SugarsThrough The Looking Glass

SPICE IT UP

with Jaggery (Palm sugar) and Gula Malaka .
Talking with Ian Hemphill www.herbies.com.au
There’s more than one type of brown sugar and they don’t all come from the sugar cane plant.

 Not only that there’s more than one variety of each different sugar.

Just like we see sugar being sold as white, brown and dark brown sugar, you may find once you decide to use them in your cooking that there’s a few different types that have their different applications. There's light palm sugar and dark palm sugar. Dark palm sugar is closest in flavour to dark brown sugar.
Gula Malaka is all of these.
Let’s find out  and listen to the podcast.

If you can't buy Gula Malaka, or Jaggery, you can substitute it with soft brown sugar.
Jaggery is made from boiled down sugar cane juice. It's very natural and not processed.
Used a lot in Indian cooking and has a very different aroma to palm sugar once blended with other spices.
An example of using the different palm sugars in cooking is -for Red Thai Curries use dark palm sugar, and for green Thai curries use light palm sugar.
Would you believe that palm sugar or palm jaggery is one of the healthy sugar substitutes that is available in the market today.
Unlike sugar, it is unrefined and unbleached retaining all its nutrients, but not only that, it has a smoky flavour and a rich aroma.
Palm sugar is produced by tapping the sap from the flowers of the tree and boiling it down to produce a syrup, which is then sold as is, or allowed to crystallize into various shapes and sizes.
Some of these sugars are mixed with cane sugar so that’s something to watch out for.
If you want the genuine article either buy a reputable brands or check the ingredients and hopefully, that will tell you if it’s 100% palm sugar.
If you have any questions about winter rose care or roses in general, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

BOTANICAL NAME: Bay Leaf, Sweet Bay or scientifically Laurus nobilis
A tree in the Laurel family and yes it’s a tree but we call it a herb because it’s the leaf that we use.
Bay Tree has a long history, in being used as a way of recognizing someone who had achieved something great.

For example, a great scholar, or the winner of a chariot
race, or the soldier who had excelled in battle. All of these would have been given a laurel of bay leaves.
That’s why it’s been give the latin name of Laurus nobilis, reflecting that’s it’s given to someone for performing a noble deed.
Did you know that the term ‘baccalaureate’ originates from this giving of bay leaf crowns to signify success, as does the term "poet laureate?"
Bay leaves are widely used in European cooking and are classically found in Bouquet garni, and usually found in mixed herbs.
Bouquet garni is French for bunch of herbs which can be anything but traditionally includes a sprig of Thyme, a sprig of Parsley, a sprig of Marjoram, sometimes a sprig of Oregano and a sprig of Bayleaf.
Tie them together with a piece of kitchen string.
It can be used fresh or dried.

Bay leaves have quite a strong flavour so need to be used sparingly.
Bay leaves contain the oil cineole and eucalyptol, but is fresh best when using this herb?
It seems the flavour profile of the fresh bay leaf is more bitter.

However, the flavour profile of a dried bay leaf has lost that background bitterness and all but about 10% of the moisture content.
Dried Bay leaves are best in long slow cooking.
Fresh bay leaves are used when you’re cooking something for a very short time such as with fish on a barbecue.

Bay leaves are very easy to dry.
Hang a bunch of leaves in a cool dark place for a couple of weeks, then strip off the leaves and put them into an airtight container.
They will last for 12 – 18 months. Oil of bay leaf repels cockroaches.
So spread some dried leaves in your kitchen pantry cupboards to deter those cockroaches.
What does the Bay Tree look like?

The Bay tree is evergreen growing quite large, to about 8 metres.
But it’s not in a hurry to do this being quite a slow grower.The leaves themselves are a leathery dark green about 5 – 8 cm long.
The leaves have a strong odour and a bitter taste and that’s because Bay leaves contain essential oils and a compound called Eucalyptol.
The leaf, both dried and fresh, and the fruit of the bay leaf tree are used for medicinal purposes but don’t try to eat the berry because it’s poisonous.
You might be surprised to learn that the essential oil that you get from the fruit is used in making soap.
How do they grow?
You might think that at 12 metres, the Bay tree is a bit big for most gardens these days, but not so.
Bay trees are often sold as topiary subjects and can be kept in pots for many many years.You don’t even have to upsize to the next pot.
Simply take out your bay tree if it’s become pot bound and hack of the bottom 1/3 to ½ of the root ball.
Then replenish the potting mix and put your tree back in the same pot.Give it a seaweed drink so that it re-covers from transplant shock, but they’re pretty hardy, so not much can go wrong.
Do this every couple of years.Bay trees can grow in any soil and are generally hardy to -5°C but can withstand lower temperatures in sheltered positions.
Bay is hardier when planted in the ground.

