Tight Spaces with Onions and Lilacs

What’s On The Show Today?

Preparing your plants for winter in “gardening in tight spaces” part 2 in the Backyard Biodynamic segment, something to make you cry in veggies, but why? in Vegetable Heroes, and plants that hide fences really well in Design Elements, plus best suited for a cold climate in Talking Flowers.

BACKYARD BIODYNAMICS

Gardening in Tight Spaces part 2

Keeping Your Plants Warm.

Last segment was all about how to keep the heat off your pots, but now we’re in the depths of Autumn, soon to be Winter so we want that warmth.

For every avid gardener, we want to use all the spaces we have to grow plants.
But what do we do with the cold to protect out plants especially if your space gets little sun?
Let’s find out.

I'm talking with Diane Watkin, Principle founder and member of Bioydnamics Sydney.


The same technique of keeping the sun off your pots is used to keep your plants warm.

the main difference is that you want the warmth during the day, so you are mostly reversing what you did in summer to keep the sun off.

Erect some sort of cover for your pots and put this on at night, but take it off during the day so the plant can enjoy the sun's rays.
You may have a glass cloche, but most likely you'll have to rig something up using sticks, twigs, shade-cloth, or other material.

TIP: Using diamotaceous earth, put a handful in a bucket of water, mix it up and then spray onto the soil. The silica in the diamotaceous earth will raise the temperature of the soil by 1-2 degrees, which may just make the difference.
If you have any questions either for me or Diane you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Onions. 

Allium cepa are from the Alliaceae family that contains Garlic, Leeks Shallots and Chives.

Most of these have corms or bulbs or underground stems with long thin leaves and clusters of varying numbers of flowers. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Did you know that onions were grown as a crop and eaten since prehistoric times?

Onions are even mentioned in first dynasty of ancient Egypt, circa 3200 BCE, and have appeared in tomb paintings, inscriptions and documents from that time on. Some paintings depict onions heaped onto a banquet table.

Allium cepa are from the Alliaceae family that contains Garlic, Leeks Shallots and Chives. 

When to grow Onions? 

In sub-tropical, cool temperate, warm temperate and arid climates you can plant them from April until August.
Onions are sensitive to the day length for formation of flowers, so it’s important to select the right variety (early – mid-season – late).
These varieties have different requirements in the length of daylight hours.

Early varieties are short day length onions, mid-season varieties are medium day length onions, and late varieties are long day length onions.

If planted out of season, onions may bolt to seed prematurely.

For example in temperate climates mid-season onions are sown in winter, growing through spring and harvested in summer. These include Sweet Red and Brown Spanish Onions. 

They love sunny well drained beds, especially when the bulbs mature in summer. 

So why Grow Onions?

• Onions are a good companion plant. 
• Grown around the garden they repel pests. 
• They contain sulphur which is a strong disinfectant. 
• Did you know that onions were was used to heal gun shot wounds and during World War 1, sphagnum moss was soaked in the juice as a wound dressing. 

How to Grow Onions with Success.

• Remember to always lime your soil well a week or two before planting onions. 
• They love a sweet or alkaline soil. 
• Don't forget avoid applying manures and blood and bone to the beds in which you're about to grow your onions because they prefer alkaline soil. 
• You can use spent mushroom compost instead of cow manure. 

Sowing seeds with Success

• Onion seeds can be sown into seed raising mix into punnets. 
• Or if you want to sow them directly into the garden, make it easy for yourself, mix the seed with some river sand-say one packet of seed to one cup of sand and sow it that way. Bit like sowing carrots! 
• They can be transplanted to garden beds when the seedlings are around 3 inches (8 cms) tall. 
• According to the “Vegetable Patch” website, there is a secret to planting onion seedlings. 
• Instead of planting them sticking straight up, lay them down in a trench and move the soil back over their roots. 
• In about 10 days they're standing up and growing along strongly. 

Some tips to keep your onions growing strongly is
1. Hand weed around onions to avoid disturbing their roots and bulbs.
2. Keep away from nitrogen based liquid fertilisers when your onions are maturing. Otherwise their efforts will go into their leaves instead of their bulb.
3 Regularly water your onions. Lack of water can delay growth or split the bulb. 

