Diospyros australis

What’s not to love about a beautiful native tree that work wonderfully as a feature tree or slow growing hedge that also produces edible fruit?

Diospyros australis, commonly known as Black Plum or Native Persimmon, is a small native rainforest tree found from south-east NSW up to tropical Queensland.

During the cooler months Diospyros australis, produces plum-like berries. Berries are about 10mm in size, starting out yellow and turning black as they ripen. They are most edible when black and soft with a sweetness that makes them perfect for jellies, chutneys and jams.

Small cream/yellow flowers appear enmasse from October, and will self-pollinate. However it is sometimes advised to plant two or more trees to improve your chances of fruiting.

The fruit isn’t the only reason to grow one. I love the beautiful green glossy foliage. The leaves tend to have a yellow/green underside with a prominent yellow mid-vein. I would be using Diospyros australis instead of Syzigum australe for my hedge plantings.

Being a native rainforest tree, Diospyros australis prefers moist well composted soils. It performs best with protection from both wind and afternoon sun.

These trees can grow anywhere between 4 to 10 metres in the garden, but as they are slowish growing can easily be kept as a small bushy shrub or even in a large pot, trimmed to be a feature plant! I also found out they are known for their fire retardant properties, making them a worthwhile inclusion in your garden especially if you live in a bush fire zone.

The fruit and leaves of the Diospyros australis is said to have many medical properties. One property is helping to convert starch into energy and keep blood sugar levels in check, perfect for Diabetics. The fruit is said to also said to help relieve stomach pain, anti-scorbutic (high amounts of vitamin C) and diuretic. If you make your own vinegar from the fruit you can drink it to help reduce enlargement of spleen, diarrhoea, and those have urine retention problems.

This beautiful native tree, commonly called Burrpurr (Yolngu) by the First Nations, will become a must have in your garden.

Avocado

Did you know that avocados are the only fruit apart from olives to contain monounsaturated fats? Monounsaturated fat is a healthy fat. Yes there is a thing called healthy fats! Healthy fats help you absorb essential fat-soluble nutrients (such as vitamin E), reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, help maintain a healthy heart and promote healthy skin.

It’s not just the healthy fats that make avocados so good. There are nearly 20 vitamins and minerals in this nutrient dense fruit. Avocados can help keep your immune system healthy, support mental performance, combat tiredness and even support a good mood.

They are not only a delicious way to ensure you are getting optimum nutrition per day, research shows adding avocado to a salad can increase your ability to absorb nutrients from other ingredients.

But avocados can be expensive in the shops….. so let’s grow our own!

Avocados love warm tropical climates. While you can easily grow an avocado from seed it is not recommended as seed grown avocados may not fruit or fruit successfully every year. It is always best to grow a grafted avocado, grafted by a reputable grower.

Avocados can grow over 6m in perfect conditions. Many of us could not handle this in our backyards which is why we recommend the dwarf growing varieties of avocados or keeping your avocado tree trimmed.

Wutrz and Fuerte are our two favourite varieties for growing in this area.

Avocados don’t need another avocado to fruit as the flowers are botanically classed as ‘bisexual’, carrying both male and female reproductive organs. However having more than one is beneficial and having both Type A and Type B flower types is even more beneficial. They tend to fruit more vigorously when they have friends.

Avocado flowers open twice over a two-day period - the first day as a female and the second day as a male.

Type A avocado flowers are ready to be pollinated in the morning, but any blossoms flowering in the afternoon are releasing their pollen.

Type B therefore, release pollen in the morning and are ready for fertilising in the afternoon.

This means the crawling and flying insects trying to harvest the pollen don't always get to their female counterparts to fertilise the fruit. Luckily, the trees usually flower for up to a month, so don’t panic if you can’t find type A and Type B. Just one Type will be enough to get fruit. If you plan on feeding the neighbourhood getting Type A and Type B might be a good idea. Wutrz are a Type A and Fuerte are classed as a Type B both grow fantastic in Ipswich region.

When growing either of these trees make sure it’s in a full sun position, well draining soil and protected from frosts. We recommend using good quality garden mix like Searles Garden Mix or excellent quality potting mix like Searles Platinum mix.

The trees should be fertilized every three months with a good quality organic slow release complete fertiliser like Organic Link.  A liquid fertilizer, like Triple Boost should be applied fortnightly through the growing season. A good liquid trace element mix like Bio-Trace should be given about twice a year. Plant health is very important for best fruiting results.

Avocado – Wurtz

Wurtz Avocado is a gorgeous small tree perfect for pots or small gardens. It naturally small and only grows to around 3m. While it may be small in statue it still produces a consistent, heavy crop of beautiful fruit! It has pear-shaped fruit with dark green skin and can fruit from August till October.

Wurtz are classed as a Type A pollinator so would be beneficial to plant a Type B Avocado.

Get your mini orchard going in your backyard today.

Avocado - Fuerte

Fuerte is marginally oily with a rich, creamy flavour with notes of hazelnuts and is often hailed as the tastiest of all avocados. This B-Type avocado not only improves the pollination of A-Type varieties such as ‘Hass’ and ‘Wurtz’, but it also produces delicious pear-shaped fruit of its own from winter into spring. It has easy to peel fruit that crops better every second year. One of the best cold tolerant avocardos.

Fun Fact : The Fuerte avocado got it’s name as it was the only variety to survive the great freeze of 1913 in Los Angeles, California. Fuerte, means “strong” in Spanish. This avocado cultivar built the Californian avocado industry until the 1930s when Hass took over as it had a thicker skin (not better tasting) and therefore could be transported better.

Pomegranate

Ever heard of the term Superfood?

Pomegranate. A superfood and one of the most decorative fruit trees

The Macmillan Dictionary defines 'superfood' as a food that is considered to be very good for your health and that may even help some medical conditions. The Oxford Dictionary definition states a superfood is “a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being”.

In recent times the term Superfood believed to be a bit of a marketing term used to describe foods with supposed health benefits.

Whether you believe the hype, there are some foods out there that are extremely nutritious. Pomegranate's are one such food.

Since pomegrantes have been declared a Superfood they become highly sought after. There are a wide variety of health benefits associated with eating pomegranates. Some of the benefits are

1. helping to prevent heart disease, reduces strokes, and maintains good cholesterol levels.

2. Regular intake of pomegranate seeds helps fight gum disease reduces plaque, which means the seeds are a natural way to keep your teeth clean and white! Enjoy eating the seeds with benefits of having an amazing smile and pearly white teeth!

3. Pomegranate Seeds are considered a great source of iron.

4. Last but not least, pomegranate seeds are believed to be a natural anti-aging source and are widely used throughout the world. Keep yourself looking younger and healthier naturally.

But what do Pomegranates taste like?

They are a flavour like no other as you get a taste, aroma and mouth feel sensation.  They are sweet and yet a little tart to taste. The aroma evolves from various  'woody', 'earthy', 'fruity', 'floral', 'sweet' and 'musty' notes and the mouth feel sensation comes from the seed hardness compared with the flesh softness. An amazing little fruit.

So this little Superfood sure packs a punch but do I really want to grow it?

Yes.

Pomegrantes are one of the most highly decorative fruit trees I have come across. The plants produce tangerine, orange, crinkly 8-petalled flowers from late spring to late summer. These are followed by the most extraordinary coloured and shaped fruit which appear like a shiny crown. These wonderful fruit start small and grow to the size of a tennis ball.

A Fruit tree perfect for pots

Pomegranate ‘Wonderful’ suits it name perfectly. This variety of pomegranate has become the world standard, noted for its rich red colour and piquant flavour. 'Wonderful' can be eaten as fresh fruit or juiced and has become popular as its seeds are less woody than others. Due to its amazingly beautiful flowers and fruit most people would think its an ornamental shrub.

This is this tough Mediterranean plant that is drought tolerant and prefers free draining soil. Pomegranates grow well in areas with cold winters and hot, dry summers. Ipswich can sometimes have wet summers so make sure your Pomegranate can stay high and dry. Pomegranates are very versatile and can also tolerate coastal conditions and frost. Water during fruiting to improve quality and fruit set. Plants are self-fertile but you get more fruit with friends. Fruiting season is usually February to March and in cooler areas can be decdious.

They can get to around 4m high so an open position is best. Trimming is acceptable and they prefer gardens over pots. when planting in the garden I did the hole twice as big as the pot and back fill with Searles' Garden Mix.

Pomegranates should be fertilized every three months, plant health is very important for best fruiting results. We use a good quality organic complete fertiliser like Organic Link.  A liquid fertilizer, like Triple Boost should be applied fortnightly through the growing season. A good liquid trace element mix like Bio-Trace should be given about twice a year. It is recommended to tip prune them in July.

Now, have yourself a delicious cup of pomegranate seeds, snack away without feeling guilty!

Want another great Superfood to grow at home? Why not try Blueberries.

Blueberry

Hands up who has tried to grow a blueberry before?

Ok, now hands up who grew one successfully?

I know I have tried and failed. Not failed as in to death do us part. Failed as in I got sick of looking at a stick that had three blueberries on it!

I persevered. I can now give you some great growing tips on how I got mine to look so good.

Blueberries like a position that receives full sun most of the day but if you live in Ipswich, like me, and temperatures in Summer can reach over 40C, it is recommended that plants should get a little afternoon shade.

I have found growing my Blueberries in pots is a lot easier than the ground. They are an acidic loving plant and I find my local soil just isn't good enough.

I always use excellent quality potting mix, like Searles Platinum Potting Mix but add some (about a cup or two) course bark (10mm-25mm in size), usually just the Searles Orchid Bark is fine, to provide an open potting mix for root development. Blueberries produce masses of fine roots which mat together. Without an open potting mix all Blueberry varieties will only have a life of around 2-3 years in pots. This mix will extend the plants life well beyond this. Mulching the top of the pot is imperative to minimise drying out. Blueberries hate wet feet but fruit will taste bitter if they dry out too much. Mulch seems to help with both these problems.

Your Blueberry should be fertilized every three months with a good quality organic slow release complete fertiliser like Organic Link.  A liquid fertilizer, like Triple Boost should be applied to the foliage fortnightly through the growing season. A good liquid trace element mix like Bio-Trace should be given about twice a year. Plant health is very important for best fruiting results.

I have grown a number of different Blueberries in the past. My current favourites are Blueberry Burst, Sunshine Blue and Gulf Coast.

BlueBerry Burst

Saying I'm excited about BlueBerry Burst would be an understatement. This Australian bred, naturally dwarfing evergreen blueberry (1m high and 75cm wide) is said to grow and fruit WELL anywhere in Australia.

Blueberry ‘Burst’ has been successfully trialled in both hot and cold environments throughout Australia and humid and dry areas too.

I have been successfully growing mine in a large pot in Ipswich for years and my friends grow theirs at Mt Marrow. Both have suffered through hot, humid summers, cold wet winters as well as hot dry summers, cold dry winters.

It has exceptionally large fruit and a very high yield and it still tastes amazingly sweet kind of like, you know a blueberry!

For those of you living in a warmer climate fruiting should start in July and those in a cooler climate around late august. Fruiting concludes within 3-4 months.

Sunshine Blue Blueberry

Sunshine Blue has it all. This semi-dwarf, versatile shrub features showy hot pink flowers that fade to white in spring, with delicious, sweet blue fruit during summer.

A wonderful shrub that is easily grown, producing abundant amounts of fruit for eating or use in pies and sauces.

Sunshine Blue tolerates higher pH soils better than many other blueberries and it is self-fertile.

It is a Southern Highbush with the low chilling requirement of 150 hours making it suitable for the subtropics, but is also surprisingly cold-hardy and a wonderful addition to patios and gardens in cooler areas.

Flowers October to November

Gulf Coast

Gulf Coast Blueberry is an exceptional hardy Blueberry, perfectly suited to the subtropics.

It has excellent flavour, firmness and good picking scar. A vigorous upright bush with moderate toughness and good tolerance to root rot.

It has a late fruiting season October, November, December.

While Blueberries are self pollinating they always produce better and more abundantly if they are surrounded by friends!