JOSH: The vegie patch is typically the powerhouse
of a productive garden,
but there are plenty of edible perennial plants
that will produce year after year for less work,
and there's always room to squeeze some in.
Globe artichokes are a perfect example.
This one's growing alongside my driveway
under this mulberry tree.
It's facing north so it's really hot here,
but it's thriving.
These plants are so handsome
they're almost worth growing in their own right,
mainly for this foliage.
And, of course, the flowers, which are electric blue,
are just gorgeous.
But it's actually the flower bud which is the part
that you want to eat.
It's the heart of that and also the top of the stem.
The best way to propagate these is from sucker.
After flowering, the main plant dies back down.
You take suckers off the base.
In fact, if you look down here, you can still see the base
of last year's plant.
I took some of those suckers off -
they normally come on about February, March -
and I've planted them down the end of the driveway
where there's a bit of space and they've done really well.
This one I'm ready to grow on to produce this year's buds,
but you can also plant them out as seedlings grown from seed.
and I've found a spot for a couple just around the corner.
I've made a couple of clearings in a west-facing garden bed
amongst other productive and flowering plants.
First up, I'm adding some compost to enrich the soil.
Then some pelletised manure for fertiliser...
..and some rock minerals for trace elements.
Then blend in thoroughly.
And in go the plants.
Mulch.
And water in.
The characteristics of seedling grown artichokes
can be variable,
as opposed to suckers, which are clones of their parent plant,
but they are a good way to test new varieties
and grow on the ones you like.
Here's part of my garden you don't see very often.
It's behind one of our water tanks.
It's surrounded by native plants,
which are doing beautifully in full sun,
including a macadamia,
which, of course, is from the north east coast of Australia.
And I've got a plant that hails from the same region.
This is midyum berry,
and it produces masses of beautiful, sweet, slightly tart,
white, purple-speckled berries
that are absolutely delicious,
and I reckon it's the perfect plant to fill a gap.
I've prepared a hole twice the width of the pot,
and I'm checking to make sure the top of the root ball
is level with the surrounding soil
before taking the plant out of the pot.
Then the pot comes off.
A gentle tease of the roots and in it goes.
Midyum berries prefer free-draining conditions,
and my sandy soil is perfect
with a bit of soil conditioner added to improve fertility.
I've blended about 20% compost
with the soil that came out of the hole to backfill.
Then some fertiliser and rock minerals, same as before.
A thorough soaking to flush out any air pockets...
..and replace the mulch.
Midyum berries grow around a metre by a metre,
so will fill out this space nicely.
And a light prune after fruiting will keep it compact and tidy.
No matter how small or full your garden is,
there's always room for something in a pot.
And when it comes to edible perennials,
it's hard to beat strawberries.
This variety is Elan, which is a medium sized, very sweet fruit,
and it's an ever-bearing variety,
which means provided it's in good health,
it'll crop from spring through summer
and even into autumn.
When it comes to growing strawberries in a pot,
I've chosen this one for a few important reasons.
Firstly, it's broad because strawberries like to spill out.
Secondly, it's not very deep
because strawberries only have shallow roots,
and also it's glazed or sealed,
and that means that the soil won't dry out quickly.
And then finally...
..it's got drainage holes
because, like most plants, strawberries need good drainage.
Planting these is dead easy.
It's just a matter of filling the pot with some premium potting mix.
Then some fertiliser...
..and rock minerals
because strawberries are heavy feeders.
And I'll just blend that through.
You'll see that I've only chosen three plants for this pot,
and whilst that might seem a little sparse,
it's actually perfect because each of these plants will fill out,
grow over the edge.
One of the biggest mistakes
is that people tend to overplant strawberries.
They become congested and disease prone.
I'm putting down some lupin mulch
to keep the roots cool and moist,
and with the pot in position in a sunny location,
the plants get a good watering in.
Provided the plants are kept well fed, watered and tidy,
they'll produce over several seasons.
Adding some perennial food plants to your garden
is a great way to improve productivity
and increase the diversity of what you eat.
So why not look for a few sneaky spots in your garden
to add some this weekend?