Real World Gardener-Horticulture, Gardening, Learning to Grow

KITCHEN GARDEN SEGMENT on REAL WORLD GARDENER radio show Scientific Name: Rungia klossii Common name: Mushroom plant Family: Acanthaceae Origin: New Guinea Rungia klossii is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.6 m x 0.6 m at a medium rate. Soils: Suitable for: light or sandy, medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Habitat: Mushroom plant can grow in semi-shade but not full sun in an Australian summer. It prefers dry or moist soil if grown in the ground otherwise growing in a pot is very successful. Description:The shiny mid green have a yellowish mid-rib. The elliptic leaves are arranged in pairs with adjacent pairs perpendicular to one another (decussate leaf arrangement mush like in a hydrangea). Flowers: Blue flowers that appear in a cluster in ideal positions. proteins.Harvesting: The Mushroom plant can be harvested all year round, but the best is to harvest during the active growth period to provide a bushy growth. Uses: In the kitchen it's used in salads, soups and wok dishes, a small cooking even increases the mushroom aroma. Frosts: Low frosts are tolerated but lead to leaf loss. Fun fact: Higher in protein that actual mushrooms. What is it exactly and why is it called mushroom plant. Let's star with, how do you love your mushrooms?In a risotto, sautéed with scrambled eggs, in soups or salads?Perhaps you don’t like them at all.Here’s a way to enjoy the taste without the texture and it’s all natural. The leaves are somewhat stiff and lightly curled at the tip. Yes, the leaves taste like mushrooms with a crispy texture and nothing more. Rungia klossii: Mushroom plant Mushroom plant Photo: M Cannon So, let’s find out how and why, by listening to the podcast.I've been talking with Corinne Mossati, founder of the gourmantic garden. /https://thegourmanticgarden.com/Corinne's favourite use of the plant is finely chopped into salads for that burst of flavour.Mushroom plant is a perennial that although it grows well in tropical and sub-tropical areas, it needs protection from frost in cooler climates.The best way to grow it there is in a pot, which by the way, has served me well over the years.If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

KITCHEN GARDEN Is Vietnamese mint really a mint? Scientific Name: Persicaria odorata Common Name:Vietnamese mint Family: Polygonaceae True mints botanically speaking have wide spreading underground rhizomes with erect, square and branching stems.The leaves are opposite each other on those square stems, with clusters of small tubular flowers. Ture mints are also in the Lamiaceae family. So what do we make of Vietnamese mint?Perhaps you saw it in the herb section of the garden centre and mistook it to be just like any other mint. Not exactly a real mint and it's also in the same family as rhubarb and buckwheat; the Polygonaceae family. Traditionally, Vietnamese mint is used a lot in Asian cuisine. If you've ever had a laksa, you've probably eaten some Vietnamese mint. What does it look like? It looks similar but different to traditional mint, plus it's a creeping herbaceous perennial. The leaves are very narrow and angular looking often with a chestnut-coloured rounded marking across the dark green leaf. The flowers are quite different to min. Flowers are flat spikes of pale lavender if you're in a warm enough climate for it to flower. Where and How to grow it. It can grow very well outside in summer in non-tropical parts of Australia. Vietnamese mint prefers part-sun and well-drained soil. For those areas with cool to cold winter, bring your Vietnamese mint indoors or under shelter as you would an indoor plant. It grows very well in pots but is frost tender. Let’s find out how to use it in cooking by listening to the podcast. I'm speaking with Corinne Mossati founder of the gourmantic garden website and blog.Also sometimes called Vietnamese coriander and as Corinne mentioned you can make a dipping sauce or even try making pesto with it.If you have any questions why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

