Pineapples

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Linda Ross was suffering from pineapple nostalgia: for when car trips up north invariably passed through fields of pineapples and by the tremendous (for a 9-year-old) ‘Big Pineapple’. So she grew pineapples in her backyard patch in Sydney and surprised herself and the family with a bumper harvest!

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Plant Thai food

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

We love to plan our vegetable beds around dinner, so we grow a pizza-patch, a ratatouille garden, and our current favourite, a Thai takeaway. This is a hot-spot of the herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits that go into favourites such as tom yum soup and Thai beef salad. Here we offer tips for a scaled-down version that is, in the tradition of Thai takeaway puns, Thairiffic!

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Planting potatoes

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Order potatoes now and plant in spring for a delicious feed of new potatoes for in summer, and a second harvest next winter.

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Plums

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

As if the beautiful spring blossom of the plum were not enough to make it a lovely small tree choice for the home garden, it also deliver splump juicy fruit for eating, stewing, bottling, drying and cooking. The only question is which plum to plump for. Here we consider the options.

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Potato and Sweet Potato

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Spring is a good time to start a patch of both regular and sweet potatoes. Linda Ross tells how to plan for buried treasures.

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Potatoes

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

The ultimate comfort food starts here, with plans for a potato patch. 

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Potted: Basil

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

There are many types of basil to choose from: Thai, lemon, Greek perennial, globe, holy and purple, but regular sweet basil is indispensable, so start with that, then add to your collection.

 

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Potted: Blueberry Burst

18 March, 2021  |  Libby Cameron

More reasons to grow your own food - a dwarf-growing blueberry with fruit the size of a grape! The luscious fruits are produced in large quantities in late winter and early spring.

 

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Pumpkin soup with sherry chantilly

18 March, 2021  |  Robin Powell

This sweet and fragrant soup has a creamy texture courtesy of potato, and is topped with the luxurious surprise of whipped cream flavoured with cream sherry!

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Pumpkins

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Pumpkins are part of the cucurbit, along with zucchini, gourd, squash and cucumber, and have been cultivated for more 5000 years. Join in, urges Linda.

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Root Vegetables

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

This season we have dedicated one complete plot of our vegetable patch to roots. Nothing beats them for hearty winter dishes; soups and casseroles. 

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Salad Greens

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Every night of the week a different salad is served up on the Ross family dinner table as Linda explores the range of textures and flavours in grow-your-own greens. She says salad leaves are so easy and quick to grow you’d be mad not to join in.

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Salad Leaves

18 March, 2021  |  Justin Russell

In an era of masterchefs and duelling kitchens it’s hard to believe that 30 years ago a salad was iceberg lettuce, a pale, firm tomato wedge and a splash of bottled French or Italian dressing. These days there are cookbooks dedicated solely to the art of the salad and the variety of leaves we can grow in our gardens is enticingly large. Join the salad revolution!

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Spring jobs: November

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

The last of the spring blooms are falling. The mauve carpets of Jacaranda flowers are covering lawns and the throng of the crickets and songs of the frogs has begun. Here's a list of the last remaining spring jobs to be done in preparation for a big summer ahead

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Spring jobs: October

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

October is an energetic month for gardeners but there’s much to appreciate on the way. Here's a list of October essentials in the mid-spring garden.

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Sprouts

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

With the cooler weather setting in, its time to bring healthy vegetables inside onto the window sill and start to grow your own sprouts.

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Star of the season: Agastache

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

These easy-care, minty-fresh flowery fillers offer reliable and long-lasting summer colour.

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Star of the Season: Correa

18 March, 2021  |  Maria Hitchcock

Maria Hitchcock holds the National Living Collection of this wonderful little native, which is easy-care, versatile, generously flowering and bird-attracting. Here she shares her favourites and her growing tips.

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Strawberry

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Fresh strawberries for dessert, or jam-making on the weekend? These are the tough choices facing the home strawberry grower. Linda Ross, who in October will harvest a kilo every second day from the family strawberry patch, tells how it’s done.

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Strawberry Guide

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Some tips on growing strawberries.

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Sweetcorn

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross Read More

Tasty Spring Fresh Snap Peas

18 March, 2021  |  Graham Ross

Peas can be grown throughout Australia in the cool months and with both dwarf and tall-growing varieties available, peas are pod-perfect for any size garden.

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The List: Our 5 favourite purple vegetables

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Here are the 5 must-have purple veg this winter. Why purple? The colour is caused by a pigment called anthocyanin which is responsible for the colour of blueberries, purple and red grapes and red cabbage. It’s an antioxidant that appears to have a number of health benefits but also tastes yum!

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The List: Top 5 Edible Flowers

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

You might not have space for a vegetable plot, but foraging in the garden can still yield treats for dinner. Linda Ross picks a few delicious surprises.

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The Spice Garden - Garnisha

18 March, 2021  |  Robin Powell

Tim Warren grows all the fresh ingredients he needs to make his Garnisha range of spice pastes and chutneys. Here we take a deliciously fragrant walk through the garden.

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Tomatillo

18 March, 2021  |  Justin Russell

Much as I love my tomatoes and always give them pride of place in my summer garden, their outlandish Mexican cousin has really grown on me in recent years. Tomatillos are easy to grow, bear heavily without the need for constant attention, and taste fantastic.

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Tomato - Wapsipinicon Peach

18 March, 2021  |  Justin Russell

An unpronounceable mouthful of consonants hasn’t stopped ‘Wapsipinicon Peach’ being pronounced delicious in tomato taste tests. The slightly furry skin accounts for the peach reference, and the rest is a river in Iowa. We call it a wapsi and think it’s a beauty!

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Tomato Time

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

There is much joy to be had in picking sun-ripened, richly flavoured sweet tomatoes from your own garden. Linda Ross shares her tried and trusted tips and techniques.

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Tomatoes

18 March, 2021  |  Arno King

Wherever you live it’s time to think tomatoes: plan for a summer crop in cool areas, and grow now in warm areas.

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Tomatoes

18 March, 2021  | 

Early spring is the time to germinate heirloom tomatoes seeds. But whether you are growing from seed, or skipping that step with seedlings from the nursery, here are our top tips for growing a great feed of tomatoes this summer. 

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Trace Elements

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Gardeners are often advised to add nutrients and trace elements to the soil before planting, especially before planting edible plants. Why? Linda has the answers.

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Triple Ginger Loaf

18 March, 2021  |  Jo Wright

Jo Wright is a keen baker (she’s notched up several wins the Royal Easter Show for her cakes!) an avid gardener, a treasured member of Garden Clinic, and for the last three years, has been the trusted baker of goodies for our garden classes. She wowed attendees at our recent Bees and Butterflies workshop with this delicious ginger cake. As we said our goodbyes everyone begged for the recipe. So here it is. Thanks for sharing it Jo!

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Turnips

18 March, 2021  |  Justin Russell

Turnips carry their share of clodhopper baggage, but like other humble veg the turnip is  experiencing a renaissance. And not before time. They are dead simple to grow, highly productive and, given careful varietal selection, utterly delicious.

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Warrigal Greens

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

James Cook’s crew dined on it to ward off scurvy. Now top chefs are going wild for this antioxidant-rich native spinach that grows like a weed.

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Watercress

18 March, 2021  |  Justin Russell

For a peppery zing in a salad or sandwich, and a serious green heat in a silky soup, you can’t beat watercress. Fortunately it’s as simple to grow, as it is good to eat.

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Winter Veggie Patch

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Winter is a busy time in the vegetable garden and a delicious time in the kitchen. Roast parsnip and potatoes, sprouting broccoli, and hot pan-fried radicchio, all fresh from the garden, are the highlights of the season.

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Woodbridge, Tasmania

18 March, 2021  |  Robin Powell

Robin Powell admires the view with pioneering heirloom apple grower Bob Magnus, whose ideas about pruning will change your mind about how to grow apples.

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Zucchini and Summer Squash

18 March, 2021  |  Linda Ross

Zucchinis are exuberant summer vegetables that ramble along the ground. They produce a harvest every second day, which might overwhelm if it weren’t for their versatility as raw, cooked, pickled, souped, or frittered deliciousness.

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Zucchinis - a veggie in a hurry

18 March, 2021  |  Graham Ross

Quick and easy to grow, even in pots, nutritious and incrediblyversatile in the kitchen.

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Coming Up Roses

15 July, 2021  |  Words: Graham Ross Images: Gary Matuschka Every year, new rose varieties hit the garden centres. You can expect different colours, scents, growth habits, and disease resistance to add to your rose garden this winter, but which one(s) will you choose? Read More