Nelumbo in Wellington, New Zealand

The cold tolerant American Lotus, Nelumbo lutea, has grown passably well in my temperate Wellington city garden over several years. It has not flowered and is certainly not vigorous. The more well-known and frost tender Nelumbo nucifera did not grow at all although root stock did stay alive for years. These ones look a little tatty because water snails have been nibbling at them. I grew them in food grade black plastic tubs which raises the water temperature somewhat.

I think Nelumbo lutea would be worth trying for a tropical look and food crop in inland parts of New Zealand where temperatures are more extreme. It tolerates considerable cold but also seems to require high heat to flourish. It grows so tentatively where I am I hardly ever harvest it for its many culinary uses.

I checked with Ministry for Primary industries, it is legal to import seed of Nelumbo lutea because it is considered a subspecies of Nelumbo nucifera, even though only Nelumbo nucifera is listed in their Plants Biosecurity Index of importable and prohibited plants:

  https://www.mpi.govt.nz/importing/plants/seeds-for-sowing/

Climbing a pylon wearing flares

An old discarded warning sign from an electricity pylon in Wellington, New Zealand, presumably from around 1970-75. Person climbing pylon is wearing flares. 

The extravagance/grandiosity of flares indicate high/inflated self-esteem. Climbing a power pylon a good example of poor self-control that results from big-headedness, according to self-regulation science discussed in this blog in post "Self-control Techniques for Self-sufficient Gardening".  

A dangerous addiction to some form of great power is a normal symptom of loss of self-control, this image serves as a very graphic example of the sort of tragedy that can result. 

Hylocereus costaricensis, sun, shade and cold

I recently tried growing six Hylocereus costaricensis cuttings attached to the external walls of a house as 'epiphytes' over winter in zone 9 (Wellington, New Zealand) . B & T World Seeds say they take zone 9, though most authorities say zone 10 or above. 

I put two of the Hylocereus costaricensis cuttings on a mostly sunny wall, two on a wall with half sun and two on a mostly shady wall. To my surprise the cuttings in the shady spot died, one of the cuttings in half-shade died, the other looks sick while the cuttings in full sun (one pictured with new spring growth) were fine, if a little sun burnt.

This result was the opposite of what I expected, usually  it is recommended to protect tender plants from sun if cold is expected as it is the sudden change in temperature when the sun hits them in the morning that usually kills them. Apparently not the case with this cactus and probably others like it. 

The cuttings on the sunny wall were also higher up than the others, it's possible more wind exposure and air circulation helped them to survive.

I don't yet know how well this plant grows here aside from surviving winter. According to Russell Fransham Subtropicals, where I got the plant, it needs sustained warmth over 15C to produce the delicious fruit. I may try getting it to grow on a black surface to raise the temperature if things don't seem to be going well. 

Edibility of Eleocharis acuta

According to the very interesting Australian publication 'Plants of  the Merri Merri' (1) the "tubers" of Eleocharis acuta are edible "raw, baked or ground into flour" which would be quite exciting as the well known related Water Chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) is an edible tuber. But I can't find anything about this plant having tubers edible or otherwise, instead it only seems to have a creeping rhizome which I believe I have photographed the white tip of above.

My guess is this report, intended for the general reader not botanists, refers to this white rhizome tip which I find edible, the white part is soft without fibers, easily eaten. It tastes bland, starchy and innocuous, without the crunch or flavor of Water Chestnut. Tim Low reports "Aborigines ate the starch in the young underground stems" (2)  of the closely related Eleocharis sphacelata, this sounds like the same thing since a rhizome is a modified underground stem (3), I've not tried or examined Eleocharis sphacelata.

The rhizome tips I found were small and fairly sparse, they hardly seem worth it unless you have a lot of plants and time to harvest them, though the plant is particularly pleasing visually. I tried a New Zealand native of this plant, it is possible the rhizome is bigger in Australia but reports seem to be about the same, 1-2 mm in New Zealand ,1-3 mm in Australia. E sphacelata rhizomes sound more promising 10-15 cm, though I can't find any first-hand accounts of eating them.

Both Eleocharis acuta and Eleocharis sphacelata are native to New Zealand as well as Australia, but do not seem to have ever been reported as being eaten here in New Zealand.

