Golden Raspberry plants in Australia

A while ago Diggers club advertised what they claimed to be an exclusive yellow fruited raspberry plant.  They looked and sounded amazing!

“Diggers gold” raspberry plants were listed on their web site, it was listed in their printed catalogues, at first they were only for Diggers members but eventually it was sold through their shops, and it was sold through other stores that carry their line of plants.  The stock photos of yellow raspberries they used looked amazing, and their embellished and fanciful description of the plant sounded great.  Diggers arrogantly renamed this variety to ‘Diggers gold’ even though they had not bred it and had never actually grown them, not even once.  I am not sure if they bought the naming rights or if they just decided to rename it to make it more marketable like they do with so many other plants and seeds that they sell.  This level of contempt and arrogance is typical of many of my experiences with Diggers Club.

Here is the irony, I love this part: the raspberry variety that Diggers actually had, the one that they renamed to be “Diggers Gold”, was actually a red fruited raspberry.

If you looked on Diggers club facebook page you either see comments from people who say they can’t wait for them to fruit, or comments complaining that they had red fruit.  Not a single comment on there said that they grew yellow fruit.  Not one.  It certainly appears that Diggers did not sell a single yellow fruited raspberry. 

Diggers facebook page ad for Diggers Gold Raspberries

Diggers club sold these ‘diggers gold’ raspberry plants to many, many home gardeners.  A year or so later when they had red fruit a reasonable number of these people complained because they did not get what they paid for.  Diggers sent replacement plants to most people who complained, and they grew the plants on for another year and a half, only to have red fruit again.  For some people, this happened more times and they never got what they paid for.  Some people were tricked to think that fruit colour was influenced by growing conditions (which it is not) or somehow they were to blame.  Others were offered credit on their next purchase.  I almost bought a Diggers membership just so I could get a golden raspberry, I am so glad that I didn't fall for their lies again.

I have heard people try to justify all of this and say that they still got raspberries - unfortunately that isn’t good enough.  If I wanted to buy an inferior and unnamed random variety of raspberry I would do that and not pay the high prices and inflated and unjustified postage cost that Diggers has.  People made space for these things when they could have grown something far better.  It is the time spent growing the wrong thing that is the biggest loss – you can’t get back time.

You would have thought that with such a large company and paying inflated prices for something they claim to be exclusive that you would have some assurance in actually getting what you paid for, apparently not with Diggers club.  With the Diggers club you don’t always get what you pay for.  Rest assured, Diggers doesn’t currently list ‘Diggers gold raspberries’.  Perhaps one day they will rename another variety of raspberry to be ‘Diggers gold’ and maybe it will be yellow fruited?  Perhaps one day Diggers club will have a yellow raspberry and rename it to be something else or add 'Clive' to the cultivar name?  I wouldn’t risk buying from them though.

My golden raspberries look great

Yellow fruited raspberries do exist in Australia

Some people had such a bad experience with Diggers club and spent so much time growing diggers gold (red fruited) raspberries that they think yellow raspberries don’t actually exist.  I am happy to say that yellow fruiting raspberries do exist in Australia, I grow them.  I paid a small fortune to get a few plants from someone trustworthy (ie not Diggers club or ebay) and it was worth it.

My golden raspberries

My golden raspberries

My golden raspberry plants are an un-named variety, they looked very strong and healthy.  I planted the golden raspberries in two different positions to ensure that they would not die off.  Apparently they were well suited to both of these positions as they have all done well and spread nicely.

My golden raspberries starting to ripen

Like many other varieties of raspberry they have thorns (botanically these are 'prickles'), and it is a floricane variety, meaning that it will not flower or fruit on current year growth.  It needs previous year growth to flower and fruit.  This is why it often takes a while to get the first fruit but once they do fruit once they should fruit each year from then onwards.  My golden raspberries fruited around Christmas time and spread out the harvest for a few weeks.  I wrote another post on golden raspberry days to maturity.

This variety also has the habit of spreading roots under the soil and growing extra canes from the root tips.  This means that an investment in a few plants can quickly expand and fill in an entire patch.  I love how raspberries do this.

My golden raspberries taste much like red raspberries, except they are much sweeter.  They smell sweet and fruity, I really love the way they smell.  The fruit is super soft and delicate, this is perfect for home gardeners who will carry the raspberries to where they are to be eaten, but not great if you plan to transport it to supermarkets across the country, which is why you don't see many yellow raspberries in the shops.

The colour of golden raspberries is pretty remarkable, I am no photographer so my pictures don't do them justice.  They range from a bright golden yellow to a richer yellow on the same plant.  Birds seem to ignore the yellow fruit, then again birds seem to ignore red raspberries too.  Insects, slugs and children on the other hand do not ignore them and find them irresistible.  My kids comment on how they love the fruity smell of golden raspberries.

The plants seem reasonably productive and just as hardy as other varieties.  They don't appear to grow any taller or shorter than my other varieties.  In fact, when they are not fruiting I would not be able to tell them apart from many of the other varieties I grow.

Golden raspberry: something took a bite out of this one

The colour gets a tiny bit darker if left to ripen longer

Where to buy yellow fruited golden raspberry plants in Australia

Golden raspberry plants are difficult to find, please NEVER buy seeds from ebay as you will be sent seeds but not yellow fruited raspberry seed.  By the time you work it out, assuming that you get any to germinate, it will be too late to do anything.

Please don't buy from Diggers club if they ever claim to have golden raspberries again.  The utter contempt that they showed in their first botched attempt (and the many other times they have disappointed customers with similar disrespectful stunts) should be enough to warn you off buying from them. 

