Sunny Days, Sparkling and Tomatoes

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Compost Capers

Why are so many school children squeamish when it comes to worms?
Are you squeamish when it comes to worms-compost worms, earth worms, any worms?
It must start somewhere but there’s no reason to have this unnatural fear of something so small and harmless.
Did you know that worms have five hearts, and munch through their weight in decaying matter like your food scraps every day?
That’s right, you need a lot of worms in your worm farm.
Let’s find out how to start a worm farm and how to look after it…

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What I do is chop up fruit and veggie scraps quite small-yes it takes a bit of time but it’s worth it in the long run.
Secondly, I usually only add one 2 litre ice-cream container’s worth of scraps at any one time.
If you make more than this every day, then you need more than one worm farm or compost bin or some other type of composting device.
If you have any questions about worm farms, why not drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return.

Vegetable Heroes:

Growing Tomatoes with  Managing Director at Mr Fothergills, Aaron Whitehouse.
www.mrfothergills-seeds-bulbs.com.au

There’s books written about them, they are prone to all sorts of pests and diseases, but every year, we plant them hoping for that ultimate crop.
What are they ? They’re tomatoes, or Lycopersicon esculentum.
Being in the Solanaceae family, they’re related to eggplants,capsicums, chillies and potatoes.

Tomatoes are botanically a fruit, or to be even more accurate a berry, because they are pulpy and have edible seeds.
Other botanical fruits classified as vegetables include squash, cucumbers, green beans, corn kernels, eggplants, and peppers.

It took the American courts to rule that the tomato be classified as a vegetable in 1893 since it was used as a vegetable. Apparently importing fruit to America at that time didn’t attract import tariffs. Strange but true.
.
In Australia, tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, with potatoes being no.1


Why? Because we just lover our summer tomatoes that taste better than the store bought ones, and once you get the conditions right, they’re relatively easy to grow.

As late as the 18^th century, physicians thought tomatoes caused appendicitis, and stomach cancer from tomato skins sticking to the lining of your stomach.
Europeans then refused to eat tomatoes because they were thought to be poisonous, and no-one was volunteering to be the first.
Why do a lot of store bought tomatoes have little taste?
The answer is because it’s a result of breeding tomatoes which ripen uniformly red. This change occurred after discovery of a variety in the mid 20th century which ripened evenly, so was  then cross-bred  with just about every tomato variety, to produce attractive red fruit without the typical green ring surrounding the stem on uncross-bred varieties.

There’s a tomato for every type of climatic condition and generally they’re a warm season fruit even though we call them vegetables.

When to Plant:

In temperate climates you can plant them until December, hopefully some of you started them in early September to get the jump on fruit flies.
In sub-tropical and tropical areas, this week it’s your turn to win, and yes, you can plant tomatoes all year round.
In cool temperate districts you have from October until December, and in Arid areas from August until March, so nearly all year.

How to Grow

Tomatoes prefer full sun but if you live in very hot climates, you’ll get sun scald on your tomatoes, so afternoon shade of some sort is essential.
Growing tomatoes has to be in full sun at least 6 hours.
Tomato seeds can be planted into the ground as soon as the soil temperature reaches 20⁰C.
For cool districts I recommend that you start your tomatoes off in punnets of some kind and place this in a plastic bag or mini-greenhouse.
Before your transplant your seedlings from the seed tray, and this applies to all seedlings, you need to harden them off.
That means taking them out of a protected environment and putting them into 50% shade for a few days.
TIP:
When you plant your seedling, this is about the only plant I know that you pile the soil higher than it was in the pot-that way, it grows extra roots to support the plant.
At the same time, put in a tomato stake of some kind and sprinkle some Dolomite around the plant.
Problem Solver

