How to grow bush foods in containers | Australian native plants | Gardening Australia

Bush foods are on the menu of fancy restaurants everywhere, but Clarence has some tips for growing your own. And if you’re short of space don’t worry – many edible native plants are perfectly suited to growing in containers. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe
Clarence is combining a few plants in a large 50cm pot – you need something at least 40cm across to give plants room to grow. The plastic pot will then sit inside a more ornamental holding pot, which will also help insulate the inner pot from the direct sun.

The pot is filled with a premium potting mix that will provide good drainage and nutrition. For some natives, especially those in the Proteaceae family, a low-phosporous mix is essential, but for the plants Clarence has chosen, any premium mix is suitable.

As a central feature plant, Clarence has chosen a favourite – Cinnamon myrtle, which is related to lemon myrtle. Both can be used to make a herbal tea; simply cover 1-2 leaves with hot water and allow to steep. The leaves can also be used in baking and even curries. Both trees also originate from rainforests along Australia’s east coast, so need protection from hot afternoon sun. As a small tree, is will get quite large in the pot but can be kept small by regular pruning; trim back to just above a leaf node to encourage more leaf growth.

Next in the pot is Midyim berry (Austromyrtus dulcis). It has pretty white star-shaped flowers, but its main attraction is the fruit that develop from these. Clarence describes their taste as a mix between cinnamon, blueberry and sherbet. There are a few Austromyrtus species to choose from in the garden. Narrow-leaf Myrtle is slightly taller, and a hybrid of the two is called ‘Copper Tops’, named for its reddish new growth.

Clarence adds an Apple Berry to the pot, too. These will grow in a range of climate, and produce tubular fruit that are ripe to eat when yellow. Clarence describes the flavour as between kiwifruit and stewed apple (with a seed inside)!

Their scrambling habit means they can trail over the edge of the pot.

The final plant for the pot is a native violet, whose flowers can be used to decorate cakes and salads.

Filmed on Dharawal Country in Heathcote, NSW

Featured plants:
Cinnamon myrtle (Backhousia myrtifolia )
Lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora)
Midyim berry (Austromyrtus dulcis)
Nattow-leaf myrtle (Austromyrtus tenuifolia)
Midyim berry (Austromyrtus dulcis x tenuifolia ‘Copper Tops’)
Apple berry (Billardiera scandens)
Native violet (Viola banksii)

Useful links:
https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/how-to/building-on-bushfoods/12880116

https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/how-to/my-garden-path-kris-schaffer/12927832

https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/how-to/kakadu-kitchen/10929408
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CLARENCE SLOCKEE: These days, bush-food flavours are on the menus of fancy restaurants everywhere. They’re also in the spice aisle of your local supermarket. But if you’re anything like me, why not have a crack at growing your own? Loads of bush foods can be grown in containers, and now there are plenty available.

And if you can, stock up on plants from an Indigenous owned and run nursery. I’m going to be combining a few favourite flavours in one big pot. I’m using a plastic pot that’s a decent size, to give the plants room to grow. Now, you want something at least 40cm across.

Now, this one I’ve got is 50cm. It’s perfect. I can then place this pot into this slightly larger, much nicer-looking container and it’ll look great by the back door, near the kitchen. Now, with a pot like this, when it comes time to refresh the mix down the track,

It’s also easy to lift it out of this beautiful-looking pot. And in here, I’ve got good-quality potting mix that drains freely, but also holds moisture and nutrients. For some natives, like grevilleas and banksias, it’s important to use a low-phosphorus native mix. But with the species I’m planting, any premium mix will do.

The feature plant, first into the pot, I’m going with a favourite. that’s a 10 out of 10, I reckon. This is cinnamon myrtle – Backhousia myrtifolia. Now it’s closely related to this classic – lemon myrtle – a medicinal and bush-food plant, and a few leaves of this in hot water

Makes for a great cup of tea. Ah! That’s a damn fine tea. Cinnamon myrtle tea is also a winner. Now, if I pluck off a leaf here, crushing or rubbing the leaves, they give off a spicy, cinnamony, almost nutmeg fragrance. And it’s the leaves we’re after for cooking –

Not so much these gorgeous star-shaped clusters of cream flowers, although they are pretty, and I’m sure you could win a bake-off with a cake decorated with myrtle flowers. It’s all about the leaf. These fragrant myrtles are small, compact trees from subtropical rainforests along the east coast.

They like morning sunshine, but not the baking-hot afternoon sun. Save the baking for the kitchen. Infuse the flavour into cakes, and you can even add some leaves to your next curry. Now, I’m planting this beauty in the centre. This is going to be my feature tree.

Now, it will get to a decent size in here, but it’ll be quite happy in this large pot, and it will look absolutely stunning. Now, when you’re harvesting, be sure to snip to a node. Now, that way, you’ll continually flush out new growth

And you’ll get a whole lot more leaves next time around. So, right here is where we’re looking for. Next into the pot is Austromyrtus. Now, these are also part of the myrtle mob. They’re a close cousin to cinnamon and lemon myrtle, and they have beautiful, delicate, white flowers. But what I’m after here

Is when the flowers become the sweet, edible fruit. They’re midyim berries. They are so delicious. They’re a beautiful cross between cinnamon, blueberry, sherbet. Sweet. Oh! They’re unreal. Austromyrtus are versatile shrubs and there are a few species to choose from. I’m planting Austromyrtus dulcis. There’s also a species, Austromyrtus tenuifolia, which is slightly taller.

The other plant I’m putting in here is a hybrid of the two – ‘Copper Tops’, which has reddish rust-coloured new growth. I’m also going with no-fuss apple berry. Now, they will grow in a range of climates. The fruits are tubular and they’re ripe when they’re yellow,

And they’re going to have a flavour I can only describe as a little bit like a kiwi fruit or a stewed apple. And they do have a seed inside, so watch out for that as well. They’re scrambling climbers and I’m going to run with that attribute.

They can spill over the sides of the pot to make the most of this vertical real estate. There we go. And for a pop of purple in salads, I’m adding a patch of native violet. With some of the best flavours in the one pot,

You’ll be feasting on the fruits and foliage of your labour in next to no time.