Everything from Lily of the Nile to Dry Soil

What’s On The Show Today?

How to improve your watering in Plant Doctor, crunchy like an apple but sweet like a watermelon in Vegetable Heroes, a mainstay of many gardens in plant of the week and festive flowers in Talking Flowers?

PLANT DOCTOR

Watering The Garden and Hydrophobic Soils
Water is a scarce enough commodity in Australia, so gardeners would like to think that they are watering efficiently.

We all know the best times to water but what you may not know is that if you scratch the surface of your soil, you may find that the water hasn’t even penetrated.

There are many causes of soil that is water repellent or hydrophobic.
Why’s that you may ask?
Let’s find out. 'm talking with General Manager of www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au

Water repellence can be due to the waxy substances that come from plant material being not properly decomposed. These in turn coat the soil particles. The smaller the soil particle, as in sandy soils,the great chance of the waxy substances clinging to them.

Through no fault of your own, the soil in your garden may be prone to being water repellent.
This means you may need to have routine distribution of a wetting agent, either wetting granules or the spray on kind.
The liquid form of wetting agent also comes in a hose on so it does seem an easy way to do a large area.

Wetting granules though are no more difficult to apply than spreading organic fertiliser around your garden.
When choosing a soil wetter one thing to note is that some are based on petroleum derivatives and alcohol, making them unsuited to organic gardens. 
Others contain only naturally occurring substances that readily biodegrade and cause no ill effects to the soil or plants. 
To help choose a suitable wetting agent check the ingredients. 
For organic gardeners, eco-Hydrate contains polysaccharides (natural humectants that can suck moisture from the air), soil surfactants (which aid in moisture penetration) and soil conditioners (including fulvic acid and seaweed extract).  

If you have any questions about hydrophobic soils either for me or Steve, why not email us realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

Yacon : Smallanthus sonchifolius (syn Polymnia sonchifolia)

Yacon is in the Daisy or Asteraceae family.

Yacon is sometimes called, Peruvian ground apple, ground-pear, and pear of the earth.

We’ll stick to Yacon-which is the name this vegetable mostly goes by

Yacon is native to the Andes- Colombia and Ecuador but did you know that until as recently as the early 2000s, yacón was hardly known outside of South America?
You probably won’t see it any time soon in your veggie shop but you can buy Yacon tea or Yacon syrup.

So what does this plant look like and which part do you eat?

Yacon is a hardy, attractive herbaceous perennial from which you get quite a few tubers.

The plant grows to 1.5 to 2 m tall with light green angular leaves that look a bit like a milk thistle’s leaves or even a Jerusalem artichoke.

When it flowers, you’ll have male and female daisy-like yellow to orange flowers that are pollinated by insects.

Each plant forms a underground clump of 4 to 20 fleshy large tuberous roots.
The plant itself is extremely hardy tolerating hot summers, drought and poor soils.

The part that you eat is underground.

Yacon tubers look a bit like sweet potatoes, but they have a much sweeter taste and crunchy flesh.
The tubers are very sweet, juicy and almost calorie free but more on that later.
I would say that the tubers taste like a cross between apple and watermelon, but with more sweetness.

Generally it’s a bit tricky describing the taste of a new food, but everyone agrees on the crunchiness.
If you can grow Jerusalem artichokes or Parsnips, you can grow Yacon.

PLANTING DETAILS

Yacon has a long growing season-up to 7 months so generally suits temperate to tropical areas.

But you can grow it in cooler districts.

• Yacon can be planted all year round in frost-free areas as it is day-length neutral. 
• In tropical areas grow Yacon during the dry season before the wet sets in.
• It appears to be drought tolerant compared to other vegetable crops and so far, pest-free. 
• For cold areas of Australia the rhizomes can be started in styrofoam boxes in a greenhouse or on a warm verandah, usually in spring, and planted out when frost is past.

Split the tubers into individual shoots with their tubers attached and plant into smaller pots.

Yacon plants are quite sensitive to temperature, so plant them out when you would tomatoes.

Normally you plant the large tubers into large pots and wait for shoots to start growing from each smaller tuber.

Yacon actually produces two types of underground tubers, reddish rhizomes directly at the base of the stem that can be eaten but are a bit stringy and tough so they’re mainly used for propagation.

Then there’s the larger brown or purple tubers-these are the ones you eat.

Prepare the soil by loosening well with a fork and working in compost.

To plant, cover a large rhizome/tuber which has several sprouts, with soil to a depth of 3 cm. Space them 0.5m apart.

But you might just want to start with one plant which you can buy online or some garden centres.

Mulch well because yacon will grow up through the mulch, just like potatoes.

The stems of this plant are brittle so if you haven’t got a wind break tip prune the stems to make the plant lower and more bush.

Because this plant creates dense shade when it grows you probably won’t have to do any weeding. Bonus!

Yacon grows fast even in poor soils but gives you much bigger tubers in rich, friable, well-drained soil.

So when do you pick this strange vegetable?
The plant takes 6 - 7 months to reach maturity.
You know when it’s ready when the top growth withers and dies back.
This is when you dig up the tuber.
The tubers look a bit like dahlia or sweet potato tubers, and on average should weigh about 300 g but can weigh up to 2 kg.
Once the soil starts to heave at the base of the plant, dig around to 'bandicoot' a few early tubers to extend the harvest season.
The tubers continue to sweeten as the plant dies back so the main harvest should only take place once all the top growth is dead.

If you planted your tubers in November they’ll be usually be ready by the end of May.

Don't leave it too long though, especially in areas that have mild winters, as the plant will start to shoot again as the weather warms up and the days get longer.
When digging them up, separate the reddish rhizomes from the tubers and wash off any soil, taking care not to break the skin.
The reddish rhizomes are kept out of the sun and covered with slightly damp sand, sawdust or cocopeat to stop them drying out and put aside for replanting in a dark, dry place.
These offsets are then replanted for the next season.
The plant needs to be dug carefully to avoid damage to the crisp tubers. After separation from the central stem undamaged tubers can be stored in a cool, dark and dry place with good air circulation for some months.
If your plant flowers don’t bother with any seeds you might bet because they’re mostly un-viable.

Yacon is almost always propagated from cuttings or tubers.
Why the tubers keep sweetening during storage is because of starch conversion.
You can put them in the sun for a couple of weeks to speed up the sweetening process.
The tubers can be eaten raw as a refreshing treat on their own, finely sliced and mixed into salads, boiled or baked, fried as chips or prepared as a pickle.

There’s plenty of eating tips, too many to mention, but I’ll post them on the website. For those without a computer, write in to me and I’ll send you a fact sheet.

EATING TIPS:

First remove the outer brown skin and inner white skin by peeling with a knife as the skin has a resinous taste.
Inside is amber coloured sweet crunchy flesh.
Like all tubers there are no seeds to remove, so it is quick and easy to prepare.

Chop the tuber into chunks and add it to green salads where they impart a great flavour and texture. I
When cut into long strips, they make an interesting addition to a plate of raw vegetable crudites for dipping into your favourite guacamole or cream cheese dip.

It can also be boiled, steamed or baked with other vegies. In cooking they stay sweet and slightly crisp.

If boiled 'in the jacket' the skin separates from the flesh and can be peeled off like a boiled egg.
Yacon can also be used in a dessert crumble or pie with apples, pears or choko.

In the Andes, they are grated and squeezed through a cloth to yield a sweet refreshing drink. The juice can also be boiled down to produce a syrup. In South America the juice is concentrated to form dark brown blocks of sugar called chancaca. The young stem can be used as a cooked vegetable.

Why is it good for you?
Nutritionally Yacon is low in calories but it is said to be high in potassium. Yacon tubers store carbohydrate in the form of inulin, a type of fructose, which is a suitable food for type II diabetics. 

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Agapanthus

The old varieties of this tough as old boots flowers, are often seen in neglected gardens but did you know its Greek name means love flower?
Love flower sounds much more romantic than the German Schmucklilie which translated means jewel lily.

