Berry Good Gardening

SPICE IT UP

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Is in the Poaceae family (grasses,) and was not only used  by the ancient Greeks and Romans but crops up in so many cuisines throughout the world.
Lemongrass has also been used in folk medicine and in Asian cooking.
Lemongrass is a herb, or grass really,that  has more attributes as an all round herb than you might’ve thought of.
In this segment, you’ll learn about not only the best ways to use it in the kitchen but some great tips and looking after it in the garden.
Let’s find out more about this herb. I'm talking with Ian Hemphill, from www.herbies.com.au

Lemongrass flavour is fairly gentle so you can’t go wrong in how much you use.


Lemongrass

Use only the bottom 15-20 cm and give it a bump with the back of a knife to easily peel off the outer layer.

Cut it very finely or either shave it finely or grate your lemongrass so you don’t get those hairs or fibres from the leaves so much when you’re eating the dish.

BIG TIP: Don't throw away the green leafy tops but tie them into knots to break up the citral structure and throw this bunch into cooking to infuse with a real lemony flavour.
Think of it as a substitute for lemon zest if you like for use in cooking.

When growing your own lemongrass, it's best if divided every few years because the centre of the clump doesn't seem to get enough water and nutrients and dies off.

If you have any questions about lemongrass or any other herb or have some information to share, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

LEEKS Allium ampeloprasum var. Porrum
There’s nothing like a good long history that some vegetables seem to have and the Leek is no exception.
Thought to be native to Central Asia, leeks have been cultivated there and in Europe for thousands of years.
Did you know that Leeks were prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans because of their supposed beneficial effect upon the throat.
The Roman emperor Nero supposedly ate leeks everyday to make his voice stronger.
Another interesting fact that you might not know is that the leek became a Welsh emblem in 1536, and is still the national emblem of Wales.
Daffodil is the National flower.
Have you ever wonder why Welsh are such great singers?
Perhaps because they eat a lot of leeks, think Tom Jones.
Leeks, known scientifically as Allium ampeloprasum var. Porrum, are related to garlic, onions, shallots, and scallions.
Onions, celery, and carrots are very good companion plants for the leek.
Leeks, are a cool season crop and best of all they’re easy to grow.
You can grow leeks in hot summers, but you won’t get the same quality result as you will in a cool summer environment.
Leeks are usually grown from seed and are generally started off in punnets first then transplanted.
When to Sow
Sow the seeds of Leeks from Spring until the end of Autumn in cool temperate climates, and late summer and autumn in warm and tropical zones,  and in arid districts, seeds must be sown in February/early March and then you can transplant them in April and May.
I sowed some seed a several weeks ago and have already transplanted them into the veggie bed because they were a couple of inches-about 10cm high and were the thickness of a pencil.
TIP: By the way, the seeds germinated fine from an out of date packet.
Leeks will overwinter in cool temperate areas of Australia if properly mulched, but will generally not survive periods of extreme cold.
In case you don’t know what a leek is.
Leeks look like large fat spring onions, but have a very small bulb and a long white cylindrical stalk of layers  of white then green, tightly wrapped, flat leaves.
It goes without saying that good soil is the key to growing leeks.


Start off leeks in a punnet.

Leeks need nutrient rich, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. They’ll do well in almost any garden soil as long as it is well aerated and deep, about a spade’s depth is good.
Using some kind of dibble tool or the end of a rake handle to make a hole that's just deep enough to leave only the top inch of the seedling exposed.
Set the leek seedling into the hole and fill it loosely with soil.
 Space the leeks 10cm or a large hand span" apart, in rows at least 25cm  or from your wrist to your elbow apart.
Find something practical like that to do you estimates.
Some people think that when growing Leeks the aim is to blanch the stems while the plants are maturing.
To save your back if you want to blanch the stems, rather than digging a trench, just use mulch.
When they’re 4 weeks old in the veggie bed, use a thick mulch of sugar cane or something like that.
In another 4 weeks or when they reach about 24cm, do the same again, or you can use shredded newspaper.
The leeks will still grow as well if you don’t do any of this.
Some gardeners cut off the top portion of the leaves, about halfway up the plant, as the leeks are maturing.
This is supposed to bring on stalk growth, giving you a larger leek for the dinner table.
To be honest you can do all this, but if you don’t the leeks are just as tasty.
Make sure the plants get at least a couple of cm’s of water a week; otherwise the stems will be tough to eat.
Mulch to conserve moisture, and side-dress with manure tea once a month.
Begin harvesting leeks as soon as they're big enough to use.
Young, tender ones are good raw; once they reach the width of a paper roll, they're better cooked.
They usually take 16-18 weeks--4 ½ months. Quite a long time so explains why they are so expensive at the greengrocer, market or wherever you buy them.
At markets they’re usually $2 each.
To prepare Leeks cut them very thinly and sautee’ just as you would other members of the onion family.
 Like their allium cousins, onions and garlic, let leeks sit for at least 5 minutes after cutting and before cooking to enhance their health-promoting qualities.
Why are they good for you?

