grow | dill

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Some people only know dill as an insult, yet dill is nothing to hide.  In fact, it’s delicious, both as foliage and as a seed for flavouring.  It is a little difficult to grow, with a tendency in warmer climates to flower then seed prematurely and leave you bitter, less palatable leaves.

The trick is to only sow it from seeds directly into the soil, rather than transplant it from seedling, as the seeds seem to take better, and any transplant shock or stress will trigger it to bolt into bloom.  In summer, so your dill seeds in a partially protect area, as heat stress can also cause it to flower early.

It’s fast too, with a plant going from seed to maturity in about 8 weeks, so stagger your seed sowing by a few months so that you have successive crops of foliage germinating and handy for the kitchen.  Keep feeding with liquid fertiliser every 2-3 weeks, and pinch prune out any flowers as they appear, unless you are wanting the dill seeds.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | rocket

By MEREDITH KIRTON

For many people the dream of having salad greens ready to pick is an everyday reality, and one of the easiest of all to grow is rocket, known botanically as Eruca sativa but also known commonly as Arugula and Italian Cress, as it is naturally from the Mediterranean.

This fast growing, nutty flavoured leaf has a little peppery overtone, making it a delicious addition to your salad.  To grow rocket, you can either so seeds direct into place or buy ready sprouted seedlings, but be careful not to over cover them; 2mm of earth is enough. Seed successive batches every 2 weeks so you have continual supply and feed regularly liquid fertiliser so they grow vigorously and are not bitter. They need at least 4 hours sun to develop full flavour, and will tolerate full sun.  In the heat of summer they are prone to bolting, or going to seed quickly themselves, but they readily self seed, ensuring that new rocket plants will quickly fill up any holes. If you don’t want this to happen, cut them back hard and they will reshoot with a fresh batch of edible leaves.

There is also another similar tasting plant called wild rocket, or Duplotaxis tenufolia, which has more deeply indented leaves and a more complex flavour.  Growing conditions and treatments are the same.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | carrots

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Carrots (Daucus carota) may seem to be the most ordinary of vegetables; the stock standard for meat and three veg, but, what most people don’t realize is just how wrong that assumption is.  In fact, carrots come in many shapes and sizes, from round, radish-like shapes to white, purple, yellow and red colours.  They were, in fact, selectively bred to be orange, by the Dutch, in honour of their Royal family, whose colours are such. If one digs a little deeper, and looks at the heirloom or old fashioned types, you can still get seed stock of these fascinating relics
from yesteryear.

Carrots can basically be sown all year round, and the trick is to sow them directly into the ground or in pots where they will be grown, as they don’t transplant at all well.  The seed is only fine, so you can mix it with dry sand if you wish to make spacing the seeds a little easier. Cover them very finely with about 1cm more of sand or fine soil, form them down and keep them moist whilst they germinate.  As you pick, harvest them evenly along the row to allow the remaining carrots to fatten.  It takes carrots about 12 weeks from sowing to be ready.  Staggering your planting, waiting a month between rows will allow for more even production.

Another trick with carrots is to make sure that your soil is well prepared, as rocks and clods will force you carrots to stop their taper and fork.  Another problem can be over fertilising, as too rich a soil can have the same effect.  Generally carrots grown where a high yielding crop like tomatoes have been will be ideal, as these will have stripped some of the excess elements out already and make it perfect for a carrots.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | parsley

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Parsley actually has quite a few forms, from common curled parsley that most people recognize as the garnish from butchers windows of prawn cocktails in the ‘70s right through to the lesser known types like French Parsley, which is also known as Chervil.  All are actually related to the carrot and parsnip, which is no surprise to those of you who know of Hamburg parsley, the cultivar that develops a carrot like white root with a delicate parsley flavour.  All parsleys can actually have both the seed, root, stalk and leaf eaten, so long as they are washed properly.

