Mixed Spice and All Things Nice

 SPICE IT UP

MIXED SPICE

The name 'mixed spice,' sounds 'oldie worldie' to me because it's not something that comes up in too many recipes these days. 

Perhaps if your flicking through an old  Woman's Weekly recipe book, or the cookbook you used at school in home economics class, you might find it in the cakes and buns section.

What is mixed spice?

Mixed Spice is a sweet spice blend and is used in a variety of cakes, puddings, pies, breads and buns, biscuits, pancakes, cupcakes, gingerbreads, and even fruit salads.

Mixed spice has actually the following ground spices.

• Cinnamon-two types, Sri Lankan cinnamon and cassia cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Ginger-to add brightness and freshness
• Cloves-a very small amount.
• Allspice-a spice all on its own which is actually a berry.
• Coriander seeds, ground of course. Coriander is an amalgamating spice.

But what do you use if you can find it on the supermarket shelves?

Melting Moment biscuits

Mixed spice quick alternative:

• Cinnamon 1 tablespoon
• Nutmeg     1 teaspoon
• Ginger       1 teaspoon
• Cloves       1/2 cloves
• Coriander  2 teaspoons

Marianne is talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

With the predominant flavor of cinnamon, it also makes a nice change to substitute this spice blend for anything calling for cinnamon for an added flavour boost.

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

Enjoy Mulled Wine Jelly and Grow Cut and Come Again Celery

SPICE IT UP

Mulled Wine and Mulled Wine Jelly

Are you missing the Christmas spirit? In Australia it was mostly too hot around Christmas time to partake in mulled wine. Winter isn't that far away, and for some people, Christmas in July is a thing.

That would include mulled wine.

Right now though, you could make some mulled wine jelly to relive some of that Christmas cheer which just seems like a faded memory.

You may have heard of the spices that go to make mulled wine, a traditional drink in the northern hemisphere at that time of year.
But here in Australia, it’s too hot, so what else can we do with these spices?

Traditional mulled wine spices contain allspice berries (ground), cassia bark (Asia version of cinnamon), ginger, dried orange peel, and cloves.

METHOD: Mulled Wine

In a saucepan 

POUR 1 bottle of red wine

ADD1 cup of brown sugar,

ADD 1 fresh lime

ADD 1 fresh quartered orange.

ADD2-3 tablespoons of mulling spices.

SIMMER gently for 30-40 minutes DO NOT BOIL

STRAIN: into a jug and serve while warm.

If you’re keen to experiment with your own recipe, then use real vanilla pods, cinnamon quills, fresh citrus and star anise at the very least.

Apart from mulled wine jelly, and mulled wine fizz, there’s also mulled wine glazed ham. So experiment away. Listen to the podcast to find out more.

I’m talking with Ian Hemphill from herb and spice expert from www.herbies.com.au

If you have any questions about spices in mulled wine spice mix, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write to 2rrr PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

Today’s vegetable hero is -Celery Leaf , Leaf Celery or Chinese Celery. Leaf celery is also called Cutting Celery, Parcel, Smallage, Zwolsche Krul, and German celery.

• Celery Leaf is botanically-(Apium graveolens var. secalinum).

Leaf celery sounds like it’s all leaf, but that’s not the case.Yes there’s a lot of leaves, but they’re on top of long, albeit thinner stalks.

• Leaf celery is a more primitive form of familiar supermarket celery but it’s a great cut-and-come-again veggie.If you cut or harvest leaf celery plants often, it will constantly send up new stalks.
• The stalks are hollow, crisp, and packed with flavour, cutting celery is an essential veggie at our house.
  

In colder zones, if you can nurse year-old plants through winter, they will send up a huge flush of stems in early summer, followed by lots of flowers and seeds.

• The ground seeds make a great seasoning for dozens of dishes.

As a true biennial,  cutting celery is happy to produce zillions of seeds at the end of summer here in Australia.

• If you’re an occasional celery user who find that the bunch of celery that you buy from the supermarket turns brown and mushy before you finish it, then you may want to try growing this alternative.The best thing is the stalks aren’t bunched closely together.
• So if you just want one or two stalks of celery to flavour your soups or Bolognese sauce, then just go out into the garden and cut two stalks.

Celery Leaf tastes similar but slightly better than regular stalk celery!
I would say it tastes a little stronger than stalk celery or celeriac.

A Bit of Hsitory
Did you know that leaf Celery has been around for a long time and was in fact used by the ancient Romans as a medicinal herb.
Supposedly, Celery seed has been used for around 3000 years as a seasoning for food.
Did you also know that crushed celery seeds are steam distilled to make celery oil?
This oil is used for flavouring sauces, meats, liqueurs, perfumes, cosmetics and soaps.

