Real World Gardener-Horticulture, Gardening, Learning to Grow

You may be growing some lovely salvias in your garden but not realise that one of them in particular, can make a luscious and revitalising drink, just right for the festive season. 

Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) is in the Lamiaceae or mint family.

Found growing naturally in forests quite high up but does well along the east coast of Australia.

A fast growing small shrub to 1.5m, that suits most regions of Australia with large leaves that are, distinctly veined and a bright lime-green in colour.

Grow it in reasonably rich soil that has a good water holding capacity to keep it moving along during the warmest months of the year. Best in full sun.

Tip prune whenever you pass to keep your pineapple sage more compact and lush.

Flowers occur mainly in winter but will spot flower most of the year.

Let’s find out.

For a small 200ml jar, fill it up with pineapple sage flowers and then pour in the honey. Leave it to steep for one month and give it a give it a little stir every so often.

You can also use the flowers as garnish in salad, and because they have a pineapple flavour, they’ll make a fantastic addition to fruit salads, and sorbets.

Corinne's Tip:When you are working with aromatic plants, place the leaf on your palm, give it a little slap to release the volatile oils, before you garnish your cocktail, then inhale the aroma as you sip your drink.

 The Sage Cuban: Pineapple Sage Cocktail: http://www.cocktailsandbars.com/the-sage-cuban-pineapple-sage-cocktail/

Pineapple Sage Flower Honey: http://www.thegourmanticgarden.com/pineapple-sage-flower-honey/

Simple Syrup: http://www.cocktailsandbars.com/how-to-make-simple-syrup/

How well do you know your herbs?

Dill fronds are slightly finer and a darker green than fennel fronds.

Dill has a higher anise or licorice note when you crush the leaf.

Fennel has the same level of anethol (active enzyme) but tends to be sweeter.

• Seeds or both dill and fennel are used in cooking and are referred to as a spice.

• Seed flavour profiles differ from the fresh plant. 

• My favourite use of fennel seeds is in home-made sausage rolls.  

I mix 150 grams of beef mince with 300gms of pork mince, 1 grated carrot, 1 grated potato (raw), w teaspoons of chopped sage leaves, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds,  salt and pepper to season. Divide mixture onto puff pastry sheets and roll up with join side down onto baking trays. Bake for 15 minutes at 220 C until golden.

Let’s find out by listening to the podcast.

I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au 

[email protected] or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

The podcast continues with the topic of slime mould but particularly, about the slime mould called phytophthora. 

Did you prick up your ears?

Gardeners are often told that phytophthera, in particular Phytophthera cinnamomi,  is a fungi but it's actually a water mould. You may have even heard it called 'root rot.'

• Phytophora is a particular slime mould that belongs to a group or Phyllum called Oomycota 

Phytophthora cinnamomi lives in the soil and in plant tissues, 

During drought or prolonged dry periods , the organisms become dormant chlamydospores which is just a resting spore of Ascomycota. 

When environmental conditions are suitable, the chlamydospores germinate, producing mycelia (or hyphae) and sporangia. 

The sporangia ripen and release zoospores, which infect plant roots by entering the root behind the root tip. 

This organism is very resistant to most chemicals that gardeners can throw at it and doesn't die with soil disturbance..

Should you ever see branch dieback in your trees or shrubs or stem dieback in your tomatoes, it just may be due to a problem called root rot that is actually a slime mould. 

The best way Botanic gardens have dealt with it is by fencing off affected beds within the gardens so horticulturists and the public don't transfer the spores around the the gardens or indeed, back home to their own gardens.

Drainage was also improved in garden beds so that the organism wasn't able to stay 'live' or active.

Compost is also added to soil to improve the soil so the microorganisms can combat this slime mould.

I'm talking with Steve McGrane, horticulturist and agriculturist.

What do the words slime mould conjure up in your imagination?

Slime moulds are in the kingdom:Protista.

Did you know that slime moulds have a life cycle, and when you are able to observe them, is only part of their lifecycle?

They're usually brightly coloured -reds, vivid greens, yellow and purple. 

They can grow on grass, logs and pretty much anywhere where the environment is conducive.

Slime moulds are not very well known in Australia, but Tasmania has around 100 species of slime moulds one of which is called 'dog vomit.' 

Slime moulds are highly useful in that they break down materials, 80% of which is made available to plants.

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

I'm talking with Steve McGrane, horticulturist and agriculturist.

In part 1 of grafting techniques Margaret Mossakowska and I talked about how growing from a tree such as an orange or lemon from seed isn’t all that successful unless you graft it onto hardy rootstock.

In this segment, we refresh some of those points and take you onto more grafting techniques.

There are many types of grafting that are available to be used, some more complex or more exacting than others.

My Take On Grafting

Cleft grafting I find is quite straight forward and easy to get right. 

I've tried grafting Camellia reticulata scions onto Camellia sasanqua rootstock with a 100% success rate.  Camellia reticulata has huge flowers, a feature I wanted growing in my garden.

Camellia 'Red Crystal' is a cross between C.reticulata ‘Crimson Robe’ and C. japonica ‘Wildfire,’ however, both are slow growing. and don't grow so fast in temperate Sydney.

I find this is a faster alternative, plus Camellia sasanquas are very hardy and less prone to root rot.

• Grafting citrus is essential in Australia because the table citrus that we love to eat are not native to Australia, and so are prone to many diseases. 

The grafted union in most cases needs to be above the ground. There is one exception and that is with lilacs(Syringia vulgaris.). Lilacs tend to sucker if grown on their own rootstock so they are grafted onto privet rootstocks.

Things to Watch Out For.

• At first the graft union may seem all fine and dandy, but  if you see shoots from below the graft union, you may have a problem Houston.

• Switch to grafting methods.

Practice makes perfect and I would recommend wearing gloves before attempting to do any type of grafting.

• The scion has to be a particular size and be related botanically speaking to the rootstock. That means you can't graft an apple onto citrus rootstock, because apples are in the family 'rosaceae' and citrus are in the plant family 'rutaceae.'

• Margaret describes cleft grafting where the scion's base is cut as a 'V' and inserted into the same length slit into the rootstock. The cambium (green wood) of each must be aligned.

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast. I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska of www.mosshouse.com.au

Modern day gardens are much smaller than they used to be.

• Corinne has managed to squeeze in over 200 plants into a small paved courtyard-that doesn't even include duplicates of plants.

• Before any planting, determine the movement of the sun in your small space and  and note down the hours of sunlight and shade in each part of your small space/courtyard.

Scientific Name: Microseris Lanceolata

Common Name:Murnong Yam

Family:Asteraceae

Native Habitat: found in a wide range of habitats in Australia: these inlcude mallee, slerophyll and sub-alpine communities.

Description:-Strappy, linear green leaves above underground tubers that emerge after rain in Autumn.

Height-Width: 30cm x 30cm

Flowering: yellow daisy flowers in spring-autumn.

Fruiting:fluffy seedheads (known as achenes), similar to dandelion seedhead.

Position: Full sun and part shade. 

Attributes: Dry tolerant once established and can grow in sandy soil.

There are many bush tucker plants that are not that well known and this is another one of them.

• Yam daisy plant can be hard to identify in the wild because it looks like a lot of other yellow daisy plants, including dandelions and flatweed, also called cats ears.