4 Because of their strong taste pests generally leave onions alone.

When Do you Pick Your Onions?

Harvest onions (except spring onions) when the tops yellow and start drying.
This usually takes 6 months, so if you plant seedlings today, yours will be ready in December.
Add a couple of weeks if you’re using seeds.
Pull the whole plant from the ground and leave it to dry in the sun.
Turn it every few days and avoid getting them wet (eg dew or rain).
Hang them in a cool dry place for around 3 weeks to cure.
If you store them in a cool dry place they should keep for a year.
This explains why you can buy onions all year round.
Eat the bulbs without a good dry skin first .

Why do we cry when we cut onions?
Onions contain complex sulphur compounds.
When you cut into an onion, two chemical reactions take place.
First, when a knife cuts through the cells of an onion, its enzymes release a strong odour.
Second, the onion releases allicin, a volatile sulfur gas that irritates the eyes and sends one rushing for a tissue.
Keeping Onions in the fridge can help with this problem.
To avoid a bitter flavour never, never buy onions that have begun to sprout greens from their stem portion.

This means they’re more than a year old.

If you see sprouts forming in your onions stored at home, simply snip them off and use the green part like chives, put the rest in the compost.

Why Are They Good For You?
Some health studies have shown raw onions to be effective in lowering overall cholesterol while raising HDLs, the good cholesterol.
Additionally, onions kill infectious bacteria, help to control blood sugar, aid in dissolving blood clots, and may help to prevent cancer.
AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Plants to hide that fence

Are you the sort of gardening that doesn’t think too much about the look of the fence?
Perhaps you’ve had the fence so long that you’ve gotten used to the idea of looking at it without realizing that it’s really an eyesore.

Montanoa hibiscifolia: Mexican Tree Daisy

It’s really important to conceal the fence for a few reasons.
You may remember that last week I said, no-one is saying “ my garden looks too big.”
Plus it’s not all about climbers, climbers climbers, to hide the fence.
Let’s find out. 

That was Peter Nixon Garden Designer and Director of Paradisus Garden Design.


Hiding the fence will make the garden look bigger.
So, Peter mentioned
Viburnum odoratissimum “Dense Fence” or Viburnum odoratissimum “ Quick Fence.” if you’re wanting a free standing shrub.
Mexican Tree Daisy or Montanoa hibsicifolia
For Cool Temp districts:
Prunus lusitanica - Portugese Laurel Prunus laurocerasus - Cherry Laurel 

  If you have a question either for me or Peter, why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com

TALKING FLOWERS

Syringia vulgaris: Lilac

We all love the Lilac but all can't grow it.

Lilac is a deciduous medium to tall shrub. 

Highly fragrant flowers appear to cover the bush Spring.

What Lilacs Like:

Lilac Shrubs in Vienna: Photo M. Cannon

Prefers good, rich soil in cooler districts but not clay soils; prefer sandy, gravelly soils. 

Tolerant of lime, resents acid soils.

The Story Behind The Name

The story of lilac, according to Greek mythology, begins with a beautiful nymph named Syringa (lilac's botanical name). Captivated by her beauty, Pan, the god of the forests and fields, chased Syringa through the forest. Frightened by Pan's affections, Syringa escaped him by turning herself into an aromatic bush – the flower we now refer to as lilac.

In A Vase:

Lilac flowers can last up to a week in the vase if you singe the bottom of the stem.

Because of the sap in the stem, it's best not to mix with other flowers in the same vase.
I'm talking with florist, Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au 

This video was recorded live during the broadcast of Real World Gardener show on 23rd May 2018

Plums, Roses and Curry Leaves

PLANT DOCTOR

For hundreds of years the rose has been widely recognized as a symbol of love, sympathy or sorrow, but did you know that the rose is not only England’s national flower but from 1986, America’s as well.
Few people dislike rose

Roses for your garden photo M. Cannon

s, especially receiving or giving bunches of them.
Not everyone likes or can grow them successfully, but us gardeners still like to try.
Here’s some timely tips.
I'm talking with Steve Falcioni, General Manager of www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au


Roses need to be pruned if you want plenty of flowers because they flower on new growth.
Prune your roses mid winter or in August for those districts that receive late frosts.

Quick Pruning Guide

Hybrid Teas:
For example:Papa Meilland, Peace, Sir Donald Bradman.
Prune to half of the bush and leave 3-4 canes cutting older greying canes back to the base.
If you only have 3-4 canes then leave them and hopefully you'll have new vigorous growth.
Modern Bush Roses:
For example: David Austen.
Prune by one-third but don't cut out any old canes. They need to be left like a bush.
Climbing Roses.
You should have a framework of 3-4 main canes, from which come shorter canes.
Only prune these to about 3-4 buds, about 10 cm.
Note: All pruning cuts should be sloping and about 1 cm above an outward facing bud.
Bare Rooted Roses:

Old world roses photo M. Cannon

When you receive your bare rooted roses the two most important things that get your roses off to a great start are to make sure they're in the right growing conditions and to plant them properly.
Here’s something you mightn’t know.
We usually call the sharp spikes on the stem of a rose bush "thorns", but these are in fact technically prickles.
If you have any questions about rose care 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

Curry Leaf Tree or Bergera koenigii it used to be called Murraya koenigii,  and for the most part, because people are more familiar with that botanical name, the nursery industry is sticking to it and so shall I.
Murraya Koenigii grows very well in all of Australia.
What is a curry leaf tree really?
Basically it’s just an aromatic Murraya species in the family Rutaceae.
Even when fresh the leaves of this tree have a strong curry aroma, but they take on a whole different flavour in cooking. Mmmm!
But there are other shrubs called curry plant, so be careful, because the others aren’t the edible or cooking with variety.
The Curry tree is native to India and Sri Lanka, and can grow into a large shrub to small tree growing 4-6 m tall.
However, if you keep it in a pot, you can keep it reasonably small.
What Does It Look Like?
The leaves are much like but  in a smaller way to Murraya or Orange Jessamine being in the same genus.
Why wouldn’t you grow this bush with

Curry Leaf Tree

the highly aromatic leaves, and heads of flowers that are white, and fragrant appearing in Spring and Summer?
One thing to remember though is that after flowering, the plant produces small black, shiny berries that are edible.
The second part  of the botanical name or the species name commemorates the botanist Johann Gerhard König which translates to  king in the  German language.
Where it likes to grow
Full sun or light shade is the ideal spot and all you need to do is fertilize with palm or citrus fertilizer to get plenty of leaves.
Curry leaf plants can be grown in large pots and also on the ground.
The type of soil doesn’t matter either.
I have one plant in large pot and it’s only about 1 metre in height.
I’ve got to say that it’s pretty slow growing so don’t worry too much about re-potting it.
They have a tendency to sucker when in the ground, so keeping it a pot if you’re worried about this is probably a good idea.
Full grown plants on the ground can survive frosty conditions, plus the curry leaf tree is hardy and drought tolerant once established.
Where Can You Grow it?
Murraya koenigii or curry leaf tree grows anywhere from tropical areas to cool temperate districts.
A listener, Lesley, has written in to say that she has have several plants in the ground in Melbourne which are now nearly 2 ½ to 3 metres, and thriving.
She doesn’t even cover them during winter period!

Murray koenigii flowers

Like the hedging variety of Murraya, pruning your curry leaf tree every year will make it more bushy so you’ll get more of those fragrant curry leaves.
Picking of the leaves for cooking is also a way of getting bushy growth.
If you want to propagate this plant, when you see the berries at the very tips of the branches turning black, is the time to propagate from seed.
By the way, in some sub-tropical districts this tree has spread into bushland because of birds eating the berries.
If you live in those districts, prune off the berries before the birds get them.
They can be propagated from root suckers but the new plant will sucker even more if you do it this way.
TIP:
For propagating the fruits are best picked when they are half ripe or when fully ripe ie, quite black.
The fruits should also never be allowed to dry, because the curry plant seeds in them lose their viability when they shrivel or dry up.
Peel the seed out of half ripe or fully ripe fruits by squeezing out the flesh before planting.
The fruit around the seed may slow down germination.
 Seeds are best planted quite shallowly in seed raising mix and germinate in about 10 days -they germinate best with warm soil 21⁰ to 27⁰ C
HOW TO USE CURRY LEAF
Use young leaves and crushed seeds in curries, soup stocks and sauces.
The leaves are spicy but not hot  so they can flavour vinegars and salad oils.
Curry leaves are used a lot in South Indian kitchens, where the curry leaves are generally sautéed in oil with mustard seeds and added to dhal, fresh coconut chutney or vegetable dishes.
I always strip the leaves from their stalk before frying, and sometimes tear and crush them between my fingers to release more of their essential oils.
UNUSUAL TIP: do you worry about bad breath?
You probably haven’t heard of this type of breath freshener before.
Did you know that the people of India grow the curry leaf tree, Murraya koenigii, not only to flavour traditional dishes but also known for treating bad breath.

Murraya koenigii berries

What you do is put a few of the fresh leaves in the mouth and hold them there for several minutes and voila’-fresh breath.
I can’t say I’ve tried it though.
Why Are They Good For You?
Apparently scientists are studying the extract of the leaves as a natural medicine against high cholesterol and high blood sugar.
Curry leaves are also known to be good for your hair, for keeping it healthy and long.
You can buy the plant from the herb section of your local nursery or garden centre, some Asian supermarkets, and online from www.diggers.com.au
But be careful that you’re not getting the curry leaf bush-Helichrysum italicum.
This has a grey feathery leaf and can’t be used in cooking at all, even though it smells of curry when you brush past it.
Think of the king when buying your Curry tree plant-Murraya Koenigii!
THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Would you like a garden make-over but think, Nah, it’s too costly?
There are other ways of making over your garden without all that expense that you see on those televised garden renovation shows every week.
Over the next few weeks, Design Elements will explain different ways of updating your garden without all that expense, sweat and hard labour.

Flowers to update your garden. Photo M.Cannon

We’ll cover updating your garden in many different ways, including using existing plants, colour and shape of plants, and easy make-overs.
Today, we’re starting with updating your garden using flower colour.
I'm talking with was Louise McDaid  Landscape Designer.

Heliotrope arborescens; Cherry Pie. photo M Cannon

One of the great things about plants is the huge variety of colours available – both in their leaves, their flowers and their berries or fruit.
Flower: the blooming of flowers brings joy to the garden and seasonality through different flowering times.
As an example, take Perennials
Oriental lily, asiatic lily, hosta, Peruvian lily (alstroemeria), pink butterflies (gaura), statice (limonium), Christmas bells, gerbera, scabious (scabiosa), Mona lavender (plectranthus).
There should be plenty of ideas to get you started even if you’re a beginner gardener, and some tips for those of you who’ve been doing it for a while.
Plus there’s so many new flower cultivars coming out each season to tempt you.

 PLANT OF THE WEEK

DAVDISON PLUM Davidsonia pruriens, Davidsonia jerseyana.

Bush tucker plants are one of the hot trends in horticulture and this one is no exception.

The Davidson plum looks rather alien and Dr Seuss like the dark skinned fruit hang like bunches of large grapes from either the long narrow trunk or the branches and there’s a variety to suit most climates in Australia.
As for picking the fruit, they conveniently drop to the ground when they’re ripe.

Let’s find out about growing it.

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


Fruits are dark purple in colour, oval shaped and covered with fine almost indiscernable hairs.

Fruits contain two large seed cases with a single seed and are fibrous.
The fruit flesh is dark red when fully ripe.
D. pruriens fruits are produced in large pendulous clusters from the trunk, they are large deep purple, though the fruit flesh is slightly paler and contains more fibre than its NSW cousin..
Davidson plum trees have a narrow habit with branching on the top half to a third of the tree.

Davidsonia pruriens.  photo M Cannon

Despite their tart taste Davidson plums are known as one of the best of the native plums.
Did you know that the Davidson plum has 100x the vitamin C found in oranges?
They also contain lutien, magnesium, calcium, potassium and manganese.
Store in the fridge for a couple of days or you can freeze them.
When making jams be sure to use twice the amount of sugar, but first cut the fruit in half and remove the two stones or seeds.
You don’t have to just make jam with this fruit.
You can make Davidson Plum Paste, Davidson Plum Chutney or even Davidson Plum and Ginger sauce.

Davidson Plum Chutney

500g Spanish onions, sliced
1 garlic clove
butter for frying
200g Davidson’s plums, de-seeded and chopped
200g brown sugar
100g sultanas
100ml dry white wine
100ml white wine vinegar
a pinch of curry powder
1 clove

Saute' the onions and chopped garlic in a little butter until transparent. Add the remaining ingredients and boil for 1 to 2 hours or until thick stirring occasionally.


 

Ground Pears and Walking Iris

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
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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.Steaming live on the net at www.2rrr.org.au/player/

THE GOOD EARTH

with Margaret Mossakowska from www.permaculturenorth.org.au
Ever though about keeping chickens-there’s small ones you know-those feisty bantams.
If you do have chickens are you keeping them happy?
O.K. although they have been domesticated for about a gazillion years, and do OK inside small areas, they were once wild critters that roamed the forests or jungles looking for food,  keeping their young safe, protecting their flock, etcetera. 

Three chickens in a row photo M Cannon

Watching them over their life-cycles is fascinating and informative, and we come to realize that even the little-bitty chick you raised by hand has those innate wild survival skills. They just want to break out all the time and you can’t keep building the fence higher and higher.
Let’s find out more about the space they need….

At the Royal Easter Show
photo M Cannon

Make sure they have access to some dry soil for their dust baths. If they only stay in a chicken run, you can make a sand pit for them to bathe in. They do this to suffocate any mites they may have.
Chickens also love greens-whether pecking at some grass or maybe of box of weeds especially grown for them. They love chickweed, dandelions etc.
If you do have a chicken run and find that a couple of ring leaders are flying the coop once too often you’ll have to trim their flight feathers on one of the wings.
Clipping these feathers is no different or hurts no more than you cutting your fingernails.You do need to cut the right ones. Check out the internet or a good book about keeping chickens if you’re not sure which ones and how much to cut.If you have any questions about chickens, or have an anecdote about their behaviour, even some.photos, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Today it’s Yacon or scientifically speaking : Smallanthus sonchifolius (syn Polymnia sonchifolia)

photo M Cannon

Yacon is sometimes called, Peruvian ground apple, strawberry jicama, Bolivian sunroot, groundpear, pear of the earth.
We’ll stick to Yacon-which is the name this vegetable mostly goes by
Yacon is in the Daisy or Asteraceae family.
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.
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.

Yacon tubers look a bit like sweet potatoes, but they have a much sweeter taste and crunchy flesh.
The tubers are sweet, juicy and almost calorie free but more on that later.
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

Where and How  to Grow.
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.

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.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

photo M Cannon

with Louise McDaid, landscape designer.
Nearly every primary school girl or boy will tell you that trees give us oxygen. But exactly how much?
Well science to the rescue and a 30 metre tree can pump out 2,721 kilograms of oxygen in a year, which is enough to support at least two people.
That same tree can absorb as much as 22.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide in a year, which over it’s lifetime is approximately the same amount as would be produced by an average car being driven 41,500 kilometres.
But don’t panic, this week’s episode is about smaller trees and they have their role too.
Let’s continue with part 2 of the series on trees.

According to the University of Melbourne, because trees grow faster the older they get, their capacity for photosynthesis and carbon sequestration increases as they age.

photo M Cannon

Don't just plant any tree in a small garden but a tree that's under 10 metres maximum, or which is the classification of a small tree.

In a small garden, trees are much closer so features like the bark can be considered to enhance your garden.

For cool temperate districts a silver birch would look lovely. Otherwise for a similar silvery bark, try Eucalyptus caesia " Silver Princess."

Of course cooler districts are spoilt for choice in the Japanese Maple range.

Another great tree for a bark feature is Crepe Myrtle, especially the Indian Summer Range which is more resistant to powdery mildew.

 

PLANT OF THE WEEK

with Karen Smith from www.hortjournal.com.au

Neomarica sp. Walking Iris.
Fantastic strap leaf plant to use in the garden as a filler, with beautiful, iris-like flower
Plants are what’s called Heterophs because they make their own food.

They need to of course because they can’t walk to the next meal.

 .
Except for this unusual plant that seems to walk.

 

Let’s find out about this plant. 

 

Technically you could say that the walking iris doesn’t actually walk.

Walking iris really only seems to move because the small plantlets that form at the ends of the flower stalk, grow and weigh down the stalk, bringing it to the ground where it will root.

It also grows and spreads from underground stems or rhizomes.

 

 

The Blue Walking Iris is a vigorous growing tropical but surprisingly cold hardy.

Walking iris is clump-forming and its leaves are broad, sword-shaped and pointed at the ends. They grow in flat, fan-like arrangements, as do most members of the Iris family.

The brilliant purple-blue iris flowers are marked with white and burgundy-brown spots and appear in clusters on leafy stems held above the leaves. This species tends to bloom in succession from summer to spring

It does best in filtered light to part shade. The flowers are short lived but replaced with new flowers throughout late Spring. Be careful not to over water.

 



Birdscaping and Updating

Wildlife in Focus

Birdscaping 101

How many small birds are in your district? Are there less than there used to be? Today ecologist Sue Stevens talks about creating a part of your garden that is suitable for small birds. The types of shrubs isn’t the only factor, it’s also the way you plant them and you’ll find out how in this segment.
I'm talking with ecologist Sue Stevens.

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The Habitat network website is www.habitatnetwork.org
Is a great resource for finding out more about birdscaping your garden. If you don’t have access to a computer just drop us a line and we’ll arrange to send you out a factsheet from the network.
We’d love to see photos of any small birds you have visiting your garden just send it in to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Vegetable Heroes

• Chives are botanically Allium schoenoprasum in the Lilliaceae family, that includes, Garlic, Leeks and Shallots.
• The Botanical name means rush leeks, and chives are sometimes called them, but I  never heard them called anything other than Chives.
• Chinese are the first to have used chives from around 3000 years B.C.
• Romanian Gypsies have used chives in fortune telling. I wonder how?
• Folklore would have you believe that you should hang bunches of dried chives around your house to ward off disease and evil.
• Also the Romans thought that chives could relieve the pain from sunburn or a sore throat. The Romans also wrongly believed that eating chives would increase blood pressure and acted as a diuretic. Totally untrue.
• The Chive plant is a hardy perennial. Chives have round, grass-like leaves with a hollow stem, and pretty mauve pompom flowers in summer and autumn.
• The bulbs grow very close together in dense clusters, rather like mini-leeks bunched together.,
• There are two chive look-alikes that are also grown:
• Garlic chives, sometimes known as Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum), and society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea).
• The leaves of these look alkies are flat rather than tubular, but they’re grown in the same way as chives and can be substituted for them in any recipe that calls for chives.
• Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) has a mild garlic flavour, but white flowers instead of mauve,  and they look like common chives,
• All chives can be grown from seeds just as easily and are great for growing in pots.
• It's a good idea to remove the flowers before they go to seed because the leaves will have a better flavour if the flowers are picked before they’re fully developed. but and I’ll tell you about using the flowers a little later on,
• In tropical areas sow chives between April and July, in temperate zones, you have September through to May, in arid zones, July through to March, cold districts have September through to April and sub-tropical areas win the jackpot by being able to grow Chives all year round.
• In cold climates, chives will die right back in winter but, but because the plants are perennial they will live for a number of years.
• New leaves will shoot up in spring.
• Graham, cool climate gardener has written in to say that his chives are hardly affected by frost and after drying to straw in winter, come back fresh and green.
• Germinating Chive seeds have been problematic to some, and when I worked at Yates, they weren’t on the most troublesome list.
• But if you do have trouble germinating chive seeds, try soaking them in a weak solution of seaweed overnight.
• Then after you lightly sown the seeds onto a punnet, put the seedling punnet into a clear  plastic bag, ( a recycled one would be good), blow it up like a balloon and tie off with a rubber band. That’s my cheap method of a mini-green house.
• Usually works for most seeds that I’m having trouble with.
• Garden books will tell you that Chive seeds germinate best when the soil temperature is in the low 20’s.
• Chives will grow in any well drained ordinary garden soil or in a pot filled with a good quality premium potting mix.
• The plants need at least half a day's sun light. Feed the plants with a liquid fertiliser, every couple of weeks to keep them growing strongly.
• Once or twice a year spread some slow release or organic fertiliser around the base of the plants.
• You might think that Chives, are drought tolerant and are have a bit hardy in the garden but that’s not the case.
• Water your chives regularly because they have a shallow root system and some generous mulching won’t go astray either.
• The recent hot spell in my district saw the chives I had growing in full sun getting somewhat brown and crispy.
• Make sure you protect the young leaves from snails and slugs and watch. for pests such as aphids.
• Although I’ve never known my chives plants to be bothered by anything at all.
• Keep in mind, never spray your edible herbs with chemicals.
• If you do get aphid attack or something similar just wipe the leaves with soapy water.
• The best and really only way to pick chives is to just cut leaves from outside of the clump with a pair of sharp scissors.
• Like most plants the flavour of chives will always taste better if they are picked just before you are going to use them.
• Snip the leaves into smaller sections then sprinkle onto soups, eggdishes or salads.
• Even though you can easily grow chives from seed, they’re usually propagated by dividing the clumps in spring or autumn for most districts.
• In places like Adelaide for example, you can divide the clumps in late winter.
• In all areas, replant them straight away into the garden or pots.
• When you divide the clumps, leave about six little bulbs together in a tiny clump, which will spread to a fine clump by the end of the year.
• Set the clumps about 20 – 30 cm  apart..
• Dividing your chives is the fastest way to propagate your Chives.
• The unopened flower buds of both types of chives can be used in stir fries, or break up the flower heads and use them in salads or as a garnish for potato, pasta or rice salad.
• The Chive contains a pungent volatile oil, rich in sulphur, which is in all of the Onion tribe giving them that distinctive smell and taste.
•  Why is it good for you?
• Chives are an excellent salt substitute and a perfect aid for those on a low fat, salt restricted diet. Chives contains vitamins A, B6, C and K. Several minerals are also found including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium and zinc.
• Chives are also a good source of folic acid and dietary fibre.

Design Elements

with Landscape Designer Louise McDaid

There are so many things to consider with garden design that you may not have thought even possible.Have you updated the flower colour in your garden yet?  Or are you considering putting in some grasses, or strappy leaved plants with coloured foliage?

Are you thinking about moving some plants for a fresh new look?

Here’s something you mightn’t know or realise, and that is: a single species can have different leaf shapes over the life of the plant. In fact, some can have different leaf shapes on the plant at the same time. For example, gum trees have different adult and juvenile foliage. That’s complicated enough, but what about the shape of the plant itself?

Good garden design takes the shapes of plants into account.

Did you know that you can update your plants using just the shape of the plant?

What does that mean? Let’s find out….

 

 

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As Louise said, if one of your garden beds could look a bit better, think about introducing a different shaped plant, one with perhaps a vertical shape, like the ornamental pear, or a lollipop on a stick.
Perhaps a fountain shaped plant will fit the bill, like a weeping grass with stripey foliage- such as variegated Miscanthus.

Lots to ponder when thinking about updating your garden.

 

Plant of the Week:

Ephorbia spp:

 Which Euphorbia is the most well known? Answer at the end of the segment.

