Apr 212022
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Francisca Amar, Jasminn Chan, Jian Liu, Sue Dyet and Vasundhara Kandpal.

Jasminn’s first ever blueberry

Jasminn Chan has sent in a picture of her first ever homegrown blueberry. See photo right.

Maybe Jasminn should read Jian’s article below!

How to grow blueberries (by Jian Liu)

[Jian, from Camberwell, has her own website, called Melbourne Foodforest, where she writes articles to help people to develop their own food forests. She recently published an article about how to grow blueberries. Here she summarises that article. Also, watch her video on the subject (25 minutes.]

Blueberries are small compact plants that don’t take up much space. A well-looked after blueberry plant can be productive and reward you with many kilos of fruit each season (up to 9 kg!). They are easier to grow than you think.

This article discusses my 7 rules for growing blueberries.

1. Blueberries must be grown in acidic soil

The easiest way to achieve a low pH is to use a good quality potting mix for acidic plants. The only brand I know that makes a low pH formula is Scott’s Osmocote Roses, Azalea & Gardenia potting mix. As well as a pH of around 5, this mix has everything you need to grow happy blueberries.

The harder option, requiring some arithmetic skills and patience, is to add some elemental sulphur to the soil. In my experience, sulphur acts slowly and it takes at least 2 months before the pH is lowered.

Regardless of which option you go with, I’d recommend also adding some homemade compost which is generally slightly acidic or pH neutral (don’t add lime to your compost!) to bulk out your mix and increase its moisture-holding capacity.

If the pH isn’t right, you will see veining on the leaves of your blueberry leaves, or very pale leaves.

2. Blueberries are best grown in pots or containers

Because blueberries are fussy about having an acidic soil, it’s easier to grow blueberries in a large pot or wine barrel or, if you want to get serious, in a dedicated bed filled with blueberries. This way, you can create the ideal acidic conditions that they thrive in.

Blueberries are shallow rooted plants so grow well in pots. Choose a pot that’s at least 30cm wide and 30cm tall.

3. Grow blueberries in part-shade

Blueberries enjoy some protection from the western afternoon sun and planting blueberries in a full sun spot in summer can turn their leaves crispy.

A benefit of growing blueberries in pots is that in winter, they go dormant and you can simply move your blueberry pots to a shady spot thereby vacating any full-sun winter spot for your winter veggies.

4. Blueberries like moist soil

In summer you will need to water every day or second day to ensure that your blueberry always has moist roots.

5. Mulch is essential

Being shallow rooted, you need to mulch heavily to prevent your blueberries roots drying out. My favourite mulch for blueberries is pine needles as they are mildly acidic( but note that once they decompose they are pH neutral).

6. Grow more than one variety for cross-pollination

When bees cross-pollinate blueberries, you get bigger and tastier fruit.

7. Soil improvement

You should be topping up with compost and manure each season.

Blueberries are best fertilised in late winter or early spring, just after flowering.

If you notice veining or pale leaves, you will likely need to lower the acidity of your soil. We find that our soil pH tends to creep up over time.

A viviparous tomato

The photo right is currently doing the rounds on the Internet. It shows a tomato where some of the seeds have started germinating whilst still inside the tomato. This phenomenon is called ‘vivipary’ and, whilst it can potentially happen with any fruit, it appears (from Google searches) to be most common with tomatoes and strawberries.

Clearly, a seed ‘wants’ to germinate. Less obviously, but also clearly when you think about it, a plant doesn’t ‘want’ its seeds to germinate until their surrounding fruit has been eaten and the seeds therefore dispersed. It is apparently the presence of certain hormones in the fruit which inhibit premature germination of the seeds. Occasionally, for whatever reason, these hormones go missing and the seeds can germinate whilst still within the fruit.

Note that the word ‘vivipary’ (which relates to plants) should not be confused with the word ‘viviparity’, which relates to animals, and is the development of an embryo inside the body of the parent.

Fun fact

Why is there a ‘d’ in fridge but not in refrigerator?

Fridge is a shortened form of the word refrigerator. Let’s say that you were trying to shorten the word refrigerator, how would you spell that shortened form? Maybe frig. But that would be a problem because all words in the English language which end with the letter ‘g’ are pronounced with a hard-g (e.g. pig), whereas the ‘g’ in refrigerator is soft. So, maybe frige. But that would be a problem because apparently all words in the English language which end with the letters ‘ge’ are pronounced with the previous vowel being long (e.g. huge), whereas the ‘i’ in refrigerator is short (i.e. as in kit rather than kite). So, to turn the ‘i’ from long to short, a ‘d’ is inserted before the ‘g’ (as in bridge).

Note that if the word was spelt phonetically (i.e. as it is pronounced), the shortened form would actually be spelt frij.

Read more at Merriam-Webster.

If you to want to wrap your head round another example of this sort of thing, consider bicycle being shortened to bike.

Read more fun facts on our website.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

Jill Bliss creates photos of medleys of fungi, flowers, ferns, and other botanical elements.

Biscuit pot pie (by Vasundhara Kandpal)

[We are running out of new recipes. If you have an interesting recipe that you are willing to share, send it to us by email.]

Ingredients

The filling
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup mushroom, thinly sliced or chopped
¼ cup flour (all purpose; use 2 tablespoons rice flour plus + 2 tablespoons tapioca starch for gluten-free)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups veggie broth
2½ cups veggies (frozen or chopped veggies such as green beans, corn, carrots, peas, zucchini or potatoes)

The biscuit topping
¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup almond flour or ground cashews
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons dried herbs (e.g. oregano, rosemary or basil)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and more for garnish
¾ cup chilled almond milk

Method

The filling

Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the broth or 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the onion, garlic and a good pinch of salt and cook until translucent. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and mix in. Cook for 3 minutes.

Add in the bay leaves, herbs, salt and mix in. Add the flour and mix in. Add in ½ cup of the broth and mix in until there are no lumps, then add the rest of the broth. Stir well to combine. Bring to the boil. Add the veggies and mix in and continue to cook for 4 to 6 minutes. If the mixture is not thick to preference, mix in 1 tablespoon flour in 2 tablespoons broth and add to the saucepan and bring to a boil again. The mixture thickens on cooling, so you just want slightly thick filling.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 by 9 inch baking dish. Remove the bay leaves. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the biscuit topping. Preheat the oven to 225degC.

The biscuit topping

Add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, nutritional yeast, herbs and black pepper in a bowl. Mix well.

Add ½ cup of the chilled almond milk and mix. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time to make a soft sticky dough. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Add spoonfuls of the mixture on top of the pot pie filling.

Bake at 225degC for 17 to 20 minutes or until the topping is golden.

Garnish with fresh herbs and freshly ground black pepper. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

Read more of Vasundhara’s recipes on our website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Robin’s article about harvesting, curing and storing pumpkins.

b33e661f-c100-4ebe-9ffa-847952e0da4e.jpgJoke (or pun) of the week

I heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa.

Read more jokes.

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Not food-related but interesting

Habitat planting on the Diamond Creek; Saturday, 21st May, 10am-midday and 1-3pm; free; Edendale.

Join the Friends of Edendale, Edendale Farm and Melbourne Water in a family re-vegetation activity along the Diamond Creek near Edendale to help re-build habitat for our local platypus and their friends. The goal is to plant 500 indigenous plants on the day.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Grow your own way (7 sessions); 7 weekly sessions on Thursdays from 21st April to 2nd June, at 9-11am and then again at 2.30-2.30pm; free; West Brunswick.

[Editor: although this course started last week, the organisers have told me that it is structured such that people can still sensibly attend even if they miss a session or two. Furthermore, there are still some spots available in both the morning and the afternoon sessions.]

Presenter: Angelo Eliades. This course will give participants the skills to compost, grow nutritious food, harvest, forage and benefit from community life and nature. The topics will include: introduction to community gardening; the importance of soil, compost and worm farms; planning your plot and food to grow; options to grow food in a community garden; hands on planting; harvesting and foraging; and nutritious food and waste free living. All participants will receive a one year free membership to West Brunswick Community Garden. Organised by Moreland Community Gardening.

The Bubbles Festival; Friday, 29th April, 6-8pm and Saturday, 30th April, midday-5pm; $95 ($48 per hour); Fitzroy North.

The ticket includes: admission to 1 * 2 hour tasting session; a tasting introduction by Natalie Pickett, Founder, The Bubbles Review; 10 or more tastings of sparkling wine; a champagne tasting glass; and canapes.

Beer and cheese tasting; Wednesday, 4th May, 6-9pm; $53 ($18 per hour); Brunswick.

Featuring artisan cheeses from Cornelius Cheesemongers matched with the beers of Inner North Brewing.

Beeswax wraps workshop; Saturday, 21st May, 2-4pm; $20 ($10 per hour); Warrandyte.

Make your own beeswax wraps. You will need to bring your own 100% cotton material. Organised by Warrandyte Neighbourhood House.

Looking after our bees with Melbourne City Rooftop Honey; Thursday, 2nd June, 6.30-7.30pm; free; Watsonia.

Rooftop Honey founders Vanessa and Mat will talk about bees and the important role they play in pollinating our cities, including the plight of the bees, their importance, community local awareness, and planting for bees. Find out what you can do to help them, which in turn helps us all. You will also get the opportunity to taste honey from a couple of different locations. Organised by Watsonia Library.

Setting up a worm farm; Saturday, 18th June, 2-3.30pm; free; Edendale.

This workshop will cover both the theory and practice of worm farming in a household setting. It will be useful for those wishing to recycle household food waste in order to produce worm products for use in the improvement of soil in gardens and pot plants.

In April
In May
In June
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Intro to Turkish workshop; Wednesday, 27th April, 6.30-8.30pm; $65 ($33 per hour); Balwyn North.

Join Arzu Yilmaz to learn how to make four different vegetarian dishes: a lentil soup, a meze, Turkish borek and a dessert. Arzu will also talk about her experiences as an Istanbul girl and her Turkish identity. Organised by Trentwood at the Hub.

Tomato relish; Wednesday, 25th May, 1-2pm; $10; Greensborough.

Make, taste and take home some homemade dips. Organised by Greenhills Neighbourhood House.

Indian cooking class (thermomix); Saturday, 28th May, 2-4pm; $27 ($14 per hour); Mooroolbark.

They will be making some spice mix blends and pastes and turning them into dishes, including paneer cheese, paneer makhani, creamy coconut chicken curry, garlic & coriander naan, rava payasam and lassi.

Sourdough basics; Thursday, 9th June, 6.30-8pm; $100 ($66 per hour); Collingwood.

The Fermented Mumma will discuss ingredient selection, starter care, and the processes of sourdough fermentation and baking. At the end, you will take your fermenting dough home to bake in the morning.

French patisserie workshop; Friday, 17th June, 6.30-8.30pm; $60 ($30 per hour); Park Orchards.

Learn the art of making traditional French croissants. Topics to be covered will include: how to make the dough; the art of the fold; how to roll the perfect croissant; and how to prove and cook the croissants at home. Organised by Park Orchards Community House.

Triple cream brie cheese; Sunday, 19th June, 10am-4pm; $170 ($28 per hour); CERES.

What you will learn: how to make your own triple cream brie and gourmet feta cheeses; how to make ricotta cheese; and about different cheeses. Presenters: Janet Clayton and Charlene Angus from Cheeselinks.

Truffle workshop at Ratio Cocoa Roasters; Sunday, 19th June, 11am-12.30pm; $75 ($50 per hour); Brunswick.

A behind-the-scenes tour of the 10 step chocolate making process at Ratio Cocoa Roasters. Followed by a guided chocolate tasting. Then make your own milk or dark truffles with a selection of toppings.

Truffle and praline workshop; Wednesday, 22nd June, 6-10pm; $180 ($45 per hour); Blackburn

Learn how to create handmade chocolates from start to finish using your creative influences to make unique flavours and shapes. They will cover flavour combinations, ganache based flavours, nut pralines, enrobing methods and finishes. You will take home all you make in the workshop along with the recipes and an instruction booklet.

In April
In May
In June
Regular classes

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