My Garden

I went a bit 'snap happy' yesterday with my camera and this compilation is the result! We have had a very wet start to summer this year, and as a result everything is green and lush all be it a bit delayed compared to last year. Our Feijoa trees are loaded with flowers - if you haven't tried the fruit its unlike anything else! Artichokes produce the most stunning flowers (I am not keen on eating the centres, or hearts) but grow the plants because of the structural elements they add to a garden. That, and the bees just love them....

The Mountain Peppers are covered in berries which we collect, dry and store for use in casseroles, stews, or anything that requires a kick of hot peppery flavour. I have a number of fig trees which thrive on neglect and produce a bountiful crop each year regardless of the lack of attention they receive. Fresh from the tree is always best.....

Our corn crop failed to germinate the first time I planted out seed as we had some late frosts; the second planting faired much better and we are anticipating lots of juicy corn cobs in late summer....

Organic Tasmanian Garlic is now available!

This delicious certified garlic is easy to grow - just separate the bulbs into individual cloves before planting, or eat it fresh now! Drizzle whole bulbs in olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper and roast for an hour or so - serve with any roast meat or enjoy the soft, sweet cloves squeezed onto thickly cut bread slices....

Go to our website to order - www.fourseasonsherbs.com.au

Xmas Special Offer:
We would like to show our appreciation to our valued customers for their support over the past year by offering a 20% discount across our entire product range. Valid until the end of January 2011.


Organic Garlic



Garlic packs will be available from mid- december onwards (until sold out). Choose from 3 or 6 bulb packs or if you are a serious garlic lover, try our new 1kg pack. Please email us if you would like to pre-order.


We wish you a merry christmas and a relaxing new year; keep safe and enjoy your holidays (preferably in the garden!)


As always, if you have any enquiries we would love to hear from you.
Email us at


sales@fourseasonsherbs.com.au

or visit our website at;

www.fourseasonsherbs.com.au



Or leave a comment on our blog at


www.fourseasonsherbs.blogspot.com


Happy Gardening!


Tara Springer

What a busy month we have had!

I haven't had time to update the blog lately (excuses, excuses!) but we have had quite a number of shows, events, festivals and markets to attend recently.. Our winter break ended with a bang when we threw ourselves into spring sales by attending the Tulip Festival in beautiful Wynyard. The tulips were a sight to see - colour everywhere. Next was the Deviot Gourmet Market during which we meet all our local customers on the bank of the glorious Tamar River. Followed by our attendance at the Tasmanian Craft fair - Specialist Plant Nursery section. This great annual event runs over the November long weekend and show cases over a dozen plant specialists including Bonnie Banks Iris's, Fushia Fantasy, Misty Downs Nursery, Cloverlea and Topiary Nursery, Fernmania, Gatenby's Nursery, Jubilee Nursery, Tazwild Plants, Clematis Cottage and Woodbridge Nursery....oh, and of course Four Seasons Herbs :)

It didn't end there; November was just as busy as we exhibited all weekend at Gardenfest in the beautiful grounds of Entally House with over 30 other nursery and garden specialists. Last weekend we attended Clarence Point Gourmet market on the banks of the Tamar River and watched sail boats casually drift by as we chatted with locals and tourists alike. This weekend we are going to try a new market called the Lilydale Village Market - apparently their wood fired pizzas are to die for ..... So, I hope this list of events excuses me from being so slack about updating my blog...I will try harder next time...

Spring is definately here!

Spring is definately here! My daughter, Jess planted up this pot a few months ago and doesn't it look fantastic! It brightens up our entire sunroom, and the scent from the Hyacinths are just beautiful....

Jess is now inspired to plant out every empty pot she can lay her hands on...

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with herbs, but it is so pretty.

French Tarragon is an anise-flavoured (licorice) herb with long narrow, pointed leaves. Use French tarragon rather than russian for best flavour. Culinary uses include Bernaise Sauce for steak or eggs Benedict; tarragon butter that can be used over green beans, asparagus, peas, carrots; in salads or salad dressings, in mayonnaise to serve with cold seafood or fish; with eggs, chicken, beef, pork, lamb. It is also one of the herbs in "fines herbes" mixture, along with chervil, chives and parsley in equal amounts. Make tarragon vinegar by infusing white wine vinegar with fresh tarragon; place in cool, dark place for 2 weeks, then remove leaves.

This plant requires a position with sun, although prefers a little afternoon shade. Keep well watered in summer. In Autumn it will begin to die down and begin its winter dormancy. Completely normal, it will re-shoot the following spring.

