Grow to Eat Summer 2021

2021 - 2022

96

Checklists and moon calendar

PLANTING

O

F

pages

GOODNES

S

PESTO with a twist

Chillies that won’t hurt you

JANE’S SUPERFOODS

Medicinal meanders R60 INCL VAT Other countries R52.18 EXCL VAT Summer 2021 - 2022

Bring your soil back to life

Grow MILLET OLIVES Get your KIDS LITCHIS GARDENING VANILLA LEMON GRASS ORANGE BRINJALS SUMMER SQUASHES

SUMMER

1

CONTENTS 2

Jonkmanshof: Simply meant to be

10 Summer checklist 22 Chillies: some DON’T like it hot!

26 Get your kids gardening!

32 Brinjals: Orange is the new black 34 Making your own olive oil 38 Buried treasure: Jerusalem artichokes 42 Summer salads 46 Sumptuous summer squashes 50 Tips and tricks for summer veggies 52 The luxury of vanilla 56 The zestiest of grasses 60 Pesto with a twist 64 Luscious litchis

! r e m m u S e m o c Wel

It’s summer, our lockdown levels are more relaxed (when will they end?), the holidays are coming and our gardens are ready for us to enjoy. Life is good!

This year hasn’t always been easy, though, so we all deserve a hearty congratulations for making it through. One of the things that really harshed my buzz this year was the July riots – they were the straw that broke the camel’s back, and I was that camel. But what they have done (amongst other things) is opened society’s eyes to how food distribution works and how important food security is. The fact that shops in KZN ran low of things like bread, fruit, veg and milk so quickly, despite the province having such a wonderful growing climate, is really quite absurd. It reminds us that we should be consuming as much food as possible that either we have grown ourselves or is produced locally.

That, obviously, is the whole premise behind our mag, but it is still great to see it put into practise, in gardens like Jonkmanshof, at the new organic farm at Stoneford Country Estate, in our reader’s gardens, at local markets, on neighbourhood groups and on verges. So I hope that these pages inspire you to do a little more in your own garden, to share the surplus you produce, to teach others and to feel the anxieties of the past year ease a little as you dig your hands into healthy soil or pick something to crunch on as you walk.

And if you need ideas of what to try and grow, have a look at the articles on summer squashes, making your own olive oil (can you get healthier than that?), litchis, the wonder that are nuts, millet and more. There are loads of recipes too, from popsicles to a healthy breakfast recipe and pickles, and even a whole pond ecosystem from Greg Henderson. Then there’s the other important knowledge such as permaculture and foraging for medicinal plants, and growing tips from experts. I can’t believe how much is in here!

Enjoy our magazine, the holidays and your garden.

Stephen Copyright subsists in all work published in this magazine. Any reproduction or adaptation, in whole or part, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Lonehill Trading (Pty) Ltd will not be held responsible for any omissions or errors.

68 Jane’s delicious superfoods: nuts 72 Harvesting rain!

75 Traditional shakshuka 76 Hardy millet 80 Aquatic excellence with Greg Henderson 84 Organic farming done right!

88 Foraging for health 90 Permaculture methods for regenerating soil 95 DIY: Hex appeal 96 Never again, by Anna Celliers

Lonehill Trading (Pty) Ltd 64 Old Main Road, Botha’s Hill PO Box 184, Botha’s Hill 3660 Telephone: 031 003 0940 e-mail: info@thegardener.co.za www.growtoeat.co.za

FEATURE GARDEN

Jo n k m an sh o f

Simply meant to be

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

TEXT Izolda van der Merwe

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Citrus

Y

ou know it is meant to be when a possible weekend retreat becomes the place where you put down your roots.

This is the adventurous tale of Hein and Jacques, and how their love of plants, food and age-old objects redirected their lives away from the rush of corporate life and travel, and to digging in the earth and creating beautiful bounty all around them.

Hein seemed to be living on the road between Johannesburg and Cape Town, thanks to his corporate job, while Jacques, owner and chef at the well-known Hemelhuijs restaurant in Waterkant Street, was giving his life to his menu. The dream was to find a quiet retreat for weekends where the couple could escape the bustle of city

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Above: Fresh lemons picked from the orchard bring the colour of sunshine indoors.

Left: The abundance of oranges is preserved, marmalade being one of the favourites to make.

life, and Montagu was the ideal destination as it is situated 2 hours from the Mother City, nestled in the foothills of the Langeberg mountain range. This quaint dorpie is filled with history and was the perfect place to refill their cups.

Hein and Jacques made their move and bought ‘The Olive House’, an 1854 Cape Dutch-style home, and renovated it. With that, Jonkmanshof rose from the soil – a contemporary, artistically designed guest house with an old world charm. To fit the climate of Montagu, where winters can be exceptionally cold and summers blazing hot, the rear garden was transformed into a Tuscan dream, filled with a series of orange trees planted in terracotta pots, where the baked bare earth crunches underfoot as you walk between the rows and soak up the sun. Over 130 different citrus cultivars are proudly displayed here, including Buddha’s hand and finger lime. The finger lime is less sour than regular limes, and the vesicles, when popped, release a burst of flavour that tickle the tastebuds, which is why they are often referred to as ‘citrus caviar’.

With the success of Jonkmanshof, Hein and Jacques invested in another property just 80m down the road, which they simply call 30 Bath Street. The house was built in 1856 and, as with Jonkmanshof, a garden in line with

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De Nagmaal the history of the house was created. The garden is cocooned by white walls and sunken from the veranda.

The longest wall displays young espaliered citrus trees, with aromatic lavender interplanted between the trees.

Two rows of diamond-shaped garden beds run parallel to this wall, creating a link between a raised bed at the far end and a raised pool at the other. The pool area has a relaxed style of planting, bulbine spilling onto the pathway and fragrant pelargoniums and roses anchoring the space, inviting guests to submerge themselves in the pool in the heat of summer. The pool, which resembles a leiwater dam, is another historical mirror of the Little Karoo area, where furrows lead water to vineyards and plantations.

The planting of these diamond-shaped beds is seasonal, with never-ending white-flowering rosemary creating low borders to each. Potted citrus trees dot and accentuate the landscape of this intimate garden.

The abundant harvest, as well as the overflow from the

citrus garden, was an opportunity to share the produce with locals and visitors. The idea of a country-side store took shape, and De Nagmaal was founded. Derived from the symbolism of communion and celebrations, sharing in the feast of preserves and local craft, De Nagmaal sells fresh produce and flowers as well as pickled and preserved treats. Organic seed is also on sale, tempting the gardener in us all to try them out. Jacques’s love of creating, and not just in the kitchen, is evident in his pressed botanicals, also available at De Nagmaal. The love of textures and play on colour is evident all around the house, and Hein is quick to say that he is merely the

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Hemelhuijs allotment curator of all the beautiful works and gardens surrounding them.

The sense of nurture runs deep through this family.

Jacques’s sister, Corlia, has a profound love of nature and gardening, as well as of seeing the fruits of her labour being enjoyed by others. After acquiring an old apricot orchard in the main street of Montagu, brother and sister set about transforming the place into an organic veggie and flower garden. Great care is taken in growing the best seasonal vegetables and herbs from seed and in a sustainable manner, which then make their way to Hemelhuijs in Cape Town. Flowers grown in the garden adorn the interiors of Jonkmanshof and 30 Bath Street as well as a local florist shop.

Corlia’s take on growing veggies is to start with reliable, strong seed. By germinating the seed, she is in control of the harvest from the start, only picking the best seedlings to transfer into the main veggie beds. Understanding that strong plants are less susceptible to disease and pests, she regularly inspects her crops. Like a nurturing mother, she is in tune with her garden.

Together they have created an oasis for travellers where you can see the seasons unfold, and where even just a little time will refresh your senses.

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...................................

Far left: A unique array of lettuce is grown for Hemelhuijs on this allotment.

Left: Rows of ranunculus and sweet peas grow between the veggies.

Middle: Corlia’s hens and turkeys form part of the organic approach to growing vegetables – nothing goes to waste.

Below left: Neat pathways are mulched with straw to suppress weeds. Where necessary, frames are made to support leafy growth from damage.

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Changing society, one garden at a time.

According to the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP), hunger kills more people in Africa than Aids, malaria and TB combined.

That’s a terrifying statistic, and one that strikes close to home, particularly after the recent riots when all of us were forced to take a harder look at food security. We were also able, if only for a moment, to put ourselves into the shoes of those less fortunate than ourselves, who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, or when. Poverty, hunger and unemployment are a devastating trio of social challenges that need to be overcome.

Aquacraft, one of South Africa’s leading manufacturers of gardening equipment, has taken up the challenge, committing to play its part in helping where it can. As a

start, Aquacraft has partnered with Johannesburg-based NGO Siyakhana on the development of an organic vegetable garden that supplies a range of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs to vulnerable communities in the city.

“If we want these problems facing our society to change, we need to take action,” says Aquacraft’s marketing manager, Candice Knipe-Tlhotlhalemajoe.

This garden is a wonderful, practical model that can be sustainably built on, and so a portion of all Aquacraft sales will go towards the expansion of urban vegetable gardens across the country, which will increase access to fresh food source and create a level of food security for impoverished communities.

“Aquacraft is deeply committed to facilitating economic development and sees food garden initiatives such as Siyakhana playing a crucial role in providing both work and food in impoverished communities.”

“We’re encouraging community groups across the country to explore the establishment of their own food gardens, with our support where possible.”

“We’re also encouraging enthusiastic gardeners and communities alike to see open spaces as an opportunity to plant organic vegetables, fruits and herbs, be it in their back yards, in planter boxes on their balconies or alongside pathways.

“Through this initiative, we’re giving consumers an opportunity to use their purchasing power to support social change. No impact is too small.”

What to do in

December

NIC GA O L OR NTR CO

Control

whitefly, aphids and other sucking pests with an organic insect spray.

Support fruit-bearing stems of tomatoes, as well as trellisgrown squashes or cucumbers.

Sow this month Asparagus, bush and runner beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, Swiss chard

What did I sow?

Start sowing cool-season crops

(cabbage, cauliflower and the like) in seed trays, and keep them in good, indirect light. Plant seed potatoes for autumn and winter eating.

Fertilise fruiting crops when they start to flower, and leafy vegetables after picking.

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Easy Summer Tasks Checkbox

Raise your beds Not only does it make them easier to maintain, but you can make sure your soil is perfect for the plants you put in.

Protect

tender veggies from midday sun with shade cloth.

Fresh and fruity flavoured water

Remove weeds

because they compete for water.

Keep soil moist with mulch

Pinch out

growing tips on cucumbers

We recently tried out a new flavoured water, and loved it. A1 Fruit Water is a little different from the other flavoured waters out there in that it is flavoured entirely with real fruit. It is made locally in SA and comes in three flavours: Mandarin, Grapefruit and Lemon.

These days we’re all more aware of our health, and we know that what we put into our bodies directly affects our health: A1 is free of sugar, sweeteners, preservatives and even calories, and natural fruit infusion and flavours found in A1 Fruit Water are captured as a by-product during the fruit concentrate manufacturing process.

A1 Fruit Water has national ambitions but has launched with a focus on the Western Cape and Gauteng Provinces with products on shelves at Pick n Pay, Spar, other independent retailers, as well as online at Takealot. For more information visit www.a1fruitwater.com. www.growtoeat.co.za I 11

Top Summer Tasks Harvest Veggies Beans Corn Cucumbers Lettuce Swiss Chard Tomatoes

I harvested...

Harvest fruit Apricots Cape gooseberries Lemons Oranges Peaches Strawberries

Harvest

as much as possible if you are planning to go on holiday. Freeze your veggies or give them away as gifts.

Tip:

Make sure your vegetable path allows for easy access

For thirsty veggies, sink a 2-litre cooldrink bottle into the soil next to them, cap-side down at root level. Cut off the base and fill with water, which will go directly to the roots.

plant herbs in

containers to pretty up the patio.

With children

on holiday, get them involved by collec ting and painting river rocks, and then label them with a permanent marker to use as plant markers in the veggie garden.

Plant sage seedlings early in the month to harvest for sage stuffing.

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Moon Guide for December Handy Tips

Plant fruit trees 1st & 2nd

New Moon 4 th Plant herb tags

Litchis Apricots Peaches Citrus Olives

5th & 6th

Rosemary

Mint

Catnip Sage

Sweet basil

Kale

Swiss Chard

Sow/plant leaf veg & herb seeds/seedling 10th & 11th

1st Quarter 11th

Plant hot fruiting veg 12th & 13th

Sweet peppers

Chillies

Marjoram Lavender

Rocket

Lettuce

Capsicums

Jalapenos

Plant fruiting veg/fruit & edible flowers 14th & 15th Tomatoes

Brinjals Plant grains & grass 17th - 19th

Lemon grass

Millet

Full Moon 19th

Figs

Plant fruit trees & shrubs 20th & 21st

Olives

Litchis

Plant root veg & tubers 20th & 21st Carrots Plant edible flowers 27th & 28th Last Plant root veg Quarter 29th & 30th 27th

Pomegranates

Potatoes Nasturtiums

Roses

Marigolds Potatoes

Carrots

Pick strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries regularly and enjoy in fruit salads or summer puddings

“Veg gardening is the best therapy in the world.”

Mealies

Natal plums

Beetroot

Marigolds

Litchis

Beetroot

Nasturtiums

Use your vegetable and herb garden to make gifts for friends and family.

Bake biscuits with herbs, bottle produce and decorate with ribbons and fabric, or simply give a basket of fresh produce.

What to do in

January Plant dill to enhance the flavour of tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber. Mixed with cream cheese or cottage cheese it makes a tasty dip.

Pull off

Sow this month Artichokes (globe), bush beans, beetroots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuces, parsnips, spinach and Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips

the bottom leaves of brinjals, up to the lower 30cm of the stem, because these leaves can create a moist microclimate for mildew and fungal diseases.

What did I sow?

In very hot

and dry weather, protect vegetables with 30 – 70% shade cloth.

Water early in the morning or in the late afternoon.

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Easy Summer Tasks

Harvest

Checkbox

Pull out

summer vegetables regularly to encourage constant production.

Tip: use kitchen waste to make compost

Lift garlic and dry off the bulbs.

