The plant is an evergreen woody shrub in the tropics and hot desert areas, and acts like an herbaceous perennial in temperate zone 8 and warmer. Native to Africa, an ecotype with large leaves and very fast growth.

Seeds lose viability when removed from fruit. Soak dried berries in water overnight and remove the seeds from the softened fruits in the morning and plant them. Use a sandy potting soil medium. Sow the seeds just beneath the surface, tamp in, and keep in strong light. Water well to start, but back off on watering after germination, which occurrs in 1 to 2 weeks. Pot up seedlings and plant out to the landscape only after they are well-established.

Grow in greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer. Pinch out the shoot tips of the young plants in order to encourage bushy growth.

Cuttings: half-ripe wood, 5 - 10cm with a heel if possible, July/August in individual pots in a frame. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, autumn to late winter in a cold frame. High percentage.

Division of suckers in late winter. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.

Layering.

An easily grown plant, it does not require a rich soil, flowering and fruiting better in a well-drained soil of moderate quality. Succeeds in impoverished soils, but more fertile soils are best if the plant is being grown for its edible young shoots.

Requires a sunny position. Tolerates maritime exposure. There are some named varieties, selected for their ornamental value.

They are a yin tonic, immune enhancing, and excellent for the overall health.

There is much confusion over the naming of this species. Most, if not all, of the plants being grown as L. chinense or L. europaeum are in fact this species.

Fruit: edible raw or cooked. The fruit is a berry about 2cm in diameter. A mild sweet liquorice flavour. Only the fully ripe fruits should be eaten.

Young shoots: edible cooked. Used mainly as a flavouring, they can also be lightly cooked for 3 - 4 minutes and used as a vegetable, the flavour is somewhat cress-like but has also been described as peppermint-like.

Leaves: wilt rapidly once they have been harvested; used as a tea substitute.

A sweet tonic decoction made from the fruits is used to lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. It acts mainly on the liver and kidneys. The fruit is taken internally in the treatment of high blood pressure, diabetes, poor eyesight, vertigo, lumbago, impotence and menopausal complaints.

The fruit is harvested when fully ripe and is dried for later use.

The root bark is a bitter, cooling, antibacterial herb that controls coughs and lowers fevers, blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. It is taken internally in the treatment of chronic fevers, internal haemorrhages, nosebleeds, tuberculosis, coughs, asthma etc. It is applied externally to treat genital itching. The bark is harvested in the winter and dried for later use.

The plant has a long history of medicinal use, both as a general, energy restoring tonic and also to cure a wide range of ailments from skin rashes and eyesight problems to diabetes. A tonic tea is made from the leaves.

Germination usually takes place quickly and freely. Diurnal temperature fluctuations assist germination. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of fairly rich soil when they are large enough to handle and plant them out after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away well.

Fruit is loaded with vitamin A, C and B. Contains unusually high levels of pectin and phosphorous. Fruit very sweet, like candy, a cross between cherry tomato and bing cherry, with a hint of cinnamon. I have seen a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old child in a patch of Goldenberry harvesting for personal use for an unbelievably long time period exceeding 5 minutes, stuffing mouths, stuffing pockets, and leaving a trail of husks behind them as they went.

Fruit: edible raw or cooked in pies, cakes, jellies, compotes, jams etc. A delicious bitter-sweet flavour, it has smaller but sweeter fruits than the cultivar 'Edulis'.

The dried fruit can be used as a raisin substitute, though it is not so sweet.

The plant conveniently wraps up each fruit in its own 'paper bag' (botanically, the calyx) to protect it from pests and the elements. This calyx is toxic and should not be eaten.

The fruit is rich in vitamin A (3000 I.U. of carotene per 100g), vitamin C and some of the B complex (thiamine, niacin and B12).

The protein and phosphorus levels are exceptionally high for a fruit. The fruit is a berry about 2cm in diameter.

One of the primary reasons for my last trip to Zanzibar was to find a reputable and viable source of "bird peppers." These peppers find their way into local cuisine, to flavor samosas and curries, and they are used worldwide for making sauces, vinegars and medicinal compounds. The flavor is citrusy, smoky, and nutty (if you can get past the incredible hotness of them). Clearly, one way to get past the hotness and appreciate these peppers is to use them sparingly in cuisine -- a little goes a long way!

Potatoes are important to the self-sufficient gardener and the gourmet gardener. Easy to grow, highly nutritious and there is a variety for every use in the kitchen. Some are for baking, some are for salads, some for French fries. You should try them all!

"New" potatoes can be harvested about 7-8 weeks after planting. Potatoes grown for late summer and fall "fresh" use can be dug when tubers are full size or when foliage begins to die. For potatoes grown for storage and winter use, harvest should take place after vines have died back, alternatively, the plants may have to be cut or mown. After killing and removing the plants, tubers should stay in the ground for another 2 weeks to allow firming of their skins for storage. Optimum storage conditions are a dark location 4-7º C (40-45ºF) and 90% relative humidity. Paper sacks stored in a garage will suffice. Check them often though to remove any that are starting to go soft.

Late blight (Phytopthera infestans) is problematic, especially on the Coast. Symptoms appear as water-soaked gray spots on tips and margins of leaves, leaf axils, and on stems. Even if nothing shows on the leaves, late blight makes black spots under the skin of the tuber. Left unchecked, it will destroy the plant. Copper spray is effective if applied regularly through the growing season, including drenching the soil. The most important step to avoiding disease is to establish a vigorous and healthy crop; this can be accomplished by using disease free seed, planting in rich soil, avoiding pre-emergence irrigation and watering carefully once the crop emerges.

The most common pests to bother your potatoes on the coast are wireworms (especially in gardens recently taken out of grass).

Wireworms are the larvae form of a very slender black beetle known as the Click Beetle because if you turn one over, when it goes to right itself, it makes a "Click!" sound. The beetle lays its eggs in grass, and the larvae eat in our gardens. They burrow into the roots, seeds, and underground stems of tomatoes, corn, potatoes, peppers, and squash. The damage is worse on land that has been recently been converted from lawn to garden. The larvae themselves are crisp, golden, up to 1cm long and can live for up to 7 years in the soil.

Timing: start transplanting indoor March-April

Seeding: In a sterile seed starter mix, sow seeds 1cm deep in individual pots. Soil temperature must be at least 21 degrees. Pot up into larger pots as needed.

Growing: To reduce legginess, provide strong light very close to the seedlings, and use gradually exposing to the weather, then transplant cold hardy varieties in mid-late April, and main season types in mid-late May on the Coast.

Seed: sow spring in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates within 4 weeks at 15°c, within 2 weeks at 25°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Cuttings of greenwood in a frame.

Succeeds in a sunny position in any well-drained soil. Prefers a light fertile soil. Dislikes drought. Plants are very prone to wind damage.

They fruit best with a temperature range of 16 - 22°c in the growing season.

The tree tomato is cultivated for its edible fruit in sub-tropical and tropical zones, there are some named varieties. Grow in pot outdoors in the summer and bring in for the winter. It requires a minimum winter temperature of 10°c for best fruit production but it is hardy to about -2°c.

Trees produce about 20 kg of fruit a year, yields of 15 - 17 tonnes per hectare are achieved in New Zealand. Plants are probably insensitive to day-length.

Very fast growing, it starts to fruit within two years from seed and reaches peak production in 3 - 4 years. Trees are, however, short-lived - the life of a commercial plantation is about 8 years.

This species does not hybridize easily with other members of the genus.

The tasty red fruits are high in vitamin A, B6, C, E and iron. Tamarillos prefer part sun and a thin surface mulch to keep the soil always a bit moist. The fruits are pendulous and as large as a paste tomato. They taste to me like a combination between kiwi and tomato. They are quite good.