Tuten's Edible Backyard

Joined: 13/08/09 Updated: 15/08/09 Frost: Medium
Location: Clear Mountain, QLD, AU

About My Edible Backyard

We are a family living in a semi-rural area of SE Qld.  We try to grow as much of our food as we get around to (ha, ha).  We are somewhere between being organic and biodynamic.

We have lovely rich red clay/loam.   Annual rainfall somewhere around 1000mm.  My orchard is on the eastern boundary of our property and gets full sun.

We grow coffee, mulberries (white and black), Atherton raspberries, mangoes, avocadoes, low-chill nectarines, longans (no crop yet), lychees, apples, oranges, lemons, Tahitian limes, Lemonade fruit, mandarins, blood oranges, paw paws - orange and red, lilly-pillies, grumichamas, black sapotes, passionfruits, pumpkins, chockos, cucumbers, sweet peas, leafy greens, Asian greens, capsicums, tomatoes, asparagus (that never makes it to the kitchen!), herbs (most herbs), galangal, ginger, green onions, garlic greens and more but the list is already too long.

I compost horse manure, cow manure and weeds/clippings and also have two bathtubs full of worms that convert horse manure and scraps. I mulch the gardens with sugar cane mulch which is about all I buy in from outside, everything else I use is from within our place.

My biggest challenge has been stopping the free ranging chickens from scratching the roots up on new plantings and also stopping the horses from eating the foliage they find tasty.  Some years keeping up the water can be challenging.

The rewards are watching my kids wander around eating as they go.  I also enjoy fruit warm from the sun, although most people think that is a bit much!  I can't think of many better things than eating a nectarine straight off the tree - yum!

Microcitrus australasica - Finger lime (Seedling) ^5/10

Comments: -

I'm not 100% sure this is the same species as what I am growing.  I bought it as a native lime.

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

None

Organic Status:Organic

Peanut Tree (Seedling) ^7/10

Comments: -

I have a few of these trees, some are doing really well, some look a bit leggy.

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

None

Organic Status:Organic

Pineapple - F180 ^10/10

Comments: -

They take a while to fruit, but the tiny fruit looks wonderful and the mature fruit tastes so good!  A great looking plant and I use it as a border plant as well.

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

None

Organic Status:Organic

Plum pine or Brown Pine (Seedling) ^3/10

Comments: -

This plant was sold as a Christmas Tree in our local community nursery, has grown well considering it was in a pot for so long before I put it into the ground.  I love the glossy leaves.

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Organic Status:Organic

Common Mint

Pollination: No

Comfrey

Pollination: No

Native Mulberry (Seedling) ^5/10

Height 1.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Low Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Organic Status:Organic

Rosemary

Pollination: No

Comments

This plant has been in our family for 4 generations and came with us interstate. Is doing well considering I kept it in a pot for years. Is now in ground.

Burdekin Plum

Pollination: No

Comments

Is troubled by leaf eating insects. Growing tall but doesn't look so healthy.

Lemon Grass

Pollination: No

Comments

I planted around citrus plants as a companion but Lemongrass grows so tall, I have to cut it back regularly.

Backhousia citriodora - Lemon scented myrtle

Pollination: No

Comments

The most wonderful scent. Leaves retain scent well in long term storage.

Bay Tree ^10/10

Planted: 2007

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

None

Organic Status:Organic

Comments

Grows faster than I expected, plenty of leaves to harvest.

Neem Tree

Comments

Has only been in ground for a few months, looking forward to seeing it start to grow in Spring.

Ficus superba - Deciduous fig

Davidsons Plum - QLD

Comments

Only a couple of years old but growing strongly, large compound leaves - attractive.

Alpinia caerulea - Native Ginger

Comments

Great as a screen in shady areas.

Sweet Potato - Beauregard

Comments

Keep ducks and chickens away from beds with sweet potato - they love digging them up.

Dianella caerulea - Blue flax-lily

Comments

The colour of the berries really stands out and looks wonderful.

Arrowroot

Comments

Great screen in full shade. Grows quickly and multiplies well.

Turmeric

Comments

Great looking leaves, rhizomes fragrant and gives good colour and taste to dishes.

Ginger

Pollination: No

Comments

I think Ginger would do better with more water than we can supply.

