It grows to almost 180 cm with a spread of 60-80 cm The seed strikes quickly in a shadehouse and transplants well into the garden during late winter, spring to summer. Nutritionally it is high in folic acid and oxalic acid, just like spinach and helps to get elimination happening in the bowels, stimulates milk flow in nursing mothers and generally makes life a little more tolerable during menstruation.

This 'garden' version is very similar to Watercress but not as fussy about where it grows. It develops a 'rosette' growth habit, similar to Salad Burnett but with larger rounded leaves. The young leaves make a great substitute for Watercress in sandwiches, salads, soups or lightly steamed for a few minutes and used as a vegetable. It is a very long lasting herb, not necessarily a perennial but a long term annual or biannual.

Because of it's perennial nature, Asparagus becomes more of a pet in the garden than a vegetable. The crowns just continue to grow and spread each season and the crop of stems just gets better and better. The seeds are easy to strike but do not grow rapidly until planted out in the garden.

This is a nice, clumping variety of celery, that produces good, upright stems, that is delicious. In cold climates it is best kept as an annual, but if you live where it is warm during winter, they can be kept as biennial. The seed is very viable and quick to shoot. Two to three days at the most. Because celery roots are very close to the surface you may need to water two or three times a day during the hottest parts of the year

Many recipes call for it cooked or steamed but as it looses so much volume when cooked and mainly because there is 'no need to cook it' we don't. We use Ceylon Spinach as a salad herb rather than a hot vegetable. It can be grown throughout the year in most of Queensland but it needs to be grown as a summer annual in colder climates.
Red stemmed and green stemmed are available.

Very, very showy in the vegetable garden, they look great and taste wonderful. Easy to strike from fresh seed and Rainbow Chard grow themselves well, as long as the ground is allowed to dry out between watering. High viability, so one pack of seed will usually do the season. Only the leaves and stems of Rainbow Chard are edible. This mix has red, white and yellow included.

Chervil's reputation as a culinary herb is well established. It is easy to grow as long as it is not subjected to extreme heat and gets some protection during the day. We plant in late Summer and Autumn and the crop lasts through to the following summer. The leaves and stems of Chervil are high in vitamin C, carotene and iron and act to eliminate toxins from the body, therefore helping the liver, digestive problems, painful joints and ultimately the skin.

Cos Lettuce is a must for the vegy garden. This older form of lettuce is valuable nutritionally but more importantly, it has not had all of the traditional bitterness bred out of it and therefore, is of use medicinally. Cos Lettuce is an absolute must for Caesar Salad, it also helps coughs and colds and helps to reduce blood sugar. Cos Lettuce strikes quite quickly and grows very fast in the garden or a pot. The older Cos lettuce gets the more bitter the leaves become, and it can reach 180 cm in height when it prepares to flower.

In the kitchen, the green leaves and young shoots of Garland Chrysanthemum are wonderful when added, (at the last moment) to soups, omelettes and stir-fries. Garland Chrysanthemum are easy to germinate and just as easy to grow. You can plant the seed where you want them to grow or just as easily sow them into a punnet for later transplant.

Also called land seaweed or "Okahijiki" in Japan, this is a delightful little plant to grow. The common name of Saltwort is primarily because of it's ability to grow in quite saline conditions and not for the taste which is clean and fresh. Saltwort is quite an active summer annual that grows more determinedly the more it is trimmed for dinner. It really is an excellent green to accompany fish, especially 'sushi' as it is not too strong in taste, therefore allowing the food to be 'itself'. The texture is crunchy and delightful.

Often called Swamp Cabbage or Water Spinach, this versatile and easy to grow ground covering plant, is more like it's cousins the Sweet Potatoes in growth habit and character.

Harvesting the nutritious leaves as you need them means that it never gets out of control.

This is certainly an heirloom variety. Grown for it's leaves and not with the aim of forming a large central heart, Tuscan Cabbage is by far the closest thing to real cabbage taste and nutrition that is possible. In the garden it is majestic, with it's 'Prince of Wales' foliage and it's very dominant colour. It will grow at almost any time of year but we do not have much of a harvest during the heat of late summer.

Kohlrabi is an attractive and unusual addition to the vegy garden and to the table. The edible part is the fat Turnip-like stem just above the soil level. This is best eaten when not much larger than 7.5cm in diameter. It has a pleasant 'dim sum' flavour served raw in salads or stir fried for Asian dishes.

This little bunch of lettuce leaves is an absolute must in the garden. All parts of the plant are edible and delicious, full of Vitamin C and taste much better than the old 'Iceburg'. Once planted in the garden and allowed to flower you will always have a Winter/Spring crop these lovely little plants. They will grow at almost any time of year but the best time is Winter and early Spring which is just when you need them the most.

A definite change of foliage for the vegetable garden. Mizuna is prolific grower and is edible in at any stage of it's growth from seedling to fully mature plant. The tender leaves, flowering stems and juicy leaf stalks of Mizuna are all ready for a quick rinse and added to the plate.

I suspect that there is something quite addictive about using Mustard Greens in your salads. Salad never tastes quite as good without it. Mustard Green varieties are wonderfully nutritious and beautiful, in the garden and on the plate. Mustard Greens grow most of the year but can have some trouble in the middle of summer. Mustard Greens strike easily from seed and it is wise to plant half a dozen at a time, about one month apart, to ensure a constant supply. The red variety is not quite as strong to eat.

Neat and tidy, not requiring much space in the garden or pots, Pak choi is the ideal suburban vegetable. Pak choi strike well from seed and transplant beautifully. Pak choi are winter hardy as well but will grow in most climates. This Pak choi is the green stemmed variety which we prefer for the extra chlorophyll. We plant 10 at a time over a period to ensure a sustained supply.

No real introduction necessary. Parsley herb is an absolute 'staple' even if you don't have a vegetable garden. Parsley seeds strike well, and quickly, (3-5 days), you can grow it at any time of the year and because it is essentially a biennial, you get great value from any one plant.

The leaves of Perillia are highly aromaticand are not really a replacement for any other herb. The flavour is quite unique with a vegitive spicy aroma that becomes it's taste. Perilla's aroma and flavour are easily appreciated if you already like Sushi. Leaves can be eaten raw, cooked, salted and pickled, or just used as a garnish. Young green leaves are essential for many asian dishes.

Salad Burnett is one of those very decorative plants that work well as specimens in the garden because of their gorgeous fountain shape. They work beautifully in the garden but also, because they are a very tidy herb, look great in pots and window boxes. We generally plant them in winter as their foliage is a great addition to hot and cold salads but in all but the driest of areas they seem to survive well into to summer. The taste of the leaves is very fresh and reminiscent of Borage or cucumber.

Commonly acknowledged as natures sweet secret, these unremarkable plants are wonderful to occupy sheltered corners of the garden that happen from time to time. Stevia plants grow to around 50 cm in height and, depending on the climate can be perennial or annual.

This lovely, bright green foliaged plant with the pretty pink flowers is every gardeners delight. In most warm climates it is perennial but in cooler areas it can easily be treated as an annual. Talinum grows to about 60 cm in height and a similar spread. Neat and tidy in the garden, especially if it is regularly harvested. it requires little care and is tolerant of some neglect.

Commonly used as an aquatic herb, Watercress will grow in a terrarium in a mix of peat and sphagnum moss with a little sand. Alternatively you can pot it and submerge the pot in a pond. They do well in pots if they are allowed to sit in a little tray of water. Either way, it is convenient to harvest the stems and leaves and no other preparation is necessary. As a food, Watercress, used either in salads, soups or sandwiches, it acts as a blood cleanser, diuretic and expectorant.