Elusive white borage

Back in 2016 or 2017 I got some borage (Borago officinalis) seeds and grew out some borage plants.  I allowed my plants to self seed and it popped up in a lot of places around the garden.  I like the blue flowers, so never thought to get a white flowered variety.

Borage is an annual or biennial herb that has a lot of used in the permaculture garden.  It it is a  medicinal plant with edible leaves and edible flowers.  Borage is adored by honey bees and other pollinator insects, and its leaves are great in the compost.  Borage leaves smell and taste a little like cucumber, which is fun.  Poultry and livestock gladly eat borage leaves.

Each year my borage flowers profusely with lovely blue flowers.  As the flowers age they sometimes turn pink, this is an environmental thing.  After flowering they self seed, and when the time is ready it grows wherever the seeds happened to land.  I don't water it or weed it, sometimes I mow it if it is in the wrong place.  Other than that borage just does its thing with no work from me.  My honeybees like the flowers, and my chickens like to eat the leaves.  Borage is meant to be good at smothering weeds, and it is excellent in the compost.

I was selecting for larger plants, but gave up on that after a while because it isn't needed.  Some borage plants grow massive, others remain tiny.  With my narrow gene pool, growing conditions and environment appear to play a larger role in determining the size of the plants than genetics.

This year one of the self seeded plants has white flowers! 

White Flowered Borage

I've never grown white borage before

I have never seen a white flowered borage in this population before.  One of three things has happened here:

1. Perhaps this has arisen from a mutation that occurred spontaneously in my population.  
2. Maybe blue is dominant, and my population has always had hidden recessive genes for white that have never been displayed before this.  This seems unlikely (but not impossible) given the number of generations this population has grown here with no whites.
3. Maybe someone nearby has white borage and insects brought the pollen in last season (or a few seasons ago).  

I will never know for sure, but like to think that this may be a spontaneous mutation.  It isn't uncommon for one gene to get broken and produce something novel like this.

I have never grown white borage before, and have not been able to find out if blue or white is dominant.  I hope to save some seed from my open pollinated white borage and see what its progeny do.  Update: it appears that blue borage flowers is dominant and white is recessive.

Regardless of the outcome, I think having one white flowered plant appear like this is kind of fun.

Regular blue borage flowers taste like cucumber

Blue borage flowers fade to pink

Even on cold days there are often bees on borage flowers

Bees and other pollinators love borage

Blue borage growing among the lawn weeds

I hope to be able to save some seed of the white borage to see what colour flowers their progeny has.  I dare say it will drop some seed as well as me collecting some seed, and this will become part of the borage gene bank in my yard.  

Hacor Coriander, Hot & Spicy Coriander

I love coriander (Coriandrum sativum), it is a great edible herb.

People either love coriander or they hate coriander, there does not appear to be much middle ground.  Some people have a broken gene which makes this smell and taste dreadful to them, but for the rest of us coriander leaf is excellent.

I have been growing coriander and deliberately crossing as many varieties as I can for a while.  The resultant seeds are genetically very diverse, and allow to quickly select for plants that perform well in different climates. 

Last year I got some seeds of 'Hacor coriander'.  Hacor coriander is also called 'slow bolting' and 'hot and spicy Coriander'.  Hacor coriander is said to have a stronger taste than regular coriander.  Like all coriander, this plant is grown for its edible leaves (which confusingly Americans call 'cilantro') and seeds/fruits (which Americans call 'coriander').

I liked the sound of hot and spicy coriander, so I grew some of this Hacor coriander to test it out.  I grew it partly to see what it was like, and partly to include in my mass crossed superior coriander.  I grew some that I bagged the flowers and saved seeds to keep them pure.

Coriander leaves

I thought hacor coriander was good, but nothing terribly special.  I didn't find it to have a stronger taste than my superior coriander, and I would not have thought to call i hot and spicy coriander. 

I might grow hacor coriander again, but I probably won't.  It was good, and productive, but nothing special.  I have crossed it with my superior coriander to keep the genetics diverse, so will likely grow that instead of hacor.

I sell seeds of Hacor coriander from bagged plants, as well as mixed seeds from my superior coriander through my for sale page.

Lavender mint plants

Lavender mint (Mentha sp) is a vigorous growing, edible variety of mint.  I really wanted to try 'lavender mint' ever since I heard about it.

This variety of mint, like all mints, is perennial and likes water.  It is not too bothered by frosts which is always a bonus in my climate.

Growing mint is simple, they need water and are not too picky other than that.  

Growing lavender is meant to be easy, they prefer drier soil.  For some inexplicable reason I never have a great deal of success growing lavender. 

