Water Chestnuts – The French Alternative Jackie French loves the crunchy texture and flavour of water chestnuts. However, they are high maintenance plants, which need at least eight months of frost-free growing. Duck potatoes are a great alternative for...
The October edition of the Burke’s Backyard magazine includes a free packet of Asian green seeds. The packet contains mixed seeds of Chinese cabbage, kailan (Chinese broccoli), pak choi white (Chinese white cabbage), pak choi green (bok choy) and tatsoi (Chinese...
Citrus plants have fragrant white flowers, glossy, evergreen leaves and delicious fruit which is very rich in vitamin C. They develop into attractive small trees when planted in the garden, but they are also well suited to pot culture. In fact, many species will crop...
Golden Marjoram – The French Alternative Jackie French says that golden marjoram (Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’) not only tastes good, but also keeps garden goblins away. According to legend, goblins hate marjoram. Golden marjoram can be used in salads,...
Growing Asian Greens Nothing tastes as good as the vegies that you grow yourself. Even if you don’t have much time to spend in the garden, you can still enjoy growing and eating quick-cropping Asian vegetables. Attached to the cover of the October edition of the...
Jackie French says that when you serve mint, don’t be boring! There are many different forms of mint available, all with their own distinctive flavours and uses. Growing mint The genus Mentha includes around 25 species of perennial and annual herbs from Europe,...
Persimmons (Diospyros kaki) are outstanding trees for the backyard, and deserve to be much more popular in Australian gardens. They have been cultivated for centuries in China and Japan, and although they are believed to have been derived from a wild species, they are...
Coriander grows better during the cooler months of the year. During summer, coriander plants change rapidly from leafy to seedy (this is called ‘bolting to seed’) and it’s almost impossible to have a crop on hand for use in the kitchen in the hot months. During...
Growing your own salad greens and herbs is very satisfying, and you don’t need a lot of space. You can grow a few greens in large pots or troughs, or tuck them into the flowerbed. In no time at all you’ll be enjoying your first harvest. In our segment, Don...
Don visited Mick and Anna Perri at their home on Sydney’s northern beaches. Mick is an expert gardener who has been growing fruit and vegetables on his property for 24 years. Don asked Mick to take part in a trial of some new and unusual fruit trees. These are...