• They actually need lots of water to prevent a problem called “blossom end” rot, when they get a black bottom. Which also means a lack of Calcium. But you put on the Dolomite didn’t you?.
• Don’t crowd your tomato plants because they need good air circulation around them so that fungal diseases don’t take hold.
• When your tomato plant has four trusses (or branches of flowers) nip out top of the plant. By this stage you should have plenty of fruits forming that need to grow and ripen.
• You need to do this mainly because you want the plant to put all its energy into these potentially succulent fruits. And…you don’t want it growing taller than you tomato stake and flopping all over the place.
• Keep the soil moist by regular watering and using a mulch of some kind.
• Once the flowers have formed, you need to feed weekly with tomato fertiliser or a general fertiliser but add a side dressing of sulphate of potash.
• Irregular watering or drying out of the soil or compost in very hot weather can result in the fruits splitting. The inside grows faster than the skin, splits and unless eaten quickly, disease very quickly enters the damaged area and the tomato disposed of.
• Tomato feed is very high in potash. Be careful not to overfeed as this can lock up other elements in the soil / compost that the plants require.
• HINT: tomato plants will only set fruit if the temperatures don’t drop below 21⁰C.
• Did you know that a tomato picked at first sign of colour and ripened at room temperature will be just as tasty as one left to fully mature on the vine?
• VERY IMPORTANT: Prune off the lower leaves to allow more light, improve air-circulation and prevent the build-up of diseases.
• For some listeners, fruit fly will be a problem. There are lures and preventative organic sprays that contain Spinosad.
•  I intend to trail fruit fly exclusion bags. As soon as the fruits appear, on they go.

WHY ARE THEY GOOD FOR YOU?

First the good news, there have been studies done which show that eating tomatoes lowers the risk of some cancers. Possibly because of the chemical lycopene that is found in tomatoes and makes them red.
Cooked tomatoes are even better because the cell walls get broken down releasing something called carotinoids.
Eating tomatoes with a small amount of fat, like some olive oil in a salad, allows the lycopene part to absorb better.
Tomatoes are highly nutritious and sweet  because of natural sugars – sucrose and fructose.
If you ate only one tomato a day, you would get 40% of you daily requirements of Vitamin C and 20% of Vitamin A.

Design Elements

with Landscape Designer Louise McDaid
Is your garden a romantic style of garden or is it a bit of a mix.
Do you know what style it actually is?
Perhaps you’d like a style of some sort, perhaps a mix of French and English, and are just waiting for some inspiration?
This garden was also featured at this year’s Chelsea Flower show, but we can pick out some details for your to use in your own garden.
 Listen to this…

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So many of the gardens that I saw at Chelsea this year had made a big effort to modernise the styles to fit in with today’s gardener.
They seemed to use perennial planting more creatively, and with more structure,  rather than just lumping them together, which often makes the garden look untidy at certain times in the season.
If you have any questions about this week’s Design Elements, send it to our email address, or just post it.

Plant of the Week: Lavenders

A large quantity of books have been written about Lavender, using Lavender, cooking with Lavender.
Each year, there’s seem to be a glut of new lavender hybrids from which you must choose just the right one.
What can a mere gardener do without sitting down to read the extensive information there is about every type of lavender on the planet.

Lavenders don’t always last that long in everybody’s garden because they don’t like humidity or wet feet.

So if yours has given up the ghost, why not invest in a couple of new ones?

There’s so many Lavenders out now that you can have one in every different size.

From the really big Allardi Lavenders that grow to over a metre tall and wide, to smaller-growing ones like this next one that’s come out.

Most of the varieties sold in nurseries now are hybrids of L. Stoechas.

Lavandula stoechas from the Stoechades Islands (now called Iles de Hyeres

Examples are L. ‘Avonview, L. ‘Bee Series.’
Great as ornamental plants in the garden, but not for cooking, or dried flowers because of the high camphor content of the flowers.
You can easily tell this group because they have the large petal like bracts, or rabbit ears at the top of the flower spike.


NEW RELEASE-Lavandula x hybrid - 'Little Posie Mauve'
Little Posie Purple is a lovely new Lavender which has masses of stunning dark purple flowers topped with pale mauve ribbon like flags.
Long lasting display in autumn, winter and spring.
Compact shrub which grows 50cm high x 40cm wide
All Lavenders need a full sun position.
 

Lavenders-A note about cultivation

Lavenders originate from the Mediterranean region.  adapted to fairly harsh and dry conditions. 

Lavenders are drought-tolerant, and grow well in temperate zones  for a while anyway, but have a few essential requirements.