Tasty Leeks

 Leeks are a good source of dietary fibre also a top source of vitamin C
Leeks have a high concentration of the B vitamin folate
Leeks give you small amounts of other minerals and vitamins.
The green tops have some beta carotene which your body can make into vitamin A.
Like onions, they also have some sulphur compounds that scientists believe reduce your risk of some health problems.
Leeks are believed to be good for the throat.
Leeks are low in calories and fat-free. 100g of leek has just 125kJ.
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY?

DESIGN ELEMENTS

In a lot of places in Australia, the days have begun to be cool down, so thinking of tropical plants for an area in the garden suddenly has become quite appealing.
Even if you live in an arid zone or cool temperate area, you can still achieve that tropical look with plants that grow well in your local district.

Paradisus Gardens photo Peter Nixon

Knowing how to arrange them is the key to achieving that tropical look, and around the entertainment area, it might be de rigour.
Let’s find out more. I'm talking with  Louise McDaid, Garden Designer.


Choose a dining setting that suits your lifestyle; perhaps a daybed? For the tropical look think of Wicker, Bamboo or Teak furniture fits into the Tropical theme.
The whole garden doesn’t have to be tropical.
You can use bold leaves and different types of foliage colour in any climate.
Create some shade with tall palms, such as Gold Cane or Lipstick Palm. For taller palms, try Bangalow or Kentia Palms.

Paradisus Gardens photo Peter Nixon

For the mid level think of Gingers, Cordylines, Canna lilies, Hibiscus and Birds of Paradise are some of the types of plants that you can choose from.
For the lowest level, pick from Bromeliads, ferns, and Calathea.
If you live in a cooler  or arid area, you might have a tropical theme within your garden style.
Somewhere in your garden where you like to sit and read or think, you can add a tropical touch here and there, with plants that are suited to the climate you live in.
There is a microclimate that suits those plants that were mentioned. You get the idea.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Berrries: loganberry;Raspberry;Blackberry; Youngberry
Did you ever go out to collect wild blackberries when you were quite young and come home with scratches all over your arms and legs?

Youngberries photo M Cannon

Perhaps you were a bit more clever and carried a sheet of iron or a plank of wood that you plopped down into the middle of the patch to get the berries.
Nowadays you wouldn’t dream of doing that because blackberries out in the bush or nature reserve have probably been sprayed with weed spray.
So, what about growing your own?
Let’s find out which ones are so good.….I'm talking with the plant panel: Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au  and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au


The Berry Patch in a Pot™ Range features four great varieties of fruit that can be grown in any garden!
This includes Blackberries, Loganberries, Youngberries and Raspberries.

Berry flowers. photo M Cannon

Youngberry is a complex hybrid between three different species from the genus Rubus, the raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries of the rose family. The berries of the plant are eaten fresh or used to make juice, jam, etc.
Loganberries:Rubus x loganobaccus Loganberry.
The Loganberry is a modern variety of fruit that was developed from an accidental cross between a raspberry and a blackberry.
Loganberries have look a bit like blackberries, but are more red in colour.
The vines or canes of the Loganberry  don't grow like either the blackberry or raspberry.
They trail or grow upon the ground.

The best part is that these plants are ideal for pots and containers as well as for growing in the garden.
 

Microbats and Natural Gardens

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 CBF, Community Broadcasting Foundation.
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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

Living Planet

with Katie Oxenham

They’re probably hibernating right now, and they’re definitely nothing to be scared of.
There’s too many myths and legends about bats of all kinds and mostly untrue and unkind.
The greatest harm to bats is not knowing  anything about them , and this creates fears and hatred towards them.
Some say, even possible extinction because they’re now regarded as a vulnerable species.
My brother in law has a sheep farm in South Australia and also has been planting plenty of trees on his property.
One day, he was leaning back on his kitchen chair having a morning cuppa when it seemed to squeak unnaturally. He leant forward and tried again, sqea- a- a k?
He turned around to find a microbat was hanging of the chair and he was nearly squashing it.
Being a friendly sort of fella, he put little batkins outside.
Let’s find out a bit more about these little creatures.

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It’s not too early to be thinking of what you’re going to net your fruit trees with this spring and summer. If you can put your finger through any of the holes, then that net is dangerous to wildlife, not just bats of any size.
Birds and mammals can get hopelessly entangled in those larger holed nets and cause life threatening damage to their limbs, and wings.
Choose a fine mesh instead and makes sure the net is tied off at the bottom of the tree so they can’t get in from underneath.
Remember without bats that pollinate Australian trees, we’d have no trees and no Koalas.
If you do come across a distressed animal, contact your local wildlife service right away, and don’t try to handle the bird or animal.
For more information about Microbats see: www.ausbats.org.au
If you’ve got any questions tree netting, drop us a line. to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,  or post them on Real World Gardeners facebook page, we’d love to hear from you.

