Tight Topiary and Climbing Spinach

 TOOL TIME

Topiary Shears

During the warmer months of the year, your garden can start looking like a jungle because it’s growing so fast.
More so because of la nina bring welcoming rains to drench the parched soil.
What things can you do in the garden to tame it somewhat other than a short back and sides?
Have you thought of a bit of topiary?

You don't have to go all out and doing something like in this photo, although it is rather nice.

You could just do a few simple balls on a stick instead. 

But what tools help you do the job properly?

Normally you need to do the trimming fairly regularly and you're trimming the newer growth. 

Older wood may need a nip with secateurs.

• The single handed topiary shears are great for small jobs such as perfecting that topiary ball. Topiary shears are similar to sheep sheers. (pictured)

• Two handed topiary shears are a lightweight hedge shear usually weighing less than 1 kg. 
• The blades are straight and vary between 20-25cm (8-10 inches) in length.
• There's also battery operated one handed shears.

Starting your own topiary from scratch like the balls in the photo,  you need to choose the right type of plant that responds well to topiary. 

Think buxus species, lilly pillies, or the common myrtle,  (Myrtus communis) are great starting points to kick off your topiary garden.

Between each trim, step back and look at how you are progressing so it ends up symmetrical

Let’s find out what needs doing.

I'm talking with Tony Mattson general manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au

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

VEGETABLE HEROES

 Malabar spinach

Is your spinach wilting in the heat or succumbing to all sorts of pests and diseases?

• Ever thought of trying Malabar Spinach?

It’s also called Ceylon spinach, Indian spinach, vine spinach, or Malabar nightshade?

Doesn’t matter if you haven’t heard of it before because you’re about to find out.

• The one we’re focussing on is the red stemmed version or Scientifically it’s Basella alba 'Rubra'.
  
  
  

Malabar or Climbing Spinach originates in India but is also found naturally in Africa and other parts of Southeast Asia.

• Did you know that an extract of the fruits of the red stemmed version of -Basella alba ‘Rubra’, have been used for hundreds of years as deep red dye for official seals and a natural form of rouge in cosmetics?The juice from the berries is so intensely purple that it puts beet juice to shame.A bit like Dianella berries I think.
• In some countries, this juice is used as a natural food colorant for agar (vegetable "gelatine") dishes, sweets, and pastries.

Why it’s called Malabar spinach because it was first discovered in the Malabar region-on the south-west coast of India in dense tropical jungles, along coconut and pepper plantations.

• So what does this spinach look like?

For lovers of all things romantic in the garden, you can’t go past another plant with heart shaped leaves even if you want to eat it.

• Malabar spinach is a climbing plant not even related to true spinach (Spinacia oleracea) but grows large succulent heart shaped leaves that are a bit like spinach in taste.
• The leaves are quite a bit more waxy to my way of thinking.I would describe it as crunchy and juicy when raw. The taste is slightly peppery with a bit of a citrusy flavour with hints of earthy spinach to it.
• It’s not bad to eat, some say even delicious to eat, but I can’t say I use it a lot in cooking.More of an attraction in the garden with the leaves and the purple flowers followed by black berries.

The upside is that if you like your Spinach, this one’s is easy to grow and is much better suited for summer growing than Spinach itself.

When your lettuce and other salad greens are wilting, because Malabar spinach is a twining succulent (stores water in the leaves and stems), you’ll have plenty of greens for your salad.

Where to Grow

Malabar spinach does best in warmer areas from the tropics to warm temperate areas, where it can easily grow a 10cm per day.

In the tropics, Malabar spinach can grow 2-3 metres and wide and has small white-tinged pink to purple flowers in the leaf axils.

• This plant isn’t frost tolerant and in temperate areas doesn’t grow anywhere near as tall as in tropical areas. In cool temperate districts, I would treat this plant as an annual, but yes you can grow it too!
• If you’ve grown this plant before, you would know that the plant seems to die down in winter then re-shoots again in late spring. So don’t go thinking you’ve killed it at the end of autumn.

Why not try planting Malabar spinach on a trellis to make a backdrop for a display of other dark-leafed cultivars like—purple-stemmed sugarcane, black-leafed cotton, aubergine-coloured beets, kale, and Swiss chard.

Straight species Malabar spinach has yellowish stems and green leaves and looks nice enough, but it's the red-stemmed cultivar 'Rubra' that really stands out.

Red and green are opposites on the colour wheel and the combined effect is always a bit dramatic. The red veins in the leaves make it more so.

When the flowers are fertilised, small, attractive, single-seeded purple berries will grow.

It does self seed somewhat and I was able to gift seedlings to many of my friends.

How Does It Grow?

Basella alba grows best a humus-rich, sandy loam in full sun but will produce larger juicier leaves if grown in partial shade..

It grows easily from seed that has been sown in situ or you can start it off in a punnet.

Saving seed is easy too:

Simply dry the entire fruit and use it for planting the following year. Just make sure you store it dry in maybe a paper envelope.

The red-stemmed cultivar of Malabar spinach comes true from seed.

In a pot , it’s much more tame.

• TIP: When you have a plant in season, tip cuttings will root readily in water so you can give other members of your garden club or other friends some plants.
• Use any style of plant support you like: poles, teepees, chain-link fencing—I’m growing it up a trellis but it seems to have attached itself to a few other plants in the veggie bed.

Malabar spinach is insect and disease resistant, and that’s saying a lot; because at the moment, the grasshoppers are eating whopping big holes in my Kale and a bit of my spinach, but not touching the Malabar spinach.!

I am catching and squashing those hoppers!

Where do you get it? Plenty of those big box stores that have garden centres have it as well as your local garden centre or plant nursery.

Why is it good for you?

The succulent leaves and stem tips are rich in vitamins A and C and are a good source of iron and calcium. They may be eaten raw in salads, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups, stews, tofu dishes, and curries. Or you can use them as a filling for quiche, omelets, or even a frittata!

Since red-stemmed Malabar spinach can lose a lot of its red colour when cooked, perhaps it is best in raw dishes.

A great way to use it is to plant it thickly in pots in spring, and when it’s growth takes off, pick the young shoots off daily for stir-fries & omelettes. Eventually it will get away from you by climbing or sprawling, but usually can be contained for a couple of months this way. The shoots are delicious & tender!

AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY