Mushroom Plant – Rungia Klossii
Origin: Papua New Guinea
Perennial clumping bush, up to 1m, with glossy ovate-shaped dark green leaves. Some leaves get yellow stripes along the veins of the leaves, commonly in the sun. Has small bright blue lip-like flowers 1cm long. Enrich the soil with compost to improve yields.
Nutrition: Valued for its blood-building and cleansing properties. People who suffer from Candida can enjoy eating this plant for the mushroom flavour and not be affected as it is not a fungus.
Growing Details: It is easy to propagate from cuttings during the wet season or spring. Cuttings 10-25cm long can be rooted easily in a glass of water or pushed into moist soil. Strip the leaves off the bottom half of the stems and bury them to half their length, spacing 60cm apart.
Soil: Prefers a moderate to rich loam
Sun: Shade-loving for lush large leaves. Full sun will produce smaller leaves
Water: Keep moist
Celery Taro – Colocasia Esculenta
Celery Taro is grown throughout the tropics for its yield of edible leaves and stems, not the corms. Propagate by the leaf-bearing tops of mature corms or by small side shoots or suckers.
Nutrition: Never eat raw; cook the calcium oxalate out first. They provide protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium and vitamins A, B, and C.
Growing Details: Plant any time that the soil is warm and rain is expected. Place the tuber a few cm below the soil surface, spacing: 60-90cm apart. Plant in an area where it can be left undisturbed; harvest often. It will spread easily.
Soil: Deep, well-drained, friable loams. Under paddy, grown in all soil types.
Sun: Partial shade.
Water: Adapted to flooded environments like rice, it can be grown in paddy culture. It also grows in dry, upland areas if the water is provided by irrigation or rainfall. Mulching helps.
Tonielle Christensen
Earth Mumma Permaculture
Contact your local seedsavers group via seedsavers@kurandaregion.org also find videos on seedsavers, soil, permaculture, friends of the farmers, syntropic agriculture, and much more, on kuranda.tv youtube channel and visit the fnq seedsavers fb page ,https://www.facebook.com/groups/ssfnq/