Foreign Friday. Volksvreemde Vrydag

Tamarillo/Tree Tomato (Solanum betaceum)

The first thing I noticed when I bought my tree tomato in May 2013 was the pungent smell. Okay, to be honest; this is the real story... I desperately needed the bathroom after a visit to my favourite nursery. Luckily I had the cute little tamarillo (synonym for "tree tomato") to show for it, but I was worrying that the trip back to town would be just too long! Then suddenly the car was filled with an overwhelming ammonia scent. Oh please no! I thought for a split second that I had a minor case of the number ones in my trousers! Haha no; I didn't wet myself, but my brother had rubbed up against the tamarillo leave, which released the faintly revolting smell. That is the memory I will always associate with tree tomatoes.

Jun 2013 - The infant tamarillo/Baba boomtamatie

The little tamarillo tree did well all through our cold but temperate winter, although it grew more in leave size than height, but then...

Photo only used to indicate the tamarillo's height

... the tree shot up and reached for the sky! I could literally almost see it growing overnight during the spring of 2013 and summer of 2013/2014. It goes without saying - I was well chuffed!

And would you know it - within the space of one short year this happened:

Apr 2014 - Flowers and little tamarillo fruit/Blomme en klein boomtamatie vruggies

Here I am, middle spring 2014, and picking tree tomatoes like it's going out of fashion. I am over the moon with the growth rate and quantity of fruit produced by this great South American plant! Not even a year and a half on and I've already picked 1kg of fruit, with lots still ripening on the tree. Yay!!! 

Fat and juicy tamarillos/Smullekker boomtamaties

The only problems I've had with my tree tomato are water and wind. Yes, the elements don't always play along in a garden. The berg wind tried to destroy my tree a few times, maar 'n boer maak 'n plan, so I planted a thick dowel stick in next to it and tied the tree to it in two places. I used stockings and rubber to tie the tree with, so as not to chafe the soft stem. The water problem was partially due to the elements but mostly due to my infrequent watering. Note to self - when the tamarillo leaves turn yellowish it means the tree is too dry! Luckily a tree tomato is a very forgiving plant and snaps right back into tip top shape once properly fed and watered. 

Which plant or tree has really impressed in your garden these past few months? #SouthAfricanUrbanGardener

Botanical Name: SOLANUM BETACEUM

Common Name: Tree Tomato, Tamarillo

Volksnaam: Boomtamatie

Native to: Andes region in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Chile

Date planted/sowed: Late May 2013

Ease to grow: Extremely easy, fruits abundantly

Costs: R20.00 for the tree and about R20.00 for compost as well as R20.00 for manure

Notes: Plant in a spot where the tree is protected from strong winds as it is a top-heavy and fragile plant. Water well every second day in summer and regularly in winter during dry spells.

Backyard Harvest. Agterplaas Oes

Yes, I'm still here. The computer might've given in and the winter garden might be coming along very slowly, but I'm still here. Still interested in getting my hands in the dirt, growing some useful fruit and veggies and some random ones, and subsequently blogging about it. The massive delay in this post wasn't intentional, but sometimes technology really gets in the way rather than assisting, don't you think?

Since I'm a bit out of practice I will let the photos do most of the talking. Let me get on with it...

Cape gooseberries/appelliefies, strawberry/aarbei, pepino/boomspanspek, Sugar Ann peas/ertjies

How does that cute chocolate advert go? "I've got joy in my life..." Yes, joy, joy and more joy... my Cape gooseberry bush is producing enough for a daily snack and then some. I've even made a summery fruit salad by adding it to chopped pineapple, paw paw (papaya) and pepino. Yes, the tropical pepino bush is unbelievably producing smack-bang in the middle of winter. What did I say? Joy!

Strawberries are only starting to flower now, so I've eaten the odd one straight from the plants. I've harvested quite a few cute Sugar Ann Snap peas though. We prefer them fresh in a mixed green salad. If you have any ideas what else to do with them, let me know.

Sugar Ann Snap peas/ertjies and Little Gem lettuce/blaarslaai

After last year's disastrous attempt at growing lettuce, this year couldn't make me prouder. Just look at the scrumptious lettuce leaves in the photo above. I grew them in the proper season and in a well-composted container this time though. That might be the reason for my success this year. Maybe not "might" - more a definite. The peas are so deliciously crunchy and sweet, I will definitely plant them again next autumn. I think I will dedicate much more of the backyard veg patch to them though. The harvest wasn't nearly enough for the family. Practice makes perfect, hey?

