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Home | Food Plants HomeThe Food Garden
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ASPARAGUS (Asparagus officinalis) Long-lived, productive perennial grown for the delicious new spears that appear in spring. Requires rich, well drained soil with plenty of added compost or well-rotted manure. Water well during the warmer months and supply an annual top-dressing of manure. Mature plants can yield well for 20 years or longer. Supplied as one-year old crowns (best size for establishment), a small harvest can be taken in the third spring, with the harvest increasing each year as the crown becomes more productive. (sold as 1-year old crowns, available June-August) 6 for $10.00 ARGENTEUIL
EARLY CONNOVER'S COLOSSAL Well established old favourite. Produces thick, dark green spears with wonderful flavour.MARY WASHINGTON Popular home garden and commercial variety with excellent taste. Productive and hardy, with medium-sized, dark green, purplish-tipped spears. |
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CHINESE ARTICHOKE (Stachys affinis) Sought-after delicacy, pearly-white tubers are used in a range of dishes including stir-fries and soups. Mild and distinctive, crunchy, nutty flavour, similar to a water chestnut. Perennial plant, dies back in winter. (sold as tubers, available June-August) 6 for $5.00, 15 for $10.00 |
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COMFREY (Symphytum officinale) One of the most useful plants in an organic garden. Flowers are loved by bees. Leaves provide a nutrient- and mineral-rich mulch or can be used to make liquid manure, providing a ready (and growable!) source of fertilizer. High in Potassium, comfrey liquid manure is particularly beneficial at the onset of fruit set, increasing numbers and quality of fruit (eg tomatoes). Plants provide an excellent forage crop for poultry.The mucilaginous root is highly regarded by herbalists for its medicinal use. (sold as root cuttings, available June-August) $5.00ea |
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FRENCH TARRAGON (Artemesia dracunculus) French Tarragon is called 'the king of all culinary herbs'. Its fine, light aniseed flavour combines beautifully with chicken and fish dishes and classic French cooking. Plants of French Tarragon don't set viable seed, and must be propagated by root division. As a result, plants are rarely available to the home gardener and seed grown Russian Tarragon (Artemesia dracunculoides), which has a greatly inferior flavour, should not be substituted. Fresh aerial parts are used in cooking and to flavour the esteemed Tarragon vinegar. A herbaceous perennial, plants die down in winter and reappear in spring. (sold as root divisions, available bare-rooted June-September) $5.00ea SOLD OUT |
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GLOBE ARTICHOKE (Cynara scolymus) Gourmet Mediterranean vegetable, grown for the edible, immature flower buds. Perennial, growing to 1.5m with large silver-green leaves. Huge purple thistle-like flower heads. Highly ornamental. Harvest for edible use while the the scales on the flower buds remain tight. Heads are eaten steamed, baked and pickled. Delicious and unique flavour. Prefers a well drained, sunny position. (sold as offsets, available bare-rooted June-August) $5.00ea SOLD OUT $3.00ea potted (available mid-October) FRENCH PURPLE Purple-headed variety with highly esteemed flavour. GREEN GLOBE Heirloom. Standard variety with large, oval, grey-green heads. Good flavour. |
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HORSERADISH (Aromoracia rusticanna) Herbaceous perennial to 50cm. Long, tubular
white roots have a range of culinary and medicinal uses. Grated roots
used to make a popular sauce to accompany meat and vegetable dishes.
Unique, pungent flavour. Hardy. (sold as root cuttings, available June-August) |
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JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE (Helianthus tuberosa) Tall perennial plant resembling a sunflower
with small yellow flowers. Dies back in late autumn-winter, when the
knobbly, potato-like tubers are harvested. Highly productive. Unique and delicious, with a
slightly tangy, smoky flavour. Used in cooking like potatoes. Excellent
roasted or used in soups. |
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LOVAGE (Levisticum
officinale) Tall perennial herb to 2m with celery-like leaves and umbels of tiny yellow-green flowers. The highly aromatic leaves are used in cooking, as a flavouring for soups and other dishes. Especially good in potato and lovage soup. Seeds and roots are also used in cooking and medicinally. Becomes dormant in winter and re-shoots in spring. Loves fertile, well-manured soil, and a sunny position. (sold as bare-rooted crowns, available June-August) $5.00ea |
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OCA or NEW ZEALAND YAM (Oxalis tuberosa) Attractive,
low bushy plant from the South American highlands growing to 30cm
with succulent stems. Grown for the small, elongated pink (rarely
white or yellow) tubers. Planted in early spring, the tubers are
lifted in late autumn-early winter when the tops die back. After
lifting, dry the tubers for a couple of days in the sun
before
storing. Flavour is unique with a slight tang. Treat like potatoes,
they are delicious roasted. |
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RHUBARB (Rheum spp.) Large, long-lived perennial grown for the thick, edible (cooked) stalks. Usually eaten stewed with sugar as a dessert. Two varieties available: (sold as bare-rooted crowns, available June-August) $5.00ea GLASKINS PERPETUAL Early and productive variety. Slender and juicy, bright red stalks with an excellent flavour when cooked. Hardy, with good disease resistance. VICTORIA Popular and productive home garden variety. Green and red shaded, broad stalks of fine flavour. Disease resistant. |
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TREE ONION (EGYPTIAN or WALKING ONION) (Allium cepa var. proliferum) Rarely available to the home gardener, this is a wonderful and unusual old onion variety. Sweet and juicy bulbs at the base of the plant are used as salad onions, while the cluster of small onions (bulbils) that form on top of long stalks can be pickled. The weight of the top bulbils eventually cause the stem to bend to the ground, where they grow as new plants, hence the name 'walking onions'. Hardy and productive. (sold as bulbils, available June-August) 5 for $5.00 SOLD OUT |
