Whirling Butterflies and Trees That Matter

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Today is the final in the series about the stewardship of trees.

On the menu is why we need to preserve our trees because in the long run, if you damage trees, you’re actually doing yourself a disservice.

Trees will take years to grow but can be injured or killed in a very short time. It's usually not possible to repair trees injured or stressed through construction damage.


Trees in the landscape

Not only that, severing roots close to the stem can cause instability.
Let’s find out about why we need to preserve trees.
Talking with Glenice Buck Consultant Arborist of www.glenicebuckdesigns.com.au



Trees have a structural root zone

Using a formula set out in the Australian Standard 4970-2009, Protection of Trees on Development Sites, the Tree Protection Zone and Structural Root Zone of a tree can be calculated.

Did you know that three trees placed strategically around a single-family home can cut summer air conditioning needs by up to 50 percent?

Shade from trees slows water evaporation from thirsty lawns. Most newly planted trees need only 55 litres of water a week. 

As trees transpire, they increase atmospheric moisture.

 

If you have any questions about tree maintenance or have some information you’d like to share, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES (OR FRUIT)

Pineapple or Ananas comosus from the Bromeliad family.

This next fruit came about because I was showing Bromeliads to two groups of classes that I was teaching at the Botanic Gardens.

Not one of them was aware that vegetables ever had flowers, (they were grade ¾ I hasten to add,) and they certainly didn’t know where pineapples came from.

They all thought perhaps a pineapple tree?

I’ve never featured pineapple in Vegetable Heroes before so it was about time.

The pineapple is native to South America and was given its English name because it looks like a pine cone. 

Christopher Columbus brought this native of South America back to Europe and later on sailors brought the pineapple home to New England.

There is a tale that goes where a fresh pineapple was displayed on the porch meant that the sailor was home from foreign ports and ready to welcome visitors.

How to grow pineapple from the top

Cut of the top of the pineapple

In England, a huge "Pineapple stove" needed to grow the plants had been built at the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1723.

The garden still exists today, but I never saw this Pineapple Stove so I assume it’s gone.

 

Did you know that the pineapple is a multiple fruit?

This means they grow from a cluster of fertilized flowers that join together. 

The fruitlets are also known as the eyes of the pineapple; that’s the rough spiny marking on the pineapple's surface and there are approximately 150 on each mature pineapple.

So why grow pineapple?

Firstly, the pineapple plant is one of the few tropical fruits that are really well suited to growing in pots, and that means you can grow pineapples indoors.

That also means that you can grow them anywhere in Australia, really.

Secondly, if you plant them in the right spot they need virtually no care whatsoever.

So what are the pineapple plants’ requirements?

The pineapple is like a lot of Bromeliads in appearance, with blue-green sword shaped stiff leaves.

In general, Pineapples are best suited to humid coastal districts in tropical and subtropical regions of northern and eastern Australia. 

But in a warm, sunny, sheltered and frost free position, they will cope with cool nights for short periods. 

Tip: One thing most Bromeliads don’t like is frost.

Use a sharp knife to scoop out the flesh

Like all Bromeliads, some can take sun and some prefer dappled shade.

Usually the hardness of the leaf will indicate which situation the Bromeliad you have likes.

 

We all know that the tops of pineapples are very stiff and prickly, so that gives you an indication that Ananas or the pineapple Bromeliad can take full sun, but surprisingly, it will grow in dappled shade as well.

And like a lot of Bromeliads, you don’t want to overwater your pineapple bromeliad, because you may cause it to rot.

Bromeliads don’t like soggy waterlogged soils but can get by on very little water except of course during extreme heat waves.

In that instance you may want to cover any Bromeliad you have with an old sheet to prevent leaf scorch.

How to grow Pineapples.

Remove as much pineapple flesh as you can

Pineapple plants grow up to 1 ½ metres high and wide, pretty much like the Giant Bromeliad, Alcantarea.

One way to grow your pineapple is to just plants the top of a pineapple. 

They don’t fruit usually in the next spring/summer but the one after, and some have taken an extra year. 

Each plant will fruit once a year and then throw a pup, the mother will then die and a year later the pup will fruit. 

That’s how Bromeliads grow.

If you stagger them you can have pineapple on each at different stages of development. 

Another way to grow pineapple plants, more so for gardeners in tropical areas is if you know someone who grows pineapples you may also be able to buy some "suckers" or "slips" (little plantlets taken of a mature pineapple plant).

