An indigenous language

You can rely on wombats. Not to leave your carnations alone (wombats love carnation buds. I stewed some in a sugar syrup and realised why - they have a rich, almost mulled wine, spicy flavour) or to work out how to get their heads out of a plastic bucket (which just happens to be about the same diameter as Bruiser wombat's shoulders).

But wombats know the weather. Our local wombats i nformed us via an ent husiastic mating season that last summer was going to be okay. The black wattles, indigophera and black-tailed wallabies agreed - few seeds set on the wattle, no pinky-red tide of indigophera blossom along the hill in spring and every female wallaby had a joey at heel as well as in the pouch.

But wombats - and wallabies and wattle and indigophera - only care about their own small patch. We had a gentle summer here at this end of the valley - only ten days like the backblocks of hell with temperatures just over 50ºC. There was still plenty of grass, which is all that really mattered to the wombats, not to mention fallen apples and pears and avocadoes. The fact that the world just over the ridges was brown didn't matter to them.

Australia is only one country politically, and even that is recent. It was over 400 nations just a few hundreds years ago, each with its own law and lore, and it is many thousands of nations ecologically - according to its wildlife - and its bushfires.

We are not one country to a wombat or a bushfire. We are many. Any 'one size fits all' solution is going to be too simplified to be accurate. In some cases it may be deadly.

We need more words for 'bush'... or maybe just to educate people how to use 'wet sclerophyll' in everyday conversation, to know that Eucalyptus regnans forests (which need an intensely hot fire to germinate their seeds) vary from Eucryphia mooreii forests, where you're unlikely to have a crown fire that consumes everything in its path.

For that matter perhaps we need to have more words for 'fire' too, just as there are supposed to be a vast number of words for 'snow' for those whose ancestors have long lived with it. We'd have 'fire that creeps through the bush with a damp southerly behind it', 'fire which explodes from tree to tree' and 'breath of hell fire that will burn anything, till the ground is fused black behind it.' Control burning won't affect a fire like that - but it may slow down fires at other times, or in other 'countries' ... though I'd declare the area 'open' for a couple of months before any planned burn, so that the bark, tussock and other material could be harvested.

What we really need is a government that spends more brain time creating visions of what our country can be, instead of finding creative ways to say 'it isn't our fault.'

Dream on.

Winter planting

We are also many nations when it comes to gardens. It's taken me decades to learn what survives here, and which plants will keep reseeding themselves from year to year.

I've only realised lately that as the dry years have passed I've changed the times I plant things. I used to put in seeds all through summer. These days with no summer water at all for vegies or fruit except the little that falls from the sky, I plant fast growers in spring and autumn. But more and more I'm relying on perennial veg instead.

Perennials of any sort have big roots, so they can 'live on their hump' like camels. They can wither in heatwaves and shoot when it rains. And if you have a bad year - family illness, or just too pooped to plant - they'll still be there.

There is enormous security in knowing that even if you don't do any planting at all, you can still wander out and pick baskets full of perennial bell peppers or chillies, zucchini-like day-old chilcayotes, perennial leeks or 'five year' or 'runner' beans...

All of this means that winter is now one of my main planting times, not just the season to bung in the onions. It's also the season to mulch - not because it's best to mulch now, but because you won't get heat stroke, the new weeds won't get a toe hold in bare earth come spring, and the old weeds won't have a chance to seed.

Perennials to plant now

As I said - we're many nations. Choose the ones that suit your climate and your appetite.

Cassava
For frost-free areas, as long as you know how to use it, as it can kill you. Ditto taro. Taro is perennial in hot climates, annual in cooler ones and takes between six and twelve months to mature, depending on climate. If you have sunny moist ground you can get a crop as far south as Sydney or even Tasmania if you start your plants in a tub indoors.

The real necessity is moist soil, at least five hot months and preferably seven or eight frost-free months. Plant sets or corms, about 30 cm apart. Harvest when the leaves yellow in late autumn - or when frost is about to hit. Keep corms for next year. I've only ever had the fat tubers baked. They were superb. There are hundreds of other ways to use it, but I haven't tried them.

