Our Edible Range

THE KITCHEN GARDEN.

The kitchen garden traditionally was designed to be useful as well as visually appealing, that could include flowers that are edible as well as pest repellents amongst the vegetables.  The visual appeal of the kitchen garden was extremely important. Historically the kitchen garden was not totally about food but also filled with beautiful flowers . In French it’s called a potager  –  A potager is simply a vegetable patch which follows the principles of garden design to create an area which is not only ornamental, but productive to. There is nothing more satisfying than picking fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit from your garden and being creative in the kitchen using all the nutritious produce you have picked.

Edibles in store now are:

Artichoke, Rhubarb, Sorrel, Asparagus, Sweet potato, Spinach, Rosella, Silverbeet, Tomato, Chilli, Capsicum, Pumpkin, Mizuna, Lettuce, Zucchini, Cucumber, Basil, Oregano. Mint, Dill, Fennel, Thyme, Rosemary, organic Horseradish, Galangal, Passionfruit, Raspberry, Blueberry, Curry Leaf Tree, organic Comfrey, Chives and many many more.

Herbs and flowering annuals & perennials are great companion plants for your patch or orchard. Some good examples are marigold, calendula, allysum, nasturtium, borage and violas. These attract good bugs and repel some of the nastier varieties.All these plants benefit from good, nutritious soil and a mulch. The addition of composts and organic material, along with a good quality mulch like Sugar Cane or Who Flung Dung is vital. A slow release organic fertiliser can be added 3-4 monthly and liquid feeds like Power feed and GoGo Juice can be applied fortnightly at this time of year for best growth and healthy plants. Fruit trees- White and black mulberries, avocado, lemons, limes, oranges, mandarines plus some great dwarf varieties that will also do well in pots. Mango, Guava, Avocado,  Olives, Finger Limes, Walnuts, Hazelnut, Pomegranate, Pears and Coffee arabica plus many more. 

Scroll down for the range of organic plants that will arrive Saturday 3rd of December

ORGANIC VARIETIES

Try something new by growing some unusual herbs, vegetables and fruit. One of the most exciting things about growing your own food is discovering wonderful new and sometimes weird fruit, herb and vegetable varieties. 

We have an extensive range of organic edible and flowering plants in the garden centre, why not try one today. 

Elderberry - a hardy and quick growing suckering shrub with abundant flowers and berries, perfect for making cordials, syrups and even home grown fermented champagne. Society garlic - used as a garlic substitute and has edible flowers, also used as edging. Mushroom plant - this unusual herb can be used for its mushroom texture and flavour and as a substitute in soups and casseroles. Rhubarb - a must for cold Winter nights, grown in part sun this hardy plant uses the stems in cooking, beware as the leaves are poisonous. Rosemary varieties, southernwood, Lemon grass, Citronella grass, Vanilla grass - one of the best scented grasses for the garden, not edible but great for fragrance purposes, dormant over cold weather. Vetiver grass - this grass has deep root systems and is perfect for erosion control, its roots have been used in the perfume and essential oil industry. Lemon bergamot, lime balm, lemon verbena are wonderful tea and potpourri herbs.

Grape - table and wine varieties for home gardens, trellis for easy maintenance. Hops (Pride of ringwood) is a good hops for home grown use, female flowers are used in beer production but can also be used a as a sleep remedy, deciduous fast growing vine. Ice cream bean tree - grown for its vanilla ice cream like pulp held in seed cases, cold sensitive and requires good pruning. Loquat - hardy, fast growing tree, fruits heavily in this region, easy option. Paw paw red bi - self pollinating variety, protect from frosts. Galangal, galangal red thai, ginger turmeric. Sugar cane, taro golden, pepino, tamarillo red, passionfruit red, black and yellow varieties, Guava varieties - hawaiian, strawberry, feijoa are hardy, fast growing and delicious fruit trees are a great option for any backyard, can be hedged or grown into a single large tree. Dwarf peach.