Settle Down With A Garden

WHAT'S COOKING

Talking about the First Settlers in Australia with Gastronomer Jacqui Newling from Sydney Living Museums.
Early Australian settlers had barely survived the trip from England and were faced with plants, a landscape, a culture and foods that they knew nothing about.
So what did they do?
This is where the What’s Cooking segment comes in.
It’s not so much about what we grow, cook and eat today but about what people grew and ate 1 to 2 centuries ago.

The arrival of the First Fleet with Captain Arthur Phillip who became the first founding Governor.

Aren’t you curious about what went on in the kitchen gardens and kitchens of 100 – 200 years ago?
Was it that much different?
Well, today, we start with a look at what the first settlers ate when they set foot on Australian soil.
There’s a few misconceptions that will be busted so hang on to your hat.
Let’s get started.
PLAY: The First Settlers_2nd September_2015
We know that the first settlers' provisions were salt rations such as preserved meats, salted pork and dried peas that they bought with them, but what did they eat when they landed in Farm Cove?
We also know that the British sent a supply ship the Guardian in 1790, however that ship struck an iceberg of the Cape of Good Hope and lost all the back up supplies that Captain Phillip was expecting.
Fortunately Captain Phillip was pretty shrewd and starting rationing their dwindling supplies even further.


Governor Phillip's house in Sydney Cove. He sailed for London at the end of 1792, citing ill health

The First Fleeters'  all survived pretty much with only one reported death from starvation.
Maybe you’ve been thinking that the first settlers were poor gardeners and didn’t understand the seasons and what would grow in warmer climates.
Not so, as Jacqui says, they were on top of that concept because they picked up seeds and supplies from Teneriffe in Jamaica and from South Africa.
The also experimented with plantings all over what is now greater Sydney-from Pittwater to South Head and Wollongong.
In fact the naval officer at South Head lead by Daniel Southwell were quite proud of their successful veggie garden which as evidenced in their journals.
If you have any questions about the First Settlers, or have some information you’d like to share, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Water chestnuts. Eleocharis dulcis
Do you remember eating your first Chinese meal at a Chinese restaurant or eating Dim Sims when you were quite young?
Did you bite onto something crunchy that wasn’t a vegetable that you were familiar with because it was whitish and round.
Not exactly the same texture as a nut but still crunchy.
This vegetable most likely would’ve been a water chestnut.
The scientific name for Chinese water chestnuts is Eleocharis dulcis, coming from the Greek Eleos (marsh) and Charis (grace).
According to Chinese herbalist, water chestnuts can help sweeten the breath?

Water Chestnuts are a herbaceous perennial sedge like plant that’s popular in Asian cooking and are a tropical member of the sedge family.
The water chestnut is a native of the warm temperate regions of Europe and Asia and tropical Africa and it’s Cantonese name of ‘matai’ means ‘horses hoof’.
In Asia the water chestnut is grown in flooded fields, often in rotation with paddy (rice).
What does it look like?
Water chestnut plant is rush-like with upright tubular stems or culms, 1 to 1.5 metres tall.
Below ground grows a number of edible corms at the ends of rhizomes.
The plant spreads by these creeping rhizome that, making extra sucker plants all summer long.
The corms are plenty and mahogany brown looking a bit like gladioli corms. For those of you familiar with horse chestnuts, it’s called a water chestnut because it does look the regular chestnut in shape and colour.
These corms are sweet and crisp with a white flesh and nutty taste.
They can be cooked as a vegetable to give a contrasting texture to many dishes or just eat them fresh and raw or lightly steamed or sautéed for salads.
Why grow it?
Did you know that until 1993, this delicacy was only available in cans in parts of Australia ?
During canning, the antibiotic called ‘puchine’ is destroyed, but fresh corms remain crisp and keep that ‘puchine’ after cooking.
That’s why Chinese people regard fresh water chestnuts as superior to the canned product.
The flavour has been described as a blend between apple, chestnut and coconut.
A single corm is said to be able to produce 100 corms within a growing season.

How to sow?
Water chestnuts can be grown in a pond, Styrofoam veggie box or any container that holds water, even an old bathtub or a salvaged water tank cut in half if you have it.
Even though water chestnuts originate in monsoonal areas water chestnuts will grow in most areas of Australia.
They can grow in much cooler, even cold climates, but they are frost tender when not dormant and they need at least a 6-7-month frost-free growing season.
Frosts won’t damage the corms if they’re dormant.
 In colder areas, grow your water chestnuts in a greenhouse or poly tunnel or an old bath tub on your back verandah.
Better still, water chestnuts can be grown in hydroponics using buckets and using a suitable media such as perlite plus vermiculite.
When to Sow?
Plant the corms in Spring, pointy side up and about 10 cm deep into friable soil preferably rich in organic matter and course sand.
After you planted your corm cover it with more sand or fine gravel so hold it in place when you flood it with water.

