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Obscure Green Road: Truffles
Another gourmet delicacy grown in the rich volcanic soil of the north-west region of Tasmania is truffles. For centuries truffles have been considered a gourmet delicacy, known as one of the most valuable fungi in the world, but it’s only since 1999 that they have been grown in this small pocket of Tasmania.
BACKGROUND:
Another gourmet delicacy grown in the rich volcanic soil of the north-west region of Tasmania is truffles. For centuries truffles have been considered a gourmet delicacy, known as one of the most valuable fungi in the world, but it’s only since 1999 that they have been grown in this small pocket of Tasmania.
TRUFFLES:
Tim Terry is Australia’s first truffle grower and is passionate about these underground mushrooms, which look a little like a potato and feel quite heavy and dense.
The fungi grow on the roots of deciduous trees. Tim has found two varieties of oak perfect for growing truffles - the evergreen or holly oak called Quercus ilex and the English oak or Quercus robur. He explains that a scalloped edge around the trees, where the grass is dying, is a good sign. “That shows that the truffle fungi is really active and doing its thing,” he says.
It’s actually the fruit of the fungus, or truffle that’s worth big money up to as much as $1700 a kg. Tim grows two different varieties of truffle – the burgundy truffle harvested through summer and the black truffle which matures in winter.
To help find the truffles Costa meets springer spaniel Inspector Rex, who sniffs out the underground mushrooms. Dogs are valuable for this task because their sense of smell is about 600 times better than a human’s. Rex scratches the soil surface and usually buried just below the surface is a mature truffle. Tim says the dog can only smell the fungi once its reached maturity.
It’s said that Napoleon used to eat truffles by the bucket load because they were easily found in the wild, but nowadays commercial operations in Australia have to replicate the growing conditions. Tim actually has to inject or inoculate the truffle fungus into the roots of each oak tree seedling that is planted on the property.
Tim says: “This means that essentially we introduce the fungi to the roots of the tree. And it’s possible to see it on the roots. It looks like little baseballs bats or little finger type things sticking out, that’s the fungi,” he says.
Costa tried the truffles cooked with scrambled eggs, which he described as unreal. Tim says: “Truffles enhance the flavour of the food, whether it’s added to ice cream, pasta or eggs.”
TIPS:
If you would like to try to grow your own truffles at home the good news is you can give it a crack. But you will need to buy an inoculated tree from someone like Tim, add a lot of lime and then just sit back and wait – at least five years!
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Tim Terry’s Truffles
trufflesaustralis.com.au
About Tasmania
discovertasmania.com
tasmaniasnorthwest.com.au
North-West Tasmania
Costa visited north-west Tasmania, one of the most fertile regions of Australia and known for growing gourmet delicacies such as truffles, ginseng, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables.
BACKGROUND:
Costa visited north-west Tasmania, one of the most fertile regions of Australia and known for growing gourmet delicacies such as truffles, ginseng, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables.
He visited the area around Deloraine and Railton. Natural features of the area include the rugged Great Western Tiers Mountains, and the beautiful Meander River.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
About Tasmania
discovertasmania.com
tasmaniasnorthwest.com.au
Costa in the Community: Topiary Town, Railton
Railton, in north-west Tasmania, was a small town on the verge of extinction 10 years ago - that was before Neil Hurley started some serious trimming.
BACKGROUND:
Railton, in north-west Tasmania, was a small town on the verge of extinction 10 years ago - that was before Neil Hurley started some serious trimming.
Neil remembers that when he first moved to the town and opened his shop few customers visited from out of town. “One night I was talking to a fellow at the garage who remembered that a highlight of driving to Hobart, when they were kids, was looking out for the topiaries at a town along the way.”
Neil was inspired. Despite having never grown a plant in his life, he saw the potential of turning the town into a living art gallery. And so Railton, the 'Town of Topiary', was born. “I made the first topiary and it’s taken off from there. It is a dream come true,” he says.
Busloads of tourists visit from all over the country to see the collection of more than 100 topiaries of all shapes and sizes scattered throughout the town.
And the Railton community has embraced the topiary concept. If a resident wants a topiary, Neil and his team will whip them up a frame to any shape and then local, Ruth Beaumont, provides a free plant.
For Costa visiting Railton meant learning that topiary is all about having some fun in the garden. The topiaries come in so many different shapes and sizes and are as limited your imagination.
THE TOPIARIES:
The train: A favourite topiary in the town is a privet hedge Ligustrum undulatum 'Lemon, Lime & Clippers' that’s been transformed into a train. Common privet has been grown since the turn of the century in many old-fashioned gardens. The one in Railton is a variegated variety and has a beautiful yellow colour through it so it looks like someone has spray-painted a locomotive. But be careful some varieties of privet can become weedy. The Railton topiarists keep theirs trimmed so it doesn’t produce flowers or seed.
Rodney’s elephant: Rodney McCarthy has been working on his topiary for five years. After making a frame he planted four boxleaf honeysuckle Lonicera nitida in each leg. He reckons it’s a great plant for topiaries because the more it’s trimmed the tighter the finish.
“It’s good fun. We get together once a week and build the frames and we have a ball doing it,” he says.
Tasmanian devil: Costa’s visit coincided with a big day for the town, the unveiling of its newest, feistiest, scariest creation yet - a 5-metre Tasmanian devil, taking pride of place at the town’s entrance.
TIPS:
Topiaries in Railton are grown around a frame. Frames are available from nurseries or make your own from 5mm wire.
Railton topiarists use boxleaf honeysuckle Lonicera nitida for their works of art. It’s easy to propagate, fast growing and loves to be shaped. Ruth Beaumont says: “The more you cut it the thicker it grows, so it is beneficial to keep pruning it.”