You can also keep it as a topiary subject in the ground as well to limit it’s size.
All that will happen is that the trunk will get thicker.
You may have seen Bay trees topiaried as balls on sticks, or the stems of two trees intertwined.
When to plant your Bay Leaf?
You can plant your bay leaf any time really because they’re pretty hard, but in cold climates if it’s only a small sapling, wait until the hard frosts have past.
Prune your Bay leaf in late spring also and remove any leaf tips damaged by winter weather.
Mature bay trees can tolerate even hard pruning but are slow to recover and re-grow.
Stagger this hard pruning over 2 -3 season is a better idea so your tree doesn’t look terrible for most of the warmer months.
For trees in pots the roots can be susceptible to freezing through the pot in a cold winter.
Prevent this happening by using bubble wrap around the pot.
TIP: Don’t over water your bay tree in the pot because over-watering can cause root damage
.Bay trees can get attacked by scale insects so keep a watch out for those because they discolour the leaves and are not any good for using in cooking
.Spray your leaves with a botanical oil at the first signs of scale at the beginning of Spring.
Why are the good for you?
Fresh leaves are very rich source of vitamin-C, and A and folic acid.
Apparently components in the essential oil can also be used in many traditional medicines in the treatment of arthritis, muscle pain, bronchitis and flu symptoms.
I can’t vouch for it, but some people drink Bay leaf tea to help with common digestive disorders like constipation and acid reflux.
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

 

 DESIGN ELEMENTS

Why Don't Plants Last with Louise McDaid, Landscape Designer.

Have you ever bought a plant thinking or knowing that it’s not suited to your climate?

You’ve said to yourself that you’ll create a micro-climate, or you’ll give it a go in a pot next to a north facing wall so it gets reflected heat.

Or you’ll protect it from freezing winters by remember to cover it with a blanket of some sort.

Perhaps it’s a plant that you grew up with in a colder climate and now that you’ve moved to somewhere more temperate or tropical, you want to try and grow it.

Perhaps this plant of yours evokes all sorts of memories, or the flowers have that special colour, so you give it a go anyway.

Let’s find out plants like this, and why some plants don't last.

 

Did you know that lavender isn’t frost tolerant? I would never have thought because I’m sure my father grew Lavender in his Mt Gambier home.

But perhaps it had a microclimate?

PLANT OF THE WEEK

with Karen Smith, editor www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley www.thegreengallery.com.au
Coprosma repens " Pacific Series"

What plants grew by the seaside when you were quite young and went to the beach with your parents?

They are pretty tough plants with shiny leaves that withstand extremely dry conditions and salt spray.

Often called Mirror Bush or Looking Glass Plant because the leaves are that shiny.

The flowers are insignificant, but people living near the coast used to plant these shrubs because they could withstand the salt spray and grew where nothing much else would.

Especially in neglected gardens or gardens of holiday houses.

Perhaps it’s one of these plants that we’re about to talk about?

 What is this plant? Let’s find out …

Make sure you buy the newer types of Coprosma as in the Pacific series that are self sterile and not the weedy species Coprosma repens.

 

Coprosma 'Pacific Sunset' is a brilliantly coloured low growing evergreen shrub.

The leaves are coral red in the centre with broad dark red-brown leaf edges, very shiny and with an unusual wavy habit.

The growth is dense and compact, to around a metre and a half high and wide. It is great for low hedges and screens, and does beautifully in containers.

Grow in a sunny position to light shade in a moist soil. Feed with a handful of slow release fertiliser in spring.

 

Another new cultivar is Coprosma Pacific Sunrise.

 This is a striking evergreen plant growing to 1.5m high, with a glossy wave shaped leaf consisting of hot pink foliage and chocolate brown highlights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That species Coprosma is a weed of coastal environs (i.e. sand dunes and headlands), heathlands, open woodlands, closed forests, temperate rainforests, wetlands, roadsides, disturbed sites, old gardens and waste areas in temperate regions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Noble Leaf Amongst Shrubbery

SPICE IT UPBay Leaves-Laurus nobilis

Do you have a repertoire of a few herbs and spices that you always use in your cooking?
These herbs and spices become quite familiar to you and you probably think you know how best to use them right?
Not so right when it comes to this particular spice that comes from the leaves of a tree because there’s a big difference between using the fresh leaves and dried leaves in cooking.
Let’s find out what this is all about. I'm talking with herb expert Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

There are a number of different types of bay leaves used in cooking in different parts of the world. California bay leaf that look like the Bay laurel that we know well–California laurel, (Umbellularia californica, Lauraceae), also known as Oregon myrtle, and pepperwood, is like the Mediterranean bay laurel, but has a stronger flavour.Indian bay leaf or malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala, Lauraceae) also looks a little bit like the leaves of bay laurel, but is culinarily quite different, -it’s more like cinnamon (cassia) bark, but milder.
So, did you know that using fresh bay leaves in your cooking can leave a slightly bitter taste?
Perhaps not?
Fresh bay leaves are pungent and have a sharp, bitter taste.