This variety is one of the most vigorous varieties of mint that I have seen.  For that reason I would never plant it in the garden, I would only ever grow it in a pot.  Even when grown in a pot it will try to escape through the drainage holes, so care must be taken to prevent it from taking over your entire garden, and your yard, and the neighbour's yard.  It really is a strong growing herb.

I had heard so much about this lavender mint variety, but nowhere sells them, then I obtained one through a plant swap.  I had low hopes, many mints do not really live up to their names, but I was intrigued.  I am happy to say that this variety of mint does smell a lot like lavender, and not very much at all like mint. 

Lavender mint

Lavender mint plants have a lovely strong floral scent of lavender.  I can't rally smell mint, which is good. Often the smell of mint overpowers everything.

I am sure you could use lavender mint in all kind of baking and with many sweet dishes.  It probably does ok with the right kind of savory meals as well.  I haven't tried it in any of those ways.  So far I have only made herbal tea from my lavender mint.

The first time I was not sure what to expect.  In hind sight, I really should have known, it is like drinking a warm floral cup of lavender.  I really like it.  

Making herbal tea was easy.  Hot water, a spoon full of honey mixed through, add a sprig of lavender mint.  When the tea was cool enough to drink remove the mint and drink the liquid.  Doesn't get much simpler than that.

Hot Water + Mint + Honey = delicious herbal tea

So far my favourite of all the edible mints is "banana mint", that one is slow growing but smells incredible.  It also makes an intriguing banana flavoured herbal tea that I really like.  I find propagating banana mint to be slow, I am tempted to plant this in my garden and just let it run so I can have more plants.

My second favourite mint is either this lavendar mint or native peppermint, I am not sure which I prefer, they are both great in different ways.  They are both much more vigorous in their growth and faster to propagate than banana mint.  Native peppermint is not invasive, lavender mint on the other hand is so vigorous that it would be very invasive if not contained.

Lavender mint plant

I don't have a great deal to say about this plant.  It smells great, it grows strong, it is highly productive, and I really like it.  

One day I will likely have extra plants and can offer them on my for sale page. along with the other edible herbs and perennial vegetables that I have for sale.

Culinary Thyme: comparison of five varieties

I have grown a lot of varieties of thyme over the years.  People often describe a variety, yet irritatingly no one ever seems to compare different varieties.

Jekkas Thyme, Tabor thyme, Lemon thyme, Orange peel thyme, Regular thyme

I wrote a comparison of thyme varieties a while ago, and thought I would do another quick comparison.  

My tabor thyme and regular thyme are just about the be phased out.  They take too much effort to grow for too little reward, they grow too slowly, they don't produce enough leaves, and my Jekkas thyme has largely swamped them with its incredible vigorous growth.  

Jekka's thyme grows so fast, and produces so many leaves and tremendous numbers of flowers in spring, it really is hard to go past this variety.

Five varieties of edible thyme

I thought I would show you the amount of leaves per sprig of each variety, as well as the different sizes of leaves between each variety. 

All of these photos from left to right have: Jekka's thyme, Tabor thyme, Lemon thyme, Orange peel thyme, and regular kitchen thyme.

As you can see, regular thyme (on the far right) has few leaves per stem, and the leaves are small. 

Orange peel thyme has tiny leaves, and the plant doesn't grow very large, but nothing else really smells of orange peel.  I am growing this for now but will eventually lose it as it grows slow and will likely get over run by something and starved of light.

The lemon thyme has small leaves, but makes up for that in smelling like lemons as well as thyme, and having a lot of leaves per stem. 

Tabor thyme is good, it has large leaves and good numbers of leaves per stem.  It needs a bit of extra water to get through summer.

Jekka's thyme (on the far left) has larger leaves and the leaves usually aren't too sparse.

Five leaves: Jekka's thyme, Tabor thyme, Lemon thyme, Orange peel thyme, Regular thyme

It would take a lot of regular thyme to get a decent amount of leaves as they have so few leave on a stems, and the leaves are so tiny.  Jekka's thyme and Tabor thyme each have a lot more leaves, and the leaves on both are much larger than regular kitchen thyme.  The taste of all of these is much the same.

The incredible rate that Jekka's thyme grows and spreads means that getting a decent harvest really doesn't take too long.  Any place a stem touches the soil it seems to put down roots.

Thyme leaf comparison - ruler for scale

All of these thyme varieties seem to cope well with heavy frosts.  They don't grow much over winter, but they don't die or decline either.  

I know garden books always speak of how thyme is drought resistant, but none of them love dry conditions.  Tabor thyme seems to perform the worst in the dry.  Perhaps my garden is drier and more harsh than most, but I have never seen any variety of thyme that can survive drought without extra water.

