As the heat of the Tasmanian sun reduces a little this time
of year we have been enjoying day after day of perfect weather for gardening. I
have been gathering some more edible, Tasmanian plants for my garden including
a prostrate form of Podocarpus lawrencei, the mountain plum pine, which has the
lovely red berries I saw when walking in the Hartz mountains recently. I have
also planted a few unusual herbs, including vanilla grass (Hierochloe odorata),
which tastes and smells remarkably like vanilla.
The arc of the sun is distinctly lower and the days shorter
so, although it is warm, plants will be increasingly slower to grow…. except
the weeds! Many people in Europe still forage, not just for mushrooms, but for
winter herbs and greens and roots which are native to their lands. Many of them
grow wild in our gardens but we silly Australians pull them out, calling them
weeds and give them to the chooks, who happily devour them because they are not
so prejudiced! There is an excellent Australian book called The Weed Foragers’
Handbook, which I highly recommend. Soon, you will be eating from the garden
without planting anything at all!
Autumn is a wonderful time for harvesting mushrooms, kale,
French sorrel, salad leaves, early broccoli, rainbow chard, the last of our
summer vegetables, the first of the winter weeds and a myriad of fabulous
apples, pears and quinces. Many kitchens are bulging at the seams with
preserves. Bring on winter and cosy nights by the fire with some home-made
cassis and quince paste served with a delicious, local cheese
Garlic
Plant
out hard neck varieties in May and even June. In spring they will produce tall,
curly, green stems called scapes, which are fabulously delicious. I leave some
to grow scapes but most I cut off so more energy goes into growing the bulbs.
These will be ready to harvest in January or even February and have a hard
stem, right down into the garlic head. In a wet summer, these survive better than
the softnecks as they are less prone to rot because of the way they grow tight
around the hard neck.
Check
out Tasmanian Gourmet Garlic website and Facebook page for excellent, local
information about growing garlic.
Energy
Energy is everywhere and now is the time to think about how
to make your life attuned to capturing and storing it. In a handful of seeds is
the energy to start a whole season’s food. In a bale of hay is the energy from
a year’s pasture growth, ready to decompose and feed the microbes in your soil,
which in turn feed your food garden. In a jar of fermented pickles are the
fruits of a plant’s labour and millions of bacteria all working to provide your
gut with life and energy. In a brick fireplace is stored the energy from the
heat of firewood; trees that have grown for many years, capturing energy enough
to warm us all winter. In water is the energy of life, without which nothing on
earth can live.
Which is the opposite of wasting energy - by driving cars out
of your zone to get food, by draining your land instead of harnessing the
water, by burning piles of prunings instead of making hugels or mulch, by
throwing away your food scraps instead of making compost or worm farms, by
buying food brought in from other lands, by using up oil reserves (eg in cling
film, disposable bags, foam trays) we should be saving for important uses like
saving lives.
Shop locally, really locally, starting in your backyard and
those of your neighbours and friends. Participate in local Crop Swaps. Go to
your most local market and small, ethical shops. Eat what is there! Read books
like The Food Clock by Fast Ed Halmagyi to help bring the joy of the seasons
into your kitchen, your life and the future of humanity!
Cuttings and division
Now is the perfect time for softwood cuttings of deciduous
plants like grape vines, glory vines and black currants as well as for
rosemary, Chilean guavas and other evergreen edibles. Cut lengths of new grape
vine growth to include 4 buds. Put into a damp, light, potting mix deep enough
for 2 buds to go below the soil and two above. A cheap potting mix with no
added nutrients is best. With rosemary and other evergreens, strip the leaves
off the bottom 2/3 of a cutting and place into potting mix. You can put several
in a pot. Cover with a plastic bag secure with a rubber band. Leave in a
sheltered place and keep just damp, not wet, until spring. Check for root
growth and pot up to grow on further or leave longer. Don’t let them get too
hot or dry out.
I have been dividing clumps of French sorrel, which is a
beautiful, lemony leaf that grows all year and is delicious in salads and
commonly in soup, in France. Here’s a recipe search tip…. Translate an
ingredient (eg sorrel) into the language of the cuisine where it is commonly
used (ie French, in this case, oseille). Then type oseille recette into the
search bar and voila! You have dozens of genuine French recipes for using
sorrel, which can then easily be translated into English!
|
Sow in the garden now |
Plant in the garden now |
|
Broad
beans Bok
Choy Mustard
greens esp. frilly Miners’
lettuce Corn
salad (mache) Shungiku
(edible, Japanese Chrysanthemum) Radishes Salad
and spring onions Coriander Chervil |
Leek
bulbils Garlic
cloves Seedlings
of Asian veg. Flower
bulbs Sow in the
hothouse to plant out: Lettuces Kales Broccoli
raab Red
onions Sow to stay in
the hothouse or outside in frost-free areas: Sugar
snap peas |