Our 2nd bunch of bananas is ripe now, after ripening the last few weeks inside. The banana stem had snapped and fallen over a few weeks ago. Probably because I haven’t had enough time to maintain that patch, such as weeding. Weeds at the base area can cause it to remain damp for too long, leading to rot problems.
I wasn’t sure this bunch would ripen inside, but it has. They are creamy, sweet and taste similar to a slightly-green supermarket banana. These are from a Pisang Awak variety (originally from Auckland Botanic Gardens via one of their plant sales).
This banana patch received no protection or anything, just good soil and a good planting site with surrounding plants sheltering against wind.
Ripe Pisang Awak bunchPisang Awak banana bunch on the ground 🙁
Well we are finally sold out of Alemow and Furr C-57 seeds, a huge thank you to everyone who bought some seeds and is helping to trial them in New Zealand. We couldn’t do these kinds of things without your support, so thank you.
Seedlings from our first test batch. Furr C-57 in the top pots, Alemow in the bottom. A slug got into the right-hand Alemow pot hence the smaller size.
We have also finished compiling all the information we can find about these varieties into ‘comprehensive’ plant profiles. Please give them a read if you’re interested in Alemow or Furr C-57 to get the latest up to date information.
If I had to pick 3 key things to mention:
Genetic testing has shown that Alemow is actually a papeda x citron (same cross as Mexican / Key lime), and not a papeda x pomelo as is commonly reported, and so Alemow is actually a true giant lime
Alemow is very susceptible to Citrus Tristeza Virus [CTV], and so it’s recommended to graft it with CTV resistant scions such as lemons, trifoliata and hybrids, Meiwa, Etrog-type citrons, rough lemons, rangpurs (partial list of CTV resistant varieties in the plant profile).
Furr C-57 seems to actually taste pretty good for a trifoliata F1 hybrid, with nearly top marks from a taste report.
Last and definitely not least, we apparently didn’t get enough chaos from importing Citrus seeds, and so we decided to do it again!! This time an incredibly special opportunity was presented to us to import rare and genetically distinct Citrus, and so even more special Citrus seeds are on the way. We’re very excited to share more once everything is final. 🙂
Apples that hang on the tree well into July (at least) while still retaining great eating quality are what I’d describe as ‘superlate’ apples. Other people have called them ‘Long keeping apples‘ (but I think that is a misleading name as usually ‘keeping’ / ‘keeper’ usually refers to storage off-tree). I think these traits are important for food security, as these days relatively few houses have the space to store apples in a cool and dry place. Plus who doesn’t love physically picking apples in July.
So far I’d never come across any roadside apples that I’d describe as superlate until this one. I found this apple somewhat hidden in Weka Pass 2 days ago, still holding a decent crop of apples (more than in the photo). The tree is on a fenceline by itself, so I’m pretty sure it’s a seedling.
These apples are completely crunchy and juicy, no dryness or flouriness. In fact, some of the apples were still not fully ripe! I would describe the flavour as being slightly tart and lower-medium sweetness. On the spectrum between a Gala/Braeburn and Granny Smith, this one would be roughly 1/4 – 1/2 of the way towards Granny Smith (maybe it’s a Granny Smith seedling? As Granny Smith is also known to store on the tree very late).
These apples I think could hang on the tree another 2-3 weeks, but also the birds were getting into them so maybe by then they’d all be pecked through.
Very keen to hear about what other apple varieties folks have or know about that are still hanging on the tree 🙂
The tree still holding a crop (only about half or so of the apples are visible)
One of the most astounding facts that I’ve ever learned is that taro is not just a crop of the Asia-Pacific region, but has about two thousand years of history as a food crop in the Mediterranean.
It seems almost anachronistic to me, as if someone had told me the Ancient Egyptians liked to go surfing. In one sense, we could even say that taro is more traditionally Italian than tomatoes!
Recently I was kindly sent some extra Torreya seeds collected from trees labelled Torreya nucifera in the North island by a friend. Initially I was very doubtful of the identification, as the size of the seeds was vastly different to the other Torreya nucifera seeds I have received.
Clockwise from top left 1) North Island Torreya fruits 2) North island Torreya nuts 3) Torreya nucifera seeds from Austria 4) Torreya californica seeds from California
However the Gymnosperm Database in its description for Torreya nucifera has this enigmatic paragraph [1]:
Ohwi (1965) recognizes a number of varieties, which are not mentioned by Farjon (2010). Var. radicans is shrubby, native to the Honshu mountains. Var. macrosperma has a large seed 35-40 mm long, and is found only in the Mie and Shiga prefectures on Honshu. Var. igaensis has shorter (10-18 mm long), abruptly spinescent leaves, with a short (20 mm) seed. It is rare, found only in Iga Prefecture on Honshu.
The $2 coin has a diameter of 26.5mm, so perhaps the seeds are from Torreya nucifera var igaensis. The seeds from Austria look to be about 35mm long which matches Torreya nucifera var macrosperma.
Close up photo showing seeds as well as the single leaf blade that came with the seeds. The length of the leaf blade matches the description for igaensis.
Since we’re selecting for larger seeds, there may not appear to be any benefit to selecting this variety with smaller seeds. However it’s always worth growing out extra genetics if you have the space, as it’s possible that the smaller seed size is offset with vigour, precociousness or productiveness.
Hopefully we’ll be able to plant out a trial row of Torreya within the next 1-2 years and begin the next phase of our Torreya project.
Well it turns out our second bunch of bananas is on the way. This time it’s from the Pisang Awak patch, with plants originally sourced from Auckland Botanic Gardens. The names attached to various banana varieties within New Zealand is layers upon layers of mixups. Just when you think you have a good grasp, another layer peels off and you see something different. So whether this plant is actually Pisang Awak or not, I am no longer sure, but at least I am sure of where I got it and that I didn’t change the name 🙂
This banana patch has been completely neglected the past year, receiving only 1x feed and nothing else, not even chop and drop. Unlike last time, this time I will try to protect the bunch with a banana bag or similar to see what kind of effect it has and whether it keeps more of the fruit in good condition compared to last time. Of course, it may still fail to ripen next Spring.
Huacatay
This banana patch is growing with huacatay (Tagetes minuta) for company (a few stems are visible behind the flower bell), a perennial herb of the marigold genus, native to the Southern half of South America. Huacatay is a fantastic herb and due to vigorous growth can be used for chop and drop. It also has strong effects on the soil microbiome. I would describe huacatay as ‘passionfruit mint’. Others describe the taste as a mixture of sweet basil, tarragon, mint and citrus.
Huacatay exudes powerful anti-fungal and anti-nematode compounds from its roots. I’m pretty sure the amount of these compounds released by huacatay are orders of magnitude more than those released by annual marigolds which many gardeners will plant as a companion crop for tomatoes, due to its deeper root system and much more vigorous growth habit (I haven’t researched this yet though so could be wrong). We’re trialing huacatay as a companion plant for mountain papaya (Vasoncellea sp.) due to their relatively poor tolerance of damp soils – with the idea that the huacatay will ward off fungal & oomycete problems while also drying the soil through active growth in Winter. It’s likely that huacatay could be allelopathic to some plants (or at least the effect on beneficial mychorrhiza may be negative), so we haven’t used it everywhere.
Well, we have finally succeeded in importing 2x new Citrus varieties to New Zealand! This has been a very long and very expensive process, and we have taken on all of the costs and risks ourselves. We would highly appreciate it if folks can buy some of these Citrus seeds to support our efforts, as there was a 5000 minimum order per each of these varieties
You can order directly from our website here:…. Edit: These seeds are now completely sold out, and we will likely not import them again. In 5-10 years when our own trees are fruiting we will again have seeds for sale and grafted plants however 🙂
Alemow (Citrus macrophylla) is a rare species of Citrus (according to the Tanaka system) from Cebu in the Philippines, where it is believed to originate. It is believed to be a hybrid of Celebes papeda (Citrus celebica) and pomelo [it is known to be a hybrid of a papeda and a citron]. If used as rootstock, it has superb compatibility with lemons and limes (some varieties of lemon are incompatible with trifoliata), and many other Citrus too such as kumquats, and is emerging as a very high performing Citrus that copes with high salt levels and seasonal flooding. The fruit are sort of like giant limes and can be juiced or used to make marmalade.
Furr C-57 citrandarin (Citrus reticulata x trifoliata) is a hybrid between a Sunki mandarin and trifoliata. It is much more vigorous than trifoliata, and has a longer growing season (as it is evergreen). It is tolerant to Citrus tristeza virus, very tolerant to Phytophthora and very tolerant of citrus nematode – which are the most important diseases of Citrus in NZ. It is super cold tolerant if you want to grow it on for fruit, as it can handle about -15C once mature and so suitable for places such as inland Otago. The fruit can be juiced or used to make a marmalade.
We also have imported a lot of other rare seeds from the USA/Canada as well late last year that are also available too. Most special of which are hybrid persimmons (hybrids between American and Asian persimmons, we can highly recommend these) and Canadian pawpaw (Asimina triloba native to Canada).
Today I happened to be driving in Westport, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a taro plant growing on the edges of some native bush. I stopped the car, and had a closer look. Sure enough, this is definitely edible taro (Colocasia esculenta).
Wild taro in Westport
This is the first time I’ve ever seen a wild taro plant on the West Coast, excluding the many black taro (Colocasia fontanesii) and the many many Alocasia brisbanensis. It’s clear from the size and condition of the corms, as well as the companion weeds nearby, that this taro patch was just ‘garden waste’ illegally dumped into the bushes.
Taro is not very common even in garden plantings on the West Coast (unlike Auckland for example). Perhaps I’ve only seen a few taro patches in all of Westport (again excluding black taro), and one patch near Fox River. I will check on the one patch I can remember in Westport to see if it’s empty, as that would likely solve the mystery of where these plants came from.
I uprooted some plants, as they looked potentially different from the taro varieties I am currently growing (although the differences in appearance may be explainable by just growing conditions). Westport does have a deep sea port as well, so there is a tiny chance for novel plants to have entered the town from far away places via sea as well.
Closeups of the wild taro found in Westport
I have become more risk averse to just introducing taro plants into my taro collection, as I suspect I brought back a minor pest from some wild Maori GP taro I collected when I visited Northland. So I decided to try a technique I learned online from Hawaiian kalo growers, which was that they wash the huli (stem cuttings with piece of corm, used for vegetatively propagating after harvest) in the sea. It may help, it may not. At least it was an excuse to head to the beach.
Washing taro in the waves
And lastly, I found yet another wild black taro patch in a swampy piece of paddock while exploring later in the day. It looks quite beautiful with the Canna lillies in the centre.
We are excited to announce that a shipova has been located in New Zealand, and will soon re-enter cultivation.
Shipova (x Pyraria irregularis, formerly x Sorbopyrus irregularis) is an incredibly unusual, intergeneric hybrid plant. It arises from a cross between a European pear (Pyrus communis) mother and a whitebeam (Aria edulis, formerly Sorbus aria) father. It is a triploid, with two chromosomes from pear and one from whitebeam.
The fruit are the size of a small pear, developing an attractive red blush on the side facing the sun. The fruit texture is creamy and a bit gritty. The taste has a rich bouquet of new flavours inherited from the whitebeam side of the family, the ripe fruit tasting very sweet with tropical fruit notes (variously described as mango, pineapple or guava). As the fruit ages, the flavours intensify and a strong marzipan (!) comes to the fore.
Superior shipova fruit grown by Marius Poenariu of Romania. Photos used with permission.
I’ve just published the new article on the Local Nitrogen Cycle related to forest gardening. It’s taken me quite a while to get it right, because there is a lot of complicated information to boil down into something simple enough while still being accurate and up to date. The interactive nitrogen cycle graphic took some time, as did the simulator. I think it’s one of the better introductions out there on the nitrogen cycle for forest gardeners – others tend to overemphasize certain irrelevent details (e.g. lightning sourced nitrogen), and exclude pertinent details (denitrification, whether you sell/give away food from your forest garden or poop into the sewer system).
Other than that, we’ve been growing seeds and working on some longer term breeding projects. It looks like we’ve had excellent germination of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and so either next year or perhaps towards the middle of Summer – we’ll be able to put some up for sale. Avocados have germinated well, but we’re still working on grafting them.
The forest garden has not seen too much planting yet, still a lot of preparation to do regarding soil building and erosion work. We’re trialling some nitrogen fixers to see what will do best here – so far the Turkish alders have shot away quickest. We’ve also started a banana trial and will have some Misi Luki banana pups available for sale locally.
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