Growing something different and beautiful plants to jazz up your garden!

I'm really excited to be taking on the role of Palmers ask our expert.  Keep any gardening questions coming to their Facebook page called Palmers or their web site www.palmers.co.nz and I will answer in detail all of your queries.  Eden Living is still running in full swing as I work alongside NZ's largest garden retailer.

Wherever you are in the country you have a Palmers near by and everything I talk about here is available at a store near you. 

This week in my garden I was soooo glad to see the rain!   I popped in some Kohlrabi and Turnips before the deluge and I'm sure today they look bigger already.  You may be asking "what do you do with them and what do they taste like?"  With the resurgence of growing food it is fun to pop in the garden some things that you have never heard of to try something a little different.

Kohlrabi is an interesting vegetable that looks like something from outer-space and gives your edible garden a bit of wowness.  For a while before I grew it, I thought I was looking at the root of the plant in pictures, however the part you use is a swollen part of the stem.  This yummy vege tastes like a cross between a radish and broccoli and is best grown with your other brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and kale. When you are planting any vege - just plant a few each week so that they are not all ready at the same time!  Palmers have a great range of their own quality compost and blood and bone to add to your prepared ground along with some dolomite to sweeten the soil.  I always grow a carpet of Nasturtium  (a hardy annual that is a great companion plant in your edible garden and the flowers you can use in salads too) under my current patch of this food group which acts as a deterrent to the white cabbage butterfly and aphids.  A Nasturtium carpet is one of my secrets to growing brassicas in summer when the pesky green worms and bugs can make such a mess of your garden that it is hard not to serve up their deposits or themselves in dinner which sadly puts lots of people off growing these in the warmer months.  The colour of the nasturtium flowers play a big part of what works with this companion plant.  It is a must to plant the orange flowering variety in your garden under brassicas and cucumber as this colour repels aphid, white butterfly and stink bug and plant yellow coloured ones away from your edible garden to attract the pest bugs so they are too busy to be bothering your edibles!   To take up some of the nitrogen from your soil when growing brassicas, pop in some french beans to grow between, this will encourage better growth of the florets and less of the leaves.

Harvesting and eating - Kohlrabi is best picked when between the size of a golf ball and tennis ball; it is not a produce that bigger is better as you will find that it will be quite tough and stringy.  I struggled with this first time as I am the queen of 'wow look how big this is' but sometimes a bit of humble pie is a better strategy and Kohlrabi is one for a touch of reserve on the size.   Once picked trim the leaves, these can be used as a leafy green.  Try sauteing in oil or butter with a few roughly chopped pistachios and a squeeze of lemon juice.  The bulbous funny tennis ball gone wrong part can be kept in the fridge for about a week if your not using it straight away.   For an addition to a yummy slaw peel the outer 'skin' until you have the tender inside then grate this globe, sprinkle with a tad of salt and let it 'sweat' for half an hour before squeezing the excess moisture and add to your salad.  If cooking your Kohlrabi, leave the outer tough skin and boil for 3 - 5 mins, drain water and peel off the skin jacket before serving hot with a bit of salt, lemon and splash of vinegar - yum!

Coming up at Eden Living, is a calendar of my new edible garden workshops on my events page.  Time and time again I get asked to teach and what better than in my home for you to see how my garden grows!  Visit my website to book yourself and friends onto an upcoming slot. First up on the 4th of August is all about composting, a chance to make some natural pest sprays and liquid foliar feed.  Make a huge difference to your garden by providing it with a variety of compost, your plants with grow bigger and better.  They say variety is the spice of life!  Spaces are limited at these affordable courses so please book early to avoid disappointment on www.edenliving.co.nz 

Not Just edibles in the garden!  I just love all garden plants and a variety of beautiful shrubs, annuals and perennials add accent and change in your garden.

Liriope muscari

Daphne rubra

Michelia figo flower

While visiting your in your local Palmers grab some Daphne to pop near your entrance to enjoy the rich scent and beautiful flowers on these cooler days. The intoxicating smell is lovely as you arrive home from work in the evening.  Planting that looks great with Daphne and gives a summer scent while your Daphne is dormant in flower is a Michelia figo, or port wine Magnolia.  The name says it all to describe the delicious scent and grows to 2m with pretty miniature deep pink and cream magnolia flowers. The glossy green leaves are a pretty backdrop when your Daphne is in full show.  To balance the base of the garden add some Day lilies for long flowering colour or Liriope muscari shown here look great as a skirt beneath. 

Until next time, 

Happy Gardening everyone

Maria Quayle-Guppy

www.edenliving.co.nz