grow | nectarine

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Nectarines and Peaches (Prunus persica) are one of the quintessential summer fruits, with the season running from late October right through to April, and a real glut coming onto the market around December/January.  What many people don’t realise is just how easy peaches are to grow, or how beautiful they can be… They can be grown in many areas of Australia, as the varieties available range from tropical selections (that cope with the heat) right through to cooler temperate varieties. They also can be bought in dwarf varieties, suitable for small gardens and pots, sold as Trixzie® grow about 1.5m x 1.5m. Their fruit is full sized, despite their diminutive statue.  They can also be espaliered to be able to grown along walls and in narrow spaces, or kept as a beautiful small tree. Another idea is to plant more than one type in the same hole, known as duo and trio planting, or grow multi grafted plants to allow for a few different types, and on the one plant. Known as fruit salad trees with these multi-grafts it is possible nowadays to have the one tree bear a white fleshed peach, yellow fleshed peach and a nectarine all on the same bush!

Nectarines and peaches also have the added bonus of being self fertile, which means that they don’t need another variety to still be able to cross pollinate and set fruit, which can be a problem in the back yard situation for some other fruit tree.  The biggest problem you will face is likely to be the birds, who, just like you, love the juicy sweet flesh but will also eat them greener, ruining the crop.  Nets are essential for keeping them out of reach.

Peaches also get fruit fly in some areas of Australia, so you will need to be vigilant for this as the fruit ripens. Normally planted in winter when they can be purchased bare rooted and the range is widest and cheapest.  They can be bought year round though if potted, and like a full sun position and are quite hardy, but don’t like being water logged so you will need to ensure that the soil drains will.  Dig a hole, fill it empty with water and check that it drains away completely in 10 minutes.  If it’s acting like a bucket, build up your planting level to above the ground in either a mound or raised bed, to ensure drainage is adequate. They will take about 3 years before they bear reliably, and need particular training to keep the bearing.  To do this, each winter remove any branches that grow inwards, and shorten the remaining branches, all the time creating an open vase like shape, just like you do with rose bushes but on a much bigger scale.  Also watch that you remove suckers, or the shoots that appear below the bud union, as they appear as these can overbear your plant and have no guarantee of being a tasty fruit…they are just chosen for their disease resistance and vigour as an understock. Each winter, check your plant for scale insects and spray with a suitable copper spray at bud swell to stop the disease peach leaf curl attacking
your plants.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | ginger

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Native to Asia and India, it is used in curries, stir fries, sweets, candied and of course, made into a fabulous thirst quenching beverage. To grow ginger, you can just obtain a locally grown rhizome from your fruit and vegetable market, and then cut it up into chunks, each with an eye, for regrowing and plant 30cm apart.  You can also buy setts (small rhizomes) from many mail order companies that are certified disease free.

As it’s a tropical plant, you will need to find a frost free position, and even then its best planted in late spring after the soil has warmed up. Make sure the soil is well drained and well watered, and enriching with manure will help your plants grow throughout the 8 months or so it takes them from planting to yield time.  You will know it’s time to harvest
your ginger when the leaves die off in autumn.  At this time you can dig up the whole clump, or simply cut it back and dig up a few rhizomes at a time from the side of the clump.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | edible flowers

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Many of you have probably eaten flowers without even realising. There are so many edible flowers that can be included in your cooking or used to garnish or decorate. The most popular would probably be globe artichokes, which of course are an edible flower bud in the thistle family. Other edible buds include cloves, which are the famous spice used to scent deserts and curries, and Rosella, which is actually an Australian native hibiscus that us commonly seen in syrups that, when added to a glass of champagne, turn a bubbles into an even greater celebration.

For salads, try popping in some nasturtium flowers or  English marigold (Calendula) which should not be confused with French marigold (Tagetes) which is poisonous! Chive flowers also make a pretty addition.

For cakes and sweets, borage, violets, roses, pineapple sage, rosemary, lavender and dianthus are all suitable.

