like beetroot seeds?

• You might be wondering the same thing at home. 
• The reason I ask is that both spinach and beetroot seeds in seed packets are not just one seed but a clump of seeds 
• Saying that the perpetual leaf spinach is the same as beetroot seed, is correct because they are very similar. 
• Here’s the thing; Beetroot and chard are multigerm seeds, meaning that they are actually a cluster of three or four seeds in a corky shell. 
• Perpetual Spinach is not a spinach at all but actually a type of chard with short stems and large leaf blades; therefore each perpetual spinach seed is actually a dried cluster containing multiple individual seeds. 
• So then the question came, “ why is it called spinach then?” 
• Perpetual Spinach is called that simply because it looks like and tastes similar to real Spinach and so that name has become the norm since white settlement. 
• The scientific Name is Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris. Common Name: Silverbeet 'Perpetual Spinach', 
• Whereas, true spinach is Spinacia oleracea. 



spinach seeds

• You might be surprised to learn that another name for chard is in fact ‘perpetual spinach.” 

So what’s the difference between Perpeutal Spinach and Chard?

Perpetual spinach or perpetual silverbeet, has smoother leaves than other silverbeet with narrower, greenish stems.
It’s tender with a taste more like English Spinach but it’s hardy and drought resistant.
This beginner-friendly plant is a cut-and-come-again crop that just keeps on giving.
The perfect plant for small but busy gardens

Perpetual Spinach

HOW WHEN TO SOW
In all but the coldest districts, you can grow perpetual spinach for most of the year.
The bonus is that Perpetual spinach will continue on through to summer and autumn and possibly even into the following year.
Germination of spinach seeds can take anything between a week and 2 weeks.
Plant your seedlings/seeds around 7cm apart in rows about 30 cm apart.
For once a vegetable that grows well in partial to full sun.

Spinach seedlings

Perpetual Spinach likes a moist but not waterlogged soil.

• Using a mulch of straw or grass clippings can help to keep moisture and warmth in the soil plus add plenty of compost and the usual organic matter to so that your spinach will grow well. 
• Having a worm farm or compost bin really does help your veggie bed no end! 
• Perpetual Spinach doesn't like acidic soils, a good pH is around 6.3 -6.8. 
• Add lime to the soil if you need to a few weeks before you put the seeds in. 
• Spinach like all leafy vegetables is what’s called a heavy feeder –ie, needs lots of Nitrogen to grow well. 
• If you haven’t already applied Blood and Bone or cow manures to the soil a month or two ago, your soil will run out of nutrients. 
• During the cooler months of winter, organic matter doesn’t break down that much and to get the needed Nitrogen, applying liquid fertilisers such as compost tea or fish emulsion often will be the best way to go 
• Another thing to remember is that Spinach grows on shallow roots, so don't dig vigorously around it. 
• If you get weeds because you didn’t mulch, carefully hand remove them. 
• Water frequently to keep up with the fast growth of the plants. 

In about 8-10 weeks, your Spinach plant has put on enough big leaves so you can pick them one by one like you might lettuce.
The leaves will keep regrowing for quite a while.

Otherwise pick the whole plant for Spinach pie etc. 

TIP: When you want to store Spinach in the fridge a tip to remember is that Spinach is highly ethylene sensitive.
To stop leaf yellowing don’t refrigerate with apples, or tomatoes.

TIP: Water liberally in dry periods. Unlike true spinach, spinach beet won't bolt when exposed to a full summer sun, but don't let plants flower as this will shorten your cropping season.
Picking off flowerheads encourages the plant to grow leaves, not flowers.

TIP:Possums or even rats may eat the seedlings, so either cover with nets or grow under other plants.
Slugs and snails love young leaves, so set up a slug pub and organise a midnight watch if necessary.

Even if you can't use the spinach in your own kitchen, keep picking!
Give it away if you have too much, just don't saddle the plant with overgrown leaves as this will inhibit its growth.

TIP: Pick to eat and freeze, washed and dried leaves for cooking.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a veggie plot or it’s full up with other things like onions, broccoli, cabbages and the like because Perpetual spinach's is a great veg for container growing on a sunny ledge: thin and pick as and when required.