Once the plant is in the ground, just train the branches through the frame. Keep it well watered and fertilise during the growing season – spring and summer. Keep trimming the plants as they grow so they thicken up around the frame. For a big frame such as the devil, larger plants are better able to be trained through the wire.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
About Tasmania:
discovertasmania.com
tasmaniasnorthwest.com.au
About Railton:
townoftopiary.com.au
Planting Fruit Trees
It’s week nine of the Backyard Revolution and already Costa’s vision for a sustainable backyard is starting to reap rewards. The vegie beds are providing food for the family table, the water tanks are full after a recent storm and the newly arrived chickens have produced their first eggs.
BACKGROUND:
It’s week nine of the Backyard Revolution and already Costa’s vision for a sustainable backyard is starting to reap rewards. The vegie beds are providing food for the family table, the water tanks are full after a recent storm and the newly arrived chickens have produced their first eggs.
The next step in Costa’s plan is to prepare the ground and plant the fruit forest. The fruit forest is being planted in the chicken run. This means the chickens will keep pests at bay and fertilise the trees at the same time.
Costa has selected fruit trees including apples, plums, nectarines, cherries and a passionfruit vine. For the Tembeleski family it will be like having a fruit market in the backyard.
The most important part about planting is to prepare the ground correctly, with the right soil and then plant the tree at the correct level.
TIPS:
First step, as with any planting, is to get the soil right. And Costa starts by breaking up the top layer, with a mattock.
Then he adds a premium garden soil mix to help break up the particles. That together with manure and mushroom compost will help add organic content and retain moisture. It will also help activate micro organisms and bring worms.
For tight spaces and small gardens, Costa suggests triple grafted varieties of apples. The one he selected has three varieties: Granny Smith, Jonathan and Golden Delicious on the same tree.
These apples are self-pollinating, which means they can produce fruit without another pollinator plant. Some fruit varieties, plums for example need another compatible plant of growing near it to bear fruit.
Another favourite in the fruit forest is a Wickson plum. Costa selected it because it’s a companion for the prune and both trees should help cross-pollinate each other.
Once the trees are planted, it's best to mulch with a layer of wet newspaper to keep weeds down, retain moisture and the worms love it. Then add a layer of lucerne mulch - you could also use sugar cane, tea tree or leaf mulch - which will break down and feed the worms and as an added bonus the chooks will enjoy feeding on the flower heads and seeds.
When the lucerne breaks down, it will create a rich organic layer on the soil surface.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Check at your local nursery for fruit trees that will grow in your area.
Costa purchased fruit trees for the Tembeleski’s from:
Sydney’s Plant Market
184 Annangrove Rd
Annangrove NSW 2156
Ph: 02 9679 2606
Ginseng
The north-west area of Tasmania, near Deloraine, is an area that’s known for its incredibly fertile soil. One example of the prized produce that can be grown in the region is ginseng.
BACKGROUND:
The north-west area of Tasmania, near Deloraine, is an area that’s known for its incredibly fertile soil. One example of the prized produce that can be grown in the region is ginseng.
Ginseng is one of the world’s rarest and most valuable herbs. In some places it’s known to be more valuable than gold. Once harvested it’s the amazing looking root that’s been used as a medicinal herb in many Asian and North American cultures for centuries.
GINSENG:
Tasmanian farmer Ziggy Pyka has spent the last 14 years unlocking the secret of how to grow it organically on his bush block. An electrician in his German homeland, Ziggy decided moved his family to Australia for a new life and career. Inspired by the amazing health benefits of ginseng he settled in Tasmania to begin the patient task of growing this exotic herb.
Ziggy shows Costa a root that he’s dug from the ground that’s four years old and weighs about 30 grams. “We are trying to get anything between $200 and $400 dollars a kg for the ginseng root,” he says.
“People don’t realise how long the plants take to grow - two years just for the seeds to germinate, and then four to six years for the plants to mature,” he says.
It’s this long production time, combined with the need for perfect growing conditions that makes ginseng so valuable. But Ziggy believes the slow growing nature of the plant is what also makes it good for you. “Because it takes so long to grow, ginseng draws minerals out of the soil. The root contains most of the minerals we have here on the planet, and we know that minerals are good for you,” he says.
It’s believed that eating a piece of this prized root every day will provide health benefits such as enhancing athletic ability, improving mental agility and even improving sexual prowess.
Ziggy takes a gram of ginseng root every day, and believes that it gives him all the energy he needs. And at age 53 he reckons it makes him feel like he’s just 35.
In its native environment in the Northern Hemisphere, ginseng grows in the shade of large deciduous trees on the forest floor, an environment that Ziggy has recreated using shade cloth. “The first four years it didn’t work. I couldn’t get it growing. But because the sun in Tasmania is strong you need more shade cover. More than half an hour of sun through the day will kill the plant. After I found that out and built the shade house, I am confident of growing ginseng,” he says.
Ziggy runs the region’s largest ginseng operation, and sells (online or at the farm gate) a range of ginseng infused products including face creams and chocolates. He admits that commercial success has been a long journey but what’s important is staying true to his passion. He also reckons it’s important to be a little bit crazy.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Ziggy sells a range of ginseng products online or at the farm gate:
41southtasmania.com
For information about Tasmania:
discovertasmania.com
tasmaniasnorthwest.com.au
SBS Shop
Costa’s Garden Odyssey, Series 1 & 2 (DVDs)
Celebrate mother nature’s cycles & seasons and share her secrets of sustainable abundance & well-being.
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A celebration of the breadth & diversity of French food traditions and a delicious journey into culinary heaven.