Flowers like these are great grown in the kitchen garden to help pretty it up. They like full sun and free draining soil, and for best results, trim off any faded flowers and feed with a complete plant food every 12 weeks or so.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | parsnips

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Whilst parsnips today may be confused by some as “white carrots” there was a time not so long ago in the middle ages when carrots would never have featured on a good British feasting table, such was the high ranking status of the now humble parsnip. Making a comeback to the table, however, the parsnips sweetness and versatility is finally being recognised again.

To grow them, the best way is to plant out seeds.  Dig over you garden bed a few weeks earlier with well rotted manure or blood and bone, then soak
some of the small, flaky seeds overnight in water to aid in their germination.  Run a string line or use a stake flat on the ground to make
your straight line, and sow your seeds about 15-20cm apart – you can always thin out small parsnips every second plant as they successfully
germinate and grow. Apart from regular water, full sun and free draining soil, the thing you next need to have in spades is patience, as 14-16 weeks is not unusual for a decent sized root to develop.  To harvest, simply put your garden fork own beside the plant and gently lever to loosen the soil, then pull.
Storage for more than a few weeks is best by simply leaving your parsnips in the ground, bearing in mind that frosts only make the roots sweeter.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | oranges

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Few backyard fruit trees are as giving as citrus.  An all seasons tree, a well cared for orange tree looks great year round, with white, fragrant  spring blossom, glossy evergreen leaves and the stunning globes of glowing  fruits in winter.  They also don’t take long to start bearing fruit, with most varieties producing after 2-3 years, and they have the added bonus of being self-fertile, so they don’t need a mate in order to set fruit, just the birds and the bees to do their trick!

Choosing the type of orange that most suits you depends on what you’re likely to do with the fruit.  For juicing, the best type is Valencia, as
it’s juicy, but for eating, most people prefer the Navel, which is seedless and sweeter, and known for its belly button like indentation.
There are also sweeter still blood oranges, which have a red tinge to the flesh.  Most types grow 4m or so tall, but you can get all these grafted
onto dwarfing rootstocks, called ‘flying dragon’ which normally keeps them about 1/3 smaller than they would naturally grow.  These in particular,  are useful for growing in pots.

Oranges love a sunny, well drained position.  It’s particularly important to regularly feed your citrus trees, as they have hearty appetites for
nitrogen, to keep their leaves green and fresh, but shortages of magnesium and manganese can also cause leave yellowing. Also potassium is needed for fruit and flower set, and regular moisture supplies too as any drought conditions can cause them to jettison their crop.

Pests to watch out for include the spines citrus bug, the bronze orange bug (known as stink bug) and aphids and scales.  Citrus leaf miner too can
cause problems.  All these can be kept in check by regular sprays of horticultural grade oil sprays (like Pest Oil) from late spring to late autumn.  This is a safe way of pest control as the oil doesn’t contain any poison.

Harvest oranges any time after they have coloured up, but waiting till after a light frost tends to sweeten their flavour.  Extreme cold will kill citrus trees, so protection from heavy frosts is also needed.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | jerusalem artichoke

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Growing these sunflower like plants is so easy the problem is normally not how to grow them but how to control them!  The will thrive in any free draining soil and take frosts, droughts and even partial shade, throwing their flowers 3m to the heavens above most if their neighbours. Native to North America where Indians frequently cultivated them, the tubers are very versatile being able to be eaten cooked or raw.  Plant these out in spring and after they flower in autumn you can dig them up like a potato.  Any tubers left in the ground will reshoot the following spring, or you can store them for replanting in the crisper of your fridge. When planting, make sure you leave some space around them as they can easily overcrowd their neighbours.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | celeriac

By MEREDITH KIRTON

This unusual looking swollen root it a very close cousin of celery, so it’s no surprise that it has a similar flavour to this cooking staple or that it likes similar growing conditions.
The seeds should be sown in spring and planted out late spring early summer for autumn/winter harvests.  They need a well drained position in full sun to taste their best and thrive, and will need about 14 -16 weeks to grow to harvestable size.  Best results are achieved by liquid feeding as well with a soluble organic fertiliser so as liquid blood and bone or seaweed solution.  Space plants about a foot apart and lifts carefully with a fork, trying not to damage this easily discoloured bulb.  Scrub clean and peel before use, and they can be eaten both raw and cooked.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS