Food from Perennial(ising) Plants in Temperate Climate Australia for March 2013

This is the early Autumn post for the ongoing research project about perennial plants and self-perpetuating annual plants providing food in temperate climate Australia. The original article introducing this project, stating its aims, and providing participant instructions, can be found here. Growers are sending me information on a month-by-month basis, then this information is collated and published the following month. All previous posts from this series can be found by clicking on my author name (Susan Kwong), just under the post title above.

I have changed the format this month to make it easier on some of my typing fingers that were caught in a car door, but by next month we’ll be back to the normal format. Please refer to previous articles for further information on the plants listed below.

Grower #1

Grower #	1 – Chris McLeod, Fernglade Farm
Latitude	37.5°S
Broad climate information	Cool Temperate with temperature ranges between 0 degrees and 40 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is delivered fairly consistently throughout the year except in drought years when January and February are usually dry. Rainfall in a drought year will still reach about 500mm/year and in a wet year it can be over 1,400mm/year. It is not a particularly windy spot, but at least once a year winds will peak in excess of 100km/h (a tornado went through last Christmas Day).
Brief description of garden/farm	The site is at an elevation of 700m above sea level in a volcanic massif (about 25 kilometres long). The highest point on the mountain range is about 1,020m above sea level and the range is predominantly forested although it has been logged intensively from about 1860. Fernglade farm is on 22 acres of which about 4 to 6 acres are actively managed. The farm has no fencing and is open to the wildlife of which there is plenty and a lot of the surplus goes towards them. There are about 300 fruit trees in two separate food forests, 14 raised vegetable beds (and areas set aside for self seeded vegetables), 2 hugelkultur beds, a few berry beds, raised beds for potatoes, worm farm, 12 chooks and 60+ medicinal and culinary herbs.

Fruit eaten:

• Lemonade Lemon
• Lemon Meyer
• Lemon Eureka
• Australian Round Lime
• Shitake Mushrooms (I’ve started inoculating logs and also have a pre-inoculated log which is producing fruit)

Vegetables eaten:

• French Sorrel
• Chicory
• Horseradish (leaves not the root)
• Lovage
• Fennel
• Rhubarb
• Perpetual Spinach
• Celery
• Asparagus
• Rocket
• Perennial Rocket
• Tomatoes – cherry varieties: black russian, yellow, orange, tigerella
• Zucchini – yellow
• Cucumber
• Tree Onions
• Chives
• Beetroot (leaves not the root)
• Lettuce – red and yellow varieties

Herbs eaten:

• Rosemary
• Vietnamese Mint
• Feverfew
• Oregano
• Sage
• Lemon Balm
• Roman Wormwood
• Thyme
• Lemon Thyme
• French Tarragon
• Hyssop – blue
• Salad Burnet
• Basil
• Perennial Basil
• Coriander (early days for these self-seeded plants, but still edible)

---

Grower #4

Grower #	4 — Yvonne, Melbourne
Latitude	37°
Broad climate information	Mediterranean temperate
Brief description of garden/farm	Inner city urban garden full of edible plants – the majority perennial – with more than 20 fruit trees, 40 herbs, a constantly updated array of berries (trees, shrubs and vines) and many other edible goodies.

Fruit eaten:

• Strawberries

Vegetables eaten:

• Rhubarb
• Silverbeet

Herbs eaten:

• Lemongrass
• Parsley
• Perennial Basil
• Mint
• Kaffir Lime Leaves

---

Grower #5

Grower #	5 — Susan Girard
Latitude	33.714043 S; Altitude 1017m
Broad climate information	Rainfall approx. 1,400 millimeters mostly in summer. Summer daytime temperatures low 20°C, with several days over 30°C + (more recently!) Nighttime temperature in the low teens. Winter temperatures <10°C in the daytime with approx 0°C on clear nights and 3 – 4°C on cloudy nights. Regular frost overnight. There are 1 – 2 settled snowfalls per year.
Brief description of garden/farm	South facing site, ¾ acres block, adjoining part of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area (approx ¼ is protected, so Zone V). Mandala gardens X 2 – front and back yards, orchard, hothouse; chickens and ducks

Fruit eaten:

• Quinces – lots
• Granny Smith Apples
• Early Brown Turkey Figs – before the birds get them
• Angelica Plums – only a few as most split in the rain and got attacked by ferment fly

Also I’ve been making syrups and jellies of fruit and herbs before the plants die down over winter, mainly Rhubarb and Mint, plus drying Lemon Verbena, and Bay leaves.

---

For anyone else who is growing perennial food plants and/or self-perpetuating annual food plants in temperate climate Australia, and who’d like to contribute plant profiles, you can email me for the proformas – 5555susana [at] gmail [dot] com. We would greatly welcome the opportunity to broaden our perspectives by featuring other growers and their plants as well! As I have mentioned before, it really doesn’t matter if you have only a few plants to talk about, and the same applies if you only have the time to talk about a few of many, we would be grateful for any input, and I am more than happy to tailor our collaboration to suit your needs.

Until next time, happy growing and eating!