Protein comparisons in food

I don't think I eat enough protein.  My body craves more protein.  Protein is expensive.  You also need to ensure all the essential amino acids are present, either in that food or a combination of foods you eat, otherwise your body can't utilise the protein you eat.   

I looked into protein shakes to increase my protein intake.  They taste nice and they take less effort and time than cooking food, but they can be expensive.  The best whey protein (high quality, high protein, at a lower price) I can find provides 32 grams of protein per serving.  I wonder how that compares to meat, eggs, or even vegetables and grains.  

Below I have compared the protein powder to several meats, eggs, vegetables, and grains.  For reference, I included the websites where I found the details.  This post was mostly made as a way for me to keep these numbers handy.  

Picture from https://customequinenutrition.com/blogs/nutrients/intro-to-protein-amino-acids

I am interested in the grams of protein, so I included this in the comparison.  I noted if the food contains an incomplete protein, as this is very important.  Leucine is an essential amino acid that is important for building muscle, repairing muscle, and it is metabolised in muscle fibers, so I included it in the comparison.  I am also interested in iron content as I struggle to get enough iron.  Even though it makes no difference to me, I know a lot of people care about calories, so I included the amount of calories of each food.  

To give the comparisons some perspective, the recommended daily intake for a male about my size and age is roughly:

Protein 50 g
Leucine 2.4 g
Iron 8 mg
Energy 2,000 kcal

To make the comparison as useful as possible, I am comparing 100 grams of each food, except for the protein powder which is one 40g serving.  

Protein Powder

Protein Powder per 40 g serve

https://www.uprotein.com.au/100-whey-protein-powder-enzymes-2kgs/
Protein 32.6 g
Leucine 3.39 g
Iron 0.74 mg
Energy 149 kcal

Meat

Note: meat based proteins are considered to be complete proteins as they contain good amounts of all essential amino acids
Note: about 14% to 18% of iron is usually bioavailable from meat

Chicken per 100 g 

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171477/nutrients
Protein 27.3 g
Leucine 2.33 g
Iron 1.04 mg
Energy 165 kcal

Beef per 100 g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/174032/nutrients
Protein 25.9 g - some cuts as low as 13.6 g
Leucine 1.45 g
Iron 2.6 mg
Energy 250 kcal

Rabbit per 100 g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/174348/nutrients
Protein 33 g
Leucine 2.57 g
Iron 4.85 mg
Energy 173 kcal

Quail per 100 g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169902/nutrients
Protein 25.1 g
Leucine unknown
Iron 4.43 mg
Energy 227 kcal

Squab per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169905/nutrients
Protein 23.9 g
Leucine unknown
Iron 5.91 mg
Energy 213 kcal

Eggs

(note: eggs are high in all of the essential amino acids and are considered to be a complete protein)

Chicken egg boiled per 100g 

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173424/nutrients
Protein 12.6 g
Leucine 1.08 g
Iron 1.19 mg
Energy 155 kcal

Quail egg per 100 g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172191/nutrients
Protein 13 g
Leucine 1.15 g
Iron 3.65 mg
Energy 158 kcal

Vegetables and Grains

Note: many plant based proteins are considered to be incomplete proteins as they are low in one or more essential amino acids
Note: Plant based iron is not as bioavailable as animal based iron, for example less than 2% of the iron in spinach is bioavailable

Spinach per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168462/nutrients
Protein 2.86 g (not a complete protein)
Leucine 0.223 g
Iron 2.71 mg
Energy 23 kcal

Grape leaf per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168575/nutrients
Protein 5.6g (not a complete protein)
Leucine unknown
Iron 2.63 mg
Energy 93 kcal

Dandelion leaf per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169226/nutrients
Protein 2.7 g (not sure if it is complete or not)
Leucine unknown
Iron 3.1 mg
Energy 45 kcal

Watercress per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170068/nutrients
Protein 2.3 g (not complete protein)
Leucine 0.166 g
Iron 0.2 mg
Energy 11 kcal

Soy bean (sprouted and steamed) per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168460/nutrients
Protein  8.47 g
Leucine 0.607 g
Iron 1.31 mg
Energy 81 kcal

Peas per 100g 

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170419/nutrients
Protein  5.42 g (not a complete protein)
Leucine 0.323 g
Iron 1.47 mg
Energy 81 kcal

Lima beans per 100 g 

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/174253/nutrients
Protein 7.8 g (not a complete protein)
Leucine 0.673 g
Iron 2.39 mg
Energy 115 kcal

Corn per 100 g 

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169998/nutrients
Protein 3.27 g (not a complete protein)
Leucine 0.348 g
Iron 0.52 mg
Energy 86 kcal

