Episode: #6 07/10/2006
Presenter: Neville Passmore

It is a great time to get out into the garden, breath in some fresh air, get your hands into the soil and plant an edible garden. You don?t need half an acre to make a real contribution to family budget and good health. A small plot can supply fresh food by the basketful.

Try a contemporary set up of raised beds, which makes life easy. All parts of the bed are easily accessible and it is easy to weed and plant at tummy level.

Prepare your soil be it sand or clay by adding a generous layer of cow manure and mix it in.

The most popular crop in the country right now is tomato as they are so productive. Check out other Garden Guru varieties; there are four of them and all were stars of our taste testing last season at the Melbourne International flower show.

Neville?s favourites are Piccolo Roma, which you have to taste to believe and Abruzzi Bruschetta, which captures the flavour of the best big reds from Central Italy. You can also get a recipe for a lip smacking Bruschetta from the spring edition of the Garden Gurus newspaper.

Herbs fresh from the garden and into the pot or a salad bring flavour that you cannot get any other way. There are more varieties than you can poke a stick at right now in garden centres under the Renaissance label.

A couple of dozen of Neville?s favourites including bronze fennel with a slight aniseed taste is brilliant with seafood especially fish and mussels. Radicchio is a bitter leaf, great value in an Italian salad. Coriander is a sensational accompaniment to curries and the beloved Tamarind crab. Parsley also makes a mean tabouli. Try mint to bring the clean fresh flavours of Thailand to your table as well.

Remember to get your seedling vegetables into the ground. For something different have a look at the range of Garden guru gourmet vegetables. The new summer salad onions and branching Broccolette are unique and simply delicious.

Immediately after planting, water in with a concentrated seaweed extract for a quick take. It provides a tonic as well as helping to take the shock put of the transplanting process.

Visit the Garden Gurus Website and follow the links for more information on the Garden Gurus vegetable varieties.

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