Cardamon Ginger

Pollination: No

Comments

Tough and pretty plant.

Galangal

Pollination: No

Comments

Tough as nails, survives on rainwater only. Can be divided regularly.

Asparagus - Mary Washington

Pollination: No

Comments

One of life's joys, eating asparagus while standing in the garden!

Choko

Pollination: No

Comments

Tough, spreading vine. We use it to cover animal enclosures for shade and aesthetics.

Passionfruit - Black

Pollination: No

Comments

Delicious passionfruit, large vine.

Passionfruit - Panama Gold Grafted

Pollination: No

Comments

Good tasting fruit, fruits for a long period with abundant fruit. Large, spreading plant.

Passionfruit - Panama Red Pandora

Pollination: No

Comments

Good tasting fruit, abundant fruit over a long period. Will grow well over sheds, up trees etc.

Black Sapote - Chocolate

Pollination: No

Comments

Make sure fruit is well ripened as it can burn mouth and throat if underripe.

Grumichama - Black

Pollination: No

Comments

one of my favourite fruits. Absolutely delicious.

Cascade Lilly PIlly - Syzygium luehmannii x wilsonii

Pollination: No

paw paw

Pollination: No

Comments

Great fruit, goes well with a bit of lime juice.

Paw Paw - RB3 Bisexual Red

Pollination: No

Comments

Skinny plant, not much fruit so far.

Mandarin - Imperial

Pollination: No

Comments

Nice juicy fruit, tough plant.

Lemon - Eureka

Pollination: No

Lime - Tahitian

Pollination: No

Comments

Masses of fruit, fruits a few times a year, good looking tree.

Lemonade Tree

Pollination: No

Comments

Lovely tasting fruit.

Dwarf Orange - Navelina

Pollination: No

Orange - Blood

Pollination: No

Comments

Fruit flesh is streaked with red, rather than fully red. Could be temperature related?

Orange - Valencia

Pollination: No

Dwarf Apple - Tropic Sweet

Pollination: No

Comments

First tree died - root rot? Have planted another one a few months ago.

Dwarf Apple - Tropical Anna

Pollination: No

Comments

Fruit tastes good, tough tree.

Lychee - No Mai Chi

Pollination: No

Comments

Brilliant taste, attractive foliage.

Longan - Biew Kiew

Pollination: No

Comments

Tall thin tree, no fruit yet. Has been in ground for about 3 years.

Nectarine - Sunwright

Pollination: No

Comments

Delicious fruit. Abundant fruit on young tree. Flowers prolifically and attracts so many bees you can hear the tree buzzing from a distance.

Avocado - Wurtz (A)

Pollination: No

Comments

Still too young to fruit.

Avocado - Hass (A)

Pollination: No

Comments

This even survived me, I had no luck with Avocadoes until I planted them in a raised mound. Tree is doing well and fruiting well.

Mango - R2E2 (Grafted)

Pollination: No

Comments

Only a few years old, so not fruiting yet. Tall so far but has large area to grow into.

Mango - Kwan

Pollination: No

Comments

Small tree, only a few fruit and those fell off after a few weeks. Still, only a few years old.

Mango - Bowen

Pollination: No

Comments

Got ringbarked by whipper snipper (enthusiastic worker) but has suckered and is regrowing strongly. Was only a sapling when ringbarked.

Raspberry - Atherton

Pollination: No

Comments

Don't plant directly into ground unless you have a root barrier. I made this mistake and the canes have popped up in a large area now.

Dwarf Mulberry - Black ^5/10

Planted: 2009

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: homemade compost

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Organic Status:Organic

Comments

Family favourite, hard to find any fruit left after kids are finished. Tough as nails tree, no extra water needed, survives on rainwater.

Dwarf Coffee - Catui ^10/10

Fruiting Months July, August, September

Planted: 2007

Height 1.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 2

Fruit Harvest: 2 kilograms per Year

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: home compost

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

None

Organic Status:Organic

Comments

Gorgeous looking plant with glossy leaves and bright red fruit all along the branches. No pests.

Mulberry - White Seedling ^10/10

Fruiting Months August and September

Height 3 metres

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: home compost

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

None

Organic Status:Organic

Comments

We prefer black mulberries, but these are very sweet.