Why should you grow your own Perpetual Spinach?
Because Spinach is best eaten fresh and it loses nutritional properties every day.
Putting it in the fridge slows the deterioration, but half of the major nutrients are lost by the eighth day after harvest.
Why is Spinach good for you?
The amount of iron in spinach comes way down the list after vitamins A and C, thiamin, potassium and folic acid (one of the B complex vitamins).
Dark green leafy vegetables, like spinach, contain carotenoids.
If you have any questions about growing spinach or any other vegetable write in or email me. 

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS:

Stephanotis floribunda photo M Cannon

Useful and Beautiful Climbers to Hide That Fence.

• Anything you can do to hide that fence in your garden has an expansive effect on your garden and who wouldn’t want their garden not to look bigger.

• I can’t hear people saying “ My garden looks too big.”

• They say instead, “ I’ve only got a small garden” then give out a sigh of lost hope.

• The Stephanotis pictured is growing happily in a tall pot.

• Let’s find out about them.

I'm talking with Peter Nixon  Garden Designer and Director of Paradisus Garden Design.

Peter mentioned

• Dalechampia dioscoreifolia or the Costa Rican Bow Tie vine. 
• Hibiscus geraniodes, with mauve flowers. 
• Manettia bicolour or cigar vine and Manettia cordifolia John Ellerslee. 
• Also for the perfume garden Stephanotis floribunda.

Both of these will suit the smaller garden, but don’t let that stop you planting it in a larger garden.

If you have a question either for me or Peter, why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

TALKING FLOWERS

Chrysanthemum

Greek prefix "chrys-" meaning golden (its original colour) and "-anthemion," meaning flower,

Chrysanthemum flower is one of the most popular flower in the world, next only to Rose.

Chrysanthemum flowers photo M Cannon

 There are 10 different flower types which are defined by the way in which the ray and disk florets are arranged.

Pom pom, Anemone (a-nem-mon-ee), spider, single. Semi-doubles,

intermediate curve, irregular incurve-giant flowers, reflex-florets curve downwards, decorative, spoon, quill, Bush, exotic.

Chrysanthemum flowers photo M Cannon

Botanical Bite

Chrysanthemum flowers are composed of many individual flowers (florets), each one capable of producing a seed.

The disk florets are in the centre of the bloom head, and the ray florets are on the perimeter. 

The ray florets are considered imperfect flowers, as they only possess the female productive organs, while the disk florets are considered perfect flowers, as they possess both male and female reproductive organs.

I'm speaking with florist Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au

This video was recorded live during the broadcast of Real World Gardener radio program on 2rrr 88.5 fm Sydney

Funky Fungi,, Garlicky Garlic and Gorgeous Gardenias

What’s On The Show Today?

Not just ordinary mushrooms but wild mushrooms on the Good Earth segment. Find out why you need to grow your own garlic in Vegetable Heroes, and plants the scramble as well as climb in design elements; Lastly, one of the most aromatic of flowers in Talking Flowers.

THE GOOD EARTH

Preserving, Pickling, and Drying Wild Picked Mushrooms
If you want to pick wild mushrooms, then you only have one opportunity which is this Autumn.
Where do you go? Any State Pine Forest as they are open to the public.

Take a guide with you if your are new to wild picking mushrooms.

Saffron Milk Caps

 So what do you do with them if you pick 5 kg of mushrooms to take home? 
Let’s find out about this wonderful problem.
I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska of www.mosshouse.com.au

If you’re going wild picking, pick the ones with gills underneath, Saffron Milk Caps or ones with sponge underneath, which are the Slippery Jack. 

Slippery Jack Mushrooms

If you’re not sure, go with an experienced guide, like Margaret before you go foraging.
Slippery Jacks by the way taste similar to Porcini mushrooms.
Remember Margaret’s tip: microwave ovens don’t dry mushrooms.
Pickling mixture can be the same as for cucumbers. If you have any questions either for me or Margaret, you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Growing Your Own Garlic
Garlic-Allium sativum comes from the Onion family. Alliaceae

You might have guessed that in medieval times, hanging Garlic outside your door warded off vampires.
Not exactly in the same league as vampires but did you know that eating garlic helps keeps mosquitos away?