Buckwheat per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170286/nutrients
Protein 13.2 g
Leucine 0.832 g
Iron 2.2 mg
Energy 343 kcal

Rice per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168930/nutrients
Protein 2.38 g (not a complete protein)
Leucine 0.197 g
Iron 0.2 g
Energy 130 kcal

Wheat per 100g

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168944/nutrients
Protein 9.61 g (not a complete protein)
Leucine unknown
Iron 3.71 mg
Energy 332 kcal 

Results

In the above comparison, out of all the meats rabbit meat has the highest percentage of protein.  Rabbit meat contained the highest amount of leucine among the foods compared.  As far as iron content goes, squab is the stand out, followed by rabbit.  Rabbit meat is also low in fat.  

Unfortunately rabbit meat is very expensive here, and very difficult to find, so I would either have to breed rabbits or choose another meat.  In that case I would choose chicken.  Chicken is a cheaper meat, it is readily available, it is high in protein, and it is high in leucine.  

Buckwheat is incredibly nutritious for a plant based food.  Buckwheat is high in protein, it's one of the few plant based foods that is considered to be a complete protein, it's high in iron, and it's gluten free.  Nutritionally, buckwheat is pretty comparable to egg.  The protein in buckwheat is absorbed better than the protein in egg, which is almost unbelievable for a plant based food.  Sadly, in Australia buckwheat is not commonly eaten and is difficult to find.  Presumably this is largely based on political reasons as it is a very healthy food.  

Days to harvest Hon Tsai Tai

I grew some purple stemmed Hon Tsai Tai (Brassica rapa) this year and recorded the number of days from planting the seed until harvest.  

Recording the days from planting the seed until harvest is far more useful for home gardeners than the ambiguous 'days to maturity' which has different meanings depending on who is recording it and is often starts being counted from transplants of an unknown age.  

Hon tsai tai is a nutritious vegetable that can be harvested as a leaf vegetable, or for flower stalks that are used in a similar way to broccoli, so I recorded the days from seed to both.  

This quick growing vegetable is sometimes called flowering choy as it is a type of bok choy that is usually grown for the edible flower stalks.  The leaves taste like bok choy, but are a bit sweet.  I have eaten the flower stalks raw when the first flowers were just opening, and they tasted really nice.  I expected some of the stalk to be a bit fibrous at this stage, but they were tender and perfect.  

I grew this during the winter, night temperatures have dropped to -8C and the days have mostly been overcast and cold.  If grown in spring, I think the days to harvest would probably have been a lot less.   

Hon Tsai Tai (Brassica rapa) - purple stem 

Planted in garden      09/04/2023   Day 0

Germinate                 14/04/2023   Day 5

Baby leaf                  14/05/2023    Day 35

Flower stalks            01/07/2023    Day 83

Hon Tsai Tai - larger leaf

Baby bok choy and Hon Tsai Tai - baby leaf

Hon Tsai Tai and Bok Choy can and will cross pollinate, which means care must be taken if saving seed.  It should also be possible to intentionally cross the two, do a little culling/back crossing/rouging out of undesirable plants, and develop a vivid purple stemmed bok choy.  

I have a few breeding projects on at the moment, add while I would love to develop a tightly packed purple stemmed bok choy I am not sure if I have the space, time, or energy to put into another project.  Then again, I could leave a few of each to flower, cross at random, and self seed, then cull heavily...  

Have a look at my Guide on Days to Vegetable Harvest to see a full list of days to harvest various vegetables and berries in my garden.  As above, I recorded days from planting the seed until harvesting.

Tearless onions in Australia

'Tearless' onions are now available in Australia 

A quote from the paper - Production and characterization of tearless and non-pungent onion | Scientific Reports (nature.com):

We believe that these tearless, non-pungent onions not only will wipe tears away from the kitchen and the food processing facilities, but also will add a new dimension to the enjoyment of onion recipes around the world.

What fun.  I wonder if you could eat these raw like an apple.  I also wonder if the taste would be watered down significantly.  The US has been selling tearless onions since 2018, I am not sure if it is the same as these or if they have a different variety.  Perhaps someone from the US can comment and let me know if tearless onions are worth trying.  

These 'tearless onions' were not Genetically Modified.  These were bred from inducing a mutation, and then selecting and culling and self pollinating until the new variety bred true to type.  

To summarise how these tearless onions were bred:

• They irradiated seeds from “Super-Kitamomiji” onions and planted 1,500 seeds.  From these they selected the best 9 plants and culled the rest. 
• These were allowed to flower and set seed.  From these the researchers planted about 350 seeds.  Selected the best 18 plants and culled the rest. 
• These were allowed to flower and set seed.  From these they planted 1,078 seeds.  Selected the best 2 plants and culled the rest.
• These two plants were allowed to flower and set seed.  They appear to breed true to type.  
• They now have 2 lines of tearless onions that are being produced commercially.

As you can see, breeding a new anything takes large numbers, and several generations.  

One variety of tearless onions is to be sold in NSW and VIC Woolworths starting tomorrow!  I have no idea how they taste, the news says they are sweeter than regular onions.  

I want to get some, plant them, collect seed, and…you can probably guess the rest, plant breeding is a slippery slope. 

Tearless onions - not my photo

Edit to add: after writing this post I bought some tearless onions and got to taste them.  I wrote a blog post of what tearless onions taste like.  I also grew some of these onions, allowed them to flower.  Once the seed is ready I plan to offer it on my for sale page for home gardeners who would like to grow tearless onions themselves.  

Buckwheat nutritional information

Much like a seahorse is not a horse, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is not related to wheat (Triticum aestivum).  Other than their common names, and that they are both edible, buckwheat and wheat don't have much in common.  

While buckwheat and wheat are both angiosperms (vascular flowering plants), that is almost where the similarity ends.  Wheat is a monocot, while buckwheat is a dicot, as far as flowering plants go you can't get much more different than that.

Both plants are edible, both can be eaten in similar ways.  Both are popular breakfast foods, as well as being popular for animal feed, and both feed a tremendous number of humans across the world every day.  Both have edible leaves and stems, but I want to discuss the seed/fruit of buckwheat.  

Wheat contains gluten, buckwheat does not.  Wheat is low in several essential amino acids (eg lysine and threonine) and is not considered to be complete protein.  

Buckwheat contains high quality complete protein with decent quantities of all of the essential amino acids.  Buckwheat is rich in limiting amino acids like lysine and arginine, which are in shortest supply in plant-based diets and is pretty rare among plant foods.  For this reason, buckwheat is considered to be a complete protein. 

Some buckwheat that I grew

Buckwheat nutritional value

It is difficult finding nutritional data on anything that is overly consistent.  Sometimes these differences come down to what exactly is being tested, or different varieties, or seasonal variations, or even how the test was conducted.  For this reason I try to look up several sources of information.  Regardless of the source, you will notice that buckwheat is incredibly nutritious for a plant based food.

I found a website that listed the following nutritional value per 100g of buckwheat:  

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percent of RDA
Energy	343 Kcal	17%
Carbohydrates	71.50 g	55%
Protein	13.25 g	24%
Total Fat	3.40 g	17%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	10 g	26%
Vitamins
Folates (B9)	30 µg	7.5%
Niacin (B3)	7.020 mg	44%
Pantothenic acid	12.33 mg	25%
Riboflavin (B2)	0.425 mg	33%
Thiamin (B1)	0.101 mg	8.5%
Vitamin A	0 IU	0%
Electrolytes
Sodium	1 mg	<1%
Potassium	460 mg	10%
Minerals
Calcium	18 mg	2%
Copper	1.100 mg	122%
Iron	2.20 mg	27.5%
Magnesium	231 mg	58%
Manganese	1.300 mg	56.5%
Phosphorus	347 mg	50%
Selenium	8.3 µg	15%
Zinc	2.40 mg	22%
Amino acids
Lysine	672 mg	32%
Methionine	172 mg	24%
Tryptophan	192 mg	69%

Buckwheat nutrition compared to Grains

I also found a comparison of the nutritional value of buckwheat, rice, wheat, and maize.  I have highlighted the highest value in each row to make it easier to read. 

By in large, buckwheat appears to be more nutritious than any of the true grains that were tested in that sample:

Comparison of nutrition: Buckwheat, Rice, Wheat, and Maize

Buckwheat vitamins compared to wheat

To give a little perspective I looked up the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of a few vitamins and minerals that are present in buckwheat and listed the equivalent in wheat.  As you can see, buckwheat is far more nutritious than wheat.

Vitamin E (tocopherol) buckwheat 40mg, wheat <1mg, RDI 15-20mg with safe upper limit 1,000mg
Thiamin (B1) buckwheat 3.3mg, wheat 0.5mg, RDI 1.5mg
Riboflavin (B2) buckwheat 10.8mg, wheat 0.2mg, RDI 1.8mg
Niacin (B3) buckwheat 18, wheat 5.5, RDI 20 

Pantothenic acid (B5) buckwheat 11mg, wheat <1mg, RDI 10mg with safe upper limit of 1,000mg
Magnesium, buckwheat 390mg, wheat 138mg, RDI 400mg

Choline, buckwheat 440mg, wheat 14mg, RDI 550mg

Vitamin K (phylloquinone) buckwheat 7.00 µg, wheat 0.3 µg, RDI 80 µg

Vitamin A (retinol) like all grains, none.