 
Some gardeners have run out of room in their veggie bed already-full of tomatoes, Basil and whatnot.
Never fear, Leaf Celery will grow in large pots because it’s a compact plant that grows to 45-60cm in height.

• If you live in a cool temperate district, container veggies can be moved under cover during winter.
• Leaf Celery is a darker green with thin stalks and leaves that look like a cross between the Italian Parsley and the Curley Parsley.
• Celery leaf is perfect for container gardens because it’s a cut and come again plant and is great used as a herb in stews, dressings and salads.

When to plant:
In cool temperate districts, Spring and Summer are your sowing times, in temperate and sub-tropical zones, you have from Spring right through to Autumn, 

Arid areas, the only time you can’t really sow it is in summer, and tropical districts win the jackpot, because they can sow it all year round.

How to grow:
From putting the seed into the ground or pot, it’ll take around 2-3 months.
Like most veggies, Leaf Celery needs full sun but can do alright in part shade in soil that’s not too dry.
You can start them off in punnets if you like because they don’t mind being transplanted.

• Keep in mind, Leaf Celery isn’t frost tolerant.

Sow the very fine seeds thinly, and only 5mm (1/4”) deep.
Be careful not to cover the fine seeds too much because they need light to germinate.
For fine seeds I tend to use a light cover of vermiculite which I then mist to make moist.

• They can be slow to germinate taking up to 21 days at 100C-180C, so be patient.
• In warmer areas, seedlings should emerge in 1-2 weeks.

Once the seeds have germinated it’s a good idea to thin them out around 30cm (12”) apart.
TIP: number 1: Don’t let them dry out.

• TIP: number 2:-If you believe in companion planting, then leaf Celery is supposed to be an insect repellent for cabbage white butterfly.Try planting some around your Brassicas like Broccoli, Cauli, and Cabbage.

TIP: number 3 and now for the Celery Seed.
If you leave your Celery leaf over winter, the plant will bolt to seed in Spring.
What can you do with that?
Apart from replanting fresh seed, the seeds are actually edible.

• Ever heard of Celery salt?

What you can also do is grind it up in your mortar and pestle with a little sea salt. Better than from the supermarket shelf.
Plus you can enjoy the dainty white umbels of flowers.
After a couple of months, pick leaves as you need them to put in soups, stews, stocks and sauces.
A few eaves go well in salads with a strong blue cheese or some or cured meats.

• How else to use leaf celery?

Packed with flavour and fibre, it's best to thinly slice cutting celery crosswise or diagonally.
A sharp knife makes quick work of slicing and dicing any type of garden celery.
Use it as you would regular celery, eat it raw or cooked in long slow cooked meals, or as flavouring in sauces.
Why is it good for you?
The leaves are brimming with five times more magnesium and calcium than the stalks. They're also a rich source of vitamin C and antioxidant’
The good thing is Leaf Celery is low in carbs, and has even a small amount of fibre.

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

Allspice and Cloves but Not With Beans

We start with allspice and cloves, similar but different, how? That’s in the spice it up segment, growing beans in Vegetable Heroes; a new series called ‘so you think you need a landscaper part 2, with Peter Nixon in Design elements and buttons on stalks in plant of the week.

SPICE IT UP

Allspice vs Cloves

How well do you know your spices?
Would you think for instance, that allspice and mixed spice are the same?

Pimenta doica_allspice tree with berries.

Would cloves be a good substitute to save you running to the store, if you ran out?
Let’s find out.  I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au 

Even the Spaniards were confused with the allspice berry when they invaded Jamaica, thinking it was a type of pepper.  Probably why the allspice tree is Pimento doica.

• The allspice berries  are picked when they're green and put out to dry in the sun.

Allspice and cloves

The heat of the sun activates the enzyme which turns the berries dark brown.

At night, the berries are heaped into a pile and covered with a tarpaulin.

The next day they are spread out in the sun again. 

This process is repeated over three to four days, by the end of which time, a volatile oil develops called eugenol.

It turns out that allspice and basil, also have a lot in common, because both contain the essential oil eugenol. 

That means both are perfect partners in tomato dishes.

• But it also turns out you can use allspice instead of mixedspice but at 1/3 of the quantity because it’s much stronger. 
• The clove tree is Syzygium aromaticum. The unopened flower bud is the clove.

.If you have any questions, please write in to
Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Beans: Phaseolus vulgaris

Do you love your beans?

Did you know that beans have been an important part of the human diet for thousands of years?