This plant with its lily like flower grows almost everywhere except where it’s extremely hot or extremely cold.
Let’ s find out what it is. 'm talking with the plant panel: Jeremy Critchley of www.thegreengallery.com.au and Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au


photo courtesy www.pma.com.au plants
In some areas they are used as a fire retardant plant because of their fleshy green leaves and also for holding banks and stopping erosion with their large and tangled root system.
In the norther hemisphere, Agapanthus, other than in their native South Africa need to be moved into unheated greenhouses in winter.
So don’t underestimate the humble Aggie, plus breeders are always looking for new colourways, so that you won’t be disappointed if you seek them out.

Some newer varieties to watch out for are...management Australia

Agapanthus Black Pantha

Agapanthus Cascade Diamond

Agapanthus Snowball

Agapanthus Golden Drop with variegated foliage.

TALKING FLOWERS

Christmas Bush: Ceratopetalum gummiferum

Ceratopetalum....from Greek ceras, a horn and petalon, a petal, referring to the petal shape of one species.
gummiferum....producing a gum.
In the home garden, I would regard this plant as a large shrub in people’s gardens rather than a small tree because it rarely grows to more the 4-5 metres.

That’s equivalent to Coastal Tee-tree.

The leaves are up to 3-7cm long and are divided into three leaflets or trifoliate, which are finely serrated and the new growth is often pink or bronze coloured. 

Leaves are opposite each other.

I grew these plants as part of a trial when I was studying for my Hort Diploma at Tafe some years ago.

Testing a variety of fertilisers for growth factors. 

Definitely one plant that doesn’t tolerate Phosphorus in the fertilizer. 

Native fertilisers only.

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

Recorded live in 2rrr studios and published on Facebook.

Saving Your Fruit

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au 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. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

THE GOOD EARTH

Tomatoes photo M Cannon

with Margaret Mossakowska from  Vivid Edible Gardens
How does your garden cope over summer? What about you the gardener?
Are you too exhausted to go out there and tend to those veggies and flowering plants?
Every now and then, I ask someone like Margaret from a permaculture background to give us gardeners a different slant on what we should be doing.
Let’s find out more about summer gardening

As you finish picking vegetables planted in late winter and early spring, you'll be thinking about what to plant for summer.

Fruit Fly Pheremone lure and spray photo M Cannon

This is the time for unusual heat lovers like okra, rosella ( if your climate allows), snake beans and eggplant or the regular well known sweetcorn, capsicums, chillies, pumpkins and melons. Be sure to select heat-tolerant varieties of other vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes if you decide to keep growing.
You might want to put up some shade cloth to protect more sensitive veggies in the sunniest parts of the day or maybe an umbrella or two.

Exclusion netting of Nectarine photo M Cannon

Another idea is to plant up large pots or tubs in a part shade position to keep some salad ingredients going over the summer.
Margaret also mentioned protecting your fruit from fruit fly with exclusion bags, exclusion netting and pheromone traps. The pheromone traps only target the pest and not the good bugs like lacewings and ladybirds.
If you have any questions about your veggie garden or a photo, send it in to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Believe it or not, I’ve never devoted this segment to growing melons so I’m going to correct that.

Did you know that the first melons were only the size of an orange, way back in 2400 BC in Egypt?


Melons originated in the wild in southern Asia and Africa.

But it wasn’t until the 16^th and 17^th century that the rest of the world got to eat melons all thanks to the sailors on exploratory voyages.
In Australia there are three main types  of melons being Rockmelon,( Cucumis melo) Watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) and Honeydew Melon(Cucumis melo –and in the last few years there’s been yellow watermelons available.
Melons are related to pumpkins, squashes and gourds.
Watermelon, rockmelon and honeydew melon grow on trailing vines on the ground in much the same way as pumpkins and gourds do.
Just like pumpkins, melon vines have separate male and female flowers that are pollinated by honey bees.
Did you know that the watermelon is 92% water?
You might know of something called lycopene which tomatoes are supposed to have a lot of.
Lycopene is an antioxidant compound that gives tomatoes and certain other fruits and vegetables their colour.
But, did you know that Watermelons have now been declared the fruit or veg with the highest amount of lycopene?
Just 1 ½ cups of ripe, red watermelon contains 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene, which is approx 40 percent more than raw tomatoes.
Lycopene has been linked to reduced risk of heart attack and certain cancers.