How to make a Kitchen Herb Garden

Herbs are pretty easy to grow, and given their popularity these days its easy to see why more and more people are making the effort to establish a small 'herb garden'. And why not? Herbs pay triple dividends in good looks, good flavours, and good scents. Thats aside from the benefits they bring in terms of the health of your garden - many strongly scented herbs deter unwanted pest insects such as mosquitoes, flies and ants to name a few.....

The simplicity of freshly chopped chives sprinkled over an omelete or soup; the Mediterranean charms of fresh rosemary, oregano, and thyme; the delicious aroma of lemon verbena or lemon balm – all make it difficult not to get enthusiastic about herbs. And these rewards don't have to be limited to the summer garden. Even just a few pots indoors can supply you with wonderful flavours and herbal scents through out the rest of the year.

So where do you start? Why not begin with the basics; these are herbs notable for their consistent, compact growth habit and strong flavour. All grow well in pots or containers, and can be strategically placed close to the kitchen in a sunny outdoor area.

CHIVES (Allium schoenoprasum): Strong flavor and thick, dark green leaves. Grows pretty much all year round to about 30cm tall. Try sprinkling snipped leaves over any egg dish, on top of soup, pasta, in fact any savoury dish you can think of!

DILL Bouquet (Anethum graveolens): Dwarf form of dill only 40-50cm tall. Perfect partner to any fish dish.

'ENGLISH' MINT (Mentha viridis): Perhaps the best-behaved mint variety (not as invasive as others, and the leaves are broader and deeper green). Excellent for cooking, mint sauce, and tea. Easy to propagate from cuttings.
'Greek' BASIL (Ocimum basilicum minimum): Dense, compact form of basil, 30cm tall. Good flavour. Tiny leaves are strongly flavoured and excellent snipped as a garnish. The more often it is picked, the bushier it will grow!
GREEK OREGANO (Origanum vulgare hirtum): The true oregano for Mediterranean cooking, with excellent flavor and white flowers. Greek oregano grows well in pots, tending to spread rather than grow tall.
VIETNAMESE Mint/Coriander (Polygonum odoratum): Not true coriander or a true mint, but a good substitute. Regrows after cutting, unlike true coriander, which must be reseeded after harvest. This herb has a strong coriander flavour with a hot, spicyness too. Used in asian Laska's and curries.
ROSEMARY (Rosmarinus officinalis):Flowers freely and has excellent flavor. Propagated by cuttings only. What roast would be complete without a few sprigs of rosemary?

GARDEN SAGE (Salvia officinalis): Grey/green leaves and a compact habit if trimmed regularly, growing to 1 metre high. Same sage flavor. Toss a few sage leaves in hot butter and pour over fresh pasta.....

ITALIAN PARSLEY (Petroselenium sp) Everybody needs parsley in their complement of culinary herbs! Used as a garnish, or to add a subtle flavour to cooked savoury dishes, it has a high level of iron and vitamin C.

Soil, fertilizer, and water. After light, proper soil is the next most important factor in producing healthy herb plants. With few exceptions, herbs require excellent drainage, especially during the winter months, when transpiration rates are lowest (that's the rate at which plants release water from their leaves to the atmosphere). When roots are confined in a pot or planter, water and air cannot move easily. To improve drainage without sacrificing nutrients, add sharp sand or perlite to a good sterilized compost-based mix. Most herbs do well in soils of pH 6 to 7.

Many people incorrectly think that herbs grow better in poor soil. Wrong! Flavors are stronger when culinary herbs grow outdoors in gardens. But in the confines of a pot, supplementary feedings with liquid fertilizer or organic fish emulsion are necessary. Feed herbs once a week when plants are actively growing, but not when dormant.

Watering is not a trivial matter with herbs. In general, water less often and more thoroughly, and only when the soil is actually dry. When the soil is dry to the touch, add water until it comes out the bottom of the pot. If the water doesn't come out, pots have a drainage problem. First, check that the holes aren't blocked; if not, you may have to repot with soil that has better drainage.

Pests and Diseases
Herbs are susceptible to common pests, including whiteflies, spider mites, aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, and thrips. Inspect herbs regularly. If your herbs are in portable containers, control pests by dipping the whole aboveground part of the plant into insecticidal soap. Swish vigorously for a minute or two to wet all leaf surfaces (hold your hand over the pot to prevent soil loss). Dipping once or twice a week for three to four weeks will clear up most problems. Pyrethrum spray is an easy and low toxicity method of killing pests. Make your own, or buy a pre-made spray pack.

Winter Chill!

Even though the mild weather has deserted us, now is great time to get into the garden. We cleared out the old summer vegetable beds, added some old manure and raked it smooth - ready for planting! The tomato bushes had more or less melted during the last frost, so they were easy to lift out, as were the chillies and capsicums. Old corn plants are a little more difficult as their roots were quite deep! The old stalks are drying out now, awaiting the mulcher, only to be added back onto the vegie garden at some stage.

We have planted Spring Onions, French Shallots, Red Chantenay Carrots, more Asparagus crowns (yum!) Tatsoi, French Sorell, Rhubarb, Garlic bulbs, Artichokes (Purple and Green varieties) and a bush Pea .

This weekend, I plan to extend the vegetable plantings by including a patch of red onion, mustard greens, spinach (english) and some more bush peas (trying to stagger the planting so we don't end up with a feast or a famine!) I should also put in some broad beans but I haven't got past my intense childhood dislike of this particular vegetable so.....I will leave that one out!

White Fly problem

White flies in the greenhouse are sucking my plants dry!!!! Does anyone have a solution to remove these little pests? I have tried white oil, pyrethrum spray, manually removing them and squashing them....They just keep coming back! I can't blame them I suppose - the greenhouse is very comfortably set up for a white fly family. Its warm, humid, food and moisture on tap - heaven to the little blighters! Growing organically is hard...........luckily the end result is worth it :)

On a brighter note; we have some new products available on the website -

www.fourseasonsherbs.com.au

The colder weather is definitely upon us so we have some special offers to entice you into the garden again!

Seed Potatoes – Why not try our new 2kg mixed pack containing a few of every variety we stock, or if you prefer select your own 500gm of individual varieties. Currently we have Royal Blue, Dutch Cream, Nicola, Spunta, Mozart, Marilyn, Laurene, Sifra and Symfonia. See our website for further details (http://www.fourseasonsherbs.com.au/)

Wasabi – we have a limited number of plants still available, and more coming on ready for mid winter. Guaranteed to warm up your next meal!

Winter Salad Greens – Tatsoi – a dark green, slightly ruffled leaf, with a sweet flavour – no hint of bitterness and tolerant of cold conditions. French Sorrel – large, light green leaves which add a lemony zing to a winter salad. Alternatively, use the larger leaves in a stir fry for a warming meal. Warrigal Greens (New Zealand Spinach) – a spreading perennial, with fleshy dark green leaves perfect for sauté or stir fry. Hardy to all but the heaviest of frost.

Edible Flowers – Calendula – pretty orange/red or yellow flowers grow through the depths of winter to provide a delicate show of flowers for use in salads. Also beneficial in the vegetable garden. Borage – White or Blue – Grows strongly through winter to provide a welcome burst of colour (either white or blue flowered variety) whole plant can be eaten from the flowers to the leaves.

Garlic – Packs of 6 plants $20 ready to plant out into your garden, or into a larger pot – easy! Gift Packaged Garlic Packs 150gms (approx. 30 cloves) $9.00. New line sourced from a grower in Hagley, Tasmania. Beautifully presented packs make perfect gifts for the avid gardener.

Seed Potatoes

We had a very successful week out at Agfest but I am so glad it's over! The weather was much better than we expected, although our gazebo nearly blew away at one stage.... We managed to sell a large volume of plants, seeds, seed potatoes and saffron. Sold out of saffron in fact!
This month we have a new range of seed potatoes online. Potatoes for baking, roasting, frying, boiling, salads or mashed. We also have a mixed pack available so why not try a pack and decied for yourself which is your favourite spud!

Grow your own Wasabi Plants!

May Newsletter

New Products Available Now:

Tasmanian Purple Organic Garlic

250gm Pack of loose cloves - large, fat and healthy - perfect for growing your own crop, or use some in your next culinary masterpiece!

Wasabi Plants - We have a limited number of plants available now until sold out. The taste of freshly prepared wasabi paste is amazing! Growing instructions are included with each plant.

Saffron Plants - Available as plants in packs of 3, 10 and 20. Each corm is planted into a 50mm pot, and are rapidly growing leaves and developing flowers at this time of year. Be quick and you will be harvesting your own Saffron threads before you know it!

Seed Potatoes will be available within the next 2 weeks. From tomorrow Nicola, Dutch Cream and Tasmanian Pinkeye Potatoes will be available.

Happy Gardening!

Tara Springer

http://www.fourseasonsherbs.com.au/

Saffron Harvest!

This year I am growing (and selling on the website!) Saffron Corms. They are beginning to flower now, so I am harvesting the stamens which are then dried and used in many exotic culinary delights.

I was so excited to notice the pretty little lilac coloured flowers yesterday, as they seemed to appear from no where. Today, there were more of them so I took my trusty tweezers outside and carefully picked the bright red stamens ready for drying. The strength of the scent from the threads is so strong for something so tiny and fragile. I am really keen to find a special recipe in which to try to do them justice!......

