Rungia Klossii - mushroom plant (herb)

This is a perennial, useful to have in the garden. It can grow to 60cm, but will be straggly if left to grow without pruning (or regular use). It has dark green, glossy succulent leaves. It may flower in spring.
I'm moving mine today from where it has been under a fruit salad tree into another garden plot where it might not have so much competition for moisture. Plenty of horse manure (thanks to local racecourse) as it likes compost and rich soil. It will still have quite a bit of shade as it doesn't like to take too much direct sun and heat in summer. I'm cutting it back and will propagate the cuttings. It can also be propogated by root division. I'm told it can be slow to strike but that once its established it can grow quite quickly. Just requires moisture and regular harvesting, which encourages leaf growth. Over winter, the plant may become dormant and straggly, so just needs a good tidy up in spring.
The leaves can be added to soups, stews, stirfries, pasta sauces and salads for a mushroom flavour. It also goes well in sandwiches. It is high in chlorophyll, a good source of protein, calcium, iron, beta-carotene, Vitamins A and C and other nutrients. The mushroom flavour increases with cooking, but leaves will lose their bright colour.

back into gardening mode

We've been away for a month and now back into gardening mode. Picked up horse poo from the streets around Morphettvilel Racecourse. Planted kale, beetroot, mizuna, mustard greens, cos lettuce, red cabbage and marigolds to keep some bugs at bay and Geoff planted flowers. I also potted lots of the berries from the curry leaf tree, hoping some of them 'take' so I can give them away.
Went to Bunnings to top up some plants. Have to laugh at the mint and rosemary plants etc sold at exorbitant prices that only takes a cutting and patience and time to strike your own plants.
Out the front in the late afternoon planting kale and a lady (Kirsty) stopped and introduced herself. She asked, when are you putting out seeds/seedlings again? I was so chuffed to talk to someone who has used my seeds and seedlings I put out regularly. She spoke enthusiastically about lots of things she had planted from offerings I'd left out the front. Turns out she comes from a farming background and used to be a florist, so glad to do some gardening in the city. 
Certainly got me motivated to get organized to leave some seeds and seedlings out the front. I figure it's easy for everyone to get the growing bug and grow a few plants of their own.

Storing basil for winter - method 1

chopped basil

adding water

I have heaps of basil of various kinds and with the weather turning cooler figured I needed to save some for winter. The first method I'm using is pretty simple - simply chop and place about 1 tsp basil in an ice cube and then top with water. When frozen you can transfer to plastic bag to free up the ice cubes for regular use or more basil.  Come winter, just take out an ice cube and add it to whatever dish you are making. The water will evaporate, leaving just the fresh taste of basil to spice up your recipe. This works really well in spaghetti sauce and vegetarian stews in winter.

November in the garden - watching and waiting

Passionfruit flower - a work of art

While cutting 'dead heads' off the Flanders poppies out the front I noticed the mass of passionfruit flowers on the trellis. Gardening really is a 'wait and see' activity - in their own good time things will do what they need to do. A couple of years waiting and now there's the promise of passionfruit on their way. And the 'fruit salad' tree is laden with fruit - after only a couple of fruit for the last couple of years, it seems to have settled into its routine and now there are peaches, apricots, plums and nectarines all developing for summer picking. Oh, and the wait for the mandarin, lime and orange may also be realised this summer. We've had flowering before but now there are lots of fruit on the trees. Whoo hoo!

Celtuce

I did some planting on the weekend - pulled out the snow peas and planted lebanese cucumbers. Also planted some celtuce, an asian vegetable that has 'lettuce leaves' on top of a thick stem (which can be eaten a bit like asparagus). Looking forward to seeing how it goes. This is how it should look......
The broad beans are cropping really well - time to collect all those broad bean recipes now....! 

Perpetual basil - ocimum basilicum

I had to laugh with the 'scientific name' of the perpetual basis - reminds me of octomum in America. My perpetual basil plant has been quite prolific so that seems appropriate! The perpetual basil is sprouting again now it's spring and I've done some reading about possibly striking it from a cutting. Of course, I have no need other than curiousity, given the way my seasonal basil self-seeds in the garden. Apparently all basil plants are classified botanically as annuals, though my perpetual basil seems to be living up to its name so far. The best advice to strike a cutting from my perpetual basil plant is to take some tip cuttings with some hardwood attached, dip the end in honey (in lieu of hormone rooting powder or gel - has the same antifungal and antibacterial function to clean up the cut end). Nip out some of the budding leaf growth so the cutting can concentrate on establishing a root system and plant either direct into the ground or in a pot to get it started (use good potting soil). I'm also going to stick one cutting in a glass of water and see if it takes root that way. Although 'annual' basil varieties are very easy to grow from seed, the process of striking a cutting means you get a plant just like the original. I think one of the things I really love about gardening is the 'trial and error' and experimenting and learning the science of it all - in a very amateur way, of course. I wish science had been taught in school using gardening, as there's just so much to be learned in practical application.
Perpetual basil is not like 'sweet' basil (genovese) - much more pungent and aromatic and can be used in the usual array of food preparation but also for curries etc. I like it a lot.

September planting

What a great day for some gardening - lots of rain during the week, and clouds with patches of sunshine. Planted the last of the potato tubers, and did a whole lot of potting up in the newspaper pots of self-sown parsley in one of the beds. Put the little newspaper pots out by the driveway - the all went very quickly. Hope they have some good homes to go to and will inspire people to plant and give away their excess. I'm checking out gardenate for the things I can plant this month in my area. Keen to get going with spring and summer crops but in that 'in between' time with winter crops still going. So I'll begin the seed germination business with spring and summer crops in anticipation of getting the beds ready for planting. I ordered some dwarf fruit trees yesterday - hoping there's more space to plant them. I'll plant the dwarf cherry in a pot so I can move it easily in the garden when it's too hot. Bees are busy checking out the broad bean flowers. What a lovely time of the year!