Spring Cleaning Along That Great Garden Path Where You Grow Waratahs

What’s On The Show Today?

Spring cleaning made easy in Tool Time, how hot can you go in Vegetable Heroes; walking down the best path in Design Elements and NSW's emblem  in Talking Flowers.

TOOL TIME

High Reach Cleaning Made Easy
Do you Spring clean or have you put that task off for a little while?
You might think cleaning is a bit of a stretch for a gardening show, but the house is in the garden and it needs to be clean too.

Not to mention garden furniture and ornaments that could probably do with a clean.
You might be temped to get up on a chair or a ladder, but why become another statistic of falls in the home or garden?

Let's face it our reflexes may not be as good as they used to be?
Getting up on ladders to prune is bad enough but for cleaning it’s even worse, because you tend to wave your arms about a bit more vigorously
Let’s find out how to do it safely.…. 

I'm talking withTony Mattson from www.cutabovetools.com.au


The safest way to clean up high is to use a lightweight extension pole with your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Look for lightweight aluminium extension poles that extend from 2-6m, costing around $100.

This should reach the eaves on a two-storey house if the house is on level ground.

Taller than that you need a carbon fibre pole which is around $AUS400
Something to remember

If you are using a ladder you should always have 3 points of contact at any one time. 

Shoulders should be near the top of an extension ladder, but no higher.

If you’re carrying something then you’re in trouble.

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

VEGETABLE HEROES

CHILLI - Chilli peppers or Capsicum annuum or C chinese. 

They come as red, green, orange or almost the brown colour of chocolate.

They can be pointy, round, small, club-like, long, thin, globular or tapered.

Their skins may be shiny, smooth or wrinkled and their walls may be thick or thin.

You guessed it - chillies!”

Have you ever witnessed someone, perhaps a fellow diner at a restaurant, gulping lots of water or waving their hand in front of their mouth because their mouth feels like it’s on fire?

Maybe you were that diner at an Indian restaurant.

Want to know the best way to get rid of the burning sensation?

The heat in chillies comes from the compound “capsaicin.

Capsaicin is hydrophobic, meaning it doesn't dissolve in water but readily dissolves in fats and oils. 

And this explains why, something with a lot of fat in it - like yogurt or milk - is going to dissolve the compound and wash it away, and not water. 

Ian Hemphill from Herbies Spices, recommends a spoonful of sugar to take the heat away. 

The chilli pepper comes from a pod-like berry of various species of the capsicum family found in Latin America.

Did you know that there are over 2000 different varieties of chillies most of which have some degree of pungency, hotness or fieriness.

TIP:The colour of chillies is no guide to their hotness 
All chillies begin life green and turn yellow or red as they ripen.

As a rule red fresh fruit are two or three times hotter than green fruit, and dried pods are up to ten times hotter than fresh pods.

Generally, the smaller chillies are the most pungent or hotter giving you the most burning sensation. 

Did you know that most of the heat is in the seeds and the membrane, so if it's your first time trying chillies, or you don't like too much heat, get rid of this part.
Soaking a chilli in vinegar also dilutes this effect.
If you then throw out the first lot of vinegar and soak the chillies again, you’ll further reduces the heat.
But wouldn’t you just use a milder chilli?

Now the burning question, how is hotness of the chilli measures. 

• The unit of hotness is the SHU or Scoville Hotness Scale. 
• Wilbur Scoville was an American chemist who devised a test based on repetitively diluting an extract of the pepper with sugar water until the heat was no longer detected. 
• By the way, now testing is more carried out using accurate laboratory equipment, like a chromatograph, and equating 15 parts per million (PPM) of capsaicin with an increase of 1 on the Scoville scale. 
• The heat comes from that same chemical compound called capsaicin which I’ve mentioned already,(the active ingredient in chillies), this intensifies as the chilli matures.. 
• There is a theory that the heat in chillies caused by capsaicin was an adaptation to prevent animals from eating chillies so that birds, which are a better distributors for their seeds, can eat them. Birds don’t feel the heat of the chilli. 

How to Grow and When to Sow your chillies. 

