australia Archives

Novel Australian Fingerlime hybrids

27/01/2020
Herbalistics
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Nine years ago (2011) I started breeding Citrus with the idea to come up with a novel fruit that could be either grown commercially or…

Determining flowering requirements for Trichocereus cacti

UPDATE 23/12/17: After a long and almost record breaking dry patch of 3-4 months, from mid winter until early spring, 3 Trichocereus cacti have initiated…

New Psychotria hybrids

Last summer I had the chance to cross pollinate some different Psychotria viridis varieties with our Nexus hybrid. Several of them took and the fruit…

Native Ipomoea hybrids

Native Ipomoea species such as I. costata, I. abrupta and I. polpha have a long history of traditional use by Aboriginal peoples of central and…

Further Adventures with Takeaway Tek

It can't be denied that the Takeaway Tek is an easy way to get cacti seeds started! Not only is it a reliable method, given the…

Chilli breeding for subtropical Australia

I love jalapeño chillies, they are probably my favourite all rounder in the kitchen. I used to pickle them, make smoked jalapeños (chipotle) and use…

Growing Trachymene incisa (Native Parsnip)

Trachymene incisa is one of those rarer bushfoods; one that has a pretty agreeable flavour and would actually require only a short domestication for it…

Sersalisia sericea – Australian Bushfood

Sersalisia sericea (syn. Pouteria sericea) the Native Prune or an Aboriginal word for the fruit, Mongo, is a small tree or shrub native to northern…

Peganum harmala (Syrian Rue) seed germination

25/11/2015
Herbalistics
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I've covered this topic before here, halopriming is basically soaking seeds overnight in a salty solution, whether that be calcium chloride, potassium nitrate or common sea…