Buckwheat compared to Oats

Oats (Avena sativa) are another popular breakfast food.  Oat is a monocot and is similar to wheat in many ways.  Unlike wheat, oats do not contain gluten.  Oats, much like buckwheat, are meant to naturally lower total cholesterol levels and improve HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio.  

I use buckwheat to make kasha for my breakfast each morning, which is similar to how many people eat steel cut oats.  I tried eating oaten kasha for some time, but found I was getting hungry early in the day.  When I make kasha using buckwheat I feel full for longer, which is nice.

I fount a web page with the following comparison table of buckwheat and oats.  Once again buckwheat comes out as an impressively nutritious food.  These results indicate that buckwheat is more nutritious than oats.  

per 100g	Buckwheat	Oatmeal
Calories	343	68
Carbohydrates	71.5 g	11.67 g
Fat	3.4 g	1.36 g
Dietary fiber	10 g	1.7 g
Protein	13.25 g	2.37 g
Calcium	18 mg	80 mg
Iron	2.2 mg	5.96 mg
Magnesium	231 mg	26 mg
Phosphorus	347 mg	77 mg
Potassium	460 mg	61 mg
Sodium	1 mg	49 mg
Zink	2.4 mg	0.62 mg
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	0.425 mg	0.215 mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)	7.02 mg	3.025 mg
Vitamin B5	1.233 mg	0.317 mg
Vitamin B9 (Folic acid)	30 mg	39 mg

Buckwheat Glycemic index compared to grains

I have a little trouble with blood sugar, so wherever possible I prefer foods that have a low Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL).

I found a peer reviewed paper comparing the GI and GL of buckwheat, barley, millet, spelt, bulgur, and couscous.  GI and GL are often used to assess diet quality in relation to the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer development.

The lowest GI was found for buckwheat (34.7±8.2%) and barley (31.3±13.4%). The GL for these groats was 8.1±1.9 and 8.0±3.4, respectively.  The GI for millet, spelt and bulgur amounted to 56.2±20.6%, 69.8±35.0%, 64.5±36.8%, respectively, while for couscous amounted to 99.0± 36.0%.  The highest GL was observed for couscous (24.7±9.0).

The groats tested in that study classified barley and buckwheat as low GI food, millet and bulgur as medium GI food, spelt and couscous as a high GI food.  The study concluded that buckwheat and barley should be chosen the most often among these products, while the intake of couscous should be limited, especially by people with diabetes.  

Buckwheat is comparable to egg protein

100g of egg (about two eggs) contains about 13 grams of protein, which is similar to the amount of protein in buckwheat.  Both buckwheat and egg are eaten by people who are into fitness, strength training, and body builders.  

The absorbability of egg protein varies depending on how it is cooked, and is cited in literature as being between 50% and 90%.  The absorbability of the protein in buckwheat also varies in literature, possibly also due to cooking methods, and is often cited as being around 93%.  

Both buckwheat and egg contain good levels of all of the essential amino acids and are considered to be complete proteins.  

Conclusion

Buckwheat is incredibly nutritious for a plant based food.  If more people in this country ate buckwheat as an every day staple food they would be healthier and stronger.  

Buckwheat would be a valuable staple food in the diet of anyone who does not eat animal based foods or does not eat may animal based foods.  Buckwheat is simple to store, it tastes good, and can be used in a wide range of ways.  

I used to eat wheatbix each morning for breakfast.  Then the local shops ran out and I could not buy it for a few months, so I switched to oats, and then to buckwheat.  Since switching to buckwheat I have gained strength, I have lost fat, I have gained weight (presumably muscle) and am now staying up in the 'healthy' BMI range, my cholesterol levels have dropped, my HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio is now in the ideal range, my blood sugar levels are more stable, and I am less hungry.  

I wrote other blog posts on growing buckwheat as a cover crop, and (according to research) buckwheat as a nitrogen fixer.  There seems to be little academic research on the topic of buckwheat and nitrogen fixation outside of papers published in Russia and the previous Soviet nations, but what research I have read is absolutely fascinating.  

I find the limited research into buckwheat odd considering the economic value of buckwheat, the amount of people it feeds (the FAO says buckwheat is a major food crop in the world), and how incredibly nutritious buckwheat is.  Given how much more nutritious buckwheat is compared to most other grains, I find it odd how limited its consumption is in Western nations where it remains a specialty food rather than a daily staple.  I assume this is mostly due to political reasons.  

How tall does asparagus grow

Asparagus grows much larger than you probably think.  Unless you grow asparagus yourself, you probably can't imagine how tall it can get.

I remember years ago reading about asparagus and being surprised to see the stated heights it reaches as being much shorter than what I have seen.  

Many places on the internet, including wikipedia, state it can reach 1.5 m (about 5 feet) tall, other places (such as Better Homes and Gardens) say it reaches 12 inches tall.  Asparagus grows far taller than this.  

I found this rather perplexing.  At the time we had orchards, and in them some asparagus grew that was much taller than any of those.  This asparagus had been there since before we moved in, given its location, presumably seed had been deposited by a bird.  We eventually moved from there and left the asparagus behind.  

Since moving to town I have started growing asparagus again.  I grow a few types of asparagus now.  The most delicious also happens to be the largest and most vigorous variety.  It is an heirloom variety called Precoce d'Argenteuil.  From seed it only takes about 6 months to reach 1 meter tall, and it produces the best tasting spears of any asparagus variety I have eaten.  

After harvesting some spears this year, I left a few spears to feather out so they can feed the crown for the following year.  I could not help but notice how tall this asparagus was.  I wanted to measure it and photograph it, but didn't want to take another frond so I let it grow for the remainder of the season.

Now that winter is upon us my asparagus plants have gone dormant.  This year they have gone dormant nice and early.  I was removing the old growth and decided to measure a frond.  There were a number of fronds on my plants that were around this tall.  

Asparagus frond and tape measure

The one in the photo reached around 282cm, or about 9 feet 2 inches.  That is pretty big for asparagus.  Certainly a lot larger than most places say they will grow.  

I don't look after my asparagus anywhere near as much as I should.  My plants are not pampered, they have competition from other plants, and I have not made any attempt to make them larger.  I certainly haven't done any breeding work with them.  

The strange thing is, I don't think this is the tallest asparagus I have seen.  I am pretty sure some of the ones we had at the orchard were much larger than this.     

Asparagus frond reached over 280cm

Not a great photo

It makes me wonder why so many garden books etc say the height of asparagus is so much shorter than they will actually reach.  As a gardener, these wildly inaccurate estimates can cause problems when planning what to grow where.  

Presumably the person writing about it does not have much experience growing asparagus.  Perhaps (as I suspect is the case with Better Homes and Gardens) the author has never grown asparagus themselves, and has probably never even seen asparagus plants growing.  This kind of thing is very common with gardening books and permaculture books, and the misinformation is often repeated by companies who sell plants (that have been grown by a contractor), and I find it rather frustrating.  When gardening books make up nonsense, or re-spout these inaccuracies, what else have they gotten wrong?

Some of my 6 month old asparagus plants

I only sell plants and seeds that I have grown and propagated myself.  While the information I provide is vastly different than you will find in books, it is based on actual experience.  I can tell you what does or does not work for me in my garden.  

Asparagus plants are dioecious, meaning that some plants are male while other plants are females.  Female asparagus plants tend to produce larger yields than male.  Female asparagus plants also tend to produce fatter, longer, higher quality spears.  Commercial asparagus farms only grow male plants (or super male plants) so they don't have to worry about seeds falling and choking the beds with volunteer seedlings.  Commercial asparagus farms usually grow low quality asparagus varieties, they really can't compare to the delicious asparagus varieties you can grow at home.  

New asparagus fronds already over 6 feet tall

I grow a few different varieties of asparagus.  Some are purple, some are green, all can produce tender white asparagus.  At this stage they are all seed grown, from seed purchased from reputable businesses to ensure the correct variety rather than a mystery cross.  

Late winter each year if I have any extra asparagus crowns I will offer them through my for sale page.  I sell a few different perennial vegetable plants, some berry plants, as well as some heirloom vegetable seeds.

Days to maturity Bok Choy

This year, as well as growing the micro dwarf Hedou Bok Choy, I grew a baby bok choy and recorded its days from planting a seed until harvest.  These baby bok choy plants still grew incredibly fast, and they produced a more substantial plant than Hedou.  

I like the look of bok choy, I don't know why but there is something about it that just looks right.  Bok choy is very fast growing, extremely nutritious, simple to grow, incredibly forgiving of harsh conditions or poor soil, yet it is not really grown or eaten very much here.  It is sold in supermarkets, so maybe things are starting to change.  

Bok choy seems to cope well with cold weather when little else will grow.  This bok choy has survived frozen soil and temperatures down to -8C with only minor damage.  Being compact plants you can plant a lot in a small space, and planting new seeds every few weeks guarantees a long harvest.

Bok Choy could be harvested at a tiny plant stage, or larger plant stage so I recorded both dates.  Being in Australia, all dates are written Day/Month/Year.  

Baby Bok Choy (Brassica rapa)

Planted in garden      09/04/2023   Day 0

Germinate                 14/04/2023   Day 5

Tiny plants                17/05/2023   Day 38

Large plants              04/06/2023   Day 56

Baby Bok Choy - larger plants

Baby Bok Choy - tiny plants are edible

To see a full list of vegetable days to maturity recorded in my garden from planting seed until harvest, please click here.  

Tokyo Bekana days to harvest

I grew a few different Asian vegetables this year.  One that was new to me is a leaf vegetable called Tokyo Bekana.   I recorded the number of days from planting a seed until harvest.  

Tokyo Bekana is a small Chinese cabbage that is often used for baby greens and for bunching.  I can't explain its taste.  It is said to have a great mild lettuce flavor with a slight hint of peppery taste.  It can be eaten raw or cooked, and is used in any way that cabbage or lettuce is used.  

I am told Tokyo bekana can be substituted for lettuce, to me they look a lot like lettuce and taste a bit different to lettuce.  Tokyo bekana is also much higher in nutrients than lettuce, it isn't bitter, and in my garden seems to cope with extreme temperatures a lot better than lettuce.  

Tokyo bekana is said to be both cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant.  So far it has not shown any damage from frosts in my garden that were a bit below -8C.  So far it's had no pest damage, but that may be different if grown over summer.  

Days to maturity Tokyo Bekana (Brassica rapa chinensis)  

Planted in garden      09/04/2023   Day 0

Germinate                 15/04/2023   Day 6

Baby leaf                  14/05/2023    Day 35

Large leaf                  04/06/2023   Day 56

Tokyo Bekana is a cabbage that looks like lettuce

Tokyo Bekana on left, Senposai on right

Please see my Guide on Days to Vegetable Harvest a full list of days to harvest in my garden.  To make planning simple, I have recorded days from planting the seed until harvesting.  

Review Maze 245L Compost Tumbler

Some time after moving here we bought a new compost tumbler.   I believe it is a Maze 245 Litre Dual Compost Tumbler.  I have used it for a few years and thought I would write a review of my (less than positive) experiences.  

As you will be able to tell from my experience, this is not a paid review.  I stress that these are my experiences.  While I think this is a dreadful compost tumbler and you should go with a different one, you may have better luck.  

Maze Compost Tumbler rusting

I have used single compost tumblers before, and they worked well.  If you have a single compost tumbler, and add banana peels and tea bags etc every day, then the compost is never finished and ready to use unless you don't put anything in them for a while.  For this reason we decided to try a double compost tumbler.  

In a double compost tumbler you add scraps to one side.  It has a + on it to help you (and the kids) remember which side to add things.  

Then when it is full you swap the little doors so this side now has a clock on it.  This reminds you (and the kids) that you are no longer adding scraps to this side.  While that side is composting, you add scraps to the other side.  

Having the two sides makes composting very simple.  

Dual compost tumbler

First of all, the positives: 

The Maze 245L compost tumbler doesn't take up a lot of room, and it looks good.  It can fit a lot of lawn clippings or whatever inside.  It is efficient and simple to use.  It comes flat packed, and putting it together was pretty intuitive.  

This one has a handle that you use to turn the compost.  This is good, but it can be a little difficult to turn when both sides are full.  

Dual compost tumbler

Now for the negatives.

I think this is a waste of money that I will have trouble getting rid of after it breaks.  

The barrel turns around an axel that is made out of metal that corrodes.  Mine has almost rusted through.

I only use this for the purpose it was built for.  I have not put anything in it that isn't intended to go in it.  I have not used it more that is recommended.  I am not near the ocean and it has no salt spray or anything like that.  Yet it is rusting through.  Have a look at my pictures.  It is dreadful.

Once it starts to rust, the axel gets a hole in it that allows compost liquid and compost to get inside the axel.  This makes it rust from the inside as well as the outside.  This damage isn't from lack of care, or improper use, it is poorly designed.  

Given the price, I had hoped this would last a lot longer than this.

Maze compost tumbler rusting and falling apart

I have seen many pictures of this happening to other people's Maze compost tumblers.  I have also seen photos of the legs rusting through.  I am happy to say the legs on mine are not rusting noticeably (yet).

I don't expect this to last much longer before it falls apart and becomes unusable.  This thing was not cheap, and I have not got my money's worth from it.  I am irritated at how quickly the Maze Compost Dual Tumbler rusted and fell apart considering how expensive they are.  I spent extra because I wanted it to last.

What is even worse, once the shaft rusts through and the thing is useless I don't know how I am going to dispose of it.

This won't fit in my bin.  I dare say I will have to pull it apart as best I can, then try to hacksaw the larger parts to make them small enough to fit into my bin.  I will then have to slowly add pieces to my bin over many weeks/months before I can eventually be rid of it.  I will have a pile of broken compost tumbler for a long time, and I will have to remember to add as much of it as I can to the bin each week.  What a hassle!  

My verdict

My experience with the Maze 245L dual compost tumbler has been negative overall.  Based on my experiences I would not recommend anyone buying this (or anything else) from Maze.  

When I save up some money I will probably try a dual compost tumbler from another brand.  Hopefully whatever I get next works better than this.  

Giant Parsley Breeding

A few years ago I started breeding giant parsley (Petroselinum crispum).  Parsley used to be a common garnish when I was a child.  When I was a little older a sprig of parsley used to be put on steaks or other meals at restaurants, with the intention that it was discarded rather than eaten.  Since then it has fallen even more out of favour.  Some people still grow parsley, and a few eat it, but it is a largely underutilised crop.  

I wanted to develop a new variety of parsley to be big and productive, so it could be primarily used as a leaf vegetable.  Eventually I had a variety (albeit not a completely stable variety) of comically large parsley that dwarfs any of the 'giant' varieties.  The taste of this huge parsley is much like other flat leaf varieties, perhaps a little stronger. 

Then, for a number of reasons, I stopped my breeding project.  I felt my parsley was getting too big.  I stopped selecting for larger plants, and other than picking leaves I mostly ignored my parsley and let it do its own thing.   

Parsley almost as long as my arm

Parsley is great.  It is simple to grow and in my garden it self seeds reliably.  For this reason I still have a lot of parsley around, all of which is descended from my giant parsley breeding project.  As there were a few generations with no selective pressure, there may have been some genetic drift.  Some plants are far larger than others.

Recently I spoke to someone who wanted a giant parsley and complained about how tiny and unimpressive 'Giant of Italy' parsley is.  He convinced me that there is merit in making parsley huge.  

After that conversation I went to my garden and looked to see what size parsley I have to work with if I ever wanted to increase its size again.  

As you can see, I still have some plants with reasonable size.  According to Wikipedia, Parsley leaves grow 10cm to 25cm long in its first year.  My parsley produce leaves that are far larger than that.  The leaf above is almost as long as my arm!  I measured a few leaves from my largest plants, and they were over 60cm long.  Some were about 67cm long.  

Parsley leaf around 66cm (26 inch) long

Parsley leaf about 67cm (26 inch) long

This parsley is still pretty big.  I have a number of plants around this size, and between them they probably have all the genetic potential to get a bit larger if I put in some effort.  I also have some smaller plants, I won't be allowing these to flower so their genes won't be in the mix. 

I once wondered if parsley petioles (leaf stalks) could be large enough to be used instead of celery stalks.  I had put some effort into breeding for fatter petioles and they were getting quite thick.  All of the leaf stalks in the celery at the moment are still a bit thin.  Most are about 1cm to 1.5cm thick.  This is still a lot thicker than the stuff you find in the supermarket, but not thick enough to replace celery.  At this stage I am undecided if I care too much about how thick the stalks are.

The parsley plant itself gets rather large and bushy.  I put a tape measure from the soil to give a bit of perspective.  For most of its growing season they are about two feet tall.  This is too large to grow on a windowsill, but it is a good size to grow in the garden or a large pot.  As you can see, it has a lot of leaves that can be picked.

Over the years I have had a lot of people come to my house to buy plants and seeds.  Some of these people have been gardening since before I was born.  My giant parsley astounds everyone who sees it.  Some people have to pick some and taste it before they can believe that it is even parsley.  

When this parsley flowers it can get very tall.  They tower over me when they are in bloom.  I am not exactly sure how tall they get as I never particularly cared how tall they reach and never measured them.  Flowering height is not something I would put any breeding effort into, but I should measure it one day just out of curiosity.  

Some leaves have a lot of stem and not enough leaf.  Others have a lot of leaf and not too much stem.  I never paid a great deal of attention to this as I believe it may be highly influenced by the growing environment.  

You can eat the stems, or feed them to animals.  As well as being healthy for people to eat, parsley is great for animals.  Parsley leaves and stems are loved by our guinea pigs.  Our chickens also eat the parsley stems, but they much prefer the leaves.  If nothing else, the stems are good in the compost, so there is no waste. 

Over two feet tall

Look at the size of this monster

I find it odd how simple parsley is to grow, how productive and nutritious it is, yet how rarely we use parsley as a leaf vegetable.  Parsley leaves have a lot of vitamins and minerals, according to research it is very high in Calcium, Iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A.  

Just 5.5 grams of fresh parsley, which is about 1.5 tablespoons, provides the recommended daily intake of Vitamin K.  

Parsley contains 133mg Vitamin C per 100 grams, which is higher than oranges which have about 50mg per 100 grams.  

Parsley has about 138mg calcium per 100 grams, while cows milk has about 120mg calcium per 100 grams.  

Parsley contains around 6.2 milligrams of iron per 100 grams. To put this in perspective, spinach only has about 2.7mg of iron per 100 grams.  

I find it strange to think that parsley is mostly used as a garnish in this country when it has the potential to be something so much more.  It is so easy to grow and apparently very nutritious.  Each leaf of my parsley is absolutely massive, and with a little more breeding work they would get a bit larger.  

My giant parsley

Parsley this big should be more than a garnish

I used to know someone who bred rabbits for meat.  He used to feed the young rabbits parsley to increase their growth rates.  He said that parsley's high levels of calcium helped their bones grow fast so they could get up to full size quickly.  He would also feed parsley to lactating mothers to increase their milk supply and because he thought the high amounts of iron would help them recover from birthing.  I have no idea if this is true or not, but it makes sense to me.  

I wish I was growing this huge parsley back then and could have given him some seeds.  One of these giant plants has the potential to produce more leaves than a large plot of regular flat leaf parsley.  

Parsley is an underrated herb

I sell seeds of my parsley through my for sale page.  It is not a stable variety, and may produce a few regular size plants.  It will also produce a lot of extra large plants, and a few mammoth plants.  They all taste the same, just prevent the smaller plants from flowering and you will ensure that each year your plants will be large.  If you want to grow a giant parsley that is edible and will impress people, then this is for you.  

Senposai days to harvest

I recorded the number of days from planting a seed until being able to harvest senposai.  I should probably write another post on senposai as its history is fascinating as well as complicated.  For now that will have to wait.  

Senposai is a cross between a European cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and an Asian cabbage called Komatsuna (Brassica rapa).  This means, according to the Triangle of U theory, senposai is considered to be Brassica napus.  See what I mean about Senposai having a complex history?  

I recorded the days to harvest from planting a seed below.  The number of days to harvest listed below are base on how it performed in my garden this year.  I don't give anything perfect conditions, it is just how they perform for me.  It may be a few days more or a few less under different conditions, and it probably grows faster with warmer weather.  Being in Australia, the dates are written day month year.  

Senposai (Brassica napus) days to harvest:  

Seed planted  25/02/2023   Day 0 
Germinated    28/02/2023   Day 3 
Baby leaf       01/04/2023   Day 35 
Harvest          08/04/2023   Day 42 

Senposai

Very few places in Australia sell senposai seeds, and almost nowhere sells leaves for eating.  This is unfortunate because senposai is fast growing, nutritious, easy to grow, and rather productive over a decent amount of time.  

Like virtually all brassicas, bees and other beneficial insects like its flowers.  Senposai is also easy to save seed from, and the senposai I grow is a stable variety that mostly breeds to to type.  

Tokyo Bekana on left, Senposai on right

Senposai can be eaten raw or cooked.  I dare say it could be fermented like most other cabbages, but I am yet to try that.  People also eat senposai flowers and flower stalks, I have not tried them yet.  

Poultry love to eat senposai leaves, as do our guinea pigs.  I probably wouldn't feed too much of this to a guinea pig as they can be a little sensitive to eating large amounts of brassicas.  Chickens on the other hand can eat as much senposai as I can give them.  

Unfortunately I can't find any reliable information on the level of crude protein or iron or anything like that.  Given its parentage, it is safe to assume that like most brassicas it would be highly nutritious.  

Senposai - ignore the holes

I grow everything organically.  You will notice the many holes in the leaves in my photos.  The holes were made by caterpillars that did some damage before I noticed them and fed them to my chickens.  The leaves still taste the same, the holes don't make a great deal of difference.  

Given that senposai only takes a month an a half to reach harvestable size, and it survives rather harsh conditions, and how it crops for a long time, I think I will grow more senposai.  I will probably need to save seed myself because so few places offer it in Australia. 

For a list of days to harvest for many vegetables and herbs, please click here.