Watch out

for blight on potatoes and spray if necessary.

diseased and spent vegetables and prepare beds for autumn crops.

Top Summer Tasks Harvest veggies Beans Beetroot Carrots Cucumbers Lettuce Tomatoes

I harvested...

Harvest fruit:

Fertilise

fruiting crops with a potassium-rich fertiliser.

Start the new year

Spray

o n c e a we e k w ith an organic in sec t spray to c ontrol aphids, red sp ider and whit efly, which target drought- or h eatstressed plan ts.

with a tidy up: remove weeds, renew mulch, pull out spent vegetables.

y er-friendl n i a t n o c t Tip: plan n pots and i s e v i h c e herbs lik lcony. place on ba

Once all your strawberries have been harvested, cut the leaves off the plants, remove any straw mulch and water if dry.

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Avocado Blueberries Cape gooseberries Nectarines Plums Peaches

Suppress weeds with mulch, which also keeps the soil cool.

Moon Guide for January New Moon 2nd

Plant hot fruiting veg 8th & 9th

1st Quarter 9th

Chillies

Plant fruiting veg/ edible flowers 11th & 12th Plant grains/ grasses 13th & 14th

Full Moon 17th

Butter lettuce

Romaine Sow/plant lettuce leaf veg seedlings 2nd & 3rd & 6th & 7th Sweet basil

Plant fruit trees 16th & 17th

Swiss Chard

Oregano

Thyme

Jalapeno

Spinach

Sweet peppers

Rocket

Capsicum Summer squash

Roses

Marrows

Eggplant

Millet

Corn

Litchi

Olives

Lemongrass

Apples

Bay

Wheatgrass

Petgrass

Citrus

Plant edible flowers 23rd & 26th Sunflowers Plant root veg & tubers 25th & 26th

Last Quarter 25th

Plant hot root veg 27th & 28th

Lavender

Potatoes

Pineapple sage

Carrots

Cape Honeysuckle

Sweet potatoes

Spring onions

Echinacea

Madumba

Ginger Turmeric Onions

Leeks

Handy Tips

Plant

borage seedlings in full sun to attract bees and entice insects to pollinate crops.

Gather seed

from annual herbs as soon as it appears and store in marked envelopes in a cool, dark place.

What to do in

February Beat the heat with regular watering, mulching, controlling pests and removing weeds that compete for water.

Sow this month Beetroots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, Chinese cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, endives, globe artichokes, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsnips, radishes, spinach and Swiss chard, turnips

What did I sow?

Cut off

tomatoes, squashes, beans and similar fruiting vegetables with kitchen scissors or clippers. Don’t pull off the fruit – it can damage the plant.

Use

the tops of vegetables like beetroot and celery to grow more. Place in a tray with a little water, and once they have some new leaves they can be planted into the garden.

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Easy Summer Tasks Checkbox

Tomatoes can ripen on or off the bush. To ripen indoors, let the fruit stand in a cool area, not in full sun on the windowsill. Don’t refrigerate or the tomatoes will lose their flavour.

Protect fruiting crops from caterpillars by spraying with a bird-friendly biological caterpillar insecticide in the early evening when the caterpillars are feeding.

up Tip: Hang n your garde tools for easy access

Plant rosemary in full sun, in light soil that drains well, or in containers.

Pick leaves of all herbs regularly to keep them productive.

Harvest veggies:

Top Summer Tasks

Beans Peppers Chillies Corn Lettuce Turnips

I harvested...

Harvest fruit: Almonds Avocados Gooseberries Grapes Figs Mulberries Strawberries

Tip: Use plastic boles to grow spring onions

Harvest chillies

early for a mild flavour and later for a hotter bite. The riper they get, the hotter the flavour.

Moon Guide for February

in the sun s n o i n o y Tip: Dr g them. n i r o t s e r befo

New Moon 1st

Romaine lettuce

Sow/plant Spinach leaf seeds & seedlings 3rd & 4th Thyme 7th & 8th

1st Quarter 8th

Don’t let seedlings dry out.

Water twice a day if necessary.

Full Moon 16th

Mint/catnip

Petgrass

Microgreens

Tomatoes

Cucumber

Plant edible flowers 19th & 20th

Rosemary

Lavender

Nasturtiums

Potatoes

long-fruiting crops with a potassium-rich fertiliser.

Last Quarter 24th

Squash

Marjoram

Marrows

Curry

Bay

Roses Marigold

Melons

Pineapple sage

Carrots

Plant hot root veg 24th & 25th

Ginger

Plant/transplant trees & saplings 26th & 27th

Fennel

Litchi Olives

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Lemongrass

Baby corn cobs

Harvest herbs to dry 16th - 18th

Plant root veg 22nd & 23rd

Fertilise

Rocket

Sage

Plant grains & grasses 9th & 10th Plant fruit veg & vines 11th - 13th

Kale

Basil

Leeks Onions

Pomegranate

Radish

Lemon

Borage

Handy Tips

Most berries are fruiting from now until March.

Keep plants well-watered.

Harvest regularly and freeze what you can’t use.

Spread out the individual fruit on a tray and freeze it. Frozen fruit can be stored in bags in the freezer.

No space?

Be creative with minimal space. Use window-boxes, hanging baskets, old wooden ladders, converted gutters, and wall-mounted trellises for vining veggies.

Protect

Eradicate

snails and slugs by spreading dry oats around new plants. If they eat too much they bloat up and die.

newly germinated or planted seedlings from cutworm by pushing an empty cardboard toilet roll into the soil so that it forms a collar around the seedling. The cardboard roll eventually decomposes.

CHILLIES

Some DON’T like it

HOT! C

hillies can be polarising: there are people who sweat at the thought of a hot sauce, and other’s who feel like no meal is complete without that characteristic burn. Chillies don’t have to be ludicrously hot though: you can choose a mild chilli that adds flavour to a dish without making it uncomfortable to eat, so that you make the most of their unique flavour profile even if you have chilli fear.

Mild not wild If you’re shy of the heat, start by growing mild varieties. Those at the bottom end of the Scoville scale include Anaheim, Fresno, Paprika, Sundews (similar to the trademarked Peppadews), Sweet Heat, Black Hungarian, Mad Hatter and Starfish.

Local seed companies have a good range of mild peppers (and hot ones!), so have a look on their racks in your local garden centre. Summer is also a good time to buy chilli plants to grow on in your garden, and there is an increasing variety every year.

Anaheim Anaheim is an heirloom chilli from California that was developed over a century ago and is now one of the most popular chillies in the States. The plant grows up to 1.2m in height and produces a huge harvest of fruit.

The fruit is mild, and even at the hot end of its range is only as spicy as a mild jalapeño. Like jalapeños, it is perfect for stuffing or for blistering on a braai, after which it can be added to a salsa, made into a sauce, or even used as a side dish next to a piece of meat.

Paprika That delicious, almost sweet, some-

Paprika

times smoky red powder that you put into stews, egg dishes and on potato salad actually comes from a very mild chilli, and you can grow it yourself. With a SHU rating of between 500 and 1000, the paprika chilli is palatable to even the most sensitive, and it is absolutely delicious in cooked foods of many varieties as well as a raw snack.

The fruit looks hotter than it is, with a bright red colour and the traditional chilli shape, although it can be quite fat and grows to over 20cm long. The plants are medium in size, growing to 90cm high and 50cm wide.

Sweet Heat

Sweet Heat Delicious cooked or raw, Sweet Heat has a very mild heat of around 350 SHU, and a flavour that is sweet and smoky. It is perfect for grilling or smoking, or even for snacking on raw.

The compact plants only grow to 30cm high and wide so are nicely suited for planting in pots. The fruit matures quickly and grows to a shape more like that of a sweet or bell pepper, about 7 – 10cm long and quite wide.

Black Hungarian This beautiful dark pepper, which has brinjal-black glossy skin, is similar in shape to a Jalapeño and 10cm in length. Even the flesh is more black than red, and it has a great flavour with only a mild heat. The plant itself is also pretty, with glossy green leaves with purple veins and lovely dark purple flowers.

The fruit, which can reach 10 000 SHU when fully mature and deep red but is only around 1500 SHU while still black, is often eaten raw in salads or salsa.

Black Hungarian

Mad Hatter Despite the fairly threatening name, Mad Hatter is very mild at between 500 – 1000 SHU. The taste is sweet and fruity with citrus, almost florals tones. This is a pepper you will love to use in the kitchen, and which your friends will ask for, to use in their own cooking. It’s such a great plant that it actually won an ‘All American Selections’ award in 2018. It can be used raw or cooked, as a popper or salsa or salad.

Mad Hatter

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KATHY’S CHILLI TIPS Chilli-growing tips Kathy Varney’s tips on patio chillies Kathy Varney from Ball Straathof grows goodlooking chillies in pots, and they are great for the kitchen or patio. Here are some of her tips to get it right yourself.

No garden? No problem!

Peppers are wonderful, aren’t they? These versatile fruits are packed with vitamins A and C and are suitable for a large assortment of recipes. They’re delicious eaten raw and come in a multitude of flavours, from sweet and juicy to fiery hot! The reason I think they’re so great, though, is that they’re really good looking too!

Plant capsicums on your patio for their ornamental value as much as their nutritional value, and enjoy watching the fruit colours change as they mature.

No garden? No problem!

These days there are an assortment of mini and patio varieties to choose from, so you really don’t need a lot of space at all. Peppers, sweet or hot, love the sun. Don’t panic if they’re in semi-shade though – they’ll still grow, they just won’t produce as many fruits. Make sure you pot them up in well-draining soil in a pot of your choice.

For the mini varieties, these pots can be quite small and placed on a windowsill or tabletop. There are some larger patio varieties that are still compact and controllable, but may require a bit of staking when mature. I would recommend a 30 – 35cm pot for these.

Pinching the plant back in the early growing stages will help your pepper bush out and produce more fruit.

Water regularly to keep consistently damp, and adding some mulch is always a great idea for water retention and keeping the soil cooler. Remember, plants get hungry too, so fertilise regularly to promote better growth and for more flowers and fruit. Growing chillies in pots is as easy as that! Enjoy the multi-coloured fruits of your labour.

Look for patio chillies at your local retailer. www.ballstraathof.co.za

Chillies need a hot climate to really thrive, but since they will also grow in pots, anyone can grow them just about anywhere, even if they only have a balcony or a patio.

• It takes around 80 - 120 days for chilli plants to mature, but it is well worth the effort as there are many different varieties you can grow from seed and only a few that you may find in seedlings. Hotter chillies may take up to 150 days to bear fruit.

(Further on we share our tips for success with seeds.)

• Find the warmest spot to grow your chillies, with the most sunlight you can get.

• Frost is the only real problem with chillies, so make sure they are planted in the garden well after any possible frost.

• Plant in compost-enriched soil and keep the soil watered well and moist, but not soggy. Chillies love water as much as they love sunshine. In containers, add compost to good potting soil and water retaining medium into the pot before planting.

Don’t let the soil dry out. Make sure that in pots and in the garden, you have the best drainage, so your chillies are never waterlogged.

• Keep weeding to prevent weeds from stealing water that your chillies need.

• Be on the lookout for common chilli diseases, like mildew or rotting, as well as pests like aphids or red spider mites.

• When your chilli plants get to around 15cm you can pinch out the growing tips to make the plants bushier. Remove any early flowers, which will otherwise use up the plant’s energy that could be better used in growing the bush.

• Feed your growing chillies every 4 - 6 weeks with an organic 3.1.5 fertiliser or a specially formulated fruit and flowers fertiliser.

Dried chillies Unlike other fruits, chillies are left to dry on the plants before harvesting and storing. The climate needs to be very dry to do this, so timing is crucial should you wish to store your chillies for later use.

They can be stored in airtight containers or the freezer for up to a year but have better flavour if used within 3 - 6 months.

Bacon-wrapped Anaheim peppers

IN THE KITCHEN

Bacon, peppers and cheese – we’re onto a winner here!

1 block (225g) cream cheese, softened 1½ cups grated cheddar 1 clove garlic, minced Salt Freshly cracked black pepper 12 Anaheim peppers (or jalapeños) 12 slices bacon, halved Preheat the oven to 200°C. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, grated cheddar and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, then remove the seeds and veins with a spoon. Fill the cavities with the cheese mixture and wrap each half pepper with a halved slice of bacon.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, until the bacon is crispy and the peppers are tender.

Growing chillies from seed Chillies have a reputation for being difficult to grow from seed. They need heat to germinate, and the hotter the chilli, the longer the seeds take. Pre-germinating the seeds is a simple method that improves the germination rate.

First, check that you have fresh seed; chilli seeds don’t have a long shelf life.

Dampen two paper towels and scatter the seeds on the one towel, then place the second one on top of the seeds, lightly pressing it down. Place the towels in a large zip-lock plastic bag or container, and seal.

Store the seed in its plastic container in a warm place for 2 - 5 days. The seeds need consistent warmth (30 – 35°C), which could be on a heating pad or a hot tray turned very low so that it doesn’t melt the plastic container. A sunny windowsill may also work, as could outdoors in a warm and sunny spot. Check the seeds after two days to see if they are swelling or sprouting.

Get ready for planting out the sprouted seeds by filling a seed tray, or small pots, with germinating mix, or make your own by combining 1⁄3 coarse river sand, 1⁄3 vermiculite and 1⁄3 sifted compost. Water well so that the mix is damp.

Seeds that have started sprouting on the damp paper towel produce a tiny shoot. They can be very carefully removed and planted. The tiny shoot is fragile and can snap off easily. Those that haven’t pre-germinated can stay in the zip-lock bag a bit longer.

When planting, it is important to get the depth right. Use a sharpened pencil and wrap a piece of masking tape around the pencil, 1 - 1.5cm from the tip of the pencil. To make the hole, push the pencil into the soil up to the masking tape.

Carefully drop the sprouted seed into the hole made by the pencil, with the shoot pointing down into the hole. Gently fill the hole and lightly firm down the soil.

If you are planting a variety of chillies, make sure to label them.

Water the pot or seedling tray by swishing the water from the watering can or hose over the tray. Start watering away from the tray and also finish away from the tray, so that the large drops of water at the beginning or end of watering don’t displace the potting mix.

Keep the soil moist but not soggy, and also don’t let it dry out.