Vegetable Heroes:

 Berries, in particular Youngberries just for something different.
Did you know that there are about twenty four varieties of blackberry around and youngberry is just one of those.
Yes, Youngberries are hybrid blackberries and were bred in Louisiana in America.
Youngberries are a complex hybrid between three different plants that belong in the Rosaceae or rose family.
This family not only has roses but  raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries and heaps more other berries.
Plants from the Rose family tend to have woody stems with thorns or prickles.
Berries belong within that rose family in the Rubus genus, because unlike the rose, which produce rose-hips, berries have a cluster or aggregate of drupelets. Rubus species or hybrids such as boysenberries and loganberries are also called "cane-fruit" because they’re generally grown with some sort of support such as wires or a trellis.
Raspberries aren’t in this group because of the way the fruit separates from the plug that attaches the fruit to the cane.
In Raspberries, the plug comes away, but in all others, the plug comes with the fruit when you pick it.
No surprise that it was a Mr. Byrnes M Young, who was a businessman by profession, but liked the plant sciences and dabbling with crossing plants, who actually produced the first Youngberry in 1905.
Young crossed an existing hybrid between a blackberry and a raspberry, to further cross it with a Dewberry. Voila! Youngberries!
I don’t suppose he named it after himself but he might’ve.

So what is a youngberry exactly?

Rubus ursinus hybrid is the scientific name.

Youngberry canes grow to 1 ½ metres and flower anytime between December and March.
According to Louise Glowinski in has book on fruit growing, Youngberries are a vigorous trailing cane that has excellent, sweet juicy fruit that turn black-purple when they’re ripe.
Great to use in jams or eat fresh.  How often do you see Youngberries at the supermarket?
Did you know that berries are sold as bare rootstock at this time of year?
That means you can buy all sorts of berries through mail order catalogs and online because with soil, they’re really light to transport to your door.
To grow any berries you must prepare the soil first by loosening it up and adding lots of compost. Either from your own compost heap or bought it,
The soil must be well drained, so for clay soils, build up a mound to plant your canes into.
All Blackberry hybrids, of which Youngberries is one like a slightly acidic soil of around pH 6-6.5.
If your soil is neutral pH add some spent or used coffee ground to the back fill which you can get for free from your local café if you ask.
Otherwise use Sulphur.
Youngberries grow in full sun or part shade.
Cane fruits suit most climates from cool temperate to sub-tropical.
Most other blackberry hybrids need a winter chilling before flowering will start, but Youngberries are more adaptable to warmer climates provided the winter months are cool.
They’re not too fussy except for hot dry winds which will damage any type of berry fruit. Grow a wind break if your area is prone to high winds.
All types of berries are gross feeders so they do need a lot of feeding in late Spring. Your choice, just lots of it.
If you’re in a sub-tropical climate, use heavy mulch with large stones so the roots experience cooler conditions.
Frosts are usually not a problem.
Pruning is important:
Pruning berries is important otherwise you might prune out those bits where you’re supposed to get fruit.
Young plants tend to produce a lot of canes which need thinning out. But as they mature, remove the last year's stems that fruited but keep the young canes. New canes that grew last year will frui this season for you.
 Tie these canes against some sort of trellis and cut off excess growth.ie Any growth that’s a bit too long for your situation in the garden.
If you're not growing the berries on a trellis, simply tie them in bunches of about 8 (select the thickest canes) and chop them off at about 170-80 cm so they're not too unmanageable
Actually pruning off the ends of each runner will make the vine grow laterals .Flowers and fruit come on the laterals.
This tip I gleaned from the Department of Ag in Victoria and it’s about the oldest method of trellising the more flexible varieties, like Youngberries, using the rope method.
To do this you have to grab all new canes as a bundle and wind them around a single wire about 1.or 1 1/4 m above the ground level.
The bundle is then wound in one direction only until it just passes the point where the next plant begins.
The remaining cane is pruned off, and the next bundle of canes is wound over the last to prevent unwinding.
If you have only one plant you might just have to tie it off with some twine so it doesn’t unravel.
The only downside is you’ll get slightly reduced fruiting because some buds that are inside the bundle won’t flower.
Nifty idea!
TIP: It takes about three years for the plant to mature, so don’t worry  about if your fruit supply isn’t that great at first. Certainly, don’t prune it in the first year.
Where do you get it?
www.lakenurseries.com.au
Why is it good for you?
Youngberries are rich in vitamin C, A, E and dietary fibre. They also contain calcium, phosphorus and potassium. Pectin in the fruit helps lower LDL cholesterol

Design Elements

Louise Mc Daid
What is a natural garden?
It's not about letting the weeds take over! In England, a lot of gardens that I visited had a natural element to them where plants where combined in an informal way to create natural meadow borders
There, the idea is becoming increasingly popular. It means using plants that attract wildlife, combined with not using pesticides.
The result is a supposed to mean a natural balance and the well tended estate gardens that I saw it worked very well.
It also means it can go pear shaped if you’re not too careful and haven’t planted things that work well together.
Let’s look at what can go wrong and how to fix it in part one of a natural garden….Let’s find out about some of these now?

