I used to work in Artarmon (NSW), it was just 15 min walk from the office. Artarmon is a nice area and the primary school was rated among the top 3 best in the Sydney area. But then we needed a better place because how son has grown up and needed to run and jump and shout and do what kids do so living in a unit wasn’t ideal. So we decided to buy something. After 6 months of house hunting, we decided to look further away because we couldn’t afford anything. So we ended up buying in Wyoming (near Gosford) on the Central Coast. It is for me a commute of about 1h45 each way every week day but it was worth it. The house was big, has a garage and a backyard and was close to the lakes and ocean. Some people living in the Sydney area were closer to the office but due to the traffic, they end up taking almost the same time or more than me.
At the beginning the garden was tidy, with mainly non edible plants. After a year or so, I realised that we rarely go in the backyard and enjoy the lawn. Winters are cold, summer are too hot and infested with mosquitoes and we prefer going to the beach or the lakes when we have free times.
This was the main area of the garden:
So instead of spending time mowing the lawn, I decided to install some garden beds on top of it. It is not a lot of space but we made use of most of it growing various plants, especially ones we can’t buy or have to travel far to get them: Okra, Black turmeric, stevia, vietnamese herbs etc... now it is a little messy jungle with plants and tools and pieces of wood and other material every where lol but we are enjoying the fresh food!
This is how the main area looks like now:
Today, I just want to give you a little photo tour of some of the plants I currently have.
Turmeric (nghệ vàng)
I think the turmeric does not need an introduction. It’s a popular plant used for cooking in a lot of Indian and asian dishes. I plant them in a root pouch and they are doing very well growing taller than me. I harvest the rhizomes every Winter and replant them in Spring
Black Turmeric (nghệ đen)
This is a rare variety usually used for its medicinal properties. As it does not have a nice taste, we don’t use it for cooking. In my family, we use it mainly for health issues related to the digestive system. The leaves resemble those of the regular turmeric but they have a purple color in the central vein. When you cut the rhizome, the inside is not orange/yellow but white with some dark blue color in the centre.
Below is a black turmeric rhizome I sent to Rob Bob:
Click to watch the video on YouTube
Ivy Gourd (dây bát)
The Ivy Gourd is a vine that is considered weed and even pest in some states in Australia. However, it is actually edible both leaves and fruits. We usually consume it in a soup combined with other leaves such as the Malabar Spinach
Black Prince Chilli
I don’t know much about this except that it is beautiful with dark purple leaves. The chilli fruits are dark purple and then turn red. They are medium hot and taste pretty nice.
Tropical Lettuce Tree
I received the seeds of this plants from 2000goldsmith, a follower on Instagram. It is an interesting plant that grows more than 1m high. Their leaves can be eaten raw when young or stir fried for the older ones. This is one of the two survivors of my first batch of seedlings, I’m looking forward to harvesting and cooking this.
The following photo is courtesy Chris Lopez aka 2000goldsmith
Malabar Spinach (rau mồng tơi)
Distantly related to spinach, this plant is known by most Vietnamese people. We love it in a soup which I gave the recipe here.
Chocolate Mint
Oh boy! This variety of mint is so tasty! Wanna make a tea party? This is the one for you. It is a hybrid that has a sweet smell that reminds chocolate. I planted chocolate mint m in a styrofoam box which it has now totally taken over.
Stevia or sugar herb
You must have heard of this name before, it is a popular sweetener. The commercial product is an extract of the leaves of this plant. I used the leaves, raw, in a tea and will harvest it before it dies due to the cold and dry the leaves and blend them into a powered used in place of sugar.
Rockmelon or Cantaloupe
Do you need a description for this one?? lol. This plant is a volunteer one. I let it grow because I thought it was cucumber but don’t regret it turned out to be a rockmelon.
Okra or Lady’s Fingers (đậu bắp)
Not everyone knows the Okra and they should 😄 but not everyone will like it texture though lol. It’s a very popular fruit in Asia and quite versatile in terms of cooking qualities, it can be cooked in many different ways. At home we consume it mainly steemed (intended) or in a sweet and sour soup.
Lemongrass (sả)
Another popular plant used for cooking and natural remedy. Lemongrass stir fried chicken, inhalation etc... some people only use the green leaves but it is the root and the stem that we normally use for cooking and we reserve the leaves for boiling the inhalation brew. Same as most of my plant, it grows in a container.
Mushroom plant
This one is also an usually one, who of my you guys know it? It’s got his name due to its mushroom-like taste. I read that it is eaten by people who has candida east health issue and can’t eat real mushroom. I like eating it raw in a salad but it can also be stir-fried.
Carrot
I tried growing carrots this year, but it seems that they grow more above than below the surface... I have been told that this could be due to a soil that is too rich in nitrogen so they grow more leaves than roots.
Sweet potatoes (khoai lang)
This is my first year growing them and I did it in a raised garden bed. They have been giving us a lot of leaves which are edible. It’s autumn now in Australia and I think I will be harvesting the rhizomes soon. I saw some orange skin popping out here and there so there is good chance of a nice harvest. In the photo above, from left to right: Black Prince Chilli, sweet potato, carrots
Papaya or Paw Paw (cây đu đủ)
Papaya is one of my favourite fruits. It can be eaten ripen or still green in a salad like the Thai’s Som Tam. I find it particularly difficult to grow as it requires to be well fed and in wet and cold season they can get a black spot disease. The one in this picture is a volunteer that I transplanted in a root pouch and is doing well for now. I have another plant that is directly in the soil, it started to give fruit at the end of Autumn last year but succumbed to the black spot disease. Luckily I managed to save it buy cutting the whole top of the tree 10cm below the diseased section, it’s recovered by splitting out three new branches.
Banana (cây chuối)
This is a banana plant in a root pouch, another challenge I took, lol. I hope it will give me something.
Black Mulberry (râu tầm)
Mulberries are such delicious fruits. I remember sitting in a big trees when I was a kid, in New Caledonia. A member of a crop sharing group on Facebook gave me some cuttings and I’ve successfully grown them in root pouches. These have given me two fruiting seasons per year so far.
Ginger (gừng)
Another popular plant from which we use the rhizome in various cooking recipes. This is my first year growing them and so far so good.
Moringa (cây chùm ngây)
This tree has travelled in a car all the way from QLD down to NSW. I was visiting my auntie who was leaving Australia to go back to the family in New Caledonia. We unrooted this small tree and trimmed it down a bit. It has survived the travel and transplant shock. Moringa is considered as super food and you can consume leaves, fruits and flowers.
Aloe Vera
The inside of the Aloe leaves is like a gel. When I was kid, my parents used to take that gel and rub it on my skin whenever I had a burn and it was very effective. That gel can be eaten and you usually see it in the commercial Aloe Vera drink.
Comfrey
A backyard should never exist without Comfrey I think hehe. Comfrey throws roots deep down in the ground and surface all the nutrients it picks up from down there. The leaves can then be used as mulch by just dropping them around trees or on the surface of garden beds. Some people make fermented liquid fertiliser from the leaves too. The leaves are edible in moderate quantities as they might affect the liver. Additionally, a Comfrey salve is great for muscle and back pain. A Comfrey plant will be almost unkillable so choose well its planting spot as you won’t get rid of it easily. The one in this picture is a mother plant in a root pouch, for better performance it should be planted in the soil where it can reach deep down for more nutrients.
Common Purslane
I thought this plant was a weed, they all are when you don’t know them hah! But my wife told me to not kill it because it is “rau sam”, the Vietnamese name for Purslane. It was also a very popular health plant in Greece. The best thing about it is that not only it is loaded with nutrient but it also does not need any particular attention or care. It grows between paving blocks, dried soil surfaces etc... I just grow them in root pouches (again) and leave them alone until we need to harvest or if it is getting very dry and hot for too long which is when I water them.
Other varieties of classic herbs
The sweet basil (húng quế)
The Fish Mint (rau diếp cá)
The Mexican mint/oregano (lá tần)
The Vietnamese Mint (rau răm) and Purple Perilla (or Chiso on the top left corner)
The Common Mint (bạc hà)
I have probably missed a few but it has been over an hour I have been writing this post on a train from an iPhone without a proper keyboard so forgive me for not adding more stuffs lol.
Here is a video taken a few months back:
Vote for your 30 witnesses
Vote for my witness with SteemConnect
Credits
- The image at the top has been generated with the Canva app using my own photo.
I don't follow for follow, I don't upvote for upvote. If you make quality posts that I like/enjoy then I will upvote and/or follow you