Over winter when my plants are dormant I will hopefully have a few extra that I can sell through my for sale page.  If all goes well I should be able to sell a few each winter.  Unfortunately I can't offer pre-purchasing as I would hate to have a crop failure or something and not be able to come through.

Golden raspberries starting to ripen

Comparison of Thyme varieties

I have grown a bunch of different varieties of edible thyme over the years.  I haven’t disliked any but some are better than others.  Since writing this post I have done a better comparison of Jekkas thyme, have a look if you are interested.

I have always wanted someone to do a comparison of the different varieties of thyme, but the best I can find are some general words or exaggerated hype about just one variety, but no comparisons.  So I decided to write a quick comparison of some varieties I have grown and take some pictures to compare them. 

Before you read this please note the leaf size will vary on each plant depending on growing conditions, the photos will only give you a general comparison of plants grown under similar conditions.  All of the below varieties have survived for me through many harsh frosts, snow, and hail.

Each year I tend to cut the plants down pretty hard in spring, this encourages new growth and the trimmings can be planted and will usually grow new plants if watered a little.  Like many other leaf herbs, frequent harvests encourage it to produce and if left unharvested they can get a bit woody and unproductive.

All were same sized cuttings planted on the same day: Variegated lemon thyme, Orange peel thyme, Tabor thyme, Jekka's thyme

  
Comparison of Thyme varieties:

Regular thyme (aka Garden Thyme Thymus vulgaris) is a good edible herb, not surprisingly it smells and tastes of thyme.  The leaves are tiny and green.  It is meant to be drought hardy and frost hardy.  For some strange reason I have trouble growing it.  Random things happen that can’t be the fault of the variety such as my kids pull it up or the pot gets knocked over and one of the kids kicks it under a shrub where I can't find it.  It just hasn’t had a chance to thrive for me.  It is not included in the comparison photo as it looks tiny in its pot.  It is simple to strip the tiny leaves from the twigs. 

Silvery posy thyme (Thymus sp) is a lovely edible thyme.  The leaves are the same size as regular thyme but are variegated and interesting.  We grew it for years, it smells and tastes and is used just like regular thyme but is far prettier.  Mine was vigorous and strong, unfortunately being variegated means it does not cope with hot dry weather as well as all green varieties can.  After growing it in an arid climate with one too many weeks in a row where day time temperatures exceeded 40 Celsius it died, and I didn’t replace it.  Now that we have moved near Canberra I should get another one as it grows well here and I miss it.  

Thyme leaves back and front, from left to right: Garden thyme, Lemon thyme, Variegated lemon thyme, orange peel thyme, Jekka's thyme, Tabor thyme

Thyme comparison from left to right: lemon thyme (this plant is older than the rest), variegated lemon thyme, orange peel thyme, Tabor thyme, Jekka's thyme

Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) is another great edible herb.  I have been growing my plant for over 9 years, it takes strong frost and heat/drought and has survived for me through some rather extreme conditions.  It has tiny leaves of a similar size to regular garden thyme that are green and smell like thyme and lemon.  Stripping the tiny leaves from the twigs is simple.  This plant is usually very productive and very hardy in heat and cold.

Left to right: Tabor Thyme, Variegated Lemon Thyme, Jekka's Thyme

Left to right: Garden thyme, Lemon thyme, Variegated lemon thyme, orange peel thyme

Variegated lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) tastes and smells the same as lemon thyme but the leaves are variegated.  Variegation varies from leaf to leaf and from branch to branch, some branches are whiter than others.  It probably does not take extreme heat as well as the green form, but it is a little prettier.  Stripping the tiny leaves form the stems is simple.  I will probably grow more of this as it is useful and pretty.

Left to right: Orange peel thyme, Jekka's thyme, Tabor thyme

Orange peel thyme (Thymus nitidus) is a low growing edible thyme that smells like a mix of thyme and spices.  Sometimes it smells a lot like orange peel, other times less orangey and more spicey.  The leaves are thinner than regular thyme, but still tiny and green.  Stripping the leaves from the stems is not as easy as regular thyme but not overly difficult.  This is not only edible but people also use it to create a fragrant thyme lawn.  It is a bit of a slow growing thyme until established.

Tabor thyme on left, Jekka's thyme in right

Jekka's thyme (Thymus sp) is a strong growing edible thyme with relatively long leaves that are green.  This has a strong thyme smell and taste.  Jekka's thyme is a vigorous grower that doesn’t take long to grow into a large plant.  I assume that it would not take extreme heat as well as smaller leaf forms.  When the stems are young and green it is difficult to strip leaves from the stems, as they get woodier this is no longer a problem.

Tabor thyme (Thymus sp) is another strong growing, vigorous edible herb.  It has the largest leaves I have seen on a thyme plant and is the fastest growing thyme I have grown.  It has a strong thyme smell and taste.  When young it is difficult to strip large leaves from soft stems, as the plant gets older the stems get stronger and this becomes simpler.  Tabor thyme is not well suited to hot arid climates and suffers a bit due to its larger soft leaves.


Where to buy culinary thyme plants
Most garden shops tend to sell thyme, sometimes they have different varieties.  I really should take some cuttings and sell some of the thyme varieties that I have through my for sale page as some of the thyme varieties I grow were difficult to come by but are really rather good. 

Perennial leek vs Regular leek

Back in 2013 I wrote a blog post comparing perennial leeks with regular leeks.  I have since done a better comparison and thought I would write another blog post comparing leeks.

I was given seven small regular leeks by a very lovely neighbour when we moved to this house.  I didn't ask what the variety was.  I planted them in a raised garden bed and decided to plant seven perennial leeks in the next row as a comparison.  Both rows contained seven similar sized leeks. 

