How to Grow a Plant to Make Lemon Tea Plus a Pecan Tree and All You Need to Grow Green Manure.

SPICE IT UP

Lemon Verbena Alloysia citriodora (syn. Lippia citriodora)

This is a herb with a multitude of uses;

Lemon Verbena photo M Cannon

There are a few plants whose leaves are great in cooking, making herbal teas and when the leaves are dried, they’re good for a number of things including pot pourri.
So many uses for just one plant, let's find out more?
Let’s find out.

Ian's mum and dad had a grove of 12 Lemon Verbena trees that grew to 2 metres in height.

The leaves were harvested to make sleep pillows and pot pourri.
Lemon verbena pillows sound devine.
They ‘re made of dried leaves of Lavender (Lavandula vera is the best) to help you sleep, Rose petals for sweet dreams and Lemon Verbena, to help you wake refreshed.
Chopped finely, it makes a neat substitute for lemon zest.

Lemon Verbena Tea photo M Cannon

Try Lemon Verbena tea; it's very refreshing or make Panna Cotta infused with Lemon Verbena.

To prune your Lemon Verbena tree, just take of the top one-third of the tree.

When it re-shoots in Spring tip prune the branches regularly to keep it bushy.
If you have any questions about growing or using Lemon Verbena, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Growing Green Manure Crops

If you want to improve your soil structure and at the same time add nitrogen to the soil, consider a green manure crop in an overworked vegetable patch.

What are the benefits of green manure crops and why is it called green manure?

Green manure crops are called that because the crop or plants are not for eating but when they are nearly mature, and before they set seed, the oats, or wheat or whatever are slashed and then turned into the soil. This adds nutrients to the soil especially if you use legume type crops.

Why?

1. They increase organic matter, earthworms and beneficial micro-organisms 
2. Green manure crops increase the soil's available nitrogen and increase moisture retention 
3. They stabilise the soil to prevent erosion 
4. Green manure crops also bring deep minerals to the surface and break up hard clods in the soil structure. 
5. The provide habitat, nectar and pollen for beneficial insects and reduce populations of pests 
6. Improve water, root and air penetration in the soil 
7. Smother weeds. 

The crops used for green manure tend to be a combination of:

•Legumes – These add nitrogen (critical for food crops) to the soil, such as cow pea, mung bean, woolly pod vetch, lablab, broad bean, fenugreek and soybean;

Grains and grasses - These add organic substance to the soil, such as millet, buckwheat and oats.
At this time of year, it’s called a cool season green manure crop.
Try faba or broad bean, field pea, oats and wheat.
This will improve your soil incredibly, and, for a bit of forward planning, you’ll find it well worth the effort.

How do you do this? I hear you ask, well here are the steps.

Rye 

1. Rake the garden smooth to prepare the seed bed. 
2. Plant seeds that sprout and grow quickly for your green manure crop. Use what's popular in your area or choose from alfalfa, white clover or wheat or oats. 
3. Or, recycle any kind of seeds for green manure - leftover flowers, outdated or extra veggies. You can add any out-of-date vegetable seeds you have left over from last season as well. Legumes like beans and peas are especially good, since they’ll fix nitrogen in the soil, but anything else you have will help. 
4. Just scatter the seed around your garden bed, about two handfuls per square meter. Then lightly rake it over to get the seeds into the dirt, and water it in well. You may need to cover the bed with a net if the birds discover the free feast you’ve laid out for them. 
5. Fertilize once with organic nitrogen if it seems slow to get growing. 
6. Let the green manure crop grow 7-10 cm tall. Leave the green manure on the garden until it matures to control erosion and existing weeds in the bed - call it a cover crop. 

Don't let it seed – With legume crops, when the plant begins to seed after flowering, the nitrogen fixing potential of the crop becomes less because the nitrogen is partly used up in seed the forming process.
With grain/grass crops, they will seed without flowering so if you let them seed, you will have lots of seeds falling into the bed and this will make it hard for you to stop the seeds sprouting of the green manure crop instead o the one you want. 

What Next?Cutting it down – When it has reached a good height (half a metre) and is not seeding, cut it down to the ground.
If it is a small bed, use shears. If it is a large space, use a mower.
Place all the green matter back on the bed and it will cover the bed and the roots of all the plants will remain in the soil.
Leave the bed for about a month and don't dig up the crop, let it rot in the bed. 

It should not grow back because you haven’t let it seed.
What you’ll get is soil which is full of organic substance, life and minerals, ready to use and produce an excellent crop of food.
I find this method easier then digging it in which is what gardeners used to do.
That practise has been found to destroy soil structure too much and it’s a lot of hard work anyway.
Save your back by doing it this way.

Sweet Potato as Green Manure. photo M Cannon

Benefits of Green Manure Crops

• Give the soil and its worms time to reap the benefits of green manure: nitrogen fertilizer and organic matter to nourish your soil. 
• Use green manure crops in every unplanted vegetable, herb and flower bed. 
• Plant also in compacted areas - such as under trees - and newly graded lots. Allow little roots to break up the soil, which will aerate and renew its structure, before you plant a new lawn. 
• Take advantage of the natural power of peas and beans to take nitrogen from the air and hold it in their leaves. Turn vines and leaves under, after picking the vegetables, for another green manure crop. 
• For a cheap alternative to buying the manure crops online, I’ve found this tip to be quite useful. 
• This is the absolute simplest, cheapest and best thing is do. 
• Just buy a bag of organic bird seed. Read the back of the packet and find one with the mix you want. 
• The last lot I planted contained millet, sorghum, wheat, oats, barley, rye, corn and sunflowers. 
• Bird seed will be chemical-free and fresh (since they don’t want to kill your pets!), and very cheap. It’s available at any supermarket. 
• Go on, give it a try, the whole thing should only take up about 6-8 weeks and it’s the best way to improve your garden soil. 

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Fashion Colour Trends for Your Garden!
But did you know that there is a colour trend for plants as well.
Green of course is part of that colour trend, but if you’re yet to pick a colour scheme, or don’t have one, or just want to change from year to year, you may well just want to follow the fashion trend in your garden.

Let’s find out this years trends.
I'm talking with Matt Leacey, Landscape Designer and Principal Director of Landscapes Landart.



Matt has an established career in the landscape design industry, and is the current President of the LNA Master Landscapers Association.

He also co-hosted Nine’s Garden Gurus and three seasons of Domestic Blitz.
Matt likes dark deep colours for outdoor structures, like walls, fencing, the house.
For plants he likes a lot of lush green foliage punctuated with silver foliage.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Pecan Tree Carya illinoinensis

Ever thought of having a productive tree in your garden besides that lemon tree that a lot of people seem to have?

You can have nice shade trees that also provide you with some food, whether it’s a cherry tree, peach or apple tree.
But do people ever think of planting this next tree?

Let’s find out about this plant.

I'm talking with the plant panel: Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, owner of the Green Gallery wholesale nursery www.thegreengallery.com.au

The pecan tree is a deciduous tree of the Hickory genus  and at full maturity, it will grow to around 30 metres with a spread of 12 m.

The gray trunk is shallowly furrowed and flat-ridged with upward branches forming an irregular, rounded crown. 

The tree has a narrow silhouette.

Pecan  varieties available are -Shoshonii, Desirable;Kiowa, Mohawk,Cape Fear, Pawnee.

Be warned: Pecans start fruiting after about 8 years so be prepared to wait although Pecans can live for up to 300 years.

On the plus side, unlike other nut varieties, Pecans only require 200 hours of chilling, that means hours less than 7 °C

Pecan tree with nuts photo M Cannon

Pecan trees can be purchased as bare rooted plants, that means plants without any soil, during the winter months when the tree is without leaf.

Possibly your local nursery may have one or you can mail order them from quite a few places on the internet.

Heating Up The Garden Palette

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

If you heard this owl you might be forgiven for thinking that you were hearing a cuckoo. I heard it other night that was my first thought.
Reason prevailed because, Australia doesn’t have the bird that makes the real cuckoo sound other than from cuckoo clocks.
Anyway, listen to this

Did you know that this small, rather cute owl makes the call through closed beak which can carry for up to a kilometre away?
Books often refer to the sound as 'boo-book' or 'mo-poke', but don’t you think it sound  more like cuckoo or more pork?
If you have any questions about Boobook owls or other birds, why not drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR, PO Box 644, Gladesville, NSW 1675

Vegetable Heroes:

Have you ever tried that dob of green paste that comes with Sushi and Sashimi?
Did you know that the green paste sold as Wasabi in the supermarket is actually horseradish that’s been dyed green.
Yes it’s still got that bite but’s it’s not Wasabi.
Wasabi is Wasabi japonica, and is a semi aquatic Brassica related to horse radish Armoracia rusticana.
You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Wasabi grows wild in Japan.
In Japan, Wasabi evolved at the edges of mountain streams and has adapted to cope with low levels of light, low temperatures and high humidity.
Did you know that the Japanese consider wasabi a gourmet treat, and is used in everything from cheese and salad dressing to wine and even ice cream and toothpaste.
Wasabi is a herbaceous perennial plant with a thick knobbly rhizome only about 10-30cm long and about 2-5 cm thick.
The part you use is that thick rhizome that needs to be grated.
Wasabi’s bite is pretty powerful and you only need a ¼ of a teaspoon of the stuff to get steam coming out of your ears, water running out of your eyes, and the feeling that your nose is going to lift off into space.
Trying to buy the real thing is about as difficult as trying to buy hen’s teeth. Mainly because the real thing is frighteningly expensive and doesn’t keep for very long.
The ideal is to grow your own.
You can buy the rhizome to grow some of your own, from mail order catalogue or online.
Try www.diggers.com.au
Although Wasabi prefers a cool and shaded position, in moist soils, the variety Daruma will tolerate warmer conditions than most.
Daruma is supposed to have superior green colour, size and crisp taste, and produces a better quality stem (used extensively in salads) and generally has a more attractive appearance.
Daruma is only available from next year called Daruma, from Diggers, but they have one called Mazuma now.
This one grows to 40cm and needs to be grown in full shade.
Dig it up January to December.

Growing Wasabi

Traditionally, wasabi is best produced in clear, cool (12⁰-15⁰C) running water, with plenty of shade in the hot months. But who's got a stream running past their house?
Wasabi is best planted from Autumn through to early summer.

One family in Victoria are trialling growing it commercially with the hope that one day it’ll be available to buy as a plant in garden centres.
Their tip is to plant it in a cold damp area.
Think of a fernery in dense shade, 80% or more to protect from heat, then you’ve got the right growing conditions.
At my primary school (country South Australia) there was a fernery underneath a rainwater tank in the actual tank stand,-this was a small room, which was built out of limestone.

The shaded area should be well prepared with a large amount of organic matter.
Soil should be kept constantly moist.

• If you’re lucky enough to receive a Wasabi plant in the mail, keep it in damp newspaper somewhere cool and shady until you’re ready to plant it into the garden.
• In the garden, dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the roots, insert the plant with the roots gently spread out and with the base of the leaf stalks level with the soil surface.
• Backfill with soil and gently press into place.
• Water them in well.
• Don’t fertilise until you see some growth.
• You can grow it in a container or foam box and cover it with 75% shade-cloth if you don’t have a shady spot in the garden.
• Remember to punch some holes in the foam box for drainage.
• Your new Wasabi plant is unlikely to produce new growth for several weeks, due to the stress of transport.
• If planted in summer or winter they may not produce new growth at all until the following autumn or spring.
• If it does grow after a few weeks, to concentrate growth in the rhizome and plant itself, break off any suckers that form.
• Growing it soil means that you must scrub it clean of any dirt before using it.
• Soil’s not tasty, I keep saying.
• According to this Victorian grower, there’s not much difference in taste to the water grown or soil grown Wasabi.
• Also, Mature wasabi plants are about 36cm high and live for many years.
• Generally, wasabi plants need about 18 months to 2 years before the rhizome matures to full size.
• During this time, however, you can use the leaf and stem in salads and stir fries adding a delicious mild wasabi 'zing'
• The leaves can be pickled in sake, brine or soy sauce and can even be powdered for use as wasabi flavouring.
• When eaten raw, the wasabi rhizome is washed and trimmed of outer bumps and then grated.

Grating according to Japanese tradition, has to be just right.

The wasabi cells need to be torn apart to set off a chemical reaction, which after a few moments rest, develops its wow flavour.
You need just that right type of very fine grater.
You can’t use a nutmeg grater because it’s too coarse and slices instead of grinding.
Plus, you have to hold the rhizome at 45⁰ and use a circular motion with your Wasabi on their special grater.
The grater’s have a name-oroshigane. These Oroshigane graters have fine teeth on one side for Wasabi, and coarse on the other for ginger and daikon.
You can also buy much cheaper plastic versions of this grater.

TIP: Watch out for slugs and snails.
Only from www.fourseasonshebrs.com.au and www.diggers.com.au

Why is it good for you?
Well apart from clearing out your sinuses, wasabi has a few health benefits too!
High in vitamin C, dietary fibre and potassium, with some Calcium and protein.
Wasabi kills food borne bacteria and reduces blood pressure.
Plus there are reports of it’s anti-cancer properties, but not medically tested.

Design Elements

with Christopher Owen landscape designer.
www.christopherowen.com.au

The inaugural Australian Garden show, showcased quite a few less garden designers than you would’ve seen at Chelsea.
As I mentioned last week, compared to garden shows in the UK, the Australian garden show has plenty of room to grow.

But, there were some very different designs that were none traditional and more inventive than those that I saw at Chelsea this year.
I spoke to some of the garden designers to see what inspired their designs.

Here’s a landscape designer from Sydney.
Christopher has used some clever design techniques such as with the charred wall.
Shou-sugi-ban is a Japanese style burnt wood.
Traditionally, cedar was burnt in Japan to increase the wood's resistance to insects and fire, but also adds to the woods longevity and appearance.

Apologies for the wind noise because the interview was done at the actual location.
Listen to these inspiring thoughts


Grasses can be a wonderful addition to your garden if you plant a clump of them. The grasses not only add colour but texture and sound.

Tall grasses in a large grouping can be a perfect solution for screening an unpleasant view and they soften hardscaping like around a pool.

Plus the sound of rustling grass can be therapeutic or calming,
 
If you have any questions about this week’s Design Elements, send it our email address, or just post it.

Plant of the Week

Fruit and nut trees have a place in the ornamental garden because they don’t take up much room, plus they fit the spot if you don’t want shade in winter.
Did you know that Astronauts took pecans to the moon in two Apollo missions?

Pecan is a type of hickory, and, the wood from the tree is used in agricultural implements, baseball bats, hammer handles, furniture, wall paneling, flooring(in the US) religious carvings and firewood.

Not that you’re going to chop down your tree to make anything. Instead, make some pecan pie with all those pecan nuts that you’re dreaming of.
 

Pecan tree is Caryaa Illinoinensis, and is native to southern USA.

Carya is Greek for walnut.

Did you know that Pecanes is an American Indian word for all nuts with a hard shell?

Who would've thought that the Pecan is the official state tree of Texas?

In America Pecans grow from the hot arid areas of Texas and Arizona to Illinois which is well into the colder areas of the mid-west.

Where to Grow Pecans in Australia,

In the warmer arid climates, the pecan needs access to a water table.

Alice Springs this one's for you!

Pecan trees have a deep tap root.

 

In the early stages of growth the Pecan doesn’t have much top growth as it’s establishing its root system.
After that it shoots away.

Trees that grow from seed take 8 – 15 years to fruit, much like Macadamia trees.

Best to get a grafted tree that will fruit in 3 years and not grow to 45 metres!

There’s a pecan variety for most parts of Australia.

One thing to note, I have a colleague who loves growing fruit and nut trees near Vineyard on the outskirts of Sydney.

But in his heavy clay soil, he can only grow Pecans.

Western varieties prefer a dry climate, eastern varieties tolerate humidity and northern varieties are more cold tolerant and have a shorter growing season according to Louis Glowinski in his excellent text “The complete book of fruit growing in Australia.

The seed grown pecan tree grows to 30 – 45 metres, and if you know what walnut leaves look like, these are the same. Leaves are thin long and spear shaped.

Leaves turn gold in Autumn.

Each tree has male and female flowers. The male flowers are the long catkins, and the female flowers are tiny clusters on the tips of new spring growth.

Once pollinated the nut will take 3 months before it’s ready.

Pecans like a chilling of 700 hours under 7⁰C. If you can grow peaches or apples, then you can grow Pecans.

The hotter the better for pecans. Pecans will tolerate temperatures of 38⁰ and above.
You will need to water if your summer is dry otherwise you’ll end up with smal shrivelled nuts.
Pecans need deep water retentive soils and will cope with temporary inundation.

Fertilising Your Pecan Tree

Because the tree is a heavy cropper, it needs heavy feeding.1/2 kg of complete organic fertiliser in the first year, then increase that amount by 1 kg each year until the tree starts to bear fruit or nuts!

 These two varieties are available by mail order from from Daleys Fruit Nursery

36 Daley's Lane,Geneva via Kyogle NSW 2474 or visit the website www.daleysfruit.com.au

 Pecan - Pawnee (A) SP Shoshonii (B) SP