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Bush Tucker or Medicinal Plants

    9 responses

YoungJ starts with ...
Hi All,
I am looking to replace my front garden (It is mostly golden canes) with some bush tucker and medicinal plants and would love some help in choosing.
The type of plant I am requiring needs to be shallow rooted, provide a good screen for privacy, as we live on a reasonably busy street, be fairy inconspicuous, by that I mean it won't get ravaged by passers by who want to help them selves to the produce and in stock.
I have to be mindful of underground pipes and power lines hence the shallow roots and proximity to the house.
Ideally I am wanting a variety of plants for both food and medicinal uses.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Peace.
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YoungJ
Tweed Heads
29th July 2016 4:59am
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Pademelon1 says...
Tricky.

There are many plants to choose from, but you've given a tough criteria.
It would help to specify how deep the plant can go, but i'll try to give the best options.

The finger lime has fairly non-invasive root system, and has delicious fruit that can be bright red, or an inconspicuous green depending on the variety. They are slow growing however, and their foliage, while dense, does not provide the greatest screening. They also have thorns.

Midyim berries have a quite tasty musky berry, and are dense bushes that will easily screen. They grow fast and are hardy, and the berries are unlikely to be taken as they are small. (I have them growing in a verge and no-one takes them ever). Downside - Not very tall.

Various syzygiums are fantastic screens, and 3 natives are some of the most extensively used screening plants in australia! S. Australe has the best tasting berries, similar to apple, but S. leuhmannii has berries better used as a spice. They also have pretty foliage. They can however, have semi-invasive roots, but are a great option.

Those are the best options in my opinion, but you should also check out the Cut leaf mint bush, native ginger, rose myrtle, bolwarra, bluetongue (melastoma affine), lemon or cinnamon myrtle, Atractocarpus sp, tasmannia sp, podocarpus elatus, Beach Bird Eye, Snowberry, native wampi and cape nutmeg.

There are also a couple of vines that you could try, but I'll leave you with these for now. There are many other bush tucker plants with great fruit or medicinal qualities, but they do not fit your criteria.

Best of Luck,
Pademelon1
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Pademelon1
PADDINGTON,2021,NSW
12th August 2016 3:45pm
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YoungJ says...
Thanks Pademelon1,
I like the look of the Midyim berries. In the mean time I ended up ordering the ACEROLA - FLORIDA SWEET plant.
I think I might take a different approach on the bush tucker theme, not sure now.
But I think I will take a bit more of a closer look at the midyim.
I have a friend who has a finger lime so I will see if I can get a cutting from him.
Thanks for your help.
Much appreciated.
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YoungJ
Tweed Heads
15th August 2016 6:41pm
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Bangkok says...
I just read about the California Sweet acerola cherry, never heard of Florida sweet.

This tree needs full sun or it won't give any fruit.

And if you plant it in a pot it will be one big rootball after a year or so.

In Thailand they are not very sweet but kids still like em. Mine didn't give enough fruit so now my neighbour grows it. It didn't give any fruit at all last years because it's not in full sun.
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Bangkok
Thailand
16th August 2016 6:30pm
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YoungJ says...
Thanks Bangkok, interesting points you make. I will certainly keep the positioning in mind when I plant it out. I do have a couple of spots I could put the Acerola that would get full sun all day.
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YoungJ
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18th August 2016 8:48pm
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Theposterformerlyknownas says...
Part sun is fine. Just don't put it where you will brush against it often as it can be a pretty nasty skin irritant for some people. Mine crops just about all year round. They also have woody 'spines', similar to a pomegranate but nowhere near as sharp, but still a nuisance if in the wrong spot.
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Theposterformerlyknownas
Keperra
19th August 2016 4:02pm
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YoungJ says...
Thanks Theposterformerlyknownas, I was actually thinking about planting near a pathway, don't think I will now...
Cheers
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YoungJ
Tweed Heads
20th August 2016 5:43am
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Linton says...
Yesterday I took solace in snacking on some birds eye fruit from a big old alectyron tree growing nearby. These ones are of Alectryon subcinereus and the berries were crisp and sweet although there was not much flesh.

Just wondering if there is a better or larger fruiting type. Pademelon mentions above that the Beach Birds Eye is good but we don't have Alectryon Coriaceus trees around here. Would be interested to know the difference between these two species and which would be the best to grow. Thank you.
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Linton
NOBLE PARK,3174,VIC
1st November 2017 12:31pm
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Pademelon1 says...
The problem with so many bush foods is that they simply haven't had any sort of selective breeding.
I would assume that Beach Bird's Eye has the largest fruit, but even they are still scant. I haven't tried any other alectryon species, although I have seen A. tomentosus fruiting prolifically. What is the flavour of A. subcinereus like? to me, A. Coriaceus has a raspberryish flavour, but not as strong.
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Pademelon1
PADDINGTON,2021,NSW
9th November 2017 9:53am
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Linton says...
Thanks for the info Pademelon. I found that the fruit of A. subcinereus also has a raspberry flavour, a bit like raspberry cordial, which is quite nice, just not enough meat on it! Cheers!
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Linton
NOBLE PARK,3174,VIC
10th November 2017 8:05pm
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