In vogue today is Continental or Flat leafed parsley, which is also known as Italian parsley.  It features in recipes like tabouleh and has a stronger flavour and leaf less prone to wilting. Coriander, or Chinese parsley, is also very popular, probably because of the increase in Asian food, and it lends an almost citrus-like freshness to foods.

The trick with growing all types is to sow seed directly into position.  None of this family really likes transplanting, and the stress of doing so can trigger plants to prematurely “bolt” or go to seed. To encourage healthy, vigorous growth, plant in full sun in well drained soil, and feed every 3 weeks with a liquid feed like seaweed solution or fish emulsion.

Actually, one of the easiest ways to always have a supply of parsley is actually to let plants mature a seed naturally, that way they will pop up when the climatic situation is perfect.  Also, the flowering heads of this whole family are great at attracting beneficial insects to the garden, which in turn will help keep your plant attacking insects in check.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | peas

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Peas (Pisum sativum) are perhaps the most commonly eaten green vegetable, but mostly from the frozen food section of your supermarket.  The shame of this is not only how delicious fresh peas are, but also because growing peas is one of the kindest things you can do for your garden’s soil.  And that doesn’t even touch on the socially enriching time that shelling peas together around the kitchen table can be!

Peas seem to celebrate spring.  They are fast growing, very pretty with either white or purple flowers, nutritious and can be eaten fresh or cooked in a wide range of cuisines from salads to stir fries or with the Sunday roast.  Even the new growth is edible and peas can even be sown on a windowsill for pea sprouts fresh year round.

Peas are normally sown in autumn or winter, but can be sown into early spring in cold areas like Tasmania and even into summer in areas where it doesn’t get too hot.  You plant they seeds directly where they grow every 5cm or so and then gently firm them down into the soil.  Dwarf peas don’t need any support so are ideal for pots and hanging baskets, but taller growing peas will generally need 1.5m tall stakes to help support them, and if possible run this north to south so they get the most sun possible.

Peas take about 8-10 weeks to start cropping, and the more you pick the more you get, so pick regularly.  At the end of your pea season, dig your pea stalks back into the ground and you’ll enrich your soil with not only organic matter, but also nitrogen, as peas have a magical way of using special nodules on their roots to take nitrogen from the air and turn it into a plant useable form.

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grow | leeks

By MEREDITH KIRTON

The onion family has many delicious members, but none more so than leeks the welsh emblem. Their sweet white stalk is the part favoured by cooks, and this is achieved by mounding earth up around their stems as they grow, hense blocking out the sunlight and “blanching” them.
Sow seeds in late summer ready for transplanting in early autumn. Whilst waiting for your seedlings to develop, choose a full sun, free draining position. They do like a rich, organic soil so dig in manure or compost and mulch well. Replant these seedlings into a trench and backfill, so beginning the blanching process. Every few weeks as the leeks grow, mound more earth around their stems. After 4-5 months your leeks will be ready to start harvesting.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | fennel

By MEREDITH KIRTON

There are a few types of Fennel, but the one that gets most chefs excited is the form that develops and swollen root just above the ground called Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. azorium).  The foliage herb doesn’t do this at all, and in fact can be considered a weed as it self seeds very easily, popping up along the roadside.  There is also a less easily seeding purple version of this herb, which looks particularly beautiful in the garden with its bronze feathery fronds adding a wonderful foliage contrast in the garden.

All types are perennial and smell distinctly of aniseed.  Known as finnicchio in Italy, it is popular as a vegetable both cooked and raw. It’s even delicious served as a young bulb with a cheese platter, to be sliced like apple as an accompaniment to hard cheeses.

Planting time for Florence Fennel varies depending on your climate. Pop in seeds in spring in colder areas, but in autumn in warm and tropical areas. To get a white heart, mulch over with straw, or hill with earth, then lift approximately 6 months later, or when the bulbs are tight and white, but not too large and fibrous.  The purple can be planted at any time, but needs to be protected from frost whilst small.  Over watering can cause rot, but otherwise this plant is relatively trouble free.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS