Eight Acres

I'm still here!  I just got distracted by making a new soap website and I couldn't decide where to post this.  But I'm not ready to move just yet.  I wanted to show you my pot garden as I've been pleasantly surprised by what I can grow (in winter anyway).  We are going to build a proper garden and set up the aquaponics, but other things need to be done first and meanwhile my pot collection keeps growing every time I go to our monthly share meeting and come home with another herb! Celery, peas, winter savory and parsley I have my collection of pots stacked on my potting table, which is the size of a sheet of mesh - I think its 2m by 3m or so.  And I have more pots underneath.  The worm farms are up top as well.  It seems to be good for the shade-loving plants, like mints, yarrow and strawberries to be down below in the partial shade.  I really like the location, it is between the house and the shed, so every time we go to the shed or to the ...

Sometimes I write about the herbs I've been growing for a long time and use frequently, other time I use these posts as an opportunity to find out more about a new herb.  Feverfew ( Tanacetum parthenium ) is the latter!  I've had it in my garden for a couple of years after a friend gave me a seedling and it has self-seeded, but I haven't known how to use it., so its time to look up the herb books! How to grow feverfew Apparently it is a perennial, it must die back when its too cold or too hot and dry because it disappeared for a while.  It grows from seed or root division or cuttings.  If you let it flower and seed it will self-seed (that's my favourite type of plant!). How to use feverfew The flowers are pretty, however they repel insects including bees, so not one for the bee garden (although can be used as a companion plant around brasiccas to repel cabbage moth etc and the dried leaves can be used to keep moths out of your wardrobe...

I have three large chilli bushes in my garden.  I don't know exactly what kind they are, they sprouted in a pot of raspberry canes that I was given.  I thought they were capsicums, but they grew into the chilli bushes.  The raspberries didn't make it through our hot summers, but the chillies did great, they are taller than me and I always get a massive harvest. How to grow chillies According to Isabell Shipard's "How can I use herbs in my daily life?", there are two species of chilli bush - Capsicum annum (bushes 50-150cm tall, single fruit from each node) and Capsicum frutescens (tiny bushes to 2m tall, 2-4 fruit per node). I think I certainly have one of the second type, although I'm still not sure exactly which variety.  These are not hot at all, I can put several in a meal and I don't particularly like hot food. Both species are perennial in our sub-tropical climate, but will be annual if winters get too cold.  I find that these bu...

There are two types of savory - summer savory ( Satureja hortensis ) is an annual and winter savory ( Satureja montana ) is perennial.  Creeping and lemon, mint and thyme-scented species are also available.  I think I have plain old winter savory, although it came from a market simply labeled as "savory". How to grow winter savory Savory grows similar to thyme and rosemary, it grows well in full sun with well-drained soil.  It is propagated by root division or cuttings.   How to use winter savory To me it tastes similar to thyme, and I have been using it as I use thyme and rosemary - to flavour casseroles and roasts.  I have cut some to dry, and I also use it fresh.   Medicinally, I haven't found much information about winter savory.  It seems to be quite similar to thyme and rosemary - good for respiratory conditions, antiseptic and digestion.    Do you grow winter savory?  How do you use it? How I use herb...

This is another herb in my garden that I'm not entirely sure about.  I know its a nettle, because it stung me.  Fortunately it was only small at the time and it didn't hurt much, but it did make me stop and look at this new plant in my garden, growing in amongst the chickweed.  I can't remember if I had some nettle seeds, I think a friend did give me some, and if I "planted" any (by planted I mean threw seeds around at some stage), but I can't think where else they would have come from.  Unfortunately, I therefore don't know which nettle I have!  There are three suspects: Urtica dioica - Greater Nettle - this one grows to 1-1.8 m, so far the plants are small, but the leaves don't look quite right for this one Urtica urens - Lesser Nettle - this one is smaller and grows in QLD in the cooler months Urtica incisa - Scrub Nettle - native to Australia and hardy, it looks like the right leaf shape It doesn't matter too much, because the us...

I was given this herb at our monthly local produce share.  It had the label "tulsi?".  I didn't know what tulsi was at the time, but when I googled it I found that this herb was definitely not tulsi (AKA holy basil) .  I was pretty keen to identify it, as I'd already sampled some of the leaf!  I started flicking through my herb books until I found a picture that looked similar in Isabel Shippard's brilliant and comprehensive " How can I use herbs in my daily life? ".  It looks very much like Mother of Herbs ( Coleus amboinicus - also Plectranthus amboinicus ), however the text says that this herb can be easily confused with Dog Bane ( Plectranthus caninus ), but I think the leaves on my specimen are too serrated to be either of these.  Another herb book mentions Coleus forskohliii  and further googling reveals that there are many similar looking plants in the Coleus/ Plectranthus genus, they are all related to mint and oregano ( Lamiaceae  family...

Dill ( Anethum graveolens ) is an annual herb that grows well here in autumn and spring when its not too hot and not too cold.  Dill grows very easily from seed, another simple and tasty herb for any garden. How I grow dill Dill forms large flowers and seed-heads at the end of the season, and I keep a few seeds and sprinkle the rest around the garden.  Every year more dill pops up around the garden towards the end of winter.  It grows huge and flowers again as the weather warms up. How I use dill Dill leaves have a tangy flavour.  I never liked dill when I only had dried dill, it wasn't until I tried fresh dill that I really appreciated the taste.  It compliments seafood, eggs and potatoes.  I used it in my  pickled cucumbers  and its also good in mayonnaise (which I have not perfected).  I like it chopped up with other fresh herbs like chervil, parsley and basil, as a garnish with salad or on meat.  I also pick the dill leav...

Its winter and coriander ( Coriandrum sativum )   is coming up in my garden.  Outside of the sub-tropics, coriander is a spring/summer annual, but it quickly bolts in hot weather, so it grows better here in winter.  This herbs is known by its Spanish name, cilantro, in the US (and obviously in countries that speak Spanish).  Coriander is an ancient herb and spice, that is used in cuisines as varied as Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Egyptian and Mediterranean. How I grow coriander You can get coriander as seedlings, but I usually plant it from seed.  When it goes to seed in my garden, I scatter the seeds and they come up the next year.  I also throw a few extra saved seeds around the garden in early in winter, to make sure I get plenty of coriander.  It does grow better here in the colder months, and quickly bolts to seed when the weather warms up or if the soil dries out.  The flowers are popular with bees and other pollinators, also ...

Lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus  is a fragrant tropical grass.  It can be grown in the sub-tropics and has many uses in the garden, as well as the kitchen.  There are a few different species and I note that Australia has a native lemongrass .  I think I'm actually growing the related  Cymbopogon flexousus , due to the red stems of my plant, they all have similar properties though. dried lemongrass How to grow lemongrass Lemongrass grows in clumps and is easily propagated by division.  I got my plant from my father-in-law who has some prolific specimens in his garden near Bundaberg.  I'm not sure why my plant doesn't do as well, maybe I'm not watering it enough, or just in a slightly cooler climate here.  It does die back in frost, but regrows in spring.  Its in a drier corner of the garden, so it does well to keep growing even when I don't give it as much attention as I should.   When lemongrass grows in thick clumps i...

Here's another herb that is growing in my garden, quite wild now, but I don't know really how to use it.  Gotu Kola ( Centella asiatica ).  Its also known as Spadeleaf and Indian Pennywort.  Here's how I grow it and here's what my herb books say I should do with it! How to grow Gotu Kola This herb seems to like damp soil and shade.  It sends out shoots,so it spreads easily, but is not deep rooted and invasive.  This makes it easy to propagate by transplanting some shoots. I haven't seen it flower yet, apparently they are small so maybe I missed them.  Its been in my garden for a few years, since I took a clump from Pete's parent's garden.  It does die back in winter when we get a frost, but then reappears in spring.  I keep it in a pot with the mint and other herbs, as that's the easiest way for me to keep the soil damp enough. How to use Goto Kola You know this is a special herb when you see that Isabel Shippard devoted nearly si...

To be honest, I've had Sweet Violet ( Viola Oderata)  in my garden for about a year now and I'm not really sure how to use it.  It smells lovely when it flowers and I've managed to keep it alive through winter and a hot dry summer.  I thought this was a good opportunity to learn more myself. How to grow sweet violet I bought this herb as a small plant in a pot.  It spreads as it grows, so its pretty easy to propagate by division.  I've read that it also grows from seed.  The plant seems to flower here in autumn, and dies back a bit when we get a heavy frost.  I do have to remember to water it in summer, but otherwise its seems pretty hardy.  I've planted it in a shady spot.  Apparently it grows wild in some areas, but I think our climate is too harsh.  It would be a great herb to forage if you have it locally. How to use sweet violet I haven't been actively using my sweet violet, but I'd like to start, here are a few thin...

I was surprised to find that oregano was not listed in my herb books, but then I remembered that it might be under Marjoram and I found the right sections.  I have never quite understood the oregano/majoram connection,  fortunately it is explained in this blog post , and now I know that I do have oregano (Origanum vulgare) in my herb garden, which is a variety of majoram.  My middle name is Marjorie, so I should know this stuff!  I understand now that marjoram varieties are all a bit different, so this post is only about growing and using oregano. How to grow Oregano I can't even remember where my oregano plant first came from.  It seems to be very robust and may have survived a few garden moves and periods of neglect.  I keep it in a pot as it does tend to spread.  I trim it back regularly as the stalks can get woody if the stems get too long.  Its easily propagated by root division.  It dies back after a heavy frost, but it alwa...