On a walk in mid June I passed a garden where this astonishingly large potted pineapple was growing. Its owner said that the full size pineapple had taken 2 months to develop and I was amazed by its health and size. I have grown pineapples in my own garden but the fruit was always much smaller and I assumed that this was because Sydney’s climate … Continue reading Growing Pineapples in Sydney
Who could resist a luscious home grown strawberry. They are easy to grow organically and pesticide free, making your home grown strawberries even healthier for your family. Best of all, strawberries can be successfully grown in both large or small gardens, in pots, in hanging baskets, on sunny balconies, in foam vegetable packing boxes and even in modified guttering systems. In temperate Sydney strawberry runners … Continue reading Growing Strawberries
Land Cress or Barbarea Verna is a wonderful plant for the home vegetable garden as a dead end trap for the eggs of butterflies, like the cabbage butterfly. The caterpillars hatch and die after eating the leaves of the land cress which is rich in saponins and toxic to the caterpillars. In doing so it acts as a biological pest control agent. This beneficial plant is … Continue reading Growing Land Cress
Cantaloupe, or rock melon, as it is called in Sydney, is a trailing vine that loves a long warm growing season. It is a member of the cucurbitaceae family and originates from the area from Iran to India. Sow seeds in pots from September, October and then plant them out in November and December in Sydney, which has a temperate climate. Alternately, the seeds can … Continue reading Growing Cantaloupes
Chokos also known as chayotes, are members of the Cucurbitaceae family and related to cucumbers, pumpkins, squash and melons. December is the time to plant chokos in Sydney’s temperate climate. They are easy to grow and in Sydney’s hot conditions the prolific vines can produce heavy crops of this versatile fruit. Choko is high in vitamin C and folate and other trace elements. Growth habits … Continue reading Growing Chokos or Chayotes
Luffa is an interesting plant to grow in the home garden if you have a pergola or some structure for it to ramble over. If the fruit is picked small it can be delicious eaten like cucumber in salads or cooked in a stir fry and if left to mature can give a good crop of useful luffa for the bathroom and a great scourers … Continue reading Growing Luffa
The Yacon, which is also known as the Peruvian Ground Apple is related to the sunflower, in the Astereceae family and the Jerusalem artichoke. It originates and is grown in the northern to central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina and has crisp and sweet tasting tubers. They are now becoming more readily available for the home gardener too. Yacon plants can grow to over … Continue reading Growing Yacon
Growing sweet corn in the home garden can be rewarding and with a little preparation and a good watering regime you can have a bountiful harvest of delicious and juicy corn over the summer. Growth habits and planting needs Select a site that gets full sun. Early preparation will ensure excellent rich soil for planting. Sweet corn needs rich fertile soil and abundant water to … Continue reading Growing Sweet Corn
Tomatoes are the jewels of summer and always taste best when home grown. With good soil preparation and the careful selection of varieties you can successfully grow delicious tomatoes even in Sydney where the fruit fly creates challenges for the tomato grower. Growth habits and planting needs Choose a site that gets full sun for at least 8 hours a day when growing tomatoes. Make … Continue reading Growing Tomatoes
The parsnip, like the carrot is a member of the parsley family and is a slow growing hardy, deeply rooted plant grown for its delicious long tuberous taproot. They are a good source of vitamin C, are rich in the B complex vitamins, folic acid and fibre. Growth habits and planting needs Parsnips prefer an open sunny site. Due to the slow germination time for … Continue reading Growing Parsnips
The Grantham Gardener 