Jackie French loves sitting down to a feast of delicious, home-grown beetroot. She grows all different kinds – red, white, yellow, long, round, and even a sweet, candy-striped variety. Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) Beetroot grows in a wide range of climates. Sow seed...
Giuseppe and Rosa Bianca Carlo-Stella have a fabulous garden filled with vegetables, herbs and fruit. They even have a mini coffee plantation in their backyard! Giuseppe and Rosa harvest the red coffee berries and extract the seed, which they use to make their own...
In November 2000, Eileen Grange bought a small tomato plant from a nursery and planted it in a pot. Recently, Eileen contacted us to tell us that her tomato plant has grown right up under the eaves of the house. It is now about 2.5m tall and 3m wide, and still going...
Mansoor Noor wrote to Burke’s Backyard to tell us about the very long gourds grown by his uncle, Mashuk Ali. Ali and his family gave Don and the film crew a warm welcome and then showed them the huge gourds, which hang down from a sturdy support structure in the...
According to Jackie French, you can have large, beautiful house plants without spending hundreds of dollars – you simply grow your own! Jackie likes to grow avocados as indoor plants because they’re easy to propagate. Also, you first need to eat an...
Growing your own fruit is tremendously rewarding, but knowing exactly when to harvest is sometimes difficult. Here are Don’s tips on harvesting pears, mangoes, pawpaws and bananas. Pear (Pyrus communis) Pears should be harvested just before they are ripe. Pick...
Australia is a multicultural society and this is reflected in our cooking styles. Don showed that it is both easy and fun to grow herbs in containers to suit your culinary preferences. Listed below are herbs for use in French, Greek and Thai cooking, along with...
Don received a letter from Mrs Eileen Fourro, who was surprised and amazed when she harvested her potato crop. All the potatoes were normal, except for one gigantic spud shaped like a pig’s head. It seemed to have two big ears, two eyes and a long snout!
You’ll need: fresh black or green olives salt water sterilised glass jars with lids* 1. First, wash and prepare the olives. Discard any with blemishes, separate the green and black ones if necessary (they have different soaking times, so need to be soaked separately)....