When dried, the fragrance is herbal, slightly floral, and somewhat similar to oregano and thyme.
The bitter note has disappeared altogether and is much more pleasant to use in cooking.
Myrcene, which is a component of many essential oils used in perfumery, can be extracted from the bay leaf.
Bay leaves also contain the essential oil eugenol-you may remember it being in another herb-Basil!
If you have any questions about John Stanley’s interview, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

  Chinese Cabbage is quite different from your regular cabbage and has a milder flavour, so here goes.
There’s been a whole lot of confusion with the name- anything from Chinese leaves, Pe-tsai, Pak choi, Wong Bok and Bok choy. Which one’s right for the most cabbage looking of the Chinese vegetables?

Chinese cabbages are still in the Brassica family but the scientific name is Brassica rapa  var. Pekinensis and Brassica chinensis.
Did you know that Chinese cabbage has been grown in China since 500 A.D?
But what may surprise you to know is that Chinese cabbage is more closely related to turnips and swedes than any sort of cabbage.
No surprises there when we find out that the cross occurred naturally in cultivation between Pak choi-a loose leafed Chinese green (Brassica rapa var. chinensis) and a turnip (Brassica rapa var. rapifera).
These early Chinese cabbages were loose-heading but cross breeding over many centuries has created the heading types that I’m talking about today.
Not only has it got a milder flavour it’s got thinner, more delicate leaves than ordinary cabbage.

So how different is Chinese cabbage ?

There are two types for starts:Heading and non-heading types.

1. Chinensis varieties are referred to as non-heading types ie, don’t form heads; instead, their leaves Chinese cabbage are arranged spirally in a rosette.
2. The pekinensis varieties are the heading types also known as Chinese leaves and Wong Bok. Yes, they’re the correct names for this heading variety that looks like a longer barrel like version of your regular cabbage.Not only is it barrel shaped it can also be tall and cylindrical with tightly packed fairly crinkly leaves.

Did you know that it wasn’t until the early 20th century, when Chinese cabbage was taken to Japan by returning soldiers who had fought in China during the Russo-Japanese War that Chinese cabbage became more widely known.
Of course now you can find Chinese cabbage in markets throughout the world.

Chinese cabbage: is delicious and nutritious, and it can be grown in two to three months.

WHEN TO SOW

Chinese cabbage can be grown in cool or cold weather because it bolts (goes to seed) quickly in hot weather and long days.
Having said that, Chinese cabbage prefers to be grown in late winter to early spring in cool temperate areas, , and in temperate areas sow September - March, depending on variety; in subtropical areas sow late autumn to early winter. In tropical areas sow in winter in tropical zones that’s between April - August, during the dry season but generally cabbages do not perform particularly well in the tropics.
The ideal temperate average is13 to 20 ºC during the early- Crops grown into colder periods should be protected from low temperatures and cold winds, which increase the likelihood of bolting.

It’s fairly quick growing-much quicker than regular cabbage taking only Chinese 50 to 80 days to grow-that’s around 8-10 weeks.
Growing Chinese Cabbage
This type of cabbage seems to like the best of soils-neither sandy nor heavy, but just right.
There’s ways around the soil problem as you might already know.
So if you’ve got heavy clay grow your Chinese cabbages in a raised bed, half wine barrel or pot. And if you have sandy soil, incorporate lots of compost.
Chinese cabbage is shallow rooted so need constant and even moisture.
A soil pH of 5.5 to 7.0 is ideal. So if you have acidic soil and lime especially if the pH is below 5.5 as calcium and other nutrients can be deficient or unavailable in acid soils.
Liming may also reduce the effect of clubroot if the disease is present.
Start you seeds off in a mini green house and transplanted outside but, some say that Chinese cabbage shocks easily, and transplanting sometimes shocks it into going to seed.
Better to sow the seed directly in the garden and thin the seedlings to around 20-30cm or 8 to 12 inches apart.
Another way to avoid transplant shock is to use dilute seaweed solution on transplanting any seedlings or use seedling trays made from coco peat.
Normal cabbage seedlings are quite different because transplanting European Cabbage actually helps grow stronger roots on the plant.
Water them frequently to help the young plants grow fast and become tender. They'll probably go to seed if growth slows down.
To fertilise Chinese cabbage, start applying a liquid fertiliser when they are about 15cm tall.
Chinese cabbage is shallow rooted so apply a little water and often.
As these types of cabbages grow to near maturity, type them with soft twine or raffia.
Harvesting Chinese Cabbage
With Chinese cabbage, the time from planting to harvest is 7 to12 weeks depending on the variety. You should harvest when the cabbage heads are compact and firm and before seed stalks form.
 Cut off the whole plant at ground level.

