I have recently started reflecting on where plants in our garden are originally from, because people often ask me the same question about myself. Most of our flowers, fruits, veggies and herbs in the garden are from other countries. I have started writing a series of blog posts to explore some of our favourite flowers and edibles we have grown over the years which are from overseas. In my previous blog post, I covered our favourite edibles in the garden which come from Mexico. In this post, I will focus on our favourite edibles which come from Europe. I have already covered our favourite flowers in the garden which originate from Europe in my first blog post in this series. Musquee de Provence pumpkin While pumpkins are not native to France, the variety Musquee de Provence comes from Southern France. Now that I am a gardener, when I think of France, an image of the Musquee de Provence pumpkin comes to mind. After that, there are a lot of things I fondly associate with France and way too many to name here, including the beautiful language, rich history and culture, the metro, RER and TGV which enable you to travel everywhere quickly, easily and affordably, rugby, football, the Tour de France, the fabulous cuisine (including gastronomie) bread, cheese, wine and champagne, Monet’s gardens at Giverny, Versailles with its palace and fabulous grounds, Paris (especially the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and le Musée d’Orsay), province (especially the interesting WWII museum in Caen, the Loire and its famous castles, the Alps, the French Riviera and Biarritz), fashion, L’Occitane and Carré Blanc. Unfortunately, because I knew absolutely nothing about gardening when I lived in France many years ago, I didn’t look out for Musquee de Provence at farmers markets in the South of France, where it is sometimes found and sold in wedges, so I read somewhere. This variety is great for making pumpkin soup, which is a favourite of ours in winter. Strawberries According to my research, the first garden strawberry was bred in Brittany, in France. Homegrown strawberries are so much sweeter and juicier than store bought ones, which can be quite tasteless so they are well worth growing in my opinion, even if you only have room for a few plants. Last summer wasn’t a good season for strawberries as we had too much rain in Auckland, but we had an excellent crop the year before that, as you can see in the picture below. Towards the end of the season when they stop producing fruit, the plants produce runners, which are baby strawberry plants. They usually put down roots on their own, but you can peg down any you see that haven’t done so with an n-shaped staple so they form roots. Because the plants have grown much larger and there are so many runners, your patch can end up looking quite messy by the end of the season, like this. Towards the end of autumn I carefully tidied it up, removing any runners that had planted themselves in the pathways and transplanted them into extra rows I created. This made the patch easier to navigate which is essential when harvesting fruit in summer as you need to walk between rows. By transplanting runners and dividing very large plants, you can significantly increase the number of strawberry plants you have and the size of your patch for the following year. This can be time consuming depending on how many plants you have, but in my opinion it is well worth the effort. The green tunnel hoops are for draping bird netting over when fruit starts ripening (usually in mid-spring), to avoid the netting from coming into contact with the plants and fruit. Parsnips Parsnips are native to Europe. I love growing them. They do well sown in spring and autumn and I recently discovered that they can be grown in 35 litre containers, which is really handy if you don’t have much ground space. For the best germination results, I recommend purchasing fresh seeds and storing them in the fridge until you are ready to sow them. This is known as stratification and some seeds benefit from this prior to germination, in order to improve the strike rate which can be hit or miss otherwise. Swiss chard Swiss chard is commonly referred to as silverbeet in New Zealand. It is very easy to grow and is incredibly nutritious. We grow it year round so we can harvest the leaves as we need them. Lately it has become challenging to grow well and succumbs to rust due to the high rainfall we have had in Auckland in the past year. Asparagus
Something that differentiates asparagus from most other veggies is that it is a perennial, rather than an annual plant. In saying that though, in countries with a very hot climate all year round, there may well be lots of plants (both flowers and edibles) that behave as perennials which don’t in more temperate climates and come to an end as it starts getting cooler. Asparagus can be grown from seed or you can purchase one year old crowns from garden centres or mail order suppliers who stock bulbs and other edibles such as garlic and potatoes. The advantage of growing asparagus from seed is that it is much more economical, as one year old crowns can be quite expensive for what they are, which brings me to my next point. I have planted both in our asparagus patch, and I noticed that asparagus grown from seed is always much healthier and produces better, stronger spears than purchased crowns. When purchasing crowns, make sure they haven’t dried out (usually they are sold in bags covered with some dirt or sawdust like lily bulbs, which are in the same plant family) otherwise they won’t be viable. In France, you might come across white asparagus sold fresh in bunches and preserved in bottles. Even though I was not a gardener when I lived there a long time ago, I did notice that because I love asparagus and have never seen white asparagus in New Zealand. However, the heirloom white French variety Argenteuil is available in New Zealand through Italian Seeds Pronto, the NZ importer and distributor of Franchi heirloom seeds from Italy. It is currently out of stock, so keep an eye out for when it becomes available again.
0 Comments
I have been very busy in the garden this month. The shortest day is actually my favourite time of the year, as it marks when I plant strawberries, onions and garlic, which I really enjoy growing in our garden. Did you know that once the shortest day (21st June) has passed, every day is lighter by one minute more? I think this is what seems to trigger growth for some veggies, including alliums. Onions do really well if planted as seedlings around this time of the year. Here is a round up of what I have been doing so far this month. Spring bulbs A week ago, I planted out the last of my spring bulbs. I was a bit late in receiving my tulips and hyacinths from Bulbs Direct this year because the owner had Covid and had to self-isolate. I somehow managed to plant everything out in two days. I also sent my cousin Shireen who lives in Whangarei a package which included some tulips and daffodils (from another bulb order which arrived in mid-May). Bulbs Direct usually upload their spring bulb catalogue on the website in mid-January and it does pay to get in quick with your order as popular varieties sell out fast. In addition to offering a fantastic range of spring bulbs at very reasonable prices and great customer service, Bulbs Direct is also happy to pre-chill your tulip and hyacinth bulbs if you live in a climate with mild winters, like Auckland. This ensures that your flowers have long stems and are suitable for picking. I have grown tulips and hyacinths which were not pre-chilled in the past and I noticed that the plants were considerably stunted by comparison. Lifting dahlias Towards the end of May I started the process of lifting our dahlia tubers and carried on with this task into June. We have had quite a bit of rain recently and I was concerned that I might lose the tubers to rot if I left them in the ground over winter. I have stored all our dahlia tubers in plastic Sistema crates filled with some potting mix and saw dust. Mum sprays them with water every day to keep the tubers alive. Here is a picture of how I have stored them in our greenhouse, as there is no available space in our garage. Strawberries I didn’t need to order any new strawberry plants as my plants from last year went absolutely wild and produced so many runners! Most of my plants were given to me by Awapuni last year and are the variety Camarosa. It took me awhile to tidy up our patch. It looked like a complete jungle to begin with. I wasn’t sure where to start so I enlisted the advice of a fellow gardener called Candy, who goes by the Insta handle @nzgardener. Candy is an expert on growing strawberries and grew over 26kg of fruit last summer. Candy advised me not to dig up and replant all my plants, which is what she is doing in her own garden. She said that I just needed to remove the runners that had appeared in the pathways between rows and replant them elsewhere, so we would have little pathways to walk between rows to pick the berries as they ripen. I created three new rows of strawberries with the additional runners, so we now have a total of seven rows of strawberries. I did not count how many plants we have in total but a rough guesstimate is 300 plants. Here are some photos of what our strawberry patch looks like now. Onions Over the past fortnight, I planted eight punnets of Pukekohe Longkeeper brown onions and five punnets of Californian red onions. I found four punnets of brown onions and the five punnets of red onions on clearance at the Warehouse and it made sense to purchase them at $1 and $1.50 per punnet. I got the remaining four punnets of brown onions for free by redeeming a $10 voucher at Kings Plant Barn. They have a loyalty card and I had accrued enough points over time to redeem a reward. I received a very pleasant surprise when I went to pay at the checkout! What is a shame is that this year I had every intention of ordering onion seedlings from Awapuni, who stock both brown and red onions but I have more than enough and don’t need to do this. Nor do I need to bother raising any onions from seed in spring, as I did last year. I find onions incredibly easy to grow. Other than keeping the weeds down, they need little care until they are harvested in mid-summer. Garlic I wasn’t intending to grow garlic this year after struggling with rust for the past few seasons. Like a lot of gardeners, I lost all of my good seed stock and had to keep purchasing new seed garlic. It is becoming very difficult to source and is very expensive. The quality of what you get these days isn’t that great, either. A picture of an amazing garlic harvest popped up on my Facebook feed and belonged to a gardener in one of the many gardening Facebook groups I belong to. I happened to comment on what an incredible crop it was and mentioned that I had given up because of my on-going battle with rust. The author of the post responded with some advice – to spray the foliage with apple cider vinegar. She was kind enough to let me in on her secret and that is to mix 1 cup of apple cider vinegar (she uses the Countdown Homebrand one which is around $4 for a bottle) with 5 litres of water. I have planted four varieties: Printanor, Red Russian, Ajo Rojo and Elephant. I was very fortunate that a fellow Auckland gardener gave me some spare elephant garlic cloves as I had been having problems sourcing them this year. I gave some of each garlic variety to my cousin in Whangarei, along with some strawberry runners and dianthus Diana Blueberry plants that I raised from seed in autumn. Ornamental kale
The two garden beds that I planted with ornamental kale seedlings when I returned home from our bach in mid-May are shaping up nicely. I grew three varieties from seed, Crane Pink, Crane White and Crane Bicolour. Last winter, Awapuni Nurseries kindly sent me a bundle of plants, including 50 Camarosa and 50 Ventana strawberry plants. We had our best strawberry season ever. I don’t think we have ever harvested as many strawberries in a season. They cropped from October until the end of January. I want to share my top tips for growing strawberries successfully. Plants It pays to source high quality plants if you want a good crop of strawberries. Around May/June, Awapuni stock bare-rooted strawberry plants on their website. The advantage to buying strawberry plants bare-rooted is that they are more economical than purchasing individual potted plants found at garden centres. If you have a large garden and are wanting to grow a lot of strawberries like we did, then Awapuni’s Mega Bundles of strawberries are perfect for you. Last year, Camarosa and Ventana came in Mega Bundles of 50 and 100 plants, which is more economical than buying standard bundles and definitely cheaper than purchasing lots of potted plants from the garden centre. Strawberries tend to crop well for three years. After that, they lose their vigour, so it’s best to replace them with fresh plants. A commercial grower told me that strawberry plants tend to be the most productive in their second year. Preparing the area Strawberries do best in full sun, as all berries need quite a bit of sun in order to ripen. I mixed compost and sheep pellets into the area beforehand and dug the bed over. I always plant my strawberries in double rows of 25 plants within a tunnel hoop frame which I set up at the time of planting so I ensure I don’t exceed the parameters. This is later used to drape bird netting over the plants once the berries start to ripen. So each row contains 50 strawberry plants. Prior to planting, I like to mix a little strawberry fertiliser into each hole. Last year, I happened to have a Dalton’s slow release fertiliser for strawberries on hand which I picked up on clearance at the Warehouse. This year, I don’t have that product, but I do have quite a bit of tomato fertiliser which is suitable for fruiting plants, so I will use that instead. Planting strawberries When planting your strawberries, ensure that the crown isn’t covered otherwise it will rot. I like to snip off any dead leaves while I put in each plant. Once you have finished planting, water the plants well. I like to mulch our strawberry plants with pea straw to help keep the weeds down and add nitrogen to the soil. I have been doing this for many years with great success. Some strawberry growers swear by using black polythene. I tried this once but reverted back to pea straw as a mulch as I preferred it more. Maintaining the strawberry bed
As the weather warms up in spring, the key thing is to keep weeds down as they compete with the plants for nutrients. Once the plants start to flower, I like to liquid feed the area weekly with a water soluble plant food specialized for growing berries. This will encourage further flowers and fruiting. Once berries start to ripen, cover them with netting to protect them from birds. Harvest berries daily as they ripen to ensure that birds don’t get them and they don’t rot. Regular picking will also encourage further fruiting. Towards the end of the season, your plants will start to produce runners, or baby plants which are attached to the parent plant. Peg the end down in the soil so that it develops roots and forms a new plant which can later be separated from the parent plant and planted elsewhere. Ideas for using strawberries There are so many different ways strawberries can be used. They are delicious eaten fresh and added to smoothies. We had so many last year that for the first time we actually froze some free flow, for using in smoothies later on. There is nothing like a Christmas pavlova decorated with strawberries fresh from the garden. They are also delicious dipped in chocolate. A couple of days before we went into lockdown in August last year, I had my laptop sent away for repairs. I only got it back three months later, which meant that I could not write any blog posts. While it is a long time ago now, I would really like to share a report on our spring and early summer garden. Everything went really well. It only went downhill in summer, but that is the subject of another post! Miner's lettuce A firm favourite in our spring garden is miner’s lettuce. In September, I prepare a small area by mixing in a bit of compost and garden fertiliser. I then sprinkle a 10g packet of seeds and cover lightly with soil. At this time of the year, it is not usually necessary for me to keep the area moist as it rains a lot. The leaves are tender and delicious. We harvest them as we need them. At the end of spring, it runs to seed and if left there, the plants will happily self-seed the following season. NZ Spinach Another favourite in our garden is NZ Spinach. I sowed our plants from seed over the summer and planted them out in autumn. NZ Spinach is difficult to get established but once it takes off it spreads and ends up growing in a bit of a bush. We pick the leaves for our daily green smoothies. The leaves can also be steamed as with any other spinach Sprouting broccoli In July, I planted quite a few punnets of mini brassicas that I purchased from Roger’s, including broccoli. After we harvested the main head, I left the plant in the ground and side-shoots began to form. This kept us with a constant supply of broccoli all spring, right up until mid-December when the plants started going to seed and I needed the space for the dahlias. Potatoes Last spring, I grew two varieties. I always grow Liseta, an early variety which matures in 70-80 days. I also grow Summer Delight, a main crop potato which matures in around 120 days and stores very well. We had a really good crop and have been enjoying eating potatoes from our garden right up until February. Broad beans We had an incredibly good crop last year. We ended up freezing lots. To freeze broad beans, shell and blanch them first. Strawberries Awapuni very kindly gave me two mega bundles of strawberries to grow in our garden. There were two varieties, Camarosa and Ventana. Each bundle contained 50 plants. They were honestly the best strawberries that we have ever eaten and I have been growing strawberries for many years now. I highly recommend Awapuni’s plants! Avocados We planted a Cleopatra dwarf avocado tree in 2017 and it cropped for the first time last spring. We harvested about 60 avocados which was a great result. Iceland poppies I grew Iceland poppies for the first time last year in a garden bed alongside our driveway. I was very inspired by the displays that I have seen in council gardens. Ours did not disappoint and we had a beautiful display in spring. Early summer poppies Every year, a number of different kinds of single and peony poppies self-seed merrily in the garden. Last year, we had a spectacular display. Tulips Last year, Bulbs Direct kindly gave me a number of different tulips to grow in our garden. We had the most magnificent display in late winter and early spring. Here are some of my favourites. Roses Our roses always look their best in spring and last year they put on a spectacular display. Here are some of our favourites. Bedding plants
Here are some photos of our bedding plants in early spring It has been a shamelessly long time since I have written a blog post and I thought it was about time I resurrected the blog section of my website. Apart from the three month hiatus when my laptop was being repaired during the last lockdown, I have been very diligent at writing my weekly gardening newsletter. I really think that this would benefit from being supplemented by extra gardening tips and news about what is happening at Anita’s Garden. I will try to include the link to my recent blog posts in my newsletter, so readers can stay up to date. It feels like summer is over. Our Naked Ladies have started flowering, which for me is a sign that we have moved into autumn. It has been an interesting season with a mix of successes and failures. I would like to share them with you. Successes
Failures
Over the past week, I’ve been busy planting berries in the garden, in anticipation of summer when I hope we’ll be picking bright, juicy berries loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants. With a bit of planning, it is possible to harvest berries from November right through until April in Auckland. Considering the amount of room they require to grow and their potential yield, berries are a good fruit to grow in the garden and children just love them!
For the sake of completeness, I should begin by mentioning the blueberry plants that I planted in large containers in May. I planted the following varieties: Blue Magic, Blue Dawn, Sapphire Blue, Blast, Burst, Tasty Blue, Powder Blue and Climax. Blueberries grow perfectly happily in the ground but thrive in acidic soil. Unfortunately our soil tends to be on the alkaline side and I’ve never had any luck in growing them successfully in the ground, hence trying to grow them in containers this time around. I have been advised that the key to success is to use a good quality potting mix that contains peat. I used Tui Pot Power which is sold in 40L bags in garden centres and hardware stores in New Zealand. I used a range of spare containers I had, ranging from plastic pots to half wine barrels, approximately 30-40L in size. Since Pot Power contains long-lasting nutrients, it was not necessary for me to add an additional fertiliser to the berries. Just ensure that the containers you use have drainage holes at the bottom, to prevent them from becoming waterlogged over the winter months when it can rain constantly. I planted about 40 strawberry plants over the past week. The varieties were Camerosa and Pajero. The amazing thing is that I didn’t have to purchase a single one. Last spring, I bought 18 healthy runners from a top quality local garden centre and over the course of the summer, they multiplied prolifically. Each plant sent out what is known as ‘runners’, which stem from the parent plant and put down roots, becoming a plant in their own right. Once they are anchored down sufficiently into soil then you can snip and separate them from the parent plant. I happened to pot mine up so that I had room to plant other things in the garden over winter, with the intention of planting out the new runners in May. Unfortunately I fell behind schedule, as you can see from the fact that I only got around to doing this task in August. However it’s not too late – but get them in quickly though. Last year I only planted the store bought runners in August, yet we had a prolific supply for Christmas, which is when they are typically enjoyed in summer desserts such as the pavlova. At the time of planting strawberries, be sure to mix in plenty of compost and sheep pellets, as well as a little slow release fertiliser to aid their growth (I used tomato fertiliser which is fine to use with strawberries as both contain potassium which is essential to their flowering and eventual fruiting). I also planted a variety of brambles to extend our berry season, which typically starts with strawberries at the beginning of November and is followed by blueberries in the new year. Brambles include raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries and hybridberries. I decided to plant one of each in the garden. I planted a Raspberry called ‘Aspiring’, a Blackberry called ‘Black Satin’, a Boysenberry called ‘Starlight’ and a Hybridberry called ‘Thornless Jewel’. At the time of planting, be sure to add compost, sheep pellets and a fertiliser to kick-start their growth. I used a 2-year slow release fertiliser called Kings 24 Plus which comes from my local garden centre. Don't forget to cover your delicious berries with netting to protect them from birds who can't resist the sight of juicy, bright berries. Beware blackbirds in particular, who are always drawn to my strawberry patch! While some gardeners who plant berries are keen jam makers or rely on berries heavily in baking items such as muffins, we prefer to enjoy our berries fresh with a little ice-cream or yoghurt; either ordinary yoghurt or for a delectable treat, a dollop of coconut yoghurt. |
Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|