Corms will sprout when the soil temperature gets above 13⁰ C.
Keep the plants moist until the shoots are about 20cm tall, then fill the container up with water until it's about 10cm deep, with the tips of the leaves just showing.
As the plant grows, keep topping up the water until it’s about 1 metre deep.
Leave the container flooded at that depth for about 6-7 months, then drain off the water in late autumn.
When to pick?
Leave the soil moist but not wet for another month or so until the shoots die down, but don’t pick them just yet.
There’s a post-maturing stage of 3 weeks where the corms harden and sweeten.
If you do it before this, your water chestnuts will taste floury.
TIP: Never plant your corms too close together, because the root systems will get entangled & make harvesting a nightmare.
TIP:
A mail order aquaculture plant supplier (Nick romanovsky of Dragonfly Aquatics,) recommends the “Hon Matai” Chinese variety for its productivity and large size of corms, whilst it grows well even in cooler climates.
Related Australian varieties, Eleocharis acita and E. Sphacelata, commonly called Spike Rush, are widespread, have taller stems, up to 1.5m, which provide good bird shelter and the corms are a favourite food of water birds, who may also nibble off the chestnut stems.
Where do you get it?
Mail order or online suppliers or fresh from food retailers between June and September.
How to eat them?
The water chestnuts should be first washed and peeled.
They can be eaten raw and slices can be added to salads (even fruit salads) or clear soups.
They need only brief boiling or frying (as in a stir fry), can be added to any stew or curry, be used as stuffing for poultry, made into flour, used as thickener, or minced and made into puddings, pickled in vinegar, or crystallized in sugar or honey as a sweet.
So why is it good for us?
Water chestnuts are high in sugars (2.5%) and also contain about 18% starch, 4.7% protein and less than 1% fibre.
With carbohydrate levels at 30% and protein 1.5%, they are a nutritious food source.
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Designing a garden in New York state with Landscape Designer Glenice Buck. : www.glenicebuckdesigns.com.au
This series of garden design is about a garden in New York State and is situated very near to the Hudson river that also flows through New York.
Today’s challenges are to discover what plants including trees are growing there.

Looking through the trees at the south point. Photo Glenice Buck

First thing that needed doing was to walk around the 2 acre property's perimeter and assess the vegetation, even identify the trees.
Not so easy when they’ve lost their leaves.
It seemed overgrown, like a forest of trees and dense undergrowth.
Also, what environmental problems that the garden faces, and not just the weather but things that might be on the move.
Let’s find out some more by listening to the podcast.
 The

The climate zone where Glenice has designed the garden has temperatures down to -20^0C in winter with 40 inches or about a metre of snow on average, and in summer up to 30⁰ C.

Looking towards the north point of the property in New York State. photo: Glenice Buck

After lots of walking around and taking photos, other landscape design essentials were garnered such as sun patterns, drainage, aspect, soil types, weeds and the four legged pests, the Deer.
Certainly big extremes of temperate which we don’t get here in Australia.
Still, plants that can cope with such extremes can cope with the climate in Australia as well with the exception that they won’t go so well in the tropics and sub-tropics.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

with Karen Smith editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner www.thegreengallery.com.au


You don’t see too many Melaleuca's which are tough and hardy plants being promoted in nursery, garden centres or even gardening magazines.
Why then have they got this poor image?
Perhaps it’s the small narrow leaves that don’t have the visual impact of Grevilleas?
The flowers are pretty showy so let’s find out what it is.


Melaleuca linarifolia - a large tree

Melaleuca linarifolia or “snow  is in Summer” Myrtaceae family along with Eucalypts of course.

This large tree is found naturally along the east coast of New South Wales and southern Queensland usually along watercourses and swamps.

The habitat ranges from heath and dry sclerophyll forest  to moist or swampy ground.

Known as Snow-in-Summer, or Narrow-leaved Paperbark, and naturally too big for most gardens.

Did you know that Melaleuca comes from the Greek melas meaning black and leukos meaning white, referring to black marks on the white trunks of some species due to fire

Also the meaning of linariifolia is drawing a similiarity to leaves in the genus Linaria.

So what do you do if you like the flowers"

This is where the dwarf versions of Melaleuca linarifolia become interesting.

Let's find out more by listening to the podcast.

If you’re area’s climate is really dry, then Melaleuca’s will still grow there, but they won’t grow so well.
That’s because Melaleucas are much better when the soil is boggy, or swampy, or has temporary inundation.
They also won’t go to well if there’s root competition from other trees because that will make the ground much drier for them as well.

A note to gardens in cooler climates, quite a few melaleucas, including these newer dwarf cultivars, clearly dislike frosts down to -7⁰C or lower, especially in their early years.
Melaleuca linarifolia “Mini Me” grow to 0.3m x  1m and M. linarifolia “Purple Tops" or Claret Tops.
This last one has new purple or claret growth.
Grows  to 1-2m.
Mine has yet to flower. But is supposed to flower in Spring.A dwarf, evergreen shrub that naturally forms a round dense ball. The new growth is smoky bronze red and emits a rich aroma when crushed.The best place to grow your miniature Melaluecas is in full sun and they can take most soil types. Will also grow in dappled shade.
Melaleuca linarifolia Mini Mel grows to 0.3 x 1 metre.
A dwarf, evergreen shrub that naturally forms a round dense ball. The new growth is smoky bronze red and emits a rich aroma when crushed.

 

 



From New York to Candy Kisses.

SOIL SAVVY

Q and A with Horticultural Scientist Penny Smith
Probably most gardeners agree that compost is good for the garden.
Making your own compost is cheap and you get a bit of exercise doing it.
But, is there a right way or wrong way to compost?

Can it get too hot or too cold?
Is there a right temperature that compost should get to?
Yes, there is, because the bacteria that breaks down compost and makes the nutrients available for your plants, dies off if the compost heap is too hot.
If your heap is too cold, the bacteria also dies off because the bacteria need a little bit of temperature.
All these questions are answered, and more, so let’s get started on  composting.
Listen to the podcast audio to hear all the tips.

If you’re not convinced about composting, then think on this.

Healthy plants with healthy soil

Compost is free plant food it increases soil health and soil structure, improves drainage and helps the water holding capacity of your soil.
That means your soil won’t dry out so easily because it’s holding the moisture longer.
But you can't be in a hurry because improve your soil structure using compost will take a couple of years not a couple of weeks.
You do have to aerate your compost about once a week in the warmer months because you don't want your compost to spoil and become anaerobic. The compost is then not that good for your plants.
Finally, most things can go in compost, except fat or oil, and bones and meats because they attract vermin.
Also non bio degradable materials like plastics.
These take a few thousand years to decompose.
If you have any questions about composting, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Celtuce 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.
What is Celtuce exactly? 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?
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.
Why grow Celtuce?

Because you can use all parts of it, plus it’s easy to grow.
When to Sow?
Lettuce can be planted all year round in most areas of Australia.
But for Celtuce or Asparagus Lettuce, sow the seeds, in September through to December in temperate zones.
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.
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!
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.
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 and promotes good liver function.
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  which relaxes the nerves but not upsetting digestion.
As a general rule, the darker green the leaves, the more nutritious the salad green. For example, romaine or watercress have seven to eight times as much beta-carotene, and two to four times the calcium, and twice the amount of potassium as iceberg lettuce. 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!
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

talking with landscape designer Glenice Buck about designing a garden in upstate New York.
If you were a landscape designer, would you fly all the way to America just to design someone’s garden?

Surely there’s plenty of American landscape designers who could do the job?
But, what if you were offered the job and thought well, it’s an exciting opportunity to discover new plants, and learn about a new landscape, even if it’s thousands of miles away.
So why would we be interested?


photo Glenice Buck

Some listeners might live in just that type of climate and want to know what sort of plants will grow there that they can try and source.
The garden is a 2 acre block just out of the little hamlet called Germantown.
Germantown is approximately a 2 and 1/2 hour drive north of New York city in Columbia County which forms part of the Hudson Valley. 
Germantwon is located on the east bank of the Hudson river with the Catskill Mountains to the west and the Berkshire mountains to the east. 
The house is in fact a converted 115 year old barn.

photo Glenice Buck

The block of land the Glenice has to design for is  boomerang shape. The trees growing on it are two old Gleditsias, Magnolias, lilcas, pink oak, white oak and shaggy barked hickories. 
Let’s kick off this new series, “ the garden at the barn-designing a garden in New York State.