Both sets of leeks were planted 30/10/2016.  I then left them for a year and did nothing other than water them every so often.  I was careful not to dig up and eat any leeks from either of these rows during this time.

I dug up both sets of leeks on 27/10/2017 and took pictures of both sets.  I figured 12 months of growth (and relative neglect) should give me a decent comparison.

Leek comparison: Regular leeks on left, Perennial leeks on the right

Regular leeks 
The regular leeks didn't do very well for me.  I started with 7 plants each about the size of a pencil, after 12 months I ended up with two edible sized leeks, one small leek, and one small leek bulb growing off the base of one of the large leeks that could be replanted (you can't see the bulb in the photo).

Regular leeks

Perennial Leeks
The perennial leeks did a lot better for me.  Again I started with seven leeks each about the size of a pencil.  Each of the seven leeks grew to a large size.  At this size I usually wouldn't eat these leeks as they are too large.  Larger leeks tend to be tough so we often eat a lot of smaller leeks which are more tender.  As well as being large each of the seven grew 30 to 50 baby leeks of various sizes.

You will notice that each of these leeks has a rounded base.  When we cut these leeks up to eat for dinner we noticed that each of them had many, many leek bulbs in the base.  These leeks would have died down over summer and when the weather cools each of the bulbs would have sprouted into a new plant.

Perennial Leeks

Take a closer look at how perennial leeks work.  Each plant grows until it is reasonably large.  They are usually smaller than store bought leeks but that could be the way I grow them.  Then they start to send up baby leeks from their base.  If the weather gets too hot or dry they die down to odd little bulbs.  When the weather cools these bulbs all sprout and you end up with more than you planted.  Another name for perennial leeks is multiplier leeks, it is easy to see why this name is used as they multiply like crazy.

Perennial leek - note the baby leeks growing from the base

Perennial Leek vs Regular Leek Comparison Results
The first and most obvious thing I noticed from this comparison is that I obviously don't know how to grow leeks!  I wouldn't have planted seven leeks and ended up with three leeks if I knew what I was doing. Considering how many years I have been growing leeks this came as a surprise to me.

The second thing I noticed is (considering that I don't know how to grow leeks) the perennial leeks gave a great yield.  Look at the photo, there are plenty of edible sized leeks in there, and there are plenty of tiny leeks to replace them.

I have been growing perennial leeks for many years and always get large consistent crops.  I never give them much attention and there are always some leeks large enough to eat, and there are always plenty of small leeks to replace any I eat.

I want vegetables that feed my family and don't need much attention from me, so perennial leeks are great.  I want vegetables that reproduce themselves with no effort from me, and perennial leeks are great for this.  I want vegetables that will always be there for me even if I forget about them and don't look after them, and perennial leeks are great for this.  For all of these reasons I am not sure if I will grow regular leeks again.  Perennial leeks are just so easy and productive.  With perennial leeks you plant once and harvest forever, what is not not love!

Perennial leeks for sale in Australia

I sell organically grown perennial leek plants and other perennial vegetables, herbs, heirloom vegetable seeds and a few other things on my for sale page.  I also sell Babington leeks, which are another type of perennial leek, but it grows numerous bulbils on their flower stalk.  Babington leeks take longer to produce a crop than these perennial leeks but once they start producing food they are also very productive.

Jerusalem Artichokes

Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) are sometimes called sunchokes.  They are a perennial vegetable with an odd common name as they are from North America and are not from Jerusalem, they are a type of sunflower and are not an artichoke.  They are a productive perennial vegetable that has a strange history and an interesting reputation.   

Jerusalem artichokes were first grown and eaten by various tribes in North America, apparently there are a number of different varieties up there, one even has red skin and looks amazing.  In Australia we have access to very few varieties, to the best of my knowledge none of them are named.  We do have a few dodgy heirloom vegetable sellers who like to rename things and claim exclusivity, so the few named varieties you see are likely all the same.  

Jerusalem artichokes are one of the foods that helped numerous families to survive the great depression.  They are massively yielding, very undemanding and roughly nutritionally similar to potatoes.  Whenever I have grown them they have easily out produced potatoes and I have cared for them less.  Like pigeons, rabbits, guinea pigs and anything else that helped families to survive the depression we view them scornfully and they are rarely eaten today. 

Jerusalem artichokes do not easily produce viable seeds, and seed grown plants display a great deal of genetic diversity with many producing thin tubers and very few producing thick edible tubers.  I would love to grow them from true seed and breed for larger tubers or other colours, but doubt I will ever have the space or the time to get into this endeavour.  Considering how productive and low maintenance these vegetables already are I am not sure if there is a great need for improved varieties.

Jerusalem Artichoke tuber

Jerusalem artichokes are an extremely productive vegetable that is very simple to grow.  I have heard of people who peel the tubers prior to eating them (much like potatoes or carrots the skin is edible and nutritious so I don’t see why anyone would bother) and placing the peelings in the compost heap only to have Jerusalem artichokes grow from those peelings.  I have heard of people planting them and never being able to get rid of them.  I have never had this issue as they grow reasonably tall so I find them simple to remove, if I don’t want them in a garden bed it is simple enough to pull them up throughout the growing season.  Unlike mint which you can spend years pulling up and never get it all, sooner or later I get them all and there are none left.  I normally don’t bother to plant them as they regrow from tiny tubers I missed when I harvested.  If I do plant them I normally either plant the smallest tubers, or I break large tubers into little pieces and plant them.  Unlike annual vegetables, you are not adding any selective pressure when you plant smaller ones as tuber grown plants are genetically identical to one another.  The fact that they regrow so easily from tubers that have been missed means you never need to spend time deciding which ones to keep and which ones to eat.  It also means that you get to keep all of the crop rather than placing some aside to replant. 