Jekkas thyme, Tabor thyme, and regular kitchen thyme all smell and taste much the same.  I sometimes think Jekka's thyme may be a little stronger, but that changes with the weather or something.

Jekka's thyme also flowers like crazy in spring, while my other varieties of thyme always flower very sparingly.  The bees and other beneficial insects seem to love thyme blossom so the huge numbers of them on Jekka's thyme is a benefit to spring bees.

Jekka's thyme flowers

Jekkas Thyme starting to flower

Out of these thyme varieties I prefer Jekka's thyme as it is the most productive and very simple to grow.  I won't grow many varieties of thyme for much longer because it is too hard stopping Jekka's thyme from overrunning the other slower growing but similar tasting varieties.  There is no real point trying to protect a poor performer when I have a stand out like Jekkas thyme.

Jekkas thyme used to be rare in Australia, but I am happy to say that it is becoming far more common.  I sell bare rooted Jekkas thyme plants through my for sale page, and I may sell other varieties of thyme on occasion.

Olive herb (Santolina rosmarinifolia)

I am growing a few new plants this year.  Some are species that I am familiar with but varieties that I have never grown, others are plants that I have never grown, and some I have only ever heard of but never actually seen. 

One edible herb I have been looking for years is called olive herb (Santolina rosmarinifolia).  

This is not 'olive leaf', which is just the leaves of the olive tree, this is a little perennial edible herb that smells like olives.

Olive Herb

I have been searching for this plant for a few years, but never seem to be able to buy it.  I am told that this plant withstands light frosts, but not heavy ones.  I am also told it smells and tastes like olives.  Other than that I know little of this herb.

Recently my kid's swimming teacher offered to keep an eye out for it.  Amazingly within a few weeks she found it and bought one for me!  Then a few weeks later I went to Bunnings and they had these plants for sale too.  

I now have a small olive herb plant.  I am keeping it partly protected from frosts in its little pot for now, and once the weather warms up I plan to plant it in the vegetable garden and see how it performs for me.  

This plant smells nice.  Other than brush my hand over the plant and smell it I haven't done anything with it yet, so can't comment on the taste or anything like that. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what this little plant can do.

 

Update 12/11/2021: my plant survived winter, grew a little taller, has been planted in the veggie garden, and is starting to flower.  I really like the smell of this plant, it has quickly become one of my favourite herbs.  I have cut a little and used it as 'garnish' on top of spaghetti bolognese and similar meals.  Olive herb goes really well with spaghetti bolognese!

Rice Paddy Herb - Rau Om

I heard about rice paddy herb, aka Rau Om, years ago, and have wanted to try it ever since.  Rice Paddy Herb (Limnophila aromatica) is a perennial edible plant that is said to taste/smell like citrus and cumin.  Other places say it is similar to coriander seed.  Other places describe it as being  spicy, lively and reminiscent of citrus or curry.  Sounds intriguing.

Everyone says the best way to grow it is to get a bunch of rice paddy herb from the grocers and grow a cutting from there, unfortunately I have never seen rice paddy herb anywhere.  Very few online places sell live plants, and when you factor in postage, unless you also get other plants from there, it puts the price out of reach.  So it has taken me a few years to actually get one.

I recently got some rice paddy herb (and some other nice edible plants) from Midsummer Herbs, and was very impressed.  Firstly, there were several plants in my package, all were healthy and strong, and they were packaged well for postage.  

Secondly, and far more importantly, was the smell and taste of this plant.  Rice paddy herb really does smell spicy and lively like citrus and cumin, but far better.  This plant has already exceeded my expectations.  It smells incredible.

Rice paddy herb is commonly grown in Vietnam and other wet tropical places, it loves water and can be found in rice paddies or roadside ditches with water.  Some people grow this submerged in an aquarium as an ornamental plant.  For some inexplicable reason it is not commonly grown in Australia.  

Rice paddy herb loves water, humidity, and heat.  Apparently it can be difficult to grow in temperate areas.  Which makes me wonder why I got this plant going into winter instead of waiting until spring...hmmm...

Most references to over wintering this plant speak of wrapping the plant, pot and all, in a plastic bag.  This is meant to increase humidity and help reduce the severity of temperature swings. 

As Christina from Midsummer Herbs gave me several plants I am able to try growing it in a few different ways and hopefully at least one makes it through winter.

I have a cutting sitting in some water on the window sill.  I should probably take that to work and keep it on my desk as it is usually pretty warm in the office and it can get cold in my house over night.

