Monthly Natter

Amongst the emerging blossoms and a whole Lotta vegetables we all enjoyed our August meeting and International Kitchen garden day. Despite our little deviation towards Echuca we arrived and the Sun was shining, a beautiful nearly spring day.

A few new faces, and some familiar ones, a HUGE thanks to Tania & Campbell for not only hosting the day, providing us with goodies, but also for their wonderful example of a self sufficient lifestyle. their farm not only provides a welcome relief of old fruit varieties to the GV, but they also exchange their masses of produce for milk, and other produce with their neighbours. We all left inspired, some with a big planting day ahead of them and some with new ideas.

For those of you that couldn't make i have put a few pics on our web page and Cam's advice on spur pruning for apples/pears. Campbell probably has one of the best examples of espaliered peaches, cherries, apples and pears around.

Our next meeting will be Spring seedy Sunday, at Billabong Garden Centre on 28th @ 1:30. We will take stock of our collection to date and distribute our summer seeds for collection.

Till then, happy growing - Carley

Passionfruit

Everyone can Grow a Passionfruit .....


Passionfruit vines are known for their tendrils, which are little curly spring-like things that attach themselves to wire and really grip on like a python. That’s how they climb. Often what happens with a passionfruit vine is there is green growth on the outside, where the tendrils have attached themselves, and they have woody material in the centre. In late winter and early spring it’s time for a clean up. You don't have to prune hard every year. But in early spring take off about 30 centimetres - that’s ideal.




Varieties
There are many different varieties of passionfruit. Some to look out for include:The grafted Panama Gold - which has big fruit and its skin is a golden yellow colour. The Panama Red – which is red skinned, has rather large fruit, and is also grafted. Both are good to grow in the tropics. But for southern Australia, the grafted Nelly Kelly black passionfruit is the best choice.

Growing
A great spot for a passionfruit vine is one that’s out in the open, has full sun and no trees or competitive roots. Grow it on a structure like a strong trellis or up and over on a pergola. In the olden days every passionfruit vine was planted on top of a lamb or sheep's liver, ox heart, or some other piece of offal, to provide iron. Stick it at the bottom of the hole, cover it up a little bit, and then plant the passionfruit as normal.If you don't want to use a lamb's liver, or offal, you could use pelletised chook manure. And scatter that about a metre around the root system. Do this about twice a year. Remember that passionfruit vines are also hungry and thirsty and love a well-drained soil. It’s also a good idea to put some mulch around the root system, to protect it from the hot sun. In its first year the little vine will tendril its way across the wires. Just nip out the top little bud and it will shoot out laterally. This means you'll get lots of side shoots, and expect fruit in about 18 months.Given plenty of food, well-drained soil and lots of water, you will end up with a great passionfruit vine.



And, a little tip - when you see the fruit developing, get your little child to get a nail and scratch their name into the fruit and you end up with your own branded passionfruit.



Problems
Why do my vines flower but don't set fruit?
There are several reasons for vines flowering but not setting fruit.
Poor pollination. This is the main cause and can be due to bees not working the flowers (for example during heavy rain); temperatures being too low or too high for pollination (optimum temperatures for pollen germination are between 20°C and 35°C); or rain directly reducing the viability of the pollen (moisture causes the pollen grains to split).
Boron deficiency.
Extended periods of overcast weather. This may cause flower drop regardless of pollination problems.

Why are fruit dropping off my vine?
There are three possible reasons for fruit dropping off vines:
irregular watering in which the vines at times get insufficient water
fungal diseases
fruit fly and severe mite damage, particularly with young fruit.

Why are my leaves going yellow?
The most common cause of leaves going yellow is passionfruit woodiness virus. Other possible causes are:
magnesium deficiency
nitrogen deficiency on sandy soils
'winter yellows'. This is brought on by cold weather, windy conditions, low humidity or a combination of these.

What are these spots on my fruit and leaves?
Spots on fruit and leaves are usually caused by fungal diseases. The most likely causes are:
Alternata spot
Brown spot
Septoria spot.

Why are my fruit bumpy or malformed?
There are several causes of bumpy or malformed fruit. Here are the main ones.
Passionfruit woodiness virus. This is the most likely cause, particularly if your vines are not growing well and there are mottled yellow leaves present.
Boron deficiency.
Insect damage, particularly fruit fly.

Why are my fruit shrivelled?
There are several possible causes of shrivelled, poorly developed fruit. The main ones are:
fruit fly damage
sucking bug damage
poor pollination
boron deficiency
insufficient irrigation when a heavy crop is set.

Why are my vines dying?
There are three possible causes of vines dying.
Phytophthora blight, which shows first on the new growth, particularly after prolonged wet weather.
Fusarium wilt. This is most likely if resistant rootstocks were not used. It normally causes rapid (within one or two days) wilting of the entire plant, especially in very hot weather.
Base rot - a dry corky collar rot at ground level.

Why are my vines growing poorly?
The most likely cause of vines growing poorly is passionfruit woodiness virus. The disease is generally present at some level in most vines. When vines are growing vigorously, symptoms are not normally evident, but when vines are under any sort of stress (for example, cold weather, lack of water, lack of nutrients), the disease becomes evident and slows growth. Affected leaves are yellow and mottled and affected fruit bumpy and malformed.

Cabbage Capers

Cabbage, if your like me you always grow more than what your can use and think we all have memories of someone overcooking it to a grey mash, The notorious odor problem is a result of over cooking. and as a result, we don't use this wonderful veg.

Cabbage is easy to grow if you select suitable varieties and practice proper culture and insect management. Always regarded as a good source of vitamins, cabbage recently has been shown to have disease-preventive properties as well. As with broccoli, may reduce the risk of some forms of cancer. Cabbage is also high in beta-carotene, vitamin C and fiber

Green cabbage is grown more often than the red or Savoy types, but red cabbage has become increasingly popular for color in salads and cooked dishes. The Savoy varieties are grown for slaw and salads. Varieties that mature later usually grow larger heads and are more suitable for making sauerkraut than the early varieties.

Transplant early cabbage soon enough that it matures before the heat of summer and two or three varieties with different maturities can provide harvest over a long period. Hardened plants are tolerant of frosts and can be planted among the earliest of cool-season garden vegetables. Cabbage is easily transplanted from seedlings grown from seed sown in punnets. Use starter fertiliser of seaweed brew (see ) when transplanting and side-dress with compost & blood & bone mix when the plants are half grown. Ample soil moisture is necessary throughout the growing season to produce good cabbage. Splitting is caused by the pressure of excessive water taken up after the heads are solid, so don't over water -water little but more often.

Don't over plant just one or two plants planted out every 4 weeks over winter and early - mid spring will do, after that grow Kale. it tastes better in my opinion and can be picked as per loose leaf lettuce.

The Cabbage moth; as always prevention is better than cure so be vigilant, when you see them flitting about, hand pick grubs or just cover the whole lot. Old net curtains from op shop do the job wonderfully. You can also try making plastic butterflies or spreading white eggshells around plants as butterflies wont land where there are already butterflies around. Building the populations of natural predators is always worthwhile so grow Good bug mix http://www.greenharvest.com.au/seeds/good_bug_mix.html

Least toxic chemical control - Choosing a least-toxic spray will reduce the impact on your good bugs! Garlic spray can be used as a repellent and to kill caterpillars or Dipel, or Bt for short. This biological control is a bacterial stomach poison for all caterpillars, which is mixed with water and sprayed onto foliage. It is totally safe to beneficial insects, bees and mammals. Bt is broken down by sunlight within a few days; so repeated applications may be necessary

Last of all this is what you can do with the Stuff -

Small Scale Sauerkraut
This recipe is very easy, and it does not take all day and a bushel of cabbage. You can make 12 cups of sauerkraut from one medium head of green cabbage. Spices such as juniper berries, dill seed and garlic can be added to the cabbage, if desired.
9 cups shredded green cabbage
1/4 cup pickling salt
clean jars
Trim dark, limp outer leaves and wash the cabbage.
Remove the central core & thinly shred. As you slice, measure 9 cups into a large nonreactive bowl.
Sprinkle salt over shredded cabbage. Using clean hands, mix well.
Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. In the meantime, sterilise jars. (To sterilize jars, place them in a large pot, cover with warm water and bring to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 15 minutes. Leave jars in hot water until ready to use.)
Rinse, drain and rinse again.
Pack wet cabbage into sterilised jars (using a wooden spoon or pestle) firmly and keep packing down until liquid rises to cover the top of the cabbage. Spices may be added between the layers of cabbage. Leave a couple of cm of head space at the top of each jar. More space is okay.
Wipe away any stray pieces of cabbage not under the liquid inside the jar. Crumple a large piece of plastic wrap and force it into the jar to exclude air from reaching the cabbage in the space left inside of the jar. Use more than one piece if necessary. Seal loosely.

Place the jars in an area where the temperature stays at 20-22°C. This is the ideal temperature for fermentation. Check the sauerkraut every few days for froth. There should be no froth if plastic is keeping air away from the cabbage. If froth forms, remove it with a metal spoon and place a fresh piece of plastic wrap in the jars.
Fermentation should cease in 2-4 weeks. The sauerkraut is ready when no more air bubbles are at the surface of the cabbage. The smell will be pleasantly pungent and pickled.
If sauerkraut is too salty, rinse it just before using. Rinse only the amount you intend to use.
Store the remainder in the refrigerator. It will keep for several months

Cabbage Curry

tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Finely slice the cabbage wash and strain

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add mustard, curry, and turmeric; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in cabbage and remaining ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

CABBAGE ROLLS
2 tablespoons oil
3 to 4 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
2kg ground beef
2kg ground pork
4 cups cooked rice
4 eggs
1 200g can diced tomato with green chilies
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
4 cans diced tomato
2 to 3 heads cabbage
Add the oil, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook uncovered over medium heat stirring occasionally until onions are beginning to brown around the edges. Remove heat.

Put a large stock pot of water to boil on the stove to make the cabbage leaves more pliable.While the onion mixture is cooking, prepare the cabbage. Cut around the core and remove the core. Remove the whole leaves from the cabbage (under running water if necessary). You should be able to remove a little over half of the head before the leaves become too small. For the above recipe, we used two heads of ‘flat head’ cabbage. In a large dish pan or other large container, add ground beef, pork, rice, eggs, can tomato with chilies, salt, pepper, cayenne (go easy, a little goes a long way) and the cooked onion mixture from the skillet. Using your well washed hands mix everything thoroughly. In the large pot of boiling water, place 6 to 8 leaves of cabbage at a time for about 2 minutes or less. The water does not have to return to a boil. You’re not cooking the cabbage, just making it a little softer. Put the slightly limp leaves aside until they’re all done. Place about ¾ of a cup of the meat-rice mixture, shaped into a meatball, inside of one leaf and roll the leave around the meat ball. Put the cabbage rolls, loose edges down, in a 6cm (or more) deep baking dish. It took us four 11 x 17 inch baking pans for this recipe. Using the remaining 4 cans of diced tomato, pour one can over cabbage rolls in each pan. You can use diced tomato and green chilies if you prefer just decrease or eliminate the cayenne pepper. Cover the pans with foil and bake at 180 C for about 2 ½ hours. Cooking time is less if you are making a smaller recipe. Cook long enough for the meat to be done.Recipe yields 30 to 40 cabbage rolls

Japanese Pickled Cabbage

3 cucumber
3 leaves of cabbage
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
less than 1 tablespoon salt
Directions
Cut cucumber into less than a bite piece.
Cut cabbage into 1/2 inch.
Cut ginger into shredded.
Put (1)-(3) in bowl add salt, push down on material with weight overnight.