Aside from harvesting Saffron, we have been very busy preparing for Agfest which is next week already! Our plants are ready, signage and advertising is under control, gazebos have been ordered....bring it on!

Rhubarb is a favourite perennial plant of mine; and we have a few huge clumps in the garden which we use often for rhubarb pies, crumbles and bakes. Last week, the kids were harvesting a few stalks for a crumble dessert when they noticed a little green friend. This is, I think, a Green and Gold Frog which are endangered in Tasmania. We are so lucky to have it live in our garden, and it shows how healthy and artificial chemical free our vegie patch must be!

Preparing for Agfest!

This May we are exhibiting at Agfest; Tasmania's biggest Agricultural Show. It is huge. Over 70000 people attend over 3 days. Most tend to wear the accepted Akubras, Stockmans coats, Blundstone boots and in some cases, gumboots. I intend to wrap myself in many, many layers of clothing because typically, the weather decides to turn nasty the very week of Agfest - and I will turn a nasty shade of blue depending on the temperature and wind chill factor......



Over the past 3 months, Matthew and I have been busy propagating huge volumes of plants in the hope that we may sell out over those 3 days.....not likely, but I am forever hopeful! In any case, we have to ensure we have enough stock to supply the website sales!

Anyone interested in this event can check it out at www.agfest.com.au. It really is worth a visit as it showcases some of the brilliant producers and small business owners Tassie has available.

I have resolved to 'blog' more often. The last time I posted anything was back in January; thats no way to run a blog is it! So, here is my latest edition - our fortnightly newsletter from our website at http://www.fourseasonsherbs.com.au/.

Here tis!

April Newsletter and Product Update

Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter, we hope you are enjoying the milder conditions of Autumn as we are in Tasmania!

Autumn is a fantastic time to establish a whole range of edible plants in the garden. Hardy perennials such as Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Chives, Sweet Marjoram, Horseradish and French Sorrel will establish healthy well developed root systems before the chill of winter sets in and provide plenty of clippings to complement those hearty winter dishes!

Garlic (organically grown and sourced from Tassie of course!) is a great winter crop for the cooler regions - plant now to enjoy your own cloves by Christmas time. See our website for further planting details.
Saffron corms are available until the end of this month, then they will be available as potted corms (plants) for the remainder of the year (until sold out). We have planted some out already, and they are beginning to send up green strappy leaves and tiny flowers are starting to emerge from which we extract the stamens, or saffron threads.

Herb Collections are a fantastic and economical way to start or extend a herb garden with a theme! Try our new Thyme Collection, or the aptly named Winter Collection. Maybe a Complete Herb Tea Collection is more your cup of tea! Or the Mediterranean Collection for those is sunny, dry places. What ever you prefer, hopefully we have it covered in the Collections!

Gourmet Vegetables are just waiting to be planted out now - these include Asparagus plants (12 months old), Artichokes, Horseradish (try grating a small piece of root, mix with cream and a teaspoon of sugar, salt to taste and use a condiment to Roast Beef - you will never go back to the shop bought stuff again!!), Warrigal Greens (New Zealand Spinach) and French Sorrel are delicious lightly stir fried and tossed with olive oil, lemon juice and black pepper. Home grown is best!!!

Edible Produce plants are available year round however quantities vary we may run out of stock occasionally. Presently we have Fig trees ready to go (Brown Turkey variety which produces two crops a year and are absolutely delicious!), Chilean Guava - covered in tiny sweet red berries, Yellow Cherry Guava and Strawberry Cherry Guava, Rhubarb (Victoria and Crimson varieties - both good in crumble!), Alpine strawberries, Elderflower and Cape Gooseberries. Why not start or extend your mini orchards to include some of these productive plants?

New Herb Seed from our own gardens! We have been busy collecting hard to find seed from our own herb plants and have extended our herb seed range accordingly. These include Evening Primrose, Feverfew 'White Pom Pom', Winter Savory, Pink Winter Savory, Red Yarrow, Catmint, Catnip, Valerian, Tansy, Herb Robert, Borage White Flowering, Roman Chamomile, Feverfew and Sweet Annie seed. These varieties can be found on our website under the Companion Plants and Seeds Category.

New products are being listed all the time on our website - it keeps it interesting! Please check back often, and drop us a line if you have any queries or requests.

Happy Gardening!

Tara Springer

www.fourseasonsherbs.com.au

Hot Hot Hot!

Well today was sooo hot! Had to water the plants very early this morning and will need to do so even earlier tomorrow! The greenhouse (covered with shade cloth in Summer) still gets to about 40-45 C during the day, but the seedlings are loving it. Most come up within days of being propagated, and seedlings are striking within a week. We have just found out the our application to Agfest (Statewide agricultural show) has been accepted so our propagation requirements have been increased 10 fold!