Jerusalem artichokes are said to yield between 2 kg and 6 kg per plant, this seems like a conservative estimate under most situations.  If you were to look after your plants and provide them with excellent soil and mulch I have little doubt that you could easily exceed this amount, if you grow them in poor soil in dry hot conditions the yield can be considerably lower.  If they have reasonable soil moisture during the growing season and you grow them somewhere with cold winters you should expect the crop to be larger.  

I planted three small pieces last year, rarely watered them, did nothing when they were covered in Rutherglen bugs and the tops were getting deformed from constant bug attack, and have already dug up several buckets full of tubers from the edges of the patch.  This summer I will limit my patch to only one plant. 

The leaves are said to be allelopathic, but I am not certain if this is true for all plants or only for specific weeds.  I have heard many people trying to set up a polyculture similar to the three sisters planting method, but have yet to hear of any that actually worked well.  Jerusalem artichokes are said to grow over 12 foot tall, mine have poor soil, I rarely water them, and I often cut off the tops to feed to animals so mine often struggle to reach 5 feet tall.  I tend not to grow many things under them or climbing up them as under crops tend to struggle.  This may be due to allelopathy, or lack of sun light, or simply due to competition from a rapid growing very nutrient hungry crop.

I normally plant Jerusalem artichokes (and everything else I grow) far too close as space and water are limited here.  They tend to crop well enough for me when cramped.  I also tend to grow them in places where other vegetable crops don’t survive rather than using my good soil for them.  For optimum yields give them good soil and as much space as possible, a few feet between plants would do them well.  If conditions are right they spread underground quite far and I have heard of people digging tubers several feet from where they originally planted one.

Jerusalem artichokes do have a few issues though, such as they do not store very well outside of the soil.  This is a big problem if you plan to grow them for market.  For a permaculture garden or home vegetable garden this is not an issue as you just dig them up when you want them.  They are high in inulin, inulin is a prebiotic which humans can’t digest but it feeds beneficial bacteria.  In some people who are not used to eating anything that contains inulin it can give them gas for a while if they eat too much. 

They appear to increase soil biota, I assume this is due to exuding sugars into the soil.  In all of the gardens I have had, plants that are high in inulin always seem to have earth worms near them.

Jerusalem artichokes can be eaten by people raw or cooked in any way that a potato is cooked.  People tell me that Jerusalem artichokes have a subtle and delicate flavour, I struggle to taste them at all.  They can be mixed with potato and mashed, in this way they taste like mash potato but bulk out the meal considerably.

Jerusalem artichokes are great animal feed as they are so productive and many animals like to eat them.  I am told that pigs love to eat Jerusalem artichokes and if planted in a field the pigs will happily plow an entire field and search out every last one.  I feed Jerusalem artichoke leaves and stems to guinea pigs, this doesn’t seem to lower the crop of tubers too much.  After digging the tubers I throw some to the chickens each day, they really love them.  Feeding the tubers to poultry is simple as it requires no preparation plus it lowers the feed bill significantly over winter when there is little growing.  I also give some tubers to guinea pigs, they also love them.  I try not to give the guinea pigs very many as I am worried about them bloating.  Ducks, guinea fowl, quail, rabbits, budgies and many other animals also gladly eat Jerusalem artichoke tubers.  The best part is they don’t need to be grated or cooked, just dig them up, brush off most of the soil, and throw them in - the animals will know what to do. 

Jerusalem artichokes are often difficult to find for sale in Australia, but once you have them you can grow them forever.  Several online places sell them, and I think I have seen them for sale (with inflated prices) in Bunnings.  I sell organically grown Jerusalem artichokes over winter, they are listed with heirloom vegetable seeds, culinary herbs, and other perennial vegetables on my for sale page.

Skirret plants Australia

I have had a few questions about skirret lately so thought I would write a post to answer them.  Skirret (Sium sisarum) is a rare perennial root vegetable that should be grown more widely by home gardeners.  I have written a few blog posts on skirret before, you can use the 'search' button at the top right side of the page to find them.

Skirret was once grown and eaten throughout Europe, then fell out of fashion when vegetables such as the potato were brought back from the new world.  Now, especially in Australia, almost no one has ever heard of skirret, let alone eaten it.  It is too bad because skirret tastes amazing.

Skirret can be planted as a seed in spring, it produces a crop, flowers and produces more seed all in one year.  Not many perennial vegetables can produce a crop this quick from seed grown.  Skirret plants also produce offsets, so when the plant dies down over winter the offsets can be divided, the seeds can be planted and you can increase the number of plants that you have.  Skirret seed shows a surprising amount of genetic diversity, that combined with how many seeds it sets, plus its perennial nature, makes breeding improved skirret varieties relatively simple.

Skirret likes water and thrives in cool climates, if in a hot climate it grows well enough if given more water.  It can survive with less water, but does not crop well.  You really can't over water skirret.

Skirret roots, it was the end of the season when I had eaten all the large roots that I remembered to take a picture, many were a bit longer than this

Skirret is dormant over winter, no matter how cold it gets here the plants always survive.  We have had frosts below -8C this last winter and my plants were completely undamaged.  Skirret flowers attract beneficial insects to the garden, they seem to be visited often by wasps.  I have never had any pests damage my skirret other than snails and slugs when it is very small.