Sowing chilli seeds can be done throughout the year in Tropical and sub-Tropical climates. Lucky guys.
Being a warm season plant the season is shorter in temperate climates only fruiting over the summer months and dying back in winter.
They’re totally not suitable in areas where frosts occur.
Perhaps try them in a pot and place it a very warm verandah because warm conditions over a five-month growing period are necessary for any good quality fruit.
Chillies need soil temperature of 15–30°C to germinate so if you’re in a cool temperate or even a temperate climate, start off your chilli seeds in a punnet or tray or pot using seed raising mix.
Chillies need a slightly warmer temperatures than tomatoes or cucumbers. For the best chillies in your town or suburb, temperatures for fruit setting are between 16°C and 21°C.
For good fruit development, night temperatures of 15–17°C and day temperatures of 24–30°C are best.
Make sure your Chilli plants are in a position that receives a good amount of light.
But chilli seeds can be tricky to germinate taking anything from 1 to 6 weeks so don’t give up.
To grow chillies well, add lots of high nitrogenous matter, like Nasturtium or comfrey leaves to the soil as well as compost and manures, so you won’t have to fertilise with chemical fertilisers.
There’s no special soil or potting mix that they need, just start to add a side dressing of fertilise when you see the flowers develop and don’t let them dry out too.

Protect your chilli plants from wind by tying them to supporting stakes.
There’s quite a few pests that like chilli plants like aphids and spider mites. Spraying with a horticultural or preferable a botanic oil to suffocate them, is the best solution.

The most common species of chilli peppers are: 
Capsicum annuum (common varieties such as bell peppers, paprika, rating of 2 out of 10,
jalapeños rating of 6)
Capsicum frutescens (includes cayenne and tabasco peppers having a rating of 8-9)
Capsicum chinense (includes the hottest peppers such as habaneros having a 10 out of 10 on the heat scale.
Capsicum pubescens (includes the Thai chilli with a rating of 9)
Capsicum baccatum (includes the South American aji peppers).

If you really like your chilli peppers and want to get the most heat out of your home grown plants, then you’ll need to start a worm farm and apply worm tea

or worm juice to your chillies. 
That’s according to Mark Peacock, a plant scientist from the University of Sydney, who in 2011 helped to cultivate the world's hottest chilli, the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T. 

Like all fertilisers, 'worm juice' is rich in nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen, but what makes it particularly effective for bringing out the heat in chillies are the bodies of insects that have decomposed in the worm farm.
The insects in there are living and dying pretty rapidly, and bits of their shell will break down.
When you apply the juice to the plants' roots, the chilli plant responds as if it’s getting eaten by insects."
This in turn makes the plant produce more of their defensive compounds like capsaicin.

Why are they good for you? 
Don't include too many chillies in your diet if you're interested in: Weight gain.
Chillies contain more vitamin C than citrus fruits.
Also when you cook with chilli, it only loses one third of its vitamin C content so you don’t have to worry about eating them raw!
Chillies are also thought to help buffer pain from arthritis, and headaches
Chillies are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Copper, Manganese, Dietary Fibre, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus.

One Chilli divided into a dinner for four doesn’t cut it though but you’ll get a small proportion.
Capsaicin in chillies will cause an unpleasant burning sensation to eyes and skin. Try to avoid handling them too much, wear gloves if possible, and be sure not to touch your face or eyes during preparation.
So happy chilli growing gardeners.
THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Creating a Great Garden Path

You probably do have a garden path, in but does that path work for you?
Is your path so dominant that you end up having a path with a garden rather than a garden with a path?
Perhaps your garden path doesn’t dominate but it just doesn’t work for one reason or another.
So what do you do?
Let’s find out. 

I'm talking with Peter Nixon, principle of Paradisus Garden Design



Peter mentioned a few variations on the garden path. 

Salt textured concrete is the favourite.

You can press large leaves into the concrete before it's completely dry and weigh the leaf down with a brick overnight.

The next day, peel off the leaf and you'll be left with an impression; not one that jumps out at you, but a subtle impression that you need to be almost on top of before you realise how marvellous the path really looks.

  If you want to know more or if you have any questions about garden paths, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com

TALKING FLOWERS

Waratah

Telopea speciosissima

What does the botanical name mean?

Speciosissima is the superlative of the Latin adjective 'speciosus', meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome'. Telopea means seen from afar.

Waratah (Telopea) is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania). 

The one we see walking in the bush is the red flowering version and is also the NSW state emblem.

Grows to 3m tall. 

Can be tricky to keep alive in the garden.

If you've tried to grow a Waratah, make sure it has great drainage.

Dreamings about the Waratah focus upon the tragic consequences of lost love. 

Two Wonga pigeons live together in a rich, lush forest. One day the female bird notices her mate is no longer by her side, so she searches for him, calling out for him. She cannot find him, so in a panic she flies above the canopy of the forest where a hungry and ever-vigilant hawk sees her and, swooping down, grabs her and clutches her in his sharp talons. She manages to wriggle free and plummets down, finally falling onto a white Waratah blossom, her blood staining its petals to red. From then on, Waratahs are generally red; it is very rare to find one that is white.