Growing Your Own Garlic

There’s even a fact sheet from the DPI about growing garlic
There’s also a website devoted entirely to garlic growing in Australia.
I'm talking with Dr Patrice Newell, Manager of Elmswood Farm in the Upper Hunter Valley.

www.patricenewell.com.au

 Dr Newell's farm has diversified into not only growing garlic commercially but also olives, and honey.

Best Tip: Plant out your garlic bulbs before they have sprouted so that the bulb can form roots before the vegetative growth.

However, if your little bulbs have already sprouted, don't throw them away, they will still grow for you. 

Types of Garlic to Grow

Like onions, there are early, mid season and late varieties available.

There are softneck and hardneck varieties.

• Softnecks are the most common garlics grown, and are the ones found in supermarkets. 
• Softneck garlic usually doesn’t have a flowerhead and have a longer shelf life (up to 9 months).There’s one called “Italian White” that’s available online. 
• Monaro purple, and Rocambole- are Hardnecks variety and these do have flowerheads like onions, and usually bigger cloves. 
• They don’t have as good a shelf life as the softnecks and prefer cooler winters. 
• Rocamboles have excellent flavour, glamorous red-purple skins and easily peeled, with a single circle of 6-12 plump cloves. 

There’s also the extra large garlic called Elephant or Giant Russian garlic and has a milder flavour but is great for roasting.

This is actually a type of leek that you can get these from some markets that are around or from an online bulb company.

Remember most garlic in supermarkets comes from China and has been sprayed with Methyl Bromide in quarantine.

When to grow
Sow direct in garden where they are to grow.
Garlic grows best when the temperature is between 13º to 24ºC.
That’s why Garlic is traditionally planted in cold weather and harvested in summer ("plant on the shortest day, harvest on the longest").
You can plant Garlic blubs now in all districts of Australia, including cool temperate.
For cool districts, you’re right on the edge of when you can plant, so don’t delay, plant today.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Beautiful and Useful Scrambler Shrubs
When is a shrub not a shrub?

When it’s a climber shrub or is there such a thing?
You may have even heard of scrambling climbers such as Bougainvillea.
These are climbing plants that have much thicker stems and sort of support themselves partially, in fact I think of them as leaning against a support rather than twining, weaving or twisting into one.
Let’s find out about them.

I'm talking with Peter Nixon Garden Designer and Director of Paradisus Garden Design.


Peter mentioned Solandra longiflora, which has thick stems but a manageable habit.
Jasminum multipartitum or Jasminum nitidum for a shadier spot. 

There are plenty of scrambling climbers or climber shrubs in the rose family also as well as Pandorea jasminoides, or Bower vine, Hibbertia scandens sometimes called guinea or snake vine. 

Pandorea Jasminoides

If you have a question either for me or Peter, why not drop us a line to 

realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

TALKING FLOWERS

Gardenias:

Gardenia is named in honour of Scottish born Alexander Garden (1730-1791) who moved to Charleston, South Carolina in the 1750’s and was a botanist, zoologist, and physician,

The Gardenia is a group that is made up of 142 species.

The most popular cultivated Gardenia species is Gardenia Jasminoides (also called Gardenia Augusta, Gardenia Grandiflora, Gardenia Schlechteri or Gardenia Florida), commonly known as Common Gardenia .

These are great flowering plants and they are actually going to be found mainly in tropical and subtropical climates.

The gardenia is actually an evergreen shrub, and is one of the most aromatic of garden flowers. The flowers are a waxy creamy white that contrasts with the dark green glossy leaves.

They love heat and are native to the tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania.

BUT, they’re not the easiest shrubs to grow with “ my gardenia has yellow leaves” being one of the most asked questions on gardening talkback radio.

They grow best in frost free areas north of Sydney and Perth but will grow in Adelaide and Melbourne in a warm spot. 

I'm talking with Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au/

Recorded live during broadcast of Real World Gardener radio program in Sydney. Unfortunately only the first two minutes came out.

Hot LIps and Flowers of the Night Sky

What’s On The Show Today?