Young skirret plants

Skirret is very simple to grow, productive, and tastes great, but it is not suited to mechanical harvest and the roots don't store well once dug so will never be a main crop anywhere.  The amazing taste, ease of growth and high yield means that it is well suited to home growers.  Being perennial means it can be left to do its own thing and just dug up at harvest time.  We dig up roots when we need them for a meal, anything we leave behind we will either dig up later, or if we miss it this year it will continue to grow larger for next year.

Skirret is such an amazing vegetable that everyone who I have given some to has loved it.  Kids even love the taste of skirret.  I have never heard of anyone eat some and not love it.

Skirret leaves, stems and seeds can be eaten, and they are not without their charm, but it is the roots that are the main crop here.  The roots can be eaten raw, and they are ok, much like a sweet crunchy carrot, but skirret is far better roasted.  It is easily the best tasting roasted vegetable that I have eaten.  It doesn't need to be peeled, just scrub off the soil and roast away.  Skirret tastes incredibly sweet and rich once roasted.

Skirret plants - crowded but still good

Most people plant skirret about 30 cm apart, or about 9 per square meter, as this gives them plenty of room to grow.  I plant them far closer than that.  I am limited by the amount of space I have, I am not limited by the number of plants.  The yield per plant declines when planted too close like this, but the yield per area is increased. 

Skirret starting to flower in late summer

Skirret roots can have a woody core.  This is mostly seen in young plants or plants that have not had enough water over the growing season.  I have culled pretty hard and most of my plants no longer have any woody core at all.  I am hoping to completely eliminate the woody genes from my population and only grow superior plants.  I don't know if I will ever achieve this as I don't know anything about the genes that cause woodiness.

Skirret also seems to be good when planted near leek.  The skirret is the same, but the leeks appear to grow faster and larger.  I should do some little tests to see if this was just a coincidence.

Where to buy skirret in Australia
Not many places in Australia have skirret for sale, hopefully that changes as skirret is a delicious vegetable that is well suited to growing at home.  Skirret needs some breeding work done to make the roots fatter.  I sell skirret offsets over winter, small plants over spring, and seeds all year.  They are listed on my for sale page if you are interested.

Tomato - "Angora 82"

I have been looking for angora leaf tomato seeds for sale in Australia.  Some very knowledgeable people tell me there are no angora leaf tomatoes in Australia.  That seems odd to me, as there used to be at least one angora tomato in Australia many years ago.  I used to grow it. 

After talking to some tomato breeders and dedicated seed savers it appeared that sadly the angora gene had possibly been lost from Australia.

Angora 82 leaf and fruit

Angora 82

Recently I have been given some very old seeds.  Some were from my old garden and are the left over seeds that I saved (and some that I bred, others that I kept pure) when I was a child.  Others were given to me from a friend whose gardening father recently passed and contained a rather eclectic mix of seeds that he collected from all over the world and grew/preserved over the course of his life.  They are all very old seeds, some germinated, others sadly did not, some are named, others were not, some are named but I can't read the writing.  While rummaging through these seeds I happened across some tomato seeds labelled "Angora 82".

Angora 82 leaves

Excitedly I planted almost all of the seeds in the hope that this would be a tomato with the the fabled lost angora leaf gene.  If it was, I not only planned to bring this variety back, I also wanted to use it in breeding new angora leaf tomato varieties.

Angora tomato leaves are covered in hairs.  Sometimes they have more and denser hairs than normal, sometimes they have longer hairs, sometimes the individual hairs are branched.  The exact angora phenotype depends on which gene is responsible.

Angora 82, in the right light it shines

Genes responsible for Angora tomatoes
There are four different genes that could cause angora leaf in tomatoes.Two are homozygous lethal, meaning that if a seed carries two copies of the angora gene it will die.  Planting seeds of these will always result in a percentage of plants without angora leaf.  The non-angora leaf plants do not carry the angora gene.

The other two genes are both homozygous viable, meaning that if a seed carries two copies of the angora gene then it does not die.  It also means that it is difficult to know if the tomato only carries one copy of the angora gene.

Angora 82 flower truss - pretty productive

Angora 82 tomato
I have no idea which gene is responsible in this case.  I have only grown a small number of seeds, but all of them have exhibited angora foliage, so I am assuming it is one of the homozygous viable genes.  This is good and bad.  It is good because it means that if seeds are saved they will not always have a percentage of non-angora leaf.  It is bad as it means breeding this trait into a new variety is a bit slower.

I don't know why this is called 'angora 82'.  Is this the same variety as "angora super sweet" and/or "velvet red"?  My guess is probably not, but it might be.  It isn't always possible to tell that Angora 82 is angora leaf unless it is in the right light.

Given the right light the leaves shimmer and look a little silver, but most of the time they look similar to any other tomato leaf.  It would be nice if the leaf hairs were longer so it looked a but nicer.  Sometimes I wonder why they called this Angora because the leaf looks so similar to a regular tomato leaf, it certainly isn't anywhere near as fuzzy as the angora leaf tomatoes I used to grow.  When using a hand lense it is simple to see that it has far more leaf hairs than my other tomatoes.

What are the advantages of 'Angora 82' tomatoes
This plant grew rather well through the cooler part of spring while all my other tomatoes just sat there refusing to grow.  It was the first tomato to fruit in my garden, which was rather impressive.  This may be because the leaf experienced less abrupt changes in temperature or humidity due to the density of leaf hairs, or it may have nothing to do with that.

Each truss had around 20 flowers and most of them set fruit.  It was a determinate plants, which I am not overly fond of, but it produced a large yield. due to the large number of flowers per truss and the decent number of trusses per plant.

