tropical food gardens: a guide to growing fruit, herbs and vegetables in tropical and sub-tropical

,

Tropical Food Gardens A guide to growing fruit, herbs

and vegetables in tropical and sub-tropical climates

•

LEONIE NORRINGTON

with illustrations by

Colwyn Campbell

,

•

•

First published in AlI�tr�llw in 2001 hy

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Contents

Introduction - growing food 'up here' 7

•

My first vegetable garden 8

'Survival of the fittest' garden ,

8

The Wet season vegetable garden 10

Composting 14

The Dry season vegetable garden I

14

• Seedlings 15

Transplanting 16

Fertilisers 18

'1rden§' 18

'nt gardens 20

.-z 23

I(S 44

50

Herbs

A walk around Bronny's herb garden

Herbs A-Z Herbs which grow like weeds

Fruit trees Promoting a good root system Transplanting Watering Pruning Fertilising Di's bush tucker forest

Fruit trees A-Z Chooks Water in gardens

Position Building a pond Howbig� Water plants Filling your pond And a waterfall ...

Understanding soil Soil pH Air Plant food Water in the soil

Managing pests Become a farmer gardener Nutrition Grow with the seasons Sap�sllcking insects Chewing insects Insecticides Termites Bacterial wilt Fungus

Nematodes

Recipes References Bibliography Index

54 55 57 78 82 82 83 85 85 87 87 90

119 l23 123 124 126 127 128 128 129 \30 \31 I3Z I3J 134 137 137 138 138 \39 141 143

Dedication To 111)' Grandma E11e, 'U1/1O caml;' li I 111'<' ill Oarwin from NC'lti GlIinca s(rcli!{hr after tile! Sec()nd

World War and grew food with a /)(1.,-", '11 She befricnded the local Chinese market gardeners and s1.vapped seeds and ad1lice. She secreted"I, lIl[S out of gotlernmem frials in her lrra. She bHiit food gardens around all (he shacks and ann)' l'(jI1l/'S she lived in, and Hmi! sill' died forced advice, cu(cings and her passion for grotuillg food on CW1)'One she mel,

M)' 'mother' Clare had (I S/Jiriwa/ passion for h!lming and collecting jO(x/, As kids, we walked rhrough the bwh collecting food with Cl(lre. She Imew ail rhe songs, dances and scories. Her official job was to look aiter ItS seven iirr/e while kids, and thac, as far as she was conccl'lled, included 'growing us liP prol>erl)" - reaching ItS abow rhe land and b1esh ClIcker. She was a rough old lad)' and years larer, with a scowl, rested my children to .iee if lhe)' had becIl /JroIJer/)' '&'Town HI)'·

And m)' Grandma Poppy, 1vho grew eCOs)'srems on rhe E:slJ/allade in Darwin; lite rainforest comfJ/ere with bubbling creek; {ern gully tvirh maidenhair {em:s and bird's-nesc ferns }wll,f!ing among huge lrees; the cacrHS garden, swrk cmd dangerous. She bl/ill /Jonds, rockeries and rock {erraces. Her garden was planned - something aiwa)'s flow�ring; a cree brin1(ing up nlllriems to lhe smface for lhe flowers; a shrub shading rhe fems. Where she grew lilies along {he edge of (XHits, I grow garlic chives. \,(!here she &rrew palms, I grow bananas; HI)' rainfores{ trees (Ire rambl/wllS and

wmarind but che organismion i_� hers. And ofeen, uihen I'm om in rhe garden am/ find a drop of

war·"· like a crystal, on a flower /JewI, or some mos� lhriving on rhe edge of a /Jond, I dlink,

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In trod uction •

growlng food 'up here'

My husQand and I moved to the bush 20 years ago, full of enthusiasm and energy. We had our heans set on being self�sufficien[, bringing up our children on good food and clean country air. We had three little kids, no money, an old blue kombi van and a pile of books on gardening and farming. We had lots of land. The books were full of knowledge - where could wc go wrong?

Only, the books were wrinen for growing in temperate climates. There was nothing in them about monster termites, crushing rain or old, leached soils. Lucklly my grandmother had grown food up here for years, and although she thought leaving a perfectly sound house

"[0 live under a carp was not an intelligent move, she was always there with advice and remedies for most cawsrrophcs.

This buok started with the notes I scribbled down while Grandma Eve was 011 the phollli. or I was w:llking around thL' garden. Over the years that little stack of scribblings grew into a big pile ..... ! 11l�t gardeners interested in herhs, hush rucker foods, growing Asian \Tgetables and rare (rOr h • d fruits; gardeners fascinated WII h (!ardening theories like permacult lire and biodynamic::.: ;'n .... 1 people whl \ had come to this CUUl1[ry as missionaries or miners an�l who grew crops, oc .... . . ·.<:e if they dl�IIl't, they'd starve. This book is an attempt to bring alllh�[ knnwledge tugeth� r.

Tt. 'I,jcal soils i1r\..:' dd, leached and lacking in nutrielUs. The Wet/Dry tropical climate is extrenh , II the mercy, If the monsoons. Most of the yearly rainfall (1500-2000mm) falls in

8 Tropical Food Gardens

less than five months, producing incredible plant growth. It's hot, insect pest numbers explode and the humidity hovers around 99%. Cyclones hang about the cmists. Heavy rain settles in for weeks on end. Dry creek beds turn into raging rivers and the floodplains extend (or III iles across the land.

Then the monsoons leave and we won't get rain for the rest of the year. The grasses dry up

and are burnt. The rivers recede and the floodplains bloom and slowly drain, turning into grasslands. Mists hang in the cool morning air and every day the skies are clear and blue. Gradually the land dries out, trees drop their leaves and the world sits waiting throughout the scorching days for the wind to bring back the monsoons.

It doesn't sound like a promising food growing climate, does it? But people have grown food here since white settlement began, and Aboriginal people ate from this land forever before that! The early missions, mining camps and stations grew' their own food. Most places employed a Chinese cook/gardener who brought with him his own collection of Asian food seeds and plants. In the Dry he grew tomatoes and other temperate vegetables, Aboriginal wo!nen tended the gardens and carted water for him in kerosene biJckets. During the Wet he grew tropical vegetables and staples like rice, corn, peanuts and dry beans.

So don't let the weather and the pessimists get you down. It's more than possible to grow food up here - it's been done many times before. All you need to know is what to grow anJ how; use a little care, some improvisation and heaps ofTLC, and you'll be picking food from your garden all year round. It's true! Grandma said so!

My first vegetable garden

Almost the first thing we did was start a vegie garden. I cleared away the spear grass and found . I ' ... Just grave .

'Oh!' I thought, 'That doesn't look good,' and put the billy on. As I drank my tea, I flicked through one of my gardening books to the section on poor soils. In the end I rang Grandma and with her advice, I limed, carted chook manure, collected mulch and built beds. We were carting water at the time, so the garden wasn't tOO big, but it was ordered ar\d beautiful. I

•

planted seedlings and seeds and carted buckets of nappy rinsing water, washiitg�up wmer, baby bath water and even some of our precious 'never been used' water, and watered all my seedlings with love and care. They grew! I was a gardener - a vegetable gardener.

Then, the wallabies ate all the green bits, the bandicoots dug up the nice rooty bits, and the kids found the garden beds and included them into their BMX track. And pretty s09n, all

. that was left of my beautiful vegie garden was pineapples and a lime tree.

'Survival of the fittest' garden

Over the years, that little vegit' garden has grown into my 'survival of the fittest' garden. It's a garden of self-seeding and perennial vegetables. It's a beautiful garden with contrasting leaf textures, shapes and colours, ancf'self�seeding flowers like cosmos and marigolds. There are citrus trees, pawpaws, guavas and mulberry trees. Under them pumpkin vines produce. self; seed and trundle around between pineapples. Basil grows into ancient gnarled ,hrubs;

chillies, capsicum and eggplants thrive on neglect and enjoy each other's com.r ';"hes

and chives, tropical shallots and spring onions grow along the edges of the path.... 'Y

won't get lost or shaded out.

Introduction 9

Rosellas pop up every Wet season and do their thing. Lemon grass, Vietnamese mint, lesser galangal, turmeric and ginger make little clumps everywhere. Thai coriander and Chinese cabbage grow wonderfully in pots (half-44s' are very handy) or along the edge of the garden - they don't like competition. Sweet leaf grows so abundantly you have ro keep cutting it back and feeding it to the pig. There are lotus lilies, water chestnuts and arrowhead in an old bath (never did build that bathroom) and the kangkong thrives in that little boggy spot near the sprinkler.

Each morning when I go out to feed the pig, I pick a lime, a cumquat, and a kaffir lime for a fruit juice that will liven up the day. I stop and notice the joyful pink of the pineapple flowers just emerging and, perhaps, cut some chives for the eggs. In the evening I watch the sunset turn the topS of the trees gotden, while I pick my herbs and vegies for dinner; throwing them in on top of the eggs in the egg bucket, and still dare to call myself a gardener.

Sounds too easy doesn't it - and this type of garden is! However, lots of food plants have succulent leaves and seeds that everything loves to chew on, and tasty fruit which rats and possums will brave the scariest blue heeler to eat - things like corn, tomatoes, sweet potato and lettuce. These plants must be grown behind a six�foot chicken wire fence buried 15cm into the soil, with barhed wire around the top and a lock on the gate. You can even bury broken glass around the bottom if you're really paranoid. However, really determined possums and rats will still get in, to empty out that 'just perfect' rockmelon you had earmarked for breakfast this morning. So, J have a pattern for a wildlife�proof fence stuck to my fridge. My husband hasn't built it yet, but I'm working on him. You spring�load the top foot or so of the fence so that when the animal climbs onto this area, it collapses and they fall. They get such a fright they never come back - theoretically.

Probably the most important thing to think about when you're planning your vegie garden is position - in relation to the sun. Vegetables need as much sun, especially morning sun, as possible. So you'll have to cue down the trees on the eastern (sunrise) side of your vegie garden. Plant this area to pineapples or small fruit trees which won't block the morning sun. In the Dry season, t�e days are a little shorter and the sun is lower in the sky. Your vegies will need sun from sun�up till sun�down. Any tall trees on the northern side of your vegie garden will block the sun in the middle of the day. Don't grow vines on the northern and eastern fence�lines because they will als� shade the garden. It may only be for a couple of hours but, in the Dry season (the main growing season) every minute of sunlight counts.

In the Build�up2 and the Wet, the sun is high in the sky and boiling hot. Most vegetables will enjoy all of the morning sun, but will need shelter in the heat of the day. My very clever husband built me some free�standing shelters for this purpose. They're 1.5m high. with shadecloth roofs and no walls.

I put them over my Dry season vegies when the weather starts to heat up in the Build�up. They can still get the morning and aftenloon sun but are sheltered in the heat of the day. Tomatoes will stay alive and producing for an extra month if you shelter them in this way.

Also, alLgardens need attention - if only to note what's ready to eat. So have your garden close to the house. My 'survival of the finest' garden is right beside the washing line. I have to walk through it twice a day to feed the chooks and the pig. My fenced vegie garden is a little farther away because there are toO many trees near the house. I have twO pens side by side, a Wet season garden and a Dry season garden. While the chooks live in one. I grow vefI" other .

. COLlp. .,!! Our first vegie garden was the size of a single bed and boasted four tomatoes, a

.)asil, twO capsicum, an eggplant. lots of chives, potted herbs on little stands, snake


beans, cucumbers and a pumpkin vine wandering around the outside. I know people who have their vegie garden in polystyrene boxes on the balcony of the.ir flat. A 20cm deep polystyrene box will support a tomato, a basil and chives. Or, four or five parsley, shallots, a

couple of rows of coriander and a cucumber vine trellised at the back. My auntie has a

bea utiful bouociful vegie patch in the 4 x 4m garden they have in pensioner flats -she even has room for paths. The other extreme is the food garden, where vegetables, herbs and fruit trees are mixed with a few palms, ornamental shrubs and shade trees. The best bet, I reckon is to start off small, and just keep expanding as far as your enthusiasm, time and water permits:

The Wet season vegetable garden There's no doubt that it's harder to grow temperate vegies in the Wet - there are more �u� about. the mulch festers, the 'Knock'em down' storms blow them over, mould grows on everyth ing and it's TOC> HOT to be bothered! However, it can be done. My grandrnother grtI\

vegies in the Top End for more than forty years and with her guidance (harassment, ridicule and abuse) I have a series of crops and failures that keep us (and the pig) in fresh veglt:�al! year round. When the bugs get in and the rain pelts the plants down, you JUSt stand [hem up,

squash the bugs, squirt a vinegar spray on the mould and, if that doesn't work, pull them up,

feed them to the pig and plant again. You'll know when it's time to think about the Wet when the wind turns into a gasfumace,

full of humidity and heat and your skin is suddenly dripping moisture. Afternoons hang there, white hot and glaring. The one tree in the car park is always taken and your car is like an oven at 8 o'clock in the morning. Pubs are packed. Tempers are frayed. The pressure mounl\

each day as storms loom and collapse like gutless souffles or roll past out to sea mumbling obscenities. Thunder and lightning have you sitting bolt upright in bed, bathed in sweat,

waiting. How COME I'M ALWAYS THE LAST TO GET THE RAIN? It's Build-up timeAugust/September/October. The ground is parched. We've had no rain for five momhsand it is hot! It's too hot to move. So you lie on the cool tiles in the afternoon while the tomatoes and Dry seas on vegies sag, go limp and melt -pathetic things they are!

About this time, having psyched myself up over a couple of days, I get up one morning

with the butcher birds, and start preparing the Wet season garden. It makes me feel better. At this time, the chooks are living in my Wet season garden while I'm growing in the Oryseason garden. So, I throw all the leaves I've collected over the Dry into the pen with rhe chooks and water it once a day. (I don't like to use hay in the Wet season because it holds tOO much moisture and tends to grow all sorts of fungus-y things. Loose leaves, while protecting rheSOli from the force of the rain, will let it dry out between waterings so it doesn't get tOQ!werarJ. slimy.) The chooks dig around in the mulch and, in this heat, it decomposes in a �ollr\t'lt weeks. Then l let them into the Dry season garden to tuake short work of the bugs and weJ I've been negotiating with for months. Revenge!

The Wet season garden has raised beds to help the soil drain. I love the smell of till1L;;t

earth, so I break the soil up with a fork; working small areas at a time _ not turning rrr �\ over, just sticking the fork in and lifting, loosening. (Once I borrowed my friend's rot<lr.·1 and chased it round the pen while it tried to eat the chicken wire fence - never again

'

a more sedate way of gardening.) As each area is 'forked', I check the pH, lime if [1\'/

and cover it with a light layer of mulch. (Use doloIllite rather than lime because it releasing and includ:s some trace elements.) Then, I leave the garden to settle (sril

Introduction 11

watered) for a few days. (Don't add lime and fertiliser together, they neutralise each other.) Now spread 5cm of chook manure, IDcm of cattle manure, or the equivalent of fertiliser (blood�and�l:)(me or pelletised chook manure) over the whole area. Incidentally, commercial chook farms often have to spray all sorts of foulacides3 to keep lice and other parasites down.

The Wet season - preparation

And the chooks are often fed hormones and antibiotics to keep them healthy in their confined conditions. So try to find Out what they use before you buy chook manure from commercial farms. (Antibiotics and foulacides will give the micro�organisms in your soil a

hard time. They are, after all, designed to kill bacteria, fungus and insects.) Once the fertiliser is.spread, cover the soil with mulch and leave the garden to sit for a week to mature. (Never lea�e soil uncovered. If you don't have any mulch, leave the garden, even if it's full of weeds, until you get some.)

While that's happening I'll tell you a story. When I started my little garden all those years ago, my book said I needed mulch - to me that meant hay. So off I went and bought some bales of very expensive hay. A couple of days later when I was raking leaves and spear grass, to make big piles and burn them, 1 suddenly realised I was burning mulch. I looked around and There was mulch everywhere. 1 know this sounds silly but . . . I have no excuse. it was silly .

. N, v, I don't burn anything _ except diseased plants. All the leaves, pandanus fronds, grass ··...-mgs. the grass we rake off the firebreak, paper, old clothes, blankets, everything gets put

�, pile and used as mulch. \I� .. last year, it migllt have been Troppo 4 season, I noticed strange markings to and from -!ch pile. Then a movement caught my eye - dirt spurting up in the air. The dog and into stalking mode and crept over. T here were two scrub fowls taking turns at digging


a hole in my mulch pile. Those strange marks along the ground were from them colleCting leaves and twigs around the garden and adding it to my heap. There they were digging deep holes and burying their eggs deep in the mulch pile.

Early this year, Knock'em down time, a tiny scrub fowl appeared. He wandered around making a nuisance of himself eating all my worms and scratching up my neatly organised mulch. The dog begged to chase him but ... poor little motherless child. Scrub fowls leave their eggs to incubate in the heat from the decomposing mulch and the poor babies have to bring themselves up. The least I could do was let him eat my worms. Anyway I've heard they're quite good eating.

Back to the garden -let it sit for a few days, then make holes in the mulch and plant your seeds. Most people who grow in the Wet, prefer non�hybrid, open�pollinated seed. They're available from specialist seed catalogues, through the Seed Savers Network, or from local

. gardening groups. Most seeds on sale today are not open�pollinated. They arc hybrid seeds, created by crossing two or more open�pollinated varieties. Although hybrids produce faster and have bigger fruit than open�pollinated varieties, they are often less hardy and less pest resistant. Also, if you use open�pollinated seeds, you can save the seeds from the best planr, each year. This way you'll eventually create varieties which are suited to your climate and your style of gardening.

Weeds are a major problem during the Wet. Not only do the usual varieties burst out of the soil with tireless enthusiasm, but many of the normally polite vegetables suddenly take on a Viking's passion for world domination; things like kangkong, sweet potato and amaranth. Cardboard and newspaper become slimy and dangerous when they're waterlogged so you can't use them around the fence�Iine or on paths during the Wet. Instead I let the weeds grow on the paths, cutting them for mulch when they get too long, and grow lemon grass around the fence�line, where it produces plenty of mulch for the Dry season garden and keeps the weeds down at the same time.

So what can you grow in the Wet season! Corn is a good crop. Pick a short variety so it doesn't get knocked over by the storms. Maize or yellow corn grows better than sweet corn at this time of year. If you cry easily, don't plant corn at the

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Scrub fowl - very dark little birds which forage around in the dried leaves of the understorey. Their curiously shaped crests givt the head an anvil-like form.

beginning or the end of the season when we get those heavy�duty blows, wait ti\llh'

monsoons set in. Check the cobs carefully for grubs and just squash then) as you find th�l�

. ,

Introduction 13

Fertilise with weak, weekly doses, as the rain will leach all the fertiliser away that the plants don't use.

Snake beans, winged beans, New Guinea beans and Timorese beans grow easily on trellises and have very few bug problems, as do loofahs and gourds. Snake gourds grow very well and are a good substitute for cucumber. Use teepee type trellises at this time of year, because they're very stable and don't get blown over easily. Also, because vines grow sparsely over teepee trellises, they let lots of air circulate around the plants reducing mildew problems and the places where buggy things can hide from predators.

Eggplant, amaranth, basil, chillies, capsicum, garlic chives, and Ceylon spinach will thrive. Even a few cherry tomatoes will hang in there for a while if they're shaded and nurtured. Sweet potato goes mad. And this is the growing season for rosellas, all the gingers, turmeric, lotus lilies, water chestnuts and arrowhead. Pumpkins will clam�er over everything; build a bed of

. mulch to sit the fruit on to stop them rotting. And, if the leaves aren't lush enough, cover the fruit with mulch to protect them from sunburn. Sometimes you'll feel lik.c. ypy.'re growing more bugs than vegi·es, but:once you get the right mix of fertiliser and ;helter they'll • p

,ower on .....:.....,:f.�prablems - well, not many

anyway. .: Lots of peoplc like to rest their vegie

"�arden through the Wet. It's probably not a bad idea, as long as you grow a cover crop to

··protect yOUI precious; soiL In the high temperatures and 'moist conditions, most of the organic. matter In your soil will decompose. The nutrients become water soluble and leach away. If you grow a cover crop the plants will use the nutrients before they disappear. And at the end of the Wet, you return the nlltrients back to the soil by ploughing

. in the c;overcrop. Initially the nutrients will be tied up in the soil while the plants decompose, but they'll be available again in six weeks. If you don't like to dig, slash the cover crop. The

·'to"oti. \viII decompose releasing their nutrients into the soil. The tops when still green can be cOIl)Posted, or when they're dry used as mulch .

. Any leafy plant is a good cover crop, especially those you can slash a couple of times d�ring the Wet season. Legumes make especially good cover crops because they grow quickly, and the bacteria associated with their roots enables them to take nitrogen from the air as well as'the soil. Also, if you plant legumes like cow pea, soya beans, mung beans or peanuts, you'll

. get the bonus of the seeds, beans or nuts to eat .

l4 Tropical Food Gardens

Once your Wet season garden is planted, there is nothing to do except build huge piles of compost everywhere. They decompose quickly at this time of year, and if you add branches and palm fronds to keep the pile loose and aerated, you won't even have to turn it.

COMPOSTING There are a million ways of making compost and all of them work. I build what's called a 'Iazyman's compost' (women don't admit to being lazy). I put down a layer of sticks, corn stalks, weeds and palm fronds; cover this with a layer of animal manure; then a layer of dry matter (hay, leaves). Now I throw on a good layer of greenery (grass cuttings or green mulch) then more dry material; manure and so on until I have a huge pile or I run out of materials. Water each layer as you go and, when it's finished, cover it with a tarp or the rain will make it soggy. After a couple of weeks lift the tarp and put your hand into the pile. It should be warm and smell rich - not rotten or slimy. If it's smelly or dry and cool, it's not working. Don't worry, just turn it. If it's too dry, add more water; if it's too wet, add more dry materials. Then pile it up again, throw on the tarp and let it go.

Making compost is a bit like baking a cake. It's only as good as the ingredients you use, anJ you've gOt to get the right mix of ingredients. A good rule of thumb (or wheelbarrow) is: to every two wheelbarrows of dry matter, add a bucket of animal manure or a wheelbarrow of green matter. Play around, you will get the hang of it - I promise.

Now we're into the Wet season, the monsoons settle in and you sit back, watch the garden turn into a jungle, the compost piles shrink and the moss grow. One day I slipped over on some moss growing on the stone path and - have you ever looked at moss closely? It's like thousands of little pine trees - intensely green, stiff and sharp. Mould is another faSCinating plant you'll get good opportunities to study - especially on kids' towels_ I always thought mould was flat dark stuff but. in the right conditions, it can grow into a beautiful lacy fur, grey and fluffy.

At this time of year, I like to jump in the car with a bottle of wine and some food and drive until I find a paddock or floodplain. Then I sit on top of the car or up on a hill to watch the lightning decorate the clouds as they change colour in the setting sun. And get terrified as the wind whips up the ridge like a herd of cattle, breaking branches and hitting you with huge raindrops which send you racing back to the car. Or go for a walk in the bush in the early morning, after a storm, when the air is still and rich with the smell of rain and moist earth; when the spear grass is so green it sings when you slide your fingers over it and the wallabies shake themselves dry and fight over patches of sun.

The Dry season garden

Soon it's Knock'em down time - February/March/April. TIle rain is gone and the spear grass is heading. I meditate over them as I pick them from my clothes; their golden shine. the stiffness of their tails and the little crinkles in their shafts, the spear head - some still harbour a hin�of green. They're attached to the stalk with fine golden cotton. The garden is a jungle of vines climbing into the trees, over paths suffocating, bullying. I imagine myself stifled by it in those hot breathless nights and climb up on the roof-a bottle of wine to entice the husband. The air is lighter, easier to breathe and a few stars shine defiantly through the clouds.

Now it's time to start preparing the Dry season garden. I walk around with my belt of cutting tools; knife, saw, secateurs, a sword? There's a drooping banana leaf _ slash; SOlll!;'

Introduction 15

mint on the path - rip; a pumpkin vine in the lime tree - cut, pull. I collect all the weeds, prunings, the lemon grass mulch, all the spear grass mulch cut from the firebreakS or a couple

of bales of hay if I'm rich, and throw it in the Dry season garden with the chooks. Then I rake spear grass from the firebreak and the roadside to use as mulch. (Have you

ever noticed how spear grass dries? Once the spear�shaped seeds have fallen and twisted their way into the earth, safe from Dry season fires, the leaves at the base curl into twisted spirals. The stalk turns copper then yellow, leaving purple patches in the most amazing shapes. The nodules become dark and shiny with flecks of purple and pink around them. And when you crush spear grass heads the air smells like cracked wheat.) Every now and then, I'll come across a bandicoot hide, a bare patch of dirt covered with grass, or a pigeon nest. Sometimes while the land is being burnt, these pigeons have to start again, three or four times before they get a clutch to survive.

Once I have a huge pile of mulch, I let the chooks into the Wet season pen and get into the Dry season pen with my fork. I reclaim the soil, lifting it, checking the texture and potentiaL llime if necessary, cover with a thin layer of mulch and leave it a few days. Then I spread a ute load of chook manure or fertiliser and cover that thickly with mulch. I water every day. I don't bother with furrows or raised beds in the Dry season garden. I keep it all one level to reduce evaporation. I use newspapers or cardboard round the fence�line and along the paths to stop the weeds. (Beer boxes are perfect for this purpose and most of the pubs will let you pick them up for free.) After a few days I make holes in the mulch and plant.

SEEDLINGS If I'm organised, I'll sow the seeds which can be transplanted (tomatoes, capsicum and brassicas) in February/March. You can extend the growing season by a month this way. However, February/March is Knock'em down time6 and so there are still lots of chewy insects lurking which will nip off your seedlings as they emerge, and the odd heavy storm around which will pummel them to death. So you need to sow your seeds in seedling rrays in the shade�house. Aim to have them IOcm high by late May or April when you can plant them

,.. ....,, - . \

\ � :\. " • '-\.. 'I.

A·frame shelter made from old nyscreens


out in the garden. IfI'm not organised,l make rows in the mulch when the weather has cooled down and plant the seeds in the soil, heaping the mulch up beside them to keep them moist and cool and covering them with movable A-frame shelters. They're made out of old mossie screens.

These frames are perfect for sprouting seedlings in the garden and to protect them after they've been transplanted. The sides are sloped at such a steep angle that the heavy raindrops can'r penetrate, they break into a fine mist before they get through to the seedling.

It's best to sow those plants which don't like their roots disturbed (capsicum, brassicas) in individual pots. I use things like egg cartons and waxed paper one-litre milk containers. Plants like tomatoes, which are happy to be transplanted, can be sown in polystyrene boxes. I use a light loose potting mix, with plenty of coarse sand and compost. The soil should he kept moist all the time and I fertilise once a week with liquid fertiliser. When the seedlings are a couple of weeks old, I put them out in the morning sun each day to sun-harden them.

TRANSPLANTING When I first started my little vegie garden all those years ago, a kind friend gave me half a box of tomato seedlings. I raced home, so excited! and in the boiling midday sun, planted rhem. They were all dead before morning, shrivelled, sunburnt and boiled. Now I sun-harden religiously and only ever transplant late in the afternoon so the plants have all night ro relax before they have to face the sun, start work and begin growing. Also, as soon as they go into the ground, I water them well and mulch them heavily. If they haven't been sun-hardened properly, I sprinkle loose mulch over the top of them to protect them from the midday sun. For the first week after they have been transplanted, I water them twice a day. Once they're established, once a day will do- early in the morning. Just remember, every setback the little plant has to survive - sunburn, too much fertiliser, lack of water - will make them less pest resistant, less hardy, less vigorous and less confident and so, they'll produce less food.

During the Dry, as well as all the vegetables already mentioned, you can grow a whole variety of cooler climate vegetables. They are much greedier than tropical vegetables so give them plenty of compost and fertilise every week.

Lenuce needs a good rich soil and lots of nitrogen. They get bitter in the hot weather so I try to get them out in the garden as soon as I can - early April. And they are waming shade by July. The leaf lettuce varieties produce well; mignonette lettuce, Darwin lettuce. They don't head, you just pick the outer leaves when they're ready. They'll keep producing leaves until the warm weather sends them into sllicide mode, when they flower beautifully and die. Darwin lettuce will set viable seed.

Cabbages are as greedy as caterpillars. They will gobble up weekly doses of liquid fertiliser and all the compost you can give them. If the cool season is short, they often don't head, and the heads are never too big but they are tasty. Start them off early in seedling trays so they're ready to go out as SOon as the temperawre drops.

Purple. climbing and dwarf beans will grow and produce beautifully during the Dry. They get chewed on by chewy things but they'll still give you an abundance of beans to freeze. They like lots of decomposed chook manure (nitrogen and potassium).

I plant snow peas every year at the end of March so they're up and ready to flO\ r and fruit if the cold snap hits in June. When the corn is about a month old, you can plant a snow pe:t between each corn plant and when the corn is harvested, the stalks obligingly stay upright:t� a trellis for the snow peas. Some years, it never gets cold enough and the snow pens.grow intO

Introduction 17

dainty, perfect little upright vines with no pea pods. Other years they're loaded. But they don't take up much room and the seeds keep well from one year [Q the next, so I just put them in every year and take the chance. This year we had SO much cold weather my snow peas are still fruiting in August. I've had to add three extra layers to the trellis. The vines are 2m high and still growing.

Loosen the soil nice and deep for carrots, and add lots of compost - the faster they grow, the nicer they'll be. Get them into seedling trays early and out in[Q the garden by April. You only have a short season and they get bitter and nasty when they don't get enough to eat, or drink, especially when they think it's too hot. They're ready to pull out by August/September. They never get too big but they're much tastier than the bought ones.

Many of the tropical roots like white carrot, Raphanus sarivus, which is reputed to produce throughout the year, will grow much better in the Dry. They are naturally bitter and the hot weather makes them almost unbearably so. Plant them in the Dry and they're beautiful. Feed them lots of compost. Actually those no�dig garden beds built with layers of hay and manure are good for these type of root vegies.

•

Plant sweet corn around the edges of the garden in blocks. Bali corn and Jolly Roger both seem to do very well. Fertilise weekly for the first month or so and then again when they start to flower.

Silver beet will grow well with lots of nitrogen�rich fertiliser and plenty of water. Some years, some people even grow broccoli. I'm not one of them. It grows best in pure compost and I save all my compost for my ")0/

parsley. However, it is possible. The heads are never too big but it's beautiful broccoli. Transplant them our into the garden in May so they're growing in the cool time May/June/July.

Watermelon, rockmelon and all the different varieties of melon, grow and fruit best af this time of year. They suffer terribly from mildew in the Wet in my garden, so I only grow them in the Dry.

" Spring onions should be planted wherever there is space. They'll grow from March until well into October. Tropical shallots Alliu.m ascalonicum taste the same as the European shallots but they're pink. Plant them everywhere also. Harvest them like spring onions or wait until they die and eat them like tiny onions. In Bali, before you even think about what to cook for dinner, you spend ten minutes peeling onions-these little onions. They have a nice strong flavour and keep very well once they're ci'<)'.

Snow peas - tiny budding leaves nestled protectively within the sheath

of the older leaf.

1 8 Trop ical Food Gardens

F E RT I L I S E R S I fertilise my garden with a brew called 'Super Dead Shit'; a fertiliser invented by my friend Riina. Mine's not as super dead as hers was; she used to throw in anything dead and grew cabbages that headed in eight weeks. Mine's much tamer, j ust a bag of chook manure and weeds draped into a drum of water. If you put a layer of hay on top of the water it will stop the disgusting smells escaping. Fertilise with this brew or other liquid fertilisers once a week, pouring the liquid over the leaves to deter pests and mildew and your plants will grow like wildfire.

Growing your own vegies does take time and can be a bit of work. But, like my friend Jude says, 'It's fulfilling to get out there away from the noisy kids and potter in your garden; to look at your plants getting bigger and looking healthy and then you can chop their heads off and cook them up - stress relief and relaxation in one swing. And when you invite your friends around for tea, to eat your home-grown poultry and five or six different home-grown vegies, and the only thing bought is the roast potatoes and the onion in the s tuffing, i t makes you feel pretty good.' I agree.

C i r c l e g a r d e n s

Circle gardens are perfect for people who don't have a lot of water, or who have low water pressure from a tank or windmill. They are just as useful for those people who are full of passion and vigour at the beginning of a project but hopeless at day-to-day maintenance. So - if every year you're clawing at the hoe to get out there and start the vegie garden, slaughter a Wet season's worth of weeds and restore urder in nt:at ruws uf rnulcht:d plants, but when. it's

time to fertilise, squash bugs and mow, can't drag yourself out the back door - read on, you're with a kindred spirit.

One year, my first spark of enthusiasm found me at the local library in the 'homestead' section poring over Permaculture, Organic farming, Surviving in the '90s. As usual I was seeking the secret to a vegie garden which maintains itself, so when I came across a book on circle gardens I was very impressed. It sounded fantastic, micro-ecosystem.s which concentrate the earth's energies, produce bumper crops and best of ail, after the initial preparation, there's no work. YOll j ust pick from nature's abundance! Well, it didn't turn out quite like that. I did have to fertilise and do some weeding, but the circle gardens used much less water and fertiliser and produced very few weeds.

To make circle gardens, simply roll or slash the cover crop (or weeds) flat. Then, mark out circles, about l .5m in diameter and about SOcm apart. Pull the plants out inside the circles. This will loosen the soil enough so you don't have to fork. Then rake the dirt from the centre of the circle out to the rim to create a dish. The outside wall should be abollt I Scm high.

The�1 sprinkle a handful of dolomite in the dish, rake it in, and the n mulch and water well. A few daY$ later, throw a handfu l of blood and bone or dynamic Iifter into the dish and add as much compost, manure and anything else you have around, till it's IOem higher than the rim. Mulch the rim with hay to reduce evaporation and leave it a few days before planting.

I lay beer cartons between the circles to stop the weeds but, because you're onl'Y \�atering the growing areas, you don't get too many weeds in the paths anyway. I run a 2cln (3/4 inch) poly pipe down the middle of each row of circles and plug little sprinklers into the pipeit' in the middle of each dish. Once the plants are established, they create a barrier which stops most of the water going outside the growing area.

i n l ro d u c t i o n 1 9

Comp;lninn planting is perfect (or circle gardens. I usually grow capsicum and tomatocs Mllund the inside o( the rim, hasil !...m the lip and then a row o( garlic chives right the way fl)und the ourside edge. Then I surround it with a circle o( pig,wire7 ro give the lOmatoeS and capsicums something to lean on. Or I plant corn and snow peas around the inside o( rhe rim and a variety o( shl)rr heans arnunJ the lip. Dwarf heans should be planted in most o( the circles as they'll ad!...1 nitrogen tn the soil. And o( course, plant marigolds everywhere to attract predarory insects arKl bees.

To make a totally pest'proo( cage. I put an 2.Stn (8 (oot) smr-picket in the middle o( the circle, aunch an old umhrelb fmme to the picket anJ throw a mossie ne[ over it. Snow peas, leW.I O .. ' and cabbage luve these little sancru<1rics. Circles are a bit too small for ramblers like

Circle gardens

... 1 . 5 metres ..

Mark out circles about 1 . 5 metre diameter. Pull out plants and weeds. Rake dirt from centre to the rim to create dish.

- . - o Q' ." "0 . .. • ...

' .;:>- ..... ' Q - . ;> . " '." '. �. . . ' .i • . �'. >. " . •

. _ C _- (/o : O" -.(,"' _ - - - - - . . ... . .

. " - . '. ' 0" .

Sprinkle dolomite in dish. rake it in. Mulch and water well.

Add blood and bone. compost. manure etc., to build I 0 cm higher than rim. Mulch rim with hay. Set sprinkler in centre.

. . t 1 5 om


pumpkins and watermelon but are perfect for smaller climbers. Teepee trellises work well for climbers like cucUlnbers, winged beans and snake beans. The same old star-picket and umbrella frame will make a good trellis for light vines like winged beans and snake beans. They'll cover the umbrella frame, making dappled shade in the circle in the middle of the day So yOll can grow things that like a bit of shelter.

Probably the most difficult thing about growing your own food is keeping up the enthusiasm. Trying out new theories of gardening keeps the mind and the enthusiasm churning over. I don't have circle gardens every year, but sometimes when the enthusiasm's low and the weeds high, fo� something different, a bit of spice in my life, I make my circle gardens and enjoy the planning and design and later, the low maintenance.

P e r m a n e n t g a r d e n s You don't need to prepare and dig a new garden each year. A friend of mine, Dave, has worked for many years designing sustainable food gardens using permaculture principles. His vegie garden looks haphazard there are no neatly ordered rows or clean swept paths. It looks like everything's just growing wherever it wants, like weeds in a pile of mulch. But like most thing� that look spontaneous, it's the underlying theory and design plan which makes them work perfectly. This type of garden is always full of plants. It grows and changes with the seasons.

As one lot finishes, they're replaced with whatever is suitable for that place, at that time ._

of year. Perennial and annual vegetables grow together and each plant complements it:. neighbours. A galangal clump shelters a bed of lettuce, a patch of oregano survives the whole Wet season prOtected by a couple of eggplants. Along the paths, gotu kola thrives, making a dense mat and keeping other weeds under control. A passionfruit vine grows thickly on the southern fence�line as a windbreak. It's a godsend in the Build�up when you'd swear the wind was coming straight from Hell. The trellis also makes a good vantage point for predatory birds. Dave uses ceepee trellises throughout the garden and underneath them, in the dappled shade, he grows plants like coriander and rockec.

How oftcn you visit a plant will also havc an impact on where you put it. Plants like corn, which you sow and then pick, can be put in the middle of a bed. Plants you pick from every day, like tomatoes and capsicum, need to be around the edge of the garden beds where they're more accessible. Mint and other creeping herbs will grow in the sun on paths and smell lovely when you walk on them.

Crop rotation is very important in a permanent garden, as is biodiversity, because pests and diseases can move from one plant to another, year round. So, you have to grow a variery of vegetables and always planc lots of flowers. Also, throughout the garden grow legumes; some for their seeds, beans or nuts; others simply to increase biodiversity and to produce nitrogen-rich mulch that can be cut and used on site. Dave also has his chook pen incorporated into che vegie garden, so that weeds, diseased fruit and plants and excess can be thrown over the fence. And he lets the chooks into the garden to feed on the bugs every now and then. This type of garden is a bit like a cottage garden. Once the plants find the right spot, they'll thrive and lots of them, things like chilli, amaranth, basil, marigolds and cosmos, will self�seed.

To stan a permanent vegie garden, select a site with good drainage and fence it securely. Hill up the edges of garden beds a little, digging around them with a hoe and throwing the soil back on to the bed - don't [urn the soil. Then, sheet mulch the garden with newspaper Of

I ntroduction 21

cardboard to kill the weeds. Always put a high nitrogen fertiliser down underneath sheet mulch, because as it breaks down it robs the soil of nitrogen. Also, dampen the newspaper before you put it down, or you'll have to water it for hours to get the moisture through to the soil.

Only use newspaper five sheets thick as it's very high in carbon and low in nitrogen. If it's toO thick, it'll take forever to break down - the beasties have a really hard time with it. Now, cover the newspaper with mulch. Go fairly thick with the mulch - about 1 5-20cm - so it lasts until you've got mulch growing on site. Throw on some,manure, then another layer of mulch, a little bit of nitrogen-rich fertil iser, some compost or greenery and more animal manure and mulch. It's like making a compost pile. When the beds are full, you can start planting seeds in little pockets of compost. As the mulch and manure in the beds decompose, you JUSt add more and keep them full of plants all the year.

So, in this type of garden, early April will find you slashing the cover crops and using them for mulch. All the perennial things like eggplant, chilli and capsicum will get pruned, covered with compost and mulch. They'll resprout, flower and produce all Dry season. Then, start planting Dry season seeds and seedlings. You don't have to dig because. with the plants growing in the soil all the time, it's already aerated, light and friable. So all you do when one crop finishes, is replace it with. another. When you pull out a root crop, plant a legume or a leafy green. When you cut a legume, dig it in or use it as mulch and plant tomatoes, or another heavy feeder in its place. Follow tomatoes with root crops. Then, about October, when your Dry season vegies start going downhill and little bare patches start to appear, fill them with ... your cover crops to protect the soil during the Wet. Cow peas, Whynn cassia and peanuts are good because they'll form a blanket over everything, outgro�ing all the weeds, and produce plenty of nitrogen-rich mulch for your Dry season garden. About this time turmeric and ginger will emerge from rhizomes in the ground, the rosella seeds you tossed around at the end of the season will germinate, and the sweet potatoes will go mad. Prune back the eggplants, basil and capsicum before the Wet sets and just keep planting blocks of corn wherever you find a space.

Before we get into what to grow, a word on staples such as rice and potatoes. Rice grows very well in our tropical climate. Chinese gardeners grew it wherever they had

the room and the water. At one time it was even grown commercially arollnd the Adelaide . River flood plains. However, harvesting and winnowing rice is a painful, time-consuming job

;. so I-don't bother to grow it. If you want to add some 'wild rice' to your diet, there are a couple of native varieties

3;vailable. Both Oryza rufiJ>ogon and O. meridionalis were traditionally eaten by Aboriginal people. However, when you're growing rice remember that Magpie geese consider these sl)ecies their favorite food, especially when they're feeding their young . . .

.... Now for potatoes! _ I've never had any luck with commercial potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). But other people have more success growing them, one of the best ways is in piles ef tires filled with well drained soil.

Clem Gullick, like most missionaries who came up here in the early days. grew everything, including potatoes, in the sandy soils on Elcho Island. Now at Noonamah he still grows a few bur says the hardest part is getting the right seed - the difficulty is not being able to keep your own potatoes for seed as they rot or mutate into tortured white growths over the Wet season. But Clem reckons that if you get the right variety, build yourself up some good garden soil (not too much nitrogen), plenty of phosphate and potassium, get the seed into


the ground early enough in the Dry season and harvest them three months later -you'll be able to dig up some lovely little new potatoes.

E N D N O T E S

2

3

4

5

6

7

44 gallon drum. During World War 1I used to cart fuel. Left in their thousands on dumps and used extensively by the locals to cart water, make stumps to hold up the house, septic tanks and pot

planters. The BlIild�up (August-September) - the cool weather is gone, there has been no rain for six

months and it's hot. Sronn clouds build up and collapse like gutless souffles leaving you weak with want- there won't be any rain for another month. Foulacides - a colloquial expression meaning any chemical ( icide) used to kill in the garden or

house (insecticides, herbicides, miticides etc.) .

Troppo season - November-December - days are usually hot and humid, relieved in the afternoon or evening with an eiec{ricai storm - moods swing, drinking escalates with the holidays and Christmas and so does violence in the community. Hence this is known as the maJ or 'Troppo' season.

In this savanna landscape which is dominated by large tracts of grass, yearly fires are a fact of life. Most properties clear lines through the country, slash them each year and use them to work from when controlling wildfires. Knock'em down time - the monsoon has gone leaving scattered violent scorms. The grass which has grown to two metres high during the Wet, seeds, dries out and is knocked down by the wind

and rain. Pig�wire - fenCing materi:lI, about a metre high with l S-20cm wide holes in it.

Ve g e t a b l e s

Ve g e t a b l e s A - Z

A R R O W H E A D

Sagittaria sagittifolia; S. sinensis

A rrowheHd is a water plant which produces corms at the end of a rhizome. Its distinct ;Itn.m'· shaped leaves stand straight up out nf the water 60cm high. Young shol)[s and leaves arc edible, but the real prize is the corms. If grown in fertile soit, t hey'll grow 4cIll long and 2 . 5cm w ide. The corms are cgg�shaped. sweet and starchy. They're usually peeled, sliced and used i n Chinese-style meat and vegetable dishes.

Growing h i nts Pr\)pagate by corm or plant. They can be hard to find. so ask local gardening groups. In their n,Huml environment, arrowhead grows in shallow water around the edge of ponds <1111..1 swamps. They need vcry fertile soi l. J grow rhem in pure decomposed cow manure, �nd press fert iliser pellcfs wr;lppcd in shadeclorh into {he soil, a couplc of rimcs a year. I also grow a:nla ,lIld other nirrogen.(i xing plmus in rhe watcr.

