by Lynne Byass | Oct 2, 2023 | Calendula, Plant of the Month
I thought we’d do something different this month: a flower instead of a vegetable. Before you turn away, asking “What value is that?”, read through the rest of the article – you may be pleasantly surprised. DESCRIPTION Calendula is an annual...
by Lynne Byass | Sep 3, 2023 | Plant of the Month, tomatoes
It’s that time of year: tomato time. Tomatoes are the number one vegetable grown by home gardeners in the western world. Gardeners are seeking that well-known and loved taste; the taste you just don’t get in store-bought tomatoes. But what do you need to...
by Lynne Byass | Aug 5, 2023 | Celery, Plant of the Month
HISTORICAL INFORMATION Celery originated in the Mediterranean region. Archaeological evidence of celery being grown in Switzerland 6,000 years ago shows that celery seeds were bring transported throughout Europe and, probably, into Asia, in ancient times. It is...
by Lynne Byass | Jun 5, 2023 | Peas, Plant of the Month
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old. old nursery rhyme HISTORICAL INFORMATION Pease porridge, the ancestor of what is now known as pea and ham soup, was a staple food in medieval times. It consisted of split peas, salt,...
by Lynne Byass | Apr 29, 2023 | Lettuce, Plant of the Month
HISTORICAL INFORMATION The plant we now call lettuce was once thought to have been bred from a ‘weed’ growing in the countries close to the Mediterranean Sea. Wild varieties (Lactuca serriola) can still be found growing there, and in parts of Asia. The...
by Lynne Byass | Apr 1, 2023 | Cabbage, Plant of the Month
HISTORICAL INFORMATION The cabbages we know today were bred from wild mustard plants that grew around the Mediterranean region. The parent plants of modern cabbages were grown at least 1,000BCE and, in Roman times, were considered a delicacy. Plant breeders, mostly in...
by Lynne Byass | Mar 3, 2023 | Broccoli, Plant of the Month
HISTORICAL INFORMATION The broccoli we know today was bred from wild mustard plants that grew around the Mediterranean region. The parent plants of modern broccoli were grown in Roman times, so the vegetable has been around in one form or another for at least 2,000...
by Lynne Byass | Feb 8, 2023 | Seed Savers
Exciting News: Land to Grow Seeds!! Feb 2022 New Varieties of Seed in the Seed Bank Feb 2022 Why do the labels on seedlings from PSW fade? Nov 2022 Exciting News: Land to Grow Seeds!! As many of you would know, we live on a steep, south-facing block, where winter sun...
by Lynne Byass | Feb 3, 2023 | Basil, Plant of the Month
BASIL “Pounding fragrant things – particularly garlic, basil, parsley – is a tremendous antidote to depression.” Patience Gray, English food writer (1917-2005) HISTORICAL INFORMATION Despite the fact that many people associate basil with pesto...
by Lynne Byass | Nov 4, 2022 | Cucumber
CUCUMBERS The phrase, “cool as a cucumber” was first used in 1732 in a poem by John Gay, entitled New Song on New Similes. Cucumbers are cool; in fact, the inside of a cucumber can be as much as 12°C cooler than the air temperature due to cucumbers being...
by Lynne Byass | Sep 30, 2022 | Sunflowers
SUNFLOWERS Advice from a sunflower. Be bright, sunny and positive. Know your roots. Spread seeds of happiness. Rise, shine and hold your head up high. Keep on growing. Even on the darkest days, stand tall and find the sunlight. – source unknown HISTORICAL...
by Lynne Byass | Sep 2, 2022 | Radish
RADISHES Radishes grow just about anywhere. People think, ‘Oh it’s just a radish.’ But radishes are delicious, and people don’t think of cooking them. Emeril Lagasse (American Celebrity Chef) HISTORICAL INFORMATION While there seems to be some...
by Lynne Byass | Jul 29, 2022 | Marigolds
Inchworm, Inchworm, measuring the marigolds, seems to me you’d stop and see how beautiful they are! So sang Danny Kaye in the 1952 movie, Hans Christian Anderson. Marigolds are not only beautiful flowers, they also very useful plants in the edible or ornamental...
by Lynne Byass | Jul 4, 2022 | Bananas
Although sometimes referred to as ‘trees’, banana plants (Musa species) are actually herbaceous perennials: herbs, distantly related related to ginger. A tree forms a woody stem, banana plants never do. Instead they form ‘pseudo-stems’ that...
by Lynne Byass | Jun 3, 2022 | Collard Greens
Collards are a loose leaf vegetable from the Brassica family, which includes cabbages, kale, broccoli and mustards. They are sometimes referred to as “collard greens”, “tree collards” or ‘borekale’.1 Botanically speaking, they are...
by Lynne Byass | Apr 29, 2022 | Plant of the Month, Uncategorized
Chicory is a perennial grown as a leaf and root vegetable, or as a coffee substitute. The plants originated in the area around the Mediterranean sea: western Asia, southern Europe and northern Africa.1 Chicory is from the same group of plants that include...
by Lynne Byass | Apr 1, 2022 | Coriander, Plant of the Month
Coriander, also known as Cilantro, is a herb that divides people – you either love it, or you dislike it, it seems there is no ‘take it or leave it’!! For those who think that coriander tastes like soap, apparently it’s a matter of genetics...
by Lynne Byass | Mar 4, 2022 | Beets, Plant of the Month
The beloved addition to Australia hamburgers is not just a root vegetable. The species that we call ‘beets’ includes plants grown for their roots, such as beetroot, sugar-beet and mangel wurzel, and plants grown for their leaves, such as silver-beet and...
by Lynne Byass | Jan 28, 2022 | Plant of the Month
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea), commonly called pigweed, is an annual ‘weed’ in season during summer and into autumn. It is a succulent plant, containing 93% water, with red stems and small, green teardrop-shaped leaves. The taste is a little sour, a little salty.1 The...
by Lynne Byass | Sep 30, 2021 | Plant of the Month
What is that strange looking fruit? It looks like a little paper lantern! This is ‘Cape Gooseberry’, also know as ‘Peruvian Ground Cherry’, ‘Golden Berry’ or ‘Aztec Berry’. Sometimes, in USA, it is marketed as ‘Pichuberry’. It comes from South America, around Peru,... 