After the first fruit is produced, side shoots (called 'suckers' by commercial growers) are produced in the leaf axils of the main stem.

You can pull these off to propagate new plants or just let them stay on the parent plant and keep widening.

Paul says, that he also found (maybe coincidence) that ones in pots fruited quicker than ground but they would be nice and hot all the time.

 

IMPORTANT TIP:

If you’re growing the top of a pineapple make sure you remove all the fruit flesh. You should also remove all the small bottom leaves. 

Just pick the lower leaves off so you have a bit of a stem to plant, then leave the pineapple top in the shade of your verandah to dry out for a week.

The same goes for suckers. 

If there are very small or dead leaves at the bottom pull them off.

Plant your pineapple top:

Don't bury the pineapple top completely.

 



plant your pineapple top

There’s no need to bury the pineapple top in the ground.

Mix compost in with your soil before you plant the pineapple, and then mulch thickly around it.

Just make a small depression in the ground or in a pot and stick your little pineapple in that. 

Push the soil back in and firm it around the base so the pineapple sits straight and doesn't fall over. 

You can use a couple of small sticks each side to keep it upright until your plant grows some roots in about six weeks.

Mulch around the plant to stop it drying out too much.

If the soil is dry give it some water.

Tip: If you’re growing it in a pot, use orchid or bromeliad mix so it gets plenty of drainage.

Give the plant a good watering at least once a week and fertilise with weak compost or comfrey tea once a month. 

A pinch of sulphate of potash around the base of the plant at the beginning of the second summer will help with flowering.

How long does it take from when you first plant it to harvest? 

• Firstly there’s quite a bit of controversy.
• Pineapples ripen from the bottom up, so when the 'cracks' around the bottom rows at the base go from green to yellow, it is beginning to ripen. 
• Some say wait until it's yellow at least halfway up the fruit. 
• Growers say they harvest anytime from when the bottom few rows go yellow because sometimes when the whole fruit goes all yellow, the bottom goes bad as it starts ripening from the bottom.
• Others might ask “Does it smell sweet ?.. remember it will not ripen any further after picking.
• Wait until it’s ripe.
• Jan leaves hers as long as possible, but she’s in Cairns and eats the pineapple very close to Xmas. 
• Fred says he pick them at different stages and also buys direct from farms up the road and he can't tell the difference in when they are picked.
• The tried and true tip is to “Pick it when a middle leaf pulls out easily then it will be ready and sweet .
• But others will disagree saying " Sorry but plucking out the middle leave of the pineapple to see it is ripe is an old wife's tale."
• From another pineapple grower who has grown 400-odd pineapple plants," the leaf plucking is the best indicator by far. Colour is a good starting point, but every pineapple ripens slightly differently."

  

In Australia, the major growing regions include South East Queensland, particularly the Sunshine Coast hinterlands, Maryborough and Wide Bay area, the Yeppoon district, and all the way up to Mareeba and Mosman in Northern Queensland.

Why are they good for you?

Did you know that Pineapples are one of the healthiest fruits around?

Did you also know that…

Two slices (or 164 grams) of pineapple provides half of your daily fruit requirements

Pineapple is a great source of Vitamin C! 

Just 100g of pineapple equals 98.6% of your Recommended Daily Intake .

Pineapples are high in fibre, and low in calories, sodium, saturated fats and cholesterol.

Pineapples contain Bromelain which is an enzyme known for its ability to break down proteins making it great for digestion. 

They’re also a very good source of copper and a good source of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, dietary fibre, folate, and pantothenic acid.

AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY? 

 

 TOOL TIME 

 Did you forget to sharpen your secateurs after some serious pruning over the winter months?
What’s the state of your gardening secateurs right now?

Secateurs should open easily

Do they open easily, are the blades sharp? You know they’re sharp if they make a clean cut through a plant’s stem without leaving a little tear behind.
Almost as if you only cut through part of the stem and then pulled off the remaining part.
If they’re not sharp, those cuts that you make on your plants will end up with bruising and tearing on the stems leading to dieback and fungal disease problems.
Let’s find out some tips about sharpening those precious garden tools.  Talking with Tony Mattson, general manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au


To quote a long time gardening presenter on Gippsland FM, the jobs not done until the tools are put away.
If you have any questions about sharpening your tools, why not write in with your question or ask for a fact sheet.