Arm ... vhcad likcs :1 sunny position, in a baduuh nr in n wide PO{ submerged ,It rht.' edgl.' of a pond. Planr rhe conns or spn)utcd pbnts in the soil and keep the soil c�)Vered with 8-1Scm �)(


water. Guppies and narive rainbow fish will live in water rh is deprh and keep the mozzie larvae down. The plants will grow over the Wet and produce corms when the water dries out in the Dry season. (See water ches£nllts for more information.)

Arrowhead have a six�month growing season. Harvest the corms when the soil is dry. Cook them in salty water and use them like water chestnuts. Replant new corms immediately - they don't last once they are harvested.

A S P A R A G U S Asparagus officinalis

Asparagus has fine hairlike foliage and grows up to half a metre high. If you have only ever eaten asparagus from a tin, you won't believe how good fresh asparagus tastes. Although it is a cold climate vegie - best suited, I believe, to places where the ground freezes over - it will grow and produce up here. You don't always get enough for a meal, but the

Arrowhead pale delicate little corms u nderwater

one or two you can steal from the garden before anyone else sees them are definitely worth the effort. Eat them raw or steamed slightly.

Growing hints Propagate by division. It is best to buy or divide one or two� year�old plants that have been locally grown. Plant the crowns at least 40cm apart and cover them with Scm of compost. As the shoots grow, keep adding compost and mulch. If 'You have to plant by seed, sow the seeds in a pot in the shade�house or in the ground in an area protected from heavy rains. They'll have [Q grow for at least a year before you can put them in their permanent position. Male crowns produce larger spears than female crowns. Male plants are those with the thickest stems.

Asparagus needs to grow in a large permanent raised bed - you will need about 30 plants to get a reasonable crop. The soil must be well drained and rich in organic matter. A mixture of river sand, rinsed charcoal and compost is good, as is the deep compost, no�dig method where you build up layers of hay, compost and manure. Use the edge of rhe bed as a comp'0st heap, adding kitchen scraps, grass cutrings and manure. When the plants go spindly in the Dry, rake the decomposed compost over them. Y.ou'll end up with quite a large mound. Cut the plants back and mulch

Asparagus - tiny. fragile new

shoots concealed beneath the 1 0 mm sheaths on the spear head

them heavily in the Build�lIp. I heard a story once that a fanner outside of Katherine used to slash his asparagus paddock with a trac[Qr. One year while slashing, a spark srarted a fire and burned the whole paddock. That year produced the best spears he'd had in a long rime. I was

Vegetables 25

never able to verify the story but all gossip is worth repeating, surely. After they've been slashed, burned or cut, start feeding your asparagus plants to give them plenty of energy for the coming growing season. Asparagus loves fish emulsion and seaweed�based fertilisers. Also. keep weeds down, they hate competition. They need full sun in the Dry season and semi�shade in the middle of the day during the Wet.

It takes a few years for asparagus plants to establish themselves and start producing good sized spears. You'll probably harvest your first spears in the third or fourth year. Always have a thick layer of mulch covering the soil so the spears can grow nice and long. When the tip of the new spear emerges through the mulch, pull the mulch back to expose it and cut it as low as possible without injuring the crown. Only take a couple of spears each year until you have a large patch established. Always leave a good proportion of shoots to grow and feed the crown.

B A M B O O Bambusa spp . , Dendroclamus spp. Bamboo always causes a stir - people either love it or hate it. One person will have tales of invasion, domination, backbreaking work, pick, shovel, dynamite and uteloads of rubbish to the dump. Someone else will tell wonderful myths about the life cycle; how each plant lives for centuries, then flowers massively and dies. Np matter where in the world it's been transported to, all the plants of that species die together. How romantic! A tour operator even told me that bamboo only ever flowered when a catastrophe happened. The first, he said, in European memory was when Darwin was bombed. The second was 'Cyclone Tracey' and then the huge Wet season which caused the 'Katherine flood'. So, when the local bamboo started to flower, I rang the herbarium full of excitement only to be told, 'Yes it does happen', but 'No they aren't going to all die right across the Top End. Some will flower and die, others will flower and recover. Some won't flower at all. And anyway', he asked, 'Had it occurred to you that all those cataStrop!les had happened in a sixty�year period? If bamboo is only meant to flower every hundred or so year� how could it be true? No,' he said, 'It had nothing to do with catastrophes.' I was very disappointed.

Bamboo shoots

Many species of bamboo will grow in our climate but the ones that everyone is growing for bamboo shoots, are Bambusa oldhamii, Dendroclamus latij1orus and Dendrodamus asper. The local variety Bambusa arnhemica has very edible shoots as well, but because they are so bitter they need to be prepared thoroughly. Freshly cooked bamboo shoots are crisp, nutty and

" delightful in Chinese food,

Growing hints Although mOst bamboos will propagate easily by seed, they flower rarely and the seed won't necessarily grow the same quality shoots as the parent. It's better to propagate edible bamboo by caking rhizomes from a mature clump. However, make sure you take actively growing rhizomes with live tips, not woody underground stems which are tOO old to produce new growch.


Your bamboo will need to grow for three or four years, before the shoots are big enough and plentiful enough to harvest. During this stage, water and fertilise right through the Dry seaSOn. Once the clumps are mature, they'll slow down in the Dry. TIle main growing and harvesting season is in the Wet. So as soon as the weather starts to warm up in September/October, start watering and fertilising to get them into action mode. Bamboo plants need lots of organic matter to produce healthy shoots - they should be mulched heavily throughout the year and fertilised regularly during the growing season.

Bamboo rhizomes grow out from the main plant producing new shoots each year. On one rhizome you'll have a three�year�old, a two�year�old and a one�yeaT�old stem. This year it will produce your shoots. If you harvest the shoot, the rhizome will produce another. However, remember when you are harvesting shoots that you're taking away new growth and the plant's potential to obtain nutrients. So each year, let several shoots develop to keep the plant productive. and remove the same amount of the oldest, no longer viable, stems. Mark each year's growth with different coloured paint so it's easy to see at a glance which is which. Keep the lower part of the clump clear of side branches to give you easy access to the root area. The small branches are tough and once they get into a tangle in your hair you have to yell for help. Your rescuer will probably use the story at every dinner party for a year. Something well worth avoiding. Keep plenty of mulch around the bamboo clump - about 20cm thick. I f you harvesl shoots regularly, the plant will produce throughout the season.

Harvest the shoots as soon as they emerge through the mulch, when they're about 15-20cm long. They'll grow very quickly, up to 25cm a day, so check for shoots at least three times a week. If they get toO large and become exposed to the elements, they'll be woody and inedible. In some plantations they cover the shoots with a black bag filled with straw so that shoots can grow

.

larger, without coming in contact with the air and light. To harvest, cut the shoots below [he ground, where they're attached to the rhizome.

Some bamboo shoots are poisonous or bitter when they're raw, they need to be cooked. Others are sweet and only need the slightest preparation. Bamboo shoots won't last \Yhen they're fresh, you have to cook them. To do this, cut the shoot in half down the middle, remove the layers of husk and the base and cook for 10-30 minutes in salty water. After they're cooked, you can keep them in a bag in the fridge for a couple of months, taking what you need for a succession of meals. You can also bottle them in a salt water brine o r slice and dry them.

C A P S I C U M S

Capsicum annuum

Capsicums are very high in vitamin C. In the home garden the fruit won't grow into those huge fat things YOll see i n the supermarket. But they'll grow and produce plenty of fruit all year round. Five or six bushes will produce enough for a family through the Wet season, and two or three bushes enough in che Dry. Capsicums will grow well in many positions as long as there's enough light. Plant them around fruit trees where their cover will reduce weeds and they can share the water and fertiliser.

Growing hints

Capsicum - flagrantly voluptuous form protects a dense cluster of small creamy flat seeds

Sow capsicum seeds in individual seedling pots rather than trays - they don't like being . transplanted. Sow your Wet season seedlings in the Build�up (September/October) so they're hl�

Vegetables 27

enough before you put them out in the ground to cope with the Wet season storms. Then plant another batch Knock'em down time (February/March) so they'll be ready for the Dry. (See chillies for more information.)

Capsicums are greedy, especially while they're fruiting, so add lots of compost, cow manure or fertiliser to the site before planting them and feed them regularly, once they start to flower. Don't use high nitrogen fertiliser or you'll end up with lots of lush green leaves and the fruit will be more susceptible to fruit fly. Capsicums like a neutral soil and they like the soil moist, so mulch heavily especially during the Build�up. If the soil dries out too much, they get 'Blossom�end rot' (the flower buds keep falling off). (See chillies for more information.)

You should be harvesting your first capsicums within three months oftransplanting and the plants will produce abundantly for several months. If you harvest them regularly when they're green, you'll get much more fruit than if you let them ripen (go red) on the bush. Some plants will grow and continue producing, on and off, for a year or more.

CASSAVA Manihot esculenta

Cassava is a good easy�to�grow staple crop. The young leaves are a green leafy vegetable, lIsed in cooking or fed to chickens and pigs. They can be dried and stored as a green feed for the Dry season. The tuberous rOOt can be sliced and fried like chips, boiled and added co vegetable dishes, or made into flour to be used in bread and cakes. They can also be boiled or grated for chickens and ducks or fed whole to larger animals like pigs. Grated raw cassava can be cooked and used in bread and biscuit recipes or as a thickener in gravy, soup, porridge or in desserts. Starch from the tuber makes Tapioca (recipe on page 149). I have my cassava planted in rows

• on the path to the pig pen. Each morning I break four or five branches off and feed them to the pigs and chooks, and every couple of weeks I'm able to pull up a mature plant and feed

� � them some tubers as well.

Growi ng hints Cassava grows easily from cuttings. However, many varieties are grown as ornamental plants totally useless for eating. Be sure to take cuttings from cassava which has been bred for eating, if possible, from someone who eats the tubers and has pronounced the variety 'sweet'. Take sticks. about 30cm long and I.Scm thick from a woody part of the stem. Remove all the leaves. In the Dry season s;t the cuttings in water till they grow roots. In the Wet season plant them straight in the ground. Dig a shallow trench, lay the cuttings flat in the trenches about 80--140cm apart. You will often get tWO plants growing from each cutting. Or you can put them in at an angle with the tip sticking out, cover them with soil and water them well. The cutting will start to bud within a week and within a month you'll be picking leaves. Plant cassava in rows along the path so the leaves are easy to harvest.

Cassava grows naturally into a tall spindly bush with only a canopy of leaves at the top. If left like this, they will blow over in the first wind. So, prune them to a metre high. They can stand quite heavy harvesting. If you don't harvest the leaves for animals. cut the tops off regularly and use them as mulch. The mulch repels root knot nematodes. Cassava will grow all year round. However, termites demolish the tubers and they become woody if they stay in the ground too long. The growing season is six months long so plant and harvest them twice a year. Cassava is not particularly greedy, although the tubers will be bigger if well fed. I've grown cassava with bananas, lemon grass, underQeath pawpaws, in areas where it doesn't get much water, in areas where it gets abundant water _ and it thrives everywhere. Even in the shade under the rambutans it spindles along making a nuisance of itself.

To harvest the tubers, simply loos.en the soil with a fork, pull the plant up and cut the tubers off the main stem. Cassava tubers have more carbohydrate and less protein than other root


vegetables bur are quite a good source of vitamin C. Some varieties are bi[[�r. To make �em safe to eat, cut the root imo pieces and soak them in water for a day before cooking. Then bOIl them

in clean water for 10 minutes. Don't eat the variegated varieties - they've been bred for their looks not their taste. Sweet varieties can be peeled and cooked without soaking but they should still be boiled for 10 minutes before being eaten or added to stews. Harvest tubers from six months old - [00 old, and the centre cortex in the tuber gets large and woody. The tubers should be crisp and break easily. They store wrapped in plastiC in the fridge for many weeks and, peeled and frozen, for up to six months.

Pests and diseases Cassava is a good crop to grow where you want to test for herbicide drift. It will react to even the smallest amounts of herbicide. The new leaves curl up like arthritic fingers for months afterwards. Termites MaslOtennes darwiniensis are cassava's most serious insect pest. In some

. areas it's impossible to harvest the tubers; they're all hollow before you can get to them. However, the plant grows regardless so, in these areas, I just harvest the leaves. (For more information on termites see page 14J.)

C O R N

Gramineae

Cassava - skin of tubers gold/brown, white nesh inside. can have red leaf stems.

l love corn, we have it growing in the vegie garden throughout the year. And every couple of years, when my husband's African blood bubbles to the surface, we plant the whole vegie garden with maize. We pick maize at many stages. When the kernels are full, but still white and juicy, we eat them straight off the stalk in the garden. Later, when the kernels are pale yellow we grill them, on the cob, wrapped i n their sheaths, on the barbecue, or slightly boil them in salted water, When the kernels are bright yellow we cut them off the cob with a knife to throw them raw into salads, fritters or chicken and sweet corn soup. But do you know what's really nice! If you leave them on the stalk till the kernels are dry, a little _ nO[ tOO much - just so when you press them with your fingernail no juice comes Out. And you sit on the verandah and push the kernels off the cob until your thumbs are aching, Then you heat them i n a hot frying pan without oil, or on the barbecue. They don't actually pop bur they break apart and with lots of salt are absolutely scrumptious.

Growing hints There are hundreds of varieties of corn. I use Ba1i Corn and Jolly Roger (sweet corn) in the Dry season and a yellow corn or maize for the Wet season. Always plant corn in blocks of eight pl",nts by eight plants. The pollen falls from the flowering topS down omo the silks on the cob. So, if they're planted in blocks, they help pollinate each orher. Plant a new block every couple of weeks so you'll have fresh corn righr throughour the year. When you're planting a whole bloc� of

Vegetables 29

anything they need to grow up together. If one is a bit slow they get shaded out quickly. So pick your seeds well, you don't want weak ones which won't be able to keep up.

I usually fork the bed and cover it with mulch, then make holes in the mulch to plant me corn seeds - two in each space. Corn arc very greedy creatures and some people suggest that you bury a tablespoon offertiliser tOcm away from each seed while you arc planting. Push the seeds down into the soil to about the middle knuckle on your pointing finger. Far enough (hopefully) [0 fool the ants, bandicootS and birds, but not that far that the poor little bugger can't find its way to the surface. Did I say about 20cm apart? Yes, give them plenty of room. Plant four or five rows and leave a gap so you can go walking between the rows checking for grubs in the cobs, and smelling the sweet smell of the corn tassels.

When the corn is about IOcm high, I plant snow peas (in the Dry) or snake beans (in the Wet) between them. And a couple of pumpkins, watermelons or rock melons on the edge of the blocks. They'll lneander up the paths and between the plants. Sometimes they'll climb up and try to pull the corn over but usually not until the cobs have been harvested.

Cam grows up more than a metre high so will shade other plants and stop the water from overhead sprinklers getting to them. So plant corn around the edge of the garden. Also, they're very hungry plants. They need to be well fed while they're growing or they'll stay short and stunted and won't produce. Plant them in manu red soil and fertilise fortnightly with small doses of a balanced fertiliser, until the tassels appear. Mulch heavily, especially August-November.

Corn is ready when the tassels are dark brown and when, if you wrap your hand around the cob and squeeze, you can feel the kernels plump and ready JUSt under the surface. Open the sheath a little and the kernels should be a lovely bright yellowso full of juice they burst when you push a fingernail into them.

Corn

Pick them fresh and put them straight into the pot, or if you have too many throw them into the freezer in their sheaths - they'll keep for six months or more.

Pests and diseases Those little tiny snails can be a problem, slipping out of the mulch in the middle of the night to eat your newly born baby corn seedlings. They usually only become a problem in the Wet season. If they're around, cut the top and the bottom out oftins and put them over the seeds when you plant them. Remove them when the plants are 20cm high. You also need to check the cobs regularly for Heliothus and other grubs - especially in the Wet season. And black and ginger ants love to feast on corn cobs. Make sure you pick all the cobs, even those that are small. If you reave them in the garden the ant colonies will thrive and multiply.

E G G P L A N T S

Solanum melongena

Eggplants come in all shapes and sizes; round to oblong, pea size to the size of a grapefruit and any colour from white, pale green to dark purple. Most varieties will grow during the Dry, but the 'black beauty' and the tree eggplant with pea�sized fruit will grow all year round. Eggplants aren't the most nutritious of foods but laced with Mediterranean herbs, dried and kept in oil like sun�dried tomatoes; sliced and cooked with tomato and garlic in those wonderful Mediterranean dishes like moussaka and ratatouille; baked whole, mixed with garlic and tahini


to make the best dip - they are delicious. Also, eggplants will still be there when everything else in the garden has been decimated by the weather or the latest insect invasion. Plant them in the 'survival of the fittest' garden or permanent garden, just back from the path where theY'll be easy to pick and they'll fill the understorey beautifully with their lovely pale purple flowers

and dark shiny fruit.

Growing hints

Propagate eggplants from seed. Eggplants don't like (0 be transplanted, so grow them in individual containers, or just prepare a site in the garden and direct seed. If you sow seeds in February they'll have all Dry season to establish themselves before having to cope with insects and stress of the Wet. Some people plant new eggplants every couple of months to keep a good supply going - this is a good idea if you have pigs. Be careful when transplanting and look after them for the first couple of weeks, especially when it's really hot. Six plants will keep you, and the pig, sick of eggplants all year round.

Eggplants are not ravenOlls feeders. A good mix of manure in the bed before transplanting, a sprinkling o f fertiliser about 1 5 c m from the trunk every six months and plenty of mulch is more than enough. Although if you expect them to produce huge amountS of fruit you'll have to feed them more. Trim them back when they get tOO leggy, to keep them a nice strong bush. Mulch them heavily in August/September to reduce the heat and water stress.

You'll be picking fruit in three months and the plants will fruit for six months happily and a couple of years on

Eggplant - inside the dark purple form the flesh is dense but spongy. pale green/cream

i n colour. It protects tiny white seeds

surrounded by brown membranes set inside

little wormlike channels

and off. Pick the fruit when it has reached about three�quarters its full size - before it stops growing. The skin should be glossy and the seeds small. At this stage the flesh will be tender and tasty. An added advantage of picking the fruit before the seeds are mature is that the plant will produce more fru it; because that's the point, isn't it?- to produce seed to continue the species - feeding us is just a bonus. When the fruit is fully grown, it has dull skin and the skin will indent when you press it, feed these ones to the pigs or use them to make dips.

Pests and diseases If you plant eggplants among other plants you shouldn't have too much trouble with pests. Aphids sometimes arrive, nematodes can be a problem in abused soils; Heliothis grub can get out of control at times. (See section on Pests for controls.) Bacterial wilt affects eggplants. The only answer is to plant them in containers. But by far the biggest problem I've had recently is with mites in all their mutated and 'foulacide'�resistant varieties. Neem leaf oil seems to be working at the moment but natural predators are your best ally.

J E R U S A L E M A R T I C H O K E

Helianthus tuberosus

Jerusalem artichokes have joyous yellow flowers and edible crisp nu tty tubers _ a good substitute for water chestnuts. The tubers can grow u p to I Oe m long an.d are knobbly and cylindrical. The flowers and seeds are rich in protein and good chock food. They're a hardy enough plant but don't expect the prolific, weed�type growth that they warn you about in

Vegetables 3 1

Southern gardening journals. Even in our best soils they're just a nice compact little bush.

Growing hints Propagate by tuber. Always select the best tubers as propagation material. That is, the largest, which taste the best and are the smoothest. It seems a waste, but that's the only way to improve your stock. The flowers will produce viable seed which can also be grown but the seedlings produced by seed may not be the same quality as the mother plant. Of course the seedlings might also be better than the parent, but that's a chance a successful experimenter might take. I get tOO distraught at failure so tend to keep to the safe road. Using root stock, you're guaranteed to get the same taste and size tubers as the mother plant each time - providing you give it the same growing conditions. Plant the pieces of tuber in the ground, about 5cm deep in well dug rich soil about 30cm apart - mulch lightly. As the plant emerges build up around it with compost and mulch.

Jerusalem artichokes will only produce good tubers if you plant them in rich soil, fertilise them regularly and give them plenty of mulch. Those no�dig raised beds are ideal. Some people suggest cutting the buds off before they flower to ensure more nutrients are diverted to the tubers. But the flowers are beautiful - I couldn't do without them. I pick them and bring them inside as soon as they open.

You have to lift and harvest the tubers each year. If you leave them in the ground, all the tubers produced, large and small, knobbly and

� �usalem artichoke - brilliant orange/gold daisy-like

flowers. Tuber - flaky skin. light golden brown

smooth, tasteless and sweet, will regrow and the ones which are hardier, not necessarily the best tasting, will survive. Jerusalem artichoke tubers don't keep very well. So keep them growing throughout the year, replanting some tubers after harvesting every six months or so. Make sure your main planting is during the Wet season. It's a more natural cycle for a plant to grow and flower during the rainy time and make tubers as the cooler weather comes in - this will produce your best crop. Let the soil dry out at the end ohhe Wet to force the plant into producing tubers.

They'1l be ready to harvest when the leaves on the plant wither and die. They are thin skinned and don't keep, so leave them in the ground until you want to use them. They can be left safely in the ground for a couple of months after the plant is dead. Most recipes ask you to peel the tubers before eating them because the skin 'has an earthy flavour'. But they're hard to peel because they're small and knobbly and they discolour when they are exposed to the air. So I don't peel them, I JUSt scrub them, deciding instead that l like 'eanhy flavours'. Don't overcook them - throw them in at the last minute so they retain their crunchiness. I like them best when they're baked in their jackets in the oven or on the coals.

M U S H R O O M S Agaricus species

When I was a child, my grandmother used to take us to the racecourse and the pony clubs to collect mushrooms. But, being children, we were much more interested in finding the Dictyophora multicolouT which emerged in the surrounding jungle. They are (olll�smelling, phallus shaped fungi with an orange gauze�like covering. They emerge from an underground

32 Tropical Food G a rdens

egg, grow to 1 5cm high, burst open to spread spores and then collapse into a rotting sJnel l mess all in one morning. Because of this fascination I never really learnt which mush roo, I , � to pick and although I often go collecting mushrooms, I a l ways test them carefully befort. eating them.

The local edible mushroom is an Agaricus species, closely relatecl to the cultivated and field mushroom. It grows in grassy paddocks and lawns, appearing after rain, often in COwor horse manure. These mushrooms are quite small with short stalks, and caps 4-7.5cm acrO\<,. They are brownish�white on top. Their pink or brown gills turn darker brown with age.

ANY FUNGUS WITH GILLS THAT ARE WHITE, CREAM OR PALE GREEN SHOULD NOT BE EATEN. Even though the caps of these fungi look a bit like edible mushrooms, some of these whltc. gilled or pale�gilled fungi are poisonous. The most poisonous of these is the Chloro/Jh)'lIum species. They've got a long stalk and their large cap can be 7.5 to 13cm across when they'rt' mature. They're brownish�white on rap with white or pale�green gills underneath. However, the gills can go dark greenish�grey a few hOllrs after picking. This makes them easy to confuse with the edible mushrooms which has dark brown gills. When you collect mushroon"ls, cook a couple up and try them first before you throw a whole batch into a meal.

Although our cl imate favours the growth of all sorts of flmgi (you should sce the Stun my kids grow on their wwels), it's tOO hot to grow the commercial mushroom Agaricus bistxmcs.

However, there is a tropical mushroom - [he straw mushroom, Volvariella volvacea, which l�

cultivated widely in Asia - usually on a

compost bed of rice straw. The Shiitake Mushroom, Ilentinus edodes, is also grown in tropical Asia and delicious. These might be worth trying if you can get some spores.

Mushrooms are rich in B group vitamins. low in fat and arc reputed to be excellent for the skin and the immune system. So, get out there on those cool Wet season mornings when the air is ftl l l of moisture and find a spot where the cows and horses congregate for a yarn in the heat of the day and pick some mushrooms. Or go for a wander around the ovals and sec what you can find. A couple of

Mushrooms years ago I collected cow manure inro a pile under the bananas and got al l sorts of

mushrooms coming up. I didn't get any good ones so I've been out collecting and bringing them home to leave their spores on my mulch. I figure, if I get a good one growing, I'll let it spread its spores, feed it well with cow manure and wait till the next rain. I t hasn't been successful yet.

O K R A Hibiscus esculentus O T Abelmoschus esculentus

Okra's an essential for many Mediterranean and Indian recipes. they're a good soup thickener

and pigs love them. The seeds make lovely sprouts or simply soak them, boil them and add thcm to stCWS or feed them to chooks. After Cyclone Tracey in DarWin in 1975, we c1eMed :1 space in the rubble - not trusting the government's promise to feed liS _ and planted a vcgie

•

Vege[ables 3 3

garden. The next�door neighbour's house was spread all over the yard so we had no trouble finding borders for the beds. And the soil had been aerated in many places with impaled debris - some so deep we couldn't pull them Out -so we cut them off and dug around them. (To this day we sometimes press the fork into the soil and screech against a piece of steel [0

remind us of those days.) There was also plenty of compost - nor so much of the leaf lirrer and mulch type (there weren't any leaves on the trees) - but plenty of rorring meat and vegetables. We dug trenches in the vegie garden and a huge hole where the bananas used to be and buried the contents of two or three freezers stocked [0 the brim for Christmas. We grew the best bananas in the land for many years.

Anyway, the vegie garden. We had Greek neighbours in flats all around us, envious of our big back yard. so we had plenty of advice and seeds. Okra was one of the things they suggested that we'd never grown before, but being the middle of the Wet season we knew we'd better try everything. And the okra grew and produced better than anything else. At first we were excited and collected okra advice and okra recipes, using them in everything. As the weeks went by and the plants continued [0 produce with tireless enthusiasm, we gave them away and picked them really young and tried to pickle them or dry them and finally

Okra - small yellow flower. lobed leaves erect seed capsules - lovely noral star pattern in

cross-section

let them all go [0 seed. So beware. Okra produces abundantly. A couple of plants in the garden will produce more than an average household can eat.

Growing hints Sow the seeds into the ground where you want them to grow. They will germinate easily and grow all year. Pu[ in new seeds every [hree mon[hs [0 keep up a continuous supply.

Okra grows into a scraggy bush up to one and a half metres high with very little foliage so plant them back off the paths. They're a bit like rosellas in that they'll grow anywhere, without much TLC. However, if you feed them well, the pods will grow quickly and be more render and taSty. When you get SIck of fresh okra just let the pods mature and harvesr the seeds.

The hardest part about growing okra is keeping up with the fruit. It has pale yellow edible hibiscus type flowers which when fertilised form small green pods. The pods are ready to pick the day after the flowers fall. Pick them straight away or they'll get hard and woody. When using them don't slice them, just cut off the base, and use the pod whole either straight in the curry or boiled in water flavoured with vinegar. This way they're not so glutenous. If they need to be sliced, fry rather than boil them.

P E A N U T S Arachis hypogaea

Peanuts are high in nitrogen and potaSSium, so are a good crop to grow in the vegie garden as part of your rotation or as a cover crop. Also as a legumc, if the soil isn't already high in nitrogen, the bacteria associated with their roots will take nitrogen from the air. The green plants can be lIsed as mulch, compost, animal feed or dug back into the soil. During the Wet season, if you don't grow much else, grow a crop of peanuts in your vegie garden and they will

34 Tr opical Food Gardens

keep tbe weeds under control, condition the soil and produce a lovely crop of peanuts at the same time. As the weather heats.up and your Dry season vegies start withering, just pull them our and plant peanuts in their place.

Growing hints

Propagate by seed. I use the raw peanuts you buy from the health food shops. Loosen the soil down to about 20cm with a garden fork and hill the beds up a little. Peanuts are formed underground so i['s best co have a light friable soil and lots of mulch. l1ley need a reasonable amount of feeding, so add some compost, fertiliser, and a balance oftrace elements. Then plant the seed about an inch deep and cover with mulch. You can plant peanuts at any time of the year. They'll take longer to mature in the Dry season because the cold will slow them down, but they'll still grow well.

Peanuts grow quite quickly into a low bush. In about four to five weeks their lovely yellow flowers will emerge. As soon as this happens, sprinkle half a handful of gypsum around each plant and water it in. The flower is self� pollinating and will die within twO days and start to form a peg. The peg enters the soil and forms a pod underground - the peanut. From flowering to pod�fill you'll be looking at around four months -sometimes a bit longer. Give them some compost or fertiliser while they're flowering and fruiting (or is it nutting?).

Harvesting peanuts is an exciting job Peanuts - small yellow pea flowers which return

because you never know how many peanuts the underground

plants have produced until you dig them up. Water them thoroughly the night before. In the morning, push the fork into the soil around the plant to l.oosen it. TIlen lift the plant, peanuts and all, OntO the surface and turn it upside down. Mould is dangerous in peanuts so if there are still storms about you'll have to leave them in the sun to dry. In the Dry season, they can be hung upside down inside. It's better to wait until all the rains are gone before you harvest. The peanuts can be roasted in their shells, or husked (keep the husks for the potting mix) sprinkled with a little olive oil and salt, and baked in the oven until crisp. ScrumptiOUS! Never eat peanuts which are mouldy. If they do get wet after you harvest them put them straight in the oven or the dryer.

Pests and diseases

Try not to dig down to check the peanuts, to see how they're growing. Humans in the form of interested children and gardeners can be a major pest. Believe me they take four months - I know, I've dug them up and checked many times. Ants are also a major problem. If yOll don't sieve through the soil to get every last peanut out, the ants will. And as peanuts are high in protein the ants will multiply quick Iy into huge colonies and you'll be dancing 'Singapore ant' dances every time you go to the garden till they've eaten all rhe leftovers. Ants have very small mouths, so this can take a long time.

Heliolhis grubs will eat peanut flowers and leaves. Actually, they're pretty tasty, most things will em them, so grow them behind the six foot fence. Down at the DOllglas Daly where they grow broadacre peanuts, Brolgas gather in their hundreds to feast on them _ a beautiful sight

Vegetables 35

(for bird watchers). Also, always grow peanuts in rO[ation! They get a disease called leaf spot which exists naturally in our soil. If you grow them in the same.bed continuously you'll get a build-up of the disease. If you do get leaf spot, don't panic. You'll still get a reasonable crop. Just wait until all the leaves have died and harvest the peanuts. Don't compost the leaves or use them as mulch. Feed them to the pigs or burn them - the disease is carried over in the leaves. After an outbreak of leaf spot don't grow peanuts in that area again for a couple of years.

S N A K E B E A N S Vigna unguiculata

Snake beans are long thin beans which grow up to 30--6Ocm long, are stringless and hang in pairs. The young green beans, the ripe seeds, the leaves and young stems are all gcxx:J to eat. The young beans are sliced and boiled or stir-fried. They're excellent in bean salads especially if you blanch them first to soften them and bring out the colour. Young leaves, beans and stems are nice steamed and served sprinkled wi.th olive oil and nuts.

Growing hints The seeds are not always commercially available, so get seed from local gardening groups and save seed from the best plants for future generations. Plant twO seeds about I Ocm apart and when they've germinated and are IOcm high, snip off the weaker of the two. Snake beans produce abundantly so, four or five vines will be more than enough for a family. They'll grow and produce all year round, so sow a new crop every few months and you'll have a continuous supply.

Snake beans, as a legume. are very useful in rotation. The nitrogen-fixing organisms which are associated with legumes work more efficiently in poor soil, so plant them straight after a root crop. Snake beans aren't particularly greedy, although they like to be watered regularly, Wallabies, bandicoQ[s and rats love them so plant them in the vegie garden behind the fence. We have three freestanding nellises made from bits of an old security screen and a couple of stakes, so we can move them around. Give them about two metres of fence or trellis to ramble over. Make the trellis nice and strong or it'll get blown over in the Wet season storms.

You should be picking beans in twO months and the plant will produce for a couple of months if you harvest regularly. Pick them when they are about I S-ZOcm, before the seeds begin to swell in the pods. They grow very quickly so check them every day.

Pests and diseases Snake beans - long knobbly beans

Bean fly can decimate all bean seedlings but they usually which can grow to 30 cm or longer won't bother adult plants. They're more prevalent in the Wet, so take precautions when you're planting at this ti.me of the year. Grow beans in rotation and plant garlic chives and basil around them. Aphids can be a problem but again, if you have a few snake beans dispersed around the vegie garden, aphids won't do much damage. Where rhey do OCcur hose them of( with a strong blast of water.

•


S W E E T P O T A T O I mpomoea batatas

Up here, where the common potato doesn't do very well, usually succumbing to rot in the Wet, a good substitute is the sweet potato. Sweet powm is a very invasive creeper but it's so useful you have to grow it. You can feed the root and leaves to farm animals. The emerging shoots (tip, stalk and two or three unformed leaves) and the young fully formed leaves make delicious greens for stir fries or salads. The variety Coleambaly has a sweet flavoured white tuber which makes good fried chips and can be boiled or roasted. The orange variety is like pumpkin. Baked in coals it's scrumptiolls. Grated sweet potato is good for thickening soups and curries and a great filler in cakes, breads and fritters. At Milikapiti on the Tiw i Islands they grow a lot of sweet potato. They cook them much the same as they cook the traditional woodland yams, in the coals - a fire is built in the sand, when the sand gets really hot the sweet potatoes

'.

·-lt�·;.., ...... .{ '" w;...:�,�.)'",- " -

Sweet potato - smooth pink/brown skin with a very faint delicate pattern like

. crocodiie skin - luscious orange inside

are put in; some coals are added on top, roasting them quickly - they are delicious cooked like this.

Growing hints

Propagate sweet potato by cutting. They like to ramble so build mounded beds 30cm aparr to give them a bit of room. Don't dig animal manure into the beds unless it's fully composted. Lots of nitwgen will grow a great crop of leaves and no tubers. Sprinkle a well balanced fertiliser over the beds, rake it in and cover the mound with mulch. Fill the space between the beds with newspaper or corn posting material [0 stop the weeds.

To prepare your planting material cut 15-20cm from the growing tip of a runner. Trim all the leaves off until only the two little emerging leaves are left. Plant the runners in a shallow trench, horizontal in the ground with the growing tip j ust emerging. Press the soil firmly down and wmer it well. They should be about 30cm apart.

In the early years, when we were carting water, I planted sweet potato in the Troppo season and harvested them when the rains had finished. We had a glut of sweet potatoes for three months of the year. Then, once we got a bore and we had plenty of water, I planted a permanent sweet pOtato patch. When I wanted sweet potato I would just go out to the patch and look for a thickened roOt and dig. It worked well for about a year. Then sweet potato weevil got in and turned the tubers into an underground mass of rottint.:\..'!1ush.

Now I plant a new row of sweet potato each week arid harvest the rows as they mature. I don't have any problems with sweet potato weevil or termites because I'm harvesting the whole crop regularly. It's really organised but it works! Actually it's quite a nice start to the week or the weekend with a regular essential job in the vegie garden. The rows are only a metre long with three plants in each so we don't have an abundance to feel pressured by. I have them in rhe vegie garden, where they can rotate with the other vegetables throughout the year safe from the wallabies and bandicoots.

Like most root crops, sweet potatoes like phosphorOlls and potassium rather than nitrogen. Fertilise them at six to eight weeks and again at about twelve weeks if necessary. Keep them well watered . Overhead sprinklers are the best way to water because drippers or smaller irrigmion get

Vegetables 37

tangled in the vines when you're trying to harvest the tubers. Make planting mounds higher and farther apart for the Wet so tIley can drain easily and cope with the rampant growth.

The sweet potatoes will be ready to harvest in 16---18 weeks. The Iinle stem you put into the soil three months ago will be thickened and orange. Dig into the side of the mound carefully with a g-arden fork and lift. There should be two or three potatoes anached to the stem. In New Guinea these potatoes are called the 'Woman's Harvest'. Traditionally women harvested this crop to feed the family and the men harvested the larger crop laterJor trade.

Sweet potatoes don't last. Even in the fridge they will only last a week. But they store well in the ground, so only pick them as you need them: Sweet potatoes can be dried and made into flour- just cut them into slices and dry them in a dryer, oven or in the sun. They're ready when they snap rather than bend. Dried sweet potato can be ground into flour and used in baners, pancakes, mixed with wheat flour and used for bread making, biscuit making and to thicken soups and stews.

Pests and diseases Sweat potato weevil is the biggest pest. The adult is about 6mm and coloured a beautiful metallic dark blue and orange. They feed on the leaves, stems and roots. Eggs are laid in the root and the larvae burrow through the tubers making a soggy rotten mess. Sweet potato weevil survives from one season to the next in vines and tubers. If you have an infestation pull all the plants out, burn them and �tart again some,where else. Plant sweet potato in rotation, to stop the build�up of . insect pests like sweet potato weevil. Termites will eat old growth if you leave it in the soil long enough, so make sure you get all the potatoes Out of the soil when they're ready to harvest.

T A R O T R U Colocasia esculenta There are many varieties of taro. Most of them grow to a metre high, have heart�shaped soft leaves and produce edible thickened underground corms. The corms can't be eaten raw they must be cooked. Good varieties are sweet and can be cooked like a potato. They're delicious in meat dishes and make excellent chips (boil for ten minutes in water before cutting into chips and fryingf They can be baked in their skins, or peeled, sliced and steamed, or cooked 'in coconut milk. They can be added to'curries, soups and stews or used to make sweet desserts using coconut milk and sugar cane syrup. They're also good pig food.

Some' varieties of tarc are grown for their edible leaves and leaf sterns. The leaves are very nutritious. However, they contain a substance which, although nOt poisonous, burns the mouth. If you w�mt to use them for wrappers (like vine leaves), boil them for ten minutes in water or coconut milk beforehand, They can be boiled twice with 'fresh water and used like spinach. The acrid substance is more prevalent in older leaves, so pick leaves for .ea�i,ng as soon as they emerge,. when theY'�e st�ll soft rd pliable. The sterns of. some vanetles can be peeled, cut into pieces and boded 10 stews. They taste and look a bit like celery.

Growing hints Taro is propagated by sucker or pieces of the mother corm: Always get cuttings from someone who is using it as a vegetable, as some varieties can be bitter or nasty. Buy a taro corm'at the market and taste it first. Not all varieties have edible leaves or stalks. Ask when you're buying your propagation material or contact your local permaculture group or ethnic groups from Pacific Island countries, '

. Taro originates in jungly tropical rain�forest, so it needs plenty of moisture to grow happily. Some species even grow in water, so planr your taro patch in a shallow depression and mulch heavily to keep the soil moist. That way [hey will be happily sodden in the Wet and easy to keep moist in the Dry. I have them growing where twO sprinklers meet so they get drowned a couple of times a day and I mulch with cow manure and hay. If you don't have a lot of water, grow tam

. . '


through the Wet. Plant pieces of corm in rows when the rain starts, October/November, and harvest the corms when the soil has dried out and the plant has died. Taro will grow in semi� shaded areas but loves full sun. The local taro is the same variety as the edible taro. However, it hasn't had the years of selection which make the cultivated varieties much tastier.

Most tare can be harvested at about seven months, at the end of the growing season when the new leaves become smaller and the old leaves turn yellow and start to die.

Tare will store for a couple of days in a dry place, and wrapped in a plastic bag will keep for several weeks in the fridge. If it's peeled and frozen, it will keep quite well for six months or more. When ready to use, just put the frozen pieces directly in boiling water. The cooked corms can be dried and ground to produce flour which stores very well. Pick young leaves as soon as they open but leave enough leaves to feed the plant.

Pests and diseases

In other countries taro is attacked by a tarc beetle and a number of different virus diseases including blight. So, always plant taro interspersed among other vegetables, not in a monoculture. When importing new taro stock into your garden, plant it away from the established plots.

T O M A T O E S Lycopersicon lycopersicum, L. pimpine llifolium (L. pimpinellifolium is the cherry tomato) Tomatoes grow beautifully in the Dry season and, if you get the right varieties, you'll get a long and bountiful harvest. Grandma saved seed from her special varieties of tomatoes for 30 years and was so proud of them she only gave them to 'family'. I'm embarrassed to say I lost her 'Ox Kidney' variety but thankfully still have her famous cherry tomatoes. Most people have their own supertomato varieties - ones which produce better than anyone else's. Mine are Grosse Lisse, a local egg tomato variety and Grandma's cherry tomatoes. These cherry tomatoes will struggle well into the Wet, and have even produced the odd fruit, if they are well shaded. But they come from a long line of survivors. Many tomato varieties will grow in the Wet but when (he humidity and temperatures climb, the flowers stop setting

fruit.

Growing hints Tomatoes like a good organic neutral soil, so prepare the soil well. You can extend your picking time by planting seed in February/March in the shade�house well protected (rom bugs and heavy rain. When the cool weather comes, plant them out and they'll be bearing in

,

Tomatoes

Vegetables 39

no time. Also, sow another crop of cherry tomato seedlings in April/May, and they'll give you fruit until October/November.

Tomatoes don't mind being transplanted. But wait till the air is dry before planting them out into the garden. They'll get devastated by those little mitey things which love the hot humid weather. Transplant them our when they're 5-IOcm high. Mulch the soil but don't mulch right against the stem or you'll invite fungus and rOt. Keep the seedlings well watered - twice a day until they settle in. When transplanting, make a short trench, lay the seedling in the trench and bury at least t\vo�thirds of the stem underground. More roots will grow out of the stem ro give the plant a good strong root system. This is an especially good idea if you have bought seedlings and they're root-bound in their little seedling punnets.

If you have bacterial wilt in your soil, plant your tomatoes in pots, half�44s, or a pile of tyres on a piece of tin is good. Wrap the pots with pig�wire to give the plants support as they grow. If you don't have wilt, plant your tomatoes in the ground. They'll need to be staked or grown through a frame, otherwise they'll lie on the ground, and create a tangled mess of foliage which gives bugs and grubs a nice place to hide from predators.

Old wire single bed frames make good supports. Onc bed will support eight plants. Put the bed over the seedlings and train the branches through the wire as they grow. Four star�pickets with some pig-wire strung between them is also g<X.>CI. You can fold the wire back and forth, making a couple of layers, to support cherry tomatoes and other lanky breeds.

Always l}SC cloth to tie the tomatoes to the frame or the weight of the fruit will break the stems. (My Mum keeps her old stockings for this job, they're wonderful.) Some people prune their tomatoes by picking out the side branches as they form. Apparently it makes the individual tomatoes bigger. But my grandmother wouldn't hear of it. She said creating open wounds on a healthy plant was JUSt inviting disease. Marigolds, garlic chives, basil and parsley are good companion plants for tomatoes.

When your tOmatoes first start fruiting, you'll eat them like apples, have [Ornato salads, tOmato sandwiches for lunch, tomatoes on toast for breakfast, and [OmatO soup for tea. But it doesn't take long before the smell of ripening tomatoes on the windowsill makes you feel sick and you need to get them out of Sight. Just wash them, put them in plastic bags, and freeze them to use as peeled tOmatoes. They'll keep for six months. When you wall( (Q use·them, run the frozen tomato under the tap, the skins defrost and peel off easily. Too easy - there are no preservatives, they're fresh, picked ripe, COSt nothing and they don't come in tins that you have to throw away. For making tomato puree see the chapter on recipes p. ISO.

Pests and d iseases Tomatoes have beautiful succulent leaves that all sorts of animals love [0 chew on. seeds rats will pull the fruit apart to find, and fruit which everything (inclllding teenage boys) love to eat. You have to grow them behind [he six-foot fence. HeljoLhis anniger, the tomnto grub, finds tomatoes so scrumptious, they'll eat the buds, (lowers, fruit and leaves. The first thing you'll notice when these guys move in is little black scats all over the place where they're fceding. You get out there armed with poised fingers to squash the offending caterpillars. Tomato mite ACI�lot)s iycopersicj has become a serious problem recently. There are plenty of natural predators who will keep them under control if you don't use foulicides. Inter�plant tomatoes with legumes, basil and garlic chives. Also, if rats and mice are eating tomato seeds pick the fruit as soon as it colours and let them ripen inside. Bacterial wilt is devastating. See page 145 for more information on that.

Saving seeds Tom;:l(Q seeds arc easy to save. My grandmother used to take the biggest and best tOmatoes a�d put them out of reach on the kitchen louvres. We would watch thcm tllrn bright red and juicy. Then, much [0 our disappoimmenr, Grandma wOllld let them go soft and squashy, cui [hcm in half and squeeze the jelly and the seeds onto a slice of bread to dry. When all the juicy tomatO mllsh had dried. she'd let us shake the seeds off the bread and keep them in the fridge in 35mm

·film cases for next year.

40 Tro p i c a l Food Gardens

W A T E R C H E S T N U T S

Eleocharis dulcis, E. tuberosa

Water chestnuts are perennial reed�like plants which produce edible corms. Their long, thin, hollow leaves grow up to a metre high and look beautiful around ponds. The corms are crisp with a sweet nutty flavour. There is an indigenous variety in the North of Australia along the edge of billabongs and swamps. We often go collecting them as the water recedes at the end of the Wet. We dig the corms from the soil, wash them, bake them in ashes for a few minutes re remove the skin and eat them. Often when you're wandering around the edge ofbillabongs at this time of year, you'll see where wild pigs have been digging up the water chestnuts and eating them. We learnt our first swear words in Aboriginal language when, after a long walk to col lect water chestnuts, Clare saw the pigs had beaten us to them.

Growing hints Water chestnuts are propagated by corms. Contact local gardening groups for planting material. Otherwise harvest the local variety and only select the beSt to replant until you get a good strain - it's

Water chestnuts - uch chestnut colour under the mud

and outer, dark skin - inSide.

creamy white and crisp. textured like apple

the same species as the cultivated one. Plant the corms in very moist soil, about 5cm deep with their pointy end upward, Keep the soil very wet. The slender reed�like stems will shoot up through the mud within a couple of weeks. Ouring the Build-up they'll emerge very quickly, during the Dry season, more slowly. Once the stems have elnerged, cover the soil with water and gradually increase the water to 1 5cm deep as they grow, Guppies and local rainbow fish will keep the mozzie larvae in the water under control. ...

The natural cycle for water chestnuts is to grow to during the Wet season and produce corms

as food storage to survive the Dry. If the soil doesn't dry out the plant sometimes won't produce large corms, so it's best to emulate the natural cycle as much as possible. Water c hestnuts have a

six�month growing season, so you can get two harvests a year if you're keen. The Wet season crop will be much bigger and more bountiful because the temperatures are higher and days longer but it's still worth growing them in the Dry.

Water chestnuts grow best in full sun in ponds, baths or any other container which will hold wacer. 1 have seen people grow them in a shallow depression lined with plastic. Like all water plants, water chestnuts need lots of nutrients. They'll grow in poor soil but the corms will be (00 small to be worth peeling. Plant them in pure cow or horse manure and bury fertiliser pellets wrapped in shadecloth in the mud. Grow azola and other nitrogen-fixing plants in the water. If grown in fertile soil the corms can grow to 4cm in diameter,

When the water chestnuts are ready to harvest, let the soil gradually dry out. When the leaves turn yellow and wither, the corms will be fully formed. The corms form on thin rhizomes which grow out from the mother plant. Water chestnuts spoil very quickly at room temperature so they need to be cooked and preserved in salt water as soon as they are harvested. Or you can leave them in the soil and harvest them as you need them over the Dry. Since peeling water chestnuts is time consuming it's the sort of thing you do sitting on the back verandah with a beer and some conversation. Or simply throw them into the coals or oven and rub the skin off. W A T E R L l L l E S

The little permanent creek near our community used to turn into a w ild river in the Wef season. Only the bravest kids dared to ride its rapids and whirlpools. 'One boy droWIH.. .... l

Nelumbo - huge leaves and brilliant

pink lily blooms

Vege[ables 41

caught in the current,' we whispered sitting around our fire

among the paperbarks - watching the river swollen

and dangerous - our tyres parked bravely beneath our bums. When the monsoons stopped, the river receded and we got braver. We'd jump in and ride the rapids. The grass would dry out and the Knock'em down storms would knock it flat - the huge raindrops stinging our bare sunburned backs

as we ran for cover. We'd go out with Clare and bum the country and mist would hang over the land in

the morning like a cloud. As the cool weather came in, the river stopped flowing, broke into billabongs and waterlilies blossomed turning the water white.

'There's crocs there. Clare? Is there still crocs in here?'

'Nothing. No more.' Yes! This is feast time. We'd swim and play in the

water all day eating waterlilies. The purple and white lilies Nymphaea vioiacea and Nymphaea macrospenna

have leaves which float on the water surface. The flowers are white or purple with yellow centres and stand above the water on long green stems. When the flower is still

alive you can eat the flower stems raw. They're crunchy and taste a bit like celery. If they have black lines running up the stalk, peel the outside skin off. When the flower is finished, it falls into the water and matures into a ball�shaped fruit, full of round spongy seeds. The seeds are rich in carbohydrates and have an oily taste, like avocado. Eat them raw or grind them into flour to make small damper breads. When the billabongs are dry you can harvest the rhizomes and eat them roasted in hot coals.

Not long ago I stayed with a friend out in Kakadu, and she showed me how to eat the big red lily. Nelumbo nuci{era, which grows in deep permanent billabongs out there. This is the same species that is cultivated throughout Asia for its underground root and seed. They have large leaves which curl up at the edges. and stand up above the water moving gently with the breeze. making a clicking noise as they bump together. Their flowers arc big. red or pink with soft delicate petals. As they mature they form a seed pod which looks like the spout of a watering can with lots of little holes in it. The seeds. bound within, are a delicacy - very tasty - like peanuts. Just peel the skin off and eat them.

Growing hints Propagate lilies by seed or rhizome. Seedlings from all these varieties are available from local nurseries. Red lilies can be propagated easily by seed. Keep the seed in a jar of water till it sprouts. Wait until the roots are formed and plant it into a rich soil under at least 20cm of water.

You can grow lilies in old bath rubs, swimming pools or ponds. They need lots of fertiliser so

plant them into well composted cow manure and grow awla and other nitrogen-fixing plants in the water. Wrap fertiliser pellets in shadecloth and bury them in the mud so they can dissolve without polluting the water. If you're growing lilies in a pond, put a layer of gravel over the surface to protect them. Yabbies and fish will uproot the plants while they're searching the mud for yummy bits in the soil.

The seeds can be harvested all year round when the seed pocI is dry and brown. The rhizomes are long, brown and shaped a bit like a string of sausages. Dig them up along the edge of the billabongs as the water recedes in the Dry. They have air holes running through them which


make them very decorative when sliced. They can be roasted or cut into slices and fried With garlic. The waterlily fruit is ready to eat in the early Dry season.

W I N G E D B E A N

Psophocarpus tetragonolobus The winged bean is a uaditional crop from the New Guinea highlands. My Grandfather reckoned he lived on it and very little else when he was fighting in New Guinea during the Second World War. It's a very nutrit ious plant with edible pods, leaves, seeds, tubers and flowers. Once they get going, winged beans will produce prolifically so plant them sparsely if you feel guihy about waste.

Growing hints Propagate by seed. Plant the beans in the soil, 15cm apart beside a trellis. If the seed is old or if you're planting in the cooler months you may have to soak them ovemight or scarify them to get them going. But normally they sprout readily, if sometimes a lirrle slowly. TI1e seedlings also grow slowly at first, but once they get going they take off and cover the trellis in no time.

Winged beans can be planted throughout the year.

Winged bean - frilly edges on pod

Grow them on a fence or trellis only 1 .5 metres high so you can reach the harvest. Three vines will gi\'e you more than enough fresh beans for a family, six or eight vines will supply plenty of dried beans. The vine only lasts about six momhs, so plant new seeds every three or four months to have a continuous supply. If you want to harvest the tuber, plant the seeds on a mound in October. The vine will grow during the Wet and the ruber will form as rhe rains Stop. Winged beans are not ravenous feeders bur, like everything, will produce hener, and the beans will grow more quickly and be more tender if they have ample food.

You can start harvesting leaves when the plants reach 1 . 5 metres high. Use them raw in sal�ds or cooked like spinach. Only harvest them until the vine starts to flower. Then YOll can pick the purple flowers when they're fully open. They taste sweet and are nice thrown raw into salads, or added [0 stews soups or curries at the last minute. We often fry them up with onion and they taste lovely - a bit like mushrooms. Pick the young green pods any time, from a few days after pollination, until d1t'Y are I Ocm long. They are delicious raw in salads, or blanched in boiling water and served with buner or coconut cream. Or throw them into soups, stews and curries like other beans. Once they're IOcm long you have to de1string them before dicing and they'll need a bit more cooking. If they get any longer than that. they're too lOugh. Leave tht!m to mature and use them as dried beans. The marure seed is

round likea pea and nutritionally similar to the soyhean. Dig up the tubers when the plant is finished. when the rain stops. It's higher in prmein than potatoes or yams so is well worth the effort. The wher is long and thin with brown skin much like a long yam.

Y A M S

Dioscorea spp. Yams are beautiful twining plants with heart-shaped leaves which grow qu ickly, climbing ur into the canopy. They look very tropical - especially in a forest situation. There arc marc

than 600 species of yam, but only a handful produce edible tubers. Some are poisonous, SO be careful when you're getting propagation material. DioKorea aiata, the Greater Yam and D·

Vegetables 43

esculenca, the Lesser Yam are grown in New Guinea and other Pacific nations. D. bulbifera, Aerial yam or Aerial potaw produces purple edible bulbs in its leafaxils. Lots of varieties of yam produce these bulblets but some need preparation or are poisonous. So make sure you get the right variety of aerial yam from someone who is growing them for eating, has eaten them and is still alive.

D. trans(.rersa, Long Yam, our local yam, is well worth growing. It's beautiful boiled or roasted in the coals. They grow in the Wet season when you'll see the vine twining into the canopy. Fresh yams are rich in minerals and vitamins and delicious peeled, cut into chunks and cooked just like potato (roasted, boiled or in stews). Or for a special treat, bake them whole in the coals. They can also be dried or processed to make starch or flour i n the same way as sweet potato or tarc.

Growing hints Propagate underground yams by tuber or piece. Cut the top section from the tuber you are eating, allow it to heal and then plant it. Propagate aerial yams by planting the 'potatO' or bulblet which grow in their leafaxils. Sit them in the potatO basket and plant them out when they start to sprout in the Build�up.

Greater and lesser yam like deep fertile soil with lots of compost, and a large trellis, forest or tree [0 climb. Long yam is more easily pleased, but better soil will produce bigger yams. On some communities. people grow long yam in 44 gallon drums. They just cut the top and the bottom out of the drUlp, put it near a trellis or tree, fill it with soil and plant three or four yams in it. The yams grow through the Wet season twining up into the trees. When the vine dies in the early Dry season, the gardeners JUSt kick the drum over and collect the yams. This makes harvesting a breeze. Usually you have to dig the yam up when the soil is hard and dry. As they grow they wind themselves around roOtS and rocks in their way so it is hard to eXW1C[ them whole. Digging yams

can be a lot of fun when you're with a group of women who each take a turn. But not so hilarious on your own. Traditionally, a piece from the top of the tuber is planted back in the ground to grow the next crop.

Long yams, and greater and lesser yams, can be let run wild in the forest - their heart� shaped leaves are beautiful and they don't overpower other plants. When the Dry comes they die 't.nd the leaves will drop and decompose. Make sure you mnrk the spot where the vine enters the soil because once the plant dies they can disappear without a trace. Aerial yams need to be

. plante on a short trellis so the bulbs can be harvested without having to climb tOO high. Many 'yams are adapted to seasonal drought so can be planted in areas without irrigation. In our climate th.ey'lI die back to tubers for the Dry season even if they are watered. They'll shoot ngain when the humidity starts to builds up.

Yams can be stored for several weeks withol![ losing nutrients. They will s[Qre even better in the ground. However, it's best to harvest them every year as they continue to grow and you can end up with a yam 60cm long which is really hard to harvest. Also the first season's yams are the tastiest. Harvest them when the whole vine dies. Most yams are long and relatively slender, so when you dig them up, be careful. Start digging a good distance from the root, to make sure you don't damage the yams with the shovel or digging stick.

Y A M B E A N Pachyrrbizus erosus

Yam bean is not really a yam, it's a cl imbing v ine from Central America which has an edible fleshy tuber. The tuber is criSp and juicy; tasting like apple when it's raw or a water chestnut when it's cooked. The roOt srays crisp and doesn't discolour after being cur, so it makes a perfect garnish and a fair substitu te for water ches[llu[ and bamboo shoots in Asian dishes. Pieces cut into strips make tasty edible 'spoons' for dips. The seeds and leaves are poisonollS.

44 Trop i ca l Food Gardens

The plam has beautiful purple flowers and wide flat pods.

Growing hints Propagate by seed or pieces of tuber. Seeds can be bought in many seed catalogues. Loosen the soil down to about 20cm and add lots of compost. Like yams, you can grow them in a pot or raised bed to make harvesting easier.

Yam beans aren't ravenous feeders. Some gardening instructions say you should cut the pods and flowers off the vine to concentrate the plant's energies into the tuber. But it seems too much like work, especially when the vine usually disappears up into the nearest treetop, so I've always just let them go and they produce a good size yam.

They say the bean pods can be eaten when they're little, but when they mature, they're full of insecticide and the fish poison rotenone, so I haven't tried them. The tuber develops when the vine starts to mature, and it is ready to be harvested when the plant has set seed and died.

C U C U R B I T S Cucurbitaceae

Yam bean

Cucurbits in all their wonderful shapes and sizes love warm weather, so for most of the year they thrive. They aren't particularly nutritious but most of them are tasty and fill the PO[ � I grow lots of them. I plant those with large fruit, like pumpkin and watermelon, out in [he orchard where they can ramble around without doing too much damage. Those with small fruit like gourds and cucumbers will happily climb a trellis or tripod where they'll be safe from

mildew and other earth�borne complaints. Keep the trellises under two metres high so you can harvest the fruit. I planted my first loofahs under an ironwood tree. I picked some frui[ and tried it on the family. Then, when I wasn't looking, it raced to the top of the tree where I couldn't harvest anything - nOt even the mature dried sponges. InCidentally, although they have no trouble scooting up a tree, you'll have to wrap their little curly fingers around the trellis until they get the message. Zucchini and squash need to be planted in the fenced garden. Although you can't get kids to ear zucchini, every marsupial in the valley will come ar night to take neat nibbly bites out of them. I have wire cages which I put over the pumpkins as soon as they've germinated to protect them from the nibblers - wallabies, possums and bLack�footed tree�rats are the main culprits.

Growing hints Propagate cucurbits by seed. Open.pollinated varieties are the hardiest. Many cucurbits are annuals and have to be planted once or twice a year. They don't like to be transplanted, so sow them where you want them to grow. When planting pumpkins and watermelon, I usuaLl)' dig over an area I m x I m, lime if necessary, add plenty of compost and manure, and put on some mulch. It's a good idea to build the bed up so it drains. A few days later I plant three lots of three

seeds IDcm apart with a gap of JOcm between the groups. When the seedlings are a few weeks old, snip off the weaker ones at the base (pulling them out wi l l disturb the other seedl ings' rootS) and leave twO or three vines to grow.

Cucurbits have separate male and male flowers on the same vine. Male flowers appear first and females !arer. Sometimes, when it's too hot, or there isn't enough moisture or nutrient in (he soil, female flowers won't appear at all. Cucurbit flowers only last one or two days and although most will be pollinated by local insects, hand·pollinating will increase the amount offruit sel. (See pumpkins for more about this early morning voyeuristic activity.)

Vegetables 45

Pinch out the tip of the vines when they're a couple of metres long to make them branch. The first couple of female flowers on each branch will produce the best fruit. Take the r ips out again afcer each fruit sets. The tips and stems are lovely as greenery in soups and stews. Just break a piece I Scm long, peel it by pulling back the thin skin like you do waterlily stems. Then break them into pieces and throw them in for the last few minutes of cooking. Cucurbits have to be Illulched heavily and watered every day, especially in August/September. They have a shallow root system and water stress makes them drop their fruit. When the vines are a month old, and again when they are about three months old and setting fruit, fertilise with potassium and potash rather than nitrogen.

Pest and diseases Pumpkin beetles and leaf�eating ladybirds will eat all cucurbits' leaves especially in the Build�up when everyone, including the plants, are feeling a little weak - cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and the more delicate varieties of pumpkin are the most suscept ible. (See page 140 for more information.) Mildew is also a problem for cllcurbits when they're a bit older; especially in the Wet season. I've used all sorts of concoctions to try and get rid of mildew with varying success. The most successful was milk. One part milk to eight parts water. Now if they get mildew, I JUSt pull the plants up before it gets too bad, wait a couple of weeks and plant again in a more nutritious spot. The same goes with the pumpkin beetles - it's called the 'scorched earth policy'.

C H O K O Sechium edule

In many places choko will grow as a perennial producing for several years. But in coastal areas, like Darwin, which have long Wet seasons they suffer and are better off grown as an annual. My grandmother was from Queensland, so she insisted on having chokos even though she could only keep them alive in the Dry season in a raised bed of rich well drained soil. She used to make us 'stewed pears' for dessert when we were kids - choko cooked in a water and sugar syrup. They were scrumptious and being Territory�born bush kids, we'd never seen a pear, so we were none the wiser.

Growing hints Propagate them using the whole fruit. Buy them in February and keep'in a moist spot rill they start to sprollt. You can sometimes buy fruit which is beginning to sprout from the fruit and vegie department at the supermarket. Place rhe fruit in mulch on a raised bed of compost and keep them moist but nOt soggy. The seed will sprout and if it 's nor tOO wet, and they have enough food, rhe vine will grow vigorously and start to produce in about three months. As soon as the monsoons set in, they get all sorts of diseases and die.

Choko -lumpy. olive green skin: aggressively protective of embryo

inside


C U C U M B E R

Cucumis sativus Cucumbers need to grow quickly or the fruit gets bitter. They're the most frustrating vegetable I've met. Some years they're fussy, greedy and neurotic, faking death at each turn; other years they thrive and produce an abundance without a murmur. Some years they'll even grov. through the Wet season. But I don't like complaints so I only grow them in the Dry season, on a tripod trellis so they get plenty of air circulating around them.

Growing hints Plant seeds in early March about 30cm apart in good fertile soil with lots of mulch. Replanr ne\\ seeds each month and you'll have cucumbers most of the Dry season. Give them shade in August/September.

Cucumbers are very quick producers. You'll be harvesting your first cucumbers in abom six weeks. The fruit is tastiest if you pick it as soon as the little spikes disappear. Make sure you pid all the fruit before it's mature to keep the vine producing. Cucumbers don't keep well - bur likt' loofahs, if picked small, are nice pickled in vinegar. Giant Russian cucumbers (nicknamed the 'Chernobyl cucumber' because of their large size) are available from some seed catalogues. ThC\ are huge, 20cl11 long, not nearly as greedy as the others and taste delicious. They're also happv Lt)

grow along the ground until late in the Dry without succumbing to mildew. Apple cucumbers also seem to handle the heat a little better at the end of the season. Snake gourds, Trichosanrhes anguina, are available from Asian market stalls and seed catalogues. They're a great substitute for cucumber if the common ones complain tOO much. They taste the same and they grow right throughout the year without any fuss.

G O U R D Lagenaria siceraria, L . leucantha There are many varieties of gourd and, even on the same vine, they will come in many shapes and sizes. Some are thick skinned and perfect to be made into kitchen utensils or musical instruments, others are thin skinned and lIsed in soups or curries, roasted or stir�fried. They all grow easily, rarely suffering from mildew or pumpkin beetle. They don't usually need hand-pollinating as they are pollinated by moths and other night insects.

Pick the fruit when it's small, still slender, pale green and hairy - the younger they are, the more tender they'll be. You can cut them into sections and steam them with a little garlic - don't overcook them - or slice them in thin strips (or Asian dishes. You can even pick the female flowers with the tiny fruits beneath them and add them straight to soups, flower and all. Or you can scoop the soft flesh Out of a large gourd and fill it with soup - it looks very decorative on the table.

\

Gourd

Vegerables 47

L O O F A H Luffa acutangula or Luffa cylindrica

Loofahs should be grown over a trellis. Three loofah vines, one young, one in the early fruiting stage and one at the late fruiting stage, will give you and the pig plenty to eat. Just plant them in rotation with beans or climbing spinach. They are not too greedy but the fruits grow more quickly and taste nicer in richer soil. You should be picking young fruit in two months.

Loofahs taste a bit like zucchini, their fruit best eaten when it's very young - pick them when they are lOcm long, peel them and grate them into omelenes, breads, cakes, soups and stews. As they get older, the skin becomes bitter and the texture stringy and yuk. You can use the young shoots, young leaves and flower buds in stir�fries. Or pick the fruit whole when i t's tiny and put them in vinegar to make dill pickles. Loofah fruit doesn't store well, even in the fridge, so pick them as you need them. Mature loofahs make gcxxl sponges. (See page 1 54 for instructions.)

P U M P K I N S

Cucurbita maxima

Pumpkins are more nutritious than most cucurbits. You can mix them with tomatoes or sweet potato to make wonderful soups. Throw them into cakes, scones and bread to hide them from the kids or just mash them. Mature seeds can be roasted in a hot pan with a little oil till they pop, or baked with salt until they go all crunchy and you can eat them while having a beer on d1e verandah, watching the sunset. You can scrape the flesh out of the fruit, fill the shell with yummy things and bake it, or just use the shell as a serving d ish for soup. You can bake pumpkin whole in the coals or in a hangi. And they grow all year round - which is just as well because I've had no luck keeping them for any length of time. By the time I remember where I left my beautiful looking pumpkin, some little spot has erupted beneath it and when I pick it up, it falls to slushy pieces all over the floor.

Growing hints

Pumpkin - soft hairs on stems. leaves 'velvety" with fine hair

Pumpkins like to ramble about so I plant them in the excess sprinkler range outside the vegie garden or between the fruit rrees. Watch them among your fruit trees though, they get exc ited when the food is good and you'll have to beat them down Ol lt of the trees with n stick. If they climb into the trees, the weight of the pumpkins weigh the b�anches down and break them.

I grew pumpkins in the same area each Wet season for years. Eventually they starred sdfseeding and I W<lS overjoyed until I realised after a couple of years, that the pumpkins were getting smaller and smaller. Of course! The only pumpkins left in the patch to self-seed were

48 Trop ical Food Gardens

the ones, so small, nobody noticed them! Now I'm back to keeping seeds from the best and planting them and we're getting good sized pumpkins again.

I always hand-pollinate my pumpkins (interfering old woman I am), although when I'm wandering around the garden in the early morning, the yellow pumpkin flowers are buzzing with bees (native and European). If I don't pollinate by hand every couple of days, the fruit doesn't set. I pick a male flower, pull the flower petals off and brush the pollen from the stamen Onto the female flower part, the stigma (the one with the small pumpkin underneath): You can also use a damp fine-haired paintbrush to rake the pollen from male to female flower. You need to handpollinate before 10 a.m. while the female flowers are still open and feeling generous. In the Wet season, the rain will flood the female flowers and destroy the pollination. So after I pollinate, I press the flower petals together to seal them.

In the Wet season, 1 grow two pumpkins, both have the same Latin name: C . moschata. One is locally known as the 'Jap pumpkin', because it was grown by the Chinese gardeners in the early days. And the other, Pawpaw pumpkin, has a nuttier flavour and is shaped like a pawpaw. They are very hardy. They handle the heat and the mildew well - I have a couple of vines which are years old. They grow and fruit madly for a few months, slow down and die off. then take off agam. Perennial pumpkinsr In the Dry season most other varieties of pumpkin will grow. The fruit will be ready when the tendril closest to the pumpkin has dried up completely. If you want to store the pumpkins, don't pick them till the vine starts to die. Also. leave a stalk about Scm long on the pumpkin, and it 'wi 11 last longer .

.

R O C K M E L O N S ( C A N TA L O U P E )

Cucumis melo

Rockmelons suffer badly from bugs (ladybird and pumpkin beetles) and fungus, so I only grow them in the Dry season. They need lots of food and a long growing season. Start them off in fertile soil in early March, and they'll fruit before the hot weather sets in. Sow more seeds in April. You should be able to pick rock melons in about twelve weeks. The fruit is ripe when the stalk breaks easily away from the fruit. After you harvest them, keep them inside to fully ripen. Keep them on the bench till the smell drives you nuts, then chill them in the fridge, cut them in half, make cuts in the flesh, sprinkle a little cumquat or rosella liqueur over them and fill them with icecream.

Rockmelons (Cantaloupe) - intricately patterned and

textured skin like a webbing

The major peSts are bandicoots and rats. My Grandfather used to grow his·rockmelons on

a trellis to keep the fruit away from 'the little blighters ! ' A.s soon as a fruit started to forlll on the vine he would make a little sling out of hessian for it, and tie it to the trellis. Thar way they could grow in safety, to normal size without breaking the vine.

WA T E R M E L O N S Citrullus lanatus

• , Vegetables 49

I don't try to grow watermelons in the Wet season, although many people do and very

successfully. I find it too much of a hassle and unfair to pur the stress on the plants and the gardener's family when disaster strikes. Even Dry season crops can vary but you're guaranteed

at least a small crop. Sometimes they grow brilliamly without hassle - other times they are totally destroyed by everything which can chew, suck or bite.

Growing hints Plant them early (February/March) because the first fruits won't be ready for Cl( least three months. They have large fruit and are happiest wandering around the garden. Pick out the end of the vine when it's a couple of metres long to make it branch. They are a very hungry plant so fertilise them regularly.

It's always a bonus when you pick a watermelon at the right time. I find it hard. Patience is the answer. When the tendril closest to the fruit is brown�crisp and dead - not JUSt dying dead, so dead that it will break off easily, that's when you choose your fru it. A day later, knock on it with your knuckles. If it makes a hollow sound, it is ripe. Some people have this down to a fine an - I'm not one of them - bur I usually manage to pick a couple of them � the right time. Anyway, it makes good conversation as you're filling your face and spitting seeds out onto the lawn. 'Should have had a couple days longer, I reckon.' 'Did it really sound hollow or were you just being impatient? Better let me test the next one?'

Z U C C H I N I A N D S Q U A S H

Cucurbita pepo

Zucchini and squash also grow best'in the Dry because, in the Wet. pumpkin beetles love them.

Growing hints Plant them in a mixed situation to reduce insect pests. They like a neutral soil with plenty of compost. Keep the

fSbil moist and mulch heavily or they get stressed and sickly. You'll be harvesting in six weeks. When they start producing, plant new seeds some distance away to ensure you get a continual supply till the end of the Dry season. They're hungry individuals once they're fruiting, so fenilise every week.

Harvest the fruit any time after they have been pollinated up until they are about 15cm long. Even ones which haven't been

• Zucchini

pollin.ated can be eaten. You can even leave the flowers on them. They are still edible wnen they're huge but they're not as tasty. Harvest squash as soon as it's pollinated before the flower falls off. Pull old zucchini and squash plants up as soon as they get tired and leggy or they'll just become hostels for insect pests. Both zucchini and squash can be blanched and frozen, wrapped in plastic bags, and frozen to use in cakes and bread. The leaf stems can be peeled and used like celery in stews. f

SO Tropical Food Gardens

G R E E N S Leafy greens are the backbone of a tropical food garden - especially if the cook's health conscious. Ohen by the time greens get into the shops up here they've lost most of their vitamins and minerals, so it's definitely worth growing your own. Most of the greens used in European cooking will thrive in the Dry season; lettuce, spinach, cabbage - even broccoli, some years. But in the Wet season, we need a hardier bunch - the Asian greens.

Growing hints

All leafy greens need plenty of nitrogen and potassium, so feed them welL They should be the first things to go in after you have piled on the compost. In rotation, plant them straight after the legumes. Also, they don't handle drought, so add lots of organic compost, mulch heavily and keep the soil moist. Water every day! Fertilise with small doses once a week or fortnight. The slower they grow, the more bitter they'll become. Raised beds of compost built using the no�dig method are perfect for growing greens. Build borders out of blocks. bricks or clip-lock roofing. Put newspaper down over the weeds or lawn, one paper overlapping the other. Cover this with 15cm of manure - preferably cow or horse manure because it is high in organic matter. If you have to use chook manure spread it only 7cm thick. Sprinkle dolomite over the manure, then a lScm layer of mulch or hay. Cover that with a layer of greenery or lawn clippings and more hay. Give the bed another light sprinkle of dolomite and put a couple of handfuls of compost where you're going to plant rhe seedlings. Don't forget.to cover the compost with mulch to protect it from direct sunlight. In no time the soil will be full of millions and millions of microscopic organisms and earthworms. They'll multiply and die, multiply and die and in doing so, provide an abundance of nutrients. Your greens will love it - cabbages will even head.

A M A R A N T H

Amaranthus spp.

Amaranth is a green tropical spinach. The leaves. stems and seeds are edible, delicious and very nurritious. A. gangencus has red and green leaves which look famastic in salads. A. hyponchondriacus is usually grown for the seeds. But the young leaves of both varieties are good in salads or sandwiches and older leaves in Asian dishes or quiche - anywhere you would use spinach. The seeds can be dried and roasted in a hot pan without oil or roasted i n the oven and sprinkled on sandwiches, added to breads or used in cakes. To collect the seeds, cur the seed heads off and put them in a paper bag. Shake them regularly to Amaranth

separate as many seeds as possible from the husks. Put the seed in a tray, toss them into the air and as ']

they land pull the [fay toward you. The seeds will fall intO the pan, w h iie the husks. which are lighter, miss the tray - eventually.

Growing hints

Sow seeds in the soil- they don't like to be transplanted. Take <I mature flower stalk. rub if between your hands, letting the seeds and husks fall over rhe prepared bed. You'll get your firSt

Vege[ables S I

harvest when you thin the seedlings out at about 6-8cm high. Use them whole. You'll get a second harvest when the plants are about 30cm high and you pick the tops out ( large leaves and the soft growing stem) to make them branch. Then later, as the plant grows, harvest (he side branches.

Any plant which is hardy enough to reach ma[Urity after that onslaught, I let go to seed. If you don't want to collect the seed, pick the flower shoots out as they emerge to keep rhe plant growing and producing leaves. Amaranth is not as greedy as other greens but will be much tastier if well fed. It'll grow in semi·shade or full sun. Amamnth can become pretty rampanr in [he garden but if you want to get rid of it, JUSt cover it with newspaper and it won't persist. Anyway how can something so useful be a weedr

C E Y L O N S P I N A C H Baselta alba o r B . rubra

Ceylon spinach is a creeping plant with pink or white flowers and dark purple fruit. It will grow all year round. It is rich in vitamins and minerals and the leaves make a nice light salad vegetable. They are a little glutenous when you eat them on their own, but in sandwiches and salads you don't notice - especially with a dressing. The fruit can be used as a dye or to colour jellies. It will keep well in the fridge if you put the stems in water.

Growing hints Ceylon spinach can be grown by seed or cutting. The best way to grow it is to plant ten or fifteen

Ceylon spinach - inSignificant tiny

purple nowers followed by fleshy lobed

tiny berries nestling in clusters of leaf

axils. veining on mature leaves gives them

a quilted appearance

plants in a row or block. When they sprout and reach 20cm high, harvest them, cutting them back to the first node. Allow the vine to regrow and keep harvesting. This way the vine grows into a little compact bush and the leaves get larger. Pick out the ends of the vine to make it branch. You can let Ceylon spinach ramble around under the fwit trees - but if you plant it over a trellis the leaves are easier to pick and aren't splashed �ith mud every time it rains.

C H I N E S E C A B B A G E Brassica spp.

Chinese cabbages are very nutritious. They're good for stir·fries, can be cooked as a green vegetable or used raw in salads. There arc so many varieties; mibuna, mitsuba, wong bok, pac choi, pak taoi, tatsoi, and those are just a few. Some of them are used with their lovely yellow flowers intact, some form heads similar to cabbage, others are open· leafed. Some are almost white, others dark green. My favourite is tatsoi, B. navinosa. It grows into a flat little rosette up to 30cm acrosS with dark green leaves and white stems.

Chinese cabbage - bokchoy


Growing hints

Most Chinese cabbages will grow beautifully in the Dry and become a little bitter in the Wet season. Like most greens they need 100s of nitrogen so plant them straight after you've compostcd the bed, or four weeks afcer you plough the cover crop in. They adore chook manure because they love lots of nitrogen and potassium. Don't use water�soluble nitrogen�rich fenil isers or you 'll end up making them attractive to chewing insects. Rather plant them in well composted chook manure. Chinese cabbages don't have deep root systems, so keep the moisture Content in the soil constant. Mulch the beds, water twice a day during really dry times and keep plenty of organic ma£ter in the soil so it wi 11 retain the moisture.

K A N G K O N G Ipomoea aquatica

Kangkong is my favourite green. It will grow a l l year round, i s tasty, rich in vitamins and iron and isn't bitter or foul like many of the 'iron rich' mush you had to eat as a child. It's a hollow stemmed aquatic vine that thrives i n water or damp soil. I t grows quickly - you can be picking the young leaves and shoots (about 20cm long) within a month. Use them fresh straight from the garden.

Growing hints

Kangkong is one of the easiest plants to grow. It will thrive in a bathtub, pond or dam, racing across the surface. However, it grows better, and is easier to harvest for cooking, if it is grown in a specially prepared bed.

I grow them in a ditch about 20cm deep. lined with plastic, filled with rich soil and kept very wet. To propagate kangkong, take pieces from a mature vine with plenty of nodes on it. Make shallow trenches, lay the cuttings in the trenches and cover them with a little soil. Keep the soil moist. New plants will grow from each node, shooting straight up to about 1 5-20cm high. Harvest them for cooking before they fall over and start to trail along the ground. The plant

, •

Kangkong - stems are hollow

will reshoot from the nodes again. If you keep them as a little bush, the steins become thicker and the leaves nice and large. If the vine rambles around, lefl-ves grow long and thin and the stem tough . Kangkong likes full sun in the Dry and is okay in full sun in the Wet as long as 'it has plenty of water. Every now and then a mob of chewing insects moves in and makes a mess. I usually just harvest everything, feed it to the pig and by the time it's growing again, the liale beasties have moved on.

R O C K E T Eruca vesicaria cultivars Rocket grows very easily, especially in the DrY ·season. One day we were giving Dave a hanll

to weed his vegie garden, late in the year, probably November- there among the me[re high

weeds we were delighted to find some vegies still surviving after the couple of months of neglect. They were rocket, garlic chives and basil. So rocket keeps good tough company.

Growing hints

Sow the seed in the vegie garden. Plant it in a mixed position with larger plants like tomatoes so it can enjoy shade during the middle of the day. Rocket grown in semi·shade, with constant moisture and well fed, will have a milder flavour. Also it's tastier before flowering. I've never had a plant survive the really hot weather so I just plant it as an annual in the Dry season. YOll can start picking leaves in six weeks and keep harvesting for a couple of months. Use the leaves raw in salads, as a garnish, in dips or steamed with vegetables. The flowers are also delightful in salads or as a garnish. like all leafy plants, it likes lots of nitrogen.rich humus to feed on. Plant new seeds every six weeks throughout the Dry.

S W E E T L E A F Sauropus androgynus

Sweet leaf is a hardy sweet·tasting green vegetable which is very nutritious and high in vegetable protein. The young

' . leaves can be eaten raw in sandwiches and salads. They ha·ve a sweet flavour, similar to fresh garden peas. The top 7cm of the growing stem and emerging leaves when they're still soft and supple taste like asparagus. Or you can strip the older leaves from the' leaf stem and cook them - the older they are, the more cooking they'll need. Use them i n stir.fries, soups and casseroles. Sweet leaf makes a good readily available source of greens for the kitchen and farm animals,

Growing hints

Propagate by coning - it strikes read ily. Sweel leaf grows in semi·shade and full sun, It grows into a lanky shrub and has dark green leaves with exquisite

Vegetables 53

Rocket

Sweet leaf - leaves hang down. backs inwards. faces outwards - tiny garnet-purple flowers no

bigger than match heads. in every leaf axil

mauve tiny flowers tucked beneath the leaf stem. When every other leafy green has been chewed ragged by peSts, sweet leaf will still be there. It'll survive dry conditions and it is not a heavy feeder, It does stress a little during the

Build-up, the older leaves will loose all their sweetness, bu[ it'll still produce a good harvest,

H e r b s

,

I'm a bit erratic about herbs. Some years I emerge from the mouldy Wet into the sweet Dry season air, full of desire. I buy seedlings and sow seeds and in no time, the edges of paths and rock terraces arc covered with herbs. Other years, I get distracted by the fish biting in the receding waters and the billabongs covered with waterlilies and just cut back and fertilise the perennials and plant the staples. .

But, Bronny, my neighbour, is a mad keen herb gardener. Every Dry her g;u:aen overflows with herbs; oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme, she even has lavender growing in a pot. When you have a cuppa rca session with her, it's rose geranium rea! picked straight from the

, garden. We'll walk in her garden in a minute, but first Ict me say there are lots of herbs which love the heat and humidity and are happy [Q grow all year round. Things like ginger, turmeric, pepper and chillies. Basil flourishes, becoming a lanky shrub. Garlic chives multiply madly. Mint quickly becomes a weed if the grasshoppers don't find it, and then there arc lemon grass, curry leaf, laksa herb, Thai coriander, kaffir lime, rosella - the list goes on. You just have to get them esmblished before the heavy rains, because if they are too small the rain will pummel them to death. Also, plant (hen) in raised beds and mulch to stop the rain washing the soil and the seedlings away. Give them a shadecloth shelter until �hey're suitably robust. Growing hints Most herbs used in European cooking don't particularly l ike our climate it's a bit hot and sticky for rhem, but if you make [hem as comfortable as poss ible, YOll can grow 1l10St of the essentials .

•

Herbs 55

Plant rhem on the eastern side of the house where they'll get morning sun and be shaded during the scorching afternoons. Herbs hate mouldy feet so grow them in raised beds with compost, charcoal and river sand added to the soil. The compost holds moisture while the river sand and charcoal help it drain. Or grow them in pots, SO you can move them into the best positions. Some, like oregano and rosemary, you have re treat as annuals. Plant them during the Dry when they're happy re flourish, pick them at their peak, and dry them to use for the rest of the year.

Also, when planting these herbs, give them a good scart. A well established, sun�hardened plant will survive better than that dried�out cutting someone gave you that's been in the back of the car all day. They like plenty of tucker too, so feed them lots of compost, manure, leaf mould and liquid fertiliser. Keep them well watered, at least once a day, sometimes twice a day.

Now, lees go for a wander in Bronny's garden. and see just how many of them will grow.

A W A L K A R O U N D B R O N N Y ' S H E R B G A R D E N

Bronny's herb garden is a tribute to human perseverance. Her block is a swamp. When it rains, the water sits on the surface and stays there. You'd bog a duck in it in the Wet and the ground sets as hard as concrete in the Dry - the crowbar bounces back at you. Most of the block is bush land, spear grass, beautiful swamp box, grevillea and beneath them Christmas lilies and all those lovely little flowers which love swampy places. Beautiful, but it's not food growing country. So, it's a bit of a shock when you first drive in to find behind a sturdy fence, to keep the wild pigs out, a thriving herb garden. Bronny said when she first moved here she had no water, except what lay on the surface, no plants and no money. Bm she had plenty of time and energy. So she decided to build raised beds, and see if she could grow food. She reckons, 'It's so damn practical to grow things. Especially if you like interesting tucker because there's no comparison between fresh herbs and the sort you can buy.'

So she started with a small garden u·sing rock that she carted up from an old gravel pit. She laid rock on the surface of the soil, built up rock retainer walls around it to make beds and filled them with compost, chook manure and mulch. She plamed s�eds and to her delight and amazement they grew, and never looked back. Now she has raised gardens everywhere covered with flowers and herbs.

The most important plant in Bronny's garden is the traditional Eldertree. It's actually more like a shrub than a tree bur it attracts Elderfairies and they protect the herb garden. Up here we need all the help we can get, so it's worth investing in an eldertree. They grow easily from a curting. Bay trees are also essential in a herb garden. They're not really happy in this climate. You'll need a couple of trees to provide enough leaves for a regular harvest. Slow is an understatemem when yotl're talking about bay trees. Bronny grows hers in big pots so they can be moved into shelter for the Wet season. A bay tree, too, will grow from a cll([ing. But they can take up to six months to strike and then a year or so before you can harvest leaves.

There are flowers everywhere in this garden. Marigolds grow, self-seed and come up all over the place. Cosmos pops lip between other plams and blooms with lovely orange and yellow flowers. Traditionally Roses also belong in the herb garden and Bronny says mini-roses have been the answer for her. They flower copiously throughout the year if they get enough potassium. Perhaps they're not as fragrant as their southern cousins, hut the picture they create in bloom is' fantastic. However, termites love roses so Bronny has them in pots all over the place - on the edge of a srone wall. on an old stump, near the raised pond - and they're all blooming gorgeous little per.fect roses in reds, pinks and whites. Bronny grows them from ClInings. She said they get a bit scraggly and need pruning a couple of times a year so you end up with plemy of propagation material.

There's Borage, the herb of courage and gladness, in a raised bed next [Q rhe verandah. It has huge green leaves and delightful purple flowers with bright yellow centres. Borage grows

S6 Tropical Food Gardens

best during the Dry, in morning sun with lotsJand lots of compost. When Bronny makes a cool drink, there are borage flowers floating in it to add that litde bit of cheer. They look beautiful and do they add a flavour? Perhaps.

Out on an island in the middle of a raised pond Winter tarragon is thriving. It tastes strongly of aniseed - a great breath freshener. I n a well watered spot with plenty of sun it'll grow all year. Just cut it back after each flowering to stop it getting scraggly.

Bronny has all kinds of Mint throughout her garden in full sun, morning sun, afternoon sun, good soil, poor soil, in pots and in the ground. Granted, some of them aren't lush but she has copious quantities of mint! There are good old common garden mint, Spearmim, Peppermint, Eau�de�cologne mint. There's even a tiny 'Pennyroyal lawn' in the space between two of the garden beds. It's got such a tiny little leaf yet it's putting up a dam good fight against the encroaching paspalum. Japanese menthol mint grows i n abundance. It's veI') strong tasting and tingles your tongue. Bronny reckons mint is easy to grow, JUSt put cuttin in a sunny damp spot, cover them with soil, keep them watered and watch out for the grubs. A grasshopper or caterpillar will wipe the lot out in one meal if they get the chance.

Tumbling over a pile of rocks is some Wild Thyme. It grows very well. It has less flavour than ordinary thyme but it grows better so you just use twice as much. And no herb patch could be complete without Basil in a l l its glorious varieties and Bronny grows them all: Asian, Cinnamon, Lemon, Sweet and Licorice just to name a few. She reckons it grows in the face of all adversity with a charm that bees and gardeners can't resist.

Patchouli, the incense and potpourri herb, is perfect for our climate. I t grows all year and is easy to propagate from cuttings. As it matures, th" foliage takes on a purple hue. Another delight, that you have to have if you've gOt the space, is the Lemon Gum. It battles for the first Wet it spends in the ground but once it setdes in, it powers on. It reaches 40 metres high in its natural habitat, so is best grown in a pot, where you can harvest the lemon scented leaves.

Mugwort grows happily in semi�shade. I t rambles, sending roots down wherever the branches touch the ground. And is that a couple of Rosemary plants? Yes. Bronny grew them from pieces she bought at the supermarket. These plants have survived a couple of Wet seasons. They're very slow growing, so you don't get much of a harvest. Dill and oriander will flower and set viable seed. Rue and Tansy both do well. They'll grow in conditions that

, .

Lemon gum - Eucalyptw cirrjodora

leave other herbs quite scorched so we keep a space for them i n the garden _ anything hardy is worth having.

Herbs 57

Marjoram and Oregano will grow okay in the garden. If you establish them well during the Dry, they'll make i t through the Wet. They'll grow in raised beds in a sheltered position

bur both herbs are much safer in pots. Bronny has a graceful marjoram in a hanging basket on

the verandah that's a few years old. Morning sun and well drained soil are the answer there. Oregano goes crazy in the Dry but will grow out of itself in the Wet and die. Just keep it cut

back regularly, fertilise with compost and it'll be fine. Potted plants are a bit more of a hassle. But because you can move them around - out

into the garden during the cool Dry, under the shelterof a tree in rhe scorching Build�up, and under the verandah during the Wet - you can grow plants which would normally not survive. Bronny's prized Rose geraniums are a fine example of this. Trial and error is a great way to learn. Nobody told Bronny you can't grow rose geraniums up here so they're coping quite nicely in her shade-house. She reckons. if you're keen, you're bound to have plenty of pleasant surprises.

Some of the more obscure herbs Sronny has successfully grown (that is, they've lived through one or more Wets) are Bergamot and Lemon bergamot, Pinks (small carnations), Yarrow, Upland cress, Skullcap, Lemon tea-tree. Egyptian parsley, Salad burnen, Chamomile. Dandelion and Nettles. Lots of rhe annuals will grow happily in the Dry. Dill and coriander grow easily and produce viable seed. Some herbs which grow as perennials farther south don't appreciate the high humidity or torrential rain and die in the Wet - Sage is a typical example. Just treat them like annuals and grow them in the Dry. But some will nor flourish in our climate, if they decide to grow at all.

Sweet Cicely and Angelica are a couple Bronny has never managed to grow but would dearly love to - they sound so romantically herbal. And forget Lavender unless you have it in a pot and keep your fingers crossed all Wet season. She had a couple of Canary Island lavenders once which, with much fuss, made it through the Wet only to curl up their toes for

.. some unexplained reason in the Dry. Bur, she reckons, if you're willing to use your noggin and make that little extra effort, you can achieve some surprising results.

H e r b s A - Z A L O E V E R A Aloe vera Aloe vera is Cl lovely succulent with twotone green leaves. The translucent gel inside the leaf is a perfectly packaged sterile burn dressing. So it's essential in a tropical climate where sunburn is Cl fact of life.

Growing hints

Aloe vera grows well in shade or sun, fertile soil or crud. But it likes to be up where the drainage is good. in pots, or along the edge of a retainer wall. It grows easily. almost thriving on neglect. I haven't fertilised mine in twenty years and there's always been plenty of aloe for three boys' worth of sunburn. 'I (orgot my hat' while swimming all day in the creek or 'yeah right!' when you try to put sunscreen in with the hunting or fishing tackle. Every time I use

Aloe vera - fleshy succulent leaves. thick juicy green sap (with a strong unpleasant odour) which turns yellow on exposure to air


it I am still in awe of its healing propert ies. Simply split the leaf, put the clear gel liberally all over the burnt area and let it dry. You can use the gel to make all sorts of ointments and creams.

B A S I L Ocimum basilicum

Basil is good for your mind, it promotes clear thinking. And it's a good companion plant for everything, so plant it throughout the vegie garden. The flowers are beautiful as Cut flower!, on the windowsill where the smell permea tes the kitchen and lifts the air. Use flowers and leaves in sala,ds and salad dressings, give potato salad a great finish by mixing some basil intt· the mayonnaise, and of course make pes to.

Growing hints

Many different kinds of basil will grow in our climate. Lemon basil and Thai basil self�seed all over the place. They're perfect for all Asian dishes. Sweet basil, my favourite, grows well but not so easily. A friend of mine lets one or twO bushes go to seed and new seedlings just emerge by magic when she demolishes the spent plant! Or she sows her basil seeds in the ground, in well composted soil and leaf litter or in seedling trays at the same time as tomatoes and eggplants. She transplants them out when they're about 4cm high. I have trouble getting seedlings up, so I cut the plant right back when it gets too scraggly, cover the spindly sticks with compost and mulch and let it reshoot. When I need to propagate basil, I take cuttings. My basil bushes ramble

.,

Basil- tiny white flowers (5 �m) grow in spiky clusters at top of plant. leaves are "bubbly"

about putting roots down in the mulch all over the place so the cuttings take easily, especially in the Wet.

When your basil bushes are about 15cm high, pinch the tOpS out so they branch. This way you'll get more leaves and a nice little compact bush. Basil, l ike all leafy plants, needs regular doses of nitrogen to keep the growth happening, so fertilise them every couple of weeks. Basil's in a rush to flower, set seed and die. But you can keep its reproductive/suicidal tendencies at bay for some time by pinching out the flowering tips whenever they appear. Eventually you'll have to let it have its wicked way, but this will give you an extended picking time.

Basil grows quickly. You'll be able to pick leaves in a couple of months. They can be stored for a few days in a plastic bag in the fridge or frozen. The leaves also dry well but as it grows all year round, I don't bother. The flavour in the leaves is strongest and mOSt poignanr before che bush starts ro flower. Many people harvest the whole bush as soon as it's determined to flower and plant new basil plants every six months or so to keep a regular supply. I t is a good idea. some of myoid bushes are SO bitter they can only be used in cooking. Others are so m ild you need re use a handful [Q get <lny taste.

B U S H G A R D E N I A

Gardenia fucata

Herbs 59

Bush gardenia is a small native tree with shiny dark green leaves similar to the cultivated gardenia. It flowers over the Wet with beautifully scented white flowers. Propagate from seed (November-March) or cutting. The leaves also are used as a herb when cooking meat. Throw a leaf in with a pot roast. Float the flowers in a bowl of water on the table - the smell is glorious and wafts around the house.

C H I L L I E S

Capsicum annuum

Chilli bushes are wonderful. They brighten up the garden with their bright red fruit. They grow anq fruit all. year round, produce for two or three years and enjoy a variety of positions. My husband loves hot food so we have bird's eye and Habanero chillies and have had some interesting and painful experiences with the Chillies

lovely red fruits. Once m y friend decided to make chilli sauce and cut up a whole shoppi[lg bag of our chillies without wearing gloves. The chilli juice got under her fingernails and she spent the night in excruciating pain, soaking her hands in cold milk (it didn't help). So if you have small children or don't like 'too hot' food, there are other varieties which give a good flavour without bubbling your lOllsiis. There is the long brown� black Pasilla which has a hint of licorice when dried, the gorgeous bell�shaped Bi�bell chillies which look great in the garden or in a pot and the Hungarian Yellow Hot Wax which grows well during the Dry season and looks great in salads. If you chop chilli leaves into salads and salsas it gives them a nice subtle tingle.

Chillies can he picked at the mature green stage for salads and pickles and when fully ripe (red) for condiments and cooking. Paprika doesn't last well in our climate unless you keep it in the fridge so it is good to make your own. It's easy. Just grow a mild paprika chilli, dry them in thin strips until they'll snap, beat to a fine powder in the blender and if necessary dry again. The hotter the chilli, the hotter the paprika pepper. Cayenne pepper can be made the same way using hot chillies.

Chillies can be sun�dried for storage; the faster they dry, the better they'll keep. I tried to dry some Habanero chillies in my dryer once. The venom evaporated into the air burning my eyes, searing my nostrils and seeping Jown my throat to burn my tonsils. I was later told (hac I should have cut them in half and they would have dried very quickly but I haven't been game to try it again. N ow, if I need to dry them, I string them together with a needle and waxed cotton and hang them in the kitchen to dry naturally.


Chillies can be kept in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week after being picked. They can be frozen whole. This is a good way to keep them, while you're collecting bagsful to make chilli sauce and chutney.

Growing hints Chillies don't like to be transplanted, so sow the seeds in the soil if possible. Otherwise grow the seedlings in individual seedling pots rather than trays so they can be transplanted without stress. Start them off in the Dry or Build�up so they are strong little bushes before the Wet. Take cutrings in the Wet and they'll strike readily.

Chillies, like many herbs, have a stronger flavour if not pampered. Perhaps that's why I gro� such hot chillies. If they're fertil ised regularly they'll produce an abundance of chillies, far more than the average household would use so I don't bother fertilising them. However, you do han· to keep the soil mulched during the Dry. If the soil dries out the flowers wil l drop. The plants ..... PI start producing quickly and can continue for two or three years, sometimes longer.

C I N N A M O N

Cinnamomum ::teylanicum

Fresh cinnamon tastes far superior to anything you can buy off the spice shelf and it's a beautiful evergreen tree, so is well worth growing in the garden. Cinnamon spice is made from the bark - once the stems are cut you strip the bark from them and, as it dries, it curls naturally into beautiful cinnamon�brown cinnamon sticks. The sticks are used whole in curries or crushed and used as a powder. You can take this sort of dramatic harvest from each tree every couple of years. You can also allow cinnamon to grow into a tree and just harvest the pieces of bark as they peel off through the year. However, the cinnamon produced in this way won't have as strong a flavour.

Growing hints Some people have no trouble propagating cinnamon by cuning, others, like me, say it's devast3tingiy hard . The instructions are: take 1 5cm long cu[[ings from the tip of the branch,

where the cells are actively reproducing and growing new buds. Use rooting powder and keep the cuttings moist and humid in the shade�house. If you have trouble getting seedlings, contact your local herb groups, herb farm or special ist nurseries. Try to get seedlings which have been propngatcd from local trees.

Cinnmnon trees need to be watered through the dry season. They'll grow into

,

Cinnamon - fragrant. smooth golden-brown b�r�

Herbs 6 1

medium sized hardy trees and like to grow in a forest situation. However, if you wam to harvest

the cinnamon, most people grow them out in the sun and harvest them so regularly they look

more like shrubs than trees. When the trees are 1 . 5 metres [all, they cut the stems off about

150cm above the ground. The tree reshoots, three or four sterns are allowed to regrow and they're harvested again when they're 1 .5 metres high. If you do plant them in full sun, you'll need to pile on the mulch throughout the Dry. Also, make a wire frame with shadecloth over ir to protect the seedlings until they're established. Fertilise rhem regularly, give them plenry of water though the Dry and they'll grow quickly.

C O R I A N D E R Coriandrum sativum

Coriander is that wonderful herb used in all sorts of Asian cooking as a garnish. They make salads scrumptious, sandwiches delectable and where would a laksa be without coriander! The seed is used i n curries and all sOrts of pickles and chutneys.

Really professional cooks swear that fresh seed is much better than the bought variety and here's a good tip: When using coriander seed always fry the seeds in a hot pan with other seed spices for a minl,..lte or two before adding the other ingredients. Don't cook coriander leaves, or they'll lose much of their flavour. Use them in marinades or as a garnish.

Growing hints I grow coriander like parsley in those deep polystyrene boxes. The seeds germinate quickly. I plant them sparsely at first. When those are growing well, I sow new plants among them and keep sowing new seeds every couple of weeks to keep the supply of new leaves coming through the Dry season. Coriander doesn't like the Wet, it just turns to mush. And that is depressing during the Troppo season when you feel like mush yourself. So I only grow rhem in the Dry.

Coriander loves lots of Dry season sun but folds quickly when it gets hot. So lllove them into semi-shade when the weather starts to heat up. They're not quite as greedy as parsley, pretty close though. Grow them in compost, fertilise them each week with liquid fertiliser, and they'll grow beautifully,

The leaves can be harvested as soon as the plant is big enough. Just take one or two leaves from each plant whenever they're available, until they start to form a flowering stalk. This usually takes about two months so you get quite a good harvest. By then you should have new young plants coming on. Coriander flowers are white and delicate, held up high on slender stalks. Give them a windbreak or they'll blow over. They ser seed which is usually viable to replant and it is delicious in cooking. To collect seed, wait until it's mature, cut off the seed heads, put them in a paper bag and shake/rub the seeds out of the heads. Keep the seeds in the fridge to use in curries and other recipes and start planting the leftovers when the weather breaks abouc March.

C Y P R E S S P I N E Callitris intratropica

Cypress pine is a native pine tree which used to grow throughout the Top End. It was cur for timber during early white settlement and much of the regrowth is burnt in yearly wildfires. There are very few stands left so plant as many as you can around the garden. Like all pine trees the wind whistles through their leaves in a wonderful sofr moan. The wood is good termite�resistant building timber and you can burn the leaves and bark ro repel mozzies.

62 Trop ica l Food Gardens

G A R L I C C H I V E S

Allium tuberosum

Anywhere there is a patch of sunlight plant chives. They grow all year round and look beautiful in rockeries, along paths or among flowers. They're a good companiOl} plant and every parr of the plant can be eaten except the Iitrie hairy roots. Their mild garlic flavour is a perfect seasoning for stuffing, soups, fish and egg dishes. They're heavenly stirred into 'strangled' eggs. Garlic chives are reputed to have beautiful flowers. However, I've been growing the great;great� grandchildren of those my grandmother got from a local Chinese gardener fifty years ago and they've never flowered. A cutting 1 brought back from down south one year did flower (wice, so maybe they need a cold winter to snap them into it.

Cut chive leaves at ground level as you need them. If you enjoy the stronger flavour, pull the top layer of mulch and compost away and cut the stem below ground where it's white. As chives grow all year there is no need to dry them or preserve them. They will keep i� the fridge in a plastic bag for a few days.

Growing hints Chives will grow from seed but I've never

Garlic chives - leaves are strap-like and slightly concave - tiny white star flowers

had much luck with them. Those which do emerge are thin, spindly and take ages to establish good clumps. The easiest way to propagate them is by division. Get your bulbs from a good local variety. It's best to divide a clump that is at least three years old, SO the seedlings you're taking have an established root system. Water the ground well, cut the green leaves back, lift the clump with a fork and separate it carefully into clumps of three or more chives. Chives like company. They are much happier and establish more quickly if you transplant them in a clump. They often fail to thrive, or die, if transplanted in ones and twos. Make sure the roots don't dry out. Plant them immediately in good composted soil with a sprinkling of mulch. Water well. When transplanting make sure the white part of the stem is below soil level. Some people add a couple of inches of compost and mulch aruund t.he base of the stems each year to increase the length of the white 'onion'. This has a stronger flavour than the green leafy parrs.

Chives will grow and reproduce slowly for the first year. They like to settle in before making a comm itment, so be nice to them for the probation period. Keep the weeds down, feed them regularly and don't take roo many leaves. Once they're established you can neglect them they're very forgiving. In fact I think they like to be cut regularly. I have the same parch of chives

growing that I planted when I first moved here twenty years ago. They will grow happily in the

same place for years so they're a great container plant. They do very well in large deep containers

Herbs 63

like the foam broccoli boxes. Throw a bit of fertiliser at them when you're nursing the more demanding individuals and they'll thrive.

DIL L Anethum gratleloens Dill is a delightful addi tion to the garden. The leaves are thin, feathery and soft, and come in hues of blue and green which change to beige as the seeds set and dry. The flowers are not obvious but en masse they give a yellow tinge, and the plants buzz with bees. The leaves are scrumptious in salads, on sandwiches or just to pick off and chew as you go paS[ to give your taste buds a treat.

The leaves will keep for a week in the fridge in a plastic bag. I've frozen them in plastic bags and in ice cubes and they're fine to use over the Wet. In fact you get quite used to them until you taste your first fresh leaves again come the Dry. Then you wonder what on earth you were thinking.

Growing hints

Dill

Plant new seeds every couple of weeks throughout the Dry because they go to seed very quickly. The seeds are usually viable if you keep them in the fridge but you'll have to hide them because they're so good in cooking, added to vinegar and pickles and used in curries. They have a long taproot so don't try to transplant them. In fact treat them exactly as you would coriander and they'll be very happy. You can even grow them in the same box but they are just as happy in the ground.

Don't bother trying to grow dill in the Wet, they just suffer tOO much. Feed them lots of compost and nitrogen fertiliser or manure teas. Like coriander, they get quite tall when flowering and setting fruit, so prOtect them from the south,easterlies - especially as it gets hotter. They're a good plant to grow throughout the Dry season garden as they attract bees and smell beautifully herbal as you brush past them.

F E R N - L E A F E D G R E V I L L E A Grevillea pteridifo!ia

The fern,leafed grevillea has gloriOUS orange flowers. I t grows into a tall spindly tree in low lying areas. If you have a stand of fern' leafed grevillea growing where you want to build your house, think again! Propagate from seed (July-October). It: likes plenty of water. It's best to encourage suckers under a mature tree because older plants are often blown over or consumed by termites. Pick the flowers throughout the Dry season and suck or lick the sweet nectar from them. Or soak them in water to make a sweet drink.


G I N G E R

Zingiber officinale

There are many types of ginger hue the common cooking ginger is easily distinguished by its thin, lemon,scented leaves and the fact it only grows to 60cm high. Also about April, it produces a fist, sized green ball and - a couple at a time - tiny dark red flowers stick out like tongues from little openings. Ginger is an essential ingred ient in any kitchen, especially when you can use it fresh from the garden. Young 'green' ginger is a pale lemon colour and is delicious in rice or cabbage where you can notice its delicate flavour. The stronger tasting mature rhizome has a thin beige skin, is used in all types of cooking and made into disgusting drinks to treat nausea.

Don't harvest any ginger for the first year or two, if you can resist it, so the plant can build up a resource base. You'll need a couple of plants around the place, so use most of your first yield for propagation. Green ginger is harvested while the plants are still green. Some people treat their ginger like an annual and harvest the whole plant each Dry when the

Ginger - golden brown skin

leaves are brown, usually about August/September, keeping the best rhizomes to replant. Bur I don't bother. I have a few clumps around the garden which I leave in the ground from one year to the next and just help myself as I need it throughout the year. The plants grow away from the mature ginger so it is easy to harvest without damaging the growing shoots.

Growing hints

Propagate ginger from the edible rhizome. Some people sprout the ginger you buy from the shop. But I can't say it's easy to grow, because for years every bit I tried shrivelled - I may as well have left it in the bmtom of the fridge. Then, a couple of years ago, I gO[ an established plant from Bronny and have been harvesting fresh ginger out of the garden ever since. I've had the best success propagating from my own or a friend's locally grown rhizomes when [hey start to shoor in the Troppo (November! December) months. Plant them in well draining soil in a pm or raised bed.

Ginger grows during the Wet season. The leaves go yellow and die as the edible rhizomes are formed during Knock'em down time, and the plant goes donnant for the Dry. When it's dormant, cover the rhizomes with a thin layer of mulch. Mark the patch well so you know where it is, even when it isn't! The plant will emerge from the old rhizomes during the Troppo season. So about November my early morning wander in the garden will find me scratching about like a scrub fowl checking for little shoots. I use a lot of ginger in cooking and am never happy until they emerge, and I know my ginger has survived anmher year_

Ginger likes to grow in morning sun or semi,shaded areas - it gets badly sunbun1t if it's in full sun. Also, i['s nO{ a bully and can easily be overgrown if you don't keep it weeded. Ginger likes good drainage so plant it in a well draining potting mix in raised beds or pots. I have a few

Herbs 65

of mine planted in old tyres filled with compost. Ginger can be lifted and replanted every couple of years or left in the same pot for ever. I know a lady who has been harvesting ginger out of [he same pot for ten years.

Ouring the Wet, fertiliser is easily leached from the soil so you need to fertilise regularly. Throw on a good covering of well composted animal manure at the beginning of [he growing season and feed it throughout. Like most plants which form a rhizome or corms, ginger likes a dry spell. Ginger clumps which get regular water all Dry season, will stay green till about August so you can harvest green ginger till then. Other patches, which only get watered every now and rhenduring the Dry, will go dormant soon after the rain stops. But I think they produce a much stronger tasting mature ginger.

H I B I S C U S Hibiscus spp .

Hibiscus is a "beautiful easy�to-grow tropical flower. I learnt to use hibiscus flowers one day when I went to pick u p a friend, we were CO go to some arty thing where we all had to bring a plate. I had the normal old boring s{uffhidden under a tea-towel. She came out to the car with a jug full of flower petals, a salad which was mostly flower petals and a cake covered in flowers. When w e got there, she filled the jug with water and.ice and the flower petals, mixed with ice and water, sent rainbows around the room. The cake was a combination of nuts, fruits, a fudgy son of stuff and hibiscus flowers.

Hibiscus petals don't taste like anything in particular. You'll have to try one CO see what I mean. But they are beautiful, so I

(

Hibiscus - petals swirl like beautiful crepe ball gowns

often use them in jugs of cool water and in any sort of cake which doesn't have to be baked. Cheesecakes and pavlovas are perfect. Jellies, either the bought kind, or home made using gelatin and juices, look wonderful with hibiscus petals floating in them. Fruit salads of course, are perfect. As are other salads using rice, macaroni, potato as their base. All hibiscus flowers are edible. All you d o is pick the flowers when they are fully open, pull out the stamens and either use the flowers whole or chopped. They can be cooked but I usually use them in recipes which don't need cooking because I love them crisp and bright, not sodden and colourless.

Hibiscus strikes easily from hard wood cutrings. Rooting powders help and if you take them during the Build�up and Wet you'll have no worries. Our native species of hibiscus: Hibiscus meraukensis, Hibiscus J)andtmlonnis and Hibiscus liliaceus also have edible flowers, although [hey do like to ramble so you won't want to grow onc unless you have plenty of space.


K A F F I R L I M E

Citrus hystrix Kaffir lime leaf is what gives that distinctive flavour to Thai cooking and that glorious Malaysian laksa. But they can be used anywhere you want a lime flavour. Cut them fine and add them to salads, leave them whole for cooking or throw them in a pot of tea. The leaves can be used fresh straight from the tree into the pot or they can be dried or frozen without losing any flavour. It's good to have a couple in the freezer for those late night dinners or when it's raining and you don't want to slosh around in the dark and step on the pythons who have been flooded out of their holes.

The fruit is rough skinned and bitter and very useful in cooking. It won't produce a lot of juice but it's powerful. Half a Kaffir lime squeezed into your Kaffir lime orange juice in the morning will take the dead taste out of bought orange juice. The rind is also useful in cooking. One tree is more than enough for a family, as you only use

three or four leaves for a meal. They grow into a huge big tree so if you're only going to use a

couple of leaves a week, you can grow your Kaffir lime .in a large pot. They make a very decorative pot plant with their distinctive dark green double leaves. This also keeps them safe from the termites - termites love citrus trees.

Sometimes my Kaffir limes get a bit of curly leaf. I could spray them with dirty washing water but then I wouldn't want to put them in my 11"1outh, so I just leave them. There are always plenty of nice fresh leaves which don't suffer. Caterpillars and grasshoppers will have a feast every now and then. During the Wet you have to check them regularly, especially when they're small. One big caterpillar can eat the whole tree. Otherwise, treat them like other citrus trees. (See page 98 for details.)

K A P O K B U S H Cochlospermum fraseri The bright splashes of yellow kapok flowers bring joy to the bone dry country in the Dry season. They bloom in clusters and form large green pods when they're finished. As the pods brown, they burst throwing out a bundle of seeds wrapped in cotton wool and leaving a bell· shaped pod on the tree. Kapok gets its name from the kapok·like fluff sllTfounding the seeds

to help them catch the wind and disperse. Some Aboriginal people cat roots from young rrees

but it's the flowers that have really special culinary qualities for me. They taste lovely and

their bright yellow petals look fantastic in jugs of water, salads, cakes and rice.

H erbs 67

Kapok bushes are able to extract a small amount of calcium from our highly deficient soils and it's present in the leaves and flowers. Harvest the fal len leaves and use them in compost or mulch. Harvest flowers in between May and October. Throw them into drinks and food as

you would hibiscus flowers. They can be frozen to use throughout the year. The roots can be

harvested when they are big enough - it can take up to a year.

Gro.wing hints

Kapok should be propagated from fresh seed. The seed is ready to harvest from September to November bm may take up [0 three months to germinate. Keep seed trays in full sun. Scarify and

soak the seed to help them germinate. Sow the seed in deep pots or trays because the plant has a deep taproot. They put all the ir e nergy into their taproot, they don't seem [0 grow much for the first year. They make up for it the year later though. Kapok also grows quite well when direct seeded. Simply scratch around on the ground with a rake to loosen the soil, broadcast the seed and let the rain, the sun and the little seed do the rest.

Kapok bushes survive the Dry by retracting all water and nutrients from their leaves and allowing the leaves to fall. During the Wet season they're leafy and green. They'll often die if they're watered through the Dry, so plant them in the margins where the sprinklers don't saturate the ground. Or keep plenty of bush on your land so you can harvest their beauty and usefulness in its natural habitat. They are also worth growing for the taproot, it's quite tasty. Some people grow them each year in a big pot and feast on the taproot when it's big enough.

L E M O N G R A S S

Cymbopogon citratus

Lemon grass grows in a tall clump up to a metre high with purple tinges to the soft yellowy green leaves. The leaves and stalk are used in cooking. Taken as a tea it is very good for the complexion, especially for teenagers with acne problems. The plant can be used throughout the garden as a screen, divider or soil improver. Plant a row of lemon grass to keep invasive plants like sweet potato in their patch or around fence#lines to keep the weeds down and it will produce wonderful lemony smelling mulch right where you need it. It can be harvested all year if watered.

lemon grass - stems very stiff and woody - large untidy shaggy masses of grass

Lemon grass is a great soil conditioner. If you are wanting to replant an area of land where soil has been destroyed, plant lemon grass al l OVer it at the beginning of the Wet season. They'll quickly become large clumps and protect the soil from the sun and ra i 11. The soi I wi II stay moist and cool and attract

WOrms and oth.er soil micro#organisms. They'll grow and die. and grow and die, enriching the

soil in no time. When the Dry comes the lemon grass clumps will die and become mulch. The


next Wet you can plant trees in the middle of the dead lemon grass clumps in the improved soil. There are a couple of native lemon grasses which grow across the north. They are same genus as the commercial Cymbogon. The leaves and stalks are used to flavour fish, to make medicinal rea and warmed leaves are put on aches and pains.

You will be harvesting leaves within two months. They can b e cut in bunches wrappeJ mound the fingers to make a loop, and tied in the middle with the ends of the leaf. Leave� wrapped this way can be left out to dry and used in cooking like a bouquet garni or put on tu rice while it's steaming.

To make lemon grass tea, collect about six leaves, bruise them by smashing them wHh something hard or chopping them into small pieces and then pouring boiling water over them - let them seep for a couple of minutes and drink. It will take the sharp edge off anv sort of day. It is even lovely cold. A little lemon grass in normal tea is also nice. After a couple of months you'll be able to start harvesting the real prize - the white swollen leaf stalk at the base of the individual leaf sections. It's used when cooking fish, curries, laksa and many Thai dishes. Peel away the outer layers until the stalk shows a pinkish tinge. This can be cut fine or grated, but is more often beaten to allow the flavour to disperse and left whole so it's easy to remove before serving. Lemon grass leaves and stalk can be wrapped in plastic and frozen.

Growing hints Simply divide an established clump into individ ual rooted segments. Cut the leaves back,

replant the segments and water well. If you're using lemon grass as a screen or divider, plant them 1 5-30cm apart. Keep them moist and they won't look back.

Lemon grass will grow throughout the year as long as it is watered. It doesn't seem ro have great needs, I have clumps where they get fertiliser and water among other plants and they thrive; in other areas they get very little water and no fertiliser and they thrive - they're a bit smaller but they're very happy. However, lemon clumps do need to be divided and replanted every year, as they tend to grow out ohhemselves and die. As soon as you notice the segment putting out little roots above ground, divide the clump, harvest the swollen stems and replant.

L E S S E R G A L A N G A L Boesenbergia pandurata

Lesser galangal is a smaltcr variety of galangal used in fish curries or raw in salads. The little bunches of orange/yellow fingers grow out from the main rhizome beneath the soil. The flesh is yellow, aromatic and spicy. The fingers arc usually peeled or scrubbed re remove the skin before being used. Lesser galangal doesn't grow as rampantly as galangal so you have to keep the weeds down around it. Grow it in full sun or semi·shade and give it a reasonable amount of water - it's nor too greedy. It will grow quite happily in the ground without too much attention. lesser galangal

M I N T

Mentha spp.

Mint hates to be restricted. It loves to clamber among rocks, choke garlic chives and invade lawns making them smell beautiful. It needs plenty of sunlight and lots of water. I had mint growing happily like a weed around the citrus trees for many years until it got [00 crowded. It will not handle [00 much shade or competition. Add freshly cur mine to jugs of cool water [0 give them a really fresh flavour. And you won't believe how good mint sauce is until you've made i t with fresh mint.

Growing hints

Mint grows easily from a cutt ing. It creeps about purring rOOts down and searching underground for more territory so it's easy to find pieces which already have rOOts. Or you can take clInings and keep them in water till they grow roots. Plant them in a good poning mix - a bit of roming powder is always beneficial, I reckon. Keep d .. e soil moist and be patient, don't put your new mint cunings ou[ in the garden until they are growing vigorously. Also make sure you sun-

Herbs 69

harden them before you transplant them. Mint The most important thing to remember

when growing mint, is that they're full-on alcoholics. They need to drink and they need it every day - plenty of it - good deep soaks and mulch to keep the evaporation down. Keep them sloshed, mulched and throw them some chook manure and they'll take off and spread quickly in search of more ground. Bronny reckons mint �hrives on neglect but mine only suffer on because they're pampered. In most cases I have them growing in mulch in gardens but I also have them in pots in morning sun. Lemon balm also grows very well throughout the year and makes the most delightful teas. A handful oflemon balm to a pot of normal tea is so refreshing you can drink it cold.

Pests and diseases

Sometimes aphids will give your mint a hard time, just spray them off with a blast of water or hit them with some white oil. Also, it's always best to have a few of your favourite mints planted in different places around (he garden. When the grasshoppers and caterpillars arrive. they'll chomp every clump (hey find. Sometimes (he patch won't recover ami has (Q be replanred.

PA P E R B A R K

Melaleuca argentea, M . cajuputi, M. viridi{lora

The bark from these native paperbarks is used to wrap food while it's cooking in the coals. The bark not only protects the food from ash and dirt but imbues it with wonderful flavours. However, it is powerful . M y husband always wraps the fish loosely in alfoil first before

70 Trop i c a l Food Gardens

wrapping in paperbark because he thinks the flavour is tOO strong_ The leaves from the Melaleuca argentea, that wonderful silver paperhark, can be put on top of the coals when you're steaming mussels. Just use one 20cm long leafy twig. Or you can lIse the leaves as a flavouring for fish. Don't overdo it though, or your fish will taste like Vicks Vaporub. One leaf in a fish's belly is plenty. Propagate by seed.

P A R S L E Y

Petroselinum crispum

Parsley should be used every day in everything - it's steeped with gocx.lness. It's full of vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. It's a breath sweetener - the best antidote for garlic, smoker's or boozy breath known to man. It looks good tossed over anything, is a great addition to salad, makes stuffings delectable, six or seven leaves added to soups and stews is delicious and it's total ly essential in tabouli and pesto.

Pick the outside leaves because new growth comes from the centre of the crown. You can cut the leaves as soon as they are well formed. But don't pick the bush bare - rather try to have at least half a dozen plants so you

Parsley

only take one or two leaves from anyone plant. The leaves do become bitter and tough the older they get, so keep harvesting regularly. Any excess can be dried or frozen. Chop the leaves finely, drop them into ice cubes, add a little water and freeze.

Growing hints Parsley has a reputation of being hard to germinate. It isn't really. It just takes its time. Sometimes you can wait up to a month before your little parsley seedlings t!merge. So, use sterile potting mix. Any weed seeds in your potting mix will have plenty of time to take over the OOX before the parsley even starts to germinate. And weeding will destroy or set back the little parsley seedlings. An easy way co sterilise soil is solar sterilisation . Put your poning mix in one of those heavy duty clear plastic bags. Not (00 much at a time, just enough SO that it can be spread as a thin layer when the bag is scaled. Then leave the bag in the hot sun for a few days.

Parsley doesn't like to be transplanted. It has a long mproot and if that's broken in transplanting or weeding it'll cripple the plant's growth. Sow your parsley seeds in a permanent bed or box . I grow them in those 25cm deep polystyrene containers. Soak the seeds in warm water (or a day, sow them �md cover them with a light layer of compost. Keep the pot in full sun but keep it moist. The tiny seedlings will die if the soil dries out. So I put a Wct hessian bag over the top to keep the moisture in and seal in the warmth. They should germinate in a I"omh. But you can stay positive up to six weeks before you d"\foW the box on the ground , stomp on it and start again. Lift the bag when the seedlings have germinmed and keep the soil moist until they are at least IDem high.

The biggest problem you'll have propagating parsley is getting fresh seed. Often people buy seedlings because they only get one lot of germination from a seed packet anyway. Even if you

,

Herbs 7 1

keep (hem in the fridge they sometimes lose their potential. If you buy seedlings don't buy them

our of air conditioning and make sure the crown of the seedlings is above the soil when

ulInsplanting. I would argue that parsley plants are short�lived up here but my friend Wolf gang,

who's a real green finger, cuts his parsley regularly and it often lasts more than a year in peak condition. However, if you're like me, and only have a little green fingernail, you'll need to genninate a new lot of parsley every six months or so.

Both the more flavoured curly leafed parsley, and the subtle Italian parsley grow well during {he Dry season. Italian parsley seems to handle the Wet as long as it gets plenty of fertiliser and is keprour of the rain. The curly leafed variety usually dies in the first week of constant rain. A box with six or eight parsley plants will keep most families in fresh leaves throughout the year. Parsley needs plenty of nitrogen�rich ferriliser. It's happiest growing in pure compost, heavily laced with well composted chook manure, a little river sand and rinsed charcoal and then, still wants liquid fertil iser every couple of weeks. It will enjoy a full day of sun in the Dry season. About August you'll have to move the box imo dappled shade, in the shade�house or under a

tree. Then, move the box in under the verandah where it can get lots of morning sun for the WeL lf left out in the rain, the crowns turn to mush and the plant dies. Water every day in the Dry season as the potS dry out very quickly. Some people only grow parsley in their Dry season vegie gardens in a spot heavily laced with chook manure and they do very well. You can harvest leaves from April till November. Then harvest the whole plant and dry or freeze the leaves before they are battered into a rOtten mess by the early StOrms.

P A N D A N Pandanus amarylifotius Pandan is a little pandanus whose fragrance will take you straight back to Indonesia. It's often used to flavour rice o r to make little woven parcels to hold food offerings. It's most delicious as a dessert herb - used in cassava cakes (especially), sweet rice desserts or cakes. The leaf can be cut up fine or just bruised before adding it to the dish. It's a very hardy plant, Betty gave me a piece which I forgot and left in the back of the car for a week and it still grew. It lives on the edge of the sprinkler circle through the Dry and has never been fertilised in its life - my kind of plant. Propagate by sucker.

P E P P E R Piper nigrum I adore pepper. Espec ially on eggs. As kids we had a huge war about pepper. My biggest brother said, 'People who use pepper on their eggs are the baddies and those who don't, are the goodies.' Mum had JUSt read us Gulliver's Travels. The big boys liked pepper so the baddies won. The pepper fruits are borne on a vine with dark green heart�shaped leaves and are a beautiful addition to any garden. The tiny white pepper flowers form along hanging spikes and the small round berries which become pepper, form in trailing clusters of deep green and turn red as they ripen.

Pepper vines rake two or three years to start bearing. Once the flowers have set, they will grow inw green berries along the flower stalk. A t this stage you can fry them with meat co make beautiful tasty dishes. When one or two berries have turned red, pick the berries and dry them in the sun till they rurn black. This is black pepper, If you want white pepper, pick the berries when most of them are fully ripe (red), soak them in water umil the 'fruit' comes off to expose the white seed inside. Dry and use as white pepper. One vine will keep you and all your friends in fresh pepper throughout the year. Score the dried berries in ainight containers.


Growing hints

Pepper grows readily from a cuning. Take cunings about 45cm long from parts of the plant which have already flowered. Get them going in well drained soil in the shade�hollse, or around the tree or post that will support them. Keep the soil moist. Pepper vines can be the same sex or bisexual - check this out when you get your cuttings. Also only take cuttings from plants which have already flowered and carried a good crop of berries or you might end lip supporting a dud. Have a couple of plants growing either side of the same support.

The pepper vine needs a trellis. It will shoot tip to 6 metres high, and you, can't pick the pepper berries if the vine has disappeared into the treetops, so make a trellis 3-4 metres high. Pepper grows beSt in semi�shaded areas well protected from wind. Most people have it growing up trees in their orchards or in the garden in semi�forest situations. Low branching trees like frangipani are perfect as is under 50% shade in shade�hollses. Although every rule has to be broken- in Dave's permaculture garden it grows abundantly up a Woolybutt tree out in the fu ll sun! Pepper likes

, '. , , .

co • •

•

neucral soil, full of well composted organic maner and should be kept mulched.

Pepper

Pepper vines are reported to die after fifteen years, but most places I've seen them growing, parts of the vine tend to fall ouc of the tree on to the ground and reshoot. So there is an endless supply of new plants. RUlllour has it that the plants have to be irrigated with a mist spray because the water helps the pollination process. But again there are exceptions growing in people's gardens.

R O S E L L A Hibiscus sabdariffa Rosellas aren't native but grow as though they are, thriving in the Wet seaSOn. They came to the North with the early immigrants. They are beautiful in the garden with their red tinged leaves and bright red stalks and fruit. The flowers are beige with a red throat. You can eat the 'fruit' and leaves raw or in salads or just pull a leaf or a fruit off as you go past for a snack, or use the fruit to make jam, cordial or liqueur.

The red 'fruit' is actua l ly the calyx which is the leafy part of the flower and is high in pectin. When the flower dies this calyx becomes fleshy and red. Both the leaves and the red fleshy part surrounding the seed pods are edible, and delightful straight off the tree. I f you arc making jam, pick the fruit when the outside flesh is bright red and the seed pod inside still

green - before the bugs get into them. A Grandma I know told me that she was trying to make rosella jelly and it wouldn't set.

So she poured half a bottle of brandy into it and made Rosella Liqueur. She said it was

delicious. I made it - it was disgusting, but when I rang her to complain she said liqueurs needed to age. So I put it in the back of the cupboard and every now and then when we ran completely out of alcohol late at "":::-' " ,

night I brought it out. For the first twO years it was tasted and politely refused. But, now in its fourth year, I don't waste it on drunks. It's so delicious it's been upgraded from the back of the preserve cupboard to the top shelf of the liquor cupboard and I've made some more. To stay within the law and ensure she's nor to be blamed for someone getting alcoholic poisoning, I ' l l give you her jam recipe in the recipe section - and suggest an alremative if the jam won't gel.

Growing hints Rosellas like a sunny position and grow into scraggly bushes, so plant them well back off the path. They will self�seed if you leave enough seed on the bush for the birds, ants and the next generation. However, the bushes do become untidy so I harvest the seeds, pull the bushes out and throw them into the

Herbs 73

Rosella - carmine stems and fleshy carmine calyx

compost heap. Leave the seeds in their pods in the fridge and throw them around where you want them to grow in the Wet season.

Pinch the tip out of the plants when they're about 25cm high and keep taking the tips out to make them branch. Don't fertilise if you only want rosellas for a snack, a little mulch will be enough to produce a good crop. But if you want to make jam or liqueur put some seeds in beside che chook manure pile and they'll produce more fruits than all the others put toge£her. They'll flower in February and the fruit will be ready to pick four months later in May/June.

TAM A R I N D

Tamarindus indica

Tamarinds were introduced to the Top End by the Macassan traders. They are massive '" vergreen tropical legumes with strong supple branches that droop gracefully at the ends and

dark grey rough fissured bark. The b lue �green fine feathery foliage covers the ground with ni[rogen�rich mulch that decays readily and is prized by people who grow maidenhair ferns. Tamarinds grow slowly. Mine is about fifteen years old, only four metres tall and hasn't fruited yet.

The leaves, flowers, fruits, bark and roots are all used to make medicinal products in India and Africa . But the most importan t part for me is the flattish. beanlikf! pod about I 0-15cm in length and 2-3cm in diameter. You can pick the young pods when they're fully developed , tender�skinned , with green acidic flesh and soft whitish underdeveloped seeds. At this stage you can use them to season meat and fish and to make paste and juices. As they mature, the


pods fill out and turn cinnamon brown.

The skin becomes hritde and cracks

easily. The pulp dehydrates naturally to a sticky paste enclosed by a few coarse strands of fibre. When mature, you can crack the shell and eat the pulp 'straight', sucking it off the seeds, or use it in cooking and juice making. (When we came to town as kids, the teachers could get us to do anything if they promised to let us have half an hour under the tamarind trees in the park.) The pods full of dry fruit will keep for many months as long they're unshelled and protected from insect pests - keep them in the fridge. Boil tamarind pulp with water and sugar to make a refreshing cordial. The juice is often used i n curry dishes and the dried pods infused in water to make curry sauce and fish marinades. I just checked my tree. I t is still not flowering.

Growing hints

Tamarinds are easy to propagate by seed and the seeds remain viable (or many months. In fact one of the seeds found in a bought packet of tamarind pulp was tossed our at Wolf's place in the Wet season and sprouted! That's after being processed and shipped

Tamarind - soft suede-like skin. light brown with olive green traces showing through

from God knows where - now that's what you call viable seed. Usually they'll germinate within a week of planting. Seedlings will often take I O to 12 years to produce a appreciable crop so plam one today. If you want a smaller tree which fruits more quickly, tamarinds can be propagated by cuning or graft.

Tamarinds are reputed to fruit better if they're not watered through the Dry, although they'll need to be watered until they're about five years old. They are very hardy trees with no real fertiliser requiremems. They'll flower in the Wet season November/December and the fruit should be ready in the Build,up (August/October).

T H A I C O R I A N D E R Eryngium foetidum

Thai coriander will grow throughout the year. It's used i n cooking instead of coriander but the [8ste is stronger, so only use small quantities. Also the leaf is much coarser, so throw in your finely chopped leaves a few minutes before the end of cooking rather than as a garnish. I t looks nothing like coriander. It has saw,edged flat leaves and very spiky flower stalks. In Bronny's garden it flowers, sets seed and has become a bit of a weed. I 'm not so lucky - bur then we use it quite a bit too.

YOll can start harvesting leaves when the plants are quite small (no wonder mine aren't as prolific as Bronny's). Leaves will keep well i n a plastiC bag in the fridge. You can either cut them very fine or add tht!tn whole like a bay leaf.

Growing hints

TIle- stiff spiky seed stalk grows out from the centre of the-plant. It gets quite long and falls to the ground. You can leave it there and simply throw a little compost over it and the seeds will sprout into little Thai coriander plants in no time-. You'll cnd IIp with a nice little patch this way. Or you can pick each spiky seed pot when it's macure and sow the tiny seed in seedling trays.

It's a good idea to have a little clump of Thai coriander because it doesn't like competition or shade. I usually grow it in pots so I can ·--<eJ? control the competition easi ly. It likes well drained soil and lors ofsun. It'squite a hardy little plant actually, and will survive without too much fertiliser. However, if you can get it growing quickly its leaves are softer and the flavour is more subrte. A little chook manure tea keeps it growing happily. You can keep the same plant growing and producing leaves if you pick out the flower stalks as soon as they appear and don't let it go to seed. However, you have to get it when it's less than IOcm high. Any longer and the plane will already be in suicide mode and, even if you pick the stalk Out, i t wi l l die.

T U R M E R I C Curcuma domestica

Herbs 75

Thai coriander - thorn), leafed. very spiky. the new leaves more so and they have bizarre vein

marking

My husband loves hot food and cooks spicy dishes which make my eyes water. ' I only put one chill i in!' he says, while m y lips blister and bubble and 1 gargle glasses of milk and wolf down mountains of desiccated coconut, pappaduITIs, yoghurt and romatosalad. But he cooks. so I'm always trying to get into his good books. When I was introduced to Bronny's grand clump of turmeric une Wet season I knew I was onto a winner. If I could grow fresh turmeric for his curries, I'd be made. She gave me a p iece of rhizome with instructions about potting mix, general care and maintenance. Now my turmeric plants. one in a pot and others around the garJen, arc my husband's pride and joy and I bask in their reflected glory.

Turmeric has wide bright green leaves and grows up to half a metre rail. If you like curries and spicy food you've got to grow turmeric. Even the most carefully prepared dried turmeric will not have that warm spicy flavour you'll get using a rhizome straight from the ground.

Turmeric is most commonly known as the orange powder which gives curries their beautiful colour. But the whole plant is edible. The large leaves can be used for wrapping food to be Steamed. New shoots (rh izume and thick stem of rhe leaf part) can be chopped finely and added to rice or other dishes where the subtle flavour will be noticed. Even rhe flower can be Used in stir�fries.


Once your clump is established you can harvest the daughter rhizomes, throughout the year. But I reckon they have a stronger taste during [he Dry season when the plant is dormant.

Turmeric rhizomes will be bright orange inside with a brown skin and have a very aromatic spicy smell. Simply cut them by pushing the knife into the soil behind t he new shoot and slicing it off. Leaves can be harvested during the growing season but until you have a large clump only take a few - remember they feed the plant. As the leaves wither and die they can be cut, collected and stored in paper bags to use as flavouring. Our local turmeric, Curcuma ausrralasica, is a very bea ut iful plant which emerges in the understorey during the Wet season. In some areas they form a pure stand of pleated green leaves and pink and yellow flowers. The rhizomes are roasted and eaten by some Aboriginal groups.

Growing hints Propagate turmeric by rhizome. le's hard to buy them but you can usually get them at local flea� markets, and most herb gardeners will have it growing somewhere - contact your local gardening groups. Underneath the plant there is a main stem which is short and thick. Growing out at right angles from that, arc the 'daughter' rhizomes. Rhizomes which have flowered won't flower again so when looking for rhizomes for propagation, select only the young new 'daughters' which already have a couple of growing points. Plant them about 5cm deep in Ocrober/November when they are still dormant. New leaves will emerge from the rhizomes when the rains start in November/December. Or keep rhizomes in a dry place after you harvest them. Use them in cooking as you need them. Any you have left will start to sprout when the weather heats and the hum idity rises.

When grown commercially, turmeric is treated as an annual; the whole plant is lifted in the Dry season, the rhizomes harvested and selected rhizomes replanted

Turmeric - luscious fleshy gold colour skin. burnt sienna inside

every year. For the home garden, like ginger, it should be left in the ground and pieces taken as they are needed. The plant will grow into a lovely clump during [he Wet season. The rhizomes form as the plant begins to store nutrients to last through the Dry. With [he arrival of the Dry season the plant will stop prodUCing leaves and, around JunelJuly the foliage will turn yellow and wither. By this time there will be a nice clump of rhizomes ready for harvesting.

Turmeric likes to grow in rich well drained soil in potS or raised beds. They like to be heavily fed wirh composted manure or liquid fertiliser during the growing season. And they like a good dry spell while they arc dormant. Don't overwarer them during the Dry or the rhizomes will get fungus and rot problems. Turmeric seems to grow best in selll i�shadcd pOSitions. They are, after all, an understorey pial)[ of the great forests of Indont:sia and Africa.

VA N I L L A

Vanilla planifolia

Vanilla pods are used to make vanilla, or to put whole into sweets and flour. The vani lIa vine - a SOrt of zig-zaggy, orchidy looking vine is an epiphyte. I n its natural habitat, it grows o n trees in forests. It has aerial rOOts which get into the fissures or cracks in the bark to obtai n food and moisture and to hold the vine in place. I n Brazil people grow them up coconU[ trees - but then they have people who aren't scared of heights to climb up there and harvest them. Also, they have a vanilla moth which poll inates the flower. We don't have anything that will do the job, so in the middle of the night, you have got to get out there, bleary eyed, up the ladder and dust each flower with a small paint brush to pollinate them. (Luckily they only flower once a year.)

It takes nine months from pollination till the bean is ready. The pods are about 20cm long with tiny black seeds inside. Harvest the pods when they start to change from dark green to yellow. Store them indoors until they become brown, dry them slowly till they look shiny. Then keep them for a further three months to mature.

Growing hints Vanilla vines can be bought from local nurseries but it's beSt to get a vine from a local who is growing it (or

Herbs 77

r

Vanilla

vanilla. They are easy to propagate from a cutting. Use cuttings 90-120cm long with at least three nodes and sit them in loose friable soil and leaf litter. Don't bury them deep or they'll rot. Tie the cutting to the support with some old stockings until the roms attach. Make sure at least two nodes are above the ground. If you don't like to fill your garden with inorganic material like stockings, use the dried leaf stalks from the banana stem or pandanus fronds. Keep the soil moist until the plant has taken.

Vanilla vines need to be grown in semi·shadet well protected from wind. They won't grow .. long the ground. You need to train them along a 2 metre high trellis - something which will retain moisture and fertiliser like a Cycad or Uvistonia trunk is perfect. The vine will climb straight up its suPPOrt without branching. When it gets to the top it will throw itself around looking for another support. I've seen theln climb straight up a palm tree 10 or 1 5 metres tall. One of my neighbours grows hers up a Jackfruit tree and it just throws itself from branch to b .... dnch. However, she can't reach it to fertilise the flower and so she never gets any vanilla. If YOll wane to grow them in a tree, pick a low branching tree like a Frangipani. Colwyn has hers growing in a hanging pot where it meanders all over the wooden trellis-work on her verandah.

Plant your vanilla close ro the house because they flower ar night and you're going to have to hand.pollinate. Vanilla will Start to flower at about three years old. Watch carefully for the buds between June and August. You won't see the flower unless you're out there at nighr·rime because


as soon <lS the sun comes up the flower falls off. Fertilise with a liquid spray fertiliser like fish emulsion and keep the soil moist.

V I E T N A M E S E M I N T

Polygonum odoratum

Vietnamese mint is an imJX)rtant ingredient in laksa

recipes. I grow mine in the ground where it grows rampantly. Many people grow this herb in pots to keep it under control. After a while the stems get

long and woody; the plant sort of grows out of itself and sometimes even dies. So, before <lnd after each Wet season, cut it back, throw on

some mulch and compost and let it grow again. Propagate by cutting. Take pieces that have roots or keep them in water till they get roots in the Dry season. In the Wet season put them straight in the ground and they'll grow. Like many of these creepers, Vietnamese mint can get easily overgrown by weeds, especially grasses. If this is a problem in your garden, put your pot ofViemamese mint just submerged in a sunny position in the pond or bath. I t will grow happily as long as it's getting enough food.

WAT T L E

Acacia gonocarpa

Vietnamese mint (Iaksa)

This linle wattle is a small native shrub with narrow leaves and lovely pale yellow flowers. It grows in sandstOne country, is very hardy and flowers in the Wet. Propagate from seed (February-May). Use the leaves to flavour meat dishes. It is quite strong so only use a little. Traditionally the leaves are put into the stomach cavity when cooking kangaroo.

H e r b s w h i c h g r o w l i k e w e e d s

C U R R Y L E A F T R E E

Murraya koenigii

Curry leaf tree is a spindly evergreen shrub 1 .5 metres high. I t will grow anywhere, producing suckers which in no time become a forest. The birds spread the seed and it becomes a weed in bush land. It will even send suckers out through the

bottOm of the pot if you don't put a brick or something underneath it. However, it has a unique taste that is essential for

many curry and chutney recipes so it's well worth having. But

keep it in a pot. I 've had one plant in a pot for about ten years

a bonsai - and it produces ITlore than enough leaves for curries once or twice a week. To propagate simply dig up the suckers and transplant them. They arc very hardy. No real fertiliser requirements, it will grow and thrive anywhere. Curry leaf tree

G A L A N G A L

Alpinia ga!anga

Although galangal is a ginger it's not a substitute for normal ginger in Chinese dishes or any other dishes which ask for ginger. Galangal rhizomes are white and the young shoots pink. They are used extensively in Thai cooking, especially in soups with coconut milk. Indonesian recipes also ask for galangal instead of normal ginger. The rhizome has a distinctive smell you'll recognise from Indonesian cooking. Propagate galangal from rhizomes. But be careful. There are many gingers. Most of them are edible, but many taste disgusting, bred for flowers not food. So make sure you get your galangal rh izomes from someone who is actually using it for cooking.

Galangal grows rampantly in good conditions, so - unless you are going to use plenty of it - keep it in a pot where you can keep it under control. Or plant it out where it can' t do any damage. It's happy to grow in full sun all year round and survives well with minimal water. Keep it mulched and you won't even have to feed it! To harvest, take a mattock and a deep breath and attack the edges of the clump, or cut the new shoot and rhizome off with a sharp knife. Use young. rhizomes and new shoots fresh. They will last in the fridge in a plastic bag for a couple of days. Either chop or blend before adding [Q the cooking or you whack them with the flat side of the cleaver to bruise them and add them whole. The mature rhizome can be sl iced and dried; the flavour is

Herbs 79

I ' not as strong but many recipes will ask for dried galangal.

G O T U K O L A

Cente!!a asiatica

Galangal - Ieaves can vary from 1 6 cm to 35 cm in length. subtle sweet fragrance - sweet delicate fragrance in the pearly flesh. soft pink skin and young leaf sheaths - tiny flowers. white with light purple

throat

Gotu kola will become a very invasive weed in well watered areas. It's a thin per�nnial creeper with round fan�shaped leaves. It is commonly known as the arthritis plant and is reported to help with all sorts of age-related conditions. A Sinhalese proverb states 'Two leaves a day keeps old age away.' Some people use gotu kola in vast quantities in salads, others say it is a powerful plant and must be used with care. Gotu kola grows well in the ground where it will grow into a lawn. Actually it looks good growing among paspalum and is an excellent ground COver which will control other less useful weeds. I t does like lots of water so if growing in a POt make it a large one and keep the roots damp all the time. Start it off using pieces of runner,


•

Gotu kola - the nower is m·inuscule. purple. not much bigger than a pinhead and appears to be

composed of three lobes

give it a good start with plenty of water for the first couple of weeks and you'll soon have more than you can use. Don't bother with fertiliser- just plant it in a reasonable soil and it will go rampant.

T H R E E - I N - O N E H E R B

Coleus amboinicus or Plectranthus amboinicus

Three·in·one herb will even survive the Dry season without water, JUSt shrivelling back to almost nothing. Then, as soon as the Wet comes, it's rampant again. It's a creeper best planted in a pot where you can keep it under control or our in the: fore.st when! it can do what it wantS without smothering anything. It'll grow in full sun or shady positions. I t propagates easily from a cuning. In fact, in the Wet, when you are tearing it out from a place it has invaded, every piece you drop will grow! Luckily it's useful. Rub the juice on stings and bites for relief.

Use three�in�one herb wherever the

recipe asks for mixed herbs or oregano _ hamburgers. casseroles. Mediterranean cooking. However. it has a very strong flavour so use it sparingly. One leaf chopped fine is enough for most dishes. There is a native Coleus, Plecrranrhus scurellarioides. I t has a similar smell bur I have never heard of anyone using it as a herb.

W I L D O R V E G E T A B L E P E P P E R Piper sarmentosum Wild pepper grows easily as an understorey planr in the garden. le's quite an invasive creeper, not a climber like true pepper. So plant it where it can have its way without doing any damage. The leaves have a nice, peppery taste, and are delicious chopped raw into salads and salsas or slightly steamed and chopped into · potaro salad. If they're well fed, their leaves will get ro lOcm across and you can use them like vine leaves to make little delicacies. Simply steam the leaves for a few minutes and put a teaspoon of cooked mixture in the centre and fold the leaf around it. Put a toothpick through

, , ,

Three·in·one herb - pungent aroma. thick leaf covered with fine soft hair.

velvety to touch

Herbs 81

to hold it all together and steam or roast them in the oven. All sorts of mixtures are lovely - crab meat, seasoned noodles, or rice, any sort of vegetables. They are delicious.

F r u i t t r e e s

By the time we had speared a bore and were pumping enough water to start an orchard, I had accumulated all these books on rare tropical fruits. At the time 1 11f'"dn't tasted any of rhem, but that didn't faze me, I wanted rhem anyway.We bought or grew from seed everything we could get our hands on. Many of those [fees have since died because they needed more warer than we could possibly supply. Others we pulled out because they tasted disgusting - 1 mean when some people say sweet, they mean sweet! Others, like rambutans, have become rhe pride and joy of our garden. We've learnt some painful and expensive lessons along the way and met some wonderful people who helped our fruit trees grow and thrive. Aren't gardeners lovely generous people!

P R O M O T I N G A G O O D R O O T S Y S T E M In areas like ours with long Dry seasons and violent storms, fru it trees need good deep root systems. To promote this, never plant seedlings in small pots. Many fruit trees have a taproot which grows vigorously straight down as far as it can. In a small POt it'll hit the bottom and spin rollnd in ever.decrcasing circles, ending lip in a torwred tangle. It may rake years for the crippled plant to grow a good root system - or it may never happen.

To promote a good root system, you want that taproot to go straight down as far as possible while it still has i ts seedling vigour. So sow seeds in potS at least 20cm deep. And get the

Fruir trees 83

seedlings into the ground as quickly as possible, so their roots can go down farther without

any restrictions. Also, transplant young trees at the beginning of the Wet, so they can have

six months of nitrogen' rich rain and lots of warm sunshine to give them a good start. When

the weather dries out, they'll push down following the water, and end up with a good drought, resistant root system.

Surround young trees with a circle of pig,wire covered in shadecloth, to protect them from the weather, insect pests, possums (they love new shoots) and, probably most importantly, the wild man with the lawn mower. This barrier is also good because it will keep the chooks away from the mulch. The young �rees will grow slowly for that first year while they put\all their energy into their roOt system. But the next Wet, stand back or they'll knock you over as they fly out of the ground.

T R A N S P L A N T I N G I've gone to see Adrian about this section. He is always propagating and planting at his place - a five�acre garden of food plants and exotic bamboos. I found him digging a hole - and asked him, 'Aides, will you talk to me about transplanting for this book I want to write?' He said, 'Dig a hole halfway to Hell, fill it with stuff that used to smell, and your tree will do well ! ' I laughed. 'That's not an exaggeration,' he said. 'Jeff Fenech wasn't expected to win fights in a straitjacket. Likewise plants will find it a struggle corked into a tiny hole. If you're going to dig a hole, make it a ripsnorter! ! ' He handed me the shovel. After a few minutes I asked him why he didn't have an auger. But apparently augers aren't good hole makers because they compact the soil around the sides. The trees will struggle on for years before giving up and ascending to 'the great compost heap in the sky'. He reckons when you pull them up there's a tangled helix of'foots stuck in a cylindrical shape of the augured prison they were put into. So DIG a hole three times larger than the POt the plant is in. 'Basically,' he reckons, 'If you smell sulphur you've gone too far ! ' Well I didn't smell sulphur bur he let me stop anyway.

'Now,' he said, hose in hand, 'Fill the hole with water and let it drain completely. Tropical soils don't have much organic content so you add compost, well rotted manure or a handful of an organic fertiliser like blood and bone or Dynamic Ufter to the backfill. Don't use unrotted vegetation as it uses nitrogen while it's decomposing. Give the backfill a good soaking - never backfill with dry soil. If the plant is pot,bound, tease the roots out so they can see which way is down. Put the plant in the hole and backfill around it. Make sure the plant is not deeper in the soil, than it i.vas in the pot. Build up soil around the perimeter making a saucer to hold the excess water. Sprinkle a handful of dolomite over the surface to balance out the low pH of tropical soils.' And off I was sent to get the mulch so I could mulch heavily to keep the soil cool and protect the surface roots.

For a plant that came out of a 20cm POt, build up a pad of about 1 - 1 .2 metres in diameter with a watering depression.

While 1 spread the mulch, Aides explained that most tropical trees feed extensively in the topsoil. They'll grow in a range of soils and positions as long as their roots are kept moist. He reckons, if the soil dries out or gets toO hot, 'the roots will fry and the tree will die.' That's why it's important to mulch heavily under young trees when you plant them and keep rhem �ulched until they're able to shade their own root system and create their own mulch. Always transplant in the late afternoon so the plant has all night to drink and get used to its new location before it has to cope with the sun. Set up a shelter (pig�wire covered with shadecloth) to protect it from heat stress. Also water the p�ant well the night before it's

clay or rock subsoil

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Transplanting fruit trees

Fr uit trees 8;

transplanted and a t least once a day for the first week after. Then give it a good deep watering three times a week. Light w a t ering will encourage shallow roots while deep watering will

force the roots deep into the soil. 'Now what could be simpler?' he said, leaning on his shovel.

Wa t e r i n g During the seven�month Dry season most exotic fruit trees will need to be watered. A mature mango tree will need 1 000 l itres a week just to cover evaporation and transpiration. For mango trees, the local horticulture department suggests 80 litres three times a week in the first year, 240 litres three tillles a week in the third year and going LIp, until by the time the trees are 10 years old they should be receiving 800 litres of water three times a week. Mango trees are much more drought resistant than other tropical fruit trees. Many like Mangosteens, will need double that to survive and plenty more to produce fruit.

Always mulch to reduce evaporation. These rates are for mango trees in an orchard situation. In a garden, mulched and with other plants growing around them they will need much less water. Also, water at night to reduce evaporation. And don't leave it up to instinct or in the lap of the Gods, Illeasure and test how much water you're giving the plants. Putting on too much water will not only waste your water, but it'll leach your fertiliser away as welL So, have a look. After a normal watering, dig down with a small hand auger and see how far the water has penetrated. Check the next day in a different spot to see how damp the soil still is.

Drippers are the most efficient way of getting water to your fruit trees because they're situated under the mulch where the water can soak into the soil without evaporation. One or two drippers per tree is enough for young trees, but when they're older, you'll need to run a ring of 13mm (half�inch) pipe around each tree near the dripline. A mature tree will need up to eight drippers spaced along this pipe. The other bonus of drippers is that when you come to do the 'Dry clean', slashing away the wild growth of the Wet, they're close to the ground, safe from the whipper snipper and lawn mower.

Small lInder�tree sprinklers are not as water efficient as drippers, but you can see at a glance if they're working. You don't have to dig around unaer the mulch or wait till the trees shO\\t signs of streSSing before you know the line is clogged with little black ants. While the trees are young, use water birds or something similar with the spinner removed to reduce the water spread. When the trees are bigger, put the spinner back in to get a larger spread. When they're mature, especially if you have them planted in a forest rather than an orchard situation, you can use those big wobbler sprinklers. They're fabulous because they can deliver plenty of water to a large area very quickly.

P r u n i n g In the tropics plants grow a l l year round. In one Wet season one of my .timber trees grew two metres - fantastic for a timber tree but not so good in the orchard. Unless you prune, by [he time your orchard is ten years old you'll need to carry a ladder with you when you go to pick your fruit. Also, fru i t trees need plenty of sun to flower and fruit. You don't want [hem touching each other or crowding each other out. In a few years one pOinciana can shade out the whole orchard. But being a bit of a nature buff, I never pruned anything and consequently my rambutans and carambolas grew so high we couldn't get at the fruit, the grapefruit stopped fruiting as the tamarind draped over it and the lime tree was mass of tangled thorns and water shoots8, and produced enough limes to feed a blockade - and every fruit fly in rhe country. One day Ken (a famous horticulturalist) came visiting and, as proud as Punch, I took him for


a wander in the garden. Well, we'd only taken a couple of steps when he disappeared into his boot to get his trusty miniature chainsaw. [ was horrified, but with one of my husband's hands over my mouth and the other around my neck [ could do nothing but listen (he stopped the chainsaw every now and then to give us a bit of a yarn).

He could see my distress, so as he Wrrrd and Rrrrrd, he explained, 'I'm just trimming this one out ro allow sunlight into the nee. Sunlight encourages fruit set and colour.' Crash! My beautiful branch falls to the ground. 'If we take all these out - we'll get better air flow through the canopy - reduce pest problems.' If I could just get my husband's hand of( my mouth I would tell him, that as well as harbouring insect pests, a more closed canopy will shelter insect predarors like spiders - open up the tree and you'll make them vulnerable to predators! Then he said, 'But we don't want to make it too open - you want spiders and other predarory insects to feel safe - don't take off too much wood.'

They headed toward my mulberry patch. 'Mulberries,' he said, 'fruit on new wood - cut all these branches back to here.' Rrrrrr! 'Now see. You'll get new branches sprouting from there and here and get twice the new wood and twice the harvest next flowering.' I was starting to get the picture and calming down so my husband took his hand from my neck but kept his grip on my mouth. Rrrrrr! Wrrrn-! He chopped all the water shoots from citrus trees because they 'use enormous amounts of energy and nutrients and aren't interested in fruiting.' He didn't attack the rambutans because he said they were 'too far gone - you'll just have to use a ladder to pick the fruit.' But he trimmed the mangoes and the lime tree to a reasonable size. Now I can pick the fruit before it falls to the ground. And the Brazilian plums, which were completely shaded out by the mangoes, are flowering.

It wasn't easy to watch him chop my plants' arms and legs off. It's not easy to do it myself but I must admit some things, especially the mulberries, passionfruit and citrus, are fruiting much better. By the time he had finished, I had forgiven him enough to invite him in for a cuppa and he gave us a few hints. 'Pruning stimulates new growth,' he said. 'If you prune during the Dry season, you'll be stimulating new growth at a time of great stress for the plant.' Apparently, the best time to prune is just before the first rains - when the bush starts to send out new shoots. After pruning, fertilise and mulch.

He said you should shape fruit trees as they grow. Nip the growing tip out of them when they're a �etre righ and pinch out the tips of the

.branches

. to give it a good open shape with

lots of frutt-beanng branches. If you can get them 1I1to the TIght shape when they're little, you shouldn't have to prune them drastically when they're older. You just have to check them once a year after harvesting and thin out the overcrowded branches and diseased wood. I've since learnt never to cut those branches which grow down to the ground as they'll shade out the weeds.

Some of the basic rules he told us are: • Always use clean sharp secateurs. • Don't leave stumps on small branches, cut them off right against the trunk. However, if

the branch is bigger than 4cm in diameter, leave a lcm stump. It will heal more quickly. • Wlien taking off large branches, always make a cut If} of the way through on the underside

of the branch. If you just cut it from the top, the branch may fa ll before you've cut it all the way through, and because it is still attached at the bottom it will tear all the bark off that side of the tree.

• •

Take special care when you are pruning during the Wet season to avoid infection. Remove branches close to an outward-facing bud so that the replacing branch will grow ou tward not into a thick tangle in the middle of the tree. I know this all sounds awfully controlling but ... well, it is controlling!

Fruit trees 87

F e r t i l i s i n g There are all sorts of ways to fertil ise fruit trees and they can be as technical or as haphazard

as you like. You can have the leaves and the soil tested for deficiencies and nutrients and get

a print-out of exactly what your soil needs and follow it to the letter. Or you can trust your instincts and the effect the moon has on your mood and throw whatever you have around, whenever you feel the urge. Wh atever system you use, it's best to supply nutrients as naturally

as possible. Grow a cover crop between fruit trees to build up the soi l structure and reduce the

soil temperature. For the first couple of years p lant a sorghum species between trees during

the Wet season. And interplant with Wynn Cassia, Sudax or Cow Pea. Aim to cover all your soil with vegetation by the end of th e first Wet. Then grow a legume like Wynn Cassia permanently in the orchard. Slash it a couple of times a year to produce mulch on site. When you slash the tops, an equa l amount of dieback occurs to the roots, so not only are you adding all that mulch to the surface of your soil, you're adding just as much underground . And there (he beasties can turn i t into nutrients in comfort.

Yes, understorey plants w i l l use fertiliser and water. But slashing them will put all the nutrients back. Also, the bacteria associated with legumes are able to take nitrogen from the air. This extra n itrogen is released into the soil when the legume mulch d'ecomposes. So you're getting more back than you put in. Also, mulch on the surface will encourage grass; eating termites into your orchard. Where they set up a colony there'lI be less room for Maswtennes - the termites which eat live trees. Grass;eating termites will decompose grass, sticks and leaves (and your hOllse if you leave it on the ground in the orchard) . Another thing to consider is that an understorey will encourage a more d iverse insect population (including predator insects) so you won't h ave as many problems with insect pests.

Manure is a wonderful fertiliser. Not only does it provide nutrients but it conditions the sgil and makes it more able to hold nutrients and water. Bird manure will add nitrogen and potassium. Have chooks in your orchard depositing manure all the time. Put your pigeon house in there too and birdbaths to encourage native birds to leave their rich droppings in your orchard . Bought chook manure is still cheap to buy by the truckload, However, if you use it fresh it's very smelly and very water soluble - many of the nutrients can be leached out before the plant is able to use them.

For this reason, chook manu re is best composted before you use it. Or you can use the fact that it's water soluble and make l iquid manure. Just drape bags of chook manure into a 44 of water. This can be fed through the irrigation system to give the plants a regular small amount offertil iser. Probably th e best way of feed ing p lants manure is to build compost heaps under the trees. All you do is pile Cllttings, palm fronds etc., around the drip�line, cover them with a layer of hay, t hen a layer o f chook manure, another layer of hay and another layer of chook manure. Leave i t to decompose and release its nutrients into the soil. You don't have to turn it - easy. Okay it 's s t i l l t i m e consuming and hard work - but who said gardening wasn't time consuming and h ard work anyway!

Actual ly, tlly friend Di has a forest of native bush tucker fruits which is pretty maintenance�free, let's have a look at that.

D j 's B u s h Tu c k e r F o r e s t Di's garden is a huge ten;acre forest with trees reaching up to 20 metres high. Under rhe dense canopy the earth stays moist well into the Dry season. Long yam vines with their heart� shaped leaves climb up trunks. Suckers and seed lings cover the ground. Ferns nestle in huge


bunress roots and thick vine stems hang from tree to tree with green ants sparkling in the sunlight along their edges. Scrub fowl and bantams spend all day turning over the mulch helping it decompose and dropping nitrogen�rich manure.

When they first moved to their land, Di and her husband were surveying and identifying rainforest flora of the Top End. They camped in, and walked through 1 ,200 vine thickets, monsoon forests and rainforests with Aboriginal people and learnt to identify and eat the fruit from bush tucker trees that lived there. They collected seed, seedlings and cunings and planted hundreds of bush tucker trees in pots.

The soil on their property was typical tropical soil, well draining and without much nutrient. So to begin the forest, they planted pioneer species - legumes and shade trees which don't need much water. Things like Acacia spp . , Albizzia spp . , Adenanthera spp, Peltophorum spp. and lronwoods Erythrophleum. These trees grew quickly, breaking up the soil and producing lots of mulch. Then, as the soil improved, they planted the native rainforest trees. Now, the birds, Di's family and all the native animals eat from the rainforest throughout the year.

There are walking paths throughout the garden. As we walk into the forest, rays of sunlight catch insecls i.n the air making them sparkle. Di poill.(s out a little green shrub beside us Glycosmis rrifoliara. It will be covered with scented white flowers in November and they'll eat the pink translucent fruits, about the size of a grape, throughout the Wet season. 'Here,' she says, 'Pick a leaf, crush it and smell. That will give you an idea of how the fruit tastes -

. , very aromatic. Farther along there is a small tree covered with cream coloured flowers - this is the

fourth crop this year Di tells us. Acmenospenna claviflorum comes from the wet jungles on Melville Island. 'They have a grape�like, deep maroon coloured fruit that will stain your lips and tongue like mulberries.' It's growing where it gets morning sun and is well watered. Di said they propagate easily in the leaf mulch under the tree.

Canthium schultzii is a small tree which grows along creeks and river banks. The fruit is red and tastes boch sweet and sour as it dissolves in your mouth - delicious. Di said a young Aboriginal girl introduced her to these trees the first Wet season she lived in the tropics. They were playing in a creek and as they got out and walked along the river bank they found some of these fruits.

PolyauIax cylindrocarpa has a cluster of bright orange-red fruit which hang like dangling fingers. You eat the fleshy part. It is a small shrubby tree found in dry j ungle thickets_ It's very slow growing and takes some years to fruit. 'We have them scattered through our garden and they seem to like the filtered sunlight areas rather than full sun.'

OneofDi's children ran off the path to hide in the large buttress roots of a Blue Quandong Elaeocarpus angustifolius. This tree grows fast, quickly becoming a towering giant. It has red leaves scattered through the green canopy and they look beautiful amongst the leaf litter. In March/April, the delicate white fringed bell flowers will emerge and then form a mass of bright blue fruits. 'We collect the fruits from the forest floor. The flavour is tangy and starchy - very tasty.' They come from wet jungles and need to be watered in the Dry season.

Along rhe edge of the forest is a rambling shrub with strange rough textured leaves. It's covered w ilh wonderful white tasty currants - Flueggea virosa. The tiny white fruits cluster along the sterns of the plant. They grow in j ungles and woodland country where they fruit for the whole \Vet season - December to April.

The bush black currant, Antidesma ghaesembilla, is a magic bush. It gets covered with the most wonderful blossoms that change into delicious fruits. 'When we find these trees fruiting,

Fruit trees 89

nlOSriy in dry jungles,we just feast from tree to tree and return home with purple tongue and

[ips.' The fruit is ready to eat between December and April. 'Red apple trees, Syzygium suborbiculare, have fantastic fruits,' Dj said. 'During the cooler

part of the Dry, around July, they flower. Then, as the hot time arrives, they flush with new green leaves, and the fruits begin to form. In December, the apple fruits are blushed red and ready. They fall to the ground. After a couple of days they soften, and you can enjoy the clove flavoured fruits of the tropics!' They can be made into stewed fruit or jam.

SYZ),glum forte is another tasty bush apple. These trees grow big with a most attractive and shady presence. They h a v e lovely soft, smooth, ochre coloured, papery bark. They mostly grow along creeks, but are quite hardy when they get their feet into the deeper soil. Wonderful grand trees.

Di has a good white bush apple tree, Syzygium amtStTongii, the fruit is very nice. Sometimes it's a bit tangy, but this one is very tasty. The fruit is white and crunchy about 2.Scm wide. Di said they germinate from seed very easily - half bury them and keep them moisr and they'll germinate in a couple of weeks. The fruit is ready in the late Wet season - December to February.

The green plum Buchanania obovata is a delicacy. Di said, 'The first Wet season I was in the tropiCS, whenever I was driving the school truck along and I would hear an urgent call from the children, "Stop ! Stop! Andudjmi!" as I stopped, the children would pile out and search the base of a ful l y laden green plum tree for ripe fruit. At this time of year we were always late for school.'

Ficus racemosa are fast growing large shady fig trees that are fun for children to climb. The fruits cling along the branches. When they turn a reddish colour they are so sweet to eat. I recently had some fruits from trees which grew close to the sea and they were very juicy. Usually they are not so j uicy, but have a lovely starchy sweet flavour.

Horsfieldia ausrraliana has delicious nuts. They taste like coconut peanuts. There are male and female trees so you need half dozen trees to get the nuts. The male trees don't fruit but are worth having just for the scent of their flowers. Horsfieldias grow in the wet forests near running streams. The biggest hurdle is planting them before they're eaten. The seed germinates very easily. Around November the fruit is ripe. It has a bit of a shell on the outside and an oval shaped nut w i t h smooth grey coloured shell on the inside. Just crack the shell and eat the nut. But only eat a few a t a ti n1e because they can affect you like senna and go straight through!

There are also plenty of bush foo d trees growing in an area of native bush land. The population of Tenninalia Jerdinandiana - the billy goat plums - is almost plantation. like. Di said she just loves these fru its. 'Each year we watch and wait while the green fruits form and get fat (ripen).' Dj's children have little bags tied to their bicycles to collect these then.

A flock of yellow butterflies is quivering in the shade caught in a sunbeam. I find pawpaw and chilli plants growing in the mulch. Di said the birds and flying fox have spread fruit trees through the forest - pawpaws, guava, chilli, eggplant, passionfruit and lots of native fruit trees. However, they also spread jungle trees into the vegie garden when they stop in at night to taste some pawpaw or banana. 'I've had to move my vegie garden three times in twelve years.'

We've collected a basketful of fruits by this time, so we head back to the house to make a 'bush tucker' lunch. Di said there was always something fru iting in the forest in the Wet season. 'Every afternoon we wander through the forest, celebrating each fruit, harvest and Oowering as it arrives. The forest feeds itself with nutrition from the microbial interaction of


fungus, soil, leaf mulch, worms and the bantams. It is an enchanted garden, where new fruits unveil each season, each year - forever changing!'

As we walk out of the forest into the sunlight I'm thinking, Why do I grow all these time� consuming tropical fruit trees! Why not just stick to the natives. But what would I do without my beloved r3mbutans, bananas and grapefru it? Maybe I'll just include natives into my garden. Okay, let's have a look at some fruit trees. I don't grow all of these trees - I wouldn't have room. But they're all trees that have been growing in other people's gardens for more than ten years and have produced fruit. Some of the fruits might take a bit of educating to enjoy but none of them are duds.

F r u i t t r e e s A - Z

A B I U

Pouteria caimito

Abiu have lovely bright yellow fruit about the size of a kiwi fruit -sometimes larger. The flesh is translucent and very similar in taste, I think, to the ":f��;;::� rambutan, although it doesn't have that crisp ... texture. They're beautiful straight off the tree, soaked in liqueur and chilled for desserts. added to juices or thrown into cakes and scones. The fruit has a thin skin and bruises easily once it's ripe, reducing their shelf life to a couple of days.

Abiu grow into a large tree so keep them pruned to three or four metres high so you can pick the fruit. Seedlings can be a bit shy of fruiting. Others fruit well, but can take up to eight years to let you know. So planting by seed can be a bit of a gamble. There are some good varieties around which are worth marcotting9 (see diagram).

Good varieties will fruit a couple of times a year. Abius need to be watered right through the Dry, and given regular fertiliser, to produce good crops, although they are not nearly as hungry or thirsty as rambutans.

Abiu - yellow. soft skin. pale brown· ochre jelly-like pulp holds two large

dark seeds

There's also a native Pouteria, Pouteria sericea, which has a lovely purple fruit. The fruit is ready to collect from November to July.

A V O C A D O

Persea americana

People used to say you couldn't grow Avocado this far north - especially in the Wet/Dry climate. So Grandma Eve grew avocado in her garden in Fannie Bay just to prove them wrong. She used to scarify their trunks to terrify them into flowering and gOt some fruit, some years. Things ha\'c improved since then and there are quite a few varieties of avocado available now, which fruit in our climate. Some of the grafted trees available wday were wkcn from a seedling someone planted in their back yard [hat finally fruited after fifteen yC8rs. So.

• •

Fruit trees 91

I (a) Make a long slanting cut u p across a n d into the stem being careful not to sever it. Scrape the bark

on the upper side of the cut. Chock the cut open slightly with a piece of twig.

I (b) Carefully remove a ring of bark 6-12mm wide from the stem. Take a thin section )mm wide of the cambium layer from the lower part of the ringbarked section.

0,

2 Cover stem with a mixture of wet sphagnum moss and coarse washed sand. Bind with clear plastic. Tie securely at both ends but leave a nared collar at top to allow for watering. Tie a further protective covering of opaque sheeting.

e developed. usually after about ) ) When roots hav

. and cut off the section of h move coveTing mont s, re

. 1I0w further development. branch. Plant ," pot to a

Marcotting

92 Tro p ic a l Food Gardens

bloody�mindedness does have its good points. The fru it isn't high enough in oil to sell commerc ially but they taste delectable and, last year, one of those trees produced four or five hundred avocados.

Avocado trees grow into large evergreen trees. They have small, pale perfect flowers. They produce a million flowers during one bloom but only 0.1 % mature. They're a bit wasteful. But that's probably because they have a weird way of flowering which people with huge vocabularies call a 'protOgynous, diurnally synchronous dichogamy'. The dichogamy is 'protogynous' in that, in each flower, the pistil matures before the stamens. The flowering behaviour is 'synchronous' in that all open flowers on the tree are male at one time and female at another time. The synchronisation is diurnal, which means each tree is functionally female one part of the day and functionally male another part of the same day - transvestite trees? Each variery will follow individual flowering patterns. For

Avocado

example, in one variety, the flower will be functionally female i n the morning and male rhe following afternoon; while another variety may be the opposite. Anyway the point is you should have a couple of trees around the garden to improve pollination.

The fruit will not ripen on the tree. So you have to pick one of the fruits when· it's full size and keep it inside to see if it'll ripen. The fruit is happy to stay on the tree well after they're ready to be picked, so you can pick them as you need them each day and have a long grazing season. It's hard to imagine getting sick of avocados when you pay a dollar each for them. Bur after your fiftieth avocado, with the knowledge that there are still another twO hundred on the tree, you might like to know that you can freeze the pulp, to use for dips and Mexican sauces. Equal quantities offrozen avocado and yoghurt make a scrumptious dip.

Growing hints The fruits have a single large seed. My husband used [0 sprout them by suspending them, just so, in a glass of water. What a hassle; I threw a tantrum one day (Troppo season) when, for the umpteenth time it was knocked over all over the kitchen bench, and chucked it out into the garden. It landed in a moist SpOt and, in one of those weeks of wet weather, germinated. Now we find that they'll sprout readily if you half bury the seed, poimy end up, in compost and keep it moist.

Avocados need a well drained soil, they won't tolerate waterlogging. They also prefer a sheltered position as they suffer from wind damage. They need to be looked after until they're a couple of years old - mulch, trace elements, feniliser and plenty of water - oh and give them a shadecloth frame for the first Dry season. All this is not necessary to keep them alive, they'll live a neglected life. But it is important if you want Cl good strong tree which is energetic and happy to fruit.

They need regular watering throughout the Dry season and look after them when they're fruiting, any setback will affect the crop. Keep them on the same system as rambutans. Seedlings should start to fruit after six to eight years, but some will stay barren for their liferirne. Grafts give

Fruit trees 93

guaranteed fruit and most of them will fruit between two and five years. Give newly planted trees wind and sun shelter for the first few months. They like a sprinkling of rock dust or trace elements in the first few years and plenty of mulch - they love it.

B A N A N A S

Musa spp.

Bananas make beautiful ornamental trees and great windbreaks and screens. They get very few bugs and take no effort to grow - just water, chook manure and a bit of pruning now and then. They do well on washing water drains or around an outdoor shower. The fruit is delicious in cakes, puddings, barcered or fried, in pikelets and in custard. It can be frozen to make smoothies or for cooking or dried as pieces and fruit leathers. The leaves are great for horse, cow or pig food when everything else is dead, and green bananas, plantain varieties, can be cooked as a vegetable or split and dried [0 make flour for porridge and soups. The banana flower (the tapered purple bit at the end of the bunch) is edible but I've tried to prepare it a couple of times and always found it [00 bitter.

Dwarf Cavendish is a short thick variety which produces large bananas in bunches up to 45 kilos. Lady Fingers grow much taller and have sweeter fruit. Plantain bananas are large, and floury if you let them ripen, but beautiful cooked green - like a potato - almosd If you plant the three varieties you will have plenty for the flying foxes, possums, banana birds, the pig and your family and friends.

Bananas are easy t o preserve. Just peel them and freeze them or split them down the middle lengthwise and dry them - dried bananas are scrumptious. When the plant has finished fruiting, cut the tree down. The banana trunk is lots of leaf stalks folded round each other. When they're dry, they're a beautiful purple and yellow colour, strong, smooth, silky and shiny and very suitable for making baskets and mats.

Growing hints

Bananas are best propagated by suckers. Cut the sucker from the parent tree with a sharp shovel or crowbar - make sure you get plenty of corm and roots. The suckers that have sword�shaped leaves when they are 40cm high, will produce fruit quicker than the ones with broad leaves. The others are fine if you want to start a new clump. They'll grow and produce good suckers happily and build you a nice clump if you're patient.

I couldn't grow bananas for years. It was embarrassing. The things are supposed to grow themselves, and I killed every sucker anyone gave me. My first success was in a patch I'd previously used for sweet POtato. It had plenty of mulch and chook manure. I planted the suckers and they never looked back. Now I realise that bananas are very greedy. They need lots of organic matter in the soil and plenty of water. A wheelbarrow of chook manure mixed into a bed a couple of metres long is a good start. They love potassium. The most common cause of death and disease is not enough water. A common reason for not fruiting is starvation. The roots are just under the surface and don't go far from the plant, so keep the fertiliser and water close to the stem and mulch well.

When I first grew bananas, I religiously took the Slicker growth from the plant till the banana bunch appeared. Then I let one or two suckers grow to replace the parent. In those days I needed suckers to spread around, but now I have more bananas that I need, I don't bother. Most of rhe little suckers which come up around the plant stay small or die and when the tree is about to fruit, or while it is fruiting, a lovely sucker with sword�shaped leaves emerges to take over.

It takes about six months for the flowering stalk co appear and two more months till the fruit forms. But you'll only count for the first couple of bunches. Sometimes they come on tOO fast for you and you're begging people to take them. When the bunch emerges, leave the leaves around it to give some protection from the sun and camouflage it from the animals. Also, break the


purple flower ball of( when the distance between it and the bottom hand is about 1 5cm. If you wam smaller bunches, break it off when the bunch is the perfect size. We've made a 11 sorts of cages and bags to put over the bananas to protect them from the possums. In the end we decided that one whole banana bunch was much more than we can eat anyway. So now we ler the night animals hoe into the top of the hunch and when it's ready to pick, we rake it in under the verandah and tie it right above where we tie up the dog at night. We still get more than enough bananas to give away, freeze, dry and eat.

As soon as your banana bunches start to fill out, the plant is going to need some support. I have these U-shaped hooks, an<tched to six foot ( I .Bm) pickets which I use to stop rhe plant falling over when the bunch gets too heavy.

Once you get a banana patch going, the only work you have to do is trim the dead leaves off as they collapse. When you pick the bunch, cut the tree down, throw on some manure and let the sucker grow. They produce much of their own mulch, you JUSt throw all the spent leaves, the flower balls and the trunks, back ontO the ground as mulch. Plant cassava throughout the patch. They produce lots of mulch and they help reduce nematodes. JUSt break off stems and leaves and throw them down. Bananas produce nice dappled shade, so you can plant ginger, rurmeric. mushroom plant and other shade-loving shrubs beneath them.

You should start harvesting bunches of bananas in eight to twelve months. Bananas are much tastier, and they don't

'�'L.,"ll l ' Banana prop

all ripen at once, if they ripen on the tree. However, if ....

they're being eaten or splining, you can pick them green. Just make sure the bananas are rounded without ribs and the flower tips rub off easily. Cut the bunch at least a foot above the first hand of bananas so you can hold it and tie it up easily. Once you pick the bunch, they'll all ripen together. But if you cut a few hands off while they're still green and put them i n the fridge, it will slow them down till you have a chance to eat the ochers. Then, take them out and let them ripen.

B A R B A D O S C H E R R Y Malpighia glabra The Barbados cherry is a small ornamental shrub. The new leaves are pink tinged and the beautiful pink/purple flowers turn into ripe fruit within weeks. They'll flower and fruit two or three times a year. The fruit is bright red, sweet tasting and very high in vitamin C. It looks a bit like a cherry. T hey're very juicy and can be frozen whole or as a juice. Some of the early varieties that were grown up here were nOt SO nice, but most of the varieties around now are lovely.

Barbados cherries will grow happily in a big pot on the verandah if you're in a flat. Or plant them in

Barbados cherry - small pink flower about

2.5 cm has ruffled petals _ bright red fruit

F r u i t trees 9 5

the garden wherever there's enough sunlight. They grow into a scraggly shrub if not pruned. They need to be watered regularly through the Dry. Seedlings will fruit at tWO ro three years old, bur they mighr not be as good as the parent plant. So, take cuttings from rrees with good tasting fruit when you find them. They grow easily in good soil. Nematodes give them a hard time in poor soils.

B I L LY G O A T PLU M Terminalia ferdinandiana The billy goat plum's remarkable vitamin C content is well documenced - fifty times more than an orange they say! And it's ripe and falling to the ground to be harvested JUSt when we need vitamin C most, to fight off the colds and fIus at the beginning of the Dry season when the temperature plummets to twenty degrees and we all freeze. When the fruit is ripe it's a yellow�green colour and soft. It's easy to harvest. JUSt shake the tree and the ripe ones fall to the ground. The fruit is about 3cm long, oval with slightly bitter tasting flesh. There are hundreds of billy goat plum trees growing in the bush land at our place. In the garden, they have died in areas which get lots of water in the Dry (among rambutans) but thrive among less thirsty trees. When we go for a '\valk in the early Dry season mornings, we collect poCketfuls of billy goat plums and chew the flesh

Billy goat plum - individual flowers only 4 mm in size. green rruit

off the large seeds all day. Billy goat plum trees lose all their leaves in mid;Dry season. Then, when the land is devastatingly hot and dry, they sprout new leaves - where do they get the energy? They know the rain is coming. I suppose. As the humidity climbs they produce long spikes which will be covered with tiny white scented flowers and then the fruit sec. .

B L A C K S A P O T E Diospyros digyna Black sapote is a large tree - lip to ten metres high. The unripened fruit can be boiled and used like a vegetable. The ripe fruit is eaten as a fruit - it looks like chocolate mousse but tastes sweet and bland. On its own ic's nothing special, but mixed in smoothies and

Black sapote - small yellow flower about 5 mm in size,

surrounded by green calyx - cedar green skin. rich dark chocolate flesh

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mousses, used in jams or served with cumquat liqueur, cinnamon and icecream for dessert (or rum and cream) ie's delicious. The fru it has a thin green skin and the flesh is soft, dark chocolate brown. Once rhe flower has germinated, the fruit takes about eight months to mature. Pick it when it's full sized but still hard and allow it to ripen (become soft ) overnight. If you put it in the fridge it will keep for several months without ripening, but once you take it out, it will ripen in a couple of days.

As I've said, black sapote will grow quickly into a large tree, so keep it pruned if you want to pick the fruit. Give it some protection when you first plant it, a couple of doses of trace elements and lots of water and fertiliser for the first couple of years. As it gets older ir will become quite a hardy tree. lr'll rake five or six years to fruit.

B R A Z I L I A N C H E R R Y Eugenia uniflora

I have a couple of Brazilian cherries struggling along beneath the rambutans. I r was a planning error. I didn't realise the rambutans would grow so big - the Brazilian cherries were planted beside them, nor beneath them. They don't like the shade, so when you plant yours put them where they'" get good sun, right away from any overpowering trees.

The Brazilian cherry is a small dense shrub with a lovely pink tinge to the leaves and white perfect flowers. The red berry is fluted with rounded ribs and has a long stalk like a cherry. Ir's very high in vitamin C and tastes like it! It's tangy, sometimes quite bitter and has a weird aftertaste. One fruit a day will give you all the vitamin C you need - luckily! Actually they're not that bad. I quite like them but the kids carry on a biL The best idea is to pick them and freeze them as they ripen (the

I I

· Brazilia n cherry- red fruit. approx. 2 cm in size

vitamin C level is not affected) and give them to everyone like a pill each day. Some trees will fruit for seven months of the year, others for only a few months. Brazilian

cherries grow easily from seed but if you come across a tree with nice tasting fruit, take cuttings. Plant them in a sunny position, with lots of mulch, water and fertiliser. They'll start fruiting in their third year and produce more than you'll be likely to eat. They can be used in jams, syrups and make a delicious liqueur.

C A R A M B O L A S Averrhoa carambola

Caramoolas have the most beautiful small, purple and pink flowers - they're worth growingjusr for the flowers. The fruit is fluted with five pointed ribs, which gives it a star shape in cross�

·seq:ion, and the local name 'five corner'. It has waxy yellow skin when ripe and is juicy and crisp. They're fantastic in fruit salads, on their own, juiced and mixed with other fruits to make heavenly puncl)es or even sliced and dried into little star�shaped nibbles.

Fruit trees 97

Growing hints You can propagate carambolas by seed, but they won't necessarily take on the parent's characteristics so you're better off buying grafts or taking marcottes. The fruit can vary anywhere from being large and sweet to small and tart. Fwang Tung has a nice big juicy fruit. You can get them anything up to a ki 10 in weight if you look after them.

Carambola can grow up to Bm high and will. Mine have now become forest and I can't pick any ohhe fruit. I'm sure rhe po.$.$ums have a wonderful time up there enjoying all they can scoff. The point is, keep them pruned to about three metres so you can get at the fruit. Carambolas do best in well drained soils - they won't handle waterlogging. They flower continually so you get (or the possums get) fruit all year round. Mine usually has a heavy fruit set in the Dry, enough to allow the possums, flying foxes, fruit sucking moths and me to have a meal and then fruits sporadically through the rest of the year. If you plant a tree near the chock pen, you'll get plenty of fruit and the ones which fall on the ground and get full of fruit flies will feed the chooks.

Carambolas love their food. One of the commercial orchards sprays a weak dose of liquid fish emulsion over his trees every seven days. He also applies a small amount of fertiliser on the ground once a month and gives them a good dose of chook manure and mulch a couple of times a year. But each one of his trees produces more each week than our whole family could eat in a momh.

Pests and diseases The main pest problems are fruit-sucking moths and fruit fly. Bur, unless you're selling your carambolas commercially, the little marks from the sap-sucking moths don't matter. Most people are happy to cut around the marks and eat the rest. Baits have limited success on fruit-sucking moths (see page 1 4 1 for more information). Pick fruit before it's ripe to beat the fruit fly.

C A S H E W Anacardium occidentale Cashews grow very well. There are some cashew trees at Garden Point on the Tiwi Islands which are· more than fifty years old and still fruiting and the people love the fruit. However,

,.. cashews are mostly prized for their nuts. I used to love cashew nuts until I tried to process them. It's very difficult ! Or as they say in the Darwin Gardener's Gounnet Guide 'the process is

I!' ... long, complicated and tedious'. Cashew nllts keep well. So keep them in an ice-cream -1. container in the cupboard, until you have heaps and then try to process them. You've gOt to

try it once. I never have much success but I can't weld either. What's that got to do with it you ask? You'll see if you check out the recipe section. However, I can't accept failure so every couple of years I end up out at the barbecue trying out another of my ingenious ideas. None of them have made the job any easier or any more successful so far.

So, for now let's concentrate on the qualities of the cashew apple (it's actually the swollen ?," stem but that just confuses the issue) . I think they taste quite good - they're very juicy and

refresh ing; a bit acidic and they sort of leave your mouth feeling a bit furry, but they're good in mixed juices and the j uice freezes well. They're also great, sliced and dried or m ixed with other fruits and made into leathers. And they look good, they're pear shaped , with a pink tinge. You can cook the fruit before you eat it to get rid of the astringent taste. Just steam or boil them whole. They make nice liqueur and reasonable wine (again leave it twO or three years before YOll drink it).

Growing hints Grow cashews from seed, they sprout very easily. You can put them in a POt but they do well JUSt planted straight into prepared soil in the Wet season. Mulch well so the soil doesn't dry out and protect them with a shadecloth shelter.

98 Trop i c a l Food G a r dens

Cashew nees arc very contented people, they don't need huge amounts of water and arc quite happy to fruit without roo much fertiliser or mulch.

They flower in the Dry season and the fruit is normally ready ro harvest before the Wet sets in. Processing cashews is a horrible job. You can't just crack them and eat them. Surrounding the nut is '1 ski!) filled with anacardic acid which Spurts out and burns little holes in your skin - just like welding sparks do. The dircctions are i n the recipe section i f you dare to have a look.

C I T R U S T R E E S Citrus spp. Citrus trees won't produce as prolifically as those grown in milder cl imates but with the right varieties you can harvest oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, lemons, pomelo, cumquat and lime from your back garden. Most of our orange and mandarin varieties stay green when they're ripe instead of turning orange. But they taste beautiful and they're ful l of vitamin C which is more than you can say for the ones which are waiting in the cool room at the shop.

Growing hints Many citrus seeds will grow true to the parent tree espec ially limes, lemons and some mandarins. Limes will fruit from seed in about eighteen months but orher c itrus trees can take up to ten years to decide if they want to fruit. My sister,in,law grew a mandarin tree from seed. She planted it in the back garden where it lived among the weeds for years. She can't remember when it was planted, it was that long ago. But last year it was laden with small orange mandarins. They're luscious. Now everyone in the district is lining up to take cuttings and marcortes. Mosr nurseries have a good selection of grafted varieties .which fruit very well and are worth having.

Citrus trees hate wet feet. They like plenty of organic nutrients so mulch heavily, but keep the Il"lulch away from the Hems as they can suffer frum collar rot. Fertilise regularly, every six months. A good appl ication of trace elements in the first couple of years is also a good idea. Pruning is very import<lnt. Citrus trees, especially lime, grapefruit and CUl1l4uat, will grow rhree or four metres high ,md produce enough fru it to feed an army offruit flies. So prune them regu"uly to

keep them a sm(lll compact tree. Cut of(:111 the deHe.! wood. They ,· ,11'<;0 send up spiky W,Her shoots with monotonous regubriry, which need to be cut off. Do J sound annoyed? It's only hccause the spikes on citrus are so sharp thar YOll h:we to

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Cumquat - petals are 1 0 mm long. delicious delicate fragrance. fruit start as

dark green pin head,size balls

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lime

don boms and gloves to prune. And if you drop any of the cunings, they w<1ir with slined eyes, holding their pointy bits upw<1rd, to spike you in the foot the next time you're walking around the garden. The best bet is to check out the new shoots each time you go past the tree and pull the little nuisances off while they are still soft . .

Pomelo is a tropical citrus. It has large fruit with refreshing non�acidic flesh and will be ready [0

harvest from March to July. Ruby grapefruit has delightful pink flesh with lots of juice. It's ripe when the green sk in gets a red blush. Harvest from February to June. There are many varieties of lime and lemon but I don't think you can go past the old Darwin lime for vigour and hardiness. I have one which has been full of Maswcermes most of ils adult life and still produces in abundance throughout the year. Tropical mandarins are juicy. excellent in flavour and easy [0 peel. When they're ripe the green skin becomes flushed with orange - very scrange looking but they taste JUSt like a mandarin. Harvest from April to July. Cumquats are just as hardy as limes and fruit prolifically for most of the year. A friend of mine has a cumqum tree

Fru i t trees 99

which grows so quickly it's always tOO [al l to harvest. Pomelo When she's ready to make jam, she sends her son up the tree with the chainsaw to cut off whole branches offruit. She makes the most beautiful cumquat marmalade - I mean really beautiful. The secret is to chuck in a Granny Smith apple and some lemon juice.

Pests and diseases ,,' Termites love citrus trees. However, most of them will fruit even when the heartwood is emen

... o!,lt, as long as they are watered and fed (especially limes and grapefruit). Trees only use the l-i'e.artwood for scabiliry. I t doesn't contribute to the transport of water and nutriems. However, wIth ut their heartwood they're not as strong and blow over easily in storms. If you keep your

' oit 'trees small, they'll survive without toppling over. I visited a man once who filled the tcn;; 'ite cavity in his big old lime tree with concrete. It survived and has cont inued to grow into a beautiful big tree. The termites never came back. (For more information about termites see page 143.)

C O C O N U T S

IMy grandmother Swore that coconutS were sea�loving creatures and needed the smell of the sea to produce well. So every time she took us to the beach we would collect any seaweed wc could find for the coconut trees. And on the way home we always had a couple of buckets of sea water splash ing around all over us in the back of the car. She grew the most magnificent coconuts. They also grow well hundreds of miles from the sea - bur I'm sure they love seaweed or fish�based fertilisers.

The water inside a coconut is delicious in punch. The flesh is good raw or cooked and the distinctive flavour of coconut milk is irreplaceable in sOllth�east Asian and Pacific Island recipes. The unsprouted COconuts can be used like rocks for rerrac ing and rhe broken husks


make good long lasting mulch. So, every garden should have a couple of coconuts (although not near the walking path or the car park as they'll do a lot of damage if they hit you, or the car, when they fall).

In some places coconuts fall from the trees when they're ripe. Not in this climate. The ripe coconuts get stuck on rhe bunch (especially in the Dry) until they are too old to eat. I've seen people scamper u p coconut trees like monkeys to harvest the fruit. One man made this ingenious rope ladder which was permanently attached to the coconut tree. I use a long thin aluminium pole my Dad made for me with a hook on the end, to hook them out of the trees. You have to hook them and then run before they fall on you. Quite entertaining for the audience.

Growing hints Coconuts are a long�term investment, so make sure you rake nuts for propagation from a tree which bears heavily and has nice tasting fruit. Collect them when they've turned brown and fallen. Put the nU[s in a moist, semi�shaded spot, broad side up. When they sprout put them in a

Coconut � the hairy monkey face nestj.es within the fibrous interior of the wqody-shelled outer

.',

shallow trench about 15cm apart in a shady moist "; ,..

spot. Leave them here for about a year, till they .....

casing

have 4 or 5 leaves splining into leaflets. Alternatively you can put them in POts and use them as ., pot plants for a year. When it's time to transplant them, loosen the soil beneath them with;;t fo�k � , so you don't damage the roots.

Coconuts don't like to be crowded, so give them plenty of room when they're young. Once ' they're up in the canopy you can fill in around them but if they're crowded as young things they fail to thrive. Dig a 45cm square hole. Put a layer of old husks in the bottom of the hole with the cups facing upward and fi ll them with compost. Plant the seedling so the top of the nut·is about 5cm below ground level and leave the top half of the nut uncovered. Mulch the soil with palm fronds and keep it moist but ensure it drains well so thete is no water ponding in the hollow.

Coconuts should start fruiting between five and ten years old. They need lots of sulphur and potassium to fruit. So, give them mulch, decomposed plant matter and well composted animal manure. Also water them well through the Dry until they are about five years old. Once they're older, once a week will be enough.

C O F F E E

Coffea arabica

Coffee does produce better in cooler, higher places but it'll grow and produce fruit up here if it is grown in the shade. My coffee trees live quite happily under a big nutmeg tree with regular water. But they are the direct descendant of the one my grandmother bought back with her from New Guinea after the war. These ones only produce a meagre harvest because coffee trees have to be pruned in a special way to make them fruit well.They fruit on the

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lateral branches. I don't drink coffee so I don't bother pruning them - they gruw (ur purely sentimental reasons. I get a couple of fruits a couple of times a year and have never even tried co make coffee out of them. But they do grow and fruit - so if you are a coffee drinker, put some in. Many of the stations in the early days grew

Fruit trees 101

their own coffee, made the coffee <C:".-r-/--; �---..:: and drank it. Old diaries do record the del ight when 'proper coffee' arrived but some trees did grow locally.

F I G S Fo ..

lCUS canca

Quite a few of the native varieties of figs F. coronulata, F. hispida, F. racemosa and F. scobina have edible fruit. They're large trees for the mOst part, with massive branches, huge tangles of aerial roots or gloriOUS buttresses. It is usually a fight to get anything to eat before the birds, but some of them are definitely worth growing. There are also one or two of the commercial varieties of fig which will grow and produce in our climate -- visit your local nurseries (or the most hardy varieties, new

nes come out all the time. I don't think they're easy co grow but they look good, the fruit is very

. tastY. and they're not expensive, so have a go. In • §9ffie gardens they thrive - especially in big • ° "jSPots.

. Let the fruits fill and just become just • .. so(t, safe and soulld under their bird

� nerring before you pick them. Eat them \ straightaway. If you get enough co dry, ( . cppsider yourself a master gardener. Ficus

., cOronulata fruhs are ready from Occober to December, F. hispida, from November to February, F. racemosa from June to December and F. scobina from October CO June. Growing hints Most figs are easy to propagate by seed or cutting. Take wood from mature branches. The native figs are easy to propagate in the Build-up bur I've never had any success with [he commercial varieties.

Cofree - waxy white flowers, 1 0- 1 5 mm in size grow from leaf axils, glossy

dark green leaves

Figs


Native figs need no help. They'll thrive anywhere. But the commercial figs don't. They come from a Mediterranean climate so need to be planted where they'll get plenty of sun and lots of air flow around them. They don't grow into huge trees - they're more like a large bush. They won't handle waterlogging. Even in the best draining soils, plant your figs on mounds or in big pots. Fenilise every six weeks and, for the first couple of years, until you get your soil balanced, add trace elements. Prune them during the Build�up so they have lots of new branches emerging each year. They fruit on new wood. Never prune figs in the Wet or you'll invite disease and infection at a time when they are already feeling vulnerable.

Figs have a weird way of flowering which is wonh mentioning. Their flowers open on the inside of the fruit. Most of the native figs have male and female flowers in separate fruits and are pollinated by a little fig wasp. The most successful variety of commercial figs growing up here at the moment. has both male and female flowers inside the one fruit and pollinate themselves.

Pests and diseases Figs like a dry hot climate with a little bit of chill, so the Wet season knocks them around a lot. They get all sorts offungal diseases, rots and rusts. The most effective fungicide spray I've ever tried was one part goats milk to eight parts water. They have to be bird netted or the possums and birds will eat all the fruit.

G R A N A D I L L A

Passiflora quadrangularis

Granadilla is a large leaved climber with beautiful big purple flowers. They have more difficulty fruiting than normal passionfruit so you have to hand-pollinate. All you do is brush a feather or a paint brush across the flower to move the pollen from the male co the female part. The fruit is large about 10-15cm by 20-30cm with a thick pulp surrounding a collection of seeds and can be eaten raw or cooked. As they ripen the fruit changes from dark green to yellow green. Granadilla can be eaten when it's ripe as a fruit. It tastes like a melon. The flesh of the ripe fruit can be steamed with sugar and cloves to make imitation 'apple pie' or just boiled for a couple of minutes to taste a bit like a pear. The green unripe fruit can be boiled or baked and eaten as a vegetable like marrow.

A granadilla vine needs a good strong trellis because rhe vine and the fruit arc large. It also needs a fertile soil. If your granadilla is not fruiting check the pH, give it a sprinkling of trace elements, a

Granadilla - square, concave-sided stems. large deep veined leaves appear slightly

'quilted' - spectacular purple and white ftower

foliar spray of manganese and zinc, make sure you are giving it e nough fertiliser and water and hand-pollinate the flowers. If that doesn't work pull i t our and plant another _ that one was a dud. Once your fruit has reached full size check it daily to see if it's ready to pick, Possums love them - you may have to pick the fruit early and let it ripen inside.

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G R E E N P L U M

Bue hanania obovata

Green plum is the beSt of all the native fruits. It's a small native tree which is reponed as being common in the open forest and woodlands of northern Australia. It is common in some areas, and rare somewhere else in the same type of vegetation.

Growing hints Propagate from seed. They germinate readily, if slowly, bur keeping the plams alive can be a bir tricky. Pia m them in well draining soil. Put the potS our in full sun and let the soil dry out between waterings. Don't use fertiliser.

The green plum is a deciduous tree

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and, being a native, will survive the Dry season quite happily. However, in areas where it's growing along creek beds or around the house and gets a bit of water through the Dry, it gets loaded with fruit. Some trees. have better fruit than others, that is better flavour and more fruit around the seed. So. when collecting seed only take them from the besL rrees.

Green plums flower from July to October

Fruit trees 103

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Green plum - huge thick oblong leaves - the green

plums are about I S to 20 mm

;.With small cream coloured blossoms at the tips of the branches. The fruit are green, about the size of a grape and hang in clusters in the early Wet season - October to December. They have a sort of tangy green flesh surrounding a large oval shaped seed. They belong to the same family as

the mango and the fruit is the same shape, only much smaller. The beSt way to pick the fruit is to shake the trunk and whatever falls is ripe. You have to be quick to pick them up though, because the chooks quickly learn rhe routine and race out to the rree as soon as you look like shaking if. The plums can be dried to be reconstitU(ed with water when needed or just sucked as a snack.

V A S

P�rltJiUl'" guajava

trees produce a delicious yellow skinned fruit, about 5-JOcm in diameter. They smell .:,lNlndlerfui and have the dearest pink/orange flesh. They are very high in vitamin C. The

thickness of the edible fruit surrounding the seeds varies enormously. Some are so thin you have to eat the seeds to get a taste. Others are so thick you can separate the flesh from the seeds and peel them. The flesh can be any colour from cream through to bright orangey�pink. They taste anything from sweet to quite acidic. I like the common old yellow guava with orange flesh, you can smell it ripening in your imagination days before it actually starts. Guava trees are also quite beautiful, the trunk is very decorative, covered with smooth brown patchy bark and they have beautiful open cream flowers.


Once you get sick of eating them rc:lW, you can cut them up and make all sorts of beautiful deserts. My favourite is to simply puree the fruit (seeds removed) and pour it as a sauce over ice,cream or custard. Guava fruit also makes very nice jam. Just the normal recipe, equal quantities of fruit and sugar and the juice of one lemon.

Growing hints Guavas germinate from seed very easily, often appearing all over the garden where birds that have eaten the fruit drop the seed. Seedlings tend to take the general character of their parents so propagate by seed. They'll fruit in about three years. They also marcotte well and you can buy grafted varieties, but seedlings are very hardy.

Guavas grow easily - although they do seem to do best if the seedling just emerges by itself. Start pruning them in the first year, pinching the tops out to shape the tree as it grows. They produce their fruit on the lateral branches, at the base

,

,

Guava of this year's growth. So if you prune after you .. .

harvest you can direct the fruiting onto lower •

branches. Once they're established, guavas will survive all Dry without ,vater but they'll fiJJi better and the fruit will be much nicer and fuller fleshed if they are watered.

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Guavas flower in the Dry and it takes aboutsix months for the fruit to mature. During this very hot time of the year it's important they're watered and given some fertil iser. The fruit will be ready to eat in the Wet - a good detraction from ·the mangoes.

Pests and diseases Fruit fly and fruit,sucking moths both attack guava fruit. Hang baits in the trees a couple of weeks before they start to ripen. Or pick the fruit when it starts to yellow and let it ripen inside. Maswrennes will eat the heartwood out of the tree. But if you keep them pruned to abour three or

four metres they won't be blown over easily and will continue flowering and fru iting.

I C E - C R E A M B E A N T R E E S

lnga spp. .'.

lce,cream bean trees are like rainrrees, really big legumes. They produce so much mulch it's like walking on a bed underneath the tree. I collect the mulch every year to use in the vegie garden where it makes beautiful compost. I get five or six wheelbarrow loads no problem. And as a legume. the mulch is high in nitrogen. I've got a' couple of trees: one, situated right near the septic tank, produces enormous amountS of foliage. flowers and fruits; the other one, which is a much smaller tree , flowers all the time and never fruits. However, I've never been able to harvest any of the fruit because when it's ripe it's right up there in the sky. I'm sure I would die of venigo (is that possible!) halfway up the ladder. The fru i t is reputed to be

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Ice cream bean tree - leaves up to 7 cm in length have a suede-like texture on both

upper and lower surfaces

Fruit t r e e s 105

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delicious though, like vanilla ice-cream. However, by the time the bean falls, the edible part §urrounding the seed is dry and pithy, a bit like boab pulp - I quite like it.

A C K F R U I T

<;locarpus heterophyllus (see illustration on page 82)

Jeckfruit is a big evergreen tree. The fruit is enormous. They can weigh up to 20kg. They are oval shaped with green, yellow or brown rind and shoft sharp hexagonal spines all over them. The flesh inside is sweet and juicy. There are 100 to 500 edible seeds per fruit and the pulp surrounding the seeds is golden and very strong smelling. It can be eaten raw or dried. Many people who can't stand jackfruit because of the smell, love it when it is dried - neither the flavour nor the smell is as strong. If you pick the fruit when it is about 25cm long, you can peel it, cut it into pieces and use it as a cooked vegetable - fry it, roast it or boil it, immature

106 Tropical Food G ardens

seeds and all. Small pieces dipped in batter and fried are a great accompaniment to curry. The mature seeds are lovely when they're boiled or roasted.

The fruit takes at least six months to ripen. You can tell when the fruit is mature because there's a change of colour from l ight green to yellow�brown. Also. if you press the skin it will yield slightly. And there is a dull hollow sound when you tap the fruit with your knuckle. Another sign that it is ripe is that its characteristic smell begins to waft around rhe garden. If you really hate rhe smell, ir even wafts into the bedroOll'l and sends you hysterical. If you leave it on the tree and it falls, this dull hollow sound is accompanied by a SQuishy . . . no, it's more like a splat or a thud . . . anyway there's a big mess.

Growing hints Jackfruit secds lose viability quickly so plant them stmighmway, if nOt sooner. The easiest way to get them to germinate is to put the seeds with a little flesh in a plastic bag and hang it in the shade. The seed will germinate within a week. Seedlings arc difficult to transplant as they have a long taproot. So plant the germinating seeds in a large pOt or straight into the ground. If you put them in the ground don't forget the loop of pig�wire around it to protect it from the dogs and the kids. Mulch heavily and keep well watered.

Jackfruit grow well in a variety of soils and will fruit in about three years. As seedlings they need to be watered regularly through the Dry and mulched heavily. Once they're mature, they're much more drought resistant. However, you'll gCt better fruit if you water and fertil ise throughout the year -don't you hate that!

Pests and diseases Jackfruit can be annoyed by all sorts of bugs if they're stressed or growing in a monoculture. However, in the average garden growing with lots of other trees and shrubs they're big healthy trees without any problems whatsoever. They usually produce more fruit than you want to deal with - even when you have a pig.

M A N G O Mangifera indica

All through the Top End, along every spring�fed creek and anywhere the water stays underground long enough [0 sustain life, there grows Cl mango tree. The hinese miners and vegie farmers planted hundreds of them during the gold rush and mining days - they might be 'commons' to us bur they ITlUSt have been gifts from God to the bushies during those days. Mangoes thrive in the tropics. They come in all shapes and sizes, th�y Can be SOg or 1 . 5 kg. They can be green. yellow, orange, red or all of the above. They can be elongated, round, or flat, sweet, boring or turpemine, with lots of fibre or smooth as pawpaw flesh. It's a good idea to have a few varieties in the garden. They'll ripen at different times and you'll have ripe

'

mangoes for two or three months. •

When we were kids we used to wag school in the branches of the mango trees. We ate . mangoes at every stage, crisp and green like Granny Smith apples, JUSt turning yellow but still firm and then ripe or 'cooked' as we called it. We got belly aches, mango sores around thl! mouth, mango burns and then the runs. But we still ate them. They were free and scrumptiolls and that other mob might get 1l1Ore if YOll slowed down. Mum would send us to collect mangoes for chutney. So we'd go off with buckets �:lIld throw the mangoes at each other. the school room, passing cars, dogs, cats and squash them in each other's hair and down the pants. I t was all a lot offun - once YOll weren't the littlest.

Nowadays. l can't eat a rip!.:! mango so I pick thcm and fr..::cze them to use in c,)Oking. They

make wonderful chc..::sccakes, kids love frozen mAngo on a stick or mango smoothies and they

make beautiful wine (when jf's [WO years old ! ) . Substitute a cup of mango pulp for other fruit in cake recipes and make mango muffins or scones. And use them instead of apricots in meat recipes - mango chicken instead of apricot chicken. Actually I'll �""��==�� give you this recipe for Mango ::..,....�-Pork, it is really nice -see recipe

� )i .. section. Oh and mangoes are beautiful dried in strips or as leachers.

Growing hints If yOll want a huge mango tree to sit under, with a root system that will defy any Dry season, plant a seedling and wait the five to eight years to get fruit. Use a polyembryonic variety (such as Kensington Pride). Their seed will produce a tree identical to the parent. Polyembryonic varieties are

Fruit frees 107

-,

easy to distinguish by the fact that their seed produces more than one seedling. Choose a nice big seed. Sit it in a 'mOist place till all the seedlings germinate. Let the strongest seedling develop and cut the others off. Make

Mango - one stem of a cluster of 5 or 6

which make up the flowering spray produced at the ends of branches

sure you collect seed from a mango tree which you know. This is a long-term investment and you want it to be a reliable bearer. Talk to the owner (keep a grdin of salt close by as some people are as proud of their mango's prowess as their own).

If you want a mango which is small, a reliable fruiter, a nice manageable size to harvest from, then buya graft. There are some really good varieties around -j ust visit your local nursery.

Mango trees adore our climate. Plant them Out in the Wet season. Pinch out the top when it's a metre high and take the top off the branches when they're a metre long. Feed and water them regularly for the first five years and they'll grow into a nice strong tree that will bear like they did in the Garden of Eden.

Cemmercial orchards starve their ttees of nitrogen and cllt off their water supply and do all sores of other things to stress them into producing early fruit and lots of it. At home you don't need to threaten them so much. You can let them live a more sedate life and they'll still produce more than you could possibly use. I wonder sometimes (just a thought) if fruit that has been produced under such extreme conditions is full of adrenalin?

Pests and diseases

Tiny fruit forming

I was reading some notes my grandmother had given me about all the different fnlit trees the other day. Under mangoes she had written: No pest problems. Rake up the leaves under rhe O'ees and set fire to them if they're shy of fruiting. Sadly this is no longer the case. Mango pest and diseases CIre

108 Trop i c a l Food GtlTdcns

incrcnsing as morc mnngo orchards spread aCross the north. So plant your mango trees among other trees to increase biodiversity and the insect predator population. Never grow them together where peSlS can move from one to the other. Some of the older 'common' varieties are much more pest resistant that the newer varieties, so consider plaming them. They're good for dried mango, mango in sweets, mango wine Ot mango chutney. Allow an understorey to develop undemeath the trees to attract predators; encoumge spiders and green ants to live in the trees and they will ear the tip borers and caterpillars. Check the trees regularly when the new leaves are growing and during flowering time. Also don't prune the lower branches, let them grow and hang down [a the ground. Often when the rest of the tree has been decimated by Ihrips, the lower branches will still flower and fruit, hidden among the shrubs.

M A N G O S T E E N Garcinia mangostana People rave abom mangosteens - some people visit Indonesia JUSt to eat them. Consequently they have been planted all over the place and, with much pride, over the last couple of years many people are boasting that their mangosteens are flowering and fruiting. It takes up to 20 years, so I too, would be proud. The fruit has a thick maroon shell, the flesh is white, segmented and delicious. BO[ it wouldn't matter if it didn't fruit, the trees are beautiful on their own with their thick glossy leathery leaves up to 25cm long. The flowers are red and look a bit like a single rose.

Pick the fruit when it is fully ripe. if you can get there before everyone else in the house who has been eying it off since it was a flower. Then chill and eat straightaway - they don't keep very well.

Growing hints Mangostcens can be propagated by seed. The seed will produce plants the same as

Mangosteen - leathery. thick brown/purple skin. purple through to dark pink inside protecting the juicy white pulp

the mother plant but they will take 1 5-20 years to fruit. Genninate them in big pots and take them through the se<.-"<iling stage in a shade·house. Plant them out in a very sheltered �rea. Some people plant bananas ",rollnd them as a windbreak, and to produce the mountains of mulch mangostccns need. Also bananas hold a lot of moisture in their trunks and rOOl systems so, if you have bananas growing around the mangosteens, you can keep the soil moisture Content more stable.

Ml:lIlgostcens are very slow growing. They need lots of wmer - they like ro wallow in it. Yet they don't like to be waterlogged! They want a gCKKI deep rich organic soil which drains well and holds moisture.! so tightly if you grab a handful you can just squeeze drops of water from it. Needless 10 SilY you have to pile on the mulch to keep t.he soil moist. If the soil dries out they \\'ill suffer severely - young trees will die.

M U L B E R R Y

Morus nigra

On the community where we grew up south of Katherine, there were a dozen mulberry trees near the chook pens. We used to sit lip in the trees eating mulberries and then near lunchtime we would sneak in and pinch chook eggs. We had a cubby house up near the spring where we would all meet for lunch bringing whatever we'd collected. My brother and his m;nes used to shoot flying fox out of the [fees with their shangis so .we'd have mulberries, boiled eggs and flying fox cooked in the coals for lunch. (They taste a bit like chicken - the flying fox not the eggs . )

Farther north mulberry trees don't grow into huge trees. They're more a spindly big shrub bU( they still produce a good crop offruit a couple ohimes a year .if they're fertilised and watered during the Dry season. Sometimes it's a bit hard to get any of ,he fruit because the kids arid the birds love them so much.

Fruit trees 109

Mulberry

Consequently, we have never been able to collect enough mulberries co make a pie or jam - let alone use the recipe I have pinned co my corkboard for mulberry wine. In fact, I usually go out and eat them, and have come to prefer them, when they're still pink SO I can get my share. Even if you don't like mulberries, plant a tree in or near your chook pen. The

. tree provides shade, roosts and, with the added chock manure, plenty of fruit for the chooks.

Growing hints Mulberries propagate easily by cutting. Take currings from last year's growth (that which has already fru ited) ""hen you prune the tree back in OctOber-November. You can either strike them in pots or in the ground. Alternatively, if you have a rambling shrub like mine, you can simply anchor one of the branches to the ground with a brick and it'll put roots down into the soil and start to grow. Then simply cm the branch from the parent, loosen the soil and [fanspianr {he cutting to its new home.

Mulberries don't fruit as heavily up here as they do farther south, so instead of having one mulberry in the garden you need three or four to get enough fruit to satisfy all the appetites. Plant them all over the place. They fruit on this year's wood so prune them back to an outward rilcing bud after every fruiting. My grandmother had mulberry trees and each year she would hack them back to a trunk and five or six branches. I always thought she was punishing them for looking so

untidy. J've never been good at cuning of( perfectly good branches so mine ramble about a bit, even though I cut all the branches back to at least half their length each time they fruit. It's a bit of a mess ;'Icwally, as underneath the trees is littered with bricks, logs and the chairs the kids use to reach the taller branches. I'll clean that up tomorrow.

1 1 0 Tropical Food Gardens

Mulberries like to be well fed so give them plenty of fertiliser when they're flowering and fnliting. Once they're a reasonable size they're fairly drought resistant but as young trees they need water throughout the Dry.

Pests and diseases Mascotennes love mulberry trees. I have a group of about six trees which have been infested with termites for five years. The trunks are hollowed out, the bigger branches collapse but the trees still grow and fruit. New shoots emerge from the base and old branches fall and pur down roots wherever the branch touches the ground, and up it grows to become another tree. They really do look a mess, but we get plenty offruit so I'm not complaining.

P A S S I O N F R U I T

Passiflora edulis

There are many different types of passionfruit. The yellow-skinned variety is probably the most common and successful, although many people swear by the 'ruby reds'. I've had good crops with both varieties. Passionfruit vines will produce for most of the year usually in one or two bursts and survive well enough for the backyard till they're three years old. When you have an abundance, scoop out the fruit and freeze it in ice cubes. They're available then, throughout the year, to be used on ice-cream, in desserts and in drinks. Best of all the fruit falls when it's ri'pe - you don't have t o climb or balance a long pole. You just go out there with a basket every morning and pick them up off the ground. That is if you don't have a resident possum which eats them while they're still 'green on the vine.

Growing hints

Propagate passionfruit from seed during the Build-up 50 the new vines establish themselves through the Wet season. The seed doesn't stay viable for long. So, take seed fro�n a ripe fruit and spread it over the soil in a seedling tray or in a prepared spot next to the trellis. Cover with a light layer of compost and keep moist until the little seedlings are at least lOcm high. If you fenilise them well, they'll fruit in the first year.

like all plants which produce heavily, passionfruit need heaps of food so keep up good supplies of mulch and compost. Fenilise every couple of months in the Dry and give small more regular doses in the Wet. Most heavy producers are also prone to trace element deficiencies (especially manganese and zinc). So, you'll have to use a foliar spray once or twice in the first couple of years and then throw al\ cunings back under the vine and give it plenty of mulch. If the tentacles on the vine become brittle and/or the leaves get yellow around the veins, that's the problem.

Passionfruit needs a good supply of regular water throughout its life - any droughts will show in the size of the fruit and the mnoum of pulp in them. We grow a passionfruit vine near the pigpen. The vines escape into the tree above the pen and when the fruit is ripe they fall the pigs adore them. There's a vine growing over the tank stanJ, shading the tank and keeping it cool and a couple of vines on a trellis in the fenced garden protected from the possums. If you have them growing on a trellis it's a good idea to cut the vines b;,lck each year because they become a tangle of old wood and dead leaves, encouraging disease and insects. Also the fruit is produced on shoots which grow this season. So each year, after their heavy fruiting in the Dry season, cut the tangle off the trellis and let them grow afresh through the Wet.

The best passionfruit trellis I've ever seen is this: It is simply tWO strainer POSts (2m high) with �l crosspiece attached to each POSt SOcm long.

Make it high enough to walk under and pick the fruit from the vine and off the ground. Put tWO or three lengths of plain fencing wire between the upriglu ptJsts and a couple on the crosspiece. Train the main shoot straighr up to the rap wire and pinch our the grOWing tip to n .... ake it branch.

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Pawpaws are the perfect frui t trec. They fruit all year rOllnd and arc a steady source of food, ripe Of green. The fruit is usually eaten raw. If they taste a bit bland, a good squeeze of lime

will fix that. Actually, the most wonderful recipe is [Q cut a ripe pawpaw into cubes. cover it

with passionfruit pulp and a sprinkling of l ime juice, and let sir in the (ridge for half an hour to seep and chill - it is heavenly.

• •

1 1 2 Trop i c a l Food Gardens

Pawpaw Pawpaw - tiny green fruit forming beneath flower young leaf

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Green pawpaw makes a tasty vegetable. Pick them fully grown when the flesh is any shade from white to orange and they taste like a marrow. Each colour has a particular taste - all very nice. Just peel, slice and cook. Use in stews, soups, curries, casseroles. It's great on satays. When you put the marinated meat on the skewers put on some onion, cubes of pawpaw and some pineapple - delicious! Fill whole green pawpaws with mince or rice combinations of any sort and - if you get the..

,mix firm enough - you can slice it like a meat loaf. You can also

use the flesh grated as a thickener in jams and chutneys or Thai Green Pawpaw Salad. Or made into a combination coleslaw with cabbage.

Green pawpaw is also a brilliant tenderiser. It will tenderise the roughest a'ld scrub bull. Slice the green pawpaw into strips and mix it into your marinade with the meat, an hour or so before you're ready to cook. Or slice it thin and put it between steaks. Bur be careful not to leave it toO long. I left some overnight once and the meat was so tender it tasted like liver

an hour or twO is plenty. Pawpaws dry well when they are ripe and tasre delicious. Use slices about l c m thick. The

seed� can also be dried and used as a spice and the leaves, fruit and seeds can be used medicinally - but be careful. Get inforrllation from a professional, as with all medicines,

Fruit trees 1 1 3

overdosing can be dangerolls especially t o children. Male pawpaw flowers also can be used as a green vegie. They need to be boiled twice in fresh water before you use [hem because they're so bitter.

Growing hints Pawpaws grow easily fTom seed in seed trays or sown direcdy into a bed of compost in the ground. I usually dig a 4Oc.m hole in a nice sunny position. Fill it with compost and soil, spread half a dozen seeds over the surface and mulch well. Leave them to germinate and grow till they flower at about a metre high. Pawpaw trees can be male, female or bisexual. Male plants will flower first. Their flowers open on long stalks and smell beautiful. The females will flower on short stems dose to the trunk. Bisexual plants have both male and female flower parts on the one flower. When they show their preference, cut the male plants off dose to the ground. One male for each patch is enough to ensure any female flowers get pollinated.

In a sunny position with plenty of fertiliser, compost and mulch, pawpaw trees will have nice thick trunks and fruit quickly and prolifically. The females or bisexuals will start fruiting when they're 6--10 months old. If they don't get enough sunlight or fertil iser, they'll grow into long skinny things which couldn't support a crop of fruit even if they wanted to. After a year they'll produce a couple of pawpaws 3 metres up in the air where the only things that can reach them are the sulphur crested cockatoos.

PawpawS" grow up to 4 metres high but they don't taste as nice if you have to climb a ladder to get them. Plant new trees every six months and you'll have plenry of young fruiting trees and you can leave the older taller ones for the birds. Pawpaw trees can live for many years. Once when I was out in Kakadu visiting an old woman, she showed me this ancient pawpaw. It must have been at least twenty years old. The trunk was 40cm across and moulded into and around the concrete step. It had fallen over in a storm, been chopped down when a grandchild gOt hold of [he axe, and dug up when the dog had pups but it still survived. You'd hardly recognise it as a pawpaw except for the leaves. But it was still bearing tasty fruit, sometimes.

Pests and diseases Everything loves pawpaws, flying foxes, possums, all types of rats and mice, p<,rrots, all types of birds. Everything that is, except, when there's an abundance, teenage boys. You can't do much about them but a plastic pot Cut to fit the trunk will Stop the possums getting to the pawpaws. Wrapping the fruits with a sack can stop the flying foxes getting at them. A snakeskin (the shed skin) draped around the fruit will deter sulphur crested cockatoos but won't work on the flying foxes. I dream o( hidden electric shocks for them. That will give them something to scream about in the middle o( the night.IO

Also, pawpaws are accident prone. They get blown over in the slightest stOrm. Their trunks decompose readily so JUSt leave them where they fall. They also die very quickly if they get wet (eet. And scale can be a problem so it's beSt to spread them around in the garden to give the predatOrs (ladybugs and small wasps) the upper hand. If an infestation of scale or mealy bugs digs i.n, white oil is very effective especially if you get to it early. But sometimes older trees won't have

·the energy to fight and should be pulled out and chucked on the lazy man's compost. l !

P E A N U T T R E E Sterculia quadrifida Peanut trees are native trees which grow in coastal monsoon vine thickets but are quite happy re adapt to a garden. If watered and fertilised they fruit prolifically. They're fast growing hardy trees with very tasty edible seeds. They grow to 1 5 metres high with smooth light grey bark and large dark green leaves. They lose all their leaves in {he Dry and their flowers appear in small yellow clusters. The fruit grows into a leathery oval-shaped pod 4-6cm long which turns bright orange. When it's ripe, the fruit splits open to expose the edible shiny black seeds.

1 14 Tropical Food G a r d e n s

Just peel the black skin off the seeds and eat them raw. They taste similar to peanurs or red lily seeds. Harvest in the early Dry season. The young trees have a long taproot which is good to eat. The seeds germinate easily - an almost 1 00% germination rate. Plant them in a deep polystyrene box in good potting mix, leave them to grow so you can harvest the taproot when it's ready. It's lovely raw, as a snack, or roasted.

P I N E A P P L E S

Ananas comosus

For the first few years on OJJr block wc carted water, and borrowed it from our neighbours so we didn't grow much. Pineapples were about the only things that were willing to struggle -�="""'';� along with me. I had a good patch which survived all Dry season on the leftover washing�up water and little boys' pee. I feel· I owe them a debt so I plant all the suckers they produce and my whole garden is inundated with pineapples. But they're beautiful. The flowers are exquisite. jhe centre of the plant turns pink <!nd then mauve and the flowers eme-rge with a pink base covered with heaps of tiny purple flowers� The fruit is hundreds of berry� like fruits all fused together on the stem - just magnificent. It takes about six months tq mature. Mine usually flower about June/July and the fruit is ready about Christmas - just in time for the pork roast.

Fruit which ripens on the plant is the juiciest sweetest fruit. Bu't if they are gening eaten, pick them when the first couple of inches of the fruit has turned yellow. I have pineapples planted

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Pineapple

everywhere but we never have any leftovers - they usually get eaten straight off the stalk or chilled. But when I do get extra I use them in fruit leathers. They add a lovely tanginess to the boring old mango, pawpaw or banana types. Or you can peel, sJice and freeze them or preserve them in their own juice. Growing hints Pineapples can be propagated from tops, suckers or slips. Tops can rake up to 24 months to fruit but folklore insists that they produce the sweetest fruit. Slips are the tiny pineapple plants formed under [he fruit on the fruit stalk. They'll fruit in a year. Leave them on the stalk until they are 15cm long. Suckers develop from between the leaves :11 the bottom of the stem. You can leave t.hem [0 grow where they are to produce another fruit - what they call a 'rato�n crop'. However, the second fruiting is not as large as the first and the plant becomes congested anJ messy and is Ill.ore susceptible to mealy bug infestations. Much better to pull the old plants our and put the su�ker in its place.

Fruir trees 1 1 5

Planting a pineapple is a long�term investment. You'll be watering them for at least a year before they fruit! So you don't want any duds. Only propagate from plants that have good, sweet fruit and don't have long fruit stalks. Long fruit stalks will let the fruit fall over and get sunburnt. They should also only have tWO or three slips below the fruit because the slips develop at the expense of the fruit. Too many slips will reduce the fruit quality.

Put the pineapple slips and tops close together in a bed of compost and mulch - Cl nursery bed. When they are 25cm high transplanr them into the garden. Don't plant them out until (hey are 25cm high because the larger plants will stifle smaller plants. Mulch well between them with hay or leaves to keep weeds under control.

Pineapples like our acid soils so you don't need to lime them. And they're not desperately hungry or particularly greedy for attention. However, they fruit as soon as they're big enough, so if you feed them they will fruit more quickly. They'll grow in full sun or semi�shade. They grow quite h<lppily in potS an� tubs - perfect potplams if you have <I vegie garden on a verandah. They look lovely when you plant four of them together between shrubs and flowering plants. Or plit them in rows along the edge of paths, garden beds or driveways, where you can pick the fru it, fertilise and weed withollt having to walk between them. Even the 'smooth leafed varieties' manage to grow some sort of spiky thing which pokes your legs and arms and itches. They grow well with pigeon pea, cosmos and pawpaws among thein, along the edge of banana clumps or undemeath orchard trees. Actually if YOll plant them inf double row close together they become quite a good barrier against wallaby and possum marauders. You can grow tomatoes in tubs in the middle of a pineapple patch. .

After weeding the pineapples one day rmd coming out covered with little splinters I decided I would only grow Smooth Cayenne, a spikeless variety of pineapple. However,' as we choose our suckers according to which are the tastiest we have tended towards ones which have plenty of spiky leaves, and are torture to weed, but taste far superior.

When you fertilise, throw the fertiliser close to the base so some falls into the lower leaves and some on the soil. Water them regularly when the fruit is forming. If your pineapples start to get a lovely red tinge to their leaves they are starving. Give them some nitrogen�rich fertiliser.

Pests and diseases ..

Sometimes pineapples have probjems with mealy bugs on the fruit. JUSt rub them or hose thentoff till the ants move them elsewhere. Or ifthey are particularly persistent hit them with h dose of white oil. The fruit is susceptible to sunburn, so if they fall over cover them with mulch. If a fruit has been sunburnt pick it as soon as it starts to yellow because the sunburnt part will soften quickly and the rats, bandicoots and possums will make a neat little hole and hollow out the pineapple overnight. t cut rectangles of chook wire and wrap them around the pineapples when they start to ripen to kttp the marauders at bay. Bull ams love to build their nests in pineapples. I suppose you could make a real apartment building in all those layers. They bite like bulldogs so keep your feet well back when you're picking pineapples.

R A M B U TA N Ne/>helium la/>/>aceum "

Rambutans are my favourite fru it. The skin of the fruit is leathery and covered with tubercles, which can be any shade from yellow, orange w red. When it's fully ripe you pull the skin apart to expose the flesh and you'll find a big teardrop of juice hanging on the bottom of the fru it. I t has a Single seed sllrrouncie

.d by edible, sweet, juicy !-iglu coloured flesh

(my mouth is watering). It's delicious straight from the tree. They fruit around Christmastime so you don't usually have too many lefwvers but, if you do have extras, use [hem in scones and cakes or for a real treat, chill mem and serve thenl soaked in cumquat liqueur with ice�cream.

1 16 Trop i c a l Food Gardens

The fruits hang in clusters, three or four months after flowering which can occur twice in a year and often does. The best fruit is ready to harvest in December. Harvest them

when they are fully coloured and they'll be really j uicy.

Growing hints Rambutans grow easily from seed; they sprout like weeds under mature trees after the birds have eaten the fruit and thrown the seeds all over the ground. However, the seeds lose viability quickly so sow them as soon as possible after eating. Plant them in big pots to give their roots lots of room. They are a rainforest tree and like to get their roots down quickly. If you hinder this in any way you will set the seedling back. Some people plant seedlings into the ground so they can get their roots right down and then graft Onto the seedling in the field to ensure they get the fruit they want. Seedlings' trees tend to grow taller and will take six to eight years to bear, while grafted trees tend to be more spreading and produce fruit in two to four years. When transplanting. dig great big holes, fill rhem with compost, mulch heavily around the plant and build a shadecloth shelter around them to protect them from wind and sunburn for the first couple of years.

We planted a small orchard of seedlings and, when I could afford it, I bought a couple of grafted varieties. The grafted trees

Rambutan - densely clustered buds on continually branching

floral sprays. each whit-;. nower 3-4 mm

eventually died because we couldn't water them enough bur the seedlings - especially the two I planted straight into the ground have powered on. I wanted to pull them all out when, after six years, they still hadn't fru ited. Bur that year they fruited, and the fruit was as good as any I've tasted. However, we were lucky. Some seedling rambutans don't fruit at all. If you buy a grafted tree at least you're guaranteed fruit in a couple of years.

Rambutans are a rainforest tree so they expect plenty of humus, and lots of water. Plant your rambucans where they'll be protected from the Dry season winds; north of the house, on the edge of the rainforest. Or plant a permanent windbreak on the south side of them. Bananas are an especially good windbreak because they grow quickly into a dense barrier. Young trees need to be watered every day, if the soil dries out they'll die. But as they get older you can jusr give them a good soaking every couple of days with one of those big wobbler sprinklers. Rambutans are heavy feeders. I feed mine with blood and bone, lots of mulch and chook manure when I can. They gobble it all up and ask for more.

Pests and diseases Pests that attack rambU(ans? Let me think: birds, aphids (which then cause SOOty mould), rosellas, flying foxes,'parrots, possums, sulphur crested cockatoos and of course the two-legged marauder. Aphids generally cluster on the fnlit, growing tips and buds. Females can give birth to several live young each day so they can colonise a tree quickly. Several species of ladybird beetles (both adultS and larvae) and the syrphid fly larvae eat aphids, so the fewer poisons you use in your garden [he more of these predators you'll have. Ants farm aphids, especially those tiny mongrel black biting

ants. They look after them and feed on the honeydew. The aphids and SC�)(y mould don'r affect {he plant's growth or the taste of the fruit. l1 ... ey'll just lose points for presentation.

F r u i t lrces 1 1 7

If you keep your trees pruned to a reasonable height you can hose rhe aphids 0(( with a strong blast from a garden hose. This works well bur you have to be persistent. Birds arc (I real problem. They have great memories and once they've found your trees they'll come back every year in their thousands. The only answer is to net the trees. You call buy I1cts cheapiy. Jusl l hruw rhem over Ihe [fees when the fruit is about half size and pull them off when ir's harvestcd. O( course if you prune your trees to keep them small this is much easier than if they are four or five mel'res hi�h.

S O U R S O P, C U S T A R D A P P L E S A N D R O L L l N E A Annona spp. and Rollinia spp. Soursop, custard apples and rollinea grow into beautiful large trees. The fruit is soft, white and quite tasty. They take a bit of educating to eat...--- even cold. But they are delectable used in desserts and juices. Custard apples have been grown in the north for more than sixty years. Around some old stations, ancient trees still sprout in the Wet and struggle through the Dry - their tiny dried�out fruits hanging black and dry on the hare branches. Rollinea and soursop produce larger fruit which has to be harvested while it's still firm. If not harvested, the fruit will fall splatting all over the ground in a disgusting, squishy, evil-smelling mess.,Custard apple seedlings won't necessarily take on their parent's characteristics. Som� .will be tot:ally bored with the thought of reproducing. so buy grafts if possible. There are good grafted varieties available. However, soursop and rollinea seem to duO\" true to type so can be planted by seed. Water

Soursop

them well through the Dry and they'll produce heaps of fruit. The pulp freezes well to lIse in desserts.

S TA R A P P L E S Chrysophyllum cainito Star apples are another great big tree. The dark green leaves have a purple tinge and the underneath is golden with a texture like swede. The fruits are round, about IOcm in diameter, with glossy purple or green skin. When you cut the fruit in half it has a lovely star pattern eight segments surrounding the seeds - which looks fantastic on a platter. Don'r bire inro the skin - it leaves a horrible stickiness in your mouth.

You musm't let the fruit fully ripen on the tree because the birds and possums elnpty them out and they become· very soft and wrinkled and easy to damage. Instead, pick [hem when they are fully formed, and the skin has turned a deep purple or a darker shade of green. Keep them for a couple of days inside till they're fully ripe. I must warn you - picking [hem is a

1 1 8 Tr o p i cal Food Gardens

vertigo experience. The trees grow up to 1 0 metres high and the branches are long and thin so there is nothing substantial t o lean a ladder against.

Growing hints Seedlings won't necessarily take on the parent's characteristics although most of them will produce quite edible fruit. The seeds can take up to six weeks to germinate so don't be too impatient - keep them moist and protected.

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Although they are quite a hardy shade tree, star apples need heaps of water and fertiliser to produce fruit. They are even thirstier than rambutans, I reckon. They'll take about seven years to fruit from seed. But there are plenty of good grafted varieties around. Seedlings grow into much larger trees than grafts or marcottes so marcotting and cuttings are good alternatives. Star apple - striking glossy dark green leaves with a meta llic

brown ochre u ndersurface WAT E R A P P L E

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Sy,tygium jambos, S. aqueum, S. malaccense, S. samarangense

Water apple is the perfect name for this fru it. I ate my first watet apple in Bali and loved it. In a country where you can't drink the water, biting into that crunchy, crisp fruit which was:..so juicy it ran down my chin is a treasured memory. The fruit is also hlush colollr�d a"nd a delightful pear shape. My brother-in-law has a couple of big trees around his garden and when they're fruiting his four children spend hours sitting up in the branches chewing on the fruit. I always head home with a bagfu l. They last very well in the fridge for a week or more.

The tree is not too tall and very sturdy - you can pick most of the fruit with a short pole or send the kids up the branches to collect them. They grow well among palms i n sheltered areas. Give them plenty of mulch and some shade protection while they aTe young things. Propagate by marcone or cutting.

E N D N O T E S 8

9

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Water shoots grow vigorously from the top of horizontal branches. They're not interested in fruiting, just reaching for the sky. They should be removed as they emerge. Marcotting is � process, like layering, which encourages roots to grow on a cutting while it is still

attached to the parent tree. I t should be done in November/December before the rains but when the air is moist. Flying foxes feed in many food gardens at night and squabble and fight like drunken fishwives, often keeping you up for hours. Lazy man's compost is a pile of organic rubbish which builds up over the Dry and decomposes during the Wet.

C h o o k s

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Every garden shollld.b� filled with birds - especially food gardens. And if they're chocks. all the better. Chocks e;lt excess fruit and vegies. provide manure, cat lots of bugs and are lovely pets. Pigeons are also fantastic, or- if you want the best of borh worlds - have bantams. My friend's bantams free range in her garden where they're quite capable of protecting themselves from goannas, quails and snakes. They fly like pigeons. I t's not uncommon CO see them in some of the tallest Woollybutt trees. And they get 90% of their food foraging in the garden and bushland. With then) running around she rarely has tick problems and they keep th� insects down in the orchard. The problem is they leave smelly gifts on floor and verandah. (I always wondered why those old Queenslanders fenced their verandahs.)

They're also good little layers. The first onc or t\Vo eggs are tiny but they soon get to H

reasonable size, However, they like to rear their babies so they hide their eggs from goannas, snakes and humans. If you find a nest (if! ) , always leave onc or t\Vo eggs in it and they'll keep laying there - as long as they don't catch you stealing the eggs, Bantams are cven good eating, yuu just have to kill twO instead of one (or a meaL

Another thing, make sure you get your chooks (rOlTl a lucal garden, It's nl) good getting ch ickens who have gro\Vn up on <l concrete floor and been fed nothing but pellets. unless you're prepared to get down on yuur hands �Hld knees ;11'lCl teach them how I'o sC!'Htch, ;md show them ho\V nice a grub or a rick can tnste! A mixture of Austrolnrps nnd Rhode Island Reds is also a good versatile breed. They've got sorne sense, <l hit o( charncI'er. They're big


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enough CO feed a family and lay plenty of brown eggs. Sometimes I let them sit on the, eggs if they're really insistent (they seem so enthusiastic), but they usually ·leave the nest to go romancing after a week, 'I can't be sitting here all day! I need co find myself!' and the eggs go off. Or they lose the chickens once they've hatched, 'I can't be expecu!d CO watch them all the time!' ,/

So we set our big chook eggs under bantams. Don't do it tOO often to the same hen, because the poor devoted little things worry and fuss so much about these big dumb birds, which take weeks to learn to scratch ('where's my legs again?'). Or 'l-!awk! Run ! ! ' . . . 'What?' - Chomt)· I can't stand it. So l let the bantams hatch some of their own chicks every now and then to alleviate the trauma. Also I keep the hen and the chickens in" a small vermin-proof house till they're about six'weeks old. By then the poor bantam is ready to commit herself, but the chickens are strong and healthy and well on their way co the pot.

There's no doubt the healthiest chooks are free ranging because they can pick up insects and green feed and generally investigate and enjoy their surroundings while they're eating. There's also no doubt that the healthiest orchards have chooks in them turning all the mulch, eating bugs and depositing manure. But chook manure on'the verandah can drive you insane. So we have [0 compromise. We have a chook pen where the chocks are imprisoned for the week and let out to clean lip the garden over the weekend. However, chooks need lors of greens and vegetables. The more scraps yOll give theln, the yellower the yolks will be. We've built them a green feed,box planted to greens inside the pen. Make the bed I III X I m out of 10Cln (4" ) besser blocks. Fill it with some compost (lnd soil, and plant it with a fast growing grass or herb and cover the box with mesh. The mesh will allow the chickens to ick at the

grass without getting at the

roots or being able to scratch them up and kill them. Situate rhe box so it gets watered along wirh the gardens outside the pen.

Also, every chook pen needs a mulberry tree. Chooks love mulberries and mulberry trees love chook poo, so it's a good combination. Plant the tree right beside the fence so the branches droop into the pen. When you go into the' pen, just give the tree a good shake and the fruit will fall down. It's wonderful to watch the antics when a hen spots a mulberry just out of reach. Ever seen a chook jump? You will! Plant some amaranth and cassava along the path so you can pick the leaves and amaranth seeds on the way to the pen. Throw them in when you get there.

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Diagram for green feed box for chook pen

Moveable pens? Oh the theory is fine. 'You can concentrate the chocks' actions in specific areas - and the chooks get green feed without terrorising the house and the garden.' The first one I built from wood. It was so heavy it took twO people to move it which was just as well because the chooks escaped every time we did. You ( I lnean, I) had to climb in on my hands and knees to catch the chooks and they're scary at their height - th.ey've got claws and everything. Anyway everyone was thankful when one Wet season: the termites

Moveable chook pen

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chicken wire nesting box tin to provide shelter chicken wire sides and ends lifting handles mounted to door frame and nesting box frame

III Trop ic, 1l Food G a r d e n s

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demolished it. After a short stint with totally free range chooks we replaced it with an upmarker variety. It is light and easy te:J move, the nesting boxes make collecting eggs a bree:e and you can get inside wid1 a minimum of effort.

It's built from light gauge steel, 4 merres long and 2 metres wide at the bottom. It has tm . .1 handles which fold back next to the door so you can lift it off the gmund [0 move it aTOund the garden. Moveable chook pens are most useful on flat gwund l ike lawns. Where the ,!round is lumpy there'lI be gaps between the cage and the ground .. me! snakes, quolls and dogs will get imo the pen. Moveable cages are also useful in the vcgic gardent A. 11 YOll do is make your beds the same size as the pen. Then you can have the chooks c lean in up some areas in the ,·egie garden while you're working in the rest.

Once the chooks get to a cenain age and we have new ones coming up, we knock off half a dozen of the older oncs:Well, wc mean ro. Otherwise it Cl)StS a fortune to feed them and we end up with roo nwny eggs. Most recipes ask for a n ice plump [ender chicken. The kind grown in a cage where walking and scratching don't toughen theIr rnuscles, and hormones make them grow so fast their meat doesn't even stick to the bone and worry never thickens their· arteries.

At home, where they have ro scratch for their food and spend mOst of rhe day chasing each other around fighring over women, c hildren or husbands, they end up tastier bur nevertheless much mugher. Also ours lIsually get left until onc of us gives in to a mad desire for chouk or find::,. one scratching in their favourite garden or cating rhe ir favourite plant and chops off its hend in a flurry of feathers and temper, and hy then they're tough. In C�lse you cnd up the same, I'll give you my favourite recipe for old boilers in the rec ipe section.

W a t e r •

I n G a r d e n s

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•

I never appreciateO the miracle of water until we had co cart it in 445 from a communal tap six kilometres away; dig a well and a bore to find it, build a tank stand to get it into the house and pee on my plants [0 keep them alive. Now of course I've forgotten all that deprivation and even leave the tap running ( if slowly) while peeling potatoes. Bur I do have an overhanging idiosyncrasy - I've got a passion for ponds. My garden is iincred with containers of water; baths, half�44s, birdbaths, min iature lakes and swamps, hand basins, hubcaps and old gold panning dishes. I even tried to build a pond inside the house but my husband caught me and made me put it on the verandah. Water in the garden makes you think cool in September when the world is so dry you're scared to move in case you self�

·combust. It increases frog populations and provides water for birds and other wildlife throughout the year. Every garden needs a pond and here are some tips on how to make them.

P o s i t i o n

Waterplants can't grow withollt sunlight. If your pond is too shaded, your plants will die. Bur,

if it's out in the blazing sun, the evaporation rate will skyrocket and it's normally aoout [Wo metres a year. Also in the sun, the water will heat up, the fish will boil and, as hot w3rerCan'[ hold as much oxygen, they'll also suffocate. So position your pond where it'll get plenty of

morning sun and be semi�shaded in the afternoon.

F cl Gardens 124 Tropical 0 0

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decomposing leaves use oxygen as they decompose, so toO many will kill the fish. Oh and big ponds, just like swimming pools, should be fenced. There's nothing like a drowning re take

the gloss off a new garden feature. And nothing so humiliating and expensive (not to

mention how it would destroy a friendship) if someone enjoying the garden after a parry fell into the pond and ruined their new outfit.

B u i l d i n g a p o n d If you have soil with a high clay content, it's possible to make a natural waterproofl3yer like that in the bottom of a billabong. This idea came from Bill Mollison's book Pennaculrure and

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Water in gardens 125

although it's a bit messy, it's free, permanent and natural. I've only done this on a small scale ( l m x 1 m) in the middle of the Wet when the ground was sodden and the water table high. I dug the hole. Collected clay from the creek, kneaded it until it was like plasticine, and mixed it half and half with fresh wet cow manure and grass cuttings - it was disgusting. I lay this mixture IOcm thick over the side and bottom of my hole. Then I made a fresh mix of cow manure and grass currings and spread that about 20cm deep. (Would you believe that nobody would help me with this project?) You have to make sure the mixture is nice and wet. Now it has to be sealed. This is important. The waterproof layer is made as the green organic layers decompose without oxygen. So put plastic sheeting over the mess and bury the edges to seal it. Fill the. pond with water and by the end of the Wet it should be holding water.

Old hand basins and baths make great ponds. But, because they have smooth sides, you have to put something around the edge to help frogs, lizards and mice climb out of the water. Nothing will ruin a day quite as badly as getting up in the morning to find a little mouse, its tiny nose just above water, dog paddling, almost dead from exhaustion - unless it's finding the little mouse already floating and bloated. A simple piece of wood leaning into the water will give them something to get on to to climb out.

Another way of making a pond is to use a waterproof liner. We have a couple of these. You have to dig the hole l Scm deeper than you want the pqnd to be and dig a lip at the tOP like so.

Remove any rocks or anything that might puncture the liner. Put a layer of padding such as sand, carpet, a 'blanket or a thick layer of wetted cardboard or newspaper, over the soil to protect the l inLQg .... Then put in the lining. I've used forticon, black plastic, clear plastic, old waterbed bladders -.- or you can buy pond l iners. Lay the liner out and fill it with water stretching it smooth as it fills. Bring it up over the first lip and settle your rocks carefully on . .. top of the plastic. On top of the lining put a layer of blanket or felt, even hessian sacks are

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1 2 6 Trop i c a l Food Gardens

r..'".-."'©,-. ''":�- layer of sand (or carpet. blanket.

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, • 0 layer of blanket. felt or hessian

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good and cover it with some topsoil. The blanket will protect the liner fro m dogs' claws, linle children's sticks, stray teenage darts and drunken stilettos. It also gives the topsoil and algae something to cling to. .

Concrete ponds are permanent and easy to make, but they're expensive. And the concrete must be poured in one hit to make sure it doesn't leak, so you'll need help. When we built our concrete pond we had a working bee, a barbecue and then, once i t cured. sat ill it to cool off. Dig the hole, making sure the lip is as close to level as possible. Line the hole with forticon. Then lay chicken wire (pieces from the dump are ideal) on top of the forticon. This will stop the pond cracking if there's any movement in the soil. You need a firm mix of concrete (so it doesn't slop down the slope) and lay it <1bout 7.5cm thick. You can sprinkle sand or pea gravel on the surface for a nice finish and set rocks into t h e concrete around the top. �

H o w b i g ? Ponds can be almost any shape or size. A friend of mine, a full-time working mother who was also studying at the time, had a computer meltdown and lost an essay that was due the next day. She stormed outside and started swinging rhe pick in a SPOt where she had envisaged <l fish pond .. As the dust setrled, her partner asked, 'What are ya doing?'

'Digging Cl grave!' she snarled through gritted teeth. He said no more.

Water i n gardens 127

She worked on the hole whenever frustration levels rose, over the next six months, and ended up with a pond 7m x 4111. If you don't have room for a big pond , a couple of small ponds around the garden are just as good. However, a healthy pond needs lots of oxygen in the water. Your pond must be at least one square metre to get a good oxygen/carbon exchange between the water and air. Also, i t must be a minimum of30cm deep and should have at least one area that's twice that depth so the fish can hide from the azure kingfishers, goannas and (hose beaut iful �ight herons. One of them ate three of my husband 's 25cm goldfish in one night. Lucki Iy they are one of the most beautiful birds ever created or it would have woken up dead the next morning. Make the sides sloping so snails and yabbies, mating frogs, lizards and baby frogs can easi Iy get in and out.

Wa t e r p l a n t s All ponds should be completely self.regulating. You will never have to clean them out if you have Hle correct "Qalance of plants and fish. To keep the water healthy you can move it through a fountain or a waterfall where it can collecr oxygen. However, submerged a4uatic plants Ileed �arboll dioxide and too much water agitation will reduce the amount present in the water. The best bet. is to grow oxygenating plants. Have twO oxygenating plants and one \,·aterlily to every"square nietre of pond space. The little grasses and underwmer reeds which gro\\" in loc<'ll creeks are I)erfect oxygenating plants. Waterlilies are available from nurseries. Th�, )1ged \Xlaterlily, N)'mphoides hydrochariodes, and N. indica are small but very beautiful �i�i ... . .. ijl e wo.ti.derful ptlrp le Tropic�1 Waterlily, Nymphea gigamica, is another must. It usually die , k to an . root III the Dry season. �

The best time to '(F'.'iiiP1'arlC your l i lies is when the are just starting to fill and the lily's leaves are just ' e;ging�la!1t the . rootstoc1&nto a l!I-rge:-b ucket of nch soil. Put a 3cm layer of· washed

in"-:he pot to stop ut root ing [he

the ;oil �11ill'" ou discolohring the

Azull�;' ,\ water plant which on the surface wi 11 keep the

. tel1lperatuq;� down. It will use 1)Io'Ino uf t1�f)utrients put into . water hy EC,e fish 11nd other ,

mllo" anJ it wil l fen:i l ise the �)x)tt,jlln of th� pnn�i \�'ith de�id leaf . , . tn<lttt:r. An\)ther honus is ,tl¥lt you .

,,,,,,,, . . har\·l·sr" ir- an.J y.�c i� �s.�nitrogen# gnrdcn mulch. �o�dt dQ n't jusr ,, � � i(1 f • � .

1 0 he o n;'arn,lijl!f \I O l l can . ,:r.! .� :-;. vegetables V��iI.a. ·rbwhcad, �.J�( chestnut, k a nl:!!W'ii. g, lotus ..... . 7'


lilies and herbs like Vietnamese mint in them. Native and exotic waterlilies, taro and bullrushes look fantastic and an umbrella tree nearby will grow a tangle of rOOts over the edge into the pond that fish will love to play among.

F i l l i n g y o u r p o n d When you're filling your pond, use some water from an existing pond or waterway, as this will contain the microscopic spores and eggs of food plants and animals. (A bucket or so will be enough if you have to cart it in.) Also, pour the water over a flat stone or tile placed on the soil so it doesn't stir it up and make a muddy mess. Add half a cup or so of liquid fertiliser (depending on the strength ) and leave it a couple of days to settle down and get the friendly bacteria working. If It stinks- you added too mu·ch. Add heaps more water. Leave it a couple of days and add your plants. You can put guppies or local rainbow fish in as soon as there are mo'Zzie larvae in the water for them. But don't add the more sensitive animals till the plants are established and the system has settled down and is worki�g properly.

A n d a w a t e r f a l l . • • •

I wanted the sound of Robin Falls to fill the air so I built a beautiful fOllIltain on the pond under the verandah, bought a twelve�volt pump, installed it and to �y hor;or was-surrounded by the sound of a leaking toilet cistern. It took hours to get it right. So wh:iltever you do, concrete your fountain rocks till you have tested the sound. And turn the pu you're building the fountain. Make the rocks fairly flat so the water is .

before it falls off the edge because it makes a nicer sound as it h its· the: water. couple of levels in the waterfall so as the water falls from one to the other it gathers oxygen.

So now you have your pond, the fish are thriving and heaps more birds, water monitors and wildlife have moved in. Waterlilies are flowering and all sorts of green emergent plants are reflecting on the water surface. When the waterfall is going, you lie back in your chair, close your eyes and you're camping beside a . . . then the phone rings.

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Eve�book I've read says tr��i�l soils are old, wea[her�b'eaten and infertile. I don't understand it. �IJ the bllsh our 'weather�beaten, old infertile soil' produces rampant growth.

--:. In the Wet seaSQ . in six montns, spear grass grows to two metres high, su'ckers jump a metre �. in no t�me, fnl.it'S, nuts, tubers arc all produced quickly and full of nutrients. That sort of

··.·growth will rival any of your southern wheat fields. It's only when we clear and plant our ( oochards and vegetable gardens that nothing grows unless we throw fertiliser, trace elements

�and faliar sprays at it. The first year is nocoriollsiy good, but after that fert ility deteriorates very qulckly. , , My grandmother used tQ say, 'Mulch! Mulch! Mulch! Just keep adding mulch ! ' She reckoned fertiliser was a tca.I11i

';-a rip�off. (She had no trouble standing up against the weight

of all scientific knowledge ,) ''I h ough 1 do believe her (1 promise Grand ma ! ) I sometimes feel it's a bit airy fairy - I want: . . ' like some hard core evidence, proof. So one day I trundled of( to a field day at the local farm. A group of us stood in a semi�circle around a man. His belt pushed the balloon ofhlS belly up to a convenient shelf for his notes. We were standing in the paddock in the SUI). Hot? It w boiling! There was sweat in our eyes and OUT skin was Singeing. But no one cqmplained. :All mouths were closed tight against the flies. All, that is. except th� man in the centre. Now what's this all about, I thought. • Dirt! '

1 30 Tropical Food Gardens

(Oh my God, that sounded like Grandma whispering in my ear ! ) I decided to ignore her. This bloke was really interesting. He started right from scratch: with how plants feed. How they take water from the soil, carbon dioxide from the air to make car�oAydrates, the fuel they use to live, repair and grow. , .

• Oh how interesting! How plants need a continuous supply of air and water, and other elements like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium are taken up in small quantities from the soil. In the natural bushland, because there's a whole range of plants, the soil is packed with

, roots. The roots grow and decompose, feeding small amounts of nutrients into rhe soil al l thel time. As they grow, they make little tunnels in the soiL As they decompose these tunnels fil! with air or water. In orchards where trees are spaced and nothing grows underneath them. there aren't so many roots working and dying in the soil. So the soil isn't being fed and aerated . continually. ,

Also, the deep roots of native trees reach down and collect nutrients leached into rh:; • subsoil. They bring them back to the surface. and when they drop their leaves, the nutrients •

become available for shallow rooted plants. Many fru it trees and vegetables a re shaIlO\\' rooted and can't reach the nutrients in the subsoil. So many of the nutrients in our soils can\ be used. i: .

Another thing to consider is that when we clear, the sun hits the soil directly, the soil temperatures increase and the organic matter in the soil breaks down more quickly. Without the masses of roots and organic matter in the soil, the soil collapses, can't breathe, "it can't hold water or nutrients. • There you go, scientifically proven you can't grow anything bur bush in the north! - lee's go

home girl. , ' 'Next session - after smoko,' and the scientist quickly disappear�a. I went over ;o the mble of pamphlets to find something to read while I ate my sandwich. Soil pH? That s'JuT)'ls interesting - very scientific!

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S o i l p H , .. : , Trymg not to listen to nagging Grandma . .. 1 went over and sat down un�·r a tree and read the article about SOli aCidity or alkalll1lty. It said soil pH should I:5e be""twe 'pH 6.5 a�ld 7. At .

this level SOil mICro-organisms thrive, they eat. grow and dielqUlckly and as t liy do th;y make- ' more nutrients a�ailable to the plants. If pH is too high, or too low, certain rra�(!' elements. can't be used by the plants. Most Top End soils are acidic, pH 5 or low1r. So add dolomiCt:about 250g per square metre - 2.5 ton per hectare is the recommended dose. Dolomite's better thaJ;l lime because it contains calcium and magnesium. Then add. gro·upd seas� . . 1\s, eggshells, manure, or wood ashes to your garden each year. If you add lotfj yf q�ganic l�lat{er .. .. • Is chat what they call mulch these days! '1/" - • ... with lots of mulch comes a healthy population of soil organisms and the pH b�comes'more stable. Sprinkle dolomite over soil and water it in a week before adding fertili� ' ';. They should never be used together. ('Yes! Grandma, I know you told me that even L,pfore rh is little pipsqueak was even born. But just be quiet.') Buy soil pH testing kits'. . • Ah ha. Now I get the picture - chey're selling something - create' a need Cl;rtd you:v� g(A {I

ready market. You young peo/)/e are so gulUble . Phh! Pamphlets! .

Oh. He's back! We followed hi'Tl into a shade-house where he pushed a �novel, with a grunt that wquld have put a pregnant woman to shame, into'some black lo�my sOIl.

, ,

Understanding soil 1 3 1

• Imp"ned from Tasmonia I be" He put.a shovel full onto the [able. It was fascinating. I always thought soils were minerals, bits of rock and sand but he's got his fingers in there showing us decayed organic matter, worms, beetles, tiny micro,organisms. • • Germs

,girl - cite) a�erms �hy can', people be hanesc ,hese days, Bloody analyses, ham.

• carers . . . stll is-full of little living organisms and most importantly air?

A i r He reckons good topSOil should be 40% spaces filled with air (80% nitrogen, 18% oxygen and gels). That's almost half! Are you sure? In these spaces the diffusion of gases and exchange of

• ions occur. • Oh silly me . Of course. Now I understand. 'Hang on, Grandma! Let me think.' Plants need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. magnesium and all the other trace elements from the soil. Before they can absorb them they must be soluble. That happens in chemical reactions which need oxygen and nitrogen to occur. Ah! The amount of nutrients available to the plant depends on the amount of oxygen in the soil. Jf the soil is loose and crumbly the roots can grow easily through it, increasing their lengd"\'and siie and the amount of water and nutrients they can collec(. That makes sense. Crumbly· 'wil is what we're after - the soil's iri little crumbs and between them

, -(because they're 'round) are the spaces. How do you get this to happen? Some people dig the soil to 0pen it up. : • Never dig in rhis climate mare! Howeter; in our climate that just make the humus decompose quicker, the soil becomes more s?-nciy and collapses furth�r. What we have to do, is get more micro-organisms into soil. In sa:1oy·soils crumbs don't form unless they are 'glued' together by gums and gels which soil organism::. produce. • GU:T'..s � gels, I bet' rlutt's the modem wOTdfm- faeces. . .

Once the d'Umbs are f�rnlea they're stabilised by lines of tiny fungi that grow throughout the .'

soil ancl bind it r,pgerref.·Jl you give. them a bit of moisture and protection from the sun, the soil prganisms will 4reate the pore spaces for you. And they work for free! These little

. organ'isms are 'thertiost important part of your soiL There are millions in the soiL The weight , . gf soil organisms in a healthy soil is the same as the weight of the forest above. • WowF Now I really feel safe - all these little germs under me feet. But \vhat are they? Tej!nites, bugs and earthworms are the obvious ones, but then there are all sorrs of baFferia, fungi; nematQdes, microscopic animals which decompose mulch, eat each od- ,u aod bielogically cOQ.tfol diseases. • . See dise�e -' 'gehnS� . .

fJo I :vant termites in my garden? someone asks. Grass�eating termites are one of the most Impo:r3m recyders of organic matter in the north of Australia! The first thing to do, he said. was to prmectJ ,he soil from the sun. Cover it with anything - even a piece of tin is better than nothing -::--but the beSt is a good thick layer of mulch - 20cm thick. Now water. Give tht' soil a good soaking a couple of times a week. This will bring the soil temperature down and invite soii orgacisms i;£o the soil. Plant something with deep roots to help b�ak up the sl')il, and produce lots of mulch on site.

-

If it's a large ai'ea ,you �on't be able to afford to buy mulch - so grow the mulch. _

Something like sorghum or millet. Jumbo forage sorghum' is good bec<1l1se it's nematode

132 Tropical Food G a rdens

resistant (a problem in damaged soils). Sow it at the beginning of the Wet. Let it grow ' 11 . . a metre high and cut it. Set the cutting height at about 30cm above the ground _ yout� It.s want to kill the plant. Cut the crop four to six times during the Wet. (If you can't get IOto�� t paddocks without getting bogged, just slash it when you can. ) Leave the mulch to break do� on the surface of the soil.

She's been quiet for a while. Where is she? Oh dear. Is i t possible to see an imalIEn<lT\ whispering grandmother smirking smugly on the other side of the shade�housc?

Keep the soil covered with lOcm of mulch or plants more than lOc . l1igh, for the rt:�[ r its life. That will protect it from the sun and it'll continue to improve because It'� fcrrill'Jn!"l the soil and supplying the nutrients to the plant in the best possible way. All )"l ' h;j\e roJ� is pull back the mulch every now and then, and all over the surface of the soli will be 1i,t1e round balls, glued together by soil organisms - good soil Structure.

Grandma is standing right next to him. If she was alive she'd be flirting. Gralluou: A \"4;'.T\ handsome young intelligent young man. Is he married? You could do with solTIt:-hm!! ... �he mouths.

•

P l a n t f o o d Mulch doesn't only keep the soil cool for soil organisms, i t feeds them - i['� made up of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc. When you slash the crop, the mulch drors. the little soil organisms that come to the surface use it. They eat it, live i n it, tumble and play in it and break it up into bite-size bits. The nutrients become water soluble and the plants scoffthem up. Just like feeding them fertiliser. No. When you use fertiliser, especially on sand)' soil like ours, because it's water soluble, most of it will leach away before i t can be used by the plant However, when mulch is decomposed by soil organisms i t becomes humus.

When bacteria, fungi and other soil organisms decompose mulch the nutrients are held in suspension in gels. They get released slowly so the plants can use them before they are leached away. Also, when soil organisms are eating and decomposing mulch they grow and take the nutrients into their bodies. As their population increases so does the amount of nuuients held in their bodies in the soil. When they die and decompose, or are eaten and excreted by other soil organisms, these nutrients are released into the soil. Put on lots of mulch and the nutrients will be released gradually supplying the plants with a steady diet. • So - mulch! Is that what you're trying to say young man? Mulch! They have stlch nice words

nowadays. Humus! Sounds nice, doesn't it? It means compost - rotten stuff! The warm temperatures and moist concptions during the Wet season help organic matter decompose quickly. So, most of the humus you've produced with all your mulching and manuring during the Dry will break down. Luckily, the population of soil organisms also

increases dramatically so lots of nutrients are stored in their bodies. While this is happening many nutrients will become water soluble, and will be washed away if not taken up by plants. Also, our tropical rain is high in nitrogen. So if you want to capture all this extra goodnes:and keep it for the Dry season, grow plants everywhere. The plants will coll '·ct the nutrient�

and store them in their leaves and roots. • What's his last name , dear? What family does he come from? - he look- �;�. ';�p ·!')J1ePJ ·

Joneses. Old man janes, now, he was a good farmf.r. Obviously learnt,l '. knee - chip off ,he old block.

Your vegetable garden shollld be a jllngle - even weed VII plant something vigorous and leafy, sorghum, pean •. hllge root system and plenty of leafy nitrog(' ,�ric.h grc.

rore nurri(' '�mething wr ·

Jpce the "11'1..:

' .•• 1 11k ••

, ... lo ...

Understanding soil 133

nutrients to the soil by using the plants as mulch or ploughing them back into the soil. Decomposing matter uses nitrogen initially but it will be ready to be used by plants in six weeks.

W a t e r I n t h e s o i l In areas like Ours which have long Dry seasons, we need to store as much water in the soil as possible. Bare soils will develop a crust and repel water, making most of the water flow off. So, chisel plough the area on contour to catch the water and force it to soak into the soil. • They used 10 chisel plough when I was a kid . No, the mush'em up pulverise plough , the plough

with one tine which just cuts and loosens [he soil without turning the soil over. Actually during ,he fim War my mo,her had a little hand one she pushed through the garden. We had an old horse-drawn plough sitting out in the garden for years.

Mulch heavily or get something growing, a mulch crop or grasses - anything - even weeds are better than nothing. Oft�n weeds are perfect because they have deep root systems which will break up the soil so the water is able to soak into the soil easily. • Phh! Now he wants t�S planting weeds - remember the mbber bush, my boy! Mulches and plants will cover the soil and reduce evaporation. But, you don't want mulch which absorbs too much water and it shouldn't pack down into a waterproof mat. Leaves and . fluffed-up hay are the best. Newspaper will reduce evaporation but it will also reduce the amount of water and oxygen which can enter the soil and is better used for controlling weeds than for mulching. ..

Soils"'with lots of organic matter will hold water better than sandy soils. In South Australia, an organic fanner found that after eight years of adding manure to his sandy loam soil he had increased the amount of water available in the soil from 40 to 56kg per square metre. Also, because much of this water is held in colloids most of this extra water is readily available to the plants. There is no limit to the amount of organic matter you can put into your garden.

The more you have, the better the soil will be able to absorb water and less water will evaporate. So, mulch with lawn cunings, leaf liner or hay. Just leave it on the surface and keep it moist and it will STeak down slowly, Manures are also good mulches - especially horse and cow manure. It's better to compost or decompose chook manure before you feed it to your plants. It's not a balanced form of nutrition, it's too high in soluble nitrogen and gives a lush soft plant growth high in protein that the insects love and so, it makes the plants susceptible to insect attack and disease. The best thing about Our climate is that everything will decompose - eV"Cn you. • Amen! And that w�s that. The group broke up. The man jumped into his air;conditioned car and went home and we (I mean, I) walked back to the car. 'Well I don't care what you say. I really learnt something today!'

�

• . Yes so did J ', You mulch to feed soil organisms, mulch to retain warer and nutTients, mulch to stabilise p. 'lulch to SLOp erosion, mulch to form colloids , mulch to create nu.tTients . Mulch!

". 'oiI"/J 'll ' ' . .. That's the answer. Now where have I heard ,hat before?

.... n I i.... 'lgs, or can I see my whispering Grandma rolling her eyes out of the corner "f

.'

. ' .

M a n a g i n g p e s t s

.'

Did you know that only one-fifth of the insects in the world have been identified! Yet, 70% of all the identified species in the world are insects. Or did you knbw that there are eight million insects in every acre of arable land! Neither did I last week, but that's what they sal" And they breed like flies! The kids and I worked out, that in one Wet season, one pair of house flies and their descendants could create 191 ,000,000,000,000,000 house flies. Luckily, they don't all survive. The reason insects breed so well is that their bodies are a vital part of the food chain, especially in our tropical ecosystem - they're our herbivores. Green plants begin the food chain because they make their own food. I nsects feed on plants taking thnutrients into their bodies. When birds, reptiles and mammals eat insects, they use th. nutrients and minerals and so the nutrients become part of the food chain. Clever, isn't it'

My Grandma had a huge green frog living in her kitchen. I n the day h e settled neatly into a terracorta bowl, opening one eye every now and then to check the kids weren't stealing the biscuits. At night he wandered around the kitchen, gobbling cockroaches.

Grandma believed in delegation. She had an army of predators employed to control pests

in her garden, and frogs were the mainstay of her army both inside and outside the house. In her wanders around the garden, me at her knee, she would poin.t out the ladybirds which reed on aphids, scales and mealy bugs. (The others, leaf-eating ladybugs, would get squashed into

an orange mess all over the pumpkin leav -. yuk. ) There are thousands of insects whICh , I ' I .

' k' b It .ntS least on pests: acewmg arvae, praymg mal1l 'ltOfY slIe log ugs, green ants, me, '

and spiders. There Llr\:.. flies which parasltlse "larvae (caterp illars) of buuerflies and moths. And then there are rh ... , viwses, b:Kteria, fungi and parasitic worms '.·,hieh live in humus and make life diff:.::1I1r for insect pest populatio' In fact, each night there is more sex, et •• venture, violence, murder and

, conspiracy in your garden than you could ever see on your television.

F r o g s You might not want a frog in your kitchen or your toilet, but you do need frogs in your garden. They eat heaps of insect pests. And they're the easiest pets to k�(rP' All you have to give them is somewhere wet:a"nd secluded to live. Frogs' skin is very porous, the"y' take up water through their belly skin. But this means they also dehydrate easily. If you have frogs inside, give them a moist unglazed terracotta bowl, and in the garden, build them lots of ponds.

W a s p s "" . Wasps of all shapes and _-S.izeskill grubs and caterpillars. Parasi tic wasps lay their eggs inside the eggs of green vegetable bugs and caterpill:irs. Those orange/red wasps with blue wings, the ones that always look like they're drunk, swa"ying this way and that trying to keep control - they stun caterpillars and put them in their mud nest to feed their young. So, encourage them and all their relatives by letting them b�ild their nests in the safety of your verandah eaves.

5 p i d e r s : n our climate, there are five million spiders per hectare. Really! Go out in the early morning and find their tiny webs spread between blades of grass on the lawn. dewdrops caught, glistening in the sunlight. Have a look near flowers and find the tiny flower spiders waiting co pounce on an insect. Between trees in the forest there are Saint Andrew's Cross spiders catching flying insects. Huntsmen spiders look scary but they'll even eat cockroacJ..�<;. We had three big rainforest spiders set up webs in the f.. I:: year. They're a

Managing pes[S 1 3 5

. - '1I.7' ,

.-

Wasps

136 Tro p i c a l Food G a rdens

real punk rock spider - the size of your hand with orange knee pads and stripes on their body.

One spider wi 1I eat about a hundred insects a year. A hundred times five million equals a lot of insects being gobbled up. So make your garden spider friendly. People often prune fruit trees to increase the air flow through them. But when you 'open the trees up' you reduce the places spiders can hide from birds. All insecticides, organic or synthetic, kill spiders. And because most spiders only breed once a year,

. whereas many of the insect pests they eat breed every couple of weeks, when you spray, you reduce the spider population dramatically while only putting a temporary dent in the pest population.

I n s e c t i v o r o u s b a t s One night a friend and I were up on r

Castle Hill in Townsville looking at the city and out to sea, when suddenly there was this clicking and swift movement in the air. We couldn't

,

I ,

I

Huntsman spider

quite see. I t sounded like electric shocks or aliens! We ran to the car and it wOl!ldn't start so we wound up the windows (a great defence against aliens). When we were brave enough to look out, we saw hundreds of tiny bats, flying around under the lights feasting on insects. These bats will eat over half their body-weight in insects each night. That's 500 to 1 ,000 mosquito-sized insects in a hour. A typical colony of 1 00,000 bats will eat nearly 300,000 kilograms of insects in a year. So leave some bush for them and an old hollow tree for them to live in and they'll eat your pests free of charge. And venture out into the garden at night to hear their tiny twittering calls and the quiet rush of wings in the night sky (or is it the aliens?).

N a t i v e a n i m a l s

Whenever the termites swarm on those sweltering Troppo nights, we usually lock up (he house - put towels under the doors and hide. But if you go out there, you'll see the most amazing sight

.' .

. . (

' " . :

.. ', , L ·

,

....·tt ' - ,

" •

. . , . .

, . Ge'�O

Managing pests 1 37

_ all the frillys, geckos, lizards, all the birds, bandicoots, frogs, all the native animals come out [0 feast. In the beginning they run about catching the fat little white termite bodies in the air before they land. But soon they're [00 full to move and just sit there with their mouths open.

All these animals eat lots of insects. And all you have to do to attract them is give them somewhere to live: some mulch, a fallen log, a rock pile. And somewhere to drink: a birdbath for the birds and a pond on the ground for the reptiles and bandicoots. Water in the garden is especially important during September-November. If you encourage the wildlife into your garden for water, when the new flush of green growth boosts the insect numbers, you'll have your preJators there to eat th(!m.

N a t i v e v e g e t a t i o n Native bush land has an enormous diversity of plants, trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, vines and sedges. Therefore there are thousands of places for insects to wine and dine and sleep it off in safety. So in the bush, there's a more abundant and diverse insect population than in our orchards and palm gardens. Out of these insects, 90% are useful in the garden - so throughout the world, farmers are using native bush land sanctuaries around their orchards to fight insect pests.

Recent research by Or Renkang Peng in the NT found that native bush land and ground cover under the orchard trees increased natural predator population dramatically. In fact some of the trees were almost free from insect damage. So keep some bush, or replant. I n pastures, plant a mixture of legumes, grasses and small edible shrubs. I n the orchard, have shrubs, grasses and flowering plants growing under the trees. This way beneficial insect poputations will be large enough co stop <l:ny major outbreaks of pests. There will be some damage - you have pests to attract the predators - but the damage will be minimal.

B e c o m e a f a r m e r g a r d e n e r The most wonderful thing about being a gardener is that you can walk around touching and talking to your plants, checking for pests, watching new shoots grow and you can taste a little here and there and call it work. And it is work. Insect numbers are affected by plant growth and the climate. If we know what's happening in the garden, we'll know when the insects are abundant and the plant most vulnerable. If we know what insects live there (beneficial and �"'stv) , what their life cycle is {when they are most vulnerable}, the benefits and damage they

, " ; rave the upper hand.

N u t r i t i o n �rf' (h ... . nned to survive on l,.igh carbohydrate-very low protein foods like gum leaves.

" '''1"", we ' crease th. C1!TIOllnt of protein in the plants, making them much more :e insp.cts grow IT}nr� quickly and reproduce more quickly. Don't overfeed

. hav J. I ITI' . I(�l,'re not going to grow nice juicy SWeet lettuces unless yv ��{lOen· :-k' .·rtilisoe:-. But most plants are much happier with a balance. Feed planLv ... .. SIt'b _ ..... v., r .ch a'; possible, and use a balanced fertiliser (trace eiemencs, minerals, and nor.- ' " pho:;phorus, potassium).

Also. plants eU1IL , ... � ,rtto the air. That's how female insects find plants to lay [heir eggs upon. Sick, wc::ak and disease( J D1 ... . "e off more gases than healthy ones, as do plants


gulping nitrogen and growing quickly. That's why these plants are more likely to be attackeJ by insects.

G r o w w i t h t h e s e a s o n s

It's easy to say, keep a balance, but it's a bit hard when the bush is sprouting new gtowth and the insect numbers are escalating, and they attack anything - ev.en dlt� clotht:s on ohe hn�'. and the ground is too hot to walk on, let alone garden in, and the afternoons .:tng thl.::l� white hot and glaring. And all you want todo is get out there and kill anything tH,U DARE: CHEW ON YOUR PLANTS!

The beSt bet is to work with the seasons. Have your garden in transition d uring the BUl .1-up - you'll feel like a rest anyway. Pull out all those tired Dry season vegetahles, mll heavily and wait until the predators catch u p with the explosion of insect pests ht:fl}rc .. plant your Wet season vegetables. especially the greens. Also. don't get too exciteJ to �t< rT your Dry season garden unless you can protect them in a shade�house. Mites, thrtr� ,mJ chewy things will still be aC[ive right up until the cool weather starts.

S a p - s u c k i n g i n s e c t s

As the name suggests, sap�sllcking insects suck plant sap - usually from near the growing tips, where the plant is soft the concentration of sap is greatest. They can't control the amount they drink and much of it passes straight through them and becomes honeydew. Ants often look after aphids and mealy bugs, just like dairy cows, to harvest the honeydew. But when the honeydew is left on plant [issue black fungal growths known as 'SOOty mould' and other rOt organisms grow and this can damage plant tissue.

Sap�sucking insects can be broken into two types: aphids, mealy bugs, lerps, scales - those who lead a fa irly sedentary life. And mites and thrips which can move about freely. Most of [he time in my garden aphids and mealy bugs are controlled by natural predawr:;. When too many accumulate on one branch, usually just with the little black LInt invasion during the Build�up, a quick blast with the hose is ali i have ro do to send them packing.

If they persist, I hit them with so"' � vater, soap spra:s methyltHed spirits/pyrethrum with H reasp . )0 of white oil. FOT

, I,

oil frequently until it's over. Only spray white oil in the evenirr sprayed in ('he heat of the day. Potassium soap which is sold " n,),

. .

• •

,

Jt

.;- lantS aren'( ;n your garden.

. ostabli,hed.

. lIing Till i(

:Jlother r1anl.

'vorks (lnJ for

including 'Natrasoap' is good, as are

petroleum sprays like white oil beCause they slow down

Managing pests 139

their ability to reproduce. Also, biological predators like the Chilean mite can Of! bought and introduced inro thi:' I!arden. Sometimes, particular .vhen pawpaw trees are old and tireu, )'ou'lI get scale and it's hard to contr,)l. Generally it's not worth fighting, pull the plant out Tiny green sucking bug (actual size approx. 8 mm)

and throw it somewhere where the hatchlings won't reinfest the garden. Or bum rhem, and grow some new srrong healthy trees.

Thrips and mites borh thrive in our warm climate. In the Build�up and Knock'em down seasons, they can double their popularions in less than a week - ir only takes 10-16 days for an egg to reach adulthood. Therefore they become resistant to insecricides very quickly. Biological control is the only effective solution. We are lucky because in the North of Australia we srill have lots of predators living in the narive bush. The most important predators are other mites and insects, so increase your plant diversity and invite them in.

C h e w i n g i n s e c t s

Caterpillars, leaf�eating ladybirds, grasshoppers and beetles can ear large quantiries of foliage. And they do! I f you fed a baby the same amount of food {;veight to size ratio) as a caterpillar, when the caterpillar was ready to turn

..

a .;IHysalis the baby would weigh -:"t7--:"t- Sumerimes they eat �he

-nt before you notice -)f courSI..: they come in

'\:" colours, don't they? .' .. hunring caterpillars,

. • anrs,. ir's 'their spore I Y <l find them. Where a

, ""C!1 crunching,

your life yOI in rhe ho swearing j Pyrethrum It is a broad-

� or darkesr green 'r rhe leaves. '" place the

und her tiny ,Ies. With

.. ne snarchec hetween

• J waS . .1 s:.:!id, 'Why

/

I

(

looper caterpillar and moth

poisunous t ' (' r.· I.dve green fingers�' She reckons if you squash carerpillars and


leave them on the leaves, i t deters the moths and butterflies laying their eggs. The best way to keep grasshoppers down is also to decapitate them. Using a pair of secateurs you can chop them nearly in half and bypass the blood, guts and gore. They are sluggish i n the early morning so this is the time to carry out the brutal deed.

Pumpkin beetles are about 6-7mm long. There are two types. One is plain orange and another is orange with four large black spots on its back. Leaf�eating ladybirds can also be a problem. The adults are round, orange with 24-28 little black dots on their backs. The larvae, which also feed on leaves, are pale yellow and covered with little spines. Most of the time a couple of .beetles will come in, have babies, get eaten and that's the end of that. At other times there can be a real infestation. If the plant is getting decimated and you don't want to

\

pull it out, because the fruit is almost ready, use pyrethum sprays. Also, if you slap your hands

lorikeets - gorgeJiU-ls with their deep blue heads, orange breasts. green wings. rfta inly nectar eaters but will eat insects

and their larvae

together just above the leaf you'll catch heaps of them .. " and cover your hands with orange beetle bits. But most of the time it is better to pull t:he plant out when it is tired and susceptible and plant anew.

Insect�eating birds will eat huge quantities of insects, especially juicy caterpil lars and grasshoppers. As the weather begins to wann up and the chewing ins�cts start to ��crease there is very little water on the land. Put plenty of birdbaths and rock ponds in the vegie garden to invite the birds in.

B e a n f l y Bean flies are tiny shiny black flies that lay eggs on leaves. The larv _l.: tunnel down the Ip.l and stem, feeding as they go. Bean fly affects all t¥pes of bl"lns. Mature healthx: planes aren'[ too bothered, but young plants are very susceptible. If it is a major p:1 ,blem ;,n your garden, spray young seedlings with neem leaf oil, pyrethum or garlic spray !Jnti l the . established. Or cut the bottom out of a plastic bortle, take the cap off and put it over tJ-viw . -iling [ill it

gets bigger. Sometimes you can fool them by planting the bean seeds bene� lnother rlant. Otherwise keep planting them in new places till you win. Sometimes nod' . 'vorks anJ for

weeks the bean flies win. Others years they don't cause any problems at a'

F r u i t - s u c k i n g m o t h The fruit·sucking moth is a large moth with <l four inch ( I OCln) wingspan and brightly patterned yellow and black hindwings and mottled green, white :lOd brown forewings. They fly and feed <lt night. The adults have a hard tube· like Illouthpart which pierces ripe fruit to suck the juices - it's about an inch and a ha1f.long - like a straw. They make a small hole, larger than the egglaying puncture of a fruit fly.

Fruit-sucking moths don 'e really damage the fruit. You can cut the dry bit out and eat the rest. But if you're selling the fruit, pick it before it's ripe and let it ripen inside. The fru it has to be ripe for the moth to feed. Or net the (rees. As the moths are quite big, lOem . across, the normal bird netting will keep them out. For the home garden you can make up small individual nets quite cheaply.

F r u i t f l i e s

Managing pests 141

) ,

Fruit sucking moth

Fruit flies lay their eggs in fruit and the larvae hatch out to fill the fruit with a mass of squirming grubs (did you see the film 'Alien'? Same thing.) There are numerous baits. and traps for fruit flies. To make one, drill a series of holes, just big enough for the fly (0 enter, around the tOp of a plastic soft�drink bottle. Fruit flies are attracted (0 yellow (the colour of ripe fru it) so pm. ,:, strip of yellow tape just below the holes. They will enter the bottle and then nm be able to get out. A good a([ractant is a pheromone, the fragrance emitted by the female frui.t fly when ready to mate. Other traps use baits of protein to attract both sexes, vegemite fi.Qd beer are bmh reported to be excellent baits. If you have a fruit fly pro�lem, pick up all fallen fruit and burn it (can't bury it - the babies will hatch and continue their life cycle). Keep chooks in your orchard to eat the babies and the fallen fruit.

I n s e c t i c i d e s

There's no such thing a�"'� 'safe' insecticide or fungicide. They all, natural or synthetic, will kill the predators and Soil organis��ls at the same rate as the pest. However, once or twice in your life you're probably'gping to have to resort to so�e deadly foulicide to restore harmony in the house or garden Qr, in a fit of uncontrollable fury, during the Build�up when you're sweating just watching the grass die - to taste sweer revenge. Pyrethrum IS a nacural extract of the daisy family (Chrysanthemum and Pyrethrum genera). It is a broad�spectrum insecticide which kills on contact. It's non�toxic to mammals bur very poisonous to fish. There are synthesised pyrethrums now available as pyrerhrins and

..

142 Tro p i c a l Food G a r d e n s

pyrethroids. It's interesting to note that natural Pyrethruln i s n10re toxic that sy h . . . m n� Pyrethrum. Pyrethruffis k i l l bees, fish and predatory ll"lSects. . Derris dust is a powder extracted from the roots of various-South American pia I ' broad-spectum insecticide that controls both hard and soft�bodied insects. As

ants. r s Cl

. . b 8 h B . , Stomach poison, it works when eaten and IS effective for a out 4 ours. ut as It s a dust, it washe ff the leaves onto the soil where it'll k i l l soil organisms. It 's difficult to apply to the un I S Oh ( erneat of leaves and is deadly to bees so keep it away froln flowers. Bacillus thuringensis is a tnicrobial biological control organism (genu \Varbr�) eff . ect\ve against caterpillars. It is a stomach poison and works by forming a protein cT\"<;tal within the stomach of the insect. It's supposed to be speCific to caterpillars and won't harm �'atu) _ blooded animals or fish. It is lneant to be non�toxic to plants and is normally suldas 'lIi-' Garlic spray has been used for years to control a wide range of insects. It knocbthcll . • \ quickly and controls both sucking and chewing insects. I t's very dangerou� to htes an. predarors so be very careful with it. Recipe: Chop up 4 hot chillies, 4 large onioQs r ' of garlic. Cover with warm soapy water (Sunlight soap not detergent ) , Leave (or} strain. Add 5 litres of water and keep in a sealed marked container in the frid!!�;

White oil is useful for all types of sucking ins�cts. To make 'it, put a cup of coukifl blender add one and a half cups of water and a teaspoon of Sunlight soap an,l hi�-a tightly sealed jar. Dilute at the rate of one parr of oil to ten parts of water. Or Y, from any garden or hardware store. . , . ' , Potassium soap is a very useful insecticide. It tTIust be potassium soap - not tht �, from sodium or detergents. SOlnetilues you can buy potassiuln soap wit�;�eem a�4.py.Te�, added to it to make it more devastating. But on lts own it is very effe'ctive for·��f\� sucking insects. Neem trees are native to India and Bunna

" .,

and have been grown in north Australia for � � , - , about fifty years. The active ingredients . " � :',\ �,��; • . nee m deter pests from feed i ng on'l laying � · :;r\ti:c:/ , ;/ eggs and greatly slow down the g" 'h. and t' � \. \ i·' development of their young. The leaves can ��.:- �:!, ... ""

be harvested, dried ana crushed to a powder. . 1�-S ' I ,,_�'""-rPV '" . 1 oaK t 1is powder in water (one litre of water ...... - -¥:'.�". .... ....... � .'

ro every I Z5gm leaves fresh weigh tl for 36 � ?' . ', .. ' . • �

hours and it will yield a spray which can be (�' � '--;,� , . ,hI" <> used in the garden. Neem )'" ; . . .

leaves are also good mulch. They like full f�� -sunshine but will grow through a mixed ""' . : . - . /..' l ight canopy. They are deep rooted so once ' . . 5 '

.als. ' "

established are quite drought resistant. .·;" 'r � . ':'1 ' :'Qwing \

Neem tre�s grow into huge towering trees, ' ·�,2�;�/.' : · .hich st,ade everything. If you want to us� · =-� , , . ,

' 1 j� your orchard, cut them back a , , of times a year and use the ,;,-�;: '1gs as mulch. ' . � c,"

, garden, commercial ne�m leaf oil . .. . . ,>

Clly thing which controlled a major Neem

"

Managing pests 143

infestation of mite devastating my rriangoes. But neem extract, oil and solutions, like all chemicals, should be used with care and only as a last resort. It may be natural - but when you are using neem oil or neem extract you're using a solution a thousand times stronger than it can be found in nature, and remember, nature made arsenic too. Pawpaw leaves can be ustd as an insecticide and fungicide. Add a kilo of finely chopped leaves to a litre of water, leave to soak overnight. Filter. Add four litres of water, two teaspoons of paraffin and a little soap. Cassava leaves - use cassava leaves as mulch against nematodes. Where you have nematodes grate the tuber, mix it one�to�one with water and use four litres of diluted pyrract per square metre.

Te r m i t e s ';': are masl�r architects, building massive underground and above ground colonies,

' : h air�conditioning systems, which house millions of insects. They live in ' ;.:;ed social groups with a queen, soldiers, workers, reproductive castes and , ou ng. Some soldiers xtinguisher' nozzle in . > repel enemies and the

� jaws with saw�like edges recycle dead wood and

"cil. Some of the tunnels t h: nest to the feeding sites can

. ... es 1("'"- .

J •

�es can't colonies of

_Icd protoz0a" ih " dfe .... k down lhe

')ke ir , back

...-u digt:sred '�,� . " I ..... . � . , rhat , . � -

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,

'res to ' r1" "'1�..J\ grnw wings "Y'j in tnt:ir

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rht! t:::trtl} is rience light,

tU"SI.. iln": only Dragonfly chaSing termites

" I • ..... (hey pa ir up, lose

.. � l"'ICk: or into a hole in :�e ground and seal themselves in -•

. ) • y in rhe bush. Birds and dragonflies catch them whik rI·

o..i l ltS. fn,gs, spiders, mantises and lizards will enjoy their fil' e,. Many, like frilly lizards. haven't had a good feed for

sfart to the breeding season.

Nee

• '11


In the Top End we have the most primitive subterranean rermitej Masroremles darwiniensis - the giant termite. They are about l 2mm in length. most other species are under 7mm. M. darwiniensis will eat: trees. timber, sugar cane and vegetables. your lead-sheathed telephone and electricity cables. bitum�n, salt. flour and glass.

Maswwrmcs, the big Northern termite is a major pest in gardens and orchards but nO[ in the bush. This is because, in the bush, Maswcermes only makes up a small percentage of the entire termite population. In horticultural and residential areas they can be 80 to 100% of the population. Why? Because when we clear the bush and build our little castles and gardens we change me environment to suit them perfectly.

First, we push all the trees over and bum them, eradicating the population of Copwrennes acinacifonnis (tree; piping termite) which is I

. ..... -..

' · 1 \;. 5' ,. L...-.:.::::: "

- =

:an appear like a fantastic family group

Mastotennes' major competitor. Then we leave roots in the ground to feed them and with%

competition, t�ey build up huge colonies. (Some colonies have seven million individL�ls, weigh over 200 kg (as big as a cow) and feed over an area of 200 sq metres.) Then to top.it "', we plant trees which termites adore and keep the soil nicely moist so.they don't have anv

difficulty working their way through it. . So what do you do! If you can - don't clear the bush. I f your land is cleared, plant nari\"ti,

create a forest with plenty of native trees and lots of wood and leaf litter on the grOlmd [J

welcome the grass-eating termites . Termites are part of the natural ecosystem and the c10Sff you're able to imitate that natural order in your garden the luckier you'll be keeping

Masw[ermes under control. In orchards, plant legumes or grass cr0ps between the treep""

attract harvester grass-eating termites. '. , -

The live wood in native trees is poi.sonous. So termites attack most trees by bUTl0win�ur ....

the inside of roots and eating the dead wood in the centre. T h e tree is able to feed and gnW �

normally but is weaker and will fal l over with the weight of the fruit. I know a bloke whose favourite tree was hollowed out by termites so he filled the ca

'�ity with concr re _the t tree is still alive. Usually trees don't show any signs they're being eat"cn alive - often t�

just looking their best when they fall over. However, some common symptoms are: the shoot tips or whole branches dying, bursts of new growth d i e and wilt, and they �ra'C': flowerillg a( . unusual times.

Managing P('Sts 145

To c o n t r o l t e r m i t e s

Keep an eye on your g • .uden and whenever you find a Maslorermes infestation, treat it. You won't kill the colony hut you can keep them under COntrol. They are social animals and [Q

maint(lin their complex social structure, termites constantly exchange food, secretions and excretcd maUer with each other. &.., if some members of the colony ingest food, within a short period everyone in the colony gees a share. If you can get them to feed on a bait containing a slow,acting poison, e<leh member of the colony will receive a lethal dose before the poison takes effecr. All termites eat cellulose so the bait should be based on a cellulose like paper, cardoo..'ud or sawdust.

Boron Bait - Lg agar (gelatin) per litre of water, 5g boric acid (bornx), IOg sugar, sawdust and water. Dissolve agar (co bind the ingredients and re£ain moisture) - the water must be brought to lxuling point to Jissolve the agar. Dissolve boric acid (the deadly ingredient) and sugar in the mixture and add sawdust. The amount of sugar and sawdust isn't so important but you should have enough sugar to make it attractive to the termites and enough sawdust to make a thick slurry. The mixture will set when it cools and should be used straightaway or it grows nice fungi. (Agar is a gelatin �ubstance which can be bought in Asian shops. InCidentally it makes very nice jellies.)

Application - this' is most important as the colony must eat a lethal dose of the toxin (boric acid) or it won't work. Therefore, .you have to give them as large an amount of bait and as many feeding sites as possible. You can put it directly into the trunk of an infested tree. Or you can create feeding sites by Rutting down a bundle of newspaper, waiting until the colony is feeding then adding the bait into the hollows h the newspaper. A sealed metal drum filled with timber with holes in the botrom to all i! termites in. is also a good bair. When the MascOlennes are actively feeding on th.. \ large colony of termites will need four litres of solution to kill t' .ennes in the garden, all other termites are the goodies.

B a c t e r i a l w i l t

Bacterial wilt affects many crops, but especially tomatoes and eggplants. It's caused by Pseudomonas solonacearum, a bacterium native to tropical soils. The bacterium invades roots and, once inside, it multiplies and eventually blocks the water.conducting vessels. The plant dies of thirst and hunger. Suspect hacterial wilt when your beautiful healthy plant collapses 'overnight as if someone has cut it off. Sometimes it may wilt over a couple of days but it is u�ually quick :md fatal.

You must be sick of hearing this but, yes, it is more prevalent in abused soils and it spreads , surface water (erosion) or in the soil when you're transplanting seedlings. If you don't have

� . lt in your garden, grow all your own seedlings. If you have bacterial wilt, grow vegetables that aren't affected by wilt in the soil and grow

tomatOes and eggplants in sterile soil in tubs or containers. Or you can graft tOmatoc:o: onto wilt,resistal1t wild Mal�y eggplant; the seed and advice is available through your local I .,rcicu ltural department. Because wild Malay eggplant is a perennial plant the grafteel

l\. aro will bear fruit over a much longer period. hacterial wilt bacteria C,lI1't survive long without a host. Between crops it lives in

weeds an ant resid�e. One man told me he cleared his entire vegie garden rowlly free of vegetation let it bake in the sun for a year- he said it gOt rid of the wilr by sterilising the


soil. The heot from the late Dry season sun would definitely take unprotected soils up to very high temperatures but thIS wIl l also kt!1 a l l your sot! mlcro-organtsms. And You'll hav cover the area before the Wet or you'll lose your soil, but it may be worth a try. Anoth

le dto . . er a y

said that bacterial wilt became less of a problem In her garden as she but!t up the so'l . h I Wit humus and manure. She thought it might have to do with the increase in other hacteri;J and micro�organisms in the soil ecosystem.

F u n g u s Fungi can't make their own food so they steal nutrients from other plants and organIc matter. They are minuscule organisms made up of tiny thread�like tubes which penetrate into llr

between the plant cells and extract nutrients. When conditions are right, they i:X:l\r ,-!ukkly forming a cobweb�like mat. Most of them are useful in the garden. They break d,)\\n rnukh, they feed on nematodes, make life difficult for some bacteria and their string�ljkt cdl� b11ld soil particles together. Then there are fungi like mushrooms and toadstools, or those beautiful orange growths \vhich grow on everything in the Wet season. You know when you pick up something that j... ... l- en lying in moist soil for a couple of Wt.-__ ,r a towel on the bedroom floor) and there is that beauriful fanlike patterning - or the fluffy green mould - tha['s a fungus.

Because they're so small we only notice fungi when they fru it and produce spores and appear as white powdery or furry moulds, mi ldews, spots or blemishes on the plant or as mushrooms or tOadstools. For that reason the ones that attack living plants and destroy our crops get called things like 'Powdery' or 'Downy mildew', 'Blight', 'Rot', 'Leaf Spot', 'Scab', 'Rust', 'Sooty mould' or 'Damping off'. Powdery mildew cover the leaves with grey powder; leaf spot causes yellow or green SpOts on the leaves, rust looks like rust . . . get the

.- , -

ricture? Mildew on cucurbit leaves - almost overnight Fungi reproduce by spores and these travel from my beautiful dark green pumpkin leaves wer

one plant to another on the wind, in water, in soil covued with powdery cream blOt

_ .' qr with animal movements. They can lie dormant • < 111 (he soil, or plant residues, unti I conditions are perfect. And for six months tlf the year

·h..i\:e perfect conditions to grow all sorts of fungi . In my garden the.'" plants which ,.. af£.· ted by fungus are Cucurbits ( l ike cucumbers, pumpkins, melon ' ...... trcss 0"

sHsceprible to fungus infections, so only grow them in the Dry. (� around, have new ones coming on. all the time. 'mgus flourishes in hot, humid conditions and so beco:1 11.: a lIild�up, Troppo and Wet season - only grow very resi I nt

' . l i l ,ap pumpkin, loofah, snake gourd and New Guinea be.'" \ . l \ , '

Jt -,in" at

., .... e .

Managing pests 147

(he air flowing through the planr, dry ing the leaves quickly after each watering. Water by dripper instead of overhead, so the leaves don't get wet and water the plants in the early morning, so the plants aren't staying wet overnight. Remove infected leaves immediately and burn them to stop the spores spreading.

TIle hest insurance against fungal disease is a good soil. (I know I keep saying this but it's true.) If your soil is alive with all SOrts of fungi and bacteria feeding on the destructive types and competing for space yOll won't get an outbreak of the morc destructive kind. So. mulch and add compost, manures and kitchen scraps. A Inyer of mulch will also stop fungal spores being spread to the leaves in the soil splash. Using seaweed foliar spmys is also very effective in redUCing mould and fungi. As is regularly spraying leaves with 'garden teas'. compost, and manure sprays. These act as a tonic, making the plant stronger and more resilient. and also treats the fungus. Most fungicides even the 'organic' ones arc based on lime, sulphur or copper solutions. Both copper and sulphur accumulate in the soil and in high concentrations are toxic to soil organisms, insects, plants, animals and humans. Or lately I've been using milkone-part nlilk to eight-pMts water as a fungicida l spray. But the best remedy is to use the 'burnt earth policy'. If it gets siciC, rip it out, stomp on it, swear at it and burn it.

N e m a t o d e s

Nematodes can affect bananas, cucutbits, beans, to. ....es. capsicums, eggplant, pawpawall the best food plants. They're minuscule thread-like WOffily creatures that live in the soil. Most of them feed on soil bacteria. fungi. algae. nther nematodes and plant roots without entering them. These nematodes are beneficial. They help decompose organic matter into humus. They parasitise the larvae of many insects including, armyworm. beetles and leaf miner.

The nematodes that have dragged the name through the mud arc the plant-feeding nematodes. They are parasites, who burrow into plant roots when they're young and take the nutrients from the rootS before tht;y're transported into the plant. They grow, mature and lay their eggs inside the roO[s causing galllIke swellings. The young hatch from the eggs �l1d move into the soil in search of another

:table planr. The life cycle from egg [Q adult about four weeks and the juvenile nematode . survive for a couple of years without

host. Plant-feeding nemarodes are ' 111111 In1" l ·YOU can't see [hem.

Thl.. weeds and pi vegetation am.

�'y've been. Plants

,,[unted, wilt easily.

:ddcf> little fruit.

re'! � swollen

')Ot:

J

"

Roots infested with burrowing nematodes •

. ,

, I F cl Gardens 148 Troplca 0 0

d e always in the soil. Plant-feeding nematode numL , Nemaro es ar

' h ' I ' , � �. h nic matter m t e SOl to sustam a good s{)ll ponul ' "' "

isn't enoug orga " I ' , " a\lon o( alII ""'11.. ' I f " Predaceous fungI p ay an Important pan In ehminat � ""'-and SOl ung.. ' I Ing nemat"",

-..."

These fungi thrive in orgamc matter suc 1 as compOst, manure and mukll""'lIJ:I., todes you need to mcrease dramatICally the organIC matter in"o ' \ �"''' nema d' If d d'

, Ut s," ,1", b ' minimising the amount you Ig- you nee to 'g, use a lark and onl I ,�!

! , ' I ' ' " , �� than turning It ove�. ThIS way t :le mICroscopIC Clt1e�1 passages and 'nte.tact\()t\S� � just dismpted (a mmor earthquake), not turned upSIde down and exposed 10111,1-. bomb) . Also mulch heavily and plant green manure crops. ..

Another good idea is to plant a m\xture of species; susceptible crops witno. a high resistance. Things like corn, shallots, onions, cassava and sweel comare to nematode attack. , cl cabbage , sweet potato; radish and chillies seen\ lObe nematode attack witl Iving Plant spring onions and chives th,:0U.ghllUt, Marigolds, Tager.e_ ere " 1tt 'xude ' '>stances hom. their roots like. So plant m.at gO in th, den.

Planting you_ -' , ') � anI ' "')od wa� o( cor\ttc cover crop of plants 101 L " SorgHUm, grass to try to break t\ "'n -um or grass for a couple f, growing areas, they gn 'rasses to keep the pop\'

,-, of corn will supply ,_'-creeping) or lucerne will also .

If you have a problem with the mulch through the Wet an� I Just made that word up _ 1 mu:t

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E G G P L A N T R I S S O L E S ( c o n t . ) 750g eggplant, peeled and finely chopped 3 eggs 1/4 cup chopped almonds (peanuts are just as good and cheaper) I rbsp. su ltanas chopped ,/. cup chopped !'""Iey I tsp. dried oregano 1 cup breadcflllTIih Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and let them stand for 30 minutes, rinse and drain. In a

large bowl, mix eggplant. breadcrumbs and the rest of the ingredients. Shape [he mixture inro small balls, pressing them together firmly to hold their shape. Roll them in flour. Fry hem i n oil, turning frequently until they're browned and cooked through. Drain and serve trh fresh tomaLu sauce.

•

S N A K E B E A N S A L A D S

Pil rhe snake beans young when they stili hav ,urple tips. Chop them into inch If)l)g (2c01) lengths and bail or stC3In them for a minute so t ey're still crunchy. You just want [fl wke the raw edges off them. Then use them to make a !en salad with sliced (or diced) cucumber. lettllce and dressing. Or fry them lightly with ga :c, soy sauce, 'a little sugar, finely chopped Kaffir lime leaf, a bit of Thai coriander leaf and roas d peanuts.

S W E E T P O T A T O C U R R Y

This is a beautiful vegetarian curry, quick and easy to mal< ike all �urries. if it':) made the oay ,before, al)d kept in the fridge, the curry flavour really gelS l 0 the �eg�tables.

I hot chilli ; .. 3 Kaffir lime .lea��-f I tbsp. ground coriander seeds 'Iz tbsp. car;tway 1 i�,non grass root beaten with a hammer 1 choPlX'd onioA or'\.. Zcm J: iece ginger or ga langal finely chopted 4 cloves garbc • 800 ml coconut milk 1 tbsp. oil .

. 2 tbsp. fish sauce 200g greel) beans, sweet potato leaves. �wect leaf, I Cl( Z larg,: sw,t>c: potato diced, . . . bamboo shoots, mushrooms, celery, caulitlQ"-:er whot('ver'" else there i:-:)n the fridge.

-'l' ..

Fry all ingredients fdr five m inutes in oil .. add coconut miJ �"" n(1 .;: : . -ner gently uncil v�( \bles are tender. Serve with rotis, pappadums� ,-ice. desiccated .. , " :ed romato and un ion with a little bowl of v inegar laced with c h i l l i ,

•..

� O M A T O P U R E E 1 ' . "

, . . ,

xx:! way to store tomatoes is.ro make pUT:ee. Jus.r+ w::tsh them �md remove/ the stems and , bit� (or defrost them), Blend i n a bkod.er or;{oo<.l mash er (eliminates the need. to 'e seeds orskin} .. Lct the mix stand in a large conn1iner in the fridge overnight ap.d the

wi 1 I separate from the puree. Collect the,pun�e wh ich has risen to the top by scooping it rh a s;eve. Use the watt!r in soups and stew.s. FreeZe! rhe puree in meal size conrain�rs,

• T o ' A · ) H E R B P U R E E

J large onions, 2 sticks celery, 1 large carrot, 3-4 cloves garlic (or to tasre). Pur 'C saucepan with a bit of oil and Saute till transparent. Add puree from a hucker ')Our 6 basil leaves, a spri nkle ofbregan.o .. 2 teas�)()()ns "ugar and 1/2 glass of white ) margarine containers. It is lovely just I.1n its o\Vn or used in casseroles, r:1sta

l ishu i l )' .

Recipes I S l

S U N - D R I E D T O M A T O E S

Cut the tomatoes through the middle and dry till they're chewy rather than crisp. Pack them in glass preserving jars with things like garlic, basil, three�in-one herb. Pack them down and fill the jars with olive oil . Keep them in the fridge rather than on the shelf- you can't be too careful in this hot climate.

D E L I C I O U S W I N G E D B E A N S A L A D

Take some young tender winged beans when they're about 7cm long, slice them. Pur them in hot water for a mmute till their colour deepens. Whip them out and cool them and ch0' (hem into thin slices and put them in a bowl. Add some sliced garlic chives, a finely chopre chilli, a handful of roasted and crushed peanuts, a dash of coconut cream, a sprinkle of fish sauce, the juice from'* one lime and a little bit of sugar. Mix all ingredients together '!:lnd sprinkle with coconut milk. .... .

S T U F F E D P U M P K I N F L O W E R S

Sounds silly, doesn't it? But every now and then, you get a pumpkin plant which will only produce male flowers. This is a problem with fertiliser - lime will often help. However, to make best use of the flowers, I stuff them. I know it sounds fiddly but really it's easy and scrumptious.

Bauer: Mix Ilz cup plain flour, 2 egg yolks, 4 tablespoons of milk, and 1-2 cloves of garlic. Then beat the eg;.� white� and foid th-em into the mixture to make a batter.

.

SHtffing: Mix C1rtcly chopped mO!Zalc!ia cheese (or whatever cheese you have in th _ ( L1i board if yC' t fus�y)" some s0rt of tinned fish (the original recipe had anchovies. I

• n.e t ma j. ..:h chil)i mixed to taste) and heaps of parsley. Pick the ·.Iowen. just beforeh,Elnd if you can, while they're still open. If you can't, separate

'"le flower petals carefully, put a spoon of stuffing in each. and twist petals together to close _;" flower. Heat oil in a d'�ep pot. The oil should be very hot as for cooking chips or deep

frying. Dip each flower in b;�tter and fry unril crisp and golden. I t takes about one minute. Drain and serve ilT'mediately. They're best eat::n when everyone's in the kitchen gossiping before you go tC' · ' . )..1 -: f.or dinner ... They come straight out of the oil, and are eaten as '-·oon as the/re C' - oHly burned '.:0ngues and fingers can gauge this.

R O S E L L A J A M

Pick your rosellas when tie seed pod i� still green inside. It will \Vo�k later but I don't t 'lir the jam is as t: sty. Check 'them carefully hecause they get <Ill sorts of bugs in them that rui;, your jam. Wash the fruit, pulling t!-le (X�tals apart. Put the whole fruit, seeds, pods ' i�to the saucepan and just cover wit}-.� water - the less water the ben�rr Being it to th and gently simmer. If it boils too fast you'll lose the water, so simmn slowly to get aJ' goocL'1ess, colour and pectin fron.-rhe fruit. Se-me people only use the red flesh and thei LI

is just as nice as any I've ever made, so tak" your pick. You can make a lovely v)sell ,dffi

'thickened with green pawpaw. .

(You can.make a coring tool for rosellas witn a piece ofhalf�inch copper pipE: Sharpen around the edge of one end so it cuts neatly, bend it in the middle to m?

Now the. timing is not spe<J ific - 1 just rook at the mixture and when everyrhing's been extracted fr'Jm the fru it and the mixture's a lovely colour, it strain the Il'lixture nnd add c�p for cup of sugar, put it back on rhe stove and br

•

,

'.

'l "

•

..

R e f e r e n c e s •

•

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Adrian Donati Although Adrian's real passion is for bamboo. in his five�acre garden he grows "many food plants, mostly fruit '-fees. He is a very fit, hard working man and expects his plants to be just as high performing. Water in their area is expensive so his garden does wirhollC, when necessary, and still thrives.

Betty L. Khoo Berry's food puden brings together the principles of Permaculture and Biodynamics to

create a one··acre mixed fruit and vegetable garden. Trees, shrubs, climbers and annLlal vegetables all grow together in a cleverly planned ecosystem. . .

Chri.� Mangion Chris is a local permacui ruraiist who, with great patience and humili ty, spreads the knowledge of susta inable land ITI311<lgemenr and permaculture principles.

Clem and Joyee Gulliek Clem and Joyce are our neighbours. They came to the Territory in the early years as missionaries and have grown food in this cl imate for more than fifty years. They are a great inspinnion and a wealth of information to everyone they meet.

LOOFAH SPONGES •

I\·c h'lllllh1r<.' :-<ucct'ss with this operation in the Dry !'cason·rhan in t� Wet :-t'.I"'ln. Choo�e

!:IrgL' (ruit - [he sl11ol)rh skinned variet), is easier to work "'ith thall t'he 311gh:d. L. :e the fruit {m rhe vine till rhe vint' dies and the skin on the fruit dlles (lnd r�rns brown. Rei. lIve the l HI

,!'L'r sk in. I 'm a(n

�id I�llthing. w�rks. a� well as j list ric.k inf4:.sllld �Cr<lring i ( .ll�j: Rl"m\lvt! rhe

dneJ pulp 1 ... y sl)aknlg t( and rmslng It 1Il \\"<Her. Tt1en Just wash J[ all .. d dye 11 11 "UlI want lO.

Thr.:y make kwcly h�lLk scrubhers. ... •

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NUMAS

Cur ra\\' fish fillers like :;kinny inru thin !'liccs across the grain. Put thcm in a buwl. .Add finely chuPl'cd on inn, chilli and lime juice (n cover rhc fish. Let it sit for half an hOllr and it is SCfumpt iOlls.

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156 References

Judy Hagamen .

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Judy. my good friend, is Cl gardener with endless enthusiasm and erear;';� idea:), �hc owns the tidiest and most productive food garden I helve 'ever" seen. I hare ro say [his, but rhe

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,;eefer is hard work. *

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Diane Lucas . ' � '\. Di is anorh<:-'f good friend who grows bush foods ;,nd cxytics in h(;( jung!e garden.1-ler rer '" Traditional Resources of the SOHfh Alligatur FloodJ.llain: Utilisation and Maf)agem�.nPts a. wealth ofinfonnation about traditional food plants us�d in Kabdu. ,

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Sandra Hosie "

Sandra has a five-<lCre tropical fruit jungle where all sons of rare tropical fruits thrive and chooks and ducks rO(l1ll free keeping bugs under control.

Coral Harris My best mate Coral's ability co create a beautiful garden no matter whcre she goes has alwayS"l:iecn <In inspiration to me. She collects stones, shells and pieces of wood and make� them inro·paths and retainer walls; she gets junk at the dump and turns it into exquisite planr stands and hanging pots. In her hands a rusty piece of iron bec@ffies a garden sculpture. Her planrs grow because they want to be full and beautiful to match their surroundings.

Pam Wickham

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My friend Pam's bush garden is alive with native creatures: wallabies, possums, quo llsmany were hand mised, all are welcome. (She has the friendliest bantam chooks you'll ever

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meet - you have ro fight them for the almond bikkies on the verandah some day;,.) Her fruit trees thrive among the Ilatur<ll bush in a garden which looks aftcr ilself and its inhabitants throughout the year.

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.- .' t J? i b l i o g r a p h y

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It is totally impossible for me co remember all the books I have read and cherished in the last rwency years. Especially as I have an expensive 'buy, read and give away as Christmas presem' pQlicy. easically though, I think I've devoured every book in every library in the Top End on rood plants or growing food. Even books on growing plams in southern climates have som� useful information which you can adapt. However, this is a list of the most useful - the ones I have hoarded and continually pore over for enthusiasm and ideas. Tropical Tree FruiLS fOT Australia, Queensland Departmem of Primary Industries, 1984 Grcenants and Gravei, a local building and gardening magazine which was published

between 1992 and June 2000 Darwin Gardeners ' Goumlet Guide, published by the Darwin Garden Club Tro/Jical Herbs and Spices of Malaysia and Singapore , Peripllls Editions (HK) Ltd, 19CJ7 Tropical l{egetables of Malaysia and Singapore. Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. 1997 . '

Pennaculrure: A Designers' Manual, Bill Mollison, Tagari Publications Australia, 1988 Liklik Book - Rural Development Handbook for Papua and New Guinea, Uklik Buk

Information Centre, Wirlli Press, 1977 OrienUlI Vegetables - The Complete Guide for ,he Gardening Cook. Joy Larkcom. John

Murray L,d London. 1991 'J'Tthem Territory of Australia Deparcmem of Primary Industry and Fisheries Agnotes .

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. (Although they arc produced (or people growing commercially the information is local and very useful.)

;ece Pests in che Home Garden and Recommendations for [heir Control, L.A. Radunz and A.J. Allwoocl. NTPP Division of Agriculture and Stock Technical Bullerin No. 34. 1981

I End Native Plants. Jobn Brock. Publ ished by John Brock . ' oWSl�[ters frolll any of your local herb, gardening and native plane groups are always full of tI hincs and information.

160 Index .

Sun-dried Tomatoes Sweet Porato Curry Tomato Herb Puree Tomato Puree Tunn"eric Powder

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Vegetables . • arro"'ht"ll.d . Sagirtaria sagirtifolia; S. sinensis asparagus · Asparagus officina1is

�,.., - Bambusa spp., DendrodlllllUS spp. , . ums· Capsicum an'luum . "

't . Daucus (GTOta var. Sa/il1/S .' -(ass.. ,, - ManihOl esculema

cherry tomato") l.,pimpinelli[ohum eggplants - Solanum fIIi'�J gel\ll . Jerusalem artichoke · HeL'amhus nWerosus maize/sweet corn - Zta 1I11l)'S spp. mushrooms · Agqricus spp . ' okra · Hibiscus'esiulemus.

� peanuts · Arachis h)'� .. , potatoes · Solanum rube1'osum •

radish · Raphanus sarivus � rice · Ory:ta saom ,

shallot · Allium asca10nicum snake beans · Vigna unguiculalll snake gourd · Tricltosamhes anguina snow pea -Pisum sarit'Um vaT. macrocarpon spring onion· Allium flSlUlosum •

sweet potato - /pomaea batalaS •

taro ; Colocasia esoolema tomatoes - LycoperSicon t5cultlllum

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'. water chestnuts· Eloocharis du/cis, E. ruberosa •

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1 5 1 ISO ISO ISO 152 ,

23 24 25 26 17 27 38 29 3D 28 31 32 33 21 1 7 2 1 1 7 35 46 16 1 7 36 37 38 40

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waterlilies )

I 40 41 red lilr' Nelumbo nucifera

purple and white lilies· j\' �;kzea �ea & Nymplwa macrosperma , �1

2 1 42 43 42

wild ric'e ';Orrza rufipogon . O. meridionafu winged bean . Psophocarpus rerragonolobus yam be� . Pachyrrhi'lUS erosus yams · Dioscorea spp.

,I Cucurbits choko - Scchium edrlie

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cucumber . CUCllmis satitlWi gourd · L.agenaria siceraria (L�leucanrha)

, 1000ah • Luffa acuwngula or Luffa C'l!indrica pumpkins · CtlCurbita maximh rockmclons· CIICumis melq' ..i'3rermelons • Cirrulltt laJtalUS

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zuc.-:hini and 5C!uash • CUJ:t1rbita pepo

Greens ,

amaranth · Amaranthus spp. broccoli· Br£l$Sica oleracea vaT. iudica cabbage · Brassica oleracea vaT. capirara cassava· ManihOl escu/enla Ceylon spinach · Base/la alba or Bast'l!a rubra Chinese cabbage · Brassica spp. kangkong - Ipomoea aqua/ica lettuce · Lacruca sa/it'a rocket · Eruca wsicaria cultivars · Eruca s�ui\1(I silver beet · Beta vtllgaris spp. sweet leaf· Sauropus androgynus

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SO 1 7 16 27 SI SI 52 16 52 17 53

tropical food gardens: a guide to growing fruit, herbs and vegetables in tropical and sub-tropical

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