Roots 'n' Shoots: February 2017

Why is RnS Moving to whiskerflowers.wordpress.com?

Google had brought out an algorithm update in May 2017. With previous updates like Panda or Penguin, Mr G had penalized blogs or websites with low quality content and those more focused on aggressive adverts (including multiple ads or pop-up ads in articles). However, many blogs/websites that weren't shady got penalized beyond recovery too and a lot of people lost their income. The May 2017 update has had wide-scale effect on blogs and websites, but without any explanation from Mr G as to why or what it does. RnS has been hit by it too and hard. RnS organic search stats (i.e. users from Google) have dropped by 75% since. Even though RnS is not a source of income, I tried to figure out why RnS is being culled. It seems that it doesn't really have anything to do with RnS per se, but likely because RnS is FREE and not paying for page ranking (via AdWords or Ad Ranking). Now it is likely being aggressively shoved to lower page rankings to accommodate the paid ads.

I cannot rely on Mr G anymore to get RnS' content where it is needed. So I am busy moving RnS to Wordpress where you can find me as Whisker Flowers @ https://whiskerflowers.wordpress.com/

I am also imposing 301 redirects from already moved posts and pages!

- The Shroom - (AKA Whisker Flowers)

Saturday 18 February 2017

Curry Tree: How to Grow - Herb of the Month

Curry Tree stats/requirements at a glance

Ease of Raising:
5/5 – Very Easy, plant and leave
Water:
4/5 – Daily
Sun:
4-5/5 – Partial Shade to Full sun
Training:
1/5 – Minimal (3Ds: Dead, damaged and diseased)
Fertilise/Feeding:
1/5 – Minimal (at least during the growing season)
Time to Harvest:
1/5 – Immediate, yet slow growing
Frost Hardiness:
1/4 – Tender (can’t cope with mild frost)


Uses:
Culinary & Medicinal
Most Problematic Nemesis:
Aphids, Swallowtail Butterfly
Container Plant:
Yes

Curry Tree Flower buds
 Murraya koenigii 

Quick intro

My second exotic herb post of South Asian cuisine! All of us are quite familiar with the curry plant and its distinct aroma in Indian stews and local dishes. It is a very versatile herb that is mainly used in vegetable or lentil stews, as well as meat stews, soups, rice dishes and pickles. It is a true delight in the garden as it doesn’t take much space not does it require extraordinary care.

History

The curry tree has its origins in India and Sri-Lanka, where it is also known as Kadipatta. There is an Indian saying that compares the curry to a person which you only interact with for a specific reason, since the curry leaves are only used to flavour the dish and is subsequently removed and discarded.

Science Stuff

The curry tree, Murraya koenigii or Bergera koenigii, belongs to the rue family Rutaceae, which includes roses, citrus and several berries. Another shrub, known as the curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) is an herb of the Asteraceae (daisy) family and loses much of its flavour upon cooking. It has silver foliage and should not be confused with the true Sri Lankan curry tree.

Curry tree
Murraya koenigii
 Royal Botanical Gardens
Sydney Australia 


Curry Plant
Helichrysum italicum
Growing & Pruning the Curry tree

The curry tree stands 6 m tall with a spread of 5 m, but its size can be easily restricted by growing in a pot plant (diameter 30+ cm). You can purchase one at the local nursery and plant it up in summer. It is a slow grower that enjoys a warm sunny position. It is a tropical plant and enjoys daily watering. If you plant it in a cool climate or where winter temperatures drop below 13oC (55oF) then it would be ideal to pot it so that you can bring the plant indoors during cold spells.


Other Tips

It is a very striking plant with layered leaf stalks, which remain green throughout the year. If planted in the garden, the plant can be pruned to shape the tree and to stimulate new growth. Pot planted specimens do not require pruning other that the removal of dead, damaged or diseased parts.

Citrus swallowtail caterpillar with osmeterium visible,
Papillio demodocus
























The curry tree is generally care free when it comes to insect and disease problems – likely due to its taste and aroma. New shoots (translucent red) may suffer from aphid attack on occasion. I have found by rare chance that the Swallowtail butterfly larvae eat the leaves, but the females prefer to lay their eggs on the citrus relatives instead. Both of the pest species I have discussed in their separate articles as well as developing environmental friendly homemade pest controls, see my Pest control page for more information.


Harvesting & Storing

Fresh curry leaves are preferred in cooking, since the distinct aroma is lost during freezing or drying. Remove the sprigs before cooking and remove leaves prior serving the dish.

Curry tree leaves for sale
Murraya koenigii
Satok market,
Malaysia Wikipedia, Thomas Quine 


Seed Saving & Propagation

The curry tree produces tiny white, self-pollinated flowers borne is delicate clusters. These are popular amongst some of the non-bee pollinators, which later develop into tiny edible single-seeded black berries – but be cautious of the seeds as they are poisonous!

Curry tree flowers, developing fruits and pollinating flies!
Murraya koenigii

It is not common to propagate curry trees from seed as they have highly erratic germination times. They do however produce suckers (new shoots from the main root system) at regular intervals. The suckers can be removed and re-potted after two seasons. I have done so myself, but the tiny plants seem to prefer their original position and attachment to the main plant as they don’t thrive after relocation.

Curry tree sucker
Murraya koenigii

My Curry Tree

Mine is about five years old now and has produced several new suckers in the past year. It sheds all of its leaves at regular intervals – I am not sure whether all curry trees do this, or just mine or just potted specimens… Anyways, it is about 1 m tall and I don’t prune it at all, since it only has a few branches and because it sheds its leaves so often.

Curry tree
Murraya koenigii

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