Problems with Chinese Cabbage

If you have grown Chinese cabbage before and found that it’s bolted to seed, high temperatures aren’t the only reason plants initiate flowering.
Temperature is the major influence on bolting in Chinese cabbage with the
response to cold temperature being cumulative.
In general, two weeks exposure to temperatures of 13⁰C or lower induce bolting and this process will only be initiated when the chilling requirement for any particular variety is met. That means when the plant starts it’s reproductive stage of flowering and setting seed.
Using Chinese Cabbage in Cooking
There is almost no end to the ways Chinese Cabbage or womboks can be used, including coleslaw, hamburgers and sandwiches, dumplings and rolls, soups, casseroles and stir fries.
The famous Korean relish, kim chi, is made from wombok pickled in salt, garlic and chilli. Pretty tasty!
 The leaves can be used as wrappers for other foods during steaming.

Types of Chinese Cabbage
Wong Bok, this is the longish barrel shaped cabbage with long outer green leaves and fairly crinkly inner leaves. Full sun, well-drained and fertile soil, usually this vegetable grows best as a cool season crop. Size/spacing: Grows to around 30cm tall; space plants about 30-40cm apart.harvest in 85 days
Michihli, harvest in 75 days; has large heads with blanched inside leaves.
It only takes a couple of months and no matter which type you choose to grow, you're sure to enjoy it.
Why is it good for you?
Chinese cabbage has anti-inflammatory properties
They’re an excellent source of folic acid
Chinese cabbage is low in calories and low in sodium
It is also high in vitamin A and a good source of potassium
AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with Landscape Designer Louise McDaid

There are plenty of reasons why shrubs-that is plants that don’t grow much beyond 3-4 metres, don’t do well.
The annoying thing is, the same shrub might be growing fantastically in your neighbour’s garden or another garden down the street.
So why doesn’t it grow well in your garden?
Let’s find out what this is all about.

Shrubs often end up with not much foliage lower down, and the majority of it up top

The main reasons for this happening are lack of pruning, or it’s growing in a shady position. If it’s on the south side of the house, a wall or a fence then it won’t be getting very much sun and this will most likely be affecting the leaf growth
Most shrubs at garden centres have been pruned so that they’re sold to you as a bushy plant.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you don’t have to do anymore when you get it home.
No, no, no,-get into the habit of tip pruning a little and often so that plant continues to be bushy with an all over covering of leaves.
Don’t forget to also maintain the soil that the plant’s is growing in-that means watering and nourishing with organic manures and composts.
If you don’t want to risk a hard prune – or you like the top of the shrub the way it is and can manage it – then grow some low water use plants in the surrounding garden bed – use design techniques like combining shapes, textures, and colours to create a planting scheme to draw the eye away from the leafless shrub base
Hopefully, if you follow these tips you’ll have a lovely set of shrubs in your garden.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Mt Spurgeon Black Pine Prummnopitys ladeii

 

Millions of years ago, Australia was joined to Antarctica and you could walk across to South America as well.That’s when the land was all covered by ancient conifers that were used to high rainfall and constant warm temperatures.

Conifers of course refers to those plants that bear cones-some people call these cones pine cones, but pines trees are only one branch of the conifer family.This tree is rare with plants only found growing on the granite-derived soils of Mount Spurgeon and Mount Lewis in the Atherton tablelands.For that reason, Mt Spurgeon Black Pine  has been included in the Rare or Threatened Australian Plants.Although found naturally in the wet tropics, it’s actually quite a hardy tree, and  can be grown successfully in sub-tropical and cooler districts, such as Canberra. Prummnopitys ladei  also makes a great indoor plant specimen.

Mt Spurgeon Black Pine is an evergreen slow growing dense coniferous tree (8m x 3m) from Qld rainforests. Rows of small flat bright green fern-like leaves on horizontal branches. The glossy green foliage is stiff and fern-like with leaves approximately 2 cm in length and borne in two rows along the horizontal stems

Globular fruits. Useful for its attractive foliage in a rainforest themed garden. Ideal pot plant for a courtyard or patio due to its slow growth.. The bark is black and flakey.

Male and female cones are supposed to be on separate plants, but I’ve seen them on the one plant. They’re the tiniest cones of any conifer that I know-only 2-3mms.

Plant sold at Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney www.rgbsydney.nsw.gov.au
Nursery opening hours Mon -Friday 11am - 2pm, Saturday 10am - 2 pm