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

Plants Banks and Waratahs

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

FEATURE INTERVIEW

by Louise Brooks with Manager/Curator Plant Bank The Australian Garden, Mt Annan John Siemon

Have you ever wonder what would happen if we lost a further 50% of living plants here in Australia?


Would they be gone forever or could they regrow themselves?

Plant Bank Mt Annan-photo Louise Brooks

I’m not being a doomsdaysayer, because the hard facts are, that 50% of the world’s plant species ARE  under threat of extinction?
It could happen through bushfire, mining, over-grazing, or drought.
So what kind of insurance to prevent this happening do we need?
What about a plant bank?
Let’s find out what that really is….

The Australian PlantBank is a science and research facility of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and is located at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan.
Behind the glass windows are three vaults storing 100 million seeds in temperatures ranging between four to minus 20 degrees.

 

John Siemon, the PlantBank's is the project manager, of Plant Bank at Mt Annan.
Trays of small foil packets are carefully numbered and linked to other DNA related samples in the collection.
Inside the bunker a fifth of Australia's 25,000 plant species are represented, including 260 of NSW's rare and endangered species. An insurance policy, if you like, against possible extinction, allowing future scientists to bring back to life native plants for regrowth or medical research.

 

PlantBank houses thermal efficient seed storage vaults, climate controlled glasshouses, and state of the art laboratories.

Plant Bank Mt Annan-photo Louise Brooks

It houses the Trust's seedbank and research laboratories that specialise in horticultural research and conservation of Australian native plant species, particularly those from New South Wales.If you want to visit the Plant Bank-you can.Plus if you’re a bit tech savvy you can download the new mobile app that takes you behind-the-scenes.

Plant Bank Mt Annan-photo Louise Brooks

You can explore this exciting new conservation centre, including the laboratories and seed vault, the surrounding landscaped gardens and the nearby endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland. If you have any questions about Plant Banks, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

New Zealand Yams Oka or Oca

New Zealand Yams Oka or New Zealand yams
Scientifically it’s known as Oxalis tuberosa and it’s in the Oxalidaceae, the oxalis or wood sorrel family.
Did you know that New Zealand yams are considered the lost crop of the Incas and were introduced to Europe in 1830 as a competitor to the potato?
Did you also know that New Zealand yams were also introduced to New Zealand as early as 1860 and are grown commercially there?
New Zealand yams also grows very well in the UK and Ireland?
What does it look like?
Oxalis tuberosa (Oxalidaceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers.
When New Zealand yams does grow it becomes a compact, bushy perennial plant with clover-like leaves to 20 - 30 cm high.
Being a tuberous plant it grows like potatoes but belonging to a completely different family to potato it’s unaffected by blight and other associated pest and disease problems that potatoes normally get.
New Zealand yams  have small edible tubers that look like stubby, wrinkled pinky-red carrots.
These tubers can then be boiled, roasted, stir fried, or even eaten raw in salads.
The tubers have a pleasant sweet/ tangy flavour,


NZ Yams-photo M Cannon

 

How to plant:
The recommended planting time is spring in cool areas and at the beginning of the wet season in warmer areas.
In temperate climates plant the tubers in October and November, in cool temperate districts, plant in November or after the last frost.
For sub-tropical areas-September to November, and for arid zones  it’s too hot now, wait until next August.
Store the best tubers for propagation for the next season in dry sand or sawdust, in a cool dark place.
For everyone, planting time is about now for New Zealand yams.
You can grow your New Zealand yams in sun but New Zealand yams are more shade tolerant, and in fact, will do better in partial shade.
All you have to do when planting New Zealand yams tubers is to cover the tubers with soil to a depth of 5 cm and space your plants 30 cm apart.
Ideally wait until tubers begin to shoot before planting.
You can speed this up by placing the tubers on a tray in a morning sun position.
New Zealand yams also grows well in styrofoam boxes, pots and planter bags.
You can start off by planting dormant tubers in a 12 cm pot, 8cm deep, in potting mix and transplant out once plants show active growth.
You need to feed the bed with fish emulsion, worm tea or some blood and bone sprinkled on the surface every couple of months.
One thing to remember is that at about 4 months, New Zealand yams plants should be hilled like potatoes to encourage tuber formation.
So when do you know to dig up your New Zealand yams tubers?
Just like with potatoes, the tubers are ready to eat when the foliage starts to die back.
New Zealand yams is resistant to low temperatures and thrives in moderately cool climates but freezing will kill the foliage. If the tubers are already established they’ll re-sprout.
On another note, temperatures above 28°C cause the plant to wilt.
Tubers start forming 4 months after planting and production peaks at 6 months.
Store the best tubers for propagation the next season in dry sand or sawdust, in a cool dark place.
Each 10cm tuber (always eat the big ones) should produce up to 30 edible tubers as long as a man`s middle finger- and a lot of smaller ones ideal for planting the following season.
Once again, just like potatoes, New Zealand yams grows in all types of soil and a wide range pH.
From some web bloggers I discovered that Charles grew New Zealand yams in Victoria for years and as you know they have many days over 40 degrees.
He says as long as you hill them up like spuds, they survive.
The downside is that frosts finished them off before they were ready so he got a lot of small immature tubers as a result.
Another blogger who lives in Brisbane  writes that he really loves New Zealand yams, but in order to grow it successfully in his area you need to 'reverse' the season.
While everyone else in Australia starts growing it from mid-Spring, he has to plant it mid-Autumn. Winter temperatures in frost-free areas of Queensland are ideal to grow New Zealand yams.
Buy it and store it until March.
The summer is simply too hot, humid and wet .
Once you successfully grow your crop, save some of it in the fridge every year for autumn planting.
New Zealand yams is more perishable than potatoes, but if properly handled can be stored at room temperature for some months.
They store pretty well in a plastic bag in the crisper of the fridge.
Cooking with New Zealand yams
Cook New Zealand yams as you would a potato i.e. New Zealand yams can be boiled, baked or fried.
In Mexico, New Zealand yams is commonly sprinkled with salt, lemon and hot pepper and eaten raw.
In the Andes, the tubers are placed in the sun for a few days, to sweeten them.
New Zealand yams leaves can be eaten as a sorrel substitute.
 

