Indira Naidoo: How to grow Australian edible natives

Before European settlement, Australia’s Indigenous population was sustained by an array of edible natives. These plants flourished from the coast to the deserts to our rainforests, keeping communities well supplied with delicious and nutritious seasonal produce. And before the colony could establish farms, Europeans enjoyed them as well.

Historian Jacqui Newling, in her fascinating book Eat Your History (NewSouth Books), documents how quandongs (a type of native peach), Davidson’s plum, warrigal greens, finger limes and Lemon Myrtle were all used by early colonists in jams, preserves, chutneys, cordials and stews.

There are more than 5000 varieties of “bush tucker” found in Australia, but most are not commercially grown due to challenges with market demand and supply.

Fortunately, there’s been a resurgence of interest in native foods largely driven by their delicious taste, superior nutrition, environmental benefits and their use by high-profile chefs such as Kylie Kwong.

And the good news for home gardeners is that many bush edibles will grow well in home gardens – even in pots. Source your seedlings and root stock from a nursery specialising in natives or from online garden clubs such as Diggers.

Here are a few to try:

Finger lime

We’re growing a healthy finger-lime tree in a pot on the Wayside Chapel rooftop garden in Sydney’s Potts Point. I’m an ambassador for the Wayside and we run garden classes for our homeless visitors.

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Finger-lime trees are a rainforest tree with a thick, bushy appearance and spiky thorns. They can tolerate cold but don’t like wind and there are dozens of varieties to choose from, with fruit that varies in colour and flavour.

The finger-shaped fruit pods contain vesicles packed with pearls of citrusy juice – perfect with seafood. Grow your tree in a one-metre-deep pot, putting down a perlite layer first and then add well-composted potting mix and feed regularly with citrus food. You should see your first crop after the first year.

Lemon Myrtle

Lemon Myrtle is another native tree species that grows well in the garden or a large pot. Its leaves (as the name suggests) have a wonderful lemony aroma and can be dried for teas or used to flavour cordials or desserts.

It grows well in sub-tropical climates and likes a nutrient-rich soil and a wind-protected sunny position. Needs only occasional watering once established. Harvest the leaves as required.

Warrigal greens

Warrigal greens (or New Zealand spinach) grow well from cuttings or from seed. You can source seeds online from Diggers. They spread as a ground cover quite rapidly, so growing in containers is recommended.

They love the sun and good soil but since they grow naturally in coastal areas, warrigal greens will do well in poorer soils. The most important thing to remember is that because the leaves contain oxalates, they need to be blanched before eating.

Indira Naidoo co-hosts Sydney’s 2CH breakfast show with Trevor Sinclair, Monday to Friday, from 6am-9am. Buy copies of Indira Naidoo’s garden cookbooks The Edible Balcony and The Edible City at Dymocks