If you want your lavenders to last follow these tips:

• Excellent drainage as lavender hates having wet feet, if you grow your lavender in pots the saucer should be gotten rid of, and the pot raised a little off the ground to allow better drainage. 
• Lavenders like alkaline soil so apply a handful of  lime or dolomite around each plant in Autumn to maintain the ph of the soil.
• Have adapted to dry soils high in Magnesium and calcium.
• Fertilise in Spring.
• Grow in full sun for the best results, part shade is only just OK.
• Give them a trim. Clip plants by one third once they are past their first year.
• DON'T USE manure fertilisers, DO USE compost spread around the area to help the natural maintenance of the soil. 
• Weeds should be removed as lavender doesn't like competition and don’t like their surface roots disturbed either.
• IMPORTANT: Pruning a lavender bush  into the hard wood will most likely kill it

Lavenders will grow well for you if you follow those few tips

Also get in the habit of taking off a few tip cuttings, without flowers, and sticking them into a shady spot in the garden. You’ll be surprised when they strike for you, because they surely will.
If you have any questions about Lavender, drop us a line.

Rooftop Gardens and Crazy Lettuce

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Wildlife in Focus

Photo By Roger Smith

with ecologist Sue Stevens
According to National Geographic, the habits of migratory birds are something of a mystery Scientists think that the birds take their cues from the landscape from above of course. Perhaps with their fantastic eyesight, they can see waterholes appearing in the landscape that link up through river paths.
But one of the strangest things though is they tend to go back to exactly the same place, and exactly the same spot.
Let’s find out what the Straw Necked Ibis is all about…

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Did you know that Straw-necked ibises can fly up to 20,000km. and may follow landscape cues back to their breeding grounds in wet years - these grounds remain in the same small area.
If you have seen some Straw Necked Ibis in your area, why not drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,  and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return.

Vegetable Heroes

Celtuce, Asparagus Lettuce or Celery Lettuce or Lactuca sativa var. asparagine or var anustana.
Are you a fan of lettuce or celery or do they go mouldy in the crisper before you use them?
All types of lettuce, helps you sleep at night if you include lettuce in your evening meal.
But we don’t feel like lettuce in the cooler months so what do we do then?
Lettuce soup is nice but not every night.

I’ve heard it called Asparagus lettuce, Celery lettuce and stem lettuce.
Sounds like people just can’t make up their minds what it actually tastes like.
Did you know that China produces about half of the world’s lettuce?
So it’s no surprise that Celtuce, or this mixed up vegetable cross originates in China.
Lettuce has been grown in China since about the 7^th century, and that includes this strange lettuce mutant.
Did you also know that Chinese traditionally don’t use lettuce in salads but in stir fries.

What is Celtuce exactly?

When Celtuce is growing, it looks a bit like Cos lettuce, and it’s at this stage that your pick the leaves and eat them as you would lettuce.
The leaves of Celtuce are more coarse than most lettuce so steaming them or using them in stir-fries might be a good option.
The stem actually does look like a bit like a fat Asparagus stem.
In China, where it’s grown in commercial quantities, the fleshy stem is cut into sections and cooked by steaming or stewing.
Growing this vegetable would be very useful because you can use all parts of it, plus it’s easy to grow.
Lettuce can be planted all year round in most areas of Australia.
Sow the seeds of Celtuce, or Asparagus Lettuce in September through to December in temperate zones.

When to Sow:

For arid areas and sub-tropical districts, Celtuce can take more heat in hot summers than lettuce, and it doesn’t seem to mind wet weather either.
Having said that, in Arid districts, it might be a good idea to avoid the hottest months of the year, and in cool temperate areas, you might like to grow your lettuce in a greenhouse or undercover somewhere during winter.
Celtuce tolerates most soils, including clay soils.
Any gardening book (mostly written for the northern hemisphere) will tell you that full sun is essential.
Full sun is best ONLY when it isn't too hot. Once the temperatures go into the thirties, your lettuce will definitely appreciate some shade, especially afternoon shade!

How to Sow:

Sow the Celtuce seeds only half a cm deep, spreading the seed very thinly along a row and cover lightly with soil, or sprinkle it over a bed and rake it in.
For all you balcony gardeners, any largish pot will do for 3 or 4 lettuce seedlings.
Lettuce seed is very fine so you'll get a few clumps.
Thin them out, you know the drill.
If the weather is very hot and your soil sandy, you will need to water daily. Stick your finger in the soil if not sure.
By the way, lettuce seed doesn't germinate that well at soil temperatures over 25⁰C. 
So if you are sowing it in a pot, keep the potting mix cool by putting it in light shade until the lettuce seed germinates.
Don't plant you celtuce or any lettuce in deep shade, like under a tree, or they’ll just grow into pale, leggy things with few leaves on them.
If you can't find a position that provides dappled shade in the afternoon, try interplanting between taller plants that won’t totally shade them like capsicums/peppers or eggplants, staked tomatoes.
Lettuces need good soil, that means light, free draining and rich in organic matter.  
You soil need to be able to hold lots of water, nitrogen and other nutrients.
Sandy soils need help from your compost bin or worm farm.
If you have clay soils, growing celtuce or lettuce shouldn't be a problem, as is growing them in pots.
All types of Lettuce have shallow roots, so they dries out easily.
You must keep up a steady supply of water because any set back will at best, make them tough and bitter, at worst it will cause them to bolt to seed straight away without making any leaves for you!
So make sure they never get stressed (e.g. by forgetting to water them).
Celtuce not being a hearting type of lettuce won’t go to seed in summer very quickly.
TIP:In the summer months, you can’t grow hearting lettuces, even Cos/Romaine types, as they're also very heat susceptible and won’t form a heart at all.
I have grown those types of lettuce and they were the first to bolt to seed at the first sign of hot weather
Celtuce takes about 3 months from seed to harvest, but you can pick the leaves much earlier.
When the stem of the celtuce gets to about 30cm tall and is about 3-4cm thick, that’s the time to cut it and use it as a sort of asparagus come celery alternative.
TIP: Unlike Asparagus, you need to peel the stem because the outer part which has the sap, is bitter to taste.
The soft, translucent green central core is the edible part.
You can eat this fresh, sliced or diced into a salad.
I've heard that the flavour is sort of like a cucumber, yet different.
Why it’s called Asparagus lettuce or celery lettuce has more to do with it’s appearance and not it’s taste.
So why is it good for us?
Asparagus Lettuce is very good for digestion.
All types of lettuce have good levels of Vitamin C, beta-carotene and fibre.
You won’t put on any weight eating Lettuce  because most varieties have over 90% water and are extremely low in calories.
Lettuce contain the sedative lactucarium (lactoo-caree um) which relaxes the nerves but not upsetting digestion.
By varying the greens in your salads, you can boost the nutritional content as well as vary the tastes and textures.  
•Happy Asparagus Lettuce growing everyone!

Design Elements

with Landscape Designer Louise McDaid

Did you know that people have cultivated roof gardens for centuries.As far back as 600BC, people living in Mesopotamia were growing trees and shrubs above ground. Ever heard of the famous hanging gardens of Babylon? Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers, certainly has!
You may not have a rooftop – but this is a very interesting garden and many of the elements can be incorporated into a ‘ground’ garden as well, like your backyard.
Listen to this…

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Today’s inspirational garden also came from the RBS Rooftop garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower show that I visited.
Roof gardens can combine all elements to support wildlife and biodiversity.
OK Australia’s climate can be a bit harsh in some areas for us to even consider having a rooftop garden on your shed or garage, or even your house.
But if you’ve got a balcony, you might try it there instead.
If you have any questions about this week’s Design Elements, send it our email address, or just post it.

Plant of the Week:

Would you like some electric blue flowers that are easy to grow?
Easy to grow but hard to say.
The flowers of this plant can hang around for up to three months.

L. biloba.flowering now down the side of Henley Cottage.

England may have it’s blue poppies, Meconopsis, everywhere in gardens but we have Lechenaultia with the same bright blue flowers.

As usual, when the name was copied down it was incorrectly spelt, so the botanist attached to Baudin's expedition to Australia, Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour. Spelt with an s, became without an s, and persists today.

 
As usual, the most exotic looking flowers seem to come originally from Western Australia.

The flowers, which grow to 1.5 cm long by 2-3 cm in diameter, have a tubular corolla, split on one side, and surrounded by five sepals.

The corolla has five lobes  and look similar to flowers of Scaevola.

Flowering time is from late winter through to summer.

The leaves are soft, blue-green in colour, very tiny at3-9 mm long to 2 mm across, crowded along the stems.

Lechanaultia grows naturally in gravelly and sandy soils of southern and central Western Australia. 

If you like this colour blue and want to grow this plant, you need to copy its original habitat and grow it in sandy, well-drained soil.

Plants in heavier sites will generally not last a season. The plant is not a long-lived one, three to four years being its most probable life span.

Without any tip pruning the shrub will become an open spreading plant to 50 cm high.  

TIP:
Now here’s a great tip because there’s some of these plants growing outside the cottage at the radio station.

Lechanaultia is easily propagated by cuttings taken at any time of the year, but the best time is in late spring and summer.
A few weeks ago I took some cuttings and struck them in situ in a couple of places in the gardens.
seem to be surviving so far.
I used semi-hardwood cuttings about 6-10 cm long.
Spring is the best time, so if these don't survive, I'll try again later.
Lechanaultia is growing at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in built-up beds with added limestone chips; but I don't think you need to do that unless you have limestone chips lying around in your backyard or property.
TIP:
The most important growing requirement is a perfectly drained situation, like in a rockery, built-up beds or pots.
L. biloba has been successfully cultivated in pots for many years in Europe.
Minimal watering is required and the roots will penetrate deeply in a free-draining soil.

Lechenaultia biloba can be allowed to straggle over rocks, or a more compact shape may be obtained by a light pruning after flowering. No pests or diseases have been observed and this plant is frost tolerant.

This is a perfect plant if you’re looking for the colour blue to add to your garden.
Lechanaultia would suit the front of the border, and especially rockeries and even hanging baskets.
Team it up with Yellow Buttons ( Chrysocephalum apiculatum), Paper Daisies, Rhodanthe anthemoides, and even Brachyscome, or Scaevola or fan flower.

Having a Swale of a Time in the Garden

The Good Earth

with permaculture experts, Lucinda Coates and Margaret Mossakowska


Photo by M. Mossakowska

Do you have a boggy patch in the garden?
What about watering you garden without turning on the hose?
Sounds impossible, but there are ways you can save water from disappearing down the stormwater drain but altering the landscape of your garden.
And no, it doesn’t have to look ugly at all.

Listen to this

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Know you know that a swale is a slight depression that runs along the contour of the land.  It can be deep or shallow, or even hidden (a ditch filled with mulch, pebbles or any other material,  )The dirt from digging the swale is usually used to make a raised mound on the downhill side. You can make them any size you want.

Note: a swale is not a drain but stores water in the soil. By stopping the run-off, it prevents soil erosion as well.    How it works is this: Rain falls on your property, and instead of running straight down the slope, it runs to the swale and gathers. There it soaks in slowly, forming a lens of water underneath the swale. This provides a area of shallow sub-surface water downslope from it for an amazingly long time, so your grass will stay greener, and you won't need to water very often.

If you have a question about any building swales or anything about permaculture that hasn’t been covered in the show so far, why not 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:

Microgreens.

What are microgreens?
Microgreens are very young edible greens from vegetables, herbs or other plants.
It has to be said, growing microgreens is the speediest way to growing leafy greens.

You’ll be cutting them in 1-2 weeks.

Plus, they add packets of flavour to salads of larger leaves and the best part, it couldn’t be any easier.

You can grow them indoors all year round, you don’t even need a sunny windowsill.

Micro greens grow to about two and a half to four cm long, including the stem and leaves.

A microgreen has a single central stem which has been cut just above the soil line during harvesting.

The first leaves that come out from any plant are called cotyledon leaves and usually one pair of very small, partially developed true leaves.

So, leaf and stem are never bigger than 4cm in height and 2 1/2cm across.

• Microgreens even though they’re really small have intense flavours  but not as strong it would’ve been if the plant was left to grow to full size.
• Usually I start talking about the history of the vegetable or fruit at this point.
• There’s not much history at all about micro greens.
• Maybe they started off as a fad in the 1990’s who knows?
• They seem to be catching on more and more, because you can get seeds marketed as micro greens from major chain stores that have a gardening section.

How about greens, like all types of lettuce, Basil, Beets, Coriander and Kale that are harvested with scissors when they’re really, really, small?

Not at all like sprouts, but grown in a similar way and  picked or more correctly, cut at a later stage of growth.

Sprouts are only the germinated seed, root stem and underdeveloped leaves.

Microgreens are the mini-versions of the much larger green vegetable.

 

Sprouts are also grown entirely in water and not actually planted.

Microgreens are mostly planted in soil or a soil alternative like sphagnum moss, or coco peat.

Plus you grow microgreens in light conditions with plenty of air circulation and not in a jar.

You might be wondering why you’d want that?

What’s wrong with growing salad vegetables in the garden?

This might be more for the busy gardener who’s run out of space or time available to grow a full garden of vegetables.

So how do you grow Micro greens?

There are a couple of ways to grow Microgreens.

The first method is to grow your greens in soil like organic, potting mix, cocopeat, vermiculite, sieved compost or worm castings.

Use seedling trays or boxes and fill the tray with your selected soil mix 2 - 3 cm deep and moisten the mix.

Soak the seed overnight then sprinkle the seeds evenly on top of the mix and gently pat them down; then cover with 0.5 cm of mix.

Cover the tray with a lid or another inverted tray to help keep the seeds moist until they sprout.

Then water often using a sprayer.

Adding diluted organic nutrients e.g. kelp or compost tea to the sprayer will improve the nutrient levels in the microgreens.

Microgreens are usually harvested when there are four or more leaves. Cut the shoots just above ground level with scissors.

TIP:

Many types of vegetable seeds as micro greens and will regrow and can be cut several times.

Afterwards the tray contents can be added to the compost heap.

The second way of growing your microgreens has come out this year, and it’s using something called a Growing Tray.

This tray holds a reservoir of water and has holes in it so the plants can grow their roots down into the water.

Growing your microgreens this way makes it superbly easy for all home chefs and gardeners to have a steady supply at their fingertips.

You don’t even need soil, just a spray bottle of water and the seeds.

But you do need to remember to spray the seed, 2-3 times a day until the roots develop, then keep water reservoir topped up with fresh water until harvest a couple weeks later!

You can buy them in stores or via mail order and online.

Microgreens seed packet range includes 5 mixed packets, each containing 3 varieties typical to a regional cuisine: http://mrfothergills-seeds-bulbs.com.au/home.php

Flavours of the Mediterranean - Basil Italian Mix, Rocket and Sunflower

Flavours of France - Sorrel, Chervil and Sunflower

Flavours of Western Europe - Cress, Amaranth Red Garnet and Pea Morgan

Favours of Eastern Europe - Kale Pink, Cabbage Red and Pea Morgan

Flavours of the Orient - Mustard Ruby Streaks, Garland Chrysanthemum and Coriander

TIP:

One thing to keep in mind, the seeds used to grow microgreens are the same seeds that are used for full sized herbs, vegetables and greens.

So, If you want to use up that packet of Cabbage, Celery, Chard, Chervil, Coriander, Cress, Fennel, Kale, Mustard, Parsley, Radish and Sorrel, rather than throwing it out. Grow the seeds as microgreens.

TIP:

Never use parsnips for micro greens as seedlings they’re apparently poisonous!

Coriander seed takes longer to germinate than other micro greens – up to three weeks.

Partly due to the tough outer coating of the seeds, preventing water from penetrating.

You need to break the seed coat to give it a hurry up by crush the seeds lightly then soak overnight to speed up germination and improve success.

Why are they good for You?

Just because they’re mini greens doesn’t mean they have a high concentration of nutrients or even a miracle food. No such luck.

So they have proportionally smaller amounts of the same nutrients that the full sized vegetable that they would’ve been has.

They are eaten as thin, delicate plants - as miniature variations on salad greens and herbs. They provide texture and colour when used as garnish, or exciting flavours when used as part of salad mixes

If you have any questions about growing microgreens or where to buy the seeds for sowing, just drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com

Or by post 2RRR, PO box 644 Gladesville NSW, 1675

 

 

Design Elements

with landscape designer Louise McDaid

Inspiration Series

Inspiration from the Pine Cottage garden at this year's Chelsea Flower Show

Do you know someone who thinks a cottage garden is a row of Agapanthus, lawn and maybe a fountain?
Yes, I know someone who thinks just that.
What is a cottage garden then?
It started in England in the 1870’s and is an informal design but lots of plants.

Even mixing ornamental or decorative plants with edible plants, and a rose covered gateway.This year at Chelsea, there was a modern twist to the cottage garden.
Listen to this…

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The earliest cottage gardens were more practical, you could even say, took a leaf out of modern day permaculture.
These gardens had  an emphasis on vegetables and herbs, along with some fruit trees, perhaps a beehive, and even livestock!

If you have a cottage garden, send in a photo, and I’ll send you a copy of Jane Davenport’s the Garden Guardian.
Send it to our email address, or just post it.

Lemon, Lime 'n' Nutmeg

 Spice it Up

Photo by Louise Brooks

Did you know that Nutmeg is not one spice but two?
The Nutmeg tree’s pretty nice too, but you can only grow this one in the tropics.
Even if you can work out a microclimate for your Nutmeg tree, it takes up to nine years before you get any fruit, plus you need a male and a female tree.
What’s even more tricky, the grower wouldn’t be able to tell you what type of tree it was until it was at least six years old.
Just sit back and enjoy the fascinating tale about Nutmeg and leave the growing to the experts. Listen to this with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

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TIP:
Ian says add a tough of grated nutmeg to a creamy pasta sauce for that added touch of inspiration.
You can grow the Australian version of the Nutmeg tree, but the fruits only faintly smell of Nutmeg.
However, it’s OK in dry conditions and might be a nice addition to the native garden.If you have a question about any spices, or want to know about  a spice or herb that’s hasn’t been covered in the show so far, why not 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

  This weeks Lima Beans or Phaseolus lunatus
 The answer to the question, do Lima Beans come from Lima, or Leema? Yes they do?
 Why you ask? Because that’s where those Spaniards first found them in Peru, in the city of Lima.         
Lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus var. macrocarpa syn. Phaseolus limensis), are also called Madagascar beans. Lunatus refers to the crescent shape of the bean pod.
Lima beans are grown for their seeds which are used semi-mature (green limas) or dry (dry limas).        
Lima beans are one of the oldest beans to come out of the Americas, with remains dating from 6000 to 5000 B.C. 
Plants grow wild in the Amazon basin region of Brazil and seeds have been found in prehistoric mummy pits in Peru.

How to Plant

Why are we growing Lima beans, aren’t there plenty of other bean varieties?
Lima beans have a few special qualities-they’re tasty when they’re fresh, and they have health benefits that are the highest for any bean.
Have you ever seen fresh Lima beans being sold anywhere? Probably not, but I’m sure you’ve seen the speckled white and maroon dried seeds.
So it’s a good idea to grow some of your own.
Lima bean pods are a little different looking than most climbing beans.
The pod of the lima bean is flat, oblong and slightly curved, averaging about 71/2cm in length.
Inside that largish pod are the two or four flat kidney-shaped seeds that we call lima beans.
The seeds come in various colours, but the ones available in Australia are usually the cream and maroon flecked versions.
Most beans are grown during the warmer months from spring through to early autumn. Broad beans are the only beans that are grown from autumn through to spring.
To germinate properly, lima beans need warmer soil than snap beans.
They also need higher temperatures and a longer growing season for a good crop.
Lima bean seeds require soil temperatures of at least 18⁰ Celsius for a minimum of five days to germinate.
They should be planted two weeks after the average date of the last frost.
In temperate and arid areas, sow beans from September until January, In warmer areas-sub-tropical and tropical, sow these beans from August until April, and for cool temperate districts, you have September until the end of December   Lima beans are usually grown as fast growing annuals and should be direct sown or planted out after all the chance of the last frost has passed.

Lima beans are also better at coping with wet, humid conditions than other bean varieties.
Lima beans needs a sturdy trellis because of the way it grows-rather sprawly and vigorous.
Lima beans, like a lot of vegetables like to grow in full sun, in a well drained soil that is pH neutral to alkaline. That’s of course ideal.
These beans tolerate a wide range of soil types too but drainage is essential otherwise they’ll get root rot.
If your soil is boggy, grow them in a mound or raised bed.
A good idea is to add Potash and blood and bone.
The bean seeds are quite large so don’t sow them too close to the surface, or the seeds will dry out.
Sow them at least 2-4 cm deep.
Mulch around your beans thoroughly because beans are shallow rooted and are easily damaged if you’re weeding around them.
Lima bean seeds grow best when you water them deeply after sowing and wait until the first set of true leaves appear before you water again.
Once they’ve grown a bit, if it doesn’t rain, they need about 1cm of water per week before flowering and about double that or 2cm of water every week from flowering through to harvest.
If you don’t five them enough water during this flower period and during pod set, you’ll end up with less beans because the plant will drop the flowers or pods.
The growing period for these beans is 16 weeks, so a little bit longer than other beans
The beans (not the pods) can be eaten fresh, while still white before any colour shows.
They also dry well on the vine to a beautiful speckled red and white bean that can be stored for winter soups and casseroles.
Lima beans also freeze well or can be left on the plant to grow into large, dried seeds which can be used in soups and stews.

TIP:

If you’re having trouble sourcing the seeds of Lima beans, why not buy a packet of dried beans from the supermarket?
These dry lima beans, will need to be soaked in some water for 3 or 4 hours. No more than a day. After you plant the bean, the bean will open up by itself. Very lightly firm down the soil mixture around each bean. Make sure you keep the beans in as much sun as possible.

Why are they good for You?

Did you know that all beans are an excellent source of dietary fibre?

The health benefits of Limas beans outperforms other beans with much higher levels of folate and magnesium.
Lima beans also provide your body with vitamin B6, niacin, they’re a good source of protein- including amino acid and lysine, fibres, iron, and potassium.
Also, lima beans have very little fat.
If you have any questions about growing Lima beans or where to buy the seeds for sowing, just drop us a line

Design Elements

with Louise McDaid Landscape Designer

People like to visit gardens to overseas because without looking down our noses at Australian gardens, some of these gardens are really really big, and really really old.
The size of gardens in England for example that I saw this year, was mind boggling, even awesome. But what can visitors get out of these gardens, because they seem to be just too big, with too much to take in.
Well, you can take inspiration from these gardens if you just select one part of them.
This month, Louise and I are undertaking a trip to a few a these gardens for inspiration.
Listen to this…

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The red border at Hidcote was one fairly small part of the overall garden.
But it was a section that could easily be re-created in any garden, even a native garden.

What did you think of the plant choices? Are you inspired to plant out a few more red plants-red leaved plants that is in your garden. Not bright red, but the deep reds of maples and some of the strappy leaved plants.
If you do, write in and let us know what you planted or send in a photo

 

 

Plant of the Week:

 

NEW RELEASE -dwarf selection of Lemon Scented Tea Tree Lemon, Lime and Bitters.

Lemon, Lime and Bitters  is a mixed drink made with lemonade, lime juice or cordial, and bitters.
When you first look at this new tea tree, you probably won’t be able to say that the drink has anything to do with this plant, but who knows, the secret may yet need to be revealed.

Tea trees are in the Myrtaceae family along with Eucalypts, Corymbias and Melaleucas.

The parent plant of Lemon Lime and Bitters is Leptospermum petersonii or Lemon Scented Tea Tree.

L. petersonii is a rounded shrub to 4 m high by 3 m across. Leaves are narrow-lanceolate, to 4 cm, and strongly lemon-scented.

It’s an upright tree with weeping outer branches.
White flowers, 1.5 cm in diameter, occur in spring and early summer.
Will grow in full sun or partial shade, even for half the day.

Tea trees are generally hardy and will grow in any soil, even soils that are inundated for a while.

You could even say that will withstand neglect for some time and will grow in clay soils that have moderate drainage.

Lemon Lime N Bitters or Ell Ell ‘n Bee leaves are full of citronella oil and it’s covered with white teatree flowers in spring, which the butterflies love.

Moist clay loam or sandy soils in cool temperate to sub tropical climates will suit just fine, and you decide its shape by how little or how much you prune it.

This dwarf selection grows 50cm high and wide.

Sounds a great alternative to low box hedging and quite a bit more colourful too.

I’ve been given a sample and the leaves are nowhere near that bright green of Buxus.

More colourful –a sort of greeny-red.

Problems with Tea Trees Solved.

Frost tender when young so cover with fleece or protect with a screen when they're young.

It’s said they have a problem with webbing caterpillars.

I have this problem in my Melaleuca “Claret Tops.” Webbing caterpillars feed on the foliage of most of the small-leaf species, matting the leaves together with webbing and filling it with their droppings.
What can then happen is all the leaves can drop off, ie defoliation in small plants and may even cause death.
The easiest and safest means of control, if the problem is found early enough, is to remove the mass of grubs, webbing and frass with the fingers and squash it.
Hard pruning the affected area has been my solution.

Pruning of tea trees isn’t necessary, but it can be hard pruned into hedging if you wanted.

After all that, Lemon Lime n Bitters isn’t such a bad name for this colourful shrub. Firstly it has a lemon scented leaf and secondly, the leaves come in three colours foliage, yellow, green and reddish.
Use this mounding plant in rockeries, mass plantings; hedging and low borders. Team it up with Grevillea oxyantha, or any other small leaved grevillea, like G. speciosa, or Firesprite, and enjoy the result.