Spices

Diana starts with ...
Hi,

Has anyone grown any of these spices successfully in the subtropics?

aniseed
black cumin/ kalonji/ nigella / onionseed
caraway
cumin
fennel seed
fenugreek/ methi
japanese pepper
sesame seeds
sumac
szechuan pepper
star anise (seems not to be available in Australia)
wasabi


As for the others, these spices will grow easily-

allspice
bay leaf
chilli
coriander seeds
curry leaf
dill seed
galangal (and lesser galangal, krachai)
ginger
garlic
horseradish
lemon grass
mustard
pandan
tamarind
turmeric

These will grow but are hard to process-

cinnamon
vanilla (OK inside in humid microclimate)


As far as I know, these won't grow, or are problematic-

nutmeg- an equatorial tree
pepper- an equatorial vine (would it grow inside in a humid microclimate?)
pine nut- dislikes humidity
poppy seeds- no good for the home gardener!
caper berry- dislikes humidity
cardamom- seed pods hard to grow in non-equatorial regions, leaf OK
cloves- an equatorial tree
juniper berries- cool temperate region plant
saffron- dislikes humidity

Is this right?

Thanks,

Diana

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Diana says...
Thanks very much for that fantastic information, Speedy. That's really good advice about cinnamon and capers. What sort of poppies would you grow for edible/ nice tasting poppy seeds?
I will look out for some Japanese or Szechuan pepper seeds/plants.

Thanks,

Diana.

Brad says...
Apparently nusturtium flower buds can be used like capers. I haven't actually tried it.

Diana says...
Thanks, Speedy.

I have had a look where you can get these from, in case anyone else is interested too. You are right that sumac is not available (although it is in the US).

aniseed (Eden seeds) (All rare herbs)
allspice (Edible landscapes) (All rare herbs)
bay leaf (any nursery)
black cumin/ kalonji/ nigella / onionseed (4 seasons)
caper berry- (Eden seeds) (All rare herbs)
caraway (greenpatch) (Eden seeds) (4 seasons) (All rare herbs)
cardamom- Elettaria cardamomum (greenpatch) (4 seasons) (All rare herbs)
chilli (green harvest) (greenpatch) (herbalistics) (any nursery)
cinnamon- (Daleys) (All rare herbs)
coriander seeds (green harvest)
curry leaf (greenpatch) (4 seasons) (All rare herbs)
cumin (Eden seeds) (4 seasons)
dill seed (green harvest) (Eden seeds) (All rare herbs)
fennel seed (greenpatch) (Eden seeds) (All rare herbs)
fenugreek/ methi (Eden seeds)
galangal (and lesser galangal, krachai) (green harvest) (greenpatch) (All rare herbs)
garlic (green harvest) (greenpatch)
ginger (supermarket)
horseradish (green harvest) (greenpatch) (All rare herbs) (diggers)
japanese pepper (diggers)
jasmine for tea (All rare herbs)
lemon grass (green harvest) (greenpatch)
liquorice (All rare herbs)
marshmallow (All rare herbs)
mustard (green harvest) (greenpatch)
pandan (forbidden fruits) (All rare herbs)
poppy seeds- (supermarket)(Eden seeds- Flanders poppy)
rooibos (herbalistics)
sesame seeds (herbalistics)
society garlic (green harvest) (greenpatch)
sichuan pepper (diggers)
star anise (Daleys)
tamarind (Daleys)
turmeric (green harvest) (greenpatch)
vanilla (paradise nursery) (herbalistics)
pepper (All rare herbs)


PS I would love to see a picture of your garden, speedy! (or several in my edibles)

Jonas P. says...
Hello everybody,
I have:
Syzygium aromaticum (clove). You need to give it a volcanic soil. Since I plant them in this soil,I've very less problems. Tee most important think with clove you have to know..DON'T DISTURB THE ROOTS. They hate to stay roots in water. The tree don't grow very quickly.

Myristica fragrans,nutmeg. When the tree is well growing, don't move it. It can grow relatively quickly! IT like to have enough food. You have to be carrefull with the direct sun exposition.

Peper (Piper nigrum), easy.It like a litle bit acid soil and sand.

Cardamom (Eletaria cardamomum). I brought with me from India and La Réunion a lot of roots, but no one have grown again.

Vanilla, very easy!

I'm ever looking for a tree of Illicium verum, but it's totaly impossible to find one..if someone has any idea, please contact me on my adress: pajoojo(at)hotmail.com

Emarketts says...
We are exporter of spices from Madagascar : vanilla, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, sesame, red pepper, voatsiperifery pepper,...
please feel free to contact us for any further information.

trikus says...
Clove tree that was in flower on a nearby farm a year ago has not given many seeds .
Still not planted mine out yet .
Pepper cuttings , many struck and will make a small post and rail fence section to grow it on , after seeing pics of local Silkwood plantation. Bought a small bag of fresh green peppercorns at recent Feast of the Senses and really enjoyed using it in a few dishes ... adds a zing when added to a thai green curry .
Cinnamon is in flower now and has grown well , several large trees locally.
Still on the lookout for Cardamom .

trikus says...
Brendan & wayne , should be able to get fresh cuttings , do not know how well they would root this time of the year .. have mates with big high vines ..
Are either of you in the Rare Fruit Aus. and going down to Bundy next week ?
Seems a whole bus-load from Mackay are going .. Just had meeting here last weekend , was great to get David Chandlee attending for some advise on Artocarpus and other Borneo rarities.

Linton says...
Wasabi.

Got these Wasabi stems last week. I understand that you just stick them in the pot and they will grow. Best with self watering pot as they like lots of water, or a solid bottom with pebbles in the bottom to hold the water reservoir.

Any further advice will be greatly appreciated as I haven't grown it before. I also know that they don't like hot sun and must be kept in the shade. They would probably do better in the Dandenongs or Kinglake areas than down here near the beach!

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BenW says...
I dunno about that Linton. I killed mine in Kinglake just fine :)

Ummed and ahhed to much looking for the perfect spot and the pot dried out. Also, snails / slugs really seem to go for them.

Markmelb says...
GW - The nursery in Springvale rd - thought that was an easy one - or hve you mail ordered your wasabis from Tassie?

Markmelb says...
Gardenworld had some saffron a couple months ago which would be a novelty to grow but wasabi are a bit too pricey just for fun growing - normal horseradish is just as enjoyable in flavour and alot easier it seems and cheap.Did you pay that much for the bits you got Linton?

Linton says...
Attention Mark - Wasabi is nothing like Horseradish!

Sorry to disagree, but what I have heard from the most serious connoisseurs, is that Horseradish is no substitute for freshly grated Wasabi. The green stuff you can buy in the tube in the supermarket labelled as "Wasabi" is supposedly just Horseradish that has been dyed green and doesn't taste that good either.

Not many people have actually tasted fresh Wasabi as it only holds it flavour for a short time after grating and cannot be stored. I recently tried some with Tasmanian salmon and have to concur with the experts that it was like nothing else and absolutely delicious. Cheers!

(Picture of my plant at home)

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gimme says...
I was excited to see that a cinnamon tree I only planted last year from daleys is going to flower.

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MaryT1 says...
Same, gimme and trikuslaptop1 :) My cinnamon also flowered in the first year but I love the new leaves most of all; they look like orchids.

trikuslaptop1 says...
Looks like lots of seeds setting .

Brain says...
looks very good Linton, what kind of potting mix did you use? And do you water it everyday? I'm keen to find out your secrets as my one died some years back and have been pondering since.

Gabby says...
Oh and on the topic of poppy seeds, my spice notes book says that flanders poppy can be used, but commercially only papaver somniferum is used, yes the opium poppy. You often see them on ebay as "peony poppy" as it is apparently illegal to grow them.

They are very pretty in cottage gardens, come any many colours white, pink, red, purple and ones with combinations of those colours. Some with single flowers and some double, and some with frilly petals.

I don't think they would grow in qld, I think they need cold winters, see http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/packpg/herbs/poppy-breadseed.htm, "blossoms and pods are largest when plants grow in cool weather". But at under $10 on ebay including postage it might be worth trying.

Linton says...
Wasabi in Coolgardie Safe!

If I hang it on a tree the snails can't get it.

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TMary says...
Saw some Allspice at Limberlost nursery in Cairns yesterday and lost my head. Now I am wondering how I can get it back to Sydney on the plane today :).

TMary says...
Wow that is so expensive; mine only cost $12

TMary says...
True; one must pay for services. :)

JohnMc1 says...
Wow, frightfully expensive, I'm not a cook either, what do they do with it? How is it used? Almost $50 delivered, is it worth that much? Are they that rare? Dioecious? tell me more.

JohnMc1 says...
OK, talked me into it, bought the last one.

JohnMc1 says...
Cath's blog from Daley's says it's dioecious. we might have to swap a cutting or two when we find out whether we have M or F.

MaryT1 says...
Brain I was talking to the Saigon pho man Joseph at Rusty's last Friday about the Szechuan pepper; he has the Chinese one but wants the Japanese one! I had one (from Diggers) but it died. It is a lovely plant with fragrant leaves that you can use. Joseph said the Chinese one has thorns and the leaves are not useful.

Linton says...
Attention Brain! Wasabi. Try Zeer Pots!

Wasabi must be kept cool in summer like in an outdoor fridge. It is easy to build a Coolgardie Safe with wire mesh and a solid top and bottom. You need to put a bowl of water on top and drape some hessian into it so that it soaks up the water. The evaporation causes cooling of the inside chamber where you can put the wasabi to grow.