 
We know where this garden is now, and over the next few weeks you’ll hear the story unfold, what trials and tribulations were encountered and how it ended up.
You’ll also hear about what plants worked, no gum trees of course, or Bottle Brushes or Banksias.
So what are the plants that grow in New York State?
You’ll hear about those too.
 

PLANT OF THE WEEK

with Karen Smith editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner www.thegreengallery.com.au
Don’t you just love the way garden marketing gurus name new plants.
Take last week’s Pelargoniums. We had Big Red and Big pink.
This week we have Hemizygia Candy Kisses or Mauve Magic.
Sounds more like a sweet, or a lollipop, perhaps even an energy drink, probably not that, but it’s a plant?
But it’s not just the marketers that are having a field day with this plant.
The botanical name is a doozy too.
In any case, you’ll want to have one of these that’s for sure.
Let’s find out what it is.


 Hemizygia Candy Kisses is an attractive, upright, perennial shrub that produces a delightful display of pink flowers that are highlighted by its stunning variegated foliage.
Short days initiate flowering that would mean it flowers in winter.

The flowers are produced in sprays of flowers which are prominently held above the foliage.

Candy Kisses can be grown for its flowers or foliage.
For best results plant in a sunny to partly shaded position in moist well-drained soil.
Prefers a warm, frost free position.
Spent flowers should be removed after flowering.
An ideal garden specimen well suited to cottage gardens, containers and tubs or as a general feature plant.
Grows to 1m high x 80cm wide.
You would buy this plant just for the leaves, especially around Christmas, because the leaves are that dark green with cream edges and almost look like variegated holly.
Without the prickliness of course, and the stems are sort of succulent.
Beats hollies any time because it will flower with a spectacular show although flowering is initiated by short day length so that means it flowers in winter.
Still, the leaves give all year round interest.
Want one? Yes, what gardener wouldn’t want something new.

Go Sharp with Big Red Flowers

WILDLIFE IN FOCUS

Talking about the Brown Treecreeper with Consulting Ecologist, Kurtis Lindsay.
A little while ago, you may have heard about a bird on this show that creeps up and down trees.


Image Chris Tzaros

The brown treecreeper, is the biggest treecreeper in Australia and is more arid adapted than its cousin.
About the size of a Pee Wee, the brown treecreeper has shades of brown with white flecks and paler eyebrows with a little black mask on its eyes almost like a zorro mask.
It also has hidden orange
Unlike the White throated treecreeper that always stays on the trees, the brown treecreeper can be found not only foraging in trees but also on the ground. They peck and probe for insects, mostly ants, amongst the litter, tussocks and fallen timber, and along trunks and lateral branches In fact up to 80% of the diet is comprised of ants.
Let’s find out more about this interesting bird

Some birds are opportunistic so that when they lose their habitat they can adapt to living amongst humans in big cities and towns.

Image-Chris Tzaros

Others are more shy and loss of habitat, fragmentation of woodland and forest remnants which isolates populations leads to local extinctions.
Also the ongoing degradation of habitat, particularly the loss of tree hollows and fallen timber from firewood collection and overgrazing is another major threat to these birds.
Fortunately, people are understanding the value of having trees on their property.
The critical factor thous is to leave fallen wood and trees as well.
Did you know that this treecreeper has an amazing diet?
Apart from ants making up 80% of the diet they also eat other invertebrates (including spiders, insects larvae, moths, beetles, flies, hemipteran bugs, cockroaches, termites and lacewings) making up the remaining percentage; Plus they like the nectar from Mugga Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) and paperbarks, and sap from a eucalypt are also eaten, along with lizards and food scraps.
Young birds are fed ants, insect larvae, moths, craneflies, spiders and butterfly and moth larvae.
If you have any questions about Brown Tree Creepers, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