TALKING FLOWERS Seasonality of Flowers Vegetables have their season when they’re available fresh and not just out of the cold room where they’ve been for 6 months or more.What about flowers?Many people forget that flowers have their seasons too, after all there are plenty of flowers available all year round. Hellebores-a winter flower Why is that important? It's the same as for vegetables and fruit, if it's not the current season for the flowers, then they're most likely imported.If I asked you what’s the best time of year to buy peonies would you know? What about roses, is there a best time? Have a look at the below suggestions to realise what is actually in season. Winter Flowers Orchids, Vanda, Dendrobium, Cymbidium, Phaleanopsis, Hellebores. Jonquils, Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths, Daphne (pictured.) Spring Flowers Stephanotis Peonies are an October flower. Roses, Ranunculus, Australian wildflowers-Waratahs, Ericas, Geraldton Wax; Cherry Blossoms, Magnolias Summer Flowers Roses, Sunflowers, Gerberas, Carnations, Stephanotis. Autumn Flowers Dahlias, Roses are continuing. Asiatic lilies are an exception as in Australia they are grown in glass houses and are available all year round.I'm talking with Nadine Brown of https://www.theivyinstitute.com.au/The scientific name for spring stars is Ipheion uniflorum, often marketed as Triteleia Stars Of Spring, rather confusingly.Got to say one my favourite spring flowers.If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

KITCHEN GARDEN Leaf Celery Scientific Name:Apium graveolens var. secalinum Plant family: Apiaceae Common Name: Parcel A relatively uncommon or even unkown herb or vegetable. Parcel stems from the idea that it looks like parsley but tastes like celery. Leaf celery is a biennial plant growing to 60cm in height. Biennial simply means that leaf celery grows vegetatively during the first year and fruits (seeds) and dies at the end of the second year. Leaf celery could be classified as a herb because the leaves are used just as much as the stalks in cooking. Personally I wouldn't be without my leaf celery because it's a great substitute for the harder to grow culinary celery. I use it for making sugo, the tradition Italian tomato base for a lot of traditional dishes such as lasagne and bolognese. Sugo For Sure-How to Make it Sugo is made by first finely chopping onion, celery and carrot that frying for a few minutes until softer. Then adding the garlic and tomatoes to make a tomato base for any Italian dish. However, if you like munching on celery stalks, or using them in Waldorf salads, it's not a substitute in that instance. The stalks of leaf celery are much thinner and hollow and have a more pungent taste ( to my liking) that normal culinary celery. This winter I have practically depleted my supply of leaf celery because of the number of soups, and slow co oked meals I have been preparing. It’s just a great flavouring herb. Leaf celery stalks in my garden (pictured right) Easy Peasy Celery Salt Celery salt can also be made from the seeds. Simply let one plant go to flower and set seed. Then once dried in situ, collect the seeds and crush them. Corinne suggests dehydrating the leaves to make celery leaf salt. Chop the stems and leaves and make a compound celery butter. We both recommend growing leaf celery as a cut and come again herb or vegetable and an alternative to the larger stalked celery.Much easier to grow too. Corinne Mossati, founder of www.thegourmanticgarden.com has further suggestions. So let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

TALKING FLOWERS Tips on Choosing the Freshest Flowers Do you regularly buy a bunch of fresh flowers to brighten up your home? Do you find that no matter which ones you buy, you just can't seem to get them to last past a few days, but friends regularly boast about how their flowers last for over a week?Sometimes I cringe when I see a bunch of flowers outside some supermarkets because I know what signs to look for that tell me whether or not they’re really fresh.But could you tell how fresh a bunch of flowers are when you see them for sale? Some of the top tips are Keep your flowers away from the fresh bowl of fruit. The reason is because fruit, particularly ripe bananas give off ethylene which hastens the demise of your fresh flowers. If you think about it, placing a firm pear next to a banana in the fruit bowl, makes it soften up really quickly.Feel the stems to see if they’re fresh and not slimy. Slimy stems stems means they've been sitting around for more than a few day. If you can't feel the stems that cast a close eye on the actual petals and ask yourself, " are the petals showing any signs of curling or browning at the edges,?" If the answer is 'yes' then move onto the next bunch.Avoid buying flowers from the roadside. Roadside flowers have inhaled all those exhaust fumes and that's a speedy way to make them fade. Don’t worry, Nadine Brown will tell us how lots more .I'm talking with Nadine Brown floral educator of www.theivyinstitute.com.auIf you like buying fresh flowers you should listen to the podcast.If you have any questions you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

