Nothing in the pantry but a bit of pastry, cheese and an over abundance of green leaves in the garden. Here is a simple tart to whip up. Usually we make this with eggs but the girls had a run in with a goshawk recently and all 18 of them are refusing to lay a single egg! Line a baking dish with puff pastry. Sprinkle on a layer of raw edible green leaves from the garden (we have used katuk, Okinawa spinach, sambung and a little betel leaf), sprinkle some grated cheese on and repeat two or three layers. Bake for 20mins in mod oven. For this one we also added a little red onion and some tiny red ..read more

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Black Sapote (Diospyros nigra). This member of the persimmon family is native to Mexico and South America. It is also known as the chocolate pudding fruit and for good reason. A hardy and productive fruit tree for the sub-tropics. It is absolutely delicious when fully (over) ripe, mixed with a drizzle of honey and a dollop of cream. It is also a very hardy tree, growing well with little attention but obviously likes a bit of a water in the dry times to ensure a good crop. When ripe they get very soft, the callax lifts up and the skin becomes easy to poke your finger through. Growing tip: Tha ..read more

Black sapote baked cheesecake. For all those who have requested the recipe, here it is. So simple. In a food processor combine one packet of scotch finger biscuits with enough butter to form the crumb base and press firmly into cake tin. Next combine 3 large black sapotes (seeds removed), 3 free range eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, 500g cream cheese and a splash of vanilla essence. Blitz until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture over crumb base and bake in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes. Enjoy with a dollop of double cream and a sprinkling of Grumichamas ..read more

Given the record-breaking September/October (2023) that Brisbane has experienced this year, it has been interesting to see which fruit trees have handled the dry conditions better than others. Of course the success of your crops will depend on a range of factors, drought hardiness being only one of them, but here on our properties in the Mount Crosby area the stand out performers in the dry conditions have been the native elderberry, wampi, acerola cherry, pineapple, black sapote, peanut butter bushes, miracle fruit, cumquat, macadamia, pink fruited lime berry, finger lime, loquat and with a l ..read more

Our community education booklet is now available to view free online. All copyright is reserved but we wanted to make this as easily accessible to the community as possible. This booklet has been produced in association with Rotary and Food Plant Solutions to raise awareness of the hardy edible perennial plants of South-East Queensland. It includes plant descriptions, growing conditions, photos and uses and is designed to help everyone grow at least some of their own food through careful plant selection ..read more

There is so much information already online regarding composting. The basic concept is to layer carbon rich material (i.e. cardboard, forest mulch and small sticks for example) alternatively with nitrogen rich material (such as manure, green cuttings, coffee grounds). The layer of carbon should be about 3 times as thick as the layer of nitrogen rich material. In other words build the pile up in a ration of 3:1, carbon:nitrogen. Locate the pile in a sunny position. Sprinkle in some garden lime and water with a dilute molasses solution (10:1) to feed the soil microbes. For more instructions look ..read more

A relative of sweet potato, this aquatic plant is the fastest growing leaf crop in the world. It can be grown from cuttings bought from the market. It will even form a mat on the surface if you through some coconut husks into that what with it. It is far more nutritious than lettuce. Often called a weed, it grows so well, a well-managed pond with kang kong is a productive addition to a backyard food system. Kangkong also known as water spinach. This is a delicious alternative to spinach. It grows easily (and vigorously!) with its feet in water. It is best constrained to a water pot or bathtub ..read more