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Lots of small steps can take us a long way towards helping garden wildlife.
Things like make a log shelter for our reptiles, building a pond to attract frogs, create a compost or start a worm far.
All these things , as well as plants, belong in a natural garden, although not as features.
In England, Scientists are investigating how native and non-native plants affect garden biodiversity in a three-year study project called Plants for Bugs.
Will a project like that start in Australia too?
My guess, is that a lot of creatures have adapted in some small way to the exotic plants we have in our garden too.

Plant of the Week:

Macadamia Lots o Nuts-Macadamia integrifolia selection

Nuts are good for our health, lower cholesterol and are low in carbs.
Think of the creamy texture and delicious taste when you eat Macadamia nuts. You can have this all in your own backyard if you plant this new release, smaller version of the Macadamia tree.
Think about it, a Macadamia tree growing in your garden. 

BE IN IT TO WIN "MACDAMIA "LOTS O'NUTS
SIMPLY WRITE IN AND TELL US WHY YOU SHOULD GROW A MACADAMIA IN YOUR GARDEN.
THE BEST ENTRY GETS A TREE SENT TO THEIR DOOR!

Macadamia integrifolia and M tetraphylla are two recognised cultivars of this nut tree in the Proteaceae family.

They will grow and fruit as far south as Melbourne, so are extremely hardy.

I have a mature Macadamia tree- Macadamia tetraphylla H2. It’s a grafted tree and about 15 years old.  Being grafted it will eventually get to 10 metres
My tree didn’t start fruiting until it reached 6 years of age. Seed grown Macadamias take even longer, so be prepared to wait for your nuts.
Boy o Boy, as my father used to say, does it fruit. I have kilos of the nuts every year. More on that later.
By the way, M tetraphylla cultivar grows best in southern parts of Australia, and M. integrifolia in the northern parts. If grown from seed, they will be a big tree, about 15 metres.
Macadamia trees have large glossy evergreen leaves, the margins or edges of which are wavy and spiny. Not unlike, but nowhere near as prickly as holly leaves.
M. tetraphylla has pink flowers and M integrifolia has cream flowers. New growth is pale green on M integrifolia and pink on M tetraphylla.

The flowers are very attracting, hanging down below the canopy in long narrow racemes, at least 15-20cm long.

Bees and especially native bees are the best pollinators of this tree.

After this, and it takes quite some time as you go further south of Brisbane, the nuts start to form, and should begin to drop around March.

If the tree experiences water stress, the nuts will drop earlier, and they’ll be too small for doing anything with really. This gets worse as temperatures rise above 30⁰C.
Both types of Macadamias are pretty adaptable to most soils, and will tolerate part shade.

When you start of a young tree, keep it well water, as they get more water stressed than Avocados and Citrus.

As for the nuts, they have two shells, the outer green shell splits when ready to reveal the inner hard brown shell. You will need to buy a special device to crack them, or the trusty hammer on a rock with a hollow to rest the nut is OK too.

Macadamia Lots o Nuts-Macadamia integrifolia selection-but let’s talk about this new variety.

 A large dense shrub or small tree, with attractive foliage, and pendulous perfumed cream flowers in spring, followed by delicious edible nuts.

Suited to cool temperate to tropical climates, in well drained moist humus-rich clay or loamy soils, neutral to acid pH. A multi-purpose plant for screening or hedging. Prune to shape as required, and feed with low phosphorus native fertilizer early spring or late summer.

The breeders of this plant recommend that you feed with low phosphorus native fertilizer early spring or late summer.

However, I have always fed my tree with Citrus fertiliser with great results. In fact that is the recommendation in the Louis Glowinski book about growing fruit., called the Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia.

Why are Macadamias good for you?

If you want to lower your cholesterol, eating 6 – 10 Macadamias a day may lower your cholesterol by 5% in a few weeks.

Macadamia nuts like all non-animal foods contain no cholesterol. But they are remarkable in the fact that their fat contains over 86% monounsaturated fatty acids. The average macadamia nut will also add about 18 calories to your diet, so don’t overdo the nuts.

If you have any questions about growing Macadamias, write in and ask.