WHY ARE THEY GOOD FOR YOU?

New Zealand yams is one of the highest vegetable sources of carbohydrate and energy. They are a good source of pro-vitamin A (beta carotene), and also contain potassium, vitamin B6 and small amounts of fibre.
Yellow-orange coloured varieties indicate the presence of carotenoids; whilst red skins and red specks in flesh indicate the presence of anthocyanins.
AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with garden designer Lesley Simpson



succulent Coral Garden-My Island Home. photo M Cannon

A couple of weeks ago I spoke to a guest Melbourne landscape designer, Phil Withers.
Phil had created a garden called My Island Home which had a coral reef bed made up of succulents.
It looked like the real deal-a coral reel made up of plants.
So keeping in that theme of creating things with succulents, it’s possible to create other types of themes using succulent plants.
Let’s find out what this is all about.

The ideas for using succulents to do another concept are endless.
What about a river bed of succulents? 
Ever thought of a fairy garden with succulents?
Or even a gnome’s garden?
Succulents in a bowl?


photo M Cannon

 There’s plenty of possibilities and on the up-side succulents are pretty drought tolerant and forgiving
 because succulents store water in their leave, stems and roots.  Because the roots of succulent plants are relatively shallow, a bowl or dish can look great. Just make sure that your pot has good drainage, or that you can put holes in it.
Just because they're drought hardy doesn't mean they like to bake in the midday sun.
Most succulents do best if they are in the direct sun for only a few hours a day. Many need protection from getting scorched in the mid-day sun, but almost all need some bright, indirect light. Succulents can actually suffer from sunburn!

PLANT OF THE WEEK

What floral emblem do you have in your state?
Did you know that Telopea speciosissima or the waratah, was proclaimed the official floral emblem of New South Wales on 24 October 1962?
Waratahs grow to 3 metres tall and about 1.5 metres across. They have stiff, wedge-shaped and usually coarsely toothed, dark green, leathery leaves to 15 cm long.
 

Muogamurra Nature Reserve-photo M Cannon

The NSW species normally flowers red, but many produce pink or even white flowers. A rare white-flowering form, ‘Wirrimbirra White’, is occasionally available from specialist growers.
did you know that the large, pinky-red flowerheads are actually a lot of small flowers densely packed into conical about 15 cm across, and surrounded by a collar of large red, smooth bracts.
The ‘flower’ is in fact a conflorescence makes up to as many as 240 individual flowers. It flowers during spring, October to November.

It is a bird-attracting plant, providing large quantities of nectar for a variety of honeyeaters.
 

People want to know why Waratahs sometimes drop dead?

Sometimes the conditions just aren’t right and eventually your Waratah gives up the ghost.
What are those conditions?
Some say grow near a Banksia serrata is the key.
Others that you need to get some mycorrhizal fungi.
There are members of the Australian Society for Growing Plants that wouldn’t think much of that idea either.
But what everyone agrees on, never hard prune your waratah plant and watering is the key.
Plants bought from garden centres and nurseries are cutting grown and don’t have that deep water searching  tap root that Waratahs have growing in the wild.