Silverbeet is a Star Vegetable
Silver beet
Call it what you will, silver beet here or chard there, this vegetable remains one of nature’s nutrient rich products. A member of the beetroot family its scientific name is beta vulgaris cicla. This plant is sometimes confused with spinach but the leaves are much larger than spinach although both can be picked over a lengthy period of time if they are grown quickly.
These are the ideal fresh vegetable to grow in pots and containers. The plants are fast growing and like lettuce are best eaten while the leaves are young and tender. The leaves are removed from the outside of the plant to allow the new leaves to grow on in the centre of the plant thus giving
a continual supply of tasty, fresh and nutritious food. Siler beet is a good source of iron so an invaluable food to have on your table. It saves you money as well being able to pick your own vegetable from a pot on your balcony or deck.
Temperature wise silver beet grows in most climates, in warmer areas the seed can be sown all year, but in the springtime for colder areas. The easiest way of growing chard is filling your container, preferably, a large well drained one with your multi purpose potting mix and planting your seed directly in the pot. The silver beet plants have a long tap root so a reasonably deep container is required.
If you have a source of different varieties or seed packets that come with mixed varieties, use
them. It gives your containers a decorative edge while the plants grow. There are white and red stemmed plants. Plant more seeds than you will need, the seedlings appear in ten to fourteen days.
After a few weeks, you will notice which are the strongest plants, and time to thin out the weak ones. The seedlings are usually about 10 cms after this time so the small and weak plants will be obvious. Feed the plants well with either liquid feeds or side dressings of granulated fertilizer that have an increased nitrogen component. Access to chicken manure also works well for silver beet but is too
strong for using in pots but certainly in the garden. Silver beet requires little attention so bugs and
diseases are not usually a problem. You will of course, still have to wash carefully before preparing for cooking because the small slugs get hidden in the crinkles of the leaves.
Preparing silver beet or chard for meals requires a good washing under a tap, or soaking in a salt solution for half an hour to rid it of any small and unseen bugs. Lightly cook in a small amount of water for a few minutes or alternatively steam until cooked then cover with butter. Butter is not
the right thing these days with obesity becoming a problem but it tastes good! Another way if you like garlic, gently fry the chard with crushed garlic in a little oil, I use olive oil, until it is cooked.
Whichever way you choose to eat it, silver beet or chard is very good for you and your family.
Good ol’ Garlic
Garlic for what ails you
Also known by its alias, Allium Sativum This popular herb, which is available in many forms, fresh at the greengrocers, in pill form in health shops, and in many other forms at the supermarket. It comes in flaked, granules, and salt to name some. Garlic has been around for thousands of years, it was known to the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans.It is believed that the Romans brought garlic to Britain.
Choose a sunny position in a rich and well-drained soil that has been well manured duffer acquired. The bulbs are planted at about 2 inches deep, and approximately 6 inches apart. The outer cloves of the bulb are considered the most suitable. Garlic is a hardy plant to grow, and needs little attention other than normal weeding and watering during dry spells stop. The flat leaves growing to between 60 and 90 cm tall. The flowers look like an overgrown chive flower, the plants die back after they have flowered.
When the leaves have dried and gone yellow the whole plant can be dug and left in the sun to dry any existing moisture. Traditionally the leaves are plaited together and hung in a cool dry place until they are required. While the plaits look nice, hanging in a country kitchen it is not the best place to store the garlic, as there is a considerable amount of moisture in that area of the house. The best of the crop retained for planting next season. Garlic is also claimed to have advantages when planted between and with other plants. Apparently, roses are one of the plants to benefit, from having garlic grown near it, promoting a resistance to disease, aphids and other pests.
Garlic has some well-known properties, such as being an antibiotic, an antiseptic, and considered anti-viral, antifungal, and antiparasitic. Garlic does need to be used fresh for these instances, as cooked it is of no use. Garlic was used for all sorts of infections and diseases prior to the advent of antibiotics, today there is a swing back to the natural forms of medicine that plants provide. Garlic is also supposed to contain material that helps improving circulation and energy. Personally, I find 5000mg garlic tablets extremely effective in warding off the flu and colds, if taken as soon as one notices a slight tickle in the throat or a sneeze when it comes unexpectedly. Two tablets taken daily over 3-5days works really well for me, others may find a different regime works for them. It is truly an amazing plant.
Calming Camomile
- Camomile
As I have gotten older, I have discovered a new
respect for the old remedies and healing ways of past generations. Those of who never knew the advantages of the health providers, the modern world enjoys today. Even in some of the poorer parts of the world, traditional medicine is practiced still, using herbs and garden plants.
One of those plants that achieved its own niche
in the daily health of our forebears is chamomile. This little herbs history
goes back to the Greeks, the Egyptians, and the early Anglo Saxons. They considered it as useful in lowering fevers, and for its calming effects.
Growing chamomile is easy. The plant likes growing in the full sun in a light free draining soil.
Growing it in pots or containers requires a similar soil mix. If you wish to propagate,your plants to either sell or like most gardeners, give them away. You can grow them either from seed, cuttings or division. The small beige colored seeds are sown in spring. The existing plants can be divided in springtime. Take cuttings from some of the side shoots over the summer months. Plants that are growing in pots, like most plants, need to be raised off the ground to stop the potting mix from becoming waterlogged.
There are many varieties of chamomile but the most commonly used ones are, Flore-pleno, Treneague, Matricaria recutia(German) or the Chamaemelum nobile (Roman).The low growing form of Flore-pleno has double flowers, while Treneague is used for lawns. Neither of these forms
produces the flowers that are used for chamomile tea.
Give plants both in the garden and pots a liquid fertilizer drink every six weeks or so. Chamomile is a hardy plant and not too fussy about the temperatures it grows in. Chamomile when grown as a lawn or in pathway , the herb gives off a perfume similar to that of an apple when it is walked on.
When picking for use as an herb the leaves can be picked at any time of the day, while the flowers are picked when they are fully open, preferably in the morning after any dew has gone. Using the Nobile or the recutita make them into teas by infusion. Achieve this by pouring boiling water over the flowers and leaving them to soak for at least half an hour. This can be used for as a relaxant or sedative for both adults and children. Drying the plant, both flowers and leaves allows you to
use in pot pourri or in sachets for placing in clothing drawers, or bedding.Chamomile tea is readily available from supermarkets, health shops and pharmacies if you just want the easy way out! Try using the (squeezed) teabags for resting on closed eyelids for some eye relief.
