Clucka Tucker, Passionfruit and Peruvian Lilies

What’s On The Show Today?

Some hot tips on keeping chickens happy on the Good Earth, a member of the Rare Fruit Society in Bundaberg talks about growing passionfruit in Vegetable Heroes, Useful & Beautiful sub shrubs in Design Elements and flowers that symbolize friendship and devotion in Talking Flowers.

THE GOOD EARTH

Plants for Chickens

Have you hankered after keeping chickens or have some of your own already?
If you’ve thought about it for ages, it may be time to bite the bullet and get three.
Chickens are a flocking bird so three’s the minimum so that they feel safe.
But what else can you do to keep the chickens happy other than having a nice chicken coop and daily fresh water?

3 Bantams photo: M Cannon

Let’s find out . I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska from www.mosshouse.com.au

Chickens self-medicate if they feel something is missing.

They will eat more of the food that will help them. 

Plant plenty of Rue, wormwood and Comfrey.

Ruta graveolens: Rue

Comfrey has plenty of Calcium which is good for chickens because that's what they need for shell forming.
If you have room to plant a deciduous fruit tree like a mulberry tree near your chicken coop, that would be ideal.

Other trees that are useful or Fig trees, Apple trees and Elderberry trees.

Comfrey

If you have a small back yard you still a tree because there are plenty of dwarf apple trees to choose from.
While the tree grows to a suitable size, you will have to put up some other sort of protection from the sun, and rain.
Of course if they’re free ranging during the day, they can shelter under other big trees or shrubs you have in the garden

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

VEGETABLE HEROES

Growing Passionfruit: Passiflora edulis

Almost every garden has space for a passionfruit.

Yes, it’s a fruit but botanically it’s a berry.

Plant a Passionfruit or two- Passionfruit Panama Red, Panama Gold, Nellie Kelly and Banana passionfruit.

The passionfruit vine has the look of a tropical vine with it’s lime green glossy 3-lobed leaves and its intricate purple and white flowers with a crown like appearance.

So distinctive is this flower that 16th Century Spanish Catholic missioniaries named it "Flor de las cinco llagas" or "flower of the five wounds."

They thought the flowers portrayed ‘Christ’s passion on the cross’ because it showed the Three Nails, the Five Wounds, the Crown of Thorns and the Apostles

So it could have come from Brazil but no-one knows for sure.

Passiflora edulis: Passionfruit flower. Photo M. Cannon

Right now across Australia, many gardeners are harvesting their passionfruit while others are scratching their heads and wondering why they haven’t got any.

Passionfruit or passiflora edulis has the most amazing flower and you’d think by the way it grows, that there wouldn’t be any real problems.

You would be wrong.

In this interview I'm Val Wright of Bundaberg who is a member of the Rare Fruit Society and the Organic Garden Club up there.

PLAY: Interview

Val correctly suggests that for the problem of flowers but no fruit, or thick skin and little pulp, you need to add potash to the soil and plenty of it.

Adding granular Potash is best coming into Spring and Autumn.

Add liquid Potash any time.

If you vine is dropping it's leaves, check the amount of watering you are doing.

Has it been raining a lot lately and do you have the right amount of drainage?

Passionfruit vines are subject to phytophthera, or root rot if they are sitting in too much water, henc the falling leaves. 

Correction: Phosacid sometimes sold as Yates Anti-Rot.

When to expect a passionfruit harvest?

In warm areas you will get fruit for most of the year.

In temperate areas expect a crop summer and late autumn.

In cold areas only summer.

 (Passionfruit - Panama Gold vigorous and sweeter than the others.

Black Passionfruit - (Passiflora edulis) Will tolerate light frosts. Self pollinating.

Vals  passionfruit fertiliser recipe

2 parts Blood 'n Bone

1 part Potash

1 part Epsom salts

Sprinkle a good handful around the passionfruit every 2 months.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Justicea carnea

Useful and Beautiful sub-shrubs

What are sub-shrubs?

Sub-shrubs is a category that you may not have thought about but it’s certainly worth investing in some of these to fill out your garden.

Large shrubs could be considered to be at least over 3 metres in height, maybe up to 4 metres.

Sub shrubs are a category that is for those plants that are around 1 metre to 1 1/2 metres in height.
Garden designer Peter Nixon always finds the unusual that are a little bit harder to source but are worth the effort because they turn your garden from just nice to just beautiful.