Lab Lab Beans and Pigeon Peas
For frost-free areas too, unless you grow them as an annual, and it isn't worth the hassle. Lab Lab beans must be cooked - they are poisonous raw. (All beans need to be cooked; some are more dangerous than others.) The leaves can be cooked like silver beet, the beans eaten like green beans and the seed dried for use like split peas. Pigeon Peas are drought-resistant and will tolerate some light frost. Prune them lightly every year after picking, to encourage new growth.

Arrowroot
Plant the tuber of either common or native Queensland arrowroot, Canna edulis. Good in dappled shade. Eat the young roots as a baked veg or grate the root, soak and drain off the liquid and dry the flour for 'arrowroot flour' for thickening stews and soups or making puddings.

Artichokes
These are a tough form of thistle. Sow artichoke seed in spring, or plant the suckers in winter. Eat the young flower heads in spring. After the first big heads have formed, little ones follow. Eat them all. The plants multiply every year. The more you feed and water them, the more you get; but they'll crop even under extreme neglect.

Bamboo
Eat the shoots in spring. Slice them into boiling water and leave for ten minutes or until they are no longer bitter. Warning: this bamboo MUST be grown with metre-deep root barriers or in a big pot or it will take over your garden.

continued...

Basil, perennial
There are several varieties. I love Thai or Sacred basil, and Greek basil, fragrant and great in cooking though their flavour is different from common sweet basil.

Bell pepper

The Bell pepper, shown here in Jackie's garden, is a perennial
small capsicum, but mild, sweet and bell-shaped.

Bell pepper
A perennial small capsicum, but mild, sweet and bellshaped. Must be sheltered from frost, but survives here.

Cardoon
Like a more vigorous artichoke, but you eat the young leaf stems steamed like asparagus. Sweet in winter and spring; bitter in hot weather.

Jackie also talks about Jerusalem artichokes, oca or oka, spring onions, shallots, sweet potato, warrigal spinach, Russian garlic, sagittaria or duck potatoes, water chestnuts and yacon in this section.

Perennials for spring planting

Perennial or runner beans, possibly so-named because they run up trellises. These are climbers, and the beans become tough when over mature. There are at least five varieties in Australia. Either pick them tiny to use as green beans, or let them hang on the trellis till the seeds are dry - great cooked in winter. They don't bear well in hot weather unless the vines are semi-shaded. Mulch the roots well, as they get bigger every year and can rot in winter or wet weather once they are exposed to the air.

Amaranth
Grown for leaves and grain, either as reseeding annual or perennial. Birds love them, incredibly drought-, heat- and cold-hardy.

Asparagus
Seedlings are MUCH more vigorous than 'crowns' that have had their roots damaged and dried before they get to you.

Chicory, Italian red-stemmed
This is one of our staples, eaten young in salads or stir fries. Cut off the flower heads to encourage new leaves.

Chilli, perennial
These are usually 'lipstick' chillies, but there are others. They all need to be protected from frost.

Chilacayote melon
A perennial melon or zucchini; one vine can grow up a tenmetre fruit tree. They crop in autumn, die down in frost and drought but will return. Eat the day-old ones like zucchini, the older melons chopped in fruit salad or stir fries. They are tasteless but absorb other flavours superbly and the texture is great.

Chives
These clumps are a reliable stand-by. We add them to almost anything from omelettes to salads and stews, or scattered on meat, potatoes or carrots. Sow seed in spring or summer, or divide a clump. They die down in winter. Siberian chives are hardier if you can get hold of them.

Choko

The choko, seen here also growing in Jackie’s garden, is hardy down to about –5ºC in a sheltered spot. Photo: Jackie French.

Chokos
Hardy only to about -5ºC in a sheltered spot. Plant a whole sprouting choko.

Corn Salad
Also called Lamb's Lettuce, this is a perennial green, but is often grown as an annual because the leaves turn bitter in hot weather. Make sure you only pick new leaves in the heat. Though Corn Salad is hardy and drought-tolerant, the leaves are more succulent if the plant is well treated. Sow the seed in spring; feed and water well.

Jackie goes on to discuss dandelions, French sorrel, garlic chives, native ginger and perennial leeks in this section.

P.P.S. The pic of me on the last cover was taken with a flash, which disguised the wrinkles. I only look like that in a very good light.

So go get the magazine!

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