The other thing you can try are Zeer pots, which are simply a smaller porous pot inside a larger one, with damp sand in between. You can try to grow the Wasabi inside it and put a cloth over the top as it works on the same principle of cooling by evaporation. I read that the inside temperature can be 10 degrees lower!

There are many videos on Youtube showing how to make Zeer Pots. The main thing for growing Wasabi is to make a cool microclimate. Cheers!

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vlct says...
Get a job sternus !

Chris says...
Xanax.

vlct says...
You obviously gave me incorrect details..

JohnMc1 says...
My Szechuan pepper appears to be throwing out early buds of some description, I'll keep you posted.

Linton says...
Zeer Pots

Here is a 2 minute video, in a nutshell, how to make a Zeer Pot - Simple!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDSGKB_fDBo

Also this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfKgOpJc7Ps


However I would use larger pots for Wasabi, as large as possible to allow the plant to spread out, and make sure they are porous and not sealed so that evaporation can take place. Cheers!

Thithi says...
I Just ordered a cardamom and wasabi plants. Do they prefer sun or shade? Thanks

sternus1 says...
I have one giant fruited afromomum, hasn't set fruit yet. Like lots of water and can't handle unfiltered light.

sternus1 says...
The fruit of mine look very different to that. They're about the size of dragonfruit, or larger. This one comes from the Congo.

sternus1 says...
Why did you get rid of yours Linton? Was the fruit not worth keeping it? Would have been tough to keep alive in Victoria, slow growing here in the subtropics.

Juie 1 says...
Tithi, I have cardamom growing in a large pot which gets morning sun then filtered sun. It's looking good, but I have no idea if/when I will get anything from it. I'm pretty sure it will take full sun.

ATM it's just an ornamental, but that's OK!

sternus1 says...
I can vouch for this. I've tried twice to grow cardamom (to fruit) and have failed on both counts. Have since replaced with other species.

Diana says...
No worries Julie. Ours is near the front door and it also smells very nice when people brush past.

BenW says...
Diggers has schezuan pepper... I have 2 but I'm not sure if they will fruit. The young leaves are nice with spring veg though.

Thithi says...
On the subject of pepper, I am curious about what is special about schezuan pepper?
I read about Cambodian pepper on the Time once. According to the article, Cambodia pepper has the best desireable taste!!.. and chefs prefer them over other.
I'm no chef and I don't think I have tried schezuan or Cambodian pepper, even if I did, I don't think I could have tasted the difference. Could you?

Brain says...
last I check, diggers sells the japanese pepper, Z. piperitum, which is different to Z. simulans (the Szechwan pepper). Just check the leaves and you should be able to reference it fairly easily.

I think one of the best way to appreciate the Szechwan pepper is to taste it. Try to find a Szechwan hot pot restaurant and order the spicy soup base ... Alternatively, the szechwan pepper spices can be found in most asian groceries shops in the spices section. It has a unique numbing sensation and is quite aromatic.

I goggled the Cambodia pepper (as I have never heard of it before now) and the pictures looks to be a Piper, from looking at the leaves, the vines and the fruit clusters.

Julie 1 says...
So if Szechuan pepper is in the citrus family, does that mean it will grow in less tropical climates? Where other citrus will grow?

Brain says...
The province of Szechwan is quite mountainous and can be fairly cold. Think of a panda eating bamboo in the snow, some of them are in Szechwan! lol.

Anyway, my readings on the net indicates it is more cold tolerant than citrus. But I can't tell you whether they prefer the lowlands or the highlands.

As for the Kampot pepper, I would believe the same plant grown in different regions would have different taste. think grapes or teas.

MaryT1 says...
Thithi the caterpillars came out of the eggs, it's the moths that lay the eggs. Do you know what kind of moths they are? The eggs are usually on the underside of the leaves so if you see them just squash them. Just pick off any caterpillars and squash them too.

Thithi says...
Hi hi.. The caterpillars don't lay eggs .. Biology, biology ...thanks mary. I just pick one tiny caterpillar out from my wasabi plant. I picked a few out yesterday also. Just hope for a more effective way to get rid of them, or shoo the moths away. I wish I know what moths they are, should have take the pictures. I use my old iPad which some how doesn't allow me to add picture, to do that I have to use my phone which is so slow.

Thithi says...
Thanks John

jakfruit etiquette says...
Poppy seeds are tiny round, blue or white, Nigella seeds are tiny black,flat like sesame seed. Sesame seed are tan/brown or black.
All 3 have distinct flavours.

SueBee says...
Drying is the safest most long lasting way to keep garlic paste. Make as usual then spread thinly to dry on dehydrator sheets.once dry crumble and keep in airtight jars. Make sure to dry to hard so it can be crumbled easily,soft will not keep as long. Garlic paste is traditionally preserved in olive oil but a bit dangerous if not done properly and used once opened. Dried keeps for years.
Good luck