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Arrowroot

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Arrowroot

Arrowroot (Web)Canna edulis

Origin: Hot, humid Queensland

Plant: Any time

Harvest: 12-18 months for edible rhizomes.

Suggested Recipes: Root Vegetable Curry, Vegetable Pikelets

Use as a ‘chop n drop’ mulch, or leave to form a weed barrier with pigeon pea, lemon grass and comfrey. Good bulk food to grow for livestock.  Arrowroot can be

Arrowroot Rhizome with 'Eyes'
Arrowroot Rhizome with ‘Eyes’

planted to provide a windbreak or shade for more delicate vegies.  They will grow almost anywhere, in any type of soil and with minimal water requirements.  Propagation is simply planting a piece of the rhizome that has an ‘eye’. This eye will become your new plant. Keep arrowroot for eating separate from that grown for ‘chop n drop’ as it needs to be grown over a longer period – at least twelve months old – to develop the tubers; it is best harvested when still young and before the fibre develops. The tubers can be cooked (add lemon juice to cooking water to prevent oxidisation) and grated then added to stews/casseroles as a thickener; tubers can be roasted or sliced thinly and cooked as chips (use a bit of garlic in the oil as well). The starch can be extracted and used to make arrowroot biscuits.

Arrowhead

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Arrowhead

Arrowhead (Web)Sagittaria sagittifolia  syn. Sagittaria sinensis

Origin: South, Central and North America

Plant: Early Spring

Harvest: When leaves turn yellow and die back.

Arrowhead is a water plant, tubers are planted approx. 4-5 cm deep and spaced about 10 cm apart in soil in either a pond or tub, then covered with water 10-30 cm deep. Arrowhead is an easy to grow plant with no special growing requirements other than maintaining a cover of shallow water over the soil.  It is very hardy plant, grows to 30 cm high and likes full sun.

The arrowhead-tuber flesh is cream coloured and can be eaten boiled, baked or fried, however, it should not be eaten raw. Simply boil tubers until tender, slice thinly and serve tossed in butter or sesame oil; alternatively, the cooked and cold tubers can be grated or sliced into a salad. The young shoots can also be eaten.

Amaranth

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Amaranth (aka duck potato, swan potato, katniss)

Amaranth (Web)Amaranthus species

Origin: central Latin America and the Himalayas

Plant: Sept – Jan

Harvest: as required

Amaranth is a seed – not a grain – that self-seeds readily. It is an upright, moderately tall, broad leafed, annual plant. There are a number of different species of amaranth and a huge number of varieties within those species.

Amaranth comes in all sizes, shapes and colours. The leaves can be round or lance shaped, 5cm to more than 15cm long, light green, dark green, reddish or variegated. Seeds may be white, yellow, pink or black. This is an attractive garden show-piece and its colourful tassels come in burgundy, red, yellow, gold and purple.

Amaranth is related to the common weed, pigweed, and is rich in lysine, calcium, iron and carotene. Harvest leaf amaranth as required and definitely before it flowers (the buds are edible though). Pick young leaves for salads and stir fries. Older leaves need to be cooked first to remove the oxalic acid.   Amaranth leaves can be used in exactly the same way as spinach. Young stems can also be used as well. The grains can be ground in a mill to make amaranth flour and then mixed with water to a dough-like consistency – the dough is then flattened and toasted to make a flatbread or pita bread.

Aloe Vera

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Aloe Vera (aka Medicine Plant, Burn Plant, Living First-Aid Plant)

Aloe Vera (Web)Aloe vera barbadensis

Origin: North Africa

Plant: Spring and Summer,

Harvest:  all year round for medicinal use

Propagate: whenever pups or suckers need thinning out at base of plant.

The thick, succulent leaves can grow from 30-80cm long and 2-10cm wide at the base.

This perennial plant grows to approximately 60cm.  It has narrow, upwardly curving succulent leaves which are a green to grey-green colour with small spikes along their edges (leaf margins). Aloe vera can be planted in full sun in the garden or grown as a pot or hanging basket specimen. Aloe vera love the heat and hate cold, wet and frosts.   Flowers are bright yellow at maturity – (A. perryi’s flowers are an orange/apricot shade).

Aloe vera is a succulent which has many medicinal uses, as well as being used in skin care products. The soothing aloe gel contained in the leaves is ideal for taking the sting out of sunburn, stopping the itch from mosquito bites and for moisturising the skin.

 

Aibika

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Aibika (aka Queensland Greens; Slipper Cabbage; Hibiscus Spinach)Aibika (Web)

Abelmoschus manihot (formerly known as Hibiscus manihot)

Origin: tropical Asia

Plant: Sept – Feb

Harvest: Jan – May

Propagation: By cuttings taken in Spring & Summer

A perennial that can grow to 2+ metres, aibika benefits from pruning at the beginning of each growing season to make the plant bush out.  It is a hardy plant and prefers a sunny aspect with rich, moist, well- drained soil and protection from frosts.

The two main types grown on the Sunshine Coast have either finger-like leaves or a tri-lobe form. Aibikas are heavy feeders, so, to ensure constant leaf production, regular fertilising during the growing season is essential.   Propagation is by cuttings taken in Spring and Summer or by seed saved from the yellow hibiscus-type flower. Grasshoppers are very fond of aibika, so a good deterrent is to interplant aibika with perennial bush basil.

Aibika is very attractive planted in groups or as a hedge in the garden, where it provides a cool microclimate under its large leaves. Consider growing a ground cover of peanuts under (for nitrogen fixing), with a tomato or bean growing up the aibika’s trunk and you have a productive nitrogen-fixing guild with food on the way.

Aibika is very nutritious, with plenty of protein, vitamins and minerals, including iron and can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen.

Tropical greens – pick young leaves and add in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, or use the leaves sparingly in a salad as they contain mucilage and can make your finished dish quite slimy if too many are added.  Older leaves will definitely need to be cooked to remove the mucilage. Large leaves can be used as wraps and to make dolmades.  The flowers are also edible and can be eaten either raw or cooked.

 

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