The Incredible Edibles Range
Many garden stores (as well as hardware stores like Bunnings which have garden sections) now sell the Incredible Edibles range of fruiting plants, and there are so many delicious-sounding things I would love to try!
Here are some that I have seen for sale:
- Chilean guava (a.k.a. NZ cranberry)
- Coffee
- Guava
- Japanese raisin
- Mountain pawpaw
- Mulberry
- Orangeberry
- Pepino
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| Orangeberry plants next to a sign with precautions because of the Queensland fruit fly. |
Unusual Citrus Fruit
Apart from the lemons and limes, there were some interesting citrus varieties for sale. I was particularly intrigued by the finger limes and limequats.
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| Finger lime plants. |
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| Limequat espallier. |
Asian Herbs and Vegetables
Asian ingredients are widely available these days, but if you want to grow your own, you can do that too! Growing herbs (Asian or otherwise) is always a good idea because you only need a little bit, and they are so expensive if you buy them when you need them.
Here are some Asian herbs and vegetables I came across at the garden centre:
- Lemongrass
- Vietnamese mint
- Curry tree
- Snake bean
- Edible chrysanthemum ("tong ho" in Chinese)
- Peanut
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| Edible crysanthemum. |
"Superfoods" and Medicinal Plants
If you are after plants with supposed health benefits, you are also in the right place. For example, you could grow your own:
- Chia
- Goji berry
- Gotu kola
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| Chia seedlings, amongst other plants. |
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| Gotu kola and goji berry plants. |
I don't have a big enough garden, or enough time and experience to grow these things, but it's good to know the option is there!
That's the garden centre I go to. I don't buy many plants for myself, but I do buy plants as gifts for others. I never considered that they were in the fruit fly zone. That must put a real damper on their fruit tree sales. I bought my sister blueberry bushes and a lemon tree for Christmas last year. Couldn't do that now!
ReplyDeleteI'm not so good with growing things so anything that says "easy grow" or "hardy" appeals :)
You can still buy fruit trees/bushes, as long as any fruit are removed (if you intend to take the plant outside the zone). Most of the plants for sale hadn't got to the point where they were producing fruit yet, so it wouldn't make much difference.
DeleteI'm not much of a gardener either - I just leave the plants to get on with growing by themselves. I have found that herbs do much better if you regularly trim some away though.
Dear nom nom,
ReplyDeleteI have a challenge should you choose to accept it. (well two challenges really).
I want to be able to buy finger limes and Rambutan all the time and I live on the north shore. I also want to know where I can buy produce at wholesale prices.
Good luck with this mission should you choose to accept it!
That's a tall order! I have replied to both of these questions before here and unfortunately don't have any more information. Good luck and do share if you make an exciting discovery!
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