• Beans are a legume in the Faboidea or the pea family.

Scarlet runner beans

So you would think that beans are easy to grow but for whatever reason, some people find them challenging to germinate.

• You may already know that as well as other legumes, beans have nitrogen fixing nodules on their roots. Yep, that’s right, the roots make nitrogen out of the air and deposit it into the soil.
• Lightning storms are even better for that reason because they convert nitrogen into ammonium ions which is what plants need before they can take it up.

Green beans, either climbing or dwarf, are also called string beans and snap beans.

Dwarf beans are very quick growing and may be sown every three or four weeks from spring to give a succession of pickings throughout summer. They’re handy for filling in any gaps and perfect for tubs and window boxes.

Green beans can be yellow

• Green beans generally have smooth, slender pods.
• Runner beans tend to have slightly coarser pods and continue cropping a few weeks later than string beans.

Then there are the beans exclusive to warmer climates including soya beans, lima beans, and the appropriately named yard-long beans!

How To Grow

To grow beans you need up to four months of warm weather.

In subtropical climates beans can be grown almost all year.

For temperate and arid zones, mid-spring through to late summer are the best times to plant.

In colder districts, beans, don’t like the cold at all and they certainly don’t like frost.

You have until the end of summer, certainly you wouldn’t be expecting any cold snaps now.

Tropical districts, once again, need to wait until the winter months to sow beans.

For those gardeners having trouble getting beans to germinate, beans are best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 30°C.

If the temperature is colder , you probably will strike out.

How to Sow and Grow Your Beans

• Drop in two seeds per hole, so they fall about 2cm apart, and 5cm deep.
• Cover with soil, seed raising mix, or compost. Grown this way the beans will mostly shade out competing weeds and 'self-mulch'.
• An important fact about growing beans is that they need well-drained soils with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0 and are sensitive to deficiencies or high levels of minerals in the soil-especially climbing beans.

  

  Bean plants can self mulch if planted closely.

How To Water Your Beans

When growing green beans, keep the soil moist.

A good rule of thumb is to put a finger in the dirt and if the dirt is dry up to the first knuckle, then it needs about an inch of water.

Keep your beans watered and watch for vegetable bugs and green caterpillars

• TIP: Pods won’t set at temperatures above 27⁰ C.

Did you know that if you pick the beans as soon as they’re ready, you’ll get new flowers?

If you neglect your bean plants and let your beans get large and stringy, flowering will slow right down, and you probably won’t get any more beans from your plants.

• Tip: To have beans all summer long, plant more seed as soon as the previous planting starts to flower.

Beans do poorly in very wet or humid tropical climates because they get bacterial and fungal diseases.

Go easy on the fertiliser or you’ll get lots of leaves and no beans.

When are beans ready pick I hear you ask?

Usually in about 10-12 weeks.

• Pick them when they are about as thick as a pencil, smaller if you want a better, tender taste.

Dragons Tongue beans

 Why are they good for you?

Green Beans are a good source of vitamin C and also contain calcium, magnesium, zinc and Vitamin A. But, the most important nutritional fact for beans is that they provide a major source of soluble fibre, great for lowering cholesterol.

Also is a source of folate .

Some varieties of the dwarf  beans are

Brown Beauty-flat pods

Dwarf Snake Beans-ready in 11 weeks.

Windsor Delight has long pods of about 15cm.

Blue Lake Climbing, long pods again but they’re round this time.

So happy bean growing gardeners!

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

Bell Peppers and Allspice

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.

Spice It Up

with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

The name Allspice is because the flavour makes you think that you’re tasting nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Did you know that the fruit and leaf oil are also used in men’s toiletries? Ever heard of “Old Spice, I used to buy that for my father for his birthday when I was going to school. Any men’s fragrance that contains the word ‘Spice’ apparently has some allspice oil in it.
You can buy this tree online from a Fruit Tree nursery in NSW that has just about every exotic tree around. Just remember it’s not drought or frost tolerant. They will also send you a mail order catalog for free if you ring or write to them www.daleysfruit.com.au
I’ll put the link to the nursery on my website. By Phone:  (02) 9034 4626 
By Fax: (02) 66 322 585 By Mail: P O Box 154, Kyogle NSW 2474
Allspice is mainly grown in Jamaica and for some reason, no-one has be able to successfully grow it much as a plantation crop, anywhere else. That’s a pity because the bark and leaves are very aromatic.
So what is Allspice exactly and why is it so difficult to grow? Let’s find out…

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Vegetable Heroes:

• This weeks Vegetable Hero is the Capsicum or botanically-Caspicum annuum or Bell Pepper if you’re from the Northern Hemisphere, and Pimento if you’re from Spain.
• Also sometimes called Sweet pepper so as not to be confused with those ones that have lots of bite. Capsicum is also from the Solanaceae or Night shade family that also has tomatoes.  
•  In Cool temperate districts, you have September and October to sow seeds of Capsium.
• If you live in arid, sub-tropical and temperate zones around Australia, sow seeds only to the end of September because of the long lead up time before the capsicum is ready to eat.  After that time put in seedlings  until December. 
• Arid zones however have the added bonus of planting direct into the garden from November until April. Also Sub-tropical areas can plant direct into the garden from December until February. So you guys win again.
• If you’re planting into an existing vegetable garden I urge you to consider crop rotation.. you’ll be planting your capsicums where you last had lettuces, spinach, and parsley, in other words leafy vegetables.
• The capsicum plant is a medium sized bush between ½ -1 metre tall. All capsicum seeds need higher temperatures than tomatoes to germinate-in the 23⁰C to 28⁰C range. Capsicum seeds can be difficult to germinateI suggest soaking them in a seaweed solution for a few hours. A saucer will do, you don't need to drown them , also  seedlings grow slowly. The other drawback is that it takes 11-13 weeks or  about 3 months from when you put in the seedlings to when the capsicum is ready to eat.
• The colour can be green, red, yellow, orange and more rarely, white and purple or chocolate brown, depending on when you pick them. No matter what type of capsicum you grow they like it hot.  
• Capsicum plants prefer moist but not wet soil. Water them regularly in the hot, dry summer. Add mulch around the peppers to keep down weeds, and to hold in the moisture. As the capsicums fruits start to grow, switch over to a fertilizer higher in Phosphorous and Potassium. Tip: Capsicums are self pollinators. Occasionally, they will cross pollinate from pollen carried by bees or other insects. If you save the seeds from the crop, there is the possibility of cross pollination if you plant hot chillies and sweet capsicums too close. Don't worry though, as it will not affect the fruit of this year's crop, but will show up in the genetics of the seeds, if you save them.
• Pests:    Several insects enjoy your pepper plants. Spider mites and aphids are the most common. I've had this happen, and the capsicums grew anyway. You’ll know when these have been around because the leaves of the capsicum will become deformed. Generally that’s too late to spray with anything. However, there is a natural spray derived from potassium soap or Natrasoap from Yates. By the way, these plants just like tomatoes are favoured by the Qld fruit fly, so if you had that problem in your garden last year, you’ll need to  start putting up fruit fly lures to indicate if they’ve arrived in your garden yet. Then, if they have, there is a pheromone spray that is an organic control of fruit fly. Organic control is ecolure from www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au

Design Elements:

with Louise McDaid from Eden Gardens.

You’ve decided to makeover your potted garden one way or another, now how do you put them together? Grouping the pots differently will give you a different look. Trying adding or subtracting just one or two pots to see if it looks better. Another tip, is to change the plant that’s in the pot altogether and next week the Potted Garden discusses different plants for different pots. You can’t go wrong if you listen into Design Elements’ Potted Garden Series. Find out more.....   Podcast Powered By Podbean

 

  Plant of the Week:

with Sabina Fielding-Smith  

• Flannel Fowers-Actinotus helianthi. You'll see them now in bushland around Sydney. Actinotus helianthi "Federation Star" is NSW's floral emblem.
• Flannel flowers Actinotus helianthi are shallow rooted plants with relatively brittle stems that need excellent drainage as well as protection from strong winds to avoid stem breakage. Keep them flowering all season with a tip prune.
• Older leaves on lower areas of stems will naturally die off and stay attached to the plant during the cooler months of the year.
• Flannel flowers can be grown in either full sun or partial shade and tolerate light frost once established. If you don't have good drainange and you want to grow these flowers considera  raised bed. For example, at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan, flannel flowers have been successfully grown in a mix of 40% coarse sand, 40% well composted pine bark and 20% loam. A moderately acid soil mix with a pH of 5.0 to 6.0 is the ideal.
• Species of Actinotus are particularly sensitive to root disturbanceso don't be tempted to  tease out the roots during transplanting into the garden bed or large pot. Recommended plant spacing is 0.5 to 1.0 m.
• In humid areas, as with all grey, hairy leaved plants, Botrytis or fungal rot, attacks the lower leaves. Keep plenty of air circulating around the plants and remove any dead or fungus affected leaves. Avoid wetting the leaves when watering. Fertiliser your flannel flowers with a liquid food for natives.