KITCHEN GARDEN Tricks with Horseradish My father was a big fan of this vegetable or perhaps it should be called a herb?He loved it grated on various meats, ‘clears out the sinuses' he always exclaimed.Not too many gardeners are familiar with horseradish and even though it's a perennial vegetable that's easy to grow. Perhaps because gardeners and others aren't too familiar with what you do with this, ahem root vegetable. Well that's right, horseradish is actually classified as a root vegetable even though you can use it as a seasoning and in drinks. In drinks I hear you exclaim, what is it?Growing horseradish Firstly, to grow horseradish, get yourself a crown or a plant from the herb section of your garden centre. Planting in late winter is perfect. Choose a sunny but permanent spot. Dig in plenty of of well rotted manures and compost. TIP: Horseradish can takeover a garden bed left unattended for a few months. Grow it in a very large pot or keep it in a spot where it can't spread too easily. USES If you're grating horseradish, it loses its pungency fairly quickly, you can store it by making a horseradish cream or in vinegar. TIP: Corinne freezes the root in pieces. Then grate as needed. Cocktails with horseradish. If you’re into experimenting try grated horseradish in white sauce or in a savoury martini or even a bloody mary.Infuse it in vodka to make a savoury gibson style martina.Just flavor a cup of vodka with a small amount of grated horseradish for a few days to give it that extra kick. For more details listen to the podcast.I'm talking with Corinne Mossati founder of the gourmantic garden website If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Root Knot Nematodes:Control So if you have correctly identified that your plants are affected by root knot nematodes, what can be done about it? Remember, they look different to nitrogen fixing nodules on roots of plants. tomato nematode Controlling nematodes 1.Cultural Control by rotating your plants-nematodes only survive 1 year in the soil. 2.Growing plants that help reduce nematode numbersAsparagus, peanut plants, Corn, Garlic, marigolds. 3.Biofumigants such as green manure crops, especially Mustard plants release isothyocyanates. 4. Neem Oil drench 5. Beneficial Nematodes EcoGrow supply beneficial nematodes. 6 Chytosan-prawn shells-effective on nematodes. Listen to the podcast to find out more.Your host of Real World Gardener, Marianne is talking with Steve McGrane, agriculturist and horticulturist.Part 2 is when we tackle the many, many ways you have to control the bad nematode, namely root knot nematodes.If you have any questions you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

PLANT DOCTOR Germinating Native Seed Australian plants have evolved over thousands of years to respond to a variety of climatic extremes, from fires, to droughts to floods as well as being grazed by native animals. Wattle seeds need boiling water treatment Such a long, long time for plants to evolve as well as being isolated from the rest of the world has meant that a high diversity of flora abounds, so that it would be unusual to think that everything grows the same way.Australian plants have developed various adaptations so that the seeds of which can grow in the most suitable environment for that species of plant to survive. A suitable environment often means seeds don't germinate until a bushfire removes competing plants giving the seeds more access to sunlight and nutrients. Then they only have a short window to germinate. The hard seed coat is therefore a protective layer that allows the seed to stay dormant for great lengths of time, even years before germination. So how do plants keep germinating and what tricks have native seeds to keep them alive until conditions are right? There are specific requirements for some seeds and in fact a wide range of native seeds require you, the gardener to break their dormancy before they germinate. Some are more difficult than others. So what are some of the treatments to break native seed dormancy? Boiling water or hot water treatment is recommended for hard-coated seeds such as Acacia (wattle)and Hardenbergia species . This involves boiling some water and waiting for a minute so it's just off the boil, then soaking the seeds for a few to eight hours. The time varies depending on the seed. Smoke chemical treatment or smoke treatment to break the dormancy of native seeds. Wildflower seed starter granules or similar, are vermiculite or another bio material that contains the smoke chemicals from the burning of bush materials. The way you use it is to sprinkle some on top of the potting mix after sowing the seeds, and on the first watering, the smoke chemicals are released over the seeds. You can also put some of these seed starter granules in the soaking water of the seeds in the hot water treatment method. Not all seeds need smoke chemical treatment, but there's a few that benefit from using it, in fact are difficult to germinate without it. Sturt Desert peas comes to mind, also Dianella, Philotheca, Xanthorrhoea, Actinotus, Callistemon and Banksia. As a general rule, sowing and smoking should be done when you would expect the seeds to germinate in nature. Flannel flowers Both these methods basically speeds up what often takes months or even years in nature to get seeds to germinate. TIP: Be aware of the germination temperature that seeds need to germinate. But what other tricks are there? Steve talks about germinating Davidson plum seeds using the hot water treatment in the podcast. So let’s find out more.I'm talking with Steve McGrane, horticulturist and agriculturist.I hope that’s given you some idea about perhaps why some of the native seeds are more difficult to germinate than regular seeds.In fact not everything germinates the same way, and here lies the problem.That’s why a bit of research into the seed type you’re trying to germinate goes a long way.If you have any questions you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