 

 

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Gaura lindheimeri "Geyser"

Whirling Butterflies, Wand Flower

Today’s plant of the week originates from Texas and Louisiana so it’s is tolerant of drought, heat and humidity.

As summer gets going and the temperature climbs, you’re garden may take a bit of a beating.

In comes the butterfly plant that adds a tough of lightness to your garden border; a bit like gypsophila used to do, but we don’t grow that so much nowadays.

Listen to the podcast to find out about them.
Talking with Karen Smith from www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au



Gaura Geyser is a tough little plant the can be pruned almost to the ground to give more flowering during the summer months.
'Geyser Pink' is an upright, bushy, freely-branching perennial with tall, slender stems bearing narrow, lance-shaped, mid-green leaves and wand-like panicles of pink flowers from early summer into autumn.

Gaura Geyser pink

Gaura Geyser is a dense but compact plant that  flowers until the first frost.
Strong branching supports large, long-lasting deep pink blooms.
Exceptional in containers and as a cut flower.
Gaura Geyser like all Gauras. tolerates drought, heat and humidity.

The name Gaura means Superb, but now that botanists have changed the name to Oenothera or pronounced OWEN-O-THERA, putting it in the same family as evening primrose.
Where does Oenothera come from?
It’s not really certain but perhaps from the Greek words onos theras, meaning "donkey catcher", or oinos theras, meaning "wine seeker".
But also the Latin oenothera means "a plant whose juices may cause sleep" and there’s no record of this plant causing that.
I have heard it called wand flower and butterfly bush because the petals are held on long stalks above the clump of leaves; and it certainly makes a stunning edging plant

If you have any questions about growing Gaura Geyser, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com

 

Purple Trees, Green Beans and Yellow Fenugreek

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

SPICE IT UP

with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

FENUGREEK Trigonella foenum-graecum)

An annual plant in the pea or Fabaceae family .
Did you know that there are five main flavour attributes that you get in food?
Can you guess what they are other that sweet sour and bitter?
Well I’m not giving it away that quickly other than to say that this next spice is used to trick unsuspecting lovers of Maple syrup with a fake version, but the spice isn’t at all sweet.
But that’s not all about this quirky little seed that actually comes from the bean family.
Let’s find out more about the space they need….


If you want to grow your own fenugreek, the better bet is to get seed from a seed company rather than from the spice shop.
Culinary spices aren’t meant to germinate into the plant so they’re not test for germination, plus some of them are heat treated to remove surface bacteria.
Fenugreek is a very useful herb and spice. The leaves can be used used dried or fresh, the seeds of the spice can be used not only in cooking but as sprouts and microgreens.
Fenugreek as a plant is an annual bush about 60cm tall.
It's quick to germinate only taking 2-7 days.
You can plant in spring/ summer, to early autumn, in full sun, in well limed soil.
The soft leaves are three-lobed, and triangular in appearance, which is probably why you might come across it being called ‘trigonella’, which in Greek means three-angled.
If you have any questions about fenugreek, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Well it’s TIME FOR VEGETABLE HEROES
This weeks Vegetable Hero is the BEAN..or Phaseolus vulgaris latin for Common Bean.
Did you know that the Egyptians had temples dedicated to beans, worshipping them as a symbol of life? They must be good
Growing bean crops is essential in a veggie garden because beans, as well as other legumes, have nitrogen fixing nodules on their roots.
Yep, that’s right, the roots make nitrogen out of the air and deposit it into the soil. Lightning storms are even better for that reason.

Beans are probably native to ancient Peru cultivated 500 B.C.

Beans, either climbing or Dwarf Beans, are sometimes called French beans.

WHEN TO GROW
To grow beans you  need up to four months of warm weather.
In subtropical climates beans can be grown almost all year. For temperate and arid zones, mid-spring through to late summer are the best times to plant.
In colder districts, beans, don’t like the cold at all and they certainly don’t like frost.
You have until the end of summer, certainly you wouldn’t be expecting any cold snaps now.
Tropical districts, once again, need to wait until the winter months to sow beans.
Beans are best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 30°C. so planting them from now on is good..

Beans are easy to grow, and each year I teach hundreds of schoolchildren to sow bean seeds. Schoolkids just love to see those bean seeds grow  so it’s a great way to get your kids or grandkids started in the vegetable garden.
 
HOW TO SOW
Sow seed about 2.5cm or  1-inch or depending on the size of the bean I guess.
Sow your beans, either climbing or  dwarf beans either in rows or just scatter so the seed are 5-10cm apart (don't worry about the odd ones which are closer).
Cover with soil, potting mix, or compost and firm down with the back of a spade or rake.
Grown this way the beans will mostly shade out competing weeds and 'self-mulch'.
In the summer months always keep your veggie patch well watered and watch for vegetable bugs and green caterpillars
Tip:

By picking the beans regularly you'll get new flowers.
If you don't pick the beans everyday and let the beans get too big, flowering will slow right and your bean plant will stop producing new beans.
Tip: To have beans all summer long, plant more seed as soon as the previous planting starts to flower.
Protect against snails and slugs by laying down straw or sugar cane mulch and sprinkling coffee grounds around the edge of the veggie bed.
Slugs and snails will completely destroy newly sprouted beans.
Beans do poorly in very wet or humid tropical climates because they get bacterial and fungal diseases.
Pods won’t set at temperatures above 27⁰ C.
They need well-drained soils with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0 and are sensitive to deficiencies or high levels of minerals in the soil.
Especially climbing beans, so make sure you spread some chook poo or cow manure before sowing seeds.
When growing green beans, keep the soil moist.
A good rule of thumb is to put a finger in the dirt and if the dirt is dry up to the first knuckle, then it needs about an inch of water.
Go easy on the fertiliser or you’ll get lots of leaves and no beans.
When picking your beans, pick times when your plants are dry.
Working with beans when the leaves are wet tends to spread any diseases.
When are beans ready pick I hear you ask?

Usually in about 10-12 weeks.
Pick them when they are about as thick as a pencil, smaller if you want a better, tender taste.

Why are they good for you?

Green Beans are a good source of vitamin C and also contain calcium, magnesium, zinc and Vitamin A. Beans provide a major source of soluble fibre,  and are also is a source of folate .
Some varieties of the dwarf  beans are
Brown Beauty-flat pods
Dwarf Snake Beans-ready in 11 weeks.
Windsor Delight has long pods of about 15cm.
Blue Lake Climbing, long pods again but they’re round this time.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with Louise McDaid, landscape designer.
Trees in Landscape Design-Medium Trees part 3
Did you know that in one year a hectare of mature trees can provide enough oxygen for 18 people?

Batsford Arboretum photo M Cannon

Trees cool the city by up to 6°C, by shading our homes and streets, breaking up urban “heat islands” and releasing water vapour into the air through their leaves.
This design series is all about trees and last week it was about small trees –that means those trees under 10 metres.
So what’s a medium tree and do we have enough trees?
Let’s continue with part 3 of the series on trees.

What can you do?
In a garden larger than a courtyard, or small urban space, there is a bit more leeway in how you use trees – you can of course still use small trees in places, but a medium sized tree will be more in keeping with the proportions of the site – a medium sized tree 10-12m is the most preferable for a regular size country town garden, the old quarter acre block.

It’s likely you might have more than one tree – if in a group they could be the same species for the effect of a copse or glade planting, but they could be positioned in different spots to serve different purposes – so think about why you want the trees, what is their main purpose





Stowe, England photo M Cannon

Would you have thought that by just planting three trees strategically around a single-family home, you can cut summer air conditioning needs by up to 50 percent?
Not only that, by reducing the energy demand for cooling our houses, we reduce carbon dioxide and other pollution emissions from power plants.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Jacaranda mimosifolia or JACARANDA

photo M Cannon

The blue jacaranda, or Jacaranda mimosifolia, is a type of deciduous tree that is grown in gardens all over the world for its beautiful and long-lasting purple flowers that often hang in long bunches.
Jacarandas are flowering simultaneously around Australia.
From Adelaide to Sydney, the purple flowers are filling our views, and carpeting our streets, and lawns.
Let’s find out about this plant.

Some people think Jacarandas are native because they’re grown so much in in Australia, but they’re native to South America.
The jacaranda can be found in virtually any part of the world where there isn’t the risk of prolonged frost, so they can withstand brief bouts with cold temperatures reaching around -6⁰ Celsius. It's also a tough, drought-tolerant tree that can handle a variety of soils and growing conditions.

photo M Cannon