Is that a pest or disease or not in Plant Doctor?Find out which veggie was discovered by accident in Vegetable Heroes, and flowers that last almost all year in Plant of the Week; Lastly, Give our garden tools a good clean in the Tool Time segment.

PLANT DOCTOR

Plant Viruses Uncovered
If your plants look unhealthy but there’s no sign of pests or disease, then chances are the plant has a virus.
Rose Mosaic Virus
On the other hand if you have some unusual patterns on your rose and camellias leaves, these don’t harm the plant and are fine to leave alone. 
Viruses that effect edible plants are a different problem all together. 
Let’s find out about this problem. 
I'm talking with Steve Falcioni General Manager of www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au 

Steve mentioned the "tomato spotted wilt virus" which as the name suggests, affects tomatoes, but it also affects 500 other plants!

The Cucumber mosaic virus affects all members of the Cucurbit family, where the rose mosaic virus only affects members of Rosaceae.

How virus's in plants are spread?

`Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus on Basil Leaves

Sap suckers are the usual vectors of viruses in the garden; these include aphids, leaf hoppers, thrips and whitefly are good examples.
Weeds can also harbor these sap suckers so it’s important to keep on top of the weeding.
The weeds can also have viruses in their tissue.
Also don’t forget to disinfect your garden tools after pruning particular plants and buy plants that are certified virus free.
If you have any questions either for me or Steve you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Endive : Cichorium endivia

Endive-the bitter version of lettuce or is it?
Endive is leaf vegetable belonging to the daisy or Asteraceae family, like all lettuces really.
Because it’s in the daisy family ,should your Endive bolt to seed, or you let a few go to flower, you’ll attract beneficial insects to your garden that’ll control your pest population.
Endive is a green leafy plant that looks a lot like frizzy and crinkly lettuce with a slightly bitter taste

Curly Leafed Endive

Did you know that Endive is a cool weather green, because like hearting lettuce, it bolts to seed in warm weather? 

Traditionally lettuce is eaten raw but Endive can be cooked or used raw in salads.

A bit of history
Belgian endive was first produced in 1830, by accident.
The story goes that Jan Lammers, a Brussels farmer, stored chicory roots in his cellar, intending to dry and roast them for coffee (a common practice in 19th century Europe). 

But when Lammers returned to his farm after serving in the Belgian War of Independence, he found that the roots, had sprouted small, white leaves.
Lammers took a taste and found the leaves to be tender, moist and crunchy.

There are two main varieties of cultivated endive:
Frisée or Curly endive, (var crispum) and Escarole or broad leaved endive. (var latifolia.)
Curly Endive has narrow, curly outer twisted leaves that are firm and bitter to taste. The outside leaves are dark green, while the core can be yellow or white.
It is sometimes called chicory in the United States and is called chicorée frisée in French.  

Broad Leafed Endive

Broad-leaf Endive consists of a bunch of thick broad leaves that are coarse and slightly tough in texture.
This type of Endive is eaten like other greens, sauteed, chopped into soups and stews, or as part of a green salad.

Belgian Endive or Witloof Chicory is really quite different to the other types of endive, with a narrow, lightly packed pointed head that looks like a spearhead.
Witloof as I’ve seen it called, ranges in colour from pale yellowish-green to white.

The Real Chicory

But whatever type of Endive you grow, you’ll find that’s it’s dead easy, like a lot of lettuce type vegetables.

If you grow Endive yourself you’ll save money because it tends to be the more expensive of the greens in the supermarket or greengrocer.

When to Grow

• Are you asking when shall I put in the seeds of Endive ? 
• For Tropical, sub-tropical and Arid areas, sow your endive seeds from April to July, 
• In temperate zones, March until May, then again in early Spring, and in cool temperate districts you had March, possibly still try in April, but unless you have a greenhouse of some sort, wait until September, October. 
• Endive is best planted at soil temperatures between 15°C and 25°C. and should be ready to pick in 10-11 weeks. 
• Endive seeds are very fine but try and spread the seeds as thinly as possible directly into the garden. 
• Cover the seeds with a very fine layer of loose soil or seed raising mix. 
• Water lightly, and keep soil moist. 
• Thin plants to 15cm apart, in rows 45cm apart. 
• Tip: Some people sprinkle the seeds on top of a fine soil, and just water them in. 
• You can start endive in punnets or trays just as you would for heading lettuce and transplant later if you want to. 
• If you’re doing the punnet thing, spray them daily with a fine mist of water until the seeds germinate, transplanting them about 20 - 30 cm apart 

  

  Endive seedlings

Like other greens, endive tastes best when it grows quickly and steadily.
Make sure it gets enough water and fertilizer.

