Host Marianne talks with arboriculture consultant Glenice Buck about the first steps in managing the health of your trees.

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.

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.

Let's star with, how do you love your mushrooms?

The leaves are somewhat stiff and lightly curled at the tip.

Yes, the leaves taste like mushrooms with a crispy texture and nothing more.  

What is your favourite warm season vegetable or are there too many to choose from?

• Sow another crop in 6 weeks time after the first crop then the big tip is after the first harvest, apply a side dressing of blood ‘n’ bone.

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.

Ture mints are also in the Lamiaceae family.

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.

• It can grow very well outside in summer in non-tropical parts of Australia.

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.

Scientific Name: Smallanthus sonchifolius

Common Name: Yacon, Peruvian ground apple

Family: Asteraceae-same as daisies and sunflowers.

Plant Height & Width: 1.5m x 0.5m

If you look at the flowers they are like much smaller versions of sunflowers.

Here’s a tuber that tastes similar to a nashi pear, looks something like sweet potato on the outside, and the sugars from it aren’t absorbed by the body.

Not only that, the tubers contain a lot of juice, and the sugars that make it sweet is not absorbed by the body so you can't put on the kilos! How good is that?  

Yacon has two types of tubers unlike ginger or turmeric.

• The tubers that you plant are attached to the main stem and are much smaller and pinkish in colour. I planted mine in early September and October was the time that it sprouted in my Sydney garden.

Yacon is a herbaceous perennial meaning it has a dormant period that starts when the leaves die down in late autumn. 

This is the time when the tubers are ready to harvest. Simply fork up the entire crop, and harvest the large brown tubers to eat fresh, and use the small reddish rhizomes at the top to replant for next year’s crop.

Eat it of course but how,  is the thing so here are some of Margaret's tips.

• Yacon is sweet and crunchy and is great eaten fresh.

• Running short of toilet paper, try large soft fluffy leaves like those of the Yacon plant.

But there's more uses, have a listen to the podcast.

I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska of www.mosshouse.com.au

If you have any feedback email [email protected] or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

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.

Isn't it time you enlivened your tastes buds with something you've never tried before?

This next spice isn’t just one spice on it’s on but several spices or a blend of spices that are just right for Japanese food or any other food for that matter.

Furikake is a traditional Japanese seasoning that is sprinkled on cooked food.

In some ways like shichimi togarashi seasoning, furikake seasoning has not only toasted sesame seeds in it but also black sesame seeds that combine to give you a delectable nutty flavour.

But wait, will it have monosodium glutamate I hear you ask as so often spice blends in Asian cuisine do?

Well, here’s the thing, with 50 years of sourcing and mixing spice blends, Ian Hemphill is just the man to find a substitute for MSG without compromising the flavour of just such a spice blend

Fuikake also has the combination of  salt, nori flakes or nagi, to add that classic Japanese profile when it comes to flavour. Also orange peel, Sichuan pepper and Australian lemon myrtle.

Furikake goes well with rice, on top of eggs, seafood and on top of white or red meat.

Let’s find out more bout this fabulous spice.

I'm talking with Ian Hempill, owner of www.herbies.com.au

Ian has been a regular on RWG for many years but never has he admitted to carrying emergency spices in his pocket before.

Ian carries Furikake spice in his pocket in the off-chance he’s going to snack on some sushi.

How good is that? If you have any questions about spices why not email us at [email protected] or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville

Scientific Name:Apium graveolens var. secalinum

• Leaf celery is a biennial plant growing to 60cm in height.

Then adding the garlic and tomatoes to make a tomato base for any Italian dish.

• Corinne suggests dehydrating the leaves to make celery leaf salt.

• Chop the stems and leaves and make a compound celery butter.

There are many budding chefs and cooks that use heaps of spices in their recipes going by the success of cooking shows on television.

• So which one should you use?

• The brown Indian cardamom is a much larger pod than the green cardamom by 4-5 times the size. This cardamom has a smoky aroma and is especially used in tandoori dishes.

Do you regularly buy a bunch of fresh flowers to brighten up your home?

• Keep your flowers away from the fresh bowl of fruit.

• Feel the stems to see if they’re fresh and not slimy.

• Avoid buying flowers from the roadside.