Keep the pots or seedling trays in a sunny area, either outdoors or on windowsills indoors.

KIDS IN THE GARDEN

Get your kids

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The festive season is ahead, and it happens to coincide with our gardens growing fast and furious, which means we will want to and need to spend time in them. But we also need to entertain our kids and lure them away from screens this holiday. Here are some ideas to get your children enthusiastic about spending time outside in the garden.

Buy them tools New gear always me excited about an activity, be it running, fishing or gardening. Kids are often the same, so think about buying them their own set of gardening tools. There is a second benefit to this too: they won’t ruin your own precious tools!

A new pair of gumboots, a trowel and fork set, and a diminutive watering can are all you need to get the excitement levels up, and all your child needs to get things done in the garden.

Build a mud kitchen A ‘mud kitchen’ is a broad term for a space outside where kids can be kids – make a mess with water and mud, with perhaps some sand and gravel thrown in. Most of them are set up as a kitchen counter or table, but they don’t have to be. Whatever the space, set it out nicely, give them some old containers or pots and pans, dress the children in old clothes and let them have good, old-fashioned fun cooking mud pies!

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Make buggy noughts and crosses Noughts and crosses or tic-tac-toe is a fun and easy game that even little kids can understand and play by themselves.

Make it even more fun by making a set with them. Use a paver or a piece of wood as the ‘board’ and make the pieces out of stones or pinecones, or anything else that’s handy. Decorate the pieces with paint to make them more unique.

There are other games for outdoors that you can make – check out the DIY in the Let’s Braai magazine for another great idea. Or visit our YouTube channel, GardenTube, for more fun kids’ activities.

Give them a patch of their own Children love to have some control in their lives, to be their own bosses and do their own thing. If you have the space, hand over a patch of the garden to your children and encourage them to do what they want to it.

Ideally, they will grow orderly lines of verdant vegetables, but there’s an equal chance that it will end up as a road network for toy cars, a battlefield for plastic soldiers or the scene for mud castles and dams.

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Grow crunchy munchies When you’re planning your own vegetable garden, make sure you grow at least a few things that are easy to eat then and there in the garden: carrots, sweet peppers (my kids love them!), strawberries, berry bushes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, beans, peas, loose-leaf lettuce, peanuts... It is much more fun to stand in a garden munching on delicious food than it is sitting at the supper table and eating it off a plate!

Go big and small Children tend to love anything with a novelty factor, and that includes food: they will love tiny or huge tomatoes, round or purple carrots, immense pumpkins, tiny ‘watermelons’ (actually cucamelons), lemon-flavoured cucumbers, purple beans… Choose varieties with this in mind and your garden will always be popular.

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Simple science experiments The hackneyed bean sprouting in cotton wool might be boring to you, but it’s quite exciting if you’ve never seen it before. Do some gardening experiments like this that your child can follow and see happen. Avocado pips are another idea, as are growing microgreens or edible sprouts.

Help them plan on paper When you’re planning your veggie garden, get the kids to help. Ask for input as to what they think should be grown and get them to draw in what goes where. If they can’t write yet, you can write in the names of the plants and get them to colour in with appropriate colours, like red for tomatoes, orange for carrots and so on. Anything that develops ownership of a project will increase excitement levels.

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Get the friends involved!

If you want your kids to really enjoy time in the garden, let them run wild(ish) with their friends. Set them tasks that they would enjoy or encourage them to play in the mud, or have water fights, or build in the mud.

Welcome the critters Teach children about the value of pollinators and other beneficial insects, and then help the kids to make a suitable habitat for them. A simple bee hotel for solitary bees is a great stocking filler, or you can make a bigger bug hotel in the garden using just about anything – have a look on Pinterest and on our website for ideas.

Also sow seeds of plants that produce colourful flowers and are a good nectar source, as well as grass for seed-eating birds to enjoy.

Eat the results Make eating fruit and veg fun too. Picnics in the shade of a tree are always enjoyable, and you can set out snack platters of things that you and the kids have grown in the garden.

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TURKISH ORANGE BRINJAL

Orange is the new

black

Even more beautiful than the brinjal you’re used to, the Turkish orange brinjal is a stunner in the garden and the kitchen.

A

ubergines, brinjals, eggplants – whatever you call them, they’re versatile and can be delicious. They’re also usually deep purple or black, while the varieties that gave rise to the name ‘eggplant’ are small, round and, you guessed it, white. But here’s another colour variation, which we think could be the most beautiful one of all – the Turkish orange brinjal.

An heirloom brinjal variety that originated in, you guessed correctly again, Turkey, the Turkish orange brinjal (also commonly called the Turkish orange aubergine or Turkish orange eggplant) produces large quantities of medium-sized, bright orange round fruits that closely resemble persimmons, little pumpkins or tomatoes, and they are actually from the same family as the latter.

While it is commonly understood that this heirloom brinjal variety developed in Turkey, it seems that the origins of its ancestors are closer to home – perhaps Ethiopia but almost certainly somewhere in Africa. And to confuse things a little more, some people throw the word ‘Italian’ into the name and call it the Turkish Italian brinjal or Italian orange brinjal – although this has to do with its popularity in that European country and not a claim that it hails from there.

Growing heirloom fruit and vegetable varieties is so worthwhile because of the possibility that you will make new discoveries every time you talk to a fellow heirloom grower or venture onto your favourite heirloom seed website. Having a variety that looks (and often tastes) nothing like the more popular supermarket fare is a great way to get people talking about and eating fresh product.

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Interesting fact: Brinjals are ‘buzz pollinated’. This means that the frequency of the pollinators wings buzzing stimulates the flower into releasing the pollen!

Growing As with other brinjals, this heirloom needs hot conditions and full sun to do well, planted in fertile soil to which compost and a slow-release fertiliser have been added. Fertilise as you would tomatoes, which means feeding every two weeks with a balanced organic fertiliser.

Seeds (it’s hard to find seedlings of many heirlooms, so this is normally your only option) should be sown 5mm below the surface and will germinate in 10 – 14 days. Sow after the danger of frost has passed and the soil is beginning to warm up.

Water requirements are moderate, but the plants will appreciate more water during hotter periods.

This particular variety of brinjal shouldn’t require staking, as it generally forms a neat, rounded little bush, but the weight of fruit may pull it over, in which case a lending hand would probably be of benefit.

Harvesting Your crop should be ready about 75 days after germination, and these orange treasures should be picked before they reach the height of their orange magnificence – they’re less bitter when they’re still a little green.

As with many heirlooms, the Turkish orange brinjal offers bags of flavour, although the downside is more seeds in the fruit and the relatively smaller fruit overall. They have a meaty texture that is particularly suited to roasting, stuffing or baking, while my wife loves to fry them and use them as a topping on pizzas or in wraps.

Find our more: www.rawliving.co.za

KITCHEN GOLD

Making your own

il o e v i ol TEXT Madison Moulton

G

ood olive oil is a precious commodity – it can instantly elevate the taste of any dish and transport you to the rolling olive fields of Mediterranean Europe. As South Africans know, this comes at a price – and usually a high one at that. To make matters worse, many of the products labelled ‘extra-virgin’ we pay so much for are actually mixes containing refined olive oil or other cheaper oils, which can take away the health and taste benefits of the real thing.

What would it take to bypass this processing and cheating and supply yourself with a lifetime of homemade olive oil? As it turns out, not all that much.

Let’s crunch the numbers. Imagine you’re living in Greece, the country with the highest per capita consumption of olive oil in the world. According to statistics, Greeks consume an average of 20l of olive oil per person per year. A not-so-close second is Spain, at around 14l per person. These averages are likely far higher than any South African household, but it’s always best to work with worst case scenarios.

Now, how many olives does a single tree produce? On average, one mature olive tree will produce between 15 and 20kg of olives per season. This

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is in optimal conditions, which most regions of South Africa don’t really have, so we’ll use the lower estimate. Producing 1l of olive oil requires around 3 – 4 kgs of olives, so one tree can produce about 3.5l every season, give or take.

In other words, to make enough olive oil to last you the year as the highest consumer of olive oil in the world, you only need 5.7 healthy olive trees. Rounding that to 6 (I wouldn’t want to buy .7 of an olive tree at my nursery anyway), a mini olive farm in your own backyard will take up about 16m2 of your garden and provide you with the freshest, tastiest olive oil possible, all year long.

Growing olives In South Africa, olives are best grown in areas with dry summers and rainy winters, mostly in the Western Cape.

They require a period of cold to trigger flowering and long hot summers to promote ripening. These trees cannot handle frost, which damages vulnerable parts of

the plant, especially in young trees. In winter, day temperatures should not exceed 21°C degrees or drop below -2°C. Plant your olive tree in a full-sun position in an area protected from strong winds. Space the trees around 4m apart and the rows 2m apart. Young trees may need to be staked to help them grow upright. The soil should be very well-draining, ideally with some gravel mixed in. Water around once a week while the tree is establishing, changing to once a month once it has settled.

In the right conditions, new olive trees should produce fruit after 4 years. Before that time, pruning is not a necessity although it may help keep the tree neat. After your first harvest, cut back the branches that produced fruit to make space for new ones.

Olive oil can be made from any olive variety, but some have a higher oil content than others. Look for the ever-popular ‘Mission’ olive or ‘Frantoio’ for the highest possible oil production. www.growtoeat.co.za I 35

IN THE KITCHEN

Making olive oil If you’re looking at making your own olive oil long-term, an olive press is a worthwhile investment. No pitting is required, and it is certainly the simplest process of all the extraction methods. However, as an olive press is not a common kitchen gadget, we’ll focus on how to extract olive oil with what you already have around the house.

Start by picking the olives from your tree. Both ripe and unripe olives can be used to produce olive oil, but ripe olives release more oil in the process.

Clean the fruits thoroughly and remove the pits. Transfer the amount of olives you’re working with into a large bowl – 1kg at a time is best to produce around 500mls of olive oil. Crush the olives into a paste until they display a glossy sheen. This process releases some of the oil, making the olives appear shiny.

Add 3 tablespoons of warm water for every cup of olives used to the bowl, stirring together. Using an immersion blender (or transferring the mixture to a blender or food processor), blend into a fine paste. Mix this paste in circular motions with a spoon until the oil begins to visibly separate, after around 3 - 5 minutes. Cover the mixture with a cloth or paper towel and leave to sit for 10 minutes to allow the rest of the oil to separate. After 10 minutes, place the mixture into a sieve lined with cheesecloth and cover. Place a heavy weight on top to press the mixture down into the sieve. Once the liquid has drained and is left to sit, you should see a layer of oil sitting on the top of the mixture. Using a syringe, remove the oil and place into a sterilised jar. The olive oil can be stored for up to four months, but is best used as soon as possible for optimal taste and freshness.

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GROW ARTICHOKES

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eakers until English sp d te p u rr co s a hw city. ‘girasole’, whic e as that holy m sa e th it g m in unc lant comes fro p s u started prono io c li e d d interesting an Ac tually, this a.

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T he Jerusalem rough it s life, th e rs u n y ll fu to care b e eaten that you ne e d tiny morsel to a h it w rk o w oke is for your rusalem artich b e rewarde d Je e th , o N . k ic a to othp umb ers on the end of ces copious n u d ro p d n a , p endable tough and de ey rained soil. Th -d ll of tub ers . e w in t o sp a sunny well enough in Plant them in w ro g y ll a tu c a o uch and will nt, they will d la p don’t need m y n a t u o b as with just a st and a slowo p poor soil, but m co h it w nrich the soil about better if you e uld be buried o sh rs e b tu ll e er. Th ater them we W . rt a release fertilis p a m c 0 6 ep and about d. T h e 10 – 15cm de are establishe y e th ce n o ly oderate once they at first and m er planting – ft a n o so ly ir pear fa ems’ shoots will ap around the st p u il so e th d , moun sistant them more re are 45cm high e k a m to , h ig t 15cm h bases to abou d. n over by win h and to being blow lants grow hig p se e th t a th Bear in mind em ade, so site th so will cast sh don’t suffer carefully. They disease too much from s, so grow or pest attack fear! them without

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IN THE KITCHEN

Roasted Jerusalem artichokes Scrub the skins of your harvest to remove all the dirt, cut in half and place in a roasting tin. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and thyme leaves and toss well. You can add garlic cloves for extra flavour. Bake in a medium hot oven at 180°C for about 45 minutes until crisp on the outside and a nutty soft on the inside. Serve with roasted meats and other vegetables.

Harvesting These very productive plants can produce up to 3kg of tubers each, so you won’t be running out of them any time soon. While you can keep the unwashed tubers in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, you really should harvest them as and when you need them for the best quality tubers.

To harvest, lift them as you would potatoes, with a fork, and pull off as many as you need before returning the plant to the ground. If the ground is really soft, you can actually just pull the plant up and the tubers will come along.

Harvesting is done in autumn and winter, when the plant has died back, but they are at their peak of quality as the leaves change colour in autumn.

Use The tubers are delicious, as we’ve said, and can be used just as you would young potatoes: mashed, baked, roasted, boiled. Their flavour is probably the reason why this delicacy is so expensive in the shops, and it’s amazing that they aren’t more readily available. Go on, grow your own and impress your mates.

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SUMMER SALADS

Can’t get

! er i th heal TEXT Stephen Smith

this summer, When you’re making a salad e greens and your think beyond lettuce for th body will thank you.

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S

ummer is salad time, be it a simple French salad or one of those fancy creations that our managing editor and resident culinary genius, Wendy, whips up seemingly effortlessly. The base of a salad is often a leafy green, and in SA this is usually lettuce, but there are so many tasty and healthy leafy options available these days. Here are our top 5 to grow and eat in your salads this summer:

1

Cress

While you can buy watercress at some grocery shops, it is actually a NEMBA category 2 invasive alien, which means that you need a permit to grow it.

There is an alternative though, in the form of garden cress. Garden cress can be grown from seed as a microgreen or as a mature herb. It has a similar flavour to watercress with peppery notes and a mustardy zing, but to a more subtle degree.

In terms of health benefits, it’s amazing what a tiny little herb can offer: it boosts the circulatory system, is high in vitamin C and contains all sorts of minerals that aid our general health. Add it to salads, stir-fries, soups or sandwiches. The spouts are also delicious and healthy.

