In the past, when the word lettuce was used, people thought of iceberg lettuce. Thankfully today there are so many varieties to choose from that our salads can be a mix of beautiful colours and varying texture and flavour. Growth habit and planting needs There are many interesting varieties available for planting in the home garden from the crisp mignionettes, oak leaf and butterhead lettuces … Continue reading Growing Lettuce
Peanuts are the fruit of a legume and are not nuts at all. The peanut is actually an annual herbaceous plant (Arachis hypogaea, ‘hypongaea’ meaning ‘under the soil’). The oldest known pods were found in Peru and have been dated to 7,600 years old but they are thought to be older than this. Growth habits and planting needs Spring to early Summer is the time to … Continue reading Grow your own peanuts
This article will be the first in a series that will look at practices that we can use in our garden to use scarce resources in the most efficient way to benefit both the soil and the environment and give us a bounty of fresh produce. Crop rotation is essential to continuity and fertility of our garden. Farmers have been rotating crops over the ages … Continue reading Crop rotation made easy
Growth habit and planting needs When planting zucchini it is important to consider the space needs of the mature plant. Zucchini can grow to a width of 1.5 x 1.5 so will need a large space to allow for the mature plant. Because of their susceptibility to mildew, leave enough space for good airflow around the plant and place in position that will get 8 … Continue reading Growing Zucchini
The following is a list of things you can plant in November in Sydney, a temperate zone: Artichokes Beans, (bush and climbing) Beetroot Broccoli Cabbage Cape Gooseberry Capsicum Carrot Celery Cucumber Eggplant Jerusalem Artichoke Lemon Balm Lettuce Luffa Marrow Okra Peanut Pumpkin Radish Rocket Rockmelon Silverbeet Spring Onions Sweet Corn Tomato Turnip Watermelon Yacon Zucchini Flower of the Month – Beautiful Purple Carrot Flowers Continue reading What to plant in November
The globe artichoke (cynara scolymus) is a native of the Mediterranean area and related to the thistle. It has been documented to have been eaten in Greek and Roman times. Globe artichokes can be planted from August to November so there is still time to include this wonderful architectural plant if you have the space in your garden. Growth habit and planting needs The globe … Continue reading Growing Globe Artichokes
Some time ago, our dedicated and knowledgeable gardener, Deborah shared some of her great zucchini recipes with us. To inaugurate our blog, we post these delicious recipes here with many thanks to her for her generosity and great contribution to our garden. Here are Deborah’s recipes with her comments. ZUCCHINI CAKE Ingredients: 4-5 zucchini 3 eggs 2 cups sugar 2 tsp vanilla essence ½ cup oil … Continue reading Everything Zucchini!
The Grantham Gardener 