The tomatoes were small, but had a nice tomato taste, they were also pretty sweet.  Fruit on the same truss on the same plant showed a little diversity in shape, some were round, some were round with a point on the end.

Angora 82 fruit

Where to get seed for Angora 82 tomatoes
I will probably sell seed through my for sale page.  I have bagged the flowers but a small amount of crossing may be possible as we are swamped  by Rutherglen bugs each summer and they are small enough to get into the bags.  Considering how infrequently tomatoes cross this should not be a huge problem.

Hangjiao #5 space chilli Helix Nebula in Australia

There are currently ten varieties of chillies that were developed through Chinese space mutation breeding, this year I was offered seeds of several of them and grew Hangjiao #5 space chilli Helix Nebula.  The history of space vegetable breeding is relatively long, interesting and filled with propaganda and deliberate misinformation.  I certainly don’t know all the details.

There are many reports of all seeds that are sent to space returning to grow huge plants with unimaginable yields that are incredibly nutrient dense.  There are even some photo shopped images of vegetable plants that are absolutely covered in massive fruits.  Unfortunately this is largely propaganda designed to be enticing and build excitement over this field of research, but the reality of space mutation breeding is slightly different.

The reality is that the Chinese government has been doing space breeding since the late 1980’s and they love it.  In Northwest China's Gansu province, "space peppers" account for more than half of the local capsicum market.  Chinese fields are planted with 405,000 hectares of rice fields with space seeds and 8,100 hectares of space vegetables.  So the Chinese have a reasonably long history with space breeding and have dedicated a large amount of land and resources to it.  More recently America and a few other countries have started to dabble in space breeding.  They have dedicated huge amounts of money to space mutation breeding, various NASA press releases and web pages make rather impressive claims, but their results have been less than impressive to date and I am not aware of any space vegetables that anyone other than the Chinese Government have bred and released that is in any way noteworthy.

The Chinese government have been working at space breeding for so long, and they have sent hundreds of kilograms of seeds into space (consisting of many millions of individual seeds), and around 12% of seeds sent to space in satellites manifest mutations of some kind, and in China there appears to be no consumer reluctance to space vegetables, and even though China has sent seeds of more than 400 plant species (and countless varieties) to space, only around 66 varieties of space vegetables (10 of which are chilli) or space rice or space flowers have ever been stabilised and kept. 

My Hangjiao #5 Helix Nebula Space Chillies

Space Chillies

Ten varieties of space chillies exist at the moment.  All of the other countless millions of mutated plants were not desirable and the lines were grown out, assessed, and subsequently disposed of.  They were not named and sold to gardeners as space curiosities, they were disposed of because they were simply not worth keeping.

This indicates that each of the 10 varieties of space chilli are rather exceptional in some way or another.  There are reports that space breeding produces chillies that are far more nutrient dense than other varieties of chillies, unfortunately I have not been able to confirm or refute this claim as I do not have access to any reputable studies that have been conducted in this area.  The Hangjiao #5 space chillies I grew were very productive and do grow reasonably large fruit.

Hangjiao #5 - not my photo

Growing Space Chillies

I found that germinating Hangjiao #5 space chilli Helix Nebula seeds was relatively simple, the young seedlings grew easily, but the heat of summer killed them and I had to replant my seeds.  This past summer was odd and many of my vegetable plants suffered in different ways, but the space chillies needed extra help to get through the heat when they were small.  I gave them a bit of shade, and a little more water than my other chilli varieties while they were tiny, and after that they grew well and really didn’t look back.

The plants reached 1 to 2 feet tall and flowered profusely.  While many of my other varieties of chillies aborted flowers for weeks on end due to the hot weather the space chillies flowers generally all set easily.  This fruit grew far too slowly for my liking, which may have been due to the weather or the sheer amount of fruit that each plant carried.  I bagged a few flowers to isolate and produce pure seed, this bagging and exclusion of pollinators did not seem to effect fruit set.  It also means I now have a small amount of pure seed saved.

Once the space chilli plant was covered in unripe fruit it did not seem to slow down production as I would have expected, it just kept producing more.  The weather started to cool so nothing was ripening fast, I ran out of patience so I ate one of the green pods.  It was alright, not hot, it was juicy and crunchy, nothing overly spectacular, but not bad in any way.  My kids really liked it, but that may have simply because of the novelty of eating a space chilli.  I would not grow them again for the green space chillies as I didn’t find them great other than impressive yield produced on a small sized plant.

Once the space chillies started to ripen red I ate another one.  This was much nicer than the green one and after eating them ripe I plan to grow them again this year and will consider getting a few more space chilli varieties.

The ripe space chillies were sweeter and hotter than the green ones.  The pods were each roughly 20 cm long, some curly and others straight, and evenly red when ripe.  They are crunchy and juicy, they have heat but are not overly hot at all which is surprisingly nice, and they do not smell very strong or fruity.  I am bad at describing taste but have heard them described as tasting like a capsicum, or having an apple sweetness, or tasting similar to a crunchy pea pod, which all are reasonable descriptions.

I counted the number of chillies that grew on one plant.  Over the season 53 large red chillies ripened and a lot of other unripe green ones were on the plant but the frost hit them.  Had I started the seeds earlier, or had I over wintered plants, I would have gotten a whole lot more chillies.  Even so, 53 large chillies from one plant is certainly not bad.

I have also been told that they are mostly grown for use in stir fry.  Given their high productivity, sweetness, relatively large size, crunchiness, and reasonably low heat I think they would go well in a stir fry.

My kids also tried some ripe red space chilli and much preferred them to the unripe green ones.  Being low in heat means the kids had no trouble eating them, and as these chillies ‘came from space’ the kids are very eager to eat them and happily eat as many as I let them eat. 

Hangjiao #5 Space Chillies starting to ripen

Space Chillies are great for kids

I think space chillies are a great vegetable for kids to grow, they are low maintenance, high yielding, tastes good, very healthy (high in Vitamin C etc) and, being ‘from space’ means they are fun and likely to be eaten by children.

Space chillies can also be used as a starting point for discussions over genetics, mutations, plant breeding, space and so forth so can be used as a sneaky educational tool.

Where to get space chilli seeds in Australia
There are a few places that sell space chilli seeds in Australia.  I have considered tracking down all ten varieties of space chilli and growing them, but I probably won't because I just don't know what I would do with the bags and bags of chillies that they would produce.

Chillies cross pollinate readily with other varieties of chilli and capsicum so only buy seeds from people who isolate flowers to save pure seed.

I bagged some flowers and saved pure seeds from them this year.  If I have any extra seeds they will be listed on my for sale page with all of the organically grown perennial vegetables and vegetable seeds that I have for sale.

Mint Varieties

There are many different varieties of mint, I have grown some over the years and currently grow a few.  I plan to increase the varieties I grow as I find nice varieties.  There are also a few herbs that are related to mint (or are completely unrelated to mint but have mint in the common name) that I grow. 

Unless you are attempting to breed a new variety, mint is best grown from cuttings or division as seed grown mint tends to grow variable plants.  When grown from seed some plants may have a strong scent, others weak, and a whole lot of substandard plants in between.  All mint varieties enjoy moisture, they grow best in cool damp climates but still perform ok in hot and dry climates if watered often and given some shade. 

All mint varieties have a tendency to become invasive and spread by underground rhizomes.  Some are far more aggressive than others.  This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you manage it.  I have heard people advise to dig a hole and plant a pot of soil in which to grow mint.  I have seen mint escape from this and take over gardens so I grow mint in pots and keep the pots on pavers or concrete.  For me, mint’s aggressive growth is a good thing.  I am mindful not to allow it to escape, so the aggressive growth makes it incredibly forgiving and productive even in a small space.

People grow mint to attract pollinating insects, but I don’t recommend doing this at all.  Some varieties of mint will drop viable seed, sometimes thousands of tiny viable seeds, and seed grown mint is often inferior to the parent.  The seeds are tiny and almost impossible to find.  Mint also tends to change smell and taste when it flowers.  For these reasons I always try to remove the flowers.  Sure the bees like it, but they also like a lot of other things that flower at the same time that won't cause me any problems. 

Some varieties of mint will die down over winter, others will forge through unharmed.  Mints are perennial and so far they all survive winter here and happily grow for me as the weather warms. 

I have heard of people who grow several varieties of mint in the same garden bed, this is a very bad idea.  Normally one variety is stronger and takes over eventually leaving you with only one type of mint growing.  People often get confused and think that the different varieties alter each other by growing too close and they are left with strange smelling plants, which is not the case.  Sometimes the mints flower, they cross pollinate with one another, and drop seed.  Most of these seeds will grow odd smelling plants.  One of these vigorous seedlings will eventually take over and all the other mint plants will eventually die off.  Quite often this seed grown plant does not smell great, which is where the confusion comes from.  I grow mint in pots and try to prevent flowering so as to avoid this type of problem.  

Below are some of the mint varieties that I am currently growing and am happy with.  I am still trialing some others, some are looking pretty good so far, others will be composted if they are not nice enough or productive enough or useful enough.

Native River Mint

Native river mint (Mentha australis) has a bunch of different common names.  It used to grow naturally along much of NSW and VIC and other parts of the country along river banks and flood plains but has become pretty rare in the wild.  I have spent my life living in the natural range of this plant, and spent huge amounts of time in the outdoors for work and uni and fun, but am yet to come across this in its natural habitat.  Like any variety of mint it prefers damp places but can tolerate drier soil.  This plant smells strongly like regular peppermint and is edible.  I have heard stories that the first Europeans in Australia used this plant in their Sunday roast as well as to ease the symptoms of colds.  Being an unimproved, undomesticated species, seeds grown from this plant will be very similar to the parent but could also be used to breed a superior variety.  Native River mint is not overly invasive and will not try too hard to take over the garden.

Spearmint plant

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) was once the most commonly grown garden mint, it used to be in every garden.  The spearmint lollies that used to be in shops were based on the smell and taste of this plant.  Spearmint is edible and it smells sweet and minty.  This is the mint that people often used to make mint jelly, or to use with a roast, or to have with peas, or in various summer drinks.  It is also used to treat colds and headaches and similar things, I am not sure how effective it actually is in any of its medicinal purposes.  Spearmint is invasive and care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden.

Peppermint plant - runners trying to escape the pot

Peppermint (Mentha X piperita) has a much stronger smell than spearmint.  It is edible and can be used in all the same ways as spearmint plus it tends to be used more often medicinally as it is stronger and contains more essential oils than spearmint.  Peppermint essential oils certainly clear the nose and can be used in a calming tea, but I am not certain of how effective it is in its other medicinal properties.  It is also used to treat wounds as it has anti-microbial properties.  I have heard that mice dislike it, but have a feeling that this is superstition and may not actually work to effectively repel mice.  Peppermint is a hybrid between two different species of mint (spearmint Mentha spicata and watermint Mentha aquatica), as such seed will produce a mix of a range of mints and none of them will be peppermint.  Please never buy any seeds from any company that sells peppermint seeds as they either know little about the seeds they are selling, or they know they are selling you rubbish and are happy to deceive you.  Peppermint is very invasive and care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden. 

Chocolate Mint Plant

Chocolate mint (Mentha X piperita f. citrata 'Chocolate') is a chocolate smelling variant of peppermint.  It is edible and used in all the ways, culinary and medicinal, that regular peppermint is used.  As it smells like chocolate at times it is often used is drinks and deserts.  This plant changes how it smells throughout the growing season, sometimes it smells very much like chocolate, others it smells much like peppermint, sometimes when flowering I think it smells bad.  Seed grown chocolate mint are extremely variable and I think that many of them are dreadful.  To this end I do not allow it to flower and cut it to the ground when the first flower buds appear.  This plant is extremely invasive and care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden.  

Lemon mint

Lemon mint (sold to me as Mentha 'lemon' and likely to be some complex Mentha hybrid) is a fresh lemon smelling variety of mint.  It is quite nice.  Some times of the year it smells very strongly of zesty lemon mixed with mint, other times (such as after flowering) it smells like weak mint with just a hint of lemon.  Lemon mint can be used in deserts, drinks, and any meals where lemon and/or mint works well.  I don't know anyone who has grown seed from this but assume the results would be a mix of weak peppermint and other weird things.  This plant is very invasive and care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden. 

Variegated Apple Mint Plant

Variegated apple mint (Mentha suaveolens variegata) my plant actually died during my recent multiple moves as it was growing in a tiny pot that did not get watered for far too long.  I guess that they smell a bit like mint and a bit like apple, and it is a lot of fun.  It is used in herbal tea and refreshing drinks and in similar ways to spearmint.  Sometimes this plant will grow a branch with all green leaves, this should be removed as it will out compete the variegated parts and pretty soon you will no longer have a variegated plant.  Sometimes it will grow an all white branch, this can not photosynthesise and weakens the plant.  I don’t often remove the white branches as I like the look of them and they die off by themselves soon enough.  Having some white on the leaves means it is less aggressive than if it was all green.  This plant is invasive and care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden.

Chinese artichoke flowering

Chinese Artichoke tuber sprouting

Chinese artichokes (Stachys affinis) are a rare perennial vegetable that is referred to as a ‘tuberous mint’.  They are not grown for their leaves but are grown for the white edible tubers underground.  This plant looks much like mint but the leaves do not really smell like anything.  It prefers cool climates and can have erratic yields in warmer gardens.  They sometimes flower but are very reluctant to set seed so I don’t bother to remove them.  This plant would benefit from breeding or ploidy manipulation to increase tuber size.  The tubers are crunchy, slightly sweet and look like little grubs so kids enjoy eating them (they call the "sweet grubs").  It is difficult to find this plant anywhere, but it is highly invasive so care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is not a mint, but is related to mint.  It smells like lemon, is edible and used medicinally for a range of things.  We have used it in cooking and I am told it makes a nice herbal tea.  Normally it smells like lemon but when flowering it is not all that nice.  This will happily seed and grow all over your garden if allowed.  I am told it does not grow underground runners, but mine do!  The runners are not as long or as aggressive as mint, but it still grows them.  This plant is invasive and care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden.  

Lime Balm Plant

Lime balm (Melissa officinalis 'lime') is a lime smelling variant of lemon balm.  It is edible and can be used in all the same ways as lemon balm.  I have made a herbal tea from lime balm which is delicious.  Seed grown plants are highly variable and many revert to lemon smelling or even nasty soapy smelling variants.  I have not grown this long but it appears to be slightly less invasive than lemon balm, even so, care must be taken to prevent it taking over the garden. 

Vietnamese Hot Mint

Vietnamese hot mint (Persicaria odorata) is also known as Vietnamese coriander and a heap of other names and is not related to mint in any way whatsoever.  This herb smells delicious and is often used in laksa.  I grow it as an emergent water plant but am told it grows well in the garden if well watered.  It flowers but is reluctant to set seed so I don’t bother to remove them.  This is frost tender and must be protected from extreme cold.  I really like this herb and find it hard to believe how difficult it is to come by and how few people grow it in Australia.  While this plant is super easy to grow and very productive I can’t imagine it being invasive unless you live somewhere tropical in a swamp or a house boat.  I take no care to control it and have had no problems with it being invasive whatsoever. 

Vietnamese Fish Mint

Vietnamese Fish mint (Houttuynia cordata) is reasonably new to me and is not at all related to mint.  It is edible and has a long history of medicinal use and as a remedy for poisoning.  It has a rather distinctive smell and can be used in place of fish sauce and is also used in a medicinal "dokudami" herbal tea.  Mine has white single flowers and I am told that it does not set seed.  I grow the highly productive and edible green form, there is also a variegated form that is prettier and less invasive that I may try to get one day.  Growing fish mint in a pot will contain it nicely due to its inability/reluctance to produce viable seed.  One or two small pots of this herb is meant to supply more than enough for a household and it should never be planted directly in the garden otherwise it will take over and every time you mow it will smell like fish.  If planted in a pot this will not be invasive.  This is meant to be one of the most invasive herbs and great care should be taken to prevent it from taking over the entire garden (ie grow it in a pot of soil, not in the garden).

Where to buy organic mint plants in Australia
As I mentioned, please do not buy any mint seeds ever.  Please never buy anything from anyone who sells peppermint seeds.  Various garden centers and online places sell different varieties of mint. Sometimes you may find garage sales with one or two types of mint.  I sell small organically grown mint plants through the post, and the rest of the plants mentioned above, through my for sale page.