Cape gooseberries/Appelliefies

Oh boy, I harvested 300g of Cape gooseberries (also known as Inca berries) in one go. From one bush! It was a proud moment. Silly, but proud. Did I mention this was a volunteer bush that just shot up in my backyard veg patch? The same one I gushed about in my June post on the autumn garden.

Broad beans/Boerbone

Although my broad beans aren't really ready yet, there were about ten of them waiting to be harvested. No, the wee offering in my hands isn't the sum of it, but I just had to take a photo. I've never really done anything with broad beans, so I went out on a limb and sautéed them in butter with leeks. It went quite nicely with our "boerekos" chicken, potatoes, carrots and peas. What do you guys do with broad beans? I need some ideas here, but I'm not too keen on tossing them with mint leaves as I've read online. In my house mint is something that belongs in a refreshing cooldrink like lemonade.

I promise to pop in again soon. Why don't you tell me what you've been up to in your winter garden in the meantime?

Backyard Farmer Contemplations. Agterplaas Boer Denke

As the autumn season draws nearer and nearer to a close, I thought it appropriate to reflect on my autumn garden. There isn't too much to show harvest wise, except the abundance of sweet potatoes, but let me share with you the goings on in my corner of the Garden Route:

Black Hungarian peppers and Bishop's Crown peppers/Swart Hongaarse en Klokvormige soetrissies

Bishop's Crown peppers in the backyard veg patch

Black Hungarian peppers in the backyard veg patch

Now that the weather is cooler but still warm, the peppers have come into their own. I think I got the green peppers too late in the season to produce, but the Bishop's Crown peppers have stolen the show. Such pretty vegetables, aren't they? Another pepper that has done really well (despite attempts at annihilation haha), is the Black Hungarian pepper. I got these critters from the kind folks at Organic Seed SA. The peppers turn a deep, glossy purple and is really quite mild. Even people who dislike hot food will love this one.

Tree Tomato/Tamarillo/Boomtamatie vruggies

What were only dainty little flowers on my Tree Tomato two short months ago, developed into plump fruits in the meantime. I can't wait to sample some of these fruits. Not only are they delicously strange and exotic, but they are also packed with vitamin A and C. I think they are a valuable and easy-to-grow addition to any South African garden.

Despite hectic berg winds, hail and the occasional downpour my autumn garden is coming along nicely. I hope to share the progress with you next time :-) 

Cold Season Garden Planning. Koue Weer Tuin Beplanning

I started avidly growing veggies in my backyard about 9 months ago, in the depths of 2013's winter. I was so eager to start, that I totally ignored the time of year and therefore got miserable results. Results which should have been expected, but nevertheless disappointing beyond belief. Yes, most new gardens are over-eager and make the fatal mistake of focusing on the vegetables/fruit trees/plants, instead of the soil. All the research I did beforehand warned me of this fact, so I had no excuse.

I won't make the same mistakes again, or I will at least try to improve on what I did wrong last year. Planning is one thing I'm very good at; sometimes so good that I plan and plan and plan, but never really implement. A character flaw I know. This is how the planning for my autumn and winter garden is coming along so far:

Calculating how much space you have

This was the logical first step for me, since the available space (and the type of space) will tell you the type and quantity of vegetables to plant. No simple task for me, as most of my space isn't square or rectangular beds, but have weirdly winding or circular edges. Blame my parents for their creative garden planning! For any other person this wouldn't be such a hassle, but I'm a sucker for precise calculations and mathematical formulae. Yes, I'm not only a garden geek, but a geek geek as well haha. After countless tries with a broken tape measure, pen and paper, and even calling in the help of a genial best friend (those damn formulae!) I had calculated my veg garden size to near precise dimensions. And so the real fun began...
 

Backyard Veg Patch - cold season crops to follow/Lappie vir herfs en winter groente

Deciding on which veggies or varieties to grow

The four factors which influence me on what to grow and where to plant it, are;

• What do I like to eat? More specifically, what does my family like to eat?
• What worked in my (or the granny's) garden before?
• Which plants or vegetables benefit most from each other? (Companion Planting)
• Which plants or vegetables are most suited to my soil type and amount of shade?

Drawing up a Garden Plan

This is one step that small-scale backyard gardeners don't have to spend too much time on. Being the kind of person that I am, I've spent hours and hours planning, calculating, drawing and re-drawing my very first Garden Plan(s).

I only have three spaces suitable to vegetables and the occasional fruit tree; they measure:

• 6.1 sq meter (of which 4.8 sq meter can be used due to perennials)
• 7.8 sq meter (of which 1.4 sq meter can be used due to shade and trees), and
• 1.52 sq meter (all suitable for planting)

This leaves me with only about 15.5 sq meter. Not much by any stretch of the imagination, so therefore pre-planning is vital to optimise my space.

The most wonderful tool I've discovered online is the GrowVeg Garden Planner. Not only is it free for a 30-day period, but all features are available to users of the free trial programme! The first step in the design is to tell the programme the length and width of your bed. Then you simply choose a veg/fruit/flower type and plan out the rows or blocks desired. The nifty little programme will tell you automatically how many of said plant you can chuck into said space. Marvelous!

Here is an example of my backyard vegetable patch:

Backyard Veg Patch Plan/Agterplaas Tuinplan [copyright www.growveg.com]

See the full plan, all suggestions, and how wonderful this site really is at GrowVeg.com

Preparing the soil

As soon as the summer veggies and flowers start looking a bit straggly and production comes to a grinding halt, it is time to pull them out and either compost or destroy them, depending on whether they are still healthy specimens. This normally happens the last month of summer or in early autumn. In areas where chilly weather comes sooner (like the Free State or Gauteng) it would most probably be end Feb, and the Garden Route area where I live it's more likely to be March. There is no hard and fast rule to the month of the year though. 

From Pumpkin Patch to Onion Bed/Toekomstige wit-ui tuiste?

Now comes THE MOST IMPORTANT TASK IN GARDEN PLANNING... Soil preparation. It is very important to spend most of your available finances on preparing the soil well and the smallest amount on buying plants or seed. The type of soil you have is also very important. This is because you will need to add coarse sand to hard, clay soil or huge amounts of compost to loose, sandy soil. I have a mix of good garden soil and heavy, clay soil in my own garden.  

A rule of thumb is to add two bags of good, organic compost to a square meter of your garden. That is roughly equivalent to 2'' of compost (5cm) on top of your bed. It is also a good idea to add a complete fertiliser to your garden. 10-10-10 fertiliser is the best one to go with (equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium). Manure is an alternative to compost, but must be well-rotted. A good indication on whether it is suitable for your veg patch is to smell it. If it doesn't reek to high heaven, it apparently is black gold!

A scattering of red onions to follow/'n Paar rooi uie midde-in die vrugte bedding?

All the preparation stuff must be done at least two weeks before any planting. I've just realised it's already March, and I haven't done even a square foot of soil preparation. I will definitely have to order a bakkie-load of compost from Norgarivier Nursery, some fertiliser... and get in my garden, sweating away!

Backyard Harvest. Agterplaas Oes

I think a report on my harvests is long overdue. Don't let the word "harvests" fool you into thinking massive, farm-scale hauls however. No, the produce harvested in a backyard garden is much more humble. It still leads to pride and joy - especially if the harvest is larger than expected. An occassion that, admittedly, didn't occur very often in my little South African patch this summer.

So here goes:

Clockwise fltr: Gem Squash/Skorsie, two Pepinos/twee Boomspanspekke, tomatoes/tamaties

One of the most successful plants in my backyard veg patch isn't a vegetable at all, but the pepino. It's like the gift that keeps on giving. I get at least one juicy pepino every week from a bush less than knee-height. Plant it if you live in a sub-tropical or moderately humid region people!

The gem squash wasn't through any effort of my own. No, a volunteer plant sprung up under my little kumquat tree. I think the manure-enriched compost might have something to do with it. The plant soon lost the fight against white powdery mildew, but not before providing us with two lovely squashes. Two might be a meager amount, but they were unexpected, so I'm appreciative.

The tomato haul has been bitterly disappointing. Blight of course. The only tomatoes that seem to flourish are the volunteer cherry tomatoes, and even they got blight in the long run.

Clockwise fltr: Brandywine Sudduths, Red Kaki, Dr Carolyn Yellow

The Red Kaki tomatoes (dark-green round tomato pictured centre-right) were a complete flop. The plants all got blight too early for the poor little tomatoes to flourish. At least I received the seeds for free haha. The blight is definitely to blame, but this cultivar seemed the most prone to it. I don't think they will get any of the valuable garden space in future.

I got some decent-sized Brandywine tomatoes. The plants also developed the dreaded blight, so most of the tomatoes had to be harvested greener than should be, but their taste was  great. No fake taste, like all those beautifully plastic-looking shop tomatoes. They are a bit mushy for my taste though. I think I will try another fleshy cultivar next year. Any suggestions?

The biggest surprise has been the Dr Carolyn Yellow tomatoes. I harvest at least a handful every day. They also lean to the mushy side when over-ripe, but they produce like little machines! They also look beautiful in salads. I don't know if this is pure coincidence, but they also seem more blight resistant than the other cultivars I tried this year. Think I will give them a go again next year.

How does your summer harvest look thus far? Winter harvest, if you're living on the other side of the equator?

Problems in my Summer Garden. Probleme en pyne in my Somertuin

Sometimes inexperience isn't the only cause for concern in my backyard garden. No, the elements can also take its toll. I planted various beans, including Lazy Housewife and Contender, mid-August and direct sowed an assortment of tomatoes the end of September. Normally these planting/sowing times would be ideal, but last year Spring we had an unusually high rainfall. Followed by an extremely wet January. Yes, we measured 165mm of rain in only the five days between 5 and 10 January 2014. Any gardener knows excess humidity causes one of the most dreaded plant diseases...

BLIGHT!!! ROES!!!

I never knew there were so many different types of blight and that some of the types were more disastrous than others. According to the sources I studied I luckily had a case of early blight in my garden. Okay, maybe no blight can be called "lucky", but at least the early type still meant some sort of harvest, whereas late blight kills a plant outright. The symptoms of early blight are discolored foliage - first yellow and then brown spots, forming concentric patterns, with no 'mould' underneath the leave. It mostly affects the leaves, and the same type of vegetables shouldn't be planted in that area for three years. Late blight attacks a whole plant, makes the fruit rot and has the mouldy stuff underneath the leaves.

As is the case with any type of blight, it is better to simply pull up the whole plant and destroy it. Do not compost! I simply couldn't get that over my heart. After all the months of nurture, watering, sweating, and this...

Dr Carolyn tomatoes/Dr Carolyn geel tamatietjies

Brandywine Sudduths tomato/Brandywine Vleestamatie

The butternuts are probably the biggest disappointment so far. Even though I used organic Waltham seed and planted a borage between the squashes to encourage bees (and oh, were they encouraged!) the little butternuts would all fall off when they were about 5cm big. I also added piles of compost. All to no avail. Then the rains came... shortly followed by an explosion of white powdery mildew. I was fed-up; I wanted to pull the whole lot out. Then the mother showed me this:

A little one, but a butternut nonetheless/My eie botterskorsie; eie en enigste sover

Safe to say that the butternuts are all still in the ground. Covered with mildew, but still producing little squashes. I might be a pessimist at times, but that doesn't stop me from hoping one or two of them will survive, like the little sucker in the photo.

What are your biggest concerns in your garden at the moment?

Foreign Friday. Volksvreemde Vrydag

Cucamelon/Mexikaanse Suur Komkommertjies (Melothria scabra)

Due to the space limitations of my backyard vegetable patch runner vegetables and fruit like squash, pumpkins, melons, watermelons and cucumbers were never an option. That's until I read about cucamelons on the ever-creative James Wong's site. I read that they resembled miniature watermelons (and therefore were also known as Mouse Melons) and tasted like a mixture between cucumber and lime. Interesting.

Furthermore, they could be grown on trellises, and were apparently rampant growers as well. Sounded like a good deal to me! After quite an extensive search I sourced a few seeds from the online site Organic Seeds for a very reasonable price.

The seeds went into a large container filled with compost and manure enriched potting soil. I planted them middle September, and by the end of September virtually all of the seeds had germinated. At first the plants seem to be slow growers, but after they started to form their first tendrils, they shot up virtually over night. By mid-November, my cucamelons looked like this:

Cucamelons, with chives and peppers as companions

By December I wanted to cry in frustration. The same cucamelon forest that looked so promising initially, looked terrible. I made a mistake many novice gardeners do; I planted them in the wrong location. The cucamelons trail up directly against a north-facing wall, and the sun ruthlessly burned all the top leaves and new growth. Most of the dainty yellow flowers simply fell off  due to the radiating heat. NO!!!

Sun damage to cucamelon bushes/Sonskade aan my arme Mexikaanse Suur Komkommertjies

On Christmas Day 2013, therefore, I was very glad to see at least one cucamelon developing. Even if only to taste them and see whether I would give them a go again next year.

Small cucamelon developing

It's now early January 2014 and my first cucamlon harvest came in. A measly three, but a harvest nonetheless. Note to self; never plant cucamelons, or any trailing vegetable or fruit for that matter, directly against a north-facing wall!

Thee little cucamelons/Drie Mexikaanse Suur Komkommertjies

And the verdict? They taste surprisingly refreshing and have a lovely crunchy texture. I would say much more cucumber than lime, but way crunchier. I will definitely plant these mini-cucumbers again! Have you planted anything exotic recently?

Botanical Name: MELOTHRIA SCABRA
Common Name: Cucamelon, Mexican Sour Gherkin/Cucumber, Mouse Melon
Volksnaam: Mexikaanse Suur Komkommertjie
Native to: Mexico and central America
Date planted/sowed: Mid-September
Ease to grow: Grows easily, but requires sun and something to climb over
Costs: R20.00 for a packet of 15 seeds
Notes: Plant away from a wall receiving full sun, and space farther apart (15cm or more)

 

Spring Harvests. Lente Oeste

With it already being the second day of summer here in South Africa, I thought it appropriate to report back on what I harvested in my backyard garden (and also in other patches scattered throughout) during spring. While some vegetables performed quite well, others were simply not suited to our Garden Route climate, or suffered because of my inexperience and a lack of sunshine. This is what I harvested:
 

End Sep 2013 - nasturtiums, strawberries and "cauliflower"/kappertjies, aarbeie en "blomkool"

The first plants to produce anything vaguely fit for "harvest" were nasturtiums I sowed late July in a container and strawberries the granny and I planted late May and late June. Nasturtiums are always rampant growers, so I didn't expect anything less of them. On the other hand; I am currently planning to replant my strawberries in the soil, because they're not producing as they should in their pots, but then again; maybe their pots are too small. Questions, questions... I won't even mention the cauliflower, as they were a total failure. Of the twelve plants I purchased and planted late May, I didn't get one decent-sized cauliflower head. The biggest one was about 2cm x 2xm! I think I planted it too late in the year, because they got some sort of fungal disease. Perhaps I should plant them earlier in autumn next time?

Start of Oct 2013 - Some of the radishes/Sommige van die radyse

Radish was the one vegetable that performed brilliantly in the garden. Such a quick perfomer as well! I sowed them mid-August and harvested these beautiful babies in the beginning of October. How chuffed was I! The one thing I learned for myself is that they perform miserably in shady areas. Radishes I planted between my broad beans, in a mostly shady area, could only be harvested two weeks later than the ones in full sun, and were stunted and small. Yes, all sources told me most vegetables don't work well in shade, but I had to see it for myself, okay. Haha

Mid-Oct 2013 - An abundance of parsley/Pietersielie vir Afrika

Parsley, parsley and more parsley! Yes, parsley was definitely the biggest star in my spring garden (and I have the dried bottles of parsley to prove it). Both the curly-leaf and Italian varieties performed well, although the latter out-shined the former to an extent. Now that it is summer I'm having problems with them going to seed, but that is to be expected I suppose.

End Oct 2013 - Meager broad bean haul/Skamele boerboon oes

Yes, I made the same mistake with the broad beans as with some of the radishes... too much shade! What started out as a beautiful bed of beans under a leafless Acer negundu tree in autumn, turned out to be the aphid-infested bane of my existence under a fully-leaved Acer in spring! Regrets, regrets! Especially because the little broad beans I could harvest tasted so heavenly in one of the mother's Cape Malay curries. Ai! Note to self - plant broad beans beginning of autumn in a sunshiny spot next year!

Start of Nov 2013 - Lots of leeks and lettuce/Pragtige preie en baie blaarslaai

In addition to the parsley, leeks and lettuce were the other two members of the trio of top performers. Lovely green and purple lettuce bought at Norgarivier Nursery and planted in the beginning of October went into beautiful green salads. The leeks went into a gorgeous Leek, Bacon and Cheese Pie. The family couldn't get enough! Basically you pre-fry the leeks in butter, add it and grated cheddar, a carton of cream, a packet of half-cooked bacon and two eggs to a pie tin, in pastry, and voila! If you don't have enough leeks (like I did), sommer add a few normal diced onions to taste. Works like a charm.

Mid-Nov 2013 - Pole and bush bean harvest/Rank-en bosboon oes

Beans always perform well in our backyard garden, so I expected nothing less this year. This year I planted white pole beans, Contender bush beans and Lazy Housewife pole beans. In the photo, the larger, flattish beans on the left are the Lazy's and the thinner ones are the others. I got the organic Lazy's at Livingseeds - a highly recommended organic seed store. The white beans and Contenders I got from another kindly neighbour. 

We have already enjoyed all of them as green beans and some of them have been blanched and frozen. Now I can't wait for the bushes to perform even better, so the granny can make a decent batch of curried beans yummy!

I planted twelve red onion seedlings during the last week of May, and about the same number of Australian Browns the first week of June. The red onions performed quite well, but the white onions produced the smallest onions imaginable. We harvested them all the very end of November.
The lesson I learned from this comparison? Do not plant onions in hard-as-nails and compacted soil!

Hope I haven't bored you all with this lengthy post, but I guess someone out there might pick up a tip or two from my successes and failures. What do they say; practice makes perfect.

Foreign Friday. Volksvreemde Vrydag

Strawberry or Cherry Guava/Aarbeikoejawel (Psidium cattleianum)

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of the Cherry Guava tree we had in the backyard. I can remember the sweetly tart strawberry-like taste, the amount the brother and I used to gobble down, and the smell of overripe guavas in the hot South African sun. Unfortunately the tree had to make room for extensions to the house, but the memory is still clear.

When I couldn't seem to find a Chilean Guava anywhere in the country, it was therefore not a giant leap for me to settle on the Cherry Guava as stand-in. I blame James Wong for publishing such a delicious-looking guava and quince Rumtopf recipe on his site, made with the fruit of an impossibly difficult plant to source! 

The folks across the water tend to call our Cherry Guava either a Strawberry Guava or a Cattley Guava, but I'll stick to my Proudly South African roots. The tree grows easily in just about any soil, although some organic material and free-draining soil is a must. It grows into an average sized shrub to small tree, depending of the area you live in and the climatic conditions there. Here, in the Garden Route, they tend to grow to between 2m and 3m tall. The tree fruits heavily, and the fruit itself is very nutritious and low in calories. It contains around 60Kcal per 100g.

As I blogged about before, I decided to plant my Cherry Guava in the front-yard garden. I was quite fortunate to get a tree which already had a few fruit on it from my preferred local nursery. Before you pop one of these little treats in your mouth, just heed my warning about fruit-fly bites. The fruit might look normal from outside, but inside it could well be infested with worms. Unfortunately flies and birds like the little deep-red guavas just as much as we do...

My very first Cherry Guava/My heel eerste Aarbeikoejaweltjie

So in went my little tree, and I couldn't be more happy with the result. It took off like a duck to water.

The granny watering newly planted Psidium cattleianum

Since I knew about, and experienced first-hand, the fly problem with the Cherry Guava, I decided to give companion planting a go. At least, I planted a trap crop of nasturtiums and hoped for the best. Dalk was die kappertjies nie die beste keuse nie? The fact that the trap crop I chose normally traps aphids didn't put me off at that stage. I just wanted some nasturtiums damn it! I will definitely add some chives and the like later to repel the pesky fruit-flies though.

Nasturtium seedling/Kappertjie plantjie

Companion planting at its best??? Aarbeikoejawel + Kappertjie???

Oh, how I can taste Cherry Guava Cordial and Guava Crumble already! The following recipe especially appealed to me when I walked across it on another local blog -

Cherry Guava Apple Crumble:

• Make Cherry Guava pulp by boiling a colander full of guavas, a cup of water and two tablespoons of sugar for 20mins, strain. The mass should be a thick pulp.
• Crumble:
• 300g plain flour
• 175g sugar
• 200g soft butter

•  Filling:
• 450g peeled, cored and sliced apples (tinned apples make a fine substitute)
• 1tb sugar
• 1tb plain flour
• pinch of cinnamon

• Method:
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
• Make the crumble by adding the flour and sugar together and rubbing the butter in
• Add all the filling ingredients to a large bowl and stir well
• Grease a 24cm dish and spoon the filling in, then pour Cherry Guava pulp over
• Sprinkle the crumble on top
• Bake for 40-45mins
  

Will you be planting a Cherry Guava in your urban garden?

Botanical Name: PSIDIUM CATTLEIANUM
Common Name: Cherry Guava, Strawberry Guava, Cattley Guava
Volksnaam: Aarbeikoejawel
Native to: Brazil (tropical Amazonian regions)
Date planted/sowed: Planted late June 2013 (winter)
Ease to grow: Very easy to grow
Costs: R45.00 for a small tree
Notes: Tree fruits quickly, but need to guard against fruit-flies and birds

Growing Clivias in the Garden Route. Clivias vir Afrika in die Tuinroete

By this stage you must all think my garden only consists of broad beans, exotic fruit and an assortment of other vegetables. Oh no, that is not the case at all!

My parents have always been fervent gardeners, with our garden once being the pride of the neighbourhood. After a few years of neglect, this was not the case anymore. The garden still had its joys and beauty, but it was all a bit wild, tangled and overgrown. Luckily my new-found passion for gardening wasn't limited to produce though, but also included the bigger "normal" garden. As I now owned the house, I wanted to restore the garden back to its former glory.

Part of this strategy was to jazz it up with a dash of colour here and there. The problem in my urban garden was the lack of sunlight. My parents planted various trees, especially cordylines, (what we sommer call:) wild banana trees, conifers, palms of all sorts and a massive swamp cypress way back. 

So which plants or flowers could I plant in shade, with minimal water needs and maximum colour impact?

My answer was Clivias. Indigenous, water-wise, and fully shade-tolerant? Yes, Clivias were certainly the answer!

Two Clivias already established in the garden - proving some plants flower beautifully in shade

'n Clivia, met sy rooi sade

I already had two huge Clivia bushes in my front garden, and two smallish ones in the backyard garden. Now I just needed a dozen more... maybe two dozen? How happy was I that not only was my best friend's mother part of our local clivia club and therefore had tons to share, but that she was willing to share. And share she did!

Just part of my Clivia haul... Ek sal ewig dankbaar bly Tannie :-)

I had grand plans for creating visual features in the garden, and giving a bit of colour to a pathway's borders. And That is when the hard work started! Who ever thought gardening is such WORK?! Need to loose a few kilos and considering joining a gym? Don't! Start gardening, or better yet; help someone else in theirs. You'll see the difference within a month. I promise!

Firstly, I gave a sad spot in the garden a breath of life by adding two Clivias. I think the mixture of green shrubs and ferns, white rocks, a greyish-brown tree trunk, pink impatiens, blue iris, orange Clivias and ground cover works quite well. What do you think?

A new Clivia next to the road and one planted underneath the big tree trunk

Secondly, I planted one of the bigger newly acquired Clivias in a corner that was just too dull for my liking. It consisted of green, green and more green. Albeit different shades of green, but green nonetheless. Two different conifers, a wild banana, delicious monster and a few ferns had two Clivias added to them. And the result???

Lovely red Clivia as focal point in my green corner. Pragtige rooi Clivia as fokuspunt in die groen hoekie

Lastly, I wanted to beautify a pathway we already had in the garden. The pink Bottlebrush provided stunning colour to that corner, but the path just needed something along the edges to zhoosh it up. In went more Clivias:

The completed, yet still not established, effect

Clivia border along a pathway strewn with Bottlebrush flowers

 Have you planted any indigenous flowers or plants recently?