Nashi pears come from eastern Asia, China, Japan and Korea. They are very juicy and resemble apples in shape. Don looked at the best varieties for the home garden, while Geoff Jansz used Nashis to prepare an appetiser and a dessert. Varieties ‘Nijisseiki’ An upright,...
Chillies are the number one drug and herb in the world today. Millions of tonnes of chillies are consumed in the USA alone each year. It is estimated that 75% of the world’s population use chillies as a regular part of their diet. In Australia, where we are...
Late spring is the time to be planting tomatoes and chillies so why not try some of Burke’s Backyard’s tomatoes or Thai chillies. Burke’s Backyard Tomato The Burke’s Backyard Italian Tomato is a large fruited, ribbed tomato which is used for...
Everyone knows that vegetables are good for you. To gain full nutritional benefits from vegetables it is important that they are eaten when they are as fresh as possible. Vitamin content is highest in raw vegetables or those that are cooked so as to preserve their...
According to legend, a gallant Spanish knight returning from the Crusades in the 11th Century, brought a gift of great value for his beloved. But to her dismay, instead of receiving a costly treasure, she was given an orange. After overcoming her shock, the lady ate...
Why not try growing some tomatoes and chillies over summer? The Burke’s Backyard Italian Tomato was voted the best tasting tomato in Australia, and under independent testing has proved to be one of the strongest growers of all the tomato varieties. The...
Cumquats make very good container plants for small gardens or courtyards, with their handsome, compact foliage and lovely fragrant flowers. They belong to the genus Fortunella, although they were once classified with their close relatives, the Citrus. There are two...
The most fashionable citrus at the moment is the lime. Demand for varieties like Tahitian and Kaffir has built up tremendously over the last few years, probably because they are so popular in Asian cooking. Limes are an excellent source of Vitamin C and they are a...
Persimmons are outstanding fruit trees for the backyard. They don’t grow too big, they produce abundant, sweet, juicy fruit, and in autumn their leaves turn a magnificent deep orange, through to burgundy or purple. In Australia they are not as popular as they...
Red Eggplants Most people would be familiar with the large, purple-black eggplant or aubergine (Solanum melongena) which is used to make delicious recipes like ratatouille and baba ganoush. If you shop around you’ll also be able to find white skinned or striped...