BOTANICAL NAME: Turmeric or Curcuma longa is a tropical rhizome that looks great in the garden and is a member of the ginger family.
Turmeric is native to India and has been around since 500 BCE where it’s an important part of Ayurvedic medicine. Ayurveda translates to “science of life.”
In India, inhaling fumes from burning turmeric is supposed to alleviate congestion, also turmeric juice aids with the healing of wounds and bruises, and turmeric paste was applied to all sorts of skin conditions – from smallpox and chicken pox to blemishes and shingles.
But it’s not only medicine where Turmeric gets its cachet.
In Hindu religion there’s a wedding day tradition in which a string, dyed yellow with turmeric paste, is tied around the bride’s neck by her groom. This necklace, indicates that the woman is married and capable of running a household.
You may have seen Buddhist monks with their saffron or yellowy coloured robes.
This is where the natural colouring properties of Turmeric comes in.
Not only is it used to colour Buddhist robes, but has been used to dye clothing and thread for centuries.
The whole plant is edible; the rhizome or roots are boiled, dried and ground up to produce turmeric powder, the leaves make a wrap for steamed fish, and even the flowers can be eaten as an exotically beautiful vegetable, like lettuce.
You probably didn’t realise that you’ve been eating Turmeric every day because it’s used as a food dye in mustard, margarine, chicken soup or just about anywhere else a golden colour is called for.
Sometimes sold as Hidden Ginger, you need to be aware that there are different kinds of hidden ginger, and only the rhizomes of Curcuma longa, Curcuma zedoaria and Curcuma aromatica should be grown as spices.
So why Grow it?
Did you know that if you make your own Turmeric powder from the rhizomes, it won’t be as bright as the processed store bought version?
Because the root can harbor mould and foodborne pathogens, turmeric is typically irradiated to kill pathogenic bacteria.
Irradiation also creates a brighter powder, but if you don’t want irradiated Turmeric, either buy organic powder of grow your own.
What does Turmeric plant look like?
The leaves are about a metre long, sheath like and a lime green. Much like the leaves of a Canna Lily.
The flowers are pure white and extend upwards on floral spikes, up to 20cm long. Suitable for picking too.
How to Grow Turmeric
Turmeric is a sub-tropical plant that needs temperatures of at least 20⁰-30⁰C to survive.
The plant will grow well in both tropical and temperate regions of Australia, but will die down in the temperate areas over winter and return the following year.
Turmeric is a rhizome so like Jerusalem Artichokes, and Ginger, you plant them in the soil when the rhizomes are dormant.
If the plant is stressed by drought or too much sun, the leaves will hang limp and develop burnt tips.
Plant turmeric in September or October, into a warm soil.
The rhizomes should be planted 5-7 cm deep.
It’s often planted on ridges, usually about 30-45 cm apart and with 15-30 cm between plants.This is between Autumn and Spring.You might even find turmeric tubers growing at your greengrocers later in the year, otherwise you can order them online.
Turmeric won’t cope with cold conditions and if you live in districts where you receive frost or very cold temperatures, you can of course, grow it in a large pot in a sheltered location, either indoors or in a glasshouse.
Take it outside when the danger of frost has passed.
To grow Turmeric in the ground, it’ll handle anything you throw at it, re-sprouting from drought and coping with boggy soils.
Probably because where it naturally grows, the average rainfall is between 1000 and 2000mm a year.
Gardening books and magazines will tell you that it requires moist and well- drained soil, but it grows just as well in clay.
Turmeric can grow in full sun, but only if the soil remains constantly wet. Otherwise, grow it in dappled shade or at least have mid-day shade.
Your Turmeric will be ready in about 8 months because then the plant will be mature enough to harvest the root for food.
Usually when the leaves turn yellow and disappears, is the best time to dig the plant up and harvest the root
How to make turmeric powder Version 1
Break up your rhizome into small pieces and dry it under mesh but in full sun until it’s quite crisp. About 10 days.
If you have one of those dehydrator thingies, that’s even better.
Use a coffee mill or spice grinder. Sieve it and then grind it again so it’s quite fine. Store in airtight bottles.
It should last for 12 months.
Homemade Turmeric has a much better flavour
How to make turmeric powder Version 2-faster process
First clean the rhizomes thoroughly, then boil rhizomes for 45 min.
When they've cooled you can peel off the skins.
After that dry in shade for around a week.
When the turmeric is dry and crisp break up the rhizomes with a kitchen basher, like what you would use to tenderize meats.
Finally, grind the rhizomes using a mortar and pestle, or a food processor
Why are the good for you?
You don’t have to make the powder but instead use it as you would fresh ginger.
How about a fruit and veg Turmeric smoothie, or Turmeric pickle?
For sore throats, add 1 teaspoon of Tumeric to your favourite milk, and heat. Add some honey to sweeten. Drink this before retiring for bed.
If you had 1 ounce of 28 grams of Turmeric you would have 26% of your daily needs in manganese and 16% in iron.
It's also an excellent source of fibre, vitamin B6, potassium, and healthy amounts of vitamin C and magnesium.
But you don’t need to eat that much.
Even a small dose has health benefits such as an improved ability to digest fats, reducing gas and bloating, decreased congestion, and improved skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne. Believe it or not.
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!
 

