Botanical name Solanaceae Features of the nightshade family This plant family is very diverse, it ranges from annuals to perennials, herbs, vines, shrubs and even trees. It is present globally. Plants in the nightshade family show a typical star shaped flower with five petals that are grown together to a funnel. Most of these plants [more]
Botanical name: Beta vulgaris Description: Beetroots are actually the same plant as the silverbeet and the rainbow chard. Farmers selectively bred cultivars with big, tender swollen taproots, which is the actual vegetable. They grow about 40 cm high. The leaves are egg-shaped or oblong and show colourful veins. While most cultivars have red beets, there [more]
Botanical name: Beta vulgaris, var. cicla Description: Rainbow chard is actually the same plant as the beetroot and the silverbeet. Farmers selectively bred more leafy cultivars with smaller to none bulbs and thicker stems. They grow about 50 cm high. The leaves show an intense green, have colourful yellow, red or orange veins and are [more]
Botanical name: Spinacia oleracea Description: Spinach grows about 30 cm tall. It shows green oval to rhombic, curly or smooth leaves up to 30 cm long 15 cm wide. The leaves (including the stems) are the vegetable. Spinach doesn’t like acidic soil and needs soil temperatures not to be higher than 25 C. It is [more]
Botanical name: Beta vulgaris, var. cicla Description: Silverbeet, also known as Swiss chard is actually the same plant as the beetroot and the rainbow chard. Farmers selectively bred more leafy cultivars with smaller to no bulbs and thicker stems. They grow about 50 cm high. The leaves show an intense green, have white veins and [more]
Botanical name: Brassica rapa subsp. nipposinica Description: Mizuna is Japanese mustard green that looks a bit like wild rocket. There are lots of different varieties of Mizuna. They all offer 10 to 20 cm long, deeply serrated and feathered leaves, that are about 5 cm wide. The leaves are the vegetable and have a crisp [more]
If you take your time wandering through the garden you will be able to collect a wide variety of ingredients to make up a green salad. Taste the different leaves and you will be amazed by the plethora of scents and aromas you can find. There is not very much poisonous or harmful to [more]
Ever wondered what to do with choi sum? It’s a variety of Asian greens which is closely related to choy som. Very good in a stir fry or blanched but still left a bit crunchy. This recipe is also a good way to make use of the flower buds of all our brassica/cabbage plants. When [more]