Rice Paddy Herb

I have some rice paddy herb planted in pots, under the shelter of the north facing verandah, next to a brick wall.  They won't get any frost there, hopefully the brick wall helps keep them a little warmer.  They will get some direct sunlight first thing in the morning, as well as bright indirect sunlight during the day.  

I covered one in a plastic bottle with the bottom cut off, and the other with a plastic bag.  I plan to keep an eye on them and move them if they appear to be declining too badly.

Rice paddy herb with plastic bag covering it

Rice Paddy Herb with a plastic bottle for protection

I have grown some tropical plants over winter and had great success as long as there is no frost or ice on them.  I have tried to grow other species and they died quickly as soon as the temperature got too low even without frost or ice.  

I have no idea how rice paddy herb will cope over winter, so I am also growing a plant in a small pot on the kitchen window sill where it will be  a bit warmer over winter.  I have grown micro tomatoes there over winter, so there is a chance my rice paddy herb should be ok.  This pot is also sitting in water, and has a plastic bag over it to increase humidity.  I do fear that being close to the window may be too cold at night, or it may experience temperature swings that are too large for it to cope with.

Rice Paddy Herb on kitchen window sill

As well as these I also put two very small plants in a floating pot of herbs in my goldfish aquaponics barrel.  I have lower hopes of this surviving as it will likely get too cold out there, but it may be ok.  You need to look closely, one can be seen in the bottom left of the picture below.

Rice Paddy Herb in aquaponics - you need to look closely to see it

There is a chance that my rice paddy herb will survive in the aquaponics because the other plants may provide a microclimate to shelter them from the cold, the large volume of water should retain some heat, and the barrel is under the eves of the house next to a brick wall, so the whole thing may be able to retain enough heat for it to survive.  We have already had a couple of nights where the temperature has dropped below -6C and so far everything looks ok, but we will see what happens once this happens regularly over winter.

I think over summer when the weather is warm that growing rice paddy herb in aquaponics may be the way to go in my climate as it gets hot and dry here.  In aquaponics rice paddy herb would have unlimited water, constant humidity, and access to a stream of nutrients from the fish waste.  

If things go too poorly for all my plants I have a heat mat in the garage that I use to germinate seeds, I could move one or two plants onto this heat mat and put it under lights.  Hopefully I notice in time and am able to save this little plant.  I haven't started them on the heat mat because they may do just fine where I have them.

Hopefully at least one of my plants survives and I can give this a go over summer.  If not, given how much I like the smell and taste of this herb, I think I will have to try and buy another one.

________________________________________________________________________________

Update after one month:

Almost the opposite of what I had expected.  

The aquaponics one lost a few leaves from frost, but generally looks good.  It may still die once we get a lot more frosts, or it may power through.  I really think that once the weather warms aquaponics will be a good place to grow rice paddy herb.

The two growing outside near the brick wall both got a little cold damage, but also look like they should survive.

The one in a pot on the kitchen window sill is doing very poorly.  It has suffered a lot and has died back somewhat.  I moved it to another room as I thought being near a window the temperature swings may be too much, but it kept going down hill.  I have just moved it into the garage on a heat mat and will see how that goes.  Hopefully some bottom heat should help it pick up and get through the colder months.

The cutting I took and put in a glass of water is doing poorly.  I moved it to the heat mat too.  Hopefully a little heat should help it grow some roots.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Update after two and a half months

The aquaponics rice paddy herb had some damage from frosts, but is still alive.  If it survives until spring I have a feeling it will do well in my little barrel.

The two outside near the brick wall are alive.  They both were damaged from cold.  Hopefully they survive.

The one that was in a pot on the kitchen window sill, then put on a heat mat, has died.  The cutting in water that I put on a hear mat also died.  This surprised me, I expected these to be the last ones alive if all else failed.

If all goes poorly I will have to buy another plant when the weather is warm because I really love rice paddy herb.  I think getting plants before winter was my downfall, and if I had established plants leading into winter that they may have fared a lot better.

Huacatay - Targetes minuta

Huacatay (Tagetes minuta), is also called Peruvian Black Mint, is an annual herb commonly grown across the Peruvian Andes and less commonly in other areas.  I am not sure why, but very few people seem to grow huacatay in Australia.

Huacatay is not a type of mint (Mentha sp) or even related to mint.  It is not invasive like mint, nor is it perennial in my garden.  

Huacatay is a type of marigold, and is sometimes called 'southern cone marigold'. Huacatay is sometimes referred to as 'Peruvian Black Mint' because it smells a bit like mint.

Huacatay leaves

The internet says huacatay "leaves have a flavour reminiscent of mint and sweet pineapple but with an additional hint of bitterness and a strong scent of marigold flowers" or that huacatay has "minty, aniseed and citrusy aroma".   Sounds incredible!  