Have you ever wonder how seedless watermelons are grown?
Seedless watermelons were developed over 50 years ago, and they have few or no seeds. 
It’s all in the chromosomes and in commercial nurseries they cross particular plants to get a fruit without seeds.
Technically they cross a diploid plant (one with two sets of chromosomes) with a tetraploid plant (having four sets of chromosomes) giving a fruit that produces a triploid seed (with three sets of chromosomes). This triploid seed  produces seedless watermelons.
Pretty involved isn’t it but it’s crossing plants and not genetic modification, and can occur in nature.
The male flower on the seedless watermelons are sterile, so pollinator plants (ie watermelons plants that will grow seeds) are interspersed with the crop so it’ll get pollinated and set fruit.
In a field growing seedless melons roughly 25% of the plants are seeded varieties and 75% are seedless varieties (grown from triploid seeds). 
Hives of bees are brought into the fields to cross-pollinate.  Without this cross-pollination, the seedless watermelon plants would not produce fruit.
When to grow
In sub-tropical climates from August to January, in temperate climates from September until December, in cool temperate zones from October until early January, and in arid zones, from September through to March.
And as seems to be the usual over the last few weeks, tropical climates must plant melons in the dry season-that is over winter.
Growing melons
Melon vines need a fair bit of space with each one covering an area that is about 1m x 1m.
This could even be in the back corner of the garden, providing there is direct sunlight.
If space is an issue, a trellis or frame can be built which the vine will climb.
When planting out your seeds, do the same as you did for squash by using the mound method to deposit several seeds.

Melon Vines photo M Cannon

. The mounds by the way are about 1m wide and 20cm high.
Melons have a poor germination rate so this is good insurance.
Melons generally are less tolerant of acidic soils than other vegetables and the pH should be 6 or higher.
Melons need high levels of nutrient in the soil – composted manure or complete organic fertiliser, and good air circulation.
Chook poo is the best for melons and should be mixed through the soil before planting.
All melons have reputedly poor fruit set so you need to have them in an area where there are lots of bees (for pollination), and full sun.
It’s important to get your melon plants growing as much as possible in the early stages, and then to keep them growing when the plants begin to flower.
Your regime should be regular watering and weekly liquid feeding at this time –by follow up feeding with liquid fish emulsion or seaweed products you give those plants a kick along.

Honey Dew Melons photo M Cannon

Once the plant is producing both male and female flowers and beginning to set fruit, pinch out the ends of the long running shoots.
Here’s a tip from a commercial grower-thin the fruits to a maximum of four fruits per plant when fruits are about 2.5cm in diameter.
Keep your melons shaded-watermelons especially are prone to sun scald.
When is your melon ready to pick?
Do you tap  on the melon to see if it’s got a hollow sound, sniff the end or what?
In fact Rockmelons should be quite fragrant when ripe.
With both Rockmelons and Watermelons the blossom end of the melon (the opposite end to where the stem attaches to the plant) will become soft.
Keep an eye out for the stem which attaches the melon to the plant –this will dry out when the melon is ready.
Watermelons also have a whitish green patch on the fruit where it is in contact with the ground, when this patch turns pale yellow, the fruit should be ready
Melons take about three months to be ready.
Why are they good for you?
Watermelons have no fat or cholesterol and are an excellent source of vitamins A, B6 and C and contain fibre and potassium
Because of the high water content of watermelons they’re a great diuretic-that means they  stimulate kidney  into action to start the process of eliminating toxins.
They are low in fibre with a virtually non  existent fat content. Watermelons also contain the carotenoids lutein and lycopene. Lycopene, the responsible pigment for the red colour in certain fruits, has de-oxidizing properties that help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
As for rockmelons, just one (100g) serve of rockmelon contains a day’s allowance of Vitamin C, and they are a good source of beta carotene.
Honeydew melons are also high in Vitamin C, B6 an folate as well as having some potassium.
TIP:
All melons don’t  ripen after harvest, so they should be ripe when you pick them or when you buy them.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with landscape designer Christopher Owen
Series on Show Gardens-part 1
What’s the purpose of show gardens?
You might think they’re designed to impress but not that practical, but are they?
In this series on show gardens, I talk to Chris Owen who won silver in the Australian Garden Show this year.


Chris Owen silver winning Design at Australian Garden Show 2014

Let’s kick of the series on show gardens.

If you’ve never been to the Chelsea Flower show that’s held in London in May, you might be wondering what show gardens actually are.
Firstly, the Chelsea flower show is the bees knees of show gardens because, everything is perfect.
Everything that can be in flower, is in flower, not a leaf is out of place and designers come from all over the world to display their show garden.
Australia won gold at last year’s Chelsea flower show.
Show gardens at Chelsea are meant to inspire and show what can be done, often with new release plants.
But if you can’t go, you can get a DVD and have a look to see what the fuss is about.
We’ve just heard about one show garden, and over the next couple of weeks, Chris will describe the pitfalls and the benefits to you of visiting show gardens.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

with Karen Smith Hort Journal magazine editor www.hortjournal.com.au
The NSW Christmas bush is popular with florists at this time of year because of the bright bracts that cover the bush-just right for this time of the year.
 -let’s find out about this plant.

The dwarf species of Christmas bush was discovered some forty years ago growing on a bluff along the NSW coastline.
Apparently the story goes, this stand of Christmas bush looked like they had been there since before European settlement.
Luckily the chance discovery by a horticulturalist meant that several cuttings were collected.
Fast forward many years to a Central Coast nursery where they were being sold or just grown for the owner's pleasure-I'm not sure which.
However, a member of the Australian Plant Society chanced on these plants when the nursery was closing down and got those specimens.
Still more years passed before the idea of propagating and selling them came to fruition.
As it happens Ramm Botanicals now propagate Johannas Christmas which is sold to retail nurseries throughout Australia.
The species NSW Christmas bush can grow quite big and isn’t everyone’s favourite plant when it’s not showing the red bracts.
Having a small compact version  like Ceratopetalum gummiferum Johannas Christmas, is ideal and more versatile in many gardens than the bigger parent plant.
From the Ramm Botanicals website:

Johannas Christmas only grows to a metre and likes most soil types but prefers free draining soil.
If planting in a tub,most general purpose potting mixes will suit.

Feed with a controlled-release fertiliser in early spring and perhaps supplement with a liquid feed after flowering.

 

Johanna’s Christmas likes a full sun position and is not a particularly thirsty plant. In fact, avoid water-logging as the plant can be susceptible to root rot.

If you want to shape the plant, prune in autumn before flower initiation.
 Keep plants mulched and protect from heavy frost and harsh afternoon sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rainbows and Bees

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
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. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Wildlife in Focus

with ecologist Sue Stevens


The speedy Gonzales of the bird world this bird can twist and turn like those fighter jet plants on Top Gun, but it miniature form of course.
But that’s only one of the marvellous adaptations that this bird has that’s made it possible to survive all this time.
Let’s hear about more surprising facts about this bird…
PLAY: Rainbow Bee_eater_25th December_2013
Sadly, people are still the main danger as you heard. Yep, some apiarists shoot these birds even though they’re a protected native species.
Being shot is hard to avoid but these birds are also predated on by animals including dingoes and monitor lizards.
But they’re not silly because a bit like minor birds when threatened, they'll engage in mobbing behaviour -- emitting an alarm call and flying directly at the potential predator. This may start with one or two birds but can escalate so a whole flock is mobbing the predator.
If you have any sightings of Rainbow Bee eaters or photos why not send it in to
realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,
 

Vegetable Heroes

What is Malabar Spinach?
Ever heard of Ceylon spinach, Indian spinach, vine spinach, and Malabar nightshade?
Doesn’t matter if you haven’t 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.

Fun Facts
Did you know that an extract of the fruits of the red stemmed version of -Basella alba ‘Rubra’, has been used for many centuries as deep red dye for official seals and a natural form of rouge in cosmetics?
The Malabar region-on the south-west coast of India is in fact dense tropical jungle, coconut and pepper plantations.
Malabar spinach first made its way from India to Europe in 1688 when it was introduced into Holland by the Dutch governor of Malabar, Adrian Moens.
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.

So what does this spinach look like?
For lovers of all things romantic in the garden, you can’t go past a 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.
Malabar spinach does best in warm, tropical areas, where it can easily grow a 10cm per day.
 In the tropics, Malabar spinach can grow 2-3 metres or eight to ten feet tall and wide and has small white-tinged pink to purple flowers in the leaf axils.

Where To Grow

This plant is not 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.
There are forums on the internet that say Malabar spinach can twine up on a trellis and 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.
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.
 I had saved some seed, but there must’ve been some moisture in the jar because they had become all mouldy.
The red-stemmed cultivar of Malabar spinach comes true from seed.
Luckily, when I was renovating my veggie bed, I noticed quite a few small seedlings in one corner of it that looked like-in fact were seedlings of Malabar Spinach.
I remember from last year that once it starts to take off in the ground, it can grow about 30cm in a week!  In a pot , it’s much more tame.
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 metal spiral, but I think it’s going to outgrow that real soon. Whoops!
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!
THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY!

 Design Elements

with Landscape Designer Christopher Owen

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been talking to guest landscape designer Christopher Owen about ornamental grasses in garden design. We went through the difference between strappy leaved plants and ornamental grasses, then how to get started with using these type of grasses in garden design.
But where do you put them if you have a particular style of garden?
Let’s find out ….


True grasses are in the family Poaceae, while rushes and sedges fall into Juncaceae and Cyperaceae families.
No matter where you live in Australia you’ll find grasses that cope with wet or dry, sun or shade, hot or cold or a combination of some of these situations.
So no reason to delay, plant a grass today.
If you have any questions about this week’s Design Elements, send it our email address, or just post it.

Plant of the Week

Ceratopetalum gummiferum, NSW Christmas Bush or Festival Bush.

Ceratopetalum....from Greek ceras, a horn and petalon, a petal, referring to the petal shape of one species.
gummiferum....producing a gum. There are many types of plants which flower around Christmas time, and these have earned the name “Christmas Bush” in their particular states in Australia. What you would call Christmas Bush varies from state to state within Australia.
The cut flower industry uses it a lot as filler for sold flower bunches and not just during the Christmas Season.
Gardeners like to plant it in their native gardens. But can it grow in your soil and in sun, shade, or part shade?

I’ve seen this plant growing in many different states of Australia, and it does will in South Australia and Victoria, so why not give it a try.

I would regard this plant as a large shrub in people’s gardens rather than a small tree because it rarely grows to more the 4-5 metres. That’s equivalent to Coastal Tee-tree.
The leaves are up to 3-7cm long and are divided into three leaflets or trifoliate, which are finely serrated and the new growth is often pink or bronze coloured. Leaves are opposite each other.
Ceratopetalum gummiferum is widespread over the east coast of NSW, commonly growing in open forests on sandstone hillsides. Bushes enjoy free-draining, slightly acidic soil along the slopes of a natural watershed.

I grew these as part of a trial when I was studying for my Hort Diploma at Tafe some years ago. Testing a variety of fertilisers for growth factors. Definitely one plant that doesn’t tolerate Phosphorus in the fertilizer. Native only.
Position: Mature NSW Christmas Bushes like full sun for most of the day with a few hours of slightly dappled light during summer afternoons or mornings.
In the home garden, NSW Christmas Bush must have a well drained but moist position, in sun or semi shade.
Annual feeding with a slow release native fertilizer is a good idea.
Problems with Christmas Bush
If you have a plant that just sits and doesn’t appear to be doing much, especially at this time of year. Give it a boost with seaweed tonic to kick it along.
Doesn’t tolerate hot weather after flowering if watering is inadequate.
Prone to iron deficiency-have mentioned that they like slightly acidic soil.

Where to Grow :
Ceratopetalum gummiferum should be grown in well drained, sandy or sandy loam soils.
For plenty of flowers and growth, test soil pH and if you need to, add Iron chelates or Sulphate of Iron according to the packet's directions to bring the pH down to 6.6.
Grow your own:
Propagation:Ceratopetalum gummiferum can be grown from seeds or cuttings. To ensure the bract colour stays true to the parent, grow from cuttings.
When sowing seeds, the whole fruit with calyx lobes attached should be sown for best results.
Young plants grow best in dappled light for most of the day and must be protected against frost in winter.

Watering well thoughout Spring to Autumn will extend the flowering season quite a bit.

Flowering:
Towards the end of December this hardy and reliable plant puts on a great display of red ‘flowers’ that as usual are not really flowers but sepals.
The true flowers are white in colour and fairly insignificant and are seen in late spring to early November.
After pollination by flies and native bees, the sepals, which are the outer series or whorl of flora leaves that protect the flower bud, enlarge and turn deep pink to red in colour enclosing the fruit, a single seed, a nut and the whole fall when ripe.

Plants known in other Australian states as Christmas Bush are entirely different and have no connection with Ceratopetalum.

Ceratopetalum Gummiferum Albery’s Red NSW Christmas Bush. This is the best-known of the NSW Christmas Bush varieties. Albery’s Red has bright red calyces in summer that follow a lot small white flowers through spring. The calyces make great cut flowers and are cultivated in Australia and all around the world for the florist industry. It grows to about  4 metres high and 2 metres wide preferring well-drained soil and full sun for maximum flower development. This Christmas Bush can be pruned to shape and only barely tolerates frost

Nothing But the Blues Garden

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm Sat. 12noon, 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/
For Community Radio Network Listeners, this episode will air on 4th February.
Design Elements: Blue's recessive quality serves as a beautiful blender for other colours and makes it appear warm or cool relative to its tint and plant companions.  Perhaps today’s colour is your favourite or maybe something you never considered before. Listen here to the podcast.

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Vegetable Heroes:Radishes  or Raphanus sativus. 
 Radishes grow in all climates and like to be in moist shady places, especially on hot summer days.     Plant them all year round in tropical and subtropical areas, in temperate zones they can be grown almost all year except winter, and in spring summer and autumn in colder districts. Radishes will take light frost.  Radishes are quick being ready 6-8 weeks after planting and because of that you can plant them among slower growing vegetables such as carrots.
 To sow seed, make a furrow about 6mm deep, lay down some chicken poo pellets or something similar, cover with a little soil and sprinkle in some radish seed. They also love a dose of potash.
 Fill the furrow with compost or seed raising mix and water in.
 Seedlings will appear in a couple of days but makes sure you thin them to 5cm apart otherwise your radish will have not much root and mostly leaf.
 Feed with a liquid fertiliser such as worm tea every week at the seedling stage.
Tip: As radish is one of the fastest growing vegetables, too much fertiliser causes the leaves to outgrow the root. Long leaves have no shelf life, just look in your local supermarket.
 Pick the radish when they are the size of a ten cent piece and leaves about four inches or 10cm long.
Pick up some seeds online from -      www.edenseeds.com.au and www.diggers.com.au

Plant of the Week:The NSW Christmas Bush is widely farmed for the florist industry and exported overseas. This is totally different to the Victorian Christmas bush, Prostranthera lasianthos which is a mint bush. The only similarity is that they’re both native.
a.    Position: Mature NSW Christmas Bushes like full sun for most of the day with a few hours of slightly dappled light during summer afternoons or mornings.
b.    In cultivation the plant must have a well drained but moist position, in sun or semi shade.
c.    Annual feeding with a slow release native fertilizer is a good idea.
d.   If you have a plant that just sits and doesn’t appear to be doing much, especially at this time of year. Give it a boost with seaweed tonic to kick it along.
e.    Doesn’t tolerate hot weather after flowering if watering is inadequate.
f.     Prone to iron deficiency-have mentioned that they like slightly acidic soil. Care:Ceratopetalum gummiferum should be grown in well drained, sandy or sandy loam soils. For an abundance of flowers and optimum growth test soil pH and if required add Iron chelates or Sulphate of Iron according to the packet's directions to bring the pH down to 6.6.

Feature Interview:Marianne (host) talks to Anthony Grassi, events coordinator Frangipani Society of Australia.
Here the full interview here about Frangipani care, taking cuttings and grafting.

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