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Post by philagardener on Jun 24, 2016 7:48:03 GMT -5
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Post by rowan on Jun 24, 2016 14:43:53 GMT -5
We do have a few natives that are worth growing, even commercialising. I didn't recognise the names of these until I saw the pics - trouble is that every aboriginal tribe had their own dialect so everyone chooses an Aboriginal name from any tribe to call these plants which makes it difficult for customers and, well, everyone, when they don't give the botanical names. The first of the plants shown in the article only grows over in the west so I don't know anything about it but the second is, I think, one that grows in a large part of the desert - I have tried growing it without success.
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Post by richardw on Jun 24, 2016 15:22:23 GMT -5
I see Youlk Platysace deflexa is referred to as Ravensthorpe Radish. Looks an interesting root plant which i also see is related to the carrot family. Do you think its to wet where you are Rowan?
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Post by rowan on Jun 24, 2016 15:28:12 GMT -5
Most of edible root plants are desert plants so it is too cold and wet down here. I have tried a couple, one that actually grows where I live but without much success. My main successful root crop the tree Kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus) which is a sub tropical tree that is used as a street tree all over Australia. seedlings produce a thick taproot that can be harvested after 10 or so months and looks like a brown carrot. You peel off the skin and the centre is soft and tender and tastes like coconut raw.
I grow a number of other native foods but no other roots.
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Post by philagardener on Jun 24, 2016 19:04:07 GMT -5
Interesting to hear about these things. The "problem" of deep tubers immediately suggested drought resistance to me! rowan , how close can you plant the Kurrajong for root production? Like carrots, or do they have to be further apart?
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Post by steve1 on Jun 24, 2016 19:10:04 GMT -5
The desert sweet potato is being looked at by one of my lecturers at Uni. They grow readily from seed. The cold an damp is probably less of an issue, as the tubers can be dug up, but will have more info after winter. I'm growing some Yam daisy at the moment, of which the root is eaten. It was the staple indigenous vegetable in the south east according to Bruce Pascoe (Dark emu, black seeds) which I'm yet to read but planning on getting to soon.
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Post by rowan on Jun 24, 2016 20:33:58 GMT -5
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Post by templeton on Jun 24, 2016 20:47:53 GMT -5
Phila, I haven't heard of either of these. steve1, beth gott from monash uni wrote a few papers on Microseris= yam daisy. I've thought of doing some wide collection and crosses and selection, but never got round to it. There is considerable variation in root quality between diff populations. I think the alpine form is supposed to be the best. Interestingly, it's closest relatives are north american - it supposedly arrived in aust several million years ago - a real biological mystery. There are some great historical references to it, An early explorer in the Swan River WA remarked that the local mob had done so much digging for it they were obliged to dismount and lead their horses - he noted they had done more cultivating than an equivalent village in England would have done. A couple of other sp of note - Phragmites australis for new shoot tips, Typha domingensis for new growing tips - they are delightful - and the fiberous roots - taste like spuds, but more fibre than starch. I've thought of doing Typha in a bathtub for easy of shoot harvesting - wading waist deep into swamps is a bit uncomfy. Most of the geophytes have edible tubers, but all relatively small - chocolate lily, bulbine lily, many of the orchids. T
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Post by templeton on Jun 24, 2016 20:49:32 GMT -5
rowan, do anything special with the seeds? My tree has pods on at the moment. T
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Post by steve1 on Jun 24, 2016 21:45:49 GMT -5
templeton I'm in the process of getting some together at the moment. I know the paper you are referring too and have read some of Beth Gotts papers. As you say it's of North American origin and supposedly a result of a wide cross between perennial and annual species and an allotetraploid. There are a few people growing it commercially in Vic. Looks interesting...
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Post by rowan on Jun 24, 2016 23:40:40 GMT -5
I have heard of one person who is supposed to be growing it (murnong) locally and tried to see what he was doing but he wouldn't show me. I have doubts as I have not seen any of his as produce or heard about it locally. Most people trying to make a go of something unusual will try to get some publicity or show it off even with a short article in a paper but I have seen noting in the papers or on the web. templeton, I just take the seeds out of the open pods (with gloves on, lol) then place the seeds in a plastic jar and shake vigorously to get rid of the paper husks and irritating hairs, then store them to plant in spring. They have a yellow, waxy coating which I leave on when planting because I have noticed that ants like to eat it and hypothesize that the seeds attract ants as a defence mechanism as it seems that everything likes to eat the germinating seeds.
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Post by steev on Jun 26, 2016 22:07:05 GMT -5
Very attractive plants, those; as they get larger, they are less usable? Ants are wonderful critters, although often problematic. 100+years ago, the Argentine ant got to Cali and really likes it here. In Argentina, they act like other ants, fighting with other species and conspecific nests; in Cali, they have caught the vibe and mellowed; they only fight other ants, not conspecifics; we essentially have a state-wide Argentine ant colony/empire.
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Post by rowan on Jun 26, 2016 23:21:55 GMT -5
After about a year they get a thin fibre in the centre and the flavour goes bland. I haven't keppt any long enough to see when the root becomes inedible.
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Post by steev on Jun 27, 2016 0:35:11 GMT -5
Well, inappetizing is pretty close to inedible, IMHO.
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