Now here’s the tip on reducing the bitterness.

• Endive has a slightly bitter taste which can add zing to a salad bowl but if you’re not into bitter tasting lettuce, you can take out the bitterness by blanching. 
• Not in boiling water, but out in the garden. 
• Blanching is a technique used in vegetable growing. 
• Young shoots of a plant are covered to exclude light, so that they don’t produce as much chlorophyll, which is that green stuff in leaves. 
• The result is leaves that are paler in colour. 
• Blanched vegetables have a more delicate flavour and texture than unblanched vegetables. 
• You can also blanch your Endive by tying the leaves together when a rosette begins to form or cover with a large pot for about 3 weeks. 
• Tip: An easy way to blanch your endive is to cut off the top and bottom of a milk carton and pop it over your Endive plant 1-3 weeks before they are ready. That should be about 7 weeks after you sowed the seeds, so put a note in your diary. 
• That way, the stems will be whitish and not so bitter. 

Why is it good for you?
Endive is rich in many vitamins and minerals, especially in folate and vitamins A and K, and is high in fibre. Endive is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, a great addition to your weight loss program.

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

Petunia Hot Lips

PLANT OF THE WEEK

 Petunias: New Varieties

Some gardener, myself included, have tended to think that these next flowers are mainly for Summer, and get replaced with the likes of Pansies, Sweet Peas and others for the cooler months.
These plants are often sold as potted flower colour, but you can start them off as seed, although be warned, the seed is as fine as dust.
Now there’s heaps of new varieties that are worth trying and will flower for longer.
Let’s find out about them.
I'm talking with Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au

Petunia Hot Lips, Potuna and Night Sky are all perennial petunias and ones to watch out for.
Perennial Petunias have the advantage of lasting a few years in the garden as opposed to their annual counterparts.

Interestingly Jeremy mentioned that even though these plants are propagated by tissue culture; in other words are clones, they sometimes change colour on the same bench.

Petunia Hot lips flowers sometimes changes to all white or all maroon, whereas Petunia Night sky sometimes loses its stars! But the stars do come back.
 

Petunia Night Sky

They have excellent cold tolerance, are renowned for being tough with weatherproof blooms.
If you have a question either for me or the plant panel, why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

TOOL TIME

Cleaning Gardening Tools: A Refresher
What do you do at the end of a few hours’ worth or even a day’s worth of gardening?
Do you remember to put the tools away?
More importantly do you give your tools a wipe down to remove all the gum and gunk after pruning?
We gardeners sometimes overstretch ourselves when we’re out in the garden and some of those finishing tasks get neglected.

By-pass secateurs needing a good clean

Let’s see how we can fix all that on tool time. 

I'm talking with Tony Mattson, General Manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au

Tool time covered sharpening secateurs in a previous segment and you can hear the podcast of that segment by putting in sharpening secateurs in the search bar on www.realworldgardener.com
Are you surprised about steel wool not being so good to use on the blades of your pruning tools?
Encouraging rust to grow is not what we want at all so those soft brass brushes are the ticket for giving your secateurs a good clean.
Now that they’re nice and sharp let’s resolve to keep them nice and clean each time we use those pruning tools.
Then we coat the blades with some sort of machine oil based, such as sewing machine oil or even some olive oil.
The silicone based oils dry without leaving a coating so are not that protective of your gardening tools.
Apologies to all those conscientious gardeners, who have the energy to religiously clean first and then put their pruning tools away at the end of the day.
If you have any questions about cleaning or sharpening your garden tools, when not write in or email me atwww.realworldgardener.com