TOOL TIME

talking with Tony Mattson, General Manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au

Are you in the middle of winter pruning right now?

What’s the state of your gardening secateurs?
Do they open easily, are the blades sharp? You know they’re sharp if they make a clean cut through a plant’s stem without leaving a little tear behind.
Almost as if you only cut through part of the stem and then pulled off the remaining part.
If they’re not sharp, those cuts that you make on your plants will end up with bruising and tearing on the stems leading to dieback and fungal disease problems.
Listen to the podcast for all the tips.














You don't have to sharpen your secateurs and other gardening tools every day or every time you use them.
Sharpening takes off a bit of metal and reduces the blade.
Only sharpen your much loved secateurs when they don't cut cleanly anymore.
That can be best described when a piece of stem cuts only part way and the rest is torn.
It's worth remembering that these kind of cuts on plants are entry points for disease such as fungal dieback.
Oilstones are things of the past.
The better method is to use either a diamond stone or a tungsten-carbide stick.
TONY'S TIP:
For bypass secateurs, sharpen the outside of the blade. 
Start on the inside of the blade and go outwards when sharpening.
For anvil secateurs, sharpen both sides.
To quote a long time gardening presenter on Gippsland FM, the jobs not done until the tools are put away.
 

PLANT OF THE WEEK

with Karen Smith  editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, garden nursery owner www.thegreengallery.com.au
Geraniums
With so many amazing plants in garden centres today, it can be easy to forget some of the most obvious choices.

And if you’ve been to England or Europe over the warmer months you would see the most amazing hanging baskets of Geraniums flowering beautifully. With the recent geranium revival, it’s time to give the humble geranium a look with a fresh pair of eyes, especially some newer varieties that make the flowers of old seem small.
Let’s find out about these newer varieties and listen to the podcast.

Firstly let’s get out the way the confusion people in general have about Geraniums.
Geraniums most people see in hanging baskets, especially in Europe and the UK, are actually not Geraniums, they’re Pelargoniums.
Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants which includes about 200 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly known as geraniums
Confusingly, Geranium is the correct botanical name of a separate genus of related plants often called cranesbills
True geraniums are more fragile looking, and couldn’t cope with nearly as much sun in Australia, as these Pelargoniums.
Now for a bit of history.
Supposedly, the first species of Pelargonium known to be cultivated was P. triste, a native of South Africa.
Most species bred today originate from South Africa.
In 1631, the English gardener John Tradescant the elder bought seeds from Rene Morin in Paris and introduced the plant to England.
Did you know John Tradescant’s tomb is in Lambeth garden museum in London?

I went there in 2013.
He’s important because together with his son, he went plant collecting and bought back lots of plants that are used in gardens still today.
I’m not sure if the weed Tradescantia is his discovery.
The name Pelargonium was introduced by Johannes Burman in 1738, from the Greek, pelargós (stork), because the seed head looks like a stork's beak.
Pelargonium leaves are usually alternate, and palmately lobed or pinnate, often on long stalks, and sometimes with light or dark patterns.

Difference between Geraniums and Pelargoniums.

From the Geranium and Pelargonium society of WA
True Geraniums are known as Cranesbills, which refers to the shape of the seedpod.


Geranium Big Burgundy

GERANIUMS HAVE:
five petals that are the same size and shape as each other;
ten fertile stamens;
seed pods with 'curls' that act like a catapult to hurl the ripened seeds away from the parent plant;
many thin stems attached to fibrous roots;
need of cool climates so most are difficult to grow in Perth's heat.
A pelargonium flower   Pelargoniums were so named because the seedpods resemble the beak of a stork. (Pelar means stork).
PELARGONIUMS HAVE:
five petals, of which the upper two differ in shape and size from the lower three (more noticeable on the species or 'original') ;
ten stamens, but not all are fertile;
seed pods have a feathered end that enables them to float on the breeze to find a place to grow;
succulent, thick stems that hold moisture to enable them to withstand drought.

Geranium Big Pink

Geranium Big Red

Those big Geraniums of old are called Regal Geraniums and grew in many a country garden where they sometimes lined the long driveways alongside other old world shrubs.
They had a particular place and you either liked or hated them.
As with all Geraniums, old and new, they keep a lush appearance in some of the hottest, driest conditions, are elegant in pots and can be the mainstay of low-maintenance gardens.
These and are showy and hardy.