• If you want to update your garden with foliage colour or plant shape you can’t go past including A Euphorbia or three into your garden.
• Euphorbias are one of the most dramatic plants for your garden.
• Euphorbias come in different heights, shapes, colours and habit.
• Not to mention that the genus is huge with more than 2,000 species of herbaceous perennials, annuals, biennials, as well as evergreen and deciduous shrubs and trees.
• There is a Euphorbia to meet every garden need.
•  Euphorbias come in all shapes: round baseballs, pencil sticks, undulating crested shapes, and cactus-like columnar forms.
• Some have trailing twisted stems, others long skinny stems and still others, bodies with many snake-like arms.
• Some euphorbias masquerade as Cacti, I have one that looks a bit like underwater coral. Euphorbia ephedroides imminuta - Thin branching stems.It is not the easiest task to distinguish a Cacti from a Euphorbia, unless you're an expert, but there are some clues to get you started.
• The plant's origin - Cactus look-alikes are usually from Africa.
•  If the plant juice is a milky white latex, it is most likely a Euphorbia (a few Cacti have milky sap). If the juice is clear, it is usually a cactus.
• Spines that come out of a separate round, sometimes fuzzy, flat skin structure called an areole are found only on Cacti. Euphorbia spines come right out of the plant's stem and there are no areoles.I saw a quite different Euphorbia collection in the Botanic Gardens in Oxford England. These plants had green stems and leaves, and are often recommended for perennial borders, dry gardens  and cottage gardens. These are the shrubby Euphorbias that can even take dry and poor soils.
• Dry gardens and cottage gardens have probably known about some of these already such as E.characias “Tasmanian Tiger, or E. characias Wulfenii.
• Tall semi evergreen perennial for dry gardens. Usually late winter flowering with tall stems of clustered lime green flowers. Good for winter structure amongst herbaceous plants.
• Takes moderate frosts and is drought tolerant. Grows to 90cm. www.woodbridgenursery.com.au
• Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon'-Herbaceous variety with deep purple foliage through summer into autumn. 60cm, flowersin spring, good frost tolerance, and also drought tolerant
• Euphorbia “Firesticks  Eye catching bright yellow new spring growth turns bright orange and red in winter.  Colder climates will see a more intense colouring and it is at its best through winter. The stems lack chlorophyll so will not have any green colouration. Good in pots for contrast foliage.
• Grow in cool to temperate districts and obviously arid zones. Takes full sun to semi-shade. Fades in summer and becomes redder in winter. Grows to  60 – 90 cm.
•  Prune lightly to keep it compact and colourful. Plant into well drained soil in a sunny to bright light position. Water to establish then keep just moist. Reduce watering in winter. They are frost tender and dry tolerant.
• Euphorbia pithyusa - 'Grey Hedgehog' excellent evergreen shrub with multi-stems. Colour is a cool, ice blue, leaves are needle like but soft to touvch. Forms a tought mound with greenish yellow flowers in summer. Makes a great contrast to burgundy foliaged plants in particular. As with all Euphorbia family plants, they will bleed white sap if cut or wounded. Handle with caution. from www.australianperennials.com.au
• Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' is a long flowering cultivar developed from Euphorbia hypericifolia 'inneuphe'.
• A well drained potting mix is essential.
• Both of the last three Euphorbias flowers in Summer and Autumn, grows to 40cm by 40cm wide.
• ‘Hedgehog” is a hardy shrub that suits group plantings amongst other low shrubs and perennials in a low border, or makes a great low hedge, and suits growing in a pot. Full sun is needed as is well drained soil. Tolerates dry conditions.
• Lightly trim the bush after flowering to tidy up the plant and this of course stimulates new frowth. Next Spring, give it some fertiliser to encourage growth.
• That was just a select few Euphorbias to entice you.
• Most Euphorbia species prefer well-drained soils in full sun conditions.
• Propagate some Euphorbias by seed or by division, and others by stem-tip cuttings. Most propagate and root easily.

Answer; The most well known Euphorbia is Poinsettia or Euphorbia pulcherrima