(1) Plants of the Merri Merri. A Home Gardener's Guide to using Indigenous Plants in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne. Editor Rebecca Wigney 1994
(2) Wild Foods Plants of Australia. Tim Low. 1988.
(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome

Casana in Wellington

Casana (Cyphomandra casana) fruiting in a Wellington gully in New Zealand, as would probably be expected. The climate is temperate, with temperatures a few degrees below zero from time to time in this spot. I found it needs a very sheltered spot, this one gets direct sun about 1/3 of the day.  Fruit ripened in mid-late August (early spring).

The fruit is like passion fruit with a hint of pineapple and also tomato. Perhaps as much a vegetable as a fruit as it is not very sweet I find, contradicting most reports which say it is sweet, perhaps this is because seedlings are variable (1). But my ones also have a sharp bitter taste at the top of the fruit where it meets the stem. There is always still a little green at the top of these fruits, even when they've fallen off the tree. Perhaps they are not ripening fully due to insufficient sun or heat. The slightly odd solution seems to be to eat only the lower half of the fruit if the sharp flavor is not to your liking, the unripe green fruit is also suspected of being slightly toxic (1) which is not really a plus either. 

I noticed there seems to be variation of fruit shape in photos online, some have a pronounced knob at the tip others don't, mine seem to be somewhere in between. Probably mostly likely this is because seedlings are variable (1) but I wonder if these are different sub-species or even species under the same name, this might explain differing experiences of sweetness. The correct synonyms seem to be unresolved according to the Plant List :   http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Solanaceae/Cyphomandra/ 

1. Discovering Fruit & Nuts. Susan Lyle 2006

New Zealand Flax Reinforced Paper Bags instead of Plastic Bags?

The media has been giving a lot of attention to people advocating cutting down or eliminating plastic bag use when we go to the supermarket (in particular). The main problem I have with this is it implies going to the supermarket would somehow become ecologically sound if only we didn't use plastic bags. The only real solution to the environmental crisis, local food production that marginalizes transportation of people and goods does not get a mention. Of course not, why would the media bite the hand of food and transport advertisers (or taxpayers in the case of state media) that feed them... anyway that would be too much trouble, we're all too busy propping up the system we're addicted to.

Still I couldn't help thinking of New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax, Phormim cookianum) as a substitute when hearing an expert explain how resistant to breakdown plastic is in the environment. There was once a commercial Flax fiber industry in New Zealand, mainly for rope production, but the product was considered inferior to sisal or manila because it swelled when wet and wore badly(1), still it will survive considerable exposure to water as evidenced by the fact that Maori made fishing nets 1000 meters long out of it. I used to tie stakes for plants with strips of flax torn straight from the plant, they lasted many months outside.

But perhaps this somewhat inferior quality is what we want with disposable bags, people could put them in compost or use directly as mulch in the garden. Probably paper bags reinforced with flax fiber for strength would be best. 

Flax can be grown in a wide range of conditions that might not be good for much else , Phormium cookianum grows on vertical coastal cliffs. 

There are probably a number of other "second-rate" fiber crops that would also decompose quickly. 

1. Encylopaedia of New Zealand Vol 1. 1966. pp 704-705
    

Saffron grown on roof in wet temperate climate

Saffron flowering on a rooftop in Wellington, New Zealand.

I tried growing Saffron (Crocus sativus) on my roof after attempts to grow it in the ground and on a window sill failed (it grew fine but did not flower as is normal in areas with "poor summers" (1)). I thought putting it on the corrugated iron roof might work because the plant likes hot, dry conditions.

There would be a limit to how many heat loving plants one could put on a roof as they would prevent the corrugated iron roof from heating up by shading it, but exactly what that limit would be I don't know at this stage.

  

Water Chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) is another heat-loving crop that has grown well on a corrugated iron roof here in temperate Wellington. It failed even in black plastic tubs in full sun on the ground.  Surprisingly it survived the winter (hardiness zone 9). 

It may be coincidence but so far only plants with significant underground storage parts seem to have benefited significantly from being on the roof. Perhaps these plants require high soil temperature and get this from being on a roof while plants requiring high air temperature don't. 

I'm also trying to find out if putting things on a corrugated iron roof is a good idea in terms of roof longevity. Rust due to constant trapped moisture seems like a risk. So far there has been no sign of this after three years. Debris does accumulate under the pots and "mats" they sit on, potentially causing water to drain slowly, making leaks at "joins" possible. 

Presumably it would be possible to grow heat loving crops in this way with iron sheets laying on the ground, if you have lots of space.

Ref 1. Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses. Deni Bown 1995