While watercress needs to grow in water or boggy ground, garden cress can be grown in moist, compost-rich ground in sun or even part shade. It is easy to grow from seed and will also self-seed readily (without taking over the world!).

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JOHAN’S GROWING TIPS Johan’s tips on growing kale This month Johan from Starke Ayres gives us some good tips on growing kale: Kale is packed with fibre, iron and calcium, as well as vitamins K, A and C. Plus, your favourite salads just aren’t the same without it.

Yup, kale is pretty amazing – and a great way to get more of it is by growing your own.

Sowing kale seeds • Sow seeds directly into prepared beds to get to maturity in 55 - 75 days. Plant more seeds or transplants every 2 - 3 weeks for a long, continuous harvest.

• If you’re planting during the cool season, do so where your crop will get full sun. If you’re growing during warmer temperatures, they do better in partial shade.

• You can also sow in trays using palm peat, which will speed up the germination process.

• Kale is buddy-buddy with beets, celery, cucumbers, herbs, onions, spinach, chard and potatoes. It isn’t happy growing next to beans, strawberries or tomatoes.

• Keep soil moist to encourage consistent growth. Dress your soil with compost every 6 - 8 weeks. A seaweed emulsion, like Sea Secret from the Starke Ayres Garden Care range, can help boost growth when used lightly throughout the entire season.

Harvesting kale It’s time to harvest when the leaves are about the size of your hand. Pick them one by one, starting with the lowest, outermost leaves and working toward the centre. Always leave a few of the small central leaves behind to encourage more growth. In most cases, you’ll be able to harvest from the same plant again in 5 - 7 days.

For more info visit www. starkeayres.co.za

2

Kale

Kale isn’t exactly a secret – since it became popular in California health market it has blown up all over the world, a byword for eating healthy. It can be crisped, fried, steamed, boiled, roasted or even eaten raw, in salads.

Choose the younger leaves for salads and tear them up while making the salad, and think about using a couple of different varieties for aesthetic and flavour reasons – there are red, green, purple, frilly and plain ones.

If you really don’t like kale but want the health benefits, why not grow your own kale microgreens? This is a great way to eat kale because the pale green microgreens have a more delicate flavour than the mature leaves but have the same high nutrient content. Just grow microgreens, snip them off and scatter them over your favourite salad, soup or other meal as a power-packed garnish. They are also a great addition to any smoothie, and you can even add them to a toasted cheese sarmie to alleviate some of that guilt…

Kale is fast growing and easy to grow, with fewer pest problems than other members of the brassica family. It grows in full sun and needs regular watering and rich soil. Grow it from seed or seedling, and pick the bottom leaves first, leaving a few on the top to keep the plant going, which it will do all year. That said, it tastes better during the colder months and can get bitter during summer.

3

Rocket

Rocket or arugula can be a wonderful thing when used correctly. The tangy, peppery leaves are full of flavour (some say too full of flavour!), and they can overpower other flavours, but balance them in a salad and they elevate it to something special.

As well as adding the leaves and flowers to salads, you can stir-fry them, sauté them, steam them or serve them with white sauce as you would spinach. A lovely Italian dish is rocket leaves sautéed in olive oil and served with pasta and Parmesan.

Rich in minerals and a range of vitamins, rocket is a worthy addition to any diet, especially as it is so easy to grow!

Rocket is very easy to grow from seed or seedling and is semiannual, self-seeding in your garden year after year. It needs fairly rich soil with some compost, full sun and moderate amounts of water.

Romaine lettuce If you’re a lettuce fan, try to eat the healthiest lettuce variety you can find, which is normally Romaine. Yes, butter lettuce is crisp and crunchy, but it has very little flavour and therefore nutritional value. The old adage is true – the more bitter, the more nutrient-dense. Romaine, which is an upright, dark green lettuce, has more minerals and vitamins that just about all other lettuces, and, sad to say, the popular iceberg is at the bottom of the healthy pile. (Iceberg is low in calories, though, and any fresh green is better than none!)

Romaine is so good in a salad or on a sandwich, or as the ‘wrap’ around other delicious ingredients. It is also great in a smoothie.

Because lettuce is so versatile, it’s well worth growing your own in successive crops. Grow lettuce in the cooler seasons, with lots of water and nutrients in good, well-draining soil, and in full sun to semi-shade. You can grow them from seed or seedling.

4

Swiss Chard Something that you can grow all-year round, and harvest for most of this time, is Swiss chard, which we call spinach. It’s actually more closely related to beets than spinach. While most of us cook it and watch in wonder as it reduces from a full pot to a few spoons full, it can be wonderful in a salad. My mom makes one with Swiss chard, feta and bacon, and it is one of the first things to disappear at a braai. The baby leaves are nicer to eat fresh (including the cut-up stems), while they can also be stir-fried, sauteed and cooked in a variety of other ways.

Swiss chard is low in calories but includes phytonutrients, vitamins A, C and K, and even omega 3 as well as other antioxidants.

It should be grown in enriched soil that drains well, in full sun. It is a heavy feeder, so add some slow-release fertiliser when you plant it and also feed every few weeks with a soluble fertiliser. It can be planted or seed sown almost all year round, except for the depths of winter.

5

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SIX SUMMER SQUASHES

Sumptuous summer

s e h s a u q s

Squeeze these squashes into your garden this summer.

S

quashes might not be the first thing you think about when you think of summer, but there are so many great squashes that you can grow, and which can go in everything from salads to wraps to roasts and stews (yes, you can eat stews in summer).

They also go terrifically with a braai.

Of all the varieties available to us, the most popular squashes have to be butternuts and gems, but cast your eyes a little further and you’ll almost definitely find a new favourite. Here are some of ours:

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‘Caserta’ squash A variety of baby marrow that is available from Mayford Seeds, this familiar squash is a great producer and is so easy to grow. The long, cylindrical or club-shaped fruit grow on an open semi-bush plant that won’t take over your garden.

There are a number of reasons why this variety is so popular – a big harvest, easy to grow, tasty fruit and, unlike some of the others, readily available. While this marrow may look like the ones you buy at the supermarket, ‘Caserta’ is actually an heirloom variety with far more flavour. If you want to try a new recipe, try this marrow in tempura batter – the recipe is below. The seeds will germinate quickly, in just over a week, and the fruit will be ready for harvest at about 45 days.

Crookneck Early Squash A fast-growing squash, this is an unusual-looking heirloom variety that produces tasty, unique squashes in early summer. The lemon-yellow fruit grow to about 15cm long, and the fairly compact (for a squash) plant produces prolifically. Pick regularly and the plant will carry on producing fruit, which can be steamed with nutmeg, boiled or even fried. Harvest when the squashes are still immature (under 15cm), before the skin gets too hard.

The plant grows to about 1m wide and 60cm high.

Golden Zucchini The yellow or golden zucchini produces fruit that looks the same as the regular green zucchini (marrow), but with a bright yellow skin.

The flavour is sweeter than the normal green version, which makes it a good option to try with younger veggie eaters. It can be used in salads or as any zucchini is used.

The plant of this open-pollinated heirloom variety is bush-like, so it doesn’t take over the whole garden. Fruit will be harvestable anywhere from 40 - 60 days after seeds are planted.

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PAUL’S TIPS Paul’s tips for growing squash As the commercial manager at MayFord Seeds, Paul has first-hand knowledge on how to grow the prefect squashes from seed: When you say squashes, you usually think of gem squashes, which are a firm South African favourite. There are, in fact, many squash varieties masquerading under different names, such as gem, acorn, butternut, pumpkin, baby marrow and Hubbard, as well as some gourds. They are also known as fruit veg or summer squashes, and should all be sown right now during spring and summer.

Most squashes need from 45 - 90 or more days to grow from sowing to harvest, so if we are sowing in spring, we need to think about what we will eat fresh from the garden in late spring through summer to autumn. Never sow the whole seed packet at once, as it contains enough seed for multiple plants and each plant bears numerous fruit, so rather sow in 14-day intervals to achieve a continuous harvest. Look out for the two cutest in the range, those being baby butternut and baby acorn squash, which are perfectly sized as a serving for one person.

Think about what you are going to plant, how much and where, and work out your planting area. Remember that squashes are relatively large fruit. Interestingly, aside from baby marrows, nearly all squashes have a similar classic deep-orange colour, and the good news is that sowing and planting of all squashes is dead easy, and it’s exactly the same for all varieties!

All squash seed should be sown directly into the soil, in what we call a basin. Gather soil into a mound and create a depression or basin, much like pushing a dinner plate into a pile of sand to create a crater. Sow six seeds in a circle along the peaks of the crater and plant them 2cm deep. Add water, ensuring that you keep the seeds moist. After 6 weeks, thin out to three pants per basin, and sit back and wait for harvest time! www.mayford.co.za

Ronde de Nice Squash A French heirloom squash, Ronde de Nice is a round marrow that is perfect for harvesting as a baby veg. The skin is soft and they have a lovely, delicate flavour that goes beautifully with melted butter and a touch of seasoning.

The plant is easy to grow and forms a bush of about 60 - 90cm high and about 60cm wide. Planted in early spring or even later, the plants take 45 - 50 days to produce, and once started they are prolific. This is a good candidate for a smaller garden and can even be grown in containers.

Jaune et Verte This very ornamental scalloped squash is strikingly variegated in cream and white, while the plant itself is easy to grow and produces a seemingly never-ending supply of fruit. To eat it at its best, harvest when the squashes are still young – they are delicious. If left to get older, the fruit is tailor-made for baking in the oven.

A bush variety of squash, this grows easily and produces fruit in under 50 days.

Yugoslavian Finger Fruit We end off with the craziest looking squash that we could find (and that is available locally, albeit in limited supply). This gem of a squash looks more like some exotic tropical fruit than a humble squash, but when you get past the conspicuous looks you will recognise the flavour as similar to a patty pan. The 8 – 10 little fingers make this a wonderful conversation starter at the dinner table, and mature ones can actually be dried for ornaments.

That’s a waste though, because eating them while still young is just such a treat.

As with many of the other squashes here, their unusual appearance makes them useful as ornamentals in the garden, so you’d be a trifle silly not to plant at least one summer squash this year. This is a vining plant, so make sure you have space for it.

Growing All members of the squash family are heavy feeders and so need regular applications of a slow-release organic fertiliser as well as enough water to enable them to reach their producing potential. Try to water them at the stems and not on the leaves to avoid mildew and other fungal problems. They love heat and sun and will grow quickly, so are a great plant for getting youngsters interested in the process of growing food from scratch.

When harvesting, cut the fruit off the plant using sharp, clean secateurs or a sharp knife. The thick stalks make pulling the fruit off harmful to the plant.

Zucchini fries Dip zucchini chips into tempura batter to make a light and crispy addition to any dish. Serve simply with mayonnaise or spice up with a garlicky tzatziki or freshly made tomato sauce.

2 - 3 medium zucchinis Vegetable oil for shallow frying 1 cup self-raising flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup soda water or sparkling mineral water Cut the zucchinis into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on the size, and then into batons – a potato-chip size is easier to pick up and dip. You can make

them thick or skinny, whichever you prefer. In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt and slowly add the soda water, mixing with a fork. Mix until just combined – any lumps will turn into crispy bits when fried, so in this case lumps are good.

Heat the vegetable oil and dip each baton into the batter and then put them into the hot oil.

Cook in batches for 3 - 4 minutes until crisp and golden. Season with salt as they come out the oil and drain on kitchen towel before serving hot with the dip of your choice. www.growtoeat.co.za I 49

s k c i tr d n a s Tip for summer veggies

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hether you’re a beginner or a seasoned veggie grower, you’ll find that garden beans, cucumbers and baby marrows offer quick rewards, being fast-growing, prolific and virtually trouble free.

Along with tomatoes, lettuce and spring onions, cucumber is a staple salad veggie that is crisper and tastier when picked and eaten directly off the vine. Beans and baby marrows also double up as salad veggies (raw or steamed) as well as being great additions to stir-fries, tomato-based sauces, oven-roasted veggie medleys and even spicy curries.

For a good yield, all three veggies need their flowers to be pollinated by bees, which gives gardeners an excellent excuse to plant pollen- and nectar-rich flowers and herbs alongside them. The result? A garden full of flowers, buzzing with bees and with lots of veggies to harvest.

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Could anything be prettier? Plant a vining cucumber against a trellis alongside a climbing nasturtium. As the two twine upwards, the nasturtium flowers will attract bees to the cucumber and provide top to bottom flowers.

Nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible, so all can be used in the salad bowl.

Try these: Kirchhoffs ‘Ashley’ has trim, slightly tapered fruits with a deep green skin, while Kirchhoffs ‘Sweet Burpless’ is a thick-skinned variety with medium green, long, cylindrical and smooth fruits on vigorous plants.

Kids play: As with cucumbers, grow climbing beans up a tepee or trellis with climbing nasturtiums to attract pollinators. Why not encourage the kids to make a tepee (where they can hide) and pick the beans when they need to get into mum’s good books?

Try these: Kirchhoffs ‘Lazy Housewife’ is a runner bean named for its ease of growing and preparation.

Its curved pods have a delicate flavour and it’s a very heavy bearer. Kirchhoffs ‘Nasturtium Climbing tall mix’

All-round best companions for bees: z

scrambles up trellis and along fences, with flower colours ranging from bright yellow to oranges and reds.

Natural soil fixers: Green bush beans planted around the base of cucumbers improve the nitrogen content of the soil, while single French marigolds planted in front of or next to the beans repel soil nematodes and attract pollinators.

Try these: Kirchhoffs ‘Contender’ is a bush bean that does well in cooler seasons but also tolerates heat extremely well. It is a heavy cropper with round-oval pods and a strong flavour. Kirchhoffs ‘Bonita Choice Mixed’ is a dwarf French marigold with a mix of yellow, red and bicoloured crested blooms.

Pampering baby marrows: Baby marrows have both male and female flowers that need crosspollinating by bees. Planting nasturtiums as a groundcover under or around squashes will bring the bees and at the same time repel aphids and whiteflies, which are active in summer.

Try this: Kirchhoffs baby marrow ‘Caserta’ produces an abundance of slightly clubshaped fruits with mottled striping in olive-green and darker green.

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Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb grown as a companion plant for cucumbers.

The flowers attract pollinators such as bees and parasitic wasps. Planted next to cucumbers, it improves the yield and flavour of mature cucumbers. Dill leaves are an edible garnish with a subtle liquorice flavour.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a lowgrowing herb with lemon-scented and flavoured leaves that is grown with bush beans. Bees cluster around the tiny nectar-filled white flowers in summer. Add the leaves to salads, fruity cool drinks and desserts.

Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) play a double role, as pest repellents because of their aromatic foliage and pollinator attractors as their flowers are loved by bees and other pollinators. Garlic chives add a hint of garlic without the lingering effects of garlic. They grow easily from seed and are cut-and-come-again herbs.

VANILLA PODS

f o y r u x u l e Th Vanilla

The most exotic of spices

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ife isn’t fair, is it? Vanilla adds such a luxurious flavour to baked goods, ice-cream, alcohol, chocolate, tea and more, and yet, somehow, the word ‘vanilla’ has become a synonym for ‘beige’, which itself is a synonym for plain or boring.

But take a dried vanilla pod, gently scrape out the seeds and you will experience a scent and, ultimately, flavour like few others. It has the power to transport you to a memory, to remind you of the exotic or luxurious.

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Vanilla is fascinating because it is one of two edible products that comes from an orchid, the other being cardamom. There are three species of vanilla orchid that produce edible vanilla, the most highly regarded being Vanilla planifolia.

The vanilla orchid hails originally from the jungles of Mexico, where it grows into a vine that scrambles up to 30m high with the assistance of supporting trees.

The vine is long-lived too, and some estimates are that a vanilla vine can live for hundreds of years if left undisturbed in the wild.

The pods ripen on the vine before being harvested, cured and dried, another lengthy process. Interestingly, the green vanilla pods have no aroma or flavour, and it is only after they are processed that the characteristic scent develops.

From Mexico, the vanilla orchid has been taken to Réunion Island, Indonesia, Madagascar and India, which all have the hot and humid conditions the plant needs to thrive. But what has not followed the plant is the tiny bee that evolved to pollinate the vanilla’s flowers. This means that all vanilla grown outside of Mexico has to be painstakingly handpollinated – a complex process! The pollinated flowers turn into the long, thin pods that reach about 20cm long.

When the vanilla is finally ready for consumption it is marketed either as whole pods, as paste, powder or extract. It has a long shelf-life too, and high-quality pods can last for up to 8 years if stored in a glass bottle in a dark place.

Because of the palaver associated with growing, pollinating and processing vanilla, the final product is an expensive one: top quality vanilla pods can cost in the region of R5000/kg, second only to saffron in the spice world! That’s why synthetic vanilla has come about, produced from wood pulp, amongst other things.

If you live in the correct climate, you could try your hand at growing your own, but it’s not easy to get hold of the plants.

Dale Grobler, good friend of Grow to Eat, has just started growing vanilla so we’ll keep in touch with him to see how they fare. But let’s assume you tracked down a vine to grow: It’s an orchid, so you’ll need orchid soil (or a mix of potting soil and bark).

Half fill a pot with the mix, place the orchid in the pot and cover the roots with the potting mix. Add a stake or lattice to support the plant, or place the pot at the base of a lattice.

Vanilla needs high humidity and bright but indirect light, which is easy if you live somewhere like Durban. Otherwise you might need to place it in a greenhouse, a sunroom or indoors where you can regulate both the temperature and the humidity. To increase humidity, place the pot on a saucer of gravel and add water to it.

Water the soil regularly, but allow the soil to almost dry out between waterings. Alternatively, water by misting the plant every day or on alternate days.

Fertilise with a water-soluble fertiliser every 2 weeks in the growing months of spring and summer.

If you do manage to get your plant to flower, well done.

Your work isn’t over, though, and you will need to pollinate it by hand, using a toothpick to move pollen from the anther of the flower to the stigma of the flower, which will become a seed pod if you were successful.

IN THE KITCHEN

VANILLA BEAN SYRUP • • •

1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 vanilla bean

Steps 1.

2.

3.

4.

Melt the sugar and water together in a saucepan on medium heat.

Split the vanilla bean open lengthways and scoop out the seeds.

Add the seeds and the whole pod to the pan and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Pout into a sterilised glass jar and leave to cool completely before storing.

Coffee Combine two shots of cold brew espresso with 1 teaspoon of vanilla syrup and stir to combine. Fill the glass with milk and add a few ice blocks to serve.

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LEMONGRASS

The zestiest of

grasses

Lemongrass is widely used in Asian cuisine, and it offers more than just lemony flavour.

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tough, clump-forming grass that reaches 2m in height and over 1m in spread, lemongrass doesn’t look very appetising.

And when you touch it, it feels far too rough and tough to eat, too. But break off a leaf and rub it between your fingers, and you will be rewarded with a deliciously lemony scent. Chew a bit and the lemon hit is backed up by gingery tones for an almost overwhelming flavour sensation. It is this flavour that has made lemongrass such a vital component of Thai cooking in particular, and Asian cooking in general.

The best news? It’s almost impossible to kill in the garden!

An evergreen, lemongrass is very easy to grow, needing rich, well-draining soil and a moderate amount of water. Plant in full sun or morning sun with afternoon shade, and feed at the beginning of spring for optimal growth. This grass comes from the tropics, as you can see from the cuisine it features in, so it is not cut out for frost. It can survive light frost if you plant it in a protected spot and mulch the roots heavily over winter, or you can plant it in a container and move the pot into a sheltered position for the coldest months. It will most likely die back over

winter but should sprout once again in spring. Plants should be cut back in spring to encourage new growth.

Lemongrass is seldom affected by pests or diseases, but fungal diseases can be a problem during long rainy spells. The easiest cure for this is to cut the leaves right back and dispose of the affected matter.

In the garden, you can use the cut leaves as an insect-repelling mulch around your ornamentals or other veg.

It can be planted with other herbs, especially lemon balm and thyme or mint, and also does well when grown alongside lucerne. If you have a steep bank that needs stabilising, lemongrass could be the answer – it is used for this exact purpose in Asia, and can still be harvested for culinary use.

To propagate, divide large plants, making sure that each clump has some intact rhizomatous roots. Plant the divisions and they should get going with alacrity in the right conditions. Another option is to grow your own crop from shop-bought pieces of stem. Root them by allowing water to just cover the base of the stems until roots develop.

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IN THE KITCHEN

When cooking, it is the inner core of the bulbous part of the ‘stem’ just above the roots that is most prized.

To use it, first peel it then slice or grind or pound before adding it to the lucky dish. It pairs very well with poultry, beef, fish and pork. You can also use a bunch of leaves, tied together, to flavour tea or milk or puddings.

Lemongrass offers more than just a citrus flavour, and actually contains a number of beneficial compounds including vitamins A, B3, B6, B5, C and folate, and potassium, calcium, copper and magnesium. It can be used as a tea to treat microbial issues, sore throats, digestive and bladder issues, stress and rheumatism. It is also a popular plant for aromatherapy.

LEMONG

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Feed the plants that feed you The buzz of bees – that’s one thing that we associate with spring and the edible garden. But bees need variety and constantly flowering plants, which is why it’s a great idea to plant other flowering plants in or around your fruiting veggies. Lavender is a classic option, while flowering herbs can deliver in this way as well as in the kitchen. To get the best from them, keep them fed with Pokon Lavender and Herb Fertiliser.

TIP: Rub your hands with lavender leaves or flowers to remove strong odours like onion and garlic.

When growing food for the table, it’s imperative to use products that are as natural and safe as possible, which is why Pokon Vegetable Garden Fertiliser is a great option. Made from 100% natural raw materials and totally plant-based, it is safe for both pets and humans. It’s an excellent slow-release product too, providing nutrients for up to 120 days!

TIP: Healthy plants are able to resist pest and disease infections, so it pays to feed them properly.

Remember, prevention is better than cure!

Pokon Small Fruit Fertiliser has similar benefits but has been specially formulated to deliver exactly what fruiting plants need at the important fruit-setting stage of their lives. So if you’re growing strawberries, brinjals, berries or tomatoes, to name just a few, a good feed of Small Fruit Fertiliser will ensure a constant supply of fresh fruit from your garden to your table.

One of the biggest global gardening trends is container gardening, driven by people who don’t have the space for a full garden.

Food and herbs in pots is extremely popular, especially close to the kitchen where it can be easily harvested while you’re cooking.

Pokon Bio Plant Food is the perfect product for these applications, designed specifically for pot plants, both indoors and on terraces and balconies. This natural fertiliser, which has an NPK formulation of 4:1:5, provides your plants with the nutrients they need and stimulates soil organisms for long-term plant health.

TIP: Don’t try to use just any soil for growing in containers – rather choose a good-quality potting medium, and think about adding Pokon Hydro Granules too, for better water retention and healthier plants.

TIP: Strawberries are such fun to grow, especially for kids. To get healthy plants, mulch them and water the soil, keeping the leaves dry. They also love fertile soil, so feed it well.

Pokon is distributed by Hadeco – www.hadeco.co.za

PESTO

esto P with a twist

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n Italy, pesto would mean a specific pesto originating in Genoa, Pesto alla Genovese. This fragrant sauce is made slowly by crushing or pounding locally grown Genoese basil together with garlic, pine nuts, salt, Parmigiano Reggiano and olive oil in a marble mortar and pestle. It’s hard work and takes time, but traditions are there to be admired and learnt from – the results are, without a doubt, superior.

A mortar and pestle also keep the basil leaves green while a food processor tends to make the leaves darken.

And while we applaud the traditional version, there are so many other ingredients that we can use to make a delicious pesto or green sauce. After all, the word ‘pesto’ in Italian is a generic term meaning ‘to pound or crush’.

Let’s pound and crush these ingredients to make something fresh and tasty:

Mint and coriander pesto with chilli A spicy pesto that is often the base for fragrant curries in the Malaysian style, but can also be used as a fragrant pesto for grilled or Panko prawns.

1 cup fresh coriander leaves and stems 1 cup fresh mint leaves 1 - 2 chillies 1 clove garlic ½ cup roasted cashew nuts Virgin olive oil Squeeze of lemon Salt and pepper Blend all the ingredients together, adding olive oil to form a chunky paste. Serve with fried Panko prawns, chicken strips or fresh vegetable batons.

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Cheesy pesto straws Upgrade a retro cheese straw recipe with tangy pesto and melty cheese. Plus, they are so easy to make that it will take no time to produce a fabulous snack.

2 sheets readymade puff pastry ½ cup pesto (any type will do) 1 cup mozzarella, grated Salt and pepper ¼ cup Parmesan, finely grated Lay down one sheet of pastry and spread out the pesto. Cover with mozzarella and season with salt and pepper. Top with the second sheet of pastry. Use a rolling pin to squash the two layers together. Cut into 1cm strips and twist as you place them on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan and extra salt. Bake at 200°C for 10 - 12 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack and serve.

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Watercress and baby spinach pesto There are many things that can go into a pesto, so experiment with flavours you like and add alternatives to nuts, like seeds.

1 cup watercress 1 cup baby spinach 1 clove garlic ½ cup Parmesan, finely grated ½ cup pumpkin seeds Squeeze of lemon juice Virgin olive oil Salt and pepper

Toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan with a little olive oil until they begin to jump out of the pan. Add the watercress and spinach to a food processor, add the rest of the ingredients and start blending. Add olive oil until it all comes together in a glossy, chunky pesto. Check the seasoning and serve.

FRUIT

Luscious

Litchis TEXT Madison Moulton

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outh African summers are incomplete without litchis. Whether sitting on the patio or by the pool, we all have fond memories of removing the tough, deceiving skin to reveal the soft, juicy fruit underneath. Not many gardeners consider growing these fruits in their own backyard, but many regions are lucky enough to have the perfect litchi-growing conditions. Besides the fruit, Litchi chinensis also makes a wonderful ornamental tree with long glossy green leaves.

Native to China, the litchi grows in warm, humid climates.

Summer-rainfall regions are best for this tropical plant, which requires consistently moist soil and hot weather to produce fruits.

The Eastern coastal areas of South Africa are ideal, with summer temperatures over 25°C and relative humidity over 50%.

If you’re looking for the classic litchi loved by South Africans, you can’t go wrong planting Litchi chinensis ‘Mauritius’. A large majority of litchi production across the country involves this cultivar, proving that it handles the climate well. It is also one of the most popular

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cultivars worldwide due to its tasty fruits and high yield. ‘McLean’s Red’ is another popular option and accounts for a large part of the remainder of litchi production in South Africa.

Depending on the variety, litchi trees can grow incredibly large, some spanning a massive 12m wide. One tree should be enough for most home gardens, but if you’re an avid litchi fan, plant your trees several metres apart (around 8 - 9) and keep them pruned.

When it comes to litchi care, the most important factor to consider is water. The rainy season provides most of the water these plants need, but you will need to supplement this during the remainder of the year. They prefer being planted in a full-sun position in slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 5.5. Keep an eye out for the litchi moth or the Natal fruit fly, which can quickly ruin a harvest.

Litchi trees should begin to produce fruits after around 5 years.

The cold winter weather should trigger the flowers to bloom in spring. These flowers are pollinated by our favourite garden friends – bees – but can also be helped along by hand pollination if production is slow. Alternatively, add two or three hives to your garden to ensure an abundance of bees (they’ll help the rest of your garden too). After flowering, the fruits should be ready to harvest in 3 - 4 months.

You’ll know your litchis are ready to pick when they turn a pinkish-red colour. For optimal sweetness, test one or two (or three – they really are irresistible) from a bunch and, if they’re ready, cut the whole bunch off the tree.

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IN THE KITCHEN

Making litchi juice There are only so many litchis one person can eat in a day. After you have given some of your harvest to your neighbours and your neighbour’s neighbours, there’s only one thing left to do – make litchi juice.

As litchis are a fleshy fruit, you’ll need to mix in plenty of water for the right consistency. Peel and deseed around 5 litchis per cup of juice. Add the litchis and the same amount of water to a blender and squeeze in the juice of ½ a lemon to ramp up the flavour. Store your juice in the fridge or use it immediately to make the perfect summer popsicles.

Fruit salad popsicles Looking for the most Instagrammable summer dessert out there? Try fruit-salad popsicles. Each one can be customised to the individual tastes of picky kids (or picky adults), including all your favourite fruits.

Simply slice each fruit into thin pieces and layer in a popsicle mould, pushing the fruits outwards to the edge of the mould so they are visible. To fill the mould, pour in a fruit juice like litchi, apple, or even lemonade, and place in the freezer until set.

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HEALTHY LIVING

Jane’s Delicious

s d o o f er p Su Jane is back with more growing food advice with her new book.

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aster food grower Jane Griffiths has added to her stable of books with a new comprehensive guide: Jane’s Delicious Superfoods for Super Health.

She covers many healthy foods, some easy to recognise and others not, with detailed information on why these foods are good for us and interesting titbits of information that makes the book an informative yet pleasurable read. The book also covers health aspects such as food sensitivities and the importance of gut bacteria, kitchen and pantry basics, plus useful tips on smoothies, sprouting, juicing, dehydrating, fermenting and healthy cooking. And for those keen to grow their own superfoods, there is also gardening advice.

It was difficult to choose what to highlight from the new book as there are so many good topics covered, but we wanted to do something on nuts so decided to give you a little taste of what’s in the new book with this from Jane:

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Nuts The pleasure of cracking open the hard shell of a nut and extracting the tasty morsel within has been part of the human experience for more than 700 000 years. Nuts have provided sustenance for us throughout history, from our ancient ancestors to modern vegans, from medieval commoners to mighty kings.

The edible kernels, packed with protein, fibre, minerals, vitamins and healthy essential fats, are eaten whole, ground into flour or nut butter, or pressed to extract oil. But it’s not just the nut meat that’s versatile – so are the shells. Larger shells, like those of the coconut, are used to polish floors or are shredded to make an absorbent growing medium.

Walnut shells are used as brown dye, for cleaning and polishing metal and rocks, and as a filler or thickener in adhesives, paint and even dynamite.

Nut shells are also used to fuel fires, make activated charcoal and as mulch in the garden.

Botanically speaking, peanuts, walnuts, pecans and many more aren’t actually nuts. True nuts (such as chestnuts, hazelnuts and acorns) are dry fruit with a hard ovary wall (the shell) containing a seed (the nut). Those with a fleshier outer layer and a seed inside, such as walnuts, pecans and almonds, are called drupes, a group that includes peaches, plums and cherries.

While drupe fruits are harvested when the outer layer is still juicy, and the hard seed inside is discarded, with drupe ‘nuts’, it’s the reverse – they are only harvested once the outer fleshy layer becomes a dry husk and has split open to reveal the hard-shelled seed – the ‘nut’ – with its edible kernel inside. Then we come to peanuts, which are legumes that produce seeds in pods underground (hence another name for them being ground nuts). For our purposes, though, we can call all of them nuts.

Most nuts are high in unsaturated fats and can go rancid quite quickly.

Store them in an airtight container, and if you plan to keep them for longer than a couple of months, put them in the fridge (up to 6 months) or the freezer (1 - 2 years).

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Almonds Prunis dulcis Originating in what is now Iran, almonds spread along trade routes to the Mediterranean, where they flourished. Throughout history they’ve represented good health and good fortune. In Ancient Rome, newlyweds were showered with almonds, and today, bags of sugared almonds are sometimes given as gifts at weddings. At Swedish Christmas feasts, a single almond is hidden in a bowl of rice pudding; whoever finds it is guaranteed good luck for the year.

Almonds’ reputation isn’t surprising when you consider how beneficial they are for our health – and good health is certainly good fortune. Almonds are rich in healthy fats, protein, fibre and nutrients. They help to reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, maintain a healthy weight and reduce inflammation.

Plus, they’re beneficial for gut health.

Almonds are quite high in phytates. While these can block certain nutrients from being absorbed, it’s only a small amount and only while you’re eating them. The benefits of phytates outweigh the potential negative effects, especially when eaten as part of a balanced diet.

Well suited to Mediterranean climates, with their long, hot summers and cool winters, almond trees grow best in well-drained, fertile soil. Two compatible varieties are needed for successful nut production, 70 I www.growtoeat.co.za

Vitamins B2 and E; copper, magnesium, manganese and phosphorus.

as they’re not selfpollinating.

Regular feeding is required for a productive harvest, as is consistent watering (especially in early spring).

Almonds’ gorgeous blossoms are the harbingers of spring, as they’re one of the earliest to flower in an orchard.

Raw or roasted, whole, flaked or blanched, almonds are a delicious addition to both sweet and savoury dishes.

Almond milk is a popular alternative to dairy milk. Almond paste, or marzipan, is a malleable mixture of ground almonds and sugar that is used extensively in confectionery and cake icing. Almond butter is a rich and creamy substitute for dairy butter; it can be made from raw or roasted almonds, with or without the skins (depending how smooth you prefer it).

Nut and seed milk An alternative to dairy milk, these are made by blending nuts or seeds with water. One of the most popular is almond milk but many other nuts and seeds can be used. Nut milks involve soaking, blending and straining, but seed milks are made by simply blending them with water. Seed milks need a good shake before using but they have the advantage of being far cheaper to make, plus there’s no leftover pulp. Dairy milk has natural sweet and salty flavours, and these plant milks can taste a little flat in comparison. Try adding a pinch of salt and a little honey.

To make nut milk, soak 1 cup of raw nuts overnight in 2 - 3 cups of water. Discard the water and blend the nuts with 4 cups of hot water until smooth. (For thicker, creamier milk, use less water.)

For smooth milk, strain through a tight-weave cloth (or nut-milk bag), twisting to squeeze out the maximum amount. Use the pulp in smoothies and baking. If using the milk for cooking, don’t strain. Cashew nuts only need to be soaked for 3 hours, and if you have a strong blender, there’s no need to strain the mixture.

Hemp, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds all make delicious milks. Use 3 cups of hot water to 1 cup of raw seeds. There’s no need to soak them or strain the mixture.

Jane’s Delicious Superfoods for Super Health is published

by Jonathan Ball Publishers and is available at booksellers countrywide or online at https:// janesdeliciousshop.co.za/. Visit www.jonathanball.co.za for more information.

WATER TANKS

Harvesting

rain!

TEXT Tracey Cole

A water tank is the most responsible way to keep your garden lush through dry spells.

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ater is an essential and life-giving part of the garden, vital for hydrating plant cells, which aids plant processes including growth. However, plants are subject to transpiration, which happens when they lose water vapour through their leaves. To counteract this effect, plants rely on a good root system to constantly draw water from the soil.

Harvested rainwater is ideal for use in the garden: it has a nearly neutral pH and is free from man-made contaminates, thus ensuring plants will thrive and flourish. The most convenient and popular method of harvesting rainwater is with a rainwater tank, also called a rain barrel or butt. This tank should be fitted to a downpipe from the roof gutter of your house, greenhouse, shed, or any structure that has guttering and a downpipe.

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Suitable harvesting containers Rainwater tanks vary in size from 260-litre to the large, more industrial 20 000-litre tanks. The tanks are made from base polythene and lined with a carbon-black liner that prevents algae growth and keeps the water fresher for longer. Tanks also have UV stabilisers, giving them an extended service life and promoting durability in the harsh South African conditions.

If budget is an issue, you can also use containers such as oil drums to successfully harvest rainwater.

These are the perfect capacity to store a reasonable amount of rainwater. Plastic containers are a better option, though, and large food-storage bins will work perfectly. These have the capacity of 70-litres to 200-litres, but will require a hole cut into the lid to fit the drainpipe.

Any container used as a rainwater tank requires a base or stand and a downpipe connection. Accessing water at the bottom of the container is difficult unless you can fit a tap. When using a recycled container to harvest rainwater, ensure that it’s steam-cleaned before use to remove any residue that could cause fungal growth.

Determining your rainwater yield and tank size Certain factors determine how much rainwater your tank will yield, including the volume and timing of rainfall in your area, the size of your tank and the collection area of the roof to which you connect your tank.

The size of your residence dictates the amount of rainwater you collect: one millimetre of rain on a surface area of 1m² delivers one litre of rainwater into your tank. Use this www.growtoeat.co.za I 73

rough guide to help you determine the best tank size for your property: • An average 3-bedroom property has a roof of approximately 150m².

• An average 4-bedroom property has a roof of approximately 200m².

• An average 5-bedroom property has a roof of approximately 300m².

A small tank holds less than 2 000 litres, a medium tank holds between 2 000 and 10 000 litres, and large tanks hold more than 10 000 litres.

When choosing your rainwater tank, the space available may limit your options. With a large space you can choose any size, but with limited space for installation you may need to opt for a smaller tank.

If you live in an area with a regular annual dry spell, you need a tank with sufficient capacity to cover your requirements. If the dry spell lasts 60 days and you use 100 litres a day, you need at least a 6 000-litre tank. If space is at a premium, you can install two smaller tanks linked with a connecting hose, or fit a spacesaving bladder tank under your deck or house.

Systems that filter and clean grey water are available, and are an ideal, safe way of using grey water. This is good for the environment and the garden, and also a great way to save water!

A drip-irrigation system using recycled rainwater is a very effective water-saving tool. It allows a limited amount of water to drip onto plant beds and containers, and straight to the root system. This method controls the amount of water used, is efficient for auto-watering and is a lot less labour-intensive than using a watering can!

And finally…

Water is imperative for a luscious, healthy garden. Wellpositioned and accurately-sized water tanks have proven extremely successful in harvesting rainwater, while grey water can be re-used when the situation demands. Wherever you live, in whatever climate, your garden need never suffer from a lack of life-giving water.

Saving water Recycled domestic wastewater, known as ‘grey water’, comes from showers, baths and washing machines, as well as the water used when cooking pasta, vegetables and eggs.

Although grey water contains soap and detergents, soil and potting composts filter these contaminants out, making grey water very effective in the garden.

As useful and effective as it is, grey water is only suitable for use over a short period, ideally when no other suitable water is available. Prolonged use of grey water eventually affects the soil structure and health of the plants, due to the build-up of the salts, chemicals and fats it contains. Because of this, you should not use grey water where delicate plants like orchids, ferns or roses grow.

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Win a 2700L JoJo tank!

Take advantage of the rainy season with a free water tank from JoJo. Visit our Facebook page @GrowToEatMag for more details on how to enter.

JoJo, for water, for life. www.jojo.co.za

VEG FOR BREAKFAST

l a n o i it d a r T Shakshuka

TEXT Madison Moulton

Tip: This recipe is easy to modify according to your tastes and what’s available in your garden. Throw in some extra veggies in the early sauté stage, like carrots or zucchini, or top with feta and yogurt dressing for added flavour.

Gone are the days of cramming our five-a-day veggies into one dinner meal. Use some of your home-grown healthy delights in your breakfast with this traditional Middle Eastern shakshuka recipe.

Ingredients: 1 onion, diced 1 red pepper, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 6 tomatoes, finely chopped ½ teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon cumin ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 5 eggs 1 bunch coriander, chopped Salt and pepper to taste

Steps: Heat olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion and red pepper for approximately 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and spices and stir for a further minute until fragrant. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper to the pan and simmer until softened and broken down, for around 10 minutes.

Create five small wells in the tomato mixture and carefully crack the eggs into the wells. Place the lid on the pan and leave to cook on a low heat until the eggs are cooked, around 7 minutes.

Remove the lid and cover with chopped coriander to serve. www.healthyliving-herbs.co.za

GROWING GRAINS

Hardy

Millet T

here are certain foods that immediately spring to mind when thinking of the grain craze of the health industry – certainly quinoa, and perhaps barley or sorghum. Millet, cultivated across the world for thousands of years, has unfortunately not received the same publicity and praise. But in South Africa, millet is actually easier to grow than the ‘fancy’ grains we pay premium price for at health stores. It is also, as most grains are, incredibly good for you. Set aside a patch in your back yard to hark back to history and grow this ancient grain.

What is millet?

Millet is not easy to find in your local grocery store, so it’s understandable that little is known about the grain or the plant it comes from. The most widely grown millet plant – pearl millet – is related to some of our favourite ornamental fountain grasses, with the scientific name Pennisetum glaucum. It is a gluten-free grain high in protein and fibre, and contains the highest calcium content of any cereal grain. Travel back in time 4000 years and you would have seen millet farmed in West Africa near the Sahara Desert. Today, it is grown in countries across the world, with most production occurring in Africa and Asia.

Growing your own As purchasing millet requires some light detective work, it is far easier and more rewarding for gardeners to grow their own.

These plants are not fussy, responding well to a range of conditions and showing little to no problems with pests and diseases.

Plant from seed towards the end of spring and beginning of summer. Acidic, well-draining soils are best for this carefree grain. The seeds should sprout incredibly quickly (within a week), after which they can be thinned to a spacing of around 13 15cm. In the early stages of growth, millet benefits from a soil rich in nitrogen through the addition of compost or a slow-release fertiliser.

As the grass grows to a mature height of 3m, it will need plenty of water. In areas with summer rainfall, ideal conditions for millet production, the rain should take care of all watering. Cut down on watering once the plant starts flowering and ensure the soil is never waterlogged. A thick layer of mulch will help the soil retain moisture while keeping weeds down.

Just over a month after flowering, the seeds should be ready to harvest when they turn a golden brown. Remove the stalks with a knife and tie the ends together, leaving to dry in an area away from rain. After a few weeks, thresh the stalks by hand by holding them inside a large bucket and hitting them repeatedly against the sides.

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IN THE KITCHEN

RECIPE Millet-stuffed butternut • • • • • •

2 butternuts 2 cups millet 250g basil pesto ½ cup pine nuts, toasted ½ cup parmesan, grated Salt and pepper

Cut the butternuts in half vertically. Brush with olive oil and cook at 200°C until soft. While the butternut cooks, simmer the millet in a pot for 20 minutes. Remove part of the butternut centre and chop into cubes. Mix the butternut cubes, basil pesto, salt and pepper with the millet until combined. Spoon the mixture into the butternut halves and top with toasted pine nuts and grate parmesan.

Popped millet Millet can be popped similarly to popcorn. These seeds have a comparable flavour but are much smaller than traditional popcorn.

Place the seeds in a pre-heated dry pan and shake until the seeds change colour. It makes a great crunchy addition to salads or can be used as breadcrumb replacement.

Using millet in the kitchen Millet is often used as a replacement for rice. To cook the grain, simply add to a pot with double the amount of water and simmer for around twenty minutes. It can also be sweetened to make a breakfast porridge, or used in salads similar to quinoa. Its taste is reminiscent of corn, but the nutty flavours can be enhanced by toasting them in a pan before cooking. If you have any leftovers, toss them in your birdfeeder – they’ll love it.

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WILD AND INDIGENOUS FOODS OF SOUTH AFRICA

quatic Aexcellence Chef Greg Henderson shares another of his favourite indigenous ingredients with us, and some recipes too.

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T

his has become one of my favourite South African indigenous ingredients, and it has huge agricultural potential. Called the Cape pond weed or waterblommetjie, it grows in abundance in ponds, dams and waterways throughout the Cape and up to the borders of the Eastern Cape and as far away as Mpumalanga.

The interesting fact about Cape pond weed is that it is highly sensitive to pesticides and is only found in clean water systems, which is a great indicator for a clean ecosystem when you are harvesting edible wild indigenous ingredients.

Like all green vegetables, this ingredient is sometimes looked down upon by some locals due to incorrect preparation methods.

Harvest these at their sweet spot, as they can be used and harvested in all three stages of the flowering process, and when to harvest also depends on what you are wanting to use them for.

Greg’s tip: Here’s a general rule when harvesting anything from a natural water source: If it comes from a freshwater resource you need to rinse it in salt and allow to rest in the saltwater. Do the complete opposite if you harvest from salt water – rinse and soak in fresh water.

This cleans the waterblommetjie of pond algae, insects and excess seeds, which should be removed before cooking as part of the preparation.

The first stage is the first bloom flowers, which have a very sweet honey scent that attracts pollinators. The flower has a very delicate flavour and pickles very well, or can be used fresh right at the end for a casserole or bredie to retain its texture and floral honey flavour.

The second stage is when its 50/50, with the colours being half white and half green, as the kool or seed pod starts to develop. At this stage it is best harvested and cooked, particularly for slow-cooked bredies or potjies. At this stage it is not fibrous and breaks down very nicely to add its own delicious texture to the pot.

As the flower and seed pod develop, the external casing becomes very fibrous and tough, which is very difficult to cook and is generally left to go to seed.

But if you peel back the leaves, the seed capsules will be revealed, which are also edible. These can be harvested as well and pickled, and then used in salads and salsas. I generally harvest every second one from the pod to allow for some to continue the seeding process so that I can harvest next season as a sustainable natural food source. In the Western Cape we generally get two harvest seasons a year, from May – October.

It is a real traditional old world South African

winter warmer and has been used for centuries.

Here is a signature recipe of mine that embraces the ecosystem where this indigenous ingredient is found.

You can create a complete dish using invasive and naturalised species of fish and other ingredients found along the riverbanks, such as suurings/African woodsorrel (Oxalis pes-caprae), which add acidity to this dish and really bring those flavours together. It takes some skill but is loads of fun and full of reward for your efforts.

This dish draws on the heritage of the Cape Malay and utilisation of spices and techniques this culture brought to the shores of South Africa many years ago.

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IN THE KITCHEN

Pond ecosystem Cured and smoked fresh water fish, kerrie waterblommetjie soup and bull rush tempura.

Preparation

Cape Malay waterblommetjie soup Ingredients 1kg waterblommetjie 1 leek, chopp ed 1 celery, chopp ed 1 onion, chopp ed 1 tablespo on Hare Krishna spice 3 tablespo ons suurings (Oxali s pes cap rae) stalks, chopp ed 1 tablespo on tumeric 2 cloves garlic, crushe d 1 potato, diced 250 ml coconut cream

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1.

2.

3.

leek, In a pan, heat oil and sauté onion, celery and garlic.

Add Hare Krishna spice and tumeric on to the mix ture and allow to cook m me dium heat to release the oils fro the spices . s Then add waterblommetjies, suuring so and potatoes, and stir occasionally the they do not stick to the bottom of

pan. to a slow 4. Add coconut cream and bring s too boil. Add a little water if it reduce much. and 5. When the waterblommetjies potatoes are tender and cooked, nd. transfer to a foo d pro cessor and ble correc t 6. Strain soup through a sieve and seasoning.

Dry cured and smoked fresh water fish

Bull rush pickle

Ingredients

1kg bull rush (Typha capensis) - you want the centre core, which is the base to the mid region of the plant.

1 cup sugar 1 cup vinegar 1 cup water 1 teaspoon whole coriander 1 teaspoon aniseed whole 1 teaspoon wild radish seeds (Raphanus raphanistrum) or black mustard seeds 1 teaspoon kapokbos (Eriocephalus africanus)

The dry cure: ½ cup sea salt ½ cup brown sugar 1½ teaspoons dried lemon zest 1½ teaspoons dried confetti bush (Coleonema album) ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper The smoked Fish: 4 fresh-water fish fillet such as trout or bass, deboned and scales removed 1 cup rooikrans, apple or hickory chips 6 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons lime juice Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation To make the dry cure 1. Combine all the ingredients - this will make about one cup. The mixture may be kept, covered, for six months or more.

2. For this recipe, you will need four tablespoons.

3. Rub each fillet on both sides with two tablespoons of the dry cure and place in a glass baking dish.

4. Refrigerate for six hours, or overnight.

5. Remove the fillets from the dish and rinse quickly under running water, just to remove excess cure.

6. Place fillets on a raised grid surface to allow air to circulate around them. Leave to dry for three hours, or until the surface is dry and shiny.

7. Place fillets on a smoking tray, and with a smoking gun fill the dish with smoke and cover with tin foil. This method is for cold smoking, to retain the delightful structure of freshwater fish.

8. Leave covered till smoke has disappeared, then fill chamber once more and allow to rest until all smoke has disappeared.

9. Remove and refrigerate for service.

Before serving, heat a medium pan and sear fillets briefly on both sides to caramelise the exterior and increase flavour. Add salt and pepper to taste when serving, but this recipe generally has a wellbalanced flavour that doesn’t require additional seasoning.

Ingredients

Preparation Roast freshly harvested bull rush stems on rock salt in the oven at 180°C for 35 minutes. Peel the outer layer to reach the core of the bull rush, which should be soft and tender.

Cut the bull rush into 3cm pieces. Place sugar, water, vinegar and spices into a saucepan and cook until dissolved. Place the bull rush into a sterilised pickle jar and fill with pickle liquid. Refrigerate until needed or leave at room temperature to ferment.

Bull rush tempura Ingredients For the tempura batter 100g tempura flour 4g salt 4g dry yeast 10g chopped garlic 6g kapokbos (Eriocephalus africanus), chopped 30ml lukewarm water

Directions Soak the dry yeast in lukewarm water and place the garlic and herbs together in a bowl. Whisk together all the ingredients for the tempura batter, avoiding lumps. Cover and keep in a warm place for at least 10 minutes. Pour the oil into a pan and place on a slow fire. Once the oil is hot, dip the bull rush into the tempura batter and fry it until it turns golden brown (about 1 minute). www.growtoeat.co.za I 83

c i n a g r O

farming done right!

A showcase organic farm is being established in KZN, and we can’t wait to see it grow from strength to strength.

D

ale Grobler is a passionate, energetic organic farmer. We’ve featured him before, with his Farm to Forks business that supplies top-notch fresh and organic produce to some of the best restaurants in the country.

And now Dale is spreading his wings. As with anyone involved in the restaurant business, Dale has had a tough year or two, with restaurants not able to take the produce that he grew for them. He managed to pivot his business to a degree, with pick-your-own foraging days on his farm, but times have been tough. You can’t keep a guy like Dale down though, and there is a beaming light on the horizon, a light that will become one of the most impressive organic farm gardens in KwaZulu-Natal, and probably the country.

“It’s going to be a beautiful show garden, but also a functional farm,” says Dale. “This is going to be nothing like KZN has seen before!” And as luck would have it, this organic masterpiece is going to be just up the road from the Grow to Eat offices, at Stoneford Country Estate in Botha’s Hill.

It’s a very structured layout, inspired by other formal gardens found in South Africa, so

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it has to be neat, with not a weed and nothing out of place. There will be chicken and ducks roaming around taking care of snails and other pests.

“Ultimately what we want to do is show people that organic farming is achievable – it’s realistic. We want people to see that you can grow restaurant quality, healthy, nutrient-dense food without chemicals, by being responsible and ethical. We want to highlight what it means to eat local, to support local farmers and producers, to get what you can without plastic and the negative effects of transport.”

It’s early days, but earth has been broken and Dale has shared his plan with us. We’ll follow his journey, and the farm’s, with interest and share it on these pages. In the meantime, here are some organic growing tips and a recipe from Dale.

Instagram Facebook

@farm_to_forks /Farmtoforksdurban

The layout of Stoneford Farm.

Dale harvesting a few onions.

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Dale’s Tips on how to start an Organic Garden Dale Grobler from Farm to Forks has shared his top tips on getting a veggie garden started organically.

time, I would plant chillies, Swiss chard or spinach, radishes, beetroot and carrots.

Prepare the soil

The best time to water is in the mornings; it tends to be cooler with less wind, so the amount of water lost to evaporation is reduced. If you water in the evening, plants stay damp overnight, making them more likely to be damaged by fungal and bacterial diseases.

You should water the roots of the plant, not the greenery, which is easily damaged. To avoid shocking tender leaves, try to use water near air temperature; collected rainwater is best.

To get the best results with your organic garden, you need to ensure that the soil is properly conditioned. Healthy soil helps build up healthy plants.

Chemically treated soil can seep into your food as well as harm the beneficial bacteria, worms and microbes in your soil. Mix in compost, leaf and grass clippings, and manure. Manure should be composted first.

Make good compost All gardens benefit from compost. Compost feeds plants, helps conserve water, cuts down on weeds and keeps waste out of landfills!

Choosing the right plants It really pays to choose plants that will thrive in your specific conditions, plants that will adjust well in terms of light, moisture, drainage and soil quality. The happier your plants are, the more resistant they’ll be.

If you’re buying seedlings, look for plants grown without chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

Choose plants that are indigenous to your area. It’s better to buy seedlings with few blooms and root systems that are not overcrowded.

Planting crops Vegetables or cutting flowers should be grouped tightly in beds that you don’t walk on. Raised beds also work well. Grouping reduces weeding and water waste, and also helps target compost and nutrients. Ample space between rows helps promote air circulation, which decreases the risk of fungal diseases. If you have limited space and

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Watering

Weeding Reduce weeds by applying mulch, which also helps protect the soil. You can use straw, lawn cuttings or wood chips.

Protecting plants without pesticides If you have pests, it may be a sign of other problems, so make sure your plants are getting enough light, nutrients and moisture. It’s good to have natural predators in your garden, such as frogs, lizards and birds. Beneficial insects can be your friends, especially ladybirds.

Harvesting Don’t forget to harvest the fruits of your labour!

Generally, the more you harvest, the more your plants will produce. It’s best to cut produce off with a sharp knife or scissors rather than harvesting with your fingers, which can cause damage to plant tissue.

Cleaning up If you notice unhealthy plants, ensure you pull up the entire plant. Don’t forget to rake up underneath the plant as diseased leaves can create future problems.

IN THE KITCHEN

Dale’s quick beetroot pickles These are great for the summer table, and the recipe can also be used for radishes, courgettes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, peppers and chillies.

500g beetroot 750ml vinegar 750ml water 2 heaped tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon mustard seeds 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons peppercorns 2 bay leaves 2 cloves sliced garlic Handful of thyme A 3-litre glass jar

Slice your beetroot evenly, then add the beetroot slices to the glass jar. Add the vinegar and water to a pot, add salt and spices, and bring to a simmer. Pour the mixture into the glass jar, covering the beetroot. Let it cool for about 12 hours before refrigerating. Your pickles will be ready to eat in 48 hours and will last for 3 - 4 weeks in the fridge.

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HEALTH FORAGER

Foraging for

health Learn to heal in nature.

W

hile many of us know that we should eat healthily (don’t eat this, do eat that…), we are also very reliant on vitamin supplements and conventional pharmaceuticals. But while we’re learning about what to put into our bodies, why not extend that knowledge to natural medicines?

We spoke to medicinal plant researcher JeanFrancois Sobiecki, who is also an avid nature explorer and loves to teach people about his own passion: medicinal plants.

“I have had a lifelong interest in medicinal plants and have been studying African medicinal plants for over a decade, on their traditional uses as foods, medicines, tonics and cosmetics. I also love taking people into nature to heal, so I have combined these

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Lippia javanica

passions and now offer informative walks into the bush, as well as online video courses on herbal and traditional medicines.”

While online courses makes so much sense at the moment, especially when the subject matter is healing and medicinal plants, we especially love the idea of people learning about indigenous medicinal and edible plants in the bush where they are found naturally.

“On the Phytoalchemy Medicinal Plants Tours I offer, I take groups of people into the African bush, into the beautiful Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve in the south of Johannesburg for a healing medicinal plant walk. Not only does everyone learn, but they also leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated!”

Some of the subject matter on these walks is wild edible foods and how to use South African medicinal plants in our own homes and medicine cabinets, but it’s also just a great opportunity to reconnect with nature and to explore with other people interested in similar things.

Jean-Francois’s tours start at 9:30 and end at 13:30, and they really are hikes, into the koppies of the reserve. On the walk people will see and learn about plants like fever tea (Lippia javanica), wild pear (Dombeya rotundifolia) for the heart, wild

Artemisia afra

cucumber (Pentarrhinum insipidum), marog and African wormwood (Artemisia afra), to name just a few.

This last plant is a popular garden plant, but we’re not sure how many people who grow it actually make use of it, so we asked Jean-Francois to share some of his knowledge on this plant with us. Here is what he had to say: Artemisia afra is one of the more famous African plants. A multi-stemmed perennial shrub up to 2m high, it grows from seed sown in spring in welldrained soil. This is one of South Africa’s most popular and widely used medicinal plants, and it is most commonly used as a tea or tincture to treat respiratory infections. Infusions (tea) or decoctions of the fresh or dried leaves, with honey, are used to treat the influenza virus, coughs, pneumonia, colds and fever, while crushed leaves or steam from infusions are commonly inhaled for headaches and colds.

As a classic bitter plant, it stimulates the appetite and works as a digestive tonic, and is especially good as an alcohol tincture made with cane spirit or vodka. This bitter plant, like many other bitter plants, has antimicrobial properties and kills various pathogens, including intestinal worms (hence its

name), and is used for treating malaria and other parasites as well as viral infections. Its antiviral activities are well documented, as are its anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and narcotic functions. It is useful as a tincture for sore throats and to steam for head colds, the essential oils helping here. The plant produces a lovely essential oil that smells like menthol. Other uses include for treating chest complaints, fevers as an antipyretic, headaches and TB. In South Africa there is also a long history if it being used to treat viral respiratory infections, and it is often mixed with other herbs such as fever tea (Lippia javanica). Interestingly, because of its antiviral properties it has been widely used in the treatment of COVID-19 symptoms.

Warning: It should not be used during pregnancy due to its strong-acting chemicals. This applies to many herbal remedies.

For more on Jean-Francois’s medicinal plant work, visit his website: http://phytoalchemy.co.za/faq/

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PERMACULTURE

Permaculture methods for regenerating soil Don’t despair if your garden’s soil isn’t great – it can be improved!

TEXT Lindsay Gray

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ot all soils are equal. Some soil types are easy to work while others are a nightmare. The good news is that poor soil can, with understanding and patience, be regenerated to the point where it yields wonderful results.

Healthy soil is key to healthy plants and a nutrient-rich harvest – it stands to reason that fruit and vegetables that are produced in poor soil will not contain the same nutrients and flavour as those grown in a healthy medium.

Plants are also less affected by pests and diseases if the soil is in excellent condition.

What is regenerative permaculture?

‘Regenerative agriculture’ describes farming and grazing practices set to reverse the effects of climate change by restoring degraded soil and, most importantly, the level of organic matter on the land.

‘Permaculture’ is the practice of identifying all elements of sustainable living that are in harmony with nature and do not result in damage to the environment.

The combination of these two concepts has laid a blueprint for farmers and gardeners to consciously dispense with age-old practices that damage the soil.

In the agricultural sector, these include constant tilling of the earth, allowing land to lie fallow without growing a cover crop for protection, and repetitive planting of monocultures that deplete the soil of valuable nutrients that then require chemical fertilisers to restore some semblance of health to the soil.

In gardens, the practices of raking up organic matter for aesthetic purposes and regularly turning the soil to aerate it are no more. Gardeners are now urged to build layers of rich, healthy organic matter, using plant material from their garden where possible, to improve soil health and provide optimal growing conditions for both ornamental and edible plants.

While this might require a slight shift in mindset for some, the end result is extremely rewarding. Soil health improves dramatically, you won’t need to water the garden as frequently and you will notice an increase in the variety of insects and birds that visit your property. .

Regenerating the soil There are many ways to restore and maintain the health of your soil with minimal expense.

No-dig practice:

Regular turning of the soil damages its structure and exposes the beneficial organisms residing in that top layer to the elements. It also increases moisture evaporation, and that is why it is now actively discouraged.

When planting into an existing garden bed, it is likely that there is already some organic matter in the soil. In that case, first remove any unwanted plant matter, lay down a thick layer of good-quality compost and plant directly into that medium. As you plant, the compost will automatically be incorporated into the soil, and the remaining compost www.growtoeat.co.za I 91

Fresh lasagne garden bed

will act as a layer of mulch.

If, however, you are planting into virgin soil that is either compacted or has a high clay content, you can choose one of two methods. The first is to work over the top 10 – 20cm with a garden fork and then lay down a thick layer of compost before planting.

Note that this action of turning the soil need never be repeated. By replenishing the layer of mulch several times throughout the year, you will notice a huge improvement in the structure of the soil over time. It A gardener prepares a no-dig garden by laying down compost.

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can take as long as 3 – 5 years for the quality of poor or compacted soil to improve.

The second option is to use the ‘lasagne bed’ method, where you create layers of organic material that soon combine and decompose to the point where you have a rich, friable base in which to plant. It is an efficient means of utilising garden waste that might otherwise end up on a landfill site, and is an excellent method for raised beds.

At its base, layer cardboard boxes or sheets of newspaper to prevent weeds from popping up. The cardboard also absorbs moisture and releases it back into the soil slowly before eventually breaking down. On top of this add layers of absorptive material such as straw, hay and dried grass clippings. After that comes the layer of organic material such as compost, kraal manure, fresh garden waste or vegetable peels, and even some topsoil. This layer will increase the productivity of the bed. Repeat these layers until the desired height is achieved, and add a final layer of straw before watering the bed well.

As the material starts to decompose, it will subside so ensure that you add sufficient material, especially in raised beds.

Mulching: Mulching is key to a healthy soil. The action of ‘mulching’ is a term used to describe laying down any suitable organic material on top of the soil that will insulate it against heat and wind damage, erosion and prevent moisture evaporation. Depending on the material you choose, mulch needs to be replenished several times a year as it is quickly absorbed into the soil, which is exactly what is needed.

In the documentary Back to Eden, Paul Gautschi expounds the benefits of sustainable organic growing methods that can be implemented in diverse climates around the world. He cites his success of using wood chips as a mulch on hard, clay soil to the point where his soil is now friable and yields nutrientrich crops – and he never waters his garden.

Wood chips are not always readily available in South Africa because the machinery required is expensive, but there are other options that one can use as a mulch, such as compost, lawn clippings used in a thin layer, dry leaves, hay, straw, teff, newspaper, bark chips, shredded plant material, macadamia shells and newspaper.

Choose the right material for your garden, bearing in mind that the more solid materials such as bark chips are used more as a decorative element and are not readily absorbed into the soil.

Cover crops: Cover crops are grown on land that is fallow (devoid of plant

material) to protect the structure of the soil until the next planting is done, and to address any problems in the soil. The benefits include reducing compaction, erosion control, protection from harsh elements, nitrogen fixation and weed suppression, to name a few.

While this sounds like something you would only practice in agriculture, the benefits are enormous in gardens too, where areas of soil might be lying bare because you haven’t yet decided what to plant. Cover crops may also attract pollinators and add temporary colour to your garden.

About three weeks before you are ready to plant, turn the cover crop into the soil so that it partially decomposes. This is referred to as ‘green manure’.

Peas and oats have an abundance of nutrients and are often used as cover crops.

The seven layers of a forest food garden

1

1. Canopy – large fruit and nut trees 2. Lower tree layer – dwarf fruit trees 3. Shrub layer – currants and berries 4. Herbaceous – comfrey and herbs 5. Rhizosphere – root vegetables 6. Soil surface – groundcovers like strawberries 7. Vertical layer – climbers and vines

2 2 7 4

3 6 6

5

5

Food forests: The concept of the food forest is a relatively new one in this country for most home gardeners, but one that works well when planned correctly. It is a permaculture term for creating a longterm, sustainable food garden all year, where different layers of plants benefit one another and, ultimately, the soil.

It differs from the traditional way of planting crops in organised rows in that it emulates a forest structure.

In essence, the typical forest habitat is studied and then applied on a smaller scale specifically for food production.

There are seven layers to the food forest: tall fruiting trees to emulate a forest canopy; low trees to slot in beneath the first layer; fruiting shrubs such as gooseberries, blueberries and raspberries; tall herbs, including perennial herbs and those that self-seed;

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groundcover crops such as strawberries and creeping herbs; vines such as melons, cucumbers, grapes and kiwifruit, and other vegetables that require support, and, lastly, rooting plants like onions, garlic, potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Once a food forest is established, it should take care of itself, with the upper canopy generating sufficient mulch by shedding its leaves to feed the soil and keep it moist. By choosing leguminous trees, nitrogen will be added to the soil via their root system. Root hairs trap specific types of bacteria, which then penetrate the root cells. Over time, the root develops a nodule containing a package of nitrogen that either feeds the tree or releases into the soil, making it available to surrounding plants and reducing the need to feed with fertilisers.

Hex appeal We love these hexagonal pot plant covers, and the basic shape is so versatile!

WHAT YOU NEED 24 x 15cm x 50mm x 50mm, cut at 30° NOT parallel Woodoc 10 Indoor Polywax Sealer 36 x 65mm x 4mm screws

1

TOOLS: Mitre saw, tape measure, cordless drill, driver bit, 3mm drill bit, paint brush, 180-grit sandpaper

2

3

You can also use the hexagonal shape in other ways to create cool wall art or hanging planters.

STEPS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Cut the wood to length. Make sure that the 30° angles at the ends are NOT parallel.

The long edge should be 150mm long. Once that is done, lay down 6 pieces of wood to form a hexagonal, with the long edges on the INSIDE. Lay down another six pieces of wood on the others, but shifted so that they overlap and are not directly above the pieces in the base layer.

Drill pilot holes with a 3mm drill bit and screw these to the bottom layer.

Repeat step 3 twice more so that you have a planter four layers thick.

Seal with a wood sealant to prolong the lifespan. Do at least three coats, allowing to dry and then gently sanding between coats. We used Woodoc 10 because we love the smooth velvet finish that doesn’t affect the natural appearance of the wood.

Now slip a potted plant into the hexagonal pot cover and give it pride of place.

4

5

Never again!

WITH ANNA

by Anna Celliers

I’m really battling with changing the way that I have always dealt with vegetables to suit my taste buds…

The advantage of having two married daughters (both good cooks when they feel like it!) is that I am no longer solely responsible for planning and cooking the traditional large family meals for special occasions. The work and cost of ingredients is now divided between the three of us – albeit not equally or fairly, since I still have to do the meat dishes, especially the old-fashioned chicken pie, glazed gammon and roast leg of mutton.

The disadvantage is that they always seem to be on a diet, or let me rather put it this way; they are on a diet during the planning stage of a meal, when we are arguing about which side dishes to include on our menu. On the actual day, when we all sit around the table to tuck in, I see no signs of willpower or restraint at all!

Since the epidemic prevented the family from gathering around the dining room table for quite a while, we decided to go big this year… The meeting we convened to decide on who is responsible for what was a loud and argumentative affair, as they brought along foreign-looking recipes and weird ideas. Today’s young are so intent on health and freshness, while I feel it can’t hurt to go overboard on just one day a year!

Their suggestions for vegetables were mostly of the raw or roasted variety, and containing vegetables that I do not think are compatible when layered together and smothered with fresh, pungent herbs. I, for instance, do not like the idea of pieces of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, large mushrooms, green peppers and pickling onions together in one pan. So I told them no, as I like my veggies to be by themselves and I also won’t have space in my oven for this dish!

My youngest child then relented and offered to make the pumpkin fritters I had on my list, but said that she was not going to waste time peeling a huge pumpkin and she was not going to stand around stirring the very sweet, buttery and rich caramel sauce I always make to smother them in. She would just buy already prepared pumpkin, and only apply a light dusting of cinnamon mixed with artificial sweetener. I replied that I heard that artificial sweetener kills the nectar-feeding birds, whereas I’m still kicking despite eating dozens of my unhealthy pumpkin fritters over the past few decades. So I firmly informed them that I would never again make my pumpkin fritters my way, so as not to jeopardise their health or jean size. I saw a little fear and longing in their eyes…

Other ideas were steamed green beans, cooked al dente and dusted with almond slithers. I started cackling, reminding them how they used to fight over my soft green beans cooked slowly in water with a chopped raw onion, potato pieces and a mutton chop thrown in too. Before mashing the whole lot together, I used to discard the chop and season the beans with large blobs of butter, white pepper and ‘that yellow spice’. They were scandalised when they heard this, having never thought before to ask me how I cooked the beans they so loved. “How could you add a chop, and how could you use that ‘yellow, cancerous’ salt, Ma?” So, I informed

them (a bit miffed by now!) that pre-Covid was the last time they would ever enjoy green beans done my way – from now on it would be their way. I thought I detected some nervous twitches around the table…

The discussion about sweet potatoes did not go well either.

My eldest said that although she always liked my sweet potatoes, she thinks we should just bake them in their skins and dribble them with a little balsamic vinegar and honey after cooking – she apparently heard about this on Facebook. I scoffed. Well, in that case, no more caramel brown, sugary and buttery sweet potatoes for you lot anymore! The eldest gave a deep groan and asked, “How did you manage to always get them so dark brown?” I replied that I was never above using a chemical compound to enhance the taste and look of a vegetable, so I always added a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the pot while slowly cooking the sweet potatoes, and that I would rather not divulge the amount of sugar and butter I added afterwards. But I added they should not worry as we would from now on just eat them au natural.

There was a suggestion that we cut potatoes from the menu in favour of other healthier vegetables, and I quickly replied that I take it that they would then never again want a helping of my soft potato slices fried for ages in cooking oil with thick onion rings slowly caramelizing and turning brown? They used to love this. Suddenly there was a long silence in the room.

The discussion about salads did not go well either.

There was a suggestion of raw broccoli and cauliflower salad – some new-fangled concoction I could not get my head around. But never mind, I thought out aloud, I will in future only bake my broccoli and cauliflower smothered in white sauce and three cheeses with a dusting of paprika on top when I have no ‘guests’ around.

My suggestions for copper penny carrot salad (which lasts for ages), potato salad with mayonnaise and condensed milk (also lasts for ages), slaphakskeentjies (pickling onions swimming in a sweet mustard sauce, which lasts for ages as well), and my cucumber ring set in greengage jelly were firmly wiped off the table. Well, it’s okay, I thought – they will miss these a few days later when nobody feels like cooking and there’s nothing to go with left-over gammon…

Then we got to suggestions for dessert, and my trifle with the red and green jelly, boudoir biscuits and Old Brown Sherry was also shot off the table. I was in despair hearing that it was to be replaced by something with healthy summer berries on top. I hate berries of all kinds (actually, most fruit for that matter) because they are so sour that they pucker my cheeks.

But, never one to give up completely, I am now practising to eat blueberries just as they are. I have found that if you leave them in the fridge to go way past their ‘use by date’, they actually become sweeter and more edible, and they might just be a good substitute for the cheese curls I love so much as a bed-time snack.