To me, huacatay tastes much like spear mint, but a little different and more complex, I can't really explain how.  Some people prefer huacatay to true mint, some prefer true mint, I like both in different ways.

Huacatay grows to about 6 feet tall, maybe a bit less depending on the soil and the climate.  It has dissected leaves that get a lot of comments as it looks like another plant...

I am told that huacatay can seed so prolifically that it may become a weed in some gardens.  I haven't grown it for long enough for this to be an issue.  I would grow more of it if I had more space, so would welcome it popping up as a weed from time to time.

Most often huacatay is either used as a way to flavour meat dishes, in things such as tortillas, and in the sauce called ocopa.

When brewed into herbal tea, huacatay is known to reduce cold symptoms and improve the health of the respiratory tract.  I have made herbal tea from huacatay a few times, to me it tastes a lot like speamint tea, I rather like it.

I found a recipe for ocopa huacatay sauce:

Huacatay Sauce 

Take a massive handful of this plant (pick the young tips), a clove of garlic, a couple of chillies (traditionally aji amarillo), a pinch of salt, juice of a lime and enough oil to make a sauce.
Blend them all together and adjust for taste.

That sounds simple enough.  Perhaps I should give that a try and see how it goes.

At this stage I don't sell huacatay plants or seeds.  Depending on how well it seeds for me I may try to sell seeds through my for sale page.

Banana Mint Plant

A few years ago I heard of a plant called banana mint.  It was said to be a mint plant (either a Mentha species, or hybrid of several Mentha species) and it is meant to smell strongly of banana.  This herb sounded intriguing.  

Banana mint plant

Strangely enough I only ever see banana mint mentioned by nurseries that sell it and no mention from home gardeners.  Other than a passing remark that it exists, I don’t see any home gardeners ever mention this plant, which I find rather odd.  Good or bad I would have thought that someone would have spoken about their experience growing and eating it.

I searched for a few years and only found this plant for sale overseas, then one day I found it listed in Australia.  It was sold out, so I emailed the nursery and asked when they would likely have it in stock again.  They replied and said it should be back in spring, so every few weeks I checked their site and once it was available I bought one.  The place I bought it from is run by some dedicated, knowledgeable, and really lovely people, I highly recommend buying from them.

The plant arrived healthy, bare rooted, and small.  Quite often smaller plants cope better with postage and grow faster than larger plants, so I was happy with this.  I planted it in a pot, but it didn’t do much growing.  From spring to autumn it really didn’t get any larger than it was when I bought it.  We were in the midst of one of the biggest droughts ever recorded in this region, and had week after week of thick smoke, so I didn’t give it as much water as it deserved.  I tried to pick part of a leaf every now and again to smell, but feared damaging the plant so never took more than quarter of a leaf and was never able to really smell much.

Then winter came and the plant died down to below soil level.  I wasn’t sure if it was dead or not and wasn’t going to check until spring.  I top dressed the soil to boost fertility and hoped for the best.  Some mints die back over my winters, others power through, I didn’t know what to expect.

Once spring hit my little plant got to work, it had divided into 4 or 5 larger plants and was even growing out of the draining hole in the bottom of the pot.  As summer hit it started to flower.  I often try to prevent mint from flowering because they drop seed everywhere and are difficult to control, but I am tempted to allow banana mint to seed and see what the seedlings are like.  Chances are they will be nothing like the parent, but there may be something nice in there.  

Banana Mint Flowers

The growth rate of banana mint is slower and far less aggressive than other mints.  I usually find mint difficult to control even when planted in a pot, so a less aggressive mint should be easier to grow long term.  The leaves are green and a little fuzzy, the flowers are a lavender colour and like any other mint seem to attract bees.  But it is the smell that matters with herbs like this.

I am told that banana mint smells “freshly minty with strong unmistakable undertones of banana”.  I don’t smell any mint in my plant.  To me this plant does smell strongly of bananas but not exactly like banana.  I really like banana mint.

Back when I was at university I remember working with an organic ester called isoamyl acetate (3-Methylbutyl ethanoate), this has a distinctive smell of bananas but not exactly like bananas.  Most people who smelled this liked it, it does smell like banana, but just a little different.  I think banana mint must be high in isoamyl acetate because that is what it smells like to me. 

I am told that banana mint can be used to flavour sweet meals such as cakes and things, I am told it goes well with chicken or salads, and I am told it goes well in fruit punch.  I am told that it holds its flavour well after cooking.  I haven’t tried any of that but it all sounds reasonable.  So far I have only eaten a leaf raw here and there with my kids, and I have made herbal tea with banana mint.  The herbal tea is nice, it does smell like bananas.  

Banana Mint Leaves

To make banana mint tea I put a few leaves in a mug, add some honey, pour on some hot water, and stir.  Really simple. 

I quite like banana mint and plan to keep growing it.  Even though it is less aggressive in its growth I won’t risk growing it directly in the garden and will always keep it restrained in a pot or some other container.  If I have a spare plant I may offer it on my for sale page, but it is unlikely I will ever have many of these because my kids can’t help but strip the leaves off and smell/eat them whenever they think I am not looking. 

Hot & Spicy oregano

I have grown oregano on an off for years. They are a common and readily available herb, so every time I move hose I leave it behind and get another. Most of the time I grow unnamed varieties, some claim to be ‘Greek’, others claim to be ‘Italian’, while some have been far better than others, none are ever bad.

No oregano I had grown has ever really impressed me, their leaves are too small, the plants are not compact enough, the taste is not strong enough, some don't cope with winter, and so on. So I started to consider breeding an improved oregano. I enjoy breeding improved things, and my success rate in breeding improved varieties of vegetables is reasonably high, so I gave it a go. I got a few oregano varieties, planted them very close together, allowed insects to open pollinate them, and planted lots of seed.

Right from cotyledon stage the seedlings displayed a wide array of diversity. I really liked some and wanted to see how they performed, most were grown out for a while before being culled, while others were culled really early. I knew what I wanted, I had heaps of seedlings, so I culled hard.

One seedling was rather unique and I think it had a lot of potential. Instead of growing leaves in pairs along the stem it grows leaves in sets of three. This looked interesting, and provided more leaf than the others. It got larger than the others pretty quickly. I was really excited to see what this plant would become.

Then last summer all of my oregano seedlings died.

Not long after I started my quest for improved oregano I heard of a variety called 'hot and spicy oregano'. This variety was said to have a much larger leaf than regular oregano, it was meant to grow more leaves and be more vigorous than other varieties, and it was meant to have a bolder and more impressive taste that almost borders on mild heat.

I started looking for "hot and spicy" oregano, several places stocked but they were either out of stock or they were on the other side of the country, and none would post.

I eventually found a hot and spicy oregano plant and bought it. While the plant was only tiny it had a lot of rather large leaves. I tasted a leaf and was underwhelmed, it was neither hot nor spicy. I wasn’t even sure I could taste oregano at all. I crushed a leaf and the smell was only noticeable if I used my imagination. I assumed the plant had been pampered too much or was stressed and it may taste better after I had grown it for a while, but I didn’t like my chances. I planted it in the garden and watered it well.

Hot and Spicy Oregano

This plant grew fast, it continued to grow reasonably large leaves, and due to its short internodes there were plenty of leaves per stem. If nothing else these traits could be useful in breeding something better. Then I crushed and smelled a leaf, the scent was bold and imposing, this was rather impressive. I tasted a tiny leaf, and it was so spicy that it almost felt like mild heat.

Hot and Spicy oregano is what oregano should taste like.

I have started to use hot and spicy oregano in meals, it is certainly a keeper. If you prefer bold taste then this is for you, if you prefer mild you simply use less.

I may not bother to keep trying to breed improved oregano as this one is great. If I do continue to breed an improved oregano I would like to use this as one of the parents as it has a lot of desirable traits. The leaves of hot & spicy oregano are pretty large for oregano, it produces a lot of leaves, and the plant is pretty compact, so the only improvement I can think of is if the leaves were even larger or if it produced more stems.

My plant has grown a lot since the photo above, it has since flowered, and died back a bit over winter, and started to grow larger again. The flowers attracted honey bees and a host of other beneficial insects.  I collected some seed and am attempting to grow it out.  Over winter it dies back somewhat as oregano does in my climate, but kept a surprising amount of leaves.I really need to take another photo, but I keep forgetting and the weather is not going to allow such things today.

I will likely sell hot and spicy oregano plants when I have enough to spare.  When I do they will be listed on my for sale page along with perennial vegetables, heirloom vegetable seeds, edible herbs etc.

Beneficial Hover Flies and Wasabi Herb

I think it is no surprise that I like wasabi salad herb (Diplotaxis erucoides).  It is not true wasabi, it is a small, edible salad plant that when eaten raw has a similar nose tingling feel and taste of wasabi, but with far less heat.  Wasabi salad herb is often called an annual, but in my garden it is more often a short lived perennial.

I grow this because it tastes great and it pretty much looks after itself.  It self seeds easily and pretty much does its own thing.  I sprinkle seeds in new places I would like it to grow.  Other than that I don't do anything to look after it, I just harvest the leaves or pull it out if it is growing somewhere I don't want it to.  It grows fast and flowers a lot, so I let it grow anywhere I have removed vegetables and dig it in as a green manure prior to planting the following crop.

Hover flies love organic wasabi salad herb!!!

Another bonus of this plant is when the weather is warm enough it is adored by honey bees.  They work these flowers for nectar and pollen, and they chase away any other insect that tries to use the flowers.  It is interesting to watch honey bees chase off other honey bees from these flowers, apparently competition is fierce for resources.  I see other beneficial insects on these flowers, but they are never there long as the honey bees chase them away in warm weather.

Hover Fly (family Syrphidae) is a beneficial pollinator that is native and relatively common here.  When I was a child people would often try to tell me they were stingless native bees, but they aren't.  They are true flies.  Don't let the fact that they are flies put you off, they are great insects to have around.  They are excellent pollinators, they don't bite or sting or annoy people, and their larvae eat aphids and scale insects.  What is not to like! 

Hover flies, along with pretty much every other beneficial pollinator insect, also the flowers of love wasabi salad herb.  When the weather is warm they try to work the flowers and collect nectar.  Often large numbers are seen darting among the flowers.  They don't stay on a flower long because honey bees often chase them away.  I guess the little amount of nectar they collect before being chased away is worth it as they are always close by.

Wasabi herb flowering and setting seed, also borage in the background

When the weather is cooler the honey bees don't forage.  This is when the hover flies have free range over the wasabi herb flowers.

I keep trying to take a picture, but they are so fast and wary that they tend to dart off as soon as I try.  The pictures on this blog page show these amazing hover flies on some wasabi herb flowers that had self seeded in my yard.  I scared some away, then more came, so I was able to get a couple of pictures.  Sometimes there can be over 20 of these amazing creatures all foraging on the one flower head!

Wasabi herb flowers - a pollinator's paradise

When I have a large stand of wasabi salad herb in cooler weather it hums with all the hover flies and other beneficial insects.  When the weather is warmer larger stands hum with the familiar sound of honey bees.  When the weather is just right, not too hot not too cold, it hums with a mix of native insect pollinators along with some honey bees.  It really is a great little plant to have growing in the garden.

Wasabi salad herb self seeded in my yard and attracts beneficial insects

It appears that growing wasabi salad herb organically is one way to help a host of beneficial insects.  Over summer I often see different species of native solitary bees foraging upon it, this summer I should try to count how many species.  It is good for honey bees, it is good for native pollinators, it is good for many different beneficial insects.

I wish more people in my area would grow it so the local populations of beneficial insects would have more resources, and my honey bees would have more high quality plants to forage upon.

Cold days mean hover flies are slower and easier to photograph

 

I am told that this plant is not allowed in Western Australia.  I can't sell seeds or plants to WA due to domestic quarantine, but if you live over there you should probably steer clear of this plant altogether.

I grow everything organically, and so should you.  By growing organically you can encourage beneficial insects such as hover flies which are excellent pollinators and help to control (but not eliminate) several pests.

I sell seeds of wasabi salad herb.  If you are interested it is listed on my for sale page along with other seeds and perennial vegetables.

I scared the hover flies away by accident, and more came to replace them

Giant Parsley

A few years ago I decided that parsley (Petroselinum crispum) was too small to be very useful.  Even the larger varieties such as 'Giant of Italy' are a bit piddly.  I figured parsley would be better as a leaf vegetable rather than a garnish.  So I bred parsley to have larger leaves.

I may have gotten a bit carried away.  My parsley is now so large that the leaves can now easily be used as a vegetable.

Normally you add parsley at the end of cooking, but my larger parsley holds up reasonably well to heat and can be added earlier during cooking.  The roots are large enough to be roasted, and the leaf petioles can be used similar to celery - but taste far nicer.

My parsley gets even larger than this

My parsley is not a stable variety yet, as a population it still shows some genetic diversity.  Some plants have leaves that are absolutely massive.  Some plants have very large leaves.  A small number of plants have reasonably large leaves.  People who see it often comment that they have never seen anything like it.

I only allow the larger plants to flower, and only collect seed from the absolute largest, that way any seedlings have a solid genetic base but still retain at least some degree of genetic diversity.

Each of the leaflets grow huge

They get larger than this

There are a few varieties of 'giant' leaf parsley around.  My parsley dwarfs any 'giant' varieties that I have ever seen.  In fact, all of the 'giant' varieties are rather puny and insignificant in comparison to my parsley.

The craziest part of this story is that this isn't as large as parsley can get.  With a little more selective pressure it will be even larger than this.  I don't have the time or space to do anything too seriously, but even with modest selective pressure my plants are still getting larger every year.

"Giant Italian parsley" at the top, my parsley underneath

At the moment my parsley is not a stable variety, and my plants seem to get larger each year.  If you plant a bunch of seeds most grow into huge, and some are very large, and the occasional one is regular sized.  It is not difficult to cull the smaller plants and only save seed from the huge ones to end up with a size that works well for you.

If you are interested in growing ridiculously large parsley I will probably offer seed for sale through my for sale page.  Just keep in mind if you do buy this seed that it does not grow true to type and a very small percentage will be large but not all that impressively sized.

Onion chives - the smallest edible onion

Years ago I bought some seedlings of Allium schoenoprasum. These are a tiny perennial vegetable that is often called 'chives' or 'onion chives', I am sure they also have a few other common names.

I grow some very rare vegetables, but onion chives are extremely common. They are easy to grow, and have many uses in the kitchen. Onion chives are edible, perennial, and reputed to be the smallest edible onion species, which is fun.

I originally planted mine in a pot, was impressed by how cute they were, then generally neglected and ignored them for years.  I harvested their leaves for use in meals, occasionally I watered them but not nearly often enough, and I never truly valued them. Even though I didn’t take good care of them, and the conditions were downright hostile at times, these onions chives survived and performed really well for me.

Onion chives - flower

After sitting in their little pot of soil for close to a decade and moving house with me I recently planted my chives into the garden and water them more often. Now they have a bit of space and water they are really taking off.

The leaves of chives are elongated green tubes that are hollow in cross section, these leaves are the main crop that can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried. The flowers are small, reasonably pretty, enjoyed by bees as well as other pollinating insects, and are also edible.

Onion chives can die down to bulbs which look like tiny onions. I assume you can eat the bulbs but they are so small that I have never bothered trying. 

Onion chives - growing happily near asparagus

Chive leaves taste much like onion, but not as pungent. It is easy to snip the leaves with scissors and use them in all kinds of meals and garnishes. They don’t blow you away in terms of taste, or yield, but chives really take no effort to grow, they don’t need much space, they look nice, and are simple to harvest.

Being perennial vegetables means I planted them once about ten years ago and have been harvesting ever since. Chives can easily be grown from seed, but I usually just allow plants to divide.

Most people recommend replacing chive plants with seedlings every year or two to refresh them. As they are perennial vegetables I don’t really see the point. Many people recommend removing the flower stalks as soon as noticed so the plant puts more energy into leaf growth. While this is probably best practice you don’t have to remove them, they should do just fine if you allow them to flower and set seed. You could collect the seeds, or allow them to drop, to produce more plants for free.

Perennial onion chives are easy to grow organically

I grow everything organically, I don't even use the organic poisons that many people use. Even though I give them no special treatment I have never had any issues with pests or diseases with onion chives. This means you will find them simple to grow too.

Even though they are so small, onion chives are survivors. Mine have survived blasting heat a touch below 50C as well as frosts down to around -10C. I never water mine often enough, I don’t divide them regularly, or top dress the soil, or anything that I should, and they not only survive but they produce an edible crop and continue to increase in numbers.

If you want to get the best yield then water them, divide them, remove flower stalks as they appear, keep them well weeded, and keep the soil fertile. If you want an edible plant that can be grown in a pot on your kitchen window sill and look great, then chives are for you. If you are lazy and want a plant that will produce a small crop with next to no effort, put them in the garden and try to keep the weeds to a minimum. Onion chives really are quite versatile.

I grow an unnamed variety that is not overly spectacular. I have often wondered if there are improved varieties of chives and if any of these are noticeably different to the ones I have.

I have occasionally considered breeding an improved variety of chives, or crossing with another onion species. While interspecific hybrids look like fun and according to research are achievable I don’t see a lot of improvement that can be made to chives as chives are already pretty great. Who knows, maybe one day I will have an epiphany about some way chives can be improved and use them to create something better.Until then I will continue to enjoy the ones I have.

Onion chives clumping up nicely

I assume part of chives continuing popularity is how simple they are to grow and how useful they are in the kitchen. I quite like chives but they are not as useful or as high yielding as some of my other perennial onions. Hopefully one day some of the rarer perennial onions such as everlasting onions and perennial leeks become more commonly available.

Overall I am happy with these little chives, they are pretty enough to be in a flower garden, they basically look after themselves, they don’t pose a weed threat, and they are useful in the kitchen.

I sell onion chives plants and various other perennial onions and perennial vegetables which I can post to much of Australia. If you are interested in buying perennial vegetables in Australia they are listed on my for sale page. Onion chive seeds only have a short viability, when I have fresh seed I also list them for sale.