TALKING FLOWERS Tips For Longer Lasting Flowers in the Vase Flowers are so uplifting and whilst they’re lovely in the garden, in the home, you’ve got them to enjoy for longer.After all, you’re not watching your flowers that are in the garden for very long. There are plenty of 'old wives tales', and just plain outright myths about what to do to your flowers to make them last past 3 days in the vase. Ever heard of putting a copper penny in the vase water? Well it's sounds like it could work but in reality, it doesn't do anything for the flowers. What about dissolving an aspirin in the water? That's sheer nonsense. So how can you make the most of your cut flowers? I'm talking with Nadine Brown, florist, floral designer and educator of www.wildflorastudio.com.au who shares her tried and true tips from over thirty years of experience in the flower business. Some of those tips you may have heard before on my Real World Gardener program and one of them is that flowers are ethylene sensitive. That means flower sellers on the roadside are not just selling your flowers, but a whole bunch of ethylene laden flowers that have been covered by exhaust fumes. That also means that your fruit bowl of bananas, apples and pears are also emitting ethylene which hasten the demise of your precious flowers if they're nearby. Nadine recommends that The best place to buy your flowers is from the grower or from a florist. The next best tip is clean fresh water every couple of days is the next best thing for your flowers. If you recut the stems on an angle as you do that, then you're increasing the vase life of your flowers. Doing this under water prevents air bubbles from blocking any uptake or food or water too. Filtered water isn't totally necessary. Coming second those first tips is a spoonful of vodka!! Is scalding the stems a myth or fact? You probably have heard of scalding hydrangea stems by placing those woody stems in boiling hot water for 30 seconds to a minute, then straight into cold water.?Perhaps you thought that was a bit of fuss over nothing? The truth is this works for woody stems such as hydrangeas and roses, plus a few others like lavender and poppies. Not all flowers though. Using boiling water or scalding, expels air bubbles or trapped air from the stems, which as before, blocks uptake of water and nutrients. For more tips listen to the podcast and watch the tutorial that Nadine has generously provided on 'Care and Condition for your flowers. The link for the Care and Conditioning tutorial is just one of over 50 tutorials in Nadine’s membership library, https://vimeo.com/485281174/2ac20b9565 So let’s listen to the podcast. If you have any questions you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

KITCHEN GARDEN LEMON VERBENA Did you think that herbs were just for making tea?Maybe not, but some herbs have endless uses, and this week I’m featuring the herb lemon verbena (Aloysia citriodora) that’s larger than you would expect to find in a herb garden so probably could fit into the back of a border but in a sunny location. Lemon verbena photo M Cannon How would I describe the scent of lemon verbena? I would say that lemon verbena has a bright, slightly sweet flavour with a strong hint of lemon. The strong lemon scent of this herb is far less overpowering than the lemon flavor and fragrance of lemon balm, lemon thyme, lemon mint, and lemongrass. What does it look like? Lemon verbena is a vigorous growing deciduous shrub to 3 metres tall by 3 metres wide. The leaves are a lime green and lanceolate, and flowers appear in late spring until the end of summer almost. The flowers are white, quite small and appear in a panicle. My plant is quite an old plant that I prune each winter to about 1 metre off the ground. How to use lemon verbena? As a flavouring in kombucha Add leaves to a sorbet or ice-cream when making Poach stone fruit in a sugar syrup with lemon verbena leaves Infuse lemon verbena leaves in olive oil or vinegar-250 ml of olive oil with 6 leaves or to taste Fish en papiotte with lemon verbena leaves Corinne's Top Tip: Why not try a gin and sonic with muddled lemon verbena. Made with half soda water and half tonic so less calories. Listen to the podcast. Marianne is talking Corinne Mossati, founder of www.thegourmanticgarden.com Gourmantic garden website. You can also follow Corinne for more delightful ideas on Instagram.