Give stodgy winter food the boot and get gardening for spring

Spring is on the way! Warmer weather will be here before we know it and salads will begin to replace winter’s comfort food.

So this month’s article will focus on growing, and making a delicious Thai style salad using pak choi, onions and carrots. All three vegetables are easy to plant and maintain – perfect for those with little time but who enjoy eating homegrown food.

Pak choi is a great alternative to cabbage or lettuce in salads, onions will spice up your cooking, carrots are an excellent source of antioxidants (not to mention they help us see in the dark!) and all are perfect for planting during August.

Plus, priced around $3.29 for bundles of 20 or nine seedlings, Awapuni Nurseries’ pukekohe long keeper onions and pak choi are also a bargain!

Awapuni Nurseries’ Traditional Value range of seedlings is available from your local supermarket, Warehouse or Bunnings’ store. While you’re there, don’t forget to pick up some carrot seeds.

As long as the place you intend to plant is well drained, and receives lots of sun, then growing should be easy. Just remember pak choi is a member of the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli etc), so you need to plant it in an area where other brassicas have not been planted too often to avoid club root. Club root is a disease caused by fungus that lives in the soil and stunts the growth of your plant by producing large, clubs on the roots.

Prepare the soil for planting by mixing together compost with some Nitrophoska Blue fertiliser. This will stimulate growth in the cooler months due to the fertiliser’s nitrogen sources.

Make a long dent (approximately 6cm deep) in your garden bed and sprinkle carrot seeds along the row. Cover lightly with soil, water occasionally but be careful not to flood the soil. Carrots and radishes are great companion plants. You may wish to plant radishes between your carrots as radishes are harvested much earlier, creating space for the carrots to grow in to. This will help you avoid constantly thinning your carrots out. Plant your pak choi and onion seedlings together spacing them about 20cm apart.

Come November your veges will have matured and be ready to harvest. For a cheap, tasty meal or side salad, boil a cup of rice – basmati is nice if you like an extra kick of flavour. Dry fry 2 tsp of sesame seeds for one minute on a medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning.

Finely chop one onion and sauté in 1 tsp of oil until the onion segments appear translucent and soft. Grate one carrot and add to the onion for approximately three minutes. Combine two cups of loosely chopped pak choi and stir fry for a remaining five minutes to mix all flavours. Once softened, stir in the cooked rice and dress with sweet chilli sauce. Gently toss the salad and sprinkle sesame seeds (or cashew pieces) to garnish.

This quick and easy Thai styled recipe can be used as a main dish or served as a side salad in spring time – perfect for those uninvited guests or as a quick meal for the time-poor.

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Visit www.awapuni.co.nz for more of Tod’s great tips or for more information contact Henri Ham at Awapuni Nurseries (06) 354-8828.