Let’s find out what they are. I'm talking with Peter Nixon Director of www.peternixon.com.au

Kohleria eriantha

PLAY: Useful & Beautiful sub-shrubs_14 2018
Peter mentioned sub-shrubs like Plectranthus ecklonii, the spur flower reaches about 1.2m
Barleria cristata “Lavender Lace,” with a lavender and white striped flower.
Barleria micans grows to 40cm flowering in April-May.
Kohleria eriantha with a scarlet tubular flower.
Justicia carnea and J carnea alba and Justicia betonica: Called Brazilian Plume-
A very useful plant.
Lastly, Brazilian Snapdragon or Otocanthus caeruleas with deep blue flowers.
If you have any questions about sub-shrubs , either for me or for Peter or have some information to share, why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

TALKING FLOWERS

Alstromeria
Named after Baron Claus von Alstrome, a Swedish baron who collected the seeds in the late 18th century on returning from a trip to South America.

Alstromeria: Flickr photo

You may know alstromeria as a gorgeous garden plant, but it makes a fantastic cut flower too, on its own or as part of a mix. There are at least 190 cultivars in just about any colour but blue. 
They flower nine months of the year so they are readily available. 
Reminded me of cats whiskers because of the markings on the inside of each flower.
They are poisonous to pets though, so bear that in mind. 

Mercedes Sarmini of Flowers by Mercedes tells you how to select your cut flower bunch and how to make them last.

I'm talking with florist, floral therapist, and floraholic, Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au

Recorded during the broadcast of Real World Gardener show

Passionfruit and the Scent of Lilac

FLORAL ARTISTRY

I was going to have Tony Mattson from Cut above tools, on the program until I realised that I needed to talk to one of the judges of the Tesselaar rock Star Florist competition.

The art of floristry has come a long way from posies of yesteryear.
Floral Design is the ‘in thing’ or buzz word, where creating anything from simple bouquets to floral chandeliers, to floral head dresses are the go.
Where can they showcase their stuff?
At a floral competition and today I’m talking to Julie Rose, one of the judges and former competition finalist for 4 years.

This year there are three bona-fide Australian RockStar Florists to judge  the competition as expert judges and mentors:

•Holly Hipwell from The Flower Drum

•Melanie Stapleton from Cecilia Fox

•Julia-rose from Flowers by Julia-rose

These industry superstars will help select finalists and the ultimate winners. They will also then offer their valuable time and expertise to train up our lucky winners.

The way it works is the judges chose their finalists (9 each for a total of 27 finalists), which they have already done, then from 16th -23rd November, the public can vote on facebook.com/tesselaarflowers, where you, get to select the 3 category winners – then back to the judges who will decide amongst themselves who is to be the overall winner - 2016’s RockStar Florist!

VEGETABLE HEROES

Passionfruit or Passiflora edulis.
Almost every garden has space for a passionfruit.
Yes, it’s a fruit but botanically it’s a berry.
Plant a Passionfruit or two- Passionfruit Panama Red, Panama Gold, Nellie Kelly and Banana passionfruit.
The passionfruit vine has the look of a tropical vine with it’s lime green glossy 3-lobed leaves and its intricate purple and white flowers with a crown like appearance.
So distinctive is this flower that 16th Century Spanish Catholic missioniaries named it "Flor de las cinco llagas" or "flower of the five wounds."
They thought the flowers portrayed ‘Christ’s passion on the cross’ because it showed the Three Nails, the Five Wounds, the Crown of Thorns and the Apostles

Passiflora edulis

So it could have come from Brazil but no-one knows for sure.
PASSIONFRUIT is a well known and loved vine in Australia.
Passion fruit grew here before 1900 in what had been banana fields.
Until1943, passionfruits were a high yielding commercial crop but when the vines were devastated by a widespread virus, the industry was devastated.
Although some plantations have been rebuilt, they can’t produce enough passion fruit to satisfy the demand.
So Why Grow A Passionfruit?
Passionfruit vines are have twining tendrils that grab onto anything within reach and can clamber up trellis, fence or pergola in most soil types.
They’re also suitable for large pots on a balcony.
The passionfruit vine is very ornamental in leaf and flower and will improve the appearance of fences, stark walls, tanks and just about anything else.
Almost every garden has space for one passionfruit vine, so try to find a suitable spot against a sunny fence or wall.
The common, or purple, passionfruit are the size of an egg, round to egg-shaped with a thick, purple skin, which becomes dull and wrinkled as it ripens.

Inside, the pulp is yellowish-orange, sweet and jelly-like with many edible, black seeds covered in jelly-like pulp.
Some varieties are yellow, some are banana-shaped, others are larger than the purple passionfruit.
Commercial growers in cooler climates often use hybrid varieties of the purple and golden passionfruit.
That way they get a plant that tolerates cooler weather.
How to grow Passionfruit from seed.
Growing passionfruit seeds isn’t hard.
The seed just needs to be fresh.
For some reason old seed takes a lot longer to germinate.
So buy some nice passionfruit, separate half a dozen seeds from the pulp, and plant them as soon as possible.
They take about ten to twenty days to germinate.

Keep in mind that most passionfruit found in the fruit and veg shop are hybrid varieties and won’t come true to type.
Another problem with growing from these seeds is that the plant that grows will be more susceptible to the fungal disease, Fusarium Wilt.
If you have this problem in your district, often in cool temperate zones, then you’ll have to buy a grafted variety of passionfruit.
If you buy your seed then it's likely older, so be prepared to wait.
Old passionfruit seeds can take months to germinate.
The best way seems to be to just put them in the garden and leave them be, and they may came up.
Next Thing.
When your seeds germinate and are ready to transplant, dig in some Chook poo pellets before planting,
Sprinkle  the soil with 0.5 kg dolomite lime, and mulch with an organic mulch once the vine’s in place.
All passionfruit like full sun and protection from wind and frost.
They also need something to climb over.
You only need two wires along a north facing fence.
One placed near the top of the fence and another one 50 cm lower.
Train the young plant up a stake until it reaches the first wire, then allow two shoots to go out along the wire.
Of course you can grow it along other structures, it’s really up to you.
Like all fast growing plants passionfruit needs a lot of nutrients.
Passionfruit are notoriously short lived, so it’s a good idea to plant a new vine in a different part of the garden every couple of years.
In colder areas you can grow the banana passionfruit which have a similar taste and pink flowers.
Regular water and fertiliser will increase vigour and crop size.
Passionfruit plants have a vulnerable root system.

A fertile soil with lots of organic matter is the ideal situation.
If your soil is poor you will get problems with wilt diseases, root rot and nematodes. Heavy clay soils also cause problems with rot diseases.
The root system also can handle lots of water as long as the soil it’s in is well drained.
The plant also needs plenty of water when it’s fruiting.
In warm areas you will get fruit for most of the year.
In temperate areas expect a crop summer and late autumn.
In cold areas only summer.
 (Passionfruit - Panama Gold vigorous and sweeter than the others.
Black Passionfruit - (Passiflora edulis) Will tolerate light frosts. Self pollinating.)
Why Are They Good For You?
They’re an excellent source of beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A.
A good source of vitamin C
They’re an excellent source of dietary fibre. Australian figures rate passionfruit higher than any other fruit for dietary fibre.
Also contain more of the B complex vitamins riboflavin and niacin and also more iron than other fruits
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Scented Plants for Cool Temperate Gardens. (The envy of warm climate gardeners!)
Earlier this year Garden Designer Peter Nixon started a series on scent for your garden.
We now take it up again with a focus on scented plants for cool climate gardens.

Sometimes I think cool climate gardens have it all.
Not that you need to have a palace as in the photograph of lilacs taken in Vienna.
Those gardeners can plant an English style garden, they can even plant a tropical style garden by choosing cold hardy large leaved plants.But best of all, they can plant these sumptuously scented plants that gardens further north struggle with.
Let’s find out more.
I'm talking with Peter Nixon, garden designer and project Manager of Paradisus Garden Design. www.paradisusgl.peternixon.com.au

Daphnes, Luculias, Bouvardia,  and Lilac are all plants that gardeners other than in cool climates try to grow with limited success.
Sometimes they last for a few years, sometimes they don’t survive the season.
Their allure keeps drawing us in.
The plants that Peter mentioned are:

Philadelphus coronarius

Daphne odorata : Viburnum carlesii

Luculia gratissima, L. pinceana, L. grandifolia
Siringa vulgaris - Lilac
Edgeworthia chrysantha - Paper Bush
Chimonanthus praecox - Winter Sweet
Lonicera fragrantissima - Woodbine
Narcisis - jonquils, daffodils Lavendula

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Amaranth caudatus_Love Lies Beeding

Described as have brilliant red seed heads that dangle like rubies, the tassles of this flower can reach up to 30cm long.
That means that if you want to display them in a vase, the vase has to be quite tall.
So let’s find out what it is.
I'm talking with the plant panel:Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au  and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au

Did you know that Love-Lies-Bleeding grew in many Victorian English gardens and in the language of flowers, it represents hopeless love?
Tiny blood red petal-less flowers that bloom in narrow, drooping, tassel-like, panicles throughout the growing season.
The tassels contain thousands of tiny flowers and hang straight down to 30cm (occasionally 60 cm) long and look like velvet cords.
Did you know that the red colour of the inflorescences is due to a high content of betacyanins?
This plant grows best in full sun and well drained soil.
It tolerates dry conditions and poor soil, but can’t grow in